Wild Trinidad & Tobago "CUMACA CAVES"

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CNC3 obtained all permissions needed to film this episode of WILD Trinidad & Tobago.

In this mini-episode we head to Cumaca Caves to see the only nocturnal, fruit-eating bird in the World. Outside of Northern South America, Trinidad is the only place to see them! Oilbirds roost all day in caves and forage at night.

The name comes from the practice by Indigenous peoples of rendering down the young birds (which are fatter than adult birds) to produce oil. •

WILD Trinidad & Tobago documents Robert Dumas and his team as they brave the Wild to see if they can find some of the rarest, deadliest, most beautiful & interesting animals on earth, right in our own backyard. A few can only be found in T&T, so do they ever find what they seek?

Does everyone make it back unharmed? More Coming in 2022!

Thanks to our Sponsors RaceTrac Wheels, Track Batteries, and WinSysLtd #TrinidadAndTobago #Nature


Scenes were filmed from October 2020 - March 2021, with continued production carried out during the SoE with guidance and requisite permission from the necessary authorities.

Message from FFOS

The Cumaca Cave has the single largest colony of oil birds in Trinidad and the largest cave system in northern Trinidad. Asa Wright had only a grotto of oil birds which generated income for the lodge. Sadly, this colony has been near destroyed by human activities such as quarrying. The Cumaca cave is also at risk and exposed to many threats such as poachers, loggers, quarries, hikers, and bird thrives. The hike to the cave and going into the cave is dangerous. This is positive in a way as it would limit and control human presence and their activities but it’s dangerous, nevertheless. As such permission must be sought to visit the cave as you need to pass through private property to enter. Written permission must be sought from Gary Aboud, the owner at 674-5483 or at lisa.modealive@gmail.com.

Category

📚
Learning
Transcript
00:00 *Ding*
00:01 Woah
00:28 That was a bumpy bumpy ride
00:30 Bumpy bumpy
00:32 So we're off
00:37 Kumar Caves
00:39 And the perfect weather
00:42 Starting off
00:44 In flood
00:45 Head into the caves to see the oil birds
00:48 Left my warm bed
00:50 A warm truck
00:52 To come out in this
00:54 But that's how you have to do it to get wild
00:56 And I'm not the only one
00:58 Clearly says no trespassing
01:01 See what's going on there?
01:06 Trinnies boy, trinnies
01:09 Now hiking isn't generally known for comfort
01:16 You ever felt
01:21 Like you're being waterboarded?
01:24 That's what it's feeling like right now
01:27 So I just suck air through this mask
01:30 But there's nothing else like it
01:33 And you never know what you're going to find
01:37 Back on mission
01:41 So we worry about snakes
01:48 Or looking for snakes and heading to the oil birds
01:50 And come across a coffee mill
01:52 Yeah, go lion, go lion
01:55 Hey Robert, you see that man over there?
01:57 That is where they have
01:58 All the oysters we feed them on
02:00 So we set up for them
02:01 They take the crops
02:02 And you will see there are many children in there
02:04 So that we go and see them
02:06 You can hear the noise in the background
02:17 And the noise coming
02:21 Is a pretty absurd noise
02:23 So there's three caverns in there
02:25 We're going to traverse the caverns
02:27 We're going to go under some water
02:28 And get to the other side of the cavern
02:30 Where we're hopefully going to see some blind carp fish
02:32 Lights on
02:36 Let's go
02:37 [Music]
02:52 It's 10.30 now
02:54 And we have to cover
02:59 A lot of spots in our head to talk
03:03 Because a lot of birds too
03:07 They come out of the way
03:08 To feed on peanuts
03:09 And they come out
03:11 Come out to cover in carp
03:13 That's why I'm open
03:15 I enjoy carp
03:16 They are everywhere
03:21 And everyone else follows
03:35 Slowly taking it all in
03:37 The oilbird is the only nocturnal fruit-eating bird in the world
03:54 They spend all day inside caves like this one
03:57 And fly out at night to forage
04:01 [Music]
04:17 [Inaudible]
04:29 I'm going to trade the rafting for 90 minutes
04:31 [Music]
04:37 [Music]
04:41 [Inaudible]