Original subtitles

On every expedition, I weigh the amazing opportunity to rediscover a species

against the dangers my crew and I will have to confront.

As I approach this questionably licensed airport in Colombia, I'm reminded this

is by far the most I've asked of my dedicated team.

I'm two hours outside of Bogota, and there's one airfield out here with a

planes, and I'm trying to see if we can actually charter a plane. I've seen the

planes. One of them doesn't have an engine. The other two are sitting in the

bushes, but I'm going to go talk to them and see what we can figure out.

We're headed deep into Lawless Bush, home to kidnappers and drug runners, in

search of a unique crocodilian species that's presumed extinct.

Luckily, one pilot is willing to take us to our starting point, the remote

village of Villa Gladys, where Westerners have rarely set foot.

Truly a no -man's land.

Every single year, as many as 2 ,000 species are deemed extinct worldwide.

But the process we use to declare an animal extinct is an inexact science.

It happens all the time.

Animals are rediscovered that were thought to be gone forever.

My grandfather discovered a coelacanth 66 million years after it was supposed

be extinct.

I'm Forrest Galante. I'm a wildlife biologist.

and my life's work is searching for animals that we've given up on.

On this expedition, I'm leading my team up an uncharted stretch off the Amazon

River through the jungles of Columbia in search of the Rio Apoporus caiman,

which hasn't been seen in over 30 years.

We'll need to cross a lawless land of gorilla rebels. Oh, my God. This is an

-spark rebel camp.

drug runners, murderers, and the deadliest collection of predators in the

Western Hemisphere.

Oh, easy, easy, easy!

But if I want proof, I'll have to get my hands on one.

Oh, Johnny, I got him! And hope we all make it back. Josh, is he okay?

Go, go, go!

Woo!

This is Extinct or Alive, the Rio Apoporas Cayman.

Colombia is home to 10 % of the world's biodiversity.

The Amazon jungle has even more than that. You can't go anywhere, you can't

anywhere without seeing life. I mean, it's unbelievable how rich this

environment is and how much life it can support.

Such unique and diverse species thrive here.

200 -pound rodents called capybaras, freshwater dolphins, electric eels, and

anacondas. Plus poisonous frogs and even bull sharks.

Who knows how many hundreds of unidentified species live in this area?

But my mission is to prove one particular animal still exists, the Rio

caiman.

If we find one, it would forever change our understanding of crocodilian

evolution. The Rio Apoporus caiman has some amazingly unique adaptations,

extreme morphological characteristics.

It has an elongated, thin skull and long snout.

It is very light, yellowish -white with dark blotching. It's unlike any other

caiman species in the world.

In 1955, the Rio Apoporus caiman was first described.

The scientists who discovered the Rio Apoporus caiman, Dr. Fred Medim,

20 specimens.

In 1981, the last known expedition to this area took place.

Before they made any headway, they were actually kidnapped by FARC rebels. They

were held against their will. All of their gear was destroyed.

FARC is one of the many leftist militias that's been in armed conflict with the

Colombian government for decades.

They've used terrorism tactics, including kidnapping and even murder, to

large parts of the jungle where they can remain hidden.

Fortunately, they were released unharmed for a heavy ransom. However, one animal

was taken out of the area, and that animal, the last known Rio Apaporis

died in a zoo in 1989.

That's the last time this animal was seen.

A common threshold for extinction is when an animal hasn't been seen in 30

years.

And the Rio Apaporis has reached that threshold.

But I believe it still thrives here.

protected from detection by violence and political conflict.

So I'm betting our own well -being that it's here, assuming we survive this

flight.

When is the last time you went to Villa Gladys?

My first time. This is your first time? Oh, so you don't know it. Yes.

So it might be very exciting.

No.

It's just a strip, eh? Just one strip.

Ah, okay.

Not quite the confidence I was looking for.

I'm going to go strap in now.

I'm told this was Pablo Escobar's private runway.

But it looks more like a dirt track to me.

Man, that is a tight runway. Look at that.

Wingtips are just feet from trees on either side.

Nice. Okay, worth landing at LAX? For sure.

We've now landed at this village of Vila Gladys, this tiny little fishing

village in the middle of the Colombian Amazon, right on the Brazilian border.

The entire village has come out to greet us.

Hola, hola.

We are the first Westerners to step foot in this part of the Amazon in 30 years,

which is incredible. Everybody is amazed to see us.

If anybody has seen a Rio Apoporus caiman, it's going to be the people that

right here. I'm just going to gather some local intel, because once we leave

here, there are no other villages for hundreds of miles. This is the last

of human contact.

I've brought along some old photos of the Rio Apoporus caiman.

They're pretty old, but the distinguishing snout is clear.

Amarillo, trampa larga, trampa largo y trampa pequeño.

¿Sí? ¿Cómo está?

Bien, bien.

Excelente.

¿Tú es familiar con coquedillo?

¿Con coquedillo?

Sí. ¿Grande y pequeño?

Grande. ¿Grande? Como tres metros y hay cachirra aquí.

¿Igual?

Sí, arriba hay mucho.

Blanco. Blanco y amarillo. Este es bueno para comer.

Oh, it's good food.

He's saying that not only does he know our extinct caiman, but it's delicious.

So, you know, not what every conservationist wants to hear, but

nonetheless, knowing that he may have actually eaten one of these caiman that

the Western world hasn't seen in 40 years.

Okay, Pablo, muchas gracias.

Thank you.

It's great to hear that there are these extinct caiman here. However, I've heard

that there are lots of other extinct animals in other places. So I'm going to

try and stay calm.

and try and get some sleep tonight before we head out tomorrow morning.

But just as we lay down to rest, we're summoned to the village chief's home.

He's offered to ward off any bad energy before we begin our trip with a local

tradition.

This is called what?

Jopu. Jopu.

It's made from tobacco.

It's made from tobacco, but Lorenzo has given us the Jopu because he said that

it will protect us on our journey.

Well,

you're tearing up too.

I feel really protected.

Yeah.

Okay. The good news and the bad news is I've never inhaled anything in my life.

If this is what protection feels like, I'll take my chances without it.

After sleeping off the effects of the Jopu, we're ready to head out.

Interviewing everyone here in the village, they know the Rio Apopora came

and they're all saying it's further upriver. So we're loading up the canoes,

we're heading upriver.

This is truly the beginning of the expedition.

This is it.

We're heading about 20 miles upriver from Villa Gladys.

Once there, We'll turn the engines off and slowly drift, looking for any signs

of the cave.

I like to think we're going stealth, so we won't spook the animals.

But my mind is actually on the Rebel.

Coming up... Oh, I've got the tail! What's the head? What's the head, Mark?

What's going on? Look at his eyes, look at his eyes. Go, go, go, go, go!

I'm in Colombia, heading upriver through the dense Amazon rainforest in search

of the Rio Apoporus caiman, which hasn't been seen in 30 years and is presumed

extinct.

Caiman are a species of crocodilian, and the word caiman is actually Spanish for

alligator. But they're quite different from the gator, with longer teeth and

tougher eyes.

Of the 23 documented caiman species, Many are thriving here in Colombia,

including the spectacled caiman, smooth -fronted caiman, and the Amazon's

biggest predator, the black caiman. And of course, I believe and hope, the Rio

Apaporis.

By having motorboats up here, we're able to go much further, much faster than

anyone in a canoe. This could...

potentially be the first time in history that human beings have been this far up

this tributary of this river.

On another tributary, just a few years ago, a group of American kayakers were

held at gunpoint by a rebel militia.

Not the type of danger I'm used to looking for, so I'm on high alert.

Anaconda! Anaconda, right there!

Don't get too close, don't get too close. We don't want to spook them.

Look at that. He's so beautiful.

This is the largest species of aquatic snake in the world.

Growing as large as 30 feet long and potentially weighing over 500 pounds,

constrictors can feed on pigs, capybaras, jaguars, and even caimans.

If he's eaten a Rio Apoporus caiman, we'll detect the DNA in his feces.

When I catch him, he will musk on me, he will defecate on me, no doubt about it.

That anaconda, through his feces, could prove the existence of the caiman, if

he's big enough. We have to catch him. Here's what I'm going to do.

I'm going to pop in the water.

That's an anaconda, and you're getting in the water with an anaconda?

No way.

I can't go for that.

Our cruise medic, Josh, is clearly not comfortable with this plant.

Look, if he is not enormous, I'm not in any real danger. I mean, yes, I know I

don't know how big he is, but we have to figure this out. This could be our only

shot. I'm sorry, I'm going for it.

Josh, you keep an eye on me. If I get pulled under, you pull me back up, okay?

This is as close as I want the boat. I do not want to spook that animal. If you

spook him, it's going to make him more dangerous.

Let me handle it.

Well, I'm especially sensitive to putting my crew in unnecessary danger.

risk here is entirely mine.

I'm a trained herpetologist, a reptile specialist.

This is what I do. Watch out for caiman speaking of all the dangers.

An anaconda would need to be 10 feet or longer to be able to eat a caiman.

With so little of the snake exposed, I can't get any estimate of its size.

Time to get closer.

Oh, God. He's big, but he's just not quite big enough. His head's probably

this big, which means he's too small to be eating caiman.

There's no reason in harassing an eight - or nine -foot anaconda.

We'll keep going on our search. Good luck, you big beauty.

We've just reached the area the locals pointed out to me, so we're setting up

base camp.

I'm searching the immediate vicinity by foot for signs of predators, animal or

man.

What we're doing now is just walking up the riverbank on foot, just trying to

look down through these pockets of clearing to see if we can spot a caiman

the shore.

Fortunately, this jungle is really thick.

This is really strange.

These are cut marks, meaning humans done this, cleared.

Yeah, see this? This has all been cut.

A while ago, there's moths.

growing on these cuts, but this has actually all been cut. That means people

have been here.

Oh, wow. Oh, no, people have really been here. Look at this.

Guys, guys, guys, stay close, stay close, stay close.

Oh, my God.

This is an old FARC rebel camp.

Thank God it's old. You can see the fire's old.

While I'm glad it's deserted, this is a clear sign our crew is right in the

middle of a lawless rebel zone. The FARC rebels...

We're the communist group fighting against the Colombian government.

And it's a very serious reality check to where we are and the dangers of this

region and how people really are likely the most dangerous thing out here.

As the sun sets, I'm heading back out in a canoe.

My plan is to scan the banks since this is an active time for Cayman.

Cayman are nocturnal hunters.

meaning they're out feeding at night. They're not sitting on the bank, so

unlikely to spot them like we might during the day, but the sun is just

It's the perfect time to get moving, try and catch our caiman.

I've instructed the crew to keep watch on all sides.

The cover of night is going to help us get close to the caiman.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

Alto, alto, alto.

I've spotted something.

We're being watched.

Got it.

Look at this.

This is arguably the most stunning frog on earth.

That is a monkey tree frog. One of the largest species of tree frog in the

world. Look at the size of him. Those big sticky pads on his feet.

Uses those to climb up big leaf pads.

And generally, these frogs will stay way up high in the canopy and breed in

bromeliads, which hold water. They're a type of plant. But they'll come down

like this tonight to feed and then head back into the canopy. So I'm going to

put him back on his tree.

There he goes.

Bye, buddy. And just like that, our tree frog's gone. There he goes, see him?

Clearly, they're very good swimmers.

As we continue along the bank...

I'm using a flashlight to look for red eyeshine, which could indicate a caiman.

That eyeshine is due to the tapetum lucidum. It's a layer of tissue right

the retina that reflects visible light back out of the eye.

Many animals with night vision have it, and it's particularly bright with

crocodilians.

That way, that way, row this way, row this way.

We've just spotted some eyeshine right here. We're trying to approach it as

silently and quickly as we can.

I'm just going to grab my noose right here.

If it is a Rio Apoporis caiman, I'm going to go for it.

I can't tell if it's a Rio Apoporis.

There are several other caiman in this region, so I'm trying to get my canoe

close enough to reach it with my snare.

It's gone.

It just dipped under.

Keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going.

Man, that was definitely a caiman. Did you see it?

Yeah, there was just, you could see the two red eyes. They were like half the

size of golf balls.

And then just gone.

It was right here, right on this bank, right here.

See that?

Right there, right on the bank.

That's from him. He was sitting right here, Mitch. There was a caiman right in

this spot.

Oh, look at the size of those tracks. That is a big caiman foot.

See that? There's a front foot and a hind foot there.

And then see this right here? That's the tail drag from the slide.

Mitch, we could have just been like 30 feet away from a real apophoris caiman

that ducked under.

A presumed extinct animal may have just slipped away into the brown water.

Without any doubt, it was red eyeshine in the water as we approached it, dunked

under, seeing a set of red eyes.

It does indicate that it was a caiman. I have no idea if it was a Rio Apaporis

caiman. I feel encouraged that there is an animal here.

However, I'm not thrilled that it was only one and we didn't get anywhere near

to it.

Since there appears to be one feeding in this area, I'm going to search the

riverbank.

Anaconda! Anaconda! Big anaconda! Right there!

Right there! Drop your camera! Come and help me! Come and help me with him! Come

and help me!

He's huge. He's huge.

We've got an anaconda here.

And he's going.

I'm in the Amazon, searching for an animal that hasn't been seen in 30

The Rio Apoporus caiman.

Mark, mark, mark, mark. Anaconda.

And my crew and I have just discovered an enormous anaconda. It's huge.

He's huge.

This could provide the caiman DNA we need from its digestive system. Can you

it?

Oh, I've got the tail.

What's the head? What's the head, Mark?

He's so strong.

We're losing him, guys. We need help.

Although getting it to behave may prove challenging.

Watch him!

If we can contain him, he's likely to defecate as a defense mechanism.

Kind of ironic, right?

I'm trying to scare the crap out of him.

Watch him. I'll get him, Mark. I'll get him. He's back up.

There you go. He did it.

He's done it.

Hold there.

Well done, my boy. First anaconda catch.

Watch those teeth.

Oh, watch those teeth!

Huge, healthy green anaconda right here in the Amazon jungle.

This is the... Oh, easy!

Easy, easy!

It's going for me.

Okay, I'm letting go. I'm going for the sample. I'm letting go. I'm letting go.

All right, I've got it. I've got it right here.

I was able to collect that sample. It's safely put in a jar. It is the best time

anybody has ever had getting pooped on. It's absolutely fantastic.

Let's send him on his way.

I got a big surprise when I saw him, but he's not what we're here to catch. You

ready?

Just as cryptic as we were when we found him, he just disappears instantly as he

goes into that water.

Gone.

Woo!

Good job, dude.

I don't know.

I don't know whether or not that anaconda has eaten real Apoporus caiman,

know he's big enough to be eating real Apoporus caiman. He lives where there

real Apoporus caiman, and he's hunting real Apoporus caiman.

Well, I'm happy there's a chance we may have secured the DNA.

It's only a chance.

And we won't know for sure until we've returned to the States and can have the

sample tested.

The locals say the Rio Apaporis still exists.

But if I'm going to get close enough to identify and catch one, I need to think

of a new strategy.

So it's early morning, most of the team's still asleep, but I've come out

Trev the soundo, my fishing buddy here, and we're just going to go up the river

a little bit.

The thought is that there's piranhas all over the river. If we can catch some

piranhas, it's the perfect food for the Rio Apple Forest Caiman, and it's also

the perfect food for us. They're delicious, and we need to eat out here,

didn't bring that much food with us.

The piranha has a nasty reputation for being a toothy predator, but I'm going

be using them as bait.

I'm just using a tiny little piece of fish that one of the guys gave me, a

little weight and a little piece of wire. I'm just going to throw it out

here.

There we go. Look at that.

Big piranha. Look at that.

Grande, huh?

Look at that big old sucker. That is a huge piranha.

And that is really a flesh eater. I mean, that will just rip.

meat from bone look at the damage he's done just to my hook into my wire leader

teeth i mean look at the size of the teeth on this fish they are absolutely

menacing those just devastating those

amazing animal and they're just perfect and what's incredible about fishing down

here in the amazon it's so full of life there's piranhas everywhere so we're not

going to take more than we need we're just going to catch four or five enough

feed the crew enough to put out some bait but just stunning, amazing looking

fish.

