0:00:27 > 0:00:30The island of Komodo in Indonesia.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Remote and barren.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43Few people live here.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51It's ruled by a giant reptile.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58It looks like a survivor from the age of the dinosaurs.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10The Komodo dragon.
0:01:25 > 0:01:289 feet long.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30A top predator.
0:01:34 > 0:01:40Only one thing can challenge a dragon's dominance.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42Another dragon.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52In the breeding season, males are drawn into savage conflict.
0:02:01 > 0:02:07Huge claws and 60 serrated teeth can inflict terrible damage.
0:02:41 > 0:02:47The Komodo dragon is the only reptile that still rules the land...
0:02:47 > 0:02:49as the dinosaurs once did.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56It can dominate here because it has no competition.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02But for the rest of the world's reptiles and amphibians,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05survival is a much tougher struggle.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14Like the dragon, reptiles and amphibians seem primitive,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17better suited to an earlier age.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28Yet they have a surprising repertoire of extraordinary strategies.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33And they still thrive in many parts of the planet.
0:03:39 > 0:03:46This is the story of how they do so.
0:03:59 > 0:04:05South America, the remote jungle where Brazil and Venezuela meet.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Sheer-sided mountains rise up from the jungle.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Few places on Earth are wetter.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35It's the home of some ancient and very peculiar amphibians.
0:04:37 > 0:04:43The waterfall toad is just an inch long, the size of a postage stamp.
0:04:43 > 0:04:50Its special gripping hands enable it to clamber safely, high in the tree tops.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02But it's not alone up here.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11Most frogs and toads avoid predators by hopping out of danger.
0:05:16 > 0:05:22But this toad never evolved the ability to hop for more than an inch
0:05:22 > 0:05:24and that's nowhere near enough.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28One way it gets eaten.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31The other way is thin air.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Not much of a choice.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50But this isn't suicide.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52It's a deliberate strategy,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55and one that depends on the size and strength
0:05:55 > 0:05:57of those extraordinary hands.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04Free-falling like this is a very effective way of escaping.
0:06:10 > 0:06:16However, another toad on this same mountain has elaborated this strategy.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25It lives a mile above the forest, on this plateau,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28cut off from the world below.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41This is a pebble toad.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44It too is only an inch long.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53These rocks may seem a paradise for a toad.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57It's even wetter than the forest below and there are no snakes.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05But there is a hunter here.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26A toad-eating tarantula.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35It ambushes its prey.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47Like the waterfall toad, the pebble toad can't hop.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49But it has a different defence.
0:08:08 > 0:08:15It tenses its muscles, becomes rigid and turns itself into a rubber ball.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24It's so tiny and weighs so little
0:08:24 > 0:08:29that bouncing doesn't hurt it at all.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Bizarre innovations like these are one of the reasons why
0:08:46 > 0:08:51amphibians and reptiles are still so successful.
0:09:06 > 0:09:07Some of them, however,
0:09:07 > 0:09:11have hardly changed for tens of millions of years.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Brazil's Pantanal.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Over 50,000 square miles of swamp.
0:09:33 > 0:09:39In the dry season, the water is reduced to isolated pools
0:09:39 > 0:09:44and then they contain the greatest concentration of crocodiles on Earth.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49These caiman crocodiles
0:09:49 > 0:09:53are trapped and fast running out of food.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57It will be a long time before the rains return and the rivers rise
0:09:57 > 0:10:00bringing with them the caiman's prey...fish.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Being cold blooded they can go without food for months
0:10:08 > 0:10:11and stay inactive except when they squabble.
0:10:49 > 0:10:54At last, the rains return and rivers swell.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13All reptiles are experts at saving energy.
0:11:13 > 0:11:19The caiman simply line up and wait for the fish to come to them.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Reptiles and amphibians must warm their bodies
0:12:02 > 0:12:05before they can become active and until then
0:12:05 > 0:12:08they are slow-moving and vulnerable.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24The quickest way to gain heat is to bask in the sun,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28as this basilisk lizard from Central America is doing.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31The trouble is that exposing yourself
0:12:31 > 0:12:33inevitably makes you easily seen.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41But a conspicuous perch over a river like this
0:12:41 > 0:12:46seems to be making yourself unnecessarily prominent.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51This basilisk's greatest threat comes from the sky.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Dark shapes overhead make it nervous.
