- Deep in the heart of Brazil,
a band of capuchin monkeys
teaches their young
the secrets of survival
in one of the Earth's largest
tropical wetlands...
It's a mysterious world where
fish pick fruit from trees
and ancient mammals
are at home underwater.
(bird noises)
And this unruly, and improbable,
gang of gardeners
shapes the tropical paradise
in unexpected ways.
♪♪♪
The Pantanal...
an immense wetland in Brazil
that is one of the most pristine
and biologically rich
environments on the planet.
It's a low plain that covers
almost 54 thousand square miles.
80% of it is underwater
in the rainy season.
Here on the southern edge
high up in the Bodoquena Hills,
the dry season is about
to start.
(forest sounds)
But for now, the forest is
so lush it's like the Garden
of Eden for this troop
of brown capuchin monkeys.
(forest sounds)
This is the most critical time
of this youngster's life.
So far, life for him
has been easy.
He's been riding his mother's
back since the day he was born.
(monkey noises)
(monkey noises)
(forest sounds)
But now it's time
to let go.
It will soon be time
for her to mate again.
(forest sounds)
It's his first day
of independence
and he's at his most
vulnerable.
(monkey noises)
(forest sounds)
This little guy is bold
from the get go.
And he's got the hang
of using his prehensile tail.
He's already ventured away from
the watchful eyes of the group.
His balance is still
a little shaky.
He's seen what his mother eats,
but now that he's on his own
and his choice of which leaves
to eat needs some refining.
(forest sounds)
(bird of prey piercing cry)
For this young capuchin, birds
of prey are among the most
dangerous of predators.
(bird of prey piercing cry)
The crested caracara
is a scavenger
and not a threat
to the monkeys.
But they don't take any chances
and alert each other
with a call that says
"flying predator".
(bird of prey piercing cry)
(monkey noises)
They all quickly scramble
to protect the young.
(bird of prey piercing cry)
Hopefully, this youngster
learnt his lesson:
if he wants to survive
this season,
he'd better stay close
to the troop.
This troop
has ten members.
The dominant male is
the focus of the group.
He sports a handsome dark
crest on the top of his head.
It's why they're often called
tufted capuchins.
His job is to defend
the troop's territory.
And he fiercely protects them
from predators.
The females are smaller
than the males.
And the shape of their head
is less angular.
The other troop members
are juveniles.
Their rank within the hierarchy
of the group
depends on their age.
They spend most of the day
foraging for food,
and now it's time for breakfast
at one of their favorite
outdoor picnic spots.
Capuchins will eat just about
anything they can get
their hands on.
Each type of food requires
a different set of skills.
So the young have a lot
to learn:
not just what to eat,
but where to find it.
Fruits and leaves
are easy pickings.
(forest sounds)
But leaves aren't
that nutritious.
And in a few weeks,
the fruiting season will end.
So the youngsters need to master
the art of finding tasty
and nutritious insects.
Knowing where to look comes
with experience.
The best spots are under the
bark and inside dead branches.
They could get lucky and
find eggs or juicy larvae.
It takes a keen eye
and patience.
Ants are a favorite.
There are lots around
and their powerful jaws
can give a painful bite.
But they're worth it.
About 3 and a half ounces
of ants can provide
close to half an ounce of
protein to a growing capuchin.
But getting under
the bark takes practice...
which the youngster
doesn't have.
And after a few
vague attempts...
he goes back to a low calorie
diet of leaves.
Capuchins are messy eaters.
Researchers call it
"destructive foraging".
The dead branches are easy
to break off.
With them gone, the trees stop
sending resources to weak limbs
and will redirect them
to new growth.
It makes a healthier forest.
Better for the trees
and the monkeys.
The monkeys are keepers
of their garden.
It's only recently that
scientists have discovered
how intimately
the lives of the trees
and monkeys
are interconnected.
Unlocking those mysteries
is inspiration
for the research of
Dr. Jose Sabino.
His studies reveal a surprising
connection between the forest
and an omnivorous river fish:
the piraputanga.
