Facing the Flood Wild Brazil

Brazil - the beating heart of South America.

Vast landscapes, carved by the irresistible forces of nature.

More animals live here than in any other nation on Earth.

This is their story.

SQUEAKING

As the seasons change,

animal families face extreme challenges.

THUNDER

Immense floods.

Brutal drought.

Surviving and raising young.

LOUD SQUEALS

Through the good times and the bad.

SCREECHING

This is an intimate journey

to the heart of a spectacular country.

The rains are on their way.

Across Brazil, the young of three animal families

have successfully weathered the first few weeks of life.

The newest of a clan of capuchins

has begun to learn the many tricks his family use to survive.

A young brood of coatis have taken their first dangerous steps

out into the grasslands.

And a family of giant otters survived an encounter with

Brazil's supreme predator - the jaguar.

Now these young animals face

the greatest challenge of their lives so far -

the immense power of Brazil's monsoon rains.

In the heart of Brazil

lies the largest freshwater wetland in the world.

The Pantanal.

But now it's dry.

The land is thirsty.

The predators...

hungry.

There are more jaguars along Pantanal's rivers

than anywhere else in South America.

LOUD GRUNT

This is the perfect time of year for hunting.

Life is concentrated along the riverbanks.

When the rains come, other animals will have their day.

A young giant otter.

Just three months old.

It's time for her to learn a bit of independence.

She doesn't seem keen.

The parents give a bit of gentle encouragement.

LOUD SQUEALS

She's not alone.

Her brother and sister soon join in.

The kits still have a lot to learn about the water.

It'll be their hunting ground.

And their playground.

But it's a dangerous place.

LOUD SQUEALS

Over the next two months, this river will swell with the rains.

The kits face a real risk of drowning.

And in the Pantanal,

predators are never far away.

Nearly half of all kits that die in their first year

are killed by caiman.

The mother decides enough is enough.

The danger's too close.

For now, it's time to retreat

to the safety of the holt.

In the coming months, as these rivers swell,

they will burst their banks and change this landscape completely.

The driving force of this transformation

is the Brazilian monsoon.

The rains it brings will change the lives of creatures

all across the country.

But the strength of the monsoon varies from year to year

and place to place.

Thousands of miles away in Brazil's dry interior,

rain falls for just a few days every year.

Yet it changes animals' lives completely.

Despite the harshness of this place,

this young tufted capuchin appears to be having an easy time of it.

Until now, he's been cared for by his mother.

It's time for him to grow up.

The wet season may only bring a few days' rain here,

but for capuchins that means boon time.

He must learn to look after himself and earn his place in the group.

And life in this group is complex.

He's one of the youngest of over 50 monkeys.

There are 18 mothers with babies,

15 adolescents...

..and six dominant males.

He must persuade all of them to accept him.

He has to become part of the clan

because survival in these unforgiving canyon lands

takes teamwork.

It's only these capuchins' extraordinary resourcefulness

and their ability to learn from one another

that allows them to cling onto life here.

The youngster has a lot to learn.

CAPUCHINS WHISTLE

Challenge number one.

Work out who your friends are.

And who to avoid.

Next, learn how to forage...

..but don't get in the way.

SCREECHING

Finally, always watch where you walk.

He's discovering that being so low on the pecking order

isn't going to be easy.

Until the rains arrive, it's going to be very tough here.

LOUD SQUEALS

Even getting a drink takes ingenuity

and a rather unusual sponge.

This female isn't about to share.

At least now he knows where the water is.

But he's not big enough yet to reach it himself.

He needs to grow up and learn...fast.

The monsoon will only bring a few days' rain here.

The capuchins must be ready to make the most of it.

Other parts of Brazil will be inundated.

In the centre of the country, the rains will transform the landscape.

This is the vazante...

..a unique mosaic of grasslands and flood meadows

surrounded by forests.

When Brazil's monsoon starts

the prevailing winds will blow south for five months

and bring the rains.

These fertile grasslands will disappear.

For these coatis, this presents a serious challenge.

The family live in the forest

but feed mostly out in the surrounding meadows.

But soon these vital feeding grounds will have vanished.

SCREECHING

It's an especially crucial time for the juveniles in the family.

They must learn to forage and fatten up

before their larder literally disappears from under their feet.

But right now, they seem to be more interested in play fighting

than in feeding.

The mother and her newest babies get down to the serious business

of finding a meal out in the grasslands.

The adults set an example and the youngsters must watch and learn.

But picking on the tiniest in the family seems much more tempting.

Finally, the mother's had enough.

LOUD SCREECHING

At last, the youngsters get down to learning the art of foraging.

A snake this big is definitely not on the menu.

For the coatis, time is fast running out.

They have a lot of growing up to do

and not much time before the world they know completely disappears.

THUNDER RUMBLES

Thousands of miles away above the Amazonian rainforest,

elemental forces have begun to stir.

Brazil's prevailing winds have at last turned south.

They're starting to spread moisture from the Amazon rainforest

right across the country.

The monsoon rains have finally begun.

Brazil bursts into life.

For many, this means a time of plenty.

In the Cerrado grasslands,

these first rains trigger a remarkable spectacle.

Termite mounds up to 2m tall

pepper the landscape.

When the rains arrive, the termites take to the wing to breed.

But this is just the beginning of an extraordinary event.

As night descends,

the mounds are transformed.

THUNDERCLAPS

Luminescent beetle grubs that live in the mounds

have now burrowed to the surface.

But these lights are lethal.

The beetle grubs are hunting the termites.

The light lures them in.

They'll feed on this stockpile of bodies

throughout the wet season.

Now the rains have begun, the Pantanal's rivers begin to rise.

This poses a unique challenge for the giant otters.

At 2m long, the adult otters are certainly formidable,

but they're not the only hunters.

Until the rivers reach peak flood, the otters still regularly come into

contact with the Pantanal's other top two predators.

Caiman are a threat to weak or young otters.

Jaguars are a threat to them all.

OTTER SQUEALS

GROWLING

The Pantanal's jaguars are specialist caiman killers.

Their jaws are so powerful they've pierced the adult caiman's skull.

The otters will be at risk whenever they venture onto the land.

LOUD SQUEAL

That poses a particular problem back at the family holt.

The kits are confident in the water now

but today's lesson is on dry land.

This is toilet training, otter-style.

But with so many jaguars around,

it pays to be cautious.

This is how otters mark their territory -

a vital part of otter life.

The little ones aren't so sure.

They just need a little encouragement.

Rubbing the scent in will make it last longer into the wet season.

The kits need to learn this new skill

to start contributing to family life.

But for the young, it's a daunting prospect.

Not quite to the top...

LOUD SQUEAL

..but it's a good start.

The mother shows her how to finish the job.

As the river rises higher,

the kits will have to rely even more on their family

to get through their first wet season.

Back in the canyon lands,

the rains have finally made life easier for the capuchins.

There are insects and fresh leaves aplenty.

But the rains are short-lived here.

The family must make the most of every morsel they can find.

It's time for the youngster to pick up

an essential tufted capuchin skill.

Tool use.

It's the only way to find little treats hidden in the branches.

He'll have to use his head, not just his hands.

First, find and fashion a stick.

The older capuchins make it look easy.

But then, they chose a longer stick.

This one's better...

..provided you keep the right piece.

Success at last.

His technique's not perfect

but he's definitely a step closer to looking after himself.

While the youngest monkeys practice,

the adolescents of the group take a break.

SCREECHING

These play fights are a way of testing each other...

..wrangling over their status in capuchin society.

This youngster has that challenge to come.

He still must find his place in the group

and that means being accepted by the ruling, dominant males.

All across Brazil, the rainy season gathers strength.

From the Amazon in the north to the Atlantic rainforests in the south,

the monsoon engulfs the country.

The Brazilian monsoon has reached the peak of its power.

Now there is more moisture flowing in this vast river in the sky

than in the mighty Amazon River itself.

The Pantanal's rivers will rise by up to 4m.

In the vazante, the grasslands have begun to flood

and the coatis' feeding grounds are disappearing.

The water rises more with each passing day.

Now, more than ever, the race is on to feed on whatever they can.

And the rising waters have brought a new delicacy.

One that will help them through the leaner times ahead.

Lungfish.

They stay buried underground during the dry season.

Now the rain brings them closer to the surface...

..and that coati nose comes into its own.

Ever more animals get squeezed into what grassland remains.

It's as good a time as any to meet the neighbours.

But some neighbours are more of a problem.

A southern caracara has been sizing up the group.

CARACARA SQUAWKS

He's one of Brazil's top scavengers

and he, too, is after lungfish.

He targets the young coatis.

Maybe he can scare them into dropping their food.

