Category
🐳
AnimalsTranscript
00:00 The king of the jungle here, make that the queen, is this female jaguar.
00:05 Her kind can reach six feet long and weigh in at 150 pounds,
00:13 the largest terrestrial carnivore in the Amazon.
00:16 The modern jaguar evolved 500,000 years ago.
00:26 As the largest cats in the Americas, they strike terror among the animals of the forest.
00:31 Compact, muscular, and a powerful swimmer, she is every bit a predator. And she's hungry.
00:40 She can go for days without food, but she hasn't taken down a big meal in a while.
00:48 She'll happily eat 50 pounds of meat at a sitting.
00:54 Her morning rounds take her along the banks of the Tambopata River,
00:58 which flows through the heart of the reserve.
01:00 Meanwhile, the jaguar keeps watch, weighing her options.
01:06 The frolicking otters aren't easy prey.
01:12 She knows she's no match for this viciously protective family.
01:22 So she heads back into the jungle in search of a meal that won't put up quite such a fight.
01:28 A monkey would be ideal. She's an agile and stealthy climber,
01:37 but she needs the element of surprise to succeed. And that's quickly lost.
01:44 Above her, a vigilant saddleback tamarin calls out a warning.
01:52 All the monkeys within earshot react quickly.
01:56 They move high into the upper canopy, onto slighter branches that won't bear the weight of the jaguar.
02:02 Macaws join in the chorus.
02:18 Their loud squawks echoing through the forest.
02:22 While all eyes in the canopy are on the jaguar,
02:28 another stealthy killer goes unnoticed.
02:34 The female jaguar is still on the prowl.
02:38 She didn't make a kill yesterday, so it's been several days since she's eaten.
02:42 She's not choosy. More than 80 animals feature on her menu, including this odd-looking creature.
02:48 These curious animals have lived in the Amazon for three million years.
03:00 Although they're most closely related to horses and rhinos,
03:08 they look more like long-legged pigs, but with a snout like an elephant's trunk.
03:14 They're tapirs, South America's largest terrestrial mammal.
03:20 Weighing up to 660 pounds, they forage nonstop for the huge quantities of vegetation they need to survive.
03:28 They eat up to 85 pounds of plants a day,
03:34 and can live up to 25 years in the jungle,
03:38 if they can avoid falling prey to the big cats, caiman, and giant snakes that target them.
03:46 After breakfast, it's time for a dip.
03:54 Underwater, their prehensile snout becomes a snorkel.
04:01 Fast and agile swimmers, tapirs can hold their breath for three minutes,
04:05 and even walk on the bottom of the river.
04:08 The tapir scent has drawn the jaguar to the riverbank.
04:14 But that ship has sailed.
04:17 As an ambush predator, the cat prefers to pounce, not chase.
04:22 And so she moves on in search of a handier meal.
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