All language subtitles for B.W.S03E11.Snapping.Turtles.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

I'm Coyote Peterson,
welcome to "Dragon Tails."

April 18 right now-- the
last time you guys saw me,

it was freezing cold out here.

My ears were turning
red and I was dreaming

about the monsters that
live under the water

here at Thoreau Lake.

And now, as you can see,
the birds are out singing,

beautiful blue sky, it's warm.

And it's time to get our hands
on some prehistoric looking

turtles.

All great stories begin
within the pages of a book.

And this tale is no different.

As a child, my introduction
to the snapping turtle

came through an old
weathered book titled

"Men of the Mississippi."

It was the story of a tiny
turtle who spent his life

traveling the length
of the Mississippi

River eventually growing into
an enormous ancient looking

creature--

a creature that to any
child's imagination

was, without question, a dragon.

That's totally me, right
there, as a little kid,

catching small snapping turtles,
putting them in little cans,

and keeping them for
a couple of days.

It totally brings back
some crazy memories.

And this is perfectly
representative of the turtles

that live out here in
Thoreau Lake and a lot

of the snapping
turtles that I'm going

to get you up close with on this
first season of "Dragon Tails."

Men's epic voyage ignited a
fire of curiosity in my mind

and I began researching tales
of these enormous turtles.

Hours were spent in the
library reading old articles,

examining aging photographs,
absorbing the folklore,

and daydreaming
about one day having

my own white whale encounter.

There was no question,
snapping turtles had

me in the jaws of their legend.

As a child, I caught
many snapping turtles.

But it wasn't until
a few years ago

when my education
in video production

gave me the chance to
start putting my dragon

tales in front of a camera.

These videos are what
led me to breaking trail.

I got it!

It's a big turtle!

And it was your love for
those animal encounters

which is now giving me the
chance to follow my dream

of creating Dragon Tails.

That is the common
snapping turtle.

And he is about the
size of the dinosaur.

A series of adventures that
follows a trail of mystery

and folklore in the
hopes of finding

a world record snapping turtle.

Every time that I come
out into the environment,

I like to just sit back and
absorb it, take it all in.

I'm the stranger here right now.

I'm not a natural part
of this ecosystem.

But I'm going to come
in and I'm going to get

close with its animal life.

So I like to just absorb myself
in the moment, touch the water,

feel the mud, become
one with everything

that I'm about to get into.

And it's scary.

You guys might wonder what
it's like to get on a kayak

and jump off into water
that's over your head

with a giant predatory reptile.

It drives your nerves,
that's for sure.

A lot of adrenaline,
and you just

hope that the
environment releases

you when it's all done.

Because you can disappear
underneath the water

and the mud.

Welcome to Thoreau Lake,
a thriving ecosystem

set within Blendon Woods
Metro Park and the place

where I've been
researching a population

of common snapping turtles
for the past five years.

All right.

So right now,
we're going to take

a little tour around the
outside of Thoreau Lake.

This is the largest
body of water

here at Blendon
Woods Metro Park.

And buried down in that
water, in that mud,

is some enormous
snapping turtles.

In total, this body of
water is a refuge to over 30

of these mud dragons.

And I adore each and
every one of them.

I love these turtles the
way you might love your dog,

your cat, or your children.

I know it sounds odd,
maybe even a little crazy,

but these turtles are my
inspiration for adventure.

They are part of my being,
and they define who I am.

We are proud to call
our Columbus Metro Parks

home to some of the largest
common snapping turtles

on record in the United States.

But none of them have
garnered a celebrity following

like that of Cornelius.

That's right, he even
has his own sign.

I think I see a big turtle.

People of all ages

travel for miles to
visit the viewing

shelter at Blendon Woods.

Binoculars in
hand, they peer out

across the water
in anticipation,

hoping to catch a glimpse
of this ancient turtle

as his massive shadow silently
drifts beneath the surface.

Ask anyone you know
and I guarantee they

have a snapping turtle story.

It was as big as a truck tire.

It's jaws broke a
broomstick in half.

It could have sunk my
boat if it wanted to.

The tales are grand,
taller than the trees,

and they deserve to be told.

I always have a good pair
of binoculars with me

whenever I come out here
looking for turtles.

Because this allows
me to see these

turtles from quite a distance.

You can't catch
a snapping turtle

if you can't sneak up on it.

So what I'm looking for is
just a little head or the nose

sticking up out of the water.

I can spot it with
the binoculars,

stay completely still, wait for
that turtle to submerge back

down, and then I go after it.

Let's keep moving so we can
get up close with the turtle.

The footage you're
about to witness

is historic in the sense that
it is the first time I was

ever filmed catching an animal.

But more importantly, it
is the first time that I

ever encountered Cornelius.

It was a moment that
I would never forget.

No other turtle in Thoreau Lake
challenges his massive size,

bone crushing power,
and timeless wisdom,

crowning him king in this
muddy realm of dragons.

It often takes me days
of waiting and searching

before I have an encounter.

And even then, he is nearly
impossible to capture.

His incredible
strength and speed

allow him to
disappear in the murk

like a phantom in the darkness.

Now the water is crystal clear.

And this is absolutely perfect.

And the reason that we look for
snapping turtles in the spring

is because the plant
life hasn't yet grown in.

Once those plants grow
in, the turtles are

incredibly difficult to find.

And right now, without
any plants on the surface,

that's how we're going
to catch these guys.

In my many years catching
snapping turtles,

I've learned that the best way
to land a dragon is by sneaking

up on them in a kayak.

Even that is a challenge.

And it's all about
being in the right place

at exactly the right
time, especially

if I'm hoping to have an
encounter with Cornelius.

Once the plant life grows
in, you can forget about it.

At that point, he's
nothing more than a myth.

Whoa!

And this is, without
question, the legendary turtle

named Cornelius still
lives here in Thoreau Lake.

And he is an absolute dragon.

Look at the size of that
turtle, he's enormous.

He's so big, he was
sinking the boat.

He pulled me out of
the side of the boat.

I lost the oar.

Nice.

And you cannot land a much
bigger turtle than this.

Hey, buddy.

It makes me so happy to
see that he is healthy

and that he has made it through
the winter with no problems.

Look at the size of
that snapping turtle.

That is a massive,
massive snapping turtle.

OK, wow.

And that is the turtle that is
my personal folklore legend.

I caught this turtle for the
first time five years ago

and he nearly brought
me down in the sink mud.

And here we are today showing
him for you on "Dragon Tails."

This is one of the largest
common snapping turtles

on record in the United States.

Look at the size of his head.

It's about the
size of a softball.

If you get your hands stuck
in the mouth of snapping

turtle like this,
you're not going

to be getting your hand back.

Look at those claws Cornelius,
can we see your claws?

His hand is as big as my hand.

And he's got claws about
the size of an eagle.

And he is angry because he
has just woken up for the year

to get ready to hunt and
look to continue his reign

as the King of Thoreau Lake.

And you don't get
much larger than that

for a comet snapping turtle.

Look at that.

Oh, yeah.

Man-- and then I can always tell
that this is Cornelius based

on these large ridges that
he has on the top of his eyes

and his very
distinct orange beak

that you see up front here.

Look at the length
of the neck there.

Now, snapping turtle can
reach about that far.

So I know I'm at
a safe distance.

And I'm just trying to get him
to want my hand in his mouth

so you guys can see this
prehistoric looking neck.

Yes, no biting, no biting,
Cornelius, no biting.

Nothing makes me more happy
every spring than to come out

here and catch Cornelius
to see that this incredibly

prehistoric giant creature
is living and thriving

here in Thoreau Lake.

It's really
important that we get

his measurements now
to see where he lands

on this season's top dragons.

All right, hold on a second,
I'm going to put them down.

Watch your camera, back it
up there just a little bit.

He will go after you.

And now Cornelius may
be over 50 pounds,

so we're going to use the 100
pound scale at this point.

All right, Cornelius,
now the part

that you really don't like.

We're going to get into the bag.

I know, I know.

He's done this several times.

Now, I know he's not
at his top weight

right now because
it is literally

the beginning of spring.

And as summer goes on and they
eat more fish and more frogs,

more snakes, more
ducklings, more goslings,

he will get bigger
and bigger in weight.

Right now, I'm guessing he's
probably just under 50 pounds.

So we're going to
play a little game

that's called dragon in a bag.

In you go there, buddy.

I know, I know.

Walk it in, walk
it in, there we go.

All right, here we go.

I'm lifting up, all
the way off the ground?

Yeah.

Wow,
there you have it.

Cornelius is clocking in
at 48 pounds right now.

48 is not bad, though,
considering he's

just woken up from hibernation.

I doubt he's had much
more than a couple

of fish meals at this point.

But he is an unbelievably
healthy common snapping

turtle and a true mud dragon.

One of my best friends.

I love you, buddy.

I'm so glad that you
are safe and sound

after that long grueling winter.

Cornelius is the most amazing
animal I have ever encountered.

He's everything that
fascinates me about nature.

He defines who I am.

He was my first white whale.

I love the fact that I
got to share it with you.

And I hope you
enjoyed his company,

even if he was a little grumpy.

The world of snapping turtles
is shrouded in mystery.

Folklore surrounding the
common snapping turtle

has captivated
minds for centuries.

But to encounter the largest
turtle legends in North

America, we had to travel
South, deep into the backwaters

of Louisiana.

These slow moving creeks
and vast waterways

are home to the one and only
alligator snapping turtle.

I was confident that by
trudging through the murky

waters of the bottoms
that I would eventually

run into a giant turtle.

But as the sun drifted
across the sky,

several hours had
passed and I was

hitting nothing but dead ends.

I understand now
why Adam uses traps

in these rivers-- safe
traps, the hoop traps.

The water's dark and murky.

And it has you on edge
every single second.

Like, I feel exhausted
just from trudging,

you know, around a few bends.

It's just-- it's
not like catching

common snapping turtles,
I'll tell you that much.

I refuse to give up.

Hold on, hold on, I got
something right here.

I'm the guy who always
catches the turtles, right?

Log.

I don't know how I'm
going to be able to catch

one of these turtles in
a situation like this.

I really don't.

It was time for location change.

And just as we were
getting ready to pack up,

our luck looked as if
it was about to change.

This guy's pretty quick, right?
- Yeah.

That's a rat snake.

It's pretty good sized. yeah,
that's a black rattlesnake.

So something you may
mistake for a water

moccasin, which it is not.

And he's just staying completely
still right now, obviously

not really well-camouflaged.

My eye just caught a dark
shape and I was like, OK,

there is a snake.

Non-venomous, so this should
be a very safe capture.

They very rarely bite.

It looks really
skinny, actually.

They are, sometimes,
pretty quick.

Nice.

Oh, he's kind of rearing up,
saying, what are you doing?

Are you going to bite?
Not going to bite?

Not going to bite?
OK.

Be gentle.

Oh, shunk!

Ow!

Yeah, he bit me.

Jeez, he did a
number on my hand.

Now, these snakes actually
will constrict their meal.

So let's say I'm a
little rat running

around out here in the swamps.

I come across the
snake, I take a bite,

this snake is going
to wrap itself around

really quick, constrict,
cut off the circulation

and the air flow.

And then he's got his meal.

Pretty cool find to just come
across a big black rattle

snake like this.

This is tough.

I got to admit it, guys.

I'm good at catching
common snapping turtles.

So far, not so much with the
alligator snapping turtle.

The water's deep.

The water is dark.

And these turtles
stay on the bottom.

I can't get to the bottom.

I mean, every body of
water we've been in

has pushed the
limits of the waders.

That is an enormous
bubble trail.

We definitely just
scared something.

We are not alone.

It's becoming frustrating.

We've been here for
a couple of days now.

And so far, I have absolutely
nothing to show for it.

With light getting low, we
decided to change the strategy.

According to Adam, alligator
snapping turtles become

much more active at night.

And he was going to
take us to the place

where he's encountered
some enormous turtles.

I've been out looking for
common snapping turtles

at night in ponds.

But heading up a stream looking
for a giant alligator snapping

turtle is definitely new for me.

I've been fishing this
creek since I was eight.

Now, how many turtles have
you caught in this body of water

in that amount of time?

I know I've caught 10 over
100 pounds out of this creek

right here.

Wow, 10 turtles
over 100 pounds?

And I've probably call
50 or 60 between 80, 90.

A bunch of big
turtles in this creek.

Just follow me, I know this
creek like the back of my hand.

OK.

We're in your hands, man.

Let's do this.

Let's find some dragons.

As we began to explore
upstream, my mind

raced with anticipation.

The thought of capturing
a 100-pound turtle

in the dark of night
was all I could imagine.

The stream was alive with
creatures, some of which

we could have done without.

There are spiders all
over the place out here.

That may be the largest fishing
spider I have seen in my life.

This, ladies and gentlemen,
is what we would consider

a biological landmine,
not something

you just want to run into out
here in the backwoods creeks.

Whoa, jeez, he's heavy.

Did that make you jump?

It made a splash.

It looks like a head is
about to rise up out of there.

I think we would have
moved at this point.

Look at how deceiving
that shape is.

You've got-- this looks
just like a nose, looks

like the big back of the head.

