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Private Notes
Steve Backshall begins his global journey at the top of the world when he boards an Arctic icebreaker and goes in search of the Arctic's top predator, the polar bear. Paddling in his kayak Steve gets first hand experience of what it's like to be a ringed seal, the polar bears favourite food, when an inquisitive bear starts to stalk Steve and gets much closer than he dares hope for. One polar bear is frightening enough but when a bunch of boisterous walruses, with their dagger-like tusks also decide to investigate Steve in his bright orange kayak, it's time to move on in search of Arctic predators.
Steve and the crew continue on their epic Pole to Pole journey and head south to Somerset Island high in the Canadian Arctic, but as they leave Svalbard there is one last deadly encounter to be had. Steve witnesses some extraordinary behaviour as he watches a rock climbing polar bear scale a huge sea cliff in search of food. With the Svalbard part of their journey finished it's off to Somerset Island where Steve goes in search of some head banging musk ox, a rather curious Arctic fox still in its pristine winter coat and also the ghostly white whale. But it seems the weather is against them, as for the first time in 40 years the ice hasn't melted. Will Steve and the team succeed in their mission to see the beguiling Arctic beluga whale.
Steve and the crew are in Alaska looking for more deadly animals and, for the first time on Deadly, Steve will also be coming face-to-face with one of the planet's deadliest forces of nature. Venturing deep into the abyss, Steve abseils into the heart of a glacier, experiencing a cold, harsh and inhospitable world that pushes Steve to his limits in what turns out to be one of his toughest deadly challenges yet. Steve also goes in search of grizzly bears on the hunt for salmon and heads out to sea in search of a true ocean giant. Steve gets the shock of his life when a humpback whale catches him by surprise, giving him one of the closest and most thrilling whale encounters he's ever had.
Steve and his Deadly crew travel to the remote west coast of Canada. The cold Pacific Ocean here is alive with weird and wonderful deadly critters that are stranger than science fiction. First on Steve's Deadly wish list is the mysterious sixgill shark. Few people have seen these fearsome predators because they usually live in the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean. Steve and the Deadly team rig underwater CCTV cameras to catch sight of this rare beast. Next up, Steve looks to the skies. It's a raptor's delight bird-off between the sublimely speedy peregrine falcon and the raw power of a bald eagle. Using cutting edge technology, Steve shows us these birds like never before. Last up is a toothy wolf eel and a whole host of downright bizarre predators that inhabit these other-worldly reefs.
Steve Backshall heads south once more and into Yellowstone national park in the USA. This frozen wonderland is home to the continent's most iconic beasts. Top of the list is Steve's favourite animal, the grey wolf, but he will need all his tracking skills to catch up with this elusive predator.
Steve's next challenge is to head into the back country to find North America's largest land mammal, the one tonne bison. This deadly defender gives Steve a much closer encounter than he had bargained for. Pushing into the heart of Yellowstone the Deadly crew discover some ingenious hunters. Finally Yellowstone's deadliest secret is revealed, a force of nature so powerful it could change the world as we know it - a supervolcano, whose next eruption is already 40,000 years overdue!
Steve and his intrepid crew are in the backwoods of North Carolina, USA, in search of the infamous timber rattlesnake. This toxic terror has a tail that vibrates with one of the fastest moving muscles in the whole vertebrate world, which the team manage to film in super slow motion. Next, Steve needs all the luck, patience and deadly technology he can muster in order to track down one of the rarest creatures on earth - the red wolf. He also braves the icy waters of North Carolina's rivers to uncover the hellbender, a freakish and surprisingly sinister underwater killer.
Still in the states, and still heading south, Steve Backshall's journey from pole to pole takes him to Texas, home to the largest congregation of predators ever seen on Deadly. Harness and ropes in hand, Steve lowers himself into the depths of one of the most inhospitable environments on earth in order to literally hang out with a mega swarm of Mexican free-tailed bats. Above ground Steve and his team are on the hunt for the secretive mountain lion - a big cat that to date has always managed to elude him. Whilst tracking down this hard to find feline he gets wrapped up in a surprise encounter with a deadly spider and searches for a serpent responsible for more bites to people than any other venomous snake in the United States.
