Reality BYTES

But I didnt get any such vibes from bears. I found the bear to be a very different and frightening animal. Theyll eat berries and vegetarian food as well as meat. And they dont fear humans. If you were to cross paths with a bear and get in its way,it can just as likely attack you as it could ignore you.

Which was the toughest portion to shoot in Austin Stevens Adventures?
The big tuskers episode in Sri Lanka comes to mind. Only a few elephants still grow very large tusks,so I spent weeks trying to get herded off to get very close to big tuskers. But I didnt expect to get one in full charge. Two elephants got into a battle. My cameramen,soundmen and I were hidden behind a tree and had these elephants charging straight at me. Only an old broken branch hid me else they wouldve stampeded right over me.

A lot of people find reptiles,especially snakes,scary or disgusting. What about them attracts you?
I think I have some sort of affinity with snakes. I can catch an angry wild snake and,within a few minutes,the snake realises that Im not going to harm it and calms down. I can actually handle that snake with bare hands.

Maybe I understand snakes and reptiles well. If you handle the animal correctly,then you find the animal settles down quickly and you can work with it.

Youve handled many dangerous animals. Did you ever feel any fear?
In a particular episode for Austin Stevens Adventures series,working with the grizzly bears in Canada,I got separated from my team and was in between a bear and her cub. It was an adult cub that was moving around very erratically.

And when I looked again,I had the cub on one side and the female bear on the other,and they were moving in towards me. This cub bear,which stood about eight feet high,stood a few meters away and looked straight at me. Anything could have happened. It was one of the most terrifying moments of my career. But he turned away and ignored me again.

When youre off on adventures like this,which place do you like going to?
Africa remains my favourite for big gamesits addictive. I like South America it has unusual varieties of mammals and snakes. But the same can be said of interesting reptiles in North America,as well as in Asia.

Is there a country or continent that you think is insufficiently explored for its fauna?
The jungles of Asia are home to the biggest snakes The biggest snake Ive handled it was 21 feet was in Borneo. Id like to one day try and find the biggest reptile ever. Im considering doing a film about it in Asia.