0:00:04 > 0:00:08'On Deadly 60, I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11'Here's just one of my many favourites.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16'This is Deadly 60...Bites.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20'It's close to midday, and temperatures are soaring,
0:00:20 > 0:00:22'but we're on the road again
0:00:22 > 0:00:26'on the search for our next deadly animal.'
0:00:27 > 0:00:30This is the extreme south of the Sonoran Desert.
0:00:30 > 0:00:35If I kept going in that direction for 10-15 miles, I'd be in Mexico.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38It's a real, full-on, rocky wilderness.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42Perfect habitat for the magnificent big cat we're hoping to find.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44It's found throughout North and South America
0:00:44 > 0:00:46and goes by many different names -
0:00:46 > 0:00:49the puma, the cougar,
0:00:49 > 0:00:52and here, the mountain lion.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55'Mountain lions are such secretive creatures
0:00:55 > 0:00:58'that to see one hunting is almost unheard of.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02'Just catching a glimpse of one during the day is a privilege.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04'So how do we know they're deadly?
0:01:04 > 0:01:08'Well, firstly, by looking at their closest cousins.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14'And secondly, by the evidence they leave from their deadly deeds,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17'taking livestock, deer,
0:01:17 > 0:01:19'even attacking the odd person.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24'Their secretive ways certainly won't make them any easier to find.'
0:01:26 > 0:01:28Fingers crossed.
0:01:28 > 0:01:29'My guide is Emil,
0:01:29 > 0:01:33'who's an expert at tracking mountain lions.
0:01:33 > 0:01:34'Emil works on a project
0:01:34 > 0:01:37'that records and studies the lions in this area.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40'And they do this using some very clever camera technology.
0:01:40 > 0:01:41'Cameras are hidden
0:01:41 > 0:01:44'and take a picture of anything that moves in front of it.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48'The question is - has it captured an image of a mountain lion?'
0:01:48 > 0:01:50Let's see what we got.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54This is an infrared flash
0:01:54 > 0:01:58and it's actually taking a video clip
0:01:58 > 0:02:01immediately after the photograph is taken.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04- What is that?- Peccary.- No.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07- It's not a razorback, is it? - It's a black bear.
0:02:07 > 0:02:08No!
0:02:08 > 0:02:11- A nice, big, beautiful black bear. - Wow!
0:02:11 > 0:02:14What a great shot!
0:02:14 > 0:02:16- Argh!- There he is.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Fantastic! Look at that!
0:02:19 > 0:02:22Look at that beautiful cat.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24Oh, that is absolutely wonderful!
0:02:24 > 0:02:26This animal ran through
0:02:26 > 0:02:30- right where I'm sitting now. - Exactly where we're sitting, yeah.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32We'll have a video of this one.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Oh! Look at that!
0:02:35 > 0:02:38- Wonderful!- All right.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40EMIL CHUCKLES
0:02:40 > 0:02:45And she was here at 3:20 in the afternoon.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48- Broad daylight. - It's quarter to three right now.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Well, if we sit here long enough, you never know.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54If we sit here long enough, one will walk by.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57- Well, we saw a couple of lions. - Great stuff!
0:02:57 > 0:02:59That's absolutely fantastic!
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Our mission to find a mountain lion has taken a really exciting twist.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11Local biologists have tracked one particular mountain lion
0:03:11 > 0:03:14that's been ranging through hundreds of miles of mountains.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17But today they've got to try and capture it.
0:03:17 > 0:03:22This could be our perfect opportunity to get right up close to a mountain lion.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26'The scientists want to catch the lion to remove a tracking collar
0:03:26 > 0:03:32'holding information about its movements for the last six months.'
0:03:32 > 0:03:36All this modern technology, and our best chance of finding a lion
0:03:36 > 0:03:38is old-fashioned tracking.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42These dogs have been trained to pick up the scent of a mountain lion.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46They're wearing GPS collars so we know exactly where they go.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49With a bit of luck, they'll lead us straight to the lion.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53They're looking very excited.
0:03:53 > 0:03:54Good luck, guys!
0:03:54 > 0:03:57'These sniffer dogs will follow the scent of the lion,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00'and, like a domestic cat avoiding a dog,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04'the lion will climb a tree when they get close.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06'The dogs will then wait at the base of the tree
0:04:06 > 0:04:09'until the scientists arrive to capture the animal.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12'Without the dogs, the lion would just keep running
0:04:12 > 0:04:16'and the team wouldn't stand a chance of getting near it.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24'A mountain lion could cover a huge area in search of food -
0:04:24 > 0:04:27'up to 100 square miles.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29'And in this kind of habitat,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32'that's a whole lot of holes to hide in.'
0:04:35 > 0:04:37VOICES OVER RADIO
0:04:37 > 0:04:39Just had the most amazing call on the radio.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42The guys with the hounds have located the lion.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46They think it's coming down the dry river bed we're on now, right towards us.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49VOICES OVER RADIO
0:04:52 > 0:04:54It's all going off on the rocks ahead of us.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57- DOGS BARKING - The dogs are going mad.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01It looks like the lion's gone into a hole somewhere in these rocks.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06VOICES OVER RADIO
0:05:16 > 0:05:17DOGS HOWL
0:05:17 > 0:05:20Where do we think the lion is?
0:05:20 > 0:05:22- This hole right here. - We can't get up.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25We're trying to get up in there and look in.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27'There's only one thing to do:
0:05:27 > 0:05:29'in order to see if there's a lion up there,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32'I'll have to climb up very carefully
0:05:32 > 0:05:34'and have a closer look.'
0:05:41 > 0:05:44- Can you see the end of it? - Well...
0:05:44 > 0:05:49There definitely has been a cat in here very recently.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53Steve, does that thing go on back up in there or not?
0:05:53 > 0:05:56No. Doesn't seem to.
0:05:57 > 0:05:58It stops here.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05All of a sudden, with everything going crazy
0:06:05 > 0:06:10and us being certain that we had our mountain lion,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12total silence.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14The trail's gone cold.
0:06:14 > 0:06:19It seems like the cat's managed to get out of the canyon and head off into the distance,
0:06:19 > 0:06:22so our chances of finding it now are slim to none.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25But we came this close.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Anyway, despite the fact that we didn't quite make it,
0:06:29 > 0:06:35there has to be no doubt that a cat this beautiful that manages to range throughout the Americas
0:06:35 > 0:06:37so strong, so powerful,
0:06:37 > 0:06:38it's got to be on the Deadly 60.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43'Whether we've seen one in the flesh or not,
0:06:43 > 0:06:44'this awesome predator,
0:06:44 > 0:06:50'capable of avoiding dogs, horses, trackers, and this camera crew,
0:06:50 > 0:06:54'has certainly got to go on the Deadly 60.'