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Pole to Pole with Will Smith - Season 1 - Episode 02: The Amazon: Deadly Creatures
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TVTranscript
00:00You
00:40This is Den's jungle.
00:46That's what machetes are for.
00:53Come on.
00:54Did you ever have one of those friends
00:56that, like, gets you in trouble
00:59all the time?
01:06I remember my very first snake bite.
01:09You never forget your first.
01:10Yeah, that's Brian.
01:15Over the last 25 years,
01:18I've had 27 snake bites,
01:1924 broken bones,
01:21400 stitches,
01:22three concussions,
01:23two stingray stings,
01:25and one near-fatal scorpion sting
01:26in the Amazon.
01:32That went in my ear.
01:34I don't like bugs.
01:37I don't like snakes.
01:40I don't like spiders.
01:43And Brian has us in the middle
01:46of the Amazon
01:49looking for deadly creatures.
02:12On my pole-to-pole journey,
02:15I'm exploring the extremes of our planet
02:18because I'm discovering
02:20that it's at the edges
02:22where you find the answers
02:23to life's most important questions.
02:27My next leg
02:29has dropped me right
02:30into the heart of the Amazon
02:32to join a groundbreaking
02:34scientific expedition
02:36to the world's largest rainforest.
02:48This is our tree.
02:51Wow.
02:54This thing is gigantic.
02:58200 feet.
03:01Seems like a lot of gear
03:03to climb a tree.
03:04Yeah.
03:05The expedition's
03:06led by mountaineer Carla Perez.
03:08Okay, Brian.
03:09You are ready to go.
03:11All right.
03:11Awesome.
03:12All right.
03:12And my man,
03:13Professor Brian Frye.
03:15Show me the way, coach.
03:16Okay.
03:18Now, Brian thinks
03:19there are creatures here
03:21that could hold the secret
03:22to saving millions of lives.
03:25You are doing great, Brian.
03:28The goal of the expedition
03:29is to find new species,
03:32not just for the sake
03:34of finding new species.
03:35You know,
03:35we're not collecting stamps here.
03:37But hunting for new species
03:39that might lead
03:40to important scientific breakthroughs.
03:42I'm just going to put myself up.
03:48But first,
03:49we want to show Will
03:50what an incredible place
03:51the Amazon is
03:52and the sheer scale
03:55of the life that it contains.
03:58You see how well I'm doing?
03:59Keep going, keep going.
04:01You didn't even imagine
04:02I was going to be this good at it.
04:06Here we are.
04:08We made it.
04:12Wow.
04:13Wow.
04:15Just amazing, eh?
04:16Sitting on top of the world.
04:21Look at that.
04:23Just endless.
04:29There is not a hospital
04:30as far as I can see.
04:35Oh, this is fantastic, man.
04:38This is fantastic.
04:40I've brought you up here
04:41to show you why
04:42the Amazon is the best place
04:44on Earth
04:45to look for new species.
04:49If you look around,
04:50not everything
04:51is what you'd expect.
04:54Most of what you're seeing
04:55that's green,
04:55that's not actually
04:56part of the tree.
04:57That's the small plants
04:58living on the tree.
05:00They're called epiphytes.
05:02A tree this size
05:04could have
05:05over 200
05:06different species.
05:08Just look at
05:09what you're sitting on.
05:11That's not the tree.
05:13That's soil.
05:15That's wild.
05:16It's like
05:17another forest floor
05:19on top of the tree.
05:21Exactly.
05:23And the same is true
05:25of animals.
05:26The Amazon is hiding
05:27a wealth of species
05:28that you might not
05:30be able to see,
05:31but you can hear.
05:34Let me show you
05:35something really cool.
05:37I recorded the sounds
05:38of all the animals
05:39in earshot of this tree
05:41for 24 hours.
05:44There's a brown
05:45woolly monkey,
05:46howler monkey,
05:47and that's what we're hearing.
05:48Well, a howler monkey
05:49is what we're hearing now.
05:50Yeah, that really
05:50spooky sound.
