Deadly 60 on a Mission

Épisode 1 - Costa Rica

7 août 2011

Steve Backshall embarks on one of his best ever missions, to the steamy rainforests of Costa Rica, where he sets out to hunt down some of the deadliest animals in Central America. The mission gets off to a breathtaking start when Steve is almost strangled by a giant boa constrictor, is struck dumb by the strike speed of a viper, and plays hide and seek with a deadly bushmaster. And as if that wasn't enough, he gets hands-on with the world's most poisonous frog, nearly gets a nip from a blood-sucking vampire and has a dramatic encounter with a huge American crocodile.

Épisode 2 - Argentina and Peru

Join Steve Backshall on one of his best ever missions, this time to the heart of South America. A hunt for the mighty anaconda goes badly wrong when Steve is attacked by an unseen predator; when he does find his snake it almost breaks his hand. Steve takes a dip in piranha-infested waters to see these voracious predators up close, and has a surprising face-to-face encounter with the creature that bit him. Steve's mission then takes him over the border into Peru, where he meets the fierce giant river otter and another very different - but equally formidable - snake.

Épisode 3 - Mexico and Panama

Steve is in Central America for another of his best ever missions. First, he takes to the water in search of a monster of the deep seas. It is so dangerous that he has to wear chain mail to stop it from ripping him to shreds, and be tethered to the boat in case it drags him down. Back on dry land Steve goes searching for the biggest wasp in the world, before setting off for what turns out to be his best ever day of snake hunting. Then he heads out to Panama to track down one of the largest, and most impressive, birds of prey in the world: the harpy eagle. Finally, Steve faces his fears to handle some giant bullet ants, who possess the world's most painful insect bite.

Épisode 4 - Philippines

Steve Backshall is in the Philippines for another of his best ever missions. He has a tense and intimidating encounter with a living dinosaur, and delves into a subterranean world to find an arachnid with legs four times longer than its body. An early morning dive in the beautiful waters of the Philippines rewards him with a stunning shark that spends most of the day 550 meters below the surface. There is a swim with one of the deadliest snakes on the planet, and a nocturnal search in the jungle reveals a Tarsier, a deceptively cute predator who eats its victims head first.

Épisode 5 - South Africa and Namibia

4 septembre 2011

Join Steve Backshall on one of his best ever missions to find some of the most exciting and deadly animals in Southern Africa. Steve braves the big waves of the Durban coast to get almost too close for comfort to a pack of 30 hungry blacktip sharks. Next on his list is a flight with the mighty black eagle, and then he abseils down a cliff to come face to face with a huge swarm of angry killer bees. Undaunted by a painful sting, he heads over the border into Namibia, where he has a close encounter with a sidewinder before getting hands on with the ultimate Africa predator, the lion!

Épisode 6 - British Columbia

Steve is in search of some monsters of the deep seas, and he certainly finds them. His first encounter is with a fast, fierce and frightening sea lion, a meeting which leaves Steve visibly shaken. Next he tracks down one of the weirdest-looking fish on the planet, armed with chisel-like teeth, he comes face-to-face with a giant Pacific octopus, and experiences the best wildlife encounter of his life when he goes kayaking with killer whales.

Épisode 1 - Africa 1

Steve Backshall continues his quest to encounter the world's 60 deadliest animals in their natural habitats. Heading to South Africa, he goes in search of the great white shark and has a trick up his sleeve to demonstrate its hunting prowess. The crew also observes cheetahs, a trio of the nation's most venomous snakes and the powerful secretary bird

Épisode 2 - Australia and New Zealand

Steve Backshall and his crew travel to Australia and New Zealand in search of more lethal predators. First up, Steve has his most dramatic encounter ever as he dangles beneath a helicopter and is dropped onto the nest of a wild saltwater crocodile. Steve then heads into the blistering sun of the outback to fulfil a lifelong dream of finding the most venomous snake in the world, the fierce snake whose toxic strike has the potential to kill the whole crew. Then it is time for the team to head over to New Zealand and venture deep into the Waitomo caves, where he hopes to find an unusual predator that lures insects to their death with a lethal light show. Finally, Steve heads out in search of the largest-toothed predator on the planet - the mighty sperm whale.

Épisode 3 - Asia

Steve Backshall tracks down the deadliest animals in Asia. He begins in Indonesia, where he and his crew are chased by a group of ravenous Komodo dragons, the world's most venomous lizard. In Nepal he tracks down a grumpy rhinoceros and stalks the forests in search of the elusive Bengal tiger - the largest cat on Earth - before paragliding alongside an Egyptian vulture above the foothills of the Himalayas

Épisode 4 - South America

Steve Backshall and the crew scour the wetlands of Venezuela in search of more lethal beasts. Steve heads into crocodile infested waters for a spooky nocturnal encounter with a truly shocking predator, the electric eel. He joins a team trying to save a highly endangered predator, the Orinoco crocodile, and witnesses the ferocious maternal instincts of a female croc protecting her nest. Steve then leaves the wetlands for the rainforest and heads into a dark cave infested with vampire bats. Here a true toxic terror lurks, the scolopendra, a giant centipede armed with a powerful venomous bite. Before leaving South America, Steve takes the opportunity to cross the border into Brazil and gets a close-up view of one of the world's rarest canines, the maned wolf.

Épisode 5 - Mexico

This time on Deadly 60 On a Mission, Steve and the crew head to Mexico's breathtaking Yucatan Peninsula. First up is an exhilarating encounter with one of the most dangerous sharks in the world, the bull shark. Staying on the water Steve embarks on a high-octane chase with the fastest fish in the sea, the sailfish and witnesses these swimming speedsters obliterate a bait ball of sardines right in front of his eyes. Heading inland Steve is awestruck by the stunning spectacle and hunting power of one of the greatest gathering of predators on Earth, a million-strong bat army taking to the night sky. Finally, in a thrilling climax to his trip, Steve ventures alone and in complete darkness into the cave of hanging serpents. Here he marvels at the incredible hunting skills of the Mexican night snake, a cold-blooded predator that can catch a bat in mid-air!

Épisode 6 - Florida

Steve Backshall continues his search for the planet's deadliest predators with a visit to Florida in the USA. He dives into the crystal clear waters of the Silver Springs river to swim with a wild alligator, before wading into a swamp to try and catch a slippery amphibian, the weird and wonderful amphiuma. Steve then heads to the drier pine woodlands on the trail of America's largest serpent, the eastern diamondback rattlesnake. Steve then travels to South Carolina, joining a team of scientists, tracking and tagging wild bobcats. His journey ends back in the water, in the Florida Keys where he witnesses first-hand the sophisticated hunting methods of a highly intelligent predator, the bottlenose dolphin.

Épisode 7 - Africa 2

Steve Backshall journeys from the lush mountains of Ethiopia to the plains of South Africa. Starting in the medieval Ethiopian city of Harar, Steve has a potentially lethal encounter with one of the most feared predators in Africa, the spotted hyena. Capable of tearing their prey apart with super strong jaws, here these wild hyenas are hand fed, allowing Steve the encounter of a lifetime with this normally unapproachable predator. Out of town and up into the mountains Steve discovers why a grass munching monkey, the gelada baboon, has a set of teeth that would make a vampire jealous; and he meets the rarest wolf on earth. Steve then heads to South Africa on the trail of an animal known locally as the black-death, the Cape buffalo. He is then charmed by a snake-munching bird, the ground hornbill; and the regal crowned eagle, a bird capable of snatching unsuspecting monkeys from the treetops.

Épisode 8 - Sri Lanka

Steve Backshall and the Deadly 60 crew head for the island paradise of Sri Lanka. First they head to Yala National Park, famous for its population of one of the most elusive and cryptic cats on the planet - the Sri Lankan leopard. The team then set up a night-time stakeout in a local village to try and film an ancient river monster, the mugger crocodile. And the night-time deadlies don't stop there when a local brings an enormous, bone crushing Indian rock python to Steve's attention. Finally it's a mission of massive proportions as Steve attempts to free dive with the largest animal ever known to have lived, the blue whale. It's a lifetime ambition, with some jaw-dropping results.