Eye See You Baby Barney's Latin America

Hola mis amigos! Bienvenidos a Barney's America Latina!

Arriba! Arriba! It's show time.

Let me introduce you to a crazy carnival of creatures,

from fabulously freaky frogs, to hollering howler monkeys,

to manic meat-eating plants. Es magnifico!

And what's more, they're all connected to each other in

this wonderful world of wildlife by funny, fabulous and fantastic facts.

-Get on with it!

-Oh, sorry.

Tres, dos, uno, es la hora de Barney's Latin America.

All right. I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with...

T.

Trees?

-How do you do it?

-I use my eyes.

Yeah, you can do all sorts with your eyes, can't you?

You can hide them. Now you see them, now you don't!

You can go cross-eyed. That's my favourite one.

Although it does make me go a bit dizzy.

Oh, you can be flirty with your eyes.

All right, you! Calm down!

To the animals out here in the wilds of Latin America, seeing what's

around you can quite literally be a matter of life and death. Barney!

Sorry.

Some animals have big eyes, some have small eyes. Some have hidden eyes.

Some animals can see in the dark.

And some animals have multiple vision.

And some don't to use their eyes at all.

So how do they find their way around?

Animals have all sorts of different senses we don't have.

-So, how do they see?

-All is going to be reviewed

in today's show, which is called...

Eye See You Baby!

-So let's see if you can see what our first animal is. Ready?

-OK.

I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with I.

Ice-cream. Igloo. Indifference.

You don't really get this game, do you? No.

OK, here's our first visionary wonder.

Wow, it's a dinosaur!

Is it at do you think he saurus? Quick, run!

No, don't worry. This limey lizard is a green iguana.

Not too close, I'm a bit shy.

Those claws look at bit prehistoric. Look how sharp they are!

Calm down, they're no claws for concern.

Thanks to the patterned eyelids that look like open eyes,

these lizards look like they're awake, even when they're asleep.

Brilliant, I could have done with a pair of those at school.

Shh! They're asleep.

Sorry.

But when they do open their eyes,

they use their sharp claws to climb up trees

and avoid being part of the great Latin America lunchbox.

And turn other animals into lunch, I reckon.

-Well actually, they're herbivores.

-Herbie who?

Vegetarians, they eat lots of green leaves.

Well, you know what they say, you are what you eat.

Perhaps that's why they're so green.

Somehow I doubt it.

I know, they're green as it gives them good camouflage in the trees.

Exactly. Although, they can be an number of other colours,

including orange and even lavender.

A lavender iguana, strange.

-Bet it smells nice, though.

-Moving on...

These iguanas have really good eyesight. So, by climbing high up

in the canopy, they get a good look at what's going on down below.

Coo-ee! I'm up here!

Can't you see me?

So, they sit in the trees eating leaves

and having a good old look around down below?

Why not keep an eye on the sky?

That's where these ingenious iguanas

have an extra trick up their scaly sleeve.

Or should I say, extra eye on their head.

Back up there, Gem.

An extra eye?!

Eye caramba!

It's not actually an eye, it's more of a sensor on top of their head.

It can detect changes in light.

It's also known as their third eye.

Ah, clever stuff. Very enlightening.

So, if anything approaches from above and casts a shadow...

Ey up! There's a change in light.

..just like this red tailed hawk...

Can't see me up here, lizard.

The iguana can sense it well before it's within striking distance,

and simply get out of the way.

Where can they run to when they're stuck up a tree?

They're clever enough to hang out near water.

That way, if they find themselves out on a limb...

They can show off their high-diving technique.

-Think again my feathered friend!

-Oh, that's going to hurt.

Well, no. They just inflate their lungs,

use them like air bags to absorb the impact, and off they go.

Splashing, I mean, smashing.

So, a high-diving, highly-deceiving,

three-eyed iguana. Great stuff.

You know, the red tailed hawk doesn't need to worry.

Plenty more fish in the sea. Well, green iguanas in the tree.

Eh, what did you say?

Yeah, you heard me!

Well, that's not totally true, actually,

cos there are more species of fish in the whole Amazon river

than there are in the entire Atlantic Ocean.

If that's the case, your huge list must include this bug-eyed tiddler.

All I can see is a load of strange floating blobs.

Anableps.

What, Anna Bleps? Who's she and what's she doing having a swim?

It looks like she's lost her marbles.

Anableps is the scientific name for the four-eyed fish.

Oh, I see.

And they hang out in schools.

-Clever fish.

-No, it doesn't mean they go to school, a school is

the name for a group of fish. But they are pretty clever.

You'll find them in the fresh and brackish waters in the Amazon.

Brackish being a mixture between fresh water and sea water.

So, they must live near the coast, where the river meets the sea.

Very good, Marine girl. At first glance, they appear to have

four eyes - one pair looking up and one pair looking down.

Oh yes! 1, 2, 3, 4.

But don't be fooled.

Looks can be deceiving and these are the masters of illusion.

Holy Houdini!

Are you telling me the four-eyed fish doesn't have four eyes?

Oh no! We've been rumbled!

Well, yes. They actually

just have two big round eyes, but each one has two pupils.

So, this school of fish has twice as many pupils as most schools? But why?

This way they can use the lower half of the eye

to look in the water for insects to eat,

while the upper half sits on the surface,

looking for predators such as birds.

That looks like a load of hungry eyes.

Actually, the distracting display confuses their predators

so they can continue to look for lunch, without becoming lunch.

Now that's one impressive little fish.

But, how does it connect back to the green iguana?

They both do something

you and I can only dream of.

They can both see

in two places at once.

Here you go, Barney. What's got eight eyes, eight hairy legs?

I love your jokes. What's got eight eyes and eight hairy legs? JLS?

No! One of these...

That is one that scary hairy spider!

It's certainly a bit hairy, but not really that scary.

-Speak for yourself.

-It's a tarantula.

Despite having eight eyes, a tarantula's eyesight is pretty poor.

Who put that there?

Although their eyes help them see in many directions, it's thought

they can only see very basic shapes and differences in light and dark.

Instead, they have to rely on their eight hairy legs.

-What?

-The hairs on their legs can detect the slightest vibrations,

so they rely on these hairs for movement and finding food.

They are big, hairy, scary furballs

which I do not wish to become acquainted with.

You may be surprised to hear most tarantulas are harmless to humans.

I notice you say most, but not all.

They're all venomous, but only some species have venom

powerful enough to put you in a bit of pain for a few days.

Venom and pain, you say?

Where will I find one of these leggy fur balls?

These guys like to stretch their legs all across Latin America.

Well, as long as they don't stretch their legs across me, that's fine.

-Barney!

-Well, I don't like spiders, let alone big hairy ones.

This isn't big.

This is big.

It's the largest spider in the world,

and can grow up to almost a third of a metre, from toe to toe.

-Wow, that's almost as big as my pet guinea pig.

-You could say that.

This is the Goliath bird-eating tarantula.

An intriguing name. Presumably it eats birds?

No, actually, it doesn't. Although it's big enough to.

Like other tarantulas, it just enjoys dining on other treats

like insects, mice and lizards.

That's OK then. Well, not for insects, mice and lizards.

But how do tarantulas catch their food if they can't really see?

Well, unlike many other spiders, Latin American tarantulas

don't spin a typical web to catch their prey.

Instead, they lie in wait

and ambush their next unsuspecting meal that passes by.

Those hairs on a tarantula's legs can feel the vibrations

of the smallest insect.

Even the footsteps of a feather-light grasshopper

are like seismic rumblings to a hungry tarantula.

Well, that'll be lunch then.

It then takes its catch back to its silk-lined nest to dine.

A bit like dining on a silk tablecloth?

So, our hairy-legged, eight-eyed tarantulas connect

to the four-eyed fish because

they both have multiple eyes.

And from eight eyes to 100 eyes.

What animal has 100 eyes?

Well, just like dragonflies, ants and lots of other insects,

mosquitoes have compound eyes

which are eyes made up of hundreds of tiny lenses.

So, with hundreds of lenses,

they must see hundreds of times better than us?

Actually, compound eyes are perfect for noticing very slight movement,

but mosquitoes can't see long distance very well.

Having loads of lenses makes everything look like a kaleidoscope.

So how do they find their way around?

Their airborne ancestors date back millions of years,

giving them plenty of practice at becoming perfect parasitic pilots.

Roger and over, cruising at a height of 1.35 metres.

They spend their day buzzing about

at speeds of up to a staggering two kilometres per hour.

Hardly Top Gun pilots, are they?

Well, no, but they're still on the lookout for targets.

-Like what?

-Lots of nectar to feed on, for starters.

-Sweet.

-Oh, and blood.

Not so sweet.

From the likes of me and you.

Eugh, nectar and blood! Sounds more like the diet of a vampire bee.

Lucky it's only the females who drink our blood.

They can't bite us because they have no teeth

so they use their long hollow proboscis

to pierce the skin and suck up the blood.

It's like drinking through a straw.

Except they don't swallow it.

The mosquito pumps the blood into her abdomen,

where it provides her with protein to help her eggs to develop.

She can produce up to 300 eggs at any one time.

Sounds like she needs a lot of blood.

Don't worry, you don't notice it's gone.

It would take more than a million bites

to drain all the blood from your body.

-They'd have to find me first.

-Well, that shouldn't be a problem.

They've a highly-sensitive smell radar,

which detects the carbon-dioxide you breathe out.

A bit like smell-o vision?

Yes, and the hairy antennae are equipped with super heat sensors,

so they can tell where your delicious blood is most accessible.

So with crazy kaleidoscopic eyes and highly sensitive hairy antennae,

they're always aware of what's going on around them?

Which is why it's impossible to swat them.

Freeze.

There's one on your head.

Oh, yeah, you're right. You can't swat them.

So, this little sucker is connected to tarantula, because they both

have hairy sensors to help detect their prey.

Right, up next is a tasty little number.

At nearly 6,000 kilometres long,

the Amazon is the largest river in the world.

Starting in Peru, it runs through Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean,

-and becomes over 10 kilometres wide in places.

-That's a lot of water.

But it's also a lot of mud.

Not great visibility, then.

Nope. As the waters of the Amazon river are so murky, many creatures

can't rely on their eyes to see, like this little fishy - the candiru.

He lives in the muddy water of the Amazon river.

So, despite having two eyes

the conditions don't allow him to use them.

-Is it a bit like trying to see in the fog?

-Exactly.

So, he's had to develop other senses in order to find his way.

-What a cutie!

-Don't let those innocent looks fool you.

It may look sweet,

but it's one of the most feared animals in the whole Amazon.

What, even more than a piranha?

No way, Jose!

Yup, the candiru is a type of catfish.

But it's no cute kitten.

It's no bigger than your finger and it's a parasite.

What? You mean it takes but gives nothing in return?

Yes, surprisingly, just like the mosquito, it loves to suck blood.

Nasty. But how does a fish that can't see know where to find blood?

It's a parasite of fish gills,

in particular, those of the larger catfish,

which are the most common fish in the Amazon river.

Common as muck, I am.

A bit like a cat, the candiru has little whiskers on its upper lip,

except these whiskers are called barbels,

and under them are its taste buds.

Sounds a bit tongue on cheek! Get it, tongue on cheek?

There's a tongue on your cheek!

No? OK...

Using these taste buds, they can detect any waste that might be

streaming from the gills of a nearby catfish, like ammonia or urea.

-My ear?

-Urea, it's like fish wee.

That's gross.

Not to the candiru. It locks on to the scent and follows it,

shoots into the gills unnoticed,

and digs in its sharp spines and has a little feast.

OK, so it finds its way by using taste rather than sight.

Disgusting, but clever.

Yes siree!

So, the candiru and the mosquito

both use their super-senses

to help them to suck blood.

So, let's take a quick look back...

At our wild eyed connections so far.

How do we get from our limy lizard to our surprising little fishy?

You're about to find out.

Well, first we saw the green iguana,

who connected with the four eyed fish,

as they can both see in two places at once.

And from four eyes to eight eyes.

Creepy crawling into action next was the tarantula.

Multiple eyes surprise, just like the four-eyed fish.

The mosquito takes multiple eyes to the extreme

by having hundreds of lenses,

but it still needs to rely on hairs to find its prey,

just like Mr T, Mr Tarantula, that is.

Then, the little candiru linked neatly with the mozzie,

they can't rely on their eyes alone,

so they both use their super senses to find blood. Ew.

Say hello to our ultra visionary wonder,

-the boto dolphin.

-Hola!

OK, I know why a dolphin is in this programme,

because they have good eyesight, don't they?

That's right. But they are found in the murky waters of the Amazon,

so just like the candiru, they can't see for toffee.

Hence the big bump on its head from where he keeps bumping into things?

Actually, that bulge is called its melon.

-A melon?!

-Yes, in this muddy water, their eyes are simply not enough,

so they've developed a way to see without using their eyes.

Inside the melon, you'll find some seriously high-tech equipment,

able to transmit beams of ultrasound.

You mean echo location?

That's exactly what I mean.

So, the boto dolphin can cruise those dark, murky waters

with military precision, avoiding obstacles and finding lots of food.

It's a rather odd looking dolphin, isn't it?

Where is the big fin on its back, for starters?

The boto dolphin doesn't need a large fin to stabilise itself

because it lives in rivers,

so has a much slower lifestyle than its speedy ocean-dwelling cousins.

But if you don't move very fast, how can you catch fish?

These guys have incredible manoeuvrability,

combined with an neck that can bend 90 degrees to its body,

and a mouth full of sharp teeth.

These guys make awesome river hunters.

So, the boto dolphin and the candiru

are connected because

they both have ingenious ways

of navigating the murky waters

without using their eyes.

Correct.

Who's next?

A creepy critter who uses his ears to see.

Now, my lovely lady, something to really get your teeth into.

Hold on tight.

Is there a light switch anywhere? It's terribly dark.

Yeah, which is perfect for this colony of vampire bats.

-There are loads of them.

-Yep.

Each colony can contain thousands of them.

Usually they see in black and white, but when it gets too dark,

they switch on their echo location.

Just like the boto dolphin, they see with sound.

I see with sound.

That's right.

But the vampire bat has another trip up its furry little sleeve.

Unlike other bats, it has a heat-seeking nose.

A heat-seeking nose, eh?

Well, that's not to be sniffed at!

It has thermo receptors built into its nose,

which comes in very handy when it's hunting for its favourite food -

fresh, warm blood.

Yeah, all right, Barney. Calm down.

Sorry. But they do love to feed on fresh blood.

And thanks to their heat sensing and echo location,

vampire bats can find it in total darkness.

Which is bad news for this little piggy.

Once they've used their long legs and large thumbs

to creep up on the pig,

they use their heat sensors

to find where the blood is closest to the skin.

He's certainly making a pig of himself!

I've heard about giving blood, but that's pigging ridiculous.

OK, OK, that's enough now. No more pig jokes.

I'm getting "boar"ed.

In just 15 minutes, a vampire bat

can lap up 40% of its own weight in blood.

That's like you drinking 40 litres.

This is an easy connection.

The vampire bat and the boto dolphin

both use sound in order to see.

Got it in one.

Next, a swamp monster who could literally take your breath away.

Hey, Gem, he looks like a slippery customer...

This is the anaconda, the largest snake in the world.

They can grow up to nine metres from head to tail,

which is almost as long as a bus.

Wow, that is some snake.

Yep, this powerful predator and Herculean heavyweight

weighs about 250 kilograms.

250 kilograms? That's like four of me.

You'd need a serious set of scales to weigh that.

Set of scales... Get it?

And, it has even more scales than you'd think at first sight.

Are you saying I need glasses?

-No, I'm saying he need glasses.

-What?

The glasses are actually a special layer

of see-through scales over the eyes, which form transparent eyelets.

Oh, brill.

-How do you know that?

-What?

That the transparent scales that protect his eyes are called brill?

Oh, I mean, of course I knew that.

Despite these scaly spectacles, he still has pretty poor eyesight,

so he explores the world around him with something else - his mouth.

Curious kisses, eh?

Very curious. He flicks that forked tongue in and out to taste the air,

and has infra-red heat sensors built into his lips.

Snakes alive! Are you saying this bad-boy has some seriously hot lips?

Not literally, but it does use its lips

to find what might be on the menu each day.

Sometimes, wild pigs or turtles, but usually, some huge capybara.

Anacondas' eyes and nostrils are on the top of their heads, allowing them

to look out for prey, while remaining almost completely submerged.

They manage to get really close by swimming underwater.

-Like a heat-seeking missile?

-Hello. Lovely day.

-Yes, lush, isn't it? Look out!

-What? Oh!

Oh deer, poor deer.

Being part of the boa constrictor family, that anaconda wraps itself

around its prey and squeezes it to death.

The only boa I'd like around my neck is a feather one.

Thanks to some super stretchy ligaments in its jaw,

it can swallow its prey in one long gulp.

It might take a week to digest,

but this meal could keep it going for months.

So, because of its poor eyesight,

this stealth stalker detect its prey using heat-seeking technology?

Which links it neatly to the vampire bat.

Keep them coming, Barney.

Next, leaping into action, it's a frog.

It's an odd frog, sat in a tree,

wearing a bright yellow washing-up gloves.

And judging by the state of his red eyes,

he was at an all-night jungle party last night?

You're absolutely right.

Well, about the name anyway. This is the red-eyed tree frog.

They must have taken a long time to come up with that name...

How about the frog of the redness that climbs about in the trees-ness?

-No.

-How about green frog, red eyes, yellow poo, traffic-light frog?

-No!

Stephen?

Stephen.

Since he's nocturnal, you're right about him being up all night too.

Party animal, hey?

Is that why he looks so green - feeling a bit rough, mate?

No, this little froggy's vivid green skin

helps it blend in with the leaves where it hangs out.

Ah, camouflage you mean? I guess frog's legs are pretty popular

on the Amazonian forest menu?

They certainly are. The red-eyed tree frog

also avoids detection by using its super sticky feet.

They might look like rubber gloves but they allow the frogs

to stick to the underside of leaves, away from prying eyes.

Wow! Imagine what I could do with sticky feet.

You've already got stinky feet.

I said sticky feet.

-Sorry.

-I could walk on the ceiling, or climb up walls...

Anyway, let's hop along, shall we?

During the day,

when he's not using those super sticky feet and having a frog nap

he can keep an eye on things,

thanks to a special transparent protective eyelid.

Very cunning, little froggy.

Special eyelids, just like the anaconda, eh?

But why are the frog's eyes so red?

Well, Gem, those bright red eyes help to surprise predators

and give the little frog a bit more time to escape.

It's called startle colouration.

Well, I'm totally startled.

The red colour also allows them to see in the dark.

Very good. So both the red-eyed tree frog and the awesome anaconda

are masters of surprise, with totally cool transparent eyelids.

And from a from a froggy to a moggy.

Don't tell me, it's a cheetah?

No, they live in Africa. We're in Latin America, remember?

Oh yeah, of course.

All right, it's a leopard.

Nope, the leopard also lives in Africa, with the cheetah.

Sounds cosy. A jaguar?

Jaguars do live in the Amazon, but this isn't a jaguar.

No, this fine feline is an ocelot.

-A spot a lot?

-An ocelot.

So, why is an ocelot in our line up?

You'll have to wait until after dark

to find out about the eyes of the ocelot.

That spotty pattern works in the same way as your fingerprints.

They're totally unique to each animal.

I see, a bit like the collar and ID tag that my Mr Tiddles wears?

-Exactly. These cats are about twice the size of your Mr Tiddles.

-Fat cat.

This canny cat lives in areas of thick vegetation,

where it's easy to hide.

But he's also a very clever cat.

He's very clever, eh? He's got himself stuck up a tree

and there's no fire brigade here to help out. I don't think so.

He's not stuck. It's just looking for a place to hang out.

Sure likes the high life, doesn't he?

The ocelot spends most of the daytime just chilling out,

and it can do it unnoticed a lot of the time,

thanks to that dappled coat, which is great camouflage.

Oh, I see!

No, I don't. Where's he done?

Oh, there he is! He's having a cat nap.

He's most probably saving energy for his night-time prowls.

How environmentally friendly of him.

This cunning carnivore is on great terms with his environment,

all right. He's fast and agile,

has excellent hearing, an acute sense of smell, and great vision.

Isn't it a bit dark?

Not if you're an ocelot.

Their eyes have a special layer on the inside which collects light,

so they can see far better in the dark then we can.

In fact, they can walk around at night

and see just as clearly as we do during the day.

Wow! Oce lot of people know that!

It means they can stalk their way through the darkest of nights,

creeping up on anything from insects to small mammals,

like an unsuspecting paca.

Or maybe not.

So, the ocelot and the red-eyed tree frog

both have eyes that enable them to see in the dark.

But how does the ocelot

link back to the green iguana?

They both have excellent eyesight,

so the ocelot can find its prey,

while the green iguana

can avoid becoming prey.

We saw, we viewed, we revealed, we observed some amazing animals today.

How arty, beautifully done.

But how did we get from the green iguana to the ocelot?

Have a look at this.

Well, the green iguana had a third eye,

while the four-eyed fish had four.

So, both can see in two places at once.

And the four-eyed fish

connects with tarantulas,

because they both have multiple eyes.

While the hairy, scary tarantulas, and the blood-sucking mosquito

both rely on hairy sensors to locate their food.

Like the mischievous mozzie, the creepy candiru

is also a parasite that uses its super senses to breakfast on blood.

The candiru and the boto dolphin live in murky, muddy waters,

and are connected as they both have to rely on other senses to see.

Boto dolphins and blood-sucking vampire bats

both use echo location to find their way around.

Vampire bats have another super sense they share

with the bone crushing anaconda -

they both use heat-seeking technology to find their prey.

The awesome anaconda and the red-eyed tree frog

both have eyelids that are utterly brilliant, and totally transparent.

While the red-eyed tree frog and the seldom spotted ocelot

both have special eyes that allow them to see in the dark.

And the ocelot links all the way back to the green iguana,

because they both have excellent eyesight

that insures their survival.

-Quite an eye-opening show, I'm sure you'll agree.

-I do.

Oh, how do you fancy one last game of I Spy?

I'd love one. My go.

I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with...

-T... T... T...

-Not tree again?

-T...

-Tree frog?

-T... T...

-Teabag?

-T...

-Tights?

Tarantula!

Bye!

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