Original subtitles

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NARRATOR: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL, YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT IS EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: HI, EVERYONE, I'M DYLAN DREYER.

WELCOME TO "EARTH ODYSSEY".

FROM AFRICA TO SOUTH AMERICA, TODAY WE'RE EXPLORING THE

WORLD'S MOST TANTALIZING TROPICAL TERRAINS.

WE'LL BEGIN IN THE CARIBBEAN, WHERE THIS LOCAL LIZARD WORKS

SMARTER, NOT HARDER WHEN IT COMES TO ISLAND-HOPPING.

THEN IT'S OFF TO THE GALAPAGOS FOR A SUN-SOAKED SWIM WITH A

HERD OF ROARING SEA MAMMALS.

WE'LL VISIT THE WORLD'S LARGEST TROPICAL WETLAND, THE PANTANAL,

HOME TO SOME OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR SIGHTS IN NATURE.

AND LATER, A STOP-OFF AT ZANZIBAR TO SEE WHY THIS

TROPICAL TREASURE FINDS ITSELF IN A PINCH.

ALL OF THIS AND MUCH MORE TODAY ON "EARTH ODYSSEY".

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: THE TROPICS ARE AN AREA OF THE EARTH SURROUNDING THE

EQUATOR.

COVERING 36 PERCENT OF THE PLANET'S LANDMASS, THIS REGION

RECEIVES THE MOST SUNLIGHT YEAR-ROUND, MAKING IT AN IDEAL

HOME FOR A VAST ARRAY OF WILDLIFE.

THE BIODIVERSITY OF THE TROPICS IS SECOND TO NONE, LIKE IN THE

CARIBBEAN, WHERE ONE ISLAND LOCAL HAS BECOME AN EXPERT AT

GETTING AROUND BY BOTH LAND AND SEA.

A CHAIN OF 7,000 CARIBBEAN ISLANDS LIES BETWEEN THE NORTH

AND SOUTH AMERICAN CONTINENTS.

VOLCANIC ISLANDS AND REEFS DOT THE CRYSTAL BLUE WATERS OF THE

CARIBBEAN SEA.

THEY RANGE IN SIZE AND SCOPE, EACH WITH ITS OWN ANIMALS AND

PLANTS.

BUT WHY LIMIT YOURSELF TO JUST ONE ISLAND?

THIS LAND ANIMAL FOUND A CLEVER WAY TO ISLAND-HOP.

TREES AND BUSHES GET UPROOTED DURING MAJOR HURRICANES WHEN

THEY BLOW THROUGH THE ISLANDS.

THE LESSER ANTILLEAN IGUANAS ARE PARTICULARLY GOOD AT HITCHING A

RIDE ON THE PASSING DEBRIS.

THESE LIZARDS HAVE NOW COLONIZED MUCH OF THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN

ISLANDS.

ON THE ISLAND OF DOMINICA, TEN THOUSAND IGUANAS OCCUPY FORESTS

CLOSE TO THE SHORELINES.

THE REPTILES LIVE BY A COLORFUL ORDER.

THE BRIGHT GREEN IGUANAS ARE EITHER YOUNG OR FEMALE.

AS THEY GET OLDER, THEY LOSE THEIR GREEN SHEEN, BUT GAIN

GREATER RESPECT FROM THEIR FELLOW LIZARDS.

THE SENIORS ARE DARK GRAY WITH PALE BLUE SCALES ON THE SIDES OF

THEIR HEADS.

THEY CAN OVERSEE AS MANY AS SEVEN POTENTIAL FAMILIES AT A

TIME.

APRIL IS NESTING SEASON.

THE OLDER MALES WILL DEFEND THEIR MULTIPLE HOMES FROM

INVADERS.

AN AGGRESSIVE SHOW OF HEAD-BOBBING TELLS ANY

CHALLENGERS THAT THEY'RE NOT WELCOME.

JUST KEEP MOVING.

THE FEMALES DIG A GOOD-SIZE NEST THAT CAN HOLD AS MANY AS 18

EGGS.

ONCE THEY ARE NESTLED IN THERE, HER WORK IS DONE.

SHE ALLOWS THE CARIBBEAN SUN TO KEEP THESE EGGS WARM.

THE EGGS ARE HIDDEN THREE FEET UNDER THE SAND, YET HUNGRY

PASSERSBY STILL TRY TO DIG THEM UP.

THESE ARE THE GROUND LIZARDS WHO ARE NATIVE TO THE ISLAND OF

DOMINICA.

THEY ARE KNOWN BY THE LOCALS AS ABOLO.

SCAVENGERS BY NATURE, THE GROUND LIZARDS TRY TO STEAL EGGS FROM

AN UNSUSPECTING IGUANA.

LUCKILY, THESE EGGS ARE READY TO HATCH.

BRIGHT GREEN LIZARDS SWARM OUT OF THE NESTS, READY TO FACE THE

WILDER SIDE OF DOMINICA.

THIS ISLAND IS THE WETTEST CARIBBEAN ISLAND.

IT RECEIVES AN AMAZING 300 INCHES OF RAIN EVERY YEAR.

THAT'S 25 FEET OF WATER.

FRESH RAINWATER FLOWS DOWN THE ISLAND'S COUNTLESS WATERFALLS

FROM HIGH IN THE MOUNTAINS TO THE CARIBBEAN SEA BELOW.

THAT RAINWATER CARRIES CRITICAL NUTRIENTS FOR THE ANIMALS AND

PLANTS.

LOOK CLOSELY AND YOU'LL SEE THE WATER BUBBLING BELOW.

THAT'S WHERE AN ACTIVE VOLCANO SIMMERS THROUGH CRACKS

UNDERWATER IN THE OCEAN FLOOR.

ALL OF THESE FACTORS PLAY A KEY PART IN THE FORMATION OF THE

CARIBBEAN'S INCREDIBLE CORAL REEFS.

THE REEFS ARE LIVING AND BREATHING ORGANISMS CALLED

POLYPS, A NETWORK OF BILLIONS OF TINY ANIMALS.

MANY OF THE REEFS' FISHES AND ORGANISMS ARE ONLY FOUND HERE IN

THE TURQUOISE BLUE WATERS OF THE CARIBBEAN.

THE REEFS' RICH ECOSYSTEMS SHELTER MORE THAN 800 DIFFERENT

VARIETIES OF BRIGHTLY PAINTED FISH, NOT TO MENTION OTHER

CREATURES LURKING AROUND, A MAZE OF UNIQUE AND ABUNDANT WILDLIFE

THAT THRIVES ON THESE VOLCANIC ISLANDS.

COMING UP, WE CONTINUE OUR TROPICAL TREK TO THE GALAPAGOS,

WHERE THE LOCAL SEA LIONS KNOW HOW TO HAVE A ROARING GOOD TIME.

[SEA LION GROANING]

AND LATER, DISCOVER WHY THIS UNIQUE WETLAND IS A VITAL PART

OF ITS NEIGHBOR'S SURVIVAL.

THEN, IN ZANZIBAR, WE'LL SEE A COLOSSAL CRUSTACEAN THAT RULES

THE CRAB COMMUNITY.

ALL OF THIS AND MORE WHEN WE RETURN TO "EARTH ODYSSEY".

.

NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: ONE OF EARTH'S MOST ICONIC TROPICAL ARCHIPELAGOS IS

KNOWN MORE FOR ITS UNIQUE ECOSYSTEM THAN ANYTHING ELSE.

IT'S THOUGHT THAT THIS GALAPAGOS SETTLER WAS ONCE JUST A

CALIFORNIA DREAMER.

SCIENTISTS SAY ANCESTORS OF THE SEA LION LEFT THEIR NORTH

AMERICAN HOME AND SWAM NEARLY 3,000 MILES

HERE TO ISABELLA ISLAND.

GALAPAGOS SEA LIONS ARE SMALLER THAN THEIR AMERICAN COUSINS.

TEN FEET LONG AND WEIGHING IN AT MORE THAN 500 POUNDS, THIS ONE

IS NO PUSHOVER.

SEA LIONS ARE THE LARGEST MAMMALS ON THESE ISLANDS AND

PROBABLY ONE OF THE FIRST ANIMALS THAT DARWIN SAW

SUNBATHING ON THE ROCKS.

COMFORTABLE ON LAND AND IN THE SEA, THESE CREATURES HAVE HIND

FLIPPERS THAT HELP THEM NAVIGATE THE SLIPPERY ROCKS.

NEWBORN PUPS ARE PUT IN A NURSERY ABOUT A WEEK AFTER

BIRTH.

ONE FEMALE IS IN CHARGE OF THE WHOLE LOT.

THE OTHER FEMALES GO ON TRIPS, LOOKING FOR FOOD.

THOSE TRIPS CAN LAST FOR SEVERAL DAYS.

MEANWHILE, THE PUPS LEARN TO SOCIALIZE AND PLAY TOGETHER.

WHEN THE MOTHERS RETURN, THEY CALL OUT FOR THEIR YOUNG PUPS.

[SEA LION BARKING]

WHEN THE PUPS GROW OLDER, THEY'LL LEARN TO DO THE SAME,

CALLING FOR THEIR MOTHERS.

[SEA LION BARKING]

THE MALES STAY OUT OF THE WAY WHEN IT COMES TO PUP-REARING.

USUALLY, THERE'S ONE BULL SEA LION CALLED A BEACHMASTER.

HE WATCHES OVER A GROUP OF FEMALES AND THEIR PUPS, BUT HE'S

CHALLENGED BY OTHER BULLS, AND OFTEN THE TURNOVER IS FAST.

THIS BEACHMASTER WILL PROBABLY STAY IN CHARGE FOR A FEW DAYS

BEFORE GIVING UP.

THE LONGEST ANYONE KEEPS THE JOB IS ABOUT THREE MONTHS.

EXHAUSTED FROM CONSTANTLY PATROLLING, THE SEA LIONS TAKE A

COLLECTIVE NAP ON THE SHORES.

A VISITOR COMES BY TO CHECK IN ON THEM.

THIS LAVA LIZARD FEEDS ON THE FLIES THAT IRRITATE THE SEA

LIONS, JUMPING ON THEIR ENORMOUS BACKS TO CATCH THE BUZZING

INSECTS.

IT'S BETTER THAN A FLYSWATTER AS LONG AS THEY DON'T END UP POKING

YOU IN THE EYE.

COMING UP, A TROPICAL TERRAIN THAT'S AS DIVERSE AS THE

WILDLIFE THAT CALLS IT HOME.

PLUS, THE FOOD THAT MAKES THE COCONUT CRAB OF ZANZIBAR GO

NUTS.

ALL OF THIS AND MORE WHEN WE RETURN TO "EARTH ODYSSEY".

.

NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: EVERY YEAR IN THE TROPICS IS DEFINED BY TWO STARK

OPPOSITES, THE WET SEASON AND THE DRY SEASON.

RAIN IS A KEY DRIVING FORCE FOR ALL LIFE.

THE ARID DESERTS OF NORTH AFRICA SEE LESS THAN FIVE INCHES OF

RAIN PER YEAR, BUT OUR NEXT LOCATION IS HOME TO THE LARGEST

WETLAND ON EARTH, AND IT'S MORE THAN JUST ABUNDANT WATER THAT

MAKES THIS PLACE A WONDERLAND.

THE PANTANAL, ONCE EXTREMELY DRY, IT HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED

INTO A WATER WORLD ONCE MORE.

ITS SWOLLEN RIVERS FUNNEL SOUTH, JOINING THE PARAGUAY RIVER, THEN

MERGE WITH THE PARANA, THE SECOND LONGEST RIVER IN SOUTH

AMERICA.

TOGETHER, THEY DRAIN A FIFTH OF THE ENTIRE CONTINENT.

ONE OF THE TRIBUTARIES PASSES THROUGH IGUAZU FALLS...

...THE MIGHTIEST WATERFALLS IN THE AMERICAS.

SHAPED LIKE A GIANT HORSESHOE, THEY'RE A SERIES OF 275 FALLS

DROPPING 260 FEET INTO A NARROW CHASM.

NEARLY TWO MILES ACROSS, THE IGUAZU FALLS ARE WIDER THAN THE

VICTORIA FALLS AND DWARF NIAGARA.

IN THE WET SEASON, UP TO THREE MILLION GALLONS FLOW OVER THE

EDGE EVERY SECOND, 18,000 OLYMPIC SWIMMING POOLS EVERY

HOUR.

BLACK VULTURES GATHER.

THEY KNOW THAT ANYTHING SWEPT OVER THE EDGE WILL BE DASHED ON

THE ROCKS BELOW, AN EASY MEAL ON TAP.

HUGE FLOCKS OF GREAT DUSKY SWIFTS SWIRL THROUGH THE MIST.

THEY'VE COME TO BREED.

BUT THEY HAVE A PROBLEM.

THE LUSH FORESTS THAT CLOAK THE FALLS ARE FULL OF THIEVES.

TOUCANS, SPECIALIST NEST RAIDERS.

AND COATIS, THEY'LL EAT ANYTHING THEY CAN FIND, BUT EGGS ARE A

PARTICULARLY VALUABLE PRIZE.

BANDS PATROL EVERY LEVEL OF THE FOREST.

THE SWIFTS HAVE COME UP WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY SOLUTION.

AS DUSK ARRIVES, THEY FLY EVER CLOSER TO THE FALLS, LOOKING FOR

A CHANCE TO PENETRATE THE THUNDERING CURTAIN OF WATER.

THEN, ONE-BY-ONE, THEY SWOOP THROUGH.

ONCE THEY'VE MADE IT TO THE SLIPPERY CLIFF FACE, THEIR LONG

CLAWS ENABLE THEM TO CLING ON.

THEN THEY CLAMOR TOWARDS THEIR NESTS, AND PRECIOUS EGGS ARE

SAFELY DEPOSITED OUT OF DANGER'S REACH.

WHEN WE RETURN, WHY THIS NIGHT STALKER TOPS THE LIST OF

CREEPIEST CRAWLERS IN THE AFRICAN TROPICS.

FIND OUT WHEN "EARTH ODYSSEY" RETURNS.

.

NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: AS NIGHT DRAWS IN ON THE ISLANDS OF ZANZIBAR, THE WORLD'S

BIGGEST CREEPY-CRAWLY REVEALS ITSELF.

WEIGHING IN OVER EIGHT-AND-A-HALF POUNDS WITH A

LEG SPAN UP TO THREE FEET, THE COCONUT CRAB IS THE PLANET'S

LARGEST LAND-LIVING INVERTEBRATE.

IT'S ACTUALLY A GIANT HERMIT CRAB.

WHILE IT'S YOUNG, IT CARRIES ANOTHER CREATURE'S ABANDONED

SHELL ON ITS BACK FOR PROTECTION.

BUT ONCE FULLY GROWN, IT DEVELOPS A TOUGH OUTER SKIN.

THIS CRAB STAYS HIDDEN DURING THE DAY TO REDUCE WATER LOSS

FROM HEAT, BUT AT NIGHT, THIS SOLITARY STALKER HEADS OFF IN

SEARCH OF ITS FAVORITE FOOD.

UNLIKE MOST OF ITS RELATIVES, THE COCONUT CRAB CAN'T SURVIVE

IN WATER.

IT WOULD DROWN IF SUBMERGED.

ITS GILLS HAVE EVOLVED TO WORK LIKE LUNGS, ALTHOUGH THEY NEED

TO BE KEPT MOIST IN ORDER TO FUNCTION.

ITS ANTENNAE HAVE ALSO EVOLVED, ENABLING IT TO PICK UP AIRBORNE

SCENTS THE SAME WAY INSECTS DO.

THIS FOREST FORAGER, ALONG WITH OTHERS, IS ON TO SOMETHING.

ALSO KNOWN AS THE ROBBER CRAB, OR PALM THIEF, COCONUT CRABS ARE

GREAT CLIMBERS.

THEY CAN CUT DOWN COCONUTS BY THEMSELVES; HOWEVER, FALLEN

FRUITS ARE QUICKLY SEIZED UPON.

ALTHOUGH THE SURROUNDING SEA IS A NO-GO ZONE FOR THESE

LAND-BASED GIANTS, IT WASN'T ALWAYS THAT WAY.

THEY STARTED LIFE IN THE WATER.

A FEMALE COCONUT CRAB MAKES HER WAY TO THE SHORE.

SHE'S BEEN CARRYING A BATCH OF EGGS GLUED TO HER ABDOMEN FOR

TWO MONTHS.

AT HIGH TIDE, THEY'RE READY TO BE RELEASED.

ON CONTACT WITH WATER, THE EGGS HATCH IMMEDIATELY.

THE JUVENILE GIANTS EVENTUALLY MAKE THEIR WAY ASHORE, WHERE

THEY LIVE A HERMIT'S LIFE BEFORE BECOMING PERMANENT DRY LAND

RESIDENTS.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR JOINING US ON OUR TREK TO THE

TROPICAL TERRAINS OF THE PLANET.

FROM THE ISLANDS OF THE CARIBBEAN TO THE COAST OF

AFRICA, THESE REGIONS SPAN THE GLOBE AND HOST AN ARRAY OF

UNBELIEVABLE WILDLIFE.

WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME FOR ANOTHER "EARTH ODYSSEY".

[MUSIC]