0:00:03 > 0:00:08On Deadly 60, I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12Here's just one of my many favourites.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16This is Deadly 60 - Bites.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20We're in one of my favourite countries in the world, Brazil.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23It's about here.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25This is the Amazon rainforest.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27It's by far the biggest jungle in the world,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30and I think the most spectacular.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42Twice the size of Europe
0:00:42 > 0:00:45and home to more species of animal than anywhere else on the planet,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48the Amazon is wildlife central.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58I'm already up, raring to go,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01but the crew are going to need a little bit more encouragement.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05Come on, you lot, we've got a monster spider to find!
0:01:11 > 0:01:13Tarantulas do most of their hunting in the security
0:01:13 > 0:01:15of specially dug burrows.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18The bigger the entrance, the bigger the spider.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21I've never seen a burrow this big before.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23HE GASPS
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Oh, my life!
0:01:30 > 0:01:33It's something really big.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Here it comes.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45Absolutely dripping sweat here.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48Look at the size of those fangs!
0:01:48 > 0:01:53I've never seen anything this big before
0:01:53 > 0:01:59and I've been catching tarantulas for well over a decade.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02'This is the largest tarantula in the world -
0:02:02 > 0:02:05'the Goliath bird-eating spider.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09'They're remarkably canny and cautious.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13'Getting her out into the open takes infinite patience and care.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16'Every member of the crew holds their breath.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25'Once she's out, the machete provides a safe block
0:02:25 > 0:02:28'to keep her from disappearing into her burrow.'
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Well done, mate.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33'The burrow can be many metres deep.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36'If she ran now, we'd have to wait hours for another chance.'
0:02:38 > 0:02:40I'm going to be very gentle with her,
0:02:40 > 0:02:44because this is a very old and very special spider.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48This is definitely a female
0:02:48 > 0:02:53and the females of this particular spider
0:02:53 > 0:02:56can get to be 25, even 30 years old.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59So...she's ancient.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Come on, old girl. There you are.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09Now we can get a proper sense of the size of you.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15'This spider's venom wouldn't kill me,
0:03:15 > 0:03:20'but you really don't want to get bitten by those gigantic fangs.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23'She does, however, have another form of defence
0:03:23 > 0:03:25'that I've got to be really careful of.'
0:03:25 > 0:03:30That kicking her leg against her abdomen,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33sending hairs up into the air...
0:03:33 > 0:03:37if those get into your eyes or nose, the back of your throat,
0:03:37 > 0:03:41it can be very irritating and itchy
0:03:41 > 0:03:44and it's actually the spider's primary method
0:03:44 > 0:03:47of getting rid of an attacker,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50despite the fact that it has gigantic fangs.
0:03:55 > 0:04:01She's got fangs that are about as long as a cheetah's claws
0:04:01 > 0:04:03and a good deal sharper.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06She could give me a really, really nasty bite,
0:04:06 > 0:04:11so I just want to be ever so careful.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18This is the Goliath bird-eating spider.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Goliath was a giant in the Bible
0:04:22 > 0:04:25and this is a giant among spiders.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Now, although they certainly are capable of it,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34birds don't actually form a large part of their diet.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39Most of what they'll eat are rats and mice,
0:04:39 > 0:04:44lizards and crickets, invertebrates.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47But really they will take almost anything
0:04:47 > 0:04:50that's unlucky enough to wander past their burrow.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Look at the size of her!
0:04:52 > 0:04:55And I can feel those hairs that she kicked up into the air
0:04:55 > 0:04:58in the back of my throat and I want to cough,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01but it's not really a good time to cough
0:05:01 > 0:05:05with THAT on your hands.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12'As she relaxes, she decides to go for a wander,
0:05:12 > 0:05:14'and though it's still a little nervy,
0:05:14 > 0:05:16'I think I've earned this spider's trust.'
0:05:21 > 0:05:24They really are very, very impressive.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29Look at that, as she comes over the top of my finger.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33It's something that never ceases to amaze me.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37This is an invertebrate - this animal doesn't have a backbone.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Its brain is absolutely tiny,
0:05:40 > 0:05:45but every single one of these spiders has their own personality.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Some of them are incredibly easy to handle.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50Others will bite almost instantly.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Some of them will wander over your hand quite happily.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58Others of them, you really think that, you know, it's quite edgy,
0:05:58 > 0:06:02and any second, they could sink their fangs into you.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04This one here is kind of in the middle.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07She's been kicking hairs quite frantically
0:06:07 > 0:06:08and I don't know...
0:06:10 > 0:06:15I think I'm probably quite close to getting a bite,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17which is why I'm sweating so much.
0:06:21 > 0:06:26The Goliath bird-eating spider, one of the true giants of the Amazon
0:06:26 > 0:06:30and an absolute cert for the Deadly 60.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40The biggest spider in the world.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43A monster that doesn't only eat crickets and cockroaches
0:06:43 > 0:06:46but mice, frogs, lizards,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49and, yes, even birds.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52The Goliath bird-eating spider. Deadly!
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:06:59 > 0:07:02E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk