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My name's Steve Backshall. | 0:00:01 | 0:00:03 | |
People call me Steve! | 0:00:03 | 0:00:06 | |
I'm on a mission to find the Deadly 60. | 0:00:09 | 0:00:11 | |
Ow! | 0:00:11 | 0:00:12 | |
60 deadly creatures from around the world. | 0:00:12 | 0:00:15 | |
You're coming with me every step of the way! | 0:00:17 | 0:00:19 | |
Ow! | 0:00:19 | 0:00:21 | |
We're here, in Brazil, South America, | 0:00:29 | 0:00:32 | |
home of the Samba and the Savanna. | 0:00:32 | 0:00:35 | |
Think Brazil, think colour, rhythm and passion. | 0:00:41 | 0:00:45 | |
And it's not just the people. The wildlife is out of this world! | 0:00:45 | 0:00:50 | |
We've come to the top of Brazil, to the open grasslands. | 0:00:51 | 0:00:55 | |
Joining me on this wildlife stage are my band of explorers. | 0:00:55 | 0:00:59 | |
On camera...Mark. | 0:00:59 | 0:01:01 | |
Our sound man is Rich. | 0:01:01 | 0:01:03 | |
Dudu, our guide. | 0:01:03 | 0:01:06 | |
Making the tea is Charlie. Just kidding, Charlie! | 0:01:06 | 0:01:09 | |
So, time to check out the area | 0:01:13 | 0:01:16 | |
and pick the best spots to find deadly animals for my list. | 0:01:16 | 0:01:20 | |
It's an early start, but it's worth it | 0:01:20 | 0:01:22 | |
cos I'm getting to use my favourite big boy's toy! | 0:01:22 | 0:01:26 | |
Brazil's grassland savannas are unimaginably vast, | 0:01:28 | 0:01:32 | |
about the size of a small country. | 0:01:32 | 0:01:35 | |
If we were to stick to walking or using the trucks | 0:01:35 | 0:01:38 | |
we wouldn't even scratch the surface! | 0:01:38 | 0:01:41 | |
Luckily, though, we don't have to. | 0:01:41 | 0:01:43 | |
We can get a bird's-eye view! | 0:01:43 | 0:01:46 | |
I love it! | 0:01:51 | 0:01:53 | |
Woo-hoo! | 0:01:53 | 0:01:54 | |
The area I'm flying over is open grassland. | 0:01:59 | 0:02:02 | |
It's very wet and humid | 0:02:02 | 0:02:04 | |
and the animal stars here are definitely birds. | 0:02:04 | 0:02:08 | |
Look at that! | 0:02:08 | 0:02:11 | |
Amazing! Look at all those pink ibis | 0:02:12 | 0:02:15 | |
and storks and egrets! | 0:02:15 | 0:02:18 | |
Fabulous! | 0:02:19 | 0:02:21 | |
'There are so many species of birds here | 0:02:23 | 0:02:26 | |
'there's bound to be a few deadly ones. | 0:02:26 | 0:02:28 | |
'I'll be back on the trail of some of them later.' | 0:02:28 | 0:02:31 | |
Wow, that was stunning! | 0:02:33 | 0:02:36 | |
'As well as the grassland, there are patches of jungle.' | 0:02:36 | 0:02:39 | |
This is almost like a waterfall. | 0:02:39 | 0:02:41 | |
I guess when there's more rain, that'll be really impressive. | 0:02:41 | 0:02:45 | |
'It's what South America is famous for. | 0:02:45 | 0:02:48 | |
'But it'll be best explored on foot when I'm back on the ground.' | 0:02:48 | 0:02:52 | |
That is amazing! What a place! | 0:02:52 | 0:02:55 | |
I think helicopters are the best method of transport in the world. | 0:02:55 | 0:03:01 | |
In fact, would you fancy buying me one for Christmas, Mark? | 0:03:01 | 0:03:07 | |
Yeah (!) | 0:03:07 | 0:03:09 | |
-Yes? -About that big! -A little one! | 0:03:09 | 0:03:10 | |
A toy one! | 0:03:10 | 0:03:12 | |
OK, that's all right. Better than nothing! | 0:03:12 | 0:03:16 | |
I love it! | 0:03:16 | 0:03:18 | |
'I've checked out the lie of the land. | 0:03:19 | 0:03:21 | |
'Now it's down to business. | 0:03:21 | 0:03:23 | |
'We're on the track of the next deadly animal for my list.' | 0:03:23 | 0:03:27 | |
What I'm looking out for is just one wild animal | 0:03:27 | 0:03:31 | |
that we're desperate to find here, | 0:03:31 | 0:03:33 | |
that I stand a chance to see from the air - it's big enough. | 0:03:33 | 0:03:37 | |
I'm keeping my eyes peeled. | 0:03:37 | 0:03:40 | |
'It's so big, it's known as a giant. | 0:03:40 | 0:03:43 | |
'It wasn't too long before we spotted one.' | 0:03:43 | 0:03:45 | |
Look at that! We need to fly as slow and low as we can, Dudu. | 0:03:45 | 0:03:49 | |
'The giant in question is a giant anteater.' | 0:03:49 | 0:03:54 | |
Oh, my goodness! | 0:03:54 | 0:03:56 | |
'This is an animal only found in South America | 0:03:57 | 0:04:00 | |
'and one I've been dying to see | 0:04:00 | 0:04:01 | |
'because they're incredible and unusual predators.' | 0:04:01 | 0:04:05 | |
I can't believe how close we are! | 0:04:05 | 0:04:08 | |
Look at that! This is ridiculous! | 0:04:08 | 0:04:11 | |
He is right next to us! | 0:04:11 | 0:04:13 | |
I think we should leave him alone cos we're maybe stressing him out. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:20 | |
Our best way of getting close to a giant anteater is on foot. | 0:04:20 | 0:04:24 | |
OK, Dudu. | 0:04:24 | 0:04:26 | |
That was incredible! | 0:04:28 | 0:04:30 | |
Absolutely unbelievable! | 0:04:30 | 0:04:33 | |
'So now we know the area they're living in, | 0:04:36 | 0:04:38 | |
'we're gonna track them on foot | 0:04:38 | 0:04:40 | |
'and on the way I'll show you their favourite food | 0:04:40 | 0:04:43 | |
'and exactly what makes them so deadly.' | 0:04:43 | 0:04:45 | |
These bright orange boulders | 0:04:48 | 0:04:50 | |
that you can see littered around all over these fields | 0:04:50 | 0:04:54 | |
are not actually made of real rock. | 0:04:54 | 0:04:57 | |
In fact, they're created by insects. These are termite mounds. | 0:04:57 | 0:05:01 | |
Inside here are hundreds of thousands of tiny insects. | 0:05:03 | 0:05:08 | |
They make them themselves out of chewed up soil or sand | 0:05:08 | 0:05:12 | |
and termite spit. | 0:05:12 | 0:05:15 | |
'It doesn't sound much like a good building material, | 0:05:15 | 0:05:18 | |
'but these guys construct a mound as hard as concrete. | 0:05:18 | 0:05:22 | |
'And this is the problem for an anteater.' | 0:05:22 | 0:05:24 | |
I'll try and show you quite how hard these can be. | 0:05:25 | 0:05:28 | |
If I take this bush knife... | 0:05:28 | 0:05:30 | |
..you can see it's a bit dusty and it's coming away in chunks... | 0:05:32 | 0:05:37 | |
..but not easily at all. | 0:05:39 | 0:05:41 | |
Also, as you see, although I've taken off a fair bit already, | 0:05:44 | 0:05:47 | |
I still haven't come to any insects. | 0:05:47 | 0:05:50 | |
'Don't worry. The termites can rebuild this damage in minutes. | 0:05:50 | 0:05:54 | |
'But how does the anteater get at the termites deep in the mound? | 0:05:54 | 0:05:59 | |
'And how do they avoid the fearsome soldiers? | 0:05:59 | 0:06:02 | |
'The soldiers will sink their massive jaws into any intruders. | 0:06:07 | 0:06:13 | |
'But the anteater is well prepared. | 0:06:13 | 0:06:15 | |
'Firstly, they can sniff out insects | 0:06:25 | 0:06:28 | |
'with a sense of smell that's 40 times more powerful than ours! | 0:06:28 | 0:06:32 | |
'When they find them, they rip into a mound | 0:06:32 | 0:06:34 | |
'with some of the longest claws on any living mammal. | 0:06:34 | 0:06:38 | |
'They only need to break a small hole | 0:06:38 | 0:06:40 | |
'because they have the most ridiculously long sticky tongue, | 0:06:40 | 0:06:44 | |
'perfect for hoovering up 30,000 small insects a day! | 0:06:44 | 0:06:49 | |
'By feeding at each mound for a short period of time, | 0:06:51 | 0:06:55 | |
'they're long gone before the soldier termites start biting. | 0:06:55 | 0:06:59 | |
'And don't be fooled by their insect diet. | 0:06:59 | 0:07:01 | |
'They can stand as tall as a man | 0:07:01 | 0:07:03 | |
'and have been known to kill jaguar and even people in a death hug. | 0:07:03 | 0:07:08 | |
'We'll have to be very careful approaching them on foot. | 0:07:08 | 0:07:12 | |
'To try and spot one in the long grass, we keep our eyes peeled. | 0:07:16 | 0:07:20 | |
'And it pays off.' | 0:07:21 | 0:07:24 | |
Well spotted! Good job! | 0:07:28 | 0:07:30 | |
'We need to prepare carefully and quietly | 0:07:34 | 0:07:37 | |
'before we lose sight of it.' | 0:07:37 | 0:07:39 | |
We're all just gonna move very quietly - | 0:07:40 | 0:07:45 | |
that means you, Rich, OK? | 0:07:45 | 0:07:46 | |
I think we've got a good chance of getting close to it | 0:07:48 | 0:07:51 | |
if we just move carefully. | 0:07:51 | 0:07:54 | |
'Anteaters have poor eyesight, | 0:07:57 | 0:07:59 | |
'but they will hear and smell us if we're not careful. | 0:07:59 | 0:08:02 | |
'Luckily, the wind's blowing towards us as we approach it.' | 0:08:02 | 0:08:07 | |
The ground round here is recently burnt | 0:08:11 | 0:08:13 | |
which means that it's all quite crunchy. | 0:08:13 | 0:08:16 | |
A bit like walking on Rice Krispies! | 0:08:16 | 0:08:20 | |
Not the ideal ground when you're trying to creep up on an animal. | 0:08:20 | 0:08:25 | |
We're right by a road as well | 0:08:25 | 0:08:29 | |
so even though there's not been much coming past here, | 0:08:29 | 0:08:32 | |
it's still a little bit noisy. | 0:08:32 | 0:08:34 | |
'We've lost sight of the anteater. | 0:08:36 | 0:08:38 | |
'So Dudu and Charlie are gonna try and head him off.' | 0:08:38 | 0:08:41 | |
I think Dudu's just seen it. | 0:08:41 | 0:08:44 | |
We're coming round to stop it going any further. | 0:08:44 | 0:08:47 | |
Hopefully we can get Steve and the rest of the team quite close. | 0:08:47 | 0:08:52 | |
He's feeding. | 0:08:54 | 0:08:56 | |
-Feeding? -Yeah, right there. | 0:08:57 | 0:08:59 | |
'Guys, can you hear me, over? | 0:08:59 | 0:09:02 | |
'Dudu and I are level with the anteater now. | 0:09:02 | 0:09:05 | |
'We are level with the anteater. Over.' | 0:09:05 | 0:09:08 | |
I can't see it at the moment, Charlie. Is it still in the trees? | 0:09:08 | 0:09:12 | |
'It is in some trees, in a thicket of three or four. Over. | 0:09:12 | 0:09:18 | |
'He is actually feeding at a tree at the moment. Over.' | 0:09:19 | 0:09:24 | |
Ah, there they are. There they are. | 0:09:25 | 0:09:29 | |
We're going round this way. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:35 | |
'Keep coming around towards us.' | 0:09:36 | 0:09:39 | |
Mark! Mark! | 0:09:39 | 0:09:40 | |
There he is. | 0:09:44 | 0:09:45 | |
No more than about 20 metres away from me. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:51 | |
It's one of the most bizarrely shaped animals in the world. | 0:09:51 | 0:09:54 | |
It's making a beeline right for us! Look at that! | 0:09:54 | 0:09:58 | |
Incredible galumphing gait. | 0:09:58 | 0:10:01 | |
Coming over to the right. | 0:10:04 | 0:10:07 | |
'But our anteater had smelt us coming and was off. | 0:10:09 | 0:10:13 | |
'Someone on the crew must need a shower! | 0:10:13 | 0:10:16 | |
'However, we soon spotted another animal. | 0:10:16 | 0:10:19 | |
'And this one had no idea we were there.' | 0:10:19 | 0:10:22 | |
Just go up to here. | 0:10:22 | 0:10:24 | |
Look how close he is! | 0:10:37 | 0:10:38 | |
This has got to be one of the most remarkable, | 0:10:38 | 0:10:41 | |
one of the most bizarre creatures in the world. | 0:10:41 | 0:10:44 | |
This is absolutely perfect for us | 0:10:44 | 0:10:47 | |
because the wind is coming from him towards us. | 0:10:47 | 0:10:51 | |
He's got his snout right down an ant hole. | 0:10:52 | 0:10:56 | |
Looks like he's feeding. | 0:11:02 | 0:11:05 | |
Looks like he's feeling around the branches of a tree. | 0:11:05 | 0:11:08 | |
I just can't believe how close we're getting. | 0:11:08 | 0:11:12 | |
'Despite all our care, it was only a matter of time | 0:11:13 | 0:11:17 | |
'before the anteater caught a whiff of us.' | 0:11:17 | 0:11:20 | |
Look at that. | 0:11:22 | 0:11:24 | |
He's just stopping to check me out every five metres or so. | 0:11:24 | 0:11:28 | |
Nose in the air. There you go. He's got me. | 0:11:28 | 0:11:31 | |
Once he starts running, it's all over. | 0:11:31 | 0:11:34 | |
Amazing! | 0:11:34 | 0:11:35 | |
I can't believe how close I've got | 0:11:35 | 0:11:38 | |
to one of the most bizarre animals in South America, if not the world. | 0:11:38 | 0:11:44 | |
Huge, hairy hoover of ants and termites | 0:11:46 | 0:11:48 | |
with a sticky tongue | 0:11:48 | 0:11:50 | |
and claws that rip through termite mounds | 0:11:50 | 0:11:53 | |
like they were made of butter. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:56 | |
'In order to carry all our gear, we've got two trucks | 0:12:02 | 0:12:06 | |
'to take it and us across the huge expanse of grassland. | 0:12:06 | 0:12:09 | |
'Driving in Brazil is a bit different to back home. | 0:12:16 | 0:12:20 | |
'After all, you don't tend to get held up by iguanas. | 0:12:20 | 0:12:23 | |
'And we had to rebuild a bridge or two! | 0:12:26 | 0:12:29 | |
'To cross one particularly large river, | 0:12:29 | 0:12:32 | |
'we were told all we had to do was catch the ferry. | 0:12:32 | 0:12:36 | |
'It wasn't quite what we were expecting, though!' | 0:12:36 | 0:12:39 | |
We're pushing both our four-wheel-drives onto that raft | 0:12:43 | 0:12:47 | |
and dragging it with some speedboats. | 0:12:47 | 0:12:50 | |
Yeah. It makes me a little bit nervous, that! | 0:12:51 | 0:12:55 | |
But as it's becoming a sentence we're using more than any other, | 0:12:55 | 0:13:00 | |
"What could possibly go wrong?" | 0:13:00 | 0:13:02 | |
I tell you, I've used some iffy modes of transport in my time, | 0:13:18 | 0:13:21 | |
but this is ridiculous! | 0:13:21 | 0:13:23 | |
'Safely across, we were headed for the jungle. | 0:13:27 | 0:13:31 | |
'There are many types of jungle in Brazil. | 0:13:33 | 0:13:36 | |
'Each has a completely different set of animals to see.' | 0:13:36 | 0:13:41 | |
Look down there! | 0:13:41 | 0:13:43 | |
It's a tortoise! | 0:13:43 | 0:13:44 | |
That's a baby tarantula! | 0:13:48 | 0:13:50 | |
When he's fully grown, he'll be about that big! | 0:13:50 | 0:13:53 | |
'There are thousands of reptiles and invertebrates. | 0:13:56 | 0:13:59 | |
'Most are predators of some sort. | 0:13:59 | 0:14:01 | |
'But with the list filling up, | 0:14:01 | 0:14:04 | |
'I could afford to be a bit picky.' | 0:14:04 | 0:14:06 | |
Oh, that is beautiful! | 0:14:08 | 0:14:12 | |
This is a parrot snake. | 0:14:12 | 0:14:14 | |
And when you see the head moving around, in an inquisitive fashion, | 0:14:14 | 0:14:19 | |
you get an idea of why it's got its name. | 0:14:19 | 0:14:22 | |
But it's not until it feels threatened | 0:14:22 | 0:14:24 | |
that you see where the name comes from. | 0:14:24 | 0:14:27 | |
It gapes its mouth open, almost like a beak | 0:14:27 | 0:14:29 | |
and looks just like a parrot. | 0:14:29 | 0:14:32 | |
Except obviously, like a snake at the same time! | 0:14:32 | 0:14:35 | |
It's a bit weird. Look at this now. | 0:14:35 | 0:14:38 | |
It cocked its head towards me. | 0:14:38 | 0:14:41 | |
There's that gaping display | 0:14:41 | 0:14:43 | |
that makes him look like a parrot! | 0:14:43 | 0:14:46 | |
That is fabulous. | 0:14:46 | 0:14:48 | |
As I move my hand in closer... | 0:14:48 | 0:14:50 | |
..he spreads his mouth even wider. | 0:14:52 | 0:14:54 | |
If I tried to catch this snake, I'd get bitten. | 0:14:56 | 0:15:00 | |
Look at that! | 0:15:01 | 0:15:02 | |
That is absolutely magnificent. | 0:15:02 | 0:15:05 | |
It's a big attitude for a small snake! | 0:15:05 | 0:15:08 | |
All snakes have remarkably flexible jaws. | 0:15:08 | 0:15:12 | |
They can swallow prey many times the size of their own head. | 0:15:12 | 0:15:16 | |
He's using that to really full effect, showing off. | 0:15:16 | 0:15:21 | |
He's about to withdraw. | 0:15:22 | 0:15:24 | |
Fabulous! | 0:15:26 | 0:15:28 | |
What a fantastic snake! | 0:15:28 | 0:15:31 | |
One of my favourite snakes. | 0:15:34 | 0:15:36 | |
Night-time, though, means whole loads of different animals | 0:15:39 | 0:15:42 | |
to see by torchlight and hopefully a few out hunting. | 0:15:42 | 0:15:47 | |
Ooh, a bat. | 0:15:50 | 0:15:51 | |
'Some animals that are active in the day | 0:15:52 | 0:15:54 | |
'are easier to get close to at night, | 0:15:54 | 0:15:57 | |
'like this snoozing dragon fly.' | 0:15:57 | 0:15:59 | |
Gorgeous! | 0:15:59 | 0:16:01 | |
A giant moth caterpillar. | 0:16:04 | 0:16:07 | |
That is fabulous! | 0:16:08 | 0:16:10 | |
LOUD BUZZING | 0:16:11 | 0:16:13 | |
This is the loudest insect in the world. | 0:16:14 | 0:16:18 | |
It's a cicada. | 0:16:18 | 0:16:20 | |
'Hard to believe that this deafening racket can help him find a mate!' | 0:16:20 | 0:16:25 | |
Look at that. | 0:16:26 | 0:16:28 | |
Look at those spikes. They're ridiculous! | 0:16:28 | 0:16:31 | |
Ow! | 0:16:31 | 0:16:32 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:16:32 | 0:16:35 | |
I wouldn't touch the tree, Steve! | 0:16:35 | 0:16:37 | |
-Yeah, watch the tree, Steve. It's spiky! -Thanks, guys! | 0:16:37 | 0:16:40 | |
Look at this. | 0:16:45 | 0:16:47 | |
Steve, I've found something here. | 0:16:47 | 0:16:50 | |
Wow! | 0:16:52 | 0:16:54 | |
Any second now... | 0:16:54 | 0:16:55 | |
..you're gonna see one of the most ferocious... | 0:16:59 | 0:17:02 | |
..and venomous spiders in the world. | 0:17:04 | 0:17:06 | |
I'm try to convince people they shouldn't be scared of spiders, | 0:17:06 | 0:17:10 | |
handling them and... | 0:17:10 | 0:17:12 | |
..showing them they're nothing to be frightened of. | 0:17:15 | 0:17:18 | |
But this spider here | 0:17:18 | 0:17:20 | |
is one exception. | 0:17:20 | 0:17:22 | |
This is officially the deadliest spider in the world | 0:17:22 | 0:17:25 | |
in terms of its venom. | 0:17:25 | 0:17:27 | |
It's called a wandering spider | 0:17:27 | 0:17:30 | |
because it doesn't build a web, it just continually wanders | 0:17:30 | 0:17:34 | |
in search of food. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:36 | |
It's got the strongest venom of any spider in the world | 0:17:36 | 0:17:39 | |
and it's one of the few out of 50,000 species of spider | 0:17:39 | 0:17:43 | |
around the world that can do damage to or even kill a person. | 0:17:43 | 0:17:48 | |
Luckily, it can't bite me through my trousers | 0:17:48 | 0:17:51 | |
so I'm happy with it sat on my leg. | 0:17:51 | 0:17:53 | |
But I certainly wouldn't have it in my hand. | 0:17:53 | 0:17:56 | |
They are, really, spiders to be genuinely careful of | 0:17:56 | 0:18:01 | |
and actually one of the only spiders that's hurt people in the UK | 0:18:01 | 0:18:06 | |
because they've come in on shipments of bananas from Brazil | 0:18:06 | 0:18:10 | |
and turned up in supermarkets in the UK | 0:18:10 | 0:18:12 | |
and people have got bitten by them. Not often, but it's happened. | 0:18:12 | 0:18:16 | |
That little spider there... | 0:18:16 | 0:18:18 | |
Whoa! Hold on a second! Check out that jump! | 0:18:18 | 0:18:22 | |
That little spider there... | 0:18:22 | 0:18:24 | |
..which, as you can see, can jump quite well... | 0:18:25 | 0:18:28 | |
..is the reason that arachnophobics are scared of spiders. | 0:18:33 | 0:18:37 | |
This particular species of wandering spider | 0:18:37 | 0:18:41 | |
isn't very big. | 0:18:41 | 0:18:43 | |
They get to be really huge, tarantula kind of size, | 0:18:43 | 0:18:47 | |
and mostly feed on insects, though some of the big ones | 0:18:47 | 0:18:50 | |
will even feed on small mammals. | 0:18:50 | 0:18:52 | |
Certainly their venom's strong enough. | 0:18:52 | 0:18:55 | |
'With so many potential candidates for my list, | 0:18:57 | 0:19:00 | |
I'm gonna choose very carefully. | 0:19:00 | 0:19:02 | |
Let's see what else I can find. | 0:19:02 | 0:19:04 | |
Here comes the rain! | 0:19:04 | 0:19:07 | |
Tropical storm. | 0:19:09 | 0:19:11 | |
'With all their expensive electronic gear, | 0:19:14 | 0:19:16 | |
'my crew aren't so keen on the rain! | 0:19:16 | 0:19:19 | |
-'Rich, though, takes it like a man... -Carry on. -..for once!' | 0:19:19 | 0:19:23 | |
These are great! | 0:19:23 | 0:19:25 | |
This is one of the weirdest and most wonderful beetles out there. | 0:19:25 | 0:19:29 | |
It's a click beetle. | 0:19:29 | 0:19:31 | |
Look at that. Like a little brooch. | 0:19:31 | 0:19:34 | |
Oh, he's landed on the sound man's sound pole. | 0:19:38 | 0:19:41 | |
Isn't he wonderful? | 0:19:41 | 0:19:44 | |
Oh, my goodness! That is awesome! | 0:19:45 | 0:19:47 | |
I'm doing all this quite gingerly. | 0:19:47 | 0:19:50 | |
This is quite a nasty scorpion, as scorpions go. | 0:19:50 | 0:19:55 | |
Capable of inflicting a very nasty sting. | 0:19:56 | 0:20:00 | |
That is a Black Forest scorpion. | 0:20:01 | 0:20:04 | |
It's not huge, as scorpions go, | 0:20:06 | 0:20:08 | |
but he is very venomous. | 0:20:08 | 0:20:11 | |
Clasping onto that leaf for dear life! | 0:20:12 | 0:20:16 | |
This is a scorpion that could do a person - | 0:20:17 | 0:20:20 | |
even a big, strong, fully-grown man - | 0:20:20 | 0:20:24 | |
some serious mischief. | 0:20:24 | 0:20:26 | |
On the end of the tail here, | 0:20:26 | 0:20:28 | |
clasped between my fingers very, very carefully, I have to say, | 0:20:28 | 0:20:33 | |
is a spike which leads to a venom gland. | 0:20:33 | 0:20:36 | |
The venom inside that gland is really, really strong. | 0:20:36 | 0:20:40 | |
It's actually capable of making your kidneys and liver totally shut down | 0:20:40 | 0:20:44 | |
once the poison gets into your system. | 0:20:44 | 0:20:46 | |
So I'm treating him with a lot of respect. | 0:20:46 | 0:20:49 | |
I don't want to give the impression that scorpions are all bad. | 0:20:50 | 0:20:55 | |
In fact, they are some of the most incredible creatures. | 0:20:55 | 0:20:58 | |
Probably the most fantastic mothers of all invertebrates. | 0:20:58 | 0:21:02 | |
If we didn't have these guys around, | 0:21:02 | 0:21:05 | |
there'd be way too many things like cockroaches that we want rid of. | 0:21:05 | 0:21:09 | |
I'm going to let go of his tail and see if he'll sit there... | 0:21:09 | 0:21:12 | |
..on my knee. | 0:21:13 | 0:21:15 | |
There you go. | 0:21:16 | 0:21:18 | |
It's quite chilled out, really. | 0:21:18 | 0:21:20 | |
'So chilled out, in fact, that he goes for a wander down my leg!' | 0:21:21 | 0:21:25 | |
He's off! | 0:21:25 | 0:21:27 | |
He's on the heel of your boot, Steve. | 0:21:30 | 0:21:32 | |
-Is he on the heel? -Yes, he is. | 0:21:32 | 0:21:34 | |
He's ended up in quite an odd place, | 0:21:35 | 0:21:38 | |
if I'm honest with you. | 0:21:38 | 0:21:40 | |
He's taken shelter on the bottom of my foot. | 0:21:40 | 0:21:43 | |
For a lot of people, the first thing they'd do is squash him. | 0:21:43 | 0:21:48 | |
But personally, I think scorpions are absolutely marvellous | 0:21:48 | 0:21:52 | |
so I'm not gonna do that. | 0:21:52 | 0:21:54 | |
I'm just gonna let him carry on hunting. | 0:21:54 | 0:21:57 | |
Don't move your foot, Steve. | 0:21:59 | 0:22:01 | |
He's going. | 0:22:02 | 0:22:04 | |
There he goes. | 0:22:06 | 0:22:08 | |
Back into the leaf litter. | 0:22:08 | 0:22:10 | |
'This has been the perfect jungle hunt. | 0:22:12 | 0:22:16 | |
'The world's most venomous spider and a Black Forest scorpion! | 0:22:16 | 0:22:20 | |
'They should go straight onto the list. | 0:22:20 | 0:22:22 | |
'But I can't help thinking they're too obvious. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:25 | |
'Maybe we should look for something a little bit more unexpected. | 0:22:27 | 0:22:31 | |
'Maybe something with feathers. | 0:22:31 | 0:22:35 | |
'These weird-looking hoatzin eat fruit and vegetation. | 0:22:37 | 0:22:42 | |
'They're the flying equivalent of a cow! | 0:22:42 | 0:22:44 | |
'But they look like a cross between a chicken and a dinosaur!' | 0:22:44 | 0:22:48 | |
They really are a throw-back to prehistoric times. | 0:22:48 | 0:22:51 | |
Brilliant! | 0:22:53 | 0:22:55 | |
'There are some great deadly birds here as well.' | 0:22:55 | 0:22:58 | |
Look at that! | 0:22:58 | 0:23:00 | |
'This potoo looks like a tree trunk during the day, | 0:23:00 | 0:23:03 | |
'but at night it becomes a fantastic acrobatic insect killer. | 0:23:03 | 0:23:07 | |
'But the birds with the most varied diet round here | 0:23:07 | 0:23:12 | |
'are the ever-present Caracara | 0:23:12 | 0:23:14 | |
'that seem to stand guard on just about every fence post. | 0:23:14 | 0:23:17 | |
'So many brilliant birds. | 0:23:17 | 0:23:20 | |
'One of them must be a candidate for the Deadly 60. | 0:23:20 | 0:23:23 | |
'Well, how about this?' | 0:23:23 | 0:23:26 | |
I spotted a little shape perched on top of a termite mound. | 0:23:26 | 0:23:31 | |
He's dropped down into the grass now | 0:23:31 | 0:23:34 | |
but we're gonna sit and wait because if he turns up, he's worth a look. | 0:23:34 | 0:23:39 | |
Just there, look. See it, Mark? | 0:23:42 | 0:23:45 | |
It's a pair, a breeding pair. | 0:23:45 | 0:23:48 | |
One there and one there. Tiny, aren't they? | 0:23:48 | 0:23:51 | |
Absolutely tiny. | 0:23:51 | 0:23:53 | |
They're burrowing owls. | 0:23:53 | 0:23:56 | |
I don't really know where to start | 0:23:56 | 0:23:58 | |
with talking about these incredibly curious creatures. | 0:23:58 | 0:24:02 | |
One of the first things is that they're active now, during the day | 0:24:02 | 0:24:07 | |
and that's really unusual for owls. | 0:24:07 | 0:24:09 | |
Then the size. They're absolutely tiny, | 0:24:09 | 0:24:11 | |
and then the name, burrowing owls. | 0:24:11 | 0:24:14 | |
They're called that cos they live in burrows. | 0:24:14 | 0:24:17 | |
Just down underneath this termite mound is their hole. | 0:24:17 | 0:24:21 | |
The top of the termite mound | 0:24:21 | 0:24:23 | |
is spattered white with their droppings. | 0:24:23 | 0:24:25 | |
They use that as a sentry post. Two of them are here together. | 0:24:25 | 0:24:29 | |
There could well be eggs or even possibly chicks | 0:24:29 | 0:24:33 | |
down in the burrow. | 0:24:33 | 0:24:35 | |
Look at that. | 0:24:35 | 0:24:37 | |
Beautiful. | 0:24:42 | 0:24:43 | |
The amount of movement you can see in the head there | 0:24:46 | 0:24:49 | |
is cos owls' eyes are fixed in their sockets much more than ours are. | 0:24:49 | 0:24:54 | |
They can't move their eyes around, so they move the whole head. | 0:24:54 | 0:24:58 | |
They can turn and look right round behind them | 0:24:58 | 0:25:01 | |
purely through that motion of the neck. | 0:25:01 | 0:25:04 | |
Very brave birds as well. | 0:25:06 | 0:25:08 | |
We're really very close | 0:25:08 | 0:25:10 | |
and he's looking right at us but he's not flying away. | 0:25:10 | 0:25:14 | |
-He's well camouflaged in there. -He is well camouflaged. | 0:25:14 | 0:25:17 | |
'Yes. But are they deadly? | 0:25:17 | 0:25:20 | |
'Well, watch this. | 0:25:20 | 0:25:22 | |
'I know they may be short, and a bit fluffy, | 0:25:26 | 0:25:28 | |
'but apparently no-one told the owl! | 0:25:28 | 0:25:31 | |
'These guys have ideas well above their station! | 0:25:31 | 0:25:34 | |
'They can dig their own burrows | 0:25:34 | 0:25:36 | |
'but why bother when you can steal someone else's? | 0:25:36 | 0:25:39 | |
'In this case, a prairie dog. | 0:25:39 | 0:25:41 | |
'In the burrow, safe underground, up to 12 eggs will hatch into chicks. | 0:25:41 | 0:25:46 | |
'Even at this age, they won't be pushed around. | 0:25:46 | 0:25:49 | |
'They hiss like rattlesnakes to scare off predators. | 0:25:49 | 0:25:52 | |
'To feed these chicks, the adults need to be expert bug catchers. | 0:25:54 | 0:25:58 | |
'They've recently been seen using a technique | 0:25:58 | 0:26:01 | |
'I affectionately call "poo fishing"! | 0:26:01 | 0:26:03 | |
'There are loads of bugs that love poo. Well, why wouldn't you? | 0:26:04 | 0:26:08 | |
'So the owls gather up poo, | 0:26:08 | 0:26:11 | |
'scatter it around the burrow | 0:26:11 | 0:26:13 | |
'and rip it apart to intensify the aroma. | 0:26:13 | 0:26:15 | |
'The smelly trap has been set. | 0:26:15 | 0:26:18 | |
'Owls intercept the bugs and beetles as they fly in. | 0:26:18 | 0:26:22 | |
'You got out expecting poo for tea | 0:26:23 | 0:26:26 | |
'and get eaten by an owl! | 0:26:26 | 0:26:28 | |
'It's tough being a bug! | 0:26:28 | 0:26:29 | |
'Poo fishing. Slightly gross, but smart! | 0:26:30 | 0:26:34 | |
'And definitely deadly.' | 0:26:34 | 0:26:36 | |
Oh, he's back on top of the termite mound. | 0:26:45 | 0:26:48 | |
What a wonderful animal. | 0:26:52 | 0:26:54 | |
So full of attitude and lethal surprises | 0:26:54 | 0:26:58 | |
that I have to put them on my list. | 0:26:58 | 0:27:00 | |
Burrowing owls are cunning, clever, | 0:27:06 | 0:27:09 | |
brave, lethal hunters. | 0:27:09 | 0:27:11 | |
If you're watching this and you're a dung beetle, | 0:27:11 | 0:27:14 | |
keep well away! | 0:27:14 | 0:27:16 | |
Join us next time for more amazing animal encounters on Deadly 60. | 0:27:20 | 0:27:25 | |
Magnificent! | 0:27:25 | 0:27:26 | |
That is grim! | 0:27:26 | 0:27:29 | |
Aghh! | 0:27:29 | 0:27:30 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd | 0:27:47 | 0:27:50 |