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Animals On Drugs Season 1 Episode 2
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Florida is one of the most unique and diverse states in the entire country with some of the
00:09most incredible habitat and wildlife. And recently some of that wildlife, alligators,
00:17have been exhibiting some extremely unusual and aggressive behavior. But I believe that the fact
00:24that right here in Citrus County happens to be one of the methamphetamine capitals of the United
00:29States could be the reason that we're seeing these animals exhibits of aggression. Citrus County sits
00:37on the west coast of central Florida, occupying nearly 800 square miles with rivers, lakes, and
00:44swamps making up nearly a quarter of it. Just last year, police arrested over 60 drug traffickers in
00:51one bust, seizing enough narcotics to kill a hundred thousand people. Question is, are these drugs getting
00:58into the waterways and changing animals' behavior? Now, I'm not an expert in meth, but I am an expert in
01:08human-wildlife conflict. And what I do know is that if we don't get to the bottom of what's going on,
01:12it could result in human fatalities. We're on a mission to figure out whether or not there really are
01:23meth gators. Now authorities in Tennessee are warning about potential meth gators. The term
01:33meth gator actually started as a joke amongst cops in Tennessee. After arresting someone trying to flush
01:41liquid methamphetamine down a toilet, they put out a statement asking residents not to because it could
01:48create meth gators. And now, with meth and fentanyl use up 875% since 2015, there's never been more
02:02opportunities for actual meth gators. Here in Citrus County, drug arrests have nearly doubled since
02:092015, averaging two a day. So in order to track down and identify a meth gator, I'm enlisting the help of a
02:18former Florida cop who's become a legendary gator trapper. He's been on both sides of the coin. He's dealt with
02:26the drug epidemic, and he now deals with the gator problems. So it's actually Ron calling right now. Hey, Ron, I'm not far
02:35away. Why? Well, good, because we need to go. I got gators on a golf course. Oh, no. So we need to go see
02:42if we can snatch him out. Oh, you got it. So why don't you bring me here? We'll head over that way. Copy that, Ron. See you in a
02:48minute. All right. It's exciting. We're getting right into it.
03:01Hey, buddy. Hey, man. How's it going? Um, you guys are going to just jump in with us. We'll just get going,
03:05right? We've got to go. Yep. All right. Let's do it.
03:12The DEA has located over 44 clandestine drug labs or dump sites here in Citrus County since 2004.
03:21Every instance of drug trafficking is another chance it could be ingested by the wildlife.
03:29To cut through the bull around, what I'm asking you is, do you ever think you've seen a gator that's
03:34been on meth? Well, I've seen some gators that definitely have been on something and very
03:38aggressive, but aggressive in ways that are not normally aggressive. Explain. They just come after
03:43you. An alligator, for the most part, they want to go away. Yep. Well, big gators, they'll see you and
03:49they come right to you. So it's like heightened aggression. Oh, yeah. The statistics show that the
03:54drug problem has exponentially increased. And right here in Citrus County, sadly, is one of the hubs of
04:00that. What do you think happens with their stash, you know, when when the cops are raiding it? You
04:05know, when we would go in, that would be the first thing. Everybody's flushing their stuff down the
04:09toilet. So that's it. Dispose of it with the toilet. Dispose of it, you know. And here, this part of
04:14Florida, a lot of the houses have septic tanks. And that leads straight to our waterways. Leads
04:20straight to our waterways. So if it's affecting the fish, well, what else does it affect? It affects
04:25gators. In fact, everything else. So these gators, not by choice, but regardless, are on substances
04:33because people are on substances. Yes.
04:41Hi. Hey, Forrest. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Do what we got. I'm pretty sure he's a
04:4610-footer out there, Captain Ron. And he has been bothering our golfers. He actually followed a
04:51golfer around, coming up out of the water, taking his tail, cow whipping it. And, you
04:56know, when they start following those golfers, that's when we have a problem. That's pretty
05:01unusual behavior, though, right, Ron? Yeah. I mean, a gator that big normally is going to
05:05want to stay away from people. Sure. Doesn't want anything to do with it. So if it's being that
05:09aggressive, there's something wrong with it. There's some movement there right now. See that?
05:13Oh, yeah. Yep. Yeah.
05:14Ron's been called to this particular golf course so often. He's got his own golf cart. Only he's
05:24swapped his clubs and bags for snares and hooks and a very loud gator call. I mean, he could be
05:32traveling in and out of this right here. Well, this is where they throw him on this bridge.
05:35Son of a bitch. Baby gators chirp to call their mother. If our potential meth gator
05:49hears it, it's likely to come looking for a fight. Trail right here, Ron. Got one? There's a slide
06:01right here from him. Clear as day. Yep. You can see the width of that. This is a big alligator.
06:14I know he's here. I'm telling you. I know he's here.
06:17A gator that's been exposed to meth is likely to be extra aggressive, unpredictable, and even
06:32disoriented. Not something we want sneaking up on us in the dark. Well, I got a gator.
06:41Oops. All right. Where is he? He just went under. Just went under. There he is. There he is. Yeah,
06:51that is him. Go for it. Now that we've spotted him, Ron will try to hook him.
06:58Alligator skin has multiple layers, so a small hook can take hold without actually harming him.
07:04Okay. We got him. There we go. Gator on.
07:13Sounds like he's taking some line from you there, Ron. Oh, yeah. He's going to run. There he goes.
07:17Going that way. My light's going to scare him out. Yep. So right now, we're just, I'm trying to keep
07:23pressure on him. Yep. Let him tire out a little. Yep. I've had gators hooked. Five to ten minutes to
07:29an hour and a half on a really big gator. See some back. There he is. Okay. Heads up. Hey, big boy.
07:36Come on now. Even just spotting the gator's head can give you an idea of its size. He's pretty good
07:42size. He's not small. The length in inches between the eyeballs roughly translates to the length in feet
07:50of the gator. There's the leader. He's coming up. There you go. Not quite. Come here, big boy.
07:56He's a good gator. He's a big gator. Got it? Yep. Yeah, there you go. There you go. Oh, shoot.
08:13That's a good size gator. Okay. Come here, buddy. Okay. Come here, buddy. There we go. Okay.
08:25All right. We're good there. Okay. You got him? All right, buddy. There we go.
08:36Well, Ron, we got him. We did. This is still the most dangerous part. Uh-uh. No biting.
08:44Alligators have one of the strongest bite forces in the world going down, but an exceptionally weak
08:49bite force opening, or I guess reverse bite force trying to open their jaws. So a few bits of tape.
08:53I always use a gear tie because they're rubber and they don't hurt them as a backup. And we got our
08:59gator. Woo! Let's go, Ron. Good work, buddy. There we go.
09:03After a quick examination, it's clear. Look, I'll be honest with you, Ron. I don't think there's
09:10anything abnormal about this alligator. How about you? No. No, not at all. No. But he doesn't
09:15belong in this golf course pond. Okay, Ron, let's do it. All right. Let's see if I can get him here.
09:20Oh, careful. Okay. Okay. Got him? All right. Yeah. What? You want to put his head on your lap?
09:28All right. Florida gets more storms than any other state. And just as a hurricane can blow your house
09:41away, it can displace a gator. Hurricane Milton struck here just two weeks ago with 105 mile an hour winds.
09:50I suspect this gator was tossed around and found himself in the golf course pond, frustrated and
09:58disoriented, but not on map. All right. There's the truck. Yep. He's heavy just in the golf cart, Ron.
10:05Oh, my God. He's a heavy gator. All right. Okay. I got him. Oh, my God. He's heavy.
10:13I got his tail. Go on and get in. Okay. Okay. Liam, can you roll this window down? And then just lift his tail up.
10:24Close it up. There we go. So, I don't normally take gators in my truck, okay? Yes, sir.
10:36Beautiful creature. They are my favorite, without any question. I can see why, man.
10:42Mm-mm. Mm-mm. He's charging up now. No, no, no. That's not the play, my boy. That's not the play.
10:47Here. Um, cover his eyes. Okay. Let's calm you down a little, big guy.
10:56Cold-blooded animals tire quickly. And blocking their vision usually helps them relax.
11:05This is the spot, right? This is the spot.
11:07Okay. Okay. Great. I can't really move. I'm kind of pinned under this.
11:11Okay. Got him? Yep.
11:15All right, big guy.
11:19Ready? I'm ready. You ready? I'm ready.
11:22There we go. There he goes.
11:23There he goes. Bye-bye, big, beautiful boy. Off you go.
11:28No more going to that golf course, all right?
11:30Way to go, man. That was fun, buddy.
11:31Way to go to the plan.
11:32Yeah. Relocating him into this more natural habitat should quickly improve the gator's overall health.
11:39The fact that it took us eight hours to catch that gator and that he was trying to avoid us, he was staying out, he was being coy, he was being shy, to me, tells us everything we need to know,
11:49which is that is a wild gator in a bad situation versus being a gator that has some sort of substance in him that's altering his behavior.
11:58So, incredible day, but not what we came here to find.
12:01On to the next thing in the morning.
12:05No meth head's going to shoot us or anything.
12:07Be careful out there.
12:08This is actually feeling pretty sketchy.
12:13Fantastic.
12:13If we do end up with a large contaminated alligator, fortunately, I have a buddy named Chris, Gator Boy Chris, who is a world-renowned gator rehabber and even has a sanctuary, so I'm going to give him a quick call.
12:34Hey, how's it going, man?
12:35Dude, I'm well.
12:36I'm here in Florida, actually, with a mutual friend of ours, Trapper Ron, and I'm looking into the effect of some of these animals that have some sort of toxicity poisoning, whether that's from, you know, pharmaceuticals, methamphetamines, anything, and it sort of got me thinking that I don't really know what to do if I catch one that is in that state, so I wanted to see if you're interested in joining us, because there's a few people I know who are as good at tracking gators as you.
12:59I'm always down to go catch some gators, obviously.
13:02Well, you, me, and Ron, that's the dream team.
13:04Absolutely, man.
13:04That sounds awesome.
13:05See you, buddy.
13:06Chris is on board.
13:07Now, let's see if we can actually find one of these gators that is, in fact, infected by some of these bigger problems.
13:17Morning, guys.
13:17Good morning, man.
13:18How we feeling?
13:19Good.
13:19How you doing?
13:19Good, Chris.
13:21There's a lady right back over here who has a dog and says the alligator comes right up and tracks her dog all the time.
13:27Interesting.
13:28So it is acting a little bit.
13:30Not normal for this gator to be doing exactly what he's doing now, so it's like, yeah, this may be it.
13:35So we can go get him.
13:36All right.
13:36Well, hop in, guys.
13:37Let's get going.
13:43Her dog is out here right now.
13:44Uh-huh.
13:45So.
13:45That gator could be right here somewhere hunting him.
13:47That gator could be tracking that dog.
13:49I've caught gators by mimicking dog barks.
13:51Have you?
13:52I literally have.
13:53Yeah.
13:53Like, they wouldn't like to call a box, and it's, oof, oof, and it's just come right over.
13:58And there he sits right there, looking like a snack.
14:00Yep.
14:02Hey, buddy.
14:03Don't get eaten, okay?
14:05Woof.
14:05As you can see, we're a month since the hurricanes hit, the storms hit, and things are still underwater.
14:16This is the highest the water has been in 45 years.
14:20Being well-adapted survivors of hurricanes, gators instinctively seek higher ground.
14:26But that pushes them into unlikely spots, like backyards and swimming pools.
14:35Big old cooter.
14:36Smaller animals get moved around by the floodwaters as well, which can cause feeding frenzies with opportunistic hunters like alligators.
14:45But can the floodwaters mix with potentially contaminated stagnant waters near meth compounds and spread controlled substances throughout the food chain?
14:56Right there on the water.
14:57Yeah.
14:57Big gator.
15:00He's cruising.
15:01Wow, he's handsome.
15:03Take a look, Chris.
15:04Gorgeous creature.
15:06Nine feet?
15:07Probably, at least.
15:09Yeah.
15:09To me, it just seems like a gator living in a really, really nice little area.
15:14Absolutely.
15:15And, you know, I deal with problem gators all the time, and that doesn't seem like a problem gator to me.
15:20I mean, he's running away from us, not towards us, and he's not behaving erratically.
15:24He's not splashing weirdly.
15:25I wouldn't say that's a meth gator.
15:27I wouldn't say that's an anything problem gator.
15:29I would just say that's a gator living in really quite a beautiful environment.
15:34I've got the best gator guys in Florida, but still no meth gator.
15:41Maybe I should be tracking the meth instead of the gators.
15:45You know, methamphetamine has been around for over 100 years.
15:48It's not a new substance.
15:50It's been around really since the late 1800s in some form or another.
15:55What's really happened is there's just so much of it.
15:59In 2023, I think it was April, there was a bust at a port in Mexico of almost 20,000 pounds of liquid methamphetamine.
16:06Wow.
16:07You know, when you have things that are just cheap and plentiful, it's sort of like sometimes the supply drives the demand, and I think that's what we've seen here recently.
16:15Methamphetamine is one of the most water-soluble drugs there is.
16:18It basically just dissolves immediately.
16:20Imagine there's 400 or 500 pounds, and then in comes the flood.
16:26Do you think that these drugs going into the waterways could have a pretty large negative effect on wildlife?
16:31If you have a lot of concentrated methamphetamine in one area, you know, it would be a concern.
16:37It would just depend on how close something was to the source of that contamination, no matter what it might be.
16:43So the same thing with radiation, you know, there's a dilutional effect on the environment.
16:46The growing drug problem here in Citrus County has been literally stirred up by the recent Category 3 hurricane.
16:56Meaning, we are at peak chance to encounter a meth gator.
17:01If we can capture one before it puts anyone at risk, we can get it safely rehabbed.
17:09Unfortunately, tracking down an aggressive meth gator means searching an area hit hard by meth.
17:16This area is one of the famous areas for a lot of drug busts.
17:22There are a couple known meth dealers and even sort of meth houses where people hang out here.
17:29So what's sad is with that, the animals are affected, right?
17:33If a cop like Ron comes down here and starts busting people, all the stuff is going into these waterways as quickly as possible.
17:40So it's pretty sad, to be honest, for both humans and wildlife.
17:44But there are these little pockets of water in and around this area.
17:48So my question is, if these are drug hub areas, are the drugs getting into these waterways?
17:56There's just not one person around to talk to.
17:58Oh, they just heard someone.
18:04There's someone there.
18:09Hello?
18:11Hey there.
18:19How you doing?
18:21Good.
18:21Oh, I like your cute puppies.
18:29Hi, pups.
18:33They're so cute.
18:35Sorry?
18:37Forrest.
18:38Hey, give me some knuckles.
18:39There we go.
18:40Thank you so much.
18:42No way.
18:43Oh, thank you so much.
18:44I've been told that in this area, there's a problem alligator.
18:51Have you seen anything?
18:52Do you know anything about it?
18:53There's a gator out back.
18:54Out back there?
18:55Yeah, he's a big boy, too.
18:56Where?
18:57In a swamp?
18:58Or?
18:58He's just out in the pool.
18:59Somebody's pool?
19:00There's an abandoned house.
19:01We have tons of them, and the gators just end up getting in there.
19:04Oh, you're kidding.
19:05And they sit in the swimming pool and stuff?
19:06Yeah.
19:07Oh, cool.
19:07Well, thank you, Leah.
19:08Thank you so much.
19:09Nice to meet you.
19:09Nice to meet you.
19:11Come on, kids.
19:14Hey, man.
19:21Hey.
19:21Hey, how you doing?
19:23Doing good.
19:23Mind if I come say hey?
19:26How you doing?
19:27Forrest?
19:27I'm good.
19:28I'm Michael.
19:28Michael, nice to meet you.
19:29So, Michael, we've been cruising around this area.
19:32Due to, like, the storm and some other issues, I know there are some animals here that have
19:36been affected.
19:37Yeah.
19:37You've ever seen anything like that?
19:38I've seen, actually, the gator that's back there.
19:41And there's been, like, armadillos, warthogs stirred up and starting to come around a little
19:47bit more.
19:47Oh, no kidding.
19:48So, you've seen a gator back here?
19:50Yes.
19:50Somebody else told us that there's an abandoned house with a pool.
19:53Is that what you've seen?
19:54Yes.
19:54There's abandoned stuff back there.
19:56I don't know how many abandoned houses are back there, but I know there is one out there
19:59that I just don't go near.
20:01One policeman told us there was a drug issue in this area.
20:04There was a huge drug issue?
20:05Yeah.
20:05I know there's a cooking house to two roads that way.
20:09There's a cooking house.
20:09A meth cooking house?
20:10Yeah.
20:10Like, an actual meth compound.
20:12Oh, you're kidding.
20:13They get raided all the time?
20:14They get raided by the cops all the time?
20:16Like, if they get busted, where are all their drugs going?
20:18They're going into the toilet.
20:18When they get caught, they don't have any other way other than to trash it down into the
20:22water table, which is going to be poison everywhere.
20:25And you guys have seen that?
20:26Like, you've seen the bus and seen people dump it?
20:28Oh, yeah.
20:28We've seen the helicopters.
20:30That's pretty gnarly, guys.
20:31Once a month, the helicopters go up above looking for somebody.
20:35Be careful out there.
20:36Okay.
20:36I appreciate that.
20:37Well, thank you, guys.
20:38And you don't mind if we just walk through the woods a little bit here?
20:40Go ahead.
20:41If you want, I can show you the path to the back area where you can, like, cut through
20:44the property.
20:45Thank you, guys, for being so accommodating.
20:52Okay.
20:53And where's that pool, Mike?
20:57That direction.
20:58That one over there?
20:59Yeah.
20:59No meth heads are going to shoot us.
21:00No meth heads are going to come out of the woods.
21:02Okay.
21:02Just making sure.
21:04All right.
21:04Well, thanks, Mike.
21:05Appreciate it.
21:05We're going to go poke around for a few minutes.
21:07Thank you, buddy.
21:07Have fun, Mike.
21:08Take care.
21:10Please do.
21:12Clearly not everyone who lives here is on drugs, as is evident with Leah and Mike and
21:18his family.
21:21Hello?
21:21Hello?
21:22I mean, this must be the abandoned house.
21:27Here's the, what looks like old filtration back here.
21:31Oh, look here.
21:43Look at this.
21:44You guys.
21:46This must be the old swimming pool.
21:48Oh, that smell.
21:53I don't know if it's all septic or just septic that's washed in from the recent storms or
21:58what.
21:58But look, there's even like an inflow pipe over there.
22:00Oh, yeah, there's like an old pump here.
22:07I don't know if this is, that could easily be like a septic thing.
22:12Might as well take a look, actually.
22:16Try not to fall in doing it.
22:18Well, I don't even want to put my hand in it.
22:22Take a look at the ammonias.
22:25Oh, look, look, look, look, look, look.
22:27There's an alligator sitting right there.
22:30Look, look, look, look, look.
22:39In this contaminated, filthy, stagnant pool, an alligator just popped his head up under
22:45those bushes right there.
22:48Our hunt for a toxic meth gator has led us to an abandoned pool deep in the Florida woods
22:55in a county struggling with drug trafficking.
23:00Yeah, look at that.
23:03The ammonia is super high in here, which means it could easily be an anoxic environment where
23:07there's not enough oxygen for things to live.
23:09And even more so than that, he's clearly stuck.
23:13Because look at how this acts as a deadfall trap, meaning once the gator's in here, he's stuck.
23:17He cannot get back out of here.
23:19If something isn't done, he's going to die.
23:23I'm going to get a hold of Chris and Ron, and we'll make a plan to catch this guy.
23:26It's freaking disgusting.
23:29It smells bad.
23:31That's just the water.
23:33It smells like sewage.
23:34It smells like sewage.
23:35Yeah.
23:35It's absolutely disgusting.
23:36The clock is ticking, and we cannot see the gator, making it difficult to remove it from
23:42the sewage.
23:44But there might be a way to get the sewage off the gator.
23:48Keep coming.
23:50There you go.
23:51I don't know that I'm going to get around this tree over here.
23:53There you go.
23:54Good enough.
23:55Big operation here.
23:58And it's going to be worth it.
23:59We've got to get pumped.
24:04There we go.
24:08So we managed to get our hands on three different trash pumps, and so what we're doing right
24:13now is just setting them up to drain water out of this pond, and I'm hoping within an
24:17hour or two, we'll be able to have this pond empty and get our hands on this gator.
24:26There we go.
24:29There it goes.
24:35The risk for the gator is increasing with every passing minute, but if we can pump the
24:40slop out, we'll have this guy warming up in the sun.
24:43He beat my !
24:44So we can run some tests and see if he's a Florida meth gator.
24:50All three pumps are in.
24:52They're cranking water out at a ridiculous volume, and the level is dropping, but as you
24:57can see, the skies are getting dark, the storm is moving in, so we are up against the clock
25:01to get this thing grained before it's refilled and we lose this gator forever.
25:05And just when I think we've found the solution...
25:15Yeah.
25:16Well, she's dead.
25:17Our pumps can't even handle the toxic ooze.
25:21As you can see, it didn't exactly go according to plan because there's still a ton of muck
25:28in there.
25:29How deep would you guess that is, Chris?
25:30Uh, it's a couple feet, so...
25:32I think we've got to go get him.
25:33Yeah.
25:34Yeah.
25:35Run.
25:36You're going to be our eyes up there, yeah?
25:37Absolutely.
25:38The plan is quite simple.
25:39We are going to get into this disgusting, mucky pond at what's left of it, and we're going
25:44to poke around and see if he's in there.
25:46Oh, yuck.
25:47It stinks, too.
25:49Oh, this is definitely deeper than I thought it was.
25:52Yeah, and it's going to get a lot deeper by that end.
25:55Yup.
25:56Okay.
25:57I just had something come up and down.
26:02I'm not sure what it was.
26:04God, this is actually feeling pretty sketchy.
26:09Look at this.
26:10Yeah.
26:11Yup.
26:12Yeah.
26:13Here he is.
26:14Here he is.
26:15Here he is.
26:16He's right in front of me.
26:18Right in front of me.
26:19Whoa.
26:20Don't like that.
26:21Look, look.
26:22Is that him?
26:23Yeah, that's him, right?
26:24It ain't me.
26:25Right next to me.
26:26Whoa!
26:27Right here.
26:28Okay, coming.
26:29Coming to you.
26:30There, he's in the corner right now.
26:31Move in, move in, move in.
26:32He's pretty jumpy.
26:33Oh, I got him.
26:34That's him.
26:35I could feel it.
26:36It's definitely something.
26:37That's just a log.
26:38Oh my God, it might be.
26:40Coming to you.
26:41There, he's in the corner right now.
26:42Move in, move in, move in.
26:44This is pretty jumpy.
26:50Oh, I got him.
26:51That's him.
26:52I can feel him.
26:54Yeah, it's definitely something.
26:56That's just a log.
26:57Oh my god, it might be.
27:07Yeah, he was.
27:08Nice face.
27:15You feeling him?
27:15Yep, I got him.
27:16Got the back leg right there.
27:18His head should come up over there.
27:19I'm going to lift the body.
27:19Okay.
27:20There it is, there it is, right there.
27:24So close.
27:25You still got him?
27:26I still have him.
27:27Let me see here.
27:30Nope.
27:31Come on, he's moving, moving.
27:34He's turning.
27:36Turning towards me?
27:36Watch your leg.
27:37Oh, it's creepy.
27:43Oh, he's behind us.
27:44He did go through me.
27:46That's okay, there he is.
27:47There he is, there he is, there he is.
27:49He's right here.
27:51I got him here.
27:53I've got his tail.
27:55There he goes.
27:56There's a frog there, but he's sitting in this corner.
28:01He's right there.
28:06This feels like his body.
28:07Okay.
28:12Oh, yes, yes, I'm going to grab his tail, and just jam and start walking up.
28:17Okay, I got his tail.
28:18I got his tail.
28:19He's a pretty big gaiter, dude.
28:21Come on, buddy.
28:22No snapping now.
28:23Look at that.
28:24Literal garbage in here.
28:35Right behind you, right behind you.
28:36Yep, that's his whole head.
28:38That's his face.
28:39That's his head.
28:39That's his head right here.
28:40That's his head.
28:41That's his head.
28:41That's his head.
28:42Careful, Chris.
28:45You got him?
28:46You feeling him?
28:47Okay.
28:47There you go right there.
28:52I got him.
28:55I got him.
28:55Let him down.
28:55There we go.
28:56There we go.
28:57Fantastic.
28:57Okay.
29:00There we go.
29:01There we go.
29:01Fantastic.
29:02Okay.
29:03That was his tail.
29:04I thought it was his head.
29:07Good deal.
29:08Go to the tail side.
29:09That was sketchy.
29:10Good eye, Chris.
29:11Way to catch him, Forrest.
29:13Thanks, Ron.
29:14That's what we needed.
29:15All right.
29:16There we go.
29:17There we go.
29:18Close him up there.
29:20All right.
29:22There we go.
29:23But, I mean, this guy had no chance of being stuck in here.
29:26He was never coming out of here.
29:28This is our animal that undeniably is contaminated.
29:30I mean, as are we at this point.
29:31So, I think we should get him to your place.
29:33Yeah, yeah.
29:34Yeah?
29:35Then we can check him and rehab him and everything.
29:37Mm-mm.
29:38Mm-mm.
29:39Got it, Ron?
29:40I got it.
29:41Okay.
29:43Boy or girl?
29:44I'm calling girl.
29:45Hoping girl.
29:46I'm calling girl.
29:47I think we got a girl.
29:54Let's go.
29:55You go?
29:56I got her.
29:57There you go.
29:58Not every day I get to catch a mass contaminated gator, so I'll carry her.
30:02This is my prize.
30:03Look at these things.
30:04They really are the most beautiful living dinosaurs.
30:07There's a reason that people get such a fascination with crocodilians.
30:11And this one, I mean, this chillness is not a good sign.
30:14Wouldn't you agree, Chris?
30:15Yeah.
30:16Barely fought.
30:17Yeah.
30:18It's in jeopardy.
30:19It is fat, probably because it ate everything in there.
30:21But it probably hasn't been able to recharge and get out of the water and get in the sun in,
30:25God, months probably if it's been stuck in there.
30:27So, look, I mean, this is a sick gator.
30:30I can't believe how calm this thing is.
30:31No, something's really off.
30:32That's not right.
30:33No, it's not.
30:34That is not right.
30:35This animal is in big trouble.
30:37Let's get it to Chris's and get some blood work done and see if we can get it fixed up.
30:43Okay.
30:44Nice job.
30:45That was fun.
30:48Okay, gator looks all right, guys.
30:55We're good there.
30:56You seen it there, Chris?
30:57Yeah.
30:58Okay, well, it's a little messed up, but we'll keep an eye on our health here while we drive.
31:02Let's hit it.
31:03Ron, you know where you're going, right?
31:05I do.
31:06Been there a time or two.
31:08Chris's gator sanctuary and rehab facility, Bellowing Acres, is the best I've seen in Florida.
31:14His team is world-class and have successfully brought sick gators back to health.
31:19Oh, look, she's moving around.
31:20There we go.
31:21There we go.
31:22Okay.
31:23That's a good sign.
31:24That's a very good sign.
31:25Look at that.
31:26Oh, she just hit the camera.
31:28Oh, that's very good.
31:29That was definitely getting worried.
31:31I was, dude, I thought she was going to die.
31:33Yeah.
31:34Like, the fact that she's moving, I feel better about it.
31:36But this is erratic.
31:37This is the kind of behavior that I've been looking to document, so.
31:41Well, and the fact that she laid as still as she did all this time, I mean, because we're talking quite some time.
31:47It's an hour and a half, yeah.
31:48Yeah.
31:49She's not right.
31:50There's something up with her.
31:51I agree.
31:52Good job, guys.
31:53Hey, good job.
31:54We got her.
31:55We got her out of that cesspool.
31:56That's very good.
31:58Yeah, I'm going to change while we drive, by the way.
32:01Oh, great.
32:07Well, our little gator is going to be very happy here.
32:12We need to come up with a name for her.
32:14Tweaky.
32:15Metheny.
32:16Huh?
32:17Metheny.
32:18Metheny.
32:19Metheny the gator.
32:20Chris, you got to keep that.
32:21Metheny.
32:22It's Metheny.
32:27Chris made sure his crew at the rehab facility was ready and waiting to receive Metheny.
32:33Hi, there's Gabby.
32:35She's opening up the gate for us.
32:37Hey, Gabby.
32:38Hey.
32:39Good to see you.
32:40Including a vet tech who's going to check Metheny's vitals.
32:44How's it going?
32:45Hey.
32:46And of course, test for meth.
32:48All right, we are here.
32:53Hey, Doc.
32:54This is our gator.
32:55Hey.
32:56This is the one.
32:57So this gator came out of a pretty gross pool.
33:01Okay.
33:02It was pretty contaminated.
33:03And it seems like, in a sense, since getting here, it seems like, in a sense, since we,
33:09um, come on now.
33:10She fired up now.
33:11Oh, yeah.
33:12It seems like, in a sense, since she's dried out, being in the trailer, her energy's
33:17kind of come back to life, wouldn't you say?
33:19Yeah.
33:20It's totally different.
33:21All right.
33:22Well, let's get her out here.
33:23Boy, she's feisty.
33:24She is fired up now.
33:25Wow, that's a whole change of pace.
33:28You got her?
33:30Yeah, she is crazy now.
33:35Boy, she's really recharged.
33:36That's a good sign.
33:37Ow, that hurt.
33:38All right.
33:39Come on, you.
33:40Wow.
33:41I mean, right after we caught it, this thing was, like, practically dead.
33:45What?
33:46Different.
33:47Oh.
33:48Oh.
33:49Don't get that.
33:50Got her?
33:51Yeah.
33:52Got it.
33:53That's better.
33:54Boy.
33:55You might want to lift the fight out.
33:56She's going to knock all that down.
33:57Yeah.
33:58Okay.
33:59But look, she's already kind of lost it now, it seems like.
34:02We can put her over here.
34:03See this kind of limp nature?
34:04Yeah.
34:05So, you know, I'm glad she recharged in the trailer there over the last couple hours, but
34:09doesn't this seem a bit odd to you?
34:10It can.
34:11I mean, there could be something else underlying going on.
34:12So let's do some x-rays.
34:13Do you see anything?
34:14What's that?
34:15That's what I'm wondering.
34:16That could be...
34:17The way they're laying, it almost looks like it could be parts of, like, a possum bone
34:20or something that she ate.
34:21But no lead in her stomach currently?
34:22Not yet, but we still have the lower GI.
34:23Great.
34:24Yeah.
34:25Great.
34:26Yeah.
34:27Yeah.
34:28Yeah.
34:29Yeah.
34:30Yeah.
34:31Yeah.
34:32Yeah.
34:33Yeah.
34:34Yeah.
34:35Yeah.
34:36Yeah.
34:37Yeah.
34:38Yeah.
34:39Yeah.
34:40Yeah.
34:41Yeah.
34:42Yeah.
34:43Yeah.
34:44Yeah.
34:45Yeah.
34:46Yeah.
34:47Yeah.
34:48Yeah.
34:49Yeah.
34:50Yeah.
34:51Yeah.
34:52Yeah.
34:53Yeah.
34:54Mm-hmm.
34:55Well, that's good.
34:56Yeah.
34:57So we can go urine next, and we can see what else could be going on there.
34:59You never know.
35:00Okay.
35:01We'll be ready to catch, and the horse can maybe do some massaging here.
35:06Do I have to?
35:07I'm happy to just watch.
35:08I mean...
35:09She's peeing.
35:10She's peeing.
35:11She's peeing.
35:12Right there.
35:13Yep.
35:14That's all we got.
35:15Okay.
35:16I think that should be enough.
35:19Awesome.
35:20Nice gator pee there.
35:21So how does this work?
35:22We've got a test here.
35:23So it's got 22 different illicit drugs, so we'll just put the pee in and let's see what
35:27we get.
35:28What are the drugs it's testing for?
35:29There's PHP, there's meth, obviously we want that one.
35:32THC, that's marijuana.
35:33THC, yep.
35:34So there's...
35:35KT, that's ketamine, right?
35:36Yep.
35:37So if any of those were in this alligator's pee, it's going to show up on here?
35:39Correct, yes.
35:40Okay.
35:41Just like a human drug test.
35:42Exactly.
35:43Okay.
35:48Oh, there they go.
35:49There it goes.
35:53All right, so I'm seeing some bars.
35:59Nothing?
36:00We got this one here.
36:01Oh, there it is.
36:02That's meth.
36:03Beautiful.
36:04Water moccasin or cottonmouth.
36:07Now, we're looking for the swimming pool, right?
36:11He's wet.
36:12So this snake, and it hasn't rained, this snake has been in water very recently.
36:17Could just be a puddle or it could be this pool that we're looking for.
36:20They call them cottonmouths because sometimes they'll curl up and open their mouth and show
36:24you that inside bright white cotton color, which is where the nickname cottonmouth comes
36:28from.
36:29But these guys are a pretty venomous cytotoxic snake.
36:31So if they bite you, it starts to destroy your cells, destroy your living tissue.
36:35So it's not something that you want to be bitten by.
36:38So we're just going to let him go back on his way.
36:41Let's find this house.
36:45We're looking just for that one bar.
36:47Two bars is nothing.
36:48We got this one here.
36:49Oh, there it is.
36:50That's meth.
36:51Is it really?
36:52Look at this.
36:53Gabby, look at that.
36:54Look.
36:55The green one lit up.
36:56Look at this.
36:57Chris, run.
36:58Look at this.
36:59That's literally the only one where it says M-E-T for meth.
37:02Is it?
37:03May I?
37:04Yep.
37:05Look at that.
37:06Unbelievable.
37:07Look at that.
37:08That's crazy.
37:09Do you think that that would be bioaccumulated, right, through the food chain?
37:11It's very possible, yep.
37:12Yep.
37:13Would that explain why this animal has those violent outbursts, you know, busting our shins
37:17and then going to basically comatose?
37:19That is a very good possibility that it could cause lethargy and high energy, but then, yeah.
37:24But then another way to think about it is this thing was stuck inside a small pool that is concentrated,
37:29that has had crap going in there for who knows how long, right?
37:32Exactly.
37:33I mean, I guess, yeah, it just adds up in there.
37:34And, I mean, look at this thing.
37:35It's basically in a coma.
37:37Yeah, it's very weird behavior.
37:39You've never seen that before, have you?
37:40Nope.
37:41That's a first for me.
37:45So, in 44 years, I've probably caught 4,000 to 5,000 alligators.
37:49I've never thought I would find an alligator that had drugs in their system like this one.
37:54All right, should we scoop her up and see where she's going?
37:57I don't think a lot of people make the connection between what goes in their bodies and what goes into their toilets
38:06ends up in so many animals and accumulating in them.
38:10And, like, because you don't see it, you don't think about it.
38:13But we see it.
38:15Oh, look at our big old boyfriend over there.
38:17Oh, yeah, look, he's out.
38:18He's out.
38:19You know, it's kind of, like, shocking and kind of sad, to be honest, to see this.
38:24Like, when you're actually holding the results in your hand.
38:27The good news is, and on the flip side of that, is here at Chris and Gabby's at Bellowing Acres,
38:32they're experts at rehabbing these animals.
38:34Nobody that I've ever met in my life is better with alligators than Chris.
38:37And the fact that they've taken in Metheny, as we're calling her, and moving her into this beautiful facility,
38:44giving her a second chance at life, is a beautiful thing.
38:48We can put her on the shallow in here.
38:51Okay.
38:52Put her head up there, because when she feels that water, she is going to go for it.
38:57Okay, jaws.
39:01Oh, there you go, girly.
39:04Well, this is it for you, my girl.
39:07Heading to a new home.
39:08Oftentimes, when we think of these negative consequences of illegal substances,
39:13we don't consider the effect it has on wildlife.
39:16All right.
39:17We're in.
39:18And once these effects take hold, they're going to be very difficult to reverse.
39:23There she goes.
39:26Now that we know this, we can strive for positive changes all over the world.
39:31Thank you, buddy.
39:32Yeah, man.
39:33Thank you for everything.
39:35Absolutely.
39:36Ron, thank you, my man.
39:38Bring it in.
39:39Gabby, you're the best.
39:40Thank you, sir.
39:41Appreciate it.
39:42This is awesome.
39:43Always glad to help.
39:50Two months later, I stopped by to check on Metheny's progress.
39:55How's our girl doing?
39:56She's doing great.
39:57Yeah?
39:58Yeah, come on in.
39:59Her rehab's coming along.
40:00Yeah.
40:01Yeah, she's nice and friendly.
40:03She's a lot friendlier than she was when we were last here.
40:08No, she's not going to let you touch her and stuff, is she?
40:10No way.
40:11Oh, you're going to bite, though.
40:12You're going to try.
40:13Still a wild animal.
40:15I mean, they'll still get you, but...
40:16She's still grumpy.
40:17Yeah, yeah.
40:18But look at the energy difference.
40:19Look at the clarity in her eyes, how dark she's gotten.
40:22Yeah.
40:23Like, she's put on some weight, that's for sure.
40:24Yeah, definitely.
40:25Hey, you.
40:26Yeah, you want to feed her?
40:27Remember me?
40:28Oh, I'd love to.
40:29Is she friendly enough to hand feed her?
40:30Yeah, yeah.
40:31We got some chicken right there, right on the road.
40:32You remember me?
40:33Let's do it.
40:36Grab a few and...
40:37Oh, she knows, dude.
40:38Oh, yeah.
40:39Look at this.
40:40Hey, open up.
40:41Open up.
40:42Look at that.
40:43There you go.
40:44Wow, Chris.
40:45That's a happy gator, huh?
40:46Wow.
40:47Uh-uh.
40:48You stay right there.
40:49No.
40:50That's good enough.
40:51This is amazing to see.
40:52Did you know she'd come this far this quickly?
40:54Um, yeah.
40:55I mean, you never know.
40:56They have individual personalities.
40:57Some of them take longer than others, but, I mean, pretty good.
41:00Look at that.
41:01Wow.
41:02And she's getting along well with him?
41:03Yeah.
41:04And I'm going to give her boyfriend a piece of chicken.
41:05Yeah.
41:06He's sitting over there.
41:07He's excited.
41:08Being jealous.
41:09Open up.
41:10You stay there.
41:11Open up.
41:12Hey.
41:13Open.
41:14There you go.
41:15Chris, thank you, buddy.
41:16Yeah, absolutely.
41:17Thank you to you.
41:18Thank you to Gabby.
41:19This is so cool.
41:20Yeah, thank you.
41:21Gabby decided to name her matcha.
41:22That's a way better name, to be honest.
41:24Yeah.
41:25See, that's her past life.
41:26Yeah, there you go.
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