- Boy, do I have a slimy treat for you guys today.
I'm Coyote Peterson and this is the banana slug.
(dramatic music)
(mellow music)
The California coast is home to
one of nature's most epic giants, the Coast Redwood.
Rooted like skyscrapers across northern California,
these beautiful works of nature
have existed on the planet for over 20 million years.
Exploring this ancient landscape
is an incredible experience.
Man, this tree is absolutely enormous.
It is crazy how big these trees are.
Unbelievable.
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 California newt.
Such a rich ecosystem down here, in the Redwood Forest.
Look at that little guy.
How pretty is that?
Now, newts have a drier skin
and they're usually found on land.
They will go into the water, but unlike salamanders,
they require less moisture to survive.
While I could have 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
California 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 out here.
I thought we'd find more.
Ah, right there.
Ha, there it is.
Look at that.
Okay, 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,
I was talking about how we weren't really seeing any slugs.
Just caught this out of the corner of my eye.
Shoot, he is disappearing back into his hole.
I'm gonna have to be very gentle getting him out of there.
Come here buddy.
Oh, look at that.
There he is.
That is the banana slug.
All right, let's get him down here into the light
so that we can get a better look at him.
(chuckling) 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 out here,
I didn't think we'd come across one today.
Now this is the banana slug.
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.
This guy just looks pretty much
like a perfectly ripe banana.
That's how they get their name, this bright coloration,
which was really easy for me to detect
just as was walking past the tree there, popped out to me.
I was like, "Holy cow, there's one right
on the side of that tree."
What you see here, these tentacles that are sticking up,
these top two, are called the eye stalks.
That's how when they're out in the environment
they can sense light, they can sense movement.
These bottom two tentacles here,
those stalks allow them to sense
chemicals that are on the ground.
This helps them find their food,
helps them follow their trails throughout the forest.
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.
This is like the nastiest snot you can possibly imagine.
It's almost like melted marshmallows
sticking your fingers together.
It doesn't really smell like anything,
but he is gettin' 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.
These guys are pretty speedy.
They move at about six feet a minute.
It's not exactly a tough one to catch,
like a lizard or a snake.
One really interesting feature,
if I can, can you see him okay 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.
This is how this guy is taking in his oxygen and breathing.
Kind of be like us having a hole on the front of our body
and being able to breathe through it,
just like we have nostrils.
I would consider this a pretty good sized slug.
They can grow quite a bit bigger,
almost 10 inches in length.
This is the second largest slug species on the planet.
So cool.
Now, I'm used to seeing the little
garden slugs in my backyard.
The guys that are about this big.
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--
- Dude, my hands are like,
they are glued together right now.
This slug slime, it's a scent trail.
He pretty much marked me.
Other slugs might come after me at some point.
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.
- [Narrator] Coming this holiday season,
to a neighborhood mailbox near you,
the Brave Wilderness chance elves
will be delivering the one and only
Brave Wilderness Adventure Kit.
If you've been staring out your front window
with eyes wide and full of wonder,
waiting for the day when something
will show up for you and not your parents,
this holiday season, all your wildest dreams
are about to come true.
The Brave Wilderness Adventure Kit is now available.
This subscription box is cooler
than any other subscription box
in the history of subscription boxes.
For all the important details that
your parents probably want to know,
and to learn what's inside the box that makes it so cool,
click on the link in the video description below.
Happy Holidays from our pack to your pack.
- [Coyote] If you thought that was one wild adventure,
check out the time I got into a pinch
with another west coast creature,
the Purple Shore Crab.
Don't forget, subscribe, then click the notification panel
so you can join me and the crew
on our next wild adventure.
(coyotes howling)