(tense music)
- I got a snake, right here!
Woah, it's a fer-de-lance, alright, hold on!
- [Mark] Are you sure?
- [Coyote] Let me make sure it doesn't just take off,
yeah, 100%, look at that!
It's about four feet long, wow!
- [Mark] Oh, wow.
- I'm gonna catch it,
this is a really bad position for us to be in
for catching and handling this snake.
Keep it straight, keep it straight, keep it straight!
(jungle theme music)
Over the course of releasing Brave Wilderness content,
there is a phrase you have oftentimes heard me use,
biological landmine,
simply defined as any plant or animal
that you can stumble upon in the wild,
and that has the ability to cause potential harm
if you are unfortunate enough to make contact with it.
(screams)
(grits teeth)
(screams)
Wow, guys, that was seriously intense!
In Costa Rica, the bio landmines are plentiful,
and while the crew and I were on the Caribbean coast,
we happened upon what is arguably
the most dangerous in Central America,
a pit viper known as the fer-de-lance.
I got a snake right here.
Woah, it's a fer-de-lance!
Alright, hold on.
- [Mark] Are you sure?
- [Coyote] Let me sure it doesn't just take off.
Yeah, 100%, look at that, it's about four feet long.
Alright, it knows that it's been spotted now.
Mark, can you see it?
- [Mark] Yeah, here, let me get down here.
- [Coyote] Here, I'll light it up for you.
Look at that,
here's the tail. - Where's the head?
- [Coyote] Head is all the way up there in the leaves.
Do you see it?
- [Mark] Oh, wow!
- [Coyote] Okay, let's do this.
I'm gonna turn off my light.
You guys got a decent shot?
- [Mark] Yeah.
- Alright, I'm gonna use the snake tongs
to just get a gentle hold on the back of the snake's head.
(heavy exhale)
Aw man, this is nerve wracking.
This is the most dangerous reptile
we could have come across tonight.
Alright, ready?
Real gentle, oh, it's starting to move, hold on.
Oh, it's biting at the snake hook, biting at the tongs.
Okay, I've got it!
Phew, back up, back up, back up!
- [Mark] Okay, where do you want to go?
- Mark, you move, I'm gonna come straight towards you.
Let's get this snake up into a controlled situation.
You ready?
- [Mark] Yep.
- Alright, slow, slow, slow!
Watch your footing.
Alright, I'm gonna walk right past ya.
Mario, you follow me, everybody back, back, back, back!
(tense music)
(mumbles)
I don't know.
What do you got?
- [Mark] I'm on you, Coyote.
- Alright, everybody move back slowly.
There is a flat, dry area right back up here.
- [Mark] Wow!
- Alright, gonna move very slowly here.
We have to give this situation
all of the respect in the world.
Look at that!
That is about a four foot fer-de-lance,
the most dangerous snake that you can possibly come across
here in the rainforest of Costa Rica.
Look at that creature!
Wow, can you believe that we came across one!
- [Mark] I can, but I'm kind of thinking
this is pretty dangerous, isn't it?
- Yeah, it's pretty dangerous.
Now, I know you guys are probably thinking,
Coyote, are you gonna head that snake and show us his fangs?
Honestly, guys, it really is not worth it.
A bite from this snake is extremely dangerous,
and this adventure will be over.
We would be on our way to the hospital.
Now, they are considered
the most dangerous snake in Costa Rica
because of their close proximity to humans.
They're often found in agricultural areas,
and even in rural and residential areas,
because they're hunting for rodents and amphibians.
The way workers often stumble upon them,
let's say you're out in the field.
They're so well camouflaged.
I'm gonna do something for you real quick here.
Mark, just be careful.
I'm gonna set it down in the leaves.
Look at how that snake almost completely disappears.
That cryptic patterning just blends perfectly
into all the shadows within the leaves.
I mean, if this snake was not moving,
you would never know that it's there.
It's so cool, I love to watch them
just slink over the terrain like that.
It's so effortlessly the way that
they just glide over the leaves.
That is awesome!
Now, look at how the tail is moving.
Can you see that?
- [Mark] Yes.
- It's moving the tail and it's rattling it in the leaves.
That's called biomimicry.
It's replicating what a rattlesnake does, listen!
(crickets chirp) (low rattling)
Barely hear that, but it's just a warning sign
that if you get close, I am venomous.
Yes you are!
Look at the pits on the front of that snake's face.
Let me see if I can fold down this blade of grass.
We got great light, right there.
Check that out!
Okay, that's about as close as I want to get.
Remember, this snake can strike 2/3 the length of its body.
I'm gonna go ahead and just place these tongs here
in case it does strike, and I can deflect that.
Now, don't strike, don't strike, don't strike!
Look at the pits, woop, right on the side of the nose there.
Do you see that, just behind the nostril,
and just in front of the eye.
That's how these snakes detect their prey.
So it is an ambush predator.
Look at that, it's curling up into a ball, there.
They lie in wait for a rodent to come along,
and then just, woo!
Like a rattlesnake, strike out, inject that hemotoxic venom,
and then they've got a meal.
Oof, my heart is racing being that close to the snake!
Okay, it seems really calm,
but you cannot let your guard down with a snake like this.
It may seem as if it's not going to strike,
but at any second, if it decides that
I've made the wrong movement,
it can launch from about there to here
with very little effort.
I'm gonna bring the snake gently back into this,
woah, did you see that!
- [Mark] Yeah!
- [Coyote] That was a massive bite that
it just gave to the snake tongs, wow!
That is a big snake, isn't it!
- [Mark] Well, yeah!
(Coyote sighs heavily)
- And they can get significantly bigger,
and the females are much more robust than this,
so I'm guessing that it is a male.
Either that or a female that
hasn't eaten in quite some time,
but there is definitely a healthy supply
of tree frogs in this area,
so this snake is out and on the hunt.
Phew, wow, that definitely gets your adrenaline flowing,
and it's actually pretty tough to present
when you're in the vicinity of a snake
that is this dangerous.
I'm glad that we have the snake tongs,
because a lot of times you guys see me
just handling rattlesnakes with the snake hook.
I've also done that with copperheads and water moccasins,
but a snake like this is
extremely powerful and extremely dangerous,
so we wanna make sure we take
safety first into consideration.
I just could not resist getting
the most dangerous pit viper in the Western Hemisphere
up close for the cameras.
I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild,
we'll see you on the next adventure!
Alright, let's get this snake back by the pond,
so he can hunt for frogs!
Alright, see you later, buddy!
Here you go!
Ugh, wow, I'm glad that scene's over.
Nothing like getting up close with a dangerous pit viper.
Snake encounters oftentimes happen
when you least expect them,
and can not only be startling, but incredibly terrifying.
However, it is important to remember
that snakes have no interest in chasing,
interacting, or biting humans.
And as long as you pay attention
to your surroundings when in nature,
if you come across a biological landmine,
like the fer-de-lance,
all you need to do is admire it from a safe distance,
and you will be absolutely fine.
If you thought this snake encounter was intense,
make sure you go back and watch as we got
the cameras up close with one of the most
dangerous reptiles in Arizona, the mojave rattlesnake.
And don't forget, subscribe,
so you can join me and the crew
on this season of Breaking Trail.
(wolf howls)