- [Coyote] Okay, a bite from
this is potentially lethal. Things are about to get dangerous. That is one big funnel-web
spider right there. It just bit the pipette. You can feel the power in that strike. (dramatic music) (lion roars) (dramatic music) (crunching) - [Coyote Narrating] Australia is 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. (splashing) Or perhaps you are envisioning
how terrifying it would be if you were to stumble
upon and be bitten by one of its incredibly venomous snakes like the Eastern Brown. However, it's not only the reptiles that you need to be wary of. 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. (dramatic music) Sounds terrifying, yet these
spiders are rather elusive and tend to avoid humans at all costs. 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 backside of this tree. Some logs to flip over here. - So unless you are like me and are flipping over
debris in the environment, your odds of encountering
one are pretty unlikely. - [Coyote] You ready? Going to lift this up. (dramatic music) Oh, spider! Huge spider! Right there, right there,
right there, right there. - [Mark] Is that a tarantula?
- No, no, no, no, no. I think that's a funnel-web spider. Right there, it just came
out from underneath that log. Look at its abdomen, right there. Holy cow! That's definitely a funnel-web spider. Hold on, I need to get
it into this container. Oh my gosh, did you see that? It's a good thing I picked up
the log from the other side. It was just burrowed
right underneath there. - [Mark] That's a tiny container, dude. That looks too big to be a funnel-web. - [Coyote] No, no, no, no. It definitely is. Look at
the front of it's body. - [Mark] Oh yeah.
- [Coyote] Wow. That's spider's so big, I don't think it's gonna
fit in this container. Mario, you have that bigger jar? - [Mario] Yeah, I think I
might have one in my backpack. Hang on. - [Coyote] Let me see if I can peel back some of these grasses. - [Mark] It looks like a tarantula but I- - [Coyote] Ooh, it's moving, hurry up! Okay, a 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 a
right into the container. Now they cannot jump, but
they will lunge forward. (dramatic music) It's in, it's in, it's in. There we go. Wow! Look at that.
- [Mark] Oh yeah. - [Coyote] That is a
100% a funnel-web spider. - [Mark] That is a big one. - [Coyote] Wow. We cannot 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. - [Mark] How about that one right there? - This? - [Mark] Yeah, that looks pretty. - Yeah, that's- - [Mark] Or that one. Is that better? - Yeah, that's a little bit better. Let's see if it'll just sit on top of the rock surface like this. - [Mark] Yeah, I like this., this is good. Wow. - [Mark] Let's have a look. - That is intimidating. It does, it looks like a tarantula. I know you said, "Is it a tarantula? Are you sure it's a funnel-web spider?" 100% 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 in ambush for their prey. Now they will also obviously
be inside of burrows with those little funnel-web systems. And whew, 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 it. You ready for that? - [Mark] Okay, let me help the guys break out the lights real quick. It's getting kind of dark. - Okay, yeah, we're losing
light here. (dramatic music) All right, 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. It's already cast a little bit of webbing inside the container there. And I think if you guys are ready, let's take it out of the container and see if it will just hold
its ground here on the rock. Now, this is an extremely
aggressive spider species, and oftentimes they won't run, But what they will do is rear up and show you those fangs
and those front legs. Okay. - [Mark] Now you have to be very cautious. - Yup, I'm going to just
gently tilt this down like this and let's see if it will crawl out and just stop right there. There we go. (dramatic music) Okay. Let's see if I can
get it to stay still. Whoa, whoa, whoa, you
stay, you stay, you stay. Actually, maybe I'll do this. It seems to be more comfortable
inside the container. - [Mark] Yeah, that works
for me. How about you, Mario? - Okay, it's just such a dangerous spider. I mean, even more so
than a wandering spider. - [Mark] Whoa. - Okay. Look at those hooked legs allowing it to hold onto
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 is so bad is that because when they
bite, their fingers 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 redback 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? (dramatic music) 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. All right, Mark, let's try this. I'm going to try to present it from 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 up front. And that helps them to
grapple onto 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. (dramatic music) Now, one of the reasons that this spider is considered so dangerous is because they can oftentimes be found in residential areas. The Sydney funnel-web
specifically is oftentimes 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 will
feel throbbing your finger, and shortly after, you'll
start to feel a tingling in your mouth and lips. Now, if you are bitten
by one of these spiders, you want to apply compression
to the entire arm. So let's say you're bitten
on the tip of your finger. Put compression straps up
the length of your arm. That will help slow the movement of the venom into your body. (dramatic music) 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 ope- 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? - [Mark] Awesome. - All right, We are taking this spider to the Australian Reptile Park. Wow, what a find. - Australia is home to a collection of dangerous arachnids. From the redback to the huntsman, 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 its type in Australia, they're renowned for their spider and snake
venom milking program. (dramatic music) Established in 1948, the
Australian Reptile Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is regarded as one of the country's
premiere animal attractions. Considered a hands-on learning facility, they are home to a countless
number of animal species, including Tasmanian devils, and even one incredibly
friendly Komodo dragon. And while their animal
attractions have made them a world-renowned place to visit, it is actually their commitment
to saving human lives that brings the crew and I knocking at their laboratory door. (knocking) - Come in. - Hi.
- [Kane] Hey, how you doing? - You must be Kane. - That's correct. - Hi, Kane. I am Coyote. I'll let you finish playing with whatever
you're playing with there. What is that? - Just feeding a little redback spider. - Oh, a redback. Okay, cool. We did an episode on redbacks. But I brought you something
a little more intimidating. I'm pretty sure we have a
Sydney funnel-web spider. - Excellent, my favorite. Let me have a look.
- [Coyote] Yeah, take a look. I mean, I know there are
various different species, but we caught that one last night. - [Kane] Local to this area? - [Coyote] Yes, about
30 minutes from here. - [Kane] Excellent. - [Coyote] Ooh, look how big it is. - [Kane] Yup, it is a very large
specimen you've brought me. I'm very happy with that. - [Coyote] Okay.
- It is a Sydney funnel-web. That's the good news.
- Yes, yes. - It is definitely a Sydney funnel-web. - Is it a male? That's the big question. - It is not. - Ah, not a male.
- [Kane] No. - So this is not the venom gold that you guys are searching for. - [Kane] No, it is the males. We use the their venom
to make the antivenom. This is a female. - [Coyote] Okay, I was really hoping that we were going to get
to milk a spider today. Now do you guys milk the
females for anything? - Yeah, we do.
- Oh you do? - We definitely do milk the females, yeah. - Can we milk this spider? - We can definitely milk this spider. - Great, so the venom does
still have a value of some sort? - It definitely does. We send the venom away for
different research laboratories to look into the venom. - Oh, sweet, okay. Well, we're still going
to get to milk a spider, and that's exactly what we wanted. Now, can I actually milk the spider? - I will definitely let
you milk that spider. - Oh, that's cool. Okay, well while we do this,
do you have another spider that you can show me how to milk it onto a different species
or something like that? I don't really trust myself trying to milk it for the first time. - Yeah, funnel-webs, they love to defend themselves vigorously. So if you do touch one,
as you might find out, they will stand up, they
will defend themselves. - [Coyote] Is this a male? - [Kane] This is a female as well. This is a younger female. - [Coyote] Okay, wow, a lot smaller. - [Kane] A lot smaller. - So what's the big difference, for anybody out there watching, between the males and females? 'Cause I'm looking at this, I'm thinking, okay, well with tarantulas, the females are always girthier
and heavier than the males. I guess that's the same
way with the funnel-webs. If I were to look at that, I would think, okay, that's definitely a
male as compared to this. - Yes, now the large abdomen at the back is definitely one way to tell. The abdomen size compared to the head size is one way to tell the
female, and the thicker legs. - [Coyote] Okay. - [Kane] So the smaller of
the two would be the male. - Correct me if I'm wrong, but it is the male that
has the most potent venom, and the one that is extremely dangerous. - Definitely.
- But a bite from a female, this wouldn't have actually
killed me last night. - Most likely wouldn't kill you. Unless you're unhealthy or something, it's not going to do you
a whole lot of damage. - Okay. - But we have to treat every bite as a potentially life-threatening bite. - Okay, so getting into milking. - Yes. - How does this process work? Mark, you got an okay shot there? - [Mark] Yep.
- [Kane] So what will happen, we have a little vacuum hose going down to a little pump down there. We don't want to have too much suction and suck the whole spider in, But just touching them,
you can actually see the drops of venom on
the tips of the fangs. And that's what we want. We want to get that venom from
those fangs into the pipette. So when she stands up, you can see she's very,
very aggressive there. - [Coyote] Oh, yeah. - [Kane] Pushing in some venom. We just draw the pipette
down the tips of the fangs. They are hollow just like
a hypodermic syringe. And by drawing that down as
she's producing that venom, we're just sucking it up
into the tip of this pipette. - [Coyote] Now, how many of
the males do you need to milk before you get an actual vial of venom you can build an anti-venom from? - [Kane] We look at having
about 250 to 400 males in any one year that we will have to milk every single day, right through the year to keep up with the quota we need to give to the Commonwealth
Serum Laboratories. - [Coyote] And in your
opinion, would you say this is the most dangerous
spider in the world? - [Kane] Definitely, definitely. - [Coyote] Okay. - [Kane] You really do
not want to get bitten by one of these. The good thing we have in Australia is the reptile park produces the venom to make the antivenom. Since the antivenom came out in 1981, we've had no deaths attributed
to a funnel-web spider bite. So it's very good. - [Coyote] Really? Okay, so the research is working,
the antivenom is working, but how many people would you
say are bitten every year? Because this is an
extremely common species that's found in suburban areas. - [Kane] Definitely. We have a lot of people
and a lot of conflict with the funnel-web spiders in the area. There's about five people every year that require a serious
amount of antivenom. There are also bites that
do present at the hospital that don't have a severe envenomation. - Right. - And they may not require antivenom. It's always a last resort, the antivenom. - Okay, now the spider
that we caught last night is a female. And fortunately, I was
not bitten, but if I was, what would I have wanted
to do in that instance? - First thing you want to do
is a full compression bandage on the area you've been bitten. - Okay. - If that was on your
