- 5/7/2025
comments like & follow my channel....
Category
🐳
AnimalsTranscript
00:00Colombia, a magical land of wildly diverse landscapes, where mirror-like wetlands, fringe-verdent
00:16rainforests, mangroves meander through vast grasslands, and snow-capped mountain peaks
00:27emerge from misty jungle-clad slopes.
00:35Within its boundaries can be found one-tenth of the world's species, making Colombia one
00:45of the most biodiverse countries on Earth.
00:51But what has made this wild land an evolutionary paradise?
01:12Colombia is truly unique.
01:15Crowning South America, it's the only country on the continent that's both bathed by the
01:20waters of the Caribbean Sea and washed by the Pacific Ocean.
01:26The soaring peaks of the Andes, one of the world's greatest mountain ranges, carve through
01:31the length of its landscape like a great backbone.
01:36While its lowlands are shaped by two of the planet's mightiest rivers, the Amazon and the
01:41island of the Pacific Ocean, and the island of the Pacific Ocean, even its climate is dramatically
01:46diverse.
01:47From the dry heat of its deserts, to the humidity of its jungles, and the freezing cold of its
01:53mountain regions.
01:58the island of the Pacific Ocean.
01:59We start our journey here, in the vast savannas and gallery forests of Colombia's northeastern
02:14Orinoco River Basin, one of the world's richest tropical grasslands.
02:27This one region is home to approximately the same number of bird species as found in the
02:33entire United States.
02:37And more than 100 species of mammal.
02:42But for some of the creatures living here, paradise comes at a cost.
02:56During the May to October rainy season, parts of the savannah can be covered in over three
03:01feet of flood water.
03:03So wildlife here has had to evolve to cope.
03:11This stocky creature is the capybara, South America's version of the hippopotamus.
03:21Standing over one and a half feet tall, and weighing as much as a man, this semi-aquatic,
03:26pig-like mammal, is actually the world's largest living rodent.
03:32As agile in water as it is on land, the capybara's partially webbed feet make it an excellent swimmer.
03:43It can remain completely submerged for up to five minutes.
03:47Abilities it needs to use to evade its main predator.
03:52The spectacled caiman.
03:56Named for the bony ridge between their eyes, these small crocodilians flourish in the Orinoco floodplains.
04:06They'll eat anything they can get their large strong jaws around.
04:11And whilst adult capybara are too big to catch, babies make a hearty meal.
04:28Realising that one of her pups has become separated from the group, a mother calls out a warning.
04:46Too late.
04:51For every 20 capybara babies born on these savannahs, only one will survive to adulthood.
04:58But this family's loss is another's gain.
05:13With her barely full, this female spectacled caiman has returned to her nest.
05:19For the past three months, she and her mate have been on guard duty.
05:24Chirps from deep beneath the leaf litter inform her that the waiting is almost over.
05:28The waiting is almost over.
05:40Caiman nests could contain as many as 40 eggs.
05:43Instinct draws the hatchlings to the safety of the river.
06:01The human instinct draws the hatchlings to the safety of the river.
06:04The human instinct draws the hatchlings to the safety of the river.
06:07The them in the nest.
06:08The human instinct draws the hatchlings to the river.
06:09The whole thing has been pulled through.
06:10There has been a lot of plants flowering.
06:11If they have been filled to thousands of glaciers, they can still be able to hunt by themselves.
06:12Although they can already hunt by themselves, their mother will continue to protect them for the next four months.
06:20Although they can already hunt by themselves, their mother will continue to protect them
06:32for the next four months, the time it takes for the floods of the wet season to subside.
06:39Spectacled Cayman dominate much of Colombia's waterways, but to the south, in the endless
06:58network of tributaries of the Amazon rainforest, it meets its match in one of South America's
07:03top carnivores.
07:05The giant otter, known as the river wolf, can reach six feet in length.
07:24These highly social animals live in extended family groups of up to ten individuals and
07:29are expert at hunting fish.
