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00:04This is The Americas.
00:07An extraordinary journey across Earth's great supercontinent.
00:13The widest variety of life on the planet.
00:17The untold story of our home.
00:25Tonight on The Americas.
00:33The Amazon.
00:37The largest, most diverse rainforest on Earth.
00:48A wonderland.
00:52Ruled by giants.
00:57Teeming with curious creatures.
01:00And swarms of predators.
01:05At its heart, the world's biggest river.
01:12And greatest tropical wetland.
01:16Where the waters dance.
01:23This is a forest where the trees themselves can make it rain.
01:31Welcome.
01:33To the jungle.
01:42The Amazon covers 40% of South America.
01:48And spans nine countries.
01:54Its lifeblood is a mighty river.
01:57Longer than the journey from New York to London.
02:01With 1,100 tributaries.
02:04The river Amazon holds 15% of the Earth's fresh water.
02:13In this water world live South American icons.
02:20Jaguar.
02:23River monsters that grow over 400 pounds.
02:27It's anaconda.
02:34And capybara.
02:37The biggest rodent in the world.
02:44But some river giants are hardly ever seen.
02:50In Brazil, one particularly shy animal is reaching the end of a 250 mile journey.
03:03Almost three feet long, she is a giant river turtle.
03:12And she's not alone.
03:18Tens of thousands of females have synchronized their arrival.
03:35Each year, the river waters drop.
03:39Exposing beaches for just a few months.
03:44And all these females have come here.
03:50To lay their eggs.
04:04Each one wants the best spot.
04:09Too near the water, the eggs might drown.
04:17Too isolated.
04:20And vultures will make a meal of them.
04:26There is a lot at stake.
04:36She has to dig two feet down.
04:39Where the humidity and the temperature are just right.
04:51Finally, it's time.
04:57She lays close to 100 eggs into her nest.
05:10And gently buries them.
05:18She and the others must now return to the river.
05:28Leaving their young to their own fate.
05:39Two months later, the eggs have hatched.
05:51These baby turtles are tiny.
05:55Three thousand times smaller than their moms.
06:00And they're trapped.
06:02The sand above them has baked hard.
06:10There is only one thing that can free them.
06:20As the sand softens, something remarkable happens.
06:26It sounds like the hatchlings are talking to one another.
06:40They seem to be saying it's time to go.
07:05And every nest on the beach begins to open.
07:25Over a million tiny turtles make their way towards the river.
07:40And safety.
07:44Or so they think.
07:57On an Amazonian beach,
08:00a million newly hatched turtles are heading for the river.
08:07But this is the realm of the Amazon's largest predator.
08:28Huge black caiman.
08:46The hatchlings have no choice.
08:48They have to get to the water.
08:54Each must choose their own moment.
08:57Earth Do not suck up.
09:20Then you just add to the ride.
09:23You anymore beautiful,
09:27Then you just use the grounding water to the land!
09:42They're overwhelming numbers mean most do make it.
09:47The lucky ones will return here one day to lay their own eggs.
09:59As the seasons turn and rains arrive, the rivers of the Amazon change.
10:08In some places, they burst their banks, creating a flooded forest.
10:31In this new world, many animals take to the trees.
10:43Others arrive to feed, including infamous piranha.
10:52Their razor sharp teeth can strip a carcass to the bone.
11:09Above the floodwaters, extraordinary-looking Huat Sin choose this time of year to breed.
11:24Whilst pink bowtoes, the largest river dolphins in the world, use sound to hunt between the
11:33treetop branches.
11:54At their peak, the floodwaters cover an area larger than Montana in water 40 feet deep.
12:08And they carry nutrients far into the rainforest.
12:18The wealth of life in these rivers supports supersize hunters.
12:27Giant river otters, at nearly six feet long, the world's biggest.
12:36And boy, are they powerful.
12:40Muscular and agile too.
12:49Each one eats eight pounds of fish a day.
12:54These are just quick bites.
12:58They'll need something much more substantial, like 20-pound peacock bass.
13:07The fish seek safety by hiding amongst submerged branches.
13:18But together, the otters flush them out, driving them into the shallows.
13:34But not all this fish is going to be eaten right now.
13:38Muscular and agile.
13:42The family starts heading back upstream.
13:48Someone has been missing out.
13:51Huh?
13:54They've lost.
13:54Let's see.
13:54They've got a snake bird Rudolphם He's too small to join the hunt.
13:58And he's hungry.
14:01Shush!
14:09There may be fish all around him, but pups don't think of them as food...yet.
14:21this is just an adventure
14:29he's got a lot to learn not sure this taper is going to be much help
14:44at last his family has returned with the catch of the day
14:55that does look good
15:04and he's not going to wait to be offered
15:21in a couple of months he'll be hunting for himself
15:30venture beyond the riverbanks and it's easy to get lost in the jungle
15:37lost in the hunting ground of the most notorious predators
15:45in the amazon
15:55the amazon rainforest is home to a tenth of all known species on earth
16:04of those most in fact
16:08are insects
16:16enough to feed
16:18a monster
16:20the most voracious hunter
16:23in the amazon
16:27one that takes down
16:2930,000 victims a day
16:34army ants
16:36the ultimate swarm raiders
16:45they're almost totally blind but they have a super sense to search out and feel for their prey
17:01the slightest motion draws an attack
17:09so if you're surrounded
17:12hold your nerve
17:17and don't move a muscle
17:36if just one ant senses prey
17:41it calls in the troops
17:46and it's game over
17:57venomous stings immobilize their victims
18:03then liquefy their tissues from within
18:10making them easier to butcher
18:16but behind the carnage there is a plan
18:23soldiers over half an inch long guard the trails
18:29whilst specialist porters with longer legs carry the food home
18:43with so many mouths to feed
18:46they'll even take on dangerous prey
18:51like wasps
18:56the wasps drum their wings as a threat
19:01they would normally attack anything that comes near their nest
19:10but they are overwhelmed
19:15what the army wants
19:17is their young
19:25hundreds of soft
19:27protein filled packages
19:35it's the jackpot
19:41raid over
19:43now to get all this food back to base
19:49the smallest ants called minims
19:52help out by offering a leg up
19:54even if it can cause a bit of a headache
20:00they also join the workers to close any gaps in the trail
20:10forming living suspension bridges
20:15it's a masterpiece of organization
20:23scent trails guide them home
20:26to their astonishing nest
20:31a jungle bivouac
20:38over half a million ants bind together
20:43forming the walls floors and ceilings
20:46of a precisely temperature and humidity controlled palace
20:54but before long the forest around their nest
20:58is wiped clean
21:00there's no food left
21:04and the bibouac is dismantled
21:07ant by ant
21:09as the entire colony moves to fresh hunting grounds
21:19it's the equivalent of a city the size of well sacramento
21:24moving 25 miles on foot overnight
21:33army ants help keep the forest in balance
21:38leaving behind a vacant lot
21:40ready for new life
21:43to move in
21:49from the jungle floor to the tops of the trees
21:52everywhere in this rain forest is alive
21:57and in a rain forest the key life force is of course rain
22:05like giant drinking straws each tree draws moisture upwards to their leaves
22:19where it is exhaled as water vapor
22:24where it is exhaled as water vapor
22:36the effect is the effect is simply phenomenal
22:48and the trees have another trick
22:55by releasing special compounds into the air they can make it rain
23:06these compounds draw moisture into droplets
23:11and when those droplets are big enough
23:15they fall
23:19research has shown that the trees choose to do this exactly when they need it
23:30water is the jungle's life support
23:42where all this rain combines with the intense sunlight of the tropics
23:49trees can grow into giants
23:55to survive way up here you've got to be
24:01on top of your game
24:15the seemingly endless canopy of the amazon rainforest
24:20towers 150 feet high
24:25and the remarkable animals that live up here rarely if ever touch the ground
24:42they all have their own ways of adapting to the high life
24:53in deepest peru lives some of the strangest looking monkeys in the world
25:00if you can catch a glimpse of them
25:06in fact they're so hard to spot
25:09they've rarely been filmed
25:15emperor tamarinds
25:19barely the size of a squirrel
25:24they live in small family groups
25:27to find enough food
25:29they're constantly on the go
25:38but that's a problem when you've got not one
25:42but two babies on board
25:47tamarinds regularly have twins
25:50which is rare for primates
25:59to find out
26:00mom has to piggyback her toddlers everywhere
26:05imagine that
26:27close call
26:29close call
26:33there's just one way a mom can raise these twins she needs backup only one
26:42female in a tamarind family gets to breed so the others become babysitters
26:51and that's very handy her calls bring the family in to help
27:05free of the kids mom can at last head off to find food
27:15there is plenty of fruit around
27:21and just as well she needs to double her calorie intake to feed herself and the twins
27:32now how's that babysitter doing looks like it's all under control
27:40so there's time for more fruit
27:47but the youngsters are getting restless
28:04they've gone exploring
28:10three stories up just one slip could be fatal
28:19the sitter needs eyes in the back of its head
28:26now they're out on a limb
28:29and starting to panic
28:35time's up for mom
28:46she's back on duty
28:47but at least refueled
28:53mastering life in the canopy is all about teamwork
29:02at the top of one of the tallest trees in the Amazon is another mom with a much bigger problem
29:11to face
29:18in the Venezuelan Amazon the very top of the canopy
29:22is the haunt of one of the largest and most powerful birds of prey in the world
29:36a three foot tall harpy eagle
29:41ten stories up her home is the ideal lookout for a hunter
29:49but she's stuck here because she's tied to the most precious thing in her life
29:57her young chick
30:06he hatched just a couple of days ago
30:21her five inch talons
30:24longer than a grizzly bear's claws
30:26now need to be child proof
30:31a wrong step
30:34could be fatal
30:39up here
30:40they are exposed to the elements
30:43if she left him alone
30:45he would soon die
30:52so she's reliant on a partner to bring back food
31:02but he's arrived empty-handed
31:12the chick is still waiting for his first meal
31:16the chick is still waiting for his first meal
31:24the pair breed only every three years
31:27so have invested everything in the chick
31:34but the rain forest is a challenging place to live
31:42as the tropical heat builds
31:44mom and chick are struggling
31:53her body provides some shade
31:56but she has another strategy
32:03she uses her immense strength
32:05to grab a branch
32:09almost as thick as your wrist
32:14it offers cooling shelter
32:17from the sun
32:20but there's a greater threat
32:26rainstorms in the amazon
32:27can last for a week
32:33and they are one of the biggest killers
32:35of baby eagles
32:43his feathers aren't waterproof
32:45so he could freeze to death
32:47or even drown
32:56the temperature has dropped by 10 degrees
33:06now the only warm dry spot in the nest
33:10is directly beneath her
33:24eventually the rain passes
33:31but has the storm taken
33:33a terrible toll
33:47thanks to her
33:49he's made it
33:54but now
33:55she urgently needs her partner
33:58to bring food
34:16at last
34:19fresh meat
34:34the chick will rely on his parents
34:37for another 18 months
34:51but for these rare
34:53giant predators
34:55finding food
34:57is becoming more
34:59and more difficult
35:07this
35:08is now the scene
35:10around her nest
35:13in the last 50 years
35:15over an eighth of the amazon
35:17has been cleared
35:23some places
35:24are approaching a point of no return
35:26where the rainforest
35:28will be no more
35:37the impact
35:38will be felt
35:39right across
35:40south america
35:41because fewer trees
35:43mean less rain
35:46the forest
35:47doesn't just make
35:48its own weather
35:49it creates a vast
35:51sky river
35:52of cloud
35:53that carries more water
35:56than the mighty amazon river
35:57below it
35:59it flows overhead
36:01providing water
36:02for millions
36:07while it still flows
36:09it helps create
36:10the largest
36:12tropical wetland
36:13in the world
36:18this is the pantanal
36:2020 times
36:23the size
36:24of the everglades
36:29it's a sparkling
36:31mosaic
36:31of shallow lakes
36:33marshes
36:35grasslands
36:36and forests
36:40and famed
36:42for its staggering
36:44diversity
36:44of wildlife
36:48hyacinth
36:49macaws
36:50the biggest
36:51of their kind
36:54green anaconda
36:56over 15 feet long
37:01more jaguar
37:03than you'll find
37:04anywhere else
37:09and a stronghold
37:11for an animal
37:13with the power
37:13to make the water
37:16dance
37:28the pantanal
37:30is a paradise
37:31for predators
37:39yakare caiman
37:45there are more
37:46than 4 million
37:47of them
37:47in this vast
37:49wetland
37:53they're normally
37:54lone hunters
37:55but now
37:57countless males
37:58have gathered
37:59to mate
38:06tensions
38:06begin to run
38:07high
38:08as they jostle
38:10for the best
38:10place
38:22one male
38:23has already
38:25claimed his
38:26patch
38:34he's in his
38:36prime
38:36and readies
38:39himself
38:58a love song
39:03that makes
39:04the waters
39:05dance
39:07as a male
39:08caiman roars
39:09the vibrations
39:10from his body
39:11send low-frequency
39:13sound waves
39:14pulsating
39:15through the water
39:26an exquisite
39:28pantanal performance
39:32and it's working
39:34a nearby female
39:36picks up
39:37on these
39:38good vibrations
39:42he seems
39:44he seems delighted
39:49time to bring it
39:51home
39:55oh
39:56oh dear
40:00that's not supposed
40:02to happen
40:05but
40:06he hasn't lost
40:08his audience
40:09yet
40:12let's try that again
40:18yes
40:19now
40:20he's back
40:21in the swing
40:22of it
40:22and she
40:25is
40:26mesmerized
40:33as she
40:34slips
40:35underwater
40:38he
40:39wraps her
40:40in a tender embrace
40:57and while the other males
40:59struggled to be heard
41:02this crooner
41:04got his girl
41:11once more
41:12high above
41:13the sky river
41:15delivers rain
41:24the lifeblood
41:26of the amazon
41:27and pantanal
41:38all that live here
41:40depend on the essential
41:43flow of water
41:47from the greatest river
41:49and greatest rainforest
41:51on earth
41:54so
41:55yes
41:55maybe
41:55or
42:22i
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