- I'm Coyote Peterson and you're never gonna believe
the encounter I just had with the fastest
lizard in the west.
Ah, he's biting me, ow he's got a hold of my finger!
(jungle music)
As we begin our journey into the second season
of Breaking Trail, I find myself at home in the desert.
The Southwest has always been
one of my favorite places to explore.
And if you can withstand the intense heat,
it's about 108 degrees out here today,
spine covered plant life, oh my gosh.
That thing is really wedged into my hand.
Ah I knew this was gonna happen.
And the venomous creatures, you might find yourself
loving it just as much as me.
I find that exploring in a wash
or a narrow canyon near sunset
almost always yields an animal encounter,
some of which can really keep you on your toes.
(intense music)
Got a snake, got a snake!
Yes, check this out, oh look at that!
Do you know what species that is?
That is a coachwhip and this is one of the fastest snakes
that you're ever gonna come across out here in the desert.
Get this guy on the ground,
you have no shot of catching him.
I saw him just dart off of that tree branch,
sorry I couldn't even give you any warning,
just had to lunge for him, look at that!
Look how long and beautiful that snake is.
Now, these snakes are feeding on lizards
and any other little rodents that might be
running around out here in the desert.
Look at how beautiful those eyes are though.
Wow, so perfectly streamlined that obviously allows
him to move incredibly quick.
The reason that they're called coachwhips
is that you can see the snake pretty much looks like a whip.
These snakes are nonvenomous, certainly have no interest
in going after humans, they're just out here
to explore the desert and look for dinner.
So cool, all right, well let's get him back up in his tree
so that he can continue hunting.
Ah that was cool to see him climbing up into the trees.
All right, let's head up towards the base
of this mountain, some big boulders, let's see
what we can find living up there.
In my book, any snake encounter has made the day,
but when I explore the desert, my mind is fixated
on one thing and one thing only, lizards!
And which ones will I try to catch this time?
The Sonoran Desert and its expansive, beautifully rugged
ecosystems provides a home to many species.
Some of which are safe and simple to catch,
like the regal horn lizard.
And some that you should never try to catch
like the venomous Gila monster.
He doesn't want anything to do with us right now,
he's just laying low to the sand saying,
okay, don't get any closer.
I love looking for and trying to catch lizards
because they always pose such a challenge.
The skill of actually making a capture
requires stealth, precision and a whole lot of luck.
Oh cool, what we got?
That is collared lizard, you see his little yellow head?
- [Mario] Barely see it.
- Barely see him?
All right, I'm holding my snake secure, come up slow.
And try not to startle him.
Got him, ow, ow, ah, he's biting me, argh!
Ow, he's got a hold of my finger.
I got a hold of him, he's got a hold of me.
Look at that, ah jeez!
I guess that's one way to catch a collared lizard.
I can't even believe he let me get that close.
Holy cow, all right, whoa those teeth are super sharp!
He is locked onto my finger,
ah jeez, didn't see that coming.
And as you can see, he kinda said, you're gonna catch me?
Well guess what Coyote?
I am also going to catch you.
Ah, this is just a totally, totally uncomfortable situation,
but I got him and we're gonna get the most beautiful
and the fastest lizard in the Southwest
up close for you right now.
All right, let me get off of this.
- [Crew man] What does that feel like?
- It feels like a bunch of little tiny needles.
Ah huh huh huh, yes,
thank you for letting go, ouch!
All right, now let's try to get a better look
at this beautiful, beautiful lizard, look at him!
Now, this is one of the most aggressive species of lizards
that we have out here and certainly not aggressive
towards humans, they're aggressive towards
the other animals that call the desert home.
This is kinda like a little mini T-Rex,
as he's roaming the hillsides here,
he's looking for anything that's unfortunate enough
to get close to those jaws.
And I can tell you first hand that their bite
is a serious powerhouse.
Now this is probably the fastest lizard species
that we have here in the Southwest.
In fact, they are so quick, that when they're running,
their front half will lift off the ground,
kinda like a basilisk lizard and they'll use
these back feet to project themselves up in the air
and this long skinny tail kinda works like a rudder
to help direct them through the environment.
I would put him down and show you what that looks like,
but he is going to take off so incredibly quick.
We would not be able to catch him again.
Now look how beautiful the coloration is on this lizard.
He's got this bright yellow head
and the reason they're called collared lizards
is because you see that double black striped collar
on the back of his neck there?
The teal skin, the yellow and white speckling.
