All language subtitles for Australia.S01E02.Fast.And.Furious.720p.NF.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.x264

[narrator] Australia is
the world's largest island.

Geographic separation
over thousands of years

resulted in 90% of the species
found in Australia

being endemic
to this vast land.

And for the locals,
living here means living

amongst some of the world's
most dangerous animals.

Some of these animals
can kill instantly,

others leave lasting injuries

and some can just inflict
a nasty bite.

In all, 72 animals
can cause us damage,

but which one tops the list
of most dangerous?

Up first in the arena

is a creature
who holds the trump card

for the extraordinary.

It's fascinating, unusual
and lovable.

However, in the battlefield,

it'll take its enemy
by surprise.

This animal
baffled European scientists

when first discovered
during Australia's settlement.

The bizarre appearance
of the platypus

led the early settlers
to believe it was a fraud,

an animal that
must've been put together

by Indigenous people to
scare away the new settlers,

or put together as a joke.

This duck-billed,
beaver-tailed,

otter-footed mammal,
that also laid eggs,

could not have been
more unbelievable.

What they also learnt
was that this cute animal

was highly dangerous.

One thing about being hit by
a platypus, you remember it.

If you get spurred
by a platypus,

of course you'll get a few
mils of venom,

not a microscopic amount.

So the pain would be
absolutely extraordinary.

If a person gets spurred,
then it's a very nasty injury

and often it's on the hand
or the arm

when people try
to pick platypuses up.

And the affected part swells
up and gets very painful.

There's no antidote,
no pain relief will help.

And that pain can linger on

and not fully recover
for three to six months.

An adult platypus can measure
up to 60cm in length

and can weigh
up to three kilos.

They have more in common
with echidnas

than any other animal, both of
which are the only members

of the select group -
monotremes.

They are the only
egg-laying mammals on Earth.

The male platypuses venom
is largely unstudied.

Its spurs are located
on the hind legs,

and at first look, they don't
appear overly dangerous.

But the amount of venom
it can quickly inject

will immediately cause intense
and sustained pain.

During the mating season,

the male is aggressive
and should be avoided.

Interestingly, the platypus
does not have a stomach.

Instead, it has an esophagus
linked to the intestine.

Scientists believe that there
was a time in natural history

that there was a stomach,

but due to the soft nature
of its diet,

the stomach became redundant.

The calcaneus spur on the male
is tough and lethal.

Females also begin life
with a spur

but this falls off
in their first year.

A little known fact
is that an adult platypus

can consume
its own body weight

in less than a 24-hour period.

Found throughout
eastern mainland Australia

and Tasmania,

they are very elusive and
prefer to keep out of our way.

But when handled, look out

as this little cutie
does have a nasty punch.

as Keith Payne found out on
a fishing trip with his son.

My son and I were fishing
up at Eungella at the time,

up in the dam.

Early morning,
Mr Platypus is laying

on a partly submerged log.

Normally, when you get near
them, they just... 'pwww!',

they're gone.

But he remained there
and I picked him up

like you'd pick up a cat.

I had a look at him, he didn't
appear to have any injuries.

Put him down in the water
and his back leg went bang.

Thank you very much,
and he got me.

As soon as he hit me,
it was instantaneous.

Excruciating pain.

It was really terrible.

I had never felt pain
like it before.

This is a huge comment
from Keith.

He's a recipient
of the Victoria Cross,

which is the highest award
for bravery during wartime

for his services
in the Vietnam War.

He has suffered his fair share
of shrapnel wounds,

and whilst wounded,
he still took on the task

of rescuing injured soldiers
from the battlefield

whilst under gunfire.

But it was the supposedly
humble platypus

that stopped him
in his tracks.

The venom had already started

its nasty little progress
up my arm.

By the time I got to hospital,

my arm was completely swollen
to about here.

They immediately put me
on a drip.

They'd already given me
two shots of morphine.

Another shot of morphine

would've stopped my heart
a little bit.

I had started to go into

a rather deep
brown-to-black color.

It wasn't
a very pleasant journey.

Keith spent six days
in hospital

and suffered months of pain,
all because he got too close

to one of the world's
strangest animals.

[Nick] They have a bill
like a duck,

they have webbed feet
like a frog,

they have venom like a snake,

they regurgitate their food
rather like a cow does.

They're just a very, very
unusual, fascinating animal.

I had no idea that platypus
could do what they did.

I didn't know that they
carried a venom.

I didn't know that their most
dangerous and toxic period

is during the mating season.

These are all things
you learn after.

Everybody knows all about it
except Keith, I think.

'Oh, I knew, I knew!'
My God, did you?

Platypus have small eyes
but acute sight and hearing.

Under water,
they are blind and deaf

so rely on a sixth sense,
electroreception,

similar to sharks and rays.

A common movement
under the water

is for their head
to shake side to side

as they detect very small prey
like worms and crustaceans.

