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25 Episodes 2009 - 2011
Episode 1
Thu, May 28, 2009
Steve starts his search for South African killer species with the hippopotamus, a vegetarian which kills more people then any African predator. His toxic selection includes one of the deadliest scorpions, a spider and three snake species: black mamba, a cobra and a python.
Episode 2
Steve starts with a tame fish eagle, Bono, who however immediately attracts territorially rivaling attention from a wild relative. Steve shows clumsily how hard catching fish in flight is. On the road, a web wheel spider. Next we get a lesson is the art of stealth and sprint hunting the leopard and cheetah way, and the wild dog tenacity alternative.
Episode 3
Steve visits the Cape Province. The honey badger is utterly fearless. The caracal hunts as masterly as any feline, with a secret weapon, jumping up to 3 meter to catch birds. An otter invites itself. Steve plays with a toxic but inoffensive giant stingrays. The main course, despite stormy weather, is luring some of the world's largest sharks population, notably a car-size great white.
Episode 4
In suburban yards and parks near Perth, charming Aussie Mitch shows fellow herpetologist Steve the omnipresence of his country's world deadliest collection of poisonous animals, of which he picks the extremely lethal tiger snake, a close cobra-relative, not the skink lizard. In the ocean, Steve admires the seal bur rather picks the pelican, with its deep air-dive and 13 liter water-holding bag along a record-length beak, the cake going to the dolphin, who out-swims anyone, jumps up to 5 meter and is a s smart as a primate, pulling off very clever collective hunting techniques.
Episode 5
Steve searches Queensland for poisonous killer species. The sugar cane toad doesn't make the list because it's an alien, which was imported from South America to eat cane beetles, which alas live higher then it jumps, but eat nearly all small wildlife on the ground. The list does include the red-back, a black widow, the dragon lizard and the tick, a sneaky vampire which dives onto its prey and buries its head under the skin to suck blood and spread poison, which kills even adult bats.
Episode 6
In the state South Australia, Steve pursues his quest of poisonous killer species. During a demonstration of hydrodynamics, the inferiority of human streamlining compared to the tuna-fish is hilariously demonstrated by the irretrievable loss of his swimming trunks. The trapdoor spider is huge, with vicious fangs and venom. Perhaps the weirdest of all species is the elusive platypus, with extremely poisonous spurs. In the sea lives the catfish, who looks like a regular alien, with rapid tentacles strong enough to crack open a crab.
Episode 7
Steve heads north for the final part of his Australian adventure where he helps catch a saltwater crocodile before hitting the road to witness a bushfire and track down ghost bats at an abandoned goldmine.
Episode 8
Fellow herpetologist Jerry shows Steve some deadly reptilians, notably crocodiles an their favorites, poisonous snakes which kill 50,000 Indians a year, including the huge royal cobra, which eats all other serpents, and the small, aggressive saw-scale-viper, which kills even more people. The slothbear's sharp claws kill more people then tigers. The preying mantis, masters in mimicry and lightning-attack, inspired a kung-fu style.
Episode 9
Steve admires the gavial, a huge crocodile adapted to fishing like no other, but so rare now in the Ganges basin that it's bred in captivity. The great iconic quest however is by jeep and elephant, a combination ideal to increase chances of meeting Bengal tigers in the wild. After frustrating days, the feline emperors of wildlife suddenly abound and on occasion come rather too close.
Episode 10
On the relatively pristine island of Borneo, Steve's team admires the rain-forest and mangrove fauna, such as the orangutan, and braves leeches. Qualified killers include insectivore bats, who catch and eat bugs just as efficiently as swallows do. Their rich droppings are a biotope in its own right, ruled by cockroaches and the extremely poisonous centipede scutigera. Pythons, the world's longest serpent which even eats and swallows humans, top the snakes-population.
Episode 11
Steve starts his exploration of the Borneo seas visiting the sea nomads on their boats, examining their catch. In the undeep waters near coast and coral reefs he admires scorpion-fish, crocodile-fish lion-fish. coral-reef mantis shrimp. In the open sea hunt sharks, tuna, maquerel and his list-pick, the barracuda.
Episode 12
In Wales's sea, Steve chooses the aero- and hydro-dynamic gannet, who spears fish like a living harpoon. In England, the herpetologist first recalls a memorable viper-bite, but also present the two non-toxic native snakes. Under one roof he finds bats and hornet, giant wasps who regularly cannibalize entire bee nests. The showstopper is a hawk, which demonstrates its amazing flight trough the wood.
Episode 13
Steve continues his home quest up north in Scotland's isles, where otters swim, the aquatic giants amongst the ever-deadly weasel family and wilder then the Highlands. In the fens (lowland bogs) he goes trough aquatic insectivores but selects an amphibious spider which devours all of them. Finally the fastest animal ever, the falcon, whose entire anatomy is adapted to speeding, demonstrates its flight agility as infallible hunter by outracing a sport-scar from which the falconer waves a lure.
Episode 14
28 mins
Steve seeks the deadliest Artic predators, which means an Alaskan quest for the polar bear, the largest living land predator. Unexpedtecly keen polar foxes on the way don't make the list, unlike the wolverine and several congregations to feast on salmons, notably the grizzly bear and the eagle.
Episode 15
27 mins
In Arizona's surprisingly lively Sonora desert, literally deadly rivals for air supremacy are the 'Canadian' eagle owl at night and Steve's first pick, the smaller buzzard, who prevails at day by hunting in small packs. Ruling feline is the mountain lion, puma or cougar, a master of stealth hunting and climbing, almost impossible to track without hounds. Perhaps most feared is the deadly-poisonous rattlesnake. Steve also picks a less toxic amphibian, the gecko, a bizarre lizard.
Episode 16
27 mins
In Louisiana, Steve's team searches for bayou (marshland) killer species, several of which are named after the iconic alligator, of which he visits the zoo-bred, spooky albino variety. The list starts with a fish whose mouth looks like a crocodile's. In between, a subaquatic fish-eating snake, a water-surface-mobile spider and an alien, the accidentally imported Latin American fire-ants. The list's champion is a turtle, who beak snaps faster and with more force then any other living predator's.
Episode 17
28 mins
Steve takes his camera time diving in the Caribean near the Bahamas. he concentrates on sharks, a prehistoric family of predators, the many members of which divide the seas in habitats to feed on all types of aquatic prey. Despote their predatory mastery, they prove inoffensive, yet inquisitive concerning the boys.
Episode 18
Steve enjoys using a helicopter to roam the Brazilian savanna, in search a the giant anteater, who breaks into concrete-hard termite castles. In the forest, he selects from the invertebrate insectivores the wold's most poisonous spider, a snake and a scorpion. Back in the field, a rabbit owl, who uses the dirtiest hunting strategy.
Episode 19
The main course in Brazilian wildlife is Amazonia, a land of deadly extremes. Steve admires and swim with the largest fish, planned to select the carnivorous species of red piranha but is won over by the even more voracious candiru fish. The boat also passes procession caterpillars. The fer de lance is the most deadly snake in the Americas. The pink Orinoko dolphin is a master in smart group fishing.
Episode 20
This season finale continues roaming Amazonian Brazil. Steve focuses on spiders, choosing the world's largest, the Goliath tarantula. In a cave he finds the vampire bat. The last of his 60 spots is assigned, rather by chance, to the army ants.
Episode 21
In this digest special, Steve recapitulates species from all continents which are deadly even for humans who cross them at the wrong time and place. In Africa, that includes the vegetarian hippopotamus, which crushes or bites people to death, as well as poisonous scorpions and serpents. In Australia, the 'salty' crocodile's surprise attacks are usually fatal, yet the red back spider is feared even more. In India, vipers top the human kill count with tens of thousands a year, but the majestic Bengal tiger commands legendary respect. In the Arctic, the polar bear is supremely lethal, like the grizzly in the Rockies. In the oceans, sharks strike terror.
Episode 22
Sharks, especially the great white, have a deadly mouthful of razor-sharp teeth and bite like a chainsaw. At scale, carnivorous bats can compare. Biting power champions include crocodilians and the alligator turtle. Claws can be deadly too, as with birds of prey, the praying mantis, which inspired kungfu, and its homonym aquatic counterpart, a lobster. Venom is often deadly, with millipedes as well as snakes such as cobras. Speed is often part of deadly hunting, as with falcon and tuna.
Episode 23
In this extra episode on species Steve couldn't show in the regular ones, he starts in Australia with a spider. In Borneo, a viciously poisonous centipede made him sweat, especially as it seemed caught in his wristwatch. peaceful encounters followed with a viper and a kingfisher, as well as a moraine. In Africa, a 'gliding spider', more vipers and other serpents. In Alaska, Steve's favorite predator, the grey wolf.
Episode 24
The making of an adventurous documentary like Deadly 60 is an adventure in itself, even if most of the time is spent waiting and searching, preferably with local guides or other experts, yet often even in vain. The tricks of the trade include safety measures, as for climbing, and getting acquainted in advance with dangerous animals, such as 'domesticated' hippo Jessica. Yet surprises always lurk, especially with wild animals. Biotopes themselves can be pretty uncomfortable, e.g. stinking, bugs-infested, spooky and/or dangerous, especially for team-members with phobias, such as deep caves, not to mention the elements. Sometimes animals just won't 'perform'.
Episode 25
The team needs to be well-matched, including camera and sound technicians as well as director and researcher, plus local guides, sometimes doubling tasks, e.g. handling extra cameras. The required recording equipment adds to the personal luggage, so transportation is quite demanding in desolate or near-impenetrable territory, which can be as dangerous and unpredictable as wild predators and parasites, all subject to the elements, which sometimes even get the better of equipment. For various menial practical reasons, recording a short sequence can take forever.