On every continent populated by man,
throughout the plains,
mountains and deserts of the United States
from the dense forests of Asia to the arid Australian Outback.
Nature's deadliest assassins lie in wait.
Patiently, they stalk their prey.
In an instant, they strike with fangs...
and stings, and bites.
They paralyse their victims...
and devour their food from within.
Gifted with one of nature's most potent, effective,
and destructive weapons...
venom.
Welcome to the world of Wild Assassins.
We now live in a world filled with venomous creatures.
Home to over 200,000 known venomous species,
venom is one of the most dynamic adaptations in the wild,
taking millennia to evolve.
In recent centuries,
the rate at which venom is changing has increased...
where the single biggest contributing factor
is humanity itself.
From a human population of mere millions
to nearly eight billion people today.
As human civilisation expands, they create selection pressures
that kick-start the mutation of species' genes.
Genes that once helped attack bacteria
mutated and evolved to become venom genes...
helping to defend against predators,
capture prey and deter competitors during mating season.
From the highly toxic fangs of a death adder,
to the lethal barb of a scorpion...
and the deadly bite of the black widow spider,
venom can debilitate the smallest fly,
to the largest elephant.
Evolving over the past 174 million years,
slithering through the waterways and forest floors of planet Earth.
Our king of venom...
snakes.
On all continents inhabited by man...
nearly 3,500 different snake species evolve.
Six hundred of these species are armed with a venomous bite.
Snakes are limbless, sleek, and cunning creatures.
Armed with hollow fangs that transfer lethal poison,
they strike in a split second.
Snakes reproduce every year, laying up to 100 eggs per clutch.
With a high infant mortality rate, very few survive.
Until after 60 days,
the head of a baby snake breaks through its shell.
Small in size, but just as deadly as its parents.
The potency of their venom varies,
from the beelike sting of the desert bandit snake
to the snake with enough venom to kill 1,100 people.
Endemic to Central East Australia,
and known to Aboriginal Australians as dandarabilla,
these snakes have been symbols of strength and creativity
for 60,000 years.
They are the most venomous snakes in the world
the inland taipan.
Specialist hunters of mammals,
the inland taipan has evolved a venom potent enough
to kill warm-blooded species and up to 1,100 people.
This inland taipan is at home in the Australian Outback,
finding cover from the scorching sun
in the burrows of its favourite prey,
the long-haired rat.
Sliding into the rat's burrow from above,
the snake corners its unsuspecting prey,
leaving no escape as it injects its venom.
Death is rapid.
The neurotoxins in the snake's venom tear
through the rat's body.
A spreading agent increases the rate at
which the venom is absorbed.
The inland taipan's venom endures a swift and painful death...
before it swallows its prey...
whole.
In the jungles of Asia
lives the longest of the venomous snakes.
With 300 members of the Elapidae family in the wild.
All are armed with a vicious two fanged-bite.
This snake has earned the title of king for a reason.
The king cobra.
The king cobra can kill a human in 15 minutes...
and take down an elephant in mere hours
with its incredibly toxic venom.
Known to attack any species of animal in self-defence
its main source of prey is other snakes,
including venomous ones.
King cobras have been known to take down and consume pythons,
kraits and cobras.
Hence, their foreboding and powerful name.
Born with venom strong enough to kill a human,
king cobras are assassins from birth,
they hunt by smell,
tasting the air with their forked tongues.
Native to Asia,
home to the most snakes in the world,
they strike using twin fangs,
injecting a massive dose of venom into their prey.
Skilled snake assassins, the cobra is king.
Across the entire continental US, a distinctive rattle can be heard.
Appearing for the first time 14 million years ago,
these ancient creatures are native to the American plains.
One of the continent's most deadly assassins,
the rattlesnake.
In the mountains, the deserts and the vast plains...
rattlesnakes lurk in crevices and rocky outcrops.
Able to strike in half a second, they search for unsuspecting prey.
When on the hunt, they use camouflage,
precision and perfect timing.
Warning off predators with the rapid shake of their tail,
they can take down rabbits, rodents, and lizards
with a single bite.
Rattlesnake venom destroys tissue and eventually causes paralysis.
Starting at the head,
the rattlesnake can swallow its prey whole.
Traversing almost every continent on the planet,
venomous snakes are the silent assassins of the wild.
They are skilled, agile, and formidable hunters...
able to take down some of the Earth's largest
and smallest creatures.
Their deadliest weapon...
venom.
With over 3,000 species of snakes across the globe...
these majestic and deadly creatures come in all shapes and sizes
but despite their deadly armoury,
they remain threatened in the wild.
Shrinking habitats across Asia
are proving fatal for the king cobra,
while loss of prey is endangering the inland taipan's survival.
And for the rattlesnake,
it's humans that remain the biggest threat
due to poaching and extermination campaigns.
With populations of snakes decreasing rapidly,
it's becoming more evident than ever before...
that without snakes,
the ecosystems they uphold would be damaged forever.
Ecosystems we share.
In the deserts and red cliffs of the Southwestern US,
lives the uniquely venomous Gila monster.
A slow moving long-reptile,
it is the only venomous lizard native to the US.
Armed not with fangs, but venom-producing glands.
The Gila monster is an unsuspecting predator...
raiding nests.
They prey on eggs
and nestlings.
They move very slowly across this arid terrain.
Deceivingly docile and unoffending,
it would be easy to assume the Gila monster
was far from a venomous creature.
But when able to eat up to a third of their body weight,
a powerful and effective weapon is needed.
The Gila monster produces venom in its saliva glands
located in its lower jaw.
Unable to inject venom directly, their venom is transferred
from the gland to the teeth by chewing,
drawing the venom onto the teeth and into the victim.
It's not unusual for a Gila monster to flip itself on its back
when attacking a victim,
and this improves the flow of venom into the wound.
Even when fighting against its own.
Making it an efficient killer
but also a highly skilled assassin.
In almost every ocean on the planet,
from the cold sunless depths, to the warm tropical reefs,
lives one of the most successful carnivores
in our world's oceans...
the jellyfish.
With over 2,000 species,
jellyfish have perused the Earth's oceans
for more than 500 million years.
Armed with anywhere from four
to thousands of tentacles...
they are masters of both attack
and offence.
These silent drifter's tentacles
are lined with thousands of tiny barbed stingers.
Each stinger has a tiny bulb that holds venom.
When a tentacle is brushed against, the stingers are released...
deploying a neurotoxic venom that paralyses their targets.
Extremely successful hunters,
these silent assassins create eddies around themselves
to draw in prey,
before stunning them
and swallowing their prey whole.
The harpoons they release from their tentacles
makes them one of the most skilled carnivores in the ocean.
Endless drifters,
jellyfish are the beautiful and unassuming predators
of Earth's oceans.
Crawling across every continent but Antarctica,
in the foliage and the underbrush,
traversing forest floors,
is one of nature's deadliest assassins.
All armed with eight legs...
and a pair of venomous fangs,
these arachnids have roamed planet Earth
for 400 million years.
Spiders.
All spiders are active hunters.
Coming in all shapes and sizes...
with 50,000 different species across the globe.
Their venom can be injected through their hollow fangs,
strong enough to paralyse and kill prey,
spider venom includes digestive enzymes
that fast-track the breakdown of nutrients inside the prey's body,
making it easier for them to consume larger prey.
And in the depths of the tropical rainforests of Australia
despite its diminutive size...
lives one of nature's most intelligent assassins.
One spider wields this weapon well...
the Portia spider.
Only measuring up to 7 mm in length,
they are a deadly weapon in the wild.
Hiding in plain sight, they have unparalleled vision,
and are capable of learning and problem solving...
using the power of their venom.
As night falls,
the Portia spider has its eight eyes set on an orb spider.
Able to leap over distances 20 times its body length,
this orb spider is about to come face-to-face
with one of the tropics' most skilled hunters.
The Portia spider may be small, but it is no less deadly.
With a venom unusually powerful against other spiders...
the orb spider stands little chance.
A killer cannibal, and a highly skilled assassin,
no foe is too great.
The Portia spider attacks
with stealth, speed, and precision.
A worthy opponent. In a battle of limbs and claws.
Paired with its deadly bite and killer instincts,
this intelligent assassin
can take down prey up to three times its size.
A force to be reckoned with in the rainforests of Australia,
and the jungles of South Asia...
the infallible...
Portia spider.
Found in forests across the globe,
lives a spider known worldwide.
Armed with a deadly bite to humans,
it instils fear in the hearts of many...
the black widow.
They live silently alongside human civilisation.
Measuring just under 4 cm in length,
these small arachnids are armed with fangs
that can pierce through human flesh.
Responsible for 2,500 visits
to poison control centres every year in the US,
these creatures are armed with a highly toxic venom,
fatal to both prey and human alike.
One of nature's deadliest
wild assassins.
Native to Eastern Australia,
only found roaming within a 100 km radius of Sydney,
armed with a highly toxic venom,
responsible for the most human deaths in the world,
this is the most dangerous spider to human from the planet,
the Sydney funnel-web spider.
Under the cover of the forest floor...
a Sydney funnel-web spider is on the hunt.
Of the tens of thousands of species of spider in the world,
with a bite life-threatening to all species on the globe,
one of the deadliest assassins in nature,
its eyes are set on a target.
Silent...
swift...
deadly.
A wild assassin.
Despite their seemingly menacing nature,
spiders are extremely important to agriculture
and horticulture across the globe.
These eight-legged creepy-crawlies help regulate
and balance pest populations
on nearly every continent in the world.
Fascinating and fearsome creatures.
Without them, the entire planet would face famine.
Agile...
skilled...
and nimble assassins.
Spiders are integral to the fragile ecosystems
of planet Earth.
Found across the globe...
these creepy-crawlies
are armed with a lethal sting,
the centipede.
An estimated 8,000 species of centipede
troll Earth's continents, reaching up to lengths of 30 cm.
Centipedes are encased in a tough exoskeleton.
Comprised of many body segments
they are armed with a unique pair of stingers.
Positioned under their first body segment
sits a pair of hollow legs adapted with claws.
They deploy a venom that can paralyse prey.
Their venomous claws can puncture through skin and flesh.
The neurotoxins they inject
can affect humans for up to 48 hours,
but for their prey, it can end in paralysis...
making it easier for the centipede to consume its prey.
For larger foe,
their venom can cause swelling and excruciating pain.
And ultimately...
death.
When hunger strikes,
these ancient critters will mercilessly hunt
for delectable prey.
Traversing with unparalleled balance, and agility.
Armed with the deadliest of weapons
they are always prepared for defence and attack.
These silent assassins have inhabited this planet
for 430 million years.
They are one of the hardiest and strongest survivors...
on Earth.
Found in every ocean on the globe...
these are the patrollers of Earth's aquatic biomes.
A graceful, gliding creature...
the stingray.
For over 100 million years,
stingrays have swum the world's oceans.
In the present day,
over 200 species of stingray inhabit coastal
tropical marine waters across the globe.
Relatives of the shark,
stingrays keep a significantly low profile in comparison.
Stingrays can skim the bottom of the ocean,
easily gobbling up worms...
shrimps...
and clams.
Violence is not necessary
when this ethereal creature is on the hunt.
But despite their tranquil nature,
stingrays have become infamous for the deadly weapon
that trails behind them.
Armed with a tail
that carries up to three barbed stings.
Stingrays are equipped with a potent venom...
strong enough to dissolve stone.
Yet stingrays only use their deadly weapon
in self-defence.
Emerging from the sand covered floor,
a stingray's tail can puncture a victim's body,
deploying a potent cocktail of toxins...
that can cause severe pain, delayed healing and necrosis.
A stingray's venom can remain
in its victim's body for up to 48 hours.
On record, only 17 people worldwide
have been fatally stung by a stingray.
Deceptively docile...
they are the unsuspecting skilled assassins
of the aquatic biome.
Patrollers of the desert biome...
these arachnids are a force to be reckoned with.
Their sting accounts for 3,000 human deaths every year.
Found on every continent but Antarctica.
The scorpion.
Small, sly, and lethal assassins.
They are ancient, menacing, and venomous creatures.
Equipped with a tough exoskeleton,
their lethal tail makes them the predator
of many on the scorched plains they call home.
Over one million people fall victim to their sting every year,
making them some of the deadliest assassins on the planet.
Reproducing throughout the year,
there's an estimated 2,500 species of scorpion roaming the globe.
On Earth for over 400 million years,
outliving the dinosaurs, they are true survivors.
Yet some remain immune to their sting,
the nimble meerkat, resistant to their toxic venom.
This hardy arachnid will try its best to remain unseen.
Until it strikes...
wielding its deadliest weapon against worthy foes,
venom.
In the deserts of Arizona,
scorpions are widespread...
roaming day and night,
invisible in the most complex desert of North America.
With a lethal sting, it's a deadly assassin.
Large and aggressive, their venom can stun,
paralyse...
and kill.
The desert scorpion.
Carnivorous creatures
they hunt other spiders.
In a tussle of limbs and claws,
they deploy their venom in deadly battles.
Overpowering, and subduing their prey...
with their lethal sting...
one of nature's deadliest assassins.
Their curved tail delivers a precise and sharp sting.
Paralysing its opponent...
and leaving it defenceless in its grasp.
Armed with a toxic venom,
the desert scorpion is a lethal predator.
Perfectly adapted to desert life.
It's a killing machine.
A highly skilled predator.
This is one of nature's most cunning.
And deadly wild assassins.
In the arid deserts of the Middle East
lives a scorpion with a name that strikes fear
into the hearts of many.
Considered the most venomous scorpion on the planet.
The potent cocktails of neurotoxins in its sting makes its venom lethal.
Extraordinarily painful, its sting can cause paralysis...
and numbness throughout the body,
perfect for hunting its favourite foods.
A wild assassin armed
with the deadliest weapon of them all.
This is the deathstalker.
Ancient creatures, scorpions are infallible in the wild.
Symbols of solitude...
intelligence, and Independence.
These wild assassins are highly skilled...
killers.
Found on almost every continent, they are survivors.
Armed with a unique adaptation
that makes them kings and queens of their terrains.
Venom.
There is still so much for us to learn
from venomous creatures.
At $39 million per gallon,
deathstalker venom is known as liquid gold.
Its venom has shown potential
for treating brain tumours and diabetes.
As these wild assassins' toxicity increases,
and scientists continue to uncover...
the secrets venom holds.
Some snake venoms have been used to treat thrombosis...
arthritis...
and even cancer.
While spider venom is believed to have the potential
to treat epilepsy and some neurodegenerative diseases.
By applying these toxins
that usually weaken an immobilised prey,
they are being used to affect human cells and nerves.
The cure to some of the world's most life-threatening illnesses...
could be lying in the fangs and tails
of Earth's most venomous creatures.
There are more than 2,000 venomous species
known to science, all with a killer adaptation
deployed in unique and captivating ways...
yet these venomous creatures face threats.
Scorpions are being over-collected.
Spiders face habitat loss,
and many species are threatened by the pet trade.
Snakes are under the threat of extinction
due to increased conflict with humans.
While venom remains a source of fear,
it also holds the potential for real change.
Evolution holds more in store for the world of venom.
It is integral to the survival of thousands of species.
Including humans.