The youngsters' inexperience shows.

It's almost too easy.

This one's a little smarter.

He makes for the protection of the forest.

But he's underestimated how bold a hungry caracara can be.

SQUAWKING

Round one to the caracara, but the coati can't afford to give up now.

The waters are still rising.

Each lungfish he loses is a crucial meal missed.

The juveniles are getting more efficient

at finding the lungfish now.

They've also figured out what size snakes to catch.

And they've realised that the best way to deal with the caracara

is to give as good as they get.

COATI GRUNTS

It's a sign of the young coatis' growing independence.

And just in time, because soon their world will be under water.

RUMBLE OF THUNDER

The giant otters' river is rising fast.

The flow of water around the holt gets stronger each day.

It's getting harder going for the kits to swim.

And the mother must still keep them close to the holt.

Caiman are a constant danger.

This young otter must put in as much practice as she can.

Strong swimming could save her life.

The family latrine is still just above the water.

Its fishy fragrance is irresistible to some

but to other otters, it's a warning sign that this territory is taken.

LOUD SQUEAL

Scent-marking is now a risky routine.

As the water rises, all the jaguars in the area

will be concentrated on what land remains.

Right now, the coast is clear.

Time for the young to have another go.

Under the watchful eye of her parents,

she finally makes it to the top

and leaves her mark.

Though she's still too nervous to stick around and rub it in.

She's making progress,

but there's still more to learn

and not long to learn it.

In the canyon lands of Capivara,

the wet season has already reached its peak.

The few days of rain that fell have transformed

normally dry, harsh forests.

But these days of plenty for the capuchin youngster

are also days of danger.

Tempers in the clan are beginning to fray.

The males are getting aggressive

as they battle for the family's top slot.

SCREECHING

This youngster must be careful to stay out of the firing line.

The dominant male fights to prove he's boss.

CAPUCHINS SCREECH

The loser's broken fingers are a big price to pay

for a tool-using monkey.

CAPUCHINS WHISTLES

The young capuchin watches and learns.

Touching tails is a way to strengthen allegiances

and defuse the rising tension.

An important skill for a youngster to learn.

But if he wants to be accepted by the ruling male,

he first needs to get close to him.

It's his mother who teaches him this final, crucial lesson.

Grooming.

He makes his approach with care.

The top male accepts him.

Being accepted now is vital.

These times of feeding and socialising will soon be over.

The youngster has now learned how to look after himself.

But, more importantly, he's now part of the team.

When the hard times come, the family will get through it together.

He may only be low on the pecking order...

..but at least he's on it.

After four months, the southern winds that have drawn moisture

down from the Amazon die away.

The river in the sky stops flowing.

But the rivers on land keep rising.

Rainwater that fell for months over Brazil's vast high plains

continues to drain into its great rivers

and gives rise to one of the world's natural wonders.

The Iguazu Falls

in full flow.

Taller than Niagara and nearly twice as wide,

these are the greatest falls on the American continent.

But the greatest spectacle of Brazil's monsoon

is in the wetlands in the centre of the country.

The rains may be over

but the transformation of the Pantanal is only just beginning.

Huge amounts of rainwater, now full of rich sediments,

drain into an immense lowland basin.

Caiman lie in wait for fish to be swept into their mouths.

The rivers burst their banks.

Fish hurry to spawn in what were once dry grasslands.

The coatis' rich feeding grounds are gone.

They're forced into the higher forests that remain above the flood.

As the waters slow and the silt settles,

Brazil's monsoon offers one final spectacle.

Fed by the nutrients carried in the water

and powered by the tropical sun,

the vazante's meadows are transformed into lakes of flowers.

Soon, the waters will subside.

But the nutrients the floods leave behind will feed the Pantanal

and all its residents for a whole year.

The otters' river is now in full flow.

It's time for the kits to face the flood.

Their most immediate challenge is the strength of the current.

The adults surround the three youngsters

as the current takes them.

OTTERS SQUEAL

But one kit begins to tire.

LOUD SQUEALS AND GRUNTS

They're now fighting the current.

It's just what the caiman has been waiting for.

OTTER GRUNTS

The family rush in to force the caiman out of the water.

LOUD SQUEALS

The kit can't swim,

either terrified or just exhausted.

Her mother helps her home.

Safe at last.

The kits have survived growing up on the flooded river...

..but only through the care and courage of their family.

Brazil's monsoon season has forced young animals to grow up fast.

The coatis have endured the flood

and feasted on the brief riches the wet season brings.

The young capuchin has learned to use tools

and has earned his place in the clan.

And the otter kits, like all the young animals,

have done more than survive Brazil's monsoon.

They're now better prepared for whatever the future holds.

But life is about to get tougher.

The young will soon face

their harshest season yet.

COATIS SCREECH

The country will swing from rain and flood to drought

and fire.

As the youngsters take their last steps towards adulthood,

the adults themselves must find a mate

and ensure their family's future

in wild Brazil.

To tell the story of Brazil's seasons and convey their power

and beauty, the crew wanted to show how Brazil is transformed

by its annual monsoon.

They needed to get into the heart of the Pantanal wetlands

during the peak of the wet season...

..and film from both above and below the water.

It would take a mix of rustic engineering

and modern technology to get cameras in just the right place.

To get a unique aerial view, they wanted to fly

a specialist filming helicopter into the heart of the flood.

But launching it from their makeshift helipad would require

some very careful flying.

So we've brought this system all over the world

and this is by far the smallest boat we've ever been on

and it's really important that, at 7½ minutes,

we bring the system back and land it on this little pink platform.

If the battery goes down to zero, it drops.

The weight of the super high-definition camera

meant the helicopter could only fly for minutes at a time.

OK. Taking off.

While Chuck piloted the aircraft,

camerawoman Gabrielle Nadeau framed the shots.

But a safe landing relied on the boat keeping up with the helicopter.

The system was giving a unique perspective.

But there was absolutely no room for error

and the seven minutes' flight time tested the team to the limit.

Zero seconds.

So we're going a little bit over time.

Got to land it before the battery dies or else it could drop.

So we went 20 seconds over

but that's why we keep reserve in the battery, right?

To take a more intimate look at how the usually dry grasslands

are transformed by the floodwaters,

others on the team took cameras into the flood itself.

It soon turned out there were places even a boat couldn't reach.

This is just a surreal landscape.

A few weeks ago this was dry land, coatis running across it.

Now it's covered in water

as far as the eye can see.

Most animals had left the area with the rising water,

but caiman had been drawn into the flood meadows.

The crew had to keep a careful look out.

There's light that's being reflected. Is that the same as...?

Only by filming underwater could they show the migration of fish

into the grasslands to spawn.

Beautiful.

They were getting a new and intimate view of the flood.

But then Brazil revealed a beauty

that not even the crew had expected to find.

I imagined the flood might be dramatic.

I imagined that the flood might be challenging to film.

I'd never... I'd never imagined it would be this beautiful.

Over just two days, the grasslands bloomed.

This is a nursery.

Flowers flowering to get pollinated,

small fish growing.

This is where the Pantanal starts.

They were now so engrossed in filming

that even the caiman weren't stopping them.

So what happened, Mauricio?

No, I was walking here and then I felt something...

the ground had moved very quickly

and then I saw the caiman going away.

Very scary...

with a bare foot.

Ooh.

Oh, he's moving there, look at that, he's moving, moving.

Look at that, look at that. Ooh, going somewhere there.

In the rivers, the rising flood waters were now carrying

huge mats of vegetation.

Tough going for the heli-crew.

We have to fight to clear this in order to put the propeller inside

and then we can... use it as a blender.

You can back up the boat a bit towards it.

The further they were getting into the flooded wetlands,

the more revealing the landscape was becoming,

even to those who see the flood each year.

I've been living in the Pantanal for 13 years already

and I've never seen...

..from this sort of perspective.

It's...it's...

very, very beautiful.

To capture these incredible views,

the team had to push the helicopter flight time right to the limit.

Aaah!

My God, they're crazy.

That was, erm... That was something.

It was quite a way out there. That's probably the furthest

we've had it on this particular shoot.

Apparently it looked great.

In the flood meadows, the blooms lasted just a few days.

But the crew had managed to film a side to Brazil's floods

that few ever witness.

I'm hot and sweaty, tired,

but really pleased

and the place has completely changed - the flowers have gone.

So we were, quite frankly, amazed

that we were in the right place at the right time.

Very lucky.

The crew had been able to get into the heart of the Pantanal

and capture the magic and beauty of Brazil's monsoon floods.

The next challenge for the team would be to follow Brazil's

wild animal families through the end of the rains and floods...

..and on into the harshness of extreme drought...

..and fire.