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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:15,420 So many of my missions are spent trying to save animals that once existed in 2 00:00:15,420 --> 00:00:16,940 huge numbers. 3 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:24,860 But what if there was an animal so unique, so rare, it was essentially 4 00:00:24,860 --> 00:00:25,880 unknown? 5 00:00:27,380 --> 00:00:31,300 Not just a species, but in fact, a genus. 6 00:00:32,020 --> 00:00:36,620 So exotic that it was only first discovered in 1996. 7 00:00:38,470 --> 00:00:41,150 and has almost never been seen since. 8 00:00:42,930 --> 00:00:47,230 Possibly extinct, it's the rarest animal in the world. 9 00:00:48,450 --> 00:00:50,710 Something like a unicorn. 10 00:00:51,710 --> 00:00:55,310 Yeah, something exactly like that. 11 00:00:55,790 --> 00:01:00,110 It's called the Thala, the Asian unicorn. 12 00:01:02,770 --> 00:01:04,349 Every single year. 13 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:07,760 As many as 2 ,000 species are deemed extinct worldwide. 14 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:14,180 But the process we use to declare an animal extinct is an inexact science. 15 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:16,960 It happens all the time. 16 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:20,800 Animals are rediscovered that were thought to be gone forever. 17 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:27,740 My grandfather discovered a coelacanth 66 million years after it was supposed 18 00:01:27,740 --> 00:01:28,740 be extinct. 19 00:01:28,900 --> 00:01:31,880 I'm Forrest Galante. I'm a wildlife biologist. 20 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:36,000 and my life's work is searching for animals that we've given up on. 21 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:43,900 On this expedition, I'm trekking deep into the most remote forest of Vietnam 22 00:01:43,900 --> 00:01:50,140 in search of an animal so rare it was only just discovered in 23 00:01:50,140 --> 00:01:54,160 1996 and hasn't been documented since. 24 00:01:55,060 --> 00:02:01,620 Our path will take us beyond untouched terrain, revealing unknown species, 25 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:07,880 and leading us deep into the largest known cave passage in the world to 26 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:14,080 a recently discovered hidden oasis as exotic and unknown as the animal itself. 27 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,980 This is Extinct or Alive. The Sala. 28 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:29,300 This is Hanoi. 29 00:02:30,350 --> 00:02:35,750 Northern Vietnam's capital city, squeezed between China and Laos. 30 00:02:36,510 --> 00:02:42,430 We're less than 50 miles from the jungle, where the saula, the rarest 31 00:02:42,430 --> 00:02:48,930 the world, was first identified as a new genus, meaning no similar animals exist 32 00:02:48,930 --> 00:02:50,070 in Southeast Asia. 33 00:02:50,750 --> 00:02:56,610 The scientific community was shocked. A large mammal had gone unknown in the 34 00:02:56,610 --> 00:02:57,610 modern era. 35 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,920 the first live sallow was captured in a poacher's snare and transported into 36 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:08,480 captivity. This animal evolved completely in isolation without any 37 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:10,240 relatives right here in the Annamites. 38 00:03:11,220 --> 00:03:17,820 Nearly five feet tall and weighing up to 200 pounds, the Asian unicorn has 39 00:03:17,820 --> 00:03:19,760 distinctive white facial markings. 40 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:25,900 And even more unique are its scent glands that it rubs on trees to attract 41 00:03:25,900 --> 00:03:26,799 mate. 42 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,940 But little else is known about this mysterious creature. 43 00:03:32,060 --> 00:03:34,720 Welcome to Hanoi. Good to see you. Thanks for meeting me. 44 00:03:35,220 --> 00:03:39,800 Pleasure. Bill is the world's leading expert on saula, and in fact the only 45 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:43,680 Western scientist who has spent any time around a live saula. 46 00:03:43,940 --> 00:03:47,520 My understanding is that it was given that name, the unicorn, because when 47 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:52,720 looking at it in profile, the horns visually merge into one, and it looks as 48 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:53,720 though it has a single horn. 49 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:55,680 Yeah, I think part of it also is... 50 00:03:56,030 --> 00:03:59,570 An extraordinarily beautiful animal with the white spots on the side of the 51 00:03:59,570 --> 00:04:00,570 faces. 52 00:04:02,770 --> 00:04:08,890 Rarely seen and known for being unusually gentle, it's obvious how the 53 00:04:08,890 --> 00:04:13,570 stuck. When it was discovered, it was probably the most surprising zoological 54 00:04:13,570 --> 00:04:15,050 find of the 20th century. Right. 55 00:04:15,290 --> 00:04:19,610 Because here you had not just a new species of mammal weighing 100 kilos, an 56 00:04:19,610 --> 00:04:21,769 entirely new scientific genus. Unbelievable. 57 00:04:22,050 --> 00:04:24,150 Yeah, it just blew the minds of biologists and animals. 58 00:04:24,750 --> 00:04:31,690 And Bill would know. The Sala was transferred from a private zoo 59 00:04:31,690 --> 00:04:36,590 in Laos, owned by General Chang, where Bill was brought in to study it. 60 00:04:36,910 --> 00:04:41,370 When she was caught, she was probably the most significant captive animal in 61 00:04:41,370 --> 00:04:42,470 world at that time. Sure. 62 00:04:43,430 --> 00:04:48,790 But from there, this story only gets more unique and ultimately tragic. 63 00:04:50,070 --> 00:04:54,030 The female Sala Bill lovingly named Martha died. 64 00:04:54,540 --> 00:04:56,820 only 18 days after her discovery. 65 00:04:57,580 --> 00:05:01,980 Friday morning, she was lying down, like on her side, which wasn't a good sign. 66 00:05:02,300 --> 00:05:07,940 It was like dusk on this cold winter day, and I just watched her breathe her 67 00:05:07,940 --> 00:05:08,940 last. 68 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:13,480 General Cheng's staff basically cooked her and ate her. 69 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:22,380 No autopsy to reveal the cause of death, and no remains to study or transfer to 70 00:05:22,380 --> 00:05:23,380 a museum. 71 00:05:24,940 --> 00:05:30,460 Two weeks after the world learned it existed, the Asian unicorn was no more. 72 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:34,160 But Phil has never lost hope. 73 00:05:34,860 --> 00:05:35,860 Are they extinct? 74 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:37,040 Are they still here? 75 00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:41,440 I'm almost certain they're not extinct, but there's still some in the forests of 76 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,240 Vietnam and Laos. Good. Where would you suggest I begin? 77 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:48,420 We want to go to the Annamite Mountains, which is the mountain range that forms 78 00:05:48,420 --> 00:05:49,920 the border between Laos and Vietnam. 79 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,460 I'm cruising along the western edge of the Annamite Mountains. 80 00:05:58,700 --> 00:06:04,020 This mountain range stretches 700 miles end -to -end, and the last sighting of a 81 00:06:04,020 --> 00:06:08,940 Sala was in 2013 when a single trail camera managed to capture an image. 82 00:06:09,940 --> 00:06:13,980 Since then, there's been a rush of interest in finding the animal. 83 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:20,780 I'm devoting this expedition to a species that might not be extinct, but 84 00:06:20,780 --> 00:06:22,560 fact the world's rarest animal. 85 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:28,220 And I'm far from the only one looking. Over 500 cameras border the western and 86 00:06:28,220 --> 00:06:32,400 eastern edges of the Anemites. But if I want to find this creature, I have to do 87 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:36,700 something that everyone else is not already doing. I have to go to a place 88 00:06:36,700 --> 00:06:41,640 further and deeper and harder to get to than anyone else is going to look for 89 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:42,519 the Salah. 90 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:47,140 And by the way, some estimates say there's up to 150 wild tigers in the 91 00:06:47,140 --> 00:06:48,140 the Anemite. 92 00:06:50,220 --> 00:06:54,600 So, my first destination is the most remote village in this region. 93 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:59,460 The last human settlement for 30 miles in any direction. 94 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:06,180 Coming up off the river, this is the village here, so I'm going to show some 95 00:07:06,180 --> 00:07:08,540 style of pics and see if anybody recognizes the animal. 96 00:07:09,740 --> 00:07:11,820 You know this one, my friend? You know this one? 97 00:07:12,660 --> 00:07:13,660 Hello. 98 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:15,760 You know it? 99 00:07:16,220 --> 00:07:17,220 No? 100 00:07:19,470 --> 00:07:20,470 Hi, guys. 101 00:07:20,490 --> 00:07:22,430 Do you guys know this one, this animal? 102 00:07:25,130 --> 00:07:28,690 They know it. This is good. 103 00:07:32,710 --> 00:07:37,850 Last year? So wait, three months ago, you saw one up here? How far away? How 104 00:07:37,850 --> 00:07:38,850 from this area? 105 00:07:40,230 --> 00:07:41,310 Two days walking? 106 00:07:45,210 --> 00:07:47,690 Wow. All right, thank you. Thank you very much. 107 00:07:48,350 --> 00:07:52,170 The fact that two days walk from here, there could be saula, that's a very good 108 00:07:52,170 --> 00:07:53,330 sign. Hello! 109 00:07:55,070 --> 00:07:58,090 All of those hunters seem to recognize the animal. 110 00:07:59,070 --> 00:08:00,730 Sounds like Phil may be right. 111 00:08:01,270 --> 00:08:04,270 The saula may still live in these mountains. 112 00:08:08,050 --> 00:08:12,970 Now that I've been given a direction from one of the villagers, I'm using my 113 00:08:12,970 --> 00:08:17,010 Google Earth program to map where we're heading within the mountain. 114 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:23,560 And this is a huge, insanely difficult terrain. 115 00:08:25,700 --> 00:08:29,120 Some of these peaks reach as high as 8 ,500 feet. 116 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:35,179 So I think what I want to do is try and take the path of least resistance, which 117 00:08:35,179 --> 00:08:37,440 means following this river downstream. 118 00:08:38,940 --> 00:08:40,980 So tomorrow's going to be wet. 119 00:08:42,500 --> 00:08:47,640 On expedition, I try to pack for anything. And we've got plenty of 120 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:53,540 rope. spiked boots and a whole ton of gear to cross this impossible terrain 121 00:08:53,540 --> 00:08:59,700 unfortunately i didn't pack a boat so we're gonna have to make one bamboo is 122 00:08:59,700 --> 00:09:04,720 of the absolute greatest natural materials grows quickly it's full of air 123 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:08,860 pockets it makes great water canteens you can eat juvenile bamboo roots it's 124 00:09:08,860 --> 00:09:11,960 light completely sustainable to cut down 125 00:09:17,260 --> 00:09:22,100 So each compartment that you can see in the bamboo is its own individual air 126 00:09:22,100 --> 00:09:25,920 pocket, completely watertight. What we're going to need is about 15 pockets 127 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:28,440 each. I should clean it up a bit. 128 00:09:29,340 --> 00:09:33,920 Now, I need a small raft, plus two larger ones for the crew and gear. 129 00:09:34,740 --> 00:09:37,540 Luckily, I brought enough machetes for everybody. 130 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:41,420 Okay, that's one. 131 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:45,180 Okay, we've got one crossbeam that runs through the center of it all. 132 00:09:45,420 --> 00:09:46,560 That's going to hold it together. 133 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,620 We're going to put another one up on that end, and that's the foundation of 134 00:09:49,620 --> 00:09:50,620 raft. 135 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:54,580 Where I grew up in Zimbabwe, we used to have a dam on our farm. 136 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:58,840 So starting at about age seven, I used to build rafts. Unfortunately, we had a 137 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:02,260 bunch of wild bamboo on the property, so I started building rafts at a very 138 00:10:02,260 --> 00:10:05,740 young age to go out and catch fish and chase animals around on. 139 00:10:06,380 --> 00:10:10,820 Given that the Sala is a semi -aquatic bovid, we're going to... 140 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,020 try our best to camouflage ourselves. 141 00:10:14,060 --> 00:10:17,180 So these are military -grade ghillie suits. 142 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:21,760 So the idea is that if we're cruising down the river, Salah just happens to be 143 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:25,340 down in the water feeding or prancing around, and we come floating up on it, 144 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:26,400 it's not just going to dart away. 145 00:10:27,340 --> 00:10:32,540 I've brought enough to outfit the entire crew, and now we're ready to launch. 146 00:10:32,740 --> 00:10:33,740 All right. 147 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:35,920 Hey, it floats. 148 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:36,879 It floats. 149 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:38,220 Can you guys get the next one, do you think? 150 00:10:38,670 --> 00:10:41,890 Yeah, we'll put the bigger one in and stay behind you. Okay. Well, I'm going 151 00:10:41,890 --> 00:10:43,030 take off and get ahead then. 152 00:10:45,050 --> 00:10:46,050 Coming up. 153 00:10:46,230 --> 00:10:47,630 That's the red shank, Duke. 154 00:10:47,910 --> 00:10:49,870 Those are so stunning. 155 00:10:50,190 --> 00:10:51,049 And later. 156 00:10:51,050 --> 00:10:52,690 Look at this right here. 157 00:10:53,130 --> 00:10:55,490 The right size, the right shape. 158 00:10:55,990 --> 00:10:56,990 Here you go, Mitch. 159 00:10:57,870 --> 00:11:00,210 Oh, my God. Look at that. 160 00:11:00,710 --> 00:11:02,190 I want to scream with excitement. 161 00:11:15,560 --> 00:11:22,220 I'm in central Vietnam, heading downriver to reach the Annamite 162 00:11:22,220 --> 00:11:26,620 I'm told I may find the world's rarest animal, the saula. 163 00:11:27,560 --> 00:11:31,340 All right, just got out of the area of human impact. 164 00:11:32,100 --> 00:11:35,100 Starting to look like some very wild, very rugged habitat. 165 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:41,600 The ghillie suit was created as a portable hunting blind, designed to 166 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:44,100 match your surroundings while keeping you mobile. 167 00:11:46,060 --> 00:11:47,440 Big, big water buffalo. 168 00:11:48,620 --> 00:11:49,880 Completely relaxed. 169 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:51,900 Just totally ignoring me. 170 00:11:52,940 --> 00:11:56,060 Completely unaware of my presence, which is perfect. It means this ghillie 171 00:11:56,060 --> 00:11:59,620 suit's working really well. So I imagine a salad would just stand there staring 172 00:11:59,620 --> 00:12:00,780 at me just like this. 173 00:12:09,180 --> 00:12:12,260 This is the spot that we picked out from the Google Earth. 174 00:12:13,260 --> 00:12:16,700 A hike in from here, it looks like the best valley to follow into the 175 00:12:18,780 --> 00:12:24,060 I'm spiking my pole through the raft to keep it in place and mark the spot I've 176 00:12:24,060 --> 00:12:25,820 come ashore for the rest of the team. 177 00:12:29,580 --> 00:12:34,080 This thing is beyond impossible to move through the bush in. 178 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:39,960 While the ghillie suit was perfect camouflage for the raft, it's only going 179 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:41,120 slow us down on foot. 180 00:12:41,820 --> 00:12:42,820 All right. 181 00:12:43,340 --> 00:12:44,340 Time to start tracking. 182 00:12:57,380 --> 00:13:01,360 It's interesting about walking in the jungles in Southeast Asia is you hear 183 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:06,500 quiet it is. Now, most jungles worldwide, there's a plethora of noise, 184 00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:07,560 birds, frogs. 185 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:10,880 But in this part of the world, it's a very quiet jungle. 186 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:15,520 And the Saula has actually learned that. They say when it moves, it's completely 187 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:20,120 silent. It has no sound at all. So it's not that there's no wildlife here. What 188 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:23,760 it is, is that the wildlife here knows how to be incredibly stealthy. 189 00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:32,640 Normally, the quiet puts people at ease. But in this jungle, it's the quiet 190 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:34,940 predators that are the most lethal. 191 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,480 Oh, look at this nasty thing. 192 00:13:39,599 --> 00:13:41,380 This is a scolopendrous. 193 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:46,380 It's a type of centipede that's highly venomous, and a bite from that is 194 00:13:46,380 --> 00:13:47,760 incredibly painful. 195 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,820 Look at the size of him. I mean, that is a centipede bigger than my hand. 196 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:55,280 He is beautiful, even if he's very, very toxic. 197 00:13:57,460 --> 00:14:01,400 So interestingly enough, because there's so many of these in Vietnam, there's a 198 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:05,320 local remedy, and if you're bitten by one, what you do is you use chicken spit 199 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:08,780 on the side of the bite, and that supposedly makes it feel better. 200 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:11,740 So, how do you collect spit from a chicken? 201 00:14:12,100 --> 00:14:14,080 Well, a gentleman never tells. 202 00:14:14,500 --> 00:14:15,500 Look at that. 203 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:19,020 So cool. Just not something you want to end up with in your sleeping bag. 204 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:27,540 Already, we're seeing an increasing amount of wildlife. 205 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:34,540 It's clear we're heading in the right direction, based on the sheer amount of 206 00:14:34,540 --> 00:14:38,080 game trails and animal tracks all around us. 207 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:46,040 Once you get this far out, because of the seasonality of the rains here, these 208 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:48,220 creek beds make perfect game trails. 209 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:53,580 And not only do they make easy paths to walk through, but the Thalas were known 210 00:14:53,580 --> 00:14:54,580 to love water. 211 00:14:57,500 --> 00:15:01,960 Look up in either direction, you can see how there's just this perfect funnel. 212 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:07,040 And it's just jagged, steep cliffs, this little pocket of pristine habitat. 213 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:12,960 It's so biologically unexplored. Every little fish like that in these creeks, 214 00:15:12,980 --> 00:15:17,140 every butterfly, every insect, any of them could be a new species because the 215 00:15:17,140 --> 00:15:18,760 reality is nobody's checked. 216 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:24,440 As a biologist, I could easily lose focus around all this diversity. 217 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:30,980 But as we get more remote, it's important we stay alert to anything that 218 00:15:30,980 --> 00:15:31,980 as a threat. 219 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:34,020 Think, think, think, think, think, think. 220 00:15:34,700 --> 00:15:36,560 Coming up. Did you hear that? 221 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:38,880 This is a poacher's live trap. 222 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:40,520 Look what's inside of it. 223 00:15:53,880 --> 00:16:00,280 We're deep in the jungles of Vietnam in search of the world's rarest animal, the 224 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:03,460 saula, also known as the Asian unicorn. 225 00:16:04,180 --> 00:16:09,340 And as we close in on the location local hunters told us about, we're 226 00:16:09,340 --> 00:16:12,040 discovering an abundance of healthy wildlife. 227 00:16:12,500 --> 00:16:13,940 Snake, snake, snake, snake, snake, snake. 228 00:16:15,900 --> 00:16:17,920 Look at this beauty. 229 00:16:19,260 --> 00:16:22,780 Sharp -nosed vine snake. Look at the length of him. You can't even tell, but 230 00:16:22,780 --> 00:16:23,980 he's like five feet long. 231 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:27,500 Just a stunning snake, so we'll have a look at him. 232 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:32,080 They have a mild venom, which means you won't die. 233 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:34,980 after all the painful swelling and vomiting. 234 00:16:36,020 --> 00:16:39,940 Isn't that just the most brilliant emerald green you've ever seen? 235 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:43,100 Now these guys eat frogs and small lizards. 236 00:16:43,420 --> 00:16:44,420 See that? 237 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:45,440 Easy fella. 238 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:49,800 Look how he's flattening his neck. That's biomimicry, flattening out the 239 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:53,100 way a cobra does to say, look, I'm venomous, leave me alone. 240 00:16:56,780 --> 00:16:59,060 Just amazingly beautiful animal. 241 00:17:00,380 --> 00:17:05,319 We're closing in on the spot that the group of hunters I met with claimed to 242 00:17:05,319 --> 00:17:07,060 have seen a saula three months ago. 243 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:13,300 But the terrain is only getting more difficult as we head up into the 244 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:18,859 You can see the insane steepness of this entire environment. 245 00:17:19,220 --> 00:17:23,500 But the good thing is traveling along these game trails are the perfect place 246 00:17:23,500 --> 00:17:26,560 put trail cameras. So set this one out here. 247 00:17:26,859 --> 00:17:29,140 See these drop -offs are just so steep. 248 00:17:29,580 --> 00:17:34,880 Even with so much international interest, I'm fairly confident I'm the 249 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:37,640 setting up cameras this deep into the anemite. 250 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:45,340 Now, as the salas of bovid has four stomach chambers, and in order to digest 251 00:17:45,340 --> 00:17:50,100 food, it needs minerals. The main mineral being NaCl, aka salt. 252 00:17:50,500 --> 00:17:55,520 And salt is the hardest thing to find out in the jungle. So, what I'm doing 253 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:57,420 is hanging salt block. 254 00:18:02,380 --> 00:18:06,760 I'll just take my trail camera and place that right here. 255 00:18:07,780 --> 00:18:08,780 Moving on. 256 00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:19,740 We're continuing along a game trail and hoping for any sign of the Saula along 257 00:18:19,740 --> 00:18:20,579 the way. 258 00:18:20,580 --> 00:18:21,580 You guys hear that? 259 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:23,160 That's a warning rattle. 260 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:24,860 Something is threatened. 261 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:26,620 Oh my God, look at this. 262 00:18:28,380 --> 00:18:30,240 This is a poacher's live trap. 263 00:18:30,860 --> 00:18:31,920 Look what's inside of it. 264 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:36,200 You know what that is? East Asian porcupine. 265 00:18:36,540 --> 00:18:38,200 I hate seeing this crap. 266 00:18:38,580 --> 00:18:44,540 Being five days in from the nearest village and seeing live traps like this. 267 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:47,460 It's just super beautiful. 268 00:18:48,360 --> 00:18:52,440 Those spikes are quill, actually modified hair. 269 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:57,780 And these porcupines rattle the thick hollow ones in their tail to ward off 270 00:18:57,780 --> 00:18:58,780 attackers. 271 00:18:59,020 --> 00:19:03,140 These things will stab right into you. They'll go inches deep, and honestly, 272 00:19:03,180 --> 00:19:04,340 it's like getting stabbed with a knife. 273 00:19:05,860 --> 00:19:07,380 Come on, buddy. Out you go. 274 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:08,820 He's so nervous. 275 00:19:10,500 --> 00:19:11,500 There he is. 276 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:13,960 There we go. 277 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:18,500 Off he goes into the bush. 278 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:20,360 Beautiful, unique animal. 279 00:19:20,740 --> 00:19:23,960 Have that amazing ability to rattle their tail to ward off predators. 280 00:19:24,340 --> 00:19:26,620 It's hard to believe that people kill them and eat them. 281 00:19:28,620 --> 00:19:31,280 And now what I want to do is destroy this awful trap. 282 00:19:31,580 --> 00:19:32,800 Do you have those wire cutters? 283 00:19:36,340 --> 00:19:40,540 By nightfall, we've reached the area where the hunters described their 284 00:19:40,540 --> 00:19:44,800 thalassiding. And I'm not waiting for sunlight to have a look around. 285 00:19:45,340 --> 00:19:46,340 Look at this. 286 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:48,600 Gross. 287 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:51,580 Days into the bush. 288 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:55,580 And signs of humans. And plastic. 289 00:19:55,780 --> 00:19:56,780 Plastic trash. 290 00:19:57,180 --> 00:20:01,040 It seems like no matter how far in we go, there's still people going there. 291 00:20:02,580 --> 00:20:04,320 Look at that thunder in the background. 292 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:05,900 Sounds like there's a storm coming. 293 00:20:07,620 --> 00:20:14,140 Another long night. A few nice snakes, a couple small mammals, some great 294 00:20:14,140 --> 00:20:19,700 monkeys, but it's just not what I'm looking for. There's just no signs of 295 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:24,660 And even after being this many days in, there's still signs of human traffic 296 00:20:24,660 --> 00:20:26,340 everywhere. There's footpaths. 297 00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:28,240 There's little pieces of plastic and trash. 298 00:20:28,900 --> 00:20:31,940 This habitat is so tough, and it's seeming so fruitless. 299 00:20:34,820 --> 00:20:37,020 So, probably time to head back to camp. 300 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:39,880 My morale is taking a dip. 301 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:47,460 We're almost a week into some very difficult bush, but no sign of the 302 00:20:47,460 --> 00:20:49,280 clearly not out of man's reach. 303 00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:54,660 Any extra energy we had this morning is quickly being sapped. 304 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:58,820 hiking almost vertically into this thick bush. 305 00:21:00,460 --> 00:21:05,980 And just when I'm trying to convince myself it's all worth it, a deadly 306 00:21:07,420 --> 00:21:11,540 I come like all this way out here, where you think no other person has ever 307 00:21:11,540 --> 00:21:13,940 stepped foot, and there's snares still. 308 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:16,240 A week in. 309 00:21:17,870 --> 00:21:22,830 We're going to find a salla, and what do we find? We find live porcupines and 310 00:21:22,830 --> 00:21:25,370 traps and snare wires that'll catch anything. 311 00:21:26,890 --> 00:21:30,930 There's poachers all through these mountains, and it's very discouraging. 312 00:21:32,250 --> 00:21:36,310 Months and sometimes years of planning go into these expeditions. 313 00:21:36,750 --> 00:21:41,570 But when you deal with the most remote areas of the world, you have to be ready 314 00:21:41,570 --> 00:21:42,570 for surprises. 315 00:21:43,010 --> 00:21:46,970 There's almost no chance we're going to find the rarest animal in the world. 316 00:21:47,590 --> 00:21:48,930 where poachers are active. 317 00:21:49,510 --> 00:21:52,370 If people are here, they would have found it. 318 00:21:53,710 --> 00:21:55,870 Luckily, I have a backup plan. 319 00:21:56,090 --> 00:22:00,810 I had this idea that there's one other pocket that's truly untouched. 320 00:22:01,170 --> 00:22:03,990 It's a completely isolated pocket of forest habitat. 321 00:22:04,310 --> 00:22:07,390 Kind of this primordial Eden in the middle of this cave system. 322 00:22:07,690 --> 00:22:09,710 You're talking about that cave that you showed me. Exactly. 323 00:22:10,270 --> 00:22:11,270 Songdoon. 324 00:22:12,490 --> 00:22:18,350 First discovered in 2009, and located just off the border of Laos and Vietnam. 325 00:22:19,250 --> 00:22:23,850 Song Dung Cave roughly translates to Cave of the Mountain River. 326 00:22:24,450 --> 00:22:27,590 It's the largest known cave passage in the world. 327 00:22:27,830 --> 00:22:30,630 And the center of that cave is a completely untouched rainforest. 328 00:22:31,050 --> 00:22:35,010 Seeing as the cave was only discovered 10 years ago, nobody's had an 329 00:22:35,010 --> 00:22:36,010 to hunt in there. 330 00:22:36,910 --> 00:22:40,130 Less than 2 ,000 people have ever been inside. 331 00:22:40,670 --> 00:22:43,030 And the last group of biologists... 332 00:22:43,439 --> 00:22:45,040 discovered multiple new species. 333 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:49,440 I mean, it's still early morning. If we get a jump on it now, we save ourselves 334 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:50,440 an extra day. 335 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:54,700 And if we hike straight back out without surveying, it'll probably only be five 336 00:22:54,700 --> 00:22:55,700 days. 337 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:57,040 That's the call. 338 00:22:59,820 --> 00:23:02,140 It's going to take nearly a week to get there. 339 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:08,560 But it's one area I know the poachers haven't reached. 340 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:11,980 We're going to be in the heart of the Salah habitat, and we're going to be... 341 00:23:12,250 --> 00:23:16,610 in an isolated pocket. So at least if there's one there, we're going to find 342 00:23:18,430 --> 00:23:22,710 Coming up. Get ready for a serious climb. We're heading into the world's 343 00:23:22,710 --> 00:23:25,530 cave. Oh, my God. Look at that. 344 00:23:40,780 --> 00:23:46,360 After over a week of hiking through this dense Vietnamese forest in search of 345 00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:51,440 the Asian unicorn, all we found were poacher's traps and human debris. 346 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:55,500 So we spent the last five days hiking back out. 347 00:23:56,460 --> 00:24:01,700 My crew and I are now continuing our long, difficult trek through the tall, 348 00:24:01,860 --> 00:24:06,640 jagged cliffs within these Annamite Mountains to reach an untouched forest 349 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,680 hidden within the world's largest cave. 350 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:16,560 An area deep in suspected Sala territory. 351 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:22,820 This is a game trail right here. See those branches broken like this? 352 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,640 That's very fresh. That's an animal. Let's knock that down right there. 353 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:30,220 These vines are freaking nasty. 354 00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:36,260 You can see this is an absolute corridor for animals coming up down this. 355 00:24:36,810 --> 00:24:41,650 High -traffic spots like this are perfect for trail cams. That's my first 356 00:24:41,650 --> 00:24:42,650 up right here. 357 00:24:44,810 --> 00:24:50,730 With so little information available about the saula, it's difficult choosing 358 00:24:50,730 --> 00:24:51,730 bait. 359 00:24:52,890 --> 00:24:57,530 So now all this old squishy, stinky fruit, and all those fruit sugars will 360 00:24:57,530 --> 00:25:01,990 ferment, and the smell will travel a long, long distance. So we'll just see 361 00:25:01,990 --> 00:25:03,350 anybody wants to come in and eat that. 362 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:09,260 Even with no sign of the Saola, I'm feeling like I made the right choice. 363 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:17,520 As we continue towards our new destination, the untouched rainforest 364 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:19,400 within Song Joong Pae. 365 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:25,180 Right there. Look, look, look. 366 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:26,880 See that? 367 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:28,960 That's the Red Shank Duke. 368 00:25:29,900 --> 00:25:31,980 Those are so stunning. 369 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:37,160 You see that red and that white and that orange, that incredible coloration that 370 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:40,400 has earned them the name of the queen of the primates because of how stunning 371 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:42,500 they are. They're the most colorful primate on Earth. 372 00:25:43,220 --> 00:25:47,900 Lycol primates are extremely social, and they live in troops of up to 15 373 00:25:47,900 --> 00:25:48,900 animals. 374 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:54,420 These animals are critically endangered, meaning they're at risk of serious 375 00:25:54,420 --> 00:25:58,180 extinction, but what a beautiful primate they are to see here. 376 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:01,780 Well, that's an incredibly rare treat. 377 00:26:05,420 --> 00:26:11,500 The five -day trek out of the Anamite was nearly as long as the trek in, 378 00:26:11,500 --> 00:26:15,020 I had to return to each trail camera to collect the footage. 379 00:26:16,020 --> 00:26:21,760 Now, after another three days on foot, we're finally nearing the cave. 380 00:26:24,100 --> 00:26:26,520 Look at that. 381 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:30,600 That's the entrance to Sungdoon Cave right there. 382 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:34,500 The largest, one of the least explored caves in the world. 383 00:26:35,100 --> 00:26:38,520 Once we get down there, there's an entire rainforest ecosystem. 384 00:26:40,580 --> 00:26:46,760 Shondum was just discovered in 2009, with its vast, 385 00:26:47,020 --> 00:26:50,740 untouched darkness spanning over five miles. 386 00:26:54,900 --> 00:27:01,820 This is the only access point to the rainforest within, and with so little 387 00:27:01,820 --> 00:27:02,940 known about the animal, 388 00:27:03,820 --> 00:27:10,780 It's even possible we could discover a saula inside, or possibly a new 389 00:27:10,780 --> 00:27:17,300 species that's evolved on its own, trapped because the entrance is a 300 390 00:27:17,300 --> 00:27:19,140 drop to the cave's floor. 391 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:22,680 Not only are we climbing down, but we're going down with all of our biological 392 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:28,740 gear, our scientific equipment, and looking for an extinct animal, so get 393 00:27:28,740 --> 00:27:29,740 for a serious climb. 394 00:27:30,670 --> 00:27:35,770 Any animal that's climbed down here would be trapped, leaving it no choice 395 00:27:35,770 --> 00:27:38,210 to find the rainforest just like we are. 396 00:27:38,410 --> 00:27:39,410 How you doing, Mitch? 397 00:27:39,570 --> 00:27:40,569 Having fun? 398 00:27:40,570 --> 00:27:41,850 We've got a ways to go. 399 00:27:42,290 --> 00:27:43,290 Sure do. 400 00:27:59,660 --> 00:28:06,580 I've just dropped 300 feet down into the world's largest cave in search of 401 00:28:06,580 --> 00:28:12,100 a hidden, untouched rainforest that I suspect could be home to the world's 402 00:28:12,100 --> 00:28:14,200 rarest animal, the saula. 403 00:28:16,020 --> 00:28:17,020 Whew! 404 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:24,360 That was an absolutely amazing climb, going from 300 feet, 405 00:28:24,460 --> 00:28:27,260 where that small opening is, down to the base here. 406 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:32,780 Unbelievable. And what I have here is a very rudimentary map of the system. 407 00:28:33,500 --> 00:28:38,060 It's five and a half miles end to end. And about four and a half miles through 408 00:28:38,060 --> 00:28:40,060 that is the jungle section. 409 00:28:40,860 --> 00:28:43,380 Which is where we'll find the hidden rainforest. 410 00:28:44,140 --> 00:28:50,740 An isolated world, big enough to support the flying foxes and even tigers that 411 00:28:50,740 --> 00:28:51,880 have been seen in the area. 412 00:28:52,140 --> 00:28:56,720 So it's definitely big enough to support a small population of saula. 413 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:01,240 But getting there means climbing, rappelling, and even swimming. 414 00:29:01,700 --> 00:29:06,880 A mountain climber like Basala could likely handle it, as could the mountain 415 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:10,620 goats, sparrows, and sun bears that inhabit this range. 416 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:16,100 And while none of them would make a home in this passage, we'll still need to 417 00:29:16,100 --> 00:29:18,020 keep an eye out as we trek through. 418 00:29:19,660 --> 00:29:20,960 Oh, look at this. 419 00:29:23,380 --> 00:29:25,540 There's an entire pile of bones here. 420 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:30,440 These are not fossilized. They're calcified, meaning tons and tons of 421 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:33,220 deposits of calcium have added up on top of them. 422 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:38,540 If you look at the pelvic girdle, it actually looks like it could be the 423 00:29:38,540 --> 00:29:39,499 from bovid. 424 00:29:39,500 --> 00:29:41,700 That being said, it's really hard to tell. 425 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:45,400 The only way I'm going to know what it is is if I take a sample with me. So I'm 426 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,600 going to take one of these, and if it hasn't been completely corrupted by all 427 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:51,220 the calcium, we might actually be able to get a genetic sample. 428 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:53,420 Very, very exciting to see this here. 429 00:29:56,149 --> 00:29:58,150 So you can hear we're getting close to the river now. 430 00:30:00,570 --> 00:30:06,010 You can see it's a huge river within the cave, so it's absolutely enormous. So 431 00:30:06,010 --> 00:30:10,010 now the key is to follow the river, keep going down, and eventually we'll get to 432 00:30:10,010 --> 00:30:11,010 the bar. 433 00:30:18,850 --> 00:30:22,750 Everywhere I turn, there seems to be a new discovery down here. 434 00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:25,620 even in the tiny puddles of water. 435 00:30:25,820 --> 00:30:27,320 Oh, look at this. 436 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:32,340 There's a completely white, translucent little fish here. 437 00:30:32,580 --> 00:30:33,580 Come on, little guy. 438 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:38,840 This is a tiny little species of loach, and loaches are a member of the catfish 439 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:44,000 family. And these fish have been isolated from sunshine and isolated from 440 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:48,180 outside world for so many generations that they've completely evolved away 441 00:30:48,180 --> 00:30:49,180 having eyeballs. 442 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:54,440 And it just goes to tell you how cut off from the outside world this piece of 443 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:58,240 cave is, because you'd end up with animals that are evolved for perfect 444 00:30:58,240 --> 00:30:59,240 like this creature. 445 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:02,660 This one was trapped in this tiny little pool here, so I'm going to look for 446 00:31:02,660 --> 00:31:05,420 some friends of his in one of the other pools and release him. 447 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:09,980 Here we go. We'll put him right down in here. 448 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:15,820 All right, off you go, little guy. 449 00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:19,220 Man, that is amazing. What a cool fish. 450 00:31:22,900 --> 00:31:28,760 We've been inside this cave for over 36 hours with no sunlight. 451 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:35,200 I've lost any concept of day or night, but I know we've passed the four -mile 452 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:36,200 mark. 453 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:42,000 Now the path is only getting more difficult, but finally I'm beginning to 454 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:45,240 the light. I smell fresh air seeping in. 455 00:31:46,450 --> 00:31:47,890 So that's where we're trying to go. 456 00:31:48,530 --> 00:31:52,390 But if we want to get there, we have to get through all these 30 -foot boulders 457 00:31:52,390 --> 00:31:53,390 first. 458 00:31:54,890 --> 00:31:58,170 It's so narrow here that we have to go one at a time. 459 00:31:58,890 --> 00:32:02,990 Just got to head down into that crack and see how we go. 460 00:32:04,890 --> 00:32:07,930 This way, guys. 461 00:32:08,850 --> 00:32:09,850 Okay. 462 00:32:09,950 --> 00:32:10,950 There we go. 463 00:32:11,090 --> 00:32:12,130 A little bit of daylight. 464 00:32:13,100 --> 00:32:15,940 Our first sunlight in nearly two days. 465 00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:18,400 This is it. 466 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:21,020 We found the secret oasis. 467 00:32:25,980 --> 00:32:28,760 Oh my God, look at that. 468 00:32:31,900 --> 00:32:36,280 I like want to scream with excitement right now. Just to know that right there 469 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:40,800 is this primordial patch of jungle completely untouched by man. 470 00:32:41,650 --> 00:32:43,770 likely the last one in Southeast Asia. 471 00:32:44,530 --> 00:32:50,030 Any animal that's ever entered the cave would have to come here to survive and 472 00:32:50,030 --> 00:32:51,670 then likely flourish. 473 00:32:52,010 --> 00:32:55,490 What's amazing is the level of endemism that would occur in a place like this, 474 00:32:55,590 --> 00:32:58,450 meaning species that occur nowhere else on Earth. 475 00:33:01,490 --> 00:33:05,850 From what I could see, it's absolutely stunning. I mean, it's so green, it's so 476 00:33:05,850 --> 00:33:07,390 lush, and it's just perfect. 477 00:33:07,980 --> 00:33:11,260 What we're going to do is just go as quietly as we can, pepper the area with 478 00:33:11,260 --> 00:33:14,860 trail cameras, put up our mineral blocks, retreat back into the cave, and 479 00:33:14,860 --> 00:33:16,160 wait and hope for the best. 480 00:33:18,420 --> 00:33:20,500 Do you guys see this beautiful little snail here? 481 00:33:20,980 --> 00:33:23,860 I've never seen a lime green colored snail before. 482 00:33:29,540 --> 00:33:30,620 With a pink rim. 483 00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:33,600 This is the invertebrate book. 484 00:33:34,030 --> 00:33:37,550 for Southeast Asia, and there's nothing in this book that matches this 485 00:33:37,550 --> 00:33:38,550 description. 486 00:33:38,650 --> 00:33:42,950 So, you know, we're in one of the least biologically explored places on the 487 00:33:42,950 --> 00:33:46,950 planet. You can see it's died. Because there's no animal in there, it's 488 00:33:46,950 --> 00:33:50,970 completely harmless to take it with me. So I'm going to bag it up, bring it with 489 00:33:50,970 --> 00:33:54,790 us, and show it to a friend of mine who's an invertebrate expert. But this 490 00:33:54,790 --> 00:33:58,010 pretty cool. I think we've just found a new species down here in the cave. 491 00:34:04,360 --> 00:34:06,640 You see all the white bits on the leaves here in the vegetation? 492 00:34:08,020 --> 00:34:14,080 That's all bird and bat guano, meaning droppings. And that guano has created 493 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:17,139 fertilizer that has made this such a rich forest. 494 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:22,280 I'm hoping it's made the scenario that an animal like a sow has happened to 495 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:23,280 in complete isolation. 496 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:30,300 And with no human disturbance. 497 00:34:30,909 --> 00:34:34,350 There seem to be signs of wildlife everywhere I look. 498 00:34:37,290 --> 00:34:39,989 Look at that right here. 499 00:34:40,290 --> 00:34:41,290 You see that? 500 00:34:41,429 --> 00:34:42,710 Coming up. Oh. 501 00:34:56,810 --> 00:34:57,910 I'm in Vietnam. 502 00:34:59,790 --> 00:35:02,490 Deep inside the world's largest cave. 503 00:35:03,970 --> 00:35:09,970 After trekking for two days in pitch black, we've reached the untouched 504 00:35:09,970 --> 00:35:11,430 rainforest buried within. 505 00:35:11,830 --> 00:35:18,510 A perfect oasis for a Saula, hidden from mankind with no access from above. 506 00:35:19,570 --> 00:35:25,290 And I've redirected the entire expedition on my hunch we'll find 507 00:35:25,670 --> 00:35:28,210 Look at this right here. 508 00:35:30,860 --> 00:35:31,860 Do you see that? 509 00:35:32,240 --> 00:35:35,020 That is from a cloven -hoofed animal. 510 00:35:35,780 --> 00:35:40,040 Down here in the middle of this jungle, there's only two things that have a hoof 511 00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:43,140 like that. It could be out here. One's a mountain goat, and the other, of 512 00:35:43,140 --> 00:35:44,600 course, is a saula. 513 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:49,080 That's exactly what we've been looking for, the sign of a saula down here. 514 00:35:51,720 --> 00:35:54,360 Look here. See, there's a little track that comes down through the vegetation 515 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:56,500 here. Oh, look, there is actually another one here. Look. 516 00:35:57,460 --> 00:35:58,480 I didn't even see that. 517 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:03,100 That's a really, really good track. It's the right size, the right shape. 518 00:36:06,300 --> 00:36:11,240 I've brought some plaster so I can make an exact model of these prints and take 519 00:36:11,240 --> 00:36:12,400 them home to be analyzed. 520 00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:17,800 Just like that. 521 00:36:18,820 --> 00:36:20,980 Just make sure you get all of the track there. 522 00:36:22,100 --> 00:36:23,120 Absolutely perfect. 523 00:36:23,780 --> 00:36:25,680 I want to go to the other one that's up there. 524 00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:29,260 That has to sit for about 20 minutes until it's rock solid. 525 00:36:29,700 --> 00:36:31,100 Come to this one over here. 526 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:34,300 Just perfect. 527 00:36:36,140 --> 00:36:41,740 Even without a saula print on file, analysts will be able to determine what 528 00:36:41,740 --> 00:36:44,120 bovid left us by process of elimination. 529 00:36:45,540 --> 00:36:49,520 Never in my life have I been so happy to just find a single track. 530 00:36:50,340 --> 00:36:51,600 Look at this little leech. 531 00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:53,980 The good news about this is... 532 00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:56,320 There are only leeches where there are mammals. 533 00:36:56,840 --> 00:37:00,060 We've got tracks right here. We've got a game trail right there. 534 00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:04,340 Interestingly enough, this guy could actually have the definitive proof we 535 00:37:04,340 --> 00:37:05,299 from Sala. 536 00:37:05,300 --> 00:37:09,620 There's groups that are working on taking blood from leeches and testing 537 00:37:09,620 --> 00:37:12,400 for Sala DNA. So in fact, what I'm going to do is keep this. 538 00:37:13,460 --> 00:37:14,460 Grab a vial. 539 00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:36,640 You can see, clear as anything, that these are from an undulate. They're from 540 00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:40,540 cloven -hoofed animal, and it looks like they round in that heart shape at the 541 00:37:40,540 --> 00:37:44,920 top. Now, whether or not this is from a saula, I really can't say. It's not 542 00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:45,920 definitive proof. 543 00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:51,680 But what it is proof of is a large cloven -hoofed animal that lives in a 544 00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:55,220 where many saula have been reported. I'll get them analyzed with some saula 545 00:37:55,220 --> 00:37:58,360 experts and consider this a step in the right direction. 546 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:08,820 While I haven't spotted a live saula, we now have prints, a leech, calcified 547 00:38:08,820 --> 00:38:14,660 bones, and an enormous amount of trail cam footage, any of which still has a 548 00:38:14,660 --> 00:38:19,020 chance of revealing definitive proof the saula is alive and well. 549 00:38:20,340 --> 00:38:26,080 This has been one of the longest expeditions I've ever attempted, and my 550 00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:27,760 resources are tapped out. 551 00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:33,790 After one more night in the tent, We've now got another mile to trek through 552 00:38:33,790 --> 00:38:39,050 Song Joong -K to reach the other end and get back to the surface. 553 00:38:50,630 --> 00:38:56,910 After days underground in the most breathtaking environment I've ever seen, 554 00:38:56,910 --> 00:39:00,450 feel how I'd imagine an astronaut feels. 555 00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:07,780 landing back on Earth, carrying precious cargo that we hope will 556 00:39:07,780 --> 00:39:09,920 expand our understanding of the universe. 557 00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:17,060 The Annamite Mountains are large and mysterious, not unlike our Saula. 558 00:39:17,340 --> 00:39:23,040 And although I found very few signs of the world's most recently discovered 559 00:39:23,040 --> 00:39:28,660 large mammal, sometimes it's not about signs. It's about gut feeling and 560 00:39:28,660 --> 00:39:29,660 instinct. 561 00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:35,780 What we did find is an ecosystem full of amazing, unique, incredible creatures. 562 00:39:36,140 --> 00:39:39,880 And if you think about all of the animals that occur in the animites, in 563 00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:45,740 incredible region of bioabundance with this amazing amount of endemism, not 564 00:39:45,740 --> 00:39:50,460 do I believe that the saula is still here, but I'm convinced that as more 565 00:39:50,460 --> 00:39:54,820 research efforts take place in this region, we're going to find out that 566 00:39:54,820 --> 00:39:58,800 are all kinds of undiscovered species just like this unicorn. 567 00:40:05,870 --> 00:40:09,730 So when I left Vietnam, I left a whole bunch of trail cameras set up all over 568 00:40:09,730 --> 00:40:12,490 the place. But fortunately, I have great contact there, and they went and 569 00:40:12,490 --> 00:40:16,630 collected all of the SD cards out of the trail cameras. 570 00:40:16,930 --> 00:40:19,250 And I have them here, and I'm excited to see what's on them. 571 00:40:22,150 --> 00:40:26,810 Oh, there's a palm civet here, and he's certainly not a... Oh, he just grabbed a 572 00:40:26,810 --> 00:40:27,810 little bug. 573 00:40:29,430 --> 00:40:30,830 Good to see there's some life, though. 574 00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:42,580 Oh, up in the right -hand corner behind the salt block, there's a big four 575 00:40:42,580 --> 00:40:43,580 -legged animal. 576 00:40:45,980 --> 00:40:49,080 And when I say big, I mean exactly saula size. 577 00:40:50,260 --> 00:40:54,220 There's one other animal that lives in this part of the world called the cerro. 578 00:40:54,620 --> 00:41:00,440 The Indo -Chinese cerro has a very similar size and body structure to the 579 00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:05,160 but this rare, near -threatened animal is actually a goat relative. 580 00:41:05,660 --> 00:41:09,780 And unless we get him on another camera, I can't be sure which it is. 581 00:41:10,280 --> 00:41:13,120 This card is up above where the salt lick was. 582 00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:16,160 There he is. 583 00:41:20,300 --> 00:41:21,400 Just our luck. 584 00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:26,280 We did get him on another camera, just not the right parts. 585 00:41:27,340 --> 00:41:31,380 The defining features are on the face. And of course, the only part of this 586 00:41:31,380 --> 00:41:32,660 animal I cannot see is its head. 587 00:41:33,100 --> 00:41:34,960 And that's the last of the footage. 588 00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:37,220 Not enough to be definitive. 589 00:41:37,660 --> 00:41:41,560 We know there's at least one animal that matches the description of the thala 590 00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:42,560 right here. 591 00:41:43,660 --> 00:41:46,220 It could be a thero, but it looks like a thala. 592 00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:49,080 We need to get back to Vietnam. 50556

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