Crocodile Caught in Drainpipe!

- I have it. I have it. - Pull him back, pull him back. We need everyone on this case. She just keeps going. Oh my god, this is like a super tug of war. This is a large animal. - Here we go, one, two, three. (percussion, tribal music) - All stories have a beginning. This one starts with water. And as we drove across the parched terrain toward the mountains, the only thing on our minds was whether we would find any or not. If you had to guess, I bet you would say the landscape looks like Africa. But believe it or not, this is the dry season in northwest Costa Rica.

And on this adventure, the team and I headed to Palo Verde National Park in search of American

crocodile

s. Leading the expedition is Dr. Chris Murray. A biologist by training, he has spent the last four years capturing and recording the giant reptiles of this region to better understand and mediate the conflict between humans and

crocodile

s. Researching crocodiles is dangerous work. This is how Chris has always done it with his lifelong friend and reptile keeper, Mike Easter. Mike is the trap man. And I bet he's

caught

more crocodiles in the last five years than almost anyone else in this field.

Believe me, it's that good. Together, these two form one of the best crocodile catching teams in the world. And today they put me on the line. Alright Chris, we've been walking for quite some time looking for water. There is no water in sight, just a pile of extremely dry dirt. So much so that I can divide it into pieces. At one point, this was a wetland, right? - That's how it is. - So where have all the crocodiles gone? - Well, many of them walk about a mile to the river there. But we've discovered that many of them are right below us, right here. - Buried in the mud? - Yes, in the mud.

Then, as the waters recede, they simply sit back and let the mud harden above them. And they are estivating under this mud. - Good, now explain to us what aestivation is. - So aestivation is when animals actually sit underground, slow down everything going on internally, and wait out the arid environment until the rains return. - So right now we could be sitting on crocodiles. - We are standing on top of a bunch of crocodiles, throughout this landscape. - And they are waiting for the rains to return so they can get out of the mud. - In approximately one or two months. - To properly carry out your investigation, you have to find the crocodiles and I don't imagine you are going to dig in the ground after them. - No. - So how do we find them? - We'll have to find what water is left. - Well.

So the search for water continues. The best way to cover ground in Palo Verde is in an SUV. And although the goal was to find crocodiles, the odds were definitely against us, as after three hours of searching, we found nothing but a small stagnant puddle and the sun-baked remains of a fallen giant. - It's windy, there's no water. It's really hot. Finding crocodiles will be a great challenge. - So you, what do you think of our possibilities? - To be honest, I think we arrived at the wrong time. Yeah, this is, this, there's like a prolonged drought, so we may have missed the opportunity to have a crocodile here in Costa Rica. - So, with the sun high in the sky and the heat literally cooking us alive, we decided it was best to head back to base camp.

Taking an alternate route back, we came across a couple of drainage pipes in a low spot that still held some water. - Oh, there's some water. - Oh, look at that. It's a small puddle, but would it work, Chris? Maybe something in that? It's not exactly a wetland sanctuary, but it's worth a stop. There is a little bit of water. - Yes, there are crocodiles there. - No way. - Yeah, look down, Mike. - Let me see. - Down there I can see scales. - Oh, you're right. I see a queue. Wow. Well. So we've been searching and searching and searching.

Finally, I mean look at this bag of water. I mean this is only a couple of centimeters deep. Can you tell how big crocodiles are? -The scooters look big, I think we need to see them better. - Wow, okay, so there are definitely crocodiles inside this drain pipe. Now it's just a matter of getting them out of there. That will be a challenge. - That's the challenge. - Okay, let's do this. - How do you guys look there? If you look inside the pipe, I think they're probably seven feet deep. How long do you think this pipe is? 40 feet? - You'll have to crawl there. - Yes, I am. - Both pipes had crocodiles.

So Chris and Mike carefully analyzed the situation and began preparing their equipment. - Try the trap. How is that? - That's good. - Good? That will surround your upper jaw. Perfect. - Okay Mike, duct tape, we'll use these needles. They are heparinized and we will place them here. All the blood will go into these vacuum containers. Alright, then we'll keep them out with us. The tape measure is here. The stock market bailouts are here and all the writing instruments are up. - You have the book? - Yes, the book is here in orange, all the writing materials are here. - Are you guys ready? - Yeah man, let's do this. - In the end, it was determined that the crocodile on the right would be the easiest to catch first. - Alright, now we're just trying to scare these animals to the other end of the pipe, where Mike can catch them.

We're having problems because you know it's obviously very nice to be there and we're not there, so. -Using a simple scare tactic, Chris was able to clump together soft balls of mud, which he threw into the pipe, creating splashes that scared the crocodile all the way to the other end and right into Mike's trap. - I have it! I have it. - Check it out. Nice trap Mike. Look at that, that's the American alligator right there. What an effort to get it out of that pipe. - Good job, good job. - We work quickly to record the length of the animal. - 121 centimeters. - And Chris took a blood sample.

It's like giving the Doctor a little booster shot, right? - Exactly correct. - It was important to stress the crocodile as little as possible and, within minutes, it was released back into the wild. Now to the other one. However, this crocodile was significantly larger and was hiding in the drainage pipe that was not as accessible. - Is there a way you can see in the pipe what is moving right now? - I'll try to. - Any movement? - I probably normally would go straight into this drain pipe, but Chris says it's too dangerous because if I do, - Mike? - Those crocodiles can ambush me. - We already have many crocodiles near you. - Okay, that means it will just follow your path. - Yes, and he's biting the bullet. - Well.

As long as it's the stick and not your hand. - Okay, so what we're going to do is completely reverse our scenario. Chris will come this way, we'll try to drive the crocs out the other end. The biggest one obviously can't turn in the pipe, so we'll cry to convince him to go the other direction and catch his snout at the other end. We will not give up. If he thought catching a crocodile outdoors was dangerous, imagine doing it from inside a drainage pipe. - Okay Mike, tell me what you're doing. - Okay, so I'm going to go in there and my hope is that... - Wait, are you going to go in there? - Yes, good. - I'm going to go in there and my hope is that the alligator is still facing forward and I can slide this right over the snout.

We are just trying to get these crocodiles by any means necessary right now, keeping the crocodiles and ourselves safe. I can't stop trying. - With that said, Mike Easter looked the danger in the face and dove headfirst into the pipe. This is like that operation game, only big teeth and a lot of power. My job was to shine a flashlight on the crocodile so Mike could see it, and Chris splashed water on the other end to lure it into the trap. Alright, if Mike catches the biggest gator, he'll need both of us to get it out of the pipe.

So I'm going to have to run back there, grab the rope and help him pull it out. Okay, Mike now goes even further. - Mike is already in the pipeline. - We are at the end of the pipeline. -We all stayed silent while the trap master worked his magic. Okay, so Mike is getting deeper into the pipeline. The biggest crocodile is coming towards us right now, which is exactly what we want. And then it happened. - I have it. I have it. - Pull him back, pull him back. We need everyone on this case. He just keeps going.

Oh my god, this is like a super tug of war. This is a large animal. - Here we go, one, two, three. He backs away, backs away. One two three. - This is how you trap an American alligator in a drainage pipe. Wow. - We need more rolls. - I know. Holy Cow. - I'm not hungry anymore, I just ate some dirt. - Yes, you have a little mud on your face, Mike. This crocodile still has a lot of energy left. Mike is covered in mud. Okay, so what Chris is doing now is putting a towel over the crocodile's eyes so we can keep him calm.

Then we'll both jump on his back. - One two three. - Perfect. Don't worry, there might be some fighting. He raises his hind legs. - Raise those legs Coyote. Raise them above your calves. - Very good, both hind legs are secured. This is the alligator we've been looking for all day in that drain pipe. It's the biggest one there. Look at the shields on the back of this queue. This is a large animal. Alright, right now Chris is using all of his body weight to keep the animal locked in his place. Mike now has his jaws secured with duct tape.

I have the hind legs and part of the tail under control, but this animal could burst with power at any moment. There is still a lot of fight left in this beast. - Okay, I'm going to sit down. - Well. Good? Wow. - Good job guys. Wow. - That's a big crocodile. Following protocol, we worked as a team to record the length of the crocodile from its snout to the tip of its tail. - Very good, we are three meters away sharp. - Nice. I verified the sex of the animal. That's a female. And then Chris carefully extracted the ever-important blood sample that, when he takes it to the lab, will provide him with vital hormonal data for his ongoing research.

Definitely intimidating to sin with an animal of this size. And right now she's completely calm, but I can't lose focus at any point because she's actually getting his energy back. So, you know, it doesn't seem like it, but I'm holding on as tight as I can right now to make sure she doesn't hit her body and knock me out of her. We've been looking all day for water that might have crocodiles in it and lo and behold, right here in these drainage pipes is where we found the American crocodile. I'm Coyote Peterson. Be brave. Stay wild.

See you on the next adventure. With the data collected, we carefully moved this ancient reptile toward deeper waters. He removed the tape from her snout and watched as she burst into the water and disappeared into the pipe. Alright. - We did it. In short, mission accomplished. - Mission accomplished. - Mission accomplished. Alright, now it's time to go, wash up and have some dinner. The American alligator is hailed as one of the greatest relics that can call this planet home. And to this day they have survived even the dinosaurs. Their fight for survival is fought with incredible instinct.

And whether they're buried under cracked earth or hidden in a drainage pipe, these reptiles continue to defy the odds. When it comes to Chris and Mike, their work is never done. Because eventually the rains will return, and when they do, there will always be the next crocodile to catch. If you thought this adventure was epic, be sure to come back and check out our expedition into the heart of the rainforest. Where I managed to find and capture the elusive water nole. And don't forget to subscribe to join me and the team this season of Breaking Trail.

He's completely limp in my hand, because he wants me to think he's dead. He is not. He confides in me. At any moment it could explode. So, and throw yourself out of my hand.