Deadly 60 (2009)

Steve travels to Indonesia in search of three very different reptiles to add to his list of 60 deadly predators. He and his crew have a nerve-racking close encounter, when they are chased by a group of ravenous, three metre long Komodo Dragons, the world's largest venomous lizards! Steve also demonstrates the incredible gliding technique of a tiny flying lizard and heads out on a nocturnal hunt for the beautiful but lethal Green Pit Viper.

In the medieval Ethiopian city of Harar, Steve Backshall has a unique and potentially lethal encounter with a pack of spotted Hyenas. Capable of tearing their prey apart with super strong jaws and thick muscular bodies, here they are hand fed, allowing Steve the encounter of a lifetime with this normally unapproachable predator. Out of the town and up into the Mountains Steve meets the rarest wolf on earth and discovers why a grass-munching monkey, the Gelada baboon, has a set of teeth that would make a vampire jealous.

Steve is on his home turf, scouring land, sea and air, for some of the deadliest critters that the UK has to offer. First, he heads for the seas off the coast of Plymouth, in search of monsters from the deep. And he's not disappointed! In the bowels of a wreck he comes face to face with a giant conger eel, one of the most feared predators in the ocean. Back on land he meets a double deadly killer, the dragonfly. As adults they are amazing aerial assassins, but they lead a double life. Before they emerge as elegant winged beauties, the larvae are terrors of the underwater world, impaling their unsuspecting prey with their alien-like double hinged jaws. Finally, with the aid of giant vertical wind tunnel, Steve tries to hover like a kestrel, one of the prettiest, but fiercest falcons.

Steve and the crew head into the beautiful Alaskan wilderness for another deadly adventure. It's the largest state in America, and is home to some of the most impressive predators on Earth. Out at sea he uses radar technology to track down massive humpback whales, with a unique hunting strategy. Next he braves freezing coastal waters to get a close up view of the world's furriest mammal. Adapted for the freezing waters, they do look cute, but don't be fooled, they're prolific killers and they have very sharp minds. Finally it's back to dry land, where Steve and the crew go in search of incredible, imposing grizzly bears, and witness these huge mammals in full on deadly mode.

Steve's search for deadly animals takes him and the crew to South Africa. This time they're looking for one of the most iconic of them all, the ferocious great white shark. He gets some fantastic views of this king of the ocean, and to demonstrate their awesome hunting prowess, he has a special trick up his sleeve. Just as feared by many is the Cape Buffalo, known locally as the black-death. Steve takes to the skies to track down a huge heard of this notoriously bad tempered bovine beast before being charmed by the snake-stomping secretary bird.

In Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Steve chases the sea's fastest fish, the sailfish, reef-dives in search of a real-life sea monster and ventures alone, in complete darkness, into the 'cave of hanging serpents'.

Steve heads into the outback to find the world's most venomous snake, then to Tasmania to meet the Tasmanian Devil, and finally goes in search of a toxic terror living right in the heart of Sydney, the Blue Ringed Octopus.

Steve descends deep into New Zealand's Waitomo caves to find an unusual predator that lures insects to their death with a lethal lightshow, heads to South island to get an aerial view of one of the biggest animals on Earth, the sperm whale, and drives inland to meet a very curious bird armed with deadly intelligence.

Back in South Africa, Steve plays a friendly game of football with cheetahs, meets a monkey snatching crowned eagle eggs, and turns the latest camera technology on a trio of Africa's deadliest snakes.

Back in Australia, Steve drops from a helicopter into the nest of giant saltwater crocodile, goes in search of the most venomous animal on earth, the box jellyfish, and finally enters a marshland on a hunt for the and Tiger Snakes.

Steve and his crew are back in the jungles of South America for this deadly adventure. Steve heads into crocodile infested waters for a spooky nocturnal encounter with a truly shocking predator, the electric eel and takes a boat ride up the Amazon river to meet another infamous water dwelling kille - the black piranha; the largest of all piranha species. He also braves a thunderstorm to get a close-up view of one of the world's rarest canines, the maned wolf.

Steve and the crew head to the mountain kingdom of Nepal to search for more animal predators. Steve enlists the help of an elephant to track down a very grumpy rhinoceros and stalks the forests in search of the largest cat on earth, the highly elusive and endangered Bengal Tiger. He also has a chance encounter with a hive of honeybees in the centre of a busy Nepalese town before taking to the skies to paraglide with an Egyptian vulture above the foothills of the Himalayas.

Steve and the crew return to Mexico in search of more animals to add to the Deadly 60. Steve searches a swamp at night for a rare and beautiful crocodile with a nasty bite, before heading to the stunning Mexican coastline for an exhilarating encounter with one of the most dangerous sharks in the world, the Bull Shark. Finally he witnesses the awesome spectacle and hunting power of one of the greatest gathering of predators on Earth, as a million-strong bat army take to the night sky.

This time Steve and the crew travel to Venezuela in search of more lethal animal predators for their Deadly list. First they comb the Venezuelan wetlands looking for the biggest snake in the world, the mighty Green Anaconda, capable of growing to over six metres in length. Then Steve heads beneath the rainforest into a dark cave infested with vampire bats, where a true toxic terror lurks, the Scolopendra, a giant centipede armed with a powerful venomous bite.

Steve returns to South America to search for more of the planet's deadliest animals. 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. In Brazil he heads out for a night-time encounter with a metre-long monster of the Amazonian waterways, the wolf fish and back on dry land Steve turns to technology in an attempt to track down one of South America's most elusive jungle predators, the enigmatic Jaguar.

Steve and the crew head for the island paradise of Sri Lanka in search of two massive predators. Steve attempts to free dive with the largest animal ever known to have lived, the Blue Whale and back on dry land he goes in search of another giant, the Asian Elephant. Along the way the Steve and the crew also encounter two very deadly snakes, a highly venomous Russell's Viper and an enormous, bone crushing Indian Rock Python.

Steve and the crew continue their Sri Lankan adventure on the hunt for another three perfect predators. They set up a night time stakeout to try and film an elusive Mugger Crocodile, head out to sea to find a highly toxic and rather ugly Hook-nosed sea snake and also explore the Yala National Park in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the majestic and seldom seen Sri Lankan Leopard.

Steve and the crew visit the Southern States of the USA in search of more predators to add to his Deadly list. He dives into the crystal clear waters of the Silver Springs River to swim with a wild Alligator and adds his first plant to the list, a carnivorous Venus Flytrap. He also feels the sting of the formidable Fire Ant and joins a team of scientists, tracking and tagging wild Bobcats.

Steve and the crew continue their search for the planet's deadliest predators with a visit to Florida in the USA. Steve wades into a swamp to try and catch a slippery amphibian called the Amphiuma and tracks down America's largest snake, the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. His journey ends in the Florida Keys where he witnesses firsthand the sophisticated hunting methods of highly intelligent Bottlenose Dolphins.

In this special episode Steve Backshall reveals the advanced camera technology and tricks of the trade that allow him and the Deadly 60 crew to film stunning images of the planet's most lethal predators. Including the high-speed camera that captured the breathtaking breach attack of the Great White Shark and the specially designed camera traps that let the crew film wildlife when they're not even there.

Steve Backshall delves into the weird and wonderful world of the parasites in this Deadly 60 special. From leeches to tapeworms and cuckoos to mosquitoes he reveals the mind-boggling methods that parasites employ to survive, breed and feed by exploiting their animal and human hosts

In this Deadly 60 special Steve Backshall takes a look at some of the super skills and senses that animals around the world use to hunt and survive. From the blistering speed and acceleration of the Cheetah to the elastic tongue and 360-degree vision of the chameleon and even a shark with a remarkable, hidden, sixth sense.

In this Deadly 60 Special Steve takes a look at the incredible methods animals employ to protect themselves against predators. He trains with a kung fu expert and reveals the martial arts experts of the natural world, including a big hitting shrimp and a mesmerising preying mantis.

In this Deadly 60 special wildlife expert Steve Backshall examines the increasing pressures threatening our planet's animal populations, including tigers, gorillas and whales. He explores the various conservation efforts set up to help them and reveals a few success stories, such as the remarkable comeback of Africa's White Rhino.

In this final episode, wildlife adventurer Steve Backshall looks back at some remarkable unseen footage from the filming of Deadly 60, including the rescue of a juvenile fur seal from hungry great white sharks in South Africa and a terrifying run in with a giant venomous centipede in Venezuela. There are also some funny outtakes and Steve reveals his all time favourite animal encounter ever!