0:00:02 > 0:00:04My name's Steve Backshall.
0:00:06 > 0:00:07You can call me Steve.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12I'm on a mission to find the deadly 60.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14That's 60 deadly creatures.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17I'm travelling all over the world.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20And you're coming with me, every step of the way.
0:00:23 > 0:00:24Shark!
0:00:30 > 0:00:32This time I'm about here,
0:00:32 > 0:00:34in Queensland in Eastern Australia.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39And to show you some more of the amazing landscapes around here,
0:00:39 > 0:00:40I'm taking to the skies.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56This aircraft's called a microlight. It's like someone's taken
0:00:56 > 0:01:00a hang-glider and stuck an enormous fan on the back of it.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02It's a wonderful way of getting up high
0:01:02 > 0:01:04for a good view of the landscape
0:01:04 > 0:01:09to see what it is that makes this part of Queensland so special.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13Behind us we've got the mountains of the Great Dividing Range
0:01:13 > 0:01:16and below, a huge forest of Eucalyptus trees.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19It's a wonderful place to look for wildlife,
0:01:19 > 0:01:23there's bound to be some animals here that make my Deadly 60.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28So many that it's gonna be seriously tough to choose my top three.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30Really getting up some speed now!
0:01:33 > 0:01:36You really can't avoid seeing the works of man.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40Particularly, here in Queensland, these fields.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42This is sugar cane.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45It's the second largest industry in Queensland
0:01:45 > 0:01:48and these fields are everywhere.
0:01:48 > 0:01:53There's one animal which will always be linked with the sugar cane
0:01:53 > 0:01:55and has made its way across Australia
0:01:55 > 0:01:58eating everything in its path.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00It's poisonous, has a gigantic mouth,
0:02:00 > 0:02:05it'll eat pretty much everything. Worst of all, it's an alien!
0:02:06 > 0:02:10And it lurks somewhere in these sugar cane fields.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21Well, that is our alien.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25It's a cane toad and these don't belong here in Australia at all,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28they were introduced by people in the 1930's
0:02:28 > 0:02:30from Central and South America.
0:02:30 > 0:02:35We call any animals that's brought into a country that's not its own,
0:02:35 > 0:02:36an alien species.
0:02:36 > 0:02:41The cane toad has caused more havoc in Australia than you can imagine.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44They were brought in to prey on the cane beetles
0:02:44 > 0:02:48which were devastating the sugar cane crops.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50But things didn't go quite to plan.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54One of the genius things with bringing the cane toad to Australia
0:02:54 > 0:02:58is they were brought here to eat beetles. The cane toad lives
0:02:58 > 0:03:02down on the ground and the beetles live way up there.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05One thing cane toads can't do is climb.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Though they can jump.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10Sugar cane beetles might be off the menu,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14but they'll eat just about anything else.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Honey bees as a starter.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20And native creatures make the perfect main course.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Everything from insects to small, furry mammals.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33And then how about a spot of dog food for pudding?
0:03:37 > 0:03:43The dog had better watch out though, if he fancies cane toad for tea
0:03:43 > 0:03:47he'll be off to the vets, cos cane toads are also poisonous.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53Because they poison what eats them and eat everything else,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56cane toads have rampaged across all of Australia.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00From the original 102 there are now over 200 million!
0:04:00 > 0:04:02They even live in the rainforest,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05which is why I'm here on a dark and rainy night.
0:04:05 > 0:04:10This one here, it looks a pretty good size but I've seen cane toads
0:04:10 > 0:04:13that are about the size of a cycle helmet.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17The reason these are so deadly to so many animals around here
0:04:17 > 0:04:19is these two big lumps here.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24They're called parotoid glands and they...oh, did you see that?!
0:04:24 > 0:04:26Did you see that great...
0:04:27 > 0:04:29..firing of white goo, there?
0:04:32 > 0:04:37I know that looks like squeezing a rather large, unsightly zit,
0:04:37 > 0:04:41but that's the reason the cane toad is so dangerous.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44That goo, coming out of these glands here,
0:04:44 > 0:04:47is the poison the cane toad uses to defend itself.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51Unfortunately, if any of the native creatures around here,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55just about anything, snakes, small mammals, birds,
0:04:55 > 0:04:57get a hold of the cane toad,
0:04:57 > 0:05:01they eat this poison and that's all bad for the animals around here.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Certainly ugly, certainly a total menace,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09but it's only here they're doing incredible damage,
0:05:09 > 0:05:10and that's our fault.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13So he's not going on my Deadly 60.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19My next Deadly 60 animal is a blood sucking vampire.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Which strikes even in towns and cities.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26It puts more children in hospital and kills more pets
0:05:26 > 0:05:29than venomous spiders and snakes combined.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33We've just had a call from a local vet that an animal has been attacked
0:05:33 > 0:05:36by our lethal blood sucking parasite.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40The parasite is still attached to the prey. We've got to get there
0:05:40 > 0:05:44quickly as all the time it's attached it pours toxins
0:05:44 > 0:05:46into the blood stream of the animal.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49If we don't get there soon, it'll be in big trouble.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Hello! You've got a patient's just come in?
0:05:52 > 0:05:57- Yes, in the surgery, through there. - Magic, thank you very much.
0:05:58 > 0:05:59- Hello!- Hello!
0:05:59 > 0:06:03I hear you've got an animal suffering from a paralysis tick?
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Yes we do, this gentlemen, Lindsay.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Yeah, I'm the paralysis tick!
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Ah, sorry! I was expecting a dog or something.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13'After all, this is a vets!'
0:06:13 > 0:06:15- Here.- Oh, wow!
0:06:15 > 0:06:18That is absolutely tiny.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21It is actually about the size of a pinhead.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24There's no way you'll see it on the big camera, have we got...
0:06:24 > 0:06:27This is what we call a lipstick camera
0:06:27 > 0:06:30which magnifies anything really small.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34Lindsay, do you mind if I just poke around behind your ear?
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Knock yourself out.
0:06:36 > 0:06:37It's just there.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40Absolutely tiny.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44The head of the tick is buried...
0:06:44 > 0:06:46into the flesh.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49And it's just pumping Lindsay's blood into it.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53But they have, in their saliva, their spit, almost like a venom,
0:06:53 > 0:06:58which can totally paralyse the creature that they're feeding on.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00It's not just people
0:07:00 > 0:07:03and it's not just people's pets that are affected,
0:07:03 > 0:07:08there's a lot of wild animals that suffer from paralysis ticks too.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11The tick lurks in the undergrowth and lies in wait
0:07:11 > 0:07:13for a fresh blood meal.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17It senses the vibrations and tastes the carbon dioxide
0:07:17 > 0:07:19from its victim's breath.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22As the animal or person brushes past,
0:07:22 > 0:07:26the tick jumps on and clings to the fur or the clothes.
0:07:26 > 0:07:31Finally it's guided by heat down to the skin and begins to feed.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40Large fruit bats, also known as flying foxes,
0:07:40 > 0:07:42are very badly affected.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47As the tick bites it injects its deadly saliva.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51The flying fox starts to become paralysed.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56Finally it falls out the tree and dies slowly on the ground.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01But not always. Sometimes help is at hand.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11This gorgeous, cute little baby is, in an indirect way,
0:08:11 > 0:08:16a victim of the paralysis tick because its mother was infected
0:08:16 > 0:08:19and, obviously when the mum became paralysed,
0:08:19 > 0:08:21couldn't take care of the baby
0:08:21 > 0:08:25and so that's why it's ended up here at the orphanage.
0:08:25 > 0:08:31Volunteers here rescue and raise up to 500 baby orphans every year.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35But not every adult flying fox that's bitten dies.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38If they're brought into the sanctuary early enough,
0:08:38 > 0:08:43they're given tick anti-venom and looked after till they recover.
0:08:43 > 0:08:48Bats are incredibly important to forests, they poo out seeds of fruit
0:08:48 > 0:08:51and keep the forest going, so if they're wiped out
0:08:51 > 0:08:52it's very bad news.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Don't feel any closer, do you?!
