1 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:10,000 If you think the whole world has been explored...think again. 2 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:34,120 Travel north from the Amazon, and you'll find another jungle - a true wilderness. 3 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:39,160 Its interior uncharted, its animals uncatalogued. 4 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:43,000 Guyana. 5 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:48,680 Now an international team of expert naturalists 6 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:52,680 are coming to search for the species hidden in this forgotten forest. 7 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:56,600 We've come somewhere no-one's ever been before, 8 00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:00,200 and it's one of the most spectacular places on the planet. 9 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:08,160 There are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of species here that haven't been seen by anybody, 10 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:09,840 and we will find them first. 11 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:19,200 Guyana's forest - unspoilt, unprotected and under threat. 12 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:24,240 Our job is to prove that these forests have more value alive than razed to the ground. 13 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:54,000 Guyana. It's the size of Great Britain, with the population of Liverpool. 14 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,440 Nearly everyone lives on the narrow strip by the coast. 15 00:01:57,440 --> 00:01:59,640 But travel south 16 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:03,480 and there's rainforest for hundreds and hundreds of miles. 17 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:15,320 The only way to base camp is by boat. 18 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:18,120 A ten-hour journey from the nearest dirt road. 19 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,400 I was amazed, you know, when we were flying in, 20 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:26,360 there was a few little houses. Yeah, nothing. And that was it. 21 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:29,320 The good stuff's in there, not here. 22 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:35,240 George, you've got about six weeks to get in there and find stuff, don't be impatient! Calm down! 23 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:36,880 Faster, let's get there! 24 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,040 It's a land full of giants. 25 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:46,000 Giant otters, the biggest spiders in the world, 26 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:47,640 enormous caiman, 27 00:02:47,640 --> 00:02:49,840 eight-metre anaconda, 28 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:55,880 and the biggest cat in South America - the mysterious jaguar. 29 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:58,720 This forest is untouched. 30 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:01,960 But in two years they could be logging these trees. 31 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:08,400 The team's destination - a base camp built by the advance party. 32 00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:15,360 Each team member has a different speciality. 33 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:18,920 Gordon Buchanan will be searching for the large mammals. 34 00:03:18,920 --> 00:03:23,360 My job on this expedition is to try and find and film as many different animals as I can. 35 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:28,000 If I could pick only two animals, the first would be giant otters, 36 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,360 and the second, the most difficult one, would be the jaguar. 37 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:35,040 Justine Evans is a canopy specialist. 38 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:38,960 She documents life at the top of giant trees. 39 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:42,720 The forests have barely been explored on the ground, let alone in the canopy. 40 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:45,600 I want to get up there and just see what's going on. 41 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:49,200 Absolutely stunning. 42 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:56,600 Steve Backshall will be exploring places other naturalists cannot reach. 43 00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:01,040 In his search for animals, he'll attempt a first ascent up a remote mountain 44 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:05,040 and a daring descent down a giant waterfall. 45 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:10,600 It feels like I'm completely underneath it, completely surrounded by it. 46 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:18,360 And the last expedition member, Dr George McGavin from Oxford University. 47 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:23,600 He's leading the science team from a jungle laboratory right in the heart of camp. 48 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:28,920 If we're concerned about species loss, which we all should be, 49 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:32,520 we should be concerned about keeping the forests intact. 50 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:38,080 The expedition's aim - to find what lives here, 51 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:41,320 and to draw the world's attention to this - 52 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:46,800 the largest unspoilt rainforest left on the planet. 53 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:48,200 SHOUTING 54 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:52,480 The team are still unpacking when there's a shout from the riverbank. 55 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:55,320 A very rare monkey's been spotted. 56 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:57,760 There, there. See it? There, there. 57 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:03,760 We've got a bearded saki, a monkey on the tree over there. 58 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:09,040 Can just see a bit of movement in the foliage, but I can't actually see the monkey yet. 59 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:12,840 It's not easy to see him. Not at all. Here we go, I've got one. 60 00:05:12,840 --> 00:05:18,280 They just wag their tail back and forward, it's quite typical behaviour in them. 61 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:21,240 But it's... Oops! Got a bit of movement up there. 62 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:25,600 The bearded saki is on the international list of endangered species. 63 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:28,520 It's the best start they could hope for. 64 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:33,840 And animals are even coming into the camp itself. 65 00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:36,320 Steve Backshall takes a look. 66 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:38,800 That's beautiful. 67 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:42,760 One of the common names for it is the Amazon forest dragon. Yes. 68 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:45,960 What I love about these is, to begin with they're skittish, 69 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,520 but once they sense that you mean them no harm, 70 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:53,280 they'll quite happily sit in your hand and barely move at all. 71 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:58,960 He is absolutely beautiful. That's definitely one to add to our tick list. 72 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:06,840 The expedition's working closely with Guyanese trackers. 73 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:10,000 They know these jungles hide dangerous creatures. 74 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:12,960 For the new arrivals, there's a safety briefing. 75 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:18,480 The jungle is an alien environment for most of us and there's a few things we need to bear in mind. 76 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:23,880 We have had 9ft caiman down on the landing just outside of camp only a couple of days ago, 77 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:28,000 so be conscious that there are caiman and they are very dangerous. 78 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:34,280 There are very big piranhas in the water. Swimming far away from the shore is probably not advised. 79 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:37,600 Snakes that we need to be concerned about are the viper family - 80 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:42,360 rattlesnakes, pit vipers, the infamous bushmaster, and also the coral snakes. 81 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:44,600 Scorpions are here. 82 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:48,040 As a general rule, the ones with the fat tails are the worst. 83 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:52,440 There's some very large tarantulas but the small things are the worst things. 84 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:56,040 Don't put your hands into holes cos that's where you'll get stung. 85 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:06,920 First light next morning, the team split up to start their specialist surveys. 86 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:09,320 Gordon's on a recce of the river. 87 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,880 This whole part of the world is just riddled with waterways, 88 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:17,720 and this is one of the major ones, 89 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,600 but joining on to it, these rivers are smaller rivers, tiny little creeks, 90 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:27,080 so it's on the little country lanes, the little cul-de-sacs, that you find interesting stuff. 91 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:33,720 First on Gordon's list is to see if he can find the rare giant otters. 92 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:37,840 They're top predators. Perfect indicators of a river's health. 93 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:44,640 As you can imagine, something the size of a giant otter is going to leave one or two signs. 94 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:47,440 Hey, look at this here, look. 95 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:52,680 When you've got a bare bank, like this, it's a very good place to find otters. 96 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:57,720 They're the biggest otters in the world - three times larger than any otter in Europe. 97 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:00,600 Their favourite meal - piranhas. 98 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:06,720 Wow, look at this. This is a very clear sign that there's otters in this area, and very recent. 99 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:09,480 I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't this morning. 100 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:14,200 Their toes are not that much smaller than my fingers. 101 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:17,880 If you think of an otter that has hands almost the same size as mine, 102 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:20,840 actually the otter itself is almost the same size as me. 103 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:22,520 They're big, big beasts. 104 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:27,480 Just put a little bit of tension on it, makes it quicker and easier. 105 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:33,720 While Gordon's on the river, Justine's high in the treetops building an observation post, 106 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:36,200 with the help of Steve and the climbing team. 107 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:46,080 Tree-climbing in the rainforest is hot, sweaty, there's endless bugs, 108 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:50,120 ants, wasps, bees, all of which hate you invading their world, 109 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:53,200 and...yeah, it's tough old work. 110 00:08:55,640 --> 00:09:00,080 It's good that you can see a little bit through the under storey. 111 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:01,920 If you look that way a bit, 112 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:04,600 that's not bad, actually, that direction. 113 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:08,120 Steve hauls up her platform. 114 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:14,720 Justine will spend ten hours every day on a square of aluminium the size of a card table. 115 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,560 That's as far as it will go. We're on the end of the pulley now. 116 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:25,480 Sound as a pound, that's not going anywhere. 117 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:29,640 Yeah, it's a pretty good spot. It's not got a brilliant view, 118 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:32,800 but it's a good start. 119 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:37,360 At 17, Gordon swapped his job washing dishes on the Isle of Mull 120 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:40,520 for an apprenticeship filming wildlife in Brazil. 121 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:42,720 Oh, look here, look. 122 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:47,120 His years in the Amazon taught him the skills of jungle tracking. 123 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:49,720 Very easy to follow this. 124 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:53,920 It's just a detective story, when you're looking for wild animals, 125 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:57,880 but with giant animals, they leave giant traces. 126 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:01,800 Watch out for snakes. 127 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:04,560 The fact that there's been a giant otter here, 128 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:07,560 the chances are, they've never been hunted, 129 00:10:07,560 --> 00:10:11,640 and I'll be interested to see how they react when they see me. 130 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:17,840 Justine's survey relies on a vital piece of kit - a high-definition camera. 131 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:23,480 This lens can magnify up to 80 times, 132 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:26,560 perfect for capturing canopy creatures. 133 00:10:26,560 --> 00:10:29,760 I can zoom in really, really close with this, 134 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:33,640 so I can see a monkey 200 metres away and still be able to get in close enough 135 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:38,120 to actually see whether it's a male or female, anything that will identify it. 136 00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:43,160 And we're here to assess this place, or me, particularly, to see what's up in the canopy, 137 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:45,720 so I've got to be up here all daylight hours. 138 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:54,680 The expedition's based in a patch of forest 139 00:10:54,680 --> 00:10:58,440 that's been leased to the organisation Conservation International. 140 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:02,000 The surrounding jungle stretches for hundreds of miles. 141 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:06,080 But now large swathes are soon to be explored by logging companies. 142 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:08,240 Guyana's at a dangerous crossroads. 143 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:11,520 It can either exploit what it's got and make a quick buck, 144 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:17,600 or, if we can show what is here, and the rarity and the diversity of this area, 145 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:23,640 and that's why I'm here, is just to prevent the worst-case scenario. 146 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:28,880 The team believe this could be pristine rainforest - 147 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:32,920 the animals never hunted, the ancient trees still standing. 148 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:36,160 In the 21st century, that's rare indeed. 149 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:43,680 In base camp, the scientists are hard at work, recording all their discoveries. 150 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:48,920 Their report will be presented to the President of Guyana. 151 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:54,400 Finding any new or endangered species will strengthen the case for conservation. 152 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:02,960 Hind legs are way back almost... It's like a cricket. ..twice the size of the body. 153 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:05,920 That is the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my life. 154 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:09,000 It's a fly, hasn't got any wings... 155 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:13,040 George McGavin's great passion is for insects. 156 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:17,200 At first I thought it was a cricket, a tiny cricket, but it's a bat fly. 157 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:19,800 Insects make ecosystems work. 158 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:23,960 Without bees, for instance, you'd have no flowering plants, no vegetables, no fruit. 159 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:28,160 So without the insects, you simply wouldn't have the big animals. 160 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:35,080 From the tiniest bugs to the largest birds, there's over a million known species living in rainforests. 161 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:42,240 George believes there could be another 5 million still waiting to be discovered. 162 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:48,040 Oh, I say! Look at that. 163 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:54,520 Fallen trees like this are an amazing resource for insects and bugs, and stuff. 164 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:59,320 They're not always hollow enough to crawl inside. Oh, that's... Yeah, it looks rather nice. 165 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:06,800 The worry is that there are snakes up here, or scorpions, so I'll take my ultraviolet scorpion torch. 166 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,320 Oh, look at that. 167 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:12,400 Oh! It is big, it is a biggie! 168 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:14,440 This is going to be epic. 169 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:17,440 Now, there's a bat. Look, look, look over there. See it? 170 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:19,800 There's about three of them. 171 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:22,520 Is there anything else in there? That's the worry. 