0:00:04 > 0:00:08On Deadly 60, I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11Here's just one of my many favourites.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16This is Deadly 60 Bites.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20I'm on the search for animals to add to my Deadly 60 list -
0:00:20 > 0:00:25not all of them will be deadly to humans, but they'll all be deadly in their own world.
0:00:25 > 0:00:30We've come to Australia, a continent that has so many leathel contenders
0:00:30 > 0:00:32that I'm having to scour both the sea and the land.
0:00:33 > 0:00:38So where better to start than a typical Aussie backyard?
0:00:39 > 0:00:41I'm in the outskirts of Perth,
0:00:41 > 0:00:43the largest city in Western Australia,
0:00:43 > 0:00:45but this being Australia,
0:00:45 > 0:00:47there's bound to be some contenders for my Deadly 60...
0:00:47 > 0:00:49even in people's backyards.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53- Hi, Mitch. How are you doing? - How you going, Steve?
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Pretty good. This is a fantastic backyard - a good place to search.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59We're going to have an easy time catching things.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Excellent! Let's go look.
0:01:01 > 0:01:06'This is Mitch Ladyman, and he's just bonkers about snakes.'
0:01:07 > 0:01:09- Oh, look, look, look!- Oh, oh, oh!
0:01:10 > 0:01:13- Woah!- Oh-ho! Good catch!
0:01:13 > 0:01:15Oh, dear! Don't bite!
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Grumpy! Oh!
0:01:20 > 0:01:25- Thought that was a tiger snake for a second!- Well done! So did I!
0:01:25 > 0:01:27You saw that black form and thought, "Here we go!"
0:01:27 > 0:01:31- Is this a king's skink? - Yeah, mate, Egernia kingii.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Most people think they're like a coastal skink.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38They hang out a lot on the limestone cliffs on the coast.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40You can still get them on the local beaches
0:01:40 > 0:01:43down in Perth's local foreshore.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46Really robust - they eat insects, vegetation, all-sorts of stuff.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48- Really quite strong, so...- Yeah.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50..pretty much eat whatever comes along.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52He is wonderful!
0:01:52 > 0:01:54They don't hurt.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56If you let them bite on... they'll bite...
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Let go.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Woah!
0:02:00 > 0:02:03- They'll let go...- Look at that! - ..when they realise it's pointless.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05That's great stuff!
0:02:05 > 0:02:09- So, the jaw is incredibly powerful...- Heaps powerful.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Ow!
0:02:12 > 0:02:15That REALLY hurts!
0:02:15 > 0:02:18I can't believe you just made me do that!
0:02:18 > 0:02:20I knew what I was getting in for.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22I think it surprises half of the, er...
0:02:22 > 0:02:25- Let go, please! - STEVE CHUCKLES
0:02:25 > 0:02:29If you can imagine that on your knuckle or something like that,
0:02:29 > 0:02:30so much more painful.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32- He's starting to settle down now.- Yeah.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36- That is wonderful. - Yeah, he's so cute.- Yeah.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38Well, he's pretty good,
0:02:38 > 0:02:40but he's not going on my Deadly 60.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Look at that - he grabbed hold of my hand, didn't even make me bleed!
0:02:45 > 0:02:48'So, if you get giant skinks in your backyard,
0:02:48 > 0:02:50'what's lurking in the local park?
0:02:50 > 0:02:53'I'm hoping for tiger snakes!'
0:02:53 > 0:02:56Despite the fact that we are so close to all these houses,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58this really is fantastic habitat for tiger snakes,
0:02:58 > 0:03:02mostly because there's so much water, so many reeds, long grasses,
0:03:02 > 0:03:06and that's perfect habitat for their main prey source, which is frogs.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09If you're a snake and these super-fast frogs are on the menu,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12then you want to be able to kill them quickly
0:03:12 > 0:03:14so they don't hop away and leave you hungry.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18That's exactly why the tiger snake's venom is SO strong
0:03:18 > 0:03:19and fast-acting.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21One bite and it's game over.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26It's one thing to stop a frog dead in its tracks,
0:03:26 > 0:03:27but here's the scary thing -
0:03:27 > 0:03:31there's enough lethal venom in one bite from a tiger snake
0:03:31 > 0:03:33to kill a handful of people.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Imagine you're unlucky enough to tread on one and it bites you.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39The bite itself wouldn't feel that bad,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42but inside your body, it's a very different story.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45At first, your nerves stop firing
0:03:45 > 0:03:48and you feel a tingling in your hands and feet,
0:03:48 > 0:03:50then your muscles stop functioning properly,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54you can't keep your eyes open and your throat starts to close.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56Paralysis sets in.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Other toxins in the venom dissolve and eat your muscles.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01It gets harder to move.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05Meanwhile, your blood is being thickened into sticky clumps,
0:04:05 > 0:04:08and as all the effects of the toxin combine, the organs start failing.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12The muscles round your lungs seize up and you stop breathing.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15If you don't get help in the form of anti-venom,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17it could all be over within an hour.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20You might think we're crazy to go looking for tiger snakes,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23but both Mitch and I have been working with snakes for years.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25We're all rooting for you!
0:04:25 > 0:04:27- Yeah, yeah!- This way, mate.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31STEVE SIGHS
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Follow me, mate, you're more likely to catch something.
0:04:34 > 0:04:35Get stuffed!
0:04:35 > 0:04:37That's a good patch.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39These basking platforms, they're perfect,
0:04:39 > 0:04:41- cos they'll sit on there...- Good!
0:04:41 > 0:04:46Oh, yeah, trying to get in front! I can run too!
0:04:47 > 0:04:52Normally, I'd be going really slowly, really gently,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55but because I'm all competitive, I'm half-running along!
0:04:55 > 0:04:57To be honest, it's the best way,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00because, really, the longer we take to come on top of them,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03the more chance they've got of getting away.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04Ah, got one!
0:05:04 > 0:05:07'This method might look a bit gung-ho,
0:05:07 > 0:05:08'but we're deadly serious.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11'Using a snake hook like this keeps me at a safe distance
0:05:11 > 0:05:14'and is also the gentlest way to handle the snake.'
0:05:14 > 0:05:16It's all right, it's all right!
0:05:16 > 0:05:19There's nothing worse than being patronised by an Australian!
0:05:19 > 0:05:21THEY LAUGH
0:05:21 > 0:05:23There's one!
0:05:23 > 0:05:24All right, whip it out.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28Go on, get it, get it, get it!
0:05:28 > 0:05:29Gone.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31Wahey! Good save!
0:05:31 > 0:05:32I got it, I got it.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36- Oh! Well done!- Finally!- OK...
0:05:36 > 0:05:40We've been looking for... probably five minutes.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44- Maybe two! - This is incredible!- Yeah!
0:05:44 > 0:05:45We are right on the outskirts
0:05:45 > 0:05:48of the biggest city in Western Australia
0:05:48 > 0:05:51- and I have in my hand...- Watch it.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54..the fourth most toxic venomous snake in the world -
0:05:54 > 0:05:56the tiger snake.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59- Mitch, this is an absolute beauty. - Yeah, it's cute.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04Cute?! Only an Australian could describe a tiger snake as cute!
0:06:04 > 0:06:06This is a snake
0:06:06 > 0:06:09that needs to be treated with an amazing amount of respect
0:06:09 > 0:06:10because drop by drop,
0:06:10 > 0:06:14its venom is far more toxic than any of the cobras,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17far more toxic than a king cobra, than a black mamba...
0:06:17 > 0:06:19This has enough venom to bring down...
0:06:19 > 0:06:23Mitch and I and probably the rest of the film crew as well.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25But as you can see,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28he has absolutely no interest in striking whatsoever.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30What's wonderful about this
0:06:30 > 0:06:33is that tiger snakes are in the same family as the cobras -
0:06:33 > 0:06:35they're called elapids -
0:06:35 > 0:06:38and you can actually see that it does have a hood.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40It'll spread its body sideways,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43making itself seem bigger that it actually is,
0:06:43 > 0:06:47and standing a good portion of its body up off the ground as well.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49- That is a classic cobra shape, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:06:49 > 0:06:55For me, the reason the tiger snake is such an amazing predator
0:06:55 > 0:06:58is just that it kills its prey so quickly, you know?
0:06:58 > 0:07:00If you're feeding on a frog,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02the last thing you want is to bite it,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05for it to disappear into the reeds and you never find it again.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08But if a tiger snake bites a frog, it's got minutes to live.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10What you can see here...
0:07:10 > 0:07:15Tiger snakes commonly have a reputation for charging people,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18but you can see where that misconception comes from.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23All this snake wants to do... is go straight back into the bush.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26At the moment, he's heading straight for between my legs.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28Just let him go.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31This is the amount of confidence that I have...
0:07:34 > 0:07:36..in this snake and its behaviour.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38There's no way he was gonna bite me.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Heading off into the grass.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42That is absolutely fantastic.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46The thing that really gets me about this
0:07:46 > 0:07:50is the fact that we've seen people wandering through here,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53there's houses right there, but nobody here ever gets bitten.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57In all the time I've been here, wandering around, like we're doing,
0:07:57 > 0:08:02I'll actually have people pull over on their pushies, their push-bikes,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05or stop while they're jogging in absolute disbelief,
0:08:05 > 0:08:07and they say, "What are you doing?"
0:08:07 > 0:08:09I say, "I'm studying tiger snakes."
0:08:09 > 0:08:11They have no idea.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15And the reason is, is because, this... I mean,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18they're sitting along the edge in the vegetation,
0:08:18 > 0:08:19minding their own business...
0:08:19 > 0:08:22- The second anyone gets too close... - Yep, they disappear.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28With one of the most potent venoms on the planet,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31a tiger snake can kill its frog prey in minutes.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35And that's why it's going on the Deadly 60.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd