- I'm Coyote Peterson.
I might look a little nervous and that's because
there is an eyelash viper right above my head.
They're venomous and I'm gonna get him out of that tree.
This might get a little dicey.
(rapid drum beats)
(animal growls)
- [Voiceover] The endless beauty of Costa Rica
is almost impossible to describe in words.
And if you travel Southwest to the Osa Peninsula
you will find yourself exploring one of the most
biologically diverse regions of the country.
The terrain is rough and rugged.
From arid grasslands and beautiful vistas
to winding canyons and dense forests.
- Well, I guess this is why they call it a rain forest.
It's really raining now.
- [Voiceover] If you can patiently sweat out
the staggering daytime heat,
the environments will eventually grow dark,
and when they do, you will soon find
that they are alive with animals.
(crickets chirp)
- [Coyote] Wow, look at the size of that wolf spider.
- [Voiceover] Let's see.
Put your hand next to it
so you can see how big it is.
- [Coyote] That is huge.
- [Voiceover] A lot bigger than they are in Ohio.
- You don't want to find that one in your bedroom.
All right, let's keep looking.
With all that rain that moved through here
there is just so much wildlife out here right now.
Hold on a second I gotta get out of this tree.
Whoa, I got a snake right here.
- [Voiceover] Whoa.
- [Coyote] Yes, look at that.
You know what that is.
That is an eyelash viper.
- [Voiceover] Nice.
- [Coyote] And that's the yellow phase.
That is the one that I have always wanted to find
out here in the rain forest.
- [Voiceover] That snake is gorgeous.
- [Coyote] Aww, this is so awesome.
- [Voiceover] It's venomous, right?
- [Coyote] This is venomous.
This is a pit viper.
Not real aggressive but I'm not gonna take any chances.
All right, I'm gonna get it out of the tree here
and down here in a more controlled situation.
Look at that.
How beautiful is that snake?
Okay.
It's trying to get back up into the tree.
I want it to gently curl around my snake stick.
There we are.
Yes.
This is not a snake that you want to strike at you.
Look at that.
How gorgeous is that snake?
Now take a real good, close look at that head.
See those little modified scales
above the eyes there?
That is why they are called eyelash vipers.
Now as long as I make slow calm movements,
the snake should just remain calm.
They are not real aggressive, but they are venomous,
and I do not want to be bitten by this snake.
And you notice how brightly colored
this snake is and you are probably thinking to yourself,
"Well, how the heck does this guy
"stay camouflaged out here?"
But he also has all that black and orange speckling,
it kind of tough to see,
but any time that there is variations
in the plants and the leaves and any flowers
that are out here actually helps him
to stay perfectly hidden from potential predators
and of course to let him stay there
in ambush as he hunts for prey.
Most of the time you will find snakes
like this in banana trees and of course
they would blend in perfectly there
and this is an ambush predator
and they will just sit there and lie in wait
for any small little animal to come along.
It could be a lizard.
It could be a frog.
They are opportunistic.
If they can wait for it and strike it with those fangs.
Whoa.
I know, no sudden movements.
Then they can get themselves a meal.
You can see right up front there,
those two heat sensing pits.
This is a pit viper and he's just flicking that tongue out.
He senses us, all right here, saying
"Aww, all these heat signatures.
"These are not potential prey items.
"But they could be predators."
So he's probably a little nervous at the moment.
He's not the only one.
And look how well he is able to slither
over the snake stick despite the fact
that it's very smooth and slippery.
This snake has incredible balance.
You can see that he is using his entire body to hold on.
Look at those eyes.
When they stare at you that close
it almost seems like you're looking right at a dragon.
It wants to go up onto my hat.
- [Voiceover] I don't know if that's a good idea.
- Probably not.
Probably not.
Bring you back this way.
- [Voiceover] Man.
- That's a risky little game right there.
And you'll notice
how strikingly beautiful this snake is.
And it just popped right out of the trees
when my flashlight hit it.
I got so excited I was just like,
"It's an eyelash viper.
"And it's a yellow one.
"This is the one I have always wanted to see."
You just absolutely have to appreciate any moment
when you can get up close with an animal
that is this beautiful.
I'm Coyote Peterson.
Be brave.
Stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
- [Voiceover] Of all the snakes that call Costa Rica home,
nothing is more iconic that the golden face
of the eyelash viper.
With it's mysterious looking eyes
and ancient dragon appearance,
this snake has fascinated mankind since it's discovery.
We were able to observe and film this reptile
in it's natural environment for almost an hour
before it finally decided to ascend back
into the treetops.
Truly making this one of the greatest snake encounters
we have ever captured on camera.
If you thought this was one wild adventure,
check out the time I got a little to close
and personal with a Burmese Python.
And don't forgot, subscribe to join me
and the crew on this season of "Breaking Trail."
(animal growls)