Central American Coast Naomi's Nightmares of Nature

Welcome to my Nightmares of Nature.

I'm Naomi Wilkinson.

Argh!

And I'm coming face to face with the nightmares of the animal world.

The ones that make your spine tingle...

your heart beat faster...

Whaa!

..and your blood run cold.

Are they truly terrifying, or is there a twist in the tail?

Whee-hee!

Come with me as I shine a light on wildlife's deepest, darkest secrets.

And see if you can guess which will be my worst nightmare.

Welcome to Central America.

I'm back on the hunt for more nightmares of nature.

And this stunning sun-drenched shoreline has plenty to choose from.

'Wedged between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea,

'Central America has over 4,000 miles of tropical coastline

'for me to explore.

'I'll share a petrifying picnic with a creepy crustacean...'

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

'..meet the little, but lethal residents

'of a nightmare rock pool...'

-That could kill me?

-Absolutely, yeah.

'..and dive into the deep blue for a serious scary snorkel.'

Oh, there's a shark, there's a shark!

Oh, come on, Naomi.

'But first, I'm on the trail of a slithering seafarer.

'Snakes. Love them or loathe them,

'you have to admire their adaptability.

'These resourceful reptiles

'have conquered almost every corner of our planet.

'They're not about to let a little bit of water get in their way.'

The snake I'm hoping to show you today

is among the most successful and widespread of all snakes.

They're found on the coast of Africa, India, China, Australia,

as well as here in Central America.

But it's no good looking for them on dry land.

No, we need to head out there.

All snakes can swim, but some have taken the plunge full-time.

The yellow-bellied or pelagic sea snake is a highly-venomous hunter

that spends its entire life in water

and is one of the most common of all sea snakes.

But that doesn't mean it will be easy to find.

To give us a better chance, we've enlisted the help

of local snake specialist, Pompilio.

But we're searching off the west coast of Central America

on the fringe of the mighty Pacific,

an ocean that covers roughly a third

of the entire surface of planet Earth.

And our sea snake is less than a metre long.

-Anything, Pompilio?

-Nothing.

-Nothing?

All that's in my mind is needles and haystacks.

How do you call a snake? Snake charming?

# Da, da, da, da, da, da, da. #

There are some slightly bigger animals in these waters, though,

that are much easier to spot.

Oh! Oh, my...!

-Ah!

-LAUGHTER

-Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Oh, my...!

Wow!

Look how close we are!

Wow, it's enormous! Look, look, look!

We're looking for a venomous snake and we just happen to stumble across

a couple of humpback whales giving us a magnificent display.

Look!

Makes your heart sing, that does.

Can we just stay and watch whales all day

instead of going to look for scary snakes, please?

Maybe the humpbacks have brought us good luck

because it's not long before a familiar shape swims into view.

-It's one snake.

-You see one?

-Is looking from there.

-Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

-There it is.

-This is a sea snake.

-That's the one we're after.

-The yellow-bellied, yeah.

-OK.

-OK. The plan is...

-Are you going to bring it on board?

-Collect one now with my net.

Right, I'm going to get out of the way.

'Pompilio is going to bring the snake onto the boat

'so we can get a closer look.'

-You can instantly see why it's called yellow-bellied.

-Yep.

'These brightly-coloured markings are a warning.

'A bite from one of these snakes could kill,

'so we need to be careful.'

Ooo! It's coming straight towards you.

-You've got it! Well done!

-I have one.

-Well done!

'Although this doesn't hurt the snake, it will make it angry!'

-OK, it's biting the net.

-Yeah, that's trying to bite, isn't it?

-That's not a very happy snake.

-It's not happy.

Let's put it in the water. OK.

It won't let go!

Wow! That snake's cross.

'With a lethal snake on the loose, suddenly the boat feels very small.'

OK.

NAOMI LAUGHS It's better with the top.

-Well done, Pompilio.

-Yeah.

-Goodness me, I'm glad you're here.

-Now it's safe for you.

-Now it's safe.

-Yeah.

-Well done!

'Thankfully, as soon as it's back in water,

'the snake begins to relax and so can we.'

People generally think of snakes as animals that live on the land,

but this one has adapted to life at sea, has it?

Yeah. They sleep in the water, eat in the water.

How long can the snake stay underwater on one breath of air?

Yeah, it's around two hours.

-Two hours?

-Yeah, it's possible two hours.

I've met a few snakes with dangerous venom.

Where on the scale of venom does this snake rank?

-This is in the top.

-Is it?

Yeah. It's more dangerous and more toxic, for example, the cobra...

This is more dangerous than a cobra?

Yes. It's more toxic.

'The reason this snake has such powerful venom

'is its favourite food, fish.

'It needs to be able to kill its prey before it can swim away.

'And that requires a bite delivering a very strong,

'very fast-acting toxin.'

If this snake has such potent venom, is it dangerous to us?

Yeah, it's very dangerous.

This is really, really, toxic.

In around six hours or eight hours, then the people is dead. Yeah.

-Six to eight hours, you'd be dead?

-Yeah.

-Wow!

'So you may be thinking that the yellow-bellied sea snake

'definitely qualifies for nightmare status,

'but there's a little twist in the tale.'

Would you consider this snake a nightmare of nature?

-No.

-No?

-No.

But the reason is this snake is very relaxed.

And remember, the snake living only in the sea.

-So it just leaves people alone.

-Yeah.

'Despite its lethal venom, Pompilio believes this snake's placid nature

'and the fact they live out here in the ocean where people rarely go,

'means they should pose very little threat to us humans.'

Well, Pompilio is so convinced

that we're not at risk from this sea snake

that we're going to go and swim right next to it.

'I'm not sure I'm quite as convinced.'

Argh! Ha-ha-ha!

Whoo! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!

'Now that we've entered the snake's world,

'I can see how well adapted its serpentine shape is

'for moving through the water.

'And how clumsy and exposed I am in comparison.

'But there's nothing to worry about.

'As Pompilio predicted, the snake pays us no attention

'and simply swims off to look for its next meal.'

Thank you.

Well, I'll tell you what, being in the water alongside an animal

that you know has enough venom to kill you

is a pretty nerve-racking experience.

But as you can see, it wasn't interested in us at all.

It would much prefer a fish supper.

Can I really call the yellow-bellied sea snake my worst nightmare?

'The next stop on my coastal adventure is Cano Island.

'A stunning tropical paradise around ten miles offshore.

'And it looks like the perfect place to kick back and take it easy.'

Tracking down nature's nightmares can be hard work.

I think I deserve a little rest and relaxation.

So the ever-considerate crew

have arranged this wonderful picnic for me.

Let's see what culinary delights they've lined up, shall we?

Ooo, what's this? Honey! Mm! Nice!

Coconut, my favourite. Tropical.

Um... Hm! Rotting fish?

'You may have already guessed, but this picnic isn't for me.

'It's here to try and lure out the locals.'

Yum!

'Because I'm going to be sharing my meal

'with a hoard of hungry, multi-legged,

'armour-plated, claw-wielding crustaceans.'

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

'Crabs are a common sight on coasts around the world

'due to their handy ability to live both above and below the waterline.

'Most species are opportunistic omnivores,

'roaming the shoreline in search of any tasty morsels

'to dissect and devour. Hence our picnic.'

We've been told the crabs here are very keen on all this grub,

so we're going leave it and return in a few hours

to see who has come to dinner.

'The crabs I want to see have been so successful here on Cano Island

'that their numbers have swollen to truly epic proportions.

'But have they accepted my invitation to a nightmare picnic?'

OK, it's been a while, let's see what we've got.

Oh! Wow!

It is absolutely crawling!

Ooo-hoo-hoo!

These are all hermit crabs.

They're not particularly big, but there are a lot of them.

So, do they have what it takes to be a nightmare of nature?

Well, let's take a closer look. Let's try you.

They do have classic crab pincers,

but they're so small, I'm going to gamble

that they won't do me any damage. Fingers crossed.

These crabs are scavengers.

They'll eat just about anything they can find.

Meat, fruit, leaves, rotting wood. They'll even eat poo.

Sounds like a nightmarish quality, if you ask me.

Hermit crabs are also cannibals.

That means if food is scarce, they'll eat another hermit crab.

Er...grim!

Thankfully, there's enough food to go round here.

'Hermit crabs are such supreme scavengers,

'they don't even grow their own shells.

'They just find one they like left over by another animal,

'move in and make themselves comfy.'

Good shells are highly prized.

And the crabs will fight over who gets to use them.

And those scraps can get pretty ugly. Just like these two down here.

'When a crab outgrows its shell, it needs to replace it quickly.

'And the easiest way is just to take one from someone else.

'But with a good shell potentially the difference

'between life and death,

'no-one's going to give it up without some serious scrapping.

-Argh!

-'Which means in the world of the hermit crab,

'brute force is always best.'

Right, time to pop you back with your friends.

Bon appetit.

It's time to pack up and go,

which isn't going to be very popular with the locals.

But are hermit crabs a nightmare of nature?

They're pretty small and they're completely harmless to us,

so on their own, I'd probably say no.

But when there are so many of them crawling around

like a crustacean zombie army,

fighting and eating anything in sight,

including poo and each other,

maybe they could be my worst nightmare.

'We're heading back to the mainland

'to see what other coastal nightmares

'Central America has to offer.'

Wherever you are in the world, a trip to the seaside

is a great opportunity to go looking for wildlife.

And one of the best ways of finding

weird and wonderful coastal creatures

is to try a spot of rock pooling.

'These Pacific beaches may be paradise to you and me,

'but life can be hard for the animals living in rocky outcrops.

'Half the time, they're battered by waves,

'the other half, dried out by retreating tides

'and the scorching sun.

'And with limited space, competition is fierce,

'so the strange creatures concealed in these nightmarish pools

'have come up with some very extreme ways of surviving.

'To help me guide me through this alien world,

'I've invited wildlife expert, Gianfranco, to join me.'

Pretty much every rock pool has something going on in it.

It does really. And, er...this is a really beautiful one.

It's covered with these zoanthids.

That's the green on the side, is it?

It looks like a...you know, kind of like part of the rock,

but it's actually a living animal.

-Can I touch it?

-Er...no, it might not be a good idea.

-Some of these are incredibly toxic.

-Are you serious?

It's hard to believe, but, yes.

Some species have some of the most potent toxins known to man.

It's called a palytoxin. Yeah.

-In a rock pool?

-In a rock pool.

So, if I was to touch that, what would happen to me?

It could be potentially deadly.

-It could kill me?!

-Absolutely, yeah.

So it's something you have to be very, very cautious of.

No kidding! I'm glad I'm wearing my shoes.

Yeah, absolutely.

And we have a sea urchin there. We have those back at home,

but I'm guessing yours are a little bit more scary?

Some of them can contain venom.

They protect themselves with these spikes.

They're very territorial,

so if another sea urchin wants to take their home,

-they will actually fence with their spines.

-Do they?

Yeah. And if one gets too close, they may actually bite.

-They have teeth?

-Yeah.

LAUGHTER

'Sea urchins are full of surprises.

'They can propel themselves over the rock

'using hundreds of tiny tube feet

'and they'll fight to protect their patch with venom,

'spines and a hidden horror.

'A mouth on their underside with five human-like teeth

'strong enough to crunch through solid rock.'

So everything in this rock pool is defending itself

and fighting for its space

and having to release toxins and poison and venom

and all sorts just to stay safe in this pool.

Yeah. They all need a strategy to make it in this environment.

'These pools certainly deliver their fair share of bizarre wildlife,

'but as we continue our search, we're about to stumble onto

'one of the weirdest of all rock pool residents.'

Oh, wait a minute!

What is it? What?

We've got an amazing creature down here. We've got a puffer fish.

I've always wanted to see one of those!

It's a beautiful golden one.

-Check him out.

-Oh, look, look, look!

-What a beauty!

-What a lovely fish!

So brightly coloured yellow!

-Gone to hide again.

-Oh, yeah. They're really shy.

They don't like to be out in the open.

-As soon as it knows we're looking at him, it wants to hide.

-Yeah.

Lovely fish!

Is it lovely, or is it another one to be afraid of?

Well, it is lovely, but, er...

you know, like every other animal here, they've got their protections.

If they feel very stressed out, they will blow up like a balloon.

'You heard that right.

'The puffer fish has the strangest defence strategy of all.

'If a hungry hunter, like this eel, tries to take a bite,

'it starts to suck in water, swelling up

'and revealing rows of pin-sharp spines all over its body.

'So unless a predator has a really, really big gob,

'it has little choice but to let go

'and watch its would-be meal swim away.

'But that's not all.'

If something does manage to swallow it,

it's the worst part to come

because they've got a potentially-lethal toxin.

And it is a neurotoxin,

which basically paralyses the muscles in the body

and can cause death, even in humans.

So if you want fish and chips for your tea,

probably best to avoid the puffer fish.

Probably, yeah. Probably.

It's a beauty, though.

It's weird, because if I had that defence strategy inbuilt in me,

I wouldn't be hiding under a rock,

I'd be saying, "Come and eat me if you think you're hard enough."

Oh! Oh-oh-oh!

There it goes, there it goes.

Back to the ocean. We've lost it.

-It's gone.

-Aw!

-But it was amazing to see it.

-That was so cool.

I have always wanted to see one of those.

Tide's coming in, so shall we get out before we get stuck?

We probably should, yeah.

'So this corner of the coast

'has given me a window into a truly weird, watery world.'

If you like your wildlife strange, spectacular, even sinister,

then rock pooling is clearly a great place to start.

Because the animals living here in these tough, tiny spaces

have had to develop all manner of surprising ways

to survive and thrive.

But if I had to put just one forward as a potential worst nightmare,

it's the puffer fish. With its super-inflating, spiky,

toxic defence, that would definitely be my pick.

'It's time to leave the shores of the mighty Pacific Ocean behind

'and take a short flight across Central America

'to the crystal-clear waters of its Caribbean coastline.'

Now, you might think that getting a good look at the creatures

that live down beneath the waves

would involve loads and loads of complex diving apparatus

and months and months of scuba training.

But actually, you can see an incredible range of animals

by simply using...these.

And that's why I'm heading out into the Caribbean Sea

for a tranquil tropical snorkel.

What's this?

"Snorkelling is definitely a great way

"to get really close to some stunning sea life,

"so we hope you enjoy this little nightmare outing

"to the serene marine paradise of Shark Ray Alley."

Shark...Ray...Alley?

'Yep, on my final outing here in Central America,

'I'll have to contend with not one,

'but two potential nightmares of nature.

'Say the word shark and most people think of

'a supreme sea-going predator.

'Strong, swift and stealthy.

'Rising from the deep to ambush prey

'with a set of dagger-like teeth.

'And not to be outdone, their mysterious cousins, the rays,

'have also devised some seriously scary ways of despatching prey.

'From electric shocks to a venomous barbed stinger in their tail.

'All this means that these two species

'are among the most-feared animals in our oceans.

'But do they really deserve such a notorious reputation?

'And as you might expect, a place called Shark Ray Alley

'isn't short of either of these two species.

'It's teeming with nurse sharks and southern stingrays.'

As nightmares of nature go, this is as frightening as it gets for me.

The thought of being anywhere near a shark petrifies me.

I don't know how I feel about getting in with stingrays either.

But on the other hand, I suspect that my dread of swimming in the sea

means that I might be missing out on

a whole load of wonderful wildlife experiences.

And that is why I am so determined

to try and confront this shark fear face to face.

'As soon as we drop anchor, ominous shadows

'begin to gather in the water below, sending my pulse racing.

'Luckily, I won't have to do this alone.

'Marine biologist Dr Rachel Graham will be right alongside me.

'She's been bringing people to swim here for over ten years.'

So, Rachel, why are there so many sharks and rays around here?

Primarily because many years ago,

fishermen would come here and clean their catches

and it would attract a lot of different sharks and rays.

Notably nurse sharks and southern stingrays.

And it just kind of evolved into a tourism attraction from that.

'Both these species are bottom feeders

'who patrol the seabed in search of food.

'They're equipped with specially-adapted

'downward-facing mouths which they use

'to vacuum up fish and crustaceans hiding in the sand below.'

There's a lot of people like me who are frightened of these two species,

-but you say they are not to be afraid of?

-Absolutely not.

You know, you see some apprehension to begin with, but then...

-Yeah.

-Yes, yes! Exactly.

But then it melts away within seconds

-and you just hear squeals of pure delight.

-Really?

-It's fantastic.

Is there any top tips of when I'm in the water of what I should do?

I think really the most important thing is to just relax,

observe, enjoy.

And they'll probably swim up quite kind of close to you.

-Really?

-They'll check you out.

But they'll swim away again.

But what I always ask people, please do not touch the sharks,

don't touch the rays, don't grab them, don't hold them,

don't hug them, don't kiss them.

No worries about me trying to do that.

Fabulous! Then we're on the same page. Brilliant!

'I can't put it off any longer.

'It's time to take the plunge.'

They're not going to hurt me. They're not going to hurt me.

Oh!

-Oh!

-There you go.

Oh, there's a shark, there's a shark!

Oh! Come on, Naomi!

'This is taking every last scrap of courage I have.'

Do you want to grab hold of my hand? OK.

'For someone with a serious phobia like me,

'the first few minutes are truly terrifying.'

It's just swam right underneath me!

'But slowly, Rachel's predictions are starting to come true.

'Neither the sharks or the stingrays are remotely interested in us.

'They just cruise the seabed below, minding their own business.

'As the minutes tick by, my fear starts to fade

'and I find myself more and more engrossed

'by these much-misunderstood marine marvels.'

I can't believe it!

I actively swam towards one just then.

'The truth is that many species of sharks and rays are under threat

'from overfishing and habitat-destruction by us humans.

'So sadly, it's really them

'that should be scared of us, not the other way round.

'After almost half an hour in the water,

'it's clear that I've taken a huge step towards conquering my fear

'of both these beautiful species.'

Good grief!

Yeah! You did it!

-Yes! Yes!

-I did it! Ha-ha!

-Thank goodness for Rachel!

-Ah-ha-ha! You did great!

Is your hand...is your hand blue?

I have been in the water with sharks and rays.

Can you believe it? It's blown my mind.

It shows they aren't the mindless monsters they're made out to be.

They are not out to get us. They don't want to eat us.

We're not their preferred choice on the menu at all.

They're playing a very, very important role in that ocean,

so we need to learn to love them and actually protect them.

Whilst I may never be comfortable around a nurse shark or a ray,

we need to give them a break.

Once upon a time, long ago,

I would have called them my worst nightmare.

I do not want to call them that any more.

Sadly, my Central American adventure is at an end.

But which coastal contender

is going to take my coveted Worst Nightmare award?

Is it the surprising sea snake with its super-swift venom?

Is it a picnic with a hoard of crawling cannibal crabs?

Er...grim!

Or is it my daring dip with sharks and rays?

No, it is none of those.

My Worst Nightmare coastal crown goes to the super-swelling,

seriously spiky, terribly-toxic puffer fish.

That's three nightmares for the price of one!

NAOMI GIGGLES

LAUGHTER

Let's try that again!