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North of the Amazon
lies another jungle,

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still unknown and unspoilt -

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the rainforests of Guyana.

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A team of explorers,

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scientists and filmmakers

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is in the heart of this
threatened jungle.

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Their aim - to survey the animals
in this great wilderness.

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Here in Guyana, this is pristine -
it's untouched. Unchanged.

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Wow! Our job is to prove that these
forests are worth more alive than
they could be razed to the ground.

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The expedition is moving into
its second phase

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and the team must push harder
to discover more of

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the extraordinary creatures
hidden within this rainforest.

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There are probably hundreds,
if not thousands of species here

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that haven't been seen by anybody.
And we will find them first.

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But it's proving tough.
For 48 hours, Steve Backshall

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has been battered by one of the
world's most powerful waterfalls

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and the worst the elements
can throw at him.

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The storm is getting closer
and closer. It's right overhead.

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And, er... I'm just
a bit scared, actually,

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I'm going to get struck.

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I'm pretty much the only feature
in the landscape at the moment.

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If there's a lightning strike down
here, then I'm gonna get hit.

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Guyana - the size of Great Britain,
with just 2% of the population.

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The towns are
clustered on the coast.

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Travel inland and you
find nothing but jungle.

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In the heart of the forest
lies Kaieteur Falls.

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It's five times higher than Niagara,
and sheltering at its base

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is expedition naturalist and
climber, Steve Backshall.

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Well, that was about the most
miserable night in my life.

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I was doing fine
until the storm hit.

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And then all of a sudden
I was woken up by this
enormous weight on my head.

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And it was just all the water
gathering in my shelter.

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And from then on in, it was a
struggle to keep the thing up.

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Two nights without sleep
and I am absolutely ruined!

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It's been worth it.

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He's the first naturalist ever to
explore this unique habitat that's
constantly drenched in spray.

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Look at this!

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He's discovered a bizarre
world crawling with frogs,

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where freshwater crabs scuttle
through a valley full of orchids.

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This is one of the most
dramatic places I've ever been.

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And just to be completely enveloped
in this mist, it just feels like
you're part of the waterfall!

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It's one of the most exciting,

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fantastic places I've ever been
in my life!

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But it's no place for humans.

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For two nights, Steve's had
no sleep and little food.

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To get out, he must haul himself
up 240 metres of rope.

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Ascending on a rope which is
about as wide as my little finger.

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Which is why I'm moving up here
at a snail's pace.

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God, it's a long way!

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The rest of the team are
in the jungle base camp and
there are monkeys close by.

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Gordon - we've got brown capuchins
above the ladies' loo! Mmm.

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Gordon Buchanan is an expert on
South America's rainforest animals.

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Were you asleep?

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About an hour.
I got up at three this morning.

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Right, what do I need? Clothes!

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What were you dreaming about?

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I was dreaming about monkeys,
funnily enough!

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Premonition!

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His job is to record these animals
on camera.

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So far, he's been tracking
creatures through dense forest.

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But now wildlife is
coming right into camp.

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It's right there, sitting.

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I hope that's rain that's
falling down! And not urine!

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Two of the scientists, George and
Raquel, spotted the monkeys near
their jungle laboratory. Here.

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There!

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They're brown Capuchins.

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They're foraging side by side
with squirrel monkeys.

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There are eight species of monkey
in this part of South America.

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The team aims to find out
how many live in this forest.

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There's one up here. Look!
That's right overhead.

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Oh my God! There's one right here.

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He's just having a bite to eat.

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Primates are normally nervous
when humans are around.

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But this forest is unusual -

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it's not been hunted and the
monkeys show little fear of people.

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They're after this tree, there's
some fruits in it. I'm seeing him
throwing out the seeds.

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Monkeys are important seed
dispersal agents for the forest.

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Just being so close to camp,
I am astounded that there's

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any activity here from any animal,
let alone a primate.

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On the other side of camp, another
monkey has just been spotted

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by wildlife camera woman,
Justine Evans.

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Yes, I can see, cos he's moving.

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Oh, yeah, yeah.

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Oh, yes! Fantastic.

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Got some spider monkeys here.

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This one doesn't seem particularly
happy about us being here.

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It's making lots of little noises.

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Getting a bit upset.

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He just threw a branch down at us.
Amazing arms.

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Very gibbon like.
This is really an amazing place.

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I didn't expect to wander out of
camp and see so much.

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Especially from down in
the understorey.

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You normally just don't see
anything, it's so hard.

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Yeah, it's really great. Good time.

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To catalogue the species that
live in this remote jungle,

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there's an international team
of scientists on the expedition.

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They are working out of
a purpose-built jungle lab

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in the heart of the camp.

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Studying the plants is Guyanese
biologist, Dr Raquel Thomas.

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In this forest we have over 6,000
species of flowering plants.

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Every time I come in here,
there is something new to see
and new to learn.

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That's why it's important.

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In charge of the river survey
is fish expert, Dr Phil Willink.

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These are places that we need to
come to now and work in

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before they change, before people
move in and ecosystems are impacted.

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The expedition's results will be
shared with the Guyanese Government.

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It's a very poor country, trying
to decide whether it can keep

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its forests intact, or if they have
to be logged for much-needed cash.

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Which one is that? That's a wolf
spider. That's a big one.

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There's probably species here
that haven't been described yet.

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Working with the team
is Dr Russ Mittermeier.

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He's the president of Conservation
International which is campaigning
to keep these forests.

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In Guyana you still have virtually
all of the forest intact.

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And it has the greatest remaining
rainforest wilderness area on earth.

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And if we have rainforest wilderness
50 or 100 years from now,

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it's going to be in this region.

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So it's a fabulous area.
It's unlike any place else on earth.

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It really is the hope of rainforest
wilderness for this planet.

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For an hour, Steve has
been dragging himself

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up the rope inch by painful inch.

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Oh, shoot!

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HE GROANS

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Steve has climbed some of
the world's highest mountains

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and run extreme marathons - but
this climb has all but defeated him.

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BLEEP!

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Absolute hell on earth down there.

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It's so cold and wet.

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As the rest of the climbing crew
make it safely to the top,

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Steve collapses from the exertion.

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The expedition medic is on hand.

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Here, have some water.

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Sit on this bank over here, mate.

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How are you feeling now? Fine.
You've just got to rest, mate.

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You've just done a big exertion
after the couple of days
down there, as well.

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You really have got to chill.
Thanks, mate.

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Don't be walking around and don't
be grabbing no ropes up here. OK!

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Steve can now return to what should
be the safety of base camp.

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But some creatures are
getting too close for comfort.

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Oooooh!

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This little thing could kill you?
Yes.

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They bite, those ants. They're
only little, but they bite hard.

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We've invaded their space,
not the other way round.

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They're just reclaiming it now.

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Ow!

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Insect expert Dr George McGavin
has been stung by a scorpion.

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Cardinal rule - do not stick your
hand in a bucket you haven't checked.

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Right in the finger.
Imagine you've heated up a pin

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to about 120 degrees C and you
stab it right through your finger.

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I imagine what that would
feel like is what this is.

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George's sting is painful,
but not life threatening.

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Really funny feeling.

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Steve is back in camp and the whole
team gathers for the usual,
piranhas and rice.

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The day's work is not done.

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After dinner, George has an
unpalatable task for everyone.

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He's organised a scorpion clear-out.

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They split up and scour the camp.

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George told me that he'd seen one
in the bathroom. Bathroom!

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Does it look like a bathroom?!

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No, it's just a huge hole.

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I think I'm getting a bit of
a bum deal here.

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Each team is armed with
an ultraviolet torch.

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Wow! I've found two tiny scorpions.
I don't believe it.

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Under ultraviolet light,
scorpions are easily spotted.

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It's amazing how they glow,
isn't it?

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Just a little itty bitty one.

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Good start. Look at that.

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Woo-hoo!

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There it is.

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George and Raquel have the
biggest catch of the evening.

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There he is.
There's the little beauty.

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That would have handed you
quite a painful sting.

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If I was to ease off the pressure on
these forceps, it would leap forward,
grab my finger,

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sting me in the thumb...and that
would be very unpleasant.

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The fatter the tail,
the worse the sting.

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I haven't seen any really
big ones yet. This is not big?

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That's not big, no.

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It's big to me!

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Scorpions love to crawl into
small, dark places,

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so it's a good idea every night to
turn your sleeping bag inside out.

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Scorpions aren't the only
unwelcome guests.

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There's a highly venomous
centipede in the women's dormitory.

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Steve. Steve.

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Steve.

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I've got a centipede in my bed.
I was quite hoping
you'd remove it for me.

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Steve's had years of experience
handling poisonous creatures.

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Centipedes are way harder
to handle than any sn...

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Yeah, this is called a scolopendrid,
which has a nasty bite to it.

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Ooh, it's feisty!

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His front feet have adapted into
poisonous, venomous claws,

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which he uses for biting.

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Every one of those feet has a
nasty toxin, as well, which leaves
horrible scratches on the skin.

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He's all right.

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Cheers, Steve. Night night.
Thank you!

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The heart and soul of the base
camp is the beach.

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It's where the fish are gutted,
the boats are stored and where
everyone comes to wash and cool off.

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It's a welcome respite from
the stifling jungle heat.

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All the sweat, the dirt, the grime.

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The one good thing is, you have the
beautiful river out there to bathe
in, because it's fresh water.

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Absolutely beautiful.

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Justine was coming down
for her morning wash,

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but something has changed her mind.

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Oh, dear.

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There's a big caiman on the beach.

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Exactly where I wash. This is
the first proper one I've seen.

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The black caiman. It's the largest
predator in South America

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and like so many animals around
camp, is growing bolder by the day.

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He's one that could quite happily
cause damage to fully-grown adults.

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00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:09,800
You can see the guys down here
cleaning fish.

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That croc is 11, 12 feet long,

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and this is exactly the way that
caimans start becoming a problem in
villages round here.

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People are cleaning their fish,
the caiman gets bolder and bolder,
and they eventually take some of

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the dogs, then it moves up to
taking someone's child.

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Whoa!

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Caiman are just one of
hundreds of intriguing creatures
that thrive in these waters.

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Steve joins Dr Phil Willink
on his survey of fish.

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You'd better get something good
out of this, Phil!

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It's a freshwater anchovy.

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Wow, I can't believe I'm risking
my life for anchovies!

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They'll be the first scientists
to search beneath the surface
in this region.

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We know very few people have
been up here.

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Who knows what's living
in these areas?

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There's probably a lot of
new species hiding in these rocks
and these rapids.

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The combination of nobody being
here before and a difficult habitat

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to collect in, we're gonna
find a lot of new species.

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With each passing day, more
animals and plants are being
catalogued in the jungle lab.

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Look at this.
This is my baby in here.

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00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:39,280
George has started a study
of the forest's spiders.

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00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:42,880
One of these whip spiders
is just about to...

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Yeah, look at that.

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Look at her egg sac there.

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His enthusiasm is not
shared by everyone.

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Beautiful! Spiders!

233
00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:56,320
Spiders!

234
00:17:56,320 --> 00:17:58,440
Yeah? That's why I stick to plants!

235
00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:03,680
I'll persuade you eventually.

236
00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:11,560
But George has set his sights on
finding an even bigger spider.

237
00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:15,360
He's discovered a skin shed by
the world's largest tarantula,

238
00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:18,600
the goliath bird-eating spider.

239
00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:22,000
They are here,
obviously, cos there's the evidence

240
00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:28,360
of an empty skin. So there's a larger
one than this somewhere in the area.

241
00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:32,600
Each time it climbs out of its
skin, it's getting bigger?

242
00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:37,800
Absolutely. So it grows a new skin
underneath the old skin,

243
00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:40,440
but those fangs are just pin-sharp.

244
00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:43,120
Cat's claws or an eagle's talons.

245
00:18:43,120 --> 00:18:45,000
And they're really hard.

246
00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:48,200
I've eaten one of these. You've
eaten these? Yeah. Fantastic.

247
00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:51,040
We were filming the Piaroa Indians
in Venezuela.

248
00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:52,880
This is like fast food for them.

249
00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:55,680
I've heard that, after they eat them,

250
00:18:55,680 --> 00:19:02,440
they use...they remove the claw like
this and they actually use it as

251
00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:06,160
a toothpick.
They remove the bits of...

252
00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:09,320
Actually, it works!
That's bloody good, that!

253
00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:14,800
Back on the river, Steve and Phil's
fish survey is off to a bad start.

254
00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:17,400
Their net is caught.

255
00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:23,120
We've either got the biggest fish in
the world or it's attached to a log.

256
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:25,960
I'm guessing a log.

257
00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:28,080
Is it coming up? No, not at all.

258
00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:31,840
Shall I have a swim?

259
00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:36,360
Go down, untangle it?
What I don't want is for you to go
down there and get tangled in it.

260
00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:56,280
'He's freed the net,
but it's full of piranhas.'

261
00:19:58,200 --> 00:19:59,520
Woah!

