01x05 - Catfish Hunter

[bunniefuu]

[intense music playing]

[Fernando] Officially
now, I feel like,

"Oh, I'm going
a little bit loopy."

Like madman phase.

Cuckoo-cuckoo.

By myself, no one to talk to.

Cuckoo-cuckoo.

[Kaila] I felt something
like slide up against me

and I just see the like half

bottom part of a coral snake.

I watched it like
slide into the leaves.

And now I don't
know where it is.

This is the kind of
stuff where you're like,

is it really worth it?

I'm [bleep] terrified.

[snarling]

That's definitely a
jaguar and it's close.

I might have to
defend myself tonight.

There's its eye
looking right at me.

Two of its eyes.

[intense music playing]

[birds chirping]

[Terra] It's the
morning of day 12.

It's been days
since I actually ate.

It has been the whole time
out here since I had a meal.

So I'm obviously depleted.

My God.

Yesterday, I went
out and got five shrimp

before the pot lid came off
and all my shrimp got away.

It's just been a bad
luck challenge is all.

Bad luck all around.

I'm trying so hard
to cope. I really am.

I'm trying to be strong for
my family, and my friends,

and my transgender community,
and LGBTQIA community.

[sighs] And I'm trying to
make everybody proud.

And I don't feel like
I'm accomplishing that

by any means.

I think about transitioning

from the time I hit first grade,

I was bullied the whole
time until my senior year.

I never had friends,

years and years
and years of t*rture.

I think going through that
makes anybody a lot tougher,

that no matter what happens,
no matter how bad it gets,

you can get frustrated,

you can get down,
you can get out,

but you can't give up.

Today, I'm gonna go
set a snare somewhere.

Just getting all the
pieces ready right now.

The snare I'm using is
a normal L7 trap snare.

This is basic as you can get.

Just a couple of
cuts into some wood

that you shove into the
ground and tie a rope to.

Farther in it is, the
less sensitive it is.

Farther out it is,

the more sensitive
it is, obviously.

And that's about it.

I'm looking for anywhere
that's got tracks,

anywhere that's
getting kind of movement

and I noticed what
looks like a game trail.

The grass has been
moved over a little bit

and it looks like something

could have been
through there recently.

One snare piece that
goes in the ground.

The trigger is actually
anchored to the tree.

The spring tree will come down

and the rest of the snare

will come off the bottom of this

and will cinch
tight and pull up.

Try to catch something.

As simple as that.

Maybe this will be an
actual active game trail

and something will happen.

[intense music playing]

[birds chirping]

[warthog snorts]

My game plan for
today is to set up a blind

up the creek there,

hundred to two hundred
yards away from the boma.

And it looks like there's
recent activity here.

So there's one
of the game trails

coming down off that ridge.

I got a second one right there,

and I got a third one
that walks along the creek.

Yeah. I can pick
a place for a blind

back in this area might be good.

Building the blind,
you have to think about

where the wind
direction is coming from,

so that's blowing
your human odor away

from where the game
may be coming from.

I'm taking like imaginary shots

for line of sight for the arrow,

trying to think where the
animal would be facing.

sh**ting lane, sh**ting lane,

and sh**ting lane.

One of the
challenges for me is...

see how long I can sit still.

And now, we wait.

[intense music playing]

I need to start finding
something to eat

because I can't go
two weeks without food.

I was super stoked
to get the giant catfish,

but not eating for
seven or eight days

feels like you're slowly dying.

I want fish.

Put on some sunscreen.

You know, they say that an
army marches on its stomach,

and it's the same
thing out here.

If you don't have the energy,
you can't hang until 21.

So it's time to switch gears.

And if I'm gonna be a hunter,

I might as well
look like a hunter.

Get my warpaint on.

I'm gonna go do what I do best.

I need to get out and
start exploring further away.

Let the wild rumpus start.

[birds chirping]

Start making my way
up away from this river

because it's cold down
here in the morning.

It's a tough landscape.

There's a lot of places
out here for things to hide.

This is gonna be worth it.

I see this awesome
rocky outcropping.

Yeah. That looks real promising.

I wanna get up there.

I wanna get a good
look at the land.

I haven't really seen it yet.

[intense music playing]

It makes you feel tiny out here,

like you're the only one.

[intense music playing]

It's a great vantage point.

I can see all the little rivers

that I need to scope out today.

I need pools of water

because there's
food in the pools.

[birds chirping]

Just kind of poking
around these rock ledges,

see if anything comes out.

I don't see anything.

Yeah.

They're just little tadpoles.

I mean, you got to get
a [bleep] ton of tadpoles

for you to get
anything out of them.

I don't think there's anything.

I'm really surprised
that I walked all this way,

looking at all these pools.

I don't see anything else.

There isn't another
fish to be found.

Birds are too far.

I haven't seen a
single porcupine.

I haven't seen anything.

It's gonna be a
long [bleep] time

if I don't find any food.

I'm gonna whittle
away to nothing.

[intense music playing]

[birds chirping]

[Kaila] Many ticks
crawling on me.

I can't believe
the amount of ticks

I pull off of me every day.

It's so uncomfortable.

[sighs]

In my last challenge in Peru,

the bugs were the worst thing

that I've ever
experienced in my life.

When I lay down, I'm
just getting eaten alive.

I need to leave.

Thank you, ant in Amazon.

There are obviously
a lot of bugs out here,

but I'm in a completely
different headspace.

Even if the bugs were
bad as they were in Peru,

I think that I would be fine

and be able to
handle it a lot better,

like survival is just
all about your mindset.

So basically, I just
wanna stay busy.

Weaving is really good.

Because my mind is
staying busy on survival.

I'm working on my
fish basket this morning.

I need like a real meal.

Trying really
hard to get protein.

I feel like I've been doing
everything I possibly can.

I've been hunting. I've
been setting up traps

deadfalls, fish traps.

I got the basket
pretty much done.

And now, I'm just
making the other basket

to go inside that one.

So right now, all I'm doing

is just weaving
this back and forth.

I'm gonna go bring
my fish basket down

and see if I can
catch something.

Being mindful of snakes.

There's some little
minnows in my fish trap,

but they're so small,
they can just swim out.

I'm just gonna crush up a
bunch of these snails for bait

and then throw it in my basket.

So, the bait's in there.

I'm gonna put my
smaller basket in.

My smaller basket
has a little hole

that the fish can go into,

but they won't be
able to swim back out.

So they'll swim through that
hole into the bigger basket

and then they won't
be able to get back out.

Well, I'm gonna
check back in a little bit.

[intense music playing]

[Cheeny] I'm gonna
go look for fish.

You know, I've
done some exploring.

I've gone down the river

to the south, came up dry,

going up this river
here to the north, drier.

I haven't been up this one yet.

Sun's going down. I
have a few more hours.

I need to find something.

Every little pool,

it doesn't matter how big it is.

I'm looking. Yeah.

These are... Yeah, baby.

There's one right there.

God, that's a big a*s fish.

Game on, buddy.

The little fish are
dying in this cold water,

but this big a*s fish,
I'm doing him a favor

because it's only
getting colder.

Oh. [grunts]

Yes, it's [bleep] alive.
That's what I want.

Oh, he's in the
mud. There he is.

[intense music playing]

[grunts]

Ow.

Ow.

[grunts]

[Cheeny] God,
that's a big a*s fish.

Ow.

Oh, goddamnit.

Got you.

[chuckles]

Yes. [sighs]

Oh, I feel so good.

God, this is the best
day of my life, man.

I will eat boiled
catfish tonight.

It's gonna be the best
tasting boiled catfish ever.

[bleep] stoked.

Yeah. Look at all
that red meat, man.

So before, I was real
pissed about the cold.

Like real pissed to the point
where I wanted to go home.

But now, I'm so
thankful for the cold.

I can stash him in a deep
cool section for tonight.

It's my holding
tank for my catch.

Get him down low.

Keep him cool.

I think it was the
warpaint that helped me.

I'm feeling like a real [bleep]

bad a*s b*tch right now.

That's what's up.

[intense music playing]

[James] Something's
got to come down

that trail eventually.

I get a successful
hunt, it's a slam dunk.

That will get me to day 21.

I'm confident of that.

[intense music playing]

[James] He just left.

[sighs]

That's frustrating.

I actually saw some game.

I don't know if I should
wait and see if they're gonna

come down to the water,

which might be a better shot.

So while I'm trying to
make those decisions,

the warthog decides
for me and walks away.

Gosh darn.

I finally see something
and I don't sh**t at it.

I didn't bring home the bacon.

I'll be reliving that
the rest of the evening,

maybe the rest of the challenge

if I don't see anything else.

[intense music playing]

[birds chirping]

[Jamie] I'm hungry. I've
been out here for 14 days.

Yeah. This looks interesting.

Eating crabs and some grubs,

and one piece of papaya fruit.

It's a hollowed out tree.

Make something out of that.

I'm gonna take this
piece back to camp.

Definitely will come in handy.

This hollow log
here I'm gonna try

and make it into a fish trap.

And it's gonna help so much

because I'm walking
quite far to the stream

and stuff to find crabs.

So if I can have a trap that's
just doing all the work for me

capturing the crabs and fish

that's gonna save a lot of time

a lot of effort, and a
lot of bug bites as well.

So I've got... I've
got the holes here.

I'm just gonna make a third one.

This is where the
fish is gonna in.

Just like that.

The next part is
to clog this end

and just to stop
any fish coming out.

And I'm gonna leave
the other end open,

so the bigger fish
can come in as well.

[narrator] When a fish
enters the hollow log trap

looking for a meal,

it finds the exit blocked,

unable to swim backwards
in a confined space,

the fish becomes trapped.

I'm gonna go and
prepare some grubs now.

I'll try and get as
much as I can in there

just for a better chance
of catching something.

Ten cricket grubs
for a decent sized fish,

perfect for me.

So that's what I'm
gonna try and do.

[birds chirping]

[intense music playing]

I think that will do
me for the grubs.

Got plenty of bait here.

I'm feeling positive about this.

Okay, let's get
down to the river.

This is gonna
work, I know it is.

So let's get this
thing in the water.

Just leave it like that.

It not really wanting
to sink but that's fine.

I've got the hole
sitting at the sides

so the fish can still come in.

There's some grubs coming out.

But I've also noticed that
this log is just full of ants.

So that might help.

So I'll go back up to camp.

[intense music playing]

[dramatic music playing]

[Cheeny] Today was a
fricking good day and warm.

I'm about to be full.

It's gonna feel good to be full.

My stomach has been
growling the last two days.

Yeah.

Yep, that's cooked.

So good.

Mm. Mmm!

[howls]

Mm-mm-mm!

[animal howls]

[intense music playing]

[animal snarling]

That's definitely a
jaguar and it's close.

I might have to
defend myself tonight.

I'm just gonna
stoke the fire a bit.

It's so close by.

[narrator] Jaguars
are the most elusive

of the big cats and can travel

over six miles at
night when hunting.

Those things are
known to k*ll people.

They're nicknamed the
man-eaters of the jungle.

It's somewhere out there.

That was its eye
looking right at me.

Two of its eyes.
This is [bleep] scary.

That's definitely a jaguar.

That was its eye
looking right at me.

Two of its eyes.

This is [bleep] scary.

That's a big jaguar.

Those things are
known to k*ll people.

I could stand up and shout.

But I don't know if
maybe that would attract it.

Grab a machete.

Oh!

Nearly had the
beastie up my a*s there.

This place is just relentless.

I just couldn't wait till 21.

[birds chirping]

Okay. I'm gonna take a walk down

and check that snare.

Still feeling very
drained, very down.

I'm ready to eat.

And my snare has
not been triggered.

The trigger is still down.

Nothing's happened.

Damn.

I am running out of options.

I'm wondering if I have
it in me to keep going.

Yeah. I'm hungry.

I could eat the a*s end out

of a three-day-old dead skunk.

I'm just at a loss for words

for the complete lack
of resources in this area.

This place is brutal.

For something so
pretty and so beautiful,

it's just brutal.

[intense music playing]

[birds chirping]

[Jamie] This is a tough
environment to survive in.

Just leaving memories
that I can look back on,

and say I can get through this

because I've been through that.

Getting closer to
extraction, I need energy.

I have not eaten
in a couple of days.

I'm really weak as it is.

Now I'm gonna head out
and check my fish trap.

Here it is.

Oh.

There's something in there.

Wow, it's not gonna come out.

The the [bleep]
is this thing, man.

Might just have
to split this open.

It's really wedged itself in.

Look at the size of that.

There we go.

That's a huge catfish, man.

Thank you very much.

You've kept me in the challenge.

It's hard to explain how much
this means to me right now.

My energy levels are
sapping by the minute.

These are the crucial
days in any challenge.

And coming across
something like this is just...

It's hard to put into
words, it means so much.

Oh, I'm gonna have
a good day today.

Filleted, gutted it, and
it's good to cook now.

I can't wait to eat this.

This is going to
be so much energy.

Exciting.

Fish has got
everything you need in it.

It's got minerals,
vitamins, protein, fat, salt.

Everything that
we need is in there.

These last few days
are just so important.

More than any part of
the challenge, I think.

Definitely cooked.

If I was to end up
leaving this challenge

due to lack of blood
sugar or whatever,

then that would
just be catastrophic.

Outstanding. This
moment right now is special.

I'm so grateful for this fish,

sacrificed its life
to keep me going.

Today is my best day so far.

[burps] Pardon me.

[intense music playing]

[Fernando] It's
early in the morning.

I'm just gonna
go for a little walk

along the riverbed.

And, you know, to
see, see what I see.

We'll see.

And what a difference
with the weather today.

The wind plays a critical
role here in hunting in Africa.

The animals are
constantly on edge,

but when the wind is in
your favor, you have to act.

[intense music playing]

Okay, so there actually
are some impala

behind me about 200 yards.

[dramatic music playing]

[bleep]

I should have brought a r*fle
instead of a bow and arrow.

Okay, I'm gonna have to
abandon this impala hunt

because a storm is moving in.

I'm feeling sprinkles
coming down now.

So I got to run
back to the shelter

and reinforce my roof

and make sure the
fire can take the storm,

so I did not
expect rain in Africa

in the dry season.

[dramatic music playing]

[Fernando speaking]

It's been clear skies,

sunny,

and then today out of nowhere,

it's raining.

My shelter was so focused
on, like, safety from animals.

There wasn't much
of a roof over it.

So now I have to switch
gears and get a roof over it

to keep the fire going.

Every minute that goes by

my fire is getting
pelted with water.

Without fire,

I couldn't make it.

Oh, man, I got to
get some more stuff,

more stuff, more stuff.

I've seen people tap
out in these moments.

Storm comes in,
fire gets knocked out,

and then your morale is crushed.

This challenge is no joke.

No joke.

[thunder rumbling]

Oh, man, I got to
get some more stuff.

[panting]

Add some modifications
to the boma,

do the shelter overhead.

Oh.

Me getting wet
is like a big deal

because I have no clothes.

There's a lot to do right now

and it's just me.

So it's hard.

Whoo, it is cold out here.

No easy shelter in Africa.

Back inside. Back inside.

I have just dumped a ton

of mopane branches over me.

Probably a three-foot
thick layer of mopane.

I'm really cold though.

Nothing else matters now

but staying warm

and keeping the fire going.

Nothing else matters.

Oh.

[chuckles] It's gonna
be a long day today.

[dramatic music playing]

[thunder rumbling]

There's some bad thunder.

[thunder rumbling]

I'm pretty sure I
hear the rain coming.

I'm seeing holes in my shelter

and the wilting of the leaves.

And I'm already getting cold.

[thunder rumbling]

It's starting to really
come down now.

It's starting to come
through the shelter in places.

It's gonna be a wet night.

And I'm not excited about this.

So I'm gonna try to lay down.

I'm gonna try to
get through this.

Let's see how well this goes.

[thunder rumbling]

[Terra speaking]

I can hear the rain coming
harder and harder and harder.

I'm getting soaked.

[thunder rumbling]

[Terra speaking]

[dramatic music playing]

[James] The energy
level to go collect wood

is getting lower.

So normally, I go out
collect wood, come back.

This time,

after swinging the
Pulaski a little while,

I sat down for a minute.

Let the heart rate
come back down.

I wish I had more food.

I have built traps for fish

and traps for birds.

I've got the bow
and I'm like I can get

these extra calories and...

the extra calories
aren't coming.

Oh, boy.

And today,

the energy drop
has been dramatic.

There's no energy left.

Ah, nothing.

There are several
more days to come.

I'm getting weaker and weaker

and I'm not a
hundred percent sure

I can get to the
end of the challenge.

[dramatic music playing]

[Terra] I'm gonna cut this down.

I'm gonna use the...

ends of each of these branches.

Last night, it didn't
stop raining all night.

And the heavier the rain got,

the more it got
inside the shelter

to the point where I was
just being soaked all night.

It was atrocious.

Whew.

What I'm doing right
now is exhausting myself.

I'm trying to get...

a bunch of this
good canopy stuff.

And then I'm gonna
blanket the shelter

with as much of this as I can

to try to keep the
wind and the rain out.

This is something
that has to happen.

The stuff on my
shelter is just gonna

keep deteriorating.

If I don't do it,

it's just gonna keep
getting worse and worse.

[exhales]

When you think about survival,

it's 85% to 90% mental

and you got all of these factors

that are just sitting
there sucking the life

out of you mentally.

I have to be positive.

I think I did that good.

If I'm down on myself
then my entire mentality

for the challenge is gonna
go down and I don't want that.

That should help.

Nothing.

Definitely feeling it
in these last few days.

Every time I stand up, I
get, like, super lightheaded

and my heart rate is so fast.

So I'm just trying to
stay really hydrated

and take it easy.

I haven't secured protein yet.

Now, I'm gonna go grab
some more firewood.

I got to get my snake stick.

Survival isn't about, like,

doing something
cool every single day.

It's about surviving
and being smart.

I wanna make sure that I
make it to the end, you know?

What the [bleep] I
think that's a snake.

I think that's a fer-de-lance.

Holy [bleep] I'm shaking.

Definitely a venomous snake.

I'm gonna k*ll it.

[suspenseful music playing]

Oh, being on this
challenge alone

takes its toll.

I kind of was wondering,

how would being
alone all night feel?

And I feel like, "Oh,

I'm going a little bit loopy."

I don't wanna stop
talking to the camera.

Somebody to talk to.

I mean, I've got a hundred
and fifty-one minutes

of battery life, plus
another battery.

You're like my friend.

You're like my partner.

I don't have a partner.

I have you.

It's actually quite nice

talking to, like, the camera,
it feels as if someone here,

especially when I can
see myself on the screen.

It's like I'm talking
to someone else

that, you know, looks at me.

What should I name you?

My partner's name is Courtney

and you're Courtney.

Hey, Courtney.

I just want someone to
talk to you, you know?

Maybe I can get
just a little bit of sleep

before the jaguars
come in the middle night

and try to take me away.

Bed now, Courtney? Okay.

I'll keep the fire going.

You sleep first,
I'll sleep next shift.

Okay. All right. Bye.

[ominous music playing]

[Kaila] I think
that's a fer-de-lance.

Holy [bleep] I'm shaking.

I'm gonna k*ll it.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Kaila] Oh, my [bleep].

[suspenseful music playing]

[Kaila] [bleep].

I believe it's dead.

Holy [bleep] I'm shaking.

Whoo.

That was intense.

Holy [bleep] could you
imagine if I stepped on that?

But, yeah, I'm
gonna get out of here,

but I got some protein.

I'm pretty sure
that's a fer-de-lance.

I'm almost certain.

That's like the
one thing I was like,

I don't wanna see
any fer-de-lance, like,

I'm terrified of
getting bit by one.

So for me to actually
conquer it and k*ll it

is kind of a big deal for me.

I am kind of a badass.

Look at those fangs
that's just in there.

That's crazy. I'm gonna
try to chop his head off.

I'm just...

trying to be super careful.

All right. Its head is off.

Now, I just got
to take the body,

and then gut it and cook it up.

But I got my protein.

Now, I'm just trying
to get some firewood.

I got a fer-de-lance.

I know that I'm capable
of all these things.

I just got to stop
doubting myself

and second-guessing myself.

This should be good.

I cooked it for a
really long time.

Not bad.

I feel great.

I've been wanting to
secure some protein,

so it's a good win.

[suspenseful music playing]

This is as rough as
it gets, to be honest.

Like, I'm so hungry, so weak,

so fatigued.

Just, like, sleep deprived.

This is really hard.

This is really hard.

Like, these are the
moments that really separate

those who make it
from those who tap out.

[sighs]

I think about my kids...

a lot.

If I think of my family,

it just brings me to my knees.

It's really hard to
find the balance.

I'm thinking of my family

because they're in
my mind every second,

but I kind of have
to, like, force them out

because they're...
They make me weaker.

I'm like, "What am I doing here?

I just wanna go home to
them, like, this is insane."

Oh, I got this.

I got this.

I got this.

[rain pattering]

[grasshopper chirping]

[dramatic music playing]

Yeah, this is an awesome find.

I have a nice,
massive grasshopper.

Adapt.

So, yeah, not eating
kudu for breakfast,

eating grasshopper.

I prefer my
grasshopper well done.

Naked and Afraid breakfast.

Uh, you know what
made the grasshopper

so good today?

I'm just, like,
solving each problem

as it comes.

It's what you do in survival.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Small victories...

are often the biggest.

Hmm.

It's really good.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Kaila burps]

Like a few hours
after I ate the snake,

I just started feeling really,

really sick.

Like, out of nowhere.

I've already thrown
up a few times, but...

I'm just, you know, feeling bad.

I don't know if
it's like the snake

or if my body is
just not used to...

having protein.

It's probably the snake.

My stomach is so
painful right now.

Being alone,

it just makes it 10 times worse.

Honestly, I'm
starting to get worried

that I've gotten sick from
eating venomous snake.