I mean, from a
distance across there

with the flashlight
on it, I thought

what I saw was an alligator
snapping turtles head coming

up from underneath this log.

That's that moment
where your heart goes--

it skips a beat and you're
like, holy cow, this is it.

This is where we're
going to get our dragon.

But of course, it's just
an algae covered log.

The clock was ticking and
our time left in Louisiana

was disappearing like
silt in the current.

Maybe Adam was right,
my capture techniques

might not work with a
creature that spent its life

on the bottom of a river.

I'm beginning to think that
your method with the hoop traps

might be the way to go.

But I'm determined
to prove that I

can catch one of these turtles.

When you set a hoop trap,
it sits and disperses

the scent of bait for hours,
slowly luring in the turtles.

Basically, the trap
does all the work.

You could spend
hours, literally days,

walking the creeks and rivers.

I got one.

Adam, does this count?

That's another strikeout.

Only to come across
nothing but shadows

in the ripples of water.

It's pretty murky in here.
Mark!

Mark!
Yeah?

I got a turtle!

It's definitely a turtle
and it's not small.

Where are you?

I'm
underneath these logs!

Big turtle, hold on, hold on.

He's underneath this log.

Oh my God, just
hold these right here.

Hold on, hold on.

Do you have him?

Do you have the right in?

Yeah, there's the tail.

There's the tail.

Do you see them?

Yeah.

Oh, that is a good
sized turtle, yes, Here,

come back up this way,
come around, come around.

He is unbelievably strong.

There's his head.

There's his head.

Look at that.

That is it.

That is the alligator
snapping turtle.

Something went way
over my waders.

Wow.

Let's bring him up on this log.

Got to keep him propped
straight at you on the log.

OK, I'm going to try
to hold him there.

He is so unbelievably strong.

Wow, look at the
size of that turtle.

This is so much bigger than
the common snapping turtles

that I catch in Ohio.

Wow.

I'm guessing-- I'm guessing
he's got to beat about

50 pounds would be my guess.

What do you think?

Look about 50 pounds to you?

Around 50, 45, 50 ponds.

45, 50?

You know, the entire
night, I've been

sticking my hands up on things.

I got a little ways ahead
of you guys I actually

saw a frog back there
that I was going after

and realized the water
was getting deep.

And I just kind of felt
something move in the logs,

put my hand down, and felt
the-- hold on, hold on, hold on,

I got him.

I got him.

I got him.

there, Mark.

He's probably going to pull me
swimming with him in the water.

OK, back up here, buddy.

Look at that carapace.

Look at how perfectly designed
and camouflaged this animal is.

Holding him up next
to this log like this,

I mean, he just looks like he
is a floating piece of wood

if you were to bump into this.

And I'm guessing he's out
here right now hunting.

You come on the side log.

Hunting for
exactly what I was going after,

which was a big bullfrog,
missed the Bullfrog

but bumped into
exactly what it is

that we were after, a true
mud dragon of the Louisiana

backwaters.

Look at that turtle.

Wow, holy cow, I
can't believe it.

I cannot believe we got one.

We need to get him up on shore.

I got to get his weight
some measurements.

OK.
Here, let's see.

Let's go over here.

Oh, man, there is so much
water in my waders right now.

All right, let me
put him down here.

Hey, buddy.

Look at that.

Oh, he's tired.

I'm tired.

OK, there you go.

What a nice turtle.

All right, the first
thing I'm going to do

is I'm going to get the
weight of the turtle.

Here we go, ready?

One, two, three.

He is at 46 pounds.

All right, I'm going to get
him back out of the bag.

There we are.

Here's one really
interesting feature.

Look at his eye on this side.

It's very clouded.

Put your head up.

It's almost like this
turtle has a cataract.

And I wonder if that's
actually part of what

helped me catch this turtle--

the fact that maybe he
didn't see me coming.

One thing is for
certain, though, I happen

to be in the right
place at the right time

to get my hands on this turtle.

To encounter and capture one
of these ancient reptiles

in their natural range
was a dream come true.

At 46 pounds, this turtle
was far from breaking

any world records.

But to me, it made
no difference.

This was an experience
I would never forget.

All right, this is it.

The moment that
we let the dragon

back out into the
Louisiana backwaters.

All right, buddy, thanks
for hanging out with us.

Here we go, ready?

The alligator snapping
turtle defines

a beauty that has nearly
vanished from our planet.

And as I watched its shadow
disappear into the darkness,

I could feel nothing but
gratitude for the moment

that I spent in its presence.