0:00:02 > 0:00:03# Marauding mice and walls of ice
0:00:03 > 0:00:06- # And sharks on a golfing spree - Argh!
0:00:06 > 0:00:08# Cicada swarms and Martian storms
0:00:08 > 0:00:10- # And fish walking out of the sea - Really?
0:00:10 > 0:00:12# Elks in trees and foaming seas
0:00:12 > 0:00:15- # And giant mayfly mobs - Huh?
0:00:15 > 0:00:17# Zombie snails and friendly whales
0:00:17 > 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 > 0:00:24# Really, really wild and really, really weird
0:00:24 > 0:00:26# They're wild and weird Wild and weird
0:00:26 > 0:00:27# They're really, really wild
0:00:27 > 0:00:29# They're really, really wild and weird! #
0:00:29 > 0:00:31Coming up on today's show -
0:00:31 > 0:00:33some uninvited guests...
0:00:33 > 0:00:36..A herd of elephants on a mini break...
0:00:36 > 0:00:39..An angry ant with a taste for fry-ups...
0:00:39 > 0:00:43..And the worst case of worms in the history of the universe.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54CRASHING
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Down, boy! Whoa!
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Down, boy!
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Sit! Whoa!
0:01:01 > 0:01:04- Down!- Tim, what on Earth is going on in here!
0:01:04 > 0:01:05He's wrecked the place.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09- Why did you invite him in?- I didn't! - Well, I didn't either.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11- Well, then, what's he doing here? - I don't know.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13How did you even get up the rope ladder?
0:01:13 > 0:01:16Don't ask, I can't hold him much longer. I really can't.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19- Boiler's fixed.- Oh, good. - Can I take that?- Oh.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Come on, Mr Snugglesworth.
0:01:25 > 0:01:26HE SNIGGERS
0:01:30 > 0:01:31Well, that was odd.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33Not as odd as that elephant.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35What elephant?
0:01:35 > 0:01:36This elephant.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Zambia in Africa, home of the South Luangwa National Park
0:01:41 > 0:01:44where the star attraction is undoubtedly the magnificent
0:01:44 > 0:01:46African elephant.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50These intelligent, majestic beasts are the planet's biggest land animals
0:01:50 > 0:01:53and are adored and revered by people all over the world.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55I love elephants, you know,
0:01:55 > 0:01:57but I couldn't eat a whole one!
0:01:57 > 0:01:58Hah! I couldn't...
0:01:59 > 0:02:02It's a joke because I couldn't... Cos they're big,
0:02:02 > 0:02:04I couldn't eat...
0:02:04 > 0:02:05Yeah, carry on.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09But it's important to remember that elephants are wild animals
0:02:09 > 0:02:11and can be dangerous.
0:02:11 > 0:02:12It's certainly no joke when
0:02:12 > 0:02:15a five- tonne animal suddenly turns on you.
0:02:16 > 0:02:17Oh, yikes, quick!
0:02:17 > 0:02:18ELEPHANT TRUMPETS
0:02:20 > 0:02:22So, it's a good idea to give any elephant
0:02:22 > 0:02:24plenty of space, which is why the residents
0:02:24 > 0:02:28of this luxury safari lodge had to beat a hasty retreat
0:02:28 > 0:02:30when a whole family of elephants suddenly turned up
0:02:30 > 0:02:32unannounced in reception.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35They didn't book ahead? Outrageous!
0:02:35 > 0:02:39A news crew even caught one of them on camera browsing the gift shop.
0:02:39 > 0:02:40No!
0:02:41 > 0:02:44He's probably after some new swimming "trunks".
0:02:44 > 0:02:46Swimming...
0:02:46 > 0:02:48Because of his...trunk.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52So, what's the story behind these uninvited guests?
0:02:52 > 0:02:54Why were the elephants there in the first place?
0:02:54 > 0:02:58- Maybe they wanted to use the hot tub.- Don't be silly, Tim.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00They wouldn't like the bubbles.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02No, the real reason that they were there is because
0:03:02 > 0:03:04an elephant never forgets.
0:03:04 > 0:03:05Ah.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Forgets what?
