- Boy , do I have a slimy treat for you guys today.
I'm Coyote Peterson and this is the Banana Slug.
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The Californian coast is home to one
of nature's most epic giants, the Coast Redwood.
Rooted like skyscrapers across northern California,
these beautiful work of nature have existed
on the planet for over 20 million years.
Exploring this ancient landscape is a incredible experience.
Man, this tree is absolutely enormous.
It's crazy how big these trees are. Unbelievable.
And if you look down at your feet, you will realize that
the forest floor is alive with some
very interesting looking creatures.
One of the coolest we came across, the Californian Newt.
Such a rich ecosystem down here in the Redwood forest.
Look at that little guy, how pretty is that.
Newts have a drier skin and they are usually found on land.
They will go into the water but unlike salamanders,
they require less moisture to survive.
If all I could've hung out with this little newt all day,
we were on a mission to find another giant of the Redwoods,
the beautifully bright, yet wildly
slimy, Californian Banana slug.
This lightning quick gastropod can inch along
at a whopping six feet a minute.
Not exactly the most challenging to catch,
but boy were things about to get sticky.
It's not too moist or hot here, I'd thought we'd find more.
Ah, right there. Ha! There it is.
Look at that, ok he's tucking back into that hole.
This is exactly what we were hoping to come across,
but it's real dry up in this part of the forest.
I was literally, before the camera came out, was talking how
we weren't really seeing these slugs.
Just caught this in the corner of my eye,
shoot he is disappearing back into his hole.
I'm gonna have to be very gently getting him outta there.
Come here buddy...
Look at that! There he is. That is the Banana slug.
Alright, let's get him down here into the light
so we can get a better look at him.
(chuckles) I'm so glad we came across one of these guys.
I was just saying before we had the cameras rolling,
that it's so dry here I didn't
think we'd come across one today.
Now this is the Banana slug and I'm pretty sure that
it's a California Banana slug.
There's also the Pacific Banana slugs that are out here
in these forests, but the Pacific ones usually have real
dark blotches and they look like a rotten banana,
and this guy just looks pretty much like a perfectly
ripe banana and that's how they get their name.
This bright coloration which was really easy
for me to detect just as I was walking past the tree there,
popped out to me and I was like,
"Holy cow! There's one right on the side of that tree."
And what you see here, these tentacles that are sticking up,
these top two are called the eye stocks
and that's how when they're out in the environment
they can sense light, they can sense movement.
These bottom two tentacles here, those stocks allow them
to sense chemicals that are on the ground.
This helps them find their food, helps them follow
their trails throughout the forest.
So pretty high-tech little animals.
He is unbelievably sticky. Look at this slime.
These slugs are covered in a real thick mucus
which prevents them from dehydrating out here in the forest.
And this is like the nastiest snot you can possibly imagine.
It's almost like melted marshmallow
sticking your fingers together.
It doesn't really smell like anything but
he is getting stickiness all over my hand.
He's like glued to the side of my finger.
Look at what a cool design the body of this animal has
and these guys are pretty speedy.
They move at about six feet a minute so it's not exactly
a tough one to catch like a lizard or snake.
And one really interesting feature if I can...
Can you see him OK like that?
You see that little hole on the side of his body there?
That is the slug's lung. That's called a pneumostome,
and this is how this guys taking in his oxygen and breathing
kind of like us having a hole in the front of our body
and being able to breathe through
it just like we have nostrils.
I would consider this a pretty good size slug.
They can grow a bit bigger, almost 10 inches in length.
And this is the second largest slug species on the planet.
So cool and I'm used to seeing the little garden slugs
in my backyard, you know the guys that are about this big.
But I bet fully stretched out this guy
is close to five or six inches.
What an awesome experience getting slimed by a Banana slug.
- [Man] You really got...Eww. - My hands are like, they are
glued together right now and this slug slime
is a scent trail so he pretty much marked me.
Other slugs might come after me at some point
but we're gonna get him back up on his tree
and keep hiking here in the Redwood forest.
I'm pretty sure this is the California Banana slug
because it's completely yellow.
The Pacific version has dark brown and black blotches.
If we got any slug experts out there,
why don't you tell us which one you think it is.
I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild
we'll see you on the next adventure.
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If you thought that was one wild adventure,
make sure to subscribe to the Brave Wilderness channel
and check out these other episodes so you can stick
with us on this season of Breaking Trail.
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