All language subtitles for Jungle 3of3 Waterworld

l'm going on a journey from some
of the world's highest mountains...

deep into the heart
of its mightiest jungle...

The Amazon...

the biggest rainforest in the world
and the biggest river.

This is one of the greatest
treasure-troves of life

and one of the wettest places on earth.

The Amazon - like all jungles,
is locked in an intense struggle with one

of the greatest forces on the planet...
water.

This is a Waterworld
on an awesome scale...

A fifth of all the world's fresh water
flows through the Amazon.

lt has 5 times the volume of water
as the Congo,

and more than 1 0 times
the volume of the Mississippi.

More water flows through
the Amazon in a single day

than the Thames drains in a whole year!

ln fact,
200 million litres every second...

But water is only half the Amazon's story;
the forest is the other.

Together they make up
a vast jungle and river system,

spanning 9 countries of South America.

lt's an epic setting for a great drama...

This is the story of how water has the
power to create life and to destroy it -

constantly transforming
the greatest jungle on earth.

A fifth of all the world's plant
species live here...

alongside one in 1 0 mammals...
and a quarter of all birds.

There are more kinds of fish here

than in all of Europe
and North America's rivers combined...

And there are monsters too... this is
the anaconda, the world's largest snake...

And tucked away in these sleepy backwaters

are some of the Amazon's
best-kept secrets...

Otters... but not as we know them!

These are giant river otters,
up to 2 metres long!

This waterworld is so unusual
and so full of surprises that here,

nearly 3000 km from the nearest ocean,
there are even Jungle dolphins.

While rivers are a magnet
for many animals,

secluded pools and streams offer
a window into the heart of the forest,

giving us tantalising glimpses of some
of its most secretive inhabitants.

But there's one kind of water that's
essential to everything that lives here.

lt's rain, the sprinkler system
of the entire forest...

This is the lifeblood
of all rainforests....

the reason that this lush,
vibrant jungle can exist,

and support so many kinds of animals.

And while in most places rain is measured
in millimetres or centimetres,

here in the Amazon
it's measured in metres.

But why does it rain in the rainforest?

You might think it's just part of the
weather system here... but it isn't.

The forest itself can make rain...

...and it's trees like this
that make it possible...

Each of these trees may suck up
hundreds of litres of water every day,

but they only use some of it.

The rest goes back into
the atmosphere as water vapour...

released through tiny pores
on their leaves.

lt's as if the trees are breathing out...
and the best time to see it is at dawn.

lt's wonderful and it's not
just the view that's spectacular,

but these swirling mists...
which are the breath of the forest,

the water vapour that the trees
themselves have created overnight...

Winds blow the vapour out
across the canopy,

collecting more moisture as they go...

This saturated air is then
carried far out over the forest,

until it falls again as rain...

New trees suck up the rainwater...
and so the cycle continues...

The forest acts as a giant
conveyor belt of moisture,

travelling right across a continent...

ln fact, half of all the rainwater

that falls here in the Amazon
is down to the trees themselves.

The scale of the system
is simply staggering,

this forest is so big
it creates its own climate.

A single droplet of water
can take an incredible trip...

lt might be recycled through dozens
of different trees and downpours,

and travel more than 3000 kilometres...

before it reaches
the heights of the Andes.

Winds from the Atlantic ocean
blow the water vapour westward,

watering the whole Amazon
basin as it goes,

until finally it reaches
an impassable barrier of mountains...

l'm high up in the Peruvian Andes,
far removed from hot, steamy jungles...

But these mountains hold the key
to the waters of the Amazon.

The water that the jungle trees
recycle ends up here,

cooled and collected by the mountains
in the form of mist and cloud...

This ensures that none
of the precious water is lost...

instead, the clouds build until
the mountain slopes are covered in fog...

l never imagined that the Amazon
would bring me to a place like this...

it's cold and damp
and can feel just like winter.

But the real surprise is that
these windswept moors mark the place

where the Amazon jungle
itself starts to grow...

lt's a mysterious forest...

where many plants absorb more water
from the air than from the ground!

And it's up in
these mountain cloud forests

that the mighty Amazon river begins too...
up to 4000 metres above sea level.

This is where l really start
my journey through the Amazon...

in a secret garden
of mosses and lichens...

home to the real life Paddington Bear...

They're actually called spectacled bears -
and it's easy to see why!

They range all across the Andes,
including, of course, darkest Peru!

They're real cloud forest specialists...

but, unlike Paddington, they don't need
red wellies and duffle coats to survive.

Their dense fur keeps out
the cold and damp.

Cloud forests really live up to their
name, they're soaking... all year round.

lt's just dripping with moisture,

it's the wettest kind of forest
there is and underfoot it's so soggy,

it's like walking across a bog.

And this is what makes
the cloud forest so important.

By absorbing water from the clouds
and trapping it in the soil,

it acts as a kind of giant sponge...

collecting water for
the whole Amazon system.

This makes the cloud forest a paradise
for plants... and rather surprisingly

it's the natural home of many
of our beloved garden flowers.

Like begonias! Or fuchsias.

But no chance of such exotic
visitors in my garden!

Here's one flower you probably don't
grow back at home - an Angel's trumpet -

with its own personal pollinator,
the sword-billed hummingbird.

ln this cloudy light,
plants need to make sure

they're not overlooked by
pollinating birds and insects...

So some - like these orchids -
are among the most vivid,

flamboyant flowers in the world...

Cloud forests really
are super saturated...

it can rain any day of the year...
but too much water can be a problem.

So most of the plants here have waxy,
water-resistant leaves,

complete with gutters and drip tips
to drain away excess rain...

So much rain falls in the cloud forest -
up to 7 metres a year -

that even this giant sponge
can't possibly absorb it all...

And as water is constantly on the move,

there's only one way for it
to go and that's down...

As it trickles and cascades and
flows through these mountains,

it very gradually wears down the rocks,
picking up minerals and nutrients...

This liquid fertiliser

is then washed downstream to trees
thousands of kilometres away.

The Andes don't just collect water
for the Amazon forests -

they provide plant food too.

Just look what happens when these mountain
streams get faster and join forces!

These are water features
we could only dream of...

Amazingly, some creatures,
like these torrent ducks,

spend their whole lives
on a permanent white water ride!

Right from the moment they leave the nest,

these little ducklings teeter
on the brink of being washed away...

But somehow these tiny tots learn how
to duck and dive and beat the current...

and they're not alone...

What were once gentle streams
are now raging torrents...

...from now on, we go by river...

And the best way to appreciate the sheer
force of this water... is to ride it...

And by the way, this is the dry season...

the river's only running
at quarter of full flow!

Thousands of waterways like this
pour down from all across the Andes,

trading the cool mountain cloud forests
for the hothouse of the lowlands...

...slowing down and spilling out
across the great Amazon basin.

Down here is what we really think
of as the jungle...

...thousands of kilometres of dark,
impenetrable forest...

This is the jungle of legend!

Home to fabulous creatures...
and untold dangers...

Now at last it's time for me
to explore the forest itself...

This is great...
look at the size of some of these trees;

it's nature at its most exuberant.

Looking up at the canopy
it's like looking at a cathedral...

And once you've got your eye
in you see strange surprises everywhere.

Some scientists believe
a third of the world's insects

and other creepy crawlies
live in the Amazon.

There are so many,
most don't even have a name.

Even air is full of life...

butterflies like these handsome heliconias
are one of the Amazon's highlights...

This is a morpho...

But where there's beauty,
there are also beasts!

This wealth of insects makes fast food
for hunters, like the Saddleback tamarin.

But in the jungle, it's wise to watch what you pu

and there are some small creatures
you should just leave well alone...

This is a poison arrow frog.

lt's called that because
its skin makes poison

which the local lndians
use to tip their arrows...

There's one kind in Colombia,

which is so poisonous
it'll kill you if you touch it.

This brilliant diversity of life
is all around.

The Amazon is so vast and so varied,
even the water comes in different colours.

Clear water streams like this...

White water, full of sediment,
that makes it look like chocolate.

And perhaps -
most remarkable of all - black water...

lt's just like tea because of all
the tannins dissolved from dead leaves...

And different kinds of water
mean different kinds of fish...