0:03:07 > 0:03:09Never forgets anything.
0:03:09 > 0:03:10What does?
0:03:10 > 0:03:11An elephant.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13- An elephant?- Yes!
0:03:13 > 0:03:17- What about an elephant? - It never forgets.- Forgets what?
0:03:17 > 0:03:18Are you doing this to annoy me?
0:03:18 > 0:03:19I don't know.
0:03:19 > 0:03:20Who are you?
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Well, let's hear from someone who can remember what they're talking about,
0:03:26 > 0:03:30elephant specialist Dr Kate Evans.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Anywhere you go in Africa you'll often see these animal paths
0:03:32 > 0:03:34through the bush.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Elephants do like to stay on these paths.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40It's obviously the route of least resistance,
0:03:40 > 0:03:43been worn away over thousands of years.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47These paths guide the elephants to favourite food and water spots.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52The older individuals that have been around for 50, 60 years
0:03:52 > 0:03:54potentially would have learned from their mothers,
0:03:54 > 0:03:58a long, long time ago, that this is the route that we need to travel
0:03:58 > 0:04:00to get to water in time of need.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04And so the youngsters, over time, will pick up this information.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08And it's this collective memory that keeps the elephants coming back
0:04:08 > 0:04:13to the same water holes year after year, generation after generation.
0:04:13 > 0:04:14Water holes?
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Does that mean they're at the lodge for the hot tub after all?
0:04:17 > 0:04:18Keep listening.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24I believe that they built the lodge on old elephant migration paths
0:04:24 > 0:04:27and the migration path went through the middle of the lodge
0:04:27 > 0:04:31and that's why they're choosing to go there rather than around.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34With a memory stretching back this far it can be hard to adjust
0:04:34 > 0:04:36when suddenly things change.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38So, what do you do when a lodge springs up right in the way
0:04:38 > 0:04:41of the route to your favourite watering hole?
0:04:41 > 0:04:44You go straight through it, of course. Stairs and all.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46And when you're the size of a minibus,
0:04:46 > 0:04:48who's going to argue with you?
0:04:48 > 0:04:50Whether you've got a reservation or not.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53It would appear that these elephants have somehow learnt
0:04:53 > 0:04:55that they're not threatened here
0:04:55 > 0:04:58and this small group of elephants have chosen to carry on
0:04:58 > 0:05:01with their migration route and go straight through the lodge.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04So, if you're planning to build your dream home in Africa,
0:05:04 > 0:05:08you might want to check out the local elephant paths first.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12- Cool, hey?- Yeah, that's pretty cool.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16Hey, what's grey, got four legs and a big trunk?
0:05:16 > 0:05:17An elephant?
0:05:17 > 0:05:19No, a mouse going on holiday.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22A mouse going on... Because it's got a big trunk...
0:05:22 > 0:05:24And it's like a suitcase...
0:05:24 > 0:05:26Oh, I give up.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Anyway, an elephant might be a very weird uninvited guest
0:05:29 > 0:05:32but at least you'd see it coming, unlike our next critter.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Oh, yes, because this little bad boy can invade your home,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38cause complete havoc without you even knowing it's there.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41- It's the fire ant.- Did you say...
0:05:41 > 0:05:44MUSIC: Fire by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
0:05:44 > 0:05:46# I'll take you to burn
0:05:51 > 0:05:52# I'll take you to learn
0:05:55 > 0:05:57# I'll see you burn! #
0:05:57 > 0:05:59You finished?
0:05:59 > 0:06:00Yep.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05These ants may be small
0:06:05 > 0:06:08but they are certainly a force to be reckoned with.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11The masters of teamwork, they attack en masse,
0:06:11 > 0:06:16overwhelming their victims with the sheer weight of numbers.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20And they are equipped with some pretty formidable weaponry.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Because they're smoking-hot name is a result of a venomous sting
0:06:23 > 0:06:27that apparently burns like fire.
0:06:27 > 0:06:28Did you say...?
0:06:28 > 0:06:30MUSIC: Fire by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
0:06:30 > 0:06:33- No, no, no! Stop, stop, stop! - MUSIC STOPS ABRUPTLY
0:06:33 > 0:06:34- Stop.- What?- Sit down, please.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Right, this is a story about fire ants.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38- Yeah!- You can't jump up and dance
0:06:38 > 0:06:41every time I say the word "fire", OK?
0:06:41 > 0:06:42OK.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46- All right.- But ants are tiny! Their sting can't hurt that much.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Ah, remember, I said these ants attack en masse.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53When one fire ant stings it releases
0:06:53 > 0:06:57an alarm pheromone which calls in other ants to join in the attack.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01Hey, do you want to see some photos of some fire ant stings?
0:07:01 > 0:07:04- No, not really. - Cool! Have a look at this.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07I said no, not really!
0:07:07 > 0:07:09Eurgh, that's disgusting!
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Yeah, that is the one time you wouldn't want ants in your pants.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15Why would you ever want ants in your pants?
0:07:16 > 0:07:18You should try everything once, shouldn't you?
0:07:18 > 0:07:21- What has this got to do with uninvited guests?- Well.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25These ants may be supreme survivors out in the wild
0:07:25 > 0:07:26but when they move into the urban jungle
0:07:26 > 0:07:30they begin to demonstrate some very dangerous habits.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34They seem to love nothing more than invading our household appliances.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39And frying themselves alive in the electrical current.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41"Shocking" behaviour!
0:07:41 > 0:07:43- Oh, nice.- Thanks!
0:07:43 > 0:07:46Anyway, it's not just one ant with this strange death wish,
0:07:46 > 0:07:49literally thousands of them will hurl themselves
0:07:49 > 0:07:52into the live current one after another until finally...
0:07:53 > 0:07:55..KA-BOOM!
0:07:55 > 0:07:59That doesn't look like a fun way of passing the time.
0:07:59 > 0:08:00Agreed.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03It's definitely not a laughing matter because in the USA
0:08:03 > 0:08:07alone the fire ants' bizarre behaviour is reckoned to cause
0:08:07 > 0:08:11around 5 billion worth of damage and destruction every year.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15- Wow! That's a lot of pocket money. - Mm-mm.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18But why would any animal rush so willingly to certain doom?
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Well, it's all about that alarm pheromone I was telling you about.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25The first ant simply wanders into the electrical current
0:08:25 > 0:08:29completely by accident but when it gets fried it releases
0:08:29 > 0:08:32the alarm pheromone which is a call for help
0:08:32 > 0:08:34to all the other ants nearby.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37And when they come rushing to its aid,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39they also get fried in the current
0:08:39 > 0:08:42and release more pheromones, calling yet more ants into
0:08:42 > 0:08:44the danger zone
0:08:44 > 0:08:45and so on,
0:08:45 > 0:08:47and so on, and so on until...
0:08:50 > 0:08:52MUSIC: Fire by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
0:08:52 > 0:08:54# I'll take you to burn
0:08:56 > 0:08:59# I'll see you burn! #
0:08:59 > 0:09:00Yeah.
0:09:00 > 0:09:05OK, I admit it, the fire ant would definitely be a very unwelcome guest
0:09:05 > 0:09:07- but we don't have them in this country, do we?- No.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09Luckily we don't, don't panic.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12I do, however, have a few specimens down here.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15- Ooh!- Oh, yeah, right in this ja-aa-aa-r...
0:09:16 > 0:09:17Oh!
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Don't worry, I'm pretty sure that's just a bulb.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25SNIGGERING
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Whoo!
0:09:31 > 0:09:34- Generator fixed, power back on.- Well done.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36I'm starving, might have my lunch.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38And while you've been gone I think I might have come up
0:09:38 > 0:09:42- with nature's ultimate unwelcome guest.- Oh, great, let's have a look.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Check this out.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Eric Williams, from Delaware in the USA,
0:09:46 > 0:09:49came across a very unnerving spectacle
0:09:49 > 0:09:51whilst mopping his kitchen floor.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Something long and worm-like
0:09:53 > 0:09:56was emerging from the body of a dead beetle.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03What was this strange alien-like creature doing?
0:10:03 > 0:10:06Ruining my lunch, that's what it's doing.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Ruining lunch for a lot of people, Tim,
0:10:08 > 0:10:12because Eric wasn't the only one to witness this miniature horror.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15I have no idea what those things are.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18I see all these strange hairs moving around.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20- What do you think that is? - It's a cockroach.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23- No, no, look at the stringy bits coming out of it.- Oh, my God!
0:10:25 > 0:10:26That's disgusting!
0:10:27 > 0:10:31Argh! Go back, go back, go back!
0:10:31 > 0:10:34That bug's still alive, gross!
0:10:34 > 0:10:39- So, what do you think it is?- OK, OK, I think I've got this. Earthworms.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41But they've hitched a ride into space on the shuttle
0:10:41 > 0:10:45where they've been subjected to a radioactive meteorite shower
0:10:45 > 0:10:47and they've hurtled back to Earth and landed
0:10:47 > 0:10:51and then gone on a flesh-eating mutant reign of terror.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55- Shall we ask an expert? - Yeah, let's ask an expert.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Biologist Janice Moore has spent a lifetime fascinated
0:11:00 > 0:11:01by this weird event.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06Cameraman's a bit out of focus there. Embarrassing.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09When I was a child I used to see these long worms,
0:11:09 > 0:11:13sort of, squiggling around my grandfather's horse trough.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16I preferred football in the park when I was a child.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20And I was told they were horsehair worms and that is their common name
0:11:20 > 0:11:24because legend has it that these worms come from horsehairs.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Hah! Worms! That's what I said, didn't I? I said that!
0:11:27 > 0:11:31You said radioactive mutant earthworms from out of space.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35- Did I?- Yeah.- Oh, you know, I don't remember.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37Worms.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Well, in reality they're parasites
0:11:39 > 0:11:44and they're parasites of crickets, grasshoppers, that sort of animal.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48These parasites live inside, say, the cricket
0:11:48 > 0:11:52and grow up to be huge compared to the cricket, all coiled up.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55The cricket is almost total parasite.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58But to complete its life cycle the parasite needs a liquid
0:11:58 > 0:12:02to lay its eggs in, so it controls the host from the inside
0:12:02 > 0:12:05and forces it to seek out water.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08- Huh! What, like mind control?- Yeah.
0:12:08 > 0:12:09You know I can do that, don't you?
0:12:09 > 0:12:11Yeah.
0:12:11 > 0:12:12Ooh...
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Someone is feeling sleepy.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17You must go to the fridge and get me ice cream.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20No? Not at all?
0:12:20 > 0:12:22Oh, it's stopped.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Ah, that's a shame, it's my mum's.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28It's safe to say that the hairworm's mind control works much better
0:12:28 > 0:12:30- than yours, Tim.- Hey!
0:12:30 > 0:12:34It controls the host from the inside and moves it towards water,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36any water.
0:12:36 > 0:12:37A bucket,
0:12:37 > 0:12:38a toilet bowl.
0:12:38 > 0:12:39Oh, yuck.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Even a mopped floor will do.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44Then it forces its way out of the bug's body
0:12:44 > 0:12:47and lays its eggs in the water which, surely,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51makes this petrifying parasite the most unwelcome,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54uninvited guest in the history of uninvited guests.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58Right, so, to summarise, then.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02It's a worm that goes inside your body, eats everything in there
0:13:02 > 0:13:05and then as soon as you get wet explodes out of your bottom?!
0:13:05 > 0:13:09- Essentially, yes. - Eurgh, I'm never getting wet again!
0:13:09 > 0:13:13Oh, it's OK, though, they only infest beetles, cockroaches, crickets,
0:13:13 > 0:13:17- things like that. - Oh, well, that's not so bad.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Do keep your eyes open, though, they live in the UK, too.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22I'm never having a bath ever again.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28No change there, then.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33# Wild and weird Wild and weird
0:13:33 > 0:13:35# Really, really wild and really, really weird
0:13:35 > 0:13:37# They're wild and weird Wild and weird
0:13:37 > 0:13:39# They're really, really wild
0:13:39 > 0:13:44# They're really, really wild and weird! #
0:13:44 > 0:13:47Wild and weird!