- Right now, we are searching these tide pools
off the coast of Eastern Australia
for the most toxic fish on the planet.
The stonefish is notorious
for having the most painful sting in all of nature.
And today, I'm going to get stung by a stonefish.
But first, we've gotta find one.
Let's get looking.
It's gonna be very hard to find the stonefish
because in addition to their legendary sting,
they are masters of hiding.
The key to this is going to be to move slow,
methodically, and to not step on the stonefish.
You could be looking right at stonefish
and not even realize it.
That's why so many people step on them by accident.
But stonefish are all we have to look out for.
This isn't the only animal that could do you harm
here in the tide pools off of Australia.
We also have cone snails and the blue-ring octopus,
one of the most lethal creatures in the world.
And not only is it risky just being out here,
but we also have to beat the clock.
The tide is coming in fast,
and this whole area is about to be completely underwater.
So if we wanna catch a stonefish,
we need to do that before it happens.
Everything looks exactly the same.
This is gonna be tough. (exhales)
(footstep splashes)
(tense music)
Oh! Right there.
(heartbeat thumping) You see it moving?
That is the stonefish.
And I never would've seen that fish
if it didn't give itself away by moving.
Holy smokes.
Now these fish are so toxic,
they don't really have a flight response.
I'm gonna attempt to catch
the most toxic fish in the world with my bare hands.
All right, here we go. (exhales)
(tense music)
(exhales) Wow.
There it is.
That is the stonefish.
Look at that tide pool monster.
I can't believe we found one.
I mean, it looks like a living rock.
I never would've spotted this fish if it didn't move.
The fact that it swam a little bit there
is the only reason I was able to catch this fish.
And you could see how docile this fish is.
It knows just how toxic it can be. Wow!
But the table is set for what will be
likely the worst sting I ever take.
Placing the stonefish in the tank hit my nerves hard.
I'm about to get stung by a stonefish.
Stonefish stings are said to be
one of the most painful experiences a human can endure.
And I've already experienced
my fair share of fish stings.
One from the most common fish sting, which is the lionfish.
Ugh! Oh!
And the other from the scorpion fish,
which is the most toxic fish sting in North America.
(groans) Yeah, he got me. Oh.
Each sting was painful,
but I was certainly able to tough it out
with basic treatment.
However, each of those fish fall far short of the danger
from the stonefish.
Not every day you get to carry around
the world's most toxic fish in a tank.
This fish might just have the worst sting
in the entire animal kingdom.
(dramatic music) (exhales) Man.
My nerves are firing right now.
Just looking at this fish is so incredibly cool.
Look at all the growths all over its body.
Definitely earns its name, the stonefish,
a master of camouflage.
All right, let's go hands-on once again with the stonefish.
The reason I can handle this fish
is because it can only sting from the spines on top.
Wow, this fish has developed
the most potent fish toxin in the world.
The toxin is only to defend itself.
Unfortunately, as you can see, it is so docile
that it's very easy for people to step on these fish.
And that is the most common way
people are stung by the stonefish.
The toxin of this fish not only induces extraordinary pain,
it can actually cause muscle spasms and eventual paralysis.
And there have even been reported deaths
from stonefish stings.
But now I think it's time to see
how this fish injects its venom.
I'm going to just pour out this water.
Gonna use this little tank here as a platform.
This fish is perfectly fine
being out of the water for extended periods of time
'cause they've adapted the ability
to actually hold water in their gills.
It's not uncommon to see stonefish
just laying on the rocks in these tide pools.
So in the little bit of time
that we have it here in front of the cameras, totally fine.
All right, so I brought with me a piece of neoprene.
I'm going to use this piece of neoprene to simulate skin
so I can show you what would happen
if you stepped on the stonefish.
This animal has the ability to fire its venom
into the wound created by its spine.
That's why people who are envenomated
and step on these stonefish,
end up in such a bad situation.
It's not only that it's the most toxic venom,
it's that you also get the most volume.
Look at how sharp that spine is.
Okay, in order to do this properly,
I do need to get out some eye protection.
So I'm gonna do that quickly.
This venom, it has enough toxin in it
to cause vision problems and perhaps even blindness.
All right, let's see in slow motion
how these spines inject venom.
(tense music)
We'll do these top two guys, ready?
Did they go?
One, two, three.
Oh, wow!
Look at that.
And it's like blue.
Holy cow, look at how much venom just came out of that fish.
And let's do another one. Do that one more time.
Oh, my gosh, guys, the spines are blue.
And once those spines are out,
they stay out and they're ready to defend.
All right, let me try these spines on the back here.
(tense music)
One,
two,
three.
(venom booms)
Wow, that is what would be inside of your foot
if you were to step on a stonefish.
Now, it will regenerate its venom.
This doesn't hurt the fish at all.
And you can see these sheaths will just slide right back up.
But holy cow,
I gotta take a minute and process what I just saw.
Oh, that is bad.
I won't lie. I'm getting pretty nervous right now.
This is something you should never do.
I've consulted experts, people who have been stung.
I've done my research, I've done my homework,
but even still,
I am extremely nervous about what is about to happen.
It said that this is the most painful sting in the world.
(exhales) Wish me luck.
The moment has come.
It's time to be stung by the world's most toxic fish.
I am borderline terrified.
I have thought long and hard
about whether or not to even go through with this,
but I'm doing this today
because through my research on the stonefish,
I have found a lot of misinformation out there.
There is a lot of stories
that pretty much describe certain death
if you're stung by a stonefish.
And that's just simply not the case.
While this toxin in the base of its spines
is extremely potent, it is thermolabile.
So if treated properly,
and if needed with medical attention,
you will survive the sting of a stonefish.
Most of the victims that end up dying
from stonefish stings
has more to do (monitor beeping)
with the pain and shock that leads to cardiac arrest.
This venom is meant to cause you pain.
But I have brought the antidote
with me today.
A thermos filled with hot water
that's around 114 degrees Fahrenheit,
a compress to hold over the wound.
And then, of course,
if I do go into any state of anaphylactic shock,
I always carry with me an EpiPen.
We are about three minutes drive from an emergency room.
So even if the worst case scenario does unfold today,
I should have plenty of time
to be able to get to emergency medical attention.
All right, my plan today
is to take a micro dose of stonefish venom.
The venom from that neoprene trial
is already coating the spikes,
so they're locked and loaded, ready to go.
When it's all said and done,
this should be just extraordinarily painful for me
and hopefully very educational for you.
This is going to likely be the worst sting that I ever take.
I'm Mark Vins,
and I'm about to enter the sting zone with the stonefish,
the most toxic fish in the world.
All right, I'm gonna go with this front spine here.
Ready? This spine on three.
(dramatic music)
One,
two,
three.
(tense music)
Ugh! Mm.
Yup. Mm.
(exhales) I already feel burn.
I could feel it spreading up my finger right now.
And it does not feel good.
Wow. The tide is coming in.
All right, here, let's, mm.
Hang on. Mm.
Let's move outta here. The tide's rolling.
- You okay, Mark? - Yeah. Hang on.
I'm gonna come over here.
Andrew, put the fish back at the tank, man.
Mm, oh!
Right there is where the spine went in.
God! Immediate fire spreading up my fingers.
I could already feel it into these three. (groans)
- [Director] Do you need help, Mark? Or are you okay?
- No, I'm okay. I'm okay right now.
(groans) It's like a different magnitude of pain.
It is like throbby, achy. (groans)
Hang on, I gotta walk it off. (exhales)
Yeah. (exhales)
We're gonna try to tough it out for a little bit.
I wanna see how far the venom spreads
before I start applying the first aid.
This is borderline unbearable.
(groans) Oh, my gosh. (groans)
- [Director] Let me know when you need the water, Mark.
(Mark exhaling)
I'm just like, it's making me nervous.
(Mark groans)
Oh, my gosh.
Yeah, definitely drew a little bit of blood.
Oh, and it is hot.
It's like closing my hand is becoming hard. Mm.
Yeah, it's spreading.
It's like all up the back of my hand now. (groans)
(exhales) I think I need to go for the hot water, guys.
I don't want this to spread anymore.
I'm going in the hot water.
(Mark groans)
Here we go. Stonefish is good.
Now I need to fix myself.
So this hot water will actually stop the venom
from working and should help my pain.
Mm. Every bit as painful as advertised.
I never wanna do that again.
And I need to get more hot water on this sting
and hopefully the pain subsides,
but it's still increasing for me.
Tingling pain continued to build
and spread up through my shoulder all the way to my neck.
Even a month after the sting,
I still have numbness and tingles in my fingers.
The immediate pain wasn't enough to send me to the hospital,
but as you release the stonefish,
I could imagine what would happen
if a full load of its venom were to go in my foot.
That instance would send you directly to the hospital.
And if you're ever stung, please,
you should seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Needless to say,
the stonefish certainly lives up to the legend
of being the most painful fish on the planet.
(sound effect clunking)