- I'm Coyote Peterson and today we're getting hands on
with one of the most poisonous animals in the United States.
And of course, I'm talking about newts.
(tribal drum beat)
- [Voiceover] When most people think of California,
the imagery of sunshine and beaches probably comes to mind.
However, when it comes to the forests
of northern California,
the sand is replaced by enormous,
prehistoric-looking trees,
and the ocean's mighty waves
become an intricate maze of babbling streams.
San Mateo County boasts some of the most beautiful
and seriously epic forest-scapes in the pacific northwest.
And if you navigate your way down into the ravines,
you will find a thriving ecosystem.
So diverse that flipping a single trailside rock
may get you up close with a stealthy predator.
- [Coyote] Now what you're looking at right there
is the forest scorpion.
One of the most common scorpion species
that you'll find here in the forests of northern California.
- [Voiceover] It seems that no matter where I go,
the scorpions are right there with me.
But not everything in the forest is equipped with pinchers
and a venom-injecting stinger.
Flip over the right rock and you might just find
a cute little creature that tops the charts
as quite possibly the most adorable amphibian
in California.
- [Coyote] Holy moly,
look at that.
- [Voiceover] Is that a newt?
- [Coyote] Nope, that is not.
That is actually a newt mimic.
It is an ensatina.
- [Voiceover] You can see how it looks like a newt,
with the dark upper body and the orange underside.
Also poisonous.
And if you handle this little amphibian too much
they will secrete a white poison from their skin.
But look how cute that little guy is.
Just another one of the salamander species
you can find here in the forests of northern California.
- [Coyote] Alright, let's put him back under his rock,
and see if we can find some of his bigger cousins.
- [Voiceover] The forest was alive with salamanders,
and we were even lucky enough to encounter
the arboreal salamander,
which is usually only found high up in the trees.
And the larva stage of a giant salamander
who was happily submerged
and breathing with an elaborate set of gills.
- This terrain's rather difficult to navigate.
I'm sure it's not easy for you, Mark.
- [Mark] No.
- Filming me as we're walking.
Every one of these rocks
has these rounded edges.
That's what we call an ankle-breaker right there.
Alright, just watch your step coming across here.
(water splashes)
- [Voiceover] However, the real encounter
we were looking to have
was with one of the most toxic amphibians
in the United States,
the California newt.
And as we quickly navigated downstream,
we eventually came upon a pocket of water
that was absolutely swimming with them.
- [Coyote] Holy cow, look at 'em all,
there must be 40 or 50 of them in there.
Okay, this looks like the perfect opportunity
for me to get some of these toxic little amphibians
up close to the camera.
Alright, now the reason that I'm taking off my boots
is so that I don't accidentally step on one of these
fragile little amphibians.
Whoa, that water is cold.
Wow, they are quick,
and they are swimming all over.
Wow, look at that, I'm kind of herding them
all in one direction.
As soon as you get close, they dart off to the corners
to get under the rocks.
Got ya!
Oh, here's a big one over here.
Ready, one, two, three.
Got it!
There we go.
Here we go, coming right towards you.
Four.
Five.
I think that's probably enough
to get up close for the cameras.
Alright, let's get up here on shore
and take a closer look.
Ooh, that water is absolutely freezing.
Look at that,
how adorable are those little newts?
They're a lot stronger than you would think.
There we go.
That's what we call a handful of newt right there.
I got them all calmed down now.
And if you take a real good look there,
the top of their body is very dark in coloration,
and also rough.
That helps them stay camouflaged in this forest environment.
Now, the California newt goes through multiple life stages,
from egg to larva to adult stage.
And these ones right here are in their adult stage,
living a mostly aquatic life.
Now, they do breathe air,
and we've seen them coming up to the surface,
taking a gulp, and then diving back down.
They can stay underwater for a considerable amount of time,
but, like all animals that breathe air,
they have to come out of the water at some point.
Now, at the beginning of the episode,
I told you that I was gonna be handling
one of the most poisonous animals in the United States,
which, in fact, these newts are.
However, I don't have to worry about that poison
by just handling them.
I'd actually have to physically eat one of these newts
for it to cause me any harm.
Now, scientists have done research
and found that just a single newt
contains enough neurotoxin to kill almost 1500 lab rats.
That's insane how toxic these little guys are.
Now, let's say a predator comes into this environment
and doesn't know any better when it comes to eating newts.
If this newt feels extremely threatened,
what it will do is actually turn its head up in the air
to expose its chin,
and they will bend their tail to expose
this bright orange coloration on the underside.
Now, most animals that are poisonous
have some sort of bright coloration
to warn predators, "Don't eat me,
'cause if you do, it may be the last meal you ever have."
Hiking throughout the course of the day,
I've literally seen hundreds of these California newts.
Just in this pocket of water alone, easily over 50,
which tells me two things.
One, that this ecosystem is incredibly healthy.
And two, that the California newt is certainly thriving
here on the west coast.
I'm Coyote Peterson,
be brave, stay wild,
we'll see you on the next adventure.
- [Voiceover] I can never recommend getting
hands on with any poisonous plant or animal.
However, if you do head out
to the forests of northern California,
capture, and handle a newt,
just make sure to wash your hands soon after.
As long as you don't eat any newts,
you'll be just fine.
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.
And don't forget,
subscribe so you can join me and the crew
on this season of Breaking Trail.