Here we go.

The Rio Apoporus caiman is undeniably a fish eater. That's why it's developed

that elongated snout. It's specialized for catching fish.

So we're going to take a couple piranhas. I'm going to build some traps

and catch one, but not before getting a nice full belly of delicious fresh fish.

Piranha are cannibal, meaning they eat other fish and even other piranha.

so they're considered taboo by many of the villagers that live off the river.

After

our

big breakfast, we're heading to where we spotted the

caiman last night.

But this time, I'm not trying to sneak up on one. I want one to come to us.

If you look right here in the tree, this down here, these are caiman claw marks.

And this is a slide from a tail.

Now, what that's telling me is there's an animal in this region. So what I'm

going to do now is build my snare traps.

This is going to be my bait. I'm going to use these trees as existing trees to

create my snare, make a trigger trap, set it over here in the water.

When it comes to trapping crocodilians, they're the best. Crocodiles don't get

injured easily from a table. Their skin's too tough.

The caiman had a great sense of smell, especially when it comes to aquatic

smells. So now all I have to do is hang this here, and that's it. That's the

whole trap.

The caiman comes in, grabs the fish, pulls it because he wants to eat it.

going to make the tree spring, which is going to close the noose. He's just

going to stay right here. He's not going to thrash. He's not going to go

anywhere. We've got the perfect trap for Rio Apiporus caiman. Let's just hope it

works.

With the trap set, I'm waiting until nightfall to return to the hunt.

Caiman mostly rest during the daytime and are more active at night.

So it's best to focus our efforts after the sunset.

I'm switching to this red light. It allows us to see what we're doing

being nearly as disorienting to the caiman.

Look at that. That is incredible.

I've just spotted the eyeshine of something crocodilian.

So I'm going in with my noose to see if this is the species I'm looking for.

Croc on. Croc on.

My crew and I are on a tributary of the Amazon River in search of the allegedly

extinct Rio Apophoris caiman.

Look at that. That is incredible.

I've spotted a caiman resting just beneath the surface of the water, so I'm

going in with my noose.

Croc on! Croc on!

I got it.

Okay, I got him. I got him. I got him. Easy fella.

Now that I've got him noosed, I can properly ID him.

That is a caiman.

And a decent sized one at that.

I got it.

This, unfortunately, is a smooth -fronted caiman.

I can see this is not a Rio Epiporus.

All right, look at that beautiful animal.

And contrary to the name Smooth, he's actually got these insanely sharp scales

back here that are so sharp that if you grab them hard there, they'll actually

cut into your hand.

Really the most dinosaur -looking of the caiman because of these hard ridges

that go all the way down.

Perfectly healthy specimen.

Nice sub -adult.

However, this is not our real Apophorus caiman. Our real Apophorus caiman would

be much lighter in color. His snout would be more elongated. We know we're

the right area because we're finding caiman.

But this is the ichu kind of caiman, not the extinct kind of caiman, so we're

going to have to let him go.

One, two, and three.

That was fantastic.

It's an absolutely beautiful animal, and I'm fired up, but it's not the animal

we came here for, so we need to keep going, look for the apoporensis.

It felt good to finally get my hands on a caiman, but as we're headed back to

camp... I'm thinking about how elusive the Rio Apoporus must be to have avoided

detection for so long.

Clearly, I have my work cut out for me.

The next day, I'm eager to get out again.

But the Amazonian rainforest has other plans.

It's a rainstorm in the Amazon. Everything's getting soaked.

We're sitting here chewing on some mango, and we have no other option but

wait it out.

We might be waiting for it.

When they collect drinking water in the Amazon, it rains almost daily, and it

absolutely downpours. So we collect it all on the tarp, the shelter here, and

then we just knock it in, and it goes into the bin.

The downpour lasted for almost two days.

But there's good news.

As we go to check our trap, it's been sprung.

It looks like the tree has sprung up a little bit. It's really hard to say. You

can't see anything. It's all behind the grass.

Oh, wow. Look at this.

What a scene.

Stop right there.

It's amazing when you come up on a spot like this. Obviously, the trap's failed.

It's been triggered.

But there's a lot more to it than this.

This right here is arguably the best crocodilian track I've ever seen. Look

how absolutely perfect that is.

Forefoot, hind foot. You come around here, you can see the animal's been up

down right here.

Perfect slide.

And you can even see our fish missing about half, which means he's had a nice,

good snack.

Sad you're chewing on it.

And somehow my snare completely failed, could have spooked, sensed danger and

left. That tells me this is a very wary, very cautious animal, probably an

intelligent caiman. You just have to be aware that what we've learned is this

animal is very elusive and very shy, so it means it's going to be even more

difficult to get on top of him.

We know there's caiman here, so we're searching the immediate area to see if

he's still around.

Caiman are a reptile, meaning they're cold -blooded, they're ectothermic. They

need to gather their warmth from their environment from the sun. They cannot

create their own warmth. So during the day, especially if it's hot and sunny,

they're going to leave the cooler river and emerge on the bank, giving us a

clear -as -day view of them if we get lucky.

You saw a caiman right here?

Here, here, here, caiman, caiman, caiman, I see it right there, right

Before long, my crew have spotted something.

Look at the length of it now.

Holy. That is freaking incredible.

That's a real -life horse, Damon. We found one. The first in 30 years.

My crew and I are on a tributary of the Amazon River.

You saw a caiman right here?

Here, here, here, caiman, caiman, caiman, I see it right there, right

it looks like we have just spotted a Rio Apoporus caiman.

Holy, that is freaking incredible.

That's a Rio Apoporus caiman.

That is the only caiman on Earth that has that long, narrow, slender snout,

super narrow bridge.

These photos show the difference in skull shape between the Rio Apaporis and

black caiman.

And despite being covered with dirt and mud, you can clearly see its light

yellow hide, a telltale sign of a Rio Apaporis caiman.

I cannot believe this. We're literally sitting here looking at an animal that

the world has not seen for 35 years.

It's so amazing.

I cannot believe it.

I'm feeling so over the top.

We've traveled all this way to find this guy, and now he's just beyond my reach.

I can't noose him when he's that far up on the bank.

So for

now, we're getting video proof.

This footage is significant evidence.

It's just like that after days of searching.

The real Afroporus caiman is not extinct.

But the thing that I have to do is capture DNA evidence. I have to collect

specimen in order to get funding to preserve and protect the species. And

only way to get a tissue sample is to... actually capture one. So that's what we

have to focus on. We know they're here. We know he lived right in this region.

Now we have to try and catch him.

The sunlight is very helpful for getting clear, definitive footage.

But footage can still be disputed. So my ultimate goal is indisputable DNA

proof.

And if I want to get close enough for that, we need to come back here under

cover of night.

It's so unbelievable to think that we're trying to catch an extinct animal. It's

not good enough that we've seen one. We're trying to catch one, which is

mean, it's just bonkers.

But as a scientist, I can respect it. You know, proof is proof, and hard

physical evidence is hard physical evidence, and that's what we're here to

catch.

Oh, there's a caiman up on the bank right there.

Sure enough, back at the same spot.

Between this guy and whatever triggered our snare, I'm starting to think we may

have a small community of caiman surviving here.

Look at that. There's a real Athopaurus caiman sitting right on the bank right

there. Look at that elongated snout and that super characteristic light yellow

coloration.

Mitch, are you okay?

Just as we're closing in on a potential Rio Apaporis, we run right into a swarm

of angry wasps.

Normally,

a few wasp stings is not life -threatening, but who knows how many

taken. Mitch, get on the boat right now. Get in the fast boat, please.

You guys, you guys, listen to me. Go straight back to camp.

You've got a light. Mitch, how you feeling?

Josh, you see to him. We'll be right behind you. Okay, vamos, vamos. Go, full

speed. When you're this far from civilization, even the little things can

you. Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go.

Mitch, hang in there, bud.

There's a caiman up on the bank, right there.

Mitch, are you okay?

Ow! What's going on? You see the wasp? Mitch is having an allergic reaction,

right? After discovering the presumed extinct Rio Apoporus caiman is actually

alive and thriving here in the Amazon, we've drifted into a swarm of angry,

stinging wasps.

Mitch, hang in there, bud!

Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!

Our cameraman Mitch is having an allergic reaction.

who are rushing him back to camp for medical attention.

As you can see, there's wasps everywhere.

I took a big one on the neck.

I've got a couple on my arm. You can see my hand is shaking a lot. So the venom

of these wasps is clearly very potent. They leave some pretty serious stings,

some that bleed. But Mitch is actually having a real allergic reaction, so he's

rushed back to camp.

Turns out, these aren't just any wasps.

These tropical parasitoids are called Clostobiga crassicaudata, and were just

discovered here in the Amazon in 2018.

They have an enormous stinger that injects their powerful venom.

Although I'm not feeling right and I'm shaking, I only have a limited amount of

time out here, and I'm not giving up the hunt for our caiman yet, and so we're

just going to keep going. Are you okay, Johnny?

Yeah. All right, we're going to keep trying, bud.

Back at camp, Mitch has been given medication and now needs rest.

So it's just Johnny and I, my other cameraman, in the canoe.

Maybe it'll be easier to get in close with a stripped -down, stealthier crew.

Oh, that's a big one.

Yeah, that's a big one. That's a big one.

And we've just spotted another caiman in the water.

Right ahead.

This is a big one, Johnny.

You ready? I need you ready.

We're getting close.

Just get close, Johnny, now.

This may be the largest specimen we've seen yet.

Oh, Johnny, I got him!

We're on.

Oh, my God. Big, big Rio Apopora daemon, Johnny.

Look at this!

As a trained herpetologist... I've been noosing crocodilians for over 20 years.

There's no chance of harm, since the flesh just behind the skull is more than

tough enough for my rope.

All right, I got to release.

Look at that.

Look at that.

Look at that incredible... Now, look at that unusual jaw morphology. That is

something that's never been seen in a caiman anywhere on Earth. Look at the

length of that skull.

That is just incredible.

There we go.

That's the sharp end.

Now, as no information exists on this animal, nobody knows just how strong

jaws are, and I'm not willing to take any risks.

Okay, so now what I'm going to do is get the noose off.

It's loosened.

All right, look at this.

Now I can really see him. Oh, look at this animal.

It's this extremely skinny, elongated snout, which no other caiman species

That's what makes this real apoporus caiman so unique. That and this

light yellow coloration with this black dappling.

This is the most incredible thing I have ever done. This is the most incredible

experience words cannot describe. This experience is going to change natural

history as we know it for crocodilians.

But in order to do that, we need to secure a genetic sample.

All I'm going to do is take a very small clipping from his tail, like a

fingernail. You can see they lose pieces of their tail, bites all the time.

All I have to do is grab a little nub like that. You can see no blood,

He doesn't even twitch, doesn't even feel it. And this right here, ladies and

gentlemen, this might be the most important piece of genetic material in

crocodilian history.

All I have to do is put it right in there, get that securely home to the

States, and proof.

of the ongoing existence of the Rio Apoporus caiman is right here in my

We've done it. This is what I've come here for. This is the most incredible

experience of my life.

I'm speechless. It's just so amazing.

Let's set this beautiful animal free to make lots more babies and bring them

back from the edge of extinction.

Okay, baby.

Here we go.

Time to send you home on your way.

You can see he's just recharging right now. He's cooling down.

He's just going to slide in back to the incredible Amazon jungle that he came

from. And just like that, the Rio Apapaurus came and is no longer a king!

Yes!

Yes!

Yes!

To secure a broader genetic sample, we're spending the last two days of our

expedition catching and collecting DNA from over a half -dozen juvenile Rio

apoporas, proving that we've discovered a healthy breeding population.

What we've seen here is a

healthy, thriving population of animals completely forgotten by the world.

And in order to protect it, I will now implement ongoing work with locals,

authorities, and biologists to help send money down here to conserve this area.

Not just the species, but this area in general. Because if this area can remain

in the state that it's in, protected from the outside world, then so can the

Apapora state.