South America 2

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0:00:02 > 0:00:04My name's Steve Backshall.

0:00:04 > 0:00:05Whoo!

0:00:05 > 0:00:07And this is my search...

0:00:07 > 0:00:10For the Deadly 60.

0:00:10 > 0:00:12That's not just animals deadly to me,

0:00:12 > 0:00:15but animals deadly in their own world.

0:00:17 > 0:00:19My crew and I are travelling the planet.

0:00:19 > 0:00:22And you're coming with me! Every step of the way.

0:00:27 > 0:00:29'Deadly!'

0:00:31 > 0:00:33'Deadly is back in Venezuela

0:00:33 > 0:00:38'and its wild neighbour Brazil, on a South-American odyssey.'

0:00:38 > 0:00:41It's a land of big bugs, big snakes,

0:00:41 > 0:00:43big cats and big adventures.

0:00:43 > 0:00:48'We aim to catch a glimpse of the continent's biggest cat, the jaguar.

0:00:48 > 0:00:52'As well as meeting a particularly slippery character.

0:00:52 > 0:00:54'But first, I promised you big adventures

0:00:54 > 0:00:59'and here it is, with one of South America's biggest predators.'

0:01:04 > 0:01:08'My first contender weighs in at four times my bodyweight.

0:01:08 > 0:01:13'If you went on bulk alone, it would be a dead cert for the Deadly list.

0:01:13 > 0:01:16'It's the Orinoco crocodile.

0:01:16 > 0:01:19'They're endangered. We have a chance to see one

0:01:19 > 0:01:22'and help in the effort to save them.

0:01:22 > 0:01:25'I've teamed up with Jack Hoopias

0:01:25 > 0:01:28'who works for a Venezuelan crocodile conservation project.

0:01:28 > 0:01:32'Working together, we need to find a nesting female.

0:01:32 > 0:01:33'This means picking one out

0:01:33 > 0:01:37'amongst the highest concentration of crocs I've seen.'

0:01:37 > 0:01:41So these crocs off to our side here are spectacled caiman.

0:01:41 > 0:01:45Now, that one there is about as big as they get.

0:01:45 > 0:01:48They're not aggressive to people at all.

0:01:48 > 0:01:52As soon as we've come close, they're heading down into the water.

0:01:52 > 0:01:55But the Orinoco croc is just ahead of us.

0:01:55 > 0:01:58And she's a very different story.

0:02:00 > 0:02:03OK. Can you come in and...? Oy, oy, oy!

0:02:06 > 0:02:10You can see she has a totally different attitude

0:02:10 > 0:02:12to the spectacled caiman.

0:02:12 > 0:02:16While they have headed into the water, she's come out.

0:02:16 > 0:02:20That probably means she's being protective of something.

0:02:20 > 0:02:23This is an animal that digs a nest

0:02:23 > 0:02:26in sandy banks, just like this one here,

0:02:26 > 0:02:29and lays her eggs into it.

0:02:29 > 0:02:33And she will be very, very protective of those eggs.

0:02:33 > 0:02:37The fact she's coming out of the water means either she's maternal

0:02:37 > 0:02:41because she's thinking about laying, or she's already laid.

0:02:43 > 0:02:47This is a good sign. There's a reason she's being protective.

0:02:47 > 0:02:52We've sussed the situation and moved back to give her space.

0:02:52 > 0:02:56It seems likely she's dug a nest and laid her eggs inside of it.

0:02:56 > 0:02:59We'll go in and take some of those eggs

0:02:59 > 0:03:02so they can be raised in captivity, then released.

0:03:02 > 0:03:06So we'll get ourselves set up, get a much bigger stick

0:03:06 > 0:03:11and try and collect the eggs off this very protective mother.

0:03:11 > 0:03:13'Each nest has 20-70 eggs,

0:03:13 > 0:03:18'but there are many scavengers who'd love to eat an egg or hatchling,

0:03:18 > 0:03:22'that in the wild, perhaps just one might make it to adulthood.

0:03:22 > 0:03:24'By raising them in captivity,

0:03:24 > 0:03:27'their chances of survival are greatly increased.

0:03:27 > 0:03:32'Unfortunately, she doesn't know we're trying to help her.'

0:03:39 > 0:03:43It makes you jump, but that's exactly what it's designed to do.

0:03:43 > 0:03:47This big display of power and strength and force

0:03:47 > 0:03:53is trying to drive us away from the area. What do you think, Jack?

0:03:53 > 0:03:55Here.

0:03:56 > 0:04:01'Some estimates suggest there are only 250 animals left in the wild.

0:04:01 > 0:04:07'To ensure their survival, we need a firm hand and a steady nerve.'

0:04:11 > 0:04:14THEY SPEAK IN NATIVE TONGUE

0:04:14 > 0:04:18So...I know that looked pretty brutal,

0:04:18 > 0:04:22but we need now to keep her in the water

0:04:22 > 0:04:25to buy Jack time to be able to dig up these eggs.

0:04:27 > 0:04:29She's back, poised and ready.

0:04:29 > 0:04:34And you can see...what she's just done to the stick...

0:04:34 > 0:04:38with a couple of little snaps.

0:04:38 > 0:04:42OK, she's preparing herself again. Here she comes.

0:04:42 > 0:04:47The Orinoco crocodile is a really rather remarkable...

0:04:47 > 0:04:49species of croc.

0:04:49 > 0:04:52It has a snout that's kind of an intermediate shape

0:04:52 > 0:04:56between those of true crocodiles and the gharial.

0:04:56 > 0:04:57Very thin, quite narrow.

0:04:57 > 0:05:01That means it can be driven through the water very fast.

0:05:01 > 0:05:04This is really good for hunting in the water.

0:05:04 > 0:05:06Hunting fish, hunting waterbirds.

0:05:06 > 0:05:09But look back down the body

0:05:09 > 0:05:13and you still have that classic broad, muscular shape.

0:05:13 > 0:05:16The base of the tail is where they store a lot of fat.

0:05:16 > 0:05:19That's broad on this animal, which is good.

0:05:19 > 0:05:21It means she's in good shape.

0:05:21 > 0:05:24The eyes have really caught my attention.

0:05:24 > 0:05:27They're almost a kind of emerald green.

0:05:27 > 0:05:31I don't think I've seen a crocodile with such piercing green eyes.

0:05:34 > 0:05:38HE SPEAKS IN NATIVE TONGUE

0:05:42 > 0:05:47There's something threatening about the way a croc sinks into the water.

0:05:47 > 0:05:52And all of a sudden, a croc that's three, three-and-a-half metres long

0:05:52 > 0:05:55and could weigh a quarter of a tonne,

0:05:55 > 0:05:57just disappears completely.

0:05:57 > 0:06:00We've got them.

0:06:00 > 0:06:02- We've got the eggs, man. - You've got them?

0:06:02 > 0:06:05Yeah. I'm right behind you.

0:06:05 > 0:06:08OK. I'm keeping my eyes on her.

0:06:09 > 0:06:14'At three metres long, she's as big as any female crocodilian will get.

0:06:14 > 0:06:17'Males get substantially bigger.

0:06:17 > 0:06:21'Eggs and hatchlings are vulnerable in the wild.

0:06:21 > 0:06:23'We can ensure this brood are safe from predators

0:06:23 > 0:06:27'until they're old enough to take care of themselves,

0:06:27 > 0:06:29'when they'll be released.

0:06:29 > 0:06:31'It's simple, but very effective.'

0:06:31 > 0:06:34Crocodiles have a reputation

0:06:34 > 0:06:37for being cold, hard dinosaurs.

0:06:37 > 0:06:40Mindless killing machines.

0:06:40 > 0:06:43You can see that's far from the truth.

0:06:43 > 0:06:46They are incredibly protective mothers.

0:06:46 > 0:06:49She has this instinct to look after her offspring,

0:06:49 > 0:06:54and she's willing to put herself in danger to do that.

0:06:54 > 0:06:57'Each precious egg is carefully removed

0:06:57 > 0:07:01'and placed in exactly the same position in the box,

0:07:01 > 0:07:05'so as not to disturb the growing baby croc inside.'

0:07:09 > 0:07:11- OK, Jack, are we good to go? - We're good.

0:07:14 > 0:07:18'A good day's work and a step in the right direction

0:07:18 > 0:07:21'for this endangered marvellous mother.'

0:07:23 > 0:07:25The Orinoco crocodile

0:07:25 > 0:07:28finally starting to make a comeback here in Venezuela.

0:07:28 > 0:07:33Protective mother and superlative hunter.

0:07:33 > 0:07:35And definitely going on my list.

0:07:39 > 0:07:42'Its protective maternal instincts

0:07:42 > 0:07:44'make them a force to be reckoned with.

0:07:44 > 0:07:47'With 68 pointed teeth and forceful jaw muscles

0:07:47 > 0:07:51'that can snap rapidly shut on fish or much larger prey.

0:07:54 > 0:07:57- 'Orinoco croc...'- 'Deadly!'

0:07:57 > 0:08:02'I've travelled across the river systems of south America

0:08:02 > 0:08:05'looking for subjects for my lethal list.

0:08:05 > 0:08:08'This environment is like a theatre of ferocity,

0:08:08 > 0:08:11'with a whole cast of heroes and villains.

0:08:11 > 0:08:15'A snappy caiman, a figure-hugging anaconda,

0:08:15 > 0:08:17'a shocking electric eel

0:08:17 > 0:08:22'and Deadly favourite, the piranha.' Argh!

0:08:24 > 0:08:26Today, we're going for something different.

0:08:26 > 0:08:31It's called the wolffish, and lives up to its wolf-like name.

0:08:31 > 0:08:36Now, because they're only active, really hunting for a few hours,

0:08:36 > 0:08:39we need a lot of things at our disposal.

0:08:39 > 0:08:42A few local people are going to be fishing here.

0:08:42 > 0:08:45In the distance, you can see a small house.

0:08:45 > 0:08:50The people that live there say this is a good spot to catch a wolffish.

0:08:50 > 0:08:52We've also got a tank here.

0:08:52 > 0:08:56If we get one, we can put it in there and show it to you.

0:08:56 > 0:08:59And we reckon there are probably two or three hours

0:08:59 > 0:09:04that this animal is active and we stand a chance of catching one.

0:09:04 > 0:09:08This wolf of the waterways feeds mainly on other fish,

0:09:08 > 0:09:11but will have a go at anything in the water.

0:09:11 > 0:09:15It's a ferocious hunter, and we soon had our first bite.

0:09:17 > 0:09:20Success, Andrew?

0:09:20 > 0:09:22- It's a small one.- Can I have a look?

0:09:22 > 0:09:24Look at the mouth there.

0:09:25 > 0:09:29It is a wolfish, but small.

0:09:30 > 0:09:33Well, yes, it's certainly small, but

0:09:33 > 0:09:38you can see the beginnings of its deadly credentials.

0:09:38 > 0:09:42So it's got some wicked-looking teeth.

0:09:42 > 0:09:44Look at those!

0:09:44 > 0:09:46They're like little needles.

0:09:46 > 0:09:49That is a fierce trap.

0:09:49 > 0:09:52You can properly also see that the eyes

0:09:52 > 0:09:56are really reflecting the light of the camera.

0:09:56 > 0:09:58Kind of glowing like rubies.

0:09:58 > 0:10:02It's caused by a reflective layer of cells at the back of the eye

0:10:02 > 0:10:07which reflects light back through the retina, increasing night vision.

