0:00:03 > 0:00:08On Deadly 60, I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Here's just one of my many favourites.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16This is Deadly 60 - Bites.
0:00:16 > 0:00:21Brazil's grassland savannas are unimaginably vast,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24about the size of a small country.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27If we were to stick to walking or using the trucks
0:00:27 > 0:00:30we wouldn't even scratch the surface!
0:00:30 > 0:00:32Luckily, though, we don't have to.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35We can get a bird's-eye view!
0:00:40 > 0:00:44What I'm looking out for is just one wild animal
0:00:44 > 0:00:46that we're desperate to find here,
0:00:46 > 0:00:50that I stand a chance to see from the air - it's big enough.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53I'm keeping my eyes peeled.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55'It's so big, it's known as a giant.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58'It wasn't too long before we spotted one.'
0:00:58 > 0:01:02Look at that! We need to fly as slow and low as we can, Dudu.
0:01:02 > 0:01:07'The giant in question is a giant anteater.'
0:01:07 > 0:01:09Oh, my goodness!
0:01:10 > 0:01:13'This is an animal only found in South America
0:01:13 > 0:01:15'and one I've been dying to see
0:01:15 > 0:01:18'because they're incredible and unusual predators.'
0:01:18 > 0:01:21I can't believe how close we are!
0:01:21 > 0:01:24Look at that! This is ridiculous!
0:01:24 > 0:01:26He is right next to us!
0:01:29 > 0:01:33I think we should leave him alone cos we're maybe stressing him out.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Our best way of getting close to a giant anteater is on foot.
0:01:37 > 0:01:38OK, Dudu.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47'So now we know the area they're living in,
0:01:47 > 0:01:49'we're going to track them on foot,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52'and on the way I'll show you their favourite food
0:01:52 > 0:01:54'and exactly what makes them so deadly.'
0:01:56 > 0:01:59These bright orange boulders
0:01:59 > 0:02:03that you can see littered around all over these fields
0:02:03 > 0:02:05are not actually made of real rock.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10In fact, they're created by insects. These are termite mounds.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16Inside here are hundreds of thousands of tiny insects.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21They make them themselves out of chewed up soil or sand
0:02:21 > 0:02:24and termite spit.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27'It doesn't sound much like a good building material,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30'but these guys construct a mound as hard as concrete.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33'And this is the problem for an anteater.'
0:02:34 > 0:02:37I'll try and show you quite how hard these can be.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39If I take this bush knife...
0:02:41 > 0:02:45..you can see it's a bit dusty and it's coming away in chunks...
0:02:48 > 0:02:50..but not easily at all.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56Also, as you see, although I've taken off a fair bit already,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58I still haven't come to any insects.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03'Don't worry. The termites can rebuild this damage in minutes.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07'But how does the anteater get at the termites deep in the mound?
0:03:07 > 0:03:11'And how do they avoid the fearsome soldiers?
0:03:16 > 0:03:21'The soldiers will sink their massive jaws into any intruders.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24'But the anteater is well prepared.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30'Firstly, they can sniff out insects
0:03:30 > 0:03:34'with a sense of smell that's 40 times more powerful than ours!
0:03:34 > 0:03:36'When they find them, they rip into a mound
0:03:36 > 0:03:40'with some of the longest claws on any living mammal.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42'They only need to break a small hole
0:03:42 > 0:03:46'because they have the most ridiculously long sticky tongue,
0:03:46 > 0:03:50'perfect for hoovering up 30,000 small insects a day!
0:03:53 > 0:03:57'By feeding at each mound for a short period of time,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01'they're long gone before the soldier termites start biting.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03'And don't be fooled by their insect diet.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05'They can stand as tall as a man
0:04:05 > 0:04:10'and have been known to kill jaguar and even people in a death hug.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18'Anteaters have poor eyesight,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21'but they will hear and smell us if we're not careful.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26'Luckily, the wind's blowing towards us as we approach it.'
0:04:30 > 0:04:33The ground round here is recently burnt
0:04:33 > 0:04:36which means that it's all quite crunchy.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39A bit like walking on Rice Krispies!
0:04:39 > 0:04:44Not the ideal ground when you're trying to creep up on an animal.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48We're right by a road as well
0:04:48 > 0:04:51so even though there's not been much coming past here,
0:04:51 > 0:04:53it's still a little bit noisy.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57'We've lost sight of the anteater.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00'So Dudu and Charlie are going to try and head him off.'
0:05:00 > 0:05:03I think Dudu's just seen it.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06We're coming round to stop it going any further.
0:05:06 > 0:05:11Hopefully we can get Steve and the rest of the team quite close.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15He's feeding.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18- Feeding?- Yeah, right there.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20'Guys, can you hear me, over?
0:05:20 > 0:05:23'Dudu and I are level with the anteater now.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26'We are level with the anteater. Over.'
0:05:26 > 0:05:30I can't see it at the moment, Charlie. Is it still in the trees?
0:05:30 > 0:05:35'It is in some trees, in a thicket of three or four. Over.'
0:05:35 > 0:05:37There he is.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41This has got to be one of the most remarkable,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44one of the most bizarre creatures in the world.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47This is absolutely perfect for us
0:05:47 > 0:05:51because the wind is coming from him towards us.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55He's got his snout right down an ant hole.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Looks like he's feeding.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08Looks like he's feeling around the branches of a tree.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11I just can't believe how close we're getting.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17'Despite all our care, it was only a matter of time
0:06:17 > 0:06:19'before the anteater caught a whiff of us.'
0:06:20 > 0:06:23There you go. He's got me.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Once he starts running, it's all over.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Amazing!
0:06:29 > 0:06:32I can't believe how close I've got
0:06:32 > 0:06:35to one of the most bizarre animals in South America, if not the world.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41A huge, hairy hoover of ants and termites
0:06:41 > 0:06:43with a sticky tongue
0:06:43 > 0:06:46and claws that rip through termite mounds
0:06:46 > 0:06:48like they were made of butter.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd