Who are the Monster Snakes? (Full Episode) | Monster Snakes | Nat Geo Animals

0:02 NARRATOR: They slither through Amazonian swamps.

0:07 Glide across Everglade waterways.

0:11 And lurk in caves across the world.

0:14 BRADY: Here comes the head! Watch it, ah!

0:16 NARRATOR: Monster serpents are the stuff of nightmares!

0:23 Pythons and boas are among the biggest reptiles on the planet...

0:29 And they eat big too.

0:33 First, the victim is squeezed to death...

0:37 Then, swallowed whole.

0:41 Even humans have become prey.

0:43 (scream)

0:47 From the biggest to the baddest, and every killer

0:53 constrictor in between...

0:56 These are Monster Snakes!

1:00 (theme music plays).

1:12 The Green anaconda, known as the heaviest snake in the world.

1:19 They reach up to 25 feet long and

1:22 can weigh more than 300 pounds.

1:30 To support its bulk,

1:31 anacondas spend almost all of their time in and around water.

1:47 Camouflaged to blend into plant-choked water, this snake

1:50 usually waits for prey to come to it.

2:02 Eyes and nostrils positioned on top of their heads allow

2:06 the snakes to remain almost completely submerged as they

2:10 wait to ambush.

2:15 The anaconda shares this flooded plain with the

2:18 capybara, the largest rodents on Earth, often reaching more

2:22 than 100 pounds.

2:28 Capybara are social animals and herbivores.

2:33 Much of their diet consists of aquatic plants, so they spend

2:36 a lot of time near water.

2:41 Prime hunting ground for the anaconda.

3:00 Underwater it can stalk without being seen...

3:03 Poking its head up just long enough to gage the distance.

3:18 Then it waits.

3:28 It strikes, latching on with six rows of teeth,

3:32 coiling itself around the large rodent.

3:38 There is no escape.

3:42 Anacondas don't kill with venom...

3:44 They are constrictors.

3:46 They compress the blood flow to their prey's heart causing

3:49 cardiac arrest.

3:55 Once the heart has stopped beating,

3:57 they begin to eat their meal whole,

4:01 toes and all.

4:05 They do this with the help of both stretchy ligaments and

4:09 mobile joints in their mouths.

4:14 In the middle of the anaconda's upper jaw are two

4:17 rows of backward-pointing teeth.

4:21 These teeth can move independently, biting into prey,

4:25 and helping move the snake's head up and over its meal.

4:30 But eating this way creates a problem...

4:33 With its mouth stretched so tightly,

4:36 breathing could be a challenge...

4:40 Evolution developed a solution for that...

4:44 The windpipe gets pushed forward from deep within the throat,

4:48 it becomes like a snorkel.

4:51 Effortlessly breathing while feeding.

4:59 It's a huge meal.

5:07 The anaconda will rest, digesting its catch for weeks.

5:13 A capybara this size will satisfy it for months,

5:17 but eventually it will need to feed again...

5:23 For females, finding large prey is vital.

5:27 30% of their body weight is used for reproduction.

5:35 Anacondas give birth to live babies,

5:38 up to 50 at a time.

5:43 But not all of them make it out of the den alive.

5:46 And after 7 months of fasting,

5:48 the mother will eat the babies that didn't survive.

5:57 The rest leave the nest, ready to kill from day one.

6:06 These nearly two-foot-long snakelets will become the next

6:08 giants of South American waterways.

6:20 These snakes are hard to find,

6:22 so adventurers like Richard Terry are eager to learn more about

6:26 these mysterious monsters.

6:29 RICHARD: We're still close to water.

6:31 We are literally looking along the riverbank using our eyes,

6:35 looking for bubbles or any signs of disturbance.

6:38 Track marks.

6:39 But if they're here on land they could be hungry,

6:42 and we've got to be really careful.

6:53 NARRATOR: It doesn't take long to find signs that an

6:55 Anaconda is nearby.

6:58 SAMUEL: Richard, there are the marks.

7:00 The little tree, the little bush has been crushed.

7:03 RICHARD: You can see that the leaves have been pushed into the mud.

7:06 He says the snake gets onto this so that he can put his

7:09 head in the sun, before it then enters the water and then

7:12 out onto the land to hunt.

7:14 SAMUEL: I can see it! RICHARD: Really?

7:15 SAMUEL: I don't know where's the head!

7:17 Come here!

7:18 Come help me, put your hand underneath here.

7:21 Just grab it. I'm gonna pull it.

7:24 Just grab it! Pull that. Yeah, pull it.

7:27 RICHARD: Ohhh look at this!

7:34 It is... It's got the black oval markings!

7:38 Look at this!

7:40 That is...

7:41 SAMUEL: Pull it! Pull it! Pull it!

7:43 RICHARD: The anaconda! Where's the head?

7:46 (painful scream).

7:48 SAMUEL: Grab it, just grab it!

7:50 RICHARD: OK!

7:51 SAMUEL: It's got you, it's got you!

7:52 RICHARD: It's got me!

7:53 Arghh, I've got it!

7:54 SAMUEL: Yeah!

7:55 RICHARD: Release. Release. She's aggressive!

7:57 SAMUEL: OK, I got it!

7:59 RICHARD: She's aggressive! I got it!

8:01 She sank her fangs into my thumb right away!

8:03 As soon as we had our hands in the water!

8:06 Look at the markings, green, black ovals all over it!

8:10 This is the green anaconda!

8:15 Look how thick it is!

8:17 Look at the girth of this!

8:18 She's hissing!

8:20 (hissing)

8:21 Sleek, efficient, fast, stealthy;

8:25 the Green Anaconda is the largest snake in the world.

8:30 This thing here has the ability to crawl out of the water,

8:34 to actually rear up out of the water and strike.

8:37 Strike people in their canoes, in their boats.

8:39 And also to climb up onto land.

8:43 Although these creatures do swallow their prey whole,

8:46 you can see from my thumb, they will strike,

8:48 and they will attack!

8:50 If someone is cornering them like we just did then in the hole,

8:52 it will turn around and it will bite.

8:55 NARRATOR: Richard may have gotten off easy,

8:57 others haven't been so lucky...

9:05 Anacondas are the most aquatic of the boa family,

9:09 their soft, loose skin helps them withstand long periods of immersion.

9:15 Quiet stealth allows for rapid attacks and raw power.

9:21 This force of nature can even set its sights on humans.

9:29 Jose Damaso and his father-in-law were out fishing

9:32 in the Amazon rainforest of northern Peru.

9:39 This fishing spot happened to be home to an especially large anaconda.

9:45 The two locals had seen this beast before but never thought of it as a threat.

9:56 Jose failed to notice that the anaconda was nearby.

10:04 The giant serpent can hold its breath underwater for up to ten minutes.

10:11 Fully concealed, it silently closes in...

10:20 (scream)

10:30 NARRATOR: An anaconda's razor-sharp teeth dug into Jose's thigh...

10:36 Teeth designed for exactly that purpose.

10:40 If the snake succeeded in coiling around him,

10:43 there'd be no escape.

10:46 Luckily, his size and quick reaction probably saved his life.

10:52 But he's left with a reminder of just how close he came to the unthinkable.

10:59 Attacks like this have occurred before but there are

11:03 no confirmed cases of an anaconda killing a human.

11:08 But with humans building houses on the edge of their

11:11 territory, it might just be a matter of time...

11:18 Anacondas aren't the only constrictors with tales of

11:21 terror attached to their name.

11:27 In Africa, a species of python plays the villain in

11:31 legendary stories throughout the region...

11:37 It lies in wait...

11:39 watching for the prey to approach...

11:41 And readies an attack: a deadly embrace.

11:50 The African Rock Python.

11:55 There's a story going around sub-Saharan Africa,

11:58 about a sleeping goat herder and a giant python on the hunt.

12:04 They say the boy was stalked by a beast two feet around and

12:09 18 feet long, with dozens of needle-sharp teeth

12:13 and jaws as wide as the boy's shoulders.

12:17 It's said to have snatched the sleeping boy,

12:20 squeezed the life out of him,

12:23 and then swallowed him whole.

12:29 And for this snake,

12:30 consuming a small boy wouldn't be difficult.

12:36 To devour giant prey, the python starts by opening

12:39 its jaws 180 degrees.

12:44 Its teeth are curved backwards.

12:47 And the two sides of the skull move independently,

12:50 rocking back and forth,

12:52 inching the jaws up and over the prey.

12:57 And once inside, the python's stomach expands,

13:02 enough to accommodate animals two to three times wider than itself.

13:10 But snakes will give up their meals if they sense serious danger...

13:16 Shedding the extra pounds enables a python to

13:19 retreat quickly, or provide a distraction so it can escape.

13:26 Digesting massive meals can take weeks.

13:30 Regurgitation is sometimes necessary for survival.

13:38 Like anacondas, African Rock pythons aren't venomous.

13:43 Its weapon is all muscle.

13:46 This serpent can weigh nearly 300 pounds and

13:50 grow to almost 20 feet.

13:53 Making it one of the largest snakes in the world!

13:59 This python lives throughout the Savannas and forests of

14:02 Sub-Saharan Africa...

14:06 Hunting on land and in water.

14:18 This giant tracks its target with special heat-seeking pits.

14:23 These sensors home in on body heat...

14:27 Stripping prey of camouflage and targeting

14:29 the point of attack.

14:36 Already powerful on land, this brawny serpent employs a more impressive tactic,

14:42 from underwater...

14:44 Where it glides with fluid grace.

14:48 Ever adaptable, Pythons that live near water thrive on fish.

14:54 Some snakes find even bigger prey here...

14:59 it waits, underwater.

15:03 Rising every 30 minutes for a discrete breath...

15:12 Hours of coiled tension...

15:16 Waiting, until...

15:26 scores of teeth seize the prey...

15:31 Then muscular coils envelope the victim.

15:38 Crushed, the springbok's heart slowly stops beating.

15:46 The Python devours up to 130 pounds of lifeless prey...

15:52 whole.

15:56 After a meal like this, it won't need to eat again for a while,

16:05 but hungry or not, pythons are always dangerous.

16:15 Grazing livestock make perfect meals, and farms are ideal hunting grounds.

16:22 SIMON: How you doing?

16:23 NARRATOR: Snake catcher, Simon Keys, helps to rescue

16:26 and relocate menacing reptiles.

16:30 SIMON: Yeah.

16:31 SIMON: Yeah.

16:40 SIMON: Down into there?

16:42 SIMON: We know it's a big python.

16:44 There is no other snake in Africa capable of eating an adult chicken.

16:47 Show us the hole, let's have a look there anyway.

16:49 JOSEPH: Yeah.

16:50 SIMON: Just in case it is in there.

16:53 SIMON: Okay.

17:00 SIMON: Underground. JOSEPH: Yeah.

17:04 NARRATOR: Pythons can't dig their own holes,

17:06 so they often invade and take over dens dug by aardvarks.

17:12 Farmers rely on snake catchers for help but handling

17:15 killer pythons is always a high stakes risk.

17:20 SIMON: See, there, it goes a bit wider there again for a minute.

17:23 There are those wider bits and then there are really narrow ones.

17:26 Makes you feel claustrophobic.

17:29 Snakeskin, big one too.

17:33 I'm just going to grab it now but yeah, it's big.

17:35 Big, Big. Yeah, it's pretty fresh.

17:41 There it is! It's a python!

17:47 He's getting away; use that hook.

17:50 Wait there, wait, wait!

17:53 (groan).

17:57 SIMON: Okay, I've got it!

17:59 Alright, it's got me as well though.

18:01 I've got to sort my hands out; I've got a loose grip.

18:05 Jeez this is strong, eh?

18:07 Ugh!

18:08 I've got to get this thing off.

18:11 Can't actually get it off me.

18:12 If you can unwind it and I'll check over here, here we go.

18:18 It's flippin' strong!

18:20 Alright, I've got it. Just.

18:23 But it's got me as well. And it's (bleep) all over me.

18:27 I don't blame it.

18:28 Now I've got to try and get out of this tunnel.

18:31 Quickly as possible, it's got my leg.

18:35 It's stuck like a rope.

18:40 Sioux!

18:41 SIOUXSIE: What?

18:42 SIMON: Sioux, I've got it, got it.

18:44 SIOUXSIE: You've got it?

18:45 SIMON: Yeah, I've got it, got it.

18:46 Don't let go of it please.

18:48 SIOUXSIE: It's big.

18:54 You alright?

18:57 SIMON: Yeah, I'm alright. You alright?

19:00 SIOUXSIE: Yeah but I've got to get up here.

19:02 What about you?

19:03 Do you have the head, have everything?

19:05 SIMON: Yeah, I've got the head.

19:07 SIOUXSIE: You good?

19:08 NARRATOR: Moving these huge snakes is necessary

19:10 so that both humans and snakes can live in peace.

19:14 SIMON: Okay. Thanks.

19:16 SIMON: No worries, alright. Glad to be out alive.

19:26 NARRATOR: South America is home to another Monster Snake.

19:32 The Boa Constrictor.

19:41 It stretches up to 13 feet and weighs up to 60 pounds..

19:50 and it's fast.

19:55 And once in the coils of this serpent, escape is not an option.

20:04 This highly adaptive snake can live in various habitats;

20:08 from grassy plains to dense tropical rainforests.

20:16 It is both terrestrial, occupying hollow logs and

20:20 abandoned burrows and arboreal, living in the trees.

20:30 The Boa constrictor coloring and markings vary greatly to

20:34 blend into these different environments.

20:39 They are excellent swimmers,

20:41 but prefer to stay on dry land.

20:48 During the day, it sleeps.

20:51 Clear scales cover its cat-eye pupils,

20:54 making the boa constrictor look like it's awake.

20:59 They also have excellent night vision.

21:05 And that's when the hunt begins.

21:11 The boa waits inconspicuously in leaf litter.

21:26 The strike is lightning fast.

21:28 Less than half the time it takes to bat an eye.

21:35 Trapped in the snake's hold...

21:38 Death comes slowly.

21:48 The hunter takes its time digesting the rodent.

21:53 Its next meal may be weeks away.

21:58 Boas may be the most adaptable of all the Monster Snakes.

22:05 A cave in Puerto Rico is home to thousands of bats.

22:10 Agile predators in their own right.

22:14 Tonight, they are the hunted.

22:18 When the sun sets, a slithering bat-assassin emerge,

22:24 the Puerto Rican boa.

22:28 Welcome to the "Cueva De Los Culebrones",

22:31 "The Cave of the Long Snakes."

22:37 These boas are known for their unique hunting strategies,

22:42 patience and persistence are key.

22:45 While bats prepare to hunt, the snakes set their trap,

22:49 slithering up to the mouth of the cave and then uncoiling.

22:54 Just 25% of the snake's body stays on the rock as

22:58 they hunt by sense of touch.

23:02 Which means until a bat brushes up against them,

23:05 these snakes are just hanging around.

23:14 Eventually, an unfortunate bat will get too close to the snake's mouth.

23:23 The boa wraps his body around the bat twice and squeezes to kill.

23:29 Then in true snake fashion, he eats his prey whole,

23:34 wings and all.

23:43 India is home to some of the biggest and most powerful pythons.

23:49 Two of these giants are the "Burmese" and

23:54 the "Indian rock".

23:57 The Indian Rock Python thrives in jungles from India to Southern China...

24:04 And throughout Southeast Asia.

24:11 Topping out at over 13 feet and 150 pounds;

24:17 it's actually the smaller of the pair.

24:24 Its cousin, the Burmese python,

24:27 reaches lengths of almost 20 feet.

24:31 But its range is much smaller and nestled within the Indian rocks.

24:37 Human fatalities from either species are rare.

24:42 But when they do occur, they only add to these

24:45 snake's giant reputations.

24:48 And now they are becoming a problem in the United States.

24:57 NARRATOR: In the Florida Everglades foreign monster serpents

25:01 are on the prowl.

25:04 The carnage is evident...

25:07 Bodies are turning up...

25:10 But in a shocking twist...

25:12 Both victim and perpetrator are mysteriously dead.

25:19 A Burmese python...

25:22 An American Alligator...

25:25 Two gigantic reptiles in a battle nature never intended.

25:33 September 26, 2005.

25:37 A chopper pilot is out on a routine flight over the

25:39 Florida Everglades.

25:44 The pilot spots something in the saw-grass.

25:48 It looks like a reptile,

25:50 but not like any reptile normally found in the Everglades.

25:54 He's seen pythons before, but this one...

25:57 somehow...

25:59 has a gator sticking from its side.

26:04 Anacondas are capable of killing 300-pound caimans,

26:09 they evolved together.

26:12 But a Southeast Asian python eating a North American gator seems unlikely,

26:20 a research team from the University of Alabama

26:23 investigates on a smaller scale.

26:46 SECOR: Wow look at that...

26:49 That little alligator doesn't have a chance.

26:52 NARRATOR: The gator's streamlined body helps the

26:55 snake ingest its grisly meal...

26:59 But what really makes it possible is the python's jaw...

27:03 Four rows of razor-sharp teeth work independently to walk up and over the gator,

27:11 pulling the throat over the meal.

27:20 A tiny camera hidden in the prey allows a view from the inside.

27:25 SECOR: It is an amazing feat for the snakes to eat large items.

27:30 A python can easily consume a food item that might be 3, 4 times

27:35 the diameter of its head and that's, that's huge,

27:40 when you look at other animals in the world, they just can't do that.

27:49 NARRATOR: It took just 10 minutes for this python to polish off

27:53 a gator nearly half its size,

27:55 but can it really digest the meal...

27:59 One that's full of bones, claws and tough hide?

28:04 Digital X-rays provide a rare glimpse inside the python's

28:08 amazing digestive machinery...

28:12 Swallowing boosts oxygen intake by 3,600%...

28:17 Driving tremendous amounts of hydrochloric acid

28:20 into the stomach...

28:21 SECOR: And that acid can break down the skin,

28:24 it can break down hooves, it can break down teeth, it can break down bones.

28:29 NARRATOR: Still, it takes nine full days and during digestion,

28:34 the snake is listless and slow.

28:38 Finally, almost nothing remains.

28:43 So what happened when a monstrous 13-foot Burmese Python

28:47 was found badly bloated, head missing,

28:50 its belly burst...

28:51 And half-inside, a six foot Florida gator?

28:58 Stephen Secor thinks he figured out what happened in

29:01 the 'Glades that day...

29:05 A python heads out in search of a meal...

29:11 It finds a target lying motionless.

29:14 A gator suffering from fresh head wounds.

29:20 Instinct tells the snake to go for it.

29:28 The python's kill and big swallow sets its digestive

29:32 juices to work on the gator's tough, bony hide.

29:38 But the snake's body becomes bloated and stressed.

29:43 Now the python is vulnerable to attack...

29:51 This invasive snake may have been able to eat one

29:54 alligator, but it was unprepared for another.

30:03 The fight may have been fierce enough to push part of the

30:06 swallowed gator out of the snake.

30:12 In the end, the python and its gator meal lie dead.

30:19 Not all of the experts are convinced it happened that way.

30:23 But the possible role of another gator might be a sign

30:26 that some native species,

30:28 won't give up their territory lightly.

30:38 One obvious question:

30:40 how on earth do giant snakes from Asia

30:43 get 10,000 miles to the 'Glades?

30:53 Pythons are survivors, they are extremely tough,

30:57 cold-blooded, able to last months without a meal.

31:02 But these reptiles don't cross oceans on their own,

31:06 they're imported on purpose as pets.

31:15 The Fisher family is happy to share their south Florida home with pythons.

31:20 They have eight.

31:22 GIRL: Daddy? MAN: Hey kid.

31:26 NARRATOR: Two of them are the same species that's causing havoc in the Everglades,

31:30 only a newer breed, designed for the pet market.

31:33 MAN 2: Say hello to Casper.

31:38 NARRATOR: After school, the fisher kids take the snakes for a walk.

31:43 MAN: Those are real? MAN 2: Yeah. MAN: Oh my god!

31:46 NARRATOR: But the Fisher Family may be living on borrowed time.

31:52 In the US pet pythons are a danger,

31:56 killing or seriously injuring more than 20 people in the last 10 years.

32:03 Rescue firefighters in Aurora, Colorado still remember this

32:07 911 emergency call from several years ago.

32:10 DISPATCHER (over phone): Fire Emergency?

32:12 WOMAN (over phone): My roommate is being choked by a snake.

32:14 WOMAN 2: Oh, my God!

32:16 NARRATOR: They rush to the home of Rick Barber.

32:22 His pet python has always been gentle.

32:25 WOMAN: I can't even get near that thing.

32:27 NARRATOR: The snake may have suddenly felt nervous and it starts squeezing.

