Pink River Dolphin

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0:00:03 > 0:00:08On Deadly 60, I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.

0:00:08 > 0:00:11Here's just one of my many favourites.

0:00:12 > 0:00:15This is Deadly 60...

0:00:15 > 0:00:16Bites!

0:00:16 > 0:00:20Today, we're in the flooded forests of the Brazilian Amazon.

0:00:20 > 0:00:23I've found a place where I can get closer than I've ever been before

0:00:23 > 0:00:25to one of the weirdest creatures on the planet.

0:00:25 > 0:00:29They look like a prehistoric river dinosaur,

0:00:29 > 0:00:33but they're actually a dolphin and they're bright, luminous pink.

0:00:33 > 0:00:35Oh, look at that! Look!

0:00:37 > 0:00:39I don't believe it. Look-look, look-look!

0:00:39 > 0:00:41They're so close.

0:00:41 > 0:00:45This is actually one of the hardest animals in the world to film

0:00:45 > 0:00:47in a completely natural setting.

0:00:47 > 0:00:49I've spent months on the Amazon

0:00:49 > 0:00:52and you see pink river dolphins popping up every now and again

0:00:52 > 0:00:55and it's no more than a fin and then it's gone.

0:00:55 > 0:00:57Already... We've been here for two minutes

0:00:57 > 0:01:00and I've had better sightings of pink river dolphins

0:01:00 > 0:01:03than I have in all the months on the Amazon put together.

0:01:03 > 0:01:05This is going to be very, very special indeed.

0:01:17 > 0:01:19Oh, wow!

0:01:19 > 0:01:20That was quick.

0:01:23 > 0:01:25Look at that!

0:01:29 > 0:01:34Well, I think it's probably worth just slipping straight in.

0:01:34 > 0:01:38'Just at the edge, it's shallow enough that I can stand up.'

0:01:38 > 0:01:40Hello!

0:01:41 > 0:01:44The water's like sort of, warm cola, here.

0:01:45 > 0:01:51I should say straight off that these are totally wild dolphins. Whoa!

0:01:54 > 0:01:57Ha-ha! Totally wild.

0:01:57 > 0:02:01But the reason they're here is actually...

0:02:01 > 0:02:05exactly the same reason why they're deadly.

0:02:05 > 0:02:08These animals have huge brains, they're really intelligent.

0:02:08 > 0:02:11And if there's a free meal on offer,

0:02:11 > 0:02:15why waste time and energy on going out and hunting?

0:02:15 > 0:02:19But as soon as I've finished feeding them they're going to be off

0:02:19 > 0:02:21catching fish for themselves.

0:02:21 > 0:02:23They're not biting me, despite the fact

0:02:23 > 0:02:26that there's loads of them down here, there are loads.

0:02:26 > 0:02:28And they're quarrelling over the fish,

0:02:28 > 0:02:34but I haven't yet had any of those teeth... Oh, crikey!

0:02:34 > 0:02:35You tell him.

0:02:35 > 0:02:37Little fight there over the fish.

0:02:37 > 0:02:40I haven't yet been nibbled. Touch wood.

0:02:41 > 0:02:44Whoa!

0:02:46 > 0:02:48OK, so we've seen that they eat fish,

0:02:48 > 0:02:50but why am I considering putting

0:02:50 > 0:02:53a bright pink dolphin on the Deadly 60?

0:02:53 > 0:02:55Well, look at this.

0:02:57 > 0:02:58When pink river dolphins hunt,

0:02:58 > 0:03:02they take on a whole different personality.

0:03:02 > 0:03:05Their first deadly ability is sonar,

0:03:05 > 0:03:08just like a hunter-killer submarine.

0:03:08 > 0:03:11By emitting clicks, they can form a picture underwater

0:03:11 > 0:03:15and find fish trying to hide from them in the murky depths.

0:03:17 > 0:03:20One on one, they have the power and speed to kill a single fish,

0:03:20 > 0:03:24but when they club together, they can herd large schools of fish

0:03:24 > 0:03:27using a riverbank to corner them.

0:03:27 > 0:03:29If you're a fish being hunted by these guys,

0:03:29 > 0:03:32there is nowhere to hide.

0:03:33 > 0:03:35It's one thing feeding them from the boat,

0:03:35 > 0:03:38but to really appreciate their power

0:03:38 > 0:03:40I wanted to swim with them in the open river.

0:03:42 > 0:03:44Delighted, James?

0:03:48 > 0:03:51Ha! Ha-ha!

0:03:51 > 0:03:55Amazing! He just decided he wanted Richard's boom pole, the sound man.

0:03:55 > 0:03:57Look at it, he's going for it again.

0:03:57 > 0:04:01I think he's decided that Richard's boom pole's food.

0:04:01 > 0:04:03Drop it down a bit again. Again, Rich?

0:04:03 > 0:04:06- I don't want to lose my boom! - You won't lose it.

0:04:07 > 0:04:09Hello.

0:04:11 > 0:04:13Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha!

0:04:14 > 0:04:19They're acrobatic, they're brainy and they're beautiful.

0:04:19 > 0:04:23River dolphins are on the Deadly 60.

0:04:24 > 0:04:26Yes, you are.

0:04:28 > 0:04:30In many ways these pink predators

0:04:30 > 0:04:32are the ultimate hunters

0:04:32 > 0:04:33of the flooded forest.

0:04:33 > 0:04:35Big-brained, team-trained,

0:04:35 > 0:04:37sonar-hunting machines.

0:04:37 > 0:04:38And that's precisely why

0:04:38 > 0:04:41they're going on the Deadly 60.

0:04:54 > 0:04:57Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:04:57 > 0:05:00E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk