- Hey guys, Coyote Peterson here.
Right now, we're out in the thick of it filming season two
of Breaking Trail, and I just came across
this beautiful Northern water snake.
It reminds me of all the amazing serpent encounters we had
in season one.
Let's take a flashback look
at all my coolest snake encounters.
(upbeat jungle music)
Looking back on the incredible adventures of season one,
it's crazy to think about how many snakes we encounter.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, stop.
We got a rattle.
We came across a handful of adorable baby snakes.
There were angry medium-sized snakes.
And the typical signs of aggression.
He's trying to bite me right from the start.
Snakes at night.
Alright, it's a water moccasin.
And snakes in the day.
One thing I don't ever recommend you do
is stick your hand into a hole after a rattlesnake.
Snakes in trees
and snakes in the water.
Venomous snakes, some with a serious dental arsenal
of danger, and then of course giant snake invaders
that were as friendly as could be.
Okay, she's kind of close to my face right there,
sniffing me.
I think the only place we didn't see snakes was on a plane.
So without further ado, let's take a look
at the top snake encounters of season one.
One of my favorite encounters happened on North Bass Island.
Home to a variety of species.
That is a baby Lake Erie watersnake.
But none more elegant than the Fox snake.
See, her head is just kind of sticking out
on the branch there.
Do you see the checkering?
Bold-ish and black in color.
Nothing is more exciting than climbing a tree
to catch a snake.
I didn't want to get much further off the branch than that.
Ow, ow, ow, ow, and that's how you scale a tree
to catch a Fox snake.
And the good news for me is that this species is one
of the friendliest on the island.
And while North Bass is not home to any venomous species,
there is a certain snake that does not want to be bothered.
There's one.
There's absolutely nothing I love more
than running after and diving for a watersnake.
Here we go, that's a pretty good sized one right there.
That is a Lake Erie watersnake,
and the typical signs of aggression,
he's trying to bite me right from the start.
Wow, that is a, geez,
yeah, he just took the tip of my finger
and sliced it open.
Okay, hold on, let me try to get him
under control a little bit better.
I'm used to being tagged by water snakes
and I'm sure some of you are cringing,
but trust me, it looks a lot worse than it really was.
From islands to the out lands of Arizona,
snakes are everywhere.
One of my closest encounters happened dark one night,
deep in the desert.
Oh, check this out guys, fantastic.
This is the sidewinder, one of the iconic species
that lives here in the Sonoran Desert.
This is the smallest rattlesnake species
that you can encounter out here,
and they are also known as the horned rattlesnake.
I absolutely love the way sidewinders move,
as long as they don't move too close to my face.
Look how beautiful that snake is.
Holy moly, okay, don't get any closer.
So if you come out here to the desert at night
and run across a small rattlesnake
and you see those two little horns,
you instantly know it's the sidewinder.
The best Arizona snake find was actually the work
of Breaking Trails director Mark (indistinguishable)
- (Mark) Hey guys, there's a snake over here.
- What, Jesus.
- Careful.
- Where, where, where, where?
Alright, watch your footing.
Alright, Chance, come up slow.
Oh yeah, that is a Western diamondback rattlesnake.
Priority number one, guys, is safety.
I want to get that snake out of there.
I want to be as careful as I can.
He's basically sensing a couple of warm body masses
and he says okay, this is not prey,
these are potential predators.
After getting this big boy out of the rocks,
we got the surprise of our lives.
You come across this guy in the Sonoran desert,
you step back and give it respect.
- (Voiceover) Does he have double fangs?
- Holy cow, he does.
Double fangs, didn't see that one coming.
Now rattlesnakes are constantly replacing their fangs,
so one of these sets is getting ready to drop out
and then the new set will be in place
so he can go out there and hunt for his dinner.
Whether by the light of day or the headlamps of night,
snakes seem to be everywhere.
So night herping is when you're actually
out looking for reptiles.
Herpetology is the study of reptiles,
so kind of the slang term is night herping.
Stop, stop, stop, right there, right there.
Get out, get out.
It's a coral snake.
This is one of the coolest snakes here in the Everglades.
This is actually also the most venomous snake
we could have encountered tonight.
Personally, I seem to have the best luck searching
out serpents on Sunday mornings
after a late night rain storm.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, stop.
We got a rattle.
Yup, it's an Eastern diamondback.
Wow, what a beauty.
That is a really good sized Eastern diamondback.
This is not a good position for me
to try to get you guys close to film.
I don't always show off a snake's fangs,
but the Eastern diamondback is notorious
for having enormous venom ejectors,
and this one certainly didn't disappoint.
Now you get bit by those little hypodermic needles
and you've got a hemotoxin going in to your blood stream
that's going to start killing red blood cells.
You want to get yourself to the hospital
as fast as you possibly can to get some antivenom.
Last, but certainly not least,
was the biggest snake of season one, the Burmese python.
This snake is about 12 feet long
and you can see why a python of this size
would be quite the voracious predator
out here in the Everglades.
And what people really worry about
is these eating some of the more threatened species,
like American crocodile hatchlings
or the Key Largo woodrat.
Sadly, these snakes are invaders to the Everglades,
and nothing is more destructive to an environment
than a predator that does not belong.
This snake is used to being handled,
so I don't really feel nervous
with it wrapped around my body.
I would never recommend that you try
to pick up a Burmese python if you see it in the wild.
It's best to just leave it alone.
Obviously, they're an invasive species here
in the Everglades, so you'd want to alert somebody
if you did ever encounter one out here.
People get them when they're small
and they grow into these 12 foot giants,
and then people release them in to the Everglades.
Unfortunately, when these snakes are now captured
in the Everglades, they're immediately destroyed.
This gentle giant was provided for us to film with,
and on a positive note, is being kept in captivity
to educate people on the negative effects snakes
of this size can have on the local wildlife populations.
I know a lot of people are terrified of snakes.
Clearly, I am not.
Okay, she's kind of close
to my face right there, sniffing me.
You go up on my hat, alright.
And whether you love them or loathe them.
Dove off the edge of that hill there
and managed to nab two snakes at exactly the same time.
This is absolutely awesome.
Please keep in mind that these beautiful reptiles,
when not considered an invasive species,
are an important part of the ecosystem
and are much more afraid of you
than you should ever be of them.
Looking back on season one, our official list
of top 10 snakes are,
Number one, baby snakes.
Look how cute he is.
Wow, he's probably only a couple of weeks old.
Number two, the gopher snake.
They will hiss, but this one
is really being pretty cool
to hang out with.
Number three, the fox snake.
What an absolutely beautiful snake.
Number four, the Northern Pacific rattlesnake.
Uh, one thing I don't ever recommend you do
is stick your hand into a hole after a rattlesnake.
Number five, the Lake Erie watersnake.
There we go, that's a pretty good sized one right there.
That is the Lake Erie watersnake.
Number six, the Santa Cruz gartersnake.
Yes, yes.
Number seven, the Eastern diamondback rattlesnake.
That doesn't mean we have to give it any less respect.
Number eight, the Burmese python.
But I'll tell you what, if she wanted to,
she could squeeze the life right out of this coyote.
Number nine, the sidewinder.
Holy moly, okay, don't get any closer.
And last, but not least, number 10,
the double-fanged western diamondback rattlesnake.
He is absolutely beautiful.
And as for season two, let's just say,
we definitely plan to up our snake game.
If you thought that was one wild adventure,
make sure to subscribe to the Brave Wilderness channel
and check out these other episodes
so you can stick with us on this season of Breaking Trail.
(upbeat jungle music)