32:31 WOMAN: He's down here. He's not breathing.

32:32 MAN: Fire department! Fire department!

32:35 NARRATOR: Four firefighters and a policeman pry the snake

32:38 off of Barber.

32:41 But it's been constricting more than 10 minutes,

32:44 more than enough time to starve the brain of oxygen.

32:49 Paramedics rush Barber to the hospital...

32:54 All of the firefighters and even the pet snake survived.

33:00 The pet's owner did not.

33:12 NARRATOR: In Florida, non-native Burmese pythons are

33:16 on the loose and it's a big problem.

33:22 When pet snakes become too much for their owners to handle,

33:26 they resort to dumping them into the Everglades.

33:33 Now they are threatening native wildlife and pets.

33:40 Their numbers may be growing but so is the army that's

33:43 determined to wage a counter-offensive.

33:52 So much so, it's turned into a full-time job for wildlife wrangler

33:57 Todd Hardwick.

33:58 TODD: Yeah, no, I'm in front of your house right now, I'll be right...

34:01 NARRATOR: Today, he's responding to a house call.

34:04 A cat is missing and someone has seen a giant snake.

34:09 TODD: I catch animals from all over the world without ever leaving Miami.

34:15 Is the snake still here?

34:17 HOMEOWNER: Oh, my gosh I have no idea where he disappeared

34:19 he was right over here and I'm terrified.

34:38 TODD: These snakes show up just about anywhere.

34:41 Usually in the most unexpected place.

34:46 NARRATOR: Finally, Todd sees something in the

34:49 corner of the yard and a cornered python can be trouble.

35:00 Getting control of its head is a must...

35:02 TODD: Big snake, big snake.

35:10 This is an exotic invader species it doesn't

35:12 belong here in Florida or anywhere in this country.

35:27 NARRATOR: He bags it, but there are hundreds more

35:29 out there finding cracks to exploit in the local ecology.

35:38 Exotic reptiles are on the move in south Florida and the

35:41 most disturbing aspect of a python attacking a gator is

35:45 what might happen next.

35:48 Anything could be on the menu.

35:52 If a python can kill and swallow a six-foot alligator,

35:56 why couldn't they eat something smaller,

35:58 like a two or three-year-old human child?

36:03 In Africa, similar sized animals can disappear in the

36:07 blink of an eye.

36:14 All snakes seem to have special features,

36:19 but there's one lurking out there that has it all...

36:24 Multi-talented and especially deadly.

36:30 It's one of the biggest...

36:32 arguably the baddest...

36:35 The reticulated python.

36:39 Its size alone is intimidating.

36:42 An adult male can grow to 25-feet long and

36:45 weigh over 250 pounds.

36:49 And it's packed with 10,000 powerful muscles to crush its dinner to death.

36:56 It slithers across much of south Asia...

37:00 in a region of humid rainforests and rivers.

37:06 The reticulated, or crossed pattern, of its scales allows

37:10 it to blend seamlessly into its surroundings.

37:14 Despite its considerable bulk...

37:16 this super snake will go to any lengths for a meal.

37:20 Even up a tree.

37:22 Monkeys on the highest branches aren't safe.

37:26 Neither are deer...

37:27 no matter how swift.

37:31 This hunter is on the prowl,

37:34 and it has an arsenal of weapons at its disposal.

37:40 The eyes feature cat-like pupils that open wide so they

37:44 maximize available light.

37:47 Heat-sensing pit organs on the face detect the heat generated by nearby prey.

37:54 And chemical sensors on its tongue pick up odors in the air.

38:00 It can maneuver just about anywhere.

38:04 Detecting prey is one thing.

38:07 killing it is another.

38:10 And the reticulated python excels at both.

38:18 All these tools guide the python to its ultimate act...

38:22 A deadly one-two...

38:25 strike and coil.

38:30 The snake's powerful jaws have over 80 sharp,

38:33 backward-curving teeth that latch onto prey to prevent escape.

38:41 It constricts with so much power...

38:43 it stops the flow of blood and oxygen.

38:47 Eventually, the victim's heart will stop beating.

38:53 And then... the final trick.

39:01 NARRATOR: Like most snakes...

39:02 the Reticulated python eats its meal in one long gulp.

39:06 Unlike human jaws, which are fused together, these snakes

39:10 have loosely connected jaw bones and elasticated skin.

