- And those pinchers could
put quite the hurt on ya if you got your finger in there and I'm sure now you're
thinking to yourself, is Coyote gonna let
this crayfish pinch him. Why not? Let's see how powerful is it, that's probably the
right thing to do right? (Tim laughs) - Uh, do I really wanna do this? I know everybody right
now is watching saying, "Yes, Coyote let's see
how bad that pinch is." All right here we go, ready? One. (Intense music builds) Two. (Intense music suddenly hurts) (animals roars) (high-paced intense music) (animal roars) West Virginia is without question one of my favorite places to explore. The landscape is beautiful no matter what direction you turn. And its collection of wildlife
is unbelievably diverse. Some of its creatures even appear as if they are out of this world. Several years ago we set off into the wild along
herpetologist Tim Brust to seek out a living alien
known as the hellbender. - We got em! (all cheering and whooping) - Oh man Tim, that was amazing. The counts in the net. - Helling is the largest
salamander species in the New World. This giant amphibian was
incredibly difficult to catch. Yet the reward was well worth it, as that video helped bring attention to the conservation work Tim
and his colleagues are doing to protect West Virginia's
river ecosystems. On this adventure, we
are returning once again, to this wild and wonderful state. (typing on keyboard) (pencil scratches surface) Our mission is to track down and find yet another earthbound alien. Closely related to the hellbender, it's fair to say that the
mysterious being we now seek, is just as elusive and even
more difficult to catch. Shrouded in mystery and lore, like its larger cousins, these
salamanders are seldom seen, which leads to a long list of questions. We hope to answer several. We won't be able to answer them all. But the real question I know
we all want the answer to, is whether or not the mudpuppy
is capable of barking. Now, our goal today is to head upstream to look for a good spot with mudpuppies. The best spots will be
flat slate-like rocks. They love to hide up underneath
flat rocks or in crevices, so, we'll search for some
environmental indicators, and with any look, ultimately
get our hands, on a mudpuppy. - All right, can you hook me up? - There you go. - Okay you good?
- Good. - All right, well let's head to the creek. The mud puppy is
considered a bio-indicator, or species whose health
status within the environment, especially in water, can tell scientists about the effects different
pollutants are having on the ecosystem. Yikes. Seems complicated. But it's really not. Think of it like this. If the water is polluted,
mudpuppies can't survive. So if mud puppies are present, you know it's a healthy ecosystem. Wow, this is really what
you guys can't feel is, all of this sand and silt. I see what you're talking about Tim, so this is not good mudpuppy
spot right here because of how silty this is. - They'll come out and forage in this, but as far as where they're
hiding during the day, no. - Okay. (water splashes) (playful music) - I'm trying to get B-roll of you walking through here actually. - (Coyote) Oh really I
thought you were filming Tim and I'm filming you. (cameraman laughs) - (Coyote) All right
I'll keep going, ready? - Go for it. (water splashes) (playful music) - Like other large aquatic salamanders, the species we're searching
for loves flowing water and flat rocks to den beneath. These underwater cave-like
structures keep them concealed during the light of day, and provide protection from predators. Our best chances of finding
one will come as a result of gently lifting as many rocks as we can. How about this one? (playful music) (tense high-paced music) Nothing. Now, the style of flipping here, is to flip the rocks very very slowly. The slower you lift them up,
the less silt you will disturb, and you just let the current grab the silt and take it with it. All right let's work our
way up around this bend, and flip some rocks. (gentle water splashes) Okay so we got a really
good rock right here. Tim I'm gonna hand you the net. It's a good open space. If there's a mudpuppy, and
it goes that direction, I know you're gonna make the scoop. All right here we go. (music intensifies) Nothing. Wow that looks so perfect. What you can't see on camera,
there's this little cavern. Holy macro, crayfish crayfish. There's a big crayfish holy cow
we should try to catch this. If you bring the net right to there, we might get him. Let's see if I can scare him backwards. Wow this one is definitely
worth looking at. (high-paced music) Got 'em got 'em. Scoop up scoop up. Wow those are some pretty big pinchers. Look at that. Man those pinchers could
put quite the hurt on ya. If you got your finger in there and I'm sure now you're
thinking to yourself, is Coyote gonna let
this crayfish pinch him. Why not, let's see how powerful is it, it's probably the right thing to do right? (Tim laughs) - (Tim) I think that's gonna hurt. - I think it's gonna hurt too. Uh, do I really wanna do this? I know everybody right
now is watching saying, "yes Coyote, let's see
how bad that pinch is." he's probably gonna swing
that other pincher around and get me at the same time. All right here we go, ready? One. Two. Three. Ooh. Ah ah (sucks in breath) Ooh its the tips that
really get you the most. Ooh there goes the second pincher. Ahhh. Yep. You do not want to find yourself, ooh. Inside the tips of those pinchers. Now it's actually the tips
that are the sharpest part, but this is the defense
mechanism of this low crustacean. Pinch on to something if it picks me up, and hopefully it will set
me back down into the water and not turn me into a meal, but this crayfish is a good sign that the environment
is incredibly healthy. There're little filters
for the environment. So where we're finding crayfish, that means there's a good
chance of finding mudpuppies. All right I'm gonna place this
guy back down into the water, and with any luck it is going
to just let go of my finger, and swim right back under its rock. Here we go, one two three. Now let go. Let go buddy. Oh let go. Still holding on. There it goes. That crayfish definitely was
capable of drawing blood. They may seem completely
safe to catch but, if you get them from the wrong end, you're gonna pay for it. All right, mudpuppies,
let's keep searching. (gentle water ripples) Searching for salamanders
can be physically and mentally exhausting, as you flip rock after rock after rock, only to find nothing more
than a plume of silt. Or maybe another angry crayfish. Yet you constantly fight
the urge to give up because you never know what the next twist in the river will reveal. (water splashes) Wow, okay, this is pretty ideal right? - (Tim) Yes it's pretty good. (water ripples) - I don't know if I'm gonna
be able to lift this one, let me just test it out. Oh jeez that is a huge rock. I'm not sure I'm lifting that one, but big Tim! You think you can lift it? - I can give it a shot. - Okay. Lift it slow, and with any luck, we'll find something under it
and I will do the scooping. Sound good?