Steve and the crew make their way to California's Pacific coast for a fun-filled, adrenaline-fuelled ocean adventure. Here Steve dives with an underwater speedster, the mako, the fastest shark in the seas. Skittish by nature, and with explosive speed, getting to see one at close quarters proves to be a tough challenge. Unlike the extremely inquisitive blue shark that decides to investigate Steve up close, giving him a shark encounter he will never forget. It's not just the sharks that are curious either. The aquatic acrobatic, the California sea lion, pays Steve a visit and shows off the underwater agility that makes it such a formidable hunter. Steve then gets to venture into a stunning underwater kelp forest, where he is mesmerised by a huge, beautiful but deadly jellyfish before emerging from the kelp to come face to face with one of the most bizarre looking predators he has ever seen, the sunfish.
Steve continues his deadly journey through the southern states of the USA and goes fishin' Texan style and discovers they sure make 'em big. The alligator gar is the largest fresh water fish in North America but nothing can prepare Steve for the near record-breaking seven foot prehistoric monster he reels in. Next Steve investigates a destructive force of nature - the tornado. To simulate their 200 miles per hour deadly winds, the crew fire up the engines of a fighter jet. Standing in the jet flow Steve shows how everyday objects can transform into deadly projectiles. Finally Steve heads south to the swamps of Georgia in search of a huge alligator snapping turtle, and in true Deadly style the crew soon find themselves wading through snake infested waters and surrounded by highly venomous cottonmouth snakes.
Steve Backshall travels to the tropical islands of the Bahamas for an underwater mission like no other. Using the latest Deadly time-slice technology Steve reveals the science of a shark bite when he dives amongst dozens of hungry lemon sharks. Beneath the waves he and the crew then have a hair-raising encounter when the Bahamas largest and most feared predator, the tiger shark, becomes a little too inquisitive. Finally, back on the mainland, deep underground, Steve faces one of his innermost fears as he enters one of the deadliest environments on the planet - a complex flooded cave system. Getting lost and running out of air is Steve's worst nightmare.
Steve and his intrepid crew hit Hawaii, to encounter three giants of nature. Heading out on the open ocean Steve seeks out a true goliath battle - male humpback whales duelling it out to see who can get the girl. He dives alongside the fighting titans whilst his crew capture this epic spectacle topside. Next, Steve sinks into the inky black at night to look for a sinister looking creature often known as the sea devil, before getting roasted on the volcanic lava flows to experience Hawaii's mightiest force of nature.
Steve Backshall journeys to the remote Hawaiian Islands in search of three very different deadly carnivores. After days of searching the open waters for the mighty oceanic white tip shark, Steve eventually comes literally nose-to-nose with this fearsome predator. On land Steve finds a most surprising predator in the forest, a carnivorous caterpillar that captures unsuspecting insects with its lightning-fast strike, something that has to be seen in super-slow motion to be believed. Back underwater and Steve wants to find out just how much might is in a moray eel's bite. With a double set of jaws and piercing teeth, this true marine monster destroys the deadly bite gauge within seconds.
Steve's epic adventure reaches Cuba, a colourful Caribbean island with a secret deadly side. First up, Steve must overcome his fears to get in the water with a lethal prehistoric predator, the american crocodile. Next, Steve explores a cockroach-infested cave in search of a giant bat-eating snake. Finally Steve dives Cuba's pristine coral reefs as he goes head-to-head with a goliath grouper. This monster fish weighs more than Steve and has a mouth that can gulp down whole lobsters and, as it turns out, Steve's arm!
Steve is in Trinidad, a Caribbean island packed with deadly critters. Camping out in the forest, the Deadly team track a rare and stunningly beautiful jungle cat, the ocelot. Next up, Steve paddles out to sea and attempts to swim with the largest turtle in the world - the mighty leatherback. Finally Steve is back in the sweaty jungle on a hunt for a deadly fer-de-lance snake. This is an aggressive night-time hunter with perfect camouflage and some of the most toxic venom in the Caribbean.
This time Steve will be doing something quite extraordinary - swimming outside of the cage with the most feared shark on the planet- the great white. Steve and the team travel to Guadalupe Island, 150 miles off the Mexican coast, its waters are a hotspot for these huge sharks. Diving into the crystal-clear sea Steve discovers what attracts the great whites to this remote rock, their prey, Guadalupe fur seals. These underwater acrobats swim rings round Steve but even their speed and agility is no match for the great white. Back on the boat it is time for the main event, as a huge great white shark is circling. Stepping out into the blue abyss, Steve's heart is racing as he swims alongside the planet's top predator. It's a truly Deadly encounter he will never forget.
Steve travels to Baja Mexico, a land of toxic terrors and ocean giants. First up, the team hop in the saddle and ride horses into the heart of the Mexican desert. Camping out, Steve is hunting for one of the largest snakes in Baja, the red diamond rattlesnake. But they soon discover rattlers aren't the only predators lurking in the desert. Next, Steve and the team head to the Baja coast in search of the largest cold-blooded animal in the world - the whale shark. Its mouth can be over a metre and a half wide, almost big enough to swallow Steve. Finally Steve has a close encounter with a feisty male californian sea lion, who shows him who's the boss.