39:15 The skin can stretch to seemingly impossible proportions,

39:20 overlapping scales expand to accommodate the size of the meal.

39:31 Of all snakes the Reticulated python ranks among the most impressive...

39:36 if not the most terrifying...

39:38 of them all.

39:42 Even for seasoned herpetologists like Brady Barr,

39:45 the reticulated python represents a very real danger.

39:50 He's headed into remote caves, researching python strategies

39:54 for surviving tropical heat.

39:58 BRADY: Oh, huge, huge python, huge python!

40:01 See it?

40:10 Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick!

40:13 MAN: You want this, (inaudible).

40:15 He's got a good grip.

40:16 BRADY: I know, I know okay I'm going in.

40:17 I'm going in, I'm going...

40:18 Oh (bleep).

40:20 MAN: What happened?

40:21 BRADY: He just bit the rock.

40:22 Be careful, he's got a mouthful of teeth.

40:24 I've got him by the head.

40:26 Oh, he's out, he's loose!

40:28 Okay, can you pull him?

40:29 Whoa, whoa, whoa, here comes the head!

40:30 Here comes the head!

40:32 Watch it! Watch it, watch it... Watch it, watch it, watch it!

40:36 Aagh, (bleep), aagh!

40:39 Aagh, he's on me!

40:41 He's got...

40:43 (bleep)! He's, he's bitten me!

40:46 Where's his head, where do you see it?

40:49 Like a really bad bite.

40:52 MAN: Is he still grabbing you?

40:53 BRADY: No, he's squeezing me very tightly.

40:55 I gotta get out of this stuff, I mean, I'm bleeding.

40:58 There's his head! There's his head!

41:00 Where are the snake sticks?

41:02 Mark, just start pulling him backwards toward the shallow end,

41:05 then when you get in the shallow, I'll get the head.

41:08 Okay, look, he's using his thermal imaging to get me.

41:09 I'm gonna have to cover his head.

41:11 Hang on to him.

41:15 Great, got him! Whew, we got him!

41:17 Let's go out, let's go out!

41:19 Hang on, let's get this thing in a bag and just check my wound,

41:22 then we'll continue.

41:23 Man, that's a big snake, that is a big snake.

41:28 Okay.

41:30 That's the good thing about these giant bags.

41:33 What a battle!

41:35 Oh, man.

41:37 You know, the thing bit me under water.

41:39 How bad does it look?

41:41 MARK: Oh, yeah, it's bad.

41:43 Brady, it's not good, it sliced you open.

41:46 BRADY: Yeah, it hurts bad.

41:47 We're going to have to get to a doctor.

41:49 MARK: Yeah.

41:55 Can you pull the trouser a bit more up, Brady?

41:57 The left side, yeah, okay.

41:59 Oh, oh no. There's another big wide gaping wound...

42:03 Pretend you're biting into wood.

42:06 BRADY: Aah!

42:11 NARRATOR: In the pursuit of gathering data,

42:13 sometimes there are casualties.

42:16 For Brady, this bite is painful,

42:21 but close encounters with reticulated pythons have proven deadly for others...

42:29 In Sulawesi, Indonesia, two people have recently met

42:32 a gruesome fate.

42:37 In March 2017 a 25-year-old man was missing from his

42:41 family's palm oil plantation,

42:44 after finding a 23-foot reticulated python lying motionless in a ditch,

42:50 villagers cut into the snake and found Akbar Salubiro's

42:54 lifeless body.

42:56 Then in June 2018,

42:59 Wa Tiba never returned after checking on her vegetable garden.

43:04 Locals found her sandals and a machete the next day,

43:09 only about 100-feet away from a large, bloated python.

43:13 Sadly, she had been consumed by the snake.

43:21 As cities continue to expand,

43:23 natural habitats decline,

43:26 forcing snakes to hunt and seek shelter in human dwellings.

43:32 increasing the risk of these dangerous encounters.

43:37 But snakes are not our enemies.

43:41 They typically attack humans only when provoked.

43:45 and usually after fair warning.

43:49 Snakes will continue to fascinate us,

43:52 with their smooth accuracy,

43:56 brute strength, and hidden skills that

44:01 make them unique and sometimes terrifyingly deadly.