07:34With voracious appetites, an adult can devour seven to nine pounds a day of the three-thousand-odd
07:36freshwater species that inhabit these waters.
07:41that inhabit these waters.
07:55It's exhausting work.
07:56But in the predator-packed environment of the Amazon rainforest, no creature can afford to
07:57drop its guard for long.
08:02The alarm calls of their pups are alerting the adults to the presence of a caiman in the
08:04water beneath their den.
08:09The mother needs to move her pups to safety as quickly as possible.
08:12The mother needs to move her pups to safety as quickly as possible.
08:16It's exhausting work, but in the predator-packed environment of the Amazon rainforest, no creature
08:21can afford to drop its guard for long.
08:25While the other adults work together to see off the waiting predator, first sizing it up, then
08:30moving it to the ground.
08:32The alarm calls of their pups are alerting the adults to the presence of a caiman in the
08:33water beneath their den.
08:34The mother needs to move her pups to safety as quickly as possible.
08:44In the face of their relentless onslaught, the caiman retreats in search of easier prey.
09:14The Colombian Amazon, part of the largest tropical rainforest on the planet, covers the entire
09:30southeastern half of Colombia.
09:43One of the Earth's natural wonders, it's also its greatest biological reservoir.
09:48One in ten of the planet's known species lives in this vast remote jungle.
10:02Among them, one of its largest predators.
10:06The jaguar is the biggest carnivore in the Americas, growing to six feet in length and weighing over 300 pounds.
10:30It has the strongest bite of all big cats, twice the strength of a lion's, and sits at the top of the rainforest's food chain.
10:55But not all carnivores here are heavyweights.
11:06Amazon jungle predators come in all shapes and sizes.
11:12Despite being comparatively small, army ants are responsible for more deaths in the rainforest than any other creature.
11:24Colonies like this one can contain more than a million individuals, and a new generation of ant larvae deep inside this temporary nest are in need of food.
11:37So the hunt begins.
11:47Scouts are the first to fan out across the forest floor, laying down pheromones for the rest to follow.
12:02Wherever there are gaps in the trail, worker ants link to form living bridges.
12:12Giant soldiers guard the hunting highway.
12:15These powerful pincers aren't used for foraging, but for fighting.
12:21As the colony sweeps across the forest floor, the casualties begin to stack up.
12:36Powerful stings subdue their prey.
12:42Before it's dismembered and carried back to the nest to feed their young.
12:58A single swarm can kill up to 30,000 victims a day.
13:04It's a stark reminder that the wild world of the Amazon rainforest is an intensely competitive environment, where life is a constant battle for survival.
13:23Columbia has more bird species than any other country on the planet.
13:48The humid mangroves of its coastline.
13:57To its towering, snow-capped Andean peaks.
14:02The diversity is breathtaking.
14:05This is the Andean condor.
14:17With a ten-foot wingspan, this species of vulture is the second largest land-flying bird on the planet.
14:24Using thermal currents from the mountains, it spends most of its day gliding effortlessly, scanning the ground below for animal carcasses.
14:41In these cloud-cloaked mountains, the majestic condor is the master.
14:46But Columbia's most striking bird group is to be found not in these chilly peaks, but in the layer of cloud forests that envelop its Andean mountain slopes.
15:03The hummingbirds.
15:12High altitude causes the nights to be cold and the days to be damp.
15:17And as a result, not many insects can survive.
15:20So minuscule hummingbirds have become the most important pollinators of plants here.
15:27They hover in position, their wings beating over 70 times a second.
15:33And their hearts at a thousand beats per minute.
15:41To power this incredible metabolism, the hummingbird must drink its own weight in nectar every day.
15:47Many plants have evolved to attract these aerial acrobats.
16:05Each species of hummingbird feeds from a specific flower.
16:09And bills are specially adapted for getting at the nectar inside.
16:18As a result, there are more hummingbird species in Columbia's Andean cloud forests than anywhere else on Earth.
16:24This world of mists and unending rains has a plant diversity, which is equally impressive.
16:42One group has thrived more than any other.
16:45Orchids.
16:46Orchids.
16:53It's thought that Columbia is home to one-fifth of the planet's species.
17:03Breathtaking, they bloom in a myriad of forms, colors, and settings.
17:16The coryanthes, or bucket orchid, has formed a special relationship with the ant nest that hang from the forest canopy.
17:29Tended to by thousands of workers, its roots provide the nest with a framework on which to grow.
17:43And in return, these gardeners zealously protect the orchid from predators and provide it with nutrients from the food they collect.
17:50These ant gardens are the only environment in which the orchid can flourish and bloom.
18:01And when it does, flowering for only two to three days a year, it has no time to waste.
18:07Wafting its scent through the air, the tailor-made fragrance floats on the breeze.
18:14Luring in male orchid bees from as far as 30 miles away.
18:30The aroma of the bucket orchid, which they'll collect and concoct into a perfume to attract a mate, is irresistible to them.
18:44As more and more males approach, airspace becomes crowded.
18:50But this orchid has a hidden agenda.
18:59Drops fall from its unique water-producing organs and gather in the bucket-shaped portion of the flower.
19:05A bee strays closer and closer, hypnotized by the scent.
19:19Until he's caught in the orchid's deceitful trap.
19:22Smooth, waxy walls give no purchase, and soapy water clings to his wings, causing them to become useless.
19:42Imprisoned in the bucket, the unwilling bee has only one escape.
19:46Struggling through the narrow, slippery tunnel, it passes under the orchid's reproductive organs, where it becomes stuck.
20:01Only specific species of bee can pollinate the orchid.
20:07Too large, and they can't escape.
20:11Too small, and they pass through too easily.
20:14But this one is just the right size.
20:22A pollen sack becomes glued to its back.
20:33Drying his wings, the bee's ordeal is finally over.
20:37He's so traumatized that he won't approach this flower again, preventing self-pollination.
20:46Instead, he unknowingly transports his payload to a new orchid in another part of the forest.
20:52One more example of the myriad interspecies relationships that exist in Colombia's many unspoiled ecosystems.
21:04Colombia's landscape is dominated by natural forests.
21:18And whether down on the floor, or high up in the canopy, they teem with life.
21:22Of the 36 species of monkey that inhabit the treetops, the versatile brown capuchin is one of the most widespread.
21:42This troop of around 15 are basking in the early morning sun.
21:55It isn't long before hunger kicks in.
22:10Tree burrowing insects are a favorite food.
22:13Others capitalize on the abundance of forest fruits available all year round.
22:34Inadvertently, these forest primates enrich their habitat by scattering the undigested seeds of the fruits they eat.
22:41But dispersal of these seeds is even greater thanks to another much smaller and less conspicuous creature.
22:53Some of which come out at night.
23:02Dung beetles are found in abundance here in Colombia.
23:11They are the kings of secondary seed dispersal.
23:16Getting precious seeds out of dung and away from seed predators.
23:24Monkeys tend to defecate most at dawn and dusk.
23:28And these eager beetles are waiting.
23:30Within just a few minutes and from a great distance away, they have detected the fresh aroma and zeroed in to the exact spot.
23:46Primate dung is an important resource for them.
23:49They need it to reproduce.
23:50These dung beetles are tunnelers.
24:00Taking dung far underground, they lay an egg on it.
24:04And the lava that hatches has all the food it needs to grow.
24:07Dung beetles are especially important in forests which have been fragmented by man.
24:24By moving and burying seeds, these beetles take things one step further.
24:28They are in effect re-planting trees.
24:29They are replanting trees.
24:30They are in effect replanting trees.
24:32Replanting trees.
25:02Shrouded in mist, Colombia's dank West Andean rainforests are the wettest on Earth.
25:10Frequent rainstorms batter the landscape.
25:15But for some, all this water is an opportunity.
25:22As the last drips drop from the treetops, male gliding leaf frogs parachute from the
25:32canopy.
25:36Spreading wide, they race to take advantage of the temporary pools of water in the foliage
25:41below.
25:52As more and more males arrive, they begin to call en masse, signalling their presence to
25:57one another.
26:01Soon, the larger females follow in search of a mate.
26:09Outnumbered, they are buried under the advances of the eager suitors.
26:16Gripping onto the female's back, a male has hit his mark.
26:24Here, humidity can reach 100%.
26:27In such wet conditions, there is no need to take the leap to the predator-filled pools below.
26:32Instead, they spawn on the smooth leaves, suspended up to 26 feet above the water.
26:40Protected in their gelatinous pockets, the embryonic tadpoles enter the most rapid period of growth
26:57in their lives.
27:01In the meantime, the tadpoles are the same.
27:02What began as a small white ball soon becomes a wriggling mass.
27:09As their systems become more complex, exterior gills develop.
27:16Extending them, the tadpoles rotate to ensure that they are as close to the surface as possible.
27:31Until, less than a week after being spawned, they explode out of the egg, sliding and leaping over their
27:38relatives to get to the pool of water below.
27:41Like its father before it, it takes a leap into the great unknown.
27:53Falling 26 feet, the equivalent of a person jumping from just under 10 times the height of the Empire State Building.
28:04And so the circle of life goes on.
28:19Columbia is an amphibian paradise.
28:22Home to over 750 recorded species, new ones continue to be found.
28:33Dart frogs hop through the leaf litter in search of their next meal.
28:40Brightly coloured, they stand tall amongst the leaves.
28:47Unlike their tree canopy dwelling cousins, these individuals have little to fear from predators.
28:57Their skin acts as a beacon, warning attackers to stay away.
29:04And with good reason.
29:06Dart frogs are some of the most poisonous vertebrates on Earth.
29:14And what's even more surprising is the source of their terrible toxin.
29:18Scientists believe that it's a product of their diet of insects.
29:31In particular, ants.
29:35seeping from microscopic pools, each frog contains enough of the potent poison, known as Batracotoxin, to kill over 140 people.
29:49But some still take the risk.
30:03To the Emberra and Wunan tribes of Colombia's Pacific Coast rainforest, this toxicity is
30:10a resource.
30:13For centuries, they've harvested the toxin to tip their darts.
30:19Giving poison dart frogs their name.
30:27One false move could end in convulsions, paralysis and death.
30:35There is no known antidote.
30:40While the other two species used by the tribes die in the process of poison extraction, the
30:47golden dart frog is so virulent that the dart only needs to touch its back to turn into
30:52a lethal weapon.
30:58Each frog will be used for two to three darts before it's released.
31:04Once dry, he stores the darts in his quiver.
31:07They can remain lethal for up to two years if unused.
31:23But this tribesman has other plans.
31:26He must hunt to feed his family.
31:33Amongst the vast array of species with which Colombia's indigenous peoples share their wild
31:53paradise are some ancient giants from the biggest turtle on earth, the prehistoric leatherback nesting
32:04on the country's gentle Caribbean beaches.
32:06To the largest fish on the planet, the ancient whale shark, cruising its plankton-rich Pacific waters.
32:21But one of the most bizarre is a mammal.
32:24The giant ant-eater, which can reach six feet from the tip of its snout to the end of its tail, roams the forests and grasslands of northern Colombia.
32:42Designed solely to eat ants and their preferred prey, termites, the huge claws of its front feet are perfectly engineered for tearing open their cement-like nests.
32:55But the longest third claw gives the ant-eater a problem.
33:00It makes walking tricky, so it's evolved to move around on its knuckles.
33:12The head of this bizarre creature is mainly its nose, a bony tube which houses a tongue over 20 inches long,
33:22ideal for reaching its prey.
33:24As the ant-eater's claws rip open, gaping holes, invaded termites try their best to defend their home.
33:40But they have little effect.
33:42Sticky with thick saliva, it uses its tongue to hoover up its tiny prey.
33:48Ant-eaters have no teeth or proper jaws, so they rely on grit in their stomach to break down their food.
33:58Up to 30,000 insects can be consumed in one day.
34:05When it's time to rest, it remains at ground level, safe in the knowledge
34:11that its claws make it a formidable opponent for any predator.
34:24Much of the life in Colombia's forests is concentrated in the leafy world known as the canopy,
34:34which offers not only food and shelter, but also a hiding place from predators.
34:38Unlike its cousin, the giant ant-eater, the tamandur is a smaller species,
34:46that's perfectly adapted to life in the country's dense Amazon rainforests.
34:58It has a semi-prehensile tail, which acts as a fifth limb, making life amongst the branches easy.
35:08Spending much of its time in the safety of the canopy, it preys on tree-living termites and ants.
35:20But when it does come down to the ground to forage, the tamandur needs to remain vigilant.
35:26The last one is a semi-prehensile tail, which is a semi-prehensile tail.
35:34Boa constrictors, one of Colombia's 100 reptiles, are more than capable of taking one.
35:56This tamandur has had a lucky escape.
36:15This tamandur has had a lucky escape.
36:18Here in the canopy, high above the forest floor,
36:25one creature has chosen a unique way to avoid most ground-dwelling predators.
36:34The sloth moth spends almost its entire life living among the coarse fur of its tree-dwelling host.
36:40There can be over 100 taking refuge on a single animal.
36:53Nutrient-rich algae growing on the sloth's outer coat provides the moths with a constant supply of food.
37:01It also offers a degree of camouflage, which ultimately benefits both creatures.
37:10It's a very difficult time to use the moth.
37:12Because their main food source is the vegetation of the forest canopy, sloths rarely venture down to the ground.
37:25Leaves aren't easy to digest, so sloths have developed large, slow-acting stomachs to break down their tough cellulose diet.
37:33This digestive process can take more than a month to complete.
37:48Even a visit to the bathroom happens in slow motion.
37:51Just once a week, sloths and their freeloading passengers descend to the forest floor.
38:13It's not entirely sure why they choose to defecate directly on the ground.
38:18Some scientists speculate they're trying to avoid detection through the sound of dung landing from a height.
38:30Business begins.
38:35And once done, the female moths jump ship.
38:38For a brief moment, they leave their host depositing eggs in the freshly laid dung.
38:50Soon, new larvae will hatch and feed before they eventually pupate.
38:56They'll then fly up to the canopy to reside in a sloth-moth home of their own.
39:01Aside from defecating, sloths will also leave the trees to take a dip.
39:13Surprisingly strong swimmers, during the rainy season,
39:17this enables them to move through the forest up to three times faster.
39:22And if needs be, they can hold their breath underwater for up to 40 minutes.
39:27But leaving the safety of the canopy often comes at a price.
39:37Especially when entering the realm of one of the Amazon's most formidable predators.
39:43Green anacondas can reach a length of over 30 feet and weigh over 500 pounds.
39:49They are the heaviest snakes in the world.
39:56Although slow and cumbersome on land, in water they are fast and agile.
40:04Even the jaguar gives this aquatic predator a wide berth.
40:13A forked tongue enables the snake to taste the air in stereo.
40:17While sensitive skin detects the faintest of vibrations through ground and water.
40:28It's almost impossible for the sloth to enter the river unnoticed.
40:42The anaconda makes its move.
40:59Grasping the sloth in its jaws, it coils around its prey, crushing and suffocating it.
41:05The sloth in its jaws, it's almost impossible to eat.
41:07Before eating it whole.
41:13Like sloths, green anacondas also have a slow metabolism.
41:17This latest meal could take more than four weeks to fully digest.
41:30One of the countless life and death dramas that constantly unfold in a world that teems with life.
41:37Colombia.
41:46A land of vast natural contrast.
41:51Within whose boundaries lie some of the last great regions of unspoiled wilderness on the planet.
41:57airborne are balded land.
42:00Making it home to a staggering variety of wildlife,
42:04biofond
Recommended
12:21
|
Up next
1:35:21
27:00
30:01
43:16
18:04
15:04
9:47
49:20
1:31:41
20:36