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.
0:00:16 > 0:00:21The deadly animal we're for today is a blood sucking vampire.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24Which strikes even in towns and cities.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28It puts more children in hospital and kills more pets
0:00:28 > 0:00:31than venomous spiders and snakes combined.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35We've just had a call from a local vet that an animal has been attacked
0:00:35 > 0:00:38by our lethal blood sucking parasite.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42The parasite is still attached to the prey. We've got to get there
0:00:42 > 0:00:46quickly as all the time it's attached it pours toxins
0:00:46 > 0:00:48into the blood stream of the animal.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52If we don't get there soon, it'll be in big trouble.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Hello! You've got a patient's just come in?
0:00:55 > 0:00:59- Yes, in the surgery, through there. - Magic, thank you very much.
0:01:00 > 0:01:01- Hello!- Hello!
0:01:01 > 0:01:05I hear you've got an animal suffering from a paralysis tick?
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Yes we do, this gentlemen, Lindsay.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10Yeah, I'm the paralysis tick!
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Ah, sorry! I was expecting a dog or something.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15'After all, this is a vets!'
0:01:15 > 0:01:17- Here.- Oh, wow!
0:01:17 > 0:01:20That is absolutely tiny.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23It is actually about the size of a pinhead.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27There's no way you'll see it on the big camera, have we got...
0:01:27 > 0:01:29This is what we call a lipstick camera
0:01:29 > 0:01:32which magnifies anything really small.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Lindsay, do you mind if I just poke around behind your ear?
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Knock yourself out.
0:01:38 > 0:01:39It's just there.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42Absolutely tiny.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46The head of the tick is buried...
0:01:46 > 0:01:48into the flesh.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51And it's just pumping Lindsay's blood into it.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56But they have, in their saliva, their spit, almost like a venom,
0:01:56 > 0:02:00which can totally paralyse the creature that they're feeding on.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02It's not just people
0:02:02 > 0:02:05and it's not just people's pets that are affected,
0:02:05 > 0:02:10there's a lot of wild animals that suffer from paralysis ticks too.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13The tick lurks in the undergrowth and lies in wait
0:02:13 > 0:02:15for a fresh blood meal.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19It senses the vibrations and tastes the carbon dioxide
0:02:19 > 0:02:21from its victim's breath.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25As the animal or person brushes past,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28the tick jumps on and clings to the fur or the clothes.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33Finally it's guided by heat down to the skin and begins to feed.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Large fruit bats, also known as flying foxes,
0:02:42 > 0:02:44are very badly affected.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49As the tick bites it injects its deadly saliva.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53The flying fox starts to become paralysed.
0:02:53 > 0:02:58Finally it falls out the tree and dies slowly on the ground.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03But not always. Sometimes help is at hand.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15This gorgeous, cute little baby is, in an indirect way,
0:03:15 > 0:03:19a victim of the paralysis tick because its mother was infected
0:03:19 > 0:03:23and, obviously when the mum became paralysed,
0:03:23 > 0:03:25couldn't take care of the baby
0:03:25 > 0:03:28and so that's why it's ended up here at the orphanage.
0:03:28 > 0:03:34Volunteers here rescue and raise up to 500 baby orphans every year.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39But not every adult flying fox that's bitten dies.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42If they're brought into the sanctuary early enough,
0:03:42 > 0:03:47they're given tick anti-venom and looked after till they recover.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51Bats are incredibly important to forests, they poo out seeds of fruit
0:03:51 > 0:03:55and keep the forest going, so if they're wiped out
0:03:55 > 0:03:56it's very bad news.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01This is interesting!
0:04:01 > 0:04:04This one's getting on great with Rich the sound man.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08But don't worry, Mark, your camera's gonna be fine.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14This one was found in time
0:04:14 > 0:04:19and is now nearly strong enough to be released back into the wild.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23You've gotta say an animal the size of a pinhead
0:04:23 > 0:04:27that can bring down a human, a dog, even a flying fox.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Paralysis tick has got to be on my Deadly 60.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35These blood sucking vampires are silent but deadly
0:04:35 > 0:04:38and they have a paralysing venom
0:04:38 > 0:04:41which means they have to go on my Deadly 60 list.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Email: subtitling@bbc.co.uk