Steve's epic adventure from the top to the bottom of the planet has reached Guyana in South America. This is a land of jungle giants and the team is on a search for supersized deadly critters. Steve's first encounter is with a two-metre long snake, but even this giant can't measure up to his next chilling discovery - the world's largest spider. Reaching the size of a dinner plate, it has huge venom-injecting fangs that it uses to hunt birds and snakes. Next Steve heads out onto the sun-baked savannah to track down a titanic termite terminator, the giant anteater. Finally Steve climbs 40 metres up into the trees to find a colossal canopy killer, the majestic but rarely seen harpy eagle.
Steve and his Deadly crew embark on a river expedition deep into the unexplored jungles of Guyana. Venturing out at night, Steve joins a team of scientists to catch the largest predator in these rivers, the formidable black caiman. Next, Steve goes fishing for a monster with a face full of teeth to rival a piranha's. Fearsome by nature and name, it's the wicked-looking wolf fish. Finally, Steve swims in a deadly rainforest river to find an animal so lethal that just touching it could stop his heart in an instant. It's the supercharged shocker, the electric eel.
Steve Backshall and his team have travelled over 7,000 miles from the start of their pole-to-pole journey, to reach the Pantanal in Brazil. This watery wilderness is home to more monster jaws and claws than just about any other place on the planet. Steve's on the search for a cold-blooded killer and manages to capture their sneak attack in slow motion. Next, he lures in a ferocious pack hunter, known as river wolves. Giant otters patrol these waterways in gangs and are a force to be reckoned with. Finally Steve has the encounter of a lifetime when he finally glimpses the animal that has always eluded him, the king of the jungle - the magnificent jaguar.
Steve's journey has reached Peru in South America. Dominated by the towering Andes mountain range, it's a challenging environment where animals survive by being deadly, and Steve is on their trail. In the mountain's shadow Steve searches cactus-strewn scrubland for a rare barnett's lancehead. This heat-sensing ambush predator is a venomous viper with a fearsome reputation. Trekking into the mountains Steve is on a stakeout to film the largest bird of prey on the planet, the lord of mountain skies, the Andean condor. Next, the team discover that their rustic accommodation has been invaded by eight-legged horrors, tarantulas. Using a night-vision camera Steve watches these assassins hunt their insect victims. Finally, Steve tracks down an incredible insect that turns the tables on tarantulas, it's one of the largest wasps in the world, and preys on these huge arachnids.
Steve travels to Patagonia, one of only two places on the planet where you can watch killer whales hunting sea lions off the beaches. Here they launch surprise attacks on unsuspecting sea lion pups playing in the surf, before thrashing desperately to get back out to sea. It's risky business for both the killer whales and Steve. He only has five days to try to film this extraordinary behaviour, but these powerful predators haven't been seen for 10 days. While he waits, Steve gets the chance to meet a nosy armadillo and swim with some curious sea lion pups.
Steve Backshall visits the Falkland Islands, where he tracks down rockhopper penguins, southern sea lions, and some unusual birds of prey called striated caracara
Steve Backshall arrives on the remote and rugged shores of Bird Island. It's taken four hard days of sailing through some of the roughest seas on Earth, but the journey is well worth it as Steve discovers an island packed with stunning wildlife. The wandering albatross, with the largest wingspan of any bird, does its dazzling courtship display just fingertips away from Steve while giant petrels and skuas, two birds with fearsome reputations, tussle to be the next Deadly contender. Steve also gets to dive with some friendly fur seals in the freezing Antarctic waters.
Steve and the crew are nearing the end of their epic global adventure as they reach the icy shores of South Georgia, the last stop before Antarctica. After a five day sail, through some of the roughest seas on earth, they are rewarded with some truly extraordinary wildlife encounters. Steve has a surprise encounter with some enormous battling elephant seals, finds a bizarre giant underwater crustacean and walks amongst one of the largest colonies of king penguins in the world before getting the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to swim with them. It's an experience he will never forget, as penguins dart all around him.
Steve Backshall's global journey culminates in a visit to Antarctica, the land of extremes. The presenter tackles freezing conditions to explore the underwater world of an iceberg, has an encounter with a group of humpback whales, and fulfils a lifelong ambition by diving with one of the greatest predators to inhabit the waters - the leopard seal.