05:51That's the Pavarotti
05:53of the jungle.
05:57Yeah, that's him.
05:59Yeah.
06:00You have a pygmy
06:02marmoset in here.
06:04Yeah, they're cool.
06:04A little arboreal
06:05primate.
06:15Oh, man,
06:17the common putu
06:17got rhythm.
06:20It is on and popping
06:22in the Amazon.
06:25It's like a nature club.
06:28It's like...
06:29It's like...
06:34All day and all night long.
06:41Now, I get it.
06:44This is the most alive place
06:47on Earth.
06:50It feels like there's more
06:52life in this one tree
06:54than the whole of Antarctica.
07:01Exploring the incredible
07:03diversity of life
07:04in the canopy
07:06is already proving
07:07incredibly revolutionary
07:09for biosciences.
07:12But to find the species
07:13I'm interested in
07:14for this expedition,
07:16we're going somewhere
07:18much less charted,
07:19down
07:20into the pitch black.
07:30Try to follow my steps.
07:35Those first couple steps
07:37in the jungle,
07:39it really is overwhelming.
07:41The smells,
07:43the sound,
07:44and the density.
07:47Watch out this section, guys,
07:49with a lot of insects.
07:50They're really surrounded
07:52by Mother Nature,
07:54and it sounds so silly,
07:56but that was actually
07:58a revelation for me.
08:02There is a real,
08:04like,
08:05blossoming explorer
08:07within me.
08:09I got this.
08:12We are arriving.
08:14The main goal
08:15of our expedition
08:16is just there.
08:17But today,
08:18we are not going up.
08:19We are going down.
08:21Going down?
08:22Yeah.
08:31When you think
08:32of the Amazon,
08:32you don't necessarily
08:35think of caves.
08:37But if you're ever
08:38going to find
08:39something new,
08:41caves are a great
08:42place to start.
08:44And the Taos cave
08:45is a hidden world
08:47where we will find
08:48new life.
08:52Are you okay?
08:55Oh, goodness.
08:57This is the cave.
08:59Whoa.
09:00Can you see?
09:01Whoa.
09:02I don't like that at all.
09:09We are going down
09:11about 20-story building.
09:15206 feet.
09:17So, yeah.
09:18All right.
09:19So now,
09:19the moment is arrived.
09:23Okay.
09:24See you on the bottom.
09:31The cave has a Spanish name,
09:34La Cueva de los Tayos.
09:36And local people
09:37call it
09:38the warmth of the earth.
09:41For sure,
09:42this is the most dangerous
09:44moment
09:44in the whole expedition.
09:47Yeah, I'm a little concerned.
09:49I'm certainly
09:50a little concerned.
09:51When you flip
09:52on your lights,
09:53you're going to see
09:55things that you
09:55never even imagined,
09:57except maybe in some
09:57really feverish dreams.
09:59Okay.
10:00Oh, there's some
10:01really cool things
10:02in there.
10:03I'm not going to ruin
10:04the surprise,
10:04but there's some
10:06wicked-looking animals.
10:09My specific field
10:11of study
10:11is
10:12venomology.
10:13It's my job
10:14to discover
10:16new species
10:17of venomous animals.
10:20Venoms
10:20formed
10:21the backbone
10:22of
10:22some of our
10:24most effective
10:24drugs.
10:25They've been
10:26truly
10:27revolutionary
10:28in biomedical science.
10:32Imagine if
10:33down there
10:34there's a cure
10:36for cancer.
10:39Wow.
10:41So we're
10:42looking
10:42for
10:43venomous
10:44species.
10:45Yeah.
10:46Some of the scorpions,
10:47we haven't tested
10:48their toxicity yet,
10:49which means that
10:50the odds of the
10:51antivenom working
10:51really aren't that great.
10:55Yeah, this whole
10:56thing is stupid.
10:57Yeah, this is a bad
10:58idea, the whole
11:00idea.
11:06And it's all
11:07on me?
11:08Yes.
11:17Oh, goodness.
11:21Okay, we got
11:22sounds and clicks
11:24and pops and stuff.
11:25All right.
11:26Oh, geez.
11:28All right, hold on.
11:29Give me a second
11:30to get my
11:31movie star face
11:31back.
11:35How's that?
11:35Still, I'm still
11:36breathing too hard
11:37though, right?
11:39All right.
11:40Oh, that's,
11:41I shouldn't have done
11:42that.
11:46Part of this whole
11:48thing for me is
11:49like playing
11:51my edges.
11:52I just want to
11:53keep inching out
11:54a little bit farther
11:55to see something
11:56or feel something
11:57that is outside
11:59of my comfort zone.
12:00Turn to go off.
12:02This is my
12:03worst nightmare,
12:05but I'm not going
12:05to let my fear
12:07stop me.
12:19Great.
12:20Good job.
12:23Wow.
12:26Yo.
12:28This is great.
12:31It's like another
12:32world.
12:34You can just tell
12:35things just look
12:37like no humans
12:38have seen it before.
12:39Yeah, it's crazy.
12:40The biodiversity in here
12:41has barely been scratched.
12:42You know, there's only
12:43been a handful of studies
12:44and the cataloging
12:46of life in here
12:47is far, far
12:48from complete.
12:50The creatures here
12:51are as isolated
12:52as if they were
12:53on an island
12:54in the middle
12:54of the ocean.
12:55So they have
12:56the potential
12:56to evolve
12:57into genetically
12:57distinct new species.
13:01Evolving in such
13:02a dark and hostile
13:03environment like this
13:04breeds intense
13:06competition,
13:06which also promotes
13:08innovation and ways
13:10to kill.
13:10So you get
13:12new types of venom
13:13with a power
13:14that is just
13:15mind-blowing.
13:16Okay.
13:16What if we just left?
13:20All right.
13:20Okay.
13:28How far does it go?
13:30We don't know.
13:31Most of the cave
13:33has never been explored.
13:54My team has identified
13:55this chamber
13:56as a prime zone
13:57for all the things
13:58we're after.
13:59So there should be
14:00lots of scorpions
14:01and spiders here.
14:02So we're basically
14:03going to try to
14:04like clear this room.
14:06Yeah.
14:07Guys, now I will
14:09let you go
14:09and collect
14:11some specimens.
14:12Okay.
14:12You leave me with him?
14:14Yeah.
14:14Oh, really?
14:14I trust, but if you need
14:16me, you just scream,
14:17Carla!
14:18Carla!
14:26Hey, there's a,
14:27what is that?
14:28A little cave cricket.
14:29A cave cricket.
14:30Ah, that jumped.
14:32Okay.
14:34Oh, nice big cockroach.
14:36Here's a big food
14:37for somebody.
14:39Wow.
14:40You want to hold it?
14:41Damn it.
14:42Yeah, all right.
14:42There we go.
14:43Because I can't act
14:44scared since you,
14:45ah!
14:46It's like men in black.
14:49Oh, hey.
14:50Oh, that's a nice one.
14:52Oh, wow.
14:53Can I have a job?
14:54Which one?
14:55Okay.
14:55So this is a big spider.
14:57Yes, I can see that part.
14:59Here, I have a bigger jug
15:00if you want.
15:00Yeah, I need a bigger jug.
15:02We're going to need
15:03a bigger jug.
15:04Here we go.
15:05All right.
15:09Ooh, ooh.
15:11Ooh, ah!
15:13And the lid, please?
15:14Okay, sorry.
15:15Here you go, sorry.
15:16This is...
15:17I'm not good at this.
15:18Is that to make sure
15:18it's the right lid?
15:19Yes, that's a big girl.
15:21This is definitely
15:22the biggest spider
15:23I've ever seen.
15:23The big brown one,
15:25the Goliath bird eater,
15:27isn't found near this region,
15:28so there's a good chance
15:29this will be a new species
15:30of, you know,
15:31big brown tarantula.
15:34That's insane.
15:36For me,
15:38going on these expeditions
15:39is like a once-in-a-lifetime
15:41level of craziness.