They can perform
75 dives an hour

and stay submerged
for up to 40 seconds.

They are mostly
active at night

but can be seen
in the early morning

before heading back
to their burrows to rest.

One man who knows a lot about
monotremes is James Macgregor.

His research has been
gathering information

on the health, distribution
and abundance

of platypus populations
in Tasmania.

It's a creature that you
don't often get up close to it

just from a studying
point of view.

But also they are from an
ancient group of animals.

The group of animals
have been around

for at least
a hundred million years,

probably more like
200 million years.

And they've got
so many unique features -

the laying eggs, the venom
production in the males,

the electroreception
in their bill.

They're a really unique animal

and really want to put some
effort into conserving them.

If you leave them alone,
they're not harmful at all.

Yeah, the problem comes when
people try to pick them up.

Once the venom is injected,

it is a very, very nasty thing
to happen.

Really quite excruciating pain
that nothing can relieve,

no sort of medications,
and there's no antidote,

but it can take a few months
to fully resolve.

Surprisingly, the platypus is
capable of many vocalizations

including
a soft growling sound

that if you weren't mistaken
does sound a lot

like a nasty predator.

[platypus growls]

But in reality, although
the venom is very toxic,

you have to be very unlucky

to cop a hit
off this little mammal.

[platypus growls]

Animals are competitive
by nature.

They need to be to survive.

So in keeping with the action,
we're gonna rank them

according to just how
dangerous they can be.

We'll scrutinize each one,

highlighting how
they can affect your life,

quite literally,

allowing you to decide
if you're game enough

to get as close
as some of our experts.

For an animal that the early
settlers thought was a fake,

this small mammal
certainly packs a punch

when it comes to
defending itself.

It's our first feature animal,

so it's looking strong
at number one.

But will it hold its spot?

Our next animal is small,
hairy and feared by many.

It has taken its fair share
of victims,

so it may just creep its way
to the top.

It's a lovely
Sunday afternoon.

You're kneeling on the edge
of an overgrown garden bed,

shrubs strangling
your favorite plants.

And then... you're hit.

Immense pain ensues

delivered by
the most notorious member

of the Australian
spider family -

the Sydney funnel-web.

You'll get raised blood
pressure, your eyes will run,

your nose will run,

pain around the bite site,
the muscles will squirm.

The Sydney funnel-web
contains lethal toxic venom

that, left untreated, could
mean the end of your life.

This aggressive,
predatory spider

will not shy away from a fight
if under threat,

rearing up and attacking,

deftly delivering
an intensely painful bite

with fangs long enough
to pierce human skin.

The good news
is that since the antivenin

was developed in 1981,
no deaths have been recorded.

However, prior to this,
13 people met their fate

from the fangs
of the Sydney funnel-web.

Within 30 minutes,
the lethal toxic cocktail

surges through
your lymphatic system.

You'll feel nauseous, you'll
experience profuse sweating,

weakness of the muscles
and difficulty breathing.

If you don't get to
a hospital immediately

for a shot
of lifesaving antivenin,

you're in for
a world of trouble.

Funnel-webs have a particular
toxin in their venom

that targets channels
on nerves.

And it's quite specific
to insects and primates,

interestingly enough,

and that causes
the nerves to over-fire,

to be overactive,

and this causes vastly
increased blood pressure,

and people generally die
from fluid on the lungs

or hemorrhaging.

Dr David Wilson
is a research scientist

and heads up a team
of dedicated researchers

studying these deadly
creatures.

One of the interesting things
about funnel-webs

is that they
don't need much air

and they can trap air bubbles
on their body

if they fall into water.

So particularly around Sydney
during the mating season,

males will frequently
fall into swimming pools

and look like they're dead
at the bottom of the pool.

People will scoop them out

and put them
on the side of the pool

and then half an hour,
an hour later,

the spider will be gone and
they'll think a bird got it,

but it's actually the spider's
recovered and wandered off.

Encounters with humans in
urban areas are not a rarity.

However, the Sydney
funnel-webs preferred hangout

is underground.

[David] Funnel-webs eat
insects and small lizards,

frogs, that kind of thing,

but they're favorite food
is millipedes.

They catch the millipedes

by waiting in the top
of their burrow

for the millipede to walk
across the web trip lines

at the top of the burrow.

When they detect that,
they'll rush out and grab it,

inject it with venom and pull
it back into their burrow.

It is the venom of
the male Sydney funnel-web

that contains
a unique toxic cocktail

that wreaks havoc on the
nervous system of insects,

humans and primates alike
but not of other mammals.

This is a creature of weird
science.

Fascinating and intriguing,

the Sydney funnel-web is one
of 36 species of funnel-webs

distributed up and down
the east coast of Australia.

It is also the most deadly.

Its dark, glossy body
growing up to 5cm in length

has a blanket of fine hairs

on the undercarriage
of its thorax and legs.