Unbelievably beautiful and you may be saying to yourself,
gosh, this lizard looks like it would really stick out
in the desert environment, must be easy
for predators to pick this guy off.
Actually, because this lizard is so fast,
it's almost impossible for predators to catch it.
I'd say the only thing that's gonna be able
to get one of these lizards and turn it into dinner
would be a roadrunner or maybe a coachwhip.
What an awesome experience, getting close,
actually catching and then getting chomped
by the Eastern collared lizard.
One of the most beautiful and fastest lizards
that we have here in the Southwest.
I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild.
We'll see ya on the next adventure.
All right, you ready to get back up on your rock
and not bite anymore coyotes?
I hope so!
This was only the second time in my life
that I was able to capture a collared lizard.
And despite getting bitten, I'd consider this a lucky day.
If you enjoyed this encounter, make sure to go back
and watch, as we get the cameras up close
with some of the planet's most fascinating animals.
And don't forget, subscribe and click the notification bell
so you can join me and the crew on our next wild adventure.
Okay, I'm just gonna go for it.
(intense music)
Got it. - Got it?
- Yep, got it, got it, got it.
He's trying to bite me already.
Come on into the shot, take a look at that.
There it is, that is a tokay gecko.
All right, let me slowly peel this guy
up and off of the tree.
That is about as good a grab as I can possibly make.
Let me kinda just peel his little toes off there.
- Man! - All right buddy.
- [Crew Man] Man, that's a big gecko!
- Whew, that is a good gecko.
He's just clinging onto the tree, got you!
There we go and he is all chompy
trying to get my fingers in his mouth.
All right let me crouch down right here.
There you have it, look at you!
Good looking, ah my hand is shaking right now.
We have had many misses tonight, and unlike frogs,
these geckos do not stay still in flashlight shine,
they quickly zoom around the side of the tree.
Wow, a perfect specimen, look at the coloration.
Grayish blue, light blue and all of that copper speckling.
Ooh, he's gonna make--
(barking)
oh, oh I hear you, you hear that bark?
That's what we've been hearing calling all night
and that's actually defensive warning
that if you get your finger close,
I'm going to give you one very painful chomp.
Go ahead Mario and zoom in down the gullet.
That is an impressive mouth, look at the interior
coloration, black with a little bit of bright red.
Almost aposematic in design and of course,
we know geckos are not venomous, they're not poisonous,
but this species specifically, has very sharp teeth
and can give you one very painful bite.
Let me go ahead and turn its body like this.
You can get a good look.
(barking)
Oh, whew, whoa boy, he's going at me, he's going at me,
all right, trying to get a bite going there.
No buddy. - Man!
- You can hear that little bark.
They are incredibly aggressive, ooh, ooh,
that's too close to my finger.
- [Crew Man] That came out of nowhere.
- Yeah, strong, right, they will
explode into action like that.
Now the males are larger than the females
and they're also incredibly aggressive, very territorial.
And there's a good chance that this tree right here
is this little Godzilla's domain.
Let me try to like show you the side of its body
with out taking a bite.
I don't know guys, I've never been bitten by a tokay gecko.
I've been bitten by many lizard species,
but I'm pretty curious, how bad is
the bite of the tokay gecko?
And if I was still 10 years old and in fourth grade,
is this something that would have
latched onto my finger and not let go?
I know what you guys are all thinking,
Coyote, are we gonna enter the bite zone
with the tokay gecko?
I think we better try it out, you guys ready?
- [Crew Man] Are you seriously gonna do this?
- I'm gonna do it, I'm just very curious at this point.
This is an intentional bite to see how painful is the bite
and are they truly the bulldog of the gecko kingdom?
Or is this lizard gonna bite and then let go?
So if you guys are ready, it's time to enter the bite zone
with the tokay gecko!
- [Crew Man] Do you want me to spell Danny for ya?
It's gonna be bad.
- Yeah well here's what's gonna happen.
The lizard's either gonna bite and let go
or it's gonna bite and hold on.
The contingency plan is I'm gonna set it down on this log,
let go of the lizard's body and see
if it will then let go of my finger.
If not, I'm just gonna have a reptile
locked onto one of my appendages for the rest of this scene.
All right, you guys ready?
- [Crew Man] You sure about this?
- Yep!
- [Crew Man] Okay, Mario, have a good shot?
All right, it's all you.
- This is what we call curiosity chomped the Coyote.
I'm Coyote Peterson and I'm about to enter the bite zone
with the tokay gecko, ready?
One,
two,
three.
(intense music)
ow, ooh, yeah!
(Jungle sounds)