All language subtitles for Coyote Peterson Brave the Wild Series 1 Part 2 Realm of the Caiman 1080p

Right now, we're trying to be
as quiet as we possibly can.

I don't want to startle them
off the edge.

I just want to get close.

♪

Let's move in
a little bit closer.

♪

Man: Behind you,
behind you.

Aah!

My name is coyote peterson,
and I've traveled the world

Seeking out the most fascinating
animals on our planet.

Look at that.

No matter the location,

My mission has always
been the same --

To get up close and uncover
the secrets of the creatures

That we often misunderstand
or, even worse, fear.

Every animal has a story,
and I brave the wild to tell it.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

On this adventure,

We are traveling deep
into the brazilian pantanal

In search of a predator
that is armed with a mouth

Full of razor-sharp teeth,
the yacare caiman.

Fear, misunderstanding,
and over-hunting

Led to the decimation
of this species,

Yet it's made
an incredible comeback.

My goal is to find out
if this is an animal

We should be afraid of
as I do the unthinkable

And enter into their underwater
world to swim alongside them.

Will they consider me
a friend or foe...

Or food?

♪

♪

When talking about
south america,

It's usually the amazon
that gets all the attention,

Yet it's the brazilian pantanal

That boasts the highest
concentration of wildlife.

This expansive wetland covers
more than 70,000 square miles,

And all you need to do is listen
to the all-encompassing sounds

To recognize
its incredible biodiversity.

[ chirps ]

During the wet season,

Nearly 80 percent of this
environment is covered by water,

But during the dry season,

Water recedes
and transforms the landscape

Into a labyrinth
of jungle pockets

That are broken apart by the
remaining rivers and streams.

Okay, it's early morning.

Sun is just beginning to crest
over the horizon.

This is the perfect time for us
to head towards bahia negra.

This is known as the black bay.

Because the water is
at its lowest point, you have

The highest concentration
of animals in this area,

Which gives us the best chance
of seeing them,

But it also adds
a level of danger.

Now, if I get into the water
with the caiman,

You have to keep in mind
there are jaguars hunting

Along these edge lines.

You make yourself
look like a caiman,

That potentially puts me
in the position of prey.

Peterson: Joining today's
expedition is renowned

Wildlife cinematographer
cristian dimitrius.

He has traveled the world
getting daringly close

To some of our planet's
most dangerous animals.

But it's his intimate
knowledge of the yacare caiman

That will be crucial
to the success of my mission.

[ boat engine revving ]

♪

Okay, so we might have a stretch
of dry land up here.

I think this will be
a good spot for us

To get out and do some
exploration on foot.

♪

[ grunts ]

During the rainy season,
this environment

Is completely covered in water,

And all the animals that live
in this environment,

Especially aquatic ones like
caiman, would call this home.

And, like, this -- I would
consider it a mudflat,

A dehydrated plain.

Let's head up this way
and look for a game trail.

What is that?

A skull!

Look at this!

♪

Wow.

Look at that.

That's a caiman skull,

Or I should say
mummified caiman skull.

Wow, it is, like, glued shut.

All the skin is just completely
dried up on the skull.

How cool is that?
Look at those teeth.

Now, of course, we are looking
for caiman that are still alive,

But finding a skull
is certainly a good sign

That these reptiles
are in the area,

And I would guess that
this caiman was likely killed

By a larger predator.

The only thing that's
gonna take down a caiman

Would be a jaguar,
which I would consider

The apex mammalian predator
in this environment.

That's pretty cool to find one
muddy, mummified caiman skull.

Definitely tells us that there
are jaguar hunting in this area.

I'm gonna place this
back down here.

Let's head in to the underbrush.

♪

Peterson: When fully grown,

Caiman can reach
9 feet in length

And can weigh close
to 150 pounds,

Defining them as a predator
that ranks near

The top of the food chain,

Yet during
the earlier stages of life,

They're susceptible
to a multitude of dangers.

Hatchlings often fall victim
to birds of prey.

Subadults can be taken down
by anacondas.

But it's the jaguar
who rules this river ecosystem

And is notorious
for feasting upon adult caiman.

Stalking the embankments,

They wait for
the perfect moment to leap...

And seize their prey.

Sinking a massive pair
of canine teeth

Into the back
of their victim's skull,

They break the neck

And then drag their prize
up and out of the river.

So while swimming with caiman

Will certainly be
its own level of danger,

There's an even higher level
coming from the predator

That hunts along the shoreline.

♪

I've got a caiman up here
on the embankment,

Just up here sunning.

Okay.

This will allow me to determine
how close can I get to a caiman.

Am I gonna have to approach
from the water,

Or can I approach on land?

I'm gonna try to get
on land right here

And sneak up
behind the reptile.

♪

♪

♪

That was the jaguar tactic
right there,

Stay real low and sneak up.

I got about 15 feet
from the caiman.

It definitely was on to me,
which means catching

One of these reptiles
is gonna be difficult.

All right.
Let's keep moving.

Good attempt, though.
First caiman of the day.

♪

♪

Ooh, there's a very little one
further back.

Look, he's almost up on land.
That's gettable.

Man: Yeah,
paddle towards it.

♪

See, he's all the way
back there.

It's gonna have to be a
jump-on-him type thing, okay?

[ beep ]

♪

Go for the little guy.

♪

♪

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

♪

Man: Go, go, go, go,
go, go, go, go, go.

♪

Peterson: Got him!

Yes! There we go.

Look at that little guy.

Wow. There it is.

That is a little juvenile
caiman right there.

Okay, I'm gonna bring it up
onto the boat.

Let me get some of this mud
off of him.

There you go, buddy.

Wow.

Absolutely beautiful.

Look at the coloration.

Judging by the size
of this caiman,

I would guess it's probably
around a year of age.

The reason I wanted to
get hands-on

With one of these reptiles

Is so that we can look at some
of its distinct features.

At first glance,
you may say to yourself,

"is that an american alligator?"

The caiman, while closely
related to the alligator,

Is quite different.

Caiman are certainly
the lesser-known

Crocodilian species.

With the yacare caiman,
the thing that is most distinct,

If I turn it like this,
you can see that those eyes

Are set incredibly
high up on the skull.

It almost looks as if this
caiman is wearing glasses.

With that shorter,
blunter snout,

It does resemble an alligator,

While crocodiles have longer,
thinner snouts,

But with the caiman,

You have this very distinct
jagged design to the teeth.

When they're smaller like this,
it's not as noticeable,

But as they age
and grow into adult stage,

The front two teeth
on the lower mandible

End up poking up
through the upper snout.

Now, if you look at
those forelimbs,

The front feet are not webbed.

They're primarily used
for gripping on to

The basin of a water structure,

But it's actually
the hind limbs

That really help them move
through the environment,

But all of the propulsion
of this animal

Comes from the musculature
that's in the tail.

This is an animal that is
designed to thrive

In this pantanal ecosystem.

All right, little guy.

Thanks for hanging out
with us for a few minutes.

Let's place it back down
into the water.

I think it's time to swim
with the caiman.

♪

This is it -- bahia negra,
the black bay.

Look at this open expanse
of water.

This is gonna be perfect
for swimming with caiman.

Peterson: We motored toward
a clearing on the shoreline.

It looks like this is
the perfect place

To establish a base camp
and change into our wet suits

While cristian sets up
his camera

And its underwater housing.

-Geared up?
-Yeah.

So, let me present
worst-case scenario.

If I am bitten
by a caiman,

If I find myself in the jaws
of one of these reptiles,

What do I do
in that instance?

Don't fight back.
Just try to get away.

He won't grab you
and take you down

Because you're not
a natural prey,

So just kind of take
your feet or hand out

And swim out, swim away.

Okay, so the danger
is present,

But if we approach slowly,
give these animals some space,

We should be able to have
a very up-close encounter.

You guys ready?

-Yeah. Ready.
-Yeah.

Here we go. Let's enter
the realm of the caiman.

As we head out
into the black bay,

We immediately see
caiman stacked up

Along the embankments,

So having an encounter
certainly won't be a problem.

Unfortunately, most of the water
in the main source is murky,

So we turn into a cove
that looks clear

When all of a sudden,
we notice the presence

Of another aquatic predator.

Okay, so we found a great spot
to get into the water.

It's crystal clear, but we're
also seeing a ton of fish.

I have a feeling that some
of these fish are piranha.

All I need is a bamboo pole

And a little bit
of chicken meat

To cast into the water
to see if we can catch one.

Let's go fishing and see
if we can catch a piranha.

Here we go.

♪

Something's already
attacking the chicken meat.

♪

Got one.

♪

Oh, yeah!
That's a piranha right there.

There it is.
That is a piranha.

Look at those teeth --
razor-sharp.

Look at that mouth.

You may be thinking to yourself,
"okay, you're gonna

Get into the water
with a swarm of piranha.

Is there the chance

You're going to be eaten alive
by these fish?"

They're primarily
feasting on animals

That are already dead,
so I feel no fear, necessarily,

Getting into this water
with piranha swimming around.

But if you were to take
a bite from those teeth,

It would open you up
pretty good.

Let's peel that lip back a tiny
bit, and there they are.

There's the teeth.

Razor-sharp.

That is a serious arsenal
for such a small creature.

A feasting school of piranha
is one of the most

Impressive things you can see
out here in the pantanal.

All right, let's get it
back into the water.

See you later, bud.

♪

So, right now we're motoring
very slowly back into this cove.

This looks like it could be
the best spot

To encounter
the largest quantity of caiman.

Wow, this water
is crystal clear.

This is perfect.

Big fish in here.

The caiman are definitely
eating well

With all these fish
swimming around.

♪

Okay, so we've got about
eight caiman stacked up

Right on this embankment.

We're gonna get
into the water here.

[ exhales ]

Heart is racing right now.

This is it. Here we go.

♪

[ hisses ]

[ hisses ]

[ exhales ]

Heart is racing right now.

This is it. Here we go.

♪

♪

♪

♪

[ whispering ] okay,
we are just a few yards away

From two very big caiman.

Now, you'll notice the one
further up on the embankment

Has its mouth open.

This time of day,

They're thermoregulating
their body temperature.

With the mouth open,
it actually helps the caiman

To cool its body temperature,

So it's able to control
just how warm it's getting.

Now, all the scutes across
the top of the back work like

Little solar panels,

And they are just loving
the sunlight right now.

They feel completely calm with
us in the environment like this.

They haven't even flinched.

They know that we're here,
but they feel completely calm.

Right now, we're trying to be
as quiet as we possibly can.

I don't want to startle them
off the edge.

I just want to get close.

♪

Let's move in
a little bit closer.

♪

[ hisses ]

My heart is racing right now.

Okay, here he goes,
down and into the water.

Look at this.

Look at the way that the eyes,
the nostrils, and the ears stay

Just above the surface,
perfectly camouflaged.

Now, what's unique about
the eyes of the caiman,

And all crocodilians,
for that matter,

Is that they have
three eyelids --

One that closes down,

One that closes up,
and then one underneath them

That's called
the nictitating membrane.

That works like a goggle
when the animal is underwater.

It keeps debris and any bacteria
out of their eyes

When they're laying down
on the basin of a body of water,

Waiting in ambush for their prey
to get close.

Okay, what I'm gonna do
is gently coax

The caiman down into the water.

Let's get it out in the open

So we can see just how large
the body is beneath the surface.

♪

[ hisses ]

♪

Peterson: I follow the reptile
as it slinks through the muck

And down into the water.

With a graceful ease,
it glides out into the open,

Allowing me to get dangerously
close to its open jaws.

My movements are slow
and calculated.

The last thing I want to do
is mimic a struggling prey item,

Yet the subtle disturbance
I've made in the environment

Draws the attention
from several other caiman.

This is not looking good.

Man: Behind you,
behind you.

♪

Man: Behind you, behind you.
Coyote, behind you.

♪

Peterson:
Nothing puts you on edge

Like being in the water
alongside predators

Armed with razor-sharp teeth
and an appetite for eating

Almost anything
that comes across their jaws,

Yet here I am,
completely surrounded.

I must do everything I can
to keep my cool, move slow,

And no matter what, don't panic.

I hold my ground,
bracing for an attack,

But instead...

Nothing.

♪

♪

♪

These animals clearly
do not see me as prey,

And if they thought
I was a predator,

They would be long gone,
so that means

They must be accepting me
as one of their own.

This is truly a close encounter
of the reptilian kind,

And as I gently interact
with these beautiful animals,

I am able to prove

That not all crocodilians
are bloodthirsty predators.

♪

Wow, what an incredible
experience.

To be honest, at first,
I was a bit skeptical

That having an
up-close encounter

With a wild caiman...

Aah!

...Would be possible, and then
when you least expect it,

As one grabs on
to the side of your leg,

But this is what it took,

Getting submersed
into the environment

To get up close
with these animals.

I'm coyote peterson.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you
on the next adventure.

[ exhales sharply ]
look out. Here he comes again.

In the end, I did take a bite,

But it was not out of hunger
or aggression.

This caiman was simply curious
and was testing out the stranger

Who entered into its realm.

No blood was shed, but it was
a welcome reminder

That getting close
to wild animals

Always comes with an incredible
amount of risk.

Worldwide,
crocodilians are feared

For their predatory nature,
and while several species

Are considered dangerous
or even deadly,

When it comes
to the yacare caiman,

I was able to prove that not
all crocodilians are the same.

An unwarranted fear
of this species

Led to over-hunting
and near-extinction,

Yet with continued protection
and understanding,

Their populations flourish
and are certain to thrive

For generations to come.

♪