0:12:56 > 0:13:01A hunting bird might expect it to flee to the trees.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07In fact, it does the opposite.
0:13:10 > 0:13:15This skitter across the surface of the water earns it precious seconds
0:13:15 > 0:13:19and the nickname, Jesus Christ lizard.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29It drives its feet down so hard and so fast
0:13:29 > 0:13:32that it never sinks deeper than a few inches.
0:13:34 > 0:13:39A human would need to run at 65mph to do this.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26Reptiles are certainly expert at avoiding trouble
0:14:26 > 0:14:30but they are also very good at finding a way to live in places
0:14:30 > 0:14:33that don't seem to suit them at all.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50They once included the largest animals that have ever walked the Earth...
0:14:50 > 0:14:53the dinosaurs.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57And some living ones are a million times smaller than T Rex.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01Smaller indeed, than some insects.
0:15:11 > 0:15:17The Brazilian pygmy gecko could sit comfortably on a finger tip.
0:15:17 > 0:15:23It's so exceptionally small that no other reptiles compete with it.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25But it's so nimble
0:15:25 > 0:15:28it can escape from the hunting monsters of the undergrowth.
0:15:40 > 0:15:47It is so small that it has special problems with, for example, rain.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59It could drown in a drop
0:15:59 > 0:16:02but its skin is hydrophobic.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06Rain cannot wet it.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13A tumble into a puddle, you might think,
0:16:13 > 0:16:15would risk death by drowning.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28But the gecko is unsinkable.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36It's so light and its skin so water-repellent
0:16:36 > 0:16:39that it can literally stand on water.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51Such miniaturisation is certainly very impressive
0:16:51 > 0:16:55but the reptile body can be transformed even more dramatically.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06One of the most bizarre of all reptiles
0:17:06 > 0:17:09hunts insects here in Madagascar.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18The praying mantis has 360 degree vision
0:17:18 > 0:17:23but it hasn't seen the danger that is now approaching.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46A panther chameleon.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48Every part of its body
0:17:48 > 0:17:53has become specialised for a life of stealth among the branches.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59Its toes have become grasping pincers.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06Its eyes rotate so it can look in all directions.
0:18:06 > 0:18:13Its skin can change colour for camouflage or to signal emotions.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30The chameleon body is concealed from both predator and prey,
0:18:30 > 0:18:34so it can launch a surprise attack.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47The tongue is a like a missile,
0:18:47 > 0:18:52aimed at its prey's head to neutralise its defences.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13Chameleons, in short, are so perfectly adapted
0:19:13 > 0:19:15to a life spent hunting in trees
0:19:15 > 0:19:19that it's hard to imagine how they could live anywhere else.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38The Namib Desert.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41There are no trees for hundreds of miles.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48Yet these are, undoubtedly, chameleon foot prints.
0:19:53 > 0:19:58This female Namaqua chameleon is searching for a mate.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04No part of her body seems suited to such an environment.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17Her feet, that could give her such a good grip on twigs,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20should surely be useless on soft sand.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24But she's able to spread them like snow shoes.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28She needs to get warm and active while the desert is still cool
0:20:28 > 0:20:32so she exploits the chameleon's versatile skin.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36The side facing the sun goes dark to absorb the sun's heat,
0:20:36 > 0:20:38while the other remains light
0:20:38 > 0:20:41and minimises the heat escaping from her body.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54She's hungry and food is scarce.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59But she's still not quick enough to grab these desert beetles.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21Her solution is simple.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24She finds, at last, a little vegetation
0:21:24 > 0:21:29and waits for a shade-seeking beetle to come to her.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54On she goes, in her search for a mate.
0:22:16 > 0:22:21At last, a wandering male.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24But he may not treat her as she might wish.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44The courtship of most chameleons is gentle.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46But in this desert,
0:22:46 > 0:22:51a male meets a female so rarely he can't risk being rejected.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17She marches on, now carrying a new generation.
0:23:39 > 0:23:40A six-month freeze,
0:23:40 > 0:23:45when temperatures may drop to minus 40 degrees centigrade,
0:23:45 > 0:23:49should surely make things impossible for a reptile.
0:23:51 > 0:23:57But here in Canada, beneath the thawing snow, something stirs.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02A male red-sided garter snake.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05He survived the winter by hibernating underground
0:24:05 > 0:24:08where the temperature never dropped below zero.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15The weak sun persuades more males to emerge.
0:24:18 > 0:24:25They are cold and can't move fast, yet they are in an urgent race.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28The first males to warm up will have a head start,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31when the first females appear.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43Melt water provides the first drink they've had for six months.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12At last, a female has emerged.
0:25:12 > 0:25:17The warmest males will inevitably be the first to react to her smell.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21She will only mate once, so competition between them is intense.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42This male has overslept.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48He will need hours to warm up.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52At the moment he stands no chance of mating.
0:26:04 > 0:26:10Most of the other males are ready to chase females but, curiously,
0:26:10 > 0:26:14some leave the race and go to join the cold male.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23They slide their warm bodies over him,
0:26:23 > 0:26:26just as they would if they were courting a female.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36More and more males crowd round him. Why?
0:26:38 > 0:26:43Their relative temperatures show what's going on.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51His cool body, showing as blue,
0:26:51 > 0:26:56is quickly warming as it absorbs heat from the other males.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00He's a trickster, he's fooled the others by giving off a scent
0:27:00 > 0:27:04just like a female's and they are trying to mate with him.
0:27:06 > 0:27:11He only needs a few minutes of this to steal enough heat from his rivals
0:27:11 > 0:27:13to catch up and join the chase.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17Every spring, tens of thousands of garter snakes
0:27:17 > 0:27:21fight it out in this mating frenzy.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32It is, in numbers, the greatest gathering of reptiles in the world.
0:27:50 > 0:27:55Getting a mate is just the first challenge a reptile faces
0:27:55 > 0:27:57when it's ready to breed.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02This collared iguana in Madagascar
0:28:02 > 0:28:05will only lay one batch of eggs this year,
0:28:05 > 0:28:07so she needs somewhere safe to hide them.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Her eggs are much sought after by predators,
0:28:17 > 0:28:19they're excellent pre-packaged meals.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26She appears to have the answer.
0:28:48 > 0:28:53She covers all traces of where she buried them.
0:28:53 > 0:28:54It's a good strategy.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01But not good enough.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08Hog-nosed snakes have learned to keep watch on iguana nesting sites
0:29:08 > 0:29:12and to note the precise place where the eggs lie buried.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23She has been completely outwitted.
0:29:37 > 0:29:42She can only stand by and watch as her precious eggs are eaten.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46Next year she'll have to find a nesting site
0:29:46 > 0:29:48without a hog-nosed snake.
0:30:09 > 0:30:13On the other side of the world, in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona,
0:30:13 > 0:30:16a similar drama has a very different outcome.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28A female horned lizard guards her buried eggs
0:30:28 > 0:30:31and is keeping a lookout for anything
0:30:31 > 0:30:33that might interfere with them.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43A western patch-nosed snake.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45It is an egg-eater.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49And she won't stand for it.
0:31:16 > 0:31:21The patch-nose is no match for this kind of aggression.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32Her eggs are safe, for now.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38Another predator, a coachwhip snake.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41And this species is a lizard eater.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46And she can tell the difference.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49The snake is too fast for her to outrun it.
0:31:49 > 0:31:54So she makes herself look larger and taller.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58The snake is wary of swallowing anything
0:31:58 > 0:32:01that looks as big and as spiky as this.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08And now the lizard plays her trump card.
0:32:15 > 0:32:20The snake isn't accustomed to prey that does this.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42One very confused snake.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55Now she can return to guard duty,
0:32:55 > 0:33:00and several months later she's rewarded with her first baby.
0:33:12 > 0:33:17Looking after your eggs is an even greater challenge for reptiles
0:33:17 > 0:33:20that have left land to live in the sea.
0:33:20 > 0:33:26The Pacific island of Niue is home to the world's entire population
0:33:26 > 0:33:30of one particular type of sea krait.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35This snake is superbly adapted to life underwater
0:33:35 > 0:33:39except when it's time to breed.
0:33:39 > 0:33:44After a few minutes in a mating coil, the female is fertilised.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47But now she has a problem.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50Reptile eggs can't survive underwater,
0:33:50 > 0:33:53the developing young would drown.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55They have to be able to breathe air.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01She and her eggs are both vulnerable to predators,
0:34:01 > 0:34:03if they return to land.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06But she has an extraordinary solution.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19She dives beneath the island.
0:34:19 > 0:34:24To find the entrance to a long underwater tunnel.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51At the far end is a cave with an air pocket.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10This is the dry land her eggs need.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14There are no predators here.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21The cavern is sealed by a roof above and the water below.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25She searches for a crevice where she can deposit her eggs.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42The eggs will be completely safe here
0:35:42 > 0:35:45and she can return to the open sea.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20Six months later, a baby snake takes its first breath.
0:36:38 > 0:36:43Somehow, the young snakes must find their own way to water.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55Then down the tunnel and out to sea.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35A male giant bullfrog.
0:37:35 > 0:37:39Reptiles and amphibians rarely care for their young after they hatch
0:37:39 > 0:37:44but this South African bruiser is an exception.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52The males sort out their dominance through combat.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56The strongest will mate with the most females.
0:38:38 > 0:38:44You might not expect such an aggressive male
0:38:44 > 0:38:46to be a caring father.
0:38:46 > 0:38:51Yet one male stays behind to watch over, not just his own,
0:38:51 > 0:38:53but everyone else's offspring.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11The females laid their eggs in the shallows
0:39:11 > 0:39:13around the margins of the pool.
0:39:19 > 0:39:20But the sun is intense
0:39:20 > 0:39:24and the shallows have shrunk to a single pool.
0:39:28 > 0:39:33There's a real danger that the tadpoles will be stranded.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36The guardian male recognises the problem.
0:39:43 > 0:39:48They will be dead within an hour unless he can do something to help.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03There is only one thing he can do to save them.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11Dig a channel to the main pool.
0:40:53 > 0:40:54They're safe.
0:41:06 > 0:41:11Remarkable innovations have made amphibians and reptiles
0:41:11 > 0:41:13a modern success story.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19What is more, among their ranks is one reptile
0:41:19 > 0:41:23that is still an undisputed top land predator.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26The Komodo dragon.
0:41:27 > 0:41:33They mostly hunt deer, which they ambush and easily overpower.
0:41:33 > 0:41:38But in hard times the dragons risk hunting something much bigger.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44Water buffalo, an animal ten times their size.
0:41:51 > 0:41:57Until now, a dragon hunt has never been filmed.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02It's the dry season.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05A buffalo sleeps through the heat of the day
0:42:05 > 0:42:07in one of the last waterholes.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14Dragons lurk around the margins.
0:42:14 > 0:42:20The buffalo seems to view them as just an irritation,
0:42:20 > 0:42:21not a danger.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25A serious mistake.
0:42:36 > 0:42:41The dragon is wary a jab or a kick could injure it fatally.
0:43:11 > 0:43:16The bites are just flesh wounds but other dragons are alert now.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20Like sharks, they're excited by blood.
0:43:30 > 0:43:34The buffalo leaves with just a limp.
0:43:37 > 0:43:41The dragons appear to have failed.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51Yet they show a peculiar interest in the buffalo
0:43:51 > 0:43:54and follow it wherever it goes.
0:44:04 > 0:44:09As the days pass, the buffalo's wounds don't heal.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11It starts to weaken.
0:44:11 > 0:44:16The dragons' hunting method begins to come clear.
0:44:16 > 0:44:23A brand new discovery reveals that the dragon has venom, like a snake.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25The bite will eventually prove fatal
0:44:25 > 0:44:28but it's going to take several weeks.
0:44:38 > 0:44:43The dragons, however, can afford to wait for a meal of this size.
0:44:45 > 0:44:49They simply stick close to their victim and conserve their energy.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56Thousands of years ago, dwarf elephants lived here.
0:44:56 > 0:45:00The dragons probably hunted them in exactly the same way.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06But the process is a long, drawn out one.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09Three weeks later and the buffalo is very weak.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41The dragons sense that the end is near.
0:45:45 > 0:45:49They must remain wary, the buffalo could still lash out.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02Gradually they close in to try and finish it off.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38The dragons' strategy is certainly merciless
0:46:38 > 0:46:42but it is the only way that they can get a meal like this
0:46:42 > 0:46:46and in hard times they need it if they're to survive.
0:47:01 > 0:47:05The buffalo died in the night.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14Ten big dragons have gathered to feed.
0:47:18 > 0:47:24They strip the buffalo to the bone in just four hours.
0:47:32 > 0:47:36This is the biggest venomous animal on the planet.
0:47:56 > 0:48:02We don't need tales of Jurassic Park and Velociraptors
0:48:02 > 0:48:05to see a reptile dominated world.
0:48:05 > 0:48:07It's all here.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28No-one has ever before followed the whole process
0:48:28 > 0:48:31of a Komodo dragon hunting a buffalo.
0:48:36 > 0:48:41So cameraman Kevin Flay and researcher Matt Swarbrick
0:48:41 > 0:48:43didn't know what to expect.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46They thought it would be a physical challenge
0:48:46 > 0:48:49but they hadn't bargained for emotional turmoil as well.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02They reached Komodo after a four day journey.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04Kevin, an expert at filming reptiles,
0:49:04 > 0:49:06knows they're in dragon territory.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09Look how wide that is.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11- Look at that.- Yes.
0:49:11 > 0:49:15Their only protection is these rangers, armed with sticks.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27These big ones look really scary, actually.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30And not until you get, till they come really in close
0:49:30 > 0:49:34and when they're by the camera, then you tend to question your faith
0:49:34 > 0:49:36in our friends with the sticks.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50But this dragon isn't a big one.
0:49:50 > 0:49:55At five foot, this dragon is just over half grown.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58The really big ones live in land,
0:49:58 > 0:50:01which is exactly where Kevin and Matt must go
0:50:01 > 0:50:05to find a place where dragons and buffalo might meet.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13We could spend five weeks walking around all over the island
0:50:13 > 0:50:17just trying to find dragons randomly coming across buffalos
0:50:17 > 0:50:20but fortunately for us it is the dry season
0:50:20 > 0:50:24and there's only one decent waterhole left on the island
0:50:24 > 0:50:28and both the dragons and the buffalo require water, obviously,
0:50:28 > 0:50:30which brings them together.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32Kevin decides to wait here,
0:50:32 > 0:50:35but after a few days with no sign of dragons,
0:50:35 > 0:50:38it looks like the wrong decision.
0:50:38 > 0:50:40Oh, here comes a buffalo.
0:50:40 > 0:50:44You know this is about as, as exciting as the day gets.
0:50:44 > 0:50:45Look.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52See that.
0:50:52 > 0:50:54Hello, mate.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57After almost a week something changes
0:50:57 > 0:51:00and a couple of dragons appear.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09Have we got a ranger here?
0:51:09 > 0:51:11Guys, can we have a ranger?
0:51:14 > 0:51:17Always know how dangerous a situation is,
0:51:17 > 0:51:19but it does seem a bit concerning
0:51:19 > 0:51:21that one of our rangers is sat up in a tree.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32But the dragons show no interest in the buffalo or the crew
0:51:32 > 0:51:35and the frustration continues.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38Yet their task seems so simple.
0:51:38 > 0:51:40So all we need
0:51:40 > 0:51:45is for him to film him attacking him.
0:51:48 > 0:51:52But it looks like he is about to attack him.
0:51:58 > 0:52:02Just cut myself, that's not good in dragon country.
0:52:02 > 0:52:03I better be careful.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07Now we've gotta start our walk home, it takes just over an hour
0:52:07 > 0:52:10but the thing is, if stuff's happened and you've got,
0:52:10 > 0:52:13you've managed to film good stuff then it, it's really easy,
0:52:13 > 0:52:15you just trot on home and find some dinner
0:52:15 > 0:52:18and find out what the rats have done to your room.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20But it's still really hot at this time of day
0:52:20 > 0:52:22and so, if you've not filmed a lot
0:52:22 > 0:52:24and you've just sat here all day long,
0:52:24 > 0:52:26then it's a hell of a long walk home.
0:52:26 > 0:52:31They have a lot of long walks home but finally a new dragon appears,
0:52:31 > 0:52:35something about its attitude seems different.
0:52:35 > 0:52:40Maybe we could be onto something but I've now lost that other dragon,
0:52:40 > 0:52:42which makes me a bit nervous.
0:52:46 > 0:52:49At first it's wary,
0:52:49 > 0:52:52unwilling to get too close to the buffalo.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04Big dragons involved here.
0:53:09 > 0:53:13That came from absolutely nowhere.
0:53:13 > 0:53:18That guy has got some real attitude.
0:53:36 > 0:53:42That first bite and the smell of blood set off a chain reaction.
0:53:42 > 0:53:44All the dragons seem to come to life.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54The peaceful watering hole is now a dangerous place to be.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05Well, I've definitely got two heads at the moment,
0:54:05 > 0:54:07one as a cameraman saying, "Yes, brilliant!"
0:54:07 > 0:54:11And the other one's thinking, "That poor animal," you know,
0:54:11 > 0:54:13"That's not nice, that's really not nice."
0:54:21 > 0:54:23Quickly, quick,
0:54:23 > 0:54:25quick, quick.
0:54:38 > 0:54:42My heart's pumping a bit.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46At least my heart still works. Good Lord, that was a bit hairy.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51Now the crew must follow the buffalo everyday
0:54:51 > 0:54:53to finish their filming job.
0:54:53 > 0:54:58This begins to take a toll on their emotions.
0:54:58 > 0:55:01He knows he's injured, he can't walk properly
0:55:01 > 0:55:06and he's got these predators just gathering around him,
0:55:06 > 0:55:08waiting for the opportunity.
0:55:08 > 0:55:09It's gruesome.
0:55:09 > 0:55:14Shadowing the buffalo means staying close to the dragons too.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18This is mad we've, just, just followed a, the buffalo
0:55:18 > 0:55:22and, I think, six dragons, I've lost track now,
0:55:22 > 0:55:26I think it's six dragons, down into the riverbed
0:55:26 > 0:55:29and, you know, it's, they're stalking it,
0:55:29 > 0:55:31we're all a bit nervous,
0:55:31 > 0:55:34this is actually quite frightening, I have to say.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45They're so capable and so unafraid of us
0:55:45 > 0:55:49and they would have no problems at all
0:55:49 > 0:55:52of causing us major, major damage.
0:55:53 > 0:55:59At the moment I feel about 5 to 10% confident that I'm safe here
0:55:59 > 0:56:02but the truth is we just don't know.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14As the days pass, Kevin and Matt
0:56:14 > 0:56:18can't help but feel more deeply involved.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23I'm sure they're starting to think of us as death,
0:56:23 > 0:56:24you know, the camera team.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27Because, although we, you know, we're not influencing it
0:56:27 > 0:56:30in any way, really, we're always there when the dragon's there
0:56:30 > 0:56:33and, you know, she's sick so we're following her
0:56:33 > 0:56:35and you see her looking back at you
0:56:35 > 0:56:39and I'm sure I feel like death and his scythe's coming in to kill.
0:56:39 > 0:56:44I'm not really that sure how cut out I am for this.
0:56:44 > 0:56:49If, if the game is spending all your time watching an animal die...
0:56:49 > 0:56:50I don't know about that.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57The dragons seem brutal,
0:56:57 > 0:57:00yet this is the only way they can get large prey.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10For the team, the event has become personal.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15I think as we've got to know him and, you know,
0:57:15 > 0:57:19we've seen him every morning, we've seen him every evening
0:57:19 > 0:57:22and, you know, you build up a relationship with him
0:57:22 > 0:57:25and, and today I think he, he kind of gave up.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34The next day it is all over.
0:57:42 > 0:57:46Now it's over, you sit back and reflect and you sort of feel,
0:57:46 > 0:57:47that was just astonishing.
0:57:50 > 0:57:53And it feels so primeval.
0:57:53 > 0:57:56It feels we're watching something from a different era.
0:57:56 > 0:58:00And they really are the most fantastic things to be with.
0:58:00 > 0:58:02Scary....
0:58:02 > 0:58:04awesome, you know, to look at
0:58:04 > 0:58:09you just feel that you are looking at something from Jurassic Park.
0:58:31 > 0:58:34Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:34 > 0:58:37E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk