Guyana Giants Deadly Pole to Pole

My name's Steve Backshall.

And this is Deadly Pole To Pole.

Oh!

From the top of the world to the bottom...

Whoa!

..deadly places,

deadly adventures

and deadly animals.

And you're coming with me every step of the way!

Argh!

My quest from the top of the planet to the bottom

has finally reached South America.

This vast continent is home to the world's largest river...

..the longest mountain range...

..and the largest rainforest.

I'm starting this leg of my epic adventure in Guyana.

Guyana's about the size of Great Britain

but with a population less than the city of Leeds.

There is no excitement that quite beats flying over Guyana,

knowing that below you there are hundreds of miles

of rainforest where no human being has ever been.

Knowing that there are thousands, possibly tens of thousands,

of species of animals that are completely unknown to science.

But it's exciting for another reason too,

because Guyana is a land of giants.

We're getting super-sized with gigantic jungle beasts...

I'm a little bit scared about handling this one.

Ooh...ah.

..camp out in the canopy in search of

the largest eagle on the continent...

(I can see him.)

..and scour the savannah for a mysterious monster.

GROWLING

I have never heard that before.

Ah. Here we are.

Big, big adventures ahead.

We're wasting no time.

My search for giants starts in the pristine jungles.

But the weather round here can be... well, changeable.

They don't call this a rainforest for nothing.

THUNDER RUMBLES

These jungles are pretty much defined by rain.

Sometimes it seems like the heavens just open.

It's like standing under a shower.

But this heavy rain brings out frogs,

which, in turn, brings out monster serpents.

Oh, yeah, I see it. Oh, cribo, cribo, cribo! Amazing.

Now that is an incredibly impressive snake.

I have to be really careful, because it's not especially venomous

but it has one of the strongest bites of any snake,

if not THE strongest bite.

What a find.

This is a yellow-tailed cribo.

And you can see where it gets its name from.

The tail is a gorgeous amber, golden-yellow colour.

And this...

..although it's not a great danger to human beings,

would have a call to being one of the most deadly snakes

in this part of the world.

OK.

Here we go.

After a few minutes, he begins to calm down and get used to me,

so I can get a better look.

The main part of its diet is other snakes -

things like the bush master, the fer de lance.

All of them could potentially be prey to this wonderful snake.

And the way it catches them and kills them

is not through constriction, it's not through venom.

It's through an incredibly powerful bite.

The jaw muscles are said to be

one of the strongest of any snake on Earth,

and once it's got a hold of its snake prey,

it'll thrash around, smashing it on nearby tree trunks and roots

until it simply knocks it senseless.

What an unbelievable animal.

It's well over two metres in length

and as thick around as my wrist.

This is prime hunting time for this titanic snake,

so we let him go.

That, right there, is why I love the rainforest.

The forest gets even deadlier after dark.

This is when a whole new set of creepy critters come out to hunt.

These forests are home to many giants.

One in particular is the very largest of its kind

and for many people, it would be their worst nightmare.

And we might have just found the home of our horrifying hunter.

There's a burrow just down underneath this tree root

and I think I can see her just inside it.

If I'm right, the owner of this burrow is a cunning ambush hunter.

The vibrations made by rubbing my twig at the entrance

are similar to those made by an insect walking past

and, with luck, the predator inside will pounce.

Whoa!

That...would be one very dead cricket or cockroach.

It's a Goliath bird-eating spider,

the largest spider in the world.

It's coming up my lure. Look at this. This is amazing.

Oh, my goodness. I have never seen fangs that size before.

Her method of retreat is to go back into her burrow

so if I simply blank that off with my machete,

she'll have to stay out in the open for now at least.

Just got in there in time.

I'm a little bit scared about handling this one.

Her fangs are absolutely vast.

Ooh.

Come on, man up, Backshall.

No.

There she is.

The Goliath bird-eating spider - what an absolute beauty.

Arachnophobia is the most common fear on Earth, the fear of spiders.

For me, that is utterly unjustified,

and this animal sums up why.

It is an absolute miracle of nature.

This big, carefully moving docile spider,

everything I've done, she hasn't tried to bite me even once.

Early explorers to this part of the world

told of giant spiders the size of dinner plates

that catch, kill and eat birds.

That gave rise to the legend of the bird-eating spider.

Now, these animals are certainly capable of killing birds

and on occasion it has happened

but it's not a major part of their diet.

Most of what they feed on are lizards, frogs,

things like crickets and cockroaches.

They've even been seen feeding on some of the most venomous snakes

found in this part of the world.

And the way they do it is with their fangs.

To show you those fangs, I need to gently get a better hold of her.

Look at those. Those fangs are as long,

sharp and curved as a cat's claw

and though the venom might not be that toxic,

certainly to us as human beings,

simply the force of that bite would be extraordinarily painful.

The Goliath bird-eating spider,

the largest and heaviest spider found on Earth,

with THE longest fangs.

They're of no danger to human beings,

but to pretty much anything else that wanders around

on the forest floor,

they are an eight-legged nightmare and for that reason they're deadly.

Two-centimetre-long fangs.

Reaching the size of a dinner plate.

Powerful enough to catch and eat birds.

The Goliath bird-eating spider is an unparalleled arachnid.

Deadly.

For my next encounter, we had to be up at four in the morning.

Me and my bleary eyed crew have left the jungle behind

and we're exploring a new habitat.

Guyana's savannah grasslands.

Feels very weird to be in Guyana,

which is a country where I'm so used to being

in the dark-green cavern of the rainforest,

and be out here in open grasslands,

I mean, it's almost more like what you'd expect to see in Africa.

You're kind of expecting to see a herd of elephants

wandering across in the distance.

But we're on the search for a totally different kind of giant.

Our super-sized savannah specialist hunts at night.

Soon after the sun's up, they'll look for somewhere to hide away

and sleep during the day.

We've not got much time, so we're spreading out

to cover as much ground as possible.

Even the local cattle-herders are helping out.

It's great. We've just had a guy come thundering up to us

on horseback and say, "There's one over there!

"There's one over there, off in the distance."

And he's leading us off.

We've got a cowboy taking us to find our very own crazy critter.

This is where the herder says he saw it.

Let's hope it hasn't gone far.

Sure enough, one of the crew spots a dark shape in the distance.

We'll just go in...nice and quiet.

It's hiding in this thicket.

LOW GROWLING

I have never heard that before.

That sounds more like the growl

you'd expect to hear from a big cat.

You kind of need to take that threat pretty seriously.

We're clearly not welcome,

so we're backing off and leaving this animal in peace.

But this is a great opportunity to show you

why this animal really is deadly.

The owner of these terrifying growls isn't a big cat.

It's another lethal leviathan - the giant anteater.

It may not be deadly to me,

but out here on the savannah, the giant anteater

is Armageddon for ants and termites.

To get to this nutritious prize,

first they have to break into the centre of the termite mound...

..which is a bit like trying to break into a bank.

And to show you quite how hard it is to get into one,

I've got a hatchet.

This looks destructive, but the termites

will rebuild it in no time at all.

Made from mud mixed with the termites' spit,

these structures set as hard as cement.

But for an invading anteater, it's no problem.

Powerful front legs and huge claws

rip, tear and smash their way into these rock-like structures.

The force required is incredible,

even with an axe.

We've been hammering away for ten minutes

and still haven't got to the termites inside.

Do you know what?

It's not occupied.

Er, shall we pick another one, chaps?

So, there you go. Finally, I've got in to termites

and I've done that with a steel hatchet.

All these termites are packed with protein.

In fact, they have a higher percentage of protein

in their tissues than beef does.

So they're a great food source and they're here in their millions.

But the amount of effort that you have to go to

to get in there is extraordinary.

Once the anteater's opened up the mound using its claws,

it then uses one of the most remarkable tongues

found in the whole natural world.

A long, sticky thread which will go right inside,

lapping up these termites by the thousand.

So far, we've only glimpsed this giant.

To see their deadly side, we're heading back out in the afternoon.

With luck, we might find a more willing anteater.

This time of day is when they emerge from daytime hideaways

to head out hunting for the night.

We've spotted an anteater, maybe a kilometre or so away.

We're moving in to try and see what it's up to.

(We've got one. There's a giant anteater.)

(It's not moving that fast.)

(We need to keep low, keep our profile low.)

(And, um... And very, very quiet.)

Anteaters have a good sense of hearing,

and an exceptional sense of smell

and, unfortunately, the light wind is carrying...

..our sounds and our scent towards the animal.

They do, though, have a very poor sense of sight

so, as long as we approach while he's got his head down,

I think we'll be OK.

'We've managed to sneak to within 20 metres of him.'

This is one of the most peculiar sights in the whole natural world.

It's an animal that's kind of been stretched at one end,

almost like it's trapped its nose in a door

and just kept pulling backwards

until it's developed this great, big, long, tunnel-tube-shaped nose.

At the moment, he is in search of a meal.

The nose is down, close to the ground.

He's smelling for the presence of ants and termites.

I think that pause there was because he heard my voice.

The hair is unbelievably coarse

and it protects the body from the bites and stings of its food.

And that big, flag-like tail -

that also has a use as well,

because it tends to live out here in the savannah,

where it's very exposed and very hot.

There's not necessarily any shade during the day.

They'll use that like an umbrella, like a parasol,

to cover themselves up.

They are exceptional at the job they do,

of feeding on those nasty, biting insects.

'It's getting too dark to film.

'So we'll have to leave this giant to continue his night-time hunting.'

The giant anteater, a true animal oddity,

hoovering down tens of thousands of biting insects every single night.

Bizarre and deadly.

Strong, curved claws.

A 50-centimetre tongue.

Capable of munching 30,000 termites in a day.

The giant anteater may look weird...

But it's perfectly...

deadly.

So far, we've found a host of Guyana's gargantuan beasts.

But there's one I'm still desperate to see.

It's the largest eagle on the continent

and, to my mind, the most majestic bird on earth,

the harpy eagle.

This formidable feathered predator has a wingspan over two metres

and talons longer than a grizzly bear's claws.

Known as flying wolves,

they snatch monkeys and sloths from branches

high up in the canopy

and are rarely seen on the forest floor.

They are the ghosts of the rainforest.

It is an extraordinarily challenging animal to find and film.

Some people will spend their entire lives in these jungles

and never catch sight of them.

This is going to be one of our greatest ever Deadly challenges.

'We need all the help we can get,

'so we've teamed up with local trackers.

'They're leading us to a tree where harpy eagles have been nesting.

'If we're not too late,

'and the adult harpies are still raising a chick,

'then it will be by far our best chance of seeing one.'

Ahead of us is a truly monster rainforest giant.

A vast tree...

that's possibly 40 metres tall.

And way up in the top of that is the nest of our harpy eagle.

The only way we'll be able to film this

is by getting up above the canopy ourselves.

So we're going to have to climb one of these trees -

not sure which one yet -

and try and find one that offers us a view down into the nest.

This is going to be the really tricky part.

'To get up into the harpy eagle's world,

'we need some serious climbing kit.

'But, as we unpack, I spot a lethal stowaway.'

I was just going back through some of our climbing kit

and found something scary.

Move really, really slowly now

because this is one of the very few animals in this forest

that really can do you a lot of damage.

They're very fast and scuttley.

I spend a good deal of my life

trying to convince people that they shouldn't be scared of spiders.

Well, this is one of the exceptions to the rule.

It's a wandering spider,

and it could well be the most venomous spider on the planet.

Most big spiders that you find in this part of the world

are slow-moving, they're not aggressive

and their venom is really weak.

The wandering spider is exactly the opposite.

It's fast and scuttley, it can be VERY aggressive.

A bite from this could easily be fatal to me,

which is why I'm not letting it on my hands

but instead I'm handling it on this piece of bark.

They get their name from their habit of always being out and about,

wandering in search of prey.

They're very active in the way they go and find

things like cockroaches and crickets

and that can quite often bring them into contact with human beings.

If I'd put my clothes on or some boots on

with this spider inside of it, I could well have got bitten,

and that, out here, far from help,

would be a very, very bad thing indeed.

'With living nightmares like this down on the forest floor,

'I'm looking forward to getting up in the canopy.'

And to do that...

..you need the world's best catapult.

'I need to fire this thin line over a strong branch...'

Pretty good!

'..and then attach the climbing ropes and haul them up.

'I've selected the only suitable tree with a view of the nest,

'but it's much closer than we planned,

'just 15 metres away from the nest tree.

'I need to have my wits about me.

'Adult harpy eagles will defend their nests from intruders.

'A few years ago, this BBC wildlife team

'was chased off by a protective parent.

'We should be far enough away not to disturb the birds

'but I still need eyes in the back of my head.

'35 metres up, I finally get my first look into the nest.

'But it's empty.

'The chick has already fledged and flown away.

'But there is still a chance.

'Harpy eagle chicks rely on their parents

'to hunt and bring food back to the nest for well over a year,

'but it can be many days between visits.

'I'll have to dig in for a long stakeout.'

If the chick does come back,

it's going to be within a stone's throw of me,

we should have a fantastic shot from here.

It's a really beautiful vista.

There's a small hill off in the distance over there,

covered in forest

and most of the canopy is below me now.

It is an incredible experience to be up here in the harpy eagle's world.

But it's going to be a very uncomfortable place

to spend a few days.

'All I have is a tiny plank to sit on,

'with nothing but thin air to the forest floor.

'It's a precarious perch...

'..cramped and sweltering hot.

'After six hours, there's no sign of the harpy eagle

'and I'm beginning to think that this is a massive long shot.'

Oh, I so hope this happens.

'But, for today at least, it looks like we've run out of luck.'

The sun's just about to drop below the hills in the distance,

and it's going to start getting dark

and, tempting as it is to return back to the forest floor,

I think our best chance of seeing a harpy eagle

is to actually make camp up here tonight.

I'm going to try and sleep in a special tent,

suspended from a branch,

just in case the harpy eagle returns.

So it's going to be incredibly uncomfortable

cos you have to sleep in your harness.

Obviously you could easily roll out the side of the tent,

so I don't think there's going to be a tremendous amount of sleep here.

Lots and lots of bugs

and it's a bit rainy outside as well.

Not ideal.

The most uncomfortable night imaginable

and it didn't come to anything.

But, at first light, we're back in position.

It's 7:30 in the morning, we've been up for three and a half hours

and still no sign of a harpy eagle.

But I do have a trick up my sleeve.

This little machine here has on it a harpy eagle call.

So I'm going to play it

and, hopefully, we'll get some kind of reaction from the bird.

EAGLE CALL PLAYS

'The harpy eagle's piercing call

'will travel right out across the canopy.

'If the chick or adult are in earshot,

'they may come in to investigate.'

EAGLE CALL CONTINUES

'Suddenly, there's movement in the nest tree

'and it's something big.'

He's there, I see him.

I can see the chick.

It's pretty close but a bit higher up than me,

really difficult to get a shot.

It is a stunning, stunning bird.

It's somewhat lighter than the adults,

has this incredible shock of white feathers over the top of the head.

I'm pretty sure it knows I'm here.

It's continually moving the head around

from side to side and up and down.

We human beings have one focal point in the back our eyes,

but eagles have two,

so they're continually moving the eyes around

to engage first one focal point and then the other.

It gives them greatly improved depth perception.

'They use this to target and home in on their prey

'while dodging between trees.'

It's an enormous bird but this is still a juvenile.

It's only just started learning to fly within the last week or so.

It's got a lot of growing left to do.

The biggest harpy eagle ever measured was nine kilos in weight -

that's almost as much as a sack of potatoes.

Imagine something that big, that heavy, on the wing

and you can get a sense of how powerful this bird is.

What a beautiful bird.

And sitting here, right up in his world -

a place where very, very few people ever get to go -

what an experience!

He just ruffled or roused his feathers,

and had a poo, went to the toilet, lightened the load -

that's a sign that he could be about to fly.

Well, he's off now and I don't know if or when he'll be back.

I've sat up in this tree top for two days,

and it's been thoroughly uncomfortable, eaten alive by bugs,

but worth every single second.

But that was the encounter of a lifetime -

harpy eagles.

Deadly.

Probably the most powerful bird of prey in the world.

Talons longer than a grizzly bear's claws.

Capable of catching and carrying off monkeys and sloths.

The harpy eagle -

true ghosts of the rainforest.

Deadly.

'Join me next time as I continue my journey

'on Deadly Pole to Pole.'

I can see him.

ANTEATER GROWLS

I have never heard that before.