0:00:02 > 0:00:04# Marauding mice and walls of ice
0:00:04 > 0:00:06# And sharks on a golfing spree!
0:00:06 > 0:00:08# Cicada swarms and Martian storms
0:00:08 > 0:00:10# And fish walking out of the sea!
0:00:10 > 0:00:13- # Really?! - Elks in trees and foaming seas
0:00:13 > 0:00:15- # And giant mayfly mobs! - Huh?!
0:00:15 > 0:00:16# Zombie snails and friendly whales
0:00:16 > 0:00:19- # And completely frozen frogs! - You 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 > 0:00:30# They're really, really wild and weird! #
0:00:30 > 0:00:33Coming up on today's show - a whole lot of horror...
0:00:33 > 0:00:36..a tree in serious need of a plaster...
0:00:36 > 0:00:39..an ant with the worst headache ever...
0:00:39 > 0:00:43..and the flesh-eating fly with a taste for humans. Mwah-ha-ha-ha!
0:00:58 > 0:01:01THUNDER CRASHES AND WOMAN SCREAMS
0:01:06 > 0:01:08GHOST HOWLS
0:01:14 > 0:01:18Please could you get me some more popcorn, Naomi?
0:01:18 > 0:01:21- Does nothing scare you, Tim?- No.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23I have seen every single horror film there is.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Nothing gives me the heebie-jeebies any more.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29- What about nightmares of nature? - I'm not watching that again.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32- You've made me watch it five times already today.- No, no, no.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34I've got some extra-special tales of terror
0:01:34 > 0:01:37from the natural world that will definitely make you squirm.
0:01:37 > 0:01:38- OK.- Give us that..
0:01:38 > 0:01:42Cool. Hang on. Where did you get this?
0:01:42 > 0:01:45This is my nan's favourite tablecloth!
0:01:45 > 0:01:47Oh!
0:01:49 > 0:01:54Trees. They can be spooky, haunting, even ghostly.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57Fairytales and folklore abound with stories of creepy,
0:01:57 > 0:02:01deep, dark woods where terror lurks in the shadows.
0:02:01 > 0:02:02Ooh-ha-ha-ha!
0:02:02 > 0:02:05Come on, Naomi. You're going to have to do better than that.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08- Trees aren't scary. They're just a bunch of wood.- Really?
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Well, let's take a trip to the other side of the world, to Australia.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13And just look at what Chris Wharton found
0:02:13 > 0:02:17when he was cutting down a tree in his back yard.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Yeah, yeah, yeah. He found some wood. Big deal.
0:02:20 > 0:02:21Hang on. Is that jam?
0:02:21 > 0:02:23Nope.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27Here we have blood pumping out of a tree
0:02:27 > 0:02:31- after I cut it.- Blood?
0:02:31 > 0:02:34How's that for horror?
0:02:35 > 0:02:37Oh! Look! It's still coming out!
0:02:39 > 0:02:44The strangest thing I've ever seen, while playing with my chain saw.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46- That is crazy.- I know!
0:02:46 > 0:02:50- A tree that bleeds.- No, no, no, no.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Playing with a chainsaw. You could take your arm off. It's not a toy.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Remember, kids. If you're playing with a chainsaw, just be careful.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00What am I talking about, kids?
0:03:00 > 0:03:02You shouldn't even have a chainsaw.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04- So this doesn't freak you out at all?- No.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06There's not much blood there, is there?
0:03:06 > 0:03:10- And besides, it's just a graze.- OK. What about this, then?
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Because that tree isn't the only one.
0:03:14 > 0:03:15All over the world,
0:03:15 > 0:03:19people are stumbling upon this gruesome spectacle.
0:03:19 > 0:03:20A bleeding tree.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Look, look. The tree is bleeding. Look!
0:03:26 > 0:03:29- Looks like blood, doesn't it? - Yes, it looks like blood.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34Tree blood. It's flowing like a river.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38I do hope he's not tasting that.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40- Not too bad.- Oh, he is.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42Well, as long as he's not putting his fingers in it.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45- I will try to plug my fingers. - Go on.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47- Why would you do that?- Oh, dear.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52- That is disgusting. Don't do it again. Oh!- Scared now?
0:03:52 > 0:03:57No, not really. Maybe. It's not real blood, though, is it?
0:03:57 > 0:04:00No, you're right. It's not actually blood at all.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02So what is it, then?
0:04:02 > 0:04:04Well, to answer that, we need to understand a little more
0:04:04 > 0:04:07about the inner workings of a tree.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Just like animals, trees have circulation.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Inside the trunk and branches is a fluid called sap
0:04:13 > 0:04:15that carries water and food around the tree,
0:04:15 > 0:04:19from the roots in the ground all the way up to the leaves at the top,
0:04:19 > 0:04:21which means that when the trunk of the tree is cut in two,
0:04:21 > 0:04:23the sap can come spilling out,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26just like blood does when we cut ourselves.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29But I have seen tree sap and it is a clear liquid, not red.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32That's right. It usually is.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34But if a tree is infected with a disease,
0:04:34 > 0:04:37it may flood the sap with healing agents,
0:04:37 > 0:04:38which turns it red like blood.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41And in the spring, when the tree is growing new leaves,
0:04:41 > 0:04:45it produces a lot of sap, storing it in the trunk under high pressure.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47Ohhh!
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Which is why a cut can lead to it literally
0:04:49 > 0:04:52gushing like a scene from a horror story.
0:04:52 > 0:04:53Tomato juice?
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Uhhh... no, thank you!
0:04:56 > 0:04:58So, if you want to avoid a total bloodbath,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01it might be best to leave your chainsaw at home.
0:05:02 > 0:05:07See? Nature can beat any horror film for gore. Even the plants are scary.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09Yes, it's not bad. It's pretty impressive.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12But is it as impressive...
0:05:12 > 0:05:13as the zombie ant?
0:05:13 > 0:05:16DRAMATIC CHORDS
0:05:17 > 0:05:19- You are just making this up now, Tim.- Am I?
0:05:19 > 0:05:21Pay attention, my young novice,
0:05:21 > 0:05:24for you are about to be schooled in the ways of horror.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26Oh, yeah. First up, music.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28# It's raining men, hallelujah... #
0:05:28 > 0:05:30- I like this one.- No...
0:05:30 > 0:05:32# Her name was Lola... #
0:05:32 > 0:05:35DRAMATIC MUSIC
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Next. Lighting.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39THUNDER CRASHES
0:05:39 > 0:05:41And finally... HIGH VOICE: spoo...
0:05:41 > 0:05:43CLEARS THROAT
0:05:43 > 0:05:45LOW VOICE: Spooky voice.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Gaze upon this poor, wretched bullet ant.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52See how it writhes and squirms like a crazed zombie.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58It doesn't look very zombie-like. It's cleaning itself.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Or maybe it's break dancing.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02Throwing a few shapes on the dance floor, you know, like...
0:06:02 > 0:06:07Stop that! Stop that! Stop dancing! Listen to the music.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12What dark forces of nature could possibly be behind
0:06:12 > 0:06:14such strange and freakish behaviour?
0:06:16 > 0:06:18MUSIC: "Axel F"
0:06:18 > 0:06:20Yes, go on, ant.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Sorry.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34As I was saying, this ant has fallen victim to one of the most
0:06:34 > 0:06:37terrible afflictions in the natural world.
0:06:37 > 0:06:42No, not break dancing - it's the horrifying Cordyceps fungus.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44A fungus? What, like a mushroom?
0:06:44 > 0:06:47Yes, but unlike a mushroom,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50once the ant has breathed in the spores of the Cordyceps fungus,
0:06:50 > 0:06:51it starts to grow inside it,
0:06:51 > 0:06:56eating away all of the ant's internal organs.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59- Ughh! What, all of them? - Pretty much.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04But then things start to get really weird.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07The fungus turns the ant into its own personal zombie,
0:07:07 > 0:07:10flooding its brain with chemicals
0:07:10 > 0:07:14which force it to climb high up into the tree tops.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17- Why? Does it like the view?- No.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20It's to get high enough to release its spores
0:07:20 > 0:07:23because what happens next is the most terrifying thing of all.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28The fungus devours the rest of the ant's brain
0:07:28 > 0:07:30and bursts out of its body.
0:07:32 > 0:07:33- Pretty grim, eh?- Wow!
0:07:33 > 0:07:36That would really give you a bad hair day.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40- Not me, though. This is extra holding here.- Oh.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42Then, when it is fully grown,
0:07:42 > 0:07:44the fungus releases its spores
0:07:44 > 0:07:46to float away and infect new victims,
0:07:46 > 0:07:50be they cricket, moth, or another poor, unfortunate bullet ant.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00- There you go. The real-life zombie ant.- Horrifying.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Well, not really. They're only about that big.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05- Nothing scares me, like you said.- OK.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09What about a mini monster that doesn't feast on ants,
0:08:09 > 0:08:13- it feasts on humans?- No.- Yes.- No!
0:08:13 > 0:08:18Viewers of a squeamish disposition may wish to look away now.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Because this is about as horrific as nature gets.
0:08:21 > 0:08:22Check out this footage from Panama.
0:08:22 > 0:08:27A man is having a strange object removed from his back.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30- That's masking tape. - No, not the masking tape, Tim.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32What's under it?
0:08:33 > 0:08:35PEOPLE GASP
0:08:35 > 0:08:37- It's ready to come out. - Is it there?- It is.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39It's, like, right there.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41And that object appears to be alive.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45- Ugh! That looks disgusting. - Hold on to your lunch.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48It's going to get worse.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51I can feel it trying to pull back in. Gross.
0:08:51 > 0:08:52- Ughh!- Ohh!
0:08:55 > 0:08:58That's huge.
0:08:58 > 0:08:59That is gross. Gross.
0:09:01 > 0:09:02Can you feel that coming out?
0:09:02 > 0:09:06- TIM AND NAOMI GROAN - Tim, make it stop!
0:09:06 > 0:09:07They're huge!
0:09:07 > 0:09:10THEY SCREAM
0:09:21 > 0:09:22What is that?
0:09:22 > 0:09:25And please tell me they don't have those in our country.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31You're OK, Tim, because this horror story only happens in Central
0:09:31 > 0:09:32and South America.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37- What are you doing? - Cancelling my holiday. Hello.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41Is that South America? I'm not coming. Thank you, goodbye.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46And Dr Mark Rowlands knows all about these nasty critters.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49Not sure about his packed lunch, though.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Those insects that we are trying to pull out of people's bodies
0:09:52 > 0:09:54are the larvae of the botfly.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57I have some here pickled inside this jar.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06They are quite large. They are about one and a half centimetres long.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09But how does something that big get under your skin
0:10:09 > 0:10:12- in the first place, I hear you ask. - I didn't ask.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14It's just an expression.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Yes, I know, but I just don't want you to show me any more.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18Please don't show any more.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20The botfly itself is quite large.
0:10:20 > 0:10:21It is about the size of a bumblebee
0:10:21 > 0:10:25so if it were to actually land on a host itself, it would probably
0:10:25 > 0:10:30be detected by the human or by the cattle or pig and be brushed away.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34That makes it less likely for the fly to succeed in laying its eggs
0:10:34 > 0:10:36successfully on the host.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41- So, how do they do it?- Ah, they have a very sneaky tactic.
0:10:41 > 0:10:46- Yes, ninjas. That's exactly what I would do.- No, not ninjas.- No?
0:10:46 > 0:10:51What the fly has cleverly done is to grab usually an insect
0:10:51 > 0:10:55like a mosquito or a tick or even a house fly...
0:10:55 > 0:10:57And after a quick air ambush, the botfly
0:10:57 > 0:11:01pins down its victim and quickly attaches its eggs.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Then the unsuspecting insect is sent on its way to do
0:11:04 > 0:11:06the botfly's dirty work for it.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Yeah, that is pretty clever, but I'd have used ninjas.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12Still quicker, more efficient.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16On contacting the human or animal host,
0:11:16 > 0:11:20the small botfly larvae inside the egg will be able to detect the warmth
0:11:20 > 0:11:22of the host and it will hatch at that point
0:11:22 > 0:11:24and it does this very quickly indeed.
0:11:24 > 0:11:29The larvae is able to penetrate and embed itself in the skin of the host.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31Over the course of several weeks, it will grow
0:11:31 > 0:11:34and eat its way into the flesh.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37And just in case you were thinking of getting rid of it at that stage,
0:11:37 > 0:11:39it has spiny bristles that hold it in
0:11:39 > 0:11:41and make it impossible to pull out.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45The only way to win this tug-of-war is to play dirty.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50One trick that you can do to actually make it easier is to smear
0:11:50 > 0:11:55a gel or a fat over the rear end of the larvae.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59I said they don't live in this country, Tim.
0:11:59 > 0:12:04- Naomi, you can never be too careful. Now, am I completely covered?- Yeah.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08Now, this will block the breathing tubes of the larvae
0:12:08 > 0:12:12and that makes it easier to actually draw the larvae from the body.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Or, alternatively, you could just wait
0:12:16 > 0:12:19because after six weeks, the larva will become a maggot
0:12:19 > 0:12:23and just pop out on its own, ready to turn into an adult fly.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25And apart from a bit of a scratch,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28they actually don't do us any harm at all.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33Apart from the psychological trauma.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35Why would you show me that?
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Well, you did say you wanted horror stories.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Hey, it's not like I showed you the African eye worm or anything.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44- Please tell me that's just a worm with a really big eye.- No.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47The African eye worm is another parasite carried by a fly
0:12:47 > 0:12:50that burrows into your skin, swims through your body
0:12:50 > 0:12:52and appears inside your eyeball.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55- Do you want to see?- No. - Oh, come on!
0:12:55 > 0:12:57- No.- I thought you said you weren't scared of anything.
0:12:57 > 0:12:58- No!- Just one quick shot.
0:12:58 > 0:12:59No!
0:12:59 > 0:13:02MUSIC FROM "PSYCHO"
0:13:05 > 0:13:06CAR STARTS AND DRIVES OFF
0:13:06 > 0:13:09Great. That's got rid of him!
0:13:09 > 0:13:12Now I can enjoy this in peace.
0:13:12 > 0:13:13Aw!
0:13:13 > 0:13:17# Loving you
0:13:17 > 0:13:20# Is easy cos you're beautiful
0:13:21 > 0:13:24# And everything that I do
0:13:24 > 0:13:28# Is out of loving you...#
0:13:29 > 0:13:30# Wild and weird
0:13:30 > 0:13:32# Wild and weird
0:13:32 > 0:13:34# Really, really, really wild and really, really weird
0:13:34 > 0:13:37# Wild and weird Wild and weird
0:13:37 > 0:13:40# Really, really wild and really, really wild and weird
0:13:43 > 0:13:45# Wild and weird. #