Austin Stevens: Snakemaster
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Austin Stevens: Snakemaster also known as Austin Stevens: Most Dangerous and Austin Stevens Adventures in some countries is a regular airing nature series hosted by Austin Stevens that is broadcasted on Animal Planet.
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Nothing will stop Austin Stevens from trying to get that perfect photo. In Austin Stevens: Snakemaster, camera-bearing Austin wades through swamps and into deep caves teeming with bats, scorpions and spiders; he zooms along dusty trails in Australia's outback on a dirt bike; and he braves perilous white-water rapids and waterfalls. And the danger doesn't stop there! Once he reaches his goal he must face venomous snakes, avoid their lightning-fast strikes, and set up for the perfect picture. With several clicks, Austin's photographs capture the beauty and diversity of these adaptable reptiles. Each episode features a new snake, a new adventure, a new photo op.
[edit] List of episodes
Episode 1: In Search of The Man-Eating Python
Austin Stevens goes to Borneo to find the Reticulated Python. On his way he encounters a Sea Krait, Soft Shelled Turtle, which bites off part of his boot, a Mangrove Snake, a Cave Racer and a few more animals. He finds traces of snake skin and looks near a stream and finds a pattern of a snake that he pulls out. He thought it was a small one but then finds that the snake is about 22 feet long. He was about to get a picture when his camera flash broke and the snake lunged at him. He tries to pick up the snake and gets constricted in the waist. He does get the snake to let go though and gets a few photos without the flash. He was about to leave when the snake suddenly lunged at his arm (this part was removed from the actual episode but was aired in the 2-hour special "Most Stiking Moments"). Fortunately the snake lets go because its jaw was locked on Stevens's pants and by feeling the tension, managed to let go.
Episode 2: In Search of The Giant Lizard
Austin Stevens is now in Australia to find the Perentie Lizard. In this episode he doesn't encounter many snakes but encounters many lizards such as the Frill-necked Lizard, Thorny Devil to name a few. When he finds a perentie sprinting, he jumps off his motorbike to catch it and after getting thrashed by the tail, gets some photographs.
Episode 3: In Search of Monster Rattlers
Austin Stevens is in the Florida Panhandle in search of the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake and finds many other reptiles such as the Copperhead, Alligator Snapping Turtle, Cottonmouth, and a few others. His boat breaks down and he goes to a harbour to repair it and says that fishermen have seen rattlers on the small islands off the coast. He jumps off his boat to catch a giant rattlesnake in the water. He tells people how the snake had lost most of its rattle. He gets a few pictures of the snake (the photos actually shown in the episode are stills although this is a real photo [1]). He then tries to show people the fangs of the snake by "milking" the venom. This episode remained controversial as copperheads don't exist in the area he was in. Some defended the episode by saying he was in Georgia when he found it.
Episode 4: In Search of The Ultimate Pit Viper
Austin Stevens is in the forests of Costa Rica in search of the "Giant Lancehead", which is not a real name of the snake, but a reference to the size of the lancehead he is looking for. On his way he finds a Cribo, a Eyelash Viper, a Jumping Viper, a Mussurana and a few others. An interesting fact is that he also found a Vine Snake, but they cut the footage due to time constraints. After hearing Capuchin Monkeys call over something he finds a giant viper, which is possibly a Bothrops asper or Terciopelo and takes photos of it. He had claimed in a few interviews that he was looking for the Bushmaster and that instead he found a lancehead although he did mention the word "lancehead viper" many times which could have been evidence of the episode being fixed.
Episode 5: In Search of Rattlers of the West
Austin Stevens is in the deserts of Arizona in search of the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. This time he is looking for groups of these snakes gathered in caves. The problem is that he's claustrophobic. He finds a Black-tailed Rattlesnake, a Kingsnake, a Gila Monster and others. He goes into a cave and sees at least 20 rattlers and goes out of the cave. But then he goes back into the cave to get some pictures Although in some interviews he claimed to have had a camera already inside.
Episode 6: The Valley of the Snakes
Stevens is in Australia once again to look for the Amethystine python, the larges snake in Australia. He goes to the so-called "Valley of the Snakes" to look for the snake. He finds many snakes in his journey such as a coastal Taipan in a burning crop, a Water Python, a King Brown Snake and a few other snakes. A storm is forcasted and he must act fast in order to get the snake. He goes to the valley where he finds lots of snakes, but they get scared by the storm. Fortunately, he finds one in a tree and takes a few shots of it.
Episode 7: In Search of The Giant Anaconda
This episode tells of Steven's search for the Green Anaconda, which he is looking for in the Amazon Rainforest. He takes the river boat El Arca down the Amazon River and finds many species of snakes including a Boa Constrictor, Amazon tree boa, Tiger Rat Snake, Fer-de-lance, and a few more. He then finds a baby anaconda. Unsatisfied, he goes down the smaller Rio Ampiyacu River to look for any bigger snakes. When he was walking near the river he saw a giant snake and then jumps for it. He was then fighting against the snake and struggling to not drown. Time-slicing effects then start occurring, giving the viewers a 3D view of the action. Then, he brings the snake on land and takes a few pictures of it.
Episode 8: In Search of The King Cobra
This episode tells of the King Cobra, which stevens goes to India to look for. On his way he finds a indian rock python, which he calls an "indian tiger python", a Russell's Viper, an Indian Cobra, and many others. Just when he was about to give up he sees a large cobra in the distance and then gets closer to find it to be 14 feet long. The time-slicing effects come into play again. He then says that he will touch the back of the snake's head. The snake lowers its head but he still gets to touch the head. He then gets some pictures (ones shown in actual episode are stills but here is one [2]). There is some questioning which event came first because in Most Striking Moments he seems to do the head-touching after taking pictures.
Episode 9: Seven Deadly Strikes (sometimes considered a different show)
By far the most controversial episode, Stevens goes from one end of Africa to the other in search of 7 different snakes. He rates each snake out of ten in three categories, Speed, Venom, and Strike. The snakes are:
7. Peringuey's Adder, got a minor (possibly dry) bite
6. Rinkhals Spitting cobra, which spits at him with venom
5. Puff Adder, gives it water
4. Snouted Cobra, perhaps the most controverial sequences. He first finds a baby cobra, but says that he wants to look for a bigger one. He later finds a large 8-foot cobra and and the snake suddenly strikes and bites him on the finger. Many reptile enthusiasts later accused him of mishandling the snake and even said that the snake used is a captive.
3. Boomslang, which he claims is the most venomous snake in the world
2. Gaboon Viper, there are some accusations that the encounter was staged because he was in East Africa, while many "Gaboons" live in West Africa. Some have defended him by saying "Gaboons" are found in East Africa.
1. Black Mamba, although it's regarded as the fastest snake in the world, Stevens only gives it 9/10 for speed.
Episode 10: In Search of The Silent Fate
This is an episode when Stevens finds a giant Bushmaster in the Amazon. He finds many snakes including a Fer-de-lance, a baby False Lancehead, and many Frogs. Along the way a tree falls on much of his equipment. He then finds a baby Tapir that remained strangely tame and no mother tapir was in sight. He then finds a tribe of native people and the let him stay. They are the people who own the tapir, which is their pet. They then let him try out eating a grub. Later, with a bunch native hunters with him, he finds a giant Bushmaster. He then takes pictures which were not shown until the credits (which could once again be stills).
Episode 11: In Search of Desert Giants
Stevens is in his own country, Namibia, to look for Desert Elephants. He does find a few snakes and a Monitor lizard with a broken limb who he names "Rocky". With the help of an airplane pilot named Graham, finds a herd of elephants with calves.
Episode 12: The Snake That Killed Cleopatra
In this episode he looks for the mystery snake said to kill Cleopatra. He found a mystery papyrus he takes to the American University in Cairo in Cairo, Egypt where it is examined by Dr. Salima Ikram. It is revealed it is a guide to help treat snakebites and the species found in Egypt such as the Egyptian Cobra, Horned Viper, Sand Snake, Red Spitting cobra, Puff Adder and a few others. He finds all snakes found in the papyrus except for the Red Spitting cobra (he finds a Nubian Spitting cobra instead) . After studying the venom effects he finds that the Egyptian Cobra is the most likely cantidate. He goes to find it and finds two of them he takes pictures which were never shown.
Episode 13: In Search of The Komodo Dragon
Steves is looking for Komodo Dragons on the island of Komodo. What he specifically wants to look for are males fighting for a mate. He hade upgraded his camera from a Canon EOS 50e (Elan IIe) to an EOS Digital Rebel XT. He finds many "Dragons" as he calls them, and a few other animals. Then he finds two males fighting and takes pictures of it.
Episode 14: In Search of The Flying Snake
The last episode as of now, he is looking for a Golden Tree Snake, a snake known to glide from tree to tree. He goes to the forests of Cambodia and Vietnam and encounters many snakes such as the Malayan Pit Viper, the Asian pipe snake, the Tentacled Snake, and others. He finally finds a Golden Tree Snake, which glides just in front of him and gets one or two pictures of it in "flight".
It should be noted that although In Search of the Giant Anaconda, In Search of the King Cobra, and Seven Deadly Strikes are listed as episodes 7, 8, 9, respectively, they aired earlier than the other episodes, Seven Deadly Strikes being in 2002 and the other two in 2003. Because of this, all of these episodes, especially Seven Deadly Strikes are sometimes considered different shows.