0:08:56 > 0:08:57This is interesting!
0:08:57 > 0:09:01This one's getting on great with Rich the sound man.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05But don't worry, Mark, your camera's gonna be fine.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12This one was found in time
0:09:12 > 0:09:17and is now nearly strong enough to be released back into the wild.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21You've gotta say an animal the size of a pinhead
0:09:21 > 0:09:25that can bring down a human, a dog, even a flying fox.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Paralysis tick has got to be on my Deadly 60.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33These blood sucking vampires are silent but deadly
0:09:33 > 0:09:36and they have a paralysing venom
0:09:36 > 0:09:39which means they have to go on my Deadly 60 list.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54I don't want you to think these forests are filled with things
0:09:54 > 0:09:58that are out to get you, I want people to enjoy wild places,
0:09:58 > 0:09:59not be scared of them.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03But in these jungles there's one thing you have to look out for.
0:10:03 > 0:10:08It can be such a problem that to even get close to it,
0:10:08 > 0:10:13I have to dress like this. What do you reckon, guys?
0:10:13 > 0:10:15Great, Steve, great(!)
0:10:16 > 0:10:18I'm dumbfounded.
0:10:19 > 0:10:20What an idiot!
0:10:22 > 0:10:24I think you look good, Steve.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26THEY LAUGH
0:10:29 > 0:10:32How about we actually shoot the sequence?
0:10:32 > 0:10:36How about we keep you dressed like that for the rest of the day?!
0:10:36 > 0:10:37Cut!
0:10:38 > 0:10:42Oh, I feel like a prize fool dressed up like this.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46Watch where you're walking through here, cos they're everywhere.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50Joking aside, I really do need to wear this suit
0:10:50 > 0:10:54cos I'm the one who'll get close enough to get stung.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Ah! Here's one.
0:11:00 > 0:11:01Put your mask on.
0:11:08 > 0:11:09Right!
0:11:10 > 0:11:14This is it. What all the fuss is about. Can you see it?
0:11:15 > 0:11:20Well, it's not something living on the tree, it IS the tree.
0:11:20 > 0:11:26This here is known as the Stinging Tree and for very good reason.
0:11:27 > 0:11:32If you look at all these stems here,
0:11:32 > 0:11:37and the leaves as well, they're covered with incredibly fine hairs.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41I'm wearing this mask cos those hairs can get up in the air
0:11:41 > 0:11:45and you can breathe them in, also go into your eyes as well.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48Basically those hairs are like incredibly fine glass.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52So any animals that gets too close and tries to munch on this
0:11:52 > 0:11:55will get those in its lips, tongue
0:11:55 > 0:11:58and is gonna leave the plant and its leaves alone.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Unfortunately this does have the side effect
0:12:01 > 0:12:03that if you brush against it,
0:12:03 > 0:12:07those hairs break off, get into your skin and can work down
0:12:07 > 0:12:09underneath the surface of the skin.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14I've been stung by this once before and three or four months later
0:12:14 > 0:12:18I could still feel this horrible itching, burning sensation
0:12:18 > 0:12:19under the skin.
0:12:19 > 0:12:25Luckily, there is one way of treating it, if you're very quick.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29I'm gonna move away from the tree and deliberately sting myself.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31So I can show you how to fix it.
0:12:32 > 0:12:33Now...
0:12:34 > 0:12:37..all in the name of science.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Ow! That stung right through the suit, there.
0:12:40 > 0:12:41Unbelievable!
0:12:41 > 0:12:43I tell you this, it's so powerful
0:12:43 > 0:12:47it makes a sting nettle look like absolutely nothing.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50There's one way of getting these hairs out your body,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53have you got the protective measure, Mark?
0:12:53 > 0:12:58You might recognise this, it's a wax strip used for getting rid of hair.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Then hopefully you can rip those hairs out.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Unfortunately it's gonna mean ripping
0:13:04 > 0:13:07a fair bit of my own hair off too.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Right. Here we go.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16One, two, three.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18This better work.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Takes a few goes to pull the spines out.
0:13:21 > 0:13:22Ow!
0:13:22 > 0:13:24I felt that, Steve.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26So did I! That really hurt.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30Look at that, I've completely got all the hair off my arm.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34I tell you what, I absolutely hate you lot.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38I completely hate you! You made me dress up like a complete moron
0:13:38 > 0:13:42in this ridiculous kit, get stung by the worst plant in the forest
0:13:42 > 0:13:45and now you're making me rip my own hair off!
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Wanna do your legs as well?
0:13:47 > 0:13:50We've got some more here, if you need more wax!
0:13:56 > 0:14:00So, while I'm busy ripping all of the hair out of my own body,
0:14:00 > 0:14:05the Stinging Tree might not make it onto my Deadly 60 but, as plants go,
0:14:05 > 0:14:07it's a total pain!
0:14:07 > 0:14:11But I get the last laugh when Mark, our cameraman,
0:14:11 > 0:14:13gets stung just afterwards.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17- Mark, you shouldn't have laughed at my suit!- That worked.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24For the next animals on my Deadly 60 list,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27I'm looking for Australia's reptiles.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30You'd think forests would be the best place to look.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Not always.
0:14:32 > 0:14:38Working on this series, it's not all about glamorous locations.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41I was just in the little boys room
0:14:41 > 0:14:45and I spotted a few coils of a snake up here somewhere.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47No idea yet what it is.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51But I'll see if I can get up there and bring it down.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54Right out on the end here.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02Unfortunately...oh, it's bigger than I first thought!
0:15:02 > 0:15:05The body stretches all the way back up here.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07Hey! Look at that.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09That's super!
0:15:11 > 0:15:15This beautiful little Cat Snake
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Ah, that is absolutely gorgeous!
0:15:19 > 0:15:22I'll just bring it outside into the light.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26I love Cat Snakes.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29I think even someone who doesn't like snakes at all
0:15:29 > 0:15:33would have to say that, with those gigantic catlike eyes,
0:15:33 > 0:15:36all of those movements that are so slinky, so catlike,
0:15:36 > 0:15:38it's not just the eyes.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42I think they really are one of the prettiest snakes in the world
0:15:42 > 0:15:46and this one, with that bronzy colour to it, beautiful!
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Quite feisty in the way...look at that, stretching up
0:15:50 > 0:15:52almost half its body held in the air.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Just tasting the cameraman with his tongue.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00Absolutely wonderful. Look at that, he's really interested in you, Mark.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Obviously he likes your aftershave!
0:16:03 > 0:16:07Well it's a contender. Let's see what else we can find.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10One of the next animals I've been looking for
0:16:10 > 0:16:13spends the majority of its time up in trees.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16There's actually one in the spindly little tree
0:16:16 > 0:16:18at the end of this veranda down here.
0:16:18 > 0:16:23My only chance of catching it is to sneak up on it nice and quiet.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27But to do that, you have to get up on the roof.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35So, as not to risk spooking him,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39he's just on this tree in front of me now.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43He's just within my reach.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46Oh, he's an absolute beauty!
0:16:48 > 0:16:51You have to excuse my undignified climbing.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56There he is!
0:16:56 > 0:16:59He is a Boyd's Forest Dragon.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04This is a good size male and he really doesn't seem too bothered
0:17:04 > 0:17:08about the fact that I've just taken him out of his tree.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12Look at that, he's got a huge extendable pouch there,
0:17:12 > 0:17:14underneath the jaw.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17That's used for signalling to females
0:17:17 > 0:17:21and he really will spend most of his day just sitting, chilled out,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24not doing much, like he's doing now.
0:17:24 > 0:17:29Clinging to that tree using these fearsome claws, look at that one,
0:17:29 > 0:17:33it's really extended, the digit on that. Look! That's awesome.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37What I really like about this dragon is we've got a lot of animals
0:17:37 > 0:17:41in the Deadly 60 that are quick, always moving, full of energy.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45The Boyd's Forest Dragon takes things easier than that.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48He just sits around, very quiet, very still
0:17:48 > 0:17:50and waits for his prey to come to him.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53When something wanders underneath him,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55perhaps an insect, frog or lizard,
0:17:55 > 0:18:00he'll drop down at lightning speed onto his prey, gobble it up
0:18:00 > 0:18:04then scamper back up the tree and sit there for the rest of the day.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08Even being snatched out of a tree by a tele-naturalist,
0:18:08 > 0:18:13he doesn't really seem to care much. It's all above him. Isn't it, fella?
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Look at that, he's not even giving me a threat,
0:18:16 > 0:18:18not even gaping his mouth at me.
0:18:20 > 0:18:21Aw!
0:18:21 > 0:18:23That is just ridiculously lazy!
0:18:23 > 0:18:28'Sorry, Mr Dragon, you're way too chilled to make it on the list.'
0:18:30 > 0:18:35Two extraordinary reptiles, but my next Deadly 60 animal
0:18:35 > 0:18:38comes from a very special group of lizards.
0:18:38 > 0:18:39The monitors.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43I guess this is just about as close as we get nowadays
0:18:43 > 0:18:45to a genuine dinosaur.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49The reason I'm considering him for my Deadly 60,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52is the amount of weapons that he has at his disposal.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55You find monitors all over the world
0:18:55 > 0:18:58and they're the reptile equivalent of a Terminator.
0:18:58 > 0:19:04They have hardcore body armour, razor sharp claws for close combat,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08a sixth sense, tasting the air with their tongue.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14They can even sniff out crocodile eggs buried in the sand.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18With all terrain capability
0:19:18 > 0:19:23and, unbelievably, they can hold their breath for an hour!
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Nowhere is too steep or too high.
0:19:29 > 0:19:30No prey is too fast.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38They'll even take on the king of beasts.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42And that tail could whip your eye out.
0:19:48 > 0:19:54It's recently been discovered that monitor lizards have venom.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57It was thought, until very recently,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00that there was only a couple of lizards in the world
0:20:00 > 0:20:02that were truly venomous,
0:20:02 > 0:20:06but it turns out this guy here has truly venomous spit.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10And, uh, if I got bitten,
0:20:10 > 0:20:13it would not be a good day for me.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18But, as he's just wandering around, checking me out,
0:20:18 > 0:20:20it's a VERY good day for me.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26It's not often you get that close to a wild monitor lizard of this size.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30I'm not gonna move at all,
0:20:30 > 0:20:32see what he does.
0:20:35 > 0:20:36Look at that.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Nose to nose with a lace monitor.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46I can almost smell your breath from here, mate.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49He can smell yours as well, Steve!
0:20:50 > 0:20:55He's just snuffling around with his tongue, in the leaf litter.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57His tongue just flicked all up my arm.
0:20:57 > 0:21:02Around here the reptiles really are the top predators.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04The crocodiles and monitor lizards,
0:21:04 > 0:21:09they kind of take the place of the lions of the African plains.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12He's a living dinosaur.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16With a venomous bite, a whip for a tail and tearing talons.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20The lace monitor is definitely going on my Deadly 60.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26These living dinosaurs are kitted out with truly lethal weapons.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30Protective armour, razor sharp claws and a whipping tail.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33If that wasn't enough, they're also venomous.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37These guys have to be on the Deadly 60.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42Although, I personally much prefer looking for wildlife in the wild,
0:21:42 > 0:21:46in the forest and jungle, there's no getting away from the fact
0:21:46 > 0:21:49that some of the best places to find animals
0:21:49 > 0:21:51can be right in our back yards.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54This is the ideal place to look for spiders.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59Australia's well known for having some of THE most venomous,
0:21:59 > 0:22:03THE most potentially dangerous spiders on the planet
0:22:03 > 0:22:06and it's obviously those that I'm looking for.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09Actually I'm looking for one in particular,
0:22:09 > 0:22:12Australia's best known and most feared.
0:22:13 > 0:22:14Watch your head, Steve.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19- Mind your head, Steve. - Not doing very well at the moment.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25Really not found very much, well, apart from cane toads.
0:22:25 > 0:22:30Just under this one piece of black plastic there's one, two, three,
0:22:30 > 0:22:32four, five, six, se...
0:22:32 > 0:22:33Just everywhere.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36But there is a place down the road
0:22:36 > 0:22:38where I know we can find some spiders.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40When I say down the road,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44I actually mean South Australia, in a garage in Adelaide.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Come and get a load of this!
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Um, OK, I'm not entirely sure how we're going to film this.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56Yeah, that's gonna work.
0:22:59 > 0:23:04Tucked in here is one of the most feared spiders in the world.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10In some other parts of the world this is known as the Black Widow,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13here in Australia it's called a Redback.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Let's see if I can get her out.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18Just coax her out onto the web.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20Here she comes.
0:23:20 > 0:23:21There.
0:23:21 > 0:23:22There she is.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26Probably, to Mark at the moment,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29that's just a tiny little black blob,
0:23:29 > 0:23:32let's see if I can light it up with my torch.
0:23:33 > 0:23:34Yep.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Isn't she wonderful?!
0:23:41 > 0:23:45It probably looks like this is just an untidy mess of a web,
0:23:45 > 0:23:49certainly in comparison to the beautiful dew drop covered ones
0:23:49 > 0:23:51you'll find in your back garden,
0:23:51 > 0:23:55but actually this is an absolutely brilliantly designed
0:23:55 > 0:23:58way of catching flying insects.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06The real genius of this three dimensional web is found below.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10These threads here are placed under high tension,
0:24:10 > 0:24:12it's like someone's got an elastic rope
0:24:12 > 0:24:15and stuck it down using a big patch of glue.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19They're all over the place, a maze of trap lines.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23So when an insect, like this ant here, wanders up,
0:24:23 > 0:24:27it snags one of those trap lines and fires it up into the air.
0:24:27 > 0:24:32So it's just dangling there, suspended, they mostly ensnare ants
0:24:32 > 0:24:36but the lines are strong enough to catch large trapdoor spiders
0:24:36 > 0:24:38and even lizards.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47The victim's struggle causes the line above to vibrate,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50alerting the ever ready female Redback.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55Then she heads down to haul it up, bite it and paralyse it.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07That venom, designed to immobilise its prey,
0:25:07 > 0:25:11has the unfortunate side effect of being extremely painful
0:25:11 > 0:25:13and toxic to us too.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16About 600 people a year get bitten.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18Right, to get a closer look at her
0:25:18 > 0:25:21we're going to have to bring her out the web.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25As this is one of the most venomous spiders in the world,
0:25:25 > 0:25:29one of the only ones that has a bite dangerous to humans,
0:25:29 > 0:25:31I'm gonna do that carefully.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33'I use my rope knife to coax her out.'
0:25:33 > 0:25:34Come on, lady.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37Here she comes.
0:25:39 > 0:25:40Come on.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43There she is.
0:25:43 > 0:25:44Wow!
0:25:44 > 0:25:50The way people usually get bitten is if they put on a pair of shoes
0:25:50 > 0:25:54or something that has a Redback inside of it
0:25:54 > 0:25:58and she'll get squashed and bite in defence.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04This is a very, very careful, cautious process.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10As long as she doesn't feel restrain and restricted,
0:26:10 > 0:26:13then really she's very unlikely to bite.
0:26:19 > 0:26:20Right.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26You can see that wonderful red flash down the abdomen
0:26:26 > 0:26:27that gives her her name.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35With her amazing elastic web
0:26:35 > 0:26:39and a bite which could even do me some damage.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43The Redback spider is definitely on the Deadly 60.
0:26:46 > 0:26:47Go on, girl.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53Small but deadly, Redbacks employ genius tactics to catch their prey
0:26:53 > 0:26:57and there's enough venom in a bite from one of these guys
0:26:57 > 0:26:59to stop me in my tracks.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02That's why they have to be on the Deadly 60 list.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11I don't think I've ever seen a creature quite so aggressive.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16Join me next time when I'll be choosing another three critters
0:27:16 > 0:27:17for my Deadly 60.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19I've lost my trunks!
0:27:21 > 0:27:24It's just a question of waiting.
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