Night of the Deadly Creatures

and you come there pumping, working, keeping this frog alive. - Okay, let's let it go. - Alright, let's do this. I'm going to try to let it jump back to this sheet. (suspenseful tribal music) Light, light, light. I understand. - Oh, that's a coral snake. - That's a coral snake. - That is a very dangerous snake. - Yes, that is a very dangerous snake. Is it a coral? Yes. That is one hundred percent a coral snake. You don't want this snake to bite you. Now this doesn't have articulated fangs like a viper. They have small fixed fangs, but are extremely poisonous.

Why don't I restrain his head and control him? - Are you sure you want to head that? Oh my God. - Wow. The best way for us to introduce this snake, because it moved so much, was for me to just direct and control it. That's a huge coral snake, right? - Yes. - The biggest one you've ever seen? - Yes. - They are incredibly fast, incredibly strong and the poison is incredibly powerful. Being bitten by this snake would be as bad as being bitten by a fer-de-lance. I can't believe how many snakes there are moving around to

night

.

Amazing, it's getting a little musky now. He was very scared when we approached him, he moved very quickly and I was able to gently grab him with the snake tongs. And I have a good fixed grip on the head. Gentle, but controlled, as you can see there. And it's just, wow, look at the iridescence of the scale. Can your camera capture that? - Yes, it is a beautiful snake. That's really impressive. - Now, the bright coloration of this snake is in line with the term aposematic that I usually use with poison frogs. Anything with a bright color is a warning that I am toxic.

And in this case, it's a poisonous snake, not a poisonous frog. And again, a bite from this snake would send me to the hospital. Now most of the snakes we have encountered so far here in Costa Rica are vipers, but this one is an elapid. They are actually related to cobras with a very, very potent venom. (sighs) Well, it's certainly been the

night

of the snakes, between my close encounter with the fer-de-lance and then, of course, that leaping viper and now, the coral snake. I'll be happy when we take this one back to the rainforest. I'm Coyote Petersen.

Be brave, stay wild. See you on the next adventure. If you thought the

creatures

on the east side of Costa Rica looked creepy, be sure to come back and watch the episode that follows our adventure in the western rainforest, where I get up close and personal with a giant cockroach. And don't forget, subscribe so you can join me and the team this season of Breaking Trail. (adventurous music) (coyote howling)