Southern States Deadly 60


Southern States

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Transcript


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My name's Steve Backshall!

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Woo!

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And this is my search... for the Deadly 60.

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That's not just animals that are deadly to me.

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But animals that are deadly in their own world.

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My crew and I are travelling the planet.

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And you're coming with me... every step of the way.

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This time on Deadly 60,

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the team and I are in the Southern states of America.

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It's home to some of the most famous wetlands and swamps

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found in the whole world.

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And where you find swamps, you get birds, bug, frogs and fish,

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and they provide food for some of the most important classic predators

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on Earth.

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So, let's get this show on the road

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and head out in search of our first killer critter.

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It's a true icon of this part of the world - the American alligator.

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Growing up to four metres long

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and weighing up to five times as much as me,

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these ancient beasts feed on just about anything they can catch -

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fish, turtles, snakes, birds and mammals.

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Small prey are swallowed whole, but larger prey are dragged underwater,

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drowned and then devoured in pieces.

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We've come to the Silver Springs in Central Florida to start our search.

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The Silver River is about as pristine and perfect a habitat

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as you'll find anywhere in the world.

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And the fact that there are such wonderful animals

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just about everywhere you look just kind of enhances the whole feeling

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of the place.

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There are an enormous amount of catfish, of gar, of turtles,

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of terrapins. And all of those are going to make food for alligators.

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The alligators will be much more tricky to see

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and even the large ones could be underneath you

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and you wouldn't know it until you were within a few feet of them.

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So this is going to be quite a challenge.

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But it wasn't long before a classic croc shape cruised into view.

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Just to the right.

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-Oh, yeah, a big one.

-Yeah, that's a big one.

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He is impressive, look at that!

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'Alligators are clearly very common here and for every one we see,

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'there's probably ten we don't.

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'We've filmed crocodilians many times on the Deadly 60,

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'but one thing we haven't done is joined them in their watery world.

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'Most of the time that would simply be too dangerous.

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'But with these crystal clear springs,

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'it could be the best place on Earth to swim with alligators.'

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It all seems a little bit crazy for me to be getting into water

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where we know there are loads and loads of alligators.

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Well, I'm kind of banking on the clarity of the water.

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I really think that we'll be able to see these animals coming

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from quite a way away and be able to assess their intentions.

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It doesn't mean that my heart isn't going a little bit crazy, though.

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I certainly wouldn't attempt this just anywhere.

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Alligators do occasionally attack people,

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so the whole crew is going to need to be on high alert

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if we're going to swim with one safely.

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-The tree that's laying in the water.

-Underneath?

-Right in the middle.

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A likely contender is lying up close to the bank.

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This could be absolutely perfect. We have a good sized gator.

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He's probably at least as long as I am tall.

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Maybe six foot, perhaps two metres. Just under these branches here.

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'Once we're in the water, we'll move in as relaxed and confident a manner as possible

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'to avoid scaring the gator away or looking like prey.

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'Underwater cameraman Mark and I kit up as quickly as possible.

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'We're going to have to watch each other's backs.'

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-Keep your eyes on it, guys, and give me some feedback.

-OK.

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Good luck.

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-It's coming towards you.

-Steve, he's moving.

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'He's ever so slowly swimming, but staying close to the bank,

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'concealed by vegetation, so we can't see him.'

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I imagine from your angle there's a log that's blocking your view.

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Cos he's...

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Mark, let's get a look over here.

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'It seemed croc number one was more scared of us than we were of it.

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'But there's plenty more exploring to be done.'

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The fish with the elongated snout are gar.

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They're predatory animals.

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They would themselves, though, make very good food

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for a speedy alligator, if it had its wits about it.

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Let's move on.

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'The return of the alligator is a genuine wildlife success story.

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'Once persecuted and hunted,

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'they're now really common in the Southern states.

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'Almost anywhere in these springs could hide a lurking gator.'

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-How are you doing, Mark? You ready?

-Thanks very much.

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This looked like a likely spot.

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'Underwater was perfect, like an aquatic film set.

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'All that was missing was an ancient alligator.'

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Gator coming at you.

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-Steve, gator!

-Gator.

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Gator coming at you.

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Quite close to the bank, still.

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-He's right there.

-He's still there.

-Still right in the same spot.

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He's come up, he's come up.

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-He's coming towards you.

-He's, he's... Steve, he's moving.

-Steve!

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'While the other gators have kept well away,

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'this one noses in for a closer look.'

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He's come up, he's come up.

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'It's breeding season,

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'the time when males start to protect their territory,

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'so they can get all the girls.

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'It's likely that this gator sees me as a possible challenge.

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'He's definitely sizing me up.

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'It's important to look as big and confident as possible,

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'while not actually issuing a challenge back.

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'He swims straight at me, and over my head.'

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This is...a mesmerising...

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..if slightly chilling experience!

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'Clearly deciding I'm not a fitting rival,

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'the gator drops from the surface and down to the bottom.

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'He could lie here motionless for hours. Not moving a muscle,

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'the heart rate has slowed to practically nothing.

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'It's one of the crocodile's great natural advantages.

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'I can see it looking at me through that glassy, nictitating membrane,

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'the third eyelid which allows it to see underwater,

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'as well as the teeth spilling out of its stout, forceful snout

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'that probably delivers the most powerful bite on the continent.'

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Alligators are without doubt on the Deadly 60.

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Ungainly on land, these ancient beasts transform once underwater.

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They're opportunistic ambush predators that eat almost anything.

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With their powerful jaws, they seize their prey with a killer bite.

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Dramatic, enigmatic and definitely...

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On Deadly 60, we've always made a concerted effort to encompass

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the whole natural world. We've had deadly insects...

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..arachnids...

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..reptiles...

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-mammals...

-TIGER ROARS

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..fish...

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and birds.

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Coming crashing into land!

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But there's one group of living things that we've largely ignored.

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Plants. And Florida is the perfect place to set that straight.

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Plants may not seem an obvious choice for the list,

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but these ones are quite exceptional.

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They eat meat.

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These sinister shrubs employ a range of ingenious methods

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to capture their prey.

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From enticing with sweet nectar to ensnaring, drowning or entombing.

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It's the stuff of horror stories.

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They may not chase their prey, but they're still perfect predators.

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And our first one is right here.

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This is a pitcher plant.

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Essentially what this is is a modified leaf.

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It's sealed down here and the inside, down here,

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will have a certain amount of fluid in it.

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Right up here, around the lip,

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are secretions that are very, very sweet-smelling

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and will attract insects, but it's also quite slippery.

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And when they get up here, wandering around, looking for a tasty meal,

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they'll slip right down inside and drop into the pitfall trap,

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where their bodies are actually digested and eaten by the plant.

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These are our next carnivorous wonder.

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They're called sundews.

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They're covered with what looks like dew.

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That attracts in insects, which get stuck there.

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You can see there's a black fly there, little midge here.

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There are lots of species of sundew,

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and they all secrete enzymes which break the animal down

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so they can digest it. And that helps to supplement

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the nutrients that it'll get out of the soil.

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Oh, wow, wow, wow, wow!

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I'm very, very careful where I kneel,

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because our champion carnivorous plant is kind of everywhere here.

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It's a Venus fly trap.

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So, this is kind of the plant equivalent of a bear trap.

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Inside there is an insect that at the moment

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is currently being digested.

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This is just incredible. It's almost unparalleled in the plant world.

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A plant that can snap shut.

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That can move with actual surprising speed.

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What's even more extraordinary

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is that these plants can actually count.

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There are tiny hairs lining the inside of the trap

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and as an insect wanders through them,

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it can If it trigger one hair once, no problem at all.

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If it triggers two simultaneously, the trap will shut.

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And once it's closed, there is no way that insect is getting away.

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So, imagine my stick is a little fly, it wanders in...

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-HE GASPS

-Did you see how quick that was?

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That's incredible.

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The Venus fly trap.

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Not only can it hunt its food, it can also count.

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And for those reasons, it's on the list.

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A plant that can count.

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They lure in insects then snap shut, imprisoning them.

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Prey is then dissolved with digestive acids, and absorbed.

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These meat-eating marvels are going on the list.

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The next creature that I'm hoping to find is, individually,

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one of the smallest we've ever considered for the Deadly 60.

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And they're hard to love,

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firstly because they're not supposed to be here at all.

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It's the fire ant.

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Native to South America, they were accidentally introduced to North America,

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and now there are more HERE than there are THERE.

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They're voracious insects, with a particularly painful sting.

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Individually they may not look threatening,

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but they don't operate alone.

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Working together, they're a formidable force.

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Fire ants really love to build their nests

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in the kind of disturbed habitat

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that you get alongside forest roads like this.

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So, all we're looking out for is a little mound which is hiding

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possibly as many as half a million little nuisances.

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That's one right there.

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Looks pretty good.

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That is a very distinctive fire ant nest.

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You can't really see much ant activity,

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most of that's going on underground at the moment.

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It's still early in the morning. But pretty soon, they're going to go off foraging.

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They'll be getting all sorts of food, from sun plant matter

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to dead and dying animals. Now, what I need to do now

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is get some ants out.

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OK, so as always on Deadly 60, I get stung so you don't have to.

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I'm just going to gently disturb the fire ants' nest.

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And almost instantly, look at that.

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There are thousands of ants pouring out everywhere.

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These are all females and they possess

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a really rather unpleasant sting.

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The venom is surprisingly strong for an animal of this size.

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But believe it or not, I'm going to show you how it works.

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Let's get some up on my fingers.

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Ow!

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Argh... Right. Frame up as quickly as you can, Richard,

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cos that hurts like heck!

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-Ah...

-Try and stay still.

-Obviously the reason they're called fire ants

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is because the sting hurts like fire.

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It's an incredible burning sensation

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and the ant is essentially getting its mandibles, its mouth parts

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stuck into my skin, then injecting its venom with its abdomen.

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And they'll actually move around the spot where they've bitten

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and sting many, many, many times.

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An ant that is absolutely tiny, almost microscopic,

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is capable of scaring away an animal that's many, many times larger.

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Insects, reptiles, even people can be undone

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by the multiple stings of this cooperative army.

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Most do the sensible thing and get out the way.

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It's a very efficient way of getting rid of a threat.

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Efficient and incredibly painful.

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-Have you got it yet, Rich?

-Yeah, we've got it.

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Ahhh, you little... Oh!

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Owwww! 'And that venom really works.'

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Obviously I think we'd all now like to go and leave this nest alone,

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but there's one more thing that I want to do before we go.

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Fire ants are not just good at protecting themselves,

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they're also superb foragers,

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and they can strip small, dead animals that are near to the nest

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to the bone in a matter of hours.

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So, we actually found a small dead frog nearby to here yesterday

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and what we're going to do is leave it close to the nest,

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and leave a camera filming it,

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and try and see quite how quickly these fire ants can demolish it.

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Ant societies are run through co-operation and collaboration,

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allowing them to accomplish great things.

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Looking at a fire ant nest at the surface,

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it kind of looks a bit crude. I mean, it's just a mound of sand.

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But going on down there is an unbelievably intricate ant society.

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It's very, very hard to see, though.

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If I was to dig down with a spade, the whole thing would just collapse.

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But I have got a plan,

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and it involves what's bubbling in this bin.

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Molten metal.

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Ant expert Walter has been studying fire ants for years

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by making casts of the nests.

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So what'll happen now is that the metal will start to solidify

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and it'll form a perfect cast of the burrows.

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And it should show us the unbelievably complex world of the ant underground.

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After only a few minutes,

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the metal cools down and we can start digging.

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Oh, sorry!

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Whoa, that was hot work.

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We're starting to uncover a real masterpiece.

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A little bit more chipping, some water to cool it down

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and the cast is really beginning to take shape.

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So we've finally revealed the twisted, contorted

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and really rather spectacular sculpture that is a kind of

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inside-out version of the fire ant city.

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And there's just a fantastic array

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of different chambers all over the place

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and obviously these are a great place for the ants to live,

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it's a place for the queens to lay the eggs

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and for the young to be raised. All of that created by ants

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whose heads are no bigger than a full stop.

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OK, let's go and see how our time lapse is getting on.

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Now we can speed up what we've filmed and see ants in action.

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Right, we are ready to roll, let's have a look.

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So there's our frog.

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And just frenetic activity.

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it's kind of being sucked dry from the inside-out.

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Some of these workers are coming in and they're taking the moist parts

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of the body from underneath the skin

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and just reducing it to a skeleton and taut, stretched skin

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over the top of it.

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That is absolutely grotesque.

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From a frog...

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..to mummified remnants. Incredible.

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And that's why the fire ant has got to go on my list.

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With a burning sting they can employ over and over again,

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working as a tenacious team

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to collectively strip a carcass within hours.

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Complex, co-ordinated, prolific and...

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It's a little after nightfall and we're on the trail

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of a surprisingly numerous but nonetheless almost never-seen

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North American predator. It's the bobcat.

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They're classic wild cats, stealthy with big eyes, pointed canine teeth

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and bags of attitude.

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Using camouflage and cunning, these fierce feline stalks their prey

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then ambush it with a burst of speed,

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delivering a death blow with a leaping pounce

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that can cover three metres.

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They can take down prey that's much bigger than they are

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and are known to tackle as many as 40 different species of animal.

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To stand any chance of seeing one,

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we're enlisting some deadly technology.

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Local wildlife biologists have fitted radio collars

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to some of the resident bobcats.

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Our antenna should help us to zero in on their location.

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And once we get close, we've got one more trick up our sleeve.

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Thanks for that, Jim. This is a thermal imaging camera.

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They were originally designed by the military

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and they see in a completely different way to other cameras.

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What this actually does is picks up warmth.

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So, at the moment you can see Richard my cameraman.

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Thanks, Richard.

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Simon the sound man.

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Hopefully the radio telemetry will get us close,

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and then this should get us a really good view of our bobcat.

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Bobcats have keen senses,

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so it's important to move slowly and quietly.

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-WHISPERS:

-It seems like she's just down here,

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so we're going to turn all our lights off

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and wander down as quietly and discreetly as we possibly can,

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see if we can get a shot. So, lights off, everyone.

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Using the thermal imaging camera,

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we can see warm-blooded animals moving in the dark.

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This, plus the radio tracking equipment, should give us the edge.

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Nooo!

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I've got my first glowing gremlin in the dark,

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which is unmistakably feline.

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It's our bobcat.

0:22:000:22:02

She's just turning her head at the moment,

0:22:020:22:06

keeping a very, very close eye on me.

0:22:060:22:08

Can't be any more than about ten or maybe fifteen metres ahead of me.

0:22:080:22:13

She's being very, very alert.

0:22:130:22:16

Certainly completely aware of us and everything we're doing.

0:22:160:22:21

No matter how cautiously we move, the cat is just one step ahead.

0:22:220:22:26

They're so sly

0:22:280:22:29

that they're just managing to be elusive for this evening.

0:22:290:22:33

I think our best chance actually of seeing this cat in all its majesty

0:22:330:22:37

is to come back tomorrow,

0:22:370:22:38

because Jim here has a very special plan for us.

0:22:380:22:42

Jim and his assistant are hoping to fit a collar to another cat.

0:22:480:22:51

So they've laid out around 20 bobcat traps overnight.

0:22:530:22:57

If they've managed to capture one, we're going to help

0:22:570:22:59

with the collaring process.

0:22:590:23:01

Fingers crossed that this top cat has been prowling these dunes.

0:23:030:23:08

This is a fairly old and dusty bobcat scat.

0:23:100:23:13

It's full of mammal hair

0:23:130:23:17

and that is a very decisive image

0:23:170:23:21

of what this cat's been feeding on,

0:23:210:23:23

because those are the incisors of a rat.

0:23:230:23:26

Good sized rodents are going to be a really good portion of the diet

0:23:260:23:30

of the bobcats here amongst the dunes.

0:23:300:23:33

Right, time to check the traps.

0:23:340:23:36

We've got one right here.

0:23:360:23:40

No more than a few metres in front of us,

0:23:400:23:43

and you can barely see the trap,

0:23:430:23:45

but there is the very distinctive, very beautiful face

0:23:450:23:49

of a bobcat...

0:23:490:23:52

staring back at us from the shadows.

0:23:520:23:54

Great stuff, Jim. Right, what's our next move?

0:23:540:23:58

So, we're going to go in and...

0:23:580:23:59

'The scientists need to give the cat a sedative injection

0:23:590:24:02

'that will put it to sleep.

0:24:020:24:04

'Then they'll be able to do their work and fit the collar.'

0:24:040:24:07

BOBCAT SNARLS

0:24:070:24:08

'He's feisty and fierce. He may look a bit like a domestic cat,

0:24:080:24:11

'but you can see there's no resemblance in attitude. He's truly wild.

0:24:110:24:16

'The sedative is in. We just have to give it some time to take effect.

0:24:170:24:23

'In the meantime,

0:24:230:24:24

'the scientists take down details and prepare the equipment

0:24:240:24:27

'before we head back in.'

0:24:270:24:29

Well, he is good and asleep.

0:24:300:24:33

So...

0:24:390:24:41

This cat is essentially in exactly the same condition

0:24:410:24:45

that you or I would be in if we had an operation and were given

0:24:450:24:48

a general anaesthetic.

0:24:480:24:49

Once it's given the drug to wake it up, it will be none the wiser,

0:24:490:24:53

maybe a little bit groggy.

0:24:530:24:55

But this is a unique opportunity to see this cat up close.

0:24:550:24:59

This is what gives it its common name, the bobcat.

0:25:000:25:04

The tail is very, very short and isn't going to get in the way

0:25:040:25:09

while it's charging through all of this scrubby vegetation.

0:25:090:25:12

So, I guess it's probably about three times the size

0:25:120:25:16

of a domestic cat, and a domestic cat by itself

0:25:160:25:19

is a pretty formidable predator.

0:25:190:25:22

They're capable of taking down mostly rabbits and hares

0:25:220:25:25

would be a lot of their diet, plus rodents.

0:25:250:25:27

RODENTS SQUEAK

0:25:270:25:29

But they can take down deer fawns and even fully-grown adults

0:25:290:25:34

if they're not especially big.

0:25:340:25:35

Like all cats, from your village tabby to a Bengal tiger,

0:25:350:25:39

he's built for the kill.

0:25:390:25:41

OK, that's just the nerves twitching. He's fine.

0:25:410:25:46

'The claws are sheathed to keep them sharp.

0:25:490:25:51

'They lend traction when climbing or can tear through hide

0:25:510:25:54

'or catch a hold of prey. But the killing blow is delivered by these.'

0:25:540:25:58

Like all felines, it does have remarkable teeth.

0:26:000:26:06

These canines are long, thin, sharp,

0:26:060:26:09

fabulous for delivering a killer bite,

0:26:090:26:11

and then meat will be chewed down with these stouter carnassials

0:26:110:26:17

or cheek teeth back here towards the rear of the mouth,

0:26:170:26:20

where there's more pressure can be exerted.

0:26:200:26:22

It really is a formidable set of gnashers.

0:26:220:26:27

'No rabbit or rat is safe from the bobcat's bite.

0:26:280:26:31

'Once the collar's on, he's given an injection to bring him round

0:26:320:26:35

'and ten minutes later, he's ready to go.

0:26:350:26:38

'They're famed for their impressive speed, so I've got a speed gun

0:26:380:26:42

'to try and measure how fast he goes when he leaves the cage.'

0:26:420:26:46

You good, Simon? OK, Jim.

0:26:470:26:50

STEVE SNICKERS

0:26:560:26:58

Well, I didn't really need the speed gun!

0:27:010:27:04

THEY LAUGH

0:27:040:27:06

They do that a lot!

0:27:060:27:08

Um... He was kind of relaxed, it has to be said.

0:27:080:27:11

But I guess at least that shows that this cat has confidence.

0:27:110:27:14

He's got attitude, he's got swagger

0:27:140:27:16

and he's on the Deadly 60.

0:27:160:27:19

These stealthy, camouflaged cats are hardly ever spotted.

0:27:200:27:24

They're capable of sizzling speed

0:27:240:27:26

and can cover three metres in a pounce.

0:27:260:27:29

And they can bring down prey much larger than THEY are.

0:27:290:27:33

These fierce, fleeting felines are on the list.

0:27:330:27:37

Join me next time as I continue my search for the Deadly 60.

0:27:400:27:44

Wow! Fantastic.

0:27:460:27:50

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