These fine hairs are used to
sense vibrations in the air,

alerting the spider
when to attack

and when to defend.

On top of this,
they have a great ability

to survey
all their surroundings.

Their eyes
are on the top of their head,

so when they rear up, they're
looking behind themself.

Although not as dangerous
to humans,

the female of the species
takes no prisoners

when it comes to love
and reproduction.

She is cunning,

spending most of her 25-year
life span within her burrow

patiently awaiting
prey and lovers.

On reaching sexual maturity
between five and seven years,

the male leaves his burrow
by night

in search of
female companionship.

This mystifying
moonlight romance,

one way or another,
always ends in death.

They can die either
before they mate

or after they've mated
or during mating.

Putting this concept
to the test,

picture two lethal funnel-webs
placed in a glass tank.

A female at one end,
a male at the other,

separated by
a perforated divider

allowing only
the transfer of pheromones.

I left them for a week and he
was up and down the divider

and she just stayed
in her burrow

and so I took the divider out.

The question is,
does it end in love?

And he crept over
and he was tapping on her web

and he got closer and closer
and closer.

And he got two legs
in the front of her burrow

and she just rushed up,
absolutely poleaxed him

through the middle
of his thorax.

No. It ends in tragedy.

She absolutely
annihilated him.

Encouraging breeding may
provide vital information

regarding behavior and
reproduction of this species.

But this is not the only study
Dr David Wilson and his team

are working on.

Vital research is taking place

in the study
of the complex components

that make up
the highly toxic venom

of the funnel-web spider.

[David] We're collecting venom
from Australian tarantulas

and funnel-web spiders

to look through the components

and see if we can find a
potential therapeutic lead

particularly in the treatment
of breast cancer.

This research
is in its infancy

but already harboring
some incredible results.

[David] Milking venom from
a funnel-web is quite easy

'cause all you need to do
is annoy them

and they'll rear back
and expel the venom

out onto the fang tips

and then it's just
a matter of collecting it

with a little
aspiration device.

These deadly
Australian arachnids

living silently
in moist, cool burrows

veiled behind
a funnel-shaped silken web

are not only one of
the most revered and feared

creepy-crawlies on the planet

but may hold a toxic key

to the development of future
medical breakthroughs.

But do beware -

who knows what's lurking
in your garden bed

poised to strike and send you
on an intense journey of pain?

The Sydney funnel-web is
quite possibly lurking nearby,

but although you're
unlikely to die from its bite

if you can get
medical treatment,

it's still going to push the
platypus down to number two.

The spider moves
into number one,

but it may not be for long.

Waiting at the bottom of the
ocean is a master of disguise

with its own secret weapon.

I've had bad hits
that last days.

The whole arm
was just aching everywhere.

And as soon as it hit both
my wrists, straightaway,

like my hands went
just like numb.

Couldn't move them.

I swam to the surface,
took a look at them,

tried to move them, I was
like: "Nuh, yeah, I'm done."

An expert when it comes to
the aquatic environment

and a recreational fisher,

one knows the game,
the other is a rookie,

but what they both know
is that this fish

whacks a big punch
if you get in its way.

It's one of the times
where the venom

is purely there for defense,
not to subdue prey.

Because it's purely used
for defense,

it causes extreme pain.

So animals know not to
try and feed upon it again.

Marine biologist
Richard Fitzpatrick

works with an incredible
number of venomous animals

and due to the nature
of his work

has had many an encounter
with the treacherous cobbler.

So cobblers, when you're
either scuba diving,

you put your hand
on them accidentally

or, you know,
catch them fishing,

you gotta look out
for those dorsal spines.

For Dane Shardlow,
those dorsal spines

were the beginning
of an agonizing journey -

a journey that would take him

to a new level
of extreme pain.

I was spearfishing
with the family -

my brothers, my sister, my dad
and a mate of mine.

My mate and I
got in the water first,

all geared up,
real eager to get going.

Peaceful Bay is situated

on the south coast of Western
Australia near Denmark.

It's a popular tourist
destination all year round,

and despite
the cold southern waters,

the stunning ocean setting is
one of the major drawcards.

Probably been in the water
a total of two minutes.

We come across a cobbler.

It was completely green,
all speckly,

really pretty colors,
really docile,

it just moved really casually.

[Richard]
If you're in the ocean,

there's a few
different strategies.

One is to be going quick
and chase your prey down,

or you can sit and wait
for it to come to you.

The cobbler is very much
a sit-and-wait predator.

They conserve a lot of energy

so they're battle ready
if danger presents.

[Dane] When I dove down
towards it,

it wasn't startled
or anything like that.

I had the loaded spear gun
and thought:

"This is cruel being able
to just like spear it

without it having
any sort of..."

So I thought: "Oh..."

Dane was falling into the trap
of guessing the unknown,

completely unaware
of the consequences.

I handed the spear gun off,
very foolishly, to my mate

and went to grab it.

I had gloves on,
I had a wetsuit on

which covered my wrists
really well,

like they were Kevlar gloves
sort of thing,

so I felt pretty safe.

But a wetsuit is no match
for a cobbler.

The spines are sharp,

and in defense,
this is one fish

that isn't
going to hold back.

I went in to dive down
towards it again

and I slipped my hand
underneath it

and one on top of it

and just grabbed it.

As soon as I grabbed it,

I realized just how silly
that was.

Covered in a mucus,

slipped out of my hands
really quickly.

It was starting to become
obvious to Dane

that predicting an easy target

was going to prove
to be a massive mistake.

[Dane] I think I had hold
of it with one hand.

It managed to hit me
on my left wrist

with its side barb.

So they've got the two there
and then the one on top.

And then hit me there
with the one on the top.

And that one was searing.

The cobbler,
also known as a catfish,

is endemic to Australia.

It's a member
of the scorpion fish family,

but this family member

lives in the cooler waters
of the country.

Like all the scorpion fish,

the dorsal spines have a venom
sac at the base of each spine

and these spines are like
a hypodermic needle.

The cobbler also has
serrated and poisonous spines

embedded in the pectoral fins.

[Richard]
So if you are fishing

and catch a cobbler
and you're trying to handle it

to get it off the hook

and it hits you with
one of those spines,

you're gonna get, one,
the trauma

from the spine going in,
which hurts a lot,

and then the venom will go in
as well.

[Dane] I swam backwards
for a little bit,

then rolled onto my side and
just gunned it for the shore.

Feeling a little safer
closer to shore,

he stood up and tried
to pull his gloves off

but realized
he didn't have the strength

to hold onto anything.

I stood there just waiting for
someone to come and help me.

And I managed to get my mate
to pull my gloves off

and then at that point,

the blood just started
bubbling out of the two holes

that I'd been punctured by.

On the initial puncture,

the heat just swelled through
both forearms.

Like I could feel the flush
through the forearm

and it just seemed to travel
straight up.

It didn't go outwards
to my fingertips -

it just felt like it hit in

and then just went up
through my forearm.

I felt like Popeye -
big, heavy forearm.

By now,
his family had come over

to find out what was going on.

But not having any experience
with the cobbler

or heard of any incident
over the years,

it was basically
a case of toughen up.

Dane was desperate
to know more.

And I was thinking like:
"I'm really not sure

how poisonous these are,
I really need to check."

But I couldn't even
work my phone

to try and type in, you know,
to Google.

Whilst Dane
was trying to discover

how to make the pain stop,

the rest of his family were
back enjoying the ocean,

only momentarily distracted
by Dane's attack.

Two hours later,
they came out of the water

and I was just
in the fetal position,

just like trying to put
pressure on my forearms

and it just wasn't working.

No matter what I seemed to do,

it was just searing,
like really, really agonizing.

About six hours after
the excruciating jabs,

the pain
still wasn't subsiding.

He knew he needed
medical treatment.

When you're jabbed by
a cobbler, it hurts a lot.

So the best first aid is
to put it into warm water

and then slowly
build up the heat

and then leave it in there
as long as possible.

Quickly responding
to Dane's arrival,

the nurse was anxious

that he had taken so long
to get to hospital.

[Dane] She said that with
any marine or aquatic poison,

you really need to be quick
getting on top of it.

For probably about
half an hour to 45 minutes,

I was taking my hands
in and out of this hot water

and the further I could get my
arms in, the better it felt.

So I was submerging my arms up
to my elbows in this basin

trying to ease the pain.

And it would seem I'd get
maybe two minutes of relief

and then the water would cool

and the pain would
just be back again.

Just that waiting,
that few minutes

in between each time
she came and saw me

was just like, oh,
just head back:

"Come on, I need this
to get over with."

[Richard] Depends on
how bad the sting is.

I've had bad hits
that last days.

And, you know, the whole arm
was just aching everywhere

as a result

and, yeah,
just as often as possible,

you just go have a hot shower
and try and get the edge off.

It's interesting,
when you take the limb

straight out of the hot water,

pain comes
straight back again.

So, yeah,
it's not a nice thing.

Unbeknown to Dane,
his pain was exasperated

as the barbs of the cobbler

were still stuck
in his wrists.

He was soon to realize
the importance

of getting professional help.

[Dane] She put these...
not suction cups

but something on my wrist
that drew out the venom

and so the first things that
came out were the two barbs

and they were these two
like splinter-looking things

that then had like a long
string of mucus to them.

So when she started pumping
these little things out,

these strands of mucus
and venom came out

that I thought was disgusting,
like they had been in my wrist

and up in my body
for the last six hours.

And when that all came out,
it was like instant relief,

like the pain really subsided.

Yeah, they gave me
the shot of adrenaline

and I felt a million bucks.

I went from
not being able to move

and just hating the world

to, yep, it's time to like,
let's go dance,

let's go do something.

The barbs were like
a few millimeters long.

I really felt like I'd been
able to get that out.

But, yeah, the barbs were in

and then the mucus strain
or poison strain

that was thick and yellow
and just attached to it,

it was disgusting
watching that come out.

I had no concept that
there'd still be something

in the actual wound.

There was bleeding.

It wasn't like they'd sealed
up or anything like that.

With the barbs and mucus
of the cobbler removed,

Dane was left with what felt
like really dull bruising,

as though he'd been hammered
on both wrists.

It was nothing compared to

what that original pain was,
that initial pain.

No, it won't kill.
It just causes a lot of pain.

The only times you get deaths
from scorpion fish families

is with the stonefish.

The stonefish has the extreme
end of the venom spectrum.

But even then, it's very rare

to get fatalities
from stonefish.

It's mainly the injuries
are just extremely painful.

The cobbler,
like most scorpion fish,

have disruptive
color patterns,

so they have
really good camouflage,

perfect for taking their prey
by surprise.

They're just sitting there
waiting for a little fish

to swim by
just that little too close

and then bang,
they'll swallow it.

And they'll generally
engulf their prey

in like one-twentieth
of a second.

I've got scars all over me
from different stuff,

different things, but this was
stupidity at its best.

After four long days,
the pain had subsided

but the wounds
were far from looking good.

The puncture points
were heavily infected.

[Dane] They were pussy
and they were quite terrible

so it wasn't any more a matter
of the pain I was getting,

it was now that
these punctures

were blistery and yucky.

It would raise
almost like a pimple

and you'd squeeze it and
pus and that would come out.

And it wasn't like whitish
or anything like that,

it was just yucky,
mucusy-looking crap

that was not at all enjoyable.

Six months after the event,

Dane was left with
two very small scars.

I kind of see it as a
"you got yours" sort of thing.

Obviously had I not grabbed
it, I'd have speared it

and it's kinda like
a bit of a karma thing

and I definitely believe
that karma

is deserved
every now and then.

So, yeah, I feel like, yep,

I've probably earned that
over the time.

One to the fish.

The cobbler may have triumphed

but not enough
to take it to the top.

The Sydney funnel-web will
hold its spot at number one.

However, the platypus takes
a dive down to number three

as it's unlikely
to swim your way.

The cobbler nestles in
between at number two

as there's a greater chance
you'll meet this beast.

But about to take the
spotlight is and animal

who will get you without you
even knowing it's there.

All it takes
is one tiny miniscule hair

hardly visible
to the human eye

and bam, the agony
is overwhelming,

relentless and ghastly.

You're in for intense pain,

followed by intense itching...

..and hives and rash

and, oh,
they're a horrible thing.

Really, really painful
and irritating,

horrible little thing.

Known throughout tropical
and central Australia

as the itchy grub,

this common caterpillar
may be small in size

but it packs a big punch if
you happen to get in its way.

When one sort of brushes
against your skin,

you normally get them across
the back of your neck

because you're normally
ducking underneath a branch

or something like that.

And you just feel it

like a bit like
prickly heat sensation.

This creature is not
out looking to attack.

It's more a case of walking
past the wrong tree

at the wrong time.

The prickly heat sensation
is the first warning sign.

Then the welts
start to develop -

this is the confirmation
you've been hit.

You're going to be itchy.

You know you need to
try and resist scratching.

It's torturous assault
from an unknown enemy.

You really know it
in the middle of the night,

you wake up, you scratch
the tops off the welts,

you're bleeding,
you got blood on your fingers

and blood
all over your pillow,

blood all over your sheets.

And you're just in
intense, agonizing pain

and there's nothing
you can do about it.

There are several species
of itchy grub,

all to be avoided.

The freshwater mangrove
itchy caterpillar

which, as its name suggests,

lives in
the freshwater mangroves

that line the banks of
the creeks and river systems

in the tropics
of Top End Australia.

Yellowy brown in color
and covered in fine hairs,

they can be found
hanging on a silken thread

from the branches
of the freshwater mangrove,

which is also
their preferred food source.

The bag-shelter moth,
or processionary caterpillar,

is also to be given
a wide berth.

They are a large caterpillar
black in color

with a long hairy appearance

and can often be seen in an
incredible processionary march

across the landscape.

End to end,
never straying from the line,

regimented, a spectacle
to be admired from a distance.

So, yeah,
I got hit on Saturday

about two o'clock
in the afternoon

and the whole from my shoulder

down to about
the middle of my back's

covered in a big patch
of rash.

And I honestly thought I only
got hit on the shoulder,

but obviously I've scratched
it and dragged it all down.

Dion is the curator of zoology

at the Northern Territory
Wildlife Park,

so his line of work
often puts him in the bush

and into contact
with these caterpillars.

But beware -
they are everywhere.

You don't even need to head
out of town to find them.

[Dion] These little grubs,

when they pupate
into a little orange moth,

the scales on the moth's legs
and the scales on the wings

are also severely irritating,

and they'll land
on your washing.

If you've got
a line on at night

and the light is shining
on your washing,

it's an invitation
to the devil.

They'll sit on your sheets,

fully illuminated
although often unnoticed,

polluting your washing
with fine hairs,

possibly even laying eggs.

When you put your sheets
on your bed

and you lie in the bed and:
"Oh... oh..."

You know straightaway. D'oh!

Rip the sheets off, new load
of sheets and away you go.

The life cycle is short lived

although they are capable of
forming into large colonies

that look similar to a
stocking hanging in a tree.

The stocking-like formation

is attached to
the branch of the tree

with silken threads.

Inside are masses
of itchy grubs.

[Dion] And, yeah,
you really wouldn't want to

bump into one of those.

That'd be just shocking.

Whilst the itchy grub
is unlikely to be fatal,

they can cause swelling
of the eyes and throat

so medical attention
can be necessary.

Ice packs, soothing lotions
and antihistamines

are often recommended
to aid the recovery,

but generally you just have to
endure the pain.

All it takes is one grub
hanging off one silk thread.

If it brushes against
the back of your neck,

you're in for a wild ride.

[Dion] One silk thread

with one little
tiny caterpillar on it

and it just brushes against
the back of your neck and...

[inhales sharply]

Ugh, it's horrible.

Really, really, really
annoyingly painful

and horrible.

It really wrecks your weekend.

If you're out
fishing somewhere

and you bump into one
and you're camping,

it's... like your weekend's
going to be hell.

Taking you to hell and back
will see this small grub

climb the ranks
into second position,

shoving the cobbler
and platypus

down to third and fourth.

The deadly spider will hold
tight at number one,

but its match may be met

by a deceivingly
placid aggressor.

Don't be fooled by the relaxed
pace of the gwardar.

It may lure you in, let you
think it's a little tired,

that it's not
going to bite you,

but beware, this is one snake
that has been built for speed

and, when cornered,
moves like lightning.

Over logs and scrub, he can
quickly outrun a human

across rough terrain.

In the open, on a straight bit
of grass and that,

you would outrun him
but it'd be close.

His reflexes
are very switched on.

As soon as it sees movement,
it's gotta react

and it's a nervous reaction.

This is a snake that will at
all times run away really fast

but when he's cornered,
he will rear up

and that's when he will
aggressively defend himself.

If cornered, he's nervous
and he'll bite anything.

Gary Davies has been
interested in snakes

for as long
as he can remember

and now spends
much of his time

educating both children
and adults

about staying safe around
these often-maligned reptiles.

The layman can't generally
tell the difference,

so treating all snakes
as venomous

and leaving them alone
is your best bet.

If you've got some way of
telling a venomous

from non-venomous

and there's a snake that
doesn't suit your mold,

you can make a mistake
very quickly.

Its venom is
a highly potent neurotoxin

that contains a procoagulant.

Once bitten, the procoagulant
at the bite site

suggests that effect that
the blood wants to clot,

so the body sends out
a thinning agent

which unfortunately
over-thins the blood,

so that it is no longer
able to clot.

The upshot is that the victim
then hemorrhages

from everywhere they can
possibly hemorrhage from

and this massive bleeding
if not treated immediately

will most likely
result in death.

The gwardar grows to roughly
1.5m

Occasionally a little bigger,
although this is quite rare.

In relation to envenomation,

it's the larger snakes that
have the larger venom yield,

but it doesn't matter so much

about the quantity of
the venom they pump in

as these are one of the most
potent snakes in Australia

and are venomous
from the day they hatch.

The smallest gwardar that
actually killed an adult human

was 60cm long.

And that killed an adult male.

Often people get bitten
by mistaken identity.

And unfortunately
there was a fatality in Broome

for someone who'd
mistaken one of these

for a black-headed python
and picked it up

and was bitten
and paid the ultimate price.

It's really a venom you
want to avoid at all costs.

A member
of the brown snake family,

the gwardar is also commonly
known as a western brown

and can be found
through the middle

as well as across
the top half of Australia

from coast to coast.

The brown snakes,

including the eastern brown
and the dugite

are a dominant species
in Australia.

Collectively, these snakes
have the country covered

and are responsible for most
of the snakebite deaths

across the land.

It's killed a lot,

but on average we have
two deaths a year

Australia-wide by snakebites

so it's not
a high number already.

But the vast majority of those

have been from
the western brown.

So if you work on about
two deaths on average

over the last 30 years,

and a high percentage of them
have been from this.

But we've not talking large
numbers anyway of deaths,

not in Australia,

because we have
such good medical facilities

for snakebite.

Gwardar is the Aboriginal name
for this snake

and for thousands of years,

Indigenous Australians have
had this snake worked out.

Their advice
is still the best there is.

Gwardar actually translates to
"go the long way round".

It was how
they taught their kids -

if you see this snake,
you go the long way around.

Going the long way around
is wise,

even if you think
it may not be a gwardar

as this snake
is difficult to identify,

especially when it's
zipping along the ground.

Long and slender
is a good clue,

but there are
so many variables.

One of the worst
identification tools is color.

This one is black and orange
with bands and a black head.

But you can get them straw
brown, chocolate brown,

you can get an orange one
with a black head.

They just have
so many different color forms.

Typical is these orange spots
going up the whole belly.

If you can see those orange
spots on his belly there,

that's real typical
of a gwardar - belly spots.

But as an identification tool,

if you're looking
at the belly,

you're usually too close.

The gwardar is an elapid snake
so it has fixed front fangs

that are like
hypodermic needles

from which the venom
is injected.

These fangs
are quite small in size,

thus making it hard
to see the puncture marks.

Plus the bite
is usually quite painless,

so the telltale signs of
attack are often negligible

until the effects of the venom
take control.

This family of snakes have
replacement teeth on stand-by

should they lose
their front fangs.

These develop
along the jawline

and can be rotated into place.

Curiously, every so often,

the snake will stop in its
tracks and realign its jaw.

Its favorite food is mice.

And since the introduction
of mice into Australia,

the western brown snake's
population

has grown dramatically
in populated areas.

Combine this, its love for
hiding in nooks and crannies,

its agility and aggression
when cornered

and venom amongst
the most potent in the world,

it's no wonder that the
gwardar has been responsible

for most of the snakebite
deaths in Australia.

If he's sitting on the path
and he's in your way,

you go the long way around.

The Aboriginal people
taught their kids

to leave this snake alone,
and we should do the same.

Showcasing the new leader,
enter the gwardar.

This is one snake
that's taken its toll.

It knocks the Sydney
funnel-web to second

with a cannonball effect
down the list

for our other animals.

But stampeding into the arena

is an animal whose advantage
is brute force.

It's also quite curious.
But keep your distance.

Yeah, like any big animal,

they can be dangerous,
there's no doubt about that.

If you corner a buffalo

or if you come between
a cow and her calf,

they'll definitely defend it
with a ferocity.

They can be quite aggressive.

With surprising agility
for such a big brute,

a hide almost two inches thick
and large flat feet

roughly double the size
of the hooves of cattle,

this is one menacing animal to
be observed from a distance.

[Matt] If you push a bull

or if you annoy him
or if you get close to him,

yeah, they'll chase you
up a tree.

Matt Kelman lives and works

alongside
these imposing beasts

at Carmor Plains -
an outback property

neighboring
Kakadu National Park

in Australia's Top End.

At over a thousand acres,

this property boasts a
magnificent array of birdlife,

wild boar, the ever present
saltwater crocodile

and of course water buffalo.

The floodplains provide
the perfect lifestyle

for the water buffalo.

But this isn't the place
for the fainthearted.

This is an adventure.

Had numerous buffalo
chase the motorbike.

They hate motorbikes.

I think it's probably
the noise or something,

just that bit different
to a vehicle.

They won't take
much provocation

to chase a quad bike.

[buffalo brays]

Water buffalo
were introduced to Australia

in the 19th century.

Just 80 animals were brought
over from Indonesia

to support remote
northern communities.

Almost two centuries later,

there are well over 150,000
inhabiting the wetlands

of the Territory.

Whilst they are destructive
to the environment,

they've made this land
their home,

adapting to all conditions.

[Matt] They can run
like a rocket.

But because they're
out in that mud,

that wet mud's that deep,
it's just bottomless,

and they've got huge feet

that'll help them move through
the mud.

And then some of the buffalo
we've seen in the airboat

are in a meter of water.

So it's incredibly hard
to walk through it

and a lot of it's all tangled
in grass, so they lunge,

they kinda lunge through it,
they jump through it.

But, yeah, on hard, dry land

water buffalo's probably
faster than Brahman.

Incredibly fast.

Over a short distance,
they're insanely quick.

Water buffaloes
are quite long living,

with cows reaching
roughly 25 to 30 years.

For bulls,
it's a little shorter -

to around 20 years.

The bulls are generally
bigger all over

and their horns
are a lot thicker.

A big bull averages
around 800 to 900 kilos

and a cow probably
pushes up around 650 kilos.

Clearly a massive animal,
but, despite its bulk,

is capable of surprising

anyone who is
a little too close.

As a rule,
it is quite inquisitive.

It'll want to know
what you're up to.

But even wild buffalo are
naturally curious, you know.

They'll come over
and check something out.

Yeah. Yeah. Just can't
help themselves. Yeah.

But often you get a bull,
if he's curious,

he'll come over, have a look

and then he might
get himself in a situation

where then he's forced to
attack something or someone.

These beasts will often snort
or bellow before they charge.

