0:00:02 > 0:00:06# Marauding mice and walls of ice and sharks on a golfing spree
0:00:06 > 0:00:09# Cicada swarms and Martian storms and fish walking out of the sea... #
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Really?
0:00:11 > 0:00:14# Elks in trees and foaming seas and giant mayfly mobs... #
0:00:14 > 0:00:15Huh?
0:00:15 > 0:00:18# Zombie snails and friendly whales and completely frozen frogs... #
0:00:18 > 0:00:19You what?
0:00:19 > 0:00:21# They're wild and weird, wild and weird
0:00:21 > 0:00:23# Really, really wild and really, really weird
0:00:23 > 0:00:25# They're wild and weird, wild and weird
0:00:25 > 0:00:27# They're really, really wild
0:00:27 > 0:00:29# They're really, really wild and weird. #
0:00:29 > 0:00:32It's alien encounters with the oceanic tube
0:00:32 > 0:00:34big enough to swallow a man!
0:00:34 > 0:00:37An alien-like snail with pulsating antennae...
0:00:37 > 0:00:40And the deep sea slimer that's got fishermen puzzled.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43- So does it ruin your prawns? - I've no idea!
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Naomi! Naomi, quick! We've had an alien visitation.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57- Wh-what? What's happened? - You're not going to believe this.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00We had an alien encounter and I've got it all on camcorder.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02- No way!- Oh, yeah!
0:01:02 > 0:01:06This proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is life out there.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08Come on, let's see it then!
0:01:08 > 0:01:09HE PANTS
0:01:09 > 0:01:11You won't believe this!
0:01:11 > 0:01:14There's an alien...in the treehouse. A real one.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Are you here to hurt us?
0:01:16 > 0:01:18No, I'm not here to hurt you.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22I'm here to ensure that you are rightfully crowned King Tim,
0:01:22 > 0:01:23ruler of all men.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27King Tim? Ruler of all men? It's got a lovely ring.
0:01:27 > 0:01:28Yes, I know.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30Now I must fly!
0:01:30 > 0:01:32Oh, he's flying! Would you look at that!
0:01:32 > 0:01:34He's actually flying.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Oh, this is incredible that I'm getting this
0:01:36 > 0:01:39all on my own video camera. It must be a world's first.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42Yes, I've never been on camera before, but now I must go.
0:01:42 > 0:01:43Goodbye.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47That was incredible!
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Oh, breathtaking. I mean, that is just...
0:01:50 > 0:01:53That rewrites the rule book on history, that does, right there.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56It was...quite shaky... I couldn't really see it.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59- Why don't we check it on the other camera?- I've only got one camera.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02- No, no. We've got the treehouse CCTV, haven't we?- Treehouse CCTV?
0:02:02 > 0:02:06Yes, up there. Come on! Let's watch it.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08- No! No, no, no.- Here we go.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12'Oh, it's flying, would you look at that! It's actually flying!
0:02:12 > 0:02:14'Oh, this is incredible that I'm getting this
0:02:14 > 0:02:16'all on my own video camera.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18'It must be a world's first...
0:02:18 > 0:02:20'Goodbye!'
0:02:20 > 0:02:23- STICK CRASHES - 'That was incredible.'
0:02:23 > 0:02:25You know, you didn't need to go to all that trouble.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28It has long been thought there are real-life aliens out there.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30- Really?- Hm-mm.
0:02:30 > 0:02:31Nice try, though.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35The deep sea...
0:02:35 > 0:02:39Possibly the weirdest environment in the world.
0:02:40 > 0:02:41Life down here is hard
0:02:41 > 0:02:46and to cope, animals have taken on a variety of alien-like forms.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53Like this, the appropriately named vampire squid from hell!
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Vampire squid from hell? That is brilliant.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Well, what's that?
0:02:59 > 0:03:00That's a sea angel.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03It is a snail that's lost its shell
0:03:03 > 0:03:05and taken to a life above the seabed.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Yeah, definitely alien-esque.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10Now that's a proper alien!
0:03:10 > 0:03:13It's got sharp, pointy teeth and everything!
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Meet the anglerfish, a highly accomplished ambush predator
0:03:17 > 0:03:19with a glowing lure on its back
0:03:19 > 0:03:22that it uses to attract prey in the unending dark.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24- Awesome!- And that's not all.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27A shocking discovery was made in Tasmania
0:03:27 > 0:03:30of a real unidentified floating object.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34- A scuba diver(!) - No, not that, this!
0:03:34 > 0:03:37- Ooh!- We went off down with another couple of guys on the boat
0:03:37 > 0:03:41and I saw this strange animal, about, oh, 30 metres away.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43I thought, "Wow! What's this?"
0:03:43 > 0:03:45So I yelled out to the other two guys on the boat,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47"Come on, guys, get in here,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50"you've got something here you'll never see again in your life."
0:03:52 > 0:03:54Mick Baron and his team of divers
0:03:54 > 0:03:57approached the enormous tube-shaped structure
0:03:57 > 0:03:59hanging in the water.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02It's got a man-sized opening at the end...
0:04:02 > 0:04:05I can't watch. Ah!
0:04:05 > 0:04:06Whatever you do, guys, don't touch it!
0:04:06 > 0:04:08That would be my advice.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10When I touched it...
0:04:10 > 0:04:11Ah!
0:04:11 > 0:04:14When will these people listen to me? That's just crazy.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16You touch something like that, it's going to react.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18..it didn't actually react,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20it just, sort of, felt like a soft jelly-like substance.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Oh, well that's just his word for it.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27Plus the video footage to prove it.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29Yeah, well, that can be faked, can't it?
0:04:29 > 0:04:32Oh, as you and your alien friend well know.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34Stop distracting me... I want to listen to this.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38And strangest of all,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41the tube was glowing with an eerie blue light.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45So what was this gigantic glowing tube?
0:04:45 > 0:04:47And was it even alive?
0:04:47 > 0:04:50- A plastic bag?- Ten metres long?
0:04:50 > 0:04:52- Windsock?- Try again.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54Whale stocking?
0:04:54 > 0:04:56Whales don't even have legs!
0:04:56 > 0:05:00Well, I can reveal our giant tube is known as pyrosome.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01Pyrosome?
0:05:01 > 0:05:04Tell me there's an expert out there who's been studying these creatures.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06- There is.- Phew!
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Rebecca Helm is a research graduate at Brown University.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16Pyrosomes are made up of tens to thousands
0:05:16 > 0:05:18of very small-bodied animals
0:05:18 > 0:05:21and these animals all stick together to each other
0:05:21 > 0:05:23with shared tissues
0:05:23 > 0:05:26and form this large tube-shaped colony of animals.
0:05:26 > 0:05:31Together these tiny creatures cruise the oceans as one colossal structure.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34Cruise? I don't see an engine!
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Well, each individual animal takes in water,
0:05:37 > 0:05:39which it squirts into the hollow centre,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42moving the whole colony by jet propulsion.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44And the good news for those divers -
0:05:44 > 0:05:46pyrosomes are filter feeders,
0:05:46 > 0:05:51which feast on microorganisms like plankton and bacteria.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54So they're not a danger to us whatsoever? Phew!
0:05:55 > 0:05:59So it turns out our pyrosome isn't an actual alien.
0:05:59 > 0:06:00But this...could be.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Urgh! Is that a snail?
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Yep, with glowing antennae!
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Straight out of a science fiction comic or what!
0:06:09 > 0:06:12- You are going to have to explain this one!- OK...
0:06:12 > 0:06:14But...are you sitting comfortably?
0:06:14 > 0:06:15Oh, um, wait a minute...
0:06:22 > 0:06:25- Yes, ready.- OK, then I'll begin.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Lurking amongst the vegetable patch in German gardens
0:06:29 > 0:06:33is an alien snail, complete with a pair of pulsating tentacles.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Unbeknownst to it, this snail has something living inside it.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45Here's biologist Janice Moore to explain... more.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48So there's a really FUN parasite...
0:06:48 > 0:06:50- Fun parasite?- Hm-mm.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Tim, read out the definition of parasite.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54Oh, here we go...
0:06:54 > 0:06:56P...p...
0:06:58 > 0:07:01"Parasite... Animal or plant that lives off another,
0:07:01 > 0:07:05"often leading to...death."
0:07:05 > 0:07:08- That doesn't sound like fun. - No...
0:07:09 > 0:07:11So there's a really FUN parasite.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14The scientific name is Leucochloridium,
0:07:14 > 0:07:18and it actually lives in the intestinal tract
0:07:18 > 0:07:20of a variety of songbirds.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Ah... So it start's life in the birds' guts.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25Yep, then it lays its eggs inside the bird,
0:07:25 > 0:07:29- which in turn poos them out in its droppings.- Urgh!
0:07:29 > 0:07:31This would be the end of the cycle for Leu...
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Leu...co...lip...
0:07:33 > 0:07:35for the parasite, if it weren't for the fact
0:07:35 > 0:07:38that the garden snail finds bird droppings irresistible.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Poo? Irresistible?
0:07:40 > 0:07:42But the snail likes it,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45although that's where the problems begin.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47When they eat these eggs,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51the egg hatches and the little larval parasite,
0:07:51 > 0:07:53a flatworm called a trematode,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56moves into the tentacles of the snail
0:07:56 > 0:08:01and there it grows up into a kind of striped mass.
0:08:01 > 0:08:02The snail's tentacle is now
0:08:02 > 0:08:06one enormous pulsating flatworm brood sac.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09But here our parasitic mastermind encounters a problem.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11It can't breed IN the snail.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14To lay its eggs...
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Oh...sorry. I'm not putting you off your tea, am I?
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Too late.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24So, as I was saying, to lay its eggs,
0:08:24 > 0:08:28the parasite once again needs to get back inside the bird's gut.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31But how does the fickle flatworm complete the cycle?
0:08:32 > 0:08:36Whatever it is, I've got a funny feeling it's not going to end nicely.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Well, it uses mind control.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42It forces the usually reclusive snail upward toward the light.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44Once exposed,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47the snail's tentacle looks like a pulsating grub on a leaf.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Janice, take over.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51Birds will look at this and say,
0:08:51 > 0:08:53"Ha! Good to eat," and they'll eat it.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59And, in that way, the life cycle is complete.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Told you it didn't end well for the snail.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05At least it gets out alive,
0:09:05 > 0:09:07but minus a tentacle.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14- Right, back to the ocean for our final alien encounter.- Ooh!
0:09:17 > 0:09:21Fishermen in the Atlantic were facing a very sticky situation.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23...crawling around in the middle.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25So how do you get rid of all that slime?
0:09:25 > 0:09:27They're pulling up their nets and pots,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30only to find them covered in slime!
0:09:30 > 0:09:33So does it ruin your prawns?
0:09:33 > 0:09:35- And does it?- Does it what?
0:09:35 > 0:09:36Ruin their prawns?
0:09:36 > 0:09:39She's obviously very worried. Listen.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41So does it ruin your prawns?
0:09:41 > 0:09:43Well, would you eat slimy prawns?
0:09:43 > 0:09:45Yeah, good point.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47- Can I carry on?- Yes, please do.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51An oceanic ooze is clogging their nets
0:09:51 > 0:09:53and having to be bailed from boats.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56Slime! Ooh!
0:09:58 > 0:10:02Armfuls of this colourless gloop is appearing in any one catch...
0:10:04 > 0:10:07..with often more slime than fish!
0:10:07 > 0:10:10Removing it from the haul is an absolute nightmare.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Of nature!
0:10:13 > 0:10:15- Ah, good plug!- Thanks.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18Hey, you know, I got a bucket of that stuff right here.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Oh, man, it is gross!
0:10:21 > 0:10:23Oh!
0:10:23 > 0:10:25What's making this stuff?
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Well...
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Here's the perpetrator...
0:10:29 > 0:10:31A hagfish.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35It's the undertaker of the deep,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38searching the murky bed for corpses,
0:10:38 > 0:10:42literally, eating its victims inside out.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45I always say it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49The question remains though, why all the slime?
0:10:49 > 0:10:53Well, aside from its willingness to eat sea-floor scraps,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57the hagfish doesn't seem to have very much going for it.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59It's pretty much blind.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01What do you call a fish with no eyes?
0:11:01 > 0:11:03Oh, I know this one.
0:11:03 > 0:11:04"What you call a fish with no eyes?"
0:11:04 > 0:11:06It's a Fssssh, isn't it?
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Cos it's got no letter "I".
0:11:08 > 0:11:10You know, it's just a Fffsssssshhh.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13No... It's a hagfish, yeah.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16Surprised you can't remember it, you just said it a few minutes ago!
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Blimey! Try and keep up, Naomi!
0:11:20 > 0:11:24As well as no eyes, it has no jaws or tough scales
0:11:24 > 0:11:26and, not that it looks it to us,
0:11:26 > 0:11:30but it could make a tasty seafood snack for other marine life.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Things just want to eat it.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35And the secret to its success? Slime.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40Meet Professor Doug Fudge.
0:11:40 > 0:11:41Doug Fudge?
0:11:41 > 0:11:45I bet he's got some "sweet" ideas about these master slimers!
0:11:45 > 0:11:49So the hagfish is essentially covered with slime glands
0:11:49 > 0:11:52and when an animal is attacked by predator,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56there's muscle in the area where it's touched
0:11:56 > 0:11:59that cause those slime glands to release their contents.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02It's actually a little mini volcano of slime
0:12:02 > 0:12:04that comes out of the gland.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06That is hardly a volcano.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09No disrespect to Doug... Now hang on a sec.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12Whoa!
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Now that's a volcano!
0:12:14 > 0:12:16Oh, man. Look at it!
0:12:16 > 0:12:18Yes!
0:12:18 > 0:12:19- Finished?- Wow!
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Who? Yes, sorry.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27A single hagfish can turn a bucket of water into slime in seconds...
0:12:29 > 0:12:30Urgh!
0:12:30 > 0:12:32That is so gross!
0:12:32 > 0:12:36..which proves to be a pretty fantastic underwater weapon.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46The fibrous mucus is designed to choke a predator
0:12:46 > 0:12:48by clogging up its airways.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52All these fish are left gagging as their gills fill with mucus.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Every assailant is repulsed by a wall of slime.
0:12:57 > 0:12:58Hang on a minute...
0:12:58 > 0:13:01How does Haggie prevent itself from becoming a victim
0:13:01 > 0:13:03of its own slimy strategy?
0:13:03 > 0:13:04That's a good question.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08They have an ingenious way of getting out of the slime,
0:13:08 > 0:13:09as the prof explains.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14They'll tie their body in an overhand knot
0:13:14 > 0:13:18and then they'll pass their body through the knot
0:13:20 > 0:13:22and that will wipe the slime off of their body.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28# Let's get physical, physical... #
0:13:28 > 0:13:31You know... It's not as easy as it sounds, that.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33Let me have a go...
0:13:33 > 0:13:35That's one leg and the other.
0:13:35 > 0:13:36- Look!- Whoa!
0:13:36 > 0:13:38- Piece of cake.- Oh, that reminds me.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40Ooh, cake!
0:13:40 > 0:13:42- Ooh, pass us a bit! - Oh, yeah!
0:13:42 > 0:13:45- Oh, no! Can't reach it...- Go on! - Give us a bit!
0:13:45 > 0:13:47- Ooooooh!- Oh!
0:13:48 > 0:13:51More for me, I suppose. Mm-mm!
0:13:51 > 0:13:53See you next time.
0:13:53 > 0:13:54Ow!
0:13:54 > 0:13:57# Wild and weird, wild and weird
0:13:57 > 0:13:59# Really, really wild and really, really weird
0:13:59 > 0:14:01# They're wild and weird, wild and weird
0:14:01 > 0:14:02# They're really, really wild and
0:14:02 > 0:14:08# Really, really wild and weird
0:14:08 > 0:14:10# Wild and weird! #