0:00:02 > 0:00:04My name's Steve Backshall!
0:00:06 > 0:00:09And this is Deadly Pole To Pole!
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Ohhh!
0:00:11 > 0:00:13From the top of the world to the bottom!
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Whoa! Ha-ha!
0:00:15 > 0:00:17Deadly places!
0:00:17 > 0:00:18Deadly adventures!
0:00:18 > 0:00:20And deadly animals!
0:00:21 > 0:00:24And you're coming with me every step of the way!
0:00:26 > 0:00:28HE SHOUTS
0:00:31 > 0:00:33'This time on Deadly Pole to Pole,
0:00:33 > 0:00:35'the team and I have journeyed to North Carolina.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40'We encounter a canine comeback kid.
0:00:43 > 0:00:44'And I have a near miss
0:00:44 > 0:00:47'whilst looking for a sinister underwater killer.'
0:00:49 > 0:00:50Cor!
0:00:50 > 0:00:54'But first, we're going to try to capture an ambush striker
0:00:54 > 0:00:56'in super slow motion.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02'North Carolina is on America's east coast.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05'3,700 miles from the North Pole,
0:01:05 > 0:01:09'7,000 miles short of our destination in Antarctica.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12'Surprisingly, there are more venomous snake bites here each year
0:01:12 > 0:01:14'than anywhere else in the United States.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19'Our target is one of the most toxic on the continent.'
0:01:23 > 0:01:27We've made our way to the coastal forest in the south of the state
0:01:27 > 0:01:30and we are out on a snake hunt.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33These snakes will, over the winter, have been hibernating,
0:01:33 > 0:01:35but this time of year, as the sun comes up,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38they're starting to think about coming out, basking in the sunshine.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42So we're going to go out and try and find ourselves a venomous serpent.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49'And that serpent is the infamous timber rattlesnake.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55'Timber rattlesnakes are ambush predators that feed mainly at night.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59'Lying in wait, ready to strike out at passing rodents.'
0:02:05 > 0:02:09'Their venom is so toxic, it can drop prey down within minutes.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16'They'll also strike in defence, and the venom is fiery enough to cause
0:02:16 > 0:02:20'a human harm, so we'll be watching out for snakes beneath our feet.'
0:02:22 > 0:02:25And it's very important not to put your hands in there
0:02:25 > 0:02:28without looking first to see what's underneath it.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Cos if there is something venomous in there, you could get bitten.
0:02:35 > 0:02:40You can see that all of this area is blackened and charred.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42There has been a forest fire come through here,
0:02:42 > 0:02:45and, although that's not always great for wildlife, it's really good
0:02:45 > 0:02:48for helping to find snakes because it's got rid of lots of the
0:02:48 > 0:02:53scrubby undergrowth, so it makes it much more easy for us to see things.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01Snakes are what are known as cold-blooded animals.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05It means that they get the warmth in their body to be able to be
0:03:05 > 0:03:08active from the outside environment.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11In the winter, when it's very, very cold,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14they really just don't have enough pizzazz to get up
0:03:14 > 0:03:18and do anything, so they hibernate, and they'll lie up in there
0:03:18 > 0:03:21and just stay doing nothing until the warm months come round.
0:03:34 > 0:03:35No, nothing.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40We've been hacking our way through this stuff for ages now,
0:03:40 > 0:03:43and absolutely no sign whatsoever of a snake.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46Luckily though, I do have a back-up plan.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54So our wild search may not have been a success,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57but we are not leaving here empty-handed by any means.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03Because this is the snake that I was hoping to find.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06This one here was caught in this area and it is going to be
0:04:06 > 0:04:09released here too and it gives us a wonderful opportunity to see
0:04:09 > 0:04:12all of the fabulous attributes of this glorious snake.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35There it is.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37The timber rattlesnake.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39It is one of the most widely-distributed
0:04:39 > 0:04:42and feared snakes on the whole continent.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46But I think the fear thing is pretty much unjustified.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48This is a snake that will do anything
0:04:48 > 0:04:50to avoid biting a human being.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57TAIL RATTLES
0:04:59 > 0:05:02This is the early warning system of the rattlesnake
0:05:02 > 0:05:05and the feature that gives it its name, its rattle.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08As these snakes grow, they shed their skin
0:05:08 > 0:05:12and leave behind brittle cusps at the end of the tail.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Those can be vibrated to create this iconic sound,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18and that's a fabulous warning to large animals that might
0:05:18 > 0:05:22stumble nearby but are way too big for the snake to eat.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27'The tail vibrates with one of the fastest moving
0:05:27 > 0:05:29'muscles in the whole vertebrate world.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31'Too fast for us to see properly.'
0:05:33 > 0:05:36So we've got Luke, our cameraman,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38ready on standby...
0:05:40 > 0:05:43..with a super slow motion camera.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47'Once it's captured in slow motion, 16 times slower than real time,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50'you can see the vibrations passing through the tail.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55'Ripples pass through the cusps, making that classic buzzing sound.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57'The sound of the American wild.'
0:05:57 > 0:05:59All of this is happening in a fraction of a second.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04Actually, this snake can rattle as many as 60 times in a single second.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08'And that sound is a rattlesnake's number-one defence.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13'But when it comes to catching prey, the business is at the other end.'
0:06:13 > 0:06:16But to show you its finest weapons,
0:06:16 > 0:06:18I'm going to have to get control of the snake.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34So there are the snake's finest feature, its fangs.
0:06:36 > 0:06:42They're sheathed in kind of extended gums, which hides them
0:06:42 > 0:06:47right up until the second that they actually inject into the prey.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Let me just see. Wow, look at that!
0:06:51 > 0:06:53OK.
0:06:53 > 0:06:58So I just want to gently slip this stick
0:06:58 > 0:07:00along the upper jaw
0:07:00 > 0:07:02and expose those fangs.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07There. Look at that.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11They're incredibly sharp, genuinely needle-sharp.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15But actually quite fragile as well, so I don't want to damage them.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17You can see that it's quite flexible as well.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23It's hinged at the end so that the fang can swing forwards
0:07:23 > 0:07:29as the snake goes to bite, and stab down into its prey.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33This may look uncomfortable for the snake
0:07:33 > 0:07:35but this is exactly what it would do
0:07:35 > 0:07:37as it's biting into a small mammal.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44'So how does the snake propel those fangs into its prey?
0:07:44 > 0:07:46'Well, the secret is in the strike.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53'The snake senses the warm water in the balloon
0:07:53 > 0:07:56'with heat-sensitive pits between the eyes and nostrils.'
0:08:02 > 0:08:04'The fangs can be moved independently...
0:08:06 > 0:08:09'..and propelled forward with a lunge of the head.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11'Venom is pumped through the middle of the fang
0:08:11 > 0:08:12'and into the bloodstream.'
0:08:18 > 0:08:21And the venom is a really complex toxin which goes to work
0:08:21 > 0:08:24on all different elements of its prey's body.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27The prey is just going to simply start to shut down.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Its muscles will start to spasm, it'll have its heart
0:08:30 > 0:08:34and nervous system start to just completely go into overload,
0:08:34 > 0:08:38and eventually, it will simply cease to function.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41The wondrous timber rattlesnake.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46This is a snake that really means human beings no harm whatsoever,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49BUT is an absolute denizen of the forest.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52A snake that is really bad news for any small mammals that happen
0:08:52 > 0:08:54to be wandering around by night.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59This, I would have to say, is a truly lethal snake.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04'With their needle-sharp fangs...
0:09:05 > 0:09:09'..potent venom, one of the most toxic in the Americas,
0:09:09 > 0:09:12'and lightning-rapid strike,
0:09:12 > 0:09:16'timber rattlesnakes are the ambush artists of the southern States.'
0:09:21 > 0:09:24North Carolina has all of the icons of American wildlife.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Bear, beaver, bobcat, gators, snakes,
0:09:27 > 0:09:29but we're here looking for an animal
0:09:29 > 0:09:31that can be found here and nowhere else,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34and the best way of looking for one is getting airborne.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43ENGINE REVS AND WHIRRS
0:09:50 > 0:09:53The purpose of this flight is to track down an elusive,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56critically-endangered animal, the red wolf.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58And the only place you can find it is right here.
0:10:01 > 0:10:02No!
0:10:02 > 0:10:05'I've filmed wolves all over the world with Deadly,
0:10:05 > 0:10:07'and they've become my favourite animal.'
0:10:07 > 0:10:09Hello. Wow.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13'But we've never filmed the red wolf before,
0:10:13 > 0:10:15'as it's one of the rarest creatures on Earth.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21'Red wolves were once top dog in the south-eastern States.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25'They're opportunistic, preying on rabbits, rats and deer.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29'Tracking one down is going to be tricky though.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33'They were declared extinct in the wild in 1980.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36'Thanks to a reintroduction programme, there are 100 red wolves
0:10:36 > 0:10:40'roaming free, just a handful in the area we're flying over.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44'To find one will take luck, patience
0:10:44 > 0:10:45'and some Deadly technology.'
0:10:47 > 0:10:51In this area there are four animals that have been radio-collared,
0:10:51 > 0:10:53so on the outside of the aeroplane, on the wing struts,
0:10:53 > 0:10:55we have antennae.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57In the back here we have Art,
0:10:57 > 0:10:59who is a biologist who's studying the wolves,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03and we can try and track down their exact locations
0:11:03 > 0:11:07by zeroing in on the signals that are coming out from their collars.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Once we have a vague idea of where the animals are,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12we can get down and track them on the ground.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20TRACKER BEEPS
0:11:22 > 0:11:25So, Art has his first signal.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28It seems the wolves are beneath us right now.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33'Back at land level, we're on the hunt.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38'The radio tracking has given us the wolves' general position,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40'but down here there are other, more basic, methods
0:11:40 > 0:11:42'of knowing where they are.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44'And these old ways are often the best.'
0:11:49 > 0:11:51Ooh!
0:11:51 > 0:11:53This is fantastic.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56OK, I can clearly see from looking at this print,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58that it comes from a member of the dog family.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Each one of the toes has a clear imprint of a claw
0:12:02 > 0:12:05at the front of it, and you don't get that in cats at all
0:12:05 > 0:12:07because they hold their claws retracted
0:12:07 > 0:12:09so all you see is the pads of their toes.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12That there is definitely from a dog,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15and from the size of it, it's not a coyote.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17That is from a red wolf,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20and I would say that it's from a male red wolf as well.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22They're larger than the females.
0:12:22 > 0:12:27Very crisp, very fresh, this was here within the last 24 hours,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29and heading in that direction.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Fantastic, couldn't ask for a better start.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44'It's likely that the wolves are laying up in cover.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47'We just need to wait till they set off to hunt.'
0:12:47 > 0:12:52Just had a shout from Art that the male wolf is on the move, so we need
0:12:52 > 0:12:56to get moving ourselves up to where we stand a chance of seeing them.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00From here on in, everyone has to be silent.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02Everyone good, everyone ready? Let's go.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09'And there are more signs that we're in the right place.'
0:13:10 > 0:13:15Lots and lots of wolf scat round here, and I don't actually
0:13:15 > 0:13:19need to break it apart to know that it's quite fresh cos I can smell it.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22Guys, when you walk past, don't tread in that.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24That'll stink.
0:13:24 > 0:13:25This is all good.
0:13:31 > 0:13:32More scat.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35'Now we have to wait for dusk to fall
0:13:35 > 0:13:38'and hopefully for the wolves to appear.'
0:13:39 > 0:13:43We've picked our spot. It's kind of a natural T-junction,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46and if the wolves are coming out of this thick brush here
0:13:46 > 0:13:51and coming out to forage, they may well come right past us.
0:13:51 > 0:13:56This is one of the longest long shots I have ever, ever had.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00All we can do is keep ourselves as camouflaged,
0:14:00 > 0:14:04as low a profile as physically possible and just hope.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14'As the hours pass, we get out the filming gear that'll enable us
0:14:14 > 0:14:18'to see in the dark, a heat-sensitive camera.'
0:14:18 > 0:14:23The sun's gone down now, so our eyes are completely useless
0:14:23 > 0:14:26and we've had to switch to technology.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28That's Simon the sound recordist there.
0:14:28 > 0:14:33This camera was originally designed by the military,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35and it sees warmth.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40It sees the moving muscles and the warm blood, particularly of mammals.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44So the grasses and scrub are cool,
0:14:44 > 0:14:47and they're coming out in blue and green and light yellow.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53'But even with this kit, the odds were always stacked against us.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55'Red wolves are incredibly endangered
0:14:55 > 0:14:57'and are rarely seen in the wild.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04'So, as hopes dwindle, we might as well give it one last shot
0:15:04 > 0:15:06'and see if we can tempt them out.'
0:15:06 > 0:15:08STEVE HOWLS
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Well, we've been out here for hours now,
0:15:17 > 0:15:19and I honestly can't feel my fingers, it's so cold.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22But unfortunately the wolves have moved away
0:15:22 > 0:15:25and we've lost our chance to see them in the wild.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27However, there's no way that we could leave North Carolina
0:15:27 > 0:15:31without seeing one of its most exciting inhabitants.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33It's just not going to be here.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42'Thankfully, Art and his team have a way that we will be able
0:15:42 > 0:15:46'to see these rare wolves closer than we've ever thought possible.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52'This secret facility is the key to the future of red wolves.'
0:15:56 > 0:15:58Inside this pen are two animals
0:15:58 > 0:16:00that are part of the captive breeding programme,
0:16:00 > 0:16:04and we've got a fabulous opportunity to see them up close.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08OK, we good? Thanks very much, Mike.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18OK.
0:16:19 > 0:16:20There they are.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24'Two red wolves.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27'The animals we've come all the way to North Carolina to find.'
0:16:29 > 0:16:33These are my first-ever red wolves, and, OK,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36they're not out running in the wild but they are the next best thing.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40These animals here are the future for the species.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42It's possible that their pups, their young,
0:16:42 > 0:16:47their offspring could be allowed to go back out into the wild
0:16:47 > 0:16:50and could be the next generation of red wolves running free
0:16:50 > 0:16:53in North Carolina and that's a wonderful thought.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00These are not tame animals by any means.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03They're certainly not used to human contact
0:17:03 > 0:17:06and you can see that as we've come in here, they're very uncertain.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09They're looking towards us all the time, inquisitive, interested,
0:17:09 > 0:17:11and that's not really surprising.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Wolves and human beings have had a very, very difficult
0:17:14 > 0:17:17relationship over the years, and red wolves are no different.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20The majority of the reason why these animals went extinct in the wild
0:17:20 > 0:17:23is down to human beings.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25Well, I've now seen red wolves up close,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28and they're just as beautiful as I hoped. But what I'd really like
0:17:28 > 0:17:30would be to see their deadly side, to see them feeding,
0:17:30 > 0:17:33and I think our best bet is to bring in some food,
0:17:33 > 0:17:36put some cameras around it,
0:17:36 > 0:17:37and then leave them be.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41'These camera traps will film into the night.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44'We've brought in a deer that was knocked down on the road,
0:17:44 > 0:17:46'and hopefully we'll catch shots
0:17:46 > 0:17:48'of the wolves' jaws and claws in action.'
0:17:50 > 0:17:53So we'll come back tomorrow morning and see what we've got.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02OK, so we've downloaded all of our footage
0:18:02 > 0:18:05from our cameras onto the laptop.
0:18:05 > 0:18:06Let's see what we've got.
0:18:10 > 0:18:11Right. OK.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15I've got bottom of wolf having a little sniff
0:18:15 > 0:18:17at the hindquarters of the deer.
0:18:17 > 0:18:24These animals are naturally going to be very shy, very careful,
0:18:24 > 0:18:27so I'm not expecting them just to come charging straight in
0:18:27 > 0:18:29and tear it to shreds.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35It's almost like the whole body is led by the nose.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39The nose is right down close to the ground, sniffing around,
0:18:39 > 0:18:43processing the world through scent.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47And, yes, she's starting to feed.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49This is fantastic.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Now the male's sniffing the camera.
0:18:55 > 0:19:01There's so much communication that goes on with smell in these animals.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05Right, OK, this is at night now,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08and you can see they're much more confident now.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12That is much more classic of how I'd expect to see a wolf feeding.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14'The wolves are really digging in now.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16'They're efficient carnivores,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19'and can eat up to 10% of their body weight in meat in a day.'
0:19:20 > 0:19:23And when they want to actually get through all the tough muscle
0:19:23 > 0:19:26and even bone, they have to manoeuvre the meat back
0:19:26 > 0:19:31towards the rear of the jaw, exactly what it's doing there.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34Crunching away at the toughest parts of the food.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39'And having filled their stomachs through the night,
0:19:39 > 0:19:43'come morning, the animals become a bit more inquisitive.'
0:19:43 > 0:19:46Aah! It's got the camera.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Getting a very good shot of the floor at the moment.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53Now he's off, he's off!
0:19:55 > 0:19:57Come back with our camera.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00And that is the end of our camera.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09I feel like I've been a secret midnight watcher of a world
0:20:09 > 0:20:12that very, very few people have ever seen.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16Personally, I really, really hope that red wolves are back, showing
0:20:16 > 0:20:19their deadly side in even more of the United States in the future.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22They're cunning, they're elusive, they're incredibly beautiful
0:20:22 > 0:20:25and I think red wolves are Deadly.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32With teeth strong enough to crunch through bone.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35A highly inquisitive predatory nature.
0:20:35 > 0:20:36And a real hunger for meat,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39consuming up to a tenth of their body weight in one go.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Red wolves could once again be top
0:20:41 > 0:20:43dogs of the south-east States.
0:20:44 > 0:20:45Deadly!
0:20:53 > 0:20:56Our next mission is taking us about eight-hours' drive away
0:20:56 > 0:20:59up into the Appalachian mountains to a secret location where we're
0:20:59 > 0:21:03going in search of a monster that is straight out of hell.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05DRAMATIC SCREAMING
0:21:10 > 0:21:14This rather beautiful river seems like an unlikely location for
0:21:14 > 0:21:18a slimy, nightmare monster, but the early settlers here clearly thought
0:21:18 > 0:21:22this animal was some kind of demon from the names they gave to it.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25They called it the mud puppy, the Allegheny alligator,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28the mud devil, the snot otter.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30I think its modern name, though is even better,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33nowadays it's known as the hellbender.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35DRAMATIC THUNDER RUMBLE
0:21:38 > 0:21:41The only way to find a hellbender is to get right into the river where
0:21:41 > 0:21:46they live and right now that is going to be a little bit like hell.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51This river behind us is fed not only by rain but also by snow melt.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53It's going to be impossibly cold, which is why
0:21:53 > 0:21:58we have nice thick under suits and a dry suit but I don't think even this
0:21:58 > 0:22:02is going to stop the fact that today is going to be pretty miserable.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Oh, dear. This is going to be cold.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19Uh-huh!
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Hellbenders have really suffered over the last few decades
0:22:21 > 0:22:24with pollution, habitat loss and people collecting them
0:22:24 > 0:22:27for the pet trade, so they're now a protected species.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30You're not allowed to do this unless you have special permission
0:22:30 > 0:22:33and we're working with the local hellbender survey
0:22:33 > 0:22:38and looking under rocks like this is the perfect way to start.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Except that this rock is too heavy for me!
0:22:45 > 0:22:47HE LAUGHS
0:22:50 > 0:22:54Luckily, we're working with some hench local biologists
0:22:54 > 0:22:56who have the heft to give me a hand.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04Right, nothing under that.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09It's an intense shock the first time you put your head under.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14This one's really good. I've got a good feeling about this one.
0:23:16 > 0:23:17Got a stick.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22No, can't feel anything there.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26Oh, this will have to be the weirdest way of going
0:23:26 > 0:23:29looking for wildlife I've ever done.
0:23:31 > 0:23:32There's one here.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35There's one here. You got a net?
0:23:40 > 0:23:41You got it?
0:23:41 > 0:23:46Lost it. I had a bit of a jelly fingers moment.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Just grabbed one for a second and then, phew, off it went.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53The search continues.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59Now four hours into our hunt, the icy river water is taking its toll.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06I can't feel my face at all
0:24:06 > 0:24:11and my fingers feel like someone's stabbing knitting needles into them.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15But it's all good if we find a big hellbender.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21And the slippery slabs of rock are certainly not making it easy.
0:24:24 > 0:24:25Cor!
0:24:26 > 0:24:28- OK.- OK, I got it.
0:24:33 > 0:24:34Got one.
0:24:36 > 0:24:37I've got one.
0:24:37 > 0:24:38Got one.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40It's a biggie!
0:24:40 > 0:24:41CHEERING
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Yes! Fantastic!
0:24:45 > 0:24:51Now that is what all of the effort's been about, an adult hellbender.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54And it's a really good-sized animal.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59One of the largest species of salamander in the whole world
0:24:59 > 0:25:03and you can kind of see where the alternative common name,
0:25:03 > 0:25:07the snot otter, comes from because it doesn't have any scales
0:25:07 > 0:25:10but it has a really slimy skin
0:25:10 > 0:25:12covered with sticky mucus
0:25:12 > 0:25:15which does kind of look a bit like snot.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19And it's thought that it's possible that that secretion has
0:25:19 > 0:25:22something in it which doesn't taste very good, so it's a good
0:25:22 > 0:25:25way of deterring predators because they'll get a mouthful of that
0:25:25 > 0:25:29and decide that actually the hellbender is not a good meal.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31This is a really, really good-sized animal,
0:25:31 > 0:25:33it was well worth all the search for.
0:25:36 > 0:25:41These freakishly-named hellbenders can grow up to 75cms long,
0:25:41 > 0:25:43as long as my arm.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48The sinister name may be down to their appearance.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51A creature from hell that's bent on returning.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Their flattened body shape means they can lurk under rocks
0:25:56 > 0:25:59ready to snatch up passing prey, like crayfish.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06These animals are predators and, obviously, when you look at a
0:26:06 > 0:26:10predator, you need to look at the business end and that's the head.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12And it just looks like, look at the size of that head,
0:26:12 > 0:26:16it's enormous and it's got this great big wide,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19smiling, gaping mouth.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22The way they'll catch their prey is by waiting till
0:26:22 > 0:26:26they get close by, then opening that mouth good and wide
0:26:26 > 0:26:28and sucking in, creating a vacuum,
0:26:28 > 0:26:32which drags the crayfish into their mouth where it'll be munched down.
0:26:32 > 0:26:37This wondrous creature has several other super-powers.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40One of those is the ability to regenerate parts of its body,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43to regenerate limbs, to regenerate the tail,
0:26:43 > 0:26:44so if they're snapped off by a predator,
0:26:44 > 0:26:47it can actually start to grow them back after as little as a few weeks.
0:26:49 > 0:26:54I think that is just exquisite and well worth the journey,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56well worth the cold and well worth the search.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02The hellbender, the largest salamander on the continent.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05It has the ability to regenerate its limbs.
0:27:06 > 0:27:11It's covered in slimy snot and I think it's definitely Deadly.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17With suction-powered mouths to slurp in crayfish.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23The largest salamander in the Americas.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27And flattened bodies that allow them to ambush passing prey.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29Hellbenders are surprisingly...
0:27:31 > 0:27:32Deadly!
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Wow, look at that,
0:27:36 > 0:27:40Join me next time as I continue my journey on Deadly Pole to Pole.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42It's a biggie!
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd