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 > 0:00:14Whoa!
0:00:16 > 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 > 0:00:27Argh!
0:00:30 > 0:00:35This is Texas, the Lone Star State, and it's big country.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37If you dropped France right in the middle
0:00:37 > 0:00:38it wouldn't even touch the sides.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41It has grasslands, mountains, deserts,
0:00:41 > 0:00:43all full of deadly potential.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46Texas is over 4,000 miles south
0:00:46 > 0:00:49from our start point in the Arctic Circle.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51And it's massive.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53It's the second largest state in America,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56with enough wild things to make your heart sing.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00'We'll be taking a chance on America's most cunning carnivore.'
0:01:00 > 0:01:02There's something in the trap.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07'And sweating it out with venomous vipers.'
0:01:09 > 0:01:10Wow!
0:01:11 > 0:01:13But we begin in the blackness below,
0:01:13 > 0:01:16'with not one predatory beast...'
0:01:16 > 0:01:17Rope below!
0:01:17 > 0:01:19'..but a mega-swarm.'
0:01:21 > 0:01:23For at least six months of every year,
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Texas is home to a higher concentration of hot-blooded killers
0:01:26 > 0:01:28than any other place on the planet.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31In the dark caverns beneath our feet right now
0:01:31 > 0:01:34there are literally millions of predators just waiting for a feed.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37It's one of the great spectacles in the natural world.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40So our next step has to be into the abyss.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45'By day, the cave entrance is patrolled by cave swallows
0:01:45 > 0:01:47'that nest here.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50'But we're heading beyond the reach of daylight,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53'and into the dank, dark depths,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57'into an underworld filled with a regular creep show of killers.'
0:01:58 > 0:02:01The air in the cave is incredibly toxic
0:02:01 > 0:02:02and filled with dangerous diseases.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Just a few breaths could be fatal to us.
0:02:06 > 0:02:07We've got to be prepared.
0:02:08 > 0:02:13So we have to cover ourselves up with these suits and wear gas masks.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16It's going to be hot, it's going to be sweaty...
0:02:16 > 0:02:18but at least we'll still be alive.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22Just a few hundred metres into the darkness
0:02:22 > 0:02:26and the horror show has already begun.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28The floor beneath our feet is alive.
0:02:30 > 0:02:31Ah.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37Down here is the slightly more grisly side of life in the cave.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40It's littered with these tiny little skeletons.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42That's been devoured by this lot.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47These are hide beetles, they turn up after a body dies
0:02:47 > 0:02:50and then they just devour it, reduce it to its skeleton.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53It's incredibly gruesome,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56but I guess that's just the dark side of nature here in the cave.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Look at those, absolutely revolting.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06'As we head further into the cave, it gets hotter and sweatier.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08'Our swarm of predators is close.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10'In order not to disturb them,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14'we need to turn off our lights and switch to night vision.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16'It's enough to give anyone the creeps.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19'The noise is building, piercing shrieks in the blackness.'
0:03:23 > 0:03:24Look at that.
0:03:26 > 0:03:27Absolutely phenomenal.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32'It's the largest congregation of creatures ever seen on Deadly.'
0:03:35 > 0:03:38That is one of the most overwhelming sights you will ever see in nature.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43These are Mexican free-tailed bats.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45There are simply millions of them.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49It looks almost more like a hive of bees
0:03:49 > 0:03:52than it does a group of mammals.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54The air is so thick with their calls.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Mexican free-tailed bats come here every year to breed.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08And Texas holds the largest colonies on earth.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13The best way to show you the intense conditions
0:04:13 > 0:04:15created by this breeding swarm
0:04:15 > 0:04:18is to use this heat-sensitive camera.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22So here in this cave you can see that black
0:04:22 > 0:04:24is just the normal cave walls.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29And then you can see all of these tiny little glowing embers
0:04:29 > 0:04:30flying through the shot.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32Those are the bats on the wing.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34But the most extraordinary thing is...
0:04:34 > 0:04:40if I move around I get this incredible massive, glowing flame
0:04:40 > 0:04:42in the centre of shot.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47And that is hundreds of thousands, millions of bats
0:04:47 > 0:04:48crawling all over each other.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53And they've created so much body heat there
0:04:53 > 0:04:57that it's almost like one big living radiator.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59But these bats absolutely love it.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01It creates the absolute perfect conditions for them
0:05:01 > 0:05:03to raise their young.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04Look at that.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08These bats and their young thrive down here
0:05:08 > 0:05:12in this hot, toxic environment, but not me.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14'I've had enough.'
0:05:14 > 0:05:16Oh.
0:05:16 > 0:05:21I have never, ever been so relieved to get out of a place.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24But if that was a vile vision of the underworld,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27what happens next is one of the greatest shows on earth.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33As night approaches, these bats emerge to feed
0:05:33 > 0:05:36in a procession of millions.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39They can pour from the cave for hours.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41'And my ropes are hanging right in the middle of it.'
0:05:44 > 0:05:45Ah!
0:05:45 > 0:05:46Wow.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50The bats are just coming hurtling down the line at me.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52Ah! Right into my helmet!
0:05:54 > 0:05:58I have never felt quite so in the line of fire
0:05:58 > 0:05:59as I am right now.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03There are just squadrons of bats hurtling past me,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06and clouting into me and clouting into the ropes as well.
0:06:08 > 0:06:09This is... Ah!
0:06:09 > 0:06:10HE LAUGHS
0:06:12 > 0:06:17This is the largest aggregation of mammal predators
0:06:17 > 0:06:19found anywhere on the planet.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23There could be 10, possibly even 12 million
0:06:23 > 0:06:26of these wonderful furry hunters heading out on the wing.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30And the amount of insects they will consume in one night
0:06:30 > 0:06:32is simply unfathomable.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38Each bat can eat up to their own body weight every night.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41That's a serious midnight feast.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46It's thought that all the bats from this one cave
0:06:46 > 0:06:51may eat as much as 120 tonnes of insects in one night.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55That's about the same as a passenger jet plane.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59Moths, midges, mosquitoes, can you imagine
0:06:59 > 0:07:03how many of those it must take to make 120 tonnes in one night?
0:07:05 > 0:07:07In terms of sheer spectacle,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09this is one of the greatest predatory forces
0:07:09 > 0:07:11on the entire planet.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17So many bats, tens of millions of them.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20All the bugs round here simply do not stand a chance.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25There is no doubt that Mexican free-tailed bats
0:07:25 > 0:07:27emerging in their millions
0:07:27 > 0:07:31are one of the finest predatory forces on the planet
0:07:31 > 0:07:33and undeniably deadly.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37The largest hot-blooded swarm on earth.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Eating hundreds of tonnes of insects every night.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44Thriving in a truly toxic environment.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Mexican free-tailed bats are a flying force to be reckoned with.
0:07:50 > 0:07:51Deadly.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58The bats roost here each year,
0:07:58 > 0:07:59so they're easy to find.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02'But the next animal I'm hoping to track down
0:08:02 > 0:08:03'is far more elusive.'
0:08:05 > 0:08:07I've been out looking for wildlife
0:08:07 > 0:08:08in this part of the world for many years,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11but one of its biggest, most impressive predators
0:08:11 > 0:08:13has managed to elude me -
0:08:13 > 0:08:14the mountain lion.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Mountain lions are powerfully built big cats,
0:08:20 > 0:08:22also known as cougars, panthers and pumas.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29They're found all across the Americas, but are never common.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32They're mostly active at night, secretive and sly.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36In other words, a wildlife watcher's nightmare.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47Well, this is classic mountain lion habitat.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50These peaks are cut through with ravines and gullies
0:08:50 > 0:08:52and there's loads of cover.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54It's perfect for them to hunt their prey -
0:08:54 > 0:08:56things like jack rabbits
0:08:56 > 0:08:58right through to white-tailed and mule deer.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04With such a massive landscape and a cat that eludes even the eagle-eyed,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07we're going to need some help.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09So we're teaming up with local wildlife biologists
0:09:09 > 0:09:12who set baited traps to safely capture the lions
0:09:12 > 0:09:16so they can radio-collar them and monitor their movements.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20And on the way to check the first trap,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22we spot some beady-eyed scavengers.
0:09:28 > 0:09:29Turkey vultures.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31These are really interesting birds.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34First of all they have an incredible sense of smell
0:09:34 > 0:09:36and that's very unusual amongst birds.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38When you're out tracking predators,
0:09:38 > 0:09:40vultures are one of the first things you look out for.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43These birds have the ability to spot carcasses
0:09:43 > 0:09:46from a great distance by flying up and getting high.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48So the bait has brought in some vultures,
0:09:48 > 0:09:50but has it tempted any other predators?
0:09:52 > 0:09:56So this pig was placed here as bait only yesterday.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00It was completely intact when it was placed here
0:10:00 > 0:10:03and now the majority of the midsection has gone,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06including a lot of the internal organs.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09So something's been here, something's got stuck into this pig,
0:10:09 > 0:10:10and that is a very good start,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13particularly because there's a couple of camera traps
0:10:13 > 0:10:15right up behind us.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19With hidden cameras set and traps baited, all we can do is wait.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24In the meantime, let's meet this cunning cat.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30Mountain lions are pretty hefty,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33but they're light on their feet plotting a silent ambush.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38Prey animals go about their lives
0:10:38 > 0:10:41unaware that a killer's lurking, till it's too late.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46The stealthy stalk ends with a single pounce
0:10:46 > 0:10:48and a fatal, decisive bite.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59This is the skull of an adult mountain lion.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03It's very blunt, very broad.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05At the front of the mouth...
0:11:05 > 0:11:08these, the canine teeth -
0:11:08 > 0:11:10those are the chief killing tool.
0:11:10 > 0:11:15Then at the back of the jaw, these stouter, sheering, slicing teeth
0:11:15 > 0:11:17are called carnassials.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20And those do the job of cutting up meat so it can be eaten.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25These are really impressive.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Those are the claws of a mountain lion.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Now they would be kept sheathed inside the paw,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34so that they can be kept sharp.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37And look how curved and pointed that claw is,
0:11:37 > 0:11:39that is a real tearing weapon.
0:11:41 > 0:11:42The next thing is this.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45This is the skull of a wild sheep,
0:11:45 > 0:11:47and it's been eaten by a mountain lion.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Now almost certainly the killing bite would have come to the throat
0:11:51 > 0:11:52or to the back of the neck,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55but you can see that on this really quite substantial animal,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58which has big horns to defend itself...
0:11:58 > 0:12:01it's been bitten right through the skull by the mountain lion.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06This is an animal of formidable power and strength
0:12:06 > 0:12:09that can take down prey animals many times its own size.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14The cat's own skull shows its lethal arsenal -
0:12:14 > 0:12:16stabbing canines, sheering cheek teeth,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19and its claws are just plain frightening.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23That's why this cat is such a success.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Though this part of Texas looks green and lush,
0:12:31 > 0:12:33during the daytime it's dry and it's hot,
0:12:33 > 0:12:37so cats don't tend to be very active, instead they're nocturnal.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39So if we want to stand any chance of finding one,
0:12:39 > 0:12:40we need to go out after dark.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46'And cats aren't the only wild things
0:12:46 > 0:12:48'that come out at night.
0:12:48 > 0:12:49'First up, a brown earth snake.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53'And a sizable longhorn beetle.'
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Before we come across a true Deadly icon.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Oh, yes.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08In this tangled web in front of me,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11one of the most notorious deadly creatures in the world
0:13:11 > 0:13:12is about to make a kill.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17That there is a black widow spider.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22And a small chafer beetle has just flown right into her web.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26She's trussing him up with silk.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28Any second now...
0:13:28 > 0:13:32There she's getting... She's doing it, she's doing it, she's biting.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35The widow spider is armed with a venom
0:13:35 > 0:13:37which is incredibly potent.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41These spiders also have in their venom
0:13:41 > 0:13:45something which turns their prey into a kind of liquid meat soup,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48which she can then suck down.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51It's all pretty grotesque but you can see it's unbelievably efficient.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57They're also one of the spiders that human beings fear most.
0:13:57 > 0:13:58But really the only time that a human being
0:13:58 > 0:14:01has anything to fear is if they accidently put their clothing on
0:14:01 > 0:14:03and there's a black widow inside
0:14:03 > 0:14:05or perhaps put their boots on and a black widow
0:14:05 > 0:14:06is hidden inside their shoes.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13Despite their reputation, these spiders certainly mean us no harm,
0:14:13 > 0:14:15and humans are very rarely hurt.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18Instead their diet's flies, grasshoppers, beetles...
0:14:18 > 0:14:20even each other.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26The black widow name comes from the fact that the females,
0:14:26 > 0:14:27and this is a female here,
0:14:27 > 0:14:31will quite often eat the males after they've mated.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34They have this really sinister, sinister reputation.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40The female of the species is far more deadly than the male.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42They're double the size, and are far more dangerous.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47This is an epic drama in miniature.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49She's pulling out silk from the spinnerets at the end of her abdomen
0:14:49 > 0:14:52and trussing this little beetle up
0:14:52 > 0:14:54so that he can be much easier to manoeuvre.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56And then every once in a while she'll just jump in
0:14:56 > 0:14:59and stab him with her fangs and inject the venom.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Well, we may not have found a mountain lion
0:15:05 > 0:15:07but this is a sensational bonus.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09The black widow spider,
0:15:09 > 0:15:11one of the most venomous on earth,
0:15:11 > 0:15:13ruthlessly efficient,
0:15:13 > 0:15:17an unbelievable predator and undeniably deadly.
0:15:20 > 0:15:21With its paralysing bite.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Using silk to shroud their prey.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28And occasionally eating their own husbands.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34Black widow spiders are Texas's miniature murderers.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Deadly.
0:15:41 > 0:15:42'After only a few hours' sleep,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45'we're on the road again to check the traps and hidden cameras.'
0:15:47 > 0:15:49There's a real sense of anticipation
0:15:49 > 0:15:51because we just don't know what we're going to find.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54There could be a coyote, a bear, a deer.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56Obviously the dream scenario will be to turn up
0:15:56 > 0:16:01and find it filled with a big, angry mountain lion.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03Fingers crossed.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05As we approach our first trap,
0:16:05 > 0:16:07we hear something before we can see it.
0:16:09 > 0:16:10Stop. Stop, stop, stop!
0:16:12 > 0:16:13There's something in the trap.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19It's been sprung. I can see something moving.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21But it's not a mountain lion.
0:16:23 > 0:16:24Quite the opposite.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28In fact this is an animal that would very much be mountain lion prey.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31It's a peccary, it's a kind of wild pig.
0:16:32 > 0:16:33Oh.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38'The peccary's released without harm.'
0:16:43 > 0:16:44And off he goes.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Well, there's certainly plenty of mountain lion prey around here.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54All we need to do is to find the predator that's feeding on it.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57'There's also an encouraging sign near our second trap.'
0:17:01 > 0:17:06Well, our trap and bait is just shortly up there,
0:17:06 > 0:17:08I can actually smell it right now.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13And there is a super fresh
0:17:13 > 0:17:15coyote track heading away from it.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19So that might well be in our camera traps.
0:17:21 > 0:17:22But I don't see anything bigger.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27Disappointingly, the second trap doesn't hold a lion either
0:17:27 > 0:17:29and the bait seems untouched.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35I wouldn't say it's been noticeably fed on.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39But the cameras have been in place for over a month.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41There could be just about anything on them.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47OK, let's see what we've got.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54So we've got the images from the camera trap loaded into here.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56Let's see what's wandered close to the bait.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00What's going on there? Oh, there's a little rabbit.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03This is taken at night and there's eye shine
0:18:03 > 0:18:07reflecting back from the rabbit as it's running through the shot.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09Oh, OK.
0:18:09 > 0:18:10We have got our first predator.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13It's just in the corner of shot
0:18:13 > 0:18:16and that is a coyote or "coyo-tay."
0:18:18 > 0:18:22I reckon that would have been the coyote that's tracks I saw
0:18:22 > 0:18:27leading up towards the trap but didn't actually go into it.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30And in all likelihood that's come in to get stuck into the bait.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34Let's see if there's anything even more.
0:18:36 > 0:18:37HE GASPS
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Oh, my goodness.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43I don't believe it. I don't believe it!
0:18:44 > 0:18:45We've got a mountain lion.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49There's a mountain lion just walked straight into the shot.
0:18:51 > 0:18:52That's incredible.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58And it's just wandered in broad daylight
0:18:58 > 0:18:59right down this trail here.
0:19:03 > 0:19:04Wow.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09Even though we haven't managed to find mountain lions here in Texas,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11we know they're here.
0:19:11 > 0:19:12They're here but they manage to not be seen
0:19:12 > 0:19:16and that I guess is a big part of what makes them deadly.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20Muted colours that blend into its environment.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24Silent stealth to get close to their target.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28And the power to take down prey up to five times their weight.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34Mountain lions, elusive, and still unfinished business.
0:19:34 > 0:19:35Deadly.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Another ambush assassin now, but the cold-blooded kind.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49This is beautiful woodland habitat and we're going to be watching
0:19:49 > 0:19:50where we put our feet,
0:19:50 > 0:19:52because apparently it's perfect for snakes.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58And one is especially notorious.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01An arrow-headed viper, that's a toxic terror.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05Especially if you're a rodent.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10They inject venom to paralyse their victims,
0:20:10 > 0:20:11then swallow them whole.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17They're also guilty of more bites to people
0:20:17 > 0:20:20than any other venomous snake in the States.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27'And talking of deadly things that bite and sting...'
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Oh, my goodness.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36And this shows why you have to be so careful where you put your fingers.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39I had them just a hair's breadth away
0:20:39 > 0:20:41from about three or four striped bark scorpions.
0:20:43 > 0:20:44There are hundreds of them.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49'It's a veritable who's who of venom round here.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51'But what we really want is...'
0:20:52 > 0:20:53Snake!
0:20:57 > 0:20:58Ah.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01First snake find of the day. He's only very wee.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03This is a rough earth snake,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06and although it's not the animal we're looking for
0:21:06 > 0:21:07it's a very good start.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11It means that snakes are up, about, they're here.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17'After a big day's snake search,
0:21:17 > 0:21:18'the effort pays off.'
0:21:19 > 0:21:20Well spotted, Mark.
0:21:22 > 0:21:23Beautiful.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27We have our first copperhead.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30If I try and point with a stick to where it is...
0:21:31 > 0:21:35That there is the end of the nose
0:21:35 > 0:21:40and the body is coiled around just in that area there.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42This is still quite a small snake,
0:21:42 > 0:21:45but the camouflage is just incredible.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47The light brown, the dark brown blotches,
0:21:47 > 0:21:49they match so perfectly
0:21:49 > 0:21:52with all of these different-coloured dead leaves on the ground.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55Let's see if we can just lift it gently up.
0:21:58 > 0:21:59Oi, oi, oi.
0:22:00 > 0:22:01Oh.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04And this is why copperheads account for about a quarter
0:22:04 > 0:22:07of venomous snake bites here in America.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10They lie very still and they don't rattle their tail,
0:22:10 > 0:22:11like a rattlesnake does,
0:22:11 > 0:22:14to warn away intruders, instead they strike.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17And when they strike they inject venom
0:22:17 > 0:22:19and that can be incredibly painful.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21So it's something I very much want to avoid.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Oh!
0:22:24 > 0:22:26'It's a start, but let's face it,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29'it's a bit...well, small.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31'I reckon our odds will improve after dark.'
0:22:35 > 0:22:38And I'm really excited about searching through here at night.
0:22:38 > 0:22:43These rocks offer endless places for animals to hide and to hunt.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47It is perfect for spiders, scorpions and, of course, snakes.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56This canyon really feels like the kind of place
0:22:56 > 0:22:59where you could find a snake at any second.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01Kind of wish that was possible,
0:23:01 > 0:23:03it would make my job an awful lot easier.
0:23:11 > 0:23:12See that?
0:23:14 > 0:23:18Beautiful big copperhead out in the open.
0:23:20 > 0:23:21On the move.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26It's quite unusual to see a copperhead
0:23:26 > 0:23:29out in the open as active as this.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33Normally they tend to just sit still and wait by a game path,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36waiting for something to come close by that they can feed on.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41But it just blends in so beautifully with the leaf litter.
0:23:44 > 0:23:45There he goes. Look at that.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52Just in there.
0:23:52 > 0:23:53Yeah, I see him.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58You come over to me? Come over to me.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04This is an incredibly beautiful snake,
0:24:04 > 0:24:08tongue flickering out on the air, tasting the world around it.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11It's at the moment at its most active,
0:24:11 > 0:24:16this is the time when copperheads are really looking for food.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18Round here it could well be hunting for frogs,
0:24:18 > 0:24:22you can hear the frogs making sounds in the darkness.
0:24:22 > 0:24:23But for copperheads normally
0:24:23 > 0:24:25their prey is made up of small mammals.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28They kill them with a venom that's injected from hinged fangs
0:24:28 > 0:24:30at the front of the upper jaw.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33And they have a lightning-fast strike.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39But to film that lightning-fast strike,
0:24:39 > 0:24:42I'm going to need daylight and a fancy bit of Deadly kit.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50I have in this box a good-sized copperhead
0:24:50 > 0:24:53which was found in the local area just a couple of days ago.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56It's the perfect size to show you a copperhead striking.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Down here we have a special camera
0:24:59 > 0:25:01which can see in super slow motion.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07'The only way to see a strike that happens in a heartbeat.'
0:25:07 > 0:25:10So, Mark, can you watch Luke's back if at all possible?
0:25:12 > 0:25:13'Copperheads react to movement.'
0:25:15 > 0:25:16Ready?
0:25:16 > 0:25:18You see that?
0:25:18 > 0:25:21The flicking of my foot should get the snake to strike.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29'Well, the snake certainly struck, but did we have any luck?'
0:25:32 > 0:25:34'Played back 16 times slower than real life,
0:25:34 > 0:25:36'you can see the action unfold.'
0:25:39 > 0:25:40Oh, wow!
0:25:42 > 0:25:45That was really incredibly impressive.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52It would have stabbed those fangs into the body of the prey animal,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55injected venom and then it releases, it sits back,
0:25:55 > 0:25:58waits until it dies and then comes in to finish off the job.
0:26:01 > 0:26:02This is exquisite.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05But there is one last thing that I want to show you
0:26:05 > 0:26:06about the copperhead.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Like all vipers...
0:26:13 > 0:26:16..the copperhead has two hinged fangs.
0:26:17 > 0:26:22They are absolutely exquisitely thin, pointed,
0:26:22 > 0:26:25and they'll easily break through the skin and the fur
0:26:25 > 0:26:26of a small mammal.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30And that yellowish goo
0:26:30 > 0:26:32that's accumulating on my stick...
0:26:32 > 0:26:33is venom.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36A venom that can bring down a decent-sized mouse
0:26:36 > 0:26:39which the snake is then going to eat in one single mouthful.
0:26:41 > 0:26:42Isn't that extraordinary?!
0:26:44 > 0:26:47As many as a quarter of all venomous snake bites in the US
0:26:47 > 0:26:48come from this snake,
0:26:48 > 0:26:50but that's not why I'm suggesting it's deadly.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54It's certainly not an animal that means human beings any harm.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57I reckon it's deadly because it's fast, it's beautiful
0:26:57 > 0:26:58and if you were a mouse
0:26:58 > 0:27:00it would be the most lethal creature on the planet.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03The copperhead, deadly.
0:27:07 > 0:27:08An ambush attacker.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11Hollow, hypodermic needle fangs.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14Arrow-shaped head, launched like a missile.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Copperheads - potent killers of the southern states.
0:27:21 > 0:27:22Deadly.
0:27:25 > 0:27:26Rope below!
0:27:26 > 0:27:28'Join me next time as I continue my journey.'
0:27:28 > 0:27:30It got my pole!
0:27:30 > 0:27:31'On Deadly Pole To Pole.'
0:27:35 > 0:27:38Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd