Yucatan Naomi's Nightmares of Nature


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Welcome to my Nightmares Of Nature.

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I'm Naomi Wilkinson.

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Whoo-hoo!

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

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The ones that make your spine tingle...

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..your heart beat faster...

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..and your blood run cold.

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Are they truly terrifying?

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Or is there a twist in the tale?

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

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

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Ola, amigos!

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This time, we are in Mexico,

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a sizzling Latin American nation bursting with creepy jungles,

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spooky temples and plenty of natural nightmares.

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We're setting out to explore the Yucatan

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peninsula on the eastern coast of this giant Central American country.

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I'll be...

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witnessing one of the greatest natural spectacles on earth...

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That's amazing!

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..placating a prehistoric monster...

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I'm going to give it some space.

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..hunting down a lethal kung fu assassin...

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..and turning detective on the trail of a mischievous mammal.

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But first, I'm off to solve a cold-blooded conundrum.

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Snakes are firm favourites here on Nightmares Of Nature.

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They rank amongst the most dangerous animals on the planet.

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But for every snake that's equipped with lethal life-threatening venom,

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there are many more that are completely harmless to us humans.

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The big question is, how do you tell them apart?

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There are two colourful characters here in Yucatan

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that look just like twins.

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The king snake and the coral snake.

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One of these is harmless.

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The other is so venomous, it could kill me with a single bite.

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So, which is which?

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I've come to the home of local vet Martin

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for help unpicking this puzzle.

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-Ola, Martin.

-Hi.

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-Good to meet you.

-Good to meet you.

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Naomi.

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Do both of these species occur commonly here in Yucatan?

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Very common. You can find it in your garden, sometimes inside a house.

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-Really?

-Under the rocks, under the roots.

-Everywhere.

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-Everywhere. Everywhere.

-They're everywhere.

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Why do the two of them look so similar?

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Because predators and people is afraid of their poisons.

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So the other one is protecting from the predators.

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-So it protects itself by trying to pretend it's the venomous one?

-Mhm.

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Even though it's harmless.

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The king snake is a constrictor.

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It kills its prey by wrapping itself around its victim

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and squeezing it to death.

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But it's too small to be a threat to humans.

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Not so for the highly toxic coral snake.

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And people have died from coral snake bites, haven't they?

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Many, many people.

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How quickly could you die from coral snake bite?

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It depends on your reaction.

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If you're allergic, immediately, but if not, probably two hours.

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Seriously?

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Seriously.

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That's horrendous.

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-Horrible.

-So you'd die in about two hours.

-Mhm.

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SHE LAUGHS

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Right, well, I would quite like to try and handle a king snake,

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but I don't want to end up accidentally handling

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the coral snake by mistake, so how do I tell them apart?

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No problem, don't worry. I can help you.

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There's an old rhyme, which is this one.

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Oh, right. OK.

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Um, "red on yellow will kill a fellow

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"but red on black is a friend of Jack." OK.

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Oh, thank you.

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Um, "Red next to black, venom I lack, yellow and red, you are dead." What?

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And... What's this?

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"Black and white, say goodnight..."

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Oh, you're just doing this to confuse me.

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With the "helpful" suggestions from the crew,

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it's time to make a decision.

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Which snake is safe?

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"Red next to black, venom I lack,

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"Red on yellow will kill a fellow,

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"Red on black is a friend of Jack."

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OK, I've thought about this very carefully

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and because this one has red on black -

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"next to black, venom lack" - I think this is the king snake.

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Well, you can try it.

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I should just try it.

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Right, confidence.

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Hello.

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Of course, these little rhymes are fun, but it's important to

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remember that we've got an expert here to make sure we don't go wrong.

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You should never try to do anything like this yourself.

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I hope this is the right one.

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-Martin.

-Yes, that's OK.

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Is this the right snake?

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-Yes.

-Oh! Phew.

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Thank goodness for that.

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I mean, both species are absolutely beautiful, aren't they?

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-Beautiful.

-Oh! I got the right one. Phew!

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Identifying snakes is an expert's game,

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so if you come across one in the wild,

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probably best to stay out of its way.

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When it comes to tests, the king snake/coral snake conundrum

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is definitely one you want to revise for.

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Get it wrong, and you could end up with a dose of potentially

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lethal venom and that's why this puzzling pair could certainly

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be in contention for my worst nightmare.

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Yucatan is rich with reptilian nightmares,

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and to meet my next one, I'm going in search of an ancient wonder.

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There's an old Mexican legend that the remote regions

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of the Yucatan Peninsula hide a place that time forgot...

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..where giant prehistoric monsters still rule the earth.

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My trusty crew and I have travelled far...

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..braved many dangers to reach this lost world...

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..through dark, dense jungle...

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Wah! Whoo-hoo!

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..past ancient forgotten temples...

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..and across the scorching sands of...

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..a tourist beach?

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OK, so it's not the land that time forgot.

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It's Tulum, an ancient walled city on the shore of the Caribbean Sea

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and it is one of the most popular destinations in all of Mexico.

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But believe it or not, it does have a population of prehistoric monsters.

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IT ROARS

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Iguanas are among the largest of all lizards

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and look about as close to a living,

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breathing dinosaur as it's possible to get in this day and age.

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There are many species of iguana.

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But the black spiny-tailed iguanas that live here at Tulum look

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particularly like petrifying prehistoric predators.

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So I'm on my guard.

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One advantage of being in tourist territory,

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rather than the lost world, is there is an expert at hand to show me

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around, in the form of local biologist Raul.

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Oh, it's coming to see us. RAUL LAUGHS

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Those spines look dangerous.

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Ho-ho!

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What are they used for?

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This tail is an amazing way to defend themselves

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from predators like birds of prey and foxes, and they will whip

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the tail against other males also, fighting for territory and females.

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Other predators?

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Well, occasionally, they will eat small animals, such as mice

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or even bats and tiny lizards, but their main diet is plants.

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That's weird, isn't it? Because it looks like such a ferocious creature.

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Plants and flowers.

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And it likes to eat flowers and not flesh? That's really funny!

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So they don't have to chase after prey and hunt it down.

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Does that mean they're rather slow animals?

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-Oh, no! It can run up to 20mph.

-Oh!

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Imagine that. Faster than you.

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Why do they need to be able to run so fast?

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Mainly running away from dangers.

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So it's all for defence? It's not to try and attack anything?

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No. Mainly for defence, yeah.

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'That's not to say that iguanas don't get angry, though.'

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What's he doing now? What's that head-nodding behaviour?

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Well, males do that to attract females.

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But mainly, it's like, "Get out of my territory".

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-"Give me some space!"

-That's right.

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I'm going to give it some space.

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'But it seems he's not the only one on the defensive.'

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Look at that one. Look at that male over there doing his display.

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'Thankfully, it's not aimed at me this time.'

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Oh, there's another male!

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'It's for another iguana.'

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Oh, there might be a fight, because we've got this male

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defending his territory and this one coming to try and invade.

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-Oh, yes, yes.

-And he doesn't like it.

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Let's follow this.

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The other one is running away.

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-So he knows that this one should not be messed with.

-Oh, yeah.

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With his territory secure, he can get back to flirting with his females.

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"Hey, ladies. How you doing?"

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So, despite their fierce and prehistoric looks,

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these iguanas aren't the dangerous dinosaurs you might expect.

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Their speed is for escape, not pursuit.

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Their spines are for defence rather than attack

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and they would much rather sink their teeth into a nice

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bunch of flowers instead of another animal,

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so can I really call these reptiles of the ruins my worst nightmare?

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To catch a glimpse of my next animal,

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I'm going to have to get streetwise.

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This seems like a nice, quiet everyday neighbourhood

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but I've heard reports that this town is home to

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an unruly gang of banditos, plaguing the local residents with

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a crime spree of theft and vandalism.

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So it's time for me to put on my detective hat

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and launch an investigation.

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The first thing any good detective will do

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is go and examine the crime scene.

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Yep, I think we might have found a clue right here.

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Clearly, something has been going through this bin,

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leaving rubbish everywhere - very antisocial.

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I bet they were after those tortillas.

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Probably made a quick getaway into those trees.

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Mmm.

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I think we're on the right track.

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The next step is to look for witnesses, and there are plenty

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of locals who have suffered at the hands of this mystery mob.

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What have you seen them doing?

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Begging for food, climbing the walls in the houses.

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They've got this beautiful long snout and a really, really long tail

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that has rings on it.

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Furry.

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They're furry. What else?

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SHE LAUGHS

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-That's how they walk?

-How did they walk?

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Oh! They walk like that! Ooh!

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Armed with all this evidence, I have a fair idea

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of where our little criminal gang likes to hang out.

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We've just pulled into a local shopping centre car park,

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because an informant tells us that our suspects, daily between five

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and six o'clock, run across this wall and over to those bins there...

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..to raid them.

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So we are on a stakeout.

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Oi!

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Look. He's putting rubbish there. That's good.

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They'll come for the rubbish.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah!

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Just when we're thinking they've given us the slip...

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They're at the... There's one. Can you see it?

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There it is, just coming over the fence now.

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Oh!

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'Long snout. Ringed tail.'

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There's our culprit.

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It's a coatimundi.

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And they're mammals, closely related to kinkajou and racoons.

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This particular species is called the white-nosed coati

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and with the black fur around its eyes too,

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it really does make it look like it's wearing a burglar's mask

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and considering its behaviour - that's pretty appropriate.

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'In the jungle, they live in the trees,

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'coming down to the ground in the day,

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'to forage for insects and fruit.'

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But here in a more urban setting,

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sometimes they'll just pick up whatever we throw away,

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other times, they'll pinch it when we're not looking.

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Their long claws make them great climbers.

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Look at it. Climbing down the tree.

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No trouble at all.

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They're not dangerous to humans.

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Oh, look how cute that one is!

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I think they might be too cute to call criminals.

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It's time to wrap up our investigation

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and what have we learnt?

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Well, yes, coatis can be a bit of a menace, raiding our bins

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and stealing the occasional sandwich, but, in their defence,

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they're just doing what comes naturally to them -

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foraging for food.

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So should I let them off, or send them down as my worst nightmare?

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During my search for the world's nastiest natural nightmares,

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I've come face-to-face with plenty of creepy crawlies,

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things that bite, sting, inject venom, even drink your blood.

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D'you know what?

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I think I might have finally found an insect I'm really going to love.

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The praying mantis has no venom or sting

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and there's even one species that looks like a flower.

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Ah!

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The "praying" in its name has nothing to do with a predatory nature.

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It's down to the prayer-like position of its forelimbs.

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So I'm betting on the praying mantis being

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just as saintly as its name suggests.

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The praying mantis is a master of disguise.

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Many have evolved to blend perfectly in with their surroundings

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so they can look like leaves, bark,

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which in here, makes them virtually invisible.

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To help you look for this needle in a haystack,

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I've once again called on the services of local biologist Raul.

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And he knows exactly where to look.

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Hey, Naomi. There's a praying mantis on this tree. Can you spot it?

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Um...

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No.

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-I can't.

-It's right here.

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Oh, my goodness. Yes!

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-Oh, it's quite tiny, isn't it?

-Oh, yes.

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Are they usually that sort of size?

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Well, praying mantis came in different sizes. They can be

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-as small as your fingernail and as big as your hand.

-Really?

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That camouflage is just incredible. It looks just like a twig.

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Does it use that camouflage to protect itself?

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Yeah. They can be the prey of birds, or lizards, even frogs.

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They use it for protection, but also for hunting.

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Ah, so they're disguised.

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So how do they hunt?

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KUNG-FU FIGHTING MUSIC

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Butterfly, or whatever the prey is, will come.

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And in less than a second it will be on top of him.

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And these spiky little things that they have in their arms

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is helping them to do that.

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So those little spikes, barbed weapons,

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chop down on their unsuspecting prey like a kung fu fighter?

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That's right.

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KUNG-FU FIGHTING SOUND EFFECTS

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And then they start eating their prey alive.

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Ooh!

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Starting with their head also.

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Oh!

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'Yes, a praying mantis dinner party is not for the squeamish.

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'Forget the starter.

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'These guys like to go straight for the main course -

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'while it's still moving!

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'But these ghastly gourmets have an even darker side.'

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Raul, I've heard that praying mantises

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-have a rather unusual mating ritual.

-Oh, yes.

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The females, when they finish, they eat the male,

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starting with the head.

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Well, I'm all for girl power, but that does sound a bit extreme.

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Wow!

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You don't want to mess with the praying mantis.

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-I don't want to be a male...

-No!

-..praying mantis!

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So to summarise, they use their camouflage to launch sneak attacks,

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skewering their victims before eating them alive.

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And if they're still hungry,

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they might just snack on their boyfriend, too!

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Having learned a bit about this beastie,

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I think the praying mantis should perhaps consider changing its name -

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maybe to the kung fu mantis,

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or the head-munching mantis might be more appropriate.

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Whatever you call it, this cannibalistic creepy-crawlie

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is certainly in the running for my worst nightmare!

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For my final outing, I'm heading deep into the jungle...

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..for a nocturnal nightmare encounter.

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At night, the jungle comes alive with things that sneak, slither,

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creep and crawl.

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Even the very air itself is filled with nocturnal nightmares.

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Like bats.

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True horror story stars.

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They are the masters of stealth.

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And when they take to the air, they do it in their millions.

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137 different species darken Mexico's skies every night

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and nine of those could be out hunting in this remote

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patch of Yucatan jungle right now.

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I've got to say, it's pretty unnerving.

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However, if there is one thing that this show has taught me

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about fear, it's that it's best to meet it face-to-face.

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Helping me do that tonight is a bat research team,

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headed by wildlife expert Jorge.

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He's been monitoring the bat species here by catching them

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in these very fine mist nets, before releasing them unharmed.

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As my Spanish isn't up to much, our translator Scott

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is going to help introduce me to Jorge's first catch of the night.

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What have we got here?

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This is known as a ghost-faced bat.

0:21:340:21:38

It's a really peculiar-looking bat. Hang on.

0:21:380:21:41

So those...those are his eyes.

0:21:410:21:44

Ears behind.

0:21:440:21:46

And that's his mouth!

0:21:460:21:48

OK.

0:21:480:21:50

What do the bats do all night?

0:21:500:21:53

This bat leaves the cave to go out to hunt mosquitoes and insects.

0:21:530:21:59

And how many mosquitoes and insects will one bat eat in a night?

0:21:590:22:03

Each bat eats approximately half of its own bodyweight.

0:22:040:22:08

Which is a lot, cos mosquitoes weigh nothing.

0:22:090:22:12

'Jorge's nets are attracting a raft of colourful characters tonight.'

0:22:130:22:18

Oh! Is he happy? Looks like he's going "Argh!"

0:22:210:22:26

Quite a scary face he's got there.

0:22:260:22:28

Common Moustached Bat.

0:22:320:22:34

It does have big long hairs around its mouth.

0:22:340:22:36

Ooh! Does that hurt?

0:22:390:22:41

Are you going off bats, now that it's doing this to you?

0:22:410:22:45

Oh, you're good! You love bats.

0:22:450:22:47

Isn't that an odd-looking bat?

0:22:510:22:53

Why is it got no hair on its back?

0:22:530:22:56

It actually does have hair there.

0:22:560:22:58

What you're looking at is a membrane that covers the hairs on its back.

0:22:580:23:02

Oh, look at its little body. It's totally cute.

0:23:030:23:07

How can anyone think you're a nightmare?

0:23:070:23:10

In fact, this looks so friendly, I want to release this one.

0:23:100:23:14

He's going to put it there, and you just hold it down with your thumb.

0:23:160:23:20

-If it lets go, it's fine.

-If it... If it goes, it's OK.

0:23:200:23:23

Oh, it's going to go. It's going to go.

0:23:230:23:25

Straight up into the night.

0:23:250:23:27

That was a little treat for me.

0:23:270:23:29

Well, we have met several members of the local bat population tonight

0:23:320:23:36

and I have to say that, up close, they really aren't that scary at all.

0:23:360:23:39

OK, some aren't exactly blessed in the looks department,

0:23:390:23:42

but nightmares of nature? Absolutely not.

0:23:420:23:45

Oh, no!

0:23:470:23:48

"Meeting one bat face-to-face may not be frightening, but what

0:23:480:23:52

"about meeting an army of bats so huge, they number

0:23:520:23:54

"into the millions?

0:23:540:23:55

"Dare you face the force of El Volcan de los Murcielagos?"

0:23:550:24:00

The bat volcano? What's the bat volcano?

0:24:000:24:04

Well, I'm about to find out.

0:24:070:24:10

We returned to the forest in daylight and while it certainly seems

0:24:100:24:14

a little less spooky now, that might be about to change.

0:24:140:24:18

Ho-ho-ho, ho-ho!

0:24:190:24:21

Down here in this sinkhole is the entrance to a cave

0:24:210:24:24

and that cave is home to around 2.5 million individual bats.

0:24:240:24:30

Well, we know they're there, cos we can see quite a few already,

0:24:300:24:33

but it also reeks of bat droppings around here.

0:24:330:24:36

It's a pretty overwhelming smell.

0:24:360:24:39

We're told that just before sunset,

0:24:390:24:41

all the bats in this cage will emerge to hunt.

0:24:410:24:45

I'm a little bit nervous and a little bit excited.

0:24:460:24:51

I hope they're not going to fly straight at my face!

0:24:510:24:53

They use a high-pitched navigation system,

0:24:550:24:58

which will steer them clear of objects - like me - but only just.

0:24:580:25:04

Whoo!

0:25:040:25:06

They went right in front of my face!

0:25:060:25:08

I'm suddenly starting to think this might not be quite so fun

0:25:090:25:12

when there are millions.

0:25:120:25:14

But as the bat army's main body of troops emerged, my fear turns to awe!

0:25:150:25:20

Can you hear that?

0:25:220:25:24

The beating of all their wings? Can you hear?

0:25:240:25:27

Oh, my word! That's amazing.

0:25:290:25:32

Have you ever seen anything like it? I haven't.

0:25:340:25:37

They're all moving so fast.

0:25:390:25:42

They're making all the trees

0:25:440:25:46

and leaves whirl round in the same direction.

0:25:460:25:49

Actually creating a real breeze. Oh!

0:25:500:25:53

Cor! No wonder the locals refer to this as the bat volcano.

0:25:580:26:01

It's literally like an eruption of bats rising up from the ground. Wow!

0:26:010:26:07

Wow, wow, wow, wow!

0:26:070:26:09

I'm absolutely speechless.

0:26:180:26:20

Which is not very helpful when you're a television presenter.

0:26:200:26:24

I thought this was going to be a frightening experience,

0:26:280:26:31

but it is not. This is just truly beautiful sight.

0:26:310:26:34

As the sun begins to set,

0:26:360:26:38

we make a quick dash up the hill to see them off into the night.

0:26:380:26:42

No matter how long you spend watching wildlife,

0:26:430:26:46

nature always has new ways of surprising you.

0:26:460:26:48

I thought that 2.5 million bats would be a terrifying prospect,

0:26:480:26:53

but it's turned out to be one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

0:26:530:26:56

They might call it the bat volcano,

0:26:560:26:58

but this is one eruption I'm happy to have been here to witness.

0:26:580:27:01

My Mexican adventures are at an end,

0:27:060:27:08

but have you managed to guess what my worst nightmare will be?

0:27:080:27:11

Is it the spines and spikes of the prehistoric iguana?

0:27:110:27:15

"Hey, ladies! How you doing?"

0:27:170:27:18

The sneaky antics of the furry coarti?

0:27:200:27:23

There it is, just coming over the fence now.

0:27:230:27:26

Perhaps dicing with death on a snake identity parade?

0:27:270:27:30

I hope this is the right one!

0:27:320:27:34

No, it was none of those.

0:27:350:27:36

My worst nightmare is the kung fu fighting, boyfriend-chomping

0:27:360:27:40

cannibal critter, the praying mantis.

0:27:400:27:43

So it's five letters, Rich.

0:27:500:27:52

It starts with a C, ends with an I. And you haven't got any idea?

0:27:520:27:56

Is it an animal?

0:27:590:28:01

SHE LAUGHS

0:28:010:28:04

What?

0:28:040:28:05

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