This is the natural home of many fish
we'd normally see in an aquarium...

Red-tailed catfish use their
long 'whiskers' to feel their way

through the dark or murky water.

And hatchet fish lurk
just below the surface,

ready to flip out if danger threatens!

ln black water,
cardinal tetras need bright colours

to keep track of other members
of their shoal.

And gangs of angelfish hang out
around the tangled roots

and branches for protective camouflage.

Back on land giant jungle tree
are also havens for life...

...for the harpy eagle and the toucanette

these old boughs
offer a secure nest site...

...and larger animals,
like the coati and the tamandua,

feel safe in the treetops too.

But even the mightiest trees
are vulnerable.

Rainforest rivers are dangerously
unpredictable, especially when in flood...

This cutting edge can swallow
25 metres of riverbank each year...

Wrenching the giants of the forest
to their deaths.

And this is the aftermath...
it's like a crashed space-rocket,

and where once this tree would have
played a vital role in the forest,

now all it is, is food for termites.

This is a drama played out over and over
throughout the whole Amazon basin.

As l get further downstream,

the sheer numbers of tree carcasses
make the rivers dangerous to navigate...

lt's yet another stark reminder...
of the power of water.

The rivers form huge cliffs
as whole slices of the forest disappear...

This destruction isn't all bad -

it creates the venue for the biggest
and most raucous of all jungle parties!

Enormous flocks of parrots
and macaws are gathering,

attracted by a very special kind
of party food...

The sky is full of birds...
More and more keep coming...

There are hundreds and hundreds of parrots
in lines along the seams of minerals.

The reason for this gathering is
that these birds eat seeds,

which are laced with
highly poisonous toxins.

Clay and minerals found in
these cliffs are a lifesaving antidote.

lt must taste nice

because there does seem to be quite
a lot of bickering over lumps of clay.

l love the way they come in,
calling as though greeting each other...

These get-togethers are
just as much about socialising.

As one scientist put it, you don't just
go down to the pub because you're thirsty.

Couples stay faithful
to each other all their lives

and the chicks actually remain with
their parents for two or three years.

l can really understand
why people like having them as pets,

they are so beautiful
and intelligent and friendly,

but this is the way l like to see them,

socialising with
each other and flying free.

The clay these birds love is exposed
by swollen rivers sweeping by...

But the same force that cuts
the cliffs on one side of the river

has the opposite effect on the other...

Here, instead of destroying the land,
the river helps create it,

producing some rather
unexpected scenery...

Although this is a riverside, you'd be
forgiven for thinking you were by the sea.

There are beaches in the Amazon - but
they're not your average holiday beach.

Stingrays a metre across hunt
in the shallows and caiman lurk,

waiting to take anything
that comes for a drink.

But once a year, thousands of visitors
can hit these jungle beaches...

the world's largest freshwater turtles
haul up en masse to lay their eggs.

Each female may lay up to 1 00, but both
eggs and turtles are a local delicacy,

so today these gatherings
are becoming increasingly rare.

And it's not just egg thieves
that pose a problem for the turtles...

Breeding here is a race against time...

the eggs must hatch before the wet season
floods wash the beaches away...

Turtles are powerless to stop this...
but jungle plants fight back,

mounting a military style campaign...

Tessaria plants are in the front line in
the fight to claim back new territory...

These paratrooper plants
invade as airborne seeds...

lt's the dry season,
the enemy is at its weakest,

so this is their chance
to entrench their position.

These tiny plants are vital -
where they lead, others can follow...

Next, reinforcements arrive...
Massed ranks of cane...

like the infantry,
which help to consolidate the position.

And behind them the heavy guns...
cecropia trees.

Each wave of plants
creates the right conditions

for the next to germinate and grow...
until finally, the jungle wins the battle.

But it doesn't win the war...

Although the trees reoccupy the beaches,

it's the rivers
that are really in control.

They're always on the move - meandering
in giant loops across the floodplain...

Nothing stays the same... the waterways
constantly redesign the jungle tapestry.

But rather than leaving
behind a trail of destruction,

they create tranquil lakes...

forgotten cul-de-sacs that
have their own special character.

