Coyote Peterson vs. Komodo Dragon: Dangerous Face-Off!

0:01 Okay, I am less than just a couple feet away from a full grown Komodo dragon,

0:07 and it has taken 10 years to get to this point.

0:10 (exciting music) This is like some serious "Godzilla" shots right here.

0:15 (exciting music) (animal groans) (exciting music continues) (exciting

0:32 music fades) (tense music) The Lesser Sunda Islands.

0:44 It's taken my entire career to reach this moment,

0:48 to stand face to face with the last living dragons.

0:54 Across this landscape, the terrain feels barren,

0:57 a desolate kingdom ruled by these ancient reptiles who

1:02 move with unfathomable power and purpose when hunger calls.

1:08 Nestled in the folds of this unforgiving land, human life has found a way.

1:14 Generations of people living in the shadow of a legendary giant.

1:19 Yet sometimes these two worlds collide and the outcome is brutal.

1:27 Survival here is not a game, it's a legacy written in scars.

1:33 This location here is the exact same place

1:36 where Steve Irwin filmed his famous Komodo Dragon episode.

1:39 I'll never forget seeing that as a kid to be like, "Wow,

1:41 he's getting chased around by a Komodo dragon." He had

1:44 to run and jump up and climb into a tree.

1:46 That's not gonna happen for us today.

1:47 There's actually been a lot of ecotourism growth since,

1:50 you know, the 20 plus years ago when Steve filmed here.

1:54 You can see I'm walking on this really nice dock.

1:56 This is big enough for cruise ships to come in and hundreds

1:59 of thousands of people on a yearly basis come to visit Komodo National Park.

2:03 This is considered a world heritage site.

2:06 These dragons are critically endangered and it's amazing that this sort

2:09 of protection is put in place to essentially preserve not only the environment,

2:13 but a species that has fewer than 5,000 left in the wild.

2:18 I believe they're just over 3,500 Komodo

2:20 dragons living between Komodo, Rinca, and Flores.

2:24 And despite being big and sluggish-looking, they are incredibly fast.

2:28 Bite from a Komodo dragon would be a serious problem.

2:31 We actually got to interview a nice gentleman yesterday who

2:35 was almost killed by a Komodo dragon a year ago.

2:38 He was out collecting honey and a dragon sprung up out of the underbrush,

2:43 chased him, he tripped, the dragon got on top of him, ripped his leg apart,

2:46 ripped his hands apart, crushed his hands, he nearly died.

2:49 He climbed up into a tree and survived for almost

2:52 seven hours while drinking the honey that he had collected.

2:56 Did you feel any burning or could you feel

3:00 that there was venom in the bite of the Komodo dragon?

3:03 (translator speaking foreign language)- Yeah.

3:08 (speaking foreign language)- He say, "Yes, feeling very bad,

3:12 and pain and very sick."- [Host] We're glad you're here today.

3:16 Thank you.

3:17 Thank you for sitting down and talking with us.

3:21 [Trent] There's a massive dragon down here.

3:22 You guys should get up and walk over by it.

3:25 Oh, okay.

3:25 Are you comfortable going to see the dragon?

3:28 Yeah.

3:28 Okay, so we've got a Komodo dragon.

3:29 Yeah.

3:30 How's that for timing?

3:31 Huh?

3:33 Wow.

3:34 That is a very, very large animal.

3:37 Are you comfortable like walking down to here to look at him?

3:39 We get a couple of good shots.

3:45 (dramatic music) Do we go around the back side?

3:52 It's okay.

3:55 (dramatic music continues) (happy music) Komodo

4:11 Dragons sure are prevalent in town.

4:14 You see little statues and trinkets honoring them all up and down the street.

4:22 I got a baby Komodo dragon that is hanging

4:24 out right up here on the edge of this house.

4:26 This to me, is the epitome of urban wildlife.

4:31 A baby hatchling Komodo dragon in someone's house,

4:35 And the babies will come down out of the hills and into this habitation

4:38 area so they can actually be up and away from the large Komodo dragons.

4:42 So it's actually pretty smart.

4:43 This dragon knows that if it's down here by humans,

4:46 people aren't gonna mess with it,

4:47 and then the large Komodo dragons are not gonna cannibalize it.

4:50 So just taking the opportunity to get a couple of cool

4:52 shots to prove that dragons are living amongst the people.

