The Truth About How Coyote Peterson Became An Animal Expert - Exclusive

Coyote Peterson, founder of the Brave Wilderness YouTube channel and host of the new Animal Planet series Brave the Wild, has a mission: getting up close and personal with the world's most dangerous and misunderstood critters, while teaching viewers something along the way. By Peterson's own admission, it's not a new idea. "I grew up on Steve Irwin and Jeff Corwin," Peterson says, "and I feel that we've done a good job carrying on that torch for the next generation of animal enthusiasts."

There's a big difference between those two broadcasting legends and Peterson, though. Corwin has a master's degree in wildlife conservation. Irwin grew up around the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, which his parents (both animal experts) founded. By contrast, Peterson studied film in college. Technically, he doesn't have any formal training.

"Look, you can't exactly go to school and learn how to interact with animals," Peterson told Looper. "There's no class on the face of the planet that's going to be like, 'All right, let's teach you how to interact with a venomous snake or catch an alligator or pick up a snapping turtle.'" That doesn't mean that Peterson doesn't know what he's doing, though. As he says, a lifetime spent around animals goes a long, long way.

As a child, Peterson was fascinated by snapping turtles, which he'd catch at locations like Thoreau Lake in his native Ohio (and which features in the very first episode of Brave the Wild, "Legendary Turtle of Texas"). "People don't normally think of a turtle as being something that's dangerous, but... if you get bitten by one of these things, they're incredibly fast. It's going to be a really bad bite," Peterson explained. "Learning to basically dodge the bites and claws of these turtles early on is really what primed me for interacting with all the other species that I've gotten up close with."

The rest came via Peterson's natural curiosity. "The world is full of free knowledge. You can go to a library and read books, you can search on the internet," Peterson said. "I've been teaching myself about animals since I was essentially old enough to read, so just absorbing all of that knowledge that's out there like a sponge gave me the background that I have."

That's basically how everyone else does it too, Peterson said. Mario Aldecoa, a trained biologist, is a permanent fixture on Brave Wilderness and Brave the Wild, but while he has a degree, he picked up most of his skills out in the field. "He grew up in South Florida, interacting with alligators and crocodiles and the venomous snakes down there," Peterson said. "His experience comes from the exact same stuff that I've gone through."

The learning process hasn't stopped now that Peterson is a star, either. When deciding which animals to go after next, Peterson and his crew sometimes just open an animal encyclopedia and look for the most interesting critter. They'll consult with local conservation groups before venturing to a location, and do plenty of outside research.

It's not just the animals themselves that Peterson studies, either. "You also have to be cognizant of poisonous plants, all kinds of things that you have to know about before you actually enter an environment and go off trail," Peterson said. "You never know what you're going to find."