This fish has a taste, and
an eye, for low hanging fruit.
Piraputanga can jump as high
as a foot and a half
to nab these fruits.
But for each hit,
there are many misses.
The prize is well worth
the effort.
The piraputanga's sense
of hearing is
as highly developed
as its vision.
It picks up sound waves
that travel
through the water
as vibrations.
Piraputanga rarely miss
the splash of a fruit
or a seed hitting
the water's surface.
As soon as one fish locates
the source of the sound,
the whole school moves in.
The fish keep a watchful eye
on the monkeys hovering
over the river bank.
When the monkeys move off,
the fish follow.
It is a lot easier to scavenge
what the monkeys drop
than picking
your own fruit.
Cause when it's dinner time
for the monkeys,
it's dinner time
for the fish too.
The impact of this unlikely
co-dependence between species
extends far above
the water.
These jumping fish are
also forest gardeners.
Once the seeds pass through
their digestive tracts
and into the river,
some are swept
by the current towards
the riverbank.
Odds are, some will germinate
and grow into the trees
of the lush Monkey Garden,
completing another cycle in the
highlands above the Pantanal.
The monkeys and the fish
depend on the forest,
just as much as the forest
depends on them to flourish.
But it's only thanks to
the crystal clear waters
that the monkeys and the fish
can interact in this way.
Underwater visibility here
is more than 80 feet.
The bright tropical sun
and shallow water are
ideal conditions for
a variety of aquatic plants.
And this lush vegetation
provides shelter
and nourishment for about
90 species of fish.
But one of them doesn't have
just a taste for plants.
It's the dourado.
He's a piscivore:
a fish that eats
other fish.
 Dourado means
"golden" in Portuguese.
He's not related to
the familiar dorado, 
which is the Spanish name
for mahi mahi.
His large head,
powerful jaws,
and razor sharp teeth,
make him the top predator
in these streams and rivers.
Even this curimbata, not much
smaller than the dourado,
keeps its distance.
Adult dourados
can grow up to 3 feet.
They're aggressive and smart
predators, even at a young age.
Hanging out with
a school of fruit
and plant eating piraputanga
is the perfect cover,
and a young dourado needs
all the help it can get.
It's a challenge to hunt,
and a challenge to hide
in these clear waters.
Some fish use camouflage to
blend into their surroundings.
These two large cichlids blend
well with their background,
allowing them to protect
their abundant offspring.
The female only laid
her eggs 36 hours ago
and they've just hatched
into tiny fry.
Several smaller fish are
looking for a quick snack.
Sometimes the best defense
is a good offense,
and the female finally manages
to fend off the would-be diners.
This river is fed by
an underground aquifer.
(forest sounds)
Water under pressure
comes bubbling up
through openings
all along the riverbed.
The water source is
high up these mountains
and flows down from
the Bodoquena Hills.
From the southern edge
of the Pantanal,
the mountain range
stretches northwards
for more than 125 miles.
The rocks are limestone
made of calcium carbonate.
As rain water percolates down
through soil
it becomes acidic
and dissolves the limestone...
...transforming the landscape in
a process that has been going on
for millions of years.
Calcareous mineral deposited
by flowing water
settle at the bottom
of springs like this one.
The minerals fuse
with dead leaves,
and other organic matter
to form these natural dams.
Here, over millennia, water has
dissolved the sedimentary rock
and carved out steep cliffs
that create updrafts
for soaring vultures.
Below the forest,
deep underground,
lies a dark and mysterious
honeycomb of tunnels and caves.
There are more
than two hundred caves
hidden under the Monkey Garden,
and many more yet to discover.
The water has gone,
but evidence of its persistent
and relentless work
is on full display.
Geologists are still debating
the sequence of events
that led to the formation
of these spectacular caves.
Unfortunately, the geological
clues that would have given them
greater insights into
their earliest stages
of development have disappeared,
dissolved by the water.
So they look for answers
in subterranean caves
where the water
is still present.
Some of these water filled
caves are so deep,
no one has ever reached
the end of them.
These stalactites and
stalagmites were formed
long ago when the cave was dry.
These spectacular dripstones,
as they're called,
are the result of water seeping
through the limestone.
When rainwater trickles down
through the rock,
the limestone dissolves
and is carried by water
through fractures
in the roof of the cave.
With time, the dripping water
precipitates a tiny amount
of the mineral calcite.
Over thousands of years
the length and thickness
of the calcite
accumulation grows,
and eventually forms a
stalactite on the ceiling or,
where the drips land,
a stalagmite that grows up
from the floor.
The deepest part of this cave is
130 feet below the surface.
This chamber is known
as the cone room
because of the strange rock
formations sprouting up
from the cave floor.
At the far end,
a section has collapsed.
Changes in this dynamic
underworld are evident
even on the surface.
Above, the pock-marked
limestone cliffs
bear the scars of erosion.
(forest sounds)
When the walls
of a giant cave collapsed,
it created an enormous sinkhole.
It's called the Buraco das
Araras, the Macaws Hole.
(macaw call)
This massive sinkhole is almost
325 feet deep and
1600 feet wide.
Now it's home to a
large number of raucous
and colorful
red and green macaws.
(macaws calls)
Modesto Sampaio, a farmer,
bought the land back in 1986.
(macaws calls)
After the sale, he discovered
that he had signed up
for a giant hole and
a new kind of adventure.
Modesto noticed a few pairs of
red and green macaws had taken
a liking
to the sinkhole.
In the Pantanal,
as elsewhere,
parrot populations have been
in a steady decline.
Modesto knew that this land
had once been home to a much
larger number of macaws,
but they'd left
when the hole
became a dumpsite.
Determined to make a difference,
Modesto made a plan.
He called in
the fire department,
and all his family and friends.
Together they started
a massive cleanup
and removed four giant
truckloads of trash.
He also took on the role
of gardener and planted
bocajuva palm trees
that produce rich fruity nuts,
a favorite of the macaws.
Now the sinkhole is a refuge for
over a hundred pairs of macaws.
(macaw call)
These spectacular birds mate for
life and breed just once a year,
during the dry season.
It's just the beginning
of the mating season.
Love is in the air and so
are their piercing calls.
As for Modesto,
he's still farming,
but he's also welcoming visitors
to his Macaw Sanctuary.
(macaws calls)
Back in the Monkey Garden,
the capuchins are taking a break
before moving on
to their next feeding spot.
The youngest play and wrestle.
It's a way to refine
the motor skills.
The juveniles are
always hungry,
and they're quite skilled
at catching small animals.
Frogs, lizards,
and mammals win top prize.
They're packed
with protein.
The adults are busy,
blissfully grooming.
An individual's rank in
the troop hierarchy dictates
the amount of grooming
they'll give and receive.
The higher up you are,
the more you receive,
but, in a surprising twist,
the higher up you are also means
the more you give!
So the top groomer is
the dominant male.
He spends the most time
engaged in grooming!
But now he signals
it's time to move.
There's a tree on the other side
of their territory
that should be ripe
for picking!
Right on cue, the piraputanga
are also on the move.
(monkey noises)
But they lose track of
the monkeys when the troop
leaves the river's edge
and disappears
into the forest.
The capuchin's territory
is about 2000 acres.
On average, they'll travel
about a mile a day
on their arboreal highways,
even more when food
becomes scarce
at the height of
the dry season.
The group waits for
the youngest to catch up.
The dominant male stays
in the middle of the troop.
The lower ranking adults are
at the front of the pack.
They're the first line of
defense in case of an attack.
This young one is almost
four years old
and he travels
these routes with ease.
Finally, the group reaches
its destination:
a fig tree covered
with ripe fruit.
And there are other
fruit trees nearby.
The young male gobbles them up
as fast as he can,
but he's just broken
the golden rule:
the dominant or alpha male
always gets first dibs.
(angry monkeys noises)
The young male is not ready
to challenge
the alpha male and
quickly retreats.
Peace returns as
they spread out to feed.
Below, on the forest floor,
the sound of
quarreling monkeys
lures an agouti
to the base of the tree.
The agouti is
a South American rodent
the size of a large rabbit.
And, just like
the piraputanga fish,
its sensitive ears are attuned
to the sounds
of the feasting monkeys
in the treetops.
The soft thud of fruits and nuts
hitting the forest floor
is his invitation to
the traveling feast.
Like most rodents, the agouti
has sharp front incisors,
good for gnawing on
and cracking open tough nuts.
Even though it's still early
in the dry season
and there's plenty of food,
the agouti likes to plan ahead.
They bury thousands of nuts and
seeds and keep the locations
fresh in their memory by
revisiting the cache sites
every four or five days.
The caches is containing
emergency rations
for when the drought sets in.
If the agouti never returns, the
buried seeds won't go to waste.
Some of the fruits and some of
the nuts will grow into trees,
making the agouti another
gardener in the forest.
Despite their small size,
agouti play an important role
in the regeneration
of the forest.
(bird call)
There's another forest
dweller that helps to tend
the forest garden, but it has
a much larger impact.
Tipping the scale
at more than 650 pounds,
the lowland tapir is the largest
land mammal in South America.
It's one of the few giant
mammals that survived
the late Pleistocene
extinctions,
a little over
ten thousand years ago.
They look much the same now
as they did then.
Their great appetite
and sheer bulk
make them an important
landscaper in the Monkey Garden.
They open trails in the forest
as they travel
in search of food.
They're herbivores and eat
almost 100 pounds of leaves,
shoots, branches, grasses,
and fruits, each day.
Just like the agouti,
they disperse seeds
as they roam about the forest.
But these are larger seeds
and they spread them over
a wider area, as their home
range is about 600 acres.
Although they look like pigs,
tapirs are related
to horses and rhinoceroses.
Tapirs are excellent
swimmers and divers.
They can stay underwater
for several minutes...
and have a short prehensile
trunk, which is really
an extended nose and upper lip
that they use as a snorkel.
It's one of the tricks
that helps them escape
their main predator,
the jaguar.
In the water, they eat aquatic
plants, wash off ticks,
and cool down.
His splayed toes help create
traction in the slippery mud.
He's a bulky animal,
but doesn't make much noise
as he heads back into the forest
to wait for cooler temperatures
to start feeding again.
He'll be waiting alone.
Tapirs lead
solitary lives and only
reproduce once every two years.
Their slow reproductive rate
makes them particularly
vulnerable to habitat loss,
and their population
has been dwindling.
But here in the Pantanal,
several initiatives
have been put in place
to monitor and protect
this endangered species.
As the dry season sets in,
the waters of the Monkey Garden
start to recede...
...and leave salts and minerals
on the sun burned rocks.
It's a microscopic buffet
for these butterflies,
especially for the males,
who need salt to reproduce.
Butterflies
are easy prey.
About half of them are killed
before they have a chance
to mate and reproduce.
They can be quite territorial
but here it's common to see
butterflies of different species
share an area, like this
Cramer's 88 in the middle
of a group of
other butterflies.
There's strength
in numbers
as it's harder for predators
to pick out an individual.
As temperatures soar past
the 100 degrees Fahrenheit mark,
even coldblooded butterflies
need to cool down,
so they close their wings.
Tropical butterflies are
often light colored
so their scales reflect
light and absorb less heat.
The youngest member of
the capuchin family
is still learning the ropes
under the watchful eyes
of the whole troop.
His mother isn't the center
of his world anymore...
...but he needs his extended
family for guidance,
learning by example
and by experience.
In just a few months,
food will be scarce,
so he'll rely on the troop's
intimate knowledge
of its territory to survive the
long dry season of the Pantanal.
Their piece of paradise is
inextricably linked to
the seasons,
but for now these unlikely
gardeners flourish
in the heart of Brazil in this
spectacular tropical wetland.
(♪♪♪)
