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I'm Ray Tiller and today I'm flipping 100 rocks for creepy, cute, and dangerous animals. There's no telling what I'm going to find. This is rock number one. Let's see what's underneath. We have absolutely nothing. Let's keep on searching. Oh my god. No way. Rock number two. And we have our first snake. Oh wow. Check this out. Rock number two delivered us one of the friendliest snake species on the planet. This right here, ladies and gentlemen, is a ring-necked snake. And this is actually technically a venomous species, but their venom is not toxic to humans at all.
Look at the underbelly of this ringneck snake, though. Gorgeous. But I don't want to stress this little guy out. So, let's let him go right back underneath this rock. Keep on searching. What a find. So, this stretch of wilderness is an area that I've been exploring since I was a little kid. We're about to come up on a spot that I have named Copperhead Headquarters, which is all the more reason why I have to be very alert. I do not want to step on one of these well-camouflaged venomous snakes. Let's see if we can find our first dangerous
creature of the day. This is a really good area for snakes. These huge clumpy rocks. Just a south-facing rock cliff, which is the best spot to find species like copperheads, timber rattle- No way. There's no way, dude. There's no way. I just spoke that into fruition. There is a huge copperhead snake right on top of this rock right here. Look at that. Staying perfectly still. Camouflage is the copperhead's number one defense mechanism. Still doesn't think I've spotted it, but that is about to change. I'm actually going to end up tubing it to move it about 100 yards down
into a more controlled environment. If my tally is correct, we are currently 19 rocks in. This copperhead was not even found underneath the rock. It's not every day that you get hands-on with a venomous snake, let alone the copperhead, which is my all-time favorite snake species. I've been working with these guys since I was a little kid. I love their patterning. I love coming across them. They're one of the fastest striking snakes that I've ever worked with and they're just so beautiful up close in person. But copperheads are responsible for the most envenomations every
single year here in the United States. And one that is because they are incredibly common, but two, they camouflage incredibly well. I do also want to stress that these guys are very misunderstood. They're not aggressive towards people. All they want to do is be left alone and camouflage and wait for a rodent to come by. And they strike it with that hemotoxic venom and they have a meal. But I do not want to stress this guy out any more than I have to. So, let's let him go right back on the rock that we found him on. And let's keep searching.
Guys, you can't make this up. We just came across a copperhead about 90 seconds ago. And I'm going to count this as rock number 20. Underneath is another copperhead snake. Check that guy out. This is a beautiful semi adult copperhead. Not nearly as large as the one that we just pulled up. We are 1/5th of the way through this rock flipping journey and we have two copperheads. I really like that ratio. I don't know about you guys, but this rock right here looks really, really good. And nothing. I really thought this rock was going to turn up something. This proves I'm not finding everything with every flip,
but some leave you a little more disappointed than others. This is one of those rocks. Whoa! Check out this huge beetle. I almost stepped on this guy. My head was up looking for the next rock to flip, but there's this huge beetle right here. This is one of the largest ones I think I've ever seen in the state of Missouri. But we're going to leave this guy be and continue the search for the next rock. Nothing. Oh no, dude. There's a snake. Dude, I've never caught this snake before. You are gorgeous, boy. Oh my god. Okay, you are quick striking and you are very, very angry. But this is a
prairie kingsnake. And what makes this guy so special is that it'll actually eat other snakes, including venomous species like the copper head. Kingsnakes are highly resistant to snake venom. And in this habitat, this snake is definitely the king. Really fascinating. Oh my goodness, you are quick. Quick striking. Of course, this is a nonvenomous species. I have nothing to be afraid of. Still don't want to take a bite, though, cuz this guy could make me bleed. Oh my god, that was so close to my face. I'm so excited right now. Like I said, I've never caught this snake before. And here in the Midwest and how often I come out, it's pretty rare for me to catch something I've never
caught before. So, let's get some up-close shots and then release it back underneath its rock. What a find. There's a skink right behind this small tree. Oh. Oh, I got him. No way. What a catch. Oh. Ow. He's biting me. Oh, buddy. You're not going to break skin, but you have a mighty bite. So, this right here is a common five-lined skink. They are actually really common here in the Midwest and the entire eastern half of the United States. Ow. They can grow to quite larger sizes than this. Ooh, buddy, you are really chomping my finger right now. Look at that.
I do want to be super gentle with this guy though because like all lizard species, this skink will intentionally cut off its own tail to escape a potential predator, which then grows back. The skink will be fine. But I do not want to let that happen today. Who knew? I'm coming out here to flip rocks. I saw this skink going up a tree and I was able to go in for the grab. What a catch. All right, let's let this guy go. Keep flipping rocks. Oh, look at that centipede. Will it go on me? Oh. Oh, no. Doesn't want to go on me. Not quite as dangerous as the centipedes you're used to seeing on Brave Wilderness, but still a
pretty cool find. Boy, if there was ever a place where you were going to take a copperhead bite, this would definitely be it. Look at this leafy bottom. This is where a copperhead will camouflage perfectly. I don't even know if my trained eye could spot a copper head if it was sitting out right now. Look at this. Even more- Oh my god, that was almost a very dangerous situation. I saw the snake skin right there, but I did not see not one but two copperhead snakes curled up together. [snorts] Holy cow. Looks like we have another semi adult and a
juvenile copperhead that was probably born within the last couple of weeks. Let's see if we can get either of them out. A baby would be really cool to display. Oh no, there they both go. Boy, we have really found the copper head headquarters of the state of Missouri. Guys, you cannot make this up. As I was about to leave, there were the two copperheads in there. There's this third one right there. Then there's a fourth one right there. And again, I was about to leave once more. There is a fifth copperhead there. There's a sixth copper- head right there. You can see the tail of And there is a seventh copperhead.
Can you get it in the shot? Yeah, you can see its face right there. Oh my god. No way. There's an eighth copperhead. It's a baby. There's a ninth copperhead. Oh, they're right next to each other. Two babies. Nine copperheads within like five feet of one another. This is mind-blowing. This goes to show you that if you are in an environment where copperhead snakes are present, you have to watch every single step. I do not know how I did not take a bite. I was just walking through this terrain. But let's keep going. Let's see what else we can find.
I don't want to get my hopes up, but as I was coming up on this rock to flip it, I think I saw a black widow retreat underneath. Let's do a little flip. Oh, there is a black widow. Look at her hiding right underneath that rock. Just when I thought I wasn't going to find a black widow spider on this journey, rock number 98 with only two more to go gives me this beautiful female black widow. Now, of course, I am going to freehandle this spider to give you guys the best presentation possible. I definitely do not have arachnophobia,
but this is creepy. A bite from this spider today would be a very bad experience. Although the northern black widow does not grow to nearly as large of a size as the southern black widow, this spider still possesses that incredibly potent neurotoxic venom, which means the venom of this spider is going to directly attack my nervous system. I might experience nausea, vomiting, bodyaches, joint aches, headache, fatigue, you name it. All of the symptoms from this spider bite are going to be internal. And I know what some of you out there are saying. You're like,
"Ray, this is not a black widow." And you're probably saying that because of all of the extra red dots that you see on top of the abdomen. This spider just feels really comfortable hanging right in front of my face. But that's what makes the northern black widow unique compared to its cousin, the southern black widow. It has those extra red dots on top of the abdomen. The hourglass on the bottom does not fully connect either and it does not grow to nearly as large of a size as the southern black widow. Now, the reason I am freehandling this spider today
is not just for the shock and awe. Of course, that's what you guys are watching for, but I want to prove to you guys that even the most venomous of spiders here in the United States want absolutely nothing to do with you. Venom is a very precious resource and spiders, snakes, anything that possesses venom doesn't want to use it unless it's absolutely necessary. Now, this was found on rock number 98. And of course, there are two more rocks to go, but I don't think we're going to find something that quite tops the black widow. So,
this is where I'm going to say my outro. Make sure to let us know if you want to see more videos like this in the future. Maybe soon. Coyote and I will venture out into the field and flip a 100 rocks to see what we can find in an entirely different environment. But until next time, I'm Ray Tiller. Be brave, stay wild. I'll see you guys on the next adventure.
