1 00:00:40,499 --> 00:00:42,501 This is dense jungle. 2 00:00:44,461 --> 00:00:48,632 Ahh. That's what machetes are for. 3 00:00:52,261 --> 00:00:54,263 Come on. 4 00:00:54,346 --> 00:00:56,723 Did you ever have one of those friends 5 00:00:56,807 --> 00:01:00,978 that, like, gets you in trouble all the time? 6 00:01:06,900 --> 00:01:10,445 I remember my very first snakebite. You never forget your first. 7 00:01:10,529 --> 00:01:11,905 Yeah, that's Bryan. 8 00:01:15,951 --> 00:01:19,371 {\an8}Over the last 25 years, I've had 27 snake bites, 9 00:01:19,454 --> 00:01:22,249 24 broken bones, 400 stitches, 10 00:01:22,332 --> 00:01:24,835 three concussions, two stingray stings, 11 00:01:24,918 --> 00:01:27,671 and one near-fatal scorpion sting in the Amazon. 12 00:01:31,425 --> 00:01:32,843 Ah! 13 00:01:32,926 --> 00:01:34,761 That went in my ear. 14 00:01:34,845 --> 00:01:36,179 I don't like bugs. 15 00:01:38,348 --> 00:01:39,516 I don't like snakes. 16 00:01:40,434 --> 00:01:41,977 I don't like spiders. 17 00:01:44,021 --> 00:01:48,275 And Bryan has us in the middle of the Amazon... 18 00:01:48,358 --> 00:01:49,943 Ah! 19 00:01:50,027 --> 00:01:52,112 ...looking for deadly creatures. 20 00:02:13,050 --> 00:02:19,014 On my Pole to Pole journey, I'm exploring the extremes of our planet, 21 00:02:19,139 --> 00:02:22,309 because I'm discovering that it's at the edges 22 00:02:22,392 --> 00:02:26,355 where you find the answers to life's most important questions. 23 00:02:27,773 --> 00:02:33,028 My next leg has dropped me right into the heart of the Amazon 24 00:02:33,153 --> 00:02:36,406 to join a groundbreaking scientific expedition 25 00:02:36,490 --> 00:02:39,576 to the world's largest rainforest. 26 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:50,712 This is our tree. 27 00:02:52,214 --> 00:02:53,632 Wow. 28 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,178 This thing is gigantic. 29 00:02:58,261 --> 00:02:59,846 Two hundred feet. 30 00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:03,934 Seems like a lot of gear to climb a tree. 31 00:03:04,017 --> 00:03:05,268 Yeah. 32 00:03:05,352 --> 00:03:08,438 The expedition is led by mountaineer Carla Perez. 33 00:03:08,522 --> 00:03:10,816 {\an8}Okay, Bryan, you are ready to go. 34 00:03:10,899 --> 00:03:12,275 {\an8}- All right, awesome. - All right. 35 00:03:12,359 --> 00:03:14,986 And my man, Professor Bryan Fry. 36 00:03:15,070 --> 00:03:16,446 Show me the way, Coach. 37 00:03:18,323 --> 00:03:21,243 Now, Bryan thinks there are creatures here 38 00:03:21,326 --> 00:03:25,122 that could hold the secret to saving millions of lives. 39 00:03:25,205 --> 00:03:28,083 You are doing great, Bryan. 40 00:03:28,208 --> 00:03:29,709 The goal of the expedition 41 00:03:29,793 --> 00:03:32,796 is to find new species, 42 00:03:32,879 --> 00:03:35,382 {\an8}not just for the sake of finding new species. 43 00:03:35,465 --> 00:03:37,300 {\an8}We're not collecting stamps here. 44 00:03:37,384 --> 00:03:39,344 But hunting for new species 45 00:03:39,428 --> 00:03:42,139 that might lead to important scientific breakthroughs. 46 00:03:46,059 --> 00:03:48,228 Just have to pull myself up. 47 00:03:48,311 --> 00:03:49,980 But first, we want to show Will 48 00:03:50,063 --> 00:03:52,649 what an incredible place the Amazon is, 49 00:03:52,732 --> 00:03:57,696 and the sheer scale of the life that it contains. 50 00:03:58,613 --> 00:03:59,656 Do you see how well I'm doing? 51 00:03:59,739 --> 00:04:00,740 Keep going, keep going. 52 00:04:00,824 --> 00:04:04,286 You didn't even imagine I was gonna be this good at it. 53 00:04:06,163 --> 00:04:08,748 Here we are. We made it. 54 00:04:12,169 --> 00:04:14,921 Wow. Wow. 55 00:04:15,005 --> 00:04:16,840 It's just amazing, eh? 56 00:04:16,923 --> 00:04:19,176 Sittin' on top of the world. 57 00:04:21,094 --> 00:04:22,679 Look at that. 58 00:04:24,014 --> 00:04:25,515 Just endless. 59 00:04:29,311 --> 00:04:33,106 There is not a hospital as far as I can see. 60 00:04:35,317 --> 00:04:38,069 Yo, this is fantastic, man. 61 00:04:38,153 --> 00:04:40,363 This is fantastic. 62 00:04:40,447 --> 00:04:43,033 I brought you up here to show you why the Amazon 63 00:04:43,116 --> 00:04:47,579 is the best place on Earth to look for new species. 64 00:04:49,289 --> 00:04:53,752 If you look around, not everything is what you'd expect. 65 00:04:53,835 --> 00:04:57,297 Most of what you're seeing that's green, that's not actually part of the tree. 66 00:04:57,339 --> 00:05:00,175 That's the small plants living on the tree. 67 00:05:00,300 --> 00:05:03,303 They're called epiphytes. 68 00:05:03,345 --> 00:05:08,433 A tree this size could have over 200 different species. 69 00:05:08,517 --> 00:05:10,727 Just look at what you're sitting on. 70 00:05:10,811 --> 00:05:14,898 That's not the tree. That's soil. 71 00:05:14,981 --> 00:05:16,316 That's wild. 72 00:05:16,399 --> 00:05:19,110 It's like another forest floor... 73 00:05:19,194 --> 00:05:21,571 - Yeah. - ...on top of the tree. 74 00:05:21,655 --> 00:05:22,697 Exactly. 75 00:05:24,199 --> 00:05:26,493 And the same is true of animals. 76 00:05:26,576 --> 00:05:31,164 The Amazon is hiding a wealth of species that you might not be able to see, 77 00:05:31,248 --> 00:05:32,791 but you can hear. 78 00:05:34,626 --> 00:05:36,795 Let me show you something really cool. 79 00:05:36,878 --> 00:05:39,548 I've recorded the sounds of all the animals 80 00:05:39,631 --> 00:05:42,968 in earshot of this tree for 24 hours. 81 00:05:44,386 --> 00:05:46,930 There's a brown woolly monkey, howler monkey, 82 00:05:47,013 --> 00:05:48,473 and that's-- that's what we're hear-- 83 00:05:48,557 --> 00:05:50,016 a howler monkey is what we're hearing now, right? 84 00:05:50,100 --> 00:05:51,726 - Yeah, that really spooky sound. - Yeah. 85 00:05:51,810 --> 00:05:54,813 That's the Pavarotti of the jungle. 86 00:05:57,357 --> 00:05:59,484 - Yeah, that's him. - Yeah. 87 00:06:01,152 --> 00:06:03,405 You have a pygmy marmoset in here. 88 00:06:03,488 --> 00:06:05,991 Yeah, they're cool. A little arboreal primate. 89 00:06:07,826 --> 00:06:10,954 Mm, mm, mm, mm. 90 00:06:12,873 --> 00:06:16,084 Mm-hmm. 91 00:06:16,167 --> 00:06:18,461 Oh, man, the common potoo got rhythm. 92 00:06:20,672 --> 00:06:24,092 It is on and poppin' in the Amazon. 93 00:06:25,260 --> 00:06:27,971 It's like a nature club. 94 00:06:28,054 --> 00:06:29,764 It's like... 95 00:06:34,227 --> 00:06:37,814 ...all day and all night long. 96 00:06:41,943 --> 00:06:43,320 Now, I get it. 97 00:06:45,071 --> 00:06:49,117 This is the most alive place on Earth. 98 00:06:50,827 --> 00:06:55,165 It feels like there's more life in this one tree 99 00:06:55,248 --> 00:06:57,876 than the whole of Antarctica. 100 00:07:02,005 --> 00:07:03,798 Exploring the incredible diversity 101 00:07:03,882 --> 00:07:06,718 of life in a canopy... 102 00:07:06,801 --> 00:07:09,179 ...is already proving incredibly revolutionary 103 00:07:09,262 --> 00:07:10,930 for biosciences. 104 00:07:12,515 --> 00:07:16,686 But to find the species I'm interested in for this expedition, 105 00:07:16,770 --> 00:07:19,648 we're going somewhere much less charted-- 106 00:07:19,731 --> 00:07:22,442 down into the pitch black. 107 00:07:23,610 --> 00:07:25,695 ♪ La, la, la-la, la-la-la-la-la-la-la ♪ 108 00:07:27,739 --> 00:07:29,199 ♪ Yo ♪ 109 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:32,077 - ♪ What's the deal ♪ - Try to follow my steps. 110 00:07:35,830 --> 00:07:38,708 Those first couple steps in the jungle, 111 00:07:38,792 --> 00:07:41,795 it really is overwhelming-- 112 00:07:41,878 --> 00:07:46,549 the smells, the sounds, and the-- the density. 113 00:07:47,717 --> 00:07:49,135 Watch out this section, guys. 114 00:07:49,219 --> 00:07:50,637 There's a lot of insects. 115 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,932 You're really surrounded by Mother Nature. 116 00:07:54,015 --> 00:07:58,853 And it sounds so silly, but that was actually 117 00:07:58,937 --> 00:08:02,315 a revelation for me. 118 00:08:02,399 --> 00:08:08,488 There is a real, like, blossoming explorer within me. 119 00:08:09,489 --> 00:08:10,949 I got this. 120 00:08:11,032 --> 00:08:12,909 ♪ Oo-wee ♪ 121 00:08:12,992 --> 00:08:14,577 We are arriving. 122 00:08:14,661 --> 00:08:17,831 The main goal of our expedition is just there. 123 00:08:17,914 --> 00:08:21,334 But today, we are not going up. We are going down. 124 00:08:21,418 --> 00:08:22,627 - Going down? - Yep. 125 00:08:31,511 --> 00:08:36,808 When you think of the Amazon, you don't necessarily think of caves. 126 00:08:37,809 --> 00:08:40,145 But if you're ever gonna find something new... 127 00:08:41,271 --> 00:08:43,356 caves are a great place to start. 128 00:08:44,399 --> 00:08:47,527 And the Tayos cave is a hidden world 129 00:08:47,569 --> 00:08:49,904 where we will find new life. 130 00:08:51,740 --> 00:08:53,825 Are you okay? 131 00:08:55,326 --> 00:08:57,037 Oh, goodness. 132 00:08:57,120 --> 00:08:58,621 This is the cave. 133 00:08:59,914 --> 00:09:01,166 - Whoa. - You see? 134 00:09:01,249 --> 00:09:03,710 Whoa. I don't like that at all. 135 00:09:09,758 --> 00:09:14,095 We are going down about a 20-story building, 136 00:09:14,179 --> 00:09:16,431 206 feet. 137 00:09:17,557 --> 00:09:18,892 - So, yeah. - All right. 138 00:09:18,975 --> 00:09:20,769 So now, the moment has arrived. 139 00:09:23,605 --> 00:09:25,648 - Okay. - See you on the bottom. 140 00:09:25,732 --> 00:09:27,358 Thank you. 141 00:09:31,946 --> 00:09:34,115 The cave has a Spanish name 142 00:09:34,199 --> 00:09:36,284 La Cueva de los Tayos 143 00:09:36,367 --> 00:09:38,453 and local people call it 144 00:09:38,578 --> 00:09:40,080 The Womb of the Earth. 145 00:09:41,998 --> 00:09:44,375 For sure this is the most dangerous 146 00:09:44,459 --> 00:09:46,836 moment in the whole expedition. 147 00:09:47,837 --> 00:09:51,674 Yeah, I'm a little concerned. I'm certainly a little concerned. 148 00:09:51,758 --> 00:09:55,220 When you flip on your lights, you're gonna see things 149 00:09:55,303 --> 00:09:56,846 that you never even imagined, 150 00:09:56,930 --> 00:09:58,765 except maybe in some really feverish dreams. 151 00:09:58,848 --> 00:10:00,600 Okay. 152 00:10:00,642 --> 00:10:03,520 Oh, there are some really cool things in there. 153 00:10:03,603 --> 00:10:07,482 I'm not gonna ruin the surprise, but there's some wicked-looking animals. 154 00:10:09,901 --> 00:10:12,821 My specific field of study is venomology. 155 00:10:13,738 --> 00:10:18,618 It's my job to discover new species of venomous animals. 156 00:10:20,161 --> 00:10:25,750 Venom's formed the backbone of some of our most effective drugs. 157 00:10:25,834 --> 00:10:30,547 They've been truly revolutionary in biomedical science. 158 00:10:32,966 --> 00:10:36,845 Imagine if down there, there's a cure for cancer. 159 00:10:39,848 --> 00:10:45,436 Wow. So, we're looking for venomous species? 160 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:49,065 Yep. Some of the scorpions, we haven't tested their toxicity yet. 161 00:10:49,149 --> 00:10:50,942 - Mm-hmm. - Which means that the odds 162 00:10:51,025 --> 00:10:52,944 of the antivenom working really aren't that great. 163 00:10:55,029 --> 00:10:57,657 Yeah, this whole thing is stupid. 164 00:10:57,740 --> 00:11:01,327 Yeah, this was a bad idea, the whole-- the whole idea. 165 00:11:07,208 --> 00:11:09,002 - And it's all on me. - Yes. 166 00:11:17,468 --> 00:11:19,053 Oh goodness. 167 00:11:21,347 --> 00:11:25,059 Okay, we got sounds, and clicks, and pops, and stuff. 168 00:11:25,143 --> 00:11:27,020 All right-- oh, gee, oh! 169 00:11:28,396 --> 00:11:30,481 All right, hold on, I gotta-- just give me a second 170 00:11:30,565 --> 00:11:32,317 to get my movie star face back. 171 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:34,611 All right. 172 00:11:34,694 --> 00:11:35,904 How's that? Still-- 173 00:11:35,987 --> 00:11:37,363 I'm still breathing too hard, though, right? 174 00:11:39,282 --> 00:11:42,744 All right. Oh, that's-- I shouldn't have done that. 175 00:11:46,998 --> 00:11:52,295 Part of this whole thing for me is like playing my edges. 176 00:11:52,378 --> 00:11:54,923 I just wanna keep inching out a little bit farther 177 00:11:55,006 --> 00:12:00,637 to see something or feel something that is outside of my comfort zone. 178 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:02,138 Did my torch go off? 179 00:12:02,222 --> 00:12:08,102 This is my worst nightmare, but I'm not gonna let my fear stop me. 180 00:12:18,154 --> 00:12:20,198 - All right. - Great. 181 00:12:20,281 --> 00:12:21,574 Great job. 182 00:12:23,159 --> 00:12:24,369 Wow. 183 00:12:26,371 --> 00:12:27,622 Yo. 184 00:12:28,623 --> 00:12:30,250 This is great. 185 00:12:31,668 --> 00:12:34,170 It's like another world. 186 00:12:34,254 --> 00:12:38,466 You can just tell things just look like no humans have seen it before. 187 00:12:38,549 --> 00:12:40,051 Yeah, it's crazy. 188 00:12:40,134 --> 00:12:42,345 The biodiversity in here has barely been scratched. 189 00:12:42,428 --> 00:12:46,975 There's only been a handful of studies, and the cataloging of life in here 190 00:12:47,058 --> 00:12:48,643 is far, far from complete. 191 00:12:50,270 --> 00:12:52,647 The creatures here are as isolated 192 00:12:52,772 --> 00:12:55,441 as if they were on an island in the middle of the ocean. 193 00:12:55,525 --> 00:12:59,779 So, they have the potential to evolve into genetically distinct new species. 194 00:13:01,489 --> 00:13:05,118 Evolving in such a dark and hostile environment like this 195 00:13:05,201 --> 00:13:09,163 breeds intense competition, which also promotes innovation 196 00:13:09,247 --> 00:13:10,915 - in ways to kill. - Mm-hmm. 197 00:13:10,999 --> 00:13:15,795 So, you get new types of venom with a power that is just mind-blowing. 198 00:13:15,878 --> 00:13:17,964 Okay. What if we just left? 199 00:13:20,133 --> 00:13:21,175 All right, okay. 200 00:13:28,516 --> 00:13:30,184 How far does it go? 201 00:13:30,268 --> 00:13:34,647 We don't know. Most of the cave has never been explored. 202 00:13:54,584 --> 00:13:57,503 My team has identified this chamber as a prime zone 203 00:13:57,587 --> 00:13:59,839 for all the things we're after. 204 00:13:59,922 --> 00:14:02,884 So, there should be lots of scorpions and spiders here. 205 00:14:02,967 --> 00:14:05,678 So, we're basically gonna try to, like, clear this room? 206 00:14:05,762 --> 00:14:06,929 Yeah. 207 00:14:07,013 --> 00:14:12,101 Guys, now I will let you go and collect some specimens. 208 00:14:12,185 --> 00:14:13,644 Okay. You leaving me with him? 209 00:14:13,728 --> 00:14:14,729 - Uh-huh. - Yeah. 210 00:14:14,854 --> 00:14:16,064 No, I trust. 211 00:14:16,147 --> 00:14:18,274 But if you need me, you just scream, "Carla!" 212 00:14:18,357 --> 00:14:20,693 Carla! 213 00:14:26,365 --> 00:14:27,992 Hey, there's-- what is that? There's... 214 00:14:28,076 --> 00:14:29,911 - A little cave cricket. - A cave cricket? 215 00:14:29,994 --> 00:14:31,579 Ah, it jumped. 216 00:14:31,662 --> 00:14:32,914 Okay. 217 00:14:34,165 --> 00:14:35,875 - Ooh, hey. - That's a big cockroach. 218 00:14:35,958 --> 00:14:39,045 Here's big food for somebody. 219 00:14:39,170 --> 00:14:41,172 {\an8}- Wow. - You wanna hold it? 220 00:14:41,255 --> 00:14:43,216 {\an8}Dammit. Yeah, all right, here we go. 221 00:14:43,299 --> 00:14:46,552 {\an8}Because I can't act scared since you-- ah. 222 00:14:46,636 --> 00:14:49,138 It's like Men in Black. 223 00:14:49,222 --> 00:14:50,306 - Oh, hey! - Ooh. 224 00:14:50,389 --> 00:14:51,891 Oh, that's a nice one. 225 00:14:51,933 --> 00:14:53,434 Oh, wow. 226 00:14:53,518 --> 00:14:55,394 - Can I have a jar, please? - Which one-- okay. 227 00:14:55,478 --> 00:14:57,522 - So, this is a big... - Big spider, yes. 228 00:14:57,605 --> 00:14:58,940 I can see that from here. 229 00:14:59,023 --> 00:15:00,483 I have a bigger jug, if you want. 230 00:15:00,566 --> 00:15:02,235 - Yeah, I need... - Here, bigger jug. 231 00:15:02,318 --> 00:15:04,195 We're gonna need a bigger jug. 232 00:15:04,278 --> 00:15:05,780 - Here we go. - Thank you. 233 00:15:09,033 --> 00:15:10,910 Ooh, ooh. 234 00:15:10,952 --> 00:15:13,037 - Ew, ah! - All right. 235 00:15:13,121 --> 00:15:14,914 - And the lid, please. - Okay, sorry. 236 00:15:14,956 --> 00:15:16,332 Here you go, sorry. This is... 237 00:15:16,415 --> 00:15:17,750 - Thank you. - I'm not good at this. 238 00:15:17,834 --> 00:15:19,252 Is that-- make sure it's the right lid. 239 00:15:19,335 --> 00:15:20,920 Yes, that's a big girl. 240 00:15:21,003 --> 00:15:22,588 This is definitely the biggest spider 241 00:15:22,672 --> 00:15:23,798 I've ever seen. 242 00:15:23,923 --> 00:15:26,926 The big brown one, the Goliath birdeater, 243 00:15:26,968 --> 00:15:29,011 isn't found near this region, so there's a good chance 244 00:15:29,095 --> 00:15:33,724 this could be a new species of, you know, big brown tarantula. 