- Mark, you rolling? - [Mark] Yes I am. - That is the biggest
spiny lizard we have seen this entire trip. One of the biggest I've
seen in my life, it is huge. This is gonna be a tough catch. (suspenseful music) (yells in pain) (tribal jungle music) What's going on coyote pack? We are back in the
Sonoran desert, and as you can see
it is night time, which means it's
the perfect time to search for desert creatures, and I do have my trusty
flashlight with me and my snake tongs,
and of course, Mark right there
behind the main camera. - What's goin' on guys? - Got Mario on the B camera. - [Mark] There he is! - If you guys are ready,
we know what happens next. We head off into the darkness
and see what we can find. - [Mark] Let's go! (suspenseful music) Alright Coyote so what
are we looking for? Where are we starting tonight? - Well what's interesting and
that people don't realize ... Whoa, I just heard
something. Hold on a second. - [Mark] What was that? - Oh, what is that? - [Mark] What is it? - I thought it
was a rattlesnake, it just went tsst tsst tsst. I think it was a bug though. What I like about this area is
you have a lot of plant life but there's also all this area
to walk in between things. You'll notice there
aren't many cacti around. - [Mario] Which is nice. - It's really nice. So we're not walking into
things, and look at this, it looks like we're on
a trail but we're not. The entire desert in this
area, no matter what direction you place your lights,
you can go this way, you can go this way,
you can go that way, it's actually almost
disorienting because it's very easy to get lost. Now we do have a GPS
tracking system with us. We've made a pin way
back at our vehicle which we started
off at at daytime. Hopefully we'll
make it back there, but I think we go this direction
and see what we can find. We're just gonna move slowly,
continue scanning the branches and often times what you'll
find is in just like a nook like this, a lizard laying
and sleeping on the branch. Now we've used the same method
to catch things like iguanas and knight anoles,
if you guys remember the knight anole episode, we
were able to spot the lizard up in the tree and
then safely catch it. Hoping to use that same
tactic tonight for some of the lizard species out
here in the Sonoran desert. Alright let's cover some
ground and keep searching. (suspenseful music) Oh! Right here, look look! - [Mark] What you got? - [Coyote] Baby
western diamondback! Wow! I'm gonna cut my
light, can you see it okay? - [Mark] Yeah sure. - [Coyote] Look at
that, that's a tiny one. Wow that's one of
- [Mark] A little one. - [Coyote] the smallest
rattlesnakes I've ever seen. - [Mark] Beautiful though. - [Coyote] Look at you! Now don't let its
small size fool you. This rattlesnake can be just
as dangerous as a large one. Where is that
little rattle going? (intense music) Whoa, okay buddy. There
you go, strike position. Trying to get it away from
these bushes so you guys can see it a little bit better. Look at how quick that is! Alright, how's that? Can
you guys see it right there? - [Mark] Oh yeah. - [Coyote] Wow, you're
one of the smallest little rattlesnakes
I've ever seen! Look at that, just two
buttons on that rattle. - [Mark] Look at the
banding on the tail too. - [Coyote] Oh it's gorgeous! It looks like it
maybe just shed. Look how vibrant that
coloration is on the tail and on the patterning
of its back. Look at that. Perfect
defense pose right there. Now the venomous bite
that this snake can pack even at this size would
send you to the hospital. So it's not a snake I'm
going to try to handle, I'm just going to admire it. From a safe distance, if
you can call this safe. Now these snakes don't
necessarily want to strike. Right? Notice that. And its tongue's flicking
out feeling the edge of my snake tongs. They want to keep that
venom as a reserve and snakes only bite
as a last resort. So right now this little
rattlesnake is thinking as long as I stay
camouflaged and I don't move perhaps these potential
large predators will just keep moving
in that direction and I'll be able to slither
off and continue hunting for the night. Alright guys, well this
was a pretty cool find. Well lets head this direction
and see if we can find some of those sleeping lizards. Oh look at this,
a fallen cactus. - [Mark] Whoa.
That is a huge ... - That's a fallen
giant right there. - [Mark] Whoa. It's still
alive a little bit looks like. - I'll bet this came
down in a recent monsoon. I've never even seen ... Oh yeah look at this, this
is definitely recently fell. - [Mark] Wow. - Look at the inside here.
Look at that, it's like wood. - [Mark] Too bad,
that's an old cactus. - Yeah, that's an old legend
that fell right there. Wow, definitely
probably came down in some heavy monsoon winds. I'm just gonna ... Yeah we can get
up and over this. - [Mark] Okay. - Wanna hand me your camera? - [Mark] Sure. (dramatic music) - [Coyote] I got it. Yep. - Wooo, standing on top
of an ancient cacti. That's a new one. - [Coyote] Watch the spikes. - Yeah I see it. I'm gonna jump. (grunting) - [Coyote] Snake snake snake. Okay, I got it, I got it.
- [Mark] Nice grab. - Took me a second to
properly identify it and that's gonna be the
key piece to talking about this species specifically. As we walked up we set the
lights and you'll notice the red and the black and the
slight yellowish coloration, this could've been a coral
snake, but it is not. This is a long-nosed snake. Wow, look how beautiful it is! Now that bright
coloration is aposematic, which means it's a warning
to any potential predator that I may be venomous. However, in this
instance it's a snake that is completely
safe to handle. Now these snakes are
strictly nocturnal, it's the only time
you'll come across them and during the day they're
actually hiding underground which means they are fossorial. But at night they are out
searching for any sort of little creature that they
can get their mouths on. Could be a gecko, could be a
little roach running around in the desert this is an
opportunistic predator. Now go ahead and zoom
it on the nose there. You notice how pointed it is? The scales on the tip
of the snake's nose are specialized to help
it dig underground. They are excellent at
burrowing in soft sandy soil. Now that red and black
actually does help it blend really well into this
desert environment. Here Mark, check this out. I'm gonna set it
down in the sand. - [Mark] Sure does. - Look at those variations
in all the dark rocks and even the reddish
colorations in the rocks help the snake stay
perfectly hidden. Get back here. Gotcha. Very cool. Let's look at the underside
of the snake real quick. Look at that, very smooth. There's actually an
iridescence to its skin. Can you see that in
the lights there? - [Mark] Oh yeah,
that's awesome. It's like a satin white. - Incredibly smooth too. Almost looks like it's
slimy, but as we know, snakes have scales, they
are not slimy at all. It is very very smooth. As you can see,
very very friendly. Well that was pretty cool. We've come across a
rattlesnake tonight, which as we know is venomous,
and a long-nose snake, which is nonvenomous and
completely safe to handle as long as you properly
identify it as being a long-nose snake and
not a coral snake. Alright, I'm gonna set it
back down into the sand, it's going to take
off into the desert. Later buddy. (suspenseful music) - [Mark] So how do you
spot these lizards Coyote? - It's a matter of looking
for some kind sort of obscure shape out on one
of the limbs of these creosote bushes or some
of these other trees. They're actually
really hard to spot. Wow. Mark are you rolling? - [Mark] Yes I am. - That is the biggest
spiny lizard we have seen this entire trip. One of the biggest I've
seen in my life. It is huge. At its maximum size,
that is a male, you can see the dark blueish
coloration on its back. This is gonna be a tough catch. - [Mark] It's a
fortress around it. - Wow, see you've got
all these prickly pears right in front. I don't know how I'm
gonna catch this lizard. - [Mark] There's a giant cholla
tree right next to it too. (suspenseful music) Coyote where you at? - [Coyote] Right here. - [Mark] Cholla right here. He's awake. - [Coyote] He's awake? - [Mark] Yep. (music intensifies) - Got it! (groaning) Got it.
- [Mark] Nice grab! (all cheering) That's the one! - Wow, nothing like
getting on your back in a bunch of (groans in
pain) spikes and thorns. (groans) I got spikes all
in my shoulder. But ... - [Mark] It was worth it. - There it is. That
is a gorgeous male
desert spiny lizard. (whistles) Wow, that is
a beaster right there. A perfect field guide specimen. Oh! Trying to bite me. Ouch! And spiked me. And let's talk about
why they call this the desert spiny lizard. Look at that beast. Wow! This is one of the larger
specimens that I have ever seen, and look at all the spikes
on the back of that reptile. Now the way we know this is
a male, aside from its size, is look ... oh oh oh. We just wanna show
everybody your belly. Ow! So spiky! Look at the belly
of that lizard. Wow, and there's a
little bit of yellowing speckled in there. Oh you are so
handsome, so handsome. And incredibly strong. Now this is one of the
most robust lizard species out here in the Sonoran
desert, and one of the fastest lizard species you
can come across. They are almost
impossible to catch during the daylight hours, it's
even been tough to catch them at night, but as you can
see we finally managed to get one in front
of the cameras. Whew! We have been
out here for, gosh, it's going on three hours
at this point trying to catch this lizard, but
we have finally got one. Now let's talk about
why they call this the desert spiny lizard. This is probably easier
to feel than it is to see, but there are sharp scales
running all along the length of this reptile's body, and
if I rub my finger backwards like this (wincing). Mark, put your finger
out there, tell everybody what that feels like. Just kind of run your
finger gently backwards. - [Mark] Ah, yeah it's
like a cheese grater. - Right? - [Mark] Oh yeah,
that would shred you. - Now imagine being something
trying to eat this lizard, let's say a snake. Tries to swallow this, it's
gonna get stuck in its throat. So the only real predator
for this creature out here is a bird, something like
a roadrunner or a hawk. Snakes usually tend to avoid
the desert spiny lizard. Oh and this is absolutely
one of my favorites, and as a kid I would
always try to catch these but they were incredibly
difficult to ever get close to. Now you'll notice the
sort of dark patch on the lizard's back
as he's shedding some of his scales there. That dark patch actually
becomes much more vibrant during the day, and what
they will do is wake up early in the morning to bask
in the warm glowing sun. As they warm up they get
ready to head out and hunt. This is a diurnal species,
which means it's active during the day. And as that sunlight warms
them up they actually get brighter in coloration. But you can see even here
at night under these lights the belly is
absolutely beautiful. You notice that bright
blue coloration, you see the chin here, it's
not as bright right now, but during breeding
season these lizards are absolutely
gorgeous, and the males, what they will do is
they'll go up on a rock, puff up their chest, and
say to all the ladies with their bright coloration,
aren't I handsome? Don't you wanna date me? And I'll tell you what buddy,
you're about as handsome as it gets for a
desert spiny lizard. Wow, these guys
are just so cool. Now they are voracious
predators, and they have a pretty powerful
bite, let's see. Show us how tough your bite is. (yells in pain) Wow, that's powerful
right there! And that's about as
powerful as the knight anole and kind of getting close
to the collared lizard. Can I have my
finger back? Please? Oh yeah, those little teeth ... Ow ow ow! I'm gonna turn my
finger like that Mario, so you can get a tight shot. - [Mario] Is it gonna
break skin you think? - Aaah, probably not but
the pressure is noticeable and I'll tell you what,
for any little insect or arachnid running around out
here in the night time desert those jaws would
be the end of you. Alright, can I have my
finger back? Please? (gasping in pain) - [Mark] Ooh, I saw the
saliva coming off of that. - Oi! That was a powerful
little bite right there. - [Mark] You ever
worry about getting bit by all these reptiles? - No, not so much. I knew that this one
wasn't going to break skin but gave me a
solid little pinch. Well it took us
quite a bit of time, but we finally managed
to catch one handsome desert spiny lizard. I'm Coyote Peterson,
be brave, stay wild. We'll see you on
the next adventure. Alright, let's place
this lizard down here on the ground and see just
how fast they really are. (jungle music) - [Mark] (laughing)
He was super fast. - He was that fast? - [Mark] Yeah (laughing). - He took off in a
bullet, did you see him? (laughs) Well there he goes,
you see how fast they are. Alright, well, that's a wrap! If you thought catching a desert
spiny lizard was exciting, make sure to go back and watch
the episode where I caught another one of the
southwest speedy reptiles the collared lizard. And don't forget, subscribe,
so you can join me and the crew on this
season of Breaking Trail. (various animal sounds)
