- Boy that's a big spider! Here goes, want to set
down the leaf right there. - [Mark] Okay its in. - [Coyote] Whoooo, no its not. Look out, look out, look out! (jungle beat music) - Far beneath the dense canopy
of the Costa Rican rainforest a plethora of toxic
creatures hide amongst the foliage and shadows. From hopping poisonous frogs,
to slithering venomous snakes. These so-called biological
landmines can frequently be encountered in almost
any stretch of wilderness. Tonight we are back exploring
the 140 acre expanse of the Costa Rican Amphibian
Research Reserve, where the crew and I
are on a search for one of central America's
most dangerous arachnids. However, before we
can even begin to look for eight-legged
creatures we stumbled upon the rainforests most
infamous pit viper. Well guys, one of the most
common terms you hear me say, is biological landmine and
we haven't been out for more than 15 minutes tonight and
already we've come across one of the most toxic snakes
in all of central America. The fer-de-lance,
its right there. Tonight's episode is all about
these biological landmines so its just coincidence
that we came across this small one right now. Alright Mark, just crouch
down real slowly there. You can see its right in the
middle of the walking trail. - [Mark] Can barely see it. - It is perfectly camouflaged, we almost stepped right on it. You can see it staying
completely still right now, and look at that camouflage. This speckled,
leaf-like patterning
allows it to perfectly blend in to these leaves
and all of this dark mud. - I'm not even sure, like I
got a shot of you and a shot of it, I'm not even sure if
people can see where it is, its so camouflaged. - Oh yeah, well actually
that's a good thing. Why don't you give a
general view of this area and let people try to
pick it out on screen. Can you guys see
the fer-de-lance. - [Mark] Is it there? No. Is it there? No. Oh. - This is the snake-- Oooh careful. Careful, careful, careful. There we go, check that out. This snake is no stranger to us. We come across fer-de-lance
almost every time we've come out here to the
rainforests of Costa Rica. And I would say this one's
small to medium size. We've certainly come across some that are much larger than this. And this snake is
responsible for more deaths than any other species here
in central and South America. Alright, lets let this snake
go and see if we can find some of those creepy arachnids. Alright, you ready? Encountering snakes is all
about being in the right place at the right time. But when it comes to
encountering creepy crawlies, these encounters usually happen
when you least expect them. - [Mark] Oh is this that cabin? - [Coyote] Yeah, research hut. Ooh, there's some
interesting looking spiders. That right there,
that's a fishing spider. That is a wandering spider. - [Mark] How do you know this? - [Coyote] You can tell
by the distinct stripe its got right down the center
of its back there and-- - [Mark] So that's
what we're looking for, but its a little small. - [Coyote] Yeah
its a little small, we want something
much bigger than that. Alright lets search all around
the outside of this building. - [Mark] I feel
that we're close. - [Coyote] Oh scorpion,
there's a scorpion back here in the thing. Yeah there's a scorpion
right there can you see it. - [Mark] Oh yeah. - [Coyote] Look at that, let
me see if I can get it out. Oh, there it is. There we go. He feels real
comfortable on that leaf. Check that out. Yet another one of the
Costa Rican rainforests biological landmines. - [Mark] How dangerous
is a scorpion? - [Coyote] Mmm, they vary. This appears to be some
variety of bark scorpion based on its narrow
front pincers. But I do not know how
potent the venom is, so I certainly do not want
to be stung by any species that I cannot properly identify. Pretty good size one too
if it is a bark scorpion. Look at that stinger, can you see it just in
between my gloves there? - [Mark] That's a good stinger. - Yeah, alright lets place
the scorpion back up on the side of this old shed, and keep searching for
the wandering spider. It was turning into a night
of biological landmines. And while we came upon several
different spider species, each one more creepy
than the last. Our target was
yet to be located. So we continued into the
night, and headed towards a small jungle pond
that was likely to have a world of creatures around it. Upon our arrival, all it took
was scanning the overhanging tree limbs and before we
knew it, the rainforests most dangerous eight-legged
predator, was in our sights. - [Mark] Is that him? - Hold on, let me check. Boy, that's a big spider. - [Mark] Is it one? - Oh boy, its on to
us, look through there. Can you see the red
underside to its legs. (mumbling) Let me see if I
can see the spider. - [Mark] Okay, let me
see if I can grab it. You're watching
the spider right. Okay I got the leaf, I don't
know if it has the spider. - [Coyote] Alright set
down the leaf right there. Let me see the capsule. Okay, um, you guys
got okay shots right? - [Mark] You didn't see
it run out of there? - I did not. - [Mark] There's
webbing all over that. I think that's its
permanent residence. I don't want to destroy it. - [Coyote] I see it. Its right in here. Its right in this leaf
right here, this main-- - [Mark] Okay, so what's
the game plan here. - [Coyote] I am going to
put the end of the capsule, right like this. And I'm going to gently try to coax it backwards into the container. Wait, where's the lid? Here's the lid. - [Mark] You have gloves,
so you're on your own. - [Coyote] Yep, everybody
got a good shot. - [Mark] Its in. - [Coyote] Ooooh, no its not. Hold on, nobody move. Look out, look out, look out! Back, back, back. See how they jump. Got it! Whooohoooo, that was a
little nerve-wracking. Wow. Talk about one
fierce-looking spider. Okay, lets back away
from this watery area. What I'm gonna do is
actually place the leaf back up on the tree so we
can just put the spider right back up into
the tree, okay. Oh man, my hands are shaking. - [Mark] Right, where do
you want to do the scene at? - I say we go down to
the jungle research hut and get this spider up
close for the cameras. Its the most controlled
situation we can be in. That takes a lot of nerves,
a lot of nerves guys. (chuckling) Oh man, that was
definitely one of the most nerve-wracking catches
of my entire career. I couldn't believe that, when I tried to get
it into the capsule and it sprang out and came
straight towards you guys. - [Mark] It was like
a lightning bolt. - Yeah. That it is why we pay respect
to the wandering spider. Let me take off my pack here and get a little bit
more comfortable. Not gonna need the
pack for this scene. Take off these gloves, now
I was wearing the gloves because I was afraid that
if the spider leapt out of the tree it may land on my hand and inflict one very,
very painful bite. Here we go guys. Now, we have been to
Costa Rica many times, and this is bio
landmine number one. You always see them
hanging up in the trees, climbing up the
trunks of the trees, running across the jungle floor. The wandering spider is quite
possibly the most dangerous arachnid we could come across
out here in the rainforest. Now when I say wandering
spider, that's a generalization for any spider species
that's just crawling around out there on the
rainforest floor. But there are actually
eight cataloged species of Brazilian wandering spider. And I do believe that this
is the Costa Rican variety. And the way that I can
identify it as such is the quintessential
red linings on the undersides of the legs. Let me tip it up and see if
you can see that there Mark. Look at those red legs. Now what this spider will
do, if it feels threatened by any potential predator,
is it will rear up like this on its back legs, revealing
that red coloration. Now, aposematic, right, telling
you that I am very venomous. Now if the red coloration
doesn't warn you to walk away. You're gonna be bitten
by two massive fangs that are armed with
huge venom sacs. - [Mark] Look at
him, looking at you. - Its intimidating. It doesn't need to be
scattering around inside of this container to know
that its extremely toxic. And you may be asking yourself,
well Coyote are you going to freehold this spider like
you did the Black Widow. No way guys, the bite from
this is so much worse. This is probably the only
spider species that I've ever encountered thus far, that
really, really makes me nervous. And you look at this
and you think, hmm, its just kind of a
big fuzzy spider. And I know some people
have a horrible case of arachnophobia. And right now you're
shaking in your seat, thinking to yourselves, Coyote, how are you
possibly holding this thing. But it is a creature that we
do respect and we do love. And it is out here,
just doing its thing. Hunting for bugs,
hunting for small frogs. This spider's
actually large enough where it can even take
down some small mammals. That is one incredible
predator right there. - [Mark] Remember that time,
that we were in Posa Peninsula and you actually put
your hand right by one. - I do, I believe that was
the eyelash-viper video. And somebody actually wrote
in the comments section on Youtube, Coyote, you're aware that was a wandering
spider right? So we immediately looked
it up and we were like, ooh, yeah, only the most
dangerous spider in the area and my hand was
literally inches from it. And as you guys can
see from earlier, they are capable of jumping. That's what makes them,
in my opinion, so scary. Now they're primarily
nocturnal, so during the day they're hiding underneath
old rotting boards, in between leaves,
up in the canopy. And one way that people often
come across these spiders is because they're constantly
found in residential areas. During the day, they may
even come into your house or hide in your boot,
hide in your sheets. Anywhere that this spider
can find a place to hide and stay out of the
daylight is fair game. So you have to be
extremely careful. That's why we always tell
you, especially when you're in the rainforest,
to check your boots before you put them on. Because overnight, a wandering
spider could have crawled inside and trust me, the one
thing you don't want to happen, is put your foot into your boot and you get a bite
from this spider. Now, at full size, this spider can be about six
inches in diameter. This one here, is about
four inches from the tip of its longest leg to the
other tip of its longest leg. Let me hold it up for
you like that, see that? Put my hand up next to it, kind
of give you some reference. Oh, that's a pretty
big spider right there. Well, I would definitely say
that it was one successful evening when it came to coming
across many of the biological landmines that we see here in
the Costa Rican rainforest. And nothing could have
topped it off better, than this enormous
wandering spider. I'm Coyote Peterson,
be brave, stay wild. We'll see you on
the next adventure. The crew and I have
encountered many spider species over the course of our travels. Some of which I have even
been brave enough to handle. Despite the risk of
their toxic bite. However, when it comes
to the wandering spider, there is no question
about it, this is the most dangerous arachnid
I have ever worked with. So if you find yourself in
central or South America and you stumble upon one
of these large predatory arachnids, do your absolute
best to stay a safe distance from this biological landmine. Because its bite is
without question, something you never
want to experience. Mission complete. If you thought the wandering
spider was a creepy creature. Make sure to go back
and watch the episode where I free handle
one of Costa Rica's most common arachnids, the
golden silk orb weaver. Ând don't forget, subscribe,
so you can join me and the crew on this season of
Breaking Trail.
