Would You Rather: Free-handle a Black Widow or Spiked by a Cactus?!

0:00 I'm Coyote Peterson and I'm about to freehandle the black widow spider.

0:05 Are you ready?

0:06 Let's do it.

0:08 Here we go.

0:10 1 2 3.

0:21 What's going on, guys?

0:22 Who's ready to catch some spiders?

0:24 I am.

0:24 Yeah.

0:25 Okay.

0:25 So, right now we are on location in Tucson, Arizona.

0:28 As you can see, we're right outside the house.

0:31 You know what lives on houses in Arizona?

0:33 Black widow spiders.

0:34 Right now, we're going to use this little

0:36 container and this stick and try to find one.

0:38 Are you ready?

0:40 Okay.

0:40 Now, you're probably thinking to yourselves, "Really, coyote?

0:43 You going to find a black widow spider

0:45 right outside your house?" I have seen webs everywhere.

0:49 You see this all up here in the edges of these rocks?

0:53 Those spiderw webs are most likely made by a black widow.

0:57 And what we're going to do is move all around the house,

1:00 look in the plants, look in the crevices, look by the gutters,

1:02 and I guarantee you it won't take me long to find one of these venomous spiders.

1:06 Come on, let's go.

1:08 Now, I could just start lifting up rocks like this, looking for them,

1:14 but I'm hoping to find one already naturally hanging out in its web.

1:19 And this real open rock structure like this is absolutely perfect for them.

1:23 So, coyote, why is it that we're not

1:25 like out in the desert looking for black widows?

1:28 Like, why are we looking around our house?

1:29 Black widows are actually drawn to houses.

1:32 Can you imagine why?

1:33 What do spiders eat?

1:35 Other bugs.

1:36 Bugs are drawn into lights.

1:37 So, where there are lights at night and the bugs

1:40 come in, the spiders have the chance for a feast.

1:42 That's why I'm looking right here around the edge of the house.

1:46 And that would worry a lot of people.

1:47 Oh, yeah.

1:48 Well, people, as we know, the fear of spiders, arachnophobia.

1:51 People are absolutely terrified of spiders and black

1:54 widows specifically because of the potency of their venom.

2:00 Look at this.

2:01 Oh, there's one.

2:03 Oh, did you see one?

2:04 Totally saw it.

2:05 There's no way you saw it.

2:06 This is definitely black widow web right here.

2:08 It was hanging just down on the edge of this rock.

2:10 Hold on.

2:11 They're actually really quick when they dart.

2:14 Yeah.

2:15 No, it's back up in there.

2:17 Yep.

2:17 100%.

2:18 That's a black widow hole right there.

2:19 Well, not actually on the house, but just a couple feet away from it.

2:22 All right, let's move down this way and keep looking.

2:24 We're going to get one.

2:25 Let's uh check out the fire pit here.

2:28 You were telling me you had a good feeling about the fire pit.

2:32 I see some webs.

2:34 Oh, I see one right there.

2:35 You got one?

2:36 Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.

2:38 Oh, it's going back there.

2:39 Hold on a second.

2:43 Oh, there it is right there.

2:45 Look at that.

2:47 Okay, let me get it into the container.

2:48 Oh, it's going towards my thumb.

2:51 Okay, let's see if she'll walk right in there.

2:55 Go, go, go.

2:58 Yes, there we go.

3:00 Little bit of air.

3:01 Got her into the container.

3:02 And there you have it.

3:04 That is a female black widow.

3:05 Exactly what we were looking for.

3:07 Sure enough, right here in the fire pit.

3:09 It's kind of a dangerous spot to be uh leaving your web there.

3:13 Wow.

3:13 Okay.

3:14 Well, now I'm going to show you why this is an arachnne you

3:16 just need to admire from a safe distance and not necessarily be afraid of.

3:22 What I'm about to do here is prove that the black widow is not out to bite you.

3:28 I'm going to actually freehandle this spider.

3:31 Oh boy.

3:32 You guys ready for this?

3:33 You told us you were going to try this if we found a black widow.

3:36 Well, I didn't tell you at the beginning of the episode.

3:38 But I know I told you and I know I told Mario and I

3:40 said to really disprove that the black widow is just out there to bite you,

3:47 I'm going to let it walk on my hands

3:48 and on my arms and hopefully not take a bite.

3:51 Now you can see she's just laying on the bottom

3:53 there actually playing dead and rolled up in a little ball.

3:55 That is a defense mechanism, especially when there's nowhere to escape to.

3:59 I will note that there is no one in the past

4:02 10 years that has died from the bite of a black widow.

4:05 The bite is very painful, cause stomach cramping, cause vomiting,

4:08 it can cause dry mouth, lot of pain for several hours.

4:12 So, I do not want to be bitten.

4:14 Either way, I will admit that I am nervous.

4:17 I do not have arachnophobia, which we know is the fear of spiders.

4:21 But when you're looking at the widow, it definitely gets your heart racing.

4:27 I'm Coyote Peterson, and I'm about to freehandle the black widow spider.

4:33 Are you ready?

4:34 Let's do it.

4:36 Here we go.

4:38 1 2 3.

4:50 Oh my.

4:55 Right onto the edge of my finger.

4:57 Oh boy.

4:57 Okay, now she's gone down my arm.

4:59 She's actually spun a little thread of web like she's becoming secure to me.

5:05 Oh, I thought she was about to bite.

5:11 Now, one thing most people don't realize about the black

5:13 widow spider is that if it does inflict a bite,

5:17 that bite is oftent times just a warning and they aren't actually

5:21 injecting as much venom as they would into, say, a prey item.

5:25 They're not looking to kill you as a human.

5:27 They're simply looking to startle you so that they can ultimately get away.

5:32 Can you see that she is just tangling my arms up with web?

5:36 It's almost invisible to the eye, but I can feel it all over me, tangling me up.

5:45 Kind of makes me a bit nervous.

5:46 I'm getting covered in spiderweb right now.

5:49 Let me actually get her back onto the stick.

5:52 That looks dangerous.

5:53 I scared her there.

5:55 I'm going to get her on the stick here.

5:57 I got to get some of this webbing off of my arm.

6:01 There you go.

6:03 It's really sticky.

6:04 And every single time that I move my arm,

6:06 I can feel that web pulling and pulling her.

6:08 And what I'm afraid of is that she's

6:10 going to get startled and then inflict a bite.

6:13 Now, this is a female.

6:14 The females are larger than the males.

6:15 And they have that quintessential red hourglass shape on the abdomen.

6:19 That is the easiest way to identify one of these spiders.

6:22 You know, she's very dark in coloration.

6:24 Has that big bulbous abdomen.

6:27 You think she's calm enough to put back on your hand?

6:30 The question is, am I calm enough to let her get back on my hand?

6:33 Yeah.

6:33 Let's see.

6:35 So, why is the spider not biting you?

6:38 Spider is not biting me because I'm not applying any pressure to its body.

6:43 Ooh, now I can't see her.

6:44 Where is she?

6:45 Your thumb.

6:46 Going around that side.

6:47 And as long as I don't apply pressure,

6:52 hopefully she will stay calm and I will not be bitten.

6:56 All right, she feels very comfortable right there on the edge of my thumb.

6:59 I'm going to keep my hand incredibly still.

7:02 You may notice that the tone of my voice has slightly changed.

7:05 That is because she is right on the edge of my thumb.

7:09 You see that?

7:11 Mhm.

7:11 She feels hidden right there.

7:13 She's comfortable.

7:14 She's in the crevice of my thumb.

7:15 And without me talking real loudly next

7:18 to her, she's just thinking, "Okay, I'm hidden.

7:21 I was captured from my web.

7:23 Don't worry, sweetie.

7:24 We're going to put you right back in the web.

7:26 Nothing to fear." Now,

7:30 I would never recommend that you go out and try to pick up a black widow.

7:34 If you see a black widow outside of your house,

7:37 you do not need to be afraid of it.

7:39 Remember, these arachnids are eating the pest insects that are out there.

7:43 Could be mosquitoes, could be moths, whatever it is,

7:46 the spider has no interest in biting you.

7:48 Oftentimes, the way a bite happens is when

7:51 somebody grabs onto the spider accidentally and is bitten.

7:55 Now, let's say you walk through the web

7:57 of a black widow and you find it on your person.

7:59 Do not panic.

8:00 The best thing to do is to just remain calm, try to pick up a stick,

8:05 something like this, let the spider crawl onto the stick,

8:07 and then place it back into the environment.

8:10 Oh, I'm sure a lot of you out there who have arachnophobia are

8:13 watching me handle this spider right now and you're just cringing in your seats.

8:18 And um I will not lie, my mouth is getting dry and I'm trying my best to not

8:24 shake my hand right now despite the fact that I'm incredibly nervous.

8:28 I'm going to very slowly turn my hand.

8:31 There you go, sweetie.

8:33 Oh, don't move.

8:36 Look at that.

8:38 That is one of the most venomous spiders in the United States.

8:41 And it is just gently clutched right there on the edge of my hand.

8:45 Well, I would definitely say that this was pretty

8:48 intense freehandling the one and only black widow spider.

8:53 I'm Coyote Peterson.

8:54 Be brave.

8:56 Stay wild.

8:58 We'll see you on the next location.

9:01 I said it before and I can't say it enough.

9:05 Never attempt to freehandle a black widow.

9:08 Like all spiders, they are venomous and a bite

9:11 from this specific species is incredibly painful.

9:15 If you see a black widow hanging out in a web near your residence,

9:18 simply admire it from a safe distance and you will be just fine.

9:23 Okay, after getting the macro shots, the most important part,

9:27 letting the spider back into its web.

9:29 You ready?

9:31 Yep.

9:42 Go, go, go, go, go.

9:43 Stay.

9:43 Stay here.

9:43 Stay here.

9:44 Dude, he saw a tarantula hawk.

9:45 Did you see it?

9:46 I didn't see it.

9:47 No.

9:47 Oh my gosh.

9:48 I hope he gets it.

9:51 Careful.

9:57 He's going to get it.

9:59 Think he sees it.

10:01 Oh.

10:03 What happened?

10:04 Go, GO, GO.

10:10 Oh no.

10:12 What's wrong?

10:12 Did you catch it?

10:13 Yeah, I caught it.

10:15 Ah, but the bad news is I caught something else, too.

10:22 GOODNESS.

10:22 WORST choice spike I've ever seen.

10:24 Oh, hold on a second.

10:24 Hold on.

10:25 Hold on.

10:25 Hold on.

10:25 I don't want to get some of the tarantula hawk.

10:27 Oh, THEY'RE ALL OVER YOU, MAN.

10:29 HOLD ON A SECOND.

10:30 LET me get this under control.

10:31 Oh my gosh.

10:33 How you going to get all those off?

10:34 Hold on.

10:34 Hold on.

10:35 Cup him under there.

10:36 They're all over here.

10:38 Oh boy.

10:39 That was my god.

10:40 That was not good.

10:43 Hold on.

10:44 I'm like in them.

10:45 I'm I'm in them.

10:45 Back up.

10:46 Oh man.

10:46 They're Oh my gosh, man.

10:47 That was They're over my legs.

10:49 Oh my gosh.

10:49 They're everywhere, dude.

10:52 Okay.

10:51 Did you get the tarantula hawk at least?

10:53 I did.

10:53 I did.

10:53 I caught the tarantula hawk, but

10:57 they're all over me.

10:59 Oh my gosh.

11:00 That's the worst.

11:01 That's the worst attack I've ever seen.

11:04 Oh, guys, this is bad.

11:05 That's really bad.

11:07 How many are on my back?

11:09 A lot.

11:10 Yeah, maybe like 10.

11:14 One on your foot.

11:15 Oh man, the one in my arm is really hurting.

11:18 Well, you know, in that instance when you need to catch the animal,

11:21 you don't really think about it.

11:22 You just make the catch.

11:24 And I did.

11:24 I caught the tarantula hawk.

11:25 Where is it, by the way?

11:26 I wrapped it up.

11:27 It's in the net.

11:27 It's right over there.

11:29 Oh my gosh.

11:30 Okay.

11:30 Well, I guess there's a lesson to be learned here.

11:33 Always watch where you're going.

11:34 And you guys have seen me get pricricked in the hand before by a choya.

11:39 This might as well get a little education while we can.

11:43 This is a teddy bear choya.

11:45 Watch it.

11:45 You've got them on your feet.

11:47 There are jumping choya and there are teddy bear choya.

11:50 This is the teddy bear variety and it is not soft and cuddly like a teddy bear.

11:54 Um Mark, I got a multi-tool on the side of my pouch here.

11:58 All right.

11:58 Put your camera down.

12:00 Okay,

12:00 Chance, you keep filming this.

12:01 Mark, I'm gonna need your help, man.

12:02 I can't move my arm.

12:04 Get the multi-tool off of there.

12:11 I feel like a pin cushion right now.

12:13 If you're out here in the desert hiking and you wander into a choya,

12:18 they say you can use a hair comb to get Troya off of you.

12:21 But as we know, I don't have any hair, so I don't usually carry a comb with me.

12:25 But I do have a multi-tool.

12:27 And yeah, there we go.

12:28 I get these ones off my boots.

12:30 Yeah, those ones those don't hurt.

12:32 Those were into the rubber and the side of my keen.

12:35 If you guys thought getting quilled by a porcupine was bad,

12:38 this hurts so much worse.

12:41 Let's get the leg.

12:41 Oh, my leg.

12:43 I'm going try to do one.

12:44 What do YOU That hurts.

12:48 You ready?

12:49 That's one.

12:50 Oh, man.

12:53 This is like pulling off the worst band-aid ever.

12:59 Yeah.

13:02 Oh no.

13:05 Now it's in your hand.

13:07 Coyote.

13:08 Yeah.

13:07 Why do you always get me in these situations?

13:09 Sorry, man.

13:10 Take it.

13:11 Yeah.

13:11 Uh, okay.

13:12 Hold on.

13:14 Ah.

13:14 Nope.

13:14 Nope.

13:14 Don't shake them off.

13:15 You don't shake them off.

13:16 No.

13:16 No.

13:16 Don't shake them off.

13:17 You don't shake them off.

13:17 Here.

13:17 Why don't you put the mold?

13:18 Can you get it off yourself?

13:19 Yeah.

13:20 Yeah.

13:20 Hold on.

13:20 Hold on.

13:21 Oh, guys, we are Ah,

13:22 it gets getting worse like the own weight is like going in there.

13:25 Yeah.

13:25 It's not fun, is it?

13:27 All right.

13:27 Like a band-aid.

13:28 Like a band-aid.

13:32 Oh my gosh.

13:33 That hurts.

13:34 Can you imagine what I'm going through?

13:35 Oh my gosh.

13:36 I feel so much worse to you right now.

13:37 Oh, first blood.

13:38 First blood.

13:39 Okay, I'm going to be a little more careful now.

13:41 Okay, this is like nervous now.

13:44 One, two, THREE.

13:49 Let me hold on.

13:50 Let me explain to you guys why this hurts so much.

13:53 This is not just like a needle or a pin going into your skin.

13:57 The end of these spines and the spines

13:59 on the choya are nothing more than modified leaves,

14:02 but they have barbs.

14:04 Microscopic barbs on their ends.

14:06 So, every time we pull one off, it is yanking out chunks of skin and flesh.

14:11 Wow.

14:12 This one on my arm is going to hurt so bad.

14:14 It is so deep in there.

14:15 I almost can't squeeze my hand.

14:17 All right.

14:17 I think I got to get this.

14:18 I want I'm afraid you're going to get like hit in the face,

14:21 so I don't want that.

14:22 They're so sharp.

14:27 Did you get it?

14:27 Did it come off?

14:28 No.

14:29 Oh my gosh.

14:30 All right.

14:31 Ready?

14:31 Ready?

14:32 Yeah.

14:32 Yeah.

14:33 Oh no.

14:34 It just kind of fell down and stuck in again,

14:38 dude.

14:38 I'm so sorry.

14:44 Oh my What was that noise?

14:46 I don't know.

14:47 I don't know.

14:48 IT HURTS SO BAD.

14:49 THIS ONE'S GOING TO BE BAD.

14:50 I'm going to get this one.

14:53 Ow.

14:54 DID YOU GET IT?

14:55 YEAH, I GOT THAT ONE.

14:56 TRY TO GET THIS ONE.

15:00 All right, I'm going to get this one, I think, and then pull back at me,

15:03 I guess.

15:03 SO, YIKES.

15:08 I think we got to get this big one out first and that one

15:10 last because I'm afraid you might flick that one at my face.

15:14 Okay.

15:15 And I think this one's got to come out

15:16 because you can pull it that way and I can Can you just like put your arm out?

15:20 No.

15:20 No, he can't.

15:21 I can barely move my arm.

15:21 It's like it's hit a nerve.

15:23 I'm having trouble like squeezing my arm.

15:27 Big happy thoughts.

15:27 1 2 3.

15:35 Oh wow, that one hurt.

15:39 I'm glad we saved this one for last, though,

15:40 cuz I don't think this one's in there that deep.

15:42 Okay.

15:42 Not as deep as that one.

15:44 That was brutal.

15:46 All right.

15:47 Let's get this last one.

15:47 All right.

15:48 Last one.

15:48 Last one.

15:48 Let me turn it like that so you don't get it.

15:51 Don't hit my face.

15:55 Ah.

15:54 Get it.

15:55 AH.

15:56 NO.

15:57 That was in there.

16:01 Woo.

16:02 That was excitement.

16:05 Wow.

16:05 Guys, that was seriously intense.

16:09 But the good news, wait here.

16:14 Woo!

16:15 Come here, buddy.

16:18 You got it.

16:19 I got it in the net there.

16:21 That is a tarantula hawk.

16:24 Woo!

16:25 Be careful with my No.

16:26 Anyway, we got to be careful not to get stung.

16:28 Didn't expect to make this.

16:29 I mean, what are we going to call this?

16:30 An on location.

16:32 Yeah.

16:31 Yeah.

16:31 I guess this is a an on location.

16:33 Us out here trying to catch a tarantula hawk.

16:36 Made the catch but fell into a teddy bear.

16:39 Troya, someone hurt.

16:51 Nothing like having an epic ending to an awesome day here in the Sonoron Desert.

16:55 I'm Coyote Peterson.

16:57 Be brave.

16:58 Stay wild.

17:00 Stay away from the teddy bear choya.

17:02 We'll see you on the next location.

17:04 Woo!

17:05 WE GOT IT.

17:08 THERE IT IS.

17:11 WHAT?

17:11 Totally got that.

17:12 Ain't that crazy looking?

17:13 That's so gnarly.

17:14 It did not bite me, but boy did it make me jump.

17:17 Does the worm feel any different when it does that?

17:18 Yeah, I can feel its body like tense up.

17:20 There it goes again.

17:21 Oh, there it is.

17:24 It's a new one.

17:25 It's puking all over me.

17:33 Gross.

17:33 Oh, it stinks.

17:34 Oh, yeah, it does.

17:35 Oh, man.

17:35 Gross.

17:36 In most areas around the world, when the ocean tides recede,

17:40 they reveal a hidden coastline that is made up of shallow intertidal pools,

17:45 many of which are filled with colorful

17:47 plants and bizarrel looking marine creatures.

17:51 However, when the tide pulls back from the inlets and estuaries around Harpsell,

17:56 Maine, you are often left with an endless expanse of mud flats.

18:01 These exposed layers are formed when mud is deposited by the tide.

18:05 And while they may look like a barren wasteland,

18:07 they usually support a large population of wildlife.

18:12 Today, the Brave Wilderness team will be joined in the field by Anthony,

18:16 who is a professional licensed bloodworm digger.

18:19 For nearly 40 years, he has been ragging the mud flats of Maine.

18:23 And on a good day, he can haul in around 1,000 worms.

18:28 All right, guys.

18:28 So, we have multiple cameras going today.

18:30 And as you can see, it is still raining.

18:34 Not too bad right now, but it's going to be a slightly gritty episode,

18:37 which is perfect because today we are looking for blood worms.

18:40 It's going to be muddy.

18:41 It's going to be grimy.

18:43 And if we're lucky, we're going to find some of these worms

18:46 that are then probably going to end up biting me.

18:48 Isn't that right?

18:49 That's right.

18:50 Okay.

18:50 Well, we're going to leave the big cameras behind.

18:53 And what we have here, check this out.

18:56 This Whoa.

18:57 is a bloodworm digging rake.

18:59 And as I understand it, you kind of slam that into the dirt and mud.

19:04 Pull it back.

19:05 Well, yep.

19:06 Pull it back.

19:06 Flip it over.

19:07 Just They say it's all in the wrist.

19:10 All in the wrist.

19:11 Okay.

19:11 Now, you're coming, right?

19:12 You're not just going to stay underneath the edge of the car.

19:14 Uh I mean, I could stay back here.

19:16 No, no, no, no, no.

19:17 I can see that you've got your your water shoes on.

19:20 We're all getting muddy today.

19:21 We're all getting in it.

19:22 All right, you guys ready?

19:24 Let's do it.

19:24 Ready?

19:25 Let's go.

19:27 Yep.

19:26 Digging in mud flats is truly a dirty job.

19:30 And believe it or not, blood worming is a huge part of Maine's fishing economy,

19:34 as these marine worms are sold as bait.

19:37 So whether you are catching the prized

19:38 blood worm or the slightly bigger sand worm,

19:42 a heavy haul can equate to a pretty nice paycheck.

19:46 However, the good news for any and all worms we catch

19:50 today is that they will be released back into the wild.

19:54 Now it's just a matter of getting into the mud so we can start digging.

19:58 Well, you just let us know where you think the best spot is to start digging.

20:02 See, no one knows.

20:03 No one knows.

20:03 No one knows.

20:09 This is tough.

20:10 It's like you're walking on another planet.

20:13 It's crazy looking out here.

20:14 It's all kind of glassy looking.

20:17 Yeah.

20:18 And this is every day for you, huh?

20:20 Every day.

20:21 Every day.

20:23 How you doing, Mario?

20:24 I don't know.

20:25 It's a little intimidating.

20:26 I feel like I'm going to just like sink in.

20:30 This is cool.

20:31 I've never walked through anything like this before.

20:36 Oh, I fell.

20:42 Oh my gosh.

20:43 I thought you're used to this stuff being from the Everglades.

20:46 Uhhuh.

20:46 We don't have this in the Everglades.

20:48 You want to wash, bud?

20:50 Yeah.

20:50 Just wash and water.

20:52 Just push it around.

20:53 There you go.

20:54 There you go.

20:54 There you go.

20:56 Little better.

20:56 All right.

20:57 That's a little better.

20:58 Yeah.

20:58 Keep Yeah.

20:59 You need I'm serious.

21:01 I'm serious.

21:02 No, I'm serious, buddy.

21:03 I go through this all the time.

21:05 You're good.

21:05 Okay.

21:05 So, guys, check this out.

21:06 Hey, Anthony.

21:07 I see there's like a bit of a waterway going through here.

21:12 Yeah.

21:12 What sort of area are we looking for to start digging?

21:14 What?

21:14 I mean, look at Oh, look at this.

21:16 M.

21:16 Is that worms?

21:17 Are these worm trails?

21:18 No, that's that looks like um

21:20 Oh, this.

21:21 Yeah, it's a

21:22 Is that a snail?

21:23 That's a snail.

21:24 There's a snail.

21:26 Yep.

21:25 Okay.

21:26 So, not worm trails.

21:27 Well, I think this little area here looks like a good place to maybe start.

21:32 Sure.

21:31 Why don't you show me exactly what the method is for digging?

21:37 Ready?

21:38 Yeah.

21:39 Oh, wow.

21:39 It just peeled back like that.

21:40 Oh, there's a little worm.

21:41 Where's that stick?

21:44 Oh, it's heavy.

21:45 See how this goes?

21:46 Wow.

21:46 It just peels back.

21:50 Oh, I thought I saw one.

21:53 Oh, what's that?

21:54 Is that a tapeworm or is that That's a tapeworm.

21:56 That's a tapeworm.

21:57 Yeah, but they go Oh my goodness.

22:00 That's not what we're looking for.

22:01 That's a tapeworm.

22:02 That's a tapeworm.

22:03 Don't get that in your stomach.

22:04 All right, we're going to toss him back there in stuck.

22:09 This is like throwing 5 lb weights.

22:12 Every lump of mud is about 5 lb.

22:16 That's 5 lbs right there.

22:18 And Anthony is just throwing globs of mud effortlessly.

22:23 Let me tell you who you don't want to get in an arm wrestling competition with.

22:27 Anthony.

22:28 He's got Popeye forearms.

22:30 It's crazy.

22:33 It's tough cuz you step and you sink.

22:36 You try to move fast enough so that your feet don't sink.

22:39 See?

22:39 Like that.

22:43 You ready?

22:45 Winded.

22:45 Man, that is tough.

22:48 has a lot tougher than you guys could possibly imagine.

22:51 The mud is extremely heavy and as it pulls your legs down into it.

22:56 You're trying to balance with your feet.

22:58 My toes actually hurt from trying to keep myself webbed

23:02 on top of the mud surface as you sink down.

23:04 And there's nowhere to rest.

23:06 It's not like I could just lay down in this mud.

23:08 Well, I could, but then the environment would swallow me alive.

23:12 I'm sweating bullets right now.

23:16 Okay, let's follow Anthony.

23:17 We can't keep up with her.

23:20 My car right here.

23:23 Oh, what's up?

23:24 Oh, something big.

23:26 Get it.

23:29 Not a blood worm.

23:29 Is

23:29 that a sand worm?

23:31 WHOA, LOOK AT THAT.

23:32 That's a beast right there, but I don't know if it's a blood worm.

23:35 I don't see its head coming out.

23:37 Oo, I'm putting it in the bucket either way.

23:38 Big one.

23:39 You got a big one.

23:41 We're on them.

23:41 We found the sweet spot.

23:42 It's the honey hole.

23:45 Let me see.

23:46 Cowboys.

23:48 That's what I've been digging every day.

23:49 Yeah.

23:50 What do you got?

23:50 Let me see.

23:51 Yeah, that's that's crazy.

23:54 That's what I dig every day.

23:55 Worms like that.

23:57 Look at it.

23:58 Prooscus coming out.

24:00 Wa.

24:02 Alien, isn't it?

24:03 You can see Anony's excited.

24:05 That means this is a good worm right here.

24:07 Wow.

24:07 Look at that.

24:09 Woo.

24:09 Got four.

24:10 All right, we are getting closer to the honey hole.

24:12 Yeah.

24:13 I'm going to put this beast in the bucket.

24:15 Show Anthony what we found.

24:16 Oh, that's a sand worm.

24:18 That's a sandworm.

24:18 It's a sandworm.

24:19 They bite, too.

24:20 Wow.

24:20 Okay.

24:21 Well, at least we found a big one.

24:23 Woo!

24:24 Hey, somebody.

24:28 Blood worming on THE COAST, MAN.

24:31 BLOOD.

24:32 OH, THERE'S ANOTHER ONE.

24:33 You got one.

24:34 You got one.

24:36 Yes.

24:35 Oh, THAT'S A GOOD ONE.

24:36 A BIG ONE.

24:37 OH, MAN.

24:39 Got one.

24:40 Got one.

24:42 See, my blood worm and song brought him up from the mud.

24:45 Woo!

24:47 Little muddy, but it finally paid off.

24:49 I have slung probably 150 globs of mud, and I finally wa Don't drop me.

24:56 Finally found my first keepable blood worm.

25:00 All right, let me put it into the bucket.

25:04 Ready?

25:05 We got it.

25:07 Okay, we've got blood worms.

25:07 We have a sandworm.

25:09 At this point, I say we head back to a controlled

25:11 situation and get these worms up close for the cameras.

25:14 Woo!

25:14 This was awesome.

25:15 Oh, man.

25:16 I'm stuck in the mud.

25:18 Nice.

25:19 All right, guys.

25:20 So, we're back at base camp and what I have here are two buckets.

25:25 One that is filled with worms and another that just has some salt water.

25:30 What I'm going to have to do is dig

25:32 through all this gloppy mud that's filled with blood worms,

25:36 rinse them off, and then place them into this clear

25:39 container so that we can actually see them.

25:41 You see, look in there.

25:43 Oh, there's the big Oh, there's one of our big worms there.

25:48 Okay.

25:49 Is this salt water right here?

25:51 Yes, this is salt water.

25:52 This is a marine species of worm, which means that they live in salt water.

25:57 If I were to actually put these worms in fresh water, it would kill them.

26:01 So, we do need to be rather gentle with them.

26:03 Oh, there's a big one right there.

26:06 Oh, that is Oh, that's one of the big Look at this.

26:11 That's one of the big ones right there.

26:13 Oh, yeah.

26:14 Oh, boy.

26:14 Yeah, that could give you a good bite.

26:16 All right, get in there, buddy.

26:17 Okay, I'm going to move this bucket off right here.

26:21 Get rid of the water bucket.

26:22 And now, we're going to get up close with these worms.

26:25 Now, we do have a pretty decent size ragworm here.

26:33 Anthony also called these sandworms.

26:35 You see that?

26:38 I think it's crazy looking,

26:39 right?

26:39 Look at the iridescence to its skin.

26:41 And you can see if you zoom in there,

26:44 all these little legs on the side, those are called parapodia.

26:47 And that actually helps these marine worms not only swim but also burrow.

26:52 And this also will get extremely long.

26:57 But that's about its most shrunken up state right there.

27:01 All right, I'm going to go ahead and put this one back into the mud bucket.

27:06 Crazy.

27:07 What do we have next?

27:08 Man, the moment we've been waiting for, the blood worm,

27:13 which is exactly what we are going out after today.

27:15 I wasn't even aware that we would find other marine worm species.

27:19 And we got a whole container full of them.

27:24 Um, now I'm going to just dump the whole thing into my hand.

27:27 Okay, you ready?

27:27 Just so we can see what that looks like.

27:35 They really look a lot like earthworms.

27:37 Do they smell or anything?

27:40 Smell like mud.

27:42 They absolutely smell like mud.

27:43 And like most worms,

27:44 they'll just kind of stay completely limp in your hand like that.

27:50 And oh, I can feel them moving.

27:52 They don't seem to move as fast as an earthworm.

27:55 No.

27:55 All right, I'm going to just kind of single out the biggest ones.

27:58 Now, you may be wondering to yourselves, oh,

28:01 it's put out that one's put on its mouth.

28:04 Oh, that is a rather big one.

28:06 Okay, there are 1 2 3 4 five really good sized blood worms.

28:13 I think the biggest are these two right here in the middle.

28:17 So, we're going to pair this down.

28:21 I'm trying to let them get comfortable and expand out.

28:24 I also want to see if there's one that's going

28:26 to perform for us with what we're all waiting to see,

28:30 which is that weird alien looking head that they

28:33 shoot out of the front of their face.

28:34 I think that one that one you just seems to be the most lively.

28:37 Yeah, that one also seems to be the the largest in diameter.

28:42 All right, we're going to put these back.

28:45 Now, one thing that I must note up front,

28:48 I'm not going to intentionally try to be bitten by this worm,

28:52 but this is one of the only venomous worm species in the world.

28:56 There, right there.

28:57 You see that?

28:58 You see the head come out?

29:00 They have a proboscus that they shoot out of the front of their head,

29:05 which has four fangs.

29:07 Those fangs are made of copper and they're like this, right?

29:12 It's like a grappling hook.

29:13 Hold up.

29:13 Hold up.

29:14 Like metal.

29:15 Like metal.

29:16 Like the element copper.

29:18 And those

29:19 Oh, it has metal teeth.

29:20 It has metal teeth.

29:21 Like a bond villain.

29:22 Like a bond villain.

29:24 You got it.

29:24 Yes.

29:24 This is like one of the most bizarre creatures.

29:27 I didn't even know these things existed until

29:29 we got here to Maine and somebody said,

29:31 "You want to go looking for blood worms?" And sure enough,

29:34 this is that creature.

29:35 Now, this worm is a predator and when they're out hunting,

29:39 they'll kind of slink through the mud

29:41 and they're searching for crustaceans or small

29:43 invertebrates and they shoot this grappling

29:46 hook type head out of their proboscus.

29:48 Four fangs dig in and then with those fangs they inject venom.

29:52 That venom paralyzes and sometimes even stops the heart of its victim

29:56 and then they sit there and slurp up the inards like a slushie.

30:02 Now, okay, this is really cool.

30:03 You see how it's completely slinkedked out like this?

30:05 Notice that coloration.

30:07 You see how purple it is?

30:10 Yeah.

30:09 It's all peach colored here and purple here.

30:13 That's why they're called blood worms

30:14 because their insides are actually dark red

30:17 and the skin is semi-transucent and you

30:19 can see that coloration right through there.

30:22 Wow, that's cool.

30:24 You can see like little bubbles running through the body.

30:27 Yeah.

30:27 Isn't that wild?

30:28 Look down the side of its body there.

30:30 You see all looks like those spikes coming off?

30:32 Looks like hairs.

30:33 Yep.

30:33 Those are herapodia.

30:34 They're like little feet that help this creature to burrow

30:37 and also to keep its balance if it's in deep water.

30:40 All right, we got to get that proboscus to come out.

30:42 Let me see here.

30:43 I'm gonna kind of just lay the worm out in my hand here like this.

30:49 You can see, look, it's kind of curling around, probably.

30:53 Can you see that little nodule up front there?

30:57 What is that?

30:57 That's a sensory organ.

30:58 It's a little tentacle, and that's how this creature explores its environment.

31:03 It can sense chemicals in the water with that little front appendage.

31:09 Look at up here.

31:10 You see all that purplish coloration?

31:12 Oh, yeah.

31:12 And it has a lateral line that runs down the length of his body.

31:15 See that real distinct purple line?

31:18 That's how you can easily identify this as a blood worm.

31:23 Oh.

31:23 Oh, it went for my thumb.

31:24 Did you see that?

31:25 Totally got that.

31:27 It did not bite me, but boy did it make me jump.

31:29 Wow.

31:30 It shoots it OUT REALLY FAST.

31:32 THERE IT IS.

31:32 WA.

31:34 WHAT?

31:35 Ain't that crazy looking?

31:36 That's so gnarly.

31:37 I think this one's fangs are just too small.

31:39 Like it's coming all the way out.

31:40 I see them.

31:40 I mean, the fangs are pretty tiny,

31:42 so I don't think I'm going to get bitten by this thing.

31:46 What's it doing?

31:47 It's puking all over me.

31:54 Gross.

31:55 Oh, it stinks.

31:56 Does it?

32:00 Yeah.

31:58 Oh, yeah, it does.

31:59 Oh, man.

32:00 Gross.

32:01 Ah, disgusting.

32:04 Oh my gosh.

32:05 Did you film all that?

32:06 I got all of it.

32:08 Let me see.

32:11 Everything poops on you.

32:12 Oh my gosh.

32:13 Even blood worms poop on me.

32:16 Look how long its body is when it's slinkedked out like that.

32:19 And just like an earthworm, if this marine creature is cut in any

32:25 area above pretty much this line right here, it can regrow parts of its body.

32:31 Look at that.

32:31 You can actually see the colors going through its body.

32:34 Woo!

32:35 Did you try to bite me there?

32:36 I

32:37 think I was thinking about it.

32:42 Show me your proboscus.

32:47 OH, YAY.

32:48 DID IT BITE YOU?

32:49 HE GOT ME.

32:51 I GOT THAT.

32:51 HE got me.

32:52 I felt it.

32:53 It was a little pinch.

32:54 Let me see.

32:55 Where'd he get you?

32:56 Right there.

32:57 Right in the crux of my finger.

33:00 It was like a little pin prick.

33:02 Ah.

33:04 Does it hurt?

33:05 Yeah, a little bit.

33:06 A little bit.

33:06 It kind of itches actually.

33:09 Yeah.

33:10 Do you see that?

33:10 You think you got that?

33:11 Oh, I know I got it.

33:12 Oh, man.

33:13 It just kind of whooped around and nailed me.

33:16 Well, okay.

33:17 I was successfully bitten by the blood worm.

33:20 Definitely not as bad as a beasting.

33:22 Although, you know, if it was significantly bigger, it may have hurt more.

33:25 But ah, it kind of itches a little bit.

33:28 It's like a little mosquito bite.

33:29 Yeah.

33:29 Kind of like I It startled me more than anything.

33:32 But I could definitely feel it.

33:34 My heart's racing.

33:36 I saw you guys jump back.

33:38 You're not touching the uh No, no, no.

33:40 I mean, it it really didn't hurt, but it was it was a prick.

33:43 It definitely shot me backward.

33:45 That was funny.

33:46 Hey, Coyote.

33:47 Yeah.

33:47 You all right?

33:48 I'm all right, man.

33:49 Yeah.

33:50 Well, it was definitely one very wet, very muddy afternoon,

33:55 but we finally came across a whole bunch of blood worms.

33:58 I'm Coyote Peterson.

34:00 Be brave.

34:02 Stay wild.

34:04 We'll see you on the next adventure.

34:05 Ready to put them back out in the ocean?

34:07 Let's do it.

34:07 Sure.

34:07 You don't want to get bitten?

34:09 I'm good.

34:12 Okay.

34:12 At the start of this episode,

34:14 I honestly had no idea what to expect when

34:16 it came to digging in the mud for worms.

34:19 But here's what I learned.

34:21 First, it's incredibly difficult not only to walk across the mud flats,

34:26 but also to dig in the heavy wet mud.

34:33 Second, it's muddy, in case that wasn't completely obvious.

34:37 And third, it's actually a lot of fun.

34:40 Like looking for a needle in a hay stack,

34:42 or in this case, a blood worm in a mud flat.

34:46 There we go.

34:47 That's a pretty good size one right there.

34:52 Nice.

34:49 I'd say about as big as we found today.

34:54 All right, guys.

34:55 Time to let the blood worms and the sand worm back off into the ocean.

35:01 Now, you can release these creatures absolutely anywhere.

35:04 They live up and down the coast.

35:05 So, this isn't exactly where I found them,

35:07 but it doesn't matter because they are constantly on the move.

35:10 They are nomadic, always searching for something new to eat.

35:16 Maine's bloodworm industry continues to flourish,

35:19 and it's responsible conservation conscious diggers like Anthony,

35:23 who are helping to keep the population

35:25 of these bizarrel looking animals growing.

35:28 By only taking market-sized worms and returning

35:31 the females and juveniles to the flats,

35:33 his harvesting methods will ensure

35:35 a bountiful population for generations to come.

35:39 I'm Coyote Peterson and I'm about to enter

35:42 the pinch zone with the American lobster.

35:45 Here we go.

35:57 If I asked you to name a single animal from the great state of Maine,

36:01 I have a pretty good feeling you'd say the lobster.

36:06 So, today the crew and I will be heading off the coast of Portland,

36:10 Maine on the rolling blue waves of the Atlantic

36:12 Ocean to search for one of these marine dwelling crustations.

36:17 Well, here we are.

36:18 It's beautiful Portland, Maine,

36:20 and it is a big day for everybody out there watching.

36:23 And it's a big day for me because it's been almost a year

36:26 since I promised that I would be pinched by a giant lobster.

36:29 So, today we're going out on a lobster boat to look for one of these creatures.

36:34 Now, I hear they have a crusher claw and a ripper claw.

36:39 What?

36:39 A what claw?

36:40 A crusher and a ripper.

36:42 So, which one are you going to get pinched by?

36:45 Well, both of them because we need to find out which one does more damage.

36:49 So, if you guys are ready, let's go meet our captain and head out on the water.

36:54 My money's on the river.

36:56 On this voyage out to sea, I will be working alongside Dave,

37:01 a true lobsterman and seasoned captain of the Lucky Catch.

37:06 He will be taking us out to check a handful of traps,

37:09 also known as lobster pots, in which we hope to find a market-sized lobster

37:14 that will ultimately be used to pinch my hand.

37:17 Yes, you heard me right.

37:19 Coyote Peterson is going to enter the pinch zone with an American lobster.

37:34 Ah, he missed THE WOOD.

37:38 HE'S biting me.

37:39 The stripet tail scorpion.

37:41 Powerful sting.

37:45 We all know I have taken many painful bites and stings,

37:49 but not that many powerful pinches.

37:52 In fact, aside from a few harmless crayfish and the dungeonous crab,

37:56 this is poised to be my first major pinch.

38:03 Wow, that's pretty bad.

38:05 Many people have warned me that a lobster's

38:07 pinch is powerful enough to break my hand.

38:10 I know this sounds crazy, but I have my doubts.

38:14 So, the goal is to put this pinch to the test so

38:17 that we can all find out just how painful it really is.

38:21 But before I can get pinched, first we have to catch a lobster.

38:29 Here comes our first trap.

38:32 And we got a lobster.

38:33 We got a little one.

38:34 All right.

38:38 Now, this lobster we're going to measure to see if it makes the legal size.

38:42 In order for us to keep it,

38:43 it's got to be at least 3 and 1/4 in across the back.

38:46 That's called the carropus.

38:47 We measure from the back of the eye to where the back meets the tail.

38:51 And this one is a little small.

38:53 Got to go back.

38:54 So, this little guy is going to live to swim another day.

38:57 Going back.

38:57 All right.

38:58 This is something that's pretty cool that Dave just showed me.

39:00 You see the ripper claw there?

39:02 Kind of zoom in and you see all those little hairs on the edges?

39:06 Uh, it is serrated, but there's also soft hairs.

39:08 And watch this.

39:11 Just any sort of sensitivity to those and it will snap its claw shut.

