Original subtitles

On this bizarre adventure,

I will be working alongside the legendary Pat Spain.

This man is a wildlife biologist,

cryptozoologist, biotech expert and about

10 other impressive things.

So here's what's

really interesting about the sandworm specifically

is compared to bloodworms.

This right here is called the cast

and the worm is going to be in this section

here between the pool and the cast.

So I know that the worm is somewhere between this pocket

of water and this pile of sand.

And based on the size of the pool,

to where the actual cast is coming out,

this one could be a monster.

So what I want to do is get this trench down

towards the side of where the worm would be,

and then I'm going to try to lump over the whole big chunk

off the top.

There he is.

Oh my gosh, absolute beaster.

Look at that.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is a sandworm.

And it's completely constricted in at full length.

This thing may be close to the entire length of my arm.

All right, going in the bucket.

The bigger the castings, the bigger the worm.

I see his tunnel, there he is.

Oh, wait, oh, this is something different.

Oh, man.

Do you know what it is?

That's amazing, that's a clam worm.

That's a clam worm.

Yeah, there we go.

Holy cow, these things are living nightmares.

Now just to find out how bad that bite might actually be.

All right, Pat, we are back from the field

and we have dug up some nightmares.

Before us three containers with three

alien looking worm species.

Now, for everybody out there watching,

let's go through a couple of real basic things

that they need to know before we get

into the real entertainment when we experiment with some bites.

All right, these are some of my favorite animals

from the mud flats around here.

We have three different types of annelids.

We've got the blood worms, which I know

you're really familiar with.

So, four pretty nasty teeth that are made from copper.

And they have 32 different toxins in their saliva.

Moving on to the one

in the middle, which is without question

the creepiest, the clam worm.

So the clam worm has two fangs,

that are made out of zinc.

Kind of like what you think of with a centipede.

And I don't do well with centipedes.

Yeah, this is like an underwater centipede

and already it's making my skin crawl.

Yeah, it definitely freaks people out.

So, if you're digging in the sand

and building a sand castle up here

or something like that and all of a sudden one of these

pops out, kids go running and screaming.

And in cup number three not to be outdone is our big boy,

the sand worm.

So certainly, the weirdest one

we've got on here and the one that's least seen.

So, very hard to come across one of these.

We managed to find quite a few really good ones.

But I've never seen one as big as this guy.

We've named this one ''Big Bubba''.

And for context, we're not sure if this worm

bites or doesn't bite, so this is a wonderful experiment today.

But when it comes down to this worm,

there's actually something super interesting about it.

Yeah, so one of the coolest things about these

is that they are a universal blood donor for people.

So, we're not transfusing their blood

into humans, but their blood retains oxygen so

much better than human blood.

It's like eight times better than human blood.

And you can actually store organs in their blood

in a compound made from their blood for transport

to go to transplant victims.

It's pretty crazy.

So some people's lives are actually

being saved when organs are being stored

in the blood of this worm. Absolutely.

OK.

So, Pat, with that said, would you like to--

I mean, you want to give it a go?

I think you're the expert there, I'm going

to leave this one up to you.

I was really hoping that maybe you'd be like,

hey, I'm down for making a bite episode,

but no, I know what the audience is ready to see and the answer

that they want.

Which bite is going to be the worst?

Now, in classic Coyote Peterson fashion,

I went ahead and shaved my forearm.

Why?

Because it's silly.

And we've got a target for the bloodworm, the clam

worm, and the sand worm.

And just so that I can line up the bite properly,

we put a little circle and we're going to put the proboscis right

in the middle.

All right fellas, come on out of there.

Gosh, it's like toxic spaghetti.

Look at that.

Three massive blood worms out and on the plate.

Now, it's important to note that all of these worm species

are capable of breathing out and in the open--

There's a proboscis right there, Mario,

I don't know if you're getting that shot,

but I see that this one is definitely ready for a bite.

I'm coyote Peterson

and I'm about to enter the bite zone with the bloodworm.

There's the proboscis.

One, two, here we go, 3.

That's it, that's the one.

Full grapple, that's what we're looking for.

OK.

Worm off, worm off.

Yeah, OK.

A little burn going.

I'm going to put this worm back in the cup.

You can see one, two little tiny blood

spots on the edge of my arm.

Now, I probably compare it to something like a fire ant sting.

You know it's happening but it's not something that's

going to send you into like, oh, my gosh,

it's yellow jackets or a bullet ant or an executioner wasp.

But sure enough, that right there

is a successful bloodworm bite.

And now the worm

that I'm most afraid of the, clam worm.

That is a walking living nightmare.

Look at that thing.

I mean, if that is not intimidating,

I don't know what is.

It's like a mixture of a centipede

meets an earthworm meets your absolute worst nightmare.

And up front, there will be two fangs that

are going to bite into my skin.

All right, Pat, you ready for this?

Oh, yeah.

All right.

So what I think the tactic here is going to be

is to actually get up the worm.

I'm going to let it walk on my arm a little bit

just to see if it will bite naturally,

and if it doesn't, I'm going to go for the grab

and put it in the target zone approach.

I just saw the proboscis come out.

Did you see that?

Yep.

Almost.

It got me a pinch.

Come on.

I'm probably the only person in the world that

would be like come on, bite me.

It might need to bite your finger,

because I don't know if it's going to get purchase

on that part of your arm.

Get it, get it.

This is really nerve wracking.

OK.

Yeah, it got me, but it is not strong enough to break skin.

Try the webbing of your of your fingers.

Yeah, that that could be it, right there.

That's the spot.

I think it's going to get purchased.

I could feel it.

But I'm not sure it's going to be able to break.

There's the fangs, there's the fangs.

Well, Pat, at this point, I would

say that the clam worm very intimidating, huge mandibles,

but like the soul puget not capable of actually breaking

skin, and considering the fact that this creature is non

venomous, really something you probably

don't need to be afraid of.

I think we're moving on to the giant sand worm.

Wow.

The biggest one that we found today.

And it is a absolute jumbo.

So this is the back end.

This is the front end, and we don't know whether or not

this worm is capable of biting.

Whoa, that feels weird.

It's super slimy and when it comes to the bristles,

not feeling anything at all.

So, Pat, correct me if I'm wrong,

but I have a feeling that those are just used with locomotion

when they are underground in the sand.

Absolutely right.

I can feel the worm tensing up,

which is really interesting.

It's like a big swollen overcooked hotdog at this point.

I'm Coyote Peterson and I'm about to enter the bite

zone with the giant sand worm.

Oh. man, the anticipation.

This is that moment where you're like,

OK, either something really painful is about to happen

or absolutely nothing is going to happen.

It's like in the horror film, when you're like don't

go in there, don't go in there.

It's kind of like, why are you putting this thing on your arm?

It's thinking about it.

Maybe?

Maybe.

It certainly is intimidating.

It is a big, big worm.

And it's sliming me.

Here comes, here comes.

The proboscis?

Just teasing us?

I would say at this juncture not super aggressive, right?

Well, here's one thing that we do know about the sandworm.

Based on the design of their burrow,

we know they are filter feeders.

When you're talking about the bloodworm

and you're talking about the clam worm,

they are technically predatory worms that

are actively hunting for prey.

So this guy's more of a sit, wait for things

to sink down into its hole and filter them through its system.

And to be honest,

guys, in all the research that we did,

nobody has recorded this worm as actually having bitten people.

And while you don't come across them too often,

I'd say what we've got here is nothing

more than a gentle giant.

And I got to tell

you, when it comes to creepy, this guy

definitely takes the cake.

What a big boy.

Hey, there's my Big Bubba.

There's my big boy.

Look at my big boy, he's just like plump, plump.

Well, Pat, we've got some results here.

We do.

So, with the bloodworm,

we did actually have a bite.

Oh, yeah, you got a good one.

When it comes to the clam worm,

very intimidating pinchers.

Absolutely.

You know?

What you find with most animals that look really freaky

is that you know looks a lot worse than it is.

Yeah.

And when it comes to the sandworm,

big, giant alien looking and all it did was slime me

and spill iodine all over my skin.

Yeah, and it's a good defense mechanism.

I mean, iodine does not taste good.

So, it's shooting out that huge proboscis,

but just like you were saying, I mean, it's really--

it's not an active predator, whereas the other two worms are,

so it doesn't have those fangs, it doesn't have something

to get purchased, but it does have a really good defense

mechanism.

And when it comes to worms in popular

culture, we've seen tremors, we've seen the sand worms

in ''Beetlejuice.'' There's the giant worms

in ''Dune.'' And then there's one mythological worm

that you actually chased after.

Tell us a little bit about that.

So, all these worms remind me of something

called the Mongolian Death Worm, which is

described as very annelid like.

So it's this segmented worm.

It's supposed to be about two feet long in the Gobi desert.

And allegedly it can electrocute you, it can spit acid

and it can blow itself up if it needs to

and shoot hot blood, that will melt your skin.

You went searching for this thing and didn't find it.

Yeah, unfortunately we didn't find any,

but I'm not alone in looking for it.

Actually, the first documented evidence of someone

searching for this, the first Western person going

to look for this was Roy Chapman Andrews, that's

who Indiana Jones is based on.

That is pretty darn cool.

Well, we know that in many instances

an animal's bark can be far more impactful than its bite.

Absolutely.

You know, nobody should be freaked out by these things.

It shouldn't stop people from going and having

a great day on the beach and digging around

and seeing what you can find.

And you know, if you come across one

of these creatures, look at it for a few minutes, admire it,

put it right back where you found

it and they're doing a lot of good

by filtering things through the environment.

And, you know, they serve some sort of purpose, right?

Absolutely.

As they burrow under the ground, they're-- they're aerating,

they're bringing nutrients, they're moving nutrients around

in the soil for a whole bunch of plants and other animal species.

So for sure, they have a really great purpose

in in the marine ecosystem.

Alien looking, but very necessary.

Pat, thank you so much for being a part of today's episode.

I would have shook your hand, but

it's completely covered in slime,

but this was an absolute blast.

This was awesome.

I really, really enjoyed it.

Thank you.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

If there is one ecosystem

on the planet that is constantly changing,

it has to be the tide pools.

With every single rising and falling of the tide,

new waves crash upon the rocks and alter the placement

of plants and animals.

Along the coast of California,

there are a slew of creatures that you can find, If you

know exactly where to look.

A little striped crab right here.

Got it.

There's definitely no shortage of crabs

out here in these tide pools.

However, navigating this terrain

can be difficult, because most of the rocks

are wet and slippery.

One of the toughest things so far for me

in filming beyond the tide has been the terrain.

I'm used to swamps and deserts.

Everything here is rocky and slippery.

It's all covered in a layer of--

I guess it's some sort of algae.

And using a lot of eye-foot coordination,

because I'm looking for creatures and every step

I take your foot might slip off of something

and these rocks are extremely jagged, really

easy to get hurt out here.

And I'm sure for you, Mark, it's even more difficult.

Right now you're balancing on these rocks

just trying to get the shots.

Show everybody at home.

It isn't easy, is it? Nope.

All right, well let's keep going this way

and see what we can find.

Watch your footing.

Yep, see there you go.

I'm usually pretty good at finding animals

in the field, but sometimes a wildlife expert

joins us to help locate the species that

can be very difficult to find.

Today, I am back out with tidepool expert,

Aaron Sanchez, who has been exploring

the Southern California pools his entire life.

And our goal is to locate a giant sea slug.

All right, Aaron, so we're here at the tide pools

and we're looking for slugs.

What should I be keeping my eye out for?

Well, Coyote, these slugs are going

to be pretty hard to miss.

They're actually the largest sea slug on the planet.

They come to these rocky shores here to mate and lay their eggs.

OK, now, when you say the largest,

do you mean like five to six in length or are we talking bigger?

We're talking probably almost a little bit less

than three feet.

A three foot slug?

So that's going to be pretty hard to miss.

Yeah.

All right, let's start searching.

The search was on and I was confident that I could come

across one of these giants.

I mean, if they're as big as Aaron says they are spotting

one should be simple, right?

Hi, we've been searching for about 45 minutes

now through all these layered rocks.

I don't know, Aaron said was going to be easy, nothing yet.

We continued to search, over jagged outcrops,

in crevices, through knee deep pools and even under rocks.

I would say the odds of finding one of these slugs

are slim to none.

Tides really coming in.

Yeah it's coming in big time and all I've seen

is crabs, crabs, crabs.

Hermit crabs, striped crabs, purple shore crabs,

no giant slugs.

With the tide starting to come back in.

It was looking like our search for the giant sea slug

was coming to an end, but if anyone

knows how to find a sea creature, it's definitely Aaron.

Searching, searching, no big slugs.

Yeah?

Oh, you got one?

Come on, come on, come on.

Over here, guys, it's huge.

Oh my gosh, look at the size of that thing.

Wow.

Dude.

Yes.

Well, that was one heck of a search and there it is,

can I pick it up? You can.

It's totally safe. - And it's not going to ink me?

It might be a little slimy, but that's it.

Whoa, look at that.

Whoa.

Here we go.

My gosh, it is slimy.

Look at that slug.

Oh my gosh, it is heavy.

Jeez, this thing must be about almost 10 pounds, I would guess.

Is that a big one, Aaron?

It's a pretty good size, yeah, it's one of the bigger ones

I've seen.

Wow, I'm going to let

it stretch out on my arm to see if we can get

it to fully elongate itself.

Oh my gosh, it is so slimy.

All right, now tell us about this slug, Aaron.

Well, Coyote, what it's wrapping around your arm

right now is actually his muscular foot,

he uses that to get around.

I can feel him gripping onto my arm.

I mean, I can feel him actually like wrapping around me

and I can feel his little tongue under there.

He can't bite, right?

No, these guys are vegetarians.

They mostly eat algae and kelp.

OK.

And it does have an internal shell, correct?

Where it has all of its organs?

It does have an internal shell.

It's kind of soft and made of protein.

OK.

And that is actually what these extensions of its foot

called parapodia are protecting.

I can see why there's no way you would miss

stumbling upon one of these.

I have to admit, I was just over there talking to Mark,

I literally said I'm really doubting our chances

of finding one of these slugs.

All we've seen all day is crabs and smaller little brown sea

hares.

Which by the way, we should grab one of those,

isn't there one over here?

Let's see them next to each other.

Yeah.

All right, you got one of those brown sea hares?

OK, so this is this is cool, showing the comparison

of the giant black sea slug next to the much

smaller brown sea slug.

And they're both called sea hares,

because as you can see those tentacles sticking

up in the air on the front of the head look like rabbits ears.

I thought the brown sea hare was big.

Yeah.

Seriously, there is no mistaking the difference

between these two species.

Wow, that thing is absolutely massive.

It weighs about 10 pounds and fully stretched out

it's about two feet in length.

That is crazy.

And it is so unbelievably slippery.

It's actually really hard to hold on to it.

And my hands and arms right now are covered in a slippery mucus.

Now, are they toxic in any way?

No, they're not.

OK.

So I'm in no danger right now?

So they don't bite, they're not toxic,

they're just slimy and alien looking.

So how do these defend themselves against predators?

Well, you know, these guys

don't have as many predators as the California sea hare,

probably due to their size.

So they would generally just kind of

stick to where they are and they're going to be pretty

well hidden in these rocks.

I can't even imagine what would want to try to eat this.

And it's just so amazing how big this slug is.

When you said to me, yeah, we're going to go out

and we're going to catch a giant slug,

I honestly didn't believe you when you said they could grow

to be about two feet in length and until I actually

had this animal in my hand, really on my arm,

I didn't believe it.

This is absolutely amazing.

Well, Aaron, thank you so much for having

us out today to explore the tide pools here in San Pedro.

I think there's no question about it.

This is one big, black slug.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

We gently place these two slimy slugs back

into their respective pools.

And watched as they slowly return to the wild.

I think it's fair to say that these creatures

are as primordial as it gets.

And while they may be incredibly bizarre looking,

they are an important part of the tidepool ecosystem.