Known as 'oxbow' lakes,
they're really stranded river bends,

left behind when the main river
cuts through the neck of an old loop.

ln contrast to the turbulence
of river life,

these lakes are still and peaceful...

sanctuaries for all kinds
of animals and birds...

...fishing holes for egrets...
cormorants... and snake birds.

Here l'm hoping for a glimpse
of something really special... yes!

There they are... giant river otters!

They're spending a lot of time
milling around this area,

so the den is probably close by.

They live in extended families,

where older youngsters help
to look after the babies.

lt's only actually
when they get out of the water

that you appreciate the size of them.

The adults are up to about 35 kilos,
that's a very big otter.

Some people call the otters
'wolves of the river'...

and like their namesakes, they're
skilled hunters that work in packs.

They are such graceful swimmers
and wonderfully agile hunters,

they make catching
prey seem like pure fun...

Sadly, families of otters
like this are a rare sight today.

They were nearly hunted to extinction
for their thick waterproof fur.

Now though, they're protected,

so hopefully,
their future should start to look better.

But like everything else
in this waterworld,

the otters will have to adapt
to a changing environment.

Their tranquil lakes won't last forever...

Swamp palms often mark the old location
of a dried up oxbow lake.

Like all rainforest plants,
the palms fight for a space to grow in...

and the shallow edges of the lakes
are a soft target for invasion...

Slowly but surely they move in,

until the lake is transformed,
ending up as a palm swamp...

The fruit of these aguahe palms
are a favourite of jungle animals.

But they provide much more than food.

They're known locally as the Tree of Life,

but even in their death they're very useful.

Dead palms are like derelict buildings and
squatters are quick to take advantage...

These house hunters -
blue and gold macaws -

are always on the lookout
for a cosy nest site,

and the hollow trunks
of rotting palms are perfect.

Security is top priority...

it takes a month for the mother
to incubate her eggs

and then almost another three months
for the chicks to fledge.

And with prime real estate
in such short supply,

the parents can't even afford
to trust their neighbours...

Rogue pairs would kill
to get their foot in the door!

So if you're a macaw with an ideal home,
you guard it well!

The macaws can't rely
on these dwellings forever;

this area is earmarked
for redevelopment...

The forest is taking over.

lt's the final chapter
in this water-driven cycle of change.

lt's incredible that a river
simply changing course

can so dramatically transform
the whole landscape around it...

And that means that the very spot
where l am standing can be:

A forest

A river

A cliff

A beach

A lake

A swamp

And maybe eventually a forest again...

And it's this incredibly dynamic system
that makes the Amazon so rich and diverse.

ln a world where nothing's permanent,

the plants and animals
that live here have to be flexible...

The rivers rule... and shape
the lives of everything around them.

And it's only from the air

that you can really get your head round
the true scope of the system as a whole...

flying for hours
across a vast ocean of green...

Thousands of tributaries snake
across this jungle,

and eventually they all combine
to make one massive waterway...

the mighty Amazon river itself...

This is the largest flood plain
in the world,

draining an area
almost the same size as Australia.

The scale of it is just mind blowing...

lt's 6,51 6 kilometres long,
and that's not even including the bends.

And at points the banks
can be 1 1 kilometres apart.

lt's the world's largest river.

But it's not just the Amazon's
statistics that are huge -

it's home to some real monsters too.

This jumbo-sized fish is the pirarucu.

lt can reach more than four metres
long and weigh a quarter of a ton -

that's about the same as 4 of me!

And this fish has a shocking reputation.

lt's the giant electric eel,

and it can generate up to 800 volts -
enough to kill a man.

Black caiman also cruise these waters...

but perhaps most spine chilling of all
is the world's largest snake...

the anaconda, thicker than my waist...
and capable of swallowing me whole!

Which is why l'm staying up here!

There's one monster though,
even the mighty river can't withstand,

and that's the fury
of the tropical wet season...

ln the tropics there are just two seasons,
Wet and Dry.

But the Amazon basin is so huge,
even if one part is drying out,

somewhere within the river's
reach it's always raining.

And when the wet season combines
with melt water from the Andes...

even the Amazon river is overwhelmed...

The result is flooding on a massive scale.

But far from being a disaster,

it produces the most amazing world
of all - the flooded forest.

Around 1 20,000 square kilometres
of rainforest is submerged.

This doesn't happen anywhere else -
it's the largest flood on earth.

lt's a surreal, fantastic place where
one world suddenly becomes another...

For half the year this forest
is much like any other,

but for the other half it's a topsy-turvy
world that's stranger than fiction.

The trees are adapted to spend
six months of the year

standing in up to 20 metres of water.

Fish swim where flowers once grew...

And a whole cast of forest creatures -

from the tapir to the armadillo -
has to sink or swim!

The three-toed sloth now has to doggy
paddle when it wants to change tree...

While the water-loving jaguar
has a more graceful style...

And smaller creatures have
emergency procedures too.

Fire ants link legs to make a raft
and float their young to safety.

Anything that can climb heads upwards,
to the treetops...

Meanwhile, great shoals of fish
invade the flooded trees...

with all this brand new territory,

it's bonanza time to feed and breed...
a whole new world.

Fish take over the diet
of the forest animals,

plucking stranded insects
from the water surface...

But it's not just fish
that take advantage of the floods.

Many trees release their fruit
and seeds during this time...

Some float away to colonise new areas,
while others become fish food...

Some fish help to disperse the seeds...

a job that in a 'normal' forest
would be done by animals,

like monkeys and toucans.

But then, this is no ordinary jungle...

Here, there's even the fish
equivalent of a parrot...

the pacu, which can crack nuts
with its beak-like jaws...

These waters may look cool and calm...

but, believe me,
you don't want to take a dip!

There are lots of piranha in here.

Actually, piranhas aren't quite
the bloodthirsty killers you might think.

They're only dangerous
if there's blood in the water,

or if they get trapped
somewhere without enough food...

But if they're hungry and overcrowded,

just a whiff of blood
can spark a feeding frenzy...

But even the piranhas
have their enemies...

The packed shoals are juicy mouthfuls
for the caiman's crushing jaws...

Some hunters of the flooded forest
don't make such a splash, though,

which makes them much
more difficult to see.

l'm looking for one of the most surprising

and enchanting creatures
in the entire Amazon...

l've heard of an unusual way
of attracting them.

l'm not entirely convinced,
but let's give it a go...

The reason l'm splashing the water
and whistling and playing music,

is that l am trying to lure one of the
most mysterious animals in the Amazon...

Apparently they are very curious and all
this noise should grab their attention...

l'm not sure if this is quite their scene.

No, still nothing.

Well, this is obviously a hit... a glimpse
of a boto... a pink river dolphin!

They just surfaced for a few seconds,

which might be partly why they have
such an intriguing reputation.

They're the stuff of Legends;

local people here think that they might
whisk women off into the night...

l can't resist...

l'm just going to have to go and see
if l can get a closer look...

The water's dark and murky,

but the dolphins use echolocation to sense
what's around them with sound.

And their flexible necks help them
scan from side to side.

So they know what's going on...

But l've got no idea where they are...
so they can easily catch me out.

And they certainly have
no problem catching fish.

They do look almost
ghostly in the gloom...

l'm not surprised the botos
have such a magical reputation!

Well, despite my top DJ mix, that's about
all you get, just a tantalising glimpse.

The flooded forest is truly unique... and
an extraordinary ending to my journey...

Everything living here has
to survive incredible extremes...

Where else do trees swap
flocks of birds for fish?

But the flooded forest is
just one part of the Amazon.

This massive rainforest,
fed by towering mountains...

creates a gigantic cradle of life...

with more variety than
anywhere else on earth.

Driven by clouds... sculpted by rivers...

...and transformed by floods...

...this is a waterworld
that spans a continent.

Millions of animals
and plants depend on it.

But if we take away the trees,
the whole system will crumble...

and the Amazon basin could dry out -
forever.

Though that's just what we're doing.

Each year, areas the size of whole
countries are being stripped of trees.

And recently the pace of destruction
has increased to an alarming rate.

lmagine if this waterworld and
all its life was turned to dust.

For now at least, the Amazon is still the
biggest and richest rainforest on earth.

The challenge is to keep it that way...