4:58 Okay.

4:58 We are officially beginning the trek off

5:00 on the longest hike you can take on Komodo Island.

5:05 Our guide has two specific dragon feeding spots

5:08 that he's going to be leading us to.

5:11 Ajis has been guiding expeditions on these islands for well over 20 years,

5:15 so he is well acquainted with the dramatic

5:17 shifts in behavior that these dragons can display.

5:21 The environment is very, very dry,

5:24 and every single log looks like it could be a Komodo dragon.

5:28 They're incredibly well camouflaged in an environment like

5:31 this, and even though it's the world's largest lizard,

5:35 it is kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack.

5:39 Now these are highly protected, critically endangered animals,

5:42 so we'll not be able to get hands on with the dragons.

5:46 However, we are able to get the cameras extremely close.

5:49 Mario and Trent have modified a small RC vehicle

5:52 and have mounted a tiny action camera on top of it.

5:55 We also have the RED Komodo-X camera,

5:58 which is a high powered piece of machinery that's exceptionally small,

6:02 and it shoots in 6K at 80 frames a second.

6:05 So this will be some of the most epic

6:06 shots of Komodo dragons that we could possibly get, and we may be, likely are,

6:11 the first to ever use the Komodo-X to film Komodo Dragons.

6:17 Well, we hiked and hiked and hiked, and we finally found a Komodo dragon.

6:21 And around the Komodo dragon is about 150 people traveling from all

6:26 over the world to be able to see these amazing animals.

6:29 That's a big one too.

6:34 This is what helps sustain Komodo National Park is to have

6:38 people come and see these animals in their natural environment.

6:41 Now, this is a completely wild Komodo dragon.

6:44 The Rangers are helping to keep people at a safe distance,

6:47 which gives everybody the opportunity to really admire these last giants.

6:58 (chill music) And Trent's right here with the RED camera,

7:07 getting some pretty epic shots following the dragon.

7:09 And here comes another group coming in right here.

7:11 The entire island of Komodo is flooding right to this spot.

7:20 (dramatic music) There you have it, the ecotourism side of Komodo Island.

7:29 And while this is a great draw

7:30 to help support the conservation of these animals, we want to get more remote.

7:34 So next we're gonna be heading to Rinka Island that has far fewer tourists,

7:38 and our guides are gonna take us far off trail with the hope

7:40 that we can find Komodo Dragons acting in a more naturalistic way.

7:48 (dramatic music) Now, you wouldn't wanna get bitten by a Komodo dragon

7:54 because their jaws are designed for biting and tearing.

7:56 That means that when they lock down on a prey item,

7:59 they rip hunks of flesh off and swallow that flesh down whole.

8:02 They primarily feast on deer,

8:05 pigs and water buffalo, which inhabit these islands.

8:08 But the teeth of the Komodo dragon are super unique.

8:11 Not only are they razor sharp and turned backwards,

8:14 but they're serrated and they actually have iron lining.

8:18 So you could say that this animal has a metal bite.

8:22 Komodo dragons also have a massive amount of bacteria in their mouths,

8:25 and it's believed that they have venom glands.

8:27 So between the venom and the bacteria and the damaging bite,

8:30 if you were to get bitten by a Komodo dragon,

8:32 it would without question be a medical emergency.

8:37 (chill music) So when you first get to Rinka Island,

8:43 there's a very nice boardwalk you take from the dock back to the ranger station,

8:48 and then we get off trail.

8:50 Now, a lot of people that come to this island,

8:53 because there are tourists that visit Rinka generally just take

8:56 the boardwalk and want to see Komodo dragons from this higher perspective.

8:59 But we are getting special access, so we're gonna be able to go off trail

9:04 and deep into the island to look for dragons.

9:07 You guys see a dragon?

9:09 Oh yeah.

9:09 There's one right there.

9:10 So we're right next to the ranger station right now,

9:13 and there is a Komodo dragon right there.

9:16 Perfect situation for us to possibly put the RC car down.

9:20 So the little RC car that we have,

9:22 Mario and Trent modified it to be able to hold an action camera on top.

9:27 And we're off.

9:30 Okay.

9:30 The Komodo Dragon's definitely in notice of the car.

9:33 They're very keen hunters, primarily.

9:36 Oh, it's going right to the car.

9:37 It's going right to the car.

9:41 He's definitely super curious.

9:45 Sees it.

9:47 And this could be the shot Mario wants

9:50 beautiful light on the dragon tongue flicking out.

9:52 This is it.

9:53 This is it.

9:54 Yes, this is the shot.

10:00 Wow.

10:01 Now it probably looks to the Komodo dragon like it's just

10:04 some weird little creature in the environment it's never seen before.

10:07 These lizards are incredibly intelligent, very curious,

10:11 and this Komodo dragon is definitely thinking to itself right now.

10:13 What is this thing?

10:15 It's making a weird little mechanical sound.

10:19 It doesn't smell like a prey item,

10:22 but I'm gonna investigate just a little bit closer.

10:29 (exciting music) Oh no, he flipped the car.

10:35 Our guide's gonna go flip it the right direction.

10:40 Okay, we're back.

10:44 Check that out.

10:47 (screaming music) This is like some serious Godzilla shots right here.

10:51 Oh, look at the tail.

10:55 Komodo dragon alongside our RC car.

11:01 Oh, nice driving Mario.

11:06 Mario Kart in real life komodo dragon.

11:12 Nice.

11:12 Good move.

11:18 Oh, and it just sat right in front of the camera.

11:22 That is like the quintessential Komodo dragon pose right there.

11:28 This is probably the best situation that we're gonna have

11:31 the entire day to get me up close with a Komodo dragon.

11:34 So I'm gonna be able to get on the backside of the dragon,

11:38 one that is just sunning itself.

11:41 Wow, that's perfect right there.

11:46 Okay.

11:46 I am less than just a couple feet away from a full-grown Komodo dragon.

11:52 This thing is absolutely epic from the tip of its snout to the tip of its tail.

11:57 This is the largest lizard on the planet, the biggest of the monitors,

12:02 and it has taken 10 years to get to this point.

12:06 Right now, the dragon is looking right at me, huge, massive front claws.

12:10 And the thing that's different about Komodo

12:12 dragons as compared to other monitor lizards, is the robustness of their bodies.

12:17 All of that muscular structure, not only in the forearms,

12:20 but in the hind limbs and that tail.

12:23 Body covered in little tiny osteoderms.

12:25 When you're this close, you can see just how armor plated this animal is.

12:34 I just wanna make sure that I'm in a decent position just

12:36 in case he decides that he's gonna lunge up and come at me.

12:41 I've gotta be prepared to spring out of the way.

12:45 And this Komodo dragon just kind of worked its way

12:47 up through the mud and into the spot to sun.

12:51 Big front nostrils, huge eyes, perfect for diurnal hunting.

12:55 And just like all monitor lizards, they have a forked tongue,

12:59 which allows them to sense the environment.

13:01 We've seen that a number of different times today, testing out what the RC car.

13:05 But to be this close to one of these dragons is incredible.

13:10 It's amazing when you see a lizard like

13:12 this just absorbing the sunlight as an ectotherm,

13:15 charging up its body for the day,

13:17 like its own personal, internal batteries just pumping up.

13:23 I mean, we are talking four feet away from the face of a Komodo dragon.

13:29 This was something that I dreamed of my entire life,

13:31 side by side with a living dinosaur.

13:37 (sighing) (dramatic music) And there he goes.

13:41 Wondering back off into the shade.

13:43 That was so cool.

13:45 Okay, so we've got some amazing RC car shots.

13:48 We've got me up close with the Komodo dragon.

13:51 Now we want to try to see some very unique behaviors in the wild.

13:55 So we're gonna hike inland to the island and see what we can come across.

14:03 (dramatic music) Got a Komodo dragon right

14:12 down the edge of this river embankment.

14:20 Yeah, it looks like we're gonna be able

14:21 to get a little bit closer, see what happens.

14:30 Look at that.

14:35 (eerie music) I will tell you, if you were out here on your own,

14:41 wandering down this riverbed, you stumbled upon this, boy,

14:45 would it give you a start?

14:47 I wanna get closer.

14:51 (eerie music) (eerie music continues) That's absolutely amazing.

15:44 You look at an animal like that, knowing how fast and powerful it can be,

15:48 and to see it in a state like that, our guide said

15:50 the wound on its shoulder is likely from a battle earlier today.

15:54 So he thinks he's probably lost a fight.

15:57 He's come down to water, have a drink, lick his wounds,

16:01 have a nap, and live to fight another day.

16:08 Okay, Ajis just called out that we might have

16:09 a Komodo dragon on the other side of this hill here.

16:12 Might be in the underbrush.

16:17 Good job Ajis.

16:18 That's the guy right there.

16:20 He found it.

16:28 Okay.

16:28 I'm laying down just a couple of feet from Komodo Dragon.

16:32 That's a small one, but it's still a Komodo Dragon.

16:35 This one's absolutely beautiful.

16:38 Lots of green and yellow speckling around its snout and its eye.

16:41 This one looks incredibly healthy too.

16:45 Lemme show you guys how close I am.

16:48 It's right there.

16:55 One of the really cool and unique things

16:57 about Rinka is the dragons actually outnumber the humans.

17:01 There are around 1400 Komodo dragons on this island,

17:04 and only 600 humans that live here in the very small village.

17:08 So far we've seen three.

17:11 That's why you keep hiking.

17:14 The more you move, the better your chances of finding one.

17:21 Pretty cool situation here.

17:22 We've got a buffalo in the mud wall though, just enjoying an afternoon swim.

17:28 Look at this.

17:29 Hi buddy.

17:31 Look at you.

17:32 That looks so comfortable.

17:34 It's so hot out here.

17:36 Smells horrible.

17:37 But this cooling sensation of the water in the mud

17:41 definitely helps these animals keep their body temperature low,

17:43 especially like this in the middle of the day.

17:48 You guys smell that?

17:49 Definitely smells like something dead.

17:52 Alright, keep your eyes peeled.

17:55 (sniffing) Ooh, yeah.

17:56 Something definitely stinks.

17:59 That's a dead Komodo dragon carcass.

18:01 [Guide] Dead dragon.

18:02 They come for eat the dead dragon.

18:04 [Host] Oh, it's eating a Komodo dragon.

18:06 This is crazy.

18:07 Got a Komodo dragon eating a Komodo dragon.

18:10 We can stay on this side of the river and get all the shots.

18:13 Wanna be real, real quiet.

18:15 Try not disturb it.

18:18 Oh, This is insane.

18:27 (dramatic music) This is definitive proof of cannibalism in this species.

18:36 Alright, boys.

18:37 Looks like we're gonna be planted here for a while.

18:47 (exciting music) Okay.

18:57 He seems to be cool with the fact that we're

19:00 here and looks like he's gonna go back to feeding,

19:05 sniffing it all out, probably looking for the good stuff.

19:09 Pretty decomposed looking body.

19:12 There's some guts there.

19:15 Oh, that's disgusting.

19:17 What?

19:20 [Guide] Another one's coming.

19:21 [Host] Oh, there's another one coming.

19:29 Right place, right time.

19:30 That's what's all about with wildlife filmmaking.

19:34 He's come back in for another bite.

19:40 I think he can hear that there's another Komodo dragon coming.

19:48 (dramatic music) Unfortunately, there's not a lot of meat left on this carcass.

20:04 Oh, now I'm like losing interest.

20:07 You gotta wonder how much nourishment is still

20:09 left in this sort of deflated looking carcass.

20:14 Still is definitely some meat in those hind quarters.

20:27 Okay, so the Komodo dragon's gone back up the hillside.

20:30 It is done eating, so we're just gonna come over and investigate the carcass.

20:35 Wow.

20:36 Pretty putrid.

20:40 I can't imagine that eating any of that would be very delicious.

20:46 Whoa.

20:47 Well, it absolutely stinks.

20:51 But that is the carcass of a Komodo dragon.

20:55 And for the past several hours we watched six different individual adult

20:59 dragons come down and feast (retching) on the remains of what's here.

21:04 Now, Komodo dragons being cannibalistic is not new to science,

21:08 but to ever capture that behavior on camera is something that's incredibly

21:12 unique and we managed to do it not only here on Rinka Island,

21:16 but also with the RED Komodo.

21:18 Big thanks to RED and iodyne for supporting this episode.

21:21 I think that's the footage none of us are ever gonna forget.

21:24 I'm Coyote Peterson.

21:25 Be brave.

21:27 Stay wild.

21:28 We'll see you on the next adventure.

21:29 Alright, it stinks.

21:30 Let's get outta here.

21:33 (dramatic music) (dramatic music escalates) (bird chirping) (coyote howls)