245 00:15:33,808 --> 00:15:35,810 That's insane. 246 00:15:37,019 --> 00:15:38,980 For me, going on these expeditions 247 00:15:39,063 --> 00:15:43,151 is like a once-in-a-lifetime level of craziness. 248 00:15:43,234 --> 00:15:47,238 But for scientists like Bryan, this is just another day in the office. 249 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:50,116 All right, I'm gonna show you something really cool. 250 00:15:50,199 --> 00:15:52,618 It might sound stupid, but we're gonna turn our lights off, 251 00:15:52,702 --> 00:15:54,370 but we're gonna use another type of light. 252 00:15:54,453 --> 00:15:56,372 - Okay. - So, we're gonna use UV lights. 253 00:15:56,455 --> 00:15:59,834 It's how we find a certain animal that's really hard to see otherwise. 254 00:16:01,043 --> 00:16:02,461 Ooh, wow. Look at your shirt. 255 00:16:02,545 --> 00:16:05,965 Ooh. They use that at the club when they put the mark on you. 256 00:16:06,007 --> 00:16:08,342 So, we're looking for something that does that? 257 00:16:08,426 --> 00:16:09,969 Yeah, a little glowy buddy. 258 00:16:10,052 --> 00:16:12,096 - Ooh, hey. Ooh, right there. - What is that, what... 259 00:16:12,180 --> 00:16:13,764 - Wow. - You know what animal that is? 260 00:16:13,848 --> 00:16:15,474 - Looks like a scorpion. - Yeah. 261 00:16:15,558 --> 00:16:17,435 And they glow. We don't know why. 262 00:16:17,518 --> 00:16:20,062 Have you ever been stung by a scorpion? 263 00:16:20,146 --> 00:16:21,564 Oh yeah, they suck. 264 00:16:21,647 --> 00:16:23,191 It felt like my finger was in a flame 265 00:16:23,274 --> 00:16:25,568 - for about eight hours. - Ooh. 266 00:16:25,651 --> 00:16:27,528 So, are these things fast? We'll see... 267 00:16:27,612 --> 00:16:28,988 - No. - I guess we'll see in a second. 268 00:16:29,030 --> 00:16:31,866 - Ooh, hey! - Awesome. 269 00:16:31,991 --> 00:16:33,034 Wow. 270 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:35,745 Here we go. 271 00:16:35,828 --> 00:16:37,622 So, do you wanna just do it on your own? 272 00:16:37,705 --> 00:16:40,082 Actually flip your own rocks and look for your own animals? 273 00:16:40,166 --> 00:16:42,627 Okay. Yes. I think-- yes, sir. 274 00:16:42,710 --> 00:16:43,920 - All right. - I would like to do that. 275 00:16:44,003 --> 00:16:45,087 Awesome. 276 00:16:49,050 --> 00:16:50,760 It's pretty dark in here. 277 00:16:52,345 --> 00:16:53,763 So, yeah. 278 00:16:55,014 --> 00:16:59,852 The team is hoping that, like, I would find my own species. 279 00:17:01,145 --> 00:17:04,649 But I'm pretty sure that's not gonna happen. 280 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:09,820 Um... 'cause I'm not really gonna look. 281 00:17:11,822 --> 00:17:13,449 Yeah, there's nothing here. 282 00:17:14,951 --> 00:17:16,911 Oh, there's a spider. 283 00:17:17,036 --> 00:17:19,038 Y'all see that? 284 00:17:19,121 --> 00:17:20,498 Ooh, there's a family of 'em. 285 00:17:20,581 --> 00:17:22,750 Damn! It's like 10. 286 00:17:23,751 --> 00:17:27,380 Like somewhere around 10 spiders is where I leave. 287 00:17:28,422 --> 00:17:30,341 And they don't-- they're not new species. 288 00:17:30,424 --> 00:17:35,471 I can-- they-- those are normal species that they just-- they're regular spiders, 289 00:17:35,555 --> 00:17:36,931 so there's nothing special. 290 00:17:37,056 --> 00:17:42,144 So, there's no reason for us to proceed with the expedition in that direction. 291 00:17:43,646 --> 00:17:45,731 Yo. Yo. Yo. 292 00:17:45,815 --> 00:17:48,693 I don't want no parts of that. 293 00:17:48,776 --> 00:17:52,905 To me, this looks like a regular species. 294 00:17:52,989 --> 00:17:54,574 So, I'm gonna just leave that alone. 295 00:17:55,992 --> 00:17:56,993 Ooh! 296 00:17:59,287 --> 00:18:01,247 Y'all can see that, right? 297 00:18:02,290 --> 00:18:06,836 Um... we caught one of these already, so I think this is cool. 298 00:18:06,919 --> 00:18:08,504 I'm gonna just leave that alone. 299 00:18:08,588 --> 00:18:10,965 Ooh, that's a bat. That's a bat. 300 00:18:11,090 --> 00:18:13,092 That is a bat. 301 00:18:13,134 --> 00:18:14,969 Ooh, no, that's not one bat, 302 00:18:15,094 --> 00:18:16,304 that's 10 bats. 303 00:18:16,387 --> 00:18:18,848 They're flying. They're flying. 304 00:18:18,931 --> 00:18:21,142 All right. All gone. 305 00:18:21,225 --> 00:18:22,768 Oh! 306 00:18:26,105 --> 00:18:27,398 Oh! 307 00:18:28,566 --> 00:18:30,568 Carla! 308 00:18:40,703 --> 00:18:43,539 So, we've caught a number of animals so far, 309 00:18:43,623 --> 00:18:46,125 and who knows what's in their venom. 310 00:18:46,208 --> 00:18:48,836 Yeah, that thing is insane-looking. 311 00:18:48,919 --> 00:18:55,134 So, there might be potential cures that come out of the tarantula? 312 00:18:55,217 --> 00:18:56,927 Absolutely, the tarantulas 313 00:18:57,011 --> 00:18:58,763 or the scorpions. 314 00:18:59,889 --> 00:19:02,224 So, of all these critters, 315 00:19:02,308 --> 00:19:04,727 how do you know which one's the most useful? 316 00:19:04,810 --> 00:19:06,062 Well... 317 00:19:07,063 --> 00:19:08,981 whichever is the most potently venomous. 318 00:19:17,156 --> 00:19:18,741 Venoms are effective killers 319 00:19:18,783 --> 00:19:21,160 because they target vital parts of the body. 320 00:19:23,162 --> 00:19:28,501 But what's cool, is in low quantities, these effects can be harnessed for good. 321 00:19:29,543 --> 00:19:31,170 The venom of a Brazilian pit viper 322 00:19:31,253 --> 00:19:33,631 kills with a sudden drop of blood pressure. 323 00:19:35,174 --> 00:19:36,717 But it's been developed into a medicine 324 00:19:36,801 --> 00:19:39,095 that more than 40 million people use 325 00:19:39,178 --> 00:19:41,889 to keep their blood pressure under control. 326 00:19:43,182 --> 00:19:46,477 Scorpion venoms paralyze the nervous system, 327 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:48,604 but they've inspired a medicine 328 00:19:48,688 --> 00:19:50,481 that can help treat stroke victims. 329 00:19:51,649 --> 00:19:54,485 A component in spider venom can alleviate pain 330 00:19:54,568 --> 00:19:56,195 rather than cause it. 331 00:19:58,364 --> 00:19:59,990 Imagine the medical breakthroughs 332 00:20:00,074 --> 00:20:02,201 that could be made from new venomous species 333 00:20:02,243 --> 00:20:04,370 found in the Amazon. 334 00:20:07,081 --> 00:20:09,959 So, we're going to milk the biggest of the tarantulas. 335 00:20:10,042 --> 00:20:12,044 Is that like the scientific term, "milking"? 336 00:20:12,128 --> 00:20:15,005 Well, we try to use "venom extraction," 337 00:20:15,089 --> 00:20:16,716 but you know, "milking" just sounds kinda cool. 338 00:20:20,219 --> 00:20:22,930 How long does the spider stay knocked out? 339 00:20:23,013 --> 00:20:24,348 I try to do as minimal as possible. 340 00:20:24,432 --> 00:20:25,641 - Got it. - So, it's usually out 341 00:20:25,725 --> 00:20:27,768 for about 5 minutes, 10 minutes at most. 342 00:20:27,852 --> 00:20:29,395 So, you should hurry up, then. 343 00:20:29,478 --> 00:20:30,563 Yeah. 344 00:20:31,939 --> 00:20:35,276 It takes three of us just to wrangle the animal. 345 00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:37,278 Uh-oh. Oh, geez. 346 00:20:37,361 --> 00:20:38,821 He's seeming frisky. 347 00:20:40,030 --> 00:20:42,158 Yeah, he look like he's been milked before. 348 00:20:43,951 --> 00:20:45,703 And he didn't like it. 349 00:20:46,787 --> 00:20:48,372 We really don't wanna get nailed by it, 350 00:20:48,456 --> 00:20:49,749 because, wow, do they suck. 351 00:20:49,832 --> 00:20:52,543 Okay, okay, all right. All right. 352 00:20:52,626 --> 00:20:53,878 Dave will wrangle the body. 353 00:20:53,961 --> 00:20:55,880 I'll apply the TENS. You'll run the TENS. 354 00:20:55,963 --> 00:20:57,631 This is called the TENS machine? 355 00:20:57,715 --> 00:20:59,717 Yeah, it's the same machine that an athlete 356 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:01,802 would use on a muscle injury. 357 00:21:01,886 --> 00:21:04,388 But we're gonna use it to gently stimulate 358 00:21:04,472 --> 00:21:06,974 - the venom glands. - Okay, got it, got it. 359 00:21:08,142 --> 00:21:10,728 All right, so first, Emilio's going to pop open 360 00:21:10,811 --> 00:21:12,146 one of the fangs. 361 00:21:14,148 --> 00:21:16,317 - Whoa. Whoa. - Yeah, that's a big fang. 362 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:17,610 Yeah. 363 00:21:18,944 --> 00:21:20,196 Okay, I've got the pad on. 364 00:21:20,279 --> 00:21:21,280 - Okay. - I got the TENS on. 365 00:21:21,363 --> 00:21:23,032 Just tell me when to milk. 366 00:21:25,034 --> 00:21:26,410 Okay, just keep running it up. 367 00:21:26,494 --> 00:21:27,787 Keep running it up. 368 00:21:27,870 --> 00:21:29,121 Faster. 369 00:21:37,213 --> 00:21:38,589 You getting any venom? 370 00:21:38,672 --> 00:21:40,508 Ooh, a nice big drop. Look at that. 371 00:21:43,385 --> 00:21:45,638 There we go, ooh. That was a good amount. 372 00:21:47,306 --> 00:21:48,599 No, yeah, just let it hold, yeah. 373 00:21:48,682 --> 00:21:50,351 - Hold it at that position. - Hold it right there? 374 00:21:50,434 --> 00:21:53,312 You could-- you're increasing it one milliamp at a time. 375 00:21:53,395 --> 00:21:55,773 So, we only use as much electricity as it takes 376 00:21:55,898 --> 00:21:59,193 to actually stimulate the venom gland-- the same amount of neuroelectricity 377 00:21:59,318 --> 00:22:00,653 - it would send. - Mm-hmm. 378 00:22:00,736 --> 00:22:02,446 'Cause we like these animals, you know, we're driven 379 00:22:02,530 --> 00:22:04,114 by childlike love for these creatures. 380 00:22:04,198 --> 00:22:05,449 We don't wanna hurt them. 381 00:22:05,533 --> 00:22:07,827 Oh, we worried about not hurting them? 382 00:22:07,910 --> 00:22:10,663 We need to act quickly. 383 00:22:10,746 --> 00:22:12,623 The spider's waking up rapidly. 384 00:22:12,706 --> 00:22:14,625 Uh-oh. Oh, geez. 385 00:22:15,668 --> 00:22:17,545 Faster. 386 00:22:17,628 --> 00:22:19,755 All right, I'm going up, going up, going up. 387 00:22:24,093 --> 00:22:25,678 Look at the size of that drop! 388 00:22:25,761 --> 00:22:27,429 Yo, this is wild. 389 00:22:27,513 --> 00:22:29,139 This is wild. 390 00:22:30,933 --> 00:22:33,227 That is an amazing amount of venom. 391 00:22:35,145 --> 00:22:37,273 - All right. - We're good? I can stop? 392 00:22:40,401 --> 00:22:42,403 Your first venom extraction. 393 00:22:43,070 --> 00:22:44,864 - Whew. - Oh. 394 00:22:44,947 --> 00:22:46,490 That's stressful. 395 00:22:48,909 --> 00:22:50,744 And that was just the start. 396 00:22:51,996 --> 00:22:55,541 The team collected dozens more creatures. 397 00:22:55,666 --> 00:22:58,878 And anything they didn't recognize, 398 00:22:58,961 --> 00:23:01,297 they just milked it. 399 00:23:01,380 --> 00:23:02,840 - Well done. - All right, good stuff. 400 00:23:02,965 --> 00:23:04,258 - Good stuff. - Go, team. 401 00:23:04,383 --> 00:23:05,759 - Good job. - Gracias, gracias. 402 00:23:05,843 --> 00:23:07,970 I mean, it's a weird way to make a living, 403 00:23:08,053 --> 00:23:10,097 but Bryan seemed really happy. 404 00:23:12,308 --> 00:23:16,687 The expedition has been extraordinarily successful. 405 00:23:16,729 --> 00:23:18,522 We're only scratching the surface 406 00:23:18,606 --> 00:23:20,733 of a bonanza that we collected. 407 00:23:24,820 --> 00:23:29,408 I can only imagine what kind of breakthroughs are contained 408 00:23:29,450 --> 00:23:31,285 in all of these new venoms. 409 00:23:32,286 --> 00:23:34,288 It was a very, very special day. 410 00:23:34,413 --> 00:23:37,958 It's one of those things you don't forget too often. 411 00:23:39,877 --> 00:23:42,338 "What'd you do today, Daddy?" 412 00:23:42,421 --> 00:23:44,715 "Oh, I milked a tarantula, sweetie." 413 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:01,023 It looks like we're leaving. 414 00:24:03,317 --> 00:24:05,361 So, how you feeling about the cave now? 415 00:24:06,570 --> 00:24:09,531 You know, it was, um... it was interesting. 416 00:24:09,615 --> 00:24:12,159 We milked the spider. 417 00:24:12,242 --> 00:24:14,119 Thank you for that, it's my first time. 418 00:24:14,203 --> 00:24:16,288 I've never milked a tarantula before, so... 419 00:24:16,372 --> 00:24:18,165 - Not a big thing in Philly? - Yeah, yeah, we don't-- 420 00:24:18,248 --> 00:24:21,043 we don't do that, we don't do that a lot. 421 00:24:21,085 --> 00:24:24,755 But when did you, um... 422 00:24:26,048 --> 00:24:32,763 land on the idea of poison becoming medicine as your thing? 423 00:24:34,765 --> 00:24:36,475 Um, a few different parts, you know. 424 00:24:36,517 --> 00:24:40,020 One is, I was just a weird kid, you know, who really liked venomous snakes. 425 00:24:40,104 --> 00:24:43,107 Another part's, you know, a weapons-grade-sized dose 426 00:24:43,190 --> 00:24:44,858 - of survivor's guilt... - Mm-hmm. 427 00:24:44,942 --> 00:24:48,487 ...where when I was a kid, I was absolutely nuked 428 00:24:48,570 --> 00:24:50,322 by spinal meningitis. 429 00:24:53,575 --> 00:24:55,703 It causes an inflammation of your spinal cord 430 00:24:55,786 --> 00:24:57,621 and your brain. 431 00:24:57,705 --> 00:24:59,581 Because it can be very rapidly lethal... 432 00:25:01,208 --> 00:25:02,543 you don't come out unscathed. 433 00:25:05,504 --> 00:25:07,381 Came out of the hospital, my muscles so wasted, 434 00:25:07,506 --> 00:25:09,675 I had to relearn how to walk all over again. 435 00:25:13,887 --> 00:25:16,265 It also left me with complete deafness in my right ear. 436 00:25:18,142 --> 00:25:20,978 But I got away as lightly touched as you can. 437 00:25:24,940 --> 00:25:30,654 So, you said survivor's guilt. Like, what do you mean? 438 00:25:30,738 --> 00:25:32,698 Well, it's-- you know, it's a pretty common thing, 439 00:25:32,823 --> 00:25:34,116 and it's not logical. 440 00:25:35,159 --> 00:25:38,328 But I'm driven in part by... 441 00:25:39,663 --> 00:25:42,416 being one of the ones who survived. 442 00:25:44,334 --> 00:25:45,961 Anything I can do to help alleviate 443 00:25:46,045 --> 00:25:49,006 that kind of suffering, you know, is worth doing. 444 00:25:49,089 --> 00:25:55,637 I get it. Something that can hurt you being able to heal you and help you. 445 00:25:55,721 --> 00:25:58,432 - I like that. - Thank you, I appreciate it. 446 00:25:58,557 --> 00:26:03,270 Bryan has been bitten, and stung, 447 00:26:03,353 --> 00:26:07,066 and poisoned multiple times. 448 00:26:08,025 --> 00:26:13,113 If I get bit at work, you know, we done for the day, for sure, 449 00:26:13,197 --> 00:26:15,783 and-- and we probably done for tomorrow. 450 00:26:17,826 --> 00:26:23,957 But in life, there's something to be said about not being scared of getting bit. 451 00:26:26,168 --> 00:26:27,920 Of the myriad of animals that we got, 452 00:26:28,003 --> 00:26:32,341 we have at least 10 new species just from this one expedition. 453 00:26:33,592 --> 00:26:34,885 - That's beautiful. - Oh, yeah. 454 00:26:34,968 --> 00:26:36,053 That's beautiful. 455 00:26:38,972 --> 00:26:42,684 Who knows what we might find in those new species, 456 00:26:42,768 --> 00:26:44,895 what medicines, what cures. 457 00:26:47,397 --> 00:26:50,234 And to think, we're just one team, 458 00:26:50,317 --> 00:26:55,197 and this is a forest of almost 400 billion trees... 459 00:26:59,743 --> 00:27:02,412 ...with enough potential for thousands of expeditions 460 00:27:02,496 --> 00:27:05,958 to explore for centuries to come. 461 00:27:10,504 --> 00:27:11,755 All right, team! 462 00:27:12,923 --> 00:27:14,091 We're ready to go. 463 00:27:15,092 --> 00:27:16,969 I literally have no idea where we're going. 464 00:27:17,052 --> 00:27:19,138 Well, we've been in the caves 465 00:27:19,221 --> 00:27:21,473 catching all kinds of little creepy-crawlies. 466 00:27:21,557 --> 00:27:23,392 - Mm-hmm. - But you know that snakes 467 00:27:23,475 --> 00:27:24,810 are my first true love. 468 00:27:24,893 --> 00:27:27,938 You said snakes are-- are your first true love? 469 00:27:27,980 --> 00:27:29,940 Yeah, so that's what we're going after now, 470 00:27:30,023 --> 00:27:32,651 are some very, very large snakes. 471 00:27:32,734 --> 00:27:35,571 Snakes. Oh, God. 472 00:27:40,158 --> 00:27:42,786 We're gonna go after the world's heaviest snake, 473 00:27:42,870 --> 00:27:44,329 the Ecuadorian anaconda. 474 00:27:44,413 --> 00:27:47,457 Yeah, this is the beginning of a really bad movie. 475 00:28:08,145 --> 00:28:09,479 When they pull this camera 476 00:28:09,563 --> 00:28:12,399 out of an anaconda 100 years from now, 477 00:28:12,482 --> 00:28:16,194 I just want you to know, um... 478 00:28:16,278 --> 00:28:18,322 it's his fault.