Nerve rattling scene from Planet Earth shows legendary showdown between snakes and iguana

In what may be the most terrifying "Planet Earth" video ever produced, a young iguana is chased through the rocky shores of the Galapagos Islands, hunted by the feverish racer snakes.

If you've ever had a fear of snakes, imagine they coming out of the walls around you to attack.  This is what the iguana faces, for real, when he is surprised from behind and takes off.

Snakes do not have the best eyesight, but they detect movement.  They sliver by the young iguana, who holds incredibly still, as not to be found out.  Either by design or on accident, a snake meanders into the iguana and sets him off.  The great chase begins.

The shooting of this video occurred over a period of two years, in two trips to Galapagos Islands.  On each trip, they acquired about 18 days of filming and totalled about 400 total hours recorded.

By piecing it together, they were able to create the incredible video above.  No, this was not one young iguana, but many - though, the snakes coming out of the walls, that was real.

They were able to tap into the mammalian fear of snakes to evoke a sense of fear and longing for the escape of the iguana.  These young iguanas rest under the sand when they a born, assumedly to gain strength for their inevitable attempted escape from the carnivorous snakes.

Once they come out of the sand, all they can do is run.