15:43But for scientists like Brian,
15:45this is just another day
15:46in the office.
15:47All right.
15:48I'm going to show you
15:49something really cool.
15:50It might sound stupid,
15:51but we're going to turn
15:51our lights off,
15:52but we're going to use
15:53another type of light.
15:54Okay.
15:54So we're going to use
15:55UV lights.
15:56It's how we find
15:57a certain animal
15:58that's really hard
15:59to see otherwise.
16:01Oh, wow.
16:01Look at your shirt.
16:02Ooh.
16:03They use that at the club
16:04when they put the mark
16:05on you.
16:06So we're looking for
16:07something that does that.
16:08You know,
16:08a little glowy, buddy.
16:10Oh, hey.
16:10We're right there.
16:11What is that?
16:12Wow.
16:12You know what animal
16:13that is?
16:14Looks like a scorpion.
16:15Yeah.
16:15And they glow.
16:16We don't know why.
16:17Have you ever been
16:19stung by a scorpion?
16:20Oh, yeah.
16:20They suck.
16:21It felt like my finger
16:22was in a flame
16:23for about eight hours.
16:24Ooh.
16:25So are these things fast?
16:27No.
16:27I guess we'll see
16:28in a second.
16:29Ooh.
16:30Hey.
16:30Awesome.
16:32Wow.
16:34Here we go.
16:35So do you want
16:36to just do it
16:36on your own?
16:37Actually, flip your own
16:38rocks and look
16:39for your own animals.
16:40Okay.
16:41Yes.
16:41I think, yes, sir.
16:42I would like to do that.
16:44Awesome.
16:48It's pretty dark
16:49in here.
16:52Yeah.
16:54The team is hoping
16:56that, like,
16:56I would find
16:57my own species.
17:00But I'm pretty sure
17:03that's not gonna happen.
17:06Um,
17:07because I'm not
17:08really gonna look.
17:11Yeah,
17:12there's nothing here.
17:14Oh, there's a spider.
17:16You don't see that?
17:19Ooh,
17:19there's a family of them.
17:20Damn.
17:21That's like ten.
17:23Like somewhere
17:24around ten spiders
17:25is where I leave.
17:28And they don't,
17:29they're not new species.
17:30I can,
17:31they, um,
17:32those are normal species
17:33that they just,
17:34they're regular spiders.
17:35So there's nothing special.
17:36So there's no reason
17:37for us to proceed
17:40with the expedition
17:41in that direction.
17:43Yo, yo, yo.
17:45I don't want
17:46no parts of that.
17:48To me,
17:49this looks like
17:50a regular species.
17:52So I'm gonna just
17:53leave that alone.
17:56Mmm.
17:59Yeah, I can see that, right?
18:02Um,
18:03we caught one of these
18:05already,
18:05so I think this is cool.
18:07I'm gonna just
18:07leave that alone.
18:09Ooh, that's a bat.
18:10That's a bat.
18:11That is a bat.
18:13Ooh, no,
18:14that's not one bat.
18:15That's ten bats.
18:16They're flying.
18:17They're flying.
18:19All right.
18:20All gone.
18:21Ugh!
18:22Ugh!
18:26Ugh!
18:28Carla!
18:40So, we've caught
18:41a number of animals
18:43so far,
18:43and who knows
18:45what's in their venom?
18:46Yeah, that thing
18:46is insane-looking.
18:48So there might be
18:50potential cures
18:52that come out
18:54of the tarantula?
18:55Absolutely.
18:56The tarantulas
18:57or the scorpions.
18:59So of all these
19:00critters,
19:02how do you know
19:03which one's
19:03the most useful?
19:05Well,
19:06whichever is
19:07the most potently venomous.
19:17Venoms are
19:17effective killers
19:18because they target
19:19vital parts of the body.
19:22But what's cool
19:24is in low quantities,
19:25these effects
19:26can be honest
19:27for good.
19:29The venom
19:30of a Brazilian pit viper
19:31kills with a sudden
19:32drop of blood pressure.
19:34But it's been
19:35developed into a medicine
19:36that more than
19:3740 million people
19:38use to keep
19:39their blood pressure
19:40under control.
19:43Scorpion venoms
19:44paralyze
19:45the nervous system,
19:46but they've inspired
19:47a medicine
19:48that can help
19:49treat stroke victims.
19:51a component
19:52in spider venom
19:52can alleviate pain
19:54rather than
19:55cause it.
19:58Imagine the medical
19:59breakthroughs
20:00that can be made
20:00from new venomous
20:01species
20:02found in the Amazon.
20:06So we're going to milk
20:08the biggest
20:09of the tarantulas.
20:10Is that like
20:10the scientific term,
20:11milking?
20:12Well,
20:12we try to use
20:14venom extraction,
20:15but milking
20:15is kind of cool.
20:20How long
20:20does the spider
20:21stay knocked out?
20:22I try to do
20:23as minimal as possible,
20:24so it's usually out
20:25for about
20:25five minutes,
20:26ten minutes at most.
20:28So you should
20:28hurry up then.
20:29Yeah.
20:32It takes
20:32three of us
20:33just to wrangle
20:34the animal.
20:35Uh-oh.
20:36Oh, jeez.
20:37He's seeming frisky.
20:40Yeah, he looked
20:40like he's been milked
20:41before.
20:43And he didn't like it.
20:46We really don't
20:47want to get nailed
20:48by it because,
20:48wow, do they suck.
20:50Okay, okay.
20:51All right, all right.
20:52Dave will wrangle
20:53the body.
20:54I'll apply the tans.
20:55You'll run the tans.
20:56This is called
20:56the tans machine?
20:57Yeah.
20:58It's the same machine
20:59that an athlete
20:59would use
21:00on a muscle injury.
21:01But we're going
21:02to use it
21:03to gently stimulate
21:04the venom glands.
21:05Okay, got it, got it.
21:08All right, so, um,
21:09first, Amalia
21:09is going to pop open
21:11one of the fangs.
21:14Whoa.
21:15Yeah, that's a big fang.
21:16Yeah.
21:18Okay, I've got
21:19the pad on.
21:20Okay.
21:20I've got the tans on.
21:21Just tell me
21:21when to milk.
21:25Okay, let's keep
21:26running it up.
21:26Keep running it up.
21:28Faster.
21:37Getting any venom?
21:38Ooh, nice big drop.
21:39Look at that.
21:43There we go.
21:44Ooh, that was a good amount.
21:47No, no, yeah,
21:48just let it hold.
21:48Yeah, hold it at that point.
21:49Hold it right there.
21:50You're increasing it
21:51one milliamp at a time.
21:53So we only use
21:54as much electricity
21:55as it takes
21:56to actually stimulate
21:57the venom gland,
21:57the same amount
21:58of neuroelectricity
21:59it would send.
22:00Mm-hmm.
22:00Because we like these animals.
22:01You know, we're driven
22:02by childlike love
22:03for these creatures.
22:04We don't want to hurt them.
22:06Oh, we worried
22:06about not hurting them.
22:09We need to act quickly.
22:11The spider's waking up rapidly.
22:13Uh-oh.
22:13Oh, jeez.
22:15Faster.
22:17All right, I'm going up,
22:18going up, going up, going up.
22:24Oh, look at the size
22:25of that drop.
22:26Yeah, well, this is wild.
22:27This is wild.
22:30That is an amazing amount
22:32of venom.
22:35All right.
22:36We're good?
22:36I can stop?
22:40Your first venom extraction.
22:43Whew.
22:45That's stressful.
22:48And that was just the start.
22:51The team collected
22:53dozens more creatures
22:55and anything
22:56they didn't recognize,
22:59they just milked it.
23:01Well done.
23:02All right, good stuff.
23:03Good stuff.
23:04Go team.
23:05Gracias, gracias.
23:06I mean, it's a weird way
23:07to make a living,
23:08but Brian seemed really happy.