Plus their body language
is quite recognizable

when irritated.

Taking quite
a majestic stance,

they'll start to
shark their head.

Then a bull
will typically drop his nose

to show off his horns.

If you see these signs
beforehand,

you can probably get yourself
out of danger.

But there isn't
always a warning.

People that have
been killed by buffalo,

it's often the case where
it's an unseen animal,

it's a cow.

You know, they might've
been watching a bull

that was appearing
to be aggressive

and a cow will
come out of a herd.

And whether it be fellas
working in yards

or whether it be
out in the paddock,

the cow might have
a calf planted

right where someone's
working on a fence

and he doesn't even know that
and the cow will flatten them.

If you're out in the bush
by yourself working,

if it's a bad injury,
you're done for.

A lot of guys who work with
them, with the export trade,

have been horned or gored.

A lot of people
survive the injury

if someone's there to help
chase the bull away.

There has been a number
of deaths over the years.

Not something to be
messed around with.

Defying the buffalo's
dangerous persona

is possibly Australia's
best known water buffalo -

the much-loved Charlie
who co-starred with Paul Hogan

in the hit movie
Crocodile Dundee.

Charlie gave up
the glitz and glamour

of his Hollywood career

to retire at
the Adelaide River Inn,

about an hour's south
of Darwin,

where he was still able
to bask in the limelight.

He was very friendly, guests
could come along and ride him,

so they used to go for walks
around in his pen

and he used to be patted a lot

by all the guests
coming through.

He used to
hang out the front there

and he used to greet tourists.

They used to be able to
pat him, ride him, feed him.

His favorite thing to eat
was carrot cake.

So he was just
an all-round star.

Charlie, his stage name,
known as Nick before stardom,

was found as a poddy calf
on the side of the road

and rescued by a local

who took him
to the Darwin Zoo.

It was during
his time at the zoo

that he was selected
for Crocodile Dundee,

Weighing in at 1,000 kilos
with a horn width of 2.25m,

he was an ideal choice

to play the wild
and ferocious buffalo.

Charlie was 30 years old
when he passed away

which is quite old
for a buffalo.

He actually suffered with
an illness towards the end.

He had pneumonia,
so he had to be put down.

Otherwise he'd probably
still be living on.

On carrot cake, yeah.

Even though Charlie
was hand-reared

and certainly well tamed,

he was still a young bull

during the
Crocodile Dundee movies

and was pacified with
medication whilst on set

just as a precaution.

As with so many wild animals,

predicting their behavior
can put your own life at risk.

Trust is a human trait.

The expectation that animals
will toe the line

on this characteristic
is not a given.

Always be cautious.

With a big animal,

they deserve
a certain amount of respect.

They'll charge
just unprovoked.

There's no bluff. They will
come right through.

You just have to get
out of the way if you can.

If you don't
get out of the way,

the water buffalo
could end it all.

But not enough
to take it any further

than third in the arena.

This tumbles the itchy grub,
cobbler and platypus

further down the rankings,

whilst the Sydney funnel-web
spider clings to second spot

behind the indisputable
top stakeholder -

the nervous
but deadly gwardar.

"Keeping a wide berth" is
the Aboriginal terminology

for this animal,

but it is great advice
for all 72 of our animals.

So the countdown begins.

We've previously featured six
of our 72 dangerous animals

already claiming their spots
in the top ten state of play.

However, not all of them
will maintain their lineup.

There are now 12 animals vying
for these ten key positions.

The bull shark has first claim
to number one.

It'll most likely attack if
you're swimming nearby

and attack to kill,

so, without a doubt,
it holds the crown.

The dugite is a member
of the brown snake family

as is the gwardar, but it
pushes the dugite to third.

Both highly venomous,
both could kill you,

but the gwardar is incredibly
widespread across the country

and has claimed more victims
so it slides in at number two.

The Johnston's crocodile
is not to be messed with

and will defend itself,
inflicting horrible wounds.

It'll hold its spot
at number four.

However,
the Sydney funnel-web spider

is going to push its way in
at number five,

with the water buffalo
charging right behind

into number six,

bumping the irukandji
down to seven.

The irukandji is capable

of causing excruciating pain
for days on end,

so it's not budging
from its spot.

Nor is the sawfish, settling
in at number eight,

followed by the cane toad
at nine.

Taking the tenth spot
on the list

is the horrendously nasty
itchy grub.

One hair and your life changes
to scratching marathon

of red welts and seemingly
endless pain.

An impressive list
of dangerous animals,

but our next program

will introduce six more
players to the arena

and change the state of play

in the search
for the most dangerous.

With all of
our Australian animals,

there is a fear factor.

But keep in mind
they're unlikely to harm you

unless you're unlucky enough
or foolish enough

to get in their way.

Be cautious,
take note of the warnings

and show respect

as we count down the list

of 72 Dangerous Animals
Australia.

Captions by CSI Australia