Brazil Deadly Pole to Pole


Brazil

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Transcript


LineFromTo

My name's Steve Backshall.

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And this is Deadly Pole To Pole.

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Ohhh!

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From the top of the world to the bottom.

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Whoa!

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Deadly places.

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Deadly adventures.

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And deadly animals.

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

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Argh!

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This is the Pantanal.

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It's a wetland habitat right in the middle of Brazil

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and it's home to more monster jaws

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and claws than just about any other place on the planet.

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The Pantanal is a wildlife seeker's paradise with many

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of the true jewels of Latin America sharing the lakes,

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lagoons, rivers and swamps.

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It's more than 7,000 miles from where

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I started my journey in the Arctic circle.

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Whilst here, I head out on a hunt for the Pantanal's

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top predator.

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My heart is just going bam-bam-bam, bam-bam, bam-bam.

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Do my best to talk

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to the animals.

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HE GARGLES

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And, have the encounter of a lifetime.

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I'm so excited!

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But first, I'm off to investigate a cold-blooded assassin.

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The Yacare caiman.

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Caiman are ambush hunters.

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They feed on a range of animals, including fish, turtles, and snakes.

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They lie in wait

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for unsuspecting prey to come to them...

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..kill it with a crunch, then swallow it whole.

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I want to show you how caiman

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catch fish in these Pantanal waters.

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Let's check out their assets up close.

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There's the distinctive shape of a quite decent-sized caiman

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heading across the river towards us.

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I think my best plan is to clamber round the bank,

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to just over here into the shallow water and then sit there with

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the underwater camera and see if we can get a shot.

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OK, so I'm going to move into the water really,

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really carefully.

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I don't want to spook him

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but I also don't want to stir up the visibility

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because if I can't see him then this could get dangerous.

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One metre...there.

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Right, now, let's try and see if we can get him

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right in front of my lens.

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We're using a fish to splash on

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the water and keep the caiman's attention.

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You can see how stealthy they really are.

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Oh, it's such a creepy sight.

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I mean, I know that Yacare caiman are not man-eaters...

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..but he's a good size...

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..and as with all crocodiles the great secret to his strategy

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is minimal exposure, is having the least amount of its body exposed.

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Though they're not aggressive to human beings, he could certainly

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do me some serious damage.

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So, I just want to be very, very careful how I interact with him.

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They're very efficient, moving slowly

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until they're within striking distance.

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The river here is so murky

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that if it came at me underwater I simply wouldn't

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be able to see him approaching.

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And this is a part of their deadly ambush strategy.

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Yes, go on, take it!

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Well, that is as close as I'm comfortable being

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to a big caiman like this.

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Yes!

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Fantastic!

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Having seen their stealth approach up close,

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I now want to see their speedy

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feeding strike in more detail.

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And to do this, we need to find a spot

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where the caiman and their prey are bunched together.

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We were crossing over this bridge

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when we noticed the commotion in the water below. It looks like

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the water's boiling, it's churning over, and that's the reason why.

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There are dozens and dozens of caiman down there.

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I'm guessing that this pool was once much, much bigger and it's shrunk

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as it started to dry up and trapped loads

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and loads of fish inside and the caiman are having an absolute feast.

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Let's see if we can try and get a shot.

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We're filming both in slow motion

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and real-time to see if we can capture the caiman's

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bite strike in great detail.

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The caiman's skull is laden with teeth

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and you can see when it's slowed down,

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16 times slower than real life,

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how the caiman's ambush strike really works.

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It reacts to the movement of fish in the water

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and snaps out to the side, trapping its prey.

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The reason they're so successful is

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that they can go for long periods of time without eating,

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they can fast and use up very, very little energy and then

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when they get a situation like this where there's an enormous amount

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of food they can gorge themselves,

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and that's exactly what's happening now.

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Their teeth are adapted to keeping hold of these slippery snacks.

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So, once the fish is encased there's no escape.

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You beauty!

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Sharp snatching, super sensitive and armour plated,

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Yacare caiman are without doubt...deadly!

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With their powerful bite...

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..large teeth...

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..and ambush strike, there's no doubt about it,

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caimans are cunning killers of Central Brazil.

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Deadly!

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Caiman are everywhere here, so inevitably they end up as prey

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for other predators.

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One of the most ruthless is our next target.

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This morning we're up before dawn

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because we're going in search of one of South America's

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top carnivores and this is when they're most active.

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This is an animal that can take on creatures as big as anaconda,

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caiman, piranha, and the way they work together as a team,

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and their teeth, mean that local people call them the river wolf.

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Known for their teamwork, the animal we're after is a real

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surprise terror of the river

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and everyone's got their eyes peeled

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for any sign of them.

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So in alongside where we've just pulled up now there's

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vegetation overhanging the water and this is absolutely perfect.

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They could well be underneath here fishing.

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There's movement in the water.

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I just heard it!

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GRUNTING

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We catch glimpses in amongst the bushes but there's no way

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we'll be able to get a proper view of them through this.

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There's a little trick.

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Because these are such inquisitive creatures,

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sometimes making sounds can entice them to come out into the open,

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and one of the best sounds to make is a gargle.

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HE GARGLES

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HE GARGLES

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They're interested...

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Then they come out into the open, it worked!

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Here, here, here, coming alongside,

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swimming in our direction.

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This is the animal we've been searching for,

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the giant river otter.

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They can travel at incredible speeds

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weaving in and out of the vegetation.

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HE GARGLES

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OTTER GRUNTS

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They are incredibly big animals!

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They're so strong and powerful.

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Their teeth are probably as long as my little finger.

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It's no surprise, really, that working together

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they can take on crocodiles and big snakes.

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They're just coming out of the water, popping their heads up,

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almost like seals looking back towards us. Yes, look at that!

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A fearsome family of hunters on the move.

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Like all otters, giant river otters

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are sleek, sinuous, elegant, beautiful.

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They even look cuddly, but to underestimate them would be

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a terrible mistake!

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This is one of the fiercest and most efficient hunters on the planet.

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Patrolling the river in packs,

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they're some of the mightiest predators in the Pantanal...

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and also some of the most ferocious.

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They can take down feisty caiman and also

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feast on packs of piranhas.

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But right now they're showing off their playful side.

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They're just mucking about, socialising,

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they're rolling around in the sandy bank.

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The youngsters, there's some very young cubs here,

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are just slaloming up and down through the sand into the water

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and back up into the shade again.

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Out of the water, you can see the size of these animals.

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Adult males can grow as long as I am tall...and their muscly bodies,

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strong legs and paddle-like tail make them

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expert at high-speed underwater pursuits.

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These giant river otters detect their prey using sensitive whiskers

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that allow them to pinpoint it in even the murkiest of water.

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Once they've located their target,

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it does not stand a chance.

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Their teeth are perfect for grabbing wet, slippery,

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wriggling prey. Even their play has deadly potential.

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The skills they use to hunt are learnt through play fighting,

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just like this.

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What they're doing is they're exercising

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the muscles and the sinews.

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The skills that they'll need to be able to catch their food

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in later life.

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I know that this is them at their absolute most playful and perhaps

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their least deadly but we're never going to get

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a better view than this.

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And you have to say that this animal with its teeth, with its teamwork,

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with its ability to work the riverside, killing

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everything in its path is definitely deadly.

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Speedy underwater swimmers...

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..with super-sensitive whiskers...

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..sharp teeth capable of dispatching slippery prey...

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giant river otters, the pack hunters of the Pantanal.

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Deadly!

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But if I am honest,

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this has all been a warm-up for the main event,

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my deadly nemesis.

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Anyone who spends any time searching for wildlife is going to have

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a nemesis, an animal that no matter what they do

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they just can't find.

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I've spent literally months searching for this animal

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and never caught a glimpse

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but hopefully my luck is about to change

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because the Pantanal is the best place in the world to see

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the dynamic, dramatic, iconic big cat, the jaguar.

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A wild jaguar is the only animal that we've

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tried to see on all three previous Deadly series...

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and failed.

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HE BARKS

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This is my final chance.

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We've got four days to try and catch a glimpse of this majestic beast,

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and the Pantanal is certainly a beautiful place to be searching.

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The river looks incredible this morning with all the mist

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hanging over the water.

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It looks like we're heading into some forgotten world.

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Early morning is prime time as these big, beautiful cats

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tend to be more active in the cooler parts of the day.

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Our guide, Ailton, is going to take us

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to his best spots.

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But even with his help, seeing one is going to take patience

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and is by no means guaranteed.

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It's not just that I am incredibly unlucky, jaguars genuinely are very,

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very difficult to see and there are many reasons for that.

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One of those is that this is a creature of the shadows.

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They're fabulously camouflaged and expert at not being seen

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but also they are rare

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and one of the reasons for that is persecution by human beings.

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Thankfully, now, they're starting to make a comeback

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and here in the Pantanal

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we have a really good chance of seeing them.

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Or so I've been told!

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There's certainly plenty of prey around, which is promising.

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Jaguars will hunt a whole range of animals,

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from caiman through to capybara.

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Right now these two are especially alert because they have two

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very young babies, which makes them even more vulnerable.

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You can see them standing up, the ears are erect, listening out,

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watching, smelling for any potential danger.

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There's nothing we can do to attract the jaguars to come to us -

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we just have to patrol the rivers,

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scanning the banks for one of these camouflaged cats,

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as well as looking out for other tracks and signs.

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Oh! Oh, guys, come and have a look at this!

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Come and have a look at this!

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HE LAUGHS

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I...I don't quite know

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how to get across the excitement that I feel right now

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because I've been waiting for this for a very, very long time.

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That is a jaguar print, and not only that,

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but it's a male jaguar print and a big one at that.

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Um...I'm so excited,

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I...I can't even really control myself.

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I mean, when I say that I've been looking for months

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to try and find a jaguar, that is no exaggeration,

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and they've been hard months, months in the jungle,

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sweating, covered in bugs, and I haven't even come close.

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BUT all of a sudden I have my first absolute evidence of jaguar.

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I can't believe it, I cannot believe it.

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My first ever jaguar track.

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Yes!

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With plenty of tracks around,

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this is an ideal place to put up some camera traps.

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The more traps we put up,

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the greater our chances of capturing a cat.

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So that is going to be our eyes in the forest for the next few days.

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With the final camera trap set, day one is almost over.

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We've not managed to catch a glimpse of a big cat so far,

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but as dusk falls

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we do spot another incredible creature of the Pantanal.

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Flying alongside us now

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is something I never thought I'd see in daylight hours.

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They're fishing bats -

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they're easily keeping pace with our boat,

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flying alongside us and just dipping in

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and snatching fish from below the surface of the water.

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Amazing!

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Just amazing.

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It's a wonderful sight,

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but we'd love to see that feeding in more detail.

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So once it gets dark we break out the Deadly tech

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to catch these bats in action.

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Of all of the 1,000-odd species of bat found around the world,

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I think this is one of the most unusual methods

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of catching its food.

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These bats snatch their supper

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from the surface of the water with ease.

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The only thing is it happens too fast for our eyes to appreciate,

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so I think it's time to slow things down a bit.

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What I'm going to do is throw out

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some little pieces of vegetation out onto the water,

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I'm hoping that a fishing bat will come down, try and snatch it,

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and at that precise moment Mike's going to fire off this camera

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and we're going to see it all slowed right down.

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Tempting a bat in is not easy -

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we need to make the stick create a similar ripple to a fish.

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Yes! Fire, fire, fire.

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What do you think?

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All right, let's have a look back on what we've got.

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So there...

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Oh, my word, that's beautiful! That is absolutely beautiful.

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I can't believe you got that!

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Fantastic - classic.

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As the bat came in, it dropped its feet down,

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trailed them through the water

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and they're almost like an osprey's talons,

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they're long and curved

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and they caught a hold of that tiny piece of stick,

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drew it up and it just carried on flying.

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Well done, mate, well done.

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That was really good. It was really good.

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Did you see it?

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The bats capture such tiny items

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by echolocating the wake that's created at the surface of the water.

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Once they've pinpointed the spot,

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they fly down and grab the fish.

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It's an incredible method of catching your food.

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This has certainly lifted our spirits

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after a disappointing time jaguar searching.

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For the next two days, we scour the riverbank,

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searching for any sign of jaguars,

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but don't get a single glimpse.

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It's beginning to get frustrating - the jaguar remains my nemesis.

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We're running out of time to find one of these majestic cats.

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I really am beginning to think that I'm cursed.

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Maybe I'm never going to see a jaguar.

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So this is our very last day,

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so we're up even earlier than before,

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so early, in fact, that we've all brought breakfast with us.

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This is absolute zero hour - if we don't find a jaguar today,

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then I know for sure that I am totally cursed

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and I am never, ever in my life going to see one.

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-But everyone's feeling positive, right?

-Yeah.

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-All feeling positive?

-Absolutely.

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We motor along the river,

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but don't catch a sight of the big cat

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so decide to check out the footage on the camera traps

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from the last few days.

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Time to see who's been walking these trails.

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Right.

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Oh, it's a curacao -

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they've got a very kind of curious, punky hairstyle

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and this one's pecking around right in front of the camera.

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What else have we got?

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Otters!

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Fantastic, look at that!

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Giant river otters.

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Two adults, wandering right through, heading down towards the river.

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What's this?

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It's at night...

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Oh...

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Ocelot!

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Ocelot, fantastic!

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And it's coming right down into the shot, that is stunning.

0:21:540:21:59

'This is a really lucky spot.

0:21:590:22:02

'Ocelots are stealthy stalkers like the jaguar,

0:22:020:22:04

'and probably even rarer to see.'

0:22:040:22:07

Well, it's a great find,

0:22:070:22:10

but it's not the spotted cat we were after

0:22:100:22:13

and this is now starting to get really, really frustrating.

0:22:130:22:19

We are very, very close to the end of our trip here

0:22:190:22:23

and nothing on the camera traps.

0:22:230:22:26

My team, though, don't give up easy.

0:22:280:22:31

So it's back to the boats.

0:22:320:22:33

Our driver has gone into absolute overdrive

0:22:390:22:42

because we've had a call that a jaguar's been spotted upstream.

0:22:420:22:46

This could be our big chance.

0:22:470:22:49

AN ANIMAL YELPS

0:23:030:23:05

Those barking sounds are alarm calls from capybara.

0:23:050:23:08

My heart is just going bam-bam-bam, bam-bam-bam-bam,

0:23:110:23:14

and I know that those capybara are, too.

0:23:140:23:17

They're probably in the river because a jaguar was hunting them.

0:23:170:23:20

It might still be close by.

0:23:200:23:22

-The jaguar is here, can you see it?

-I can see it, I can see it, yes.

0:23:260:23:30

It's a jaguar, a jaguar.

0:23:320:23:33

There's a jaguar over there, over there, under that tree.

0:23:330:23:38

This is amazing.

0:23:410:23:43

The biggest carnivore of this part of the world

0:23:430:23:46

is wandering along the bank ahead of us.

0:23:460:23:48

There!

0:23:500:23:51

I can't believe it, my first ever jaguar!

0:23:540:23:56

Such a majestic animal, it stalks with such grace.

0:23:590:24:04

Simply beautiful.

0:24:040:24:05

This is the King of Cats.

0:24:060:24:09

'We lose sight of the jaguar

0:24:150:24:17

'and I fear that, after four days of searching,

0:24:170:24:19

'that might be our only glimpse.

0:24:190:24:21

'But then she settles down and allows us a glorious view.'

0:24:240:24:28

Well, the jaguar's stopped hunting

0:24:300:24:31

and has sat right on the riverbank under a tree and she's grooming.

0:24:310:24:35

She's using that rasping tongue to clean her fur.

0:24:350:24:39

The tongue is incredibly coarse - they can use it to lick meat

0:24:400:24:44

off the bones of their prey once they've killed it,

0:24:440:24:47

and now she's licking her paws, those huge paws

0:24:470:24:51

which are used as the weapon for taking down its prey.

0:24:510:24:55

'Inside each of those paws are sharp claws.

0:24:550:24:59

'She has the potential to be so deadly,

0:24:590:25:01

'but is also stunning.'

0:25:010:25:03

That's a staggeringly beautiful animal.

0:25:050:25:07

After so many years looking for one of these wonderful creatures,

0:25:080:25:12

we've finally done it!

0:25:120:25:14

And then, things get even better.

0:25:140:25:17

We get a call from another boat

0:25:180:25:20

that a different jaguar's been spotted upstream.

0:25:200:25:23

This is mind-blowing -

0:25:230:25:24

the Deadly luck has really come through.

0:25:240:25:27

The guys on the main boat radioed us

0:25:290:25:30

to say that they've seen a jaguar down here at...

0:25:300:25:32

My goodness, it's standing right on the bank...

0:25:320:25:36

out in the open, and this is a big animal.

0:25:360:25:38

It's a male, it's a male jaguar.

0:25:400:25:42

That is absolutely stunning.

0:25:440:25:47

This is pretty much every wildlife watcher's dream -

0:25:490:25:53

to sit with a wild jaguar just metres away on a bank

0:25:530:25:58

and it clearly doesn't care at all that we're here.

0:25:580:26:01

'This jaguar has been radio collared by scientists,

0:26:010:26:04

'but it's still a wild animal,

0:26:040:26:06

'roaming the Pantanal in search of prey.'

0:26:060:26:09

I mean, looking at this animal, he is really powerfully built,

0:26:090:26:13

he's kind of like a heavyweight boxer.

0:26:130:26:16

Some of these jaguars,

0:26:160:26:17

the males have been known to be almost double my bodyweight.

0:26:170:26:21

For its size, pound for pound,

0:26:210:26:23

it's possibly the most powerful animal on earth

0:26:230:26:25

and with all of that heaviness comes an immense amount of force.

0:26:250:26:30

'A force that makes them incredible hunters.'

0:26:300:26:33

Look at that - he's testing his teeth on...on the branch.

0:26:340:26:38

'With its mighty jaw muscles,

0:26:420:26:43

'this jaguar could easily break through the skull

0:26:430:26:46

'of its target animals.

0:26:460:26:47

'And I can't believe I've got this close at last.'

0:26:490:26:53

It is so often the way with wildlife -

0:26:540:26:56

after all these years of searching, two in a morning.

0:26:560:27:01

It's kind of like all my dreams coming true at once.

0:27:020:27:05

I guess the jaguar isn't my nemesis any more.

0:27:050:27:08

The jaguar, with the ability to melt into the shadows -

0:27:100:27:13

iconic, beautiful and deadly.

0:27:130:27:16

With their camouflaged coat...

0:27:200:27:21

..their ambush attack...

0:27:230:27:24

..and skull-piercing bite...

0:27:260:27:28

..jaguars are the Pantanal's most perfect predator.

0:27:300:27:33

Deadly!

0:27:350:27:37

Join me next time as I continue my journey on Deadly Pole To Pole.

0:27:400:27:44

I'm so excited!

0:27:470:27:48

Deadly!

0:28:050:28:07

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