172 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:25,360 Let's go, let's see what's in here. 173 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:30,000 It's like crawling into a large peaty tube. 174 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:33,840 It's an extreme habitat, very rarely explored. 175 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:37,000 And straight away, he's coming up against new creatures. 176 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:43,680 There are crickets everywhere, and the interesting thing about them is, I haven't seen these ones before, 177 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:47,120 and I'm going to have to try and collect some of these. 178 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:50,040 Oh, there's a monster there! Look at that! 179 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:52,720 They've got these enormous antennae. 180 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:59,920 These crickets are adapted to very dark, wet places. 181 00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:05,080 There's a brown cricket as well, and I'm not quite sure if this is the same species. 182 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:10,240 I'm just going to try and grab this, and you really have to be incredibly quick. Here goes... 183 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:12,320 Ooh! 184 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:13,680 Ah... 185 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:19,360 Fallen giants litter these jungles. 186 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:24,280 Every day, strong winds and weak roots bring another colossus crashing down. 187 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:33,800 These jungle trees look solid on the outside, but can be eaten hollow by termites on the inside. 188 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:42,000 30 metres up, fragile trees are not something Justine wants to worry about. 189 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:49,880 Now, after two days of waiting, she sights something moving. 190 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:53,640 I finally got a glimpse of a squirrel monkey. 191 00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:58,400 It's so difficult. 192 00:14:58,400 --> 00:14:59,880 They're so quick. 193 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:07,120 Ah, there's one. 194 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:09,400 It's gone. 195 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:16,040 They seem to be mostly adults and some larger young, but there's no babies being carried by mothers. 196 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:18,240 Big group, though. 197 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:20,360 Squirrel monkeys. 198 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:23,000 They're common in South America's forests. 199 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,680 They move through the canopy in large groups. 200 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:28,960 This one's searching for caterpillars on new leaves. 201 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:32,440 It's obviously feeding on insects. 202 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:38,080 That's why they seem to be moving so quickly. I think they're just snatching at whatever they can find. 203 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:42,520 Ah, there's a good view. 204 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:47,800 Are they going up this branch? 205 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:52,640 Must be a main travel route, probably the only travel route through this section. 206 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:54,800 Jumping off into the other tree. 207 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:07,000 The fruiting season's gone, and so there are probably very few fruiting trees in the forest at this moment. 208 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:08,280 RUSTLING 209 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:09,800 What was that? 210 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:15,360 Probably just a tree falling down... 211 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:25,680 George is now 25 metres inside this fallen giant. 212 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:27,360 This is amazing. 213 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:31,800 Look what we've got here. This is a whip spider. 214 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:35,720 These long bits are actually its front legs 215 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:40,400 and because it lives in darkness... You can see how it's feeling my finger there. 216 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:42,800 It uses these very long legs to feel its prey, 217 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:46,480 and its prey are these cave crickets here. 218 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:51,800 And, very sneakily, sometimes the whip spiders reach behind the cricket 219 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,040 and just go tickle, tickle on the back end, 220 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,440 and the cricket jumps forward into the jaws of the whip spider. 221 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:00,240 It's a really clever trick. 222 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:03,080 The further I go into this, 223 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:06,720 there's bigger and bigger whip spiders. 224 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:08,720 Oh, there's an absolute monster over here! 225 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:11,120 There are now, on this part of the roof, 226 00:17:11,120 --> 00:17:15,280 13 crickets and five whip spiders, 227 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:17,240 who are just queuing up to eat them. 228 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:22,560 Little is known about the biology of these weird predators. 229 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:26,720 Somehow, George has to catch one to take it back to the lab. 230 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:29,880 One's just crawled across my face! 231 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:40,080 Because it's now getting really, really tight, 232 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:42,920 I have a bit of a problem. 233 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,240 HE WHEEZES 234 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:49,000 It's as hot as a sauna, and crawling with bugs. 235 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,400 George is in his element. 236 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:52,640 Ah! 237 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:57,240 Just one sec. 238 00:17:57,240 --> 00:17:59,160 I can't... I can't get out of this... 239 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:01,000 This hole's too tight. Argh! 240 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:10,680 I feel like a beetle grub emerging from... 241 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:14,760 from its long period of metamorphosis! 242 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:16,360 HE LAUGHS 243 00:18:16,360 --> 00:18:18,880 Actually, I think I am stuck! 244 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:20,720 All I can say is, 245 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:25,280 I don't think I've had as much fun in a log for a long time! 246 00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:31,840 Usually, George only sees these bizarre beasts dead in a museum drawer. 247 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:34,480 It's a rare chance to examine them alive. 248 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:36,880 Isn't that wonderful? 249 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:40,480 That is the ultimate animal for hunting for prey in the dark. 250 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:46,200 It's flattened, it's fast, it's got big, spiky palps at the front end, 251 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,840 incredibly long legs for just feeling its prey. 252 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:54,320 If you designed an organism for catching crickets in the dark, this is it. 253 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:58,760 And once the poor animal is trapped in those spines at the front, 254 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:02,560 that's it, there is no escape from that. 255 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:08,880 Dinner tonight - piranha. 256 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:13,040 How is it? Looks good. I'm absolutely famished. 257 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:17,320 I'm hungry, yeah. Piranha teeth. Is it piranha teeth? Look at that! 258 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:20,800 They do have the most extraordinary teeth. I'm a bit, er... 259 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:26,080 Put some falsies in! Careful, George, put that through your upper lip and you'll know about it! 260 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:29,360 They're swimming in the river? Uh-huh. 261 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:33,360 Can someone pass the evil fire sauce down, please? 262 00:19:33,360 --> 00:19:36,840 That is far too much of that. You're gonna die. 263 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:39,000 He's beginning to regret that now! 264 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:41,000 Yes! Yes! 265 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:51,640 Although the expedition starts in base camp, 266 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:55,920 each team member will also explore even more remote parts of Guyana. 267 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:02,680 Today, Steve and the climbing team are heading out. 268 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:09,520 There are some areas that have very different forest to the stuff that we're in right now. 269 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:11,800 Over in the west of the country, 270 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:16,520 there are these exposed beds of ancient, ancient rock, 271 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:20,640 and one of the world's most spectacular waterfalls. 272 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:24,000 And that's where the next leg of my journey's taking me. 273 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:35,880 His destination - Guyana's only National Park, hidden deep in the heart of the forest. 274 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:43,680 At its centre - Kaieteur Falls. 275 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:48,720 Five times higher than Niagara. 276 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:53,280 Each day, 60 million tonnes of water flow over these falls. 277 00:20:55,520 --> 00:21:00,360 40 kilometres from the nearest road, just a handful of tourists fly in 278 00:21:00,360 --> 00:21:03,440 to view this wonder of the world from the top. 279 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:09,400 But no-one has fully explored the unique habitat around the plunge pool. 280 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:14,560 That's the task for Steve and climbing supervisor, Tim Fogg. 281 00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:17,920 That is a very long way down. 282 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:22,320 We're going to try a recce, have a look for the best place to descend, 283 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:26,120 and I really want to get a feel of the world behind the waterfall. 284 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:40,360 At base camp, an eerie sound echoes deep in the forest. 285 00:21:40,360 --> 00:21:43,000 DISTANT CRIES 286 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:46,320 The ghostly call of the howler monkey. 287 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:54,480 Justine's on her way to her treetop perch. 288 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:56,880 It's the sound she's been hoping to hear. 289 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:02,800 I can hear distant howler calls, 290 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:04,280 but it's quite a way. 291 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,800 The thing is that there was a group calling out in this direction 292 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:12,960 but they could just be sitting quietly in the treetops, 293 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:15,960 and we wouldn't know they were there. 294 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,040 CACOPHONY OF CRIES 295 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:26,480 It's the most unearthly sound, the sound of howler monkeys. 296 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,000 It sounds like a huge dragon in the distance. 297 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:36,320 A healthy population of howler monkeys would be a great sign of an untouched forest. 298 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:39,720 They're easy to hear, but much harder to find and count. 299 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:45,360 There's a chance that, in a while, they might start moving around, and hopefully come this way. 300 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:50,400 Just a waiting a game, we have to see. 301 00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:59,360 Down on the ground, they're surveying species on the forest floor. 302 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:07,760 Guyanese scientist, Doctor Raquel Thomas, is an expert on rainforest trees. 303 00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:11,560 Some of these were growing before Columbus came to the Americas. 304 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:16,760 This tree here, I reckon would be about 500 to 600 years. 305 00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:23,400 In the five days since they've arrived, they've catalogued over a hundred different types of animal. 306 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:26,200 Every little hair has got hairs on it, 307 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:29,000 and on the end of the small hairs, you've got tiny hairs. 308 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:33,400 Gordon's had no luck in his search for large mammals. 309 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:38,480 They're particularly hard to track down, especially the elusive big cats. 310 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:42,240 I spent two years in total in another part of the Amazon, 311 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:46,240 and I saw a wild jaguar for 30 seconds, 312 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:49,920 and that's two years straight, so that's how difficult it is. 313 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:54,200 Gordon's returned to the creek with the otter tracks. 314 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:58,280 He's setting a trap, a camera trap. 315 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:01,920 It looks very complicated, but the concept's very simple. 316 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:07,080 It's an infrared beam. When that gets broken, the camera starts running. 317 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:14,920 It's a huge amount of effort to put this in. That's why I think we have to leave it for at least a week. 318 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:20,240 We don't even have to come every day. We just leave it and come every three days or so, keep an eye on it. 319 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:25,520 Then it's back to the canoe and on with the search for otters. 320 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:37,280 At Kaieteur Falls, Steve and the team have set the ropes. 321 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:40,800 I wouldn't go straight over, I'd step down now onto the ladder. 322 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:46,000 Tomorrow, he will lead a team to the bottom to search for animals, 323 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:51,280 but today he must first test the gear and take a look at the route down. 324 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:53,360 ..So that rope goes into that. 325 00:24:53,360 --> 00:24:58,600 There's always that horrible fear of stepping off a perfectly good, solid surface, 326 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:00,720 and just back into space, isn't there? 327 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:04,920 You can't go much further because I've got to get this bag to you now. 328 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:08,920 His helmet-camera will record all he sees. 329 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:14,400 This would have to be one of the most dramatic places in the world. 330 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:16,520 Totally unspoilt. 331 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:18,000 There's nobody here but us. 332 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:23,120 But it's very hard to enjoy it when your heart is thumping. 333 00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:26,760 It's just this boiling steam below us. 334 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:29,800 Just push out. 335 00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:33,880 Oh, wow. 336 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:42,240 Oh, my ropes are rubbing over this rock, 337 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:43,720 and it's sharp. 338 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:48,480 The cliff has a severe overhang. 339 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:54,880 It's only when Steve's on the ropes that he can get a close look at the rock face. 340 00:25:54,880 --> 00:26:00,600 Tim, I've dropped under the overhang and it's absolutely extraordinary down here. 341 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:05,240 Directly beneath me, it's dropping straight into the plunge pool at its most turbulent. 342 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:09,400 It'd be like dropping into the world's worst whirlpool - total suicide. Over. 343 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:13,040 OVER RADIO: That's confirmed everything that we suspected, 344 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:16,400 but it was worth going down and getting a better view of it. Over. 345 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:20,280 Yeah. From this angle, I can see a good line where we could come down. 346 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:22,840 If we were to actually head around to the base, 347 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:26,720 there's a line that looks like it drops down onto reasonable territory. 348 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,640 Steve has dropped as far as he safely can. 349 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:33,400 Tomorrow, he'll descend to the very bottom to start his survey. 350 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:38,600 I'm actually swinging right underneath the curtain of water. 351 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:03,080 George is on his daily quest for new insects. 352 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:06,640 Oh, wow! 353 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:09,840 This is one of the wonders of the animal world. 354 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:14,920 This is a trail of army ants, and there are literally tens of thousands of them. 355 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:20,120 Army ants are swarm raiders. 356 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:25,600 Their marauding column pushes through the jungle, killing anything too slow to escape. 357 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:28,920 You'll see spiders and cockroaches jumping out the way. 358 00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:33,960 He's trying to get away but it's no good. They'll have him. 359 00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:38,000 Their prey are pulled to pieces and carried back to feed their young, 360 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:41,720 living deep in the heart of this tree. 361 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:46,440 What would be really great is to come back really early, about 4.30am, 5.00am, 362 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:50,600 and have a look inside and actually see what's happening in there. 363 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:54,960 If we hit it at the right time, when they're on the move, wow, that'd be fantastic. 364 00:27:54,960 --> 00:28:01,240 30 metres above, Justine is still patiently scanning the canopy for howler monkeys. 365 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:04,720 This afternoon, the wind is picking up. 366 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,320 I've come up a really great tree, it's got a fantastic view, 367 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:13,880 but it's more like a stalk sticking about 45 metres straight out from the under storey. 368 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:18,600 It's also really windy today. There's a big gust coming in now, 369 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:21,880 and the whole tree is just swaying around. 370 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:27,320 I'm actually getting motion sickness, coupled with the vertigo I was experiencing earlier! 371 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:30,280 It's quite an experience being up here today. 372 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:37,520 Gordon's been searching for otters since first light, 373 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:40,760 but it seems everything is against him. 374 00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:46,680 Hang on. This is getting a bit unpleasant. 375 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:51,240 It's getting really hot and kind of uncomfortable, I've got ants crawling all over me 376 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:55,600 and I just snared up the prop in some weeds again. 377 00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:00,560 It's like wire, this stuff. 378 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:03,880 Oh, and I've just broke my knife! 379 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:06,000 Man, that's annoying! 380 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:11,080 To make it all worse, 381 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:16,560 I've got this very painful blistering 382 00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:19,000 all over my chest. 383 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:20,880 This is very uncomfortable. 384 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:26,640 George is suffering too. 385 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:30,880 He's covered in bites from his crawl through the log. 386 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:33,080 There's a definite reaction. Mm. 387 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:38,680 I just want to keep an eye on that one, George, whether that one's getting infected. 388 00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:42,400 It's been a long day for the whole team. 389 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,000 Yeah. 390 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,600 But one member of the team is having rather more luck. 391 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:04,320 While Steve hangs on the rope, 392 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:08,400 a flock of swifts starts heading straight towards him. 393 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:10,800 Look at that! 394 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:15,960 They nest behind the waterfall. 395 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:23,600 They're coming in very close to the overhang here to keep away from the spray. 396 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:28,600 As they come in, they're banking and rolling just like fighter jets. 397 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:29,600 Right past my ears. 398 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:43,360 Whoa! Look at all those swifts! 399 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:45,040 Wow! 400 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:47,320 Oh, that is unbelievable! 401 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:05,240 Next morning, well before dawn, Justine is woken by a distant roar. 402 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:12,600 It's the howler monkeys again, and they're getting nearer. 403 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:15,120 I don't know what time it is, but it's very early. 404 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:18,480 HOWLING IN DISTANCE 405 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:24,600 Seems a bit weird putting ski socks on in the tropics, 406 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:30,600 but it's best to do this to keep all the chiggers 407 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:33,160 and nasty biting things off. 408 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:41,040 The precious cameras are the only objects in the camp kept warm and dry. 409 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:44,440 With all the gear on her back, 410 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:47,960 Justine starts the long trek through the last of the night. 411 00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:58,640 George is also up early. 412 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:01,200 He's heading to the army ant bivouac. 413 00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:04,960 He needs to arrive before the column is on the march. 414 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:07,200 Here it is. 415 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:09,040 Here's the tree. 416 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:13,520 We've got up at five o'clock and they're not even up yet. 417 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:16,000 Ah... 418 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:21,360 What you've got is a camera on the end of this little tip here, 419 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:25,680 and a little light and I can push that right up into the colony. 420 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:26,880 Perfect. Perfect. 421 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:29,480 His aim is to probe deep inside the colony 422 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:31,480 and perhaps even spy the queen. 423 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:37,360 Ooh, there they are. There is the outside of the main ball of ants. 424 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:39,360 Ooh, yes. They're not happy about that. 425 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:42,520 There's a soldier, look at the head of that thing. 426 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:44,240 He's not happy about that. 427 00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:50,560 That squawking noise was a macaw flying over. 428 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:52,600 There he goes, in fact two of them. 429 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:57,480 Oh, my God. 430 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:00,480 Macaws, macaws, macaws. 431 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:03,120 I've been hearing lots of macaws calling. 432 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:05,600 This is the first time I've got a good shot. 433 00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:08,920 I'm just managing to film them through this foreground tree, 434 00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:10,880 which is causing all sorts of blur. 435 00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:15,800 That's it, one of them's just moved into a clearer position. 436 00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:19,680 Ridiculous red colour, 437 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:22,680 almost unbelievable, really. 438 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:25,840 But macaws are the first thing to disappear 439 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:29,360 when humans come into an area. 440 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:33,480 They're taken by hunters for the pet trade, also for meat. 441 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:39,320 A single macaw can sell for more than a year's wages in Guyana. 442 00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:45,760 The colony's out on the move and they're now swarming all down here. 443 00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:47,640 That was very quick, actually. 444 00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:50,920 One of the great tricks about army ants 445 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:54,320 is that they've got hooks on their feet, 446 00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:58,600 and they can join up their feet and they can make a bridge. 447 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:01,200 George still hasn't seen the queen, 448 00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:04,320 but first he has to get past the soldiers. 449 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:08,040 They're vicious and it's not only their giant pincers - 450 00:34:08,040 --> 00:34:10,680 they also inject a dose of formic acid. 451 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:14,080 I'm just going to push this right into the middle of the colony. 452 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:17,600 Oh, it's big. Oh, my goodness, look at that. 453 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:19,840 It's a huge colony. 454 00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:23,480 It's massive! It's not often you get to see 455 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:27,280 right into the heart of a colony of army ants. 456 00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:32,440 That is a very privileged view. Ooh! 457 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:33,960 Ow, ah! 458 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:39,160 Not going to see their queen, not today. Agh! 459 00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:42,960 HE GROANS AND LAUGHS 460 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:45,200 This is all very bizarre... Ow! Ow! 461 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:49,960 ..sitting quietly up here, waiting for my monkeys and... 462 00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:52,200 George has found an army ant colony. 463 00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:54,560 I guess that's what it is 464 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:57,800 cos you can hear him howling with pain in the background, 465 00:34:57,800 --> 00:34:59,240 down in the under storey. 466 00:34:59,240 --> 00:35:03,920 Entomologists 0, army ants 1. 467 00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:07,160 I think I'd rather be up here actually, even if it is 468 00:35:07,160 --> 00:35:11,960 with mosquitoes and midges than being mullered by army ants. 469 00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:16,160 They're a crazy lot, entomologists - especially George. 470 00:35:19,720 --> 00:35:22,840 The rest of the scientists are back in the jungle lab, 471 00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:26,440 where the checklist of animals is increasing every day, 472 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:28,960 including this horned frog, 473 00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:33,960 perfectly camouflaged to ambush prey in the leaf litter. 474 00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:37,800 But this jungle isn't just home for amazing animals. 475 00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:45,560 Keeping rainforests intact is vital in the fight against climate change. 476 00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:48,440 This region's forests alone locks away 477 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:51,680 forty thousand million tonnes of carbon. 478 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:55,160 Forests are important for the global welfare. 479 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:57,440 Climate change depends on it. 480 00:35:57,440 --> 00:35:59,240 Biodiversity depends on it. 481 00:35:59,240 --> 00:36:01,400 People depend on it. 482 00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:03,920 Guyana's a very poor country. 483 00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:08,280 Logging these forests would be a simple way to raise much needed revenue. 484 00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:09,800 But Guyana's president 485 00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:13,400 recently approached Britain with a green alternative, 486 00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:18,360 keeping the forests standing in exchange for carbon credits. 487 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:25,480 Guyana's forest is not only important for Guyana but is also important for the whole globe. 488 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:28,640 The Stern Report has concluded that keeping forests intact 489 00:36:28,640 --> 00:36:33,080 is a highly cost-effective way to combat climate change. 490 00:36:33,080 --> 00:36:36,680 In Guyana, they're still waiting for a decision. 491 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:51,720 At Kaieteur Falls, there's an air of quiet concentration. 492 00:36:51,720 --> 00:36:54,840 This time Steve aims to go all the way to the bottom 493 00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:57,640 and spend 48 hours surveying this habitat. 494 00:36:57,640 --> 00:37:01,240 We've got no real information about what kind of terrain is down there. 495 00:37:01,240 --> 00:37:04,880 We know for sure that it's gonna be very slippery and very dangerous. 496 00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:12,080 You're gonna have to lean forward, Steve. It's very, very tight. 497 00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:15,840 Go on, go on, go on. Yes, good job - and move sideways now, Steve. 498 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:21,680 That's great. Well done, mate. Woah. 499 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:29,840 As Steve starts his descent, the mist rolls in. 500 00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:35,800 Almost as soon as I stepped over the edge, 501 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:41,560 this thick fog just started to rise up from the base of the waterfall, 502 00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:43,720 and I can't see where I'm going, 503 00:37:43,720 --> 00:37:48,200 where I'm heading to, and no-one above can see me either. 504 00:37:56,840 --> 00:38:01,080 Justine's spotted something moving in the trees. 505 00:38:01,080 --> 00:38:03,080 Saw a flash of red then, 506 00:38:03,080 --> 00:38:06,280 looks really like a howler monkey. 507 00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:07,920 Where is it? 508 00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:14,240 There, there, there. Yes, yes, that's it. There's a male. 509 00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:17,960 God, they look grumpy, don't they? 510 00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:22,560 Don't think they are grumpy, 511 00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:25,320 it's just they have that permanent expression 512 00:38:25,320 --> 00:38:27,840 of being very miserable with life. 513 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:32,600 Fantastic. There he goes. 514 00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:48,280 You can really see the use of the prehensile tail, 515 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:50,600 just like a fifth limb. 516 00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:52,640 It's like a safety rope. 517 00:38:52,640 --> 00:38:55,840 It's the last thing that's released. 518 00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:08,240 They spend nine hours every day chewing their way through 519 00:39:08,240 --> 00:39:10,120 the tough rainforest leaves. 520 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:12,600 The other 15 hours, 521 00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:14,120 they sleep. 522 00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:20,000 There's two others in the tree, there's a big male at the top there. 523 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:22,600 He's coming down. 524 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:27,800 Ooh, taking a good look at me. 525 00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:35,520 Amazing, he's probably nearly 200 metres away but he's really, really staring at me. 526 00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:45,800 Well, things are looking up. 527 00:39:51,480 --> 00:39:53,680 It's the trickiest part of Steve's descent. 528 00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:56,040 Overhanging rocks covered in slime. 529 00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:00,640 Oh, uh-ha-ha...! 530 00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:06,880 He's constantly drenched in spray from the falls. 531 00:40:14,720 --> 00:40:17,280 This rock is the slippiest ground I've ever been on in my life! 532 00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:18,760 I've never seen anything like it. 533 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:31,440 If this is what it's like hundreds of metres from the waterfall, 534 00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:34,520 I dread to think what it would've been like at the bottom of it. 535 00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:45,160 I am down on solid ground and off the main rope, over. 536 00:40:45,160 --> 00:40:48,400 'That's very good news.' 537 00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:51,760 Tim, this place is every bit as steep and slippery 538 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:55,440 and dangerous as we thought it would be, but it's much, 539 00:40:55,440 --> 00:40:59,920 much wetter and it's very windy down here and it's pretty miserable. 540 00:40:59,920 --> 00:41:02,160 I want to get out of this as soon as I can, over. 541 00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:05,440 Let's get you somewhere a bit more protected and warmer. 542 00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:07,280 Understood. Out. 543 00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:13,840 With Steve safely down, he's joined by the cameraman 544 00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:15,560 and a dripping wet Tim Fogg. 545 00:41:17,080 --> 00:41:19,040 You all right, mate? 546 00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:23,480 Bad weather down here, it's a bit damp. THEY LAUGH 547 00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:25,920 They must find shelter, 548 00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:29,400 but also keep their eyes skinned for any animals they can see. 549 00:41:32,960 --> 00:41:35,200 There's loads of little... 550 00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:38,600 freshwater crabs just running around here. 551 00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:42,360 Because it's wet the whole time, they're completely comfortable. 552 00:41:42,360 --> 00:41:44,440 They're just feeding on the algae 553 00:41:44,440 --> 00:41:46,920 which they're picking off these rocks, 554 00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:50,680 and because this place is drenched in water the whole time, 555 00:41:50,680 --> 00:41:52,840 they're absolutely everywhere. 556 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:55,800 This is just the perfect place for crabs. 557 00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:58,040 It really is like being on the bottom of the sea. 558 00:42:03,920 --> 00:42:05,480 There's been a sighting - 559 00:42:05,480 --> 00:42:09,000 a family of giant otters glimpsed heading down-river. 560 00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:16,040 We really have to keep our eyes open because they're big, 561 00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:18,800 but still tricky to see. 562 00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:21,600 Right bank, right bank. 563 00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:28,200 A head's popped up. I don't know whether they've gone into the shrub. 564 00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:29,760 After a week of searching, 565 00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:33,800 at last this is Gordon's chance to start observing these shy animals. 566 00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:36,960 Dan, do you think they're still in front of us? I can't see them. 567 00:42:39,360 --> 00:42:41,320 They're in the undergrowth. 568 00:42:41,320 --> 00:42:43,600 Everyone just keep their eyes wide open. 569 00:42:53,880 --> 00:42:58,120 The otters let out warning snorts. 570 00:42:58,120 --> 00:43:02,480 Oh, beautiful, just coming straight towards us. 571 00:43:02,480 --> 00:43:06,960 They're interested, not in fishing, they're interested in us. 572 00:43:09,880 --> 00:43:12,040 Oh, man, that's so nice. 573 00:43:12,040 --> 00:43:14,960 OTTER SNORTS 574 00:43:14,960 --> 00:43:18,200 Sun just glistening off their heads. 575 00:43:18,200 --> 00:43:21,760 Oh, there's four of them! Man alive! 576 00:43:21,760 --> 00:43:25,000 Sorry, guys. Oh, jeepers. 577 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:26,480 What? 578 00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:30,880 Oh, man. 579 00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:32,520 That was unreal. 580 00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:34,480 That was something else. 581 00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:39,360 What I love is when an animal, and a wild animal interacts with you, 582 00:43:39,360 --> 00:43:40,920 they're not scared, 583 00:43:40,920 --> 00:43:42,600 they just want to check us out, 584 00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:46,360 find out what we are and they've given us an opportunity to see them. 585 00:43:46,360 --> 00:43:48,520 Woah! Close, man. 586 00:43:52,680 --> 00:43:54,840 Look at this! 587 00:43:54,840 --> 00:43:56,920 Ha! 588 00:43:56,920 --> 00:43:59,120 That's exactly what I was hoping to find. 589 00:43:59,120 --> 00:44:00,960 It's a tree frog, for sure. 590 00:44:00,960 --> 00:44:03,920 You just look at the big suction cups on each toe. 591 00:44:03,920 --> 00:44:06,840 Look at the way that he's moving across my hands there. 592 00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:10,640 He is a frog that is absolutely designed for climbing. 593 00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:13,640 He looks a little bit actually like 594 00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:19,240 the gladiator tree frog and he also has on the thumb of each hand, 595 00:44:19,240 --> 00:44:24,080 this little protuberance here, which is used for boxing with other frogs. 596 00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:27,080 Let's put him back. 597 00:44:27,080 --> 00:44:30,040 You're a very lucky frog. 598 00:44:30,040 --> 00:44:31,760 You live in frog paradise. 599 00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:43,880 Gordon has now followed the otters for two miles up the jungle creek. 600 00:44:43,880 --> 00:44:49,240 Softly, softly, he's getting closer and closer. 601 00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:56,320 Just creeping down the creek, with Gerry paddling. 602 00:44:56,320 --> 00:44:59,440 I just don't want the otters to go overland. 603 00:44:59,440 --> 00:45:01,640 As soon as they go overland, we've lost them. 604 00:45:04,200 --> 00:45:09,800 Otters right here, can't see them yet. Just hear them. 605 00:45:13,600 --> 00:45:15,400 Beauty, they are so beautiful. 606 00:45:18,920 --> 00:45:20,400 They've seen us. 607 00:45:26,840 --> 00:45:29,520 OTTERS SNORT 608 00:45:31,680 --> 00:45:34,280 Their beautiful fur was almost their undoing. 609 00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:39,680 A century of persecution drove them to the verge of extinction. 610 00:45:39,680 --> 00:45:44,560 This group is so at ease, it's clear there's no hunting here. 611 00:45:44,560 --> 00:45:47,600 OK, there's one coming right towards us now. 612 00:45:50,400 --> 00:45:52,280 OK, and he's got a fish. 613 00:45:52,280 --> 00:45:55,680 Feeding. OK, nice and gently. 614 00:45:55,680 --> 00:45:58,360 Stay very still. 615 00:45:58,360 --> 00:46:01,840 Giant appetites need giant portions. 616 00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:05,640 Plate-sized piranha - bones and all. 617 00:46:05,640 --> 00:46:09,320 What's he caught? Piranha. 618 00:46:09,320 --> 00:46:13,120 And they always eat them tail first 619 00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:16,160 for obvious reasons. The youngster. 620 00:46:19,120 --> 00:46:25,840 Oh, lovely. This is just exactly what I've been wanting to see. 621 00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:28,440 Giant otters 622 00:46:28,440 --> 00:46:29,960 completely naturally. 623 00:46:35,440 --> 00:46:38,720 Oh, that's what happens when somebody's got a fish 624 00:46:38,720 --> 00:46:40,680 and somebody else wants it. 625 00:46:45,920 --> 00:46:49,920 That's not going to last long, they have a voracious appetite. 626 00:46:49,920 --> 00:46:51,840 Oops. 627 00:46:51,840 --> 00:46:57,120 And off he goes, off to catch another one - awesome. 628 00:47:02,200 --> 00:47:05,520 At the waterfall, Steve and Tim have a desperate struggle 629 00:47:05,520 --> 00:47:08,000 to bring the kit down in the freezing spray. 630 00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:14,000 I've never been this cold right slap bang on the equator before. 631 00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:17,400 They need to get dry as quick as they can. 632 00:47:19,280 --> 00:47:21,840 HE COUGHS 633 00:47:21,840 --> 00:47:24,880 We don't want to go that way, we want to go lower. 634 00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:26,400 Let's head down this way. 635 00:47:26,400 --> 00:47:30,040 They must find a spot to pitch camp before night sets in... 636 00:47:32,960 --> 00:47:36,640 but in this boulder field, there's little chance. 637 00:47:46,920 --> 00:47:49,040 At base camp, the mood is up. 638 00:47:49,040 --> 00:47:53,800 The team have fallen under the spell of this enchanting forest. 639 00:47:53,800 --> 00:47:55,880 This is pristine, this is intact, 640 00:47:55,880 --> 00:48:00,000 this is as pure as it's ever going to be. Let's just keep it that way. 641 00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:03,480 It's clearly not been hunted, it's just really untouched 642 00:48:03,480 --> 00:48:07,320 and to preserve that in its pristine state would be fantastic. 643 00:48:07,320 --> 00:48:11,800 WATER RUSHES Tim, you in there, mate? 644 00:48:11,800 --> 00:48:15,400 It's almost dark when Tim discovers a tiny cave. 645 00:48:17,640 --> 00:48:21,680 Yeah, this is good. A sleeping place here. 646 00:48:21,680 --> 00:48:23,400 We'll get at least one of us in here. 647 00:48:23,400 --> 00:48:25,000 Oh, let's get a brew on. 648 00:48:32,120 --> 00:48:34,080 Oh, the luxury. Mm, brilliant. 649 00:48:36,880 --> 00:48:40,400 The cave floor is just a jumble of rough rocks. 650 00:48:40,400 --> 00:48:42,080 It's going to be a long night. 651 00:48:52,440 --> 00:48:58,080 At first light, Justine, as ever, is up her tree. 652 00:48:58,080 --> 00:49:02,160 Now, the family of howler monkeys have totally accepted her. 653 00:49:02,160 --> 00:49:04,560 She's even found a new addition to the family. 654 00:49:04,560 --> 00:49:06,560 It's a female, wow. 655 00:49:06,560 --> 00:49:10,680 She's got a baby on her back. Fantastic. 656 00:49:12,560 --> 00:49:15,280 The haunting calls of these cautious animals 657 00:49:15,280 --> 00:49:18,360 embody the spirit of the South American rainforest. 658 00:49:18,360 --> 00:49:21,280 To know there's a healthy breeding population here 659 00:49:21,280 --> 00:49:24,640 is a great lift for the team. 660 00:49:24,640 --> 00:49:26,360 Ah, there's the big male there. 661 00:49:26,360 --> 00:49:28,440 This is the big alpha boss. 662 00:49:31,320 --> 00:49:33,720 So, there are two males. 663 00:49:33,720 --> 00:49:37,320 This big one, the smaller one and there are two females, 664 00:49:37,320 --> 00:49:39,840 the one with the baby and the other one. 665 00:49:41,360 --> 00:49:43,960 Another piece in the puzzle. 666 00:49:55,760 --> 00:49:57,840 Beautiful animals. 667 00:49:57,840 --> 00:50:00,600 They're absolutely stunning. 668 00:50:03,200 --> 00:50:06,480 After a big breakfast of green leaves, 669 00:50:06,480 --> 00:50:11,520 the whole family settles down for a long morning snooze. 670 00:50:16,640 --> 00:50:17,920 For Steve and the team, 671 00:50:17,920 --> 00:50:21,280 it has been a really miserable night without a wink of sleep - 672 00:50:21,280 --> 00:50:23,280 and they weren't alone. 673 00:50:23,280 --> 00:50:25,240 We had visitors last night. 674 00:50:25,240 --> 00:50:29,000 I got up, turned on my head torch and hundreds 675 00:50:29,000 --> 00:50:32,960 of cockroaches and cave crickets just scampered for the shadows, 676 00:50:32,960 --> 00:50:35,320 and they'd been having a go at our food. 677 00:50:35,320 --> 00:50:40,600 There's just holes in absolutely everything. 678 00:50:40,600 --> 00:50:44,920 Mind you, I left my mug full of sticky hot chocolate last night 679 00:50:44,920 --> 00:50:48,960 and they've cleaned it out completely so I don't have to do the washing up. 680 00:50:48,960 --> 00:50:50,520 Fantastic! 681 00:50:53,080 --> 00:50:56,360 It's not just cockroaches and the crickets 682 00:50:56,360 --> 00:50:58,320 that we're sharing our cave with, 683 00:50:58,320 --> 00:51:01,400 it's absolutely alive with these rocket frogs 684 00:51:01,400 --> 00:51:05,120 and this one here actually has really 685 00:51:05,120 --> 00:51:09,200 well-developed eggs on its back. 686 00:51:09,200 --> 00:51:13,280 It's carrying around its tadpoles inside the eggs. 687 00:51:13,280 --> 00:51:18,280 You can even see little bubbles of air coming out of each egg. 688 00:51:18,280 --> 00:51:20,000 This species doesn't actually 689 00:51:20,000 --> 00:51:22,800 go through the free-swimming tadpole stage at all. 690 00:51:22,800 --> 00:51:25,920 The eggs will develop on their mother's back right through 691 00:51:25,920 --> 00:51:30,400 until they're froglets, and they'll hatch out ready to hop about. 692 00:51:34,960 --> 00:51:37,040 It's just enormous. 693 00:51:40,720 --> 00:51:42,160 Yeah. 694 00:51:42,160 --> 00:51:45,080 Finally, Steve can begin his real challenge - 695 00:51:45,080 --> 00:51:48,320 to survey the plants and animals down here. Woah! 696 00:51:48,320 --> 00:51:51,840 The slippery vegetation conceals deep pitfalls. 697 00:51:51,840 --> 00:51:53,040 No ground there. 698 00:51:53,040 --> 00:51:55,880 It would be a terrible place to break a leg. 699 00:52:02,600 --> 00:52:07,280 The pools of water that gather in the leaves made by these bromeliads 700 00:52:07,280 --> 00:52:10,360 are a really challenging place to make a home. 701 00:52:10,360 --> 00:52:13,880 But there's plenty of creatures down here that manage it. 702 00:52:13,880 --> 00:52:19,760 Possibly the most appealing of all of them though is this little guy. 703 00:52:19,760 --> 00:52:21,440 There, look at that. 704 00:52:23,040 --> 00:52:25,760 Isn't he gorgeous? Oh, look, on the leaf. 705 00:52:25,760 --> 00:52:29,560 It's a golden rocket frog and the only place in 706 00:52:29,560 --> 00:52:32,480 the world you find these is in the Kaieteur National Park. 707 00:52:34,280 --> 00:52:36,640 From egg to tadpole to frog, 708 00:52:36,640 --> 00:52:40,560 this single plant can be their home for life. 709 00:52:40,560 --> 00:52:43,800 These really are the most exquisite little jewels 710 00:52:43,800 --> 00:52:49,560 and every other bromeliad around here has one or a pair living in it. 711 00:52:51,920 --> 00:52:54,840 It's not just the animals that are exotic down here. 712 00:52:56,800 --> 00:53:02,000 There are wonderful plants absolutely everywhere around here, 713 00:53:02,000 --> 00:53:04,760 but nothing as exquisite as this. 714 00:53:04,760 --> 00:53:07,360 This is a slipper orchid 715 00:53:07,360 --> 00:53:10,600 and it's very aptly named. 716 00:53:10,600 --> 00:53:13,920 You can almost imagine some dainty Cinderella 717 00:53:13,920 --> 00:53:16,080 slipping her toes into that. 718 00:53:16,080 --> 00:53:19,720 This'd be worth an absolute fortune to orchid collectors back home. 719 00:53:19,720 --> 00:53:23,240 But here, they are just about everywhere. 720 00:53:23,240 --> 00:53:26,640 It's a bit like strolling around the Chelsea Flower Show, 721 00:53:26,640 --> 00:53:29,320 except that you've got that in the background. 722 00:53:32,320 --> 00:53:36,800 I think this really brings home just quite how unspoilt Guyana is. 723 00:53:36,800 --> 00:53:40,160 The Kaieteur is the country's only real tourist attraction, 724 00:53:40,160 --> 00:53:43,760 but we were up on top for three days and didn't see a single person 725 00:53:43,760 --> 00:53:50,520 and down here, well, you could count on one hand the amount of people who have seen what we're looking at now, 726 00:53:50,520 --> 00:53:53,600 and, you know, it's five times the height of Niagara. 727 00:53:53,600 --> 00:53:57,080 You're just standing here with this water in your face - 728 00:53:57,080 --> 00:53:59,160 it's completely overpowering. 729 00:54:07,000 --> 00:54:10,440 Gordon is checking whether his camera trap has worked. 730 00:54:10,440 --> 00:54:13,920 It's been lying in wait for a week now. 731 00:54:13,920 --> 00:54:18,840 Hard to say whether anything's been up here because of the rain. 732 00:54:18,840 --> 00:54:23,160 With any luck, it will have filmed the otter family out of the water. 733 00:54:23,160 --> 00:54:26,360 Ah, the tape has reached the end. 734 00:54:26,360 --> 00:54:30,720 So we have one hour of stuff. 735 00:54:30,720 --> 00:54:34,320 OK, we've reached the beginning of the tape. 736 00:54:34,320 --> 00:54:36,720 Play. 737 00:54:36,720 --> 00:54:39,640 Oh, curassow! 738 00:54:39,640 --> 00:54:41,960 I actually saw... 739 00:54:41,960 --> 00:54:46,440 curassow the other day quite close to here, three of them, 740 00:54:46,440 --> 00:54:49,360 so I wonder if it's the same ones. Two. 741 00:54:49,360 --> 00:54:52,040 He's camera-shy, this one. 742 00:54:52,040 --> 00:54:53,560 That's very nice. 743 00:54:57,560 --> 00:54:59,040 Oh, hang on, 744 00:54:59,040 --> 00:55:01,360 hang on. 745 00:55:01,360 --> 00:55:05,440 On the top of the log there's something, sort of, spotty, like a cat. 746 00:55:05,440 --> 00:55:07,600 I mean, it might have been an ocelot. 747 00:55:09,600 --> 00:55:12,040 It's a jaguar! 748 00:55:12,040 --> 00:55:14,040 I cannot believe that. 749 00:55:20,400 --> 00:55:24,640 One of the most difficult animals in South America to see 750 00:55:24,640 --> 00:55:27,200 was right here, literally. 751 00:55:27,200 --> 00:55:29,320 It walked along this path. 752 00:55:31,800 --> 00:55:34,120 The mysterious jaguar. 753 00:55:34,120 --> 00:55:37,840 Beautifully camouflaged, extremely rare, 754 00:55:37,840 --> 00:55:42,560 these solitary beasts roam huge areas of this vast jungle. 755 00:55:42,560 --> 00:55:46,600 It's a fantastic stroke of fortune to find one here. 756 00:55:46,600 --> 00:55:48,960 That is unreal. 757 00:55:53,080 --> 00:55:54,960 I do not believe that. 758 00:55:56,880 --> 00:56:00,640 I think I said, if we get jaguar, it's going to be by luck, 759 00:56:00,640 --> 00:56:03,480 not by judgement, and this is just by sheer luck. 760 00:56:03,480 --> 00:56:07,520 We put this out for otters and we've got a jaguar. 761 00:56:07,520 --> 00:56:09,040 Unbelievable. 762 00:56:11,600 --> 00:56:13,560 That is incredible. 763 00:56:16,440 --> 00:56:21,840 At the waterfall, Steve is desperate for some decent rest. 764 00:56:21,840 --> 00:56:25,800 After the discomfort of last night, I've decided to 765 00:56:25,800 --> 00:56:30,000 set up a basher and sleep outside in the elements tonight. 766 00:56:30,000 --> 00:56:36,600 I think we've done really well to have spent two days down here so far and for no-one to have got hurt. 767 00:56:36,600 --> 00:56:40,400 This place is an absolute death trap, 768 00:56:40,400 --> 00:56:45,200 so fingers crossed everyone gets through alive and well. 769 00:56:48,280 --> 00:56:52,880 Back at base camp, the rest of the team have cause to celebrate. 770 00:56:52,880 --> 00:56:55,840 That's the biggest cat that you'll find in South America. 771 00:56:55,840 --> 00:57:01,560 After just ten days, they've found howler monkeys, giant otters 772 00:57:01,560 --> 00:57:05,240 and the scientists have catalogued over 200 animal species. 773 00:57:05,240 --> 00:57:09,880 All evidence of the value of this virgin rainforest. 774 00:57:09,880 --> 00:57:12,920 And the best news of all, concrete proof 775 00:57:12,920 --> 00:57:17,920 that South America's legendary big cat is living and hunting here. 776 00:57:17,920 --> 00:57:19,400 Wow, wow! 777 00:57:28,760 --> 00:57:31,640 But not every member of the team is celebrating. 778 00:57:31,640 --> 00:57:38,120 All of a sudden a really, really heavy electrical storm's come in 779 00:57:38,120 --> 00:57:41,640 and the rain is unbelievably heavy. 780 00:57:41,640 --> 00:57:46,320 I have to keep throwing up this tarp to get all the water off it. 781 00:57:48,440 --> 00:57:53,040 But the most worrying thing really is that this storm is getting closer and closer. 782 00:57:53,040 --> 00:57:57,560 It's right overhead and we're pretty much the only feature in a landscape at the moment. 783 00:58:01,240 --> 00:58:04,080 This is turning into the most miserable night of my life. 784 00:58:10,680 --> 00:58:14,400 In the second phase of the expedition, the team push deeper into the jungle. 785 00:58:16,280 --> 00:58:18,920 The number of animals they're discovering goes up and up. 786 00:58:19,800 --> 00:58:23,280 Oh! This would go right through my hand. 787 00:58:23,280 --> 00:58:28,520 And they climb a remote mountain to explore a strange new world. 788 00:58:34,880 --> 00:58:37,920 Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd 789 00:58:37,920 --> 00:58:41,080 E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk