1 00:00:01,860 --> 00:00:04,580 Guyana, South America. 2 00:00:04,580 --> 00:00:06,100 A land covered in rainforest 3 00:00:06,100 --> 00:00:08,660 that's unexplored and under threat. 4 00:00:11,940 --> 00:00:14,620 If we're concerned about species lost, 5 00:00:14,620 --> 00:00:18,340 we should be concerned about keeping the forests intact. 6 00:00:18,300 --> 00:00:23,220 For the last three weeks, an international team of scientists and film-makers 7 00:00:23,220 --> 00:00:27,860 has been cataloguing the animals that hide in this wilderness. 8 00:00:27,860 --> 00:00:31,020 It's one of the most spectacular places on the planet. 9 00:00:31,020 --> 00:00:36,180 They're discovering it's one of the world's richest and most pristine rainforests. 10 00:00:37,900 --> 00:00:40,020 (Fantastic...) 11 00:00:40,020 --> 00:00:43,100 The diversity must be absolutely incredible. 12 00:00:43,100 --> 00:00:45,540 It's hard to think that this could disappear. 13 00:00:45,540 --> 00:00:47,380 It really needs to be preserved. 14 00:00:47,380 --> 00:00:52,020 Now the team has split up on different missions. 15 00:00:52,020 --> 00:00:54,220 Gordon and George are travelling to the headwaters 16 00:00:54,220 --> 00:00:57,900 of a remote river where the animals are rumoured to show little fear of man. 17 00:00:57,900 --> 00:00:59,940 Oh, wow! 18 00:00:59,940 --> 00:01:04,540 They could really mess this area up in a very short space of time, and that's terrifying. 19 00:01:04,500 --> 00:01:10,500 Justine is in search of one of the planet's strangest animals. 20 00:01:10,500 --> 00:01:15,180 And the climbing team is attempting the first ascent of a remote mountain. 21 00:01:15,180 --> 00:01:16,820 I don't like this. 22 00:01:16,820 --> 00:01:19,180 Oh, God! 23 00:01:19,140 --> 00:01:21,380 Steve Backshall is finding it tough. 24 00:01:21,380 --> 00:01:28,220 Last night, they camped 115 metres off the ground, suspended in space. 25 00:01:28,220 --> 00:01:32,300 I'm starting to think whether I really am capable of this, 26 00:01:32,300 --> 00:01:35,220 whether it really is something I should be trying to do. 27 00:01:59,460 --> 00:02:03,140 Guyana, the size of Great Britain. 28 00:02:03,140 --> 00:02:08,020 It's one of the few tropical countries where most of the rainforest is still intact. 29 00:02:11,220 --> 00:02:13,380 Just over the border in Venezuela, 30 00:02:13,380 --> 00:02:17,700 the trees meet an extraordinary range 31 00:02:17,700 --> 00:02:19,980 of table top mountains. 32 00:02:26,660 --> 00:02:31,900 The climbing team spent the night perched high on this rock face. 33 00:02:31,900 --> 00:02:34,780 Getting out of bed on the wrong side here 34 00:02:34,780 --> 00:02:36,460 is not an option. 35 00:02:47,740 --> 00:02:50,140 Hello, mate. 36 00:02:51,700 --> 00:02:54,260 Bit scary. 37 00:02:54,260 --> 00:02:58,380 This would have to be one of the most glorious places I've ever woken up. 38 00:02:58,380 --> 00:03:02,180 The view's extraordinary - you can see all the way to Brazil. 39 00:03:02,180 --> 00:03:05,900 There are wisps of cloud below us, and the light is beautiful. 40 00:03:07,620 --> 00:03:12,820 The summits of these mountains have been isolated for tens of millions of years. 41 00:03:12,780 --> 00:03:16,540 They're a lost kingdom of strange animals and plants. 42 00:03:18,660 --> 00:03:22,980 No-one has ever climbed Mount Upuigma before. 43 00:03:22,980 --> 00:03:27,420 If they reach the top, they hope to discover new species. 44 00:03:27,420 --> 00:03:32,180 I hope that we make a lot more progress than we did yesterday - we were very slow yesterday. 45 00:03:32,180 --> 00:03:37,020 The less time we can spend today, the more time we have on top 46 00:03:37,020 --> 00:03:39,820 to go finding animals, and that's what we're here for. 47 00:03:42,140 --> 00:03:43,940 Steve's an accomplished climber, 48 00:03:43,940 --> 00:03:47,940 but to keep up with his world class team, he's having to raise his game. 49 00:03:52,300 --> 00:03:54,860 Steve, just above the belay, on the right, 50 00:03:54,860 --> 00:03:59,060 there is a loose boulder, a really dangerous, large boulder, right above Ivan. 51 00:03:59,060 --> 00:04:01,540 Whatever you do, don't touch it. Over. 52 00:04:01,500 --> 00:04:04,060 I've got this great big flake here... 53 00:04:06,060 --> 00:04:07,340 ..which is ready to go. 54 00:04:07,340 --> 00:04:09,620 It's the size of a fridge freezer. 55 00:04:09,580 --> 00:04:11,740 If it came off... 56 00:04:11,740 --> 00:04:15,340 Oh, God, I don't want to think about what would happen if it came off. 57 00:04:15,340 --> 00:04:21,740 Shattered boulders far below lie silent witness to the unreliable rock face. 58 00:04:26,020 --> 00:04:28,220 How the hell am I going to get round that? 59 00:04:31,620 --> 00:04:33,740 Oh, God... 60 00:04:36,020 --> 00:04:38,060 Oh, God, that's loose, too. 61 00:04:38,060 --> 00:04:40,540 Oh, shoot. 62 00:04:43,300 --> 00:04:46,580 Take in, John! 63 00:04:51,220 --> 00:04:54,100 (Please don't go, please don't go, please don't go...) 64 00:04:54,100 --> 00:04:56,180 Oh, Jeez! 65 00:05:04,100 --> 00:05:07,820 Oh, I can honestly say that's one of the scariest things I've ever done. 66 00:05:07,860 --> 00:05:11,660 The thing about it, Steve, this is not a good position to be either, so... 67 00:05:11,660 --> 00:05:13,420 On you come, boyo. 68 00:05:13,420 --> 00:05:16,860 Cameraman Keith is also in a precarious position. 69 00:05:19,740 --> 00:05:24,260 Are you on something loose too? I'm not on anything, that's the thing. 70 00:05:24,260 --> 00:05:25,740 All right... 71 00:05:38,900 --> 00:05:40,620 Oh, God! 72 00:05:43,500 --> 00:05:45,460 (I don't like this...) 73 00:05:57,220 --> 00:06:01,980 Over the border stretches the vast jungle of Guyana. 74 00:06:01,940 --> 00:06:04,580 The country wants to keep its forests intact. 75 00:06:04,580 --> 00:06:08,900 But it's a poor nation, and timber raises much-needed cash. 76 00:06:12,940 --> 00:06:16,700 Team members Gordon Buchanan and George McGavin are heading 77 00:06:16,700 --> 00:06:20,980 to an area that is today remote, but could soon be opened up for logging. 78 00:06:23,220 --> 00:06:28,180 Their destination, the headwaters of the remote river Rewa. 79 00:06:30,540 --> 00:06:35,180 Ahead of them, mile after mile of ferocious rapids. 80 00:06:37,700 --> 00:06:38,820 Wow... 81 00:06:38,780 --> 00:06:41,340 Well, that's quite fast. 82 00:06:41,340 --> 00:06:44,140 It is tough, just getting your head round this concept 83 00:06:44,100 --> 00:06:48,940 of using the river as a means of getting around. 84 00:06:48,940 --> 00:06:51,300 And then suddenly, you hit this big barrier, 85 00:06:51,260 --> 00:06:55,260 and if we want to go on, we've got to do some heavy grafting to get over. 86 00:06:57,740 --> 00:07:01,020 The wildlife of the upper reaches is protected 87 00:07:01,020 --> 00:07:02,540 by these treacherous falls. 88 00:07:02,540 --> 00:07:05,180 The few fishermen that have ventured past 89 00:07:05,180 --> 00:07:09,540 have returned with stories of animals that show little fear of man. 90 00:07:15,220 --> 00:07:18,980 This is the point where you work out exactly what you need 91 00:07:18,980 --> 00:07:20,300 and what you don't need. 92 00:07:20,300 --> 00:07:24,540 We've got three boats, three engines, all the fuel, 93 00:07:24,500 --> 00:07:26,220 all the food, all the kit... 94 00:07:26,220 --> 00:07:28,900 It's a lot of stuff... a lot of stuff. 95 00:07:30,460 --> 00:07:34,460 They're not the only ones trying to climb the cascades. 96 00:07:36,660 --> 00:07:40,740 There are literally tens of thousands of small fish here... 97 00:07:40,740 --> 00:07:44,820 And they're all heading - this is a holding area - 98 00:07:44,820 --> 00:07:47,220 they're all heading up this tiny crack here, 99 00:07:47,220 --> 00:07:51,500 it's the only bit on the falls which they can actually leap up... 100 00:07:51,500 --> 00:07:53,580 I've never seen anything like it. 101 00:07:55,740 --> 00:07:57,620 Well, you wouldn't starve here! 102 00:08:01,980 --> 00:08:04,540 Wow... Look at that! 103 00:08:04,540 --> 00:08:07,420 That is just unreal. 104 00:08:07,420 --> 00:08:11,380 Poor things, they're just absolutely pooped. 105 00:08:12,980 --> 00:08:15,460 George and Gordon are faring little better. 106 00:08:20,820 --> 00:08:23,580 Their boat's being dragged back against the current. 107 00:08:23,540 --> 00:08:26,940 If it flips, they'll lose their kit. 108 00:08:26,940 --> 00:08:29,460 The team battle to regain control. 109 00:08:35,380 --> 00:08:38,300 Somehow, they manage to hold on. 110 00:08:47,060 --> 00:08:48,980 It was very deep there - really deep. 111 00:08:48,980 --> 00:08:51,820 You'd be amazed at how strong it was. 112 00:08:51,820 --> 00:08:53,540 You think you're in control, 113 00:08:53,500 --> 00:08:56,900 then suddenly, the current just takes the boat... 114 00:08:56,900 --> 00:08:58,220 Pphwoof! 115 00:08:58,220 --> 00:09:00,700 Yeah, you really have to be careful out there. 116 00:09:03,140 --> 00:09:05,460 There are three sets of falls. 117 00:09:05,420 --> 00:09:09,180 Every item of kit must be hauled over land. 118 00:09:10,700 --> 00:09:13,820 The support team consists of an ex-military medic... 119 00:09:15,060 --> 00:09:16,500 ..one cook... 120 00:09:16,500 --> 00:09:21,180 five boat drivers and a jungle guide. 121 00:09:22,660 --> 00:09:23,900 Who's got a machete? 122 00:09:30,420 --> 00:09:34,260 This is exactly similar to what WE have been doing, actually. 123 00:09:34,220 --> 00:09:39,820 Carrying heavy loads of food and boats up and down the jungle. 124 00:09:39,820 --> 00:09:41,380 This is very similar. 125 00:09:41,380 --> 00:09:46,660 Some of the smaller worker ants are hitching a ride. 126 00:09:46,660 --> 00:09:50,940 Because there are small flies, who fly over the swarm here, 127 00:09:50,940 --> 00:09:55,740 and they actually try to lay their eggs in the heads of the ants 128 00:09:55,700 --> 00:09:58,060 who are holding a load. 129 00:09:58,060 --> 00:10:00,940 And so what's involved is this very smart trick 130 00:10:00,940 --> 00:10:04,580 where the very smaller workers actually sit on the leaf load 131 00:10:04,580 --> 00:10:09,260 and fend off the flies as they come in, so it's a really smart trick. 132 00:10:09,220 --> 00:10:13,660 And if you see an ant which has had a fly egg in its head, 133 00:10:13,660 --> 00:10:17,140 the fly egg hatches and grows inside the head, and eventually, 134 00:10:17,100 --> 00:10:21,540 the ant's head just falls off - just drops on the ground and rolls away, 135 00:10:21,540 --> 00:10:23,060 and a fly hatches out of it. 136 00:10:28,820 --> 00:10:31,260 That's the last of the kit. 137 00:10:32,300 --> 00:10:34,500 So only three boats now. 138 00:10:34,500 --> 00:10:39,620 And we're done... in more ways than one. 139 00:10:41,420 --> 00:10:45,340 It's the hottest part of the day, and the worst job is still to come. 140 00:10:46,500 --> 00:10:51,300 Dehydration and exhaustion are a real danger. 141 00:10:57,580 --> 00:11:00,900 Steve has climbed some of the world's highest mountains, 142 00:11:00,900 --> 00:11:03,420 but this first ascent of Mount Upuigma 143 00:11:03,380 --> 00:11:07,740 is pushing his technical skill and stamina to the limit. 144 00:11:17,900 --> 00:11:21,740 Oh, God... That is the move. 145 00:11:38,180 --> 00:11:40,540 Got no foothold... 146 00:12:23,540 --> 00:12:25,580 Oh, no! 147 00:12:29,460 --> 00:12:31,380 You all right, Steve? 148 00:12:31,380 --> 00:12:33,580 Just came off... Sorry, John. 149 00:12:36,340 --> 00:12:38,420 Can you get on again? 150 00:12:38,420 --> 00:12:39,740 Ha ha(!) 151 00:12:45,100 --> 00:12:49,100 It's impossible for him to climb up the rope with his bare hands. 152 00:12:49,100 --> 00:12:52,020 For the moment, he's well and truly stuck... 153 00:12:53,540 --> 00:12:55,620 ..250 metres up. 154 00:12:58,020 --> 00:12:59,420 On three... 155 00:13:04,140 --> 00:13:06,460 One, two... 156 00:13:06,460 --> 00:13:10,180 They've been dragging kit through the forest for eight hours - 157 00:13:10,180 --> 00:13:13,460 they've saved the worst until last. 158 00:13:13,460 --> 00:13:17,860 It's a good one. Here's the top. 159 00:13:20,460 --> 00:13:22,420 Steady, steady, steady... 160 00:13:26,820 --> 00:13:28,380 Wait, wait, wait, wait... 161 00:13:28,380 --> 00:13:29,660 Whoa, whoa, whoa. 162 00:13:30,900 --> 00:13:35,300 At last... They've made it! 163 00:13:35,300 --> 00:13:36,340 Yay! 164 00:13:36,300 --> 00:13:39,940 Reaching paradise was never going to be easy. 165 00:13:49,580 --> 00:13:53,860 Straight away, this river seems rich in wildlife. 166 00:14:09,700 --> 00:14:13,060 Was that what I thought it was? 167 00:14:13,060 --> 00:14:15,180 A giant otter. Yeah, yeah, right there. 168 00:14:15,180 --> 00:14:17,420 Down it comes, lovely. 169 00:14:17,380 --> 00:14:19,700 Look... There they are! Oh, fantastic. 170 00:14:19,700 --> 00:14:21,540 Look, there's three of them! 171 00:14:21,540 --> 00:14:26,420 Giant otters make a beeline for the water to check out the strangers. 172 00:14:28,020 --> 00:14:31,340 So what, we're only two hours on the Rewa, 173 00:14:31,340 --> 00:14:34,580 we're already seeing big, classy animals. Yeah. 174 00:14:34,540 --> 00:14:37,700 Absolutely. This is really unspoilt. 175 00:14:37,700 --> 00:14:44,180 What a thrill to be... what, 15 feet from a giant otter. 176 00:14:48,020 --> 00:14:51,100 None of the animals seem concerned about the newcomers. 177 00:14:51,940 --> 00:14:54,020 Macaws. 178 00:14:54,020 --> 00:14:58,260 That's the first time I've seen them in full colour in the sun, 179 00:14:58,260 --> 00:15:02,020 because they're always flying overhead, so all you see is a dark shape. 180 00:15:01,980 --> 00:15:06,380 If you don't actually see them in the sun, you don't get that fantastic blue and gold. 181 00:15:06,380 --> 00:15:08,180 They are stunning... 182 00:15:08,180 --> 00:15:09,980 Really beautiful. 183 00:15:09,980 --> 00:15:13,140 Wingspan about that... about that, Gordon? 184 00:15:13,140 --> 00:15:14,740 Yeah, yeah. They're big. 185 00:15:14,740 --> 00:15:18,140 Big birds. They're a parrot... 186 00:15:18,100 --> 00:15:21,180 parrot species, and it's the one that pirates 187 00:15:21,180 --> 00:15:24,300 most frequently have on their shoulders in cartoons. 188 00:15:24,300 --> 00:15:28,900 Arrr, Gordon lad, ha! They don't speak. 189 00:15:30,580 --> 00:15:33,260 Since George and Gordon visited this area, 190 00:15:33,260 --> 00:15:37,100 plans have been announced to log some of the trees in the forest. 191 00:15:37,100 --> 00:15:39,620 The future of the wildlife is now uncertain. 192 00:15:43,900 --> 00:15:46,220 Have you got it, Gordon? 193 00:15:48,700 --> 00:15:51,620 They could be the last biologists to record the animals 194 00:15:51,620 --> 00:15:54,020 in the forest's pristine state. 195 00:15:53,980 --> 00:15:56,940 As they journey deeper, they hope to find 196 00:15:56,940 --> 00:15:59,740 some of Guyana's most impressive creatures - 197 00:15:59,700 --> 00:16:05,220 powerful eagles, big cats, giant snakes. 198 00:16:09,100 --> 00:16:11,420 Now I'm in a real quandary. 199 00:16:11,380 --> 00:16:15,700 Steve is still dangling 250 metres up... 200 00:16:15,700 --> 00:16:17,220 in thin air. 201 00:16:20,500 --> 00:16:24,060 The team is preparing to get him back on the rock face. 202 00:16:28,300 --> 00:16:31,700 He's handed a device to help him climb back up the rope. 203 00:16:31,700 --> 00:16:33,980 OK, here it comes. Mind your hands as well, 204 00:16:33,980 --> 00:16:36,100 take your hands away from the blue hook. 205 00:16:36,100 --> 00:16:37,740 Mind your head. Here she comes. 206 00:16:40,860 --> 00:16:42,940 How does that work? 207 00:16:42,900 --> 00:16:49,100 Right, what you do is you open... take it off. 208 00:16:51,420 --> 00:16:54,900 Lift the red up a little bit. Pull it like you're prising it apart. 209 00:16:54,900 --> 00:16:57,180 That's it. Then spin it, 210 00:16:57,140 --> 00:16:58,740 clip it round the rope. 211 00:17:00,540 --> 00:17:03,060 Right, does that work? It does. 212 00:17:04,980 --> 00:17:06,620 Thank God for you! 213 00:17:08,660 --> 00:17:10,540 OK... 214 00:17:18,940 --> 00:17:21,280 Steve's troubles aren't over yet. 215 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:23,880 The safety rope is the team's lifeline. 216 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:27,420 They must avoid it snagging on the sharp rocks. 217 00:17:27,420 --> 00:17:30,860 The rope's rubbing really, really badly above me. 218 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:36,120 Ooh! 219 00:17:36,420 --> 00:17:38,900 That's going to ping. 220 00:17:40,460 --> 00:17:43,600 I'm sorry, Keith, I might swing into you if that happens. 221 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:45,560 No problem. I'm well anchored. 222 00:17:58,600 --> 00:17:59,940 You're clear now, mate. 223 00:17:59,940 --> 00:18:02,280 Everything's cool. 224 00:18:02,980 --> 00:18:04,980 Well done. 225 00:18:06,580 --> 00:18:08,820 They can't afford another setback. 226 00:18:08,820 --> 00:18:13,340 The more time they spend climbing, the less time they'll have to explore on top. 227 00:18:19,340 --> 00:18:23,500 But there's no guarantee they'll even make it. 228 00:18:26,940 --> 00:18:34,580 270 miles to the south-east, forest gives way to natural grasslands. 229 00:18:38,700 --> 00:18:41,140 Here, jungle wildlife shares space 230 00:18:41,140 --> 00:18:45,460 with the cattle from a few remote ranches. 231 00:18:45,420 --> 00:18:49,860 Camerawoman Justine Evans is on her mission to find the creatures which live here. 232 00:18:52,220 --> 00:18:54,740 Look at that! 233 00:18:54,740 --> 00:18:57,140 Beautiful. 234 00:18:57,140 --> 00:19:00,020 We've got marsh around here. Some of it's quite deep. 235 00:19:00,020 --> 00:19:02,540 The horses can cross it really easily, 236 00:19:02,500 --> 00:19:07,140 but for us it's a real pain, wading through all this water all the time. 237 00:19:07,140 --> 00:19:09,340 It's such a great way to get about. 238 00:19:13,500 --> 00:19:18,300 She's heading to the shade of the forested islands that pepper the landscape. 239 00:19:30,380 --> 00:19:33,740 Trying to find a way through this so I can get to the top 240 00:19:33,740 --> 00:19:38,820 to see if I can get a view of some howler monkeys that are supposed to be up here. 241 00:19:38,820 --> 00:19:42,340 Lots of gnawing, signs of gnawing going on here. 242 00:19:42,340 --> 00:19:47,780 You can see up here... That looks really like monkey damage to me. 243 00:19:47,780 --> 00:19:49,220 I don't know about howlers. 244 00:19:49,220 --> 00:19:51,420 Maybe something like squirrel monkeys. 245 00:19:51,420 --> 00:19:52,940 Well, that's a good sign. 246 00:19:52,900 --> 00:19:56,500 Definitely monkeys around here. It looks quite fresh, this, as well. 247 00:20:01,140 --> 00:20:04,220 After an hour of searching, she discovers the hideout 248 00:20:04,220 --> 00:20:08,940 of a colony of bats that feed only on blood - vampires. 249 00:20:12,340 --> 00:20:14,420 Hmm! 250 00:20:14,420 --> 00:20:16,540 They've got their echo-locating... 251 00:20:16,500 --> 00:20:19,500 They've got their leaf noses and big ears. 252 00:20:19,500 --> 00:20:24,580 They're vampire bats at the back. Oh... Wow! 253 00:20:24,580 --> 00:20:26,980 They are the stuff of nightmares, aren't they? 254 00:20:29,460 --> 00:20:33,140 Vampire bats are perfectly designed to feed on blood. 255 00:20:33,100 --> 00:20:36,260 Razor-sharp teeth pierce the skin, 256 00:20:36,260 --> 00:20:40,980 and two channels under the tongue help draw it up. 257 00:20:40,940 --> 00:20:42,540 Whoa! 258 00:20:43,540 --> 00:20:47,660 I don't like the idea of falling asleep out on the savannah 259 00:20:47,620 --> 00:20:52,260 and having one of those crawling up onto me and licking my blood. 260 00:20:52,260 --> 00:20:56,300 You can see where they've been defecating down the wall. 261 00:20:56,300 --> 00:20:58,940 That will all be blood. 262 00:20:58,940 --> 00:21:01,260 Whoa... 263 00:21:01,220 --> 00:21:04,380 A healthy population of vampire bats signals 264 00:21:04,380 --> 00:21:06,540 there are plenty of animals to feed on. 265 00:21:12,740 --> 00:21:16,460 Tonight, Justine will camp out on the grassland. 266 00:21:16,420 --> 00:21:22,820 Tomorrow at dawn, she starts her search for the savannah's strangest creature - the giant anteater. 267 00:21:24,420 --> 00:21:25,980 It's going to be a rough night. 268 00:21:29,420 --> 00:21:33,300 So we've only got one tent that's waterproof, have we? 269 00:21:38,340 --> 00:21:44,020 The tents have got no outer sheets...no way of holding them down. 270 00:21:44,020 --> 00:21:46,740 It's all a disaster. 271 00:21:46,740 --> 00:21:48,260 Everything is in here. 272 00:21:48,220 --> 00:21:52,540 I don't know what we're gonna do when it pours with rain. We can't all sleep in here. 273 00:21:52,540 --> 00:21:55,700 We're just gonna have to hide away for a while. 274 00:22:16,300 --> 00:22:18,020 Animals are pretty smart. 275 00:22:18,020 --> 00:22:22,420 They don't come out in the rain. Even insects don't come out in the rain. 276 00:22:22,380 --> 00:22:25,420 We're gonna have to sit and wait it out, unfortunately. 277 00:22:25,420 --> 00:22:28,300 But we've got so few days here 278 00:22:28,260 --> 00:22:31,500 that we've lost a day, effectively, just because of the rain. 279 00:22:31,500 --> 00:22:35,500 In this untouched forest, they had been hoping to find 280 00:22:35,460 --> 00:22:41,540 Guyana's top predators - anaconda, jaguar and harpy eagle. 281 00:22:41,540 --> 00:22:44,740 Just when I said it couldn't get any worse... 282 00:22:44,700 --> 00:22:47,420 the porridge is burnt! 283 00:22:47,420 --> 00:22:52,820 That's not good for a Scotsman, is it, burnt porridge? Mmm... 284 00:22:52,780 --> 00:22:56,100 The rain's eased off a bit. Yeah, it has. 285 00:22:56,100 --> 00:23:02,060 That's good. It's a bit annoying, because peak jaguar time is... 286 00:23:02,060 --> 00:23:08,180 eight until sort of ten. And it's now... ? It's now nearly ten. 287 00:23:08,140 --> 00:23:12,900 Despite the delay, Gordon decides to take his chances. 288 00:23:12,900 --> 00:23:17,300 Ah, a gasteracantha spider! 289 00:23:17,300 --> 00:23:22,500 I nearly plonked myself on that. This is a fantastic spider. 290 00:23:22,460 --> 00:23:26,740 It's got these amazing spines in the abdomen. It's quite hard, actually. 291 00:23:26,740 --> 00:23:28,900 If you were to sit on that, actually, 292 00:23:28,860 --> 00:23:30,460 it would be quite painful. 293 00:23:30,460 --> 00:23:32,900 Very heavily armed with spines. 294 00:23:36,740 --> 00:23:39,540 In search of the elusive jaguar. 295 00:23:43,780 --> 00:23:46,020 The heavy rains have swollen the river, 296 00:23:45,980 --> 00:23:50,580 and most animals have retreated into the forest - except one... 297 00:23:50,580 --> 00:23:53,060 the normally nocturnal pacca. 298 00:23:56,260 --> 00:23:58,820 It's a fairly large rodent... 299 00:24:00,700 --> 00:24:04,620 quite commonly found, but not during the day. 300 00:24:04,620 --> 00:24:07,300 These things could be taken 301 00:24:07,300 --> 00:24:11,660 by certainly an anaconda round here...jaguar... 302 00:24:11,660 --> 00:24:14,540 Lots of things eat them. 303 00:24:16,100 --> 00:24:20,820 They should be spending the days underground, the whole family group, 304 00:24:20,820 --> 00:24:23,580 and then they come out and about at nighttime, 305 00:24:23,540 --> 00:24:27,060 but this one's been scared out by something. 306 00:24:27,060 --> 00:24:29,660 Come on, Mr Pacca. 307 00:24:29,620 --> 00:24:32,500 Get out of there. 308 00:24:32,500 --> 00:24:34,620 Because a slippery, muddy bank 309 00:24:34,620 --> 00:24:37,860 on the side of a river is not a good place... 310 00:24:37,860 --> 00:24:42,140 for a plump pacca to be. 311 00:24:53,540 --> 00:24:59,300 Justine has enlisted the help of a local cattle rancher in her search for giant anteaters. 312 00:25:05,220 --> 00:25:07,620 He thinks there's one roaming this area. 313 00:25:09,500 --> 00:25:11,980 Shall we go and tie up over there? 314 00:25:14,820 --> 00:25:16,300 This is interesting. 315 00:25:16,260 --> 00:25:21,020 You can see where this termite nest has had the top knocked off it, 316 00:25:21,020 --> 00:25:23,860 and it's definitely an anteater that's done this. 317 00:25:23,860 --> 00:25:27,700 It looks like a good area. Lots of termite nests here. 318 00:25:27,700 --> 00:25:30,380 Orvin's spotted one. 319 00:25:35,180 --> 00:25:37,620 But the anteater has sensed them. 320 00:25:40,300 --> 00:25:42,100 Made too much noise. 321 00:25:44,660 --> 00:25:46,060 Stuck in a bog! 322 00:25:47,820 --> 00:25:49,140 And off he goes. 323 00:25:49,140 --> 00:25:51,460 Right. 324 00:25:58,820 --> 00:26:03,460 Giant anteaters have bad eyesight but a good sense of smell. 325 00:26:03,460 --> 00:26:06,700 She must approach quietly downwind. 326 00:26:09,660 --> 00:26:11,580 Fantastic! 327 00:26:25,940 --> 00:26:30,060 It's just really fascinating to see how it's using this landscape. 328 00:26:30,060 --> 00:26:35,140 It's just specialised with what this landscape has to offer, 329 00:26:35,140 --> 00:26:37,780 which is lots of ants and lots of termites. 330 00:26:37,740 --> 00:26:39,380 It's just perfect for it. 331 00:26:39,380 --> 00:26:44,740 Giant anteaters have no teeth, but their elongated heads 332 00:26:44,700 --> 00:26:48,340 hide a 60cm tongue covered in sticky saliva. 333 00:26:48,340 --> 00:26:51,460 They're just like aliens - just bizarre looking. 334 00:26:52,620 --> 00:26:57,660 It's feeding on something now. It's got its head right down in the grass. 335 00:26:57,660 --> 00:27:00,700 It's got its tongue and it's sticking it down the holes, 336 00:27:00,700 --> 00:27:02,860 All the termites get stuck on the tongue 337 00:27:02,860 --> 00:27:06,060 and they just lap up as many as they can. 338 00:27:12,980 --> 00:27:17,580 They're only walking on their three main toes, which are curled under, 339 00:27:17,580 --> 00:27:20,900 so they only pull the claws out when they're actually digging. 340 00:27:20,900 --> 00:27:23,380 They're basically walking on their knuckles. 341 00:27:23,380 --> 00:27:26,300 Which just looks weird! 342 00:27:26,300 --> 00:27:30,660 They're all together quite strange - real specialists. 343 00:27:32,860 --> 00:27:35,940 This discovery marks the end of Justine's journey. 344 00:27:35,940 --> 00:27:37,700 Tomorrow, she must head home. 345 00:27:39,220 --> 00:27:42,820 It's great to see a giant anteater. First time ever! 346 00:27:42,780 --> 00:27:46,700 First time I've got a shot. First time I've ever seen one. Brilliant! 347 00:28:04,300 --> 00:28:07,060 After three days of relentless climbing, 348 00:28:07,060 --> 00:28:11,140 Steve is just 30 metres from the top, but it's not over yet. 349 00:28:13,100 --> 00:28:15,780 I'm actually not sure how I'm gonna tackle that. 350 00:28:21,140 --> 00:28:24,660 Got a foothold there, but that's another that might peel off. 351 00:28:24,660 --> 00:28:26,220 Oh, God! 352 00:28:37,780 --> 00:28:39,460 MAN: Well done. 353 00:28:41,460 --> 00:28:43,620 I think I can see the top! 354 00:28:56,100 --> 00:28:57,940 The next of it's a nasty bit. 355 00:29:01,420 --> 00:29:03,620 Oh, dear! That's all gonna come off. 356 00:29:08,060 --> 00:29:10,260 Oh, God! 357 00:29:10,220 --> 00:29:13,900 He's almost there but, in this final push, 358 00:29:13,900 --> 00:29:17,020 he's having to cling on to loose soil and roots. 359 00:29:20,580 --> 00:29:22,380 Go on. Good. 360 00:29:25,060 --> 00:29:28,340 Go on. Excellent. 361 00:29:28,340 --> 00:29:30,140 Hey-heeeey! 362 00:29:30,100 --> 00:29:31,580 Nice one, Steve! 363 00:29:33,220 --> 00:29:34,660 Yes! 364 00:29:34,660 --> 00:29:38,820 Ah! Oh, fantastic! 365 00:29:43,260 --> 00:29:45,860 Steve's work as a climber is done. 366 00:29:45,860 --> 00:29:49,060 Now he must break through the thick wall of vegetation, 367 00:29:49,060 --> 00:29:53,060 before he can start his search for wildlife on the summit. 368 00:30:05,860 --> 00:30:08,060 Look at this! 369 00:30:08,020 --> 00:30:13,980 We've popped out into a moss, bromeliad, fern forest. 370 00:30:13,980 --> 00:30:16,780 This really is the lost world! 371 00:30:28,620 --> 00:30:31,340 As the rest of the team searches for animals, 372 00:30:31,300 --> 00:30:35,260 Steve is exploring a rocky shelf above. 373 00:30:37,100 --> 00:30:39,340 They're running in tracks. 374 00:30:39,300 --> 00:30:41,540 You can see there's almost like roads. 375 00:30:42,460 --> 00:30:45,620 These here are bird prints. 376 00:30:47,220 --> 00:30:52,740 But these are definitely mammal prints. 377 00:30:52,700 --> 00:30:55,660 Kind of polecat. 378 00:30:55,660 --> 00:30:58,500 A medium-sized mustelid perhaps, 379 00:30:58,500 --> 00:31:00,740 something from the weasel family. 380 00:31:00,700 --> 00:31:02,820 Which means there are mammals up here. 381 00:31:04,380 --> 00:31:08,780 If we find them, they're almost certain to be a new species. 382 00:31:10,540 --> 00:31:14,580 They have just three days to track down the mystery mammal. 383 00:31:19,940 --> 00:31:21,940 Well done. Who found it? 384 00:31:21,940 --> 00:31:24,540 It was just lucky. Be careful, he's very jumpy. 385 00:31:24,500 --> 00:31:27,220 Look at that underside. 386 00:31:27,220 --> 00:31:29,220 Beautiful colours. Ooh! 387 00:31:29,220 --> 00:31:31,700 Good catch. 388 00:31:31,660 --> 00:31:34,740 What are you? I'm gonna have to hold him still like that. 389 00:31:34,740 --> 00:31:38,420 I think what's particularly special about this frog is 390 00:31:38,380 --> 00:31:42,700 I've not seen it in any of the guides or any of the textbooks for the frogs of this area. 391 00:31:42,700 --> 00:31:46,420 What's particularly beautiful, if you look at the underside, 392 00:31:46,380 --> 00:31:50,420 quite dull on top, but underneath, the belly, 393 00:31:50,420 --> 00:31:53,180 and the underside of the pads, look at those colours. 394 00:31:53,180 --> 00:31:55,740 That's really quite dramatic, isn't it? 395 00:31:55,700 --> 00:31:59,180 Unfortunately, it's very difficult to name a new species 396 00:31:59,180 --> 00:32:02,980 without taking it back to a museum and running all sorts of tests on it, 397 00:32:02,980 --> 00:32:06,340 and to do that, we'd have to kill it, which I'm not prepared to do. 398 00:32:06,300 --> 00:32:10,180 So, I'm gonna put it back where it belongs, in this bromeliad here. 399 00:32:11,780 --> 00:32:15,660 Unidentified frogs, unknown footprints. 400 00:32:15,660 --> 00:32:18,380 Who knows what else the mountain holds? 401 00:32:19,940 --> 00:32:23,060 It's been a frustrating day for George and Gordon. 402 00:32:23,060 --> 00:32:25,220 But at least the rain has stopped. 403 00:32:25,180 --> 00:32:28,860 I have to say this is not the sharpest tool in the kit. 404 00:32:28,860 --> 00:32:30,860 OK, onions done. 405 00:32:30,860 --> 00:32:32,220 Potatoes? 406 00:32:33,820 --> 00:32:38,020 I've been fantasising about a slow-roasted lamb shank 407 00:32:37,980 --> 00:32:40,540 for most of last week. 408 00:32:42,980 --> 00:32:46,940 Before dinner, George has important work to do. 409 00:32:46,940 --> 00:32:50,740 After rain, insects come out. 410 00:32:50,700 --> 00:32:55,220 This is the first ultra-violet trap that anyone's ever set in this area. 411 00:33:04,820 --> 00:33:08,060 What on earth... ? I've never seen that before. 412 00:33:08,060 --> 00:33:12,420 That thing there is a very strange family of bug. 413 00:33:12,380 --> 00:33:14,100 It's not much recorded. 414 00:33:14,100 --> 00:33:15,980 How many things are here? I mean... 415 00:33:17,300 --> 00:33:19,660 200 species easily. 416 00:33:19,660 --> 00:33:24,900 I think it'd be safe to say that at least 5%, if not 10% of them... 417 00:33:26,700 --> 00:33:28,780 . .may be undescribed. 418 00:33:28,780 --> 00:33:30,340 That's the fact of it. 419 00:33:30,340 --> 00:33:36,900 So if we could save all the forests in hot countries like Guyana, 420 00:33:36,900 --> 00:33:42,500 then you would immediately save over 50% of all the world's species. 421 00:33:42,460 --> 00:33:46,060 So that surely is worth doing. 422 00:33:48,260 --> 00:33:50,140 Look at that! 423 00:33:50,100 --> 00:33:52,700 That is just stonkingly beautiful. 424 00:33:52,700 --> 00:33:56,300 This pale, ivory-coloured moth. 425 00:33:56,260 --> 00:33:58,260 Yet at the right angle, you see 426 00:33:58,260 --> 00:34:03,020 these beautiful little golden beads all round the edge there. 427 00:34:03,020 --> 00:34:05,340 That's just... 428 00:34:05,300 --> 00:34:06,860 That's incredible. 429 00:34:06,860 --> 00:34:09,020 This is a monster! I've never seen this. 430 00:34:09,020 --> 00:34:12,300 Look at the size of this guy! Whoa! 431 00:34:13,580 --> 00:34:16,860 That is a mole cricket and a half! 432 00:34:16,860 --> 00:34:20,580 That's an absolute beauty. 433 00:34:20,580 --> 00:34:26,660 I'm in my element here and it makes all the portaging 434 00:34:26,620 --> 00:34:27,900 and the sweating... 435 00:34:29,060 --> 00:34:30,660 It makes it all worthwhile. 436 00:34:32,700 --> 00:34:34,620 George must get some rest. 437 00:34:34,580 --> 00:34:38,580 He needs to be up early to search for the giant anaconda. 438 00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:49,380 On the top of Mount Upuigma, 439 00:34:49,340 --> 00:34:52,860 the climbers spent the night sheltering under an overhang. 440 00:34:52,860 --> 00:34:56,660 Now they're preparing for another day searching for animals. 441 00:34:59,460 --> 00:35:03,980 All this climbing takes quite a toll on your hands. 442 00:35:03,980 --> 00:35:07,980 You just tend to get nasty, kind of, blisters, 443 00:35:07,940 --> 00:35:11,740 particularly in the points where the ropes rub through your fingers. 444 00:35:13,660 --> 00:35:15,780 MAN: Does it hurt? 445 00:35:15,780 --> 00:35:16,900 Yes. 446 00:35:18,460 --> 00:35:20,020 It's not too bad. 447 00:35:24,460 --> 00:35:26,860 Hundreds of swifts are feeding above, 448 00:35:26,860 --> 00:35:30,180 watched on by their predators, falcons. 449 00:35:40,900 --> 00:35:43,180 From the second we reached the top of the climb, 450 00:35:45,700 --> 00:35:49,180 To begin with, we thought it was a bat falcon, which is quite common. 451 00:35:49,180 --> 00:35:53,500 But those don't occur at anything like this altitude or in this kind of terrain. 452 00:35:53,460 --> 00:35:58,180 What does, and what were spotted in 1999 to the east of us, 453 00:35:58,180 --> 00:36:00,580 is the orange-breasted falcon. 454 00:36:00,660 --> 00:36:03,900 I think there'll be a lot of ornithologists out there who'll be 455 00:36:03,900 --> 00:36:07,380 really happy to know that it's alive and well here on Upuigma. 456 00:36:07,340 --> 00:36:11,220 It looks to me like we've got a pair with a youngster. 457 00:36:11,220 --> 00:36:15,060 There's all sorts of interactions going on between the three of them. 458 00:36:16,020 --> 00:36:18,300 Very, very vocal birds. 459 00:36:27,940 --> 00:36:31,220 As Evan explores the cliff face, 460 00:36:31,180 --> 00:36:35,220 Steve is hunting for the mystery mammal. 461 00:36:35,220 --> 00:36:39,460 There's a great little hole down here with loads of paw prints. 462 00:36:39,460 --> 00:36:42,340 It would make a perfect burrow. 463 00:36:42,340 --> 00:36:45,620 Let's go inside with the night camera, see what we can see. 464 00:36:48,340 --> 00:36:50,260 It smells quite strong in here. 465 00:36:51,900 --> 00:36:55,060 That kind of musty, animal smell. 466 00:36:55,020 --> 00:36:59,380 It certainly looks like a perfect burrow for a medium-sized mammal. 467 00:36:59,380 --> 00:37:04,300 I can't see anything. There's loads of prints, but there's no droppings. 468 00:37:13,380 --> 00:37:17,100 Since first light, George and Gordon have been continuing 469 00:37:17,060 --> 00:37:19,700 their search for Guyana's top predators. 470 00:37:19,700 --> 00:37:22,180 One of the boatmen thinks he's seen 471 00:37:22,140 --> 00:37:24,860 a giant anaconda hidden in the bushes. 472 00:37:24,860 --> 00:37:27,540 One big one. 473 00:37:27,540 --> 00:37:29,140 Anaconda? 474 00:37:31,140 --> 00:37:33,740 Anaconda? Yeah. And if he says it's a big one... 475 00:37:33,740 --> 00:37:35,780 It'll be big. It'll be big. 476 00:37:49,900 --> 00:37:52,140 There's a big one. 477 00:37:52,140 --> 00:37:54,460 It's a big one indeed. 478 00:37:54,420 --> 00:37:57,060 Can we get in there? Goodness me. 479 00:37:58,140 --> 00:38:02,420 It's like a car tyre. Yeah, it's like a car tyre on its side. 480 00:38:02,380 --> 00:38:04,260 A very large car tyre. 481 00:38:04,260 --> 00:38:07,940 Gordon is just going to sneak onto land 482 00:38:07,940 --> 00:38:12,380 and try and get a picture of this anaconda on the ground. 483 00:38:14,380 --> 00:38:16,180 Razor grass. 484 00:38:17,020 --> 00:38:20,420 Gordon's about eight feet away from it. 485 00:38:20,420 --> 00:38:23,860 Goodness me, that's a huge snake. 486 00:38:23,820 --> 00:38:29,420 It's five metres long, its body the size of Gordon's waist. 487 00:38:29,420 --> 00:38:32,100 Just doing a bit of pruning. 488 00:38:32,100 --> 00:38:34,540 You can't really get a clear view of it. 489 00:38:34,540 --> 00:38:40,020 I've seen an anaconda smaller than that eat a whole pig. 490 00:38:41,220 --> 00:38:45,180 Something the size of me, it could possibly do it. 491 00:38:46,820 --> 00:38:50,780 Anaconda kill by coiling their body tightly around their prey 492 00:38:50,780 --> 00:38:53,820 and stopping the blood circulation. 493 00:38:53,820 --> 00:38:55,940 The victim is swallowed whole. 494 00:38:58,980 --> 00:39:03,820 If you're scared of snakes, this thing would give you nightmares. 495 00:39:03,780 --> 00:39:05,820 His tongue's not out. 496 00:39:05,820 --> 00:39:08,700 If his tongue comes out, that means it can sense us. 497 00:39:08,660 --> 00:39:10,340 It can actually taste us. 498 00:39:10,340 --> 00:39:13,500 At the moment, I think it's just fast asleep. 499 00:39:16,820 --> 00:39:20,300 Oh, my God! 500 00:39:20,260 --> 00:39:21,740 Now that is... That's big. 501 00:39:23,140 --> 00:39:29,140 This place really is strangely rich in wildlife. 502 00:39:29,140 --> 00:39:33,100 I've never seen or heard of anywhere like this place. 503 00:39:33,060 --> 00:39:35,300 This is a land of giants. 504 00:39:35,300 --> 00:39:37,580 It's eyes are open. Look. 505 00:39:39,300 --> 00:39:44,300 It's great to see it and I think we should just leave it alone. 506 00:39:48,340 --> 00:39:50,060 They head into the forest, 507 00:39:50,060 --> 00:39:53,940 where they're confronted by a yet another giant. 508 00:39:53,940 --> 00:39:58,060 This is an enormous tree! 509 00:39:58,020 --> 00:40:00,900 It's a silk cottonwood. 510 00:40:00,900 --> 00:40:05,820 Absolutely vast! That's bigger than anything we've seen. 511 00:40:05,820 --> 00:40:08,780 Definitely. Good grief! 512 00:40:08,780 --> 00:40:13,700 That is incredible. Look at the size of those buttress roots. Oh, wow. 513 00:40:13,700 --> 00:40:16,900 Look, look, look! What have you got? What have you got? 514 00:40:16,900 --> 00:40:21,580 Oh, my God! It's one of those... That is incredible! 515 00:40:21,580 --> 00:40:25,260 This is a hawk moth, which has been infected by... 516 00:40:25,220 --> 00:40:26,860 Is it a fungus? 517 00:40:26,860 --> 00:40:30,100 Exactly. That's grown throughout the whole animal. 518 00:40:30,100 --> 00:40:34,220 The disease makes them crawl up higher, 519 00:40:34,180 --> 00:40:38,740 so that when they die and the spores erupt out of the animal, 520 00:40:38,740 --> 00:40:40,620 it spreads over a further area. 521 00:40:40,620 --> 00:40:43,620 You have to be very careful what you eat in the jungle, 522 00:40:43,580 --> 00:40:46,780 because there are things that can make you feel very sick 523 00:40:46,780 --> 00:40:49,660 or things that will grow inside you 524 00:40:49,620 --> 00:40:55,500 and erupt out of your back, your stomach, and here's an example. 525 00:40:55,500 --> 00:40:59,540 Sci-fi films, they try and dream up hideous things, 526 00:40:59,500 --> 00:41:01,500 but actually, in the real world, 527 00:41:01,500 --> 00:41:03,780 there are ten times more hideous things 528 00:41:03,740 --> 00:41:08,580 happening to animals all around us than we could ever imagine. 529 00:41:08,580 --> 00:41:14,220 I'll be you any money that species of fungus is undescribed. 530 00:41:14,180 --> 00:41:17,700 I mean... It's a very under-worked group. 531 00:41:17,700 --> 00:41:22,140 That, to me... is quite unique. 532 00:41:25,900 --> 00:41:30,380 It's only from the air that you can see the vast scale of this forest. 533 00:41:30,380 --> 00:41:34,940 Guyana's trees alone lock up 2.7 billion tonnes of carbon, 534 00:41:34,940 --> 00:41:37,940 vital in the fight against climate change. 535 00:41:37,900 --> 00:41:40,540 But Guyana is a very poor country 536 00:41:40,540 --> 00:41:43,340 and needs to earn money from its trees. 537 00:41:43,340 --> 00:41:45,060 It faces a dilemma. 538 00:41:45,060 --> 00:41:49,300 To allow logging now or keep the forests intact 539 00:41:49,260 --> 00:41:52,620 and hope to trade them for carbon credits in the future. 540 00:41:57,140 --> 00:42:02,660 So far, this forest is untouched, but it may not be for much longer. 541 00:42:09,980 --> 00:42:12,540 It's the last night on Mount Upuigma 542 00:42:12,540 --> 00:42:16,780 and after dinner, the climbing team hope to find nocturnal animals. 543 00:42:19,380 --> 00:42:21,820 They've laid a series of small mammal traps 544 00:42:21,820 --> 00:42:26,700 and Steve's rigging an ultra-violet light to attract insects. 545 00:42:29,620 --> 00:42:32,340 Look at these moths! 546 00:42:32,340 --> 00:42:35,740 Look at the size of this. Whoa! 547 00:42:37,780 --> 00:42:40,660 Enormous moths all the way down this wall here. Look! 548 00:42:44,340 --> 00:42:47,020 Look at the size of that! 549 00:42:47,020 --> 00:42:51,420 These ones here are hawk moths. They're sphingidae. 550 00:42:51,460 --> 00:42:53,860 Look at the size of that one there! 551 00:42:53,860 --> 00:42:56,980 For scale, that's the size of my hand. 552 00:42:56,940 --> 00:43:00,900 And they're all exactly the same species, 553 00:43:00,900 --> 00:43:02,900 with this distinctive eye spot here 554 00:43:02,900 --> 00:43:06,020 and that wonderful colouration here in the hind wing. 555 00:43:06,020 --> 00:43:10,620 Whoa! Something really quite extraordinary's happened here. 556 00:43:10,580 --> 00:43:13,420 My light trip has actually conned these swifts 557 00:43:13,420 --> 00:43:15,340 and they've flown into the wall. 558 00:43:15,340 --> 00:43:18,620 This one here, he's stunned, but alert. 559 00:43:20,980 --> 00:43:23,300 I think he might head off. 560 00:43:23,300 --> 00:43:25,220 Come on, fella, please be all right. 561 00:43:30,020 --> 00:43:31,860 Thank goodness for that. 562 00:43:31,860 --> 00:43:36,740 Suddenly, there's a noise from within the mammal trap. 563 00:43:36,740 --> 00:43:38,740 No, no, no, no. 564 00:43:38,740 --> 00:43:41,100 Come back, come back. Where are you? 565 00:43:42,020 --> 00:43:45,060 Oh, God, no! Oh, he's in there. 566 00:43:45,060 --> 00:43:49,540 He's in there. Oh, he's beautiful! 567 00:43:49,540 --> 00:43:52,140 You're all right. I'm not gonna hurt you. 568 00:43:52,140 --> 00:43:55,780 Look at the size of the ears and the spread of the whiskers. 569 00:43:55,740 --> 00:43:59,780 This is definitely a creature that's accustomed to hunting at night. 570 00:44:01,580 --> 00:44:04,220 That's ever so pretty. 571 00:44:04,180 --> 00:44:08,820 There have been very, very few species recorded up here. 572 00:44:08,820 --> 00:44:12,420 New mammals are found so rarely these days, 573 00:44:12,380 --> 00:44:14,740 but that is an extraordinary find. 574 00:44:14,740 --> 00:44:17,260 Makes the whole trip worthwhile. 575 00:44:26,100 --> 00:44:29,500 They could only bring enough supplies for three days. 576 00:44:29,500 --> 00:44:33,660 Now it's time to go home. 577 00:44:37,660 --> 00:44:42,220 Last night was definitely in my top ten wildlife moments. 578 00:44:42,220 --> 00:44:44,300 Everything happened at once. 579 00:44:44,300 --> 00:44:47,540 First of all the swifts, then these moths everywhere 580 00:44:47,540 --> 00:44:49,740 and then we found that mouse. 581 00:44:49,700 --> 00:44:53,820 We've only had three days to do a rapid assessment 582 00:44:53,820 --> 00:44:55,820 of what lives up here on the top, 583 00:44:55,820 --> 00:44:58,660 but even so, I think we've had some major successes. 584 00:44:58,660 --> 00:45:02,100 I'm sure that some of the animals we've found are new to science. 585 00:45:02,100 --> 00:45:05,860 But even more tantalising are those footprints we found 586 00:45:05,860 --> 00:45:09,220 of some unknown animal and I just hope that someone gets a chance 587 00:45:09,220 --> 00:45:12,220 to come back and find out what that is. 588 00:45:12,220 --> 00:45:17,300 It's one of the big tragedies of my life that I was born now 589 00:45:17,300 --> 00:45:22,660 when it's so hard to find really wild places that people haven't been to. 590 00:45:22,660 --> 00:45:25,380 It does your heart good to come somewhere like this 591 00:45:25,380 --> 00:45:31,140 that is not only totally undiscovered, but is so special. 592 00:45:40,100 --> 00:45:42,540 Gordon has been pulled away from breakfast. 593 00:45:42,540 --> 00:45:45,460 One of Guyana's most rarely seen creatures 594 00:45:45,460 --> 00:45:47,740 is high in the trees right next to camp. 595 00:45:49,740 --> 00:45:52,620 It's just stopped in this tree right here. 596 00:45:52,620 --> 00:45:56,260 I have never seen a harpy eagle before. 597 00:45:56,260 --> 00:45:59,500 I really didn't think we'd see one here. 598 00:45:59,500 --> 00:46:03,780 It's enormous. What I'd like to try and do is get ashore 599 00:46:03,780 --> 00:46:08,180 and that way I can get the long lens to its full extent 600 00:46:08,140 --> 00:46:10,860 and hopefully get a really close shot of it. 601 00:46:10,860 --> 00:46:13,460 Please don't go anywhere. 602 00:46:13,460 --> 00:46:16,180 This is just smash-and-grab filming. 603 00:46:16,140 --> 00:46:20,980 You've got to try and find a position and just get what you can, 604 00:46:20,980 --> 00:46:27,020 because this bird is gonna fly and we're never gonna see it again. 605 00:46:27,020 --> 00:46:30,220 OK, make sure everything's running. 606 00:46:31,860 --> 00:46:33,900 Oh, wow! Look at that. 607 00:46:35,780 --> 00:46:41,060 You know what? If the jaguar's the most difficult mammal to see, 608 00:46:41,060 --> 00:46:45,900 the harpy eagle is definitely the most difficult bird to see. 609 00:46:45,860 --> 00:46:48,340 Beautiful. 610 00:46:48,340 --> 00:46:53,300 It's easy in this place to say every second day, 611 00:46:53,300 --> 00:46:57,300 "This is the most amazing thing, the rarest thing that I've seen," 612 00:46:57,300 --> 00:46:59,380 but honestly, 613 00:46:59,380 --> 00:47:03,700 there is more chance of a jaguar doing the fandango through our camp 614 00:47:03,660 --> 00:47:05,620 than finding a harpy eagle. 615 00:47:05,620 --> 00:47:07,340 He's got the remains of a monkey. 616 00:47:07,340 --> 00:47:10,580 You can just see its back legs. 617 00:47:10,580 --> 00:47:12,780 That's what harpy eagles do. 618 00:47:12,780 --> 00:47:16,220 They're such huge birds of prey. 619 00:47:16,220 --> 00:47:18,620 They catch big primates 620 00:47:18,620 --> 00:47:22,620 and their claws are so powerful, they'll grab a monkey, 621 00:47:22,620 --> 00:47:25,900 grab it by the body with one claw, grab it by the head... 622 00:47:25,900 --> 00:47:27,860 Look at those talons. 623 00:47:27,820 --> 00:47:30,620 They're enormous. Huge. 624 00:47:30,620 --> 00:47:32,260 That size. 625 00:47:34,860 --> 00:47:38,380 The harpy is the most powerful eagle in the world 626 00:47:38,340 --> 00:47:40,500 and stands a metre tall. 627 00:47:44,980 --> 00:47:50,260 Without a doubt, this is like finding diamonds at the head of this river. 628 00:47:50,260 --> 00:47:54,420 The further we get away from people, there's more animals 629 00:47:54,420 --> 00:47:57,900 and the fact that you've got an animal like harpy eagle 630 00:47:57,900 --> 00:48:01,060 is a good indication that there must be many monkeys here. 631 00:48:01,060 --> 00:48:06,780 And many monkeys mean you've got a very healthy habitat. 632 00:48:06,780 --> 00:48:10,140 It's worrying that it's completely unprotected. 633 00:48:10,140 --> 00:48:13,540 They could really mess this area up in a very short space of time, 634 00:48:13,540 --> 00:48:15,580 and that's terrifying. 635 00:48:17,580 --> 00:48:22,060 This is so, so unbelievably rare. 636 00:48:22,060 --> 00:48:24,020 It is the holy grail. 637 00:48:25,060 --> 00:48:26,780 OK, it's gonna go. It's gonna go. 638 00:48:28,340 --> 00:48:32,620 This could be the last moments we have with this bird. 639 00:48:32,620 --> 00:48:35,420 The harpy eagle is the final discovery for the team. 640 00:48:35,420 --> 00:48:37,780 They'll soon be heading home. 641 00:48:46,980 --> 00:48:50,780 The expedition has produced important evidence. 642 00:48:50,740 --> 00:48:54,860 This is one of the greatest, unspoilt rainforests in the world. 643 00:48:54,860 --> 00:49:00,300 There are so few places that are pristine and untouched. 644 00:49:00,300 --> 00:49:04,820 This is one of them and, personally, I think that should never change. 645 00:49:04,820 --> 00:49:10,540 From the tree tops to its watery depths, they've uncovered new, 646 00:49:10,540 --> 00:49:13,700 strange and rare creatures. 647 00:49:13,660 --> 00:49:18,820 They've been burnt, bitten, and had narrow escapes. 648 00:49:21,780 --> 00:49:26,500 They've catalogued and photographed hundreds of rainforest animals. 649 00:49:28,860 --> 00:49:31,420 There should be room on this earth 650 00:49:31,420 --> 00:49:36,540 to keep 6% of the land surface area, a very small area, 651 00:49:36,540 --> 00:49:38,340 in which resides the majority 652 00:49:38,340 --> 00:49:41,060 of all the Earth's species of animals and plants. 653 00:49:45,620 --> 00:49:47,700 Thank you. 654 00:49:47,660 --> 00:49:51,140 For George, there's one last task. 655 00:49:51,140 --> 00:49:55,060 Delivering the scientific report to the Guyanese president. 656 00:49:55,020 --> 00:50:00,220 Here is a very brief report from our trip 657 00:50:00,220 --> 00:50:02,300 which just outlines what we did. 658 00:50:02,300 --> 00:50:06,060 Obviously, there'll be more coming out of this in the next few months. 659 00:50:06,060 --> 00:50:12,580 Every report, they've all recognised the importance of rainforests, 660 00:50:12,580 --> 00:50:16,940 especially tropical rainforests. In climate change, the contribution 661 00:50:16,940 --> 00:50:21,100 to the mitigation or the reduction of greenhouse gases. 662 00:50:21,100 --> 00:50:25,420 What we all find is that this particular area 663 00:50:25,420 --> 00:50:28,540 is one of the richest, in terms of species, 664 00:50:28,540 --> 00:50:31,940 probably anywhere on the planet. It's incredibly rich. 665 00:50:34,460 --> 00:50:36,780 Shortly after the team returned home, 666 00:50:36,780 --> 00:50:39,940 the President of Guyana made an unprecedented move. 667 00:50:39,900 --> 00:50:43,620 He approached the British government to offer the intact forest 668 00:50:43,620 --> 00:50:46,980 as a global resource to help alleviate climate change, 669 00:50:46,940 --> 00:50:52,340 in return for financial help. No decision has yet been made. 670 00:50:52,340 --> 00:50:57,540 The world is just beginning to recognise the enormous value of rainforests. 671 00:50:57,540 --> 00:51:00,300 Not only as home to millions of species, 672 00:51:00,300 --> 00:51:04,980 but as part of the solution to a global problem.