hand, any bracelets, rings, watches, jewelry has to
come off straight away. - So this would've been problematic? - Definitely take it off. It will swell up straight away. - Let's say I was bitten
on the tip of my finger. - Basically what we're
going to go with a bite is you want to go around
the bite site first of all. - [Coyote] Okay. - [Kane] These bandages are great. They're going to tell us the
correct tension to put it on. When they form a square, we know that they're
going the right tension to restrict the flow of the venom. You go around the bite site, and then what you're going to do, because it's at the fingertip, we're going to go the whole limb. We don't stop at the wrist,
we don't stop at the elbow. We go as far up as the
bandage will allow us. Now that pressure, you can
feel that it's pretty tight. - [Coyote] Oh yeah, I feel like a mummy. - What the idea is, is it's restricting the flow of that venom going through your lymphatic system. We want to restrict that flow, and hopefully the venom
will neutralize itself down here and not rot through your body. - [Coyote] Okay. - Once you've got that on there, you're going to stay still. If you've got a button up shirt
or a sling, you put that on. And you want to get to the
hospital as soon as possible, calling an ambulance or
getting someone to drive you. You don't want to try and
drive a vehicle yourself or you'll upend. - Yeah, I can certainly feel that it is providing quite
a bit of pressure to my arm. Now, like I said, as we
all know, I was not bitten, but here's the million dollar question. Have you ever been bitten? - I've never been bitten
by any spiders, luckily. - Really? - So no, no spiders. - Wow, so you're extra careful when you're working with these spiders. - Definitely have to be extra careful working with these spiders. - Yeah, well when we
were filming last night, I'll tell you what, I was
nervous to be around that spider. This is good to know. I mean, it sounds like this
is something that everybody should have in their first
aid kit here in Australia. - Definitely in Australia. Venomous snakes around the world differ and in different areas you wouldn't. In Australia, with our lipids, this same bandage will work
on any of our venomous snakes as well as our funnel-web spiders. - All right, well, let's
take this off my arm. I've seen you milk a spider. I think if you guys are ready, I am ready to milk the Sydney funnel-web. Does that sound good to you? - [Kane] That sounds great.
I'll put this little one away. - [Coyote] All right. Things are about to get dangerous. Oh boy, here we go. (dramatic music) I'm just going to gently coax her out. There she is. That is one big funnel-web
spider right there. All right, I am going to reach
over here to grab a pipette. Here we go. Wow, look at that. Wow, okay, you can already see the venom coming off the tips of the fangs. And what Kane said is that
I actually want to just kind of turn her a little bit. - [Kane] So if you touch
her back leg on this side, she'll turn and face the pipette. - [Coyote] Going in with the pipette. Okay, my hand is shaking. Just gently taking that venom
off the edge of the fangs. Wow, there we go. Okay, there's definitely venom
there inside the pipette. If I get her to rear up a second time, and she will just keep
producing venom, right, Kane? - [Kane] Yeah, that's correct. Even once you've got her up
like that with her legs up, a gentle blow right towards those fangs will sometimes get her to
push some more out for you. (mellow music) That's it. Just draw down the fangs. - [Coyote] She just bit the pipette. You can feel the power in that strike. Okay, I think that's all
the venom she has to give. And it's not as much as I thought was going
to come out of there. I can see why you guys have to
milk so many of these spiders to build up a vial to
create that antivenom. - [Kane] Yeah, exactly. It's not as much as you're going to get from one of our venomous
snakes in Australia, but it does show you how potent it is. It's only a little amount
that does a lot of damage. - Okay, now what do I
want to do with this? - [Coyote] Put the pipette
back safely over here. - Okay, I'll hand that to you. - [Kane] I'll take that for you. - I'm going to just put this
little capsule back over her for safety's sake. - [Kane] Excellent. - There you go. Whoa, whew. That was nerve wracking.
- Exciting stuff. - And you do this every day, don't you? - Every day, I love it. - Wow. Well this was so cool. Thank you so much for letting
me milk a funnel-web spider. - Not a problem at all, appreciate it. - Now it wasn't a male,
it was only female, but that doesn't matter. The venom is still of value. Now for everybody out there watching, if you come across one of these spiders, try to safely catch it and bring it here to the Australian Reptile Park. Because this is the only place that- - Milks funnel-webs for the production of
antivenom in Australia. - That's right, guys. So
if you bring one here, there is the chance that
you're going to save a life. I'm Coyote Peterson. Be brave, stay wild. We'll see you on the next adventure. (upbeat music) - [Coyote Narrating] The
Australian Reptile Park is the only sanctuary
of its type in Australia that has a spider and snake
venom milking program. And the good news is that
their antivenom creation has been saving thousands
of lives for over 50 years. If you encounter a snake or a spider while exploring in Australia and admire the animal
from a safe distance, your odds of being
bitten are very unlikely. However, unexpected bites do occur. And if you find yourself in
this worst case scenario, make sure to stay calm and seek medical treatment immediately. (upbeat music) (birds chirping)
