Episode 3 Deadly Mission Madagascar

This is Madagascar.

It's a vast island in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa.

And it's home to some of the most unique and rare creatures

on the planet.

Incredibly, 80% of the wildlife here exists nowhere else on earth.

But it's a paradise under threat.

So I've sent eight ordinary kids from the UK

to have the deadly adventure of their lives.

They'll face the toughest challenges

and discover for themselves how to save this lost world...

..before it's too late.

Their first challenge has come to an end.

They've seen that once the forest is lost, the animals disappear too.

Can they ever come back if the forest is allowed to regrow?

And as they move to their next location,

to face their next set of challenges,

they're all still reeling from having lost one of the gang.

This was never going to be easy.

Bit sad, cos we've got to say bye.

And there are even harder things to come.

To get to their next destination,

where their new challenge awaits, is going to take teamwork.

A 12 kilometre journey down a twisting river

that will lead them into the heart

of one of Madagascar's most beautiful rainforests.

But this challenge is already being seen as a competition.

It's going to get a bit competitive even though it's not a race.

But I'm really looking forward to spotting some wildlife

as we go through the rainforest.

Gwen's going to get it going and then we'll probably end up racing.

I've kayaked quite a bit, and canoed.

And I've also done canoe slalom and stuff like that, so...

I think we're going to take it quite casual, you know, not go too fast.

This is just going to be chaos.

Ah!

Stop, stop, stop, stop.

No, we're going into the rapids.

Yes!

Have it! Woo!

Come on! No, you've overdone it. No, Okechukwu! No.

Ah!

Ow, that was painful! That hurt.

They're entering a national park called Ranomafana.

It's huge, covering an area about the same as 40,000 football pitches.

And it's home to creatures found nowhere else on the island,

or, in fact, the world.

Almost straightaway, they start throwing themselves at the crew.

Oh! It's a frog. It's only a frog.

Although some are not as welcome as others.

Spider!

These are Darwin's bark spiders.

They spin massive webs right across the river.

In fact, they spin the longest spanning webs in the world,

catching bugs that use the river as a highway.

But they're not to everyone's taste.

Ah!

Come on!

Don't put that here!

Ah!

Someone get it, then!

It's on his neck!

'I don't mind spiders, but when I moved it off

'and it went next to Charlie he screamed like a little girl.'

Where's it gone?

It's on my back still.

'Jumped into the back of the kayak with Jamie and they both sat

'at the back screaming, while me and Okechukwu had to paddle.'

I'm doing all the work here, as usual.

While these sissy boys scream about a spider this big.

I wasn't screaming!

Away from all the chaos,

the girls are captivated by the enchantment of the place.

I feel like I could be in a movie.

At the half way point, the guys take a break.

Just going to sit and wait now until the other guys come.

-Yeah.

-Wait and laugh.

No, sit and wait, and then when they get past, we'll point and laugh.

Don't even talk, please, don't talk, don't laugh. It's not funny. No.

Tempers on the other boat are close to boiling point.

No, please, just, please.

What have you done?

I said please. Please just don't, don't talk.

But it's Raina that decides to cool off.

Yeah!

Get in quickly, get in, get in!

Ha-ha-ha!

Get on, get on!

Pretty soon the boys get stuck again, though.

And the girls power on ahead.

Girl power!

Woo!

After five hours of hard kayaking, the end is in sight.

Yes!

At last, dry land!

Well, almost.

Ha-ha-ha!

She's done that three times!

Even the girls who made it look effortless are feeling it.

Right, I feel like I'm going to die. Aching so bad.

Yeah, we won, but it's not about the competition. Seriously.

It wasn't even a competition.

Seriously, it isn't. I'm not only saying that now.

But literally it wasn't.

See, that's why she's not talking now.

No, honestly, I didn't know I said anything wrong.

But I really don't care.

But anyways, it's over, so now we can just forget about.

Yeah, now we can just be friends.

It falls to the wettest of them all, Raina, to get them to hug it out.

Tired, cold and a little grouchy,

they finally arrive at the Centre ValBio,

a state-of-the-art research station in the heart of the forest.

But they're not staying here.

They have to hike to get to their camp.

We've just kayaked and canoed for ten miles,

or something ridiculous like that.

We're freezing, we're in swimming costumes.

We just want to have a shower and now they're saying,

"Oh, yeah, we have to hike to the place where we're staying,"

and we're all going, "Nooooo!"

And there's another surprise in store for them.

A new member of their team has arrived.

He's got the Justin Bieber hairstyle.

The guy there has got a flick a little bit like mine,

but mine's better.

New boy, Oak, had very little time to prepare.

Pretty strange, though, to get a phone call one day

and then be here just a few days later.

The next day.

Once together, they're keen to fill Oak in on what he's already missed.

I love kayaking.

No, but you didn't want to go kayaking.

-I love it!

-No, but no.

At 14, outdoor enthusiast, Oak, is the eldest member of the group.

I love nature. I'm always outside.

I do photography most of the time because it's just my passion.

Perhaps Oak's biggest strength is his fitness.

I'm good at running, up hills and things.

I love it.

I would say I'm very active in the outdoors world.

And as they make their way to camp,

Oak's energy levels will certainly come in handy.

I've never done anything like this, really, like camping outside,

so it's a new experience for me.

Oak doesn't seem phased at all.

I actually quite like it, and I like camping.

With Oak completely at ease, the team settle in to a place

that will be their home for the next four days.

Their first challenge is to find as many animals as they can

in this beautiful forest.

This is known as a bio blitz.

But there's a twist.

They'll split into two teams.

Oak's team are heading to a remote area of forest.

It's some of the most unspoilt rainforest in Madagascar,

and should be stuffed full of animals.

Whereas Raina's team are going to

a completely different patch of forest.

It might look the same, but it's spent the last 20 years

recovering from people living off it.

Question is, which of the teams will find the most animals?

What your task is to do today is to document and take pictures

of as many animals as you can see.

And not just mammals.

Bugs, snakes, reptiles.

Aliens.

Aliens, everything.

Every single thing you see,

we want you to take pictures of it and make a note of what it is.

What about spiders, Doug?

Spiders, tons of spiders.

I want to find a pygmy chameleon.

A bio blitz is a simple way to check the health of a forest.

So, in theory, there should be fewer animals in Raina's area.

But surprisingly, helped by Loret, the local guide,

it's not long before they notch up their first animal.

-Here.

-Butterfly.

And the photos are collected

for comparison with the other team later.

Bugs.

Oh, spider.

Oh, a worm.

I'll just call it a bug.

I'll change it to insect.

Crayfish.

Yeah.

At the moment, I've just written down frog under amphibians,

but I'm not sure what type of frog it is,

so we've taken pictures and we're going to find out later.

Meanwhile, the other team are halfway up the mountain,

and getting rather soggy.

I think we look quite cool.

Well, I like it.

Nevertheless, they're still spotting animals.

Oak and local guide Emile

have just found

their first reptile of the day,

a nose-horned chameleon.

So the chameleon's using its tail to hold on whilst it's...

Yes.

-Wow.

-Look at this.

Is he trying to wobble like that?

-Yeah, he's trying to move up.

-Wow!

Guys, guys, guys, come over here, there's a sifaka in the tree.

Come and have a look.

Can you see the tree right at the back?

It's hanging off it. Can you see?

No.

-Where's Emile? Can you see it?

-Yeah.

-There.

-Oh, yeah.

There's another one up here. It's really close.

He's looking at us, he's coming towards us.

He's coming down, look, he's coming down.

OK, he's coming now. He's coming now.

This family group of lemurs are called Milne Edwards sifakas.

A great discovery for the kids.

But then again, this pristine forest is exactly where lemurs like this

should thrive, as it's full of their natural food.

And in the protected national park, there's no fear of being hunted.

But surprisingly,

lemurs are not restricted to just this kind of forest.

Even in the recovering forest where Raina's team are, there are lemurs.

Loads of them. Loads.

I'm seeing, we've just found some red bellied lemurs,

and at first we thought there was only two,

but then we found like a whole pack

and, whoa, just seen that one jumping.

And they're really close to us as well, so it's amazing.

Red bellied lemurs are more common than sifakas,

but are still only found in the rainforests of eastern Madagascar.

They feed on fruit, leaves and the occasional millipede.

Even in the recovering forest, there's enough food to support them.

It was a really amazing thing to see a lemur this close to you.

Deeper into the national park,

the other team are wearily winding their way up the mountain

through the unspoilt forest.

They spot another couple of chameleons.

That's three so far in an hour.

But it's hard going in the tropical heat.

I'm hot!

At the front of the group,

Oak seems to have more energy than anyone, even the crew.

Camera's getting heavy.

Are we there yet?

I'm strong as an ox.

WHISTLE

Emile's spotted something,

and Oak's the first of the group to try and get a clearer view.

I've found it, I've found it.

You see, you see the light.

So Emile's tracking, talking to a bird.

Trying to get any answers.

The gang join in, to help call the bird closer.

ALL WHISTLE

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I can see it.

You have to get exactly there.

Look, look.

With everyone looking up, no one's looking where their feet are.

Do you want me to...?

It could have been a lot worse.

Are you OK?

I was deep in concentration.

Let's move on.

In the recovering forest, they're still finding animals.

The teams are almost neck and neck.

Leaf tailed gecko is under...

Reptiles.

Leaf tailed geckos are unique to Madagascar,

and absolute masters of camouflage.

He is like, "I am not animals, I am dead leaves."

Without Loret, our team would have would walked right past it.

Especially as right now, all they can think of is food.

I would love to have a roast, with all three meats

and some huge Yorkshire.

They're so hungry,

they're even starting to see food all around them.

Looks like an apricot.

It's obvious they're going to need a quick break

to get them back on track.

But Raina's feeling pretty confident.

I'm excited to compare it to the other team.

But, all in all, it was a good morning.

Up in the unspoilt forest,

Oak and his team get their own chance for a break.

Welcome to the campsite, everybody!

Wahey!

There's just time for a quick snack before they must set up camp.

Bring it on.

I'm going to go try and find the toilet because, you know,

it's quite important.

Ugh!

It stinks!

I think I'd rather hold it in, to be honest.

Both teams have been really successful.

But there's one kind of creature that has so far eluded each of them.

A real Madagascan oddity, the tenrec.

Tenrecs come in all shapes and sizes.

There's spiky ones, streaky ones, even underwater ones.

But even though they look like other animals we're familiar with,

they're completely unique, and can only be found in Madagascar.

As tenrecs tend to come out at night, both teams are going to have

to set some traps if they're going to have any hope of finding one.

-I've never fished.

-You have not lived, either!

-Never fished.

Down at the river on the edge of the recovering forest,

Raina and her team have set their sights high.

The aquatic or water tenrec is one of the hardest-to-find animals

in Madagascar.

I thought we were looking for normal tenrecs,

but a water tenrec sounds much cooler.

And amazingly, they've never been filmed by the BBC before.

In order to set the traps, they have to get down to the water's edge.

This is slightly tricky terrain.

More than slightly.

That is some crayfish!

I've got a crayfish in my hand.

This is one of the baits we're using to catch the water tenrec.

It's not actually that wriggly, I thought it'd be jumping around,

but it's fine.

They usually fish for food in shallow waters,

and he's just blocked that way off so they can't get past it,

so it'll probably go straight into the trap, so we can get it out.

They're putting out two traps to maximise their chances

of catching the aquatic animal.

Raina and Okechukwu are in charge of the first.

Charlie and Gwen, the second.

We're going now, and we're going back up,

and then we're going to come back in the morning,

check the traps, and hopefully we'll have a water tenrec.

Oak's gang in the unspoilt forest are going to set

a totally different kind of trap for a very different kind of tenrec.

On the way, as they hunt for a likely spot,

they can't seem to stop adding creatures to their bio blitz list.

This is the silk moth.

A chameleon, there. Oh, wow!

Put some welly into it!

With Emile's local knowledge, they find the perfect place.

They're building a pit fall trap.

Well done.

Thank you.

I take it all back, macho-man.

So, we're just putting some soil on the edge of the plastic,

so that when the animals hit the plastic,

they can't just go straight under it, they have to go round

and then they'll hopefully fall in the bucket.

Job well done!

And now, all they can do is eat, sleep, and wait until morning.

Their day starts with a surprise animal visitor.

A ring tailed mongoose.

It's beautiful, and he's got like a rusty kind of reddish colour.

Ring tailed mongoose are found in the east of Madagascar.

They're always on the move so are a very lucky spot.

It's another creature for the list.

Meanwhile, the aquatic tenrec team

return to their trap site with mixed expectations.

We just came back to the river where we put the traps in last night.

And me and Gwen are feeling,

and Okechukwu, are feeling quite positive that we've found one.

I think Raina is a bit, you know, not sure, but I'm well excited.

Raina wades in to check her trap.

I can't see anything from here.

It's not looking good.

The crayfish we used as a bait last night,

it managed to escape from the actual trap, so I think that's why

we didn't catch the tenrec, because there was no food inside.

But there does seem to be a buzz around Charlie and Gwen's trap.

It's a snake or something.

It's not a snake, it looks like an otter.

There's something inside, but they aren't sure what.

It's a mouse!

It's not a mouse.

Up the mountain, the other team head off to check their trap.

Jamie Rose encounters some wildlife she'd rather not.

Eurgh, leech, leech, leech, leech! Get it off me!

Oh, shrew, shrew, something like a shrew in there, definitely.

That's a tenrec.

What have you found, guys?

A tenrec or shrew.

It's kind of both, really - a striped shrew tenrec.

Oh, no, it's going, "Where am I?"

-It is cute but I think we should let it out.

-Yeah.

And would that be a fully-grown tenrec,

or would that be particularly small?

That is the full size of the adult, yes.

Ahhh!

What do they eat?

They eat insects, lots of different kinds of insects.

Is it biting you? Does it hurt?

No.

Ah, tenrec!

It just remains to take a photo

and put striped shrew tenrec on their bio blitz list.

Bye-bye. Bye, tenrec.

Back down at the river,

will the other team be able to add a tenrec to their list?

This is mine and Gwen's trap, the winners' trap.

Yeah.

But they're still not quite sure what they've caught.

Is it a tenrec?

It looks different.

Very careful.

It looks a bit like a mole.

A rat, a mouse.

Whatever it is, one thing's for sure, it's a feisty little customer.

Loret, do you want two gloves on, man?

He's got it, he's got it.

It's biting him, it's biting his shirt.

God, they're strong teeth!

Does anybody have another glove?

Aquatic tenrec.

Phenomenal! It's an aquatic tenrec. All their patience has paid off.

I was thinking it would be more like an otter,

but it's actually quite like a shrew.

It's a bit rat-like.

Very little's known about these truly surprising animals.

They don't even know exactly how many there are in the world.

What we can see is that they're specially adapted

to life in the river, with webbed feet, strong back legs for swimming,

and a keeled tail they use like a rudder.

And don't forget sharp teeth, for cracking open crayfish shells.

-Shall we put this guy back, then?

-Yeah.

Yeah!

To come that close to such a rare animal, yeah, it was pretty wicked.

But I think that's mission accomplished now.

ALL: Go, tenrec!

It's been a remarkably successful 24 hours.

The gang meet up back at base to count up and identify

some of their trickier creatures.

But which team's found the most?

I think I've found a possibility for our first chameleon.

Between them, in the two areas of forest,

they've notched up over 35 species,

including some of the rarest animals in Madagascar.

That's brown and that's green.

Chameleons change colour, Raina!

Yeah, but that looks nicer than that.

What's incredible is that Raina's team in the recovering forest

have discovered slightly more animals.

It has to be that one, surely.

A real surprise, because this forest once had people living off it,

chopping trees, gathering food and hunting.

One animal they didn't find in their bio blitz is a snake.

However, John Cadle from the research centre

has a surprise for them.

So I happen to have a live snake with me.

This species was close to the research centre,

so it counts as another animal found in the recovering forest.

So it's quite fast.

Can I?

You want to hold it? Hold it firmly but gently.

Oh!

That stinks! Had a poo on me!

Urgh!

You love snakes, but snakes really don't love you.

All part of the job, I'm afraid.

This snake is just one of the many animals that are protected

within the Ranomafana National Park.

And the bio blitz has proven to the gang that conservation does work.

What this challenge has shown them

is that protecting forests can have a profound effect.

With a helping hand, damaged forests can recover,

and once again support some of Madagascar's most dazzling wildlife.

Yeah!

With only a couple more days left in the national park, the guys

are going to get hands on working with the locals

and the scientists...

It's a lemur.

..to see how protecting these forests can play a vital role

for people as well as the animals.

And they'll get a surprise call from their friends at Kianjavato,

a chance to encounter one of the strangest animals on earth.

Oh, I see it!

It's right up there.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media