39:16 So, I have a feeling that later on when I put my finger into the ripper claw,

39:22 it's going to lock shut.

39:23 All right, this one's going back out into the ocean.

39:26 You ready, little little crustation?

39:28 Here we go.

39:29 Ready?

39:30 See you.

39:31 Believe it or not, as a lobsterman,

39:34 you are first and foremost a conservationist.

39:37 Only lobsters of market size can be harvested from the ocean.

39:40 And females who are carrying eggs,

39:43 no matter what their size, are always returned to the wild.

39:51 What's interesting is they don't seem to have as much

39:53 of a reach as some of the crayfish that I've worked with before

39:58 as far as like reaching behind.

39:59 Yeah, as far as the reach and where

40:01 they're able to get you with their their claws.

40:03 I feel more comfortable actually handling

40:04 a lobster than I do most crayfish species.

40:10 Yeah, that one's way too small.

40:14 So, it's going to head back out into the water.

40:16 Ready?

40:18 We motored from buoy to buoy and pulled trap after trap.

40:22 Yet, so far, we had returned each and every lobster back into the ocean.

40:28 Then, when it seemed as if all was lost, we pulled up the lucky catch.

40:33 Could this be the one?

40:36 Oh.

40:36 Oh, that's a pretty good size one.

40:39 All right.

40:39 Oh, wow.

40:39 That one looks huge.

40:41 Oh, nice.

40:42 Look at the size of that.

40:43 Slide this down.

40:44 Right.

40:44 Yep.

40:46 Oh, man.

40:47 That could be the one right there.

40:49 YOU SEE THAT?

40:50 WOW.

40:50 Look at the pinchers on that thing.

40:52 I don't know, man.

40:53 Dude, that one is definitely big.

40:55 I'm going to take it out.

40:56 Hold on.

40:57 It's cool to take this out, right?

40:58 Yeah.

40:58 Just be careful, man.

41:01 Dude, there's one in the corner there.

41:02 Yeah, I see it.

41:03 No, this one is definitely the biggest we have caught so far today.

41:06 What?

41:08 Look at that.

41:08 That's probably what at least a pound and a half or 2 lb, right?

41:11 A little over 2 lb, I'd say.

41:14 Look at those binars.

41:16 Oh my gosh, dude.

41:17 I think this is the one.

41:18 You think we're going to get one bigger than this today?

41:20 I doubt it.

41:20 That's a big one.

41:22 What?

41:23 Look at that lobster.

41:24 I don't know, man.

41:25 Dude, that is a big crusher claw, man.

41:28 It is strong.

41:30 Look at that ripper claw.

41:32 I think that we have found our winning lobster.

41:35 All right, let's get him into the water.

41:43 Woo!

41:44 All right, guys.

41:45 And we are back in a controlled setting and we're

41:49 about to get up close with the American lobster.

41:52 Now, I have one in this tank right here.

41:54 Let me go ahead and take it out.

41:57 Whoa.

41:58 Come here, buddy.

42:00 Oh, yeah.

42:00 There we go.

42:05 Hello to you, too.

42:06 That's a defensive mechanism right there, whacking with the tail.

42:10 Now, you may be saying to yourself, "Wow,

42:12 that looks a lot smaller than the lobster you pulled out

42:15 of the pot earlier today." And as a matter of fact, it is.

42:19 We're going to show you a little bit about the anatomy

42:20 of this crustation before we actually get into the pinch.

42:24 Now, let's start at the tip of the nose and go all the way down to the tail.

42:28 The American lobster is the heaviest

42:31 and longest living crustation in the entire world.

42:35 They can weigh as much as 40 lbs

42:37 and people estimate can live as long as 100 years.

42:40 Now, you may be thinking to yourselves, coyote, I thought lobsters were red.

42:45 This creature is got black spots.

42:48 It's got a little bit of blue near its joints,

42:50 and for the most part, it looks like the bottom of the ocean.

42:53 That's because lobsters are only red after they are cooked.

42:57 And good news for Lucy here is that both her and Lonnie,

43:01 the big one that we have just back here,

43:03 are both going to be released into the ocean as soon as we are done filming.

43:07 Now, just like a crab or a crayfish, lobsters do have gills.

43:11 However, they can be out of water for a significant amount of time.

43:14 You may be saying, "Well, coyote, dip it back in the water." And I will.

43:16 It's good for it to be dipped in there.

43:18 But a lobster can stay out of the water

43:19 for around 2 hours before it ultimately suffocates.

43:23 So, these creatures are extremely durable.

43:27 Now, on my left over here, you have what's called the crusher claw.

43:32 And on my right, what's called the pincher or the ripper claw.

43:36 Now, the way that these lobsters use their claws is they'll

43:39 take the crusher and find something like a mollisk or a clam,

43:43 and use that claw, which has incredible power to crush the shell of its prey.

43:48 Then, they use the pincher or the ripper claw to pull out the meat,

43:52 and they slowly eat it.

43:54 And you can see I'm gonna turn this lobster like this.

43:57 See all these other little pinchers up front here.

44:00 These front legs are also used to help shovel the food into the mouth,

44:04 which is right down in there.

44:06 Now, one of my favorite parts about the lobster are these antenna.

44:10 You see that?

44:11 A lobsters have poor eyesight because they live on the basin of the ocean.

44:15 These antenna are sensory organs and they shape out like this, like a Y.

44:20 Can you see that?

44:21 And they use these to detect movement and chemicals in the environment.

44:25 This helps them find prey.

44:26 It helps them communicate with other lobsters.

44:28 And it helps them to navigate beneath the ocean.

44:31 Ooh.

44:32 And you know what this lobster is doing right now?

44:34 It's actually peeing out of its face.

44:37 What?

44:38 Yeah.

44:38 That's probably one thing that most people did not

44:40 realize about lobsters is that their urinary glands are

44:43 actually on the side of the face and they

44:45 can shoot streams of urine up to six feet underwater.

44:49 And that helps them communicate with other lobsters.

44:51 I see that you were just trying to pee on me.

44:53 I'm peed on and pooped on by almost everything that I work with.

44:57 Now, you see there are some bubbles coming

44:58 out of the front of the lobster, right?

45:01 So, what the lobster is actually doing

45:02 is airrating its gills by blowing bubbles.

45:05 Now, let's talk about the movement of a lobster.

45:08 This body design is very similar to an insect.

45:10 And technically, lobsters are arthropods, so they're related to bugs.

45:14 And their body structure is very similar to many insect species,

45:18 including this hard outer exoskeleton.

45:21 Now, when a lobster is underwater, they move forward slowly using their pinchers

45:26 and their legs to propel themselves forward.

45:28 They look for food.

45:29 They catch it, they crush it, they tear it apart, and they eat it.

45:32 But if something comes into the environment that is a potential predator,

45:35 what they will do is quickly shoot themselves backwards using,

45:38 see these little flipper things down here?

45:41 These are called swimmeretes.

45:42 And then the tail is technically called the telson.

45:44 That's this big flipper on the back here.

45:46 Looks like a whale tail.

45:47 It does.

45:47 Right.

45:47 And they're able, this is all muscle right here, right?

45:49 And what they'll do is whoosh, shoot themselves backwards,

45:52 usually into a crevice or into a hole,

45:55 and then they escape the potential predator.

45:57 Awesome.

45:57 So, I have a quick question.

45:59 How do these things grow?

46:00 I mean, you said up to 40 lbs.

46:02 How does that work?

46:04 Yes.

46:04 Lobsters at this size, this lobster is probably around 7 years old.

46:09 and they are very very very slow growers.

46:13 So for a lobster to reach 40 lb,

46:15 let's say, so that's considered a mammoth, right?

46:18 For a lobster to reach 40 lb,

46:19 it would probably be somewhere between 70 and 100 years of age.

46:23 How crazy is that?

46:24 Wa.

46:24 They can live 100 years.

46:25 100 years.

46:26 Or so they think.

46:27 Nobody really knows for sure exactly how long,

46:29 but just like turtles and tortoises, that's what scientists think.

46:32 Close to 100 years.

46:34 Well, I think at this juncture we're going

46:36 to put Lucy back into this tank of water.

46:40 And if you guys are ready, I think it's time to get Lonnie out and see just

46:44 how powerful both the Crusher and the Ripper Claw really are.

46:48 Are you guys ready?

46:49 Let's bring in Lonnie.

46:50 All right, let's do it.

46:53 What we're going to do, you ready?

46:56 Yeah.

46:56 Mario, you got a good shot?

46:59 Yep.

46:58 We're going to take Oh, boy.

47:00 Come here, Lonnie.

47:01 Oh, he's a beast.

47:02 All right, we're going to place Lonnie inside.

47:04 Well, he barely fits in there.

47:06 That is a massive lobster.

47:08 Woo!

47:10 Okay, Coyote, this is your last and final

47:13 chance to call this off and save your hands.

47:19 Ooh, yeah.

47:20 Nope.

47:21 I'm going to go through with it, guys.

47:22 I think if there was ever a time to be pinched by a giant lobster,

47:25 it is this precise moment.

47:27 You guys ready?

47:29 I I don't know, man.

47:30 I just feel like I don't know.

47:31 Oh, I got this gut feeling like this is a really bad idea.

47:34 All right, guys.

47:35 Now, because these crustaceations lose a lot of their power quickly,

47:39 this is going to happen pretty much immediately.

47:42 So, what I'm going to do is actually pick Lonnie up

47:45 out of the tank and gently set him down and then boom,

47:49 my hand is going to go right into the crusher claw.

47:51 So, I'm going to give you guys the countdown while he's still in the water.

47:55 Okay.

47:56 Okay.

47:56 So, just to recap, you're going to take Lonnie out of the tank,

48:00 put him onto the crate,

48:01 and then your left hand is going right in the crusher claw.

48:04 Crusher claw first, ripper claw second.

48:07 So, without further ado, I'm Coyote Peterson,

48:10 and I'm about to enter the pinch zone with the American Lobster.

48:14 Are you ready?

48:15 We're ready.

48:18 One, two, here we go.

48:20 Three.

48:37 What's happening?

48:37 Is he pinching?

48:38 He's not doing anything at all.

48:41 Nothing.

48:41 Nothing at all.

48:41 So, you're all right?

48:42 I'm completely all right.

48:44 That's my hand in the pincher of a lobster.

48:47 Maybe he likes you.

48:49 All right, let's rethink this.

48:52 H I thought this lobster was just going to straight up pinch me.

48:56 Maybe I should just try the ripper claw.

48:58 You guys ready for that?

48:59 I guess.

49:00 Man, I can't believe it didn't pinch you.

49:02 I'm at a loss for words to be honest with you, but we shall prevail.

49:06 I'm Cy Peterson and I'm about to enter the pinch

49:09 zone with the ripper claw of the American lobster.

49:12 One, two, here we go.

49:16 Three.

49:36 He has absolutely no interest in pinching me.

49:40 Wow, that was really unexpected.

49:42 I was ready for pain.

49:43 All right, guys.

49:44 Well, this is not going according to plan.

49:47 This lobster has no interest in pinching me.

49:50 The little one was.

49:51 This is true.

49:52 Uh, I could get the little one out and see if that one will pinch me.

49:55 I'd say that's better than nothing.

49:57 Okay, let's try it.

49:59 I'm just going to leave this big one

50:00 here and bring the little one into the scene.

50:02 All right.

50:05 All right.

50:05 Ready?

50:07 Yep.

50:07 Little one is back and its claws are open.

50:09 Ready?

50:09 No.

50:10 Pressure claw.

50:11 Pressure claw.

50:11 Here we go.

50:12 Ready?

50:12 Yep.

50:21 Not much power.

50:25 Barely.

50:26 Barely.

50:27 I mean, not even compared to the dungeonous crab.

50:29 Let's try the ripper claw.

50:31 Ready?

50:33 Yeah.

50:36 Nothing.

50:37 I mean, it's pinching, but not even close to as powerful as the dungeoness crab.

50:42 I mean, not even close.

50:44 No chance it's even going to break skin.

50:46 Wow.

50:47 Well, I think we're at a crossroads here where it's almost like,

50:55 is the pinch of a lobster more of a myth?

50:58 I mean, I've heard stories of people

51:00 getting their hands completely crushed by lobsters.

51:05 Let me try one more time with that river.

51:08 Ready?

51:09 One, two, three.

51:11 No power.

51:12 Really?

51:13 That is all bark.

51:14 No bite.

51:15 Yeah, it's it's latched on to my hand.

51:17 I can feel it squeezing down.

51:19 No power.

51:21 Really?

51:21 Like I could pull my hand right out of there.

51:23 Like it doesn't want to pinch you.

51:25 Not all things go according to plan.

51:27 And while you may be thinking to yourself, "Cyote didn't get pinched.

51:31 Looks like he's going to escape this one unscathed." Well,

51:35 we're not going to give up that easily.

51:43 All right.

51:43 Well, we're back and it is a lot colder out.

51:48 And as you can see, it's gotten dark.

51:50 In fact, it's so cold that I can see my breath.

51:53 And now I'm wearing a scarf.

51:54 So, hopefully this will help in getting these lobsters to pinch me.

51:58 So, without further ado, let's see if changing the setting nighttime and much

52:03 colder helps in getting pinched by one of these giants.

52:06 Let's go for it.

52:07 You ready?

52:09 One, two, three.

52:14 And pinch me.

52:16 Nothing.

52:17 Look at that.

52:18 He's immediately just thinking flight.

52:20 That's what that mechanism is right there of flicking the tail.

52:23 Let me get away.

52:25 Not using the claws to defend itself.

52:27 Now, part of me wonders if these claws aren't

52:29 so big that when he's out of the water,

52:32 he's not even capable of holding them up to pinch me.

52:35 But even see down like this.

52:37 Watch.

52:40 Just not interested in pinching.

52:43 All right, buddy.

52:43 I'm going to put you back into the aquarium.

52:46 Maybe Lonnie's too nice.

52:47 Lonnie is your neighborhood friendly lobster.

52:52 I'm going to get the smaller one out of the bucket.

52:54 Let's try this with the smaller one.

52:58 Okay, sound good?

52:58 Okay, so in the blue bucket here, we have the smaller lobster.

53:06 Okay, are you ready for this?

53:11 Nothing really.

53:14 It's Ah.

53:15 Ah, there is some pressure there.

53:19 Ooh.

53:19 Ooh.

53:19 Ooh.

53:19 Ooh.

53:20 Yep.

53:21 There is pressure, but definitely not what I was expecting.

53:24 Here comes the other claw.

53:25 Let's see if it will pinch down with that one.

53:27 See two claws at the same time.

53:29 Here we go.

53:32 Oh no.

53:35 Ah, for a brief second, that was it.

53:39 That definitely left a mark.

53:40 Look at the back side of my hand.

53:41 Can you see that?

53:43 Yep.

53:43 A little pinch.

53:44 That was a little pinch.

53:45 Look at this side.

53:46 Let's try one more.

53:47 Ready?

53:54 Anything?

53:56 Nothing.

53:55 I mean, I was pinched in all fairness.

54:00 It wasn't that bad, though.

54:01 Not even close to the pinch of the dungeonous crab.

54:04 And it was almost more of a warning pinch where it was like,

54:08 I'm just going to hold on and then the pressure resided and it let go.

54:13 I don't know.

54:13 These lobsters seem to be pretty friendly.

54:15 I think we have busted the myth.

54:18 I don't think that a lobster is capable of giving you a very powerful pinch.

54:22 Well, I have one more idea.

54:24 I'm all for it.

54:26 So, I think what we have here are friendly lobsters.

54:29 And what we need are angry lobsters.

54:33 And you know, if I was a lobster,

54:34 would make me angry being at a lobster house restaurant.

54:38 Oh, like you're about to be cooked.

54:39 You think these lobsters like understand that we're take

54:42 we're handling them gently where we we love these lobsters?

54:45 I mean, I think they're smart like that.

54:47 I think, you know, who knows?

54:48 Maybe their intelligence is beyond what we expected.

54:52 In all fairness, I guess that's that could be possible.

54:54 So, you're thinking we go to a lobster restaurant and we are in Maine.

54:57 There are lobster restaurants everywhere.

55:00 And maybe we pick out one of their lobsters,

55:02 save it from ending up in the pot, and see if it will pinch me.

55:05 I'm saying, yeah, let's try to go find ourselves an angry lobster.

55:08 I mean, there's a lot of them out there.

55:09 One of them's got to want to pinch you.

55:11 I kind of feel like there is still one stone left to be unturned.

55:15 I say, let's wait until morning, go find a lobster restaurant,

55:17 and see if we can get me pinched.

55:19 Let's do it.

55:20 All right.

55:27 All right, guys.

55:27 This is it.

55:28 Day two in my attempt to find out, does a lobster pinch actually hurt?

55:33 Now, we're here at Estie's Lobster House, which is a famous restaurant in town,

55:37 which is known for having some incredibly angry lobsters.

55:41 So, what we're going to do this morning is go behind the scenes,

55:44 get up close with one of these crustaceans,

55:45 and see if it will actually pinch me.

55:48 You guys ready?

55:49 I'm ready.

55:50 All right, let's do it.

55:53 All right, guys.

55:54 This is it behind the scenes.

55:56 And look at this.

55:58 It's a trough filled with fresh lobsters.

56:02 Guess we'll see if any of them are angry.

56:04 You guys ready?

56:07 Now, these are all considered market size.

56:10 So, they're around a pound and a half to 2 lb.

56:13 So, that's about the size of our largest lobster we had yesterday.

56:17 It was 2.3 lb.

56:19 Considered a large lobster.

56:20 So, if we're right in that range, I think uh it's probably pretty fair test.

56:26 Man, that's a whopper of a claw right there.

56:28 Look how it hooks over.

56:29 That might actually break skin.

56:30 All right, you guys ready?

56:34 Yep.

56:33 GoPro is rolling.

56:37 Oh boy.

56:38 I think that thing is ready to crush.

56:41 All right, guys.

56:41 I'm going to dip the lobster, bring it up, and then whack.

56:44 Put my hand in there.

56:45 You ready?

56:46 Good.

56:50 I am actually nervous now.

56:52 I'm Ky Peterson and I'm about to enter the pinch zone with a giant lobster.

56:57 Ready?

56:59 One, two, three.

57:12 Well, it's actually worse this time.

57:17 That's a lot WORSE THAN YESTERDAY.

57:24 WOW.

57:25 OH YEAH, HE GOT ME GOOD.

57:27 AH.

57:28 OH MAN, my hand's shaking.

57:30 Wow.

57:31 That is a huge difference from yesterday.

57:35 Ah man.

57:37 Oh yeah.

57:37 Oh gosh.

57:39 Definitely didn't break bone.

57:40 All right, let's try the ripper claw.

57:42 You ready?

57:46 One, two, three.

57:47 Ah.

57:48 AH!

57:51 AH!

57:52 WOW, THAT'S A LOT SHARPER.

57:56 AH!

58:00 OKAY, NO, he's locked on.

58:02 Ah!

58:02 Okay, this is definitely a lot different than the lobsters we had yesterday.

58:06 100%.

58:08 Ah!

58:09 Yeah, that ripper claw is locked out of my hand.

58:12 Look at that.

58:13 Ah, what's the pressure feel like?

58:17 It's about the same as the dungeonous crab, I would say, but it's a lot sharper.

58:23 And every time I try to move my hand just a little bit, he locks down tighter.

58:28 Ah.

58:29 All right.

58:29 Maybe if I set it down in the water, they'll come off.

58:33 Uhhuh.

58:34 Yeah, maybe.

58:35 Ah.

58:36 It's tough to tell.

58:36 There's a bunch of tiny little teeth.

58:38 The serrated edges are digging in.

58:41 Oh yeah, it hurts on the back of my hand for sure.

58:43 You can see that.

58:46 Ah, I try to pull my hand out.

58:48 It is locked in there.

58:50 I can't actually pull my hand out.

58:51 I'm going to have to dip it in the water.

58:53 One, two, three.

58:55 Oh, let go.

58:56 Let go.

58:56 LET GO.

58:57 AH, HE'S pinching out harder.

59:04 Good.

59:07 Yikes.

59:06 Wow.

59:07 Okay.

59:07 Well, that was a huge difference from yesterday.

59:10 Look at the impressions in my hand.

59:12 And a couple little blood blister type points where it really locked in.

59:20 Ow.

59:21 Dude, you can I can feel my hand kind of swelling up a little bit.

59:27 Okay.

59:28 Well, I would say that was successful.

59:30 Um, much more powerful than the lobsters that we were working with yesterday.

59:37 Without question, that is a much more powerful pinch.

59:40 But a lobster of this size, probably just around 2 lb,

59:44 was not capable of breaking skin or breaking bone.

59:48 So, do we know why this lobster decided

59:51 to pinch harder than the ones that we caught didn't?

59:54 Well, here's my guess is that this water is significantly

59:58 colder than the water where we had our lobsters now.

1:00:01 Oh, wow.

1:00:02 See how cold that is?

1:00:03 Way colder.

1:00:03 That is very representative of the temperature of the water that would

1:00:07 be at the basin of the ocean where these crustations live.

1:00:10 It was also very dark in here.

1:00:12 We came in and we lit it and they don't normally have these lights on.

1:00:15 So, the lobster feels like it's completely in its natural environment.

1:00:20 And I'll tell you what, in the back of Andy's mind,

1:00:22 he may also know that him and all

1:00:25 of his friends could be next up on the dinner plate.

1:00:27 But the good news for this lobster is that we're going

1:00:30 to purchase it and release it back out into the wild.

1:00:34 Well guys, I think we figured it out.

1:00:36 All you have to do is find an angry

1:00:38 lobster and you'll successfully get your hand pinched.

1:00:42 I'm Ky Peterson.

1:00:44 Be brave.

1:00:45 You're going to stay wild.

1:00:47 We'll see you on the next adventure.

1:00:51 When it comes to this animal's powerful pinch,

1:00:54 what I learned is that lobsters aren't necessarily prone to pinching,

1:00:58 especially once they have been taken from the depths of the ocean.

1:01:02 However, with that in mind, if you come across an angry lobster like Andy,

1:01:06 the power behind those claws is pretty impressive.

1:01:10 And I can say with confidence that a lobster above

1:01:12 the weight of 2 lb could very likely break bone.

1:01:16 So, if you handle one, I strongly urge you to steer clear of those pinchers.

1:01:23 All right, guys.

1:01:24 This is the moment we've all been waiting for.

1:01:26 We're going to release the lobsters back out into the wild.

1:01:29 I'm going to do it one at a time.

1:01:30 The first one to be released is going to be little Lucy.

1:01:34 Let me take the rubber band off her crusher claw there.

1:01:38 There we go.

1:01:39 And I'm going to place her deeper out in the water.

1:01:43 If I could save every lobster from the fate of a dinner plate,

1:01:47 you better believe I would.

1:01:49 However, lobster fishing is an incredibly important part of Maine's economy.

1:01:54 And while many of these bizarrel looking

1:01:56 crustations are frequently caught for human consumption,

1:01:59 it's important to remember that lobstermen are conservationist first.

1:02:03 And it's the management and preservation

1:02:04 of this species that keeps the industry alive.

1:02:11 I shine right there.

1:02:12 Okay, I'm just going to GO FOR IT.

1:02:15 GOT HIM.

1:02:15 You got it.

1:02:16 Yep.

1:02:16 Got him.

1:02:16 Got him.

1:02:16 Got him.

1:02:18 Oh.

1:02:19 Ow.

1:02:20 Yeah.

1:02:22 Tonight, we are deep in the heart

1:02:23 of an agricultural fruit grove located in southern Florida,

1:02:28 which is an ideal ecosystem for invasive lizards.

1:02:32 Thus far, we have found and safely captured a very impressive veiled chameleon.

1:02:38 And while we would love to release it back into the wild,

1:02:41 this lizard is a reptilian invader.

1:02:44 So, it will be donated to a wildlife sanctuary where it will serve

1:02:47 as an educational example of an animal that does not belong in this ecosystem.

1:02:53 In addition to chameleons, this fruit grove is also known for having

1:02:57 an established breeding population of to geckos.

1:03:02 These noisy reptiles are famous for their loud bark,

1:03:05 which sounds like to do to hence the name that these lizards have been given.

1:03:14 And that right there is a perfect little crevice.

1:03:18 Check this out for a gecko.

1:03:22 And nothing in there now.

1:03:24 And guarantee he's up here hunting in the trees somewhere.

1:03:28 All right.

1:03:29 Well, we are going to continue the search and hopefully find one.

1:03:34 Like most gecko species, the to never wanders far from its hiding spot,

1:03:39 which is often a deep crevice or hole in a tree.

1:03:43 This refuge, combined with a notable burst of speed,

1:03:47 provides these nocturnal creatures with a quick escape

1:03:49 route in the event that a larger predator approaches.

1:03:53 What I'm doing is actually searching for eye shine.

1:03:55 These gecko's eyes will reflect back in my flashlight.

1:03:58 What I want to do is just keep the light close up to my nose

1:04:01 like this, and I'm looking for those little

1:04:03 eyeballs to spark out in the darkness.

1:04:06 Spotting eye shine definitely gave me the advantage

1:04:09 of targeting the lizard from the distance.

1:04:11 However, sneaking up quickly and quietly without the lizard noticing

1:04:16 and in turn bolting into its escape hatch was a much different scenario.

1:04:21 Follow my flashlight.

1:04:23 This right here.

1:04:23 There was a gecko up in the little creps of that tree.

1:04:26 I cannot see now.

1:04:27 Duck back.

1:04:27 Let me go up and see if I can catch it.

1:04:40 They are quick.

1:04:41 I thought he went down the side of the tree.

1:04:43 It's like as soon as they hear the footsteps coming, they are off.

1:04:47 All right.

1:04:47 Well, that was just a small one.

1:04:48 We're definitely looking for something bigger,

1:04:50 but getting any gecko up close for the cameras is a value.

1:04:53 All right, let's keep searching.

1:04:57 Here we go.

1:04:57 Right there.

1:05:00 You get it?

1:05:05 Nope.

1:05:04 Oh, there's a hole right here.

1:05:07 He just went down into the hole in that tree.

1:05:12 Several missed attempts brought with them a heightened sense of frustration.

1:05:16 Yet, I refused to give up.

1:05:18 And my persistence finally led us to the moment I had been waiting for.

1:05:23 A gecko that I could see, but who couldn't see me.

1:05:30 Eye shine right there side of that tree.

1:05:31 Gecko, just curve around the side.

1:05:32 See that V-shaped creek?

1:05:34 Yeah.

1:05:34 Come up.

1:05:34 Come up.

1:05:35 Come up.

1:05:35 There's the tail, Mario.

1:05:36 You see it?

1:05:36 Yeah.

1:05:36 I got nothing.

1:05:37 Okay, I'm just going to go for it.

1:05:41 Yeah.

1:05:42 Got him.

1:05:42 Got it.

1:05:43 Yep.

1:05:43 Got him.

1:05:43 Got gun.

1:05:44 Check this out.

1:05:45 He's trying to bite me already.

1:05:46 Hang on.

1:05:46 Hang on.

1:05:47 Come on into the shot.

1:05:48 Take a look at that.

1:05:50 There it is.

1:05:50 That is a to gecko.

1:05:52 All right, let me slowly peel this guy up and off of the tree.

1:05:57 That is about as good a grab as I can possibly make.

1:06:00 Let me just kind of peel his little toes off there, man.

1:06:03 All right, buddy.

1:06:04 Man, that's a big gecko.

1:06:05 Oh, that is a good gecko.

1:06:07 Oh, he is just clinging onto the tree.

1:06:09 Got you.

1:06:10 There we go.

1:06:11 And he is all chompy trying to get my fingers in his mouth.

1:06:14 All right, let me crouch down right here.

1:06:17 There you have it.

1:06:18 Look at you.

1:06:20 Good looking.

1:06:21 Oh, my hand is shaking right now.

1:06:22 We have had many misses tonight.

1:06:24 And unlike frogs, these geckos do not stay still in flashlight shine.

1:06:29 They quickly zoom around the side of the tree.

1:06:33 Wow.

1:06:34 A perfect specimen.

1:06:36 Look at the coloration.

1:06:37 Grayish blue, light blue, and all of that copper speckling.

1:06:41 Oh, he's going to wake Oh.

1:06:42 Oh, I hear you.

1:06:43 You hear that bark?

1:06:44 That's what we've been hearing calling all night.

1:06:46 And that's actually a defensive warning that if you get your finger close,

1:06:49 I'm going to give you one very painful chomp.

1:06:52 And go ahead, Mario, and zoom in down the gullet.

1:06:57 That is an impressive mouth.

1:06:59 Look at the interior coloration.

1:07:01 Black with a little bit of bright red, almost aosmatic in design.

1:07:05 And of course, we know geckos are not venomous.

1:07:07 They are not poisonous.

1:07:08 But this species specifically has very sharp teeth

1:07:11 and can give you one very painful bite.

1:07:15 Let me go ahead and turn its body like this.

1:07:17 You can get a good look.

1:07:18 Oh.

1:07:19 Woo.

1:07:20 Oh boy.

1:07:21 He's going at me.

1:07:21 He's going at me.

1:07:22 All right.

1:07:22 Trying to get a bite going there.

1:07:24 No, buddy.

1:07:25 You can hear that little bark.

1:07:26 They are incredibly aggressive.

1:07:29 Ooh.

1:07:29 Ooh.

1:07:29 That's too close to my finger.

1:07:31 That came out of nowhere.

1:07:32 Yeah.

1:07:32 Strong, right?

1:07:33 They will explode into action like that.

1:07:35 Now, the males are larger than the females,

1:07:37 and they're also incredibly aggressive, very territorial,

1:07:40 and there's a good chance that this tree

1:07:42 right here is this little Godzilla's domain.

1:07:45 Let me try to like show you the side of its body without taking a bite.

1:07:50 All right, you going to stay calm?

1:07:51 I'm hoping like the turnup tail gecko that it

1:07:53 will just go into a state of Sometimes

1:07:56 they will play dead and you loosen your grip and then they try to get away.

1:07:59 But in this instance,

1:08:00 the to is all about the fight once it realizes that flight is not an option.

1:08:05 You can see my hand shaking a little bit there.

1:08:07 Let me try to get it completely stable.

1:08:10 Deep breath.

1:08:10 Do not want to be bitten yet by the to gecko.

1:08:14 Whoa.

1:08:14 What do you mean yet?

1:08:15 Uh well, I got a little bit of history

1:08:17 with the to gecko that we'll get into in a second.

1:08:19 But first, is that what that bandage is on your finger?

1:08:21 Is that the history?

1:08:22 No, no, no, no.

1:08:22 That's a snapping turtle bite.

1:08:24 The to gecko bite is not as bad as a snapping turtle,

1:08:26 but it is incredibly painful.

1:08:29 The to gecko is a voracious predator and they

1:08:32 will eat pretty much anything they can come across.

1:08:35 Other lizards, insects, even baby mammals.

1:08:37 Small mice, baby birds, all make fair game for this predator.

1:08:42 Now, let's look at one of the hallmark traits of this gecko, its feet.

1:08:46 These toes are all covered in these little sticky pads.

1:08:49 Now, at the tips of the toes, they do have claws.

1:08:51 And it's a combination of the claws and the sticky

1:08:54 pads that allow them to climb over virtually any surface.

1:08:57 Whether it's up the side of a tree or even across glass,

1:09:00 this gecko can stick to anything.

1:09:02 Now, the to gecko has long been one of my favorite lizard species.

1:09:06 And when I was a kid, when I was 10 years old,

1:09:08 I wanted one of these as a pet more than anything.

1:09:11 And at the time, my mom didn't know anything about to geckos.

1:09:15 and she said, "If you get straight A's on your report card,

1:09:18 I'll let you get one as a pet." So, what did I do?

1:09:20 I studied and studied and studied.

1:09:22 Got straight A's on my report card.

1:09:24 And the day my mom took me to the pet store to get one of these lizards,

1:09:27 the guy that owned the pet store said,

1:09:29 "Not only do these lizards give an incredibly painful bite and hold on, but they

1:09:33 also eat a lot of baby mice." And my mom said, "No way.

1:09:38 We are not getting a lizard that we're going

1:09:40 to have to feed baby mice to." So lo and behold,

1:09:43 coyote left the pet store that day with no pet lizard.

1:09:47 But now looking back on it in hindsight,

1:09:49 I could definitely see that a lizard like

1:09:50 this probably did not make the best pet.

1:09:53 I'm sure a lot of you guys

1:09:54 out there watching this episode thinking to yourselves,

1:09:56 "This is such a cool lizard.

1:09:57 I want one of these lizards." Honestly, guys, the to gecko,

1:10:00 unless you have the means and the experience to take care of it, not a good pet.

1:10:05 That bite is powerful and they are voracious predators.

1:10:07 You have to feed them constantly.

1:10:09 I know I keep focusing on this whole, oh, the bite is really bad.

1:10:12 They bite and hold on.

1:10:13 It's it's a just a gecko.

1:10:14 Is it really that bad?

1:10:16 I don't know, guys.

1:10:17 I've never been bitten by a to gecko.

1:10:20 I've been bitten by many lizard species.

1:10:22 But I'm pretty curious.

1:10:23 How bad is the bite of the to gecko?

1:10:26 And if I was still 10 years old and in fourth grade,

1:10:28 is this something that would have latched onto my finger and not let go?

1:10:32 I know what you guys are all thinking.

1:10:33 Coyote, are we going to enter the bite zone with the to gecko?

1:10:37 I think we better try it out.

1:10:38 You guys ready?

1:10:39 Are you seriously going to do this?

1:10:40 I'm going to do it.

1:10:40 I'm just very curious at this point.

1:10:42 This is an intentional bite to see how painful is the bite and are they truly

1:10:47 the bulldog of the gecko kingdom or is

1:10:49 this a lizard going to bite and then let go?

1:10:51 So, if you guys are ready, it's time to enter the bite zone with the to gecko.

1:10:57 Hey, do you want me to spoil the ending for you?

1:10:58 It's going to be bad.

1:10:59 Yeah.

1:10:59 Well, here's what's going to happen.

1:11:00 The lizard's either going to bite and let go, or it's going to bite and hold on.

1:11:04 The contingency plan is I'm going to set it down on this log,

1:11:07 let go of the lizard's body, and see if it will then let go of my finger.

1:11:10 If not, I'm just going to have a reptile locked

1:11:12 onto one of my appendages for the rest of this scene.

1:11:15 All right, you guys ready?

1:11:17 You sure about this?

1:11:19 Yep.

1:11:19 Okay, you have a good shot.

1:11:21 Mhm.

1:11:21 All right.

1:11:22 Yeah.

1:11:22 This all you This is what we call curiosity chomped the coyote.

1:11:26 I'm Coyote Peterson and I'm about to enter the bite zone with the to gecko.

1:11:32 Ready?

1:11:33 One, two, three.

1:11:39 Ow.

1:11:40 Ooh.

1:11:41 Yeah.

1:11:43 Ooh.

1:11:44 Ha.

1:11:46 A bite and let go.

1:11:50 Go ahead and zoom in on my finger there, Mario.

1:11:52 And that is the result of a to gecko bite.

1:11:56 I knew this was going to happen.

1:11:57 Why did you need to do that?

1:11:59 Curiosity, guys.

1:12:00 I had to know.

1:12:01 Is the bite of the to gecko really that bad?

1:12:04 Did 10-year-old coyote deserve to have a gecko?

1:12:07 He got straight A's on his report card.

1:12:09 Honestly, guys, I have to say thanks to my mom for not

1:12:12 letting me get one of these lizards when I was a little kid,

1:12:15 cuz I can just imagine how bad it would have been if

1:12:17 this creature had latched onto my finger and it didn't let go.

1:12:21 So, if you guys want suggestions as to what lizard makes a good pet,

1:12:24 the leopard gecko and the bearded dragon are both excellent choices.

1:12:28 When it comes to to geckos,

1:12:30 let's just go ahead and leave these guys in the wild.

1:12:33 Now, unfortunately for this one, I know buddy,

1:12:35 we can't let you back into your tree

1:12:37 because you are an invader here in South Florida.

1:12:39 But the good news is that this lizard is going to be donated

1:12:42 to an educational research facility where he's then

1:12:45 going to become an ambassador for his species.

1:12:47 But this certainly was an epic evening finding invasive lizards

1:12:51 and getting this awesome to gecko up close for the cameras.

1:12:55 I'm Ky Peterson.

1:12:57 Be brave.

1:12:59 Stay wild.

1:13:00 We'll see you on the next adventure.

1:13:03 Yeah, that's a bloody bite.

1:13:06 The invasive reptile population in South Florida continues to be

1:13:10 a topic of conversation amongst wildlife specialists and conservation advocates.

1:13:16 It is true that most of these species like Burmese pythons, teu, chameleons,

1:13:22 and even to geckos have established strong breeding

1:13:26 populations and unfortunately are likely here to stay.

1:13:31 If you ever visit the Sunshine State and encounter a non-native animal species,

1:13:36 the best practice is to take note

1:13:38 of your location and quickly alert fish and wildlife

1:13:41 services as these professionals are working around

1:13:43 the clock to help rebalance the native ecosystem.

1:13:50 I'm going to go right for his head.

1:13:52 You ready?

1:13:52 Whoa.

1:13:52 Watch yourself.

1:13:53 Watch yourself.

1:13:57 Jeez, he got me.

1:14:00 Shake.

1:14:00 Snake.

1:14:01 Look at that.

1:14:02 It's pyon.

1:14:09 Burmese python.

1:14:11 Wow.

1:14:11 Pretty good size, too.

1:14:13 Oh, he's hissing.

1:14:14 Let me get him back out here on the road.

1:14:16 Wa!

1:14:17 Holy cow.

1:14:19 Jeez, he was just starting across the road.

1:14:21 Let me try to get him stopped right here.

1:14:22 Whoa, buddy.

1:14:23 Whoa, buddy.

1:14:25 Bring him back.

1:14:26 Bring him back.

1:14:27 There we go.

1:14:28 Look at that.

1:14:29 That is the invasive Burmese python there.

1:14:32 Good size one, too.

1:14:33 Probably about 5 and 1/2 ft.

1:14:36 I'm going to go right for his head.

1:14:37 You ready?

1:14:37 Whoa.

1:14:38 Watch yourself.

1:14:38 Watch yourself.

1:14:42 Hey, you got me.

1:14:44 Ah, missed the head and took a bite.

1:14:47 Great.

1:14:47 Yeah.

1:14:48 Okay, man.

1:14:48 Those teeth are sharp.

1:14:49 He moved forward just as I was going for.

1:14:52 Oh jeez, he just bit that camera.

1:14:54 All right.

1:14:55 Ah, look at that.

1:14:56 That is a python bite right there.

1:14:58 All right, hold on.

1:14:59 Let me try that again.

1:15:01 You ready?

1:15:04 Oh, there we go.

1:15:06 Wow, look at that mouth.

1:15:07 All right, good thing I've got him the second time.

1:15:10 Look at those razor sharp teeth, man.

1:15:12 That's what just went right into my hand.

1:15:15 Look at that snake,

1:15:16 man.

1:15:17 He nailed his

1:15:17 He did nail me.

1:15:18 And that hurt pretty bad.

1:15:21 Let me get him under better control here.

1:15:23 There we go.

1:15:23 Here, let's uh let's move out of the wind.

1:15:25 Let's tuck into this little impass here.

1:15:27 Here we go.

1:15:28 Okay.

1:15:28 Yeah.

1:15:28 Yeah.

1:15:28 Yeah.

1:15:29 Woo.

1:15:30 Oh, how cool is that?

1:15:32 I didn't think we were going to see anything today, man.

1:15:36 Uh, it's most likely this is a snake that was born in the wild.

1:15:39 Definitely not used to being around humans.

1:15:41 As you can see, gave me a pretty nasty bite on my hand there.

1:15:44 Good news for me is that this snake is nonvenenomous.

1:15:46 So, I'm going to be just fine.

1:15:49 And it's no wonder that these snakes

1:15:50 stay so incredibly well camouflaged into the environment.

1:15:53 If I put him down in the grasses here, look at this.

1:15:56 Just going to let his head go a little bit.

1:15:57 Watch yourself.

1:15:58 I don't think he's going to bite you.

1:15:59 Don't worry.

1:16:00 Look at that.

1:16:01 He just completely disappears amongst the grasses and the leaves.

1:16:07 Holy cow.

1:16:08 All right, let me pull him back a little bit there.

1:16:10 Now, I can never recommend that you run out into the wild

1:16:12 and just try to pick up a python like I did.

1:16:15 As you saw when I went for the grab behind the head,

1:16:18 I was just a little bit short of the safe zone and I ended up taking a bite.

1:16:23 Now, I have one other time in my life caught

1:16:26 a Burmese python out here in the wilds of South Florida,

1:16:30 but nothing tops coming across a reptile on a day

1:16:33 when you didn't think you would see anything.

1:16:35 And for just a moment, the sun came out.

1:16:37 And of course, as soon as it does, the reptiles begin to get active.

1:16:42 Such a beautiful creature.

1:16:46 Okay.

1:16:47 Okay.

1:16:47 You're all right.

1:16:49 I'll just let him go up over my shoulder there.

1:16:51 Maybe I'll go down the side of my back.

1:16:52 You see that?

1:16:55 As long as he doesn't constrict around my neck, I'm going to be just fine.

1:16:59 So, this snake just bit you.

1:17:00 And you feel comfortable doing this?

1:17:02 I do.

1:17:03 I feel totally comfortable at this point.

1:17:04 Now, could he bite me again?

1:17:07 Absolutely.

1:17:07 Is he going to bite me again?

1:17:09 I hope not.

1:17:10 But I'm putting virtually no pressure on the snake's body.

1:17:13 I'm just putting one hand after another and letting him slither over me.

1:17:17 And he's staying completely calm.

1:17:19 He's figured out at this point that I'm not causing him any injury.

1:17:22 Obviously not a predator.

1:17:23 If I was, I would be biting him.

1:17:29 In no way is this snake feeling threatened at the moment.

1:17:32 But every time he[ __] his head back like that, I have

1:17:34 to just give him a little bit of respect and say, "Okay,

1:17:37 we do not want you to take a lunge at my face." Cuz that is

1:17:40 a set of teeth that you do not want to get tagged by in the face.

1:17:47 Wow.

1:17:48 Unbelievably beautiful.

1:17:50 I love coming across any sort of snake out here in the wild.

1:17:53 Even if it is an invasive species,

1:17:55 you just have to appreciate those moments that you

1:17:58 interact with nature and truly get up close.

1:18:02 I'm Coyote Peterson.

1:18:04 Be brave.

1:18:07 Stay wild.

1:18:08 We'll see you on the next adventure.

1:18:12 Because this snake is invasive, we could not release it back into the wild.

1:18:15 It was given to a research group and will be used as an educational ambassador.

1:18:22 Yep.

1:18:30 That was hopefully the bone and not your tooth, right?

1:18:36 Hi, I'm Coyote Peterson and this is Ray,

1:18:39 a longtime fan of the Brave Wilderness channel.

1:18:42 Today we're headed out to look

1:18:43 for the common snapping turtle to determine whether

1:18:46 or not one of these large reptiles is capable of biting off a human finger.

1:18:51 Maybe his.

1:18:53 Yeah, that's not what I signed up for.

1:18:55 Well, you signed up for something.

1:18:57 And I can promise you guys there's definitely going to be some bites.

1:19:00 But before we do the bites, we got to catch the turtles.

1:19:03 Yes, sir.

1:19:03 You ready for that?

1:19:04 Let's do it.

1:19:05 It's turtle time.

1:19:07 When it comes to catching ginormous snapping turtles, also known as mud dragons,

1:19:12 my favorite location is Blended Woods Metrop Park in Columbus, Ohio,

1:19:16 where I have special permits to document this unique population of reptiles.

1:19:21 Joining me on this adventure is fellow dragon wrangler Ray Tiller.

1:19:25 He's a longtime fan of Brave Wilderness and has

1:19:28 a channel of his own called Fantastic Films.

1:19:31 Make sure to check it out after this episode.

1:19:33 He makes some pretty awesome content.

1:19:36 Sapp turtle.

1:19:38 Yep.

1:19:42 Oh, he's big.

1:19:43 Oh, yeah.

1:19:44 He's big.

1:19:44 Oh, yeah.

1:19:45 Good turtle.

1:19:45 Good turtle.

1:19:46 Good turtle.

1:19:48 Yes.

1:19:48 This is that super mean one.

1:19:51 Holy cow.

1:19:52 Yeah.

1:19:52 He's angry.

1:19:54 Yes.

1:19:55 Look at that.

1:19:56 Check that out.

1:19:58 Wow.

1:19:59 That is a huge turtle.

1:20:00 That is such a good size turtle.

1:20:03 Oh, this is the one I was telling you about that doesn't have a name.

1:20:07 It is an absolute giant perfect

1:20:10 algae covered monster.

1:20:12 He is so angry right now.

1:20:14 Perfect definition of a mud dragon.

1:20:21 Have you ever caught this turtle before?

1:20:23 No, I have not.

1:20:24 At first, I thought it was Hubert because of the nub on his tail.

1:20:28 He's very bizarre looking.

1:20:29 Good turtle, though.

1:20:30 Very healthy.

1:20:31 So, we're ultimately going to get to the snapping turtle bite test.

1:20:35 But before we do, let's talk a little bit about snapping turtle bites.

1:20:39 I've been bitten seven times in total.

1:20:41 And I know in working with snapping turtles, you two have been bitten before.

1:20:44 Yeah, as you're going to know better than anybody else on the planet.

1:20:47 When you're working with snapping turtles,

1:20:49 especially on a daily basis, bites are bound to happen.

1:20:51 So, I've been nicked in the shin.

1:20:53 I've been nicked on my forearm a couple times on the hand.

1:20:56 But, as you guys can see, I still have all 10 of my fingers.

1:20:58 So, nothing too bad has come from a snapping turtle bite yet.

1:21:01 You'd say warning bites.

1:21:02 More of warning bites.

1:21:03 You know, a quick turnaround and they

1:21:04 just kind of nip me and immediately release.

1:21:06 Same.

1:21:06 I've never had a snapping turtle bite and hold.

1:21:09 And it's that crushing power that can be most detrimental.

1:21:11 Now, when we're talking about a snap turtle bite,

1:21:13 can I use you as the example here?

1:21:14 Go ahead.

1:21:15 All right.

1:21:15 Go ahead and put your hand out.

1:21:16 When you're looking at a snapping turtle skull,

1:21:18 big shout out to my friends at Skulls Unlimited for providing

1:21:20 us with this common snapping turtle and this alligator snapping turtle skull.

1:21:24 With the common snapping turtle, like all turtles,

1:21:26 they have beaks and not teeth.

1:21:28 So, when a bite happens, kind of turn your hand sideways there.

1:21:31 You've got three possible factors.

1:21:33 There's going to be the speed of how fast it hits you.

1:21:35 There's going to be the pinch point of where the beak connects.

1:21:38 And then, of course, there is the lock and crushing power.

1:21:41 And if I turn the snapping turtle skull

1:21:43 sideways like this, you see these two open cavities?

1:21:46 That is where these very large muscles connect to the jaw.

1:21:50 Now, when a human bites down, our muscles get tired pretty quickly.

1:21:53 not the case for a snapping turtle.

1:21:54 So, if it bites and it holds, it just continues to crush and crush and crush.

1:21:59 And there's no telling when that snapping turtle is going to let go.

1:22:01 And that is why these animals can be considered potentially dangerous

1:22:05 if you interact with them and end up with a bite.

1:22:07 Now, before we get to the actual bite test itself with the turtle,

1:22:10 I got a question for you.

1:22:12 Do you think you could bite off a human finger?

1:22:15 I don't think I could bite off a finger cleanly.

1:22:17 If you gave me maybe some time to kind of work it around and

1:22:20 like kind of like gnaw it off.

1:22:22 Yeah.

1:22:22 really get in there.

1:22:23 I think I could get one off.

1:22:24 Yeah.

1:22:24 Okay.

1:22:25 I feel like I probably could too, like in a situation where like you were

1:22:28 being abducted or it was a zombie apocalypse.

1:22:30 But we did a little test.

1:22:31 We went to a dentist here locally in Columbus and we did a couple of bite

1:22:33 tests on me to find out where my teeth actually connect at the strongest points.

1:22:37 And his opinion was probably not going to bite a human finger clean off.

1:22:41 I'd say it's possible if somebody had enough adrenaline

1:22:43 in their system to really make those muscles go.

1:22:47 It would be possible.

1:22:48 I wouldn't think it'd be very likely.

1:22:50 At least you're not going to probably shear it off.

1:22:53 You'd have to bite it and you'd have to ragnull a little bit to get it to tear.

1:22:57 Now, snapping turtle cannot bite and swing its head.

1:23:00 So, this is just biting and it's crushing.

1:23:03 So, for today's bite test, I have two very unique items for us.

1:23:07 Let's see what you got.

1:23:09 Inside of this container are two prosthetic hands

1:23:12 built by our friends at Ballistic Dummy Lab.

1:23:16 Now, these are incredible state-of-the-art hands.

1:23:19 They are just like real human flesh made from a non-toxic gelatin.

1:23:23 And inside you've got a tendon structure and resin

1:23:27 bones that are the same density as human bone.

1:23:30 I'm starting to regret what I said earlier when I

1:23:32 said I think I can take off a human finger.

1:23:35 I think it might be best to approach it kind

1:23:38 of like a snapping turtle because they can't get in there,

1:23:40 you know, with mers or anything and kind of try to tear a finger off.

1:23:43 So maybe with the front part of my mouth biting.

1:23:48 We'll start on the thumb.

1:23:50 You're going to try to butt out the thumb.

1:23:52 Oh, okay.

1:23:52 I mean, it's just your call.

1:23:53 I mean, we'll start with the thumb to see just how much damage I

1:23:56 can do with my front teeth and then maybe work into my mers and see.

1:24:01 Sure.

1:24:01 See what we can do.

1:24:02 This is an experiment.

1:24:02 I mean, we have no idea what's going to happen.

1:24:04 But we've only got one shot at this cuz we have one hand for us to bite,

1:24:08 one hand for the turtles to bite.

1:24:10 Now, be careful.

1:24:11 I don't want you to hurt your teeth.

1:24:12 So, when you bite down,

1:24:14 maybe don't bite down like you're actually attacking somebody,

1:24:17 but like take your time with it.

1:24:18 I don't know what it's going to do as you bite in with your teeth.

1:24:22 Okay.

1:24:21 And now you have to say, "I'm Ray Tiller and I'm going to enter

1:24:26 the bite zone with a prosthetic human hand." Okay.

1:24:29 Okay.

1:24:30 I think I got it.

1:24:31 Ready?

1:24:31 Yeah.

1:24:31 Are you guys ready?

1:24:33 Everybody out there watching ready?

1:24:34 I think so.

1:24:35 All right.

1:24:35 Let's do it.

1:24:36 I'm Ray Tiller and I'm about to enter

1:24:39 the bite zone with a prosthetic human hand.

1:24:42 You ready?

1:24:43 I'm ready.

1:24:44 Three, two, one.

1:24:47 Here we go.

1:24:50 Oh, wow.

1:24:50 You're actually breaking skin.

1:24:54 I got down to the bone so far,

1:24:56 but there's no way you could bite through a bone with just your front teeth.

1:25:00 So, you're actually hitting fake bone in there.

1:25:02 Yeah.

1:25:02 Oh, yeah.

1:25:03 So, you definitely did some damage there.

1:25:05 You can see where your teeth bit through the skin, right?

1:25:08 And you got down to the bone.

1:25:10 We'll have to get a real good tight shot of that.

1:25:13 So, you did.

1:25:14 And that was biting straight down.

1:25:18 Yeah.

1:25:18 Now, let's see what happens when you bite and kind

1:25:20 of move your head around and try to remove the thumb.

1:25:24 Here we go.

1:25:24 Round number two.

1:25:28 Oh, that was hopefully the bone and not your tooth, right?

1:25:31 Yeah, that was the bone, NOT THE TOOTH.

1:25:33 THAT WAS A GROSS.

1:25:34 That really sounded like human bone cracking.

1:25:37 I could see the fear in your eyes when you I was afraid you broke your tooth.

1:25:41 So you can Can you get the thumb off now?

1:25:43 All right.

1:25:43 If I can I twist it around?

1:25:45 Uh, you think so?

1:25:46 Yeah.

1:25:46 Might see you get the thumb off.

1:25:51 Look at that.

1:25:52 Oh, that's gross.

1:25:54 Oh my gosh.

1:25:54 You bit off its thumb.

1:25:56 Oh my god.

1:25:57 Yeah, you broke you broke the bone and you ripped off the thumb.

1:26:01 Oh my gosh.

1:26:02 That is the grossest feeling in the world.

1:26:05 Oh, my hand's kind of like shaking.

1:26:06 It's so gross.

1:26:08 You did it.

1:26:09 I did it.

1:26:09 You bit off a human thumb.

1:26:12 And I kind of I don't know how comfortable I am out there

1:26:16 knowing that now I can bite off a human thumb.

1:26:18 Oh my gosh.

1:26:19 So, it probably is possible if you were to bite

1:26:23 and twist and crack the bone and get a human thumb off.

1:26:28 But just going straight down, there's no way.

1:26:31 There's no way it can be possible.

1:26:33 That was weird.

1:26:34 I bet it was weird watching.

1:26:36 Like the sounds were so realistic.

1:26:38 That crack was crazy.

1:26:40 I know.

1:26:41 I could see the fear in your eye,

1:26:42 like wondering if it was my tooth or it was actually something in the hand.

1:26:46 Yeah.

1:26:46 Okay, now the moment that we've all been waiting for.

1:26:50 How will a snapping turtle do with a prosthetic hand?

1:26:55 So, here's how it's going to go down.

1:26:56 You're gonna take the turtle out of the bin and I'm going to control the hand.

1:27:00 That way, if anything goes wrong, I'm getting bitten and not you.

1:27:03 But I'm going to approach it from the side.

1:27:06 I want to see if these fingers

1:27:07 getting damaged initially becomes the most impactful

1:27:11 because in any instance where I've been

1:27:13 close to being bitten by a snapping turtle,

1:27:15 it's usually this hand on that side from not paying attention.

1:27:18 Maybe a hand coming up this way and then the turtle getting you there.

1:27:21 Right now, I want to know what your predictions are.

1:27:24 What do you think this snapping turtle is going to be able

1:27:26 to do knowing the size and of course knowing their bite strength?

1:27:30 Um, I think it's going to crush this hand no problem.

1:27:33 I think it's going to break bone.

1:27:34 I think it's going to remove a finger.

1:27:35 Now, if the snapping turtle bites and lets go, we'll try the thumb.

1:27:39 If the snapping turtle bites and crushes through,

1:27:42 well, we'll try a second bite test.

1:27:43 As long as the snapping turtle is allowing

1:27:45 us to continue the bite test to move forward,

1:27:47 we'll see how many fingers it removes.

1:27:49 All right.

1:27:49 Well, let's see what the damage a snapping turtle can do.

1:27:52 All right.

1:27:52 Get the dragon.

1:27:53 Let's do it.

1:27:57 Oh man, that is an angry turtle.

1:27:59 Holy.

1:27:59 You ready?

1:28:01 Yeah.

1:28:01 This is a huge snappy turtle.

1:28:03 So, let's give him a couple seconds to see if we can get him to calm down.

1:28:06 Let's see if we can get him to calm down here.

1:28:07 Yep.

1:28:08 There you go.

1:28:08 I'll try to get his attention here.

1:28:10 This is the hand.

1:28:11 There we go.

1:28:12 Nice.

1:28:12 He's There we go.

1:28:13 Staying a little calm right now.

1:28:15 This is not the size snapping turtle you

1:28:16 would ever want to actually be bitten by.

1:28:20 He looks super angry.

1:28:21 Look at how gnarly.

1:28:23 Jeez.

1:28:24 Okay, he's ready for a bite.

1:28:25 Are you guys ready?

1:28:26 Let's do it.

1:28:27 All right, here we go.

1:28:28 What I'm going to do is I have the hand on a stick like

1:28:31 this, and what I'm going to do is

1:28:32 get the turtle's attention this direction here, buddy.

1:28:35 And we're going to go in from the side.

1:28:38 One, two, three.

1:28:44 Oh my god.

1:28:46 Definitely crushed the bone.

1:28:48 Oh my god.

1:28:49 Yeah, he is.

1:28:49 He is locked.

1:28:50 Oh, he let go.

1:28:51 Let go.

1:28:52 Huge impact.

1:28:54 Oh my god.

1:28:55 Yeah, he snapped right through the bone.

1:28:57 Yeah, right through the bone.

1:28:58 All right, bite test one on that side finger.

1:29:01 Medical emergency without question.

1:29:03 Let's go for the thumb.

1:29:04 But that was a bite and release.

1:29:06 I expected him to hold.

1:29:07 Yeah, me too.

1:29:08 Bite and release.

1:29:09 Maybe he'll hold on this time.

1:29:11 Bite number two.

1:29:17 Oh, chomping.

1:29:18 Chomping.

1:29:19 Look at him.

1:29:19 That's the scissor power of their jaws.

1:29:21 They can't let go.

1:29:23 Wow.

1:29:23 Look.

1:29:24 Look at that.

1:29:24 Look at how deep that cut is into the flesh.

1:29:28 He really got in there.

1:29:29 And you can see him chewing on it like using that scissor power.

1:29:31 He was chomping.

1:29:33 You can see you can see the damage on this side as well.

1:29:35 However, did not remove the thumb.

1:29:38 So, let's try this.

1:29:40 Lift the turtle up a little bit cuz now he's feeling

1:29:42 a little more agitated because he's he's up in the air slightly.

1:29:45 Bite test number three.

1:29:47 fingers going in.

1:29:50 Oh, he missed that.

1:29:51 Oh, he bit the tip of the finger right off.

1:29:52 Oh my god.

1:29:53 He bit the tip of the finger off.

1:29:54 That was speed and precision right there.

1:29:56 I thought he missed.

1:29:57 It was so quick.

1:30:01 I want him to spit that out.

1:30:02 Remember, this is non-toxic.

1:30:04 There we go.

1:30:04 Non-toxic gel.

1:30:05 So, even if the turtle swallows little pieces of this, it will not be a problem.

1:30:08 So, that turtle just removed the tip of that finger.

1:30:11 That is insane.

1:30:13 And that's what I was curious about.

1:30:14 Is the speed going to do something when it comes to the impact?

1:30:18 So, let's try that one more time with the thumb.

1:30:21 The final test is the snapping turtle in full fight mode into the thumb.

1:30:26 You ready to pick him back up?

1:30:28 Mhm.

1:30:27 All right.

1:30:32 Okay, he's locked on.

1:30:34 Ready?

1:30:35 Yep.

1:30:35 Ooh, look at that speed.

1:30:38 Oh, he broke the thumb.

1:30:39 Broke the thumb.

1:30:41 Back the turtle up a little bit.

1:30:42 Oh my god.

1:30:43 Oh my god.

1:30:44 There you have it.

1:30:46 Thumb completely dismembered from the hand.

1:30:50 And that was clean, too.

1:30:52 Did you hear that crunch?

1:30:53 Broke the bone and destroyed the flesh.

1:30:57 Oh my goodness.

1:30:58 Well, I think we got the results that we were hoping for.

1:31:01 You can see.

1:31:02 Let's Let's put the turtle back into the container.

1:31:05 Let's analyze the hand.

1:31:06 Oh man.

1:31:13 I think it's fair to say that different strikes have different impacts.

1:31:17 And that's the thing that I have experienced with snapping turtle bites.

1:31:20 There are warning bites.

1:31:21 There are certainly bites where they could lock down.

1:31:24 But the impact that happened on the thick part of the flesh here of the hand.

1:31:28 Look at how it opened that up.

1:31:31 Insane.

1:31:32 You imagine that being your actual hand?

1:31:34 I don't want to.

1:31:35 Right there.

1:31:36 Huge crushing blow.

1:31:38 tip of finger lpped off.

1:31:40 This is pretty much what almost happened to me on my middle

1:31:42 finger the one time that I was bitten by a snapping turtle, right?

1:31:45 But the removal of that thumb at the right

1:31:47 angle and the snap of that bone, that was crazy.

1:31:50 Crazy.

1:31:51 And you were talking about warning bites.

1:31:52 I would say that's a very defensive and angry bite.

1:31:56 And I think that's why he did more damage on that one.

1:31:58 He is definitely an angry snapping turtle.

1:32:00 Now, each turtle is going to have a different demeanor.

1:32:03 Some are calmer than others.

1:32:04 That is obviously a big powerful dominant male here in this environment.

1:32:08 Um, we're also at the tail end of breeding season,

1:32:11 so I'm sure their testosterone is fired up.

1:32:13 Oh, yeah.

1:32:13 But that is about as angry as it gets when it comes to a snapping turtle,

1:32:17 I would say.

1:32:17 So, yeah.

1:32:18 So, for everybody out there watching, what advice would you give?

1:32:21 What warning would you give when it comes to interacting with snapping turtles?

1:32:24 Admire these animals from a safe distance.

1:32:26 This bite test today proved that all it takes is a 1 second slip up.

1:32:30 1 second and your hand is going to be looking just like this.

1:32:33 and your thumb is probably going to be off somewhere else missing.

1:32:36 So, please don't go out there and perform what you see me and Coyote doing.

1:32:39 And if you're ever in a dark alley,

1:32:41 try to avoid Ray because he is also capable of biting off a finger.

1:32:45 That is true.

1:32:46 Well, Ray, thank you so much for being a part of today's episode.

1:32:49 Where can everybody out there watching find your work that you're doing?

1:32:52 So, Fantastic Films on YouTube and Raymond_Tiller on Instagram.

1:32:56 I post a whole bunch of cool animal and adventure content,

1:32:59 so make sure to go check it out.

1:33:00 Dude, it was so awesome working with you, Dave.

1:33:02 You did an amazing job.

1:33:03 Big thanks to Ballistic Dummy Labs for providing us with these incredible hands.

1:33:07 And of course, Skulls Unlimited for providing

1:33:09 us with the snapping turtle skulls.

1:33:10 And with that, I think it's time to get that angry turtle back into the wild.

1:33:14 I think he's ready to go.

1:33:15 I'm Kyrie Peterson.

1:33:16 I'm Ray Tiller.

1:33:17 Be brave.

1:33:18 Stay wild.

1:33:18 We'll see you on the next adventure.

1:33:20 Bam.

1:33:23 Turtle in a boat.

1:33:25 Needs to go back into the water.

1:33:31 I'm Coyote Peterson and I just had an animal

1:33:33 encounter that's going to knock your socks off.

1:33:35 Get ready to see the largest freshwater turtle in North America.

1:33:38 The waterlogged landscapes of the south provide a rich

1:33:41 and protected environment for a plethora of species.

1:33:46 Today, the crew and I are exploring a private preserve in Homestead, Florida.

1:33:50 Whether traveling by airboat over the saturated

1:33:52 fields of sawrass or trudging through on foot, one thing is for certain.

1:33:57 This is one seriously unforgiving habitat.

1:34:00 Watch out for the moccasins.

1:34:03 On this particular morning,

1:34:04 we were looking for one of the preserve's rarest resident reptiles.

1:34:08 This turtle is kept in a confined area,

1:34:10 but finding him amongst the plants and mud is far easier said than done.

1:34:14 Sadly, their numbers have greatly decreased over the past quarter century,

1:34:17 and they are now protected throughout

1:34:18 the range in the southeastern United States.

1:34:21 And although this species doesn't naturally occur in the Florida Everglades,

1:34:25 the environment was a perfect backdrop for a creature

1:34:28 that is considered an ancient legend of folklore myth.

1:34:32 Uh let's just sneak up slow on this and try

1:34:34 not to startle anything that might be out.

1:34:38 Uh yeah, there could be alligators, so just uh be aware something.

1:34:50 Hey.

1:34:50 Hey.

1:34:50 Something's moving right here.

1:34:51 Hold on.

1:34:52 Keep up.

1:34:52 Keep up.

1:34:54 Move it.

1:34:55 Move it.

1:34:55 Move it.

1:34:56 It's a turtle.

1:35:01 It's huge.

1:35:01 It is huge.

1:35:02 It's an alligator snapping turtle.

1:35:04 Hold on.

1:35:04 Let me bring you back around this way.

1:35:06 Wa.

1:35:07 Can you believe the size of that turtle?

1:35:10 Holy cow.

1:35:11 WA WA wa wa.

1:35:12 There, buddy.

1:35:14 Oh my goodness.

1:35:15 I saw these plants moving.

1:35:17 He started to bury down.

1:35:18 Look at the size of him.

1:35:20 And man, is he powerful.

1:35:22 There's no doubt about it.

1:35:24 This is the biggest turtle I have ever captured.

1:35:27 Woo!

1:35:28 Look at that head.

1:35:29 Jeez.

1:35:29 He's trying to get my face in his mouth.

1:35:32 Holy cow.

1:35:33 This could be a 100 lb turtle.

1:35:36 Look at that swamp beast.

1:35:39 My goodness.

1:35:41 What an absolute dinosaur.

1:35:43 Wow.

1:35:44 Look at that mouth.

1:35:45 My entire fist could fit inside there.

1:35:49 And yeah, you would not want to get

1:35:52 your hand caught in the mouth of this turtle.

1:35:55 Let's see if I can get him to put his head up a little bit for us.

1:35:57 Up here, buddy.

1:35:59 Wow, look at that.

1:36:01 Have you ever seen something so prehistoric?

1:36:05 Look at those eyes.

1:36:06 His eyes are just beautiful.

1:36:07 Now, one of the easy ways to quickly identify an alligator snapping turtle,

1:36:12 which as soon as I jumped into the water,

1:36:14 I knew it was an alligator snapping turtle because of these three

1:36:18 large ridges that run along the top of the carropus.

1:36:21 And carropus is at the top of the shell.

1:36:23 Now, common snapping turtles, the cousin to this species,

1:36:25 does not have these distinct ridges.

1:36:27 The plon, which is the bottom of the shell on snapping turtles,

1:36:30 is quite a bit smaller than other turtle species.

1:36:33 And the way you can tell whether it's a male or a female is

1:36:35 that the males have a slightly concave

1:36:37 shell and females have slightly convex shell.

1:36:40 So this is a big boy.

1:36:42 The males usually have tails that are quite

1:36:43 a bit longer than the females as well.

1:36:45 And I can also kind of see that he has some turtle parts.

1:36:48 That is a huge turtle.

1:36:49 That is a very, very big turtle.

1:36:52 Actually, there was a story in Kansas

1:36:54 in 1937 of a 405 lb alligator snapping turtle.

1:36:58 I'm guessing this guy's probably around 100 lb.

1:37:01 So, if you can imagine something almost four times this size,

1:37:05 you really are talking about a dinosaur.

1:37:08 So, now the moment of truth.

1:37:10 We find out how much this turtle weighs.

1:37:12 Uh, I found a pretty good stick that I

1:37:14 think is going to support the weight of the turtle.

1:37:17 I'm going to use my pack to build a harness,

1:37:20 tie him in, and then I'm going to, I think,

1:37:23 need your help, Mark, to hoist him up.

1:37:25 I'm going to guess this turtle is somewhere between 70 and 100 lb.

1:37:30 One, two, three, up.

1:37:33 Oh my gosh, that is a heavy turtle.

1:37:38 Just at about 90 lbs for this alligator snapping turtle.

1:37:43 A few more fish eating and this guy is going to break the century mark.

1:37:48 Every time we encounter an animal,

1:37:49 we like to make sure we are as gentle as possible.

1:37:52 And right now, he's just basically wanting to get back out into the water.

1:37:56 This is, you know, slightly stressful situation for him,

1:37:59 but I just try to keep them calm and enjoy their company for the moment.

1:38:03 And I really wanted to catch this turtle and bring

1:38:06 it up onto shallower water so you guys could

1:38:08 have the experience of being up close and personal

1:38:11 with one of the most ancient creatures on our planet.

1:38:15 Wow, what an unbelievable encounter

1:38:18 with the largest freshwater turtle in North America,

1:38:20 the alligator snapping turtle.

1:38:22 Now, I'm sure that you guys have plenty

1:38:24 of questions for me about this swamp beast.

1:38:26 So, leave me comments below and let's talk alligator snapping turtles.

1:38:30 Personal best for me.

1:38:31 I don't know if I'll ever catch another turtle this big.

1:38:34 I'm Coyote Peterson.

1:38:35 Be brave.

1:38:37 Stay wild.

1:38:38 We'll see you on the next adventure.

1:38:39 You ready to head back out there and catch some fish?

1:38:41 All right, I'll walk him over here deeper water.

1:38:49 All right.

1:38:50 And off he goes.

1:38:53 See you later, big guy.

1:39:01 If you love animals and adventure, make sure to check out my website,

1:39:04 coyotyperson.com, for more great episodes of Breaking Trail.