23:11The expedition has been
23:15extraordinarily successful.
23:17We're only scratching
23:18the surface of the bonanza
23:19that we collected.
23:24I can only imagine
23:26what kind of breakthroughs
23:28are contained
23:29in all of these new venoms.
23:31It was a very, very special day.
23:34It's one of those things
23:36you don't forget too often.
23:39What'd you do today, Daddy?
23:42Oh, I milked
23:43a tarantula, sweetie.
23:59It looks like they're leaving.
24:03So how are you feeling
24:04about the cave now?
24:06You know, it was, um,
24:08it was interesting.
24:10We milked the spider.
24:12Thank you for that.
24:12It's my first time.
24:14I've never milked
24:14a tarantula before.
24:16Not a big thing in Philly.
24:17Yeah, yeah.
24:18We don't do that.
24:19We don't do that a lot.
24:20We don't do that a lot.
24:21But when did you, um,
24:25land on the idea
24:27of, uh, poison
24:30becoming medicine
24:31as your thing?
24:34A few different parts.
24:36You know, one is
24:37I was just a weird kid,
24:38you know, who really
24:39liked venomous snakes.
24:40In other parts, you know,
24:41weapons-grade-sized
24:42dose of survivor's guilt,
24:44where, when I was a kid,
24:46I was absolutely nuked
24:48by spinal meningitis.
24:53It causes an inflammation
24:54of your spinal cord
24:55and your brain
24:57because it can be
24:58very rapidly lethal.
25:00You don't come out
25:01unscathed.
25:05Came out of the hospital,
25:06my muscles so wasted,
25:07I had to relearn
25:08how to walk all over again.
25:13It also left me
25:14a complete deafness
25:15in my right ear.
25:17But I got away
25:19as lightly touched
25:20as you can.
25:24So you said
25:26survivor's guilt.
25:28Like, what do you mean?
25:30Oh, it's, you know,
25:32it's a pretty common thing
25:33and it's not logical.
25:35But I'm driven in part
25:37by being one of the ones
25:40who survived.
25:44anything I can do
25:45to help alleviate
25:46that kind of suffering,
25:47you know,
25:47is worth doing.
25:48I get it.
25:50Something that can hurt you,
25:53being able to heal you
25:54and help you.
25:55I like that.
25:57I appreciate it.
25:57Brian has been bitten
26:00and stung
26:03and poisoned
26:04multiple times.
26:07If I get bit at work,
26:09you know,
26:11we're done for the day
26:12for sure.
26:13And, uh,
26:14and we're probably
26:14done for tomorrow.
26:17But in life,
26:19there's something
26:20to be said about
26:21not being scared
26:23of getting bit.
26:25Of the myriad of animals
26:27that we got,
26:27we have at least
26:2810 new species
26:30just from this
26:31one expedition.
26:33That's beautiful.
26:34Oh, yeah.
26:35That's beautiful.
26:38Who knows what we might
26:40find in those new species?
26:42What medicines?
26:44What cures?
26:47And to think,
26:48we're just one team.
26:50And this is a forest
26:51of almost 400.
26:53billion trees
26:59with enough potential
27:01for thousands
27:02of expeditions
27:02to explore
27:03for centuries to come.
27:10All right, team.
27:12We're ready to go.
27:14I literally have no idea
27:16where we're going.
27:17Well, we've been in the caves
27:19catching all kinds
27:20of little creepy crawlies,
27:21but, you know,
27:22that snakes
27:23are my first true love.
27:24You said snakes
27:26are your first true love.
27:28Yeah, so that's
27:28what we're going after now
27:29are some very,
27:31very large snakes.
27:33Snakes.
27:34Oh, God.
27:39We're going to go after
27:41the world's heaviest snake,
27:42the Ecuadorian anaconda.
27:44Yeah, this is the beginning
27:45of a really bad movie.
28:07and they pull this camera
28:09out of an anaconda
28:11100 years from now.
28:12I just want you to know it's his fault.
29:01I just want you to know it's his fault.
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