0:00:04 > 0:00:08On Deadly 60, I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Here's just one of my many favourites.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16This is Deadly 60...Bites.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20Today we're exploring the frozen expanses of Alaska.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24And as always, my crew and I are on the hunt for deadly animals.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30Probably seems crazy to be going on a rafting trip on a day like today.
0:00:30 > 0:00:35After all, if you went over the side and ended up in that water,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38you wouldn't last very long.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42But a fish in there doesn't mind the cold as much as we do
0:00:42 > 0:00:44and it's here in incredible numbers.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48They're salmon heading upriver to spawn.
0:00:48 > 0:00:53Probably won't see any of them today underneath all this slushy ice,
0:00:53 > 0:00:57but we are hoping to see some of the animals that feed on them.
0:01:09 > 0:01:15All right! I can't paddle, film AND find the wildlife! Come on, lads!
0:01:16 > 0:01:19This is just magical.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22This is why people come to Alaska.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26It just looks like everything - the mountains, the trees -
0:01:26 > 0:01:29have been sugar frosted with ice and snow.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34The salmon have powered all the way up here from the sea.
0:01:34 > 0:01:40If we can find where they are, we'll surely find our next deadly animal -
0:01:40 > 0:01:41the bald eagle.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47NO WAY!
0:01:47 > 0:01:50How did you manage that?!
0:01:50 > 0:01:53What a magnificent fish!
0:01:54 > 0:01:57It's looking a little bit grotty.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00He's probably reaching the end of his days.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05Soon, this fish will die having completed his mission in life -
0:02:05 > 0:02:09to spawn in the very same river where he hatched.
0:02:09 > 0:02:14While they're out at sea, where they live the majority of their lives,
0:02:14 > 0:02:18they are ferocious predators. Look at those teeth and you can see why.
0:02:18 > 0:02:23But having spawned, these fish are a shadow of their former selves.
0:02:23 > 0:02:28Let's get his gills back in the water. Send him on his way.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34Oh! My fingers are freezing!
0:02:35 > 0:02:41So now we've found their food, it's back on the search for the birds.
0:02:49 > 0:02:55Trumpeter swans. You don't get any larger flying birds than that.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05But this is the bird we've come to see.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10The largest bird of prey to live in Alaska - the bald eagle.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18Masters of the sky in Alaska and the whole of North America,
0:03:18 > 0:03:23they prey on fish, smaller birds, mammals and turtles.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28Each taloned foot can pierce and crush, causing massive damage.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32This is not a bird to get on the wrong side of.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37This is a totally bizarre sight for me -
0:03:37 > 0:03:40seeing all these black dots up in the trees
0:03:40 > 0:03:45and knowing every one is a bald eagle. They look more like crows.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49You don't get eagles this close together in these kind of numbers.
0:03:49 > 0:03:55Most birds of prey don't allow other birds of prey on their territory.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59But here, the bald eagles are living side by side with hundreds of others
0:03:59 > 0:04:03because, thanks to the salmon, there's so much food.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12The bald eagle is one of the most regal of birds.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15They fly at about 30mph,
0:04:15 > 0:04:19but when they're dropping out of the sky to hit prey,
0:04:19 > 0:04:23they can travel at over 100mph. They have a wingspan of 7-8 feet -
0:04:23 > 0:04:28that's as high as me standing on the ground with my arm up in the air.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32Incredibly powerful beak, ferocious talons,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36this is a bird that has to be on the Deadly 60.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40The largest eagle to live in Alaska,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43able to reach speeds of over 100mph,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46with piercing, crushing talons,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50bald eagles are definitely on the Deadly 60.
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