262
00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:02,480
'Black piranhas are
notoriously aggressive.'

263
00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:06,400
Great, they're both chewing
holes in my other net now!

264
00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:11,480
He's very close
to taking a chunk out of your arm.

265
00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:14,720
God, look at that!

266
00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:23,680
You could actually see the
scratches it's made in the metal
with its teeth. That is insane!

267
00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:26,280
I can't believe I'm swimming in here!

268
00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:28,760
GRUNTING

269
00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:32,840
What is making that noise?
Is it the piranha?

270
00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,880
They're making it with
their swim bladder somehow, yeah.

271
00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:39,000
Whether it's an intentional
form of communication, I don't know.

272
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,320
Wow, that is a really
good-sized piranha. Mmm-hmm.

273
00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:46,360
These are bigger than the
red-bellied ones they had
in all the horror movies.

274
00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:47,840
Look at that!

275
00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:53,320
That is a set of teeth
to be reckoned with.

276
00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:55,880
And if they break or they
get dull, they replace them.

277
00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:57,920
Really? Yeah.

278
00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:00,560
What good's a piranha with no teeth?

279
00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:07,640
'In the river, they're finding some
of the jungle's fiercest predators.

280
00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:15,440
'On land, Gordon's found one of the
jungle's most vulnerable creatures.'

281
00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:26,040
Really difficult to see,
but just taking a round
thing hanging off the tree,

282
00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:28,480
it's a wren's nest, very well
camouflaged.

283
00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:32,160
The nest itself is tiny.

284
00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:34,800
You could easily fit it
in the palm of your hand.

285
00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:36,680
Smaller than a tennis ball.

286
00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:40,840
The bird is same kind of size as
the wrens that you get in the UK,

287
00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:46,240
and the eggs and chicks that it
might have, microscopic, almost.

288
00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:51,920
Yeah, keeping going, Gordon.

289
00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:57,600
'Gordon sets up CCTV
cameras by the nest.

290
00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:03,240
'He doesn't want to disturb
these timid birds,
so he's keeping his distance.'

291
00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:09,520
It takes a huge hassle factor out
of it, because we don't constantly
have to sneak back and forward.

292
00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:14,600
This is something we just power up,
see if there's something going on,
and have somebody monitoring it.

293
00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:20,200
'Guyanese student Defreitas Haynes
will follow the chicks' progress
from the lab.

294
00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:26,920
'It's a unique chance to record the
development of these tiny ant wren

295
00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:31,240
'chicks until they fly the nest,
if they make it.'

296
00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:37,760
This nest has to be so well
camouflaged, because the forest is

297
00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:41,440
full of loads of stuff that will
predate on the eggs or the young.

298
00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:45,720
There's snakes, there's other
reptiles, there's birds,

299
00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:48,400
there's rodents, pretty much
everything will be out

300
00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:50,760
to get whatever's
inside this nest.

301
00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:53,600
It's a very dangerous place
for this little bird.

302
00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,080
'They have no defence
against predators.

303
00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:00,280
'They can only rely
on not being seen.

304
00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:09,520
'Steve and Phil's
fish survey continues.

305
00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:14,760
'They've already found
huge piranhas.

306
00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:20,040
'Now, with the help of local
fishermen, they're hoping
for a far more impressive catch.'

307
00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:24,680
SPLASHING

308
00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:29,320
OK.

309
00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:35,360
This is a big fish. Big?

310
00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:42,680
Woah, look at the size of that!
It's a big one!

311
00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:49,400
Oh, that's unbelievable!

312
00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:52,280
That is the banana catfish.

313
00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:54,080
SNORTING AND GASPING

314
00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:55,680
'Surveying fish is not easy.

315
00:23:55,680 --> 00:24:02,680
'They must identify each species
and return them to the water
as quickly as possible.'

316
00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:07,520
You can tell it's called the
banana catfish because it's yellow
on the belly, like a banana.

317
00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:12,800
And probably a good 20 years old,
would you say, Phil? Could be older.
These fish can live for a long time.

318
00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:14,960
This fish is just
covered in parasites.

319
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:20,760
One popped out! Don't lose it!
We've got another one, Phil!

320
00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:23,160
Where is it? Just down there, look.

321
00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:26,920
Another one there, look. It's
actually scattering blood everywhere.

322
00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:30,040
It's like a full leech! OK.

323
00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:31,800
Let's put our friend here back in,

324
00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:35,320
cos he's absolutely wonderful and
we wouldn't want to harm him.

325
00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:38,720
So, old fella, off you go.

326
00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:40,520
Absolutely fantastic.

327
00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:42,280
Excellent.

328
00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:46,320
Nothing like as exciting as
what we've got in here.

329
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:52,760
'The parasitic fish Steve's
collected are known as
vampire catfish or candiru.'

330
00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:58,680
Apparently, if you stand in the water
in these areas and go to the toilet,

331
00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:02,480
it will swim up the stream of urine
and right inside you

332
00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:06,760
and lodge inside you, using
two backward facing spines.

333
00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:12,120
These candiru actually swim in,
latch into the gills of a large
fish and drink the blood.

334
00:25:12,120 --> 00:25:17,360
You can see this one here, which
dropped out of the gills, is
absolutely thick

335
00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:18,760
full of blood.

336
00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:23,640
The big lesson, I guess, is, if
you're in the river,
don't go for a wee!

337
00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:33,280
'The ant wren nest is unguarded.

338
00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:36,000
'The parents have had
to go in search of food.

339
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:39,080
'Now ants have started
attacking the chicks.'

340
00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:44,640
It's not looking good, cos the ants
are increasing and the birds are

341
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:47,440
going...twitch like
this every so often.

342
00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:52,000
Gordon, ants are swarming...not
swarming, but there are quite a

343
00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:56,280
few ants on the rim of the nest and
they're round and inside the nest.

344
00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:58,840
Oh, yeah, they're right in there.

345
00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:03,600
I'm really worried where the
adults are, cos the adults, I assume,

346
00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:05,680
would come back and just remove them.

347
00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:07,800
Yeah. When was the last
time the adults came in?

348
00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:10,280
Have they been in
within the last hour?

349
00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:12,120
No. Is that usual?

350
00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:16,920
I would have thought at this stage
they'd be coming in more regularly,
at least once an hour.

351
00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:19,560
With food.
Yeah. You're probably enjoying this.

352
00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:21,760
You're not a big fan
of feathered animals.

353
00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:28,280
No, they're OK, but it is a sort of
irony that the ant birds are being

354
00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:30,800
attacked by the ants.

355
00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:32,160
There's an adult.

356
00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:35,080
Oh, look, and a cricket.
A bush cricket, look at that!

357
00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:36,960
That's a whopping great bush cricket!

358
00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:38,920
SQUAWKING

359
00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:40,640
Fantastic. Listen to the noise.

360
00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:42,600
Oh, she's eating it.

361
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:45,880
Now, is she eating it because she
has to remove the ants?

362
00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:48,680
Let's see what happens. Oh, yes!

363
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:51,120
There we are.
Come on! Eat those ants, baby!

364
00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:55,600
The ants knew that there was an ant
bird around and off they went,

365
00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:57,720
that's it, gone. This is absolutely
great.

366
00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:00,400
Higher animals need insects.

367
00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:05,240
Insects are the food of the world,
and without insects
you wouldn't have any of this stuff.

368
00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:16,040
'Steve's discovered what
rules the depths by day.

369
00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:20,440
'Now he wants to
learn what hunts by night.'

370
00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:25,640
Ah! Oh, my God!

371
00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:31,040
These are called sabre-tooth
characins, or sabre-tooth tetras.

372
00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:34,800
It's the nearest looking thing to
an actual monster I've ever seen.

373
00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:38,480
It certainly deserves its
sabre-tooth name. That is incredible.

374
00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:42,080
These teeth are so long they need
special sockets in their skull

375
00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:46,160
to accommodate them, otherwise
they would just pierce their brains.

376
00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:48,040
Oh, God, OK. This is a top predator.

377
00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:51,600
They're extremely fast. They swim
around and they come up below fish

378
00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:54,960
and just spear them and just kill
them instantly, just like that.

379
00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:58,080
They spear them, the fish
are immobilised and then eat them.

380
00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:00,960
I've got my fingers
disturbingly close to those teeth.

381
00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:05,000
I would imagine those would just go
straight through to the bone,
wouldn't they?

382
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:09,440
They'd go right through your hand,
no doubt about it.
They're very strong.

383
00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:10,880
And he's got to go back.

384
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:13,640
Let's see if I can put him
in without losing my hands!

385
00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:14,920
Yeah, careful.

386
00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:19,000
Now we're seeing the night shift,
the big cat fish, the sabre-tooths.

387
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,600
By day, the piranhas rule
the rivers. You're never safe.

388
00:28:28,360 --> 00:28:33,440
Just going to move very
slowly, keep an eye out for spiders.

389
00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:38,520
'In the dark of the forest,
George and a team of local

390
00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:42,320
'trackers are stalking the
world's largest tarantula.'

391
00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:52,520
You're coming this way?

392
00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:58,080
Yeah, I can see your light.
Have you found a new hole? Over.

393
00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:00,560
You can see it at the hole?

394
00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:01,600
It's there?

395
00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:03,360
INDISTINCT TALKING

396
00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:04,920
OK, I'm on my way. Wait there.

397
00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:18,000
Oh, wow!

398
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:21,240
There it is. Oh, my goodness!

399
00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:26,480
Theraphosa blondi, the goliath
bird-eating spider.

400
00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:28,920
Oh, wow. Great.

401
00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:34,000
The trouble with this is, the first
fright that she gets and she'll

402
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:39,000
dive into that hole again and we
won't ever be able to get her out.

403
00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:44,920
That's OK, that's fine. I'm going to

404
00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,360
try a little stick to
tease her forward.

405
00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:53,520
Is there any way you could
round the back and block the hole?

406
00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:58,560
'Poor sighted, tarantulas hunt by
sensing vibrations in the ground.

407
00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:01,920
'They wait to pounce on passing
prey.'

408
00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:03,440
She is a beauty.

409
00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:13,160
That's it, that's it, that's it.

410
00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:18,960
Now, these guys don't
normally bite as a first defence.

411
00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:23,560
They normally flick hairs, and
she was flicking hairs.

412
00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:25,840
Let's just block that hole...

413
00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:30,760
'The barbed hairs are designed to
irritate a predator's skin,
eyes and lungs.'

414
00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:33,240
Those hairs are extremely irritating.

415
00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:36,120
I want to cough. Don't let me cough.

416
00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:38,800
Cos if I cough, she'll get a fright.

417
00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:42,640
I'm desperately trying
not to cough at the moment.

418
00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:44,920
OK, it's gone. Thank God for that.

419
00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:51,120
These guys have inch-long fangs,
and you really don't want
that in your finger.

420
00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:54,840
Oh, dear.

421
00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:58,560
Do not cough.

422
00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:02,280
But you see how
incredibly beautiful she is.

423
00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:04,560
She moves serenely like...

424
00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:08,400
Oh, she jumped.

425
00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:13,400
I'm going to try and get her back in
the box, only because I want to see

426
00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:17,720
how heavy she is,
after which we will bring her back

427
00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:19,520
to her hole here.

428
00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:22,480
I've got to get back.
It's flicked the hairs and there were

429
00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:26,360
clouds and it's gone on my face,
gone up one arm, inside my arms.

430
00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:31,920
It's gone up this arm. I've actually
inhaled some of them so I'm coughing.

431
00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:35,280
Which shows what an effective way

432
00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:37,600
of putting off enemies it is.

433
00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:44,120
You don't need inch-long fangs
if you can make somebody
twitch and itch all over. Agh!

434
00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:56,920
'Early next morning, Steve and Phil
are trawling the shallows by camp.'

435
00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:04,720
Look at these ones. We have
around a dozen species right here.

436
00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:09,560
They're all related to tetras.
This is called the characidium.

437
00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:11,440
Here's a cichlid.

438
00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:13,360
Oh, yes. Popular in the aquarium
trade.

439
00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:17,600
Oh, I think we have
something interesting here.

440
00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:22,520
This, I think,
is a brand new species.

441
00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:24,120
No way! Undescribed.

442
00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:26,120
How do you know
just by looking at it?

443
00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:31,040
Because I've worked on the Guiana
Shield before in different countries
and I've seen fish

444
00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:35,120
similar to this in the same genus,
but this is looking very different.

445
00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:37,440
So we'll try to make
some more comparisons.

446
00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:40,600
But I think we have a brand new
species to science right here.

447
00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:44,040
No way! Really. All that hard
work finally paid dividends.

448
00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:48,600
Right here, right by camp,
right with all the piranhas.

449
00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:53,360
And everything else. This is a very
small area, about 10ft wide.

450
00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:55,720
Caught a dozen species.

451
00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:58,880
That just exemplifies how
high the biodiversity is here.

452
00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:02,640
Yeah. Oh, we've got another one! Two.

453
00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:04,360
Great stuff!

454
00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,280
I'll get this into the aquarium.
Yeah, thank you.

455
00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:17,680
'All the indications are that this
area is completely undisturbed,

456
00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:23,800
'never fished, never hunted,
and its ancient trees intact.

457
00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:29,760
'In the 21st century, that makes it
a rare rainforest indeed.'

458
00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:33,480
Oh, come on, baby. I want to weigh
you, that's all.

459
00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:36,560
Now, come on, be nice.
Just go in this bag. There you go.

460
00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:39,880
'George's giant tarantula has
spent the night in the lab,

461
00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:44,000
'and he's taking its vital
statistics before releasing it.'

462
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,080
Just feeling her in my hand,

463
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:53,120
she feels about the weight
of a small spiny rat.

464
00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:56,320
Now, that's 85 grams.

465
00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:57,560
That's a good size.

466
00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:01,000
This is an amazing place.

467
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:02,600
All the animals here are just huge.

468
00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:04,200
It is a land of giants, this.

469
00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:08,120
You've got giant plants, giant
otters, giant spiders,
giant this, giant that.

470
00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:11,800
You know, and this being the
world's biggest spider species,

471
00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:18,760
for me, is an enormous thrill,
an absolutely enormous thrill.

472
00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:22,400
No way!

473
00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:25,120
'Another animal
has come in to camp.'

474
00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:28,920
Somebody said there was a vulture and
I thought it was just on the tree.

475
00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:31,840
How long has he been here?

476
00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:33,760
Um, just five minutes.

477
00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:40,480
The reason that vultures have a bald
head is because they feed on smelly,
rotting carcasses, and if they had

478
00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:44,600
feathers on their head, it would just
get completely matted up

479
00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:47,120
with rotting flesh
and blood and guts.

480
00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:54,280
So they've evolved to have a
completely bald head so
it's more manageable.

481
00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:58,280
Vultures never wake up with a
bad hair day or a bad feather day.

482
00:34:58,280 --> 00:35:01,600
This system is working like a treat.

483
00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:06,040
We've got live pictures coming from
two very different species of birds.

484
00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:11,000
It's just incredible how
quickly these chicks are growing.

485
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:15,120
This is all flight preparation,

486
00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:18,400
really, making sure that the feathers
are all in order.

487
00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:21,880
Before too long, they're going to
realise what these wings are for,

488
00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:23,920
and they're going to flutter out.

489
00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:31,880
'In just a few days, Gordon's
surveillance cameras

490
00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:36,880
'have recorded a variety of animals
that live in and around camp.

491
00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:49,920
'So far, most of the expedition
has been focused on a small
area of forest.

492
00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:56,200
'But across the border in
neighbouring Venezuela,
Steve has another challenge.'

493
00:35:58,040 --> 00:36:05,720
Where Guyana meets Venezuela and
Brazil, there's a remarkable range of
mountains called the Guiana Shield.

494
00:36:05,720 --> 00:36:09,400
'Some are totally unexplored.'

495
00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:14,520
The tops of the mountains are
isolated from the forest below, so

496
00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:18,760
anything that lives up there -
plants or animals - is exactly
like it's on an island.

497
00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:21,600
It's growing completely
isolated from everything below.

498
00:36:23,240 --> 00:36:26,280
And that's our mountain.
Look at that!

499
00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:31,360
'Steve's aim as a climber is to be
the first to scale Mount Upuigma.

500
00:36:31,360 --> 00:36:36,880
'His aim as a naturalist is to
discover what lives at the top.'

501
00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:41,120
Nobody has climbed this mountain
before, it's absolutely certain.

502
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:43,960
We would be the first people
to place our hands on that rock.

503
00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:49,400
'To reach the top, Steve will have
to push himself if he is to succeed.

504
00:36:49,400 --> 00:36:56,000
'Joining him are two of the best
rock climbers in the world,
John Arran and Ivan Calderon.

505
00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:59,640
'Tim Fogg is the rope safety
expert.'

506
00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:03,680
The few biologists that have got on
top of these - they're called tepuis,

507
00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:07,920
these mountains - have found
new species of plants and animals,

508
00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:09,880
and that's what we're hoping to find.

509
00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:13,840
That was a hairy landing!

510
00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:19,720
'A football field in a
tiny Venezuelan village is
the only place to land.'

511
00:37:19,720 --> 00:37:22,040
Hola. Buenos dias. Hola.

512
00:37:24,280 --> 00:37:28,800
This is one of the most
beautiful villages I've ever seen.

513
00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:31,200
This mountain up here is Acopan.

514
00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:37,000
It looks just like a fortress, like
a child would draw a fortress.

515
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:41,160
And then looming over from the
other side is our mountain, Upuigma.

516
00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:44,480
Look at that. What a place to live!

517
00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:02,560
'There's a 20-mile trek before
they can even think about climbing.

518
00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:08,480
'Their destination, Mount Upuigma.

519
00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:11,480
'Villagers call it The Castle.'

520
00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:14,880
What is it, man?

521
00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:16,880
'In camp, there's a commotion.

522
00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:19,920
'Yet another animal has been
spotted.'

523
00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:21,440
You see it moving there?

524
00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:23,240
In between the hole there? Yeah.

525
00:38:23,240 --> 00:38:27,680
'It's helped itself to food
from the kitchen before
disappearing into the trees.

526
00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:32,360
'Gordon has grabbed another of
his cameras and is on the case.'

527
00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:34,960
This is the scene of the crime.

528
00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:37,600
'He wants to catch the raider
red-handed.'

529
00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:45,600
It has walked through the
kitchen, so there's obviously
something in there that it likes.

530
00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:49,160
It's quite appropriate that
we're using this camera to catch

531
00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:53,000
a thief, cos that's
kind of what they were designed for -

532
00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:56,200
observing people stealing stuff.

533
00:38:57,400 --> 00:38:59,280
Yeah, it is pretty good.

534
00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:02,280
'The trap's set for
the mystery animal,

535
00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:05,320
'but Gordon's taken his
eye off the ant wrens.'

536
00:39:10,480 --> 00:39:12,600
The chicks are gone.

537
00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:14,200
The nest's just here.

538
00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:19,760
The chicks have either
flown the nest or been eaten.

539
00:39:19,760 --> 00:39:23,520
I just can't believe that they're
gone of their own accord.

540
00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:26,680
I'm just hoping it's not something
more sinister.

541
00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:29,160
And the adults are stressed.

542
00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:36,920
There's one of the chicks right here,
just in here.

543
00:39:36,920 --> 00:39:41,800
I thought it was the adult.
It's a female. But just bobbed down.
Lost sight of it.

544
00:39:45,560 --> 00:39:47,480
First he sees one chick...

545
00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:49,400
and then the other.

546
00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:54,280
Oh, brilliant!

547
00:39:55,400 --> 00:40:00,240
That's a very different chick
from when we first met.

548
00:40:00,240 --> 00:40:04,200
Against all the odds,
the chicks have made it.

549
00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:09,920
Fantastic.

550
00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:24,240
As the team gets closer to
the mountain,

551
00:40:24,240 --> 00:40:26,480
the going gets harder.

552
00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:34,120
The approach to the rock face
is steep and heavy going.

553
00:40:34,120 --> 00:40:37,480
Once there,
it'll take three days to climb.

554
00:40:40,720 --> 00:40:43,760
It looks a whole lot different
when you get up close, doesn't it?

555
00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:47,160
Even from a distance you could tell
it was big, but not that big!

556
00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:50,880
You can see some places up there
which are really dark, deep orange.

557
00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:53,760
I think they could be
really dangerous up there.

558
00:40:55,600 --> 00:41:00,880
It's unreliable rock to climb.
Huge chunks can be pulled
away without warning.

559
00:41:01,920 --> 00:41:05,160
They'll start
the ascent at first light.

560
00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:08,000
For now, they need food and rest.

561
00:41:18,280 --> 00:41:21,600
In camp, the mystery thief
is back.

562
00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:27,640
Oh, yes, there it is.

563
00:41:27,640 --> 00:41:30,520
Look at that. Weird.

564
00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:37,480
Opossums. They've been helping
themselves to the kitchen supplies.

565
00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:40,760
We've got two opossums,
just here behind the kitchen.

566
00:41:44,240 --> 00:41:46,600
Goodness me. They're freaky animals.
Oh, wow.

567
00:41:48,360 --> 00:41:49,960
Sweet, isn't it?

568
00:41:49,960 --> 00:41:54,000
They're marsupials. Like kangaroos,
they carry their young in a pouch.

569
00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:02,280
They eat anything,
they're omnivores.

570
00:42:02,280 --> 00:42:08,120
They eats rodents, they'll eat
birds' eggs, they'll eat fruit,
whatever they can get their hands on.

571
00:42:09,880 --> 00:42:13,880
I just wonder if they've
set up home, metres from
where we've set up home.

572
00:42:13,880 --> 00:42:20,480
Isn't it true that in the last week,
things have been coming closer
to the camp all the time?

573
00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:24,400
Yeah, almost every day
there's something new showing up.

574
00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:28,600
Have a look on the ground,
because I saw tonnes of
spiders and ants and things.

575
00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:32,920
Oh, you can see a few wee ants there.

576
00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:37,920
It'd be great if we'd found one
of the big spiders and put this
outside their burrow really close.

577
00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:40,600
There is one. There's a hole
just about 10 yards that way.

578
00:42:40,600 --> 00:42:42,840
Ooh, there we go.

579
00:42:47,640 --> 00:42:52,840
Just ten metres from where
George and Gordon are sitting,
a tarantula is stirring.

580
00:42:57,080 --> 00:43:03,920
Some folks call it the skeleton
tarantula, because it has these
little white marks on its legs.

581
00:43:03,920 --> 00:43:06,560
Oh, what's that?

582
00:43:06,560 --> 00:43:12,520
That is a biggish cicada, that.
Here he goes.

583
00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:16,480
It's going forward.

584
00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:19,360
Oh, it's got it!
What speed! Jeez!

585
00:43:19,360 --> 00:43:21,720
You don't get faster than that.

586
00:43:21,720 --> 00:43:24,120
I haven't seen that
before in the wild, ever.

587
00:43:24,120 --> 00:43:27,120
What's actually happening here,
all spiders can't eat solid food.

588
00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:29,080
They have to eat fluids.

589
00:43:29,080 --> 00:43:35,680
The fangs are being used to draw
the prey towards her and then she's
basically emptying enzymes over it,

590
00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:42,400
in saliva, and then she's supping
the soup of the bug, insect soup,

591
00:43:42,400 --> 00:43:44,840
which she then swallows.
There it is. Oh, wow!

592
00:43:44,840 --> 00:43:47,480
Look at that fang, it's just
tearing it apart.

593
00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:51,960
It's cutting it.
It's just scything through it.

594
00:43:51,960 --> 00:43:56,400
See how quick it was.
I'm loving this! This, this is it.

595
00:43:56,400 --> 00:44:00,840
This is what the world
is composed of.

596
00:44:08,280 --> 00:44:10,520
Mount Upuigma.

597
00:44:10,520 --> 00:44:12,880
First light.

598
00:44:12,880 --> 00:44:16,520
A last meal on solid earth
before the trial ahead.

599
00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:32,120
For three days, they'll have
to eat and sleep strapped
to this mammoth wall of rock.

600
00:44:42,760 --> 00:44:48,800
Isolated from the world far below,
they've no idea what wildlife
they'll find at the top.

601
00:44:51,040 --> 00:44:53,280
We really don't know
where we're going.

602
00:44:53,280 --> 00:44:55,400
Up, I think, is the watchword.

603
00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:03,560
What do you think, what do
you think about the first run?

604
00:45:03,560 --> 00:45:08,200
The thing is,
it's going to be very loose.

605
00:45:08,200 --> 00:45:10,400
OK, sure.

606
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:13,200
Good luck, mate.
Thank you, I'm going.

607
00:45:13,200 --> 00:45:17,880
Steve will be third on the ropes,
behind Tim and Ivan.

608
00:45:24,600 --> 00:45:26,120
Big block going down!

609
00:45:28,400 --> 00:45:31,040
Jesus!

610
00:45:31,040 --> 00:45:33,280
Are you all right, Ivan?

611
00:45:33,280 --> 00:45:34,760
Cannot talk right now.

612
00:45:36,360 --> 00:45:38,640
I've been waiting
a long time for this,

613
00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:45,480
but having seen Ivan struggle so
hard over this first pitch, I can't
pretend to be particularly, er...

614
00:45:46,600 --> 00:45:50,120
..well, happy about the whole thing.

615
00:45:50,120 --> 00:45:51,960
I think terrified's more the word.

616
00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:55,200
OK, I'm climbing Ivan. OK.
Good luck, Steve.

617
00:45:59,600 --> 00:46:02,040
Ooh, heads, heads, heads!

618
00:46:02,040 --> 00:46:09,480
Every single thing that you hold
onto could ping away at any second.

619
00:46:09,480 --> 00:46:11,880
And the consequences of that would
just be,

620
00:46:11,880 --> 00:46:16,000
well, they'd be death,
there's no two ways about it.

621
00:46:16,000 --> 00:46:18,800
I don't want to sound over-dramatic,
but...

622
00:46:18,800 --> 00:46:21,640
Did you come this way? Yeah.

623
00:46:26,640 --> 00:46:28,120
Oh, dear me.

624
00:46:33,400 --> 00:46:36,360
Very glad I wasn't leading that move.

625
00:46:37,960 --> 00:46:44,360
Not only is the rock sheer,
but in parts overhanging, and the
way ahead is difficult to make out.

626
00:46:52,080 --> 00:46:54,920
Here we go.

627
00:46:54,920 --> 00:46:57,120
My God, Ivan.

628
00:47:03,840 --> 00:47:05,640
Yeah, that's it.

629
00:47:05,640 --> 00:47:08,000
A little bit left.

630
00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:09,560
Right on. Right on.

631
00:47:15,040 --> 00:47:17,680
Very nice, man.

632
00:47:18,720 --> 00:47:21,000
Good job. Good job.

633
00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:22,520
That was hard.

634
00:47:26,560 --> 00:47:30,360
In the jungle, the trees above
base camp are buzzing with activity.

635
00:47:32,680 --> 00:47:37,560
Gordon scrambles for his camera.
Yet another species of monkey
has come into camp.

636
00:47:37,560 --> 00:47:41,080
One of the tiniest in the world -
tamarins.

637
00:47:47,120 --> 00:47:48,560
Keep nice and quiet.

638
00:47:53,080 --> 00:47:55,480
(Great, right here.
They're right here.)

639
00:47:56,600 --> 00:47:57,920
It's so tricky.

640
00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:01,920
I don't know how many there are,

641
00:48:01,920 --> 00:48:06,000
but there's movement up there and
then some more movement over there.

642
00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:08,480
This is a first for Gordon.

643
00:48:08,480 --> 00:48:12,920
They're rare, They're only found in
a very small part of South America.

644
00:48:12,920 --> 00:48:15,040
They're very characterful.

645
00:48:15,040 --> 00:48:19,680
They tend to stick to this
understorey, foraging about,
eating insects,

646
00:48:19,680 --> 00:48:23,960
but being very small, makes them
very difficult to see.

647
00:48:26,080 --> 00:48:27,560
There!

648
00:48:30,800 --> 00:48:33,120
The golden-handed tamarin.

649
00:48:33,120 --> 00:48:38,400
Standing at 25cms tall,
they're pint-sized primates.

650
00:48:42,640 --> 00:48:45,080
They're quite...
They're like gremlins.

651
00:48:49,320 --> 00:48:54,800
They move through the mid-storey,
foraging in family groups.

652
00:48:56,400 --> 00:49:01,440
There's some lovely grooming going
on. Two of them, on the branch here.

653
00:49:01,440 --> 00:49:03,720
Oh, a third one, a little one.

654
00:49:05,320 --> 00:49:07,360
It's a baby one!

655
00:49:10,040 --> 00:49:13,240
To see three of them at one time
is nothing short of a miracle.

656
00:49:14,360 --> 00:49:16,600
There's one right in the open.

657
00:49:17,680 --> 00:49:20,000
Oh, what a beauty!

658
00:49:23,440 --> 00:49:29,240
They supplement their diet
of fruit and insects by sucking sap
from tree trunks.

659
00:49:29,240 --> 00:49:31,880
It's incredible how they cling
on with these big claws.

660
00:49:31,880 --> 00:49:34,280
It's almost like bats' claws
that they have.

661
00:49:34,280 --> 00:49:38,920
I can just see, it's got strings
of gum coming from its tongue.

662
00:49:42,080 --> 00:49:44,160
Fantastic!

663
00:49:45,680 --> 00:49:49,240
That was just absolutely brilliant.

664
00:49:49,240 --> 00:49:54,640
They're such a tough little monkey to
try and follow, even tougher to film.

665
00:49:54,640 --> 00:49:58,320
I think I've nailed it, got some
really, really nice stuff of them.

666
00:49:59,400 --> 00:50:04,280
The tamarins are the final addition
to the intensive survey
around base camp.

667
00:50:04,280 --> 00:50:07,600
This phase of the expedition
is now over.

668
00:50:08,720 --> 00:50:11,720
I've seen new fish,
I've seen a jaguar.

669
00:50:11,720 --> 00:50:16,360
I've seen giant otters,
I've seen bird-eating spiders.

670
00:50:16,360 --> 00:50:21,000
Every fourth or fifth insect I see
may turn out to be a new species.

671
00:50:21,000 --> 00:50:23,960
The scientists' work
is far from over.

672
00:50:23,960 --> 00:50:28,440
Everything they've collected
needs to be catalogued

673
00:50:28,440 --> 00:50:31,280
and if it's an animal
new to science, it must be named.

674
00:50:34,920 --> 00:50:39,360
Gordon and George are now
setting off on a major new mission,

675
00:50:39,360 --> 00:50:43,760
a gruelling two-week river journey
into an isolated part of the jungle.

676
00:50:48,760 --> 00:50:50,960
Are you sure we have enough stuff?

677
00:50:52,880 --> 00:50:56,000
The Rewa that we're going to
is truly the middle of nowhere.

678
00:50:56,000 --> 00:50:59,600
It's probably as remote as you can
get anywhere on the planet, really.

679
00:51:02,600 --> 00:51:04,960
Have fun. Have a good time.
Yeah, I will do.

680
00:51:12,000 --> 00:51:19,000
Their destination, the headwaters
of the River Rewa, one of the most
inaccessible regions of Guyana.

681
00:51:25,320 --> 00:51:31,120
The few fishermen that have visited
reported wild animals
showing little fear of man.

682
00:51:31,120 --> 00:51:36,880
If anywhere in South America
could be described as completely
untouched, this is it.

683
00:51:36,880 --> 00:51:43,760
The Upper Rewa is sealed off from
the outside world by a formidable
set of rapids and waterfalls.

684
00:51:49,200 --> 00:51:55,000
With two weeks' supplies packed on
board, they're travelling light
and living rough.

685
00:52:00,720 --> 00:52:05,320
On the face of the mountain,
the climbers have come up against
an intimidating wall of rock.

686
00:52:06,720 --> 00:52:10,320
This next session
is impossibly hard.

687
00:52:10,320 --> 00:52:11,880
Well, it looks it to me anyway.

688
00:52:11,880 --> 00:52:14,760
John's one of the best climbers
in the world,

689
00:52:14,760 --> 00:52:16,880
and so he's already heading up it.

690
00:52:22,400 --> 00:52:24,000
This is fantastic climbing.

691
00:52:24,000 --> 00:52:28,200
Really quite amazing that
it's possible to climb up here.

692
00:52:28,200 --> 00:52:30,120
There's just enough little holes.

693
00:52:30,120 --> 00:52:33,520
You can't see any of them until
you're within a metre of them.

694
00:52:33,520 --> 00:52:35,840
So it's quite intimidating
to launch up it.

695
00:52:35,840 --> 00:52:39,880
Just seeing a blank wall ahead.

696
00:52:45,560 --> 00:52:50,440
John, can you talk me through
this next pitch please?

697
00:52:50,440 --> 00:52:56,280
There's about 15 or 20 metres
of vertical wall climbing.

698
00:52:56,280 --> 00:52:58,280
The first half
is really quite hard.

699
00:53:00,560 --> 00:53:04,000
OK, John, well,
to me that sounds like it's outside

700
00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:07,160
my ability and possibly dangerous
for me to be trying.

701
00:53:07,160 --> 00:53:10,040
Probably wise,
because the chances of falling

702
00:53:10,040 --> 00:53:13,280
off some of the loose blocks onto
the others are really quite high.

703
00:53:16,840 --> 00:53:22,240
Steve's a skilled climber, but this
rock face is beyond even his limit.

704
00:53:23,720 --> 00:53:27,800
He must heave himself up the ropes,
free hanging in space.

705
00:53:31,040 --> 00:53:36,240
He's six hours into the climb and
not even a quarter of the way up.

706
00:53:43,080 --> 00:53:48,360
George and Gordon have reached
the rapids that guard
the headwaters of the River Rewa.

707
00:53:50,240 --> 00:53:52,320
The rapids are impassable.

708
00:53:52,320 --> 00:53:58,440
The only option is to drag the boats
and carry all the kit overland.

709
00:53:59,520 --> 00:54:02,720
We've got logs laid down over
the rocks, so hopefully the boat

710
00:54:02,720 --> 00:54:08,200
will slide over these rollers
and then up through that gap

711
00:54:08,200 --> 00:54:11,040
and then up beyond the falls.

712
00:54:23,440 --> 00:54:26,360
It's the hottest part of the day.

713
00:54:26,360 --> 00:54:30,840
The temperature is 40 degrees
and humidity 100%.

714
00:54:30,840 --> 00:54:33,760
One, two, three.

715
00:54:38,760 --> 00:54:41,240
Right, one down, two to go. What?

716
00:54:43,360 --> 00:54:47,200
Two more to go. I don't think I've
ever been so tired in my life.

717
00:54:48,840 --> 00:54:51,760
There are still miles
of rapids ahead.

718
00:54:51,760 --> 00:54:59,320
It's this barrier which makes
the Rewa so special, protecting the
forest and its animals from man.

719
00:55:05,560 --> 00:55:11,120
Clinging to a cliff face,
Steve's running out of light
and the weather is on the turn.

720
00:55:14,760 --> 00:55:18,080
It's coming in at an absolute rate
of knots. We've got black sky

721
00:55:18,080 --> 00:55:22,560
and a curtain of rain approaching us
and we've got to get
our sleeping arrangements up

722
00:55:22,560 --> 00:55:24,960
very quickly otherwise
we're going to get drenched.

723
00:55:27,440 --> 00:55:32,920
They'll have to sleep on this
vertical rock face, strapped to it
in glorified camp beds.

724
00:55:32,920 --> 00:55:37,360
Above them, 200 metres of
loose rock. Beneath them,

725
00:55:37,360 --> 00:55:40,720
115 metres

726
00:55:40,720 --> 00:55:43,080
of nothing.

727
00:55:43,080 --> 00:55:45,880
We have two Portaledges.

728
00:55:45,880 --> 00:55:49,040
Each one is big enough
for two people,

729
00:55:49,040 --> 00:55:55,840
but since there are five of us,
Ivan has rigged himself a hammock.

730
00:55:55,840 --> 00:55:58,120
How is your bed? Is just perfect.

731
00:55:58,120 --> 00:56:02,000
I'm free hanging but
we have a lot of protection,

732
00:56:02,000 --> 00:56:06,760
so we'll sleep with a harness
and attach it to the protection.

733
00:56:06,760 --> 00:56:11,480
This is difficult enough
in the light, hanging here in
this ridiculous spider's web.

734
00:56:11,480 --> 00:56:14,360
But trying to do it in the dark
is nigh on impossible.

735
00:56:16,760 --> 00:56:19,160
Obviously, all night long,
we have to stay sleeping

736
00:56:19,160 --> 00:56:23,600
in our harnesses and clipped into
as many things as possible.

737
00:56:23,600 --> 00:56:26,600
Cos if you roll out of bed here,

738
00:56:26,600 --> 00:56:28,800
you get more than a bump on the head.

739
00:56:36,480 --> 00:56:39,800
For the first time, I guess I'm
starting to think whether I really

740
00:56:39,800 --> 00:56:44,240
am capable of this, if it really is
something I should be trying to do.

741
00:56:44,240 --> 00:56:48,480
It's no wonder no-one's ever
climbed this mountain before.

742
00:56:48,480 --> 00:56:52,840
I mean, it's overhanging, vertical,

743
00:56:52,840 --> 00:56:56,640
nasty, loose rock, vegetation.

744
00:56:56,640 --> 00:57:02,760
I mean,
this is very, very far from a nice
day's climbing in the Lake District.

745
00:57:02,760 --> 00:57:05,240
Something very serious
could happen up there.

746
00:57:08,360 --> 00:57:11,080
Not so sure I'm going to sleep
so well tonight.

747
00:57:12,360 --> 00:57:15,600
In the third and final phase
of this expedition,

748
00:57:15,600 --> 00:57:18,920
Justine is on the search
for giant anteaters.

749
00:57:20,040 --> 00:57:22,200
It's coming straight towards me.

750
00:57:22,200 --> 00:57:28,280
Gordon and George struggle on up
the river, and are rewarded with
a wealth of rare sights.

751
00:57:34,160 --> 00:57:36,000
What a fantastic bird!

752
00:57:37,880 --> 00:57:42,880
And Steve battles exhaustion
as he nears the top of the mountain.

753
00:57:42,880 --> 00:57:45,120
HE PANTS

754
00:57:45,120 --> 00:57:47,160
Ohhh!

755
00:58:03,000 --> 00:58:07,000
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756
00:58:07,000 --> 00:58:11,040
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