0:10:07 > 0:10:11This animal is fantastic at hunting at this time of day,

0:10:11 > 0:10:13dusk and into early night-time.

0:10:13 > 0:10:18Adult wolffish can be over a metre long and weigh half as much as I do.

0:10:18 > 0:10:22That's something you wouldn't want to go swimming with.

0:10:22 > 0:10:24Let's see if we can catch one.

0:10:24 > 0:10:26Shall we put him in the tank?

0:10:29 > 0:10:34'With the night young and having caught our first fish so quickly,

0:10:34 > 0:10:39'I was excited by the prospect of catching our metre-long monster.'

0:10:43 > 0:10:46I have caught something. I'm not sure what it is.

0:10:46 > 0:10:50Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!

0:10:50 > 0:10:52I saw it come right up to the surface

0:10:52 > 0:10:55and it got away at the very last second!

0:10:59 > 0:11:02'But our early optimism turned to frustration

0:11:02 > 0:11:06'as the big fish failed to show itself.'

0:11:06 > 0:11:10- Have you got something? - Yeah, yeah!- OK.

0:11:10 > 0:11:12OK, OK, OK.

0:11:16 > 0:11:18No! We lost it again!

0:11:18 > 0:11:21Just at the last second!

0:11:23 > 0:11:25Argh!

0:11:25 > 0:11:28It was there!

0:11:28 > 0:11:32'Time and time again, the wolffish gave us the slip.'

0:11:32 > 0:11:37I've had two very, very close calls and lost them at the last minute,

0:11:37 > 0:11:39so I'm not taking any chances.

0:11:39 > 0:11:44I've handed the line to Gardeia, who is an expert fisherman.

0:11:44 > 0:11:46It's gone again!

0:11:49 > 0:11:52'Even the locals were having trouble.

0:11:53 > 0:11:56'It was time to call it quits.

0:12:00 > 0:12:04'Word spread to the neighbours that we were on the hunt for a wolffish

0:12:04 > 0:12:07'and they, too, had been busy fishing.'

0:12:07 > 0:12:10Being as we had no luck,

0:12:10 > 0:12:14a little bit of a way down the road, some other guys have been fishing

0:12:14 > 0:12:19and I think they've got something. Let's go and have a little look.

0:12:21 > 0:12:24- Aqui?- Yes.

0:12:24 > 0:12:25OK.

0:12:25 > 0:12:29It may not be the monster wolffish we were hoping for,

0:12:29 > 0:12:32but it's still pretty impressive.

0:12:32 > 0:12:37It's a cylindrically-shaped fish with a great deal of muscle bulk,

0:12:37 > 0:12:39which makes it very, very quick.

0:12:39 > 0:12:43With one drive of the tail, it can propel itself forward

0:12:43 > 0:12:46with terrific acceleration towards smaller fish.

0:12:46 > 0:12:50And they are going to end up on the business end of the animal,

0:12:50 > 0:12:52and that's those teeth.

0:12:52 > 0:12:55We do actually overuse the term needle-sharp,

0:12:55 > 0:12:58but in this case, it could not be more apt.

0:12:58 > 0:13:02This fish has a face full of needle-sharp teeth.

0:13:04 > 0:13:08Wolffish are one of the most aggressive fish found in this area.

0:13:08 > 0:13:12They will take on anything they can fit into their mouths.

0:13:12 > 0:13:16They have actually been said to leap into the canoes of fishermen

0:13:16 > 0:13:20and people here can be frightened of these fish.

0:13:20 > 0:13:23I'm not surprised. Imagine that super-sized.

0:13:23 > 0:13:25It's a pretty freaky thought.

0:13:25 > 0:13:29It really is a superb creature, even at this size.

0:13:29 > 0:13:33This fish can grow to be well over a metre long

0:13:33 > 0:13:35and weigh half as much as I do.

0:13:35 > 0:13:40Imagine a fish like that stalking the depths of the Amazon River.

0:13:40 > 0:13:43That is pretty fearsome, and that's the reason

0:13:43 > 0:13:45the wolffish is going on the Deadly 60.

0:13:48 > 0:13:51'The wolf of the Latin American waterways.

0:13:51 > 0:13:54'With teeth that resemble little needles,

0:13:54 > 0:13:58'it ambushes unsuspecting prey.

0:13:58 > 0:13:59'The wolfish.

0:13:59 > 0:14:02'Fighty, feisty,

0:14:02 > 0:14:04'ugly and...'

0:14:04 > 0:14:06'Deadly'.

0:14:08 > 0:14:12On Deadly 60, we like a challenge. There is no greater challenge

0:14:12 > 0:14:16than going looking for big cats in the jungle.

0:14:16 > 0:14:18In the New World, which is where we are now,

0:14:18 > 0:14:22the largest of all the big cats is the jaguar.

0:14:22 > 0:14:25The jaguar is a creature of the deep forest.

0:14:25 > 0:14:28It loves to stay hidden, particularly from its prey.

0:14:28 > 0:14:30It won't pounce until it's any more

0:14:30 > 0:14:34than five metres away from the animals it's hunting.

0:14:34 > 0:14:36So it's expert at not being seen.

0:14:36 > 0:14:39It also has enormous ranges.

0:14:39 > 0:14:44Hundreds of square miles of forest that it'll range in search of food.

0:14:44 > 0:14:46It's the hardest animal to find and film.

0:14:46 > 0:14:49I've spent several months here looking for jaguars

0:14:49 > 0:14:52and never seen them in the wild.

0:14:52 > 0:14:55Let's hope our luck's going to change.

0:14:55 > 0:14:58We have camera traps to lay out in places jaguars might go.

0:14:58 > 0:15:01We're looking for people who might have seen a jaguar

0:15:01 > 0:15:05and we'll cover the miles. That must improve our chances.

0:15:05 > 0:15:10This is one of the biggest gambles we've ever taken on Deadly 60.

0:15:20 > 0:15:23'We're following up reports of jaguar

0:15:23 > 0:15:26'being spotted in this patch of forest.

0:15:27 > 0:15:31'And they've certainly been here, leaving tell-tale traces behind.'

0:15:32 > 0:15:34OK, this is interesting.

0:15:36 > 0:15:43This tree is kind of like a scratching post for the jaguar.

0:15:43 > 0:15:48You can see where the claws have cut into the bark here,

0:15:48 > 0:15:52where it's scraped down with a massive paw.

0:15:52 > 0:15:57There's even little chunks of bark here on the ground.

0:15:57 > 0:16:00This is at a crossroads of several small paths.

0:16:00 > 0:16:04So what's going on here is the jaguar is using this

0:16:04 > 0:16:06as a way of marking its territory.

0:16:06 > 0:16:10What it will probably also do is squirt some urine up here,

0:16:10 > 0:16:13wipe the side of its face across this tree.

0:16:13 > 0:16:16And any other jaguars that come through here

0:16:16 > 0:16:19are going to realise that this is the border

0:16:19 > 0:16:21of another jaguar's territory.

0:16:21 > 0:16:25So this is actually a superb place to put up a camera trap

0:16:25 > 0:16:28because it is possible that another jaguar will come through here.

0:16:28 > 0:16:31Could be within weeks, could be within months.

0:16:31 > 0:16:33If we're lucky, it could be in the next couple of days

0:16:33 > 0:16:36and then we'll get it on our camera trap.

0:16:36 > 0:16:38Right.

0:16:39 > 0:16:44'Camera traps give us our best chance of filming this elusive cat.

0:16:44 > 0:16:46'We'll leave them out all day and all night

0:16:46 > 0:16:50'and anything that walks past will be caught on camera.

0:16:50 > 0:16:54'Now all we can do is leave the camera to watch the forests for us.

0:16:56 > 0:16:59'Our next lead was at a nearby village

0:16:59 > 0:17:02'where one of the farmers had survived an attack by a jaguar

0:17:02 > 0:17:05'and apparently sees them every few months.'

0:17:05 > 0:17:07- Bonjour.- Bonjour.

0:17:07 > 0:17:11Mr Ivo here has had a very close encounter

0:17:11 > 0:17:14with a jaguar here on his farm.

0:17:14 > 0:17:17He actually protected his chickens from a jaguar attack

0:17:17 > 0:17:20and actually got bitten in the process.

0:17:20 > 0:17:23So, Mr Ivo was bitten here on the head.

0:17:23 > 0:17:27You can see that pretty much took his scalp off.

0:17:27 > 0:17:29There's a big scar here, more here.

0:17:29 > 0:17:31He said he had nearly 50 stitches after the attack.

0:17:33 > 0:17:37The jaguar delivers its killing bite right through the skull.

0:17:37 > 0:17:40It's an animal that has a formidable bite force

0:17:40 > 0:17:42and is perfectly capable of puncturing

0:17:42 > 0:17:45right through the boniest part of the skull.

0:17:45 > 0:17:49So to receive a bite to his head like this and get away scot-free,

0:17:49 > 0:17:52actually, he's very, very lucky.

0:17:52 > 0:17:56'In the hope jaguar may be prowling the area hunting livestock,

0:17:56 > 0:17:58'we look for a spot to place our camera trap.'

0:18:02 > 0:18:09There are two very small game trails running through the trees here.

0:18:09 > 0:18:12And they intersect on this path.

0:18:12 > 0:18:15So if I set up the camera just there,

0:18:15 > 0:18:18I've got a nice broad spread over this area of forest.

0:18:18 > 0:18:22Anything that passes through here, we're going to find on this camera.

0:18:34 > 0:18:38'But we weren't going to rely solely on technology.

0:18:38 > 0:18:40'The team and I were going to patrol the jungle

0:18:40 > 0:18:43'to see what we could find.'

0:18:43 > 0:18:46Jaguars are mostly nocturnal animals.

0:18:46 > 0:18:49The majority of their activity, particularly hunting,

0:18:49 > 0:18:51is around about dusk and just after.

0:19:00 > 0:19:01'Whatever we spot,

0:19:01 > 0:19:05'going out in a rainforest at night rarely disappoints.'

0:19:09 > 0:19:12So much wildlife actually wakes up when it gets dark,

0:19:12 > 0:19:15there's always likely to be a few surprises in store.

0:19:16 > 0:19:21'Then my head torch caught the glisten of a twisted silken wonder.'

0:19:23 > 0:19:26This is really rather beautiful.

0:19:26 > 0:19:30It's the web of communal spiders.

0:19:30 > 0:19:33Normally, spiders will build their web on their own

0:19:33 > 0:19:35and hunt in pure solitude,

0:19:35 > 0:19:38but these have learned to work together as a team.

0:19:38 > 0:19:41Now, they are highly what's known as photophobic,

0:19:41 > 0:19:43that is almost afraid of the sun.

0:19:43 > 0:19:46So during the daytime, they'll find little alcoves

0:19:46 > 0:19:49in amongst the silk where they'll hide out,

0:19:49 > 0:19:51but at night, as you can see, they're scattered

0:19:51 > 0:19:54all through this beautiful mesh of silk.

0:19:54 > 0:19:58Because it's three-dimensional, it traps flying insects

0:19:58 > 0:20:00from all sorts of different angles.

0:20:00 > 0:20:04You can see that there's a shield bug that's got nabbed down there.

0:20:04 > 0:20:06And once it's in there and stuck,

0:20:06 > 0:20:09well, there's probably five or six different spiders

0:20:09 > 0:20:13all scurrying in together to finish it off. It is wonderful.

0:20:13 > 0:20:16Littered throughout the whole web, there are tiny remnants

0:20:16 > 0:20:20of the insects that have been caught, killed and eaten in here.

0:20:20 > 0:20:23It's absolutely beautiful.

0:20:23 > 0:20:27'We continued looking well into the night, but with little success.

0:20:27 > 0:20:31'Our only hope now was with our camera traps.

0:20:35 > 0:20:40'Up early, we headed back into a now very wet jungle.'

0:20:42 > 0:20:45The camera traps have been in place for a couple of days,

0:20:45 > 0:20:47and more importantly, a couple of nights now.

0:20:47 > 0:20:52So, we're heading back to see if they've recorded anything.

0:20:52 > 0:20:55Unfortunately, it's a little bit on the damp side.

0:20:55 > 0:20:57But I guess you kind of expect that.

0:20:57 > 0:21:00After all, we are in the rainforest.

0:21:06 > 0:21:09Here is our tree.

0:21:11 > 0:21:15I can't see any more fresh scratch marks here.

0:21:27 > 0:21:32OK. Well, we have some images on here, which is a good thing.

0:21:32 > 0:21:35Let's get them into the computer so we can see what we've got.

0:21:38 > 0:21:41This is all of us setting the thing up.

0:21:41 > 0:21:46Right, OK, now we have an image shot at night-time.

0:21:46 > 0:21:47And...

0:21:47 > 0:21:49It's an opossum.

0:21:49 > 0:21:51Fantastic. A common opossum.

0:21:52 > 0:21:55Just wandering around the tree.

0:21:55 > 0:21:57Very, very odd-looking animal.

0:21:57 > 0:22:01And you can see as well the really direct eye shine in its eyes

0:22:01 > 0:22:03picked up from the infrared light.

0:22:03 > 0:22:06OK. Another night-time image.

0:22:06 > 0:22:09And the opossum again, wandering...

0:22:09 > 0:22:11this time, right through the central shot.

0:22:11 > 0:22:14That's lovely. Really, really nice image.

0:22:15 > 0:22:18OK. One more night-time image.

0:22:18 > 0:22:21And it's our opossum again!

0:22:22 > 0:22:25'The opossum certainly wasn't camera shy.

0:22:25 > 0:22:29'But it wasn't the animal we wanted.

0:22:30 > 0:22:34'The village camera trap was our last chance.

0:22:34 > 0:22:37'But before we wandered into the forest,

0:22:37 > 0:22:40'Mr Ivo had found a jungle jewel on his farm.'

0:22:41 > 0:22:43Ah, red rump.

0:22:46 > 0:22:48That's a nice one.

0:22:48 > 0:22:52This is a Brazilian red rump tarantula.

0:22:52 > 0:22:57Not as easy to get in the hand as they usually are. There we go.

0:23:01 > 0:23:06Mr Ivo found this close to his house,

0:23:06 > 0:23:09and kept it for us, which is really good of him.

0:23:09 > 0:23:14Look at all those wonderful hairs covering the legs.

0:23:14 > 0:23:17It just looks impossibly furry.

0:23:17 > 0:23:19And those actually serve

0:23:19 > 0:23:23as a means of picking up vibrations.

0:23:23 > 0:23:25They're very, very sensitive.

0:23:27 > 0:23:30They are, though, of course, superlative predators.

0:23:30 > 0:23:32Mostly hunting at night.

0:23:32 > 0:23:36And a spider of this size could feed on very small mammals,

0:23:36 > 0:23:40but more likely, on things like crickets and cockroaches.

0:23:40 > 0:23:45And it kills them by using those fangs.

0:23:45 > 0:23:47Can you see those there?

0:23:48 > 0:23:50OK.

0:23:51 > 0:23:55I think we'll set him free a bit closer to the forest,

0:23:55 > 0:23:57away from all the pigs and the dogs.

0:23:59 > 0:24:02Wonderful. Can someone grab my snake stick?

0:24:07 > 0:24:12'This was our last chance to get a glance of a jaguar.'

0:24:12 > 0:24:14Now, if my sense of direction is right,

0:24:14 > 0:24:19our second camera trap is up here somewhere on our right-hand side.

0:24:22 > 0:24:24Yep. There it is.

0:24:24 > 0:24:27Good job they're waterproof.

0:24:31 > 0:24:34Let's see what we've got.

0:24:36 > 0:24:40OK, so we've got absolutely nothing on this card whatsoever.

0:24:40 > 0:24:44'Even the technology couldn't come up trumps this time.

0:24:44 > 0:24:46'No jaguar, no nothing.'

0:24:48 > 0:24:51Luckily, however, I do have a way that we can get close to a jaguar.

0:24:51 > 0:24:54'Time for our backup plan.

0:24:58 > 0:25:02'This captive jaguar was rescued by the Brazilian military as a cub

0:25:02 > 0:25:05'and cannot now be returned to the wild,

0:25:05 > 0:25:07'so is kept in this sanctuary.

0:25:07 > 0:25:09'It's not the wild one we wanted,

0:25:09 > 0:25:14'but a rare chance to see a jaguar close enough to smell its breath.'

0:25:15 > 0:25:17You can see how the jaguar's

0:25:17 > 0:25:21actually moving around its world, being drawn by scent.

0:25:21 > 0:25:24So the nose is pressing down to the ground,

0:25:24 > 0:25:26pressing to the plants around it.

0:25:26 > 0:25:29It's processing its world based on smell.

0:25:33 > 0:25:35It's quite interesting to see

0:25:35 > 0:25:39how wary these guys are with the jaguar.

0:25:39 > 0:25:42They come in here with him every single day

0:25:42 > 0:25:44and they're big guys,

0:25:44 > 0:25:46but they have an enormous amount of respect

0:25:46 > 0:25:49for the power of this animal and I'm not surprised.

0:25:49 > 0:25:52Looking at the bulk of the head,

0:25:52 > 0:25:56it's so broad, so muscular.

0:25:56 > 0:25:58Containing the vast muscles that drive a jaw

0:25:58 > 0:26:01which can power clean through the bone of a skull

0:26:01 > 0:26:04of a peccary or a tapir.

0:26:04 > 0:26:09As jungle cats, jaguars are up there with tigers...

0:26:10 > 0:26:13..as the big cats that are most comfortable in water.

0:26:13 > 0:26:17You can see almost the first thing this animal has done

0:26:17 > 0:26:18upon coming out into the open

0:26:18 > 0:26:21is to head into the water to cool down.

0:26:22 > 0:26:27They're great swimmers and quite often go into the water to hunt.

0:26:27 > 0:26:31So they'll hunt crocodiles, caimans,

0:26:31 > 0:26:36anacondas, all sorts of other large predators that inhabit the water.

0:26:36 > 0:26:38Definitely very, very comfortable down there

0:26:38 > 0:26:43where you think of cats as being completely out of their depth.

0:26:55 > 0:26:58The jaguar is the largest cat found in the Americas.

0:26:58 > 0:27:02An animal that can kill from no more than a few meters away

0:27:02 > 0:27:05and with a single bite to the back of the head.

0:27:05 > 0:27:07It is one of the most powerful animals in the world.

0:27:07 > 0:27:11And for that reason, definitely going on my list.

0:27:13 > 0:27:16'This stunning night stalker silently steals up on prey.

0:27:16 > 0:27:21'With a stocky, sturdy body, it overpowers animals as large as tapir

0:27:21 > 0:27:24'and delivers a killer blow clear through a skull.

0:27:25 > 0:27:29'The ever-elusive jaguar remains undoubtedly...'

0:27:29 > 0:27:31'Deadly!'

0:27:31 > 0:27:33This is so exciting!

0:27:33 > 0:27:36'Join me next time as I continue my search for the Deadly 60.'

0:27:36 > 0:27:38Argh!

0:27:38 > 0:27:42Really mistimed that quite badly!

0:27:45 > 0:27:47Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd