- [Mark] That is a big venomous snake.
Easy, Mario.
Easy, Mario, easy, easy. - Watch out.
- [Mario] He's fast, guys, he's fast.
- [Mark] Oh, oh, Trent.
(menacing thud)
(cat growls)
(threatening music)
- Hey guys, Mario Aldecoa, here.
- And I'm Mark Vins and welcome to a very special adventure,
sponsored by our friends at B&H Photo.
Mario, what are we doing out here
in the middle of the jungle at night?
- Well, we're gonna do one of our favorite hobbies,
called night herping.
- Night herping.
Well, I know what that means,
but I think some people at home
might need a little explanation.
- [Mario] Night herping, very simply,
is searching for reptiles and amphibians.
Actually, we're here at the
Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center,
one of our favorite locations
to search for species in the tropics.
- That's right, in fact, we've filmed over 40
of our most famous YouTube videos
right here at this location, so needless to say,
this place is jam packed with wildlife
and we thought, hey, let's see just how many animals
we can find on a single adventure.
And along the way, we might talk about
some of the tips and tricks of the trade
and how we film animals at night.
I'm ready if you're ready.
- I'm ready.
- Let's get out there.
Starting the adventure, Mario,
is this kinda the point of the evening
where you start to get, I don't know,
a little excited about what you're gonna see?
- Yeah, as soon as I put the headlamp on
and I've got my trusty snake hook in my hand,
I am excited and ready to go.
- [Mark] What are you looking for, Mario?
Like, what's an indicator of an animal?
- I just kinda scan slowly as I'm walking
and what you're trying to do
is find any difference in texture, color
and contrast and, of course, movement.
If something moves, it's probably an animal
and that's your biggest indication
that you've found something.
All right, so we have our first amphibian.
It's actually called a dirt frog,
probably because of its coloration.
Check this little guy out. (frog squeaks)
- [Unison] Oh! (laughs)
(frog squeaks) (laughs)
He's talking to me.
And I'm gonna let you go.
You're cute.
(frog squeaks) Oh!
All right, check this guy out.
That is a stick insect or a stick bug.
If I didn't actually see it move,
I would have probably thought it was...
- [Mark] Uh oh, it's a runaway.
Oh, you almost got him, here.
- I don't know where he's at.
- [Mark] You got him, you got him.
- I love these.
These are one of my favorites.
Let's release him right here.
(insects buzz)
When you're out searching at night,
usually you expect to find nocturnal species
but sometimes, you actually will find some diurnal species
and of course, when they're out at night,
they're usually sleeping.
A very common species you encounter, are anoles.
That's clearly sleeping.
He's kinda splayed out on the vegetation.
All right, let's continue.
- [Mark] Oh, there's a giant cockroach.
- [Mario] What?
- [Mark] Let's see if I can get it.
Oh, I don't know man.
(threatening crescendo)
Oh, oh no, I missed it.
Oh, here it is, got it, got it, got it.
Oh man, dude, do you wanna see what was on your necK?
Ready, put out your hand.
(whimsical music)
- Oh. (laughs)
- [Mark] That is a really big roach.
Do you know what kind of roach that is?
- No, a big roach.
- [Mark] A papa roach.
- Papa roach. (laughs)
This is the papa roach of roaches.
And that, is a leaf frog.
Oh, look at that little guy.
The leaf frogs have the distinct, really large eyes.
All right, moving on.
(soothing electronic music)
Check this out.
It may not look like much, or actually,
it may look like a giant booger attached to this leaf.
This gelatinous goo is the developing embryos
of a frog species.
They actually attach the eggs to the bottom of leaves
and the leaves are overhanging on streams.
As the embryos develop,
little tadpoles will fall down into the stream
and continue their metamorphosis into an adult frog.
It's amazing because you can actually see
the little embryos moving around.
All right, look what we have here.
Our first snake of the night.
The very elegant cat-eyed snake.
This is a juvenile.
It is an arboreal species, long and slender.
So a cat-eyed snake has elliptical pupils,
as a lot of the nocturnal species out here have.
During the day, if you were to look at its eye,
it would be that nice, kind of cat-eyed feature or look.
That was our first snake of the night.
We're gonna continue
and see if we can find something bigger.
Even the scorpions are arboreal here.
Oh, cool, check this out.
- [Mark] What'd you find?
- [Mario] Katydid.
- [Mark] Oh, yeah!
- [Mario] Kinda looks like it's covered in moss.
Now, there's a lot of variations of the katydids
and a lot of species and depending on their environment
they can blend in very well, super cryptic.
Look at this.
This is a really unique lizard species to the tropics.
It's called a casque-headed lizard.
The name casque implies that right there,
so this family of lizards has this big crest
on their head and neck area.
The tactic that this lizard is employing right now
is basically, using it's cryptic color and lying motionless.
It's just pretending to be part of this branch
and hoping that we don't actually touch it or catch it,
which we won't.
We're gonna leave it be so it can rest
and have a good night.
All right, we've got a fer-de-lance.
(threatening music)
Oh, yes!
Look at this snake!
- [Mark] That is a good one.
- That is a good sized fer-de-lance.
All right, let's approach very slow.
See, oh, no, it's moving.
- [Mark] That is a big, big venomous snake.
(threatening music)
Easy, Mario.
Take your time, buddy.
- [Mario] You just wanna actually get it under control.
- [Mark] Easy, Mario, easy, easy
back, back, back. - Relax, relax.
He's fast, guys, he's fast.
- [Mark] Oh, oh, Trent!
We almost lost Trent.
- [Mark] You all right, buddy?
- [Trent] I'm good.
- [Mark] Trent almost fell down this ravine, guys.
Hey, Mario, so why are we bagging this snake?
- All right, we're basically, bagging the snake
because we have to take it to a more controlled situation.
It's an extremely dangerous snake,
so we don't want to be handling this snake
in a tight trail, like the one we're on,
where basically, one missed step
and you're either off or the snake gets you
because you have no where to go.
What we wanna do is safely take this to a location
where we can present it in a more open area.
- All right, let's go. - You guys ready?
- Yeah, nice. (Mario laughs)
Let's go ahead and fire up our light kit here.
These lights by Light in Motion are absolutely awesome.
These are the Stella Pro's.
I'm gonna boost them up to full power to start,
8,000 lumens a piece.
The way I know that, is they have
this nice little LED panel in the back,
tells you the power and the estimated time
remaining for the charge of the battery.
We're gonna go down to 5,000.
Lights are really important for obviously reasons
when you're filming at night.
Not only does it expose the scene for your cameras,
but it also keeps us safe.
Whenever you're working with a dangerous animal,
like a fer-de-lance, you wanna know what your footings like,
you wanna know if there's any other animals around
or anything that could distract the presenter
or the camera operators.
We're gonna do a cross pattern tonight.
We're gonna start with one light
out here on the right hand side
and then we're gonna put another light
out here on the left hand side.
These are awesome
because they're small, compact, lightweight.
We've got these Manfrotto tripods.
This whole kit can break down,
fit right in the backpack that I'm wearing with ease.
Got a quick release even, like right here,
if I wanna take the light off
and move it for a different shot.
If you're gonna be shooting at night,
definitely invest in a good, rugged mobile light kit.
Yeah, buddy.
- That was a little bit intense.
Or a lot intense, actually.
We were in a very precarious situation.
A venomous snake in a very tight, narrow pathway
with basically, a steep hill on one side
and a ravine on the other.
And one false step, you're going down,
just like Trent did.
- [Mark] We almost lost Trent.
- We almost lost Trent.
We decided to bag the snake safely
and find an area that was open.
The key is to have an area
you feel comfortable handling this dangerous animal
so that the animal is safe and that we are safe.
And I think this is gonna be our best spot.
Believe it or not, when the snake is in a bag,
it is still just as dangerous.
In fact, many people are bitten through snake bags.
The thought is, well,
the snake is in there, it can't see you
and you're gonna place your hands somewhere,
well, the snake does have heat seeking pits
and they also respond to movement,
so anything that touches the bag,
they might actually strike out
and envenomate you right through the bag.
(threatening music)
- [Mark] So, Mario, I don't wanna
add any pressure to this situation
but I think it's important for everyone at home to know,
just how dangerous is this snake?
- The fer-de-lance is one of the most
dangerous snakes here in the tropics.
It is responsible for actually 90%
of all venomous snake bites.
Now, the reason for this,
is because these are very common species
and because these snakes are common,
people encounter them on a regular basis.
Now, the reason why they bite so many people,
it's not because they're super aggressive snakes
going out of their way to actually attack a person...
Whoa, he just bit the snake stick.
- [Mark] He just bit the snake hook.
Did you see that?
- Yeah, I did.
- [Mark] What does that mean, Mario?
- Well, that means the snake's a little upset.
So, what you just saw there, was the snake bit the hook
and that was a very deliberate bite.
Let's actually just let it, kinda, calm down.
This venom is a cocktail of some really nasty stuff
and the properties of that venom
are basically, mild toxins and cytotoxins
that are going to destroy tissue.
We are talking about necrosis.
Often, the bite of a fer-de-lance
will require amputation of the limb
for the area where the snake bit.
Now, the snake is very cryptic in coloration.
In fact, the name in Costa Rica for this snake
is (speaks foreign language),
which actually means velvety skin.
And that sheen that you see on the snake, looks like velvet,
when in fact, the snakes scales are keeled.
It's pattern and coloration allows it
to cryptically camouflage against the leaf litter very well
and unfortunately, an unsuspecting person
might walk and step on the animal.
The animal will bite in defense.
Now, the one thing to notice
about the fer-de-lance is, it is a pit viper,
so right between the eyes and the nostrils,
there is an opening on the snake's head
that are actually heat sensing pits
that pick up on warm-blooded animals.
So, if a snake like this were to bite one of us,
the only thing to do is to get to medical attention
as fast as possible.
You do not want to put a tourniquet
on a snake bite like this
because it will actually restrict the venom
and cause more necrosis, potentially.
Now, the fer-de-lance is a snake
you do not want to encounter and pick up like we are doing
but it is not necessarily a snake that's gonna go after you.
Like all snakes, it's main goal
is to get away and leave you alone.
Well, how about that?
The infamous fer-de-lance.
The next step is to secure the animal
and release it back where we found it.
- Well, here we are.
This is the spot.
- That's the spot, definitely.
- Man, what an epic evening out here
at the Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center.
Once again, found all kinds of animals.
We found everything from frogs to lizards
to insects like that giant roach.
- [Mario] That was creepy.
- [Mark] And of course, the superstar, the fer-de-lance.
- [Mario] That fer-de-lance was pretty intense.
A very dangerous snake, but a beautiful snake, as well.
- [Mark] So, before we go, we do wanna say
a special thanks, one more time,
to our friends at B&H Photo for sponsoring this adventure
and here's some more good news,
for everybody at home right now,
if you go to www.bhphoto.com/brave
they have all kinds of exclusive gear packages
and deals just for our fans.
So, go check that out guys.
Grab your own gear so you can start making your own videos,
just like the stuff that we use out here in the field.
- And don't forget, subscribe and hit the notification bell
so you can join us on our next adventure.
I'm Mario Aldecoa.
- And I'm Mark Vins.
- Be brave.
- Stay wild.
- We'll see you on the next adventure.
All right, let's let go of that snake.
- That's all you, bud.
(relaxing music)
- [Mark] If you enjoyed this adventure,
make sure to go back and check out the time
that Mario and I discovered one of the rarest
and most bizarre creatures we've ever seen,
the red velvet worm.
And don't forget, check out the link
in the description below for those special gear deals
from our friends at B&H Photo.
(loud thud)
(animal howls)