- (Tim) Yep. Okay. (quiet tense music) Oh it's dark dark dark I see nothing. (underwater breathing sounds) Oh, oh oh oh. (net pushes through water loudly) I got one, mudpuppy mudpuppy. Look at this look at this. Yes! Right there, check it out. (inspirational music) Yes! We got a mudpuppy. Okay watch your toes, put the rock down. Let's go right up here, on this flat rock, the water's completely clear. Looks like a good spot
to present, the mudpuppy. (water splashes loudly) Okay, let's do this. (water sloshes around) - (Tim) Here's the (mumbles) - There we go. Okay now like the hellbender, this salamander is gonna
be really hard to present, so I'm gonna actually use
my backpack as a table. I am gonna be able to take it out of the container periodically
for us to get a good look at, but, I wanna keep the amphibian submerged and as stress-free as possible. Let's do this to start. Let me hold it up. Wow, when it's under the water like that you can really see those gills
bloomed out to the sides. Now, the mudpuppy appears as if it is stuck in a
perpetual state of larva form. Most salamanders species
start off as larva with gills and stay beneath the water, but the mudpuppy never loses those gills, and is in an aquatic
environment its entire life. You'll never see one of
these amphibians up and out of the water, at least not if
it's healthy and doing well. Now at first when I had it in the net, for a second I thought, well, is it a mudpuppy or is
it a baby hellbender? You can see when it's out
of the water its gills are pressed up against
the side of its head. That very flat blunt-shaped head, which of course like the hellbender allows them to navigate
through the environment, wedging up underneath flat rocks. Now, also like the hellbender they have these little
noptural pads on their toes. They have four toes on the
back, four toes on the front, and they just slowly crawl along the basin of this stream or the river. Now we are gonna collect
some biometric data from this creature. There I go, bring it up
again for you one more time. That is just amazing. What a bizarre amphibian. Now I can hold it up out of
the water for a few seconds without causing it any harm but I do want to continuously dip it down into the water so that it stays hydrated. Now I imagine like the hellbender they're probably also capable
of absorbing some oxygen through their skin, and
also like the hellbender, you can see their very rudder-like
tail of this amphibian. Look at that. Obviously allows them to
propel themselves forward within the water. Okay, let's bring the mudpuppy
up again, very gently. Come here little guy, there we go. Now, during the day, they
will hide beneath rocks, obviously to stay hidden from predators. This is primarily a nocturnal species. They'll come out at
night and begin to hunt. Now it may look adorable and cute, but believe it or not this
is a ferocious predator. They'll feast upon any sort of small crayfish or invertebrate that they come across whether
it's a worm, tadpoles, little fish, all make fair
game for the mudpuppy. Finding a mudpuppy is incredibly exciting, but it's important to put as little stress on the animal as possible, so I need to help Tim
collect the biometrics as quickly as we can. First we need to measure the length, which consists of recording snout to vent, and then the total length
of snout to tail tip. Next we need to get the
salamander's weight. Last, and most important, is a DNA sample. Taken as a small sliver
of skin from the tail, it will contain an incredible
amount of genetic information. This will help Tim and
his research partners determine the health of this environment, and it may even define
this specific animal as a completely new species of mudpuppy. Okay, so at this point we've collected the mudpuppy's biometrics, the important signs that Tim needed to collect for his research. But now it's time to answer the question that you've all been waiting for. Why is the mudpuppy called a mudpuppy? (playful music) Well, to be honest with
ya, I have no idea. It is rumored that these amphibians will make a barking sound
when they're captured. It will sound something like this. Arp! Arp! Arp! Like a puppy. But when we caught this salamander, it made absolutely no sound at all. Trust me, if it had, we
would have featured it. I guess in my opinion they're
simply called mudpuppies because they are as cute as a puppy. I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave. Stay wild. We'll see ya on the next adventure. All right, it is time to get
mudpuppy back into the creek. (playful music) (water sloshes) Searching for a cryptic
alien-looking creature like the mudpuppy proved
to be a difficult process. This was partially
because they're designed to blend in with their surroundings, but more so, it's the
fact that this species is no where near as
plentiful as it once was. Salamanders probably hail as one of nature's most
accurate bio-indicators, yet this mighty
responsibility carries with it the very real tragedy that
populations are being decimated due to human encroachment and
environmental destruction. The watershed ecosystem
is incredibly fragile, and even the slightest level of toxicity, an improperly disposed quart of oil, the spreading of fertilizer, or even litter from the window of a car can cause irreparable damage. Helping to spread this knowledge can make a world of difference for the future of these amphibians, and as conservation
specialists like Tim Brust, who are putting in the effort
to protect these pockets of untampered wilderness and the animals that call them home. (gentle music) This wild and wonderful state
has so many cool animals. I can't wait to see what we'll find next. And in the meantime, make sure to go back and watch our encounter with West Virgina's largest
salamander, the hellbender. And don't forget, subscribe
and click the notification bell so you can join me and the
crew on our next big adventure. (animal roars) (far away animal cry) (birds sing)
