Episode 1 Lost Land of the Jaguar


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If you think the whole world has been explored...think again.

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Travel north from the Amazon, and you'll find another jungle - a true wilderness.

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Its interior uncharted, its animals uncatalogued.

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Guyana.

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Now an international team of expert naturalists

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are coming to search for the species hidden in this forgotten forest.

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We've come somewhere no-one's ever been before,

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and it's one of the most spectacular places on the planet.

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There are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of species here that haven't been seen by anybody,

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and we will find them first.

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Guyana's forest - unspoilt, unprotected and under threat.

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Our job is to prove that these forests have more value alive than razed to the ground.

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Guyana. It's the size of Great Britain, with the population of Liverpool.

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Nearly everyone lives on the narrow strip by the coast.

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But travel south

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and there's rainforest for hundreds and hundreds of miles.

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The only way to base camp is by boat.

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A ten-hour journey from the nearest dirt road.

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I was amazed, you know, when we were flying in,

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-there was a few little houses.

-Yeah, nothing.

-And that was it.

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The good stuff's in there, not here.

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George, you've got about six weeks to get in there and find stuff, don't be impatient! Calm down!

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Faster, let's get there!

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It's a land full of giants.

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Giant otters, the biggest spiders in the world,

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enormous caiman,

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eight-metre anaconda,

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and the biggest cat in South America - the mysterious jaguar.

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This forest is untouched.

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But in two years they could be logging these trees.

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The team's destination - a base camp built by the advance party.

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Each team member has a different speciality.

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Gordon Buchanan will be searching for the large mammals.

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My job on this expedition is to try and find and film as many different animals as I can.

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If I could pick only two animals, the first would be giant otters,

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and the second, the most difficult one, would be the jaguar.

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Justine Evans is a canopy specialist.

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She documents life at the top of giant trees.

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The forests have barely been explored on the ground, let alone in the canopy.

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I want to get up there and just see what's going on.

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Absolutely stunning.

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Steve Backshall will be exploring places other naturalists cannot reach.

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In his search for animals, he'll attempt a first ascent up a remote mountain

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and a daring descent down a giant waterfall.

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It feels like I'm completely underneath it, completely surrounded by it.

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And the last expedition member, Dr George McGavin from Oxford University.

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He's leading the science team from a jungle laboratory right in the heart of camp.

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If we're concerned about species loss, which we all should be,

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we should be concerned about keeping the forests intact.

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The expedition's aim - to find what lives here,

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and to draw the world's attention to this -

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the largest unspoilt rainforest left on the planet.

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SHOUTING

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The team are still unpacking when there's a shout from the riverbank.

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A very rare monkey's been spotted.

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There, there. See it? There, there.

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We've got a bearded saki, a monkey on the tree over there.

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Can just see a bit of movement in the foliage, but I can't actually see the monkey yet.

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-It's not easy to see him.

-Not at all. Here we go, I've got one.

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They just wag their tail back and forward, it's quite typical behaviour in them.

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But it's... Oops! Got a bit of movement up there.

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The bearded saki is on the international list of endangered species.

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It's the best start they could hope for.

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And animals are even coming into the camp itself.

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Steve Backshall takes a look.

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That's beautiful.

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-One of the common names for it is the Amazon forest dragon.

-Yes.

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What I love about these is, to begin with they're skittish,

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but once they sense that you mean them no harm,

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they'll quite happily sit in your hand and barely move at all.

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He is absolutely beautiful. That's definitely one to add to our tick list.

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The expedition's working closely with Guyanese trackers.

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They know these jungles hide dangerous creatures.

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For the new arrivals, there's a safety briefing.

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The jungle is an alien environment for most of us and there's a few things we need to bear in mind.

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We have had 9ft caiman down on the landing just outside of camp only a couple of days ago,

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so be conscious that there are caiman and they are very dangerous.

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There are very big piranhas in the water. Swimming far away from the shore is probably not advised.

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Snakes that we need to be concerned about are the viper family -

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rattlesnakes, pit vipers, the infamous bushmaster, and also the coral snakes.

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Scorpions are here.

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As a general rule, the ones with the fat tails are the worst.

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There's some very large tarantulas but the small things are the worst things.

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Don't put your hands into holes cos that's where you'll get stung.

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First light next morning, the team split up to start their specialist surveys.

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Gordon's on a recce of the river.

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This whole part of the world is just riddled with waterways,

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and this is one of the major ones,

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but joining on to it, these rivers are smaller rivers, tiny little creeks,

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so it's on the little country lanes, the little cul-de-sacs, that you find interesting stuff.

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First on Gordon's list is to see if he can find the rare giant otters.

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They're top predators. Perfect indicators of a river's health.

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As you can imagine, something the size of a giant otter is going to leave one or two signs.

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Hey, look at this here, look.

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When you've got a bare bank, like this, it's a very good place to find otters.

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They're the biggest otters in the world - three times larger than any otter in Europe.

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Their favourite meal - piranhas.

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Wow, look at this. This is a very clear sign that there's otters in this area, and very recent.

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I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't this morning.

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Their toes are not that much smaller than my fingers.

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If you think of an otter that has hands almost the same size as mine,

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actually the otter itself is almost the same size as me.

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They're big, big beasts.

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Just put a little bit of tension on it, makes it quicker and easier.

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While Gordon's on the river, Justine's high in the treetops building an observation post,

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with the help of Steve and the climbing team.

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Tree-climbing in the rainforest is hot, sweaty, there's endless bugs,

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ants, wasps, bees, all of which hate you invading their world,

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and...yeah, it's tough old work.

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It's good that you can see a little bit through the under storey.

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If you look that way a bit,

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that's not bad, actually, that direction.

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Steve hauls up her platform.

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Justine will spend ten hours every day on a square of aluminium the size of a card table.

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That's as far as it will go. We're on the end of the pulley now.

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Sound as a pound, that's not going anywhere.

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Yeah, it's a pretty good spot. It's not got a brilliant view,

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but it's a good start.

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At 17, Gordon swapped his job washing dishes on the Isle of Mull

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for an apprenticeship filming wildlife in Brazil.

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Oh, look here, look.

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His years in the Amazon taught him the skills of jungle tracking.

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Very easy to follow this.

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It's just a detective story, when you're looking for wild animals,

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but with giant animals, they leave giant traces.

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Watch out for snakes.

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The fact that there's been a giant otter here,

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the chances are, they've never been hunted,

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and I'll be interested to see how they react when they see me.

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Justine's survey relies on a vital piece of kit - a high-definition camera.

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This lens can magnify up to 80 times,

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perfect for capturing canopy creatures.

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I can zoom in really, really close with this,

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so I can see a monkey 200 metres away and still be able to get in close enough

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to actually see whether it's a male or female, anything that will identify it.

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And we're here to assess this place, or me, particularly, to see what's up in the canopy,

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so I've got to be up here all daylight hours.

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The expedition's based in a patch of forest

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that's been leased to the organisation Conservation International.

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The surrounding jungle stretches for hundreds of miles.

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But now large swathes are soon to be explored by logging companies.

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Guyana's at a dangerous crossroads.

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It can either exploit what it's got and make a quick buck,

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or, if we can show what is here, and the rarity and the diversity of this area,

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and that's why I'm here, is just to prevent the worst-case scenario.

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The team believe this could be pristine rainforest -

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the animals never hunted, the ancient trees still standing.

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In the 21st century, that's rare indeed.

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In base camp, the scientists are hard at work, recording all their discoveries.

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Their report will be presented to the President of Guyana.

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Finding any new or endangered species will strengthen the case for conservation.

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-Hind legs are way back almost...

-It's like a cricket.

-..twice the size of the body.

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That is the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my life.

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It's a fly, hasn't got any wings...

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George McGavin's great passion is for insects.

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At first I thought it was a cricket, a tiny cricket, but it's a bat fly.

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Insects make ecosystems work.

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Without bees, for instance, you'd have no flowering plants, no vegetables, no fruit.

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So without the insects, you simply wouldn't have the big animals.

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From the tiniest bugs to the largest birds, there's over a million known species living in rainforests.

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George believes there could be another 5 million still waiting to be discovered.

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Oh, I say! Look at that.

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Fallen trees like this are an amazing resource for insects and bugs, and stuff.

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They're not always hollow enough to crawl inside. Oh, that's... Yeah, it looks rather nice.

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The worry is that there are snakes up here, or scorpions, so I'll take my ultraviolet scorpion torch.

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Oh, look at that.

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Oh! It is big, it is a biggie!

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This is going to be epic.

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Now, there's a bat. Look, look, look over there. See it?

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There's about three of them.

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Is there anything else in there? That's the worry.

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Let's go, let's see what's in here.

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It's like crawling into a large peaty tube.

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It's an extreme habitat, very rarely explored.

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And straight away, he's coming up against new creatures.

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There are crickets everywhere, and the interesting thing about them is, I haven't seen these ones before,

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and I'm going to have to try and collect some of these.

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Oh, there's a monster there! Look at that!

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They've got these enormous antennae.

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These crickets are adapted to very dark, wet places.

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There's a brown cricket as well, and I'm not quite sure if this is the same species.

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I'm just going to try and grab this, and you really have to be incredibly quick. Here goes...

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Ooh!

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Ah...

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Fallen giants litter these jungles.

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Every day, strong winds and weak roots bring another colossus crashing down.

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These jungle trees look solid on the outside, but can be eaten hollow by termites on the inside.

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30 metres up, fragile trees are not something Justine wants to worry about.

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Now, after two days of waiting, she sights something moving.

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I finally got a glimpse of a squirrel monkey.

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It's so difficult.

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They're so quick.

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Ah, there's one.

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It's gone.

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They seem to be mostly adults and some larger young, but there's no babies being carried by mothers.

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Big group, though.

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Squirrel monkeys.

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They're common in South America's forests.

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They move through the canopy in large groups.

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This one's searching for caterpillars on new leaves.

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It's obviously feeding on insects.

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That's why they seem to be moving so quickly. I think they're just snatching at whatever they can find.

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Ah, there's a good view.

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Are they going up this branch?

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Must be a main travel route, probably the only travel route through this section.

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Jumping off into the other tree.

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The fruiting season's gone, and so there are probably very few fruiting trees in the forest at this moment.

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RUSTLING

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What was that?

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Probably just a tree falling down...

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George is now 25 metres inside this fallen giant.

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This is amazing.

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Look what we've got here. This is a whip spider.

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These long bits are actually its front legs

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and because it lives in darkness... You can see how it's feeling my finger there.

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It uses these very long legs to feel its prey,

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and its prey are these cave crickets here.

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And, very sneakily, sometimes the whip spiders reach behind the cricket

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and just go tickle, tickle on the back end,

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and the cricket jumps forward into the jaws of the whip spider.

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It's a really clever trick.

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The further I go into this,

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there's bigger and bigger whip spiders.

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Oh, there's an absolute monster over here!

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There are now, on this part of the roof,

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13 crickets and five whip spiders,

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who are just queuing up to eat them.

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Little is known about the biology of these weird predators.

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Somehow, George has to catch one to take it back to the lab.

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One's just crawled across my face!

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Because it's now getting really, really tight,

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I have a bit of a problem.

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HE WHEEZES

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It's as hot as a sauna, and crawling with bugs.

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George is in his element.

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Ah!

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Just one sec.

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I can't... I can't get out of this...

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This hole's too tight. Argh!

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I feel like a beetle grub emerging from...

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from its long period of metamorphosis!

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HE LAUGHS

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Actually, I think I am stuck!

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All I can say is,

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I don't think I've had as much fun in a log for a long time!

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Usually, George only sees these bizarre beasts dead in a museum drawer.

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It's a rare chance to examine them alive.

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Isn't that wonderful?

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That is the ultimate animal for hunting for prey in the dark.

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It's flattened, it's fast, it's got big, spiky palps at the front end,

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incredibly long legs for just feeling its prey.

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If you designed an organism for catching crickets in the dark, this is it.

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And once the poor animal is trapped in those spines at the front,

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that's it, there is no escape from that.

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Dinner tonight - piranha.

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-How is it?

-Looks good.

-I'm absolutely famished.

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-I'm hungry, yeah.

-Piranha teeth.

-Is it piranha teeth? Look at that!

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-They do have the most extraordinary teeth.

-I'm a bit, er...

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-Put some falsies in!

-Careful, George, put that through your upper lip and you'll know about it!

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-They're swimming in the river?

-Uh-huh.

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Can someone pass the evil fire sauce down, please?

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That is far too much of that. You're gonna die.

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He's beginning to regret that now!

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Yes! Yes!

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Although the expedition starts in base camp,

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each team member will also explore even more remote parts of Guyana.

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Today, Steve and the climbing team are heading out.

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There are some areas that have very different forest to the stuff that we're in right now.

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Over in the west of the country,

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there are these exposed beds of ancient, ancient rock,

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and one of the world's most spectacular waterfalls.

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And that's where the next leg of my journey's taking me.

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His destination - Guyana's only National Park, hidden deep in the heart of the forest.

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At its centre - Kaieteur Falls.

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Five times higher than Niagara.

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Each day, 60 million tonnes of water flow over these falls.

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40 kilometres from the nearest road, just a handful of tourists fly in

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to view this wonder of the world from the top.

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But no-one has fully explored the unique habitat around the plunge pool.

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That's the task for Steve and climbing supervisor, Tim Fogg.

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That is a very long way down.

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We're going to try a recce, have a look for the best place to descend,

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and I really want to get a feel of the world behind the waterfall.

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At base camp, an eerie sound echoes deep in the forest.

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DISTANT CRIES

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The ghostly call of the howler monkey.

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Justine's on her way to her treetop perch.

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It's the sound she's been hoping to hear.

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I can hear distant howler calls,

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but it's quite a way.

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The thing is that there was a group calling out in this direction

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but they could just be sitting quietly in the treetops,

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and we wouldn't know they were there.

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CACOPHONY OF CRIES

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It's the most unearthly sound, the sound of howler monkeys.

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It sounds like a huge dragon in the distance.

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A healthy population of howler monkeys would be a great sign of an untouched forest.

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They're easy to hear, but much harder to find and count.

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There's a chance that, in a while, they might start moving around, and hopefully come this way.

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Just a waiting a game, we have to see.

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Down on the ground, they're surveying species on the forest floor.

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Guyanese scientist, Doctor Raquel Thomas, is an expert on rainforest trees.

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Some of these were growing before Columbus came to the Americas.

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This tree here, I reckon would be about 500 to 600 years.

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In the five days since they've arrived, they've catalogued over a hundred different types of animal.

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Every little hair has got hairs on it,

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and on the end of the small hairs, you've got tiny hairs.

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Gordon's had no luck in his search for large mammals.

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They're particularly hard to track down, especially the elusive big cats.

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I spent two years in total in another part of the Amazon,

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and I saw a wild jaguar for 30 seconds,

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and that's two years straight, so that's how difficult it is.

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Gordon's returned to the creek with the otter tracks.

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He's setting a trap, a camera trap.

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It looks very complicated, but the concept's very simple.

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It's an infrared beam. When that gets broken, the camera starts running.

0:24:010:24:07

It's a huge amount of effort to put this in. That's why I think we have to leave it for at least a week.

0:24:090:24:14

We don't even have to come every day. We just leave it and come every three days or so, keep an eye on it.

0:24:140:24:20

Then it's back to the canoe and on with the search for otters.

0:24:200:24:25

At Kaieteur Falls, Steve and the team have set the ropes.

0:24:320:24:37

I wouldn't go straight over, I'd step down now onto the ladder.

0:24:370:24:40

Tomorrow, he will lead a team to the bottom to search for animals,

0:24:400:24:45

but today he must first test the gear and take a look at the route down.

0:24:450:24:51

..So that rope goes into that.

0:24:510:24:53

There's always that horrible fear of stepping off a perfectly good, solid surface,

0:24:530:24:58

and just back into space, isn't there?

0:24:580:25:00

You can't go much further because I've got to get this bag to you now.

0:25:000:25:04

His helmet-camera will record all he sees.

0:25:040:25:08

This would have to be one of the most dramatic places in the world.

0:25:100:25:14

Totally unspoilt.

0:25:140:25:16

There's nobody here but us.

0:25:160:25:17

But it's very hard to enjoy it when your heart is thumping.

0:25:190:25:23

It's just this boiling steam below us.

0:25:230:25:26

Just push out.

0:25:280:25:29

Oh, wow.

0:25:320:25:33

Oh, my ropes are rubbing over this rock,

0:25:390:25:42

and it's sharp.

0:25:420:25:43

The cliff has a severe overhang.

0:25:460:25:48

It's only when Steve's on the ropes that he can get a close look at the rock face.

0:25:480:25:54

Tim, I've dropped under the overhang and it's absolutely extraordinary down here.

0:25:540:26:00

Directly beneath me, it's dropping straight into the plunge pool at its most turbulent.

0:26:000:26:05

It'd be like dropping into the world's worst whirlpool - total suicide. Over.

0:26:050:26:09

-OVER RADIO:

-That's confirmed everything that we suspected,

0:26:090:26:12

but it was worth going down and getting a better view of it. Over.

0:26:120:26:16

Yeah. From this angle, I can see a good line where we could come down.

0:26:160:26:20

If we were to actually head around to the base,

0:26:200:26:22

there's a line that looks like it drops down onto reasonable territory.

0:26:220:26:26

Steve has dropped as far as he safely can.

0:26:260:26:29

Tomorrow, he'll descend to the very bottom to start his survey.

0:26:290:26:33

I'm actually swinging right underneath the curtain of water.

0:26:340:26:38

George is on his daily quest for new insects.

0:26:590:27:03

Oh, wow!

0:27:040:27:06

This is one of the wonders of the animal world.

0:27:060:27:09

This is a trail of army ants, and there are literally tens of thousands of them.

0:27:090:27:14

Army ants are swarm raiders.

0:27:170:27:20

Their marauding column pushes through the jungle, killing anything too slow to escape.

0:27:200:27:25

You'll see spiders and cockroaches jumping out the way.

0:27:250:27:28

He's trying to get away but it's no good. They'll have him.

0:27:280:27:33

Their prey are pulled to pieces and carried back to feed their young,

0:27:330:27:37

living deep in the heart of this tree.

0:27:370:27:41

What would be really great is to come back really early, about 4.30am, 5.00am,

0:27:410:27:46

and have a look inside and actually see what's happening in there.

0:27:460:27:50

If we hit it at the right time, when they're on the move, wow, that'd be fantastic.

0:27:500:27:54

30 metres above, Justine is still patiently scanning the canopy for howler monkeys.

0:27:540:28:01

This afternoon, the wind is picking up.

0:28:010:28:04

I've come up a really great tree, it's got a fantastic view,

0:28:040:28:08

but it's more like a stalk sticking about 45 metres straight out from the under storey.

0:28:080:28:13

It's also really windy today. There's a big gust coming in now,

0:28:130:28:18

and the whole tree is just swaying around.

0:28:180:28:21

I'm actually getting motion sickness, coupled with the vertigo I was experiencing earlier!

0:28:210:28:27

It's quite an experience being up here today.

0:28:270:28:30

Gordon's been searching for otters since first light,

0:28:330:28:37

but it seems everything is against him.

0:28:370:28:40

Hang on. This is getting a bit unpleasant.

0:28:430:28:46

It's getting really hot and kind of uncomfortable, I've got ants crawling all over me

0:28:460:28:51

and I just snared up the prop in some weeds again.

0:28:510:28:55

It's like wire, this stuff.

0:28:580:29:00

Oh, and I've just broke my knife!

0:29:000:29:03

Man, that's annoying!

0:29:030:29:06

To make it all worse,

0:29:090:29:11

I've got this very painful blistering

0:29:110:29:16

all over my chest.

0:29:160:29:18

This is very uncomfortable.

0:29:180:29:20

George is suffering too.

0:29:240:29:26

He's covered in bites from his crawl through the log.

0:29:260:29:30

-There's a definite reaction.

-Mm.

0:29:300:29:33

I just want to keep an eye on that one, George, whether that one's getting infected.

0:29:330:29:38

It's been a long day for the whole team.

0:29:380:29:42

Yeah.

0:29:430:29:45

But one member of the team is having rather more luck.

0:29:550:29:59

While Steve hangs on the rope,

0:30:020:30:04

a flock of swifts starts heading straight towards him.

0:30:040:30:08

Look at that!

0:30:080:30:10

They nest behind the waterfall.

0:30:130:30:15

They're coming in very close to the overhang here to keep away from the spray.

0:30:190:30:23

As they come in, they're banking and rolling just like fighter jets.

0:30:230:30:28

Right past my ears.

0:30:280:30:29

Whoa! Look at all those swifts!

0:30:400:30:43

Wow!

0:30:430:30:45

Oh, that is unbelievable!

0:30:450:30:47

Next morning, well before dawn, Justine is woken by a distant roar.

0:31:000:31:05

It's the howler monkeys again, and they're getting nearer.

0:31:080:31:12

I don't know what time it is, but it's very early.

0:31:120:31:15

HOWLING IN DISTANCE

0:31:150:31:18

Seems a bit weird putting ski socks on in the tropics,

0:31:200:31:24

but it's best to do this to keep all the chiggers

0:31:240:31:30

and nasty biting things off.

0:31:300:31:33

The precious cameras are the only objects in the camp kept warm and dry.

0:31:350:31:41

With all the gear on her back,

0:31:420:31:44

Justine starts the long trek through the last of the night.

0:31:440:31:47

George is also up early.

0:31:560:31:58

He's heading to the army ant bivouac.

0:31:580:32:01

He needs to arrive before the column is on the march.

0:32:010:32:04

Here it is.

0:32:040:32:07

Here's the tree.

0:32:070:32:08

We've got up at five o'clock and they're not even up yet.

0:32:080:32:13

Ah...

0:32:130:32:15

What you've got is a camera on the end of this little tip here,

0:32:150:32:21

and a little light and I can push that right up into the colony.

0:32:210:32:25

Perfect. Perfect.

0:32:250:32:26

His aim is to probe deep inside the colony

0:32:260:32:29

and perhaps even spy the queen.

0:32:290:32:31

Ooh, there they are. There is the outside of the main ball of ants.

0:32:310:32:37

Ooh, yes. They're not happy about that.

0:32:370:32:39

There's a soldier, look at the head of that thing.

0:32:390:32:42

He's not happy about that.

0:32:420:32:44

That squawking noise was a macaw flying over.

0:32:460:32:50

There he goes, in fact two of them.

0:32:500:32:52

Oh, my God.

0:32:550:32:57

Macaws, macaws, macaws.

0:32:570:33:00

I've been hearing lots of macaws calling.

0:33:000:33:03

This is the first time I've got a good shot.

0:33:030:33:05

I'm just managing to film them through this foreground tree,

0:33:050:33:08

which is causing all sorts of blur.

0:33:080:33:10

That's it, one of them's just moved into a clearer position.

0:33:120:33:15

Ridiculous red colour,

0:33:170:33:19

almost unbelievable, really.

0:33:190:33:22

But macaws are the first thing to disappear

0:33:220:33:25

when humans come into an area.

0:33:250:33:29

They're taken by hunters for the pet trade, also for meat.

0:33:290:33:33

A single macaw can sell for more than a year's wages in Guyana.

0:33:340:33:39

The colony's out on the move and they're now swarming all down here.

0:33:410:33:45

That was very quick, actually.

0:33:450:33:47

One of the great tricks about army ants

0:33:470:33:50

is that they've got hooks on their feet,

0:33:500:33:54

and they can join up their feet and they can make a bridge.

0:33:540:33:58

George still hasn't seen the queen,

0:33:580:34:01

but first he has to get past the soldiers.

0:34:010:34:04

They're vicious and it's not only their giant pincers -

0:34:040:34:08

they also inject a dose of formic acid.

0:34:080:34:10

I'm just going to push this right into the middle of the colony.

0:34:100:34:14

Oh, it's big. Oh, my goodness, look at that.

0:34:140:34:17

It's a huge colony.

0:34:170:34:19

It's massive! It's not often you get to see

0:34:190:34:23

right into the heart of a colony of army ants.

0:34:230:34:27

That is a very privileged view. Ooh!

0:34:270:34:32

Ow, ah!

0:34:320:34:33

Not going to see their queen, not today. Agh!

0:34:370:34:39

HE GROANS AND LAUGHS

0:34:390:34:42

-This is all very bizarre...

-Ow! Ow!

0:34:420:34:45

..sitting quietly up here, waiting for my monkeys and...

0:34:450:34:49

George has found an army ant colony.

0:34:490:34:52

I guess that's what it is

0:34:520:34:54

cos you can hear him howling with pain in the background,

0:34:540:34:57

down in the under storey.

0:34:570:34:59

Entomologists 0, army ants 1.

0:34:590:35:03

I think I'd rather be up here actually, even if it is

0:35:030:35:07

with mosquitoes and midges than being mullered by army ants.

0:35:070:35:11

They're a crazy lot, entomologists - especially George.

0:35:110:35:16

The rest of the scientists are back in the jungle lab,

0:35:190:35:22

where the checklist of animals is increasing every day,

0:35:220:35:26

including this horned frog,

0:35:260:35:28

perfectly camouflaged to ambush prey in the leaf litter.

0:35:280:35:33

But this jungle isn't just home for amazing animals.

0:35:330:35:37

Keeping rainforests intact is vital in the fight against climate change.

0:35:400:35:45

This region's forests alone locks away

0:35:450:35:48

forty thousand million tonnes of carbon.

0:35:480:35:51

Forests are important for the global welfare.

0:35:510:35:55

Climate change depends on it.

0:35:550:35:57

Biodiversity depends on it.

0:35:570:35:59

People depend on it.

0:35:590:36:01

Guyana's a very poor country.

0:36:010:36:03

Logging these forests would be a simple way to raise much needed revenue.

0:36:030:36:08

But Guyana's president

0:36:080:36:09

recently approached Britain with a green alternative,

0:36:090:36:13

keeping the forests standing in exchange for carbon credits.

0:36:130:36:18

Guyana's forest is not only important for Guyana but is also important for the whole globe.

0:36:180:36:25

The Stern Report has concluded that keeping forests intact

0:36:250:36:28

is a highly cost-effective way to combat climate change.

0:36:280:36:33

In Guyana, they're still waiting for a decision.

0:36:330:36:36

At Kaieteur Falls, there's an air of quiet concentration.

0:36:470:36:51

This time Steve aims to go all the way to the bottom

0:36:510:36:54

and spend 48 hours surveying this habitat.

0:36:540:36:57

We've got no real information about what kind of terrain is down there.

0:36:570:37:01

We know for sure that it's gonna be very slippery and very dangerous.

0:37:010:37:04

You're gonna have to lean forward, Steve. It's very, very tight.

0:37:080:37:12

Go on, go on, go on. Yes, good job - and move sideways now, Steve.

0:37:120:37:15

-That's great. Well done, mate.

-Woah.

0:37:150:37:21

As Steve starts his descent, the mist rolls in.

0:37:260:37:29

Almost as soon as I stepped over the edge,

0:37:330:37:35

this thick fog just started to rise up from the base of the waterfall,

0:37:350:37:41

and I can't see where I'm going,

0:37:410:37:43

where I'm heading to, and no-one above can see me either.

0:37:430:37:48

Justine's spotted something moving in the trees.

0:37:560:38:01

Saw a flash of red then,

0:38:010:38:03

looks really like a howler monkey.

0:38:030:38:06

Where is it?

0:38:060:38:07

There, there, there. Yes, yes, that's it. There's a male.

0:38:100:38:14

God, they look grumpy, don't they?

0:38:160:38:17

Don't think they are grumpy,

0:38:200:38:22

it's just they have that permanent expression

0:38:220:38:25

of being very miserable with life.

0:38:250:38:27

Fantastic. There he goes.

0:38:290:38:32

You can really see the use of the prehensile tail,

0:38:450:38:48

just like a fifth limb.

0:38:480:38:50

It's like a safety rope.

0:38:500:38:52

It's the last thing that's released.

0:38:520:38:55

They spend nine hours every day chewing their way through

0:39:040:39:08

the tough rainforest leaves.

0:39:080:39:10

The other 15 hours,

0:39:100:39:12

they sleep.

0:39:120:39:14

There's two others in the tree, there's a big male at the top there.

0:39:160:39:19

He's coming down.

0:39:190:39:22

Ooh, taking a good look at me.

0:39:250:39:27

Amazing, he's probably nearly 200 metres away but he's really, really staring at me.

0:39:290:39:35

Well, things are looking up.

0:39:430:39:45

It's the trickiest part of Steve's descent.

0:39:510:39:53

Overhanging rocks covered in slime.

0:39:530:39:56

Oh, uh-ha-ha...!

0:39:580:40:00

He's constantly drenched in spray from the falls.

0:40:020:40:06

This rock is the slippiest ground I've ever been on in my life!

0:40:140:40:17

I've never seen anything like it.

0:40:170:40:18

If this is what it's like hundreds of metres from the waterfall,

0:40:280:40:31

I dread to think what it would've been like at the bottom of it.

0:40:310:40:34

I am down on solid ground and off the main rope, over.

0:40:400:40:45

'That's very good news.'

0:40:450:40:48

Tim, this place is every bit as steep and slippery

0:40:480:40:51

and dangerous as we thought it would be, but it's much,

0:40:510:40:55

much wetter and it's very windy down here and it's pretty miserable.

0:40:550:40:59

I want to get out of this as soon as I can, over.

0:40:590:41:02

Let's get you somewhere a bit more protected and warmer.

0:41:020:41:05

Understood. Out.

0:41:050:41:07

With Steve safely down, he's joined by the cameraman

0:41:100:41:13

and a dripping wet Tim Fogg.

0:41:130:41:15

You all right, mate?

0:41:170:41:18

-Bad weather down here, it's a bit damp.

-THEY LAUGH

0:41:180:41:23

They must find shelter,

0:41:240:41:25

but also keep their eyes skinned for any animals they can see.

0:41:250:41:29

There's loads of little...

0:41:320:41:35

freshwater crabs just running around here.

0:41:350:41:38

Because it's wet the whole time, they're completely comfortable.

0:41:380:41:42

They're just feeding on the algae

0:41:420:41:44

which they're picking off these rocks,

0:41:440:41:46

and because this place is drenched in water the whole time,

0:41:460:41:50

they're absolutely everywhere.

0:41:500:41:52

This is just the perfect place for crabs.

0:41:520:41:55

It really is like being on the bottom of the sea.

0:41:550:41:58

There's been a sighting -

0:42:030:42:05

a family of giant otters glimpsed heading down-river.

0:42:050:42:08

We really have to keep our eyes open because they're big,

0:42:100:42:16

but still tricky to see.

0:42:160:42:18

Right bank, right bank.

0:42:180:42:21

A head's popped up. I don't know whether they've gone into the shrub.

0:42:240:42:28

After a week of searching,

0:42:280:42:29

at last this is Gordon's chance to start observing these shy animals.

0:42:290:42:33

-Dan, do you think they're still in front of us?

-I can't see them.

0:42:330:42:36

They're in the undergrowth.

0:42:390:42:41

Everyone just keep their eyes wide open.

0:42:410:42:43

The otters let out warning snorts.

0:42:530:42:58

Oh, beautiful, just coming straight towards us.

0:42:580:43:02

They're interested, not in fishing, they're interested in us.

0:43:020:43:06

Oh, man, that's so nice.

0:43:090:43:12

OTTER SNORTS

0:43:120:43:14

Sun just glistening off their heads.

0:43:140:43:18

Oh, there's four of them! Man alive!

0:43:180:43:21

Sorry, guys. Oh, jeepers.

0:43:210:43:24

What?

0:43:240:43:26

Oh, man.

0:43:280:43:30

That was unreal.

0:43:300:43:32

That was something else.

0:43:320:43:34

What I love is when an animal, and a wild animal interacts with you,

0:43:340:43:39

they're not scared,

0:43:390:43:40

they just want to check us out,

0:43:400:43:42

find out what we are and they've given us an opportunity to see them.

0:43:420:43:46

Woah! Close, man.

0:43:460:43:48

Look at this!

0:43:520:43:54

Ha!

0:43:540:43:56

That's exactly what I was hoping to find.

0:43:560:43:59

It's a tree frog, for sure.

0:43:590:44:00

You just look at the big suction cups on each toe.

0:44:000:44:03

Look at the way that he's moving across my hands there.

0:44:030:44:06

He is a frog that is absolutely designed for climbing.

0:44:060:44:10

He looks a little bit actually like

0:44:100:44:13

the gladiator tree frog and he also has on the thumb of each hand,

0:44:130:44:19

this little protuberance here, which is used for boxing with other frogs.

0:44:190:44:24

Let's put him back.

0:44:240:44:27

You're a very lucky frog.

0:44:270:44:30

You live in frog paradise.

0:44:300:44:31

Gordon has now followed the otters for two miles up the jungle creek.

0:44:380:44:43

Softly, softly, he's getting closer and closer.

0:44:430:44:49

Just creeping down the creek, with Gerry paddling.

0:44:520:44:56

I just don't want the otters to go overland.

0:44:560:44:59

As soon as they go overland, we've lost them.

0:44:590:45:01

Otters right here, can't see them yet. Just hear them.

0:45:040:45:09

Beauty, they are so beautiful.

0:45:130:45:15

They've seen us.

0:45:180:45:20

OTTERS SNORT

0:45:260:45:29

Their beautiful fur was almost their undoing.

0:45:310:45:34

A century of persecution drove them to the verge of extinction.

0:45:340:45:39

This group is so at ease, it's clear there's no hunting here.

0:45:390:45:44

OK, there's one coming right towards us now.

0:45:440:45:47

OK, and he's got a fish.

0:45:500:45:52

Feeding. OK, nice and gently.

0:45:520:45:55

Stay very still.

0:45:550:45:58

Giant appetites need giant portions.

0:45:580:46:01

Plate-sized piranha - bones and all.

0:46:010:46:05

What's he caught? Piranha.

0:46:050:46:09

And they always eat them tail first

0:46:090:46:13

for obvious reasons. The youngster.

0:46:130:46:16

Oh, lovely. This is just exactly what I've been wanting to see.

0:46:190:46:25

Giant otters

0:46:250:46:28

completely naturally.

0:46:280:46:29

Oh, that's what happens when somebody's got a fish

0:46:350:46:38

and somebody else wants it.

0:46:380:46:40

That's not going to last long, they have a voracious appetite.

0:46:450:46:49

Oops.

0:46:490:46:51

And off he goes, off to catch another one - awesome.

0:46:510:46:57

At the waterfall, Steve and Tim have a desperate struggle

0:47:020:47:05

to bring the kit down in the freezing spray.

0:47:050:47:07

I've never been this cold right slap bang on the equator before.

0:47:070:47:13

They need to get dry as quick as they can.

0:47:130:47:17

HE COUGHS

0:47:190:47:21

We don't want to go that way, we want to go lower.

0:47:210:47:24

Let's head down this way.

0:47:240:47:26

They must find a spot to pitch camp before night sets in...

0:47:260:47:30

but in this boulder field, there's little chance.

0:47:320:47:36

At base camp, the mood is up.

0:47:460:47:48

The team have fallen under the spell of this enchanting forest.

0:47:480:47:53

This is pristine, this is intact,

0:47:530:47:55

this is as pure as it's ever going to be. Let's just keep it that way.

0:47:550:47:59

It's clearly not been hunted, it's just really untouched

0:47:590:48:03

and to preserve that in its pristine state would be fantastic.

0:48:030:48:07

WATER RUSHES Tim, you in there, mate?

0:48:070:48:11

It's almost dark when Tim discovers a tiny cave.

0:48:110:48:15

Yeah, this is good. A sleeping place here.

0:48:170:48:21

We'll get at least one of us in here.

0:48:210:48:23

Oh, let's get a brew on.

0:48:230:48:24

-Oh, the luxury.

-Mm, brilliant.

0:48:320:48:34

The cave floor is just a jumble of rough rocks.

0:48:360:48:40

It's going to be a long night.

0:48:400:48:42

At first light, Justine, as ever, is up her tree.

0:48:520:48:58

Now, the family of howler monkeys have totally accepted her.

0:48:580:49:02

She's even found a new addition to the family.

0:49:020:49:04

It's a female, wow.

0:49:040:49:06

She's got a baby on her back. Fantastic.

0:49:060:49:10

The haunting calls of these cautious animals

0:49:120:49:15

embody the spirit of the South American rainforest.

0:49:150:49:18

To know there's a healthy breeding population here

0:49:180:49:21

is a great lift for the team.

0:49:210:49:24

Ah, there's the big male there.

0:49:240:49:26

This is the big alpha boss.

0:49:260:49:28

So, there are two males.

0:49:310:49:33

This big one, the smaller one and there are two females,

0:49:330:49:37

the one with the baby and the other one.

0:49:370:49:39

Another piece in the puzzle.

0:49:410:49:43

Beautiful animals.

0:49:550:49:57

They're absolutely stunning.

0:49:570:50:00

After a big breakfast of green leaves,

0:50:030:50:06

the whole family settles down for a long morning snooze.

0:50:060:50:11

For Steve and the team,

0:50:160:50:17

it has been a really miserable night without a wink of sleep -

0:50:170:50:21

and they weren't alone.

0:50:210:50:23

We had visitors last night.

0:50:230:50:25

I got up, turned on my head torch and hundreds

0:50:250:50:28

of cockroaches and cave crickets just scampered for the shadows,

0:50:280:50:32

and they'd been having a go at our food.

0:50:320:50:35

There's just holes in absolutely everything.

0:50:350:50:40

Mind you, I left my mug full of sticky hot chocolate last night

0:50:400:50:44

and they've cleaned it out completely so I don't have to do the washing up.

0:50:440:50:48

Fantastic!

0:50:480:50:50

It's not just cockroaches and the crickets

0:50:520:50:56

that we're sharing our cave with,

0:50:560:50:58

it's absolutely alive with these rocket frogs

0:50:580:51:01

and this one here actually has really

0:51:010:51:05

well-developed eggs on its back.

0:51:050:51:09

It's carrying around its tadpoles inside the eggs.

0:51:090:51:13

You can even see little bubbles of air coming out of each egg.

0:51:130:51:18

This species doesn't actually

0:51:180:51:19

go through the free-swimming tadpole stage at all.

0:51:190:51:22

The eggs will develop on their mother's back right through

0:51:220:51:25

until they're froglets, and they'll hatch out ready to hop about.

0:51:250:51:30

It's just enormous.

0:51:340:51:37

Yeah.

0:51:400:51:42

Finally, Steve can begin his real challenge -

0:51:420:51:45

-to survey the plants and animals down here.

-Woah!

0:51:450:51:48

The slippery vegetation conceals deep pitfalls.

0:51:480:51:51

No ground there.

0:51:510:51:52

It would be a terrible place to break a leg.

0:51:520:51:55

The pools of water that gather in the leaves made by these bromeliads

0:52:020:52:07

are a really challenging place to make a home.

0:52:070:52:10

But there's plenty of creatures down here that manage it.

0:52:100:52:13

Possibly the most appealing of all of them though is this little guy.

0:52:130:52:19

There, look at that.

0:52:190:52:21

Isn't he gorgeous? Oh, look, on the leaf.

0:52:220:52:25

It's a golden rocket frog and the only place in

0:52:250:52:29

the world you find these is in the Kaieteur National Park.

0:52:290:52:32

From egg to tadpole to frog,

0:52:340:52:36

this single plant can be their home for life.

0:52:360:52:40

These really are the most exquisite little jewels

0:52:400:52:43

and every other bromeliad around here has one or a pair living in it.

0:52:430:52:49

It's not just the animals that are exotic down here.

0:52:510:52:54

There are wonderful plants absolutely everywhere around here,

0:52:560:53:01

but nothing as exquisite as this.

0:53:010:53:04

This is a slipper orchid

0:53:040:53:07

and it's very aptly named.

0:53:070:53:10

You can almost imagine some dainty Cinderella

0:53:100:53:13

slipping her toes into that.

0:53:130:53:16

This'd be worth an absolute fortune to orchid collectors back home.

0:53:160:53:19

But here, they are just about everywhere.

0:53:190:53:23

It's a bit like strolling around the Chelsea Flower Show,

0:53:230:53:26

except that you've got that in the background.

0:53:260:53:29

I think this really brings home just quite how unspoilt Guyana is.

0:53:320:53:36

The Kaieteur is the country's only real tourist attraction,

0:53:360:53:40

but we were up on top for three days and didn't see a single person

0:53:400:53:43

and down here, well, you could count on one hand the amount of people who have seen what we're looking at now,

0:53:430:53:50

and, you know, it's five times the height of Niagara.

0:53:500:53:53

You're just standing here with this water in your face -

0:53:530:53:57

it's completely overpowering.

0:53:570:53:59

Gordon is checking whether his camera trap has worked.

0:54:060:54:10

It's been lying in wait for a week now.

0:54:100:54:13

Hard to say whether anything's been up here because of the rain.

0:54:130:54:18

With any luck, it will have filmed the otter family out of the water.

0:54:180:54:23

Ah, the tape has reached the end.

0:54:230:54:26

So we have one hour of stuff.

0:54:260:54:30

OK, we've reached the beginning of the tape.

0:54:300:54:34

Play.

0:54:340:54:36

Oh, curassow!

0:54:360:54:39

I actually saw...

0:54:390:54:41

curassow the other day quite close to here, three of them,

0:54:410:54:46

so I wonder if it's the same ones. Two.

0:54:460:54:49

He's camera-shy, this one.

0:54:490:54:52

That's very nice.

0:54:520:54:53

Oh, hang on,

0:54:570:54:59

hang on.

0:54:590:55:01

On the top of the log there's something, sort of, spotty, like a cat.

0:55:010:55:05

I mean, it might have been an ocelot.

0:55:050:55:07

It's a jaguar!

0:55:090:55:12

I cannot believe that.

0:55:120:55:14

One of the most difficult animals in South America to see

0:55:200:55:24

was right here, literally.

0:55:240:55:27

It walked along this path.

0:55:270:55:29

The mysterious jaguar.

0:55:310:55:34

Beautifully camouflaged, extremely rare,

0:55:340:55:37

these solitary beasts roam huge areas of this vast jungle.

0:55:370:55:42

It's a fantastic stroke of fortune to find one here.

0:55:420:55:46

That is unreal.

0:55:460:55:48

I do not believe that.

0:55:530:55:54

I think I said, if we get jaguar, it's going to be by luck,

0:55:560:56:00

not by judgement, and this is just by sheer luck.

0:56:000:56:03

We put this out for otters and we've got a jaguar.

0:56:030:56:07

Unbelievable.

0:56:070:56:09

That is incredible.

0:56:110:56:13

At the waterfall, Steve is desperate for some decent rest.

0:56:160:56:21

After the discomfort of last night, I've decided to

0:56:210:56:25

set up a basher and sleep outside in the elements tonight.

0:56:250:56:29

I think we've done really well to have spent two days down here so far and for no-one to have got hurt.

0:56:290:56:36

This place is an absolute death trap,

0:56:360:56:40

so fingers crossed everyone gets through alive and well.

0:56:400:56:45

Back at base camp, the rest of the team have cause to celebrate.

0:56:480:56:52

That's the biggest cat that you'll find in South America.

0:56:520:56:55

After just ten days, they've found howler monkeys, giant otters

0:56:550:57:01

and the scientists have catalogued over 200 animal species.

0:57:010:57:05

All evidence of the value of this virgin rainforest.

0:57:050:57:09

And the best news of all, concrete proof

0:57:090:57:12

that South America's legendary big cat is living and hunting here.

0:57:120:57:17

Wow, wow!

0:57:170:57:19

But not every member of the team is celebrating.

0:57:280:57:31

All of a sudden a really, really heavy electrical storm's come in

0:57:310:57:38

and the rain is unbelievably heavy.

0:57:380:57:41

I have to keep throwing up this tarp to get all the water off it.

0:57:410:57:46

But the most worrying thing really is that this storm is getting closer and closer.

0:57:480:57:52

It's right overhead and we're pretty much the only feature in a landscape at the moment.

0:57:520:57:57

This is turning into the most miserable night of my life.

0:58:010:58:04

In the second phase of the expedition, the team push deeper into the jungle.

0:58:100:58:14

The number of animals they're discovering goes up and up.

0:58:160:58:18

-Oh!

-This would go right through my hand.

0:58:190:58:23

And they climb a remote mountain to explore a strange new world.

0:58:230:58:28

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:58:340:58:37

E-mail [email protected]

0:58:370:58:41

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