- [Coyote] You ready? - [Cameraman] Oh,
spider, huge spider! Right there right there,
Oh, whoa. right there, right there.
Is that a tarantula? - [Coyote] No no no no no. I think that's a
funnel web spider. - Okay, a bite from this
is potentially lethal. I'm just gonna set that down
and see if I can coax it. It's in, it's in
there, it's in there. (highly energetic music) Australia's arguably the most dangerous continent
in the world. I'm sure that as your
imagination begins to run wild, you are likely
thinking about being snatched from a river's
edge and eaten alive by a giant Saltwater Crocodile. Or perhaps you are envisioning
how terrifying it would be if you were to stumble
upon and be bitten by one of it's incredibly
venomous snakes, like the Eastern Brown. However, it's not
only the reptiles that you need to be weary off. Tonight we are exploring
just outside of Sydney, the most densely populated
city in Australia, which also happens to be home to the world's deadliest spider,
the Sydney Funnel Web. Armed with a set
of massive fangs, and an incredibly toxic
venom, just a single bite from this spider has the
ability to kill a human. Sounds terrifying, yet these
spiders are rather illusive and tend to avoid
humans at all cost. In fact, they can be
rather difficult to find, as building their silk
lined, funnel shaped burrows under rocks or in rotting logs keeps them hidden
and out of sight. Ooh, covered in ants,
watch out for that. Let's go on the back
side of this tree. There's some logs
to flip over here. So, unless you're like me
and are flipping over debris in the environment, your
odds of encountering one are pretty unlikely. You ready? Lift this up. Oh, spider, huge spider. Right there, right there,
Oh, Whoa. right there, right there.
Is that a tarantula? No, no, no, no, no, I think
that's a Funnel Web Spider. Right there, just came out
from underneath that log. Look at it's
abdomen, right there. Holy cow, that's definitely
a Funnel Web Spider. Hold on, I need to get
it in this container. Oh my gosh, did you see? It's a good thing I picked up
the log from the other side. It was just burrowed
right underneath there. - [Cameraman] That's a
tiny container, dude. That looks too big
to be a Funnel Web. - [Coyote] No, no,
no, it definitely is. Look at the front of it's body. - [Cameraman] Oh yeah. - [Coyote] Wow, that
spider's so big, I don't think it's going
to fit in this container. Mario, you have that bigger jar? - [Mario] Yeah, I think might
have one in my backpack. Hang on. - [Coyote] Let me see
if I can peel back some of these grasses.
It looks like a tarantula but, Ooh, it's moving, hurry up. - [Mario] I understand, here. - [Coyote] Okay, bite from
this is potentially lethal. I'm just going to set that
down and see if I can coax it. I'm going to try to coax it
right into the container. Now they cannot jump but
they will lunge forward. Oh, it's in, it's
in there, it's in. There we go. Wow, look at that.
Oh yeah. That is 100 percent
a Funnel Web Spider. - [Cameraman] That is a big one. - Wow, we can not
miss getting this up close for the cameras. Okay, let me grab my bag and
let's head up to those rocks. Wow, that is without
question a Funnel Web Spider. The question that remains
is what species is it? I want to find a
good, flat open rock. - [Cameraman] How about
that one right there? - This? Yeah.
Yeah, that looks pretty. - [Cameraman] Or that
one. Is that better? - Yeah, that's a
little bit better. Let's see if it will just
sit on top of the rocks if it's just like this. - [Cameraman] Yeah, I
like this, this is good. - Wow. - [Cameraman] Let's have a look. - That is intimidating. It does, it looks
like a tarantula. I know you said,
"Is it a tarantula? "You sure it's a
Funnel Web Spider?" 100 percent certain it's
a Funnel Web Spider. One of the ways that you can
identify this species as such is they have a very
bald cephalothorax. Now, they do have hairs on
their legs, and on the abdomen, but that is how you can
recognize a Funnel Web Spider, and that's the perfect
sort of place to find them. Underneath logs
where they can wait and ambush for their prey. Now, they will also,
obviously, be inside of burrows with those little funnel web
systems, and whoa, am I glad that I picked up the log
from the end that I did. Now, my fingers didn't
tuck underneath the log. I was on the top side
and that's why you always pick up a log from an
area that you can see, because if you tuck
your fingers underneath, you grapple onto that
spider, and you take a bite, you are on your way to the
hospital, without question. Okay, now, I know it's probably
kind of tough to see it inside of this container, so
let me see if I can take it out and place it on the rock here, and let's get some
shots with you. Are you ready for that? - [Cameraman] Okay,
let me help the guys break out the light real quick. - Okay,
It's getting dark. We're losing light here. (dramatic music) Alright guys, we have
the lights set up now, and in the lights, the
spider is even more intimidating looking. You can see the sheen on the
legs and the cephalothorax. Ah, it's already cast
a little bit of webbing inside the container
there, and uh, I think if you guys are ready, let's take it out
of the container and see if it will just hold
it's ground here on the rock. Now, this is an extremely
aggressive spider species, and often times, they won't run, but what they will do is rear up and show you those fangs,
and those front legs. Okay.
We have to be very cautious. Yeah, I'm just going to
gently tilt this down like this, and let's
see if it will crawl out and just stop right
there, here we go. Okay, see if I can
get it to stay still. Ooh, you stay, you
stay, you stay. Actually, maybe I'll do this. It seems to be more comfortable
inside the container. - [Cameraman] Yeah,
that works for me. How about you, Mario?
Okay. This is such a dangerous spider. I mean, even more so
than a wandering spider. - [Cameramen] Ohh.
Okay. Look at those hooked legs,
allowing it to hold on to the edge of the container. Let me see if I do
this, maybe if I put the container over
top of it, and give it just a second to
stay right there. Now, one reason that
the bite it so bad is that because when they
bite, their fangs are so long, they actually will
hook into you, hold on, and continue
to pump venom. And it's not like a Black
Widow or a Red Back Spider where they might give
you a warning bite. A bite from this spider
species is full on, as much venom as I can inject. Okay, let's try this. Everybody got a decent
shot on the spider? There you have it, wow,
and just for scale. Look at how big that
spider is next to my hand. Not taking my eyes
off of the arachnid. That is definitely as close
as I feel like I can get. Alright Mark, let's try this, I'm going to try to present it from just it's still
position, right there, and like all spider species,
you see those very defined eight legs, but they also have
very long pedipalps upfront and that helps them to
grapple on to their prey, and when they rear up,
they show those fangs, and their fangs are
incredibly long. Longer, in some
cases, than even some of the snake species
here in Australia. Now, one of the reasons that
this spider is considered so dangerous, is because
they can often times be found in residential areas. The Sydney Funnel Web
specifically is often times found right in
people's backyards. That's why they tell
you if you're out there working in the garden, make
sure you have on gloves. You can be tilling up
dirt, accidentally grab one of these things, it bites
you on the tip of the finger, and you may be seeing symptoms
in as few as 15 minutes. Now, the immediate bite, you're
definitely going to notice. The fangs are long
enough to draw blood, but immediately you'll feel
throbbing in your finger, and shortly after,
you'll start to feel a tingling in your
mouth and lips. Now, if you're bitten
by one of these spiders, you want to apply compression
to the entire arm. So, let's say you're bitten
on the top of your finger, put compression straps up
the length of your arm. That will help slow the movement of the venom into your body. Wow, that is impressive. Now, there are around
40 recognized species of Funnel Web Spider, with
one of the most dangerous being the Sydney Funnel
Web, and I can't identify exactly if this is
a Sydney or not, but what we do want to do
is actually take this spider back with us into civilization. Where we want to go is the
Australian Reptile Park. They are, oh, it's moving. The Australian Reptile
Park is the one place in Australia where they
actually extract venom from these spiders
and then in turn build an antivenom for
people that are bitten. So, this spider that
we found right here, might actually be used
to save some lives. How cool is that?
Awesome. I think the best thing to
do now is put a cap on this, place it in my pack,
and call it a night. I'm Coyote Peterson,
be brave, stay wild. We'll see you on
the next adventure. Alright, we are
taking this spider to the Australian Reptile Park. Wow, what a find! Australia's home to a collection
of dangerous arachnids, from the Red Back,
to the Huntsmen, and ultimately the Funnel Web. This beautiful continent is
crawling with venomous spiders. Catching a Funnel Web
Spider is something I had always hoped to do, and
now with one in my possession, it was time that the crew and I headed to the
Australian Reptile Park. Famous for being the only
sanctuary of it's type in Australia, they're
renowned for their spider and snake venom milking program. Will our spider's venom be
used to save human lives? Stay tuned for the
fascinating conclusion as I get dangerously close
to this creepy arachnid. And don't forget, subscribe so
you can join me and the crew on this season of
Breaking Trail. Things are about
to get dangerous. (animal noises)
