(Narrator):
Brilliant flocks of birds,
sleek jaguars,
and playful otters
are the attention getters
in one of the world's largest
tropical wetlands.
♪♪♪
But herds of peccaries
are its eco-engineers.
♪♪♪
They're not the most beautiful
residents,
yet if it wasn't
for them,
the punch bowl would be empty,
at this Pantanal party.
(grunts)
♪♪♪
The Pantanal.
♪♪♪
One of the most diverse tropical
wetlands on planet Earth.
♪♪♪
(bird chirping)
Rare and exotic birds.
(bird chirping)
Extraordinary looking
mammals...
And some that look
a little more familiar...
♪♪♪
Although they look like pigs
or boars, they're not.
They're white-lipped
peccaries.
♪♪♪
The stripes of white hair
underneath their chin give them
their distinctive
appearance and name.
♪♪♪
They're a noisy bunch
when they get together.
(grunts)
They're
a favorite meal
for the jaguar.
♪♪♪
Like the jaguar,
they prefer areas with
next to zero human footprint.
(slight grunts)
So where there are
peccaries,
there's a good chance
you'll spot jaguars too.
♪♪♪
Peccaries eat so much
and travel so far,
scientists study them
to take the pulse
of the Pantanal's
overall health.
(Alexine): White-lipped
peccaries have all these
multiple ecological roles;
they're ecosystem
engineers.
They require
a huge area.
So they make the perfect
indicator to define
areas of preservation
for all wildlife.
(Narrator): The Pantanal
wetlands sprawl over about
55-thousand square miles,
more than 10 times the size
of the Florida Everglades.
♪♪♪
From a bird's eye view,
it looks like
one giant swamp...
♪♪♪
But researchers have discovered
a diverse and complex mosaic
of habitats.
♪♪♪
Alexine Keuroghlian has been
studying Brazil's peccaries
for over 20 years.
With her team
and the support
of the Wildlife
Conservation Society.
She's tracking a very large herd
in the heart of the Pantanal.
(birds chirping)
They're on the trail
of a peccary named Trina.
She's one of 3 females they've
outfitted with a GPS collar.
♪♪♪
It emits a radio signal that
leads Alexine to the herd.
(beeps)
Trina's herd is made-up
of 70 individuals.
♪♪♪
At times, herds will merge,
creating a super herd
of 300 animals.
One huge family,
Four generations,
from babies
to great grandparents.
(Alexine): I call them the
hippies of the Pantanal because
it's just so awesome
how they're all related?
And it's like one happy
Greek family, or Italian,
or even Armenian,
for that case.
But that is very unusual,
that social
tightness that exists
in a herd.
♪♪♪
You know, they just
love each other...
And they're always together,
always watching out
for each other,
You know, babies
are complaining.
So, you know, you just
look at them, and, like, yeah,
you know, what a great family.
(laughs)
♪♪♪
(Narrator): White-lipped
peccaries will eat just
about anything
that's a veggie.
(grunts)
But what they really,
really like
are fruits and nuts.
They're a breeze
to chew
and they provide
lots of calories
for a minimal amount
of work.
♪♪♪
The peccaries have hit
the jackpot at this pit stop.
(bird's song)
The palm trees are loaded
with clusters of fruits.
♪♪♪
Many have fallen
to the ground
and are easy pickings.
♪♪♪
The peccaries suck on
the pulp,
and spit out
the seeds.
♪♪♪
They churn up the soil,
bury the seeds and create
the perfect conditions
for new plants
to grow.
♪♪♪
And as they move from
one feeding spot to the next,
they spread the seeds
throughout the ecosystem.
♪♪♪
(Alexine): They're always
moving; they're quite active.
I mean, you have to think
there are 75-80 individuals
that need to be fed.
They weigh about
30 to 40 kilos
and they need to look for fruits
that fall in abundance,
like mass-fruiting
species.
So, they go after these fruits
and in order to achieve,
a diet for 75 individuals
you need to get a lot of that.
(Narrator): That's why
the peccaries are useful
for assessing the health
of the Pantanal.
They need to eat
so much food
that their home ranges are
as large as 30 square miles.
♪♪♪
The slightest change to
their habitat will cause them
to modify their behavior
and their foraging routes.
(Alexine): We can see
how they change
and how they'll leave
the area
and move to more
pristine areas
where the habitat quality
is better.
So that's why they are such
important indicators.
As it's changing,
they keep redefining
and looking
for pristine habitat.
♪♪♪
(Narrator): Trina's herd
is on the move.
♪♪♪
And Alexine
is on their trail.
(engine revs)
♪♪♪
Male and female peccaries
are the same size
and even look the same,
at a distance.
♪♪♪
This lack of sexual dimorphism
is very unusual for ungulates.
♪♪♪
But with little competition
between male peccaries,
there's no evolutionary pressure
to grow bigger and stronger.
(Alexine): You know,
a lot of people will say,
"Oh, the males are the ones
that lead the groups"
or, "The males will mate
with all the females",
but that doesn't exist,
so that's why I say
they're hippies.
White-lipped peccaries
are promiscuous
in their mating system,
so you know,
there'll be several males
and several females mating,
they kind of go off in the
corner, not too discretely,
they're quite open
about it.
And so, it's just,
like, you know, living
in a hippy colony...
Without drugs.
(laughs)
(Narrator): Both male
and female are on equal footing.
♪♪♪
But it's the elders
who know the routes
to the good fruit patches.
They pass this crucial knowledge
on to the young
as they lead the way
along the trails.
The herd makes a beeline
for the trees.
♪♪♪
It's a shortcut.
♪♪♪
It doesn't take long
for the herd to disappear.
♪♪♪
(beeps)
The signal from Trina's GPS
collar is coming in
loud and clear.
(beeps)
So it shouldn't be a problem
to track the herd.
(beeps)
But in the Pantanal
wilderness,
there's always
the unexpected.
(engine revs)
It looks like it will
be a while before
Alexine and her team
will get around this.
(shock of
the blade)
And they'll be playing
catch up
once they do.
(shock of the blade)
Because in these parts,
Nature rules.
(engine revs)
Ask Fernando Marin.
He's lived here
for 25 years,
and he knows that Mother Nature
always has her way.
♪♪♪
It's late September
so there're still dry roads,
albeit bumpy ones,
to drive on.
♪♪♪
The rainy season,
and the relief it brings,
is still
a couple of months away.
♪♪♪
Now it's the harsh sun
and high temperatures
that all the inhabitants of this
region have to contend with.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
These drastic seasonal changes
create the productive habitat
that make this place
a hot spot for biodiversity.
♪♪♪
This area, known as
the Nhecolandia region,
is nestled in the heart
of the wetlands.
♪♪♪
It's so remote that the wildlife
hardly knows any threats,
♪♪♪
and it's largely untouched
by humans.
♪♪♪
Tens of thousands
of lakes
and large patches of wooded
savannah, called Cerrado,
dot the landscape...
♪♪♪
While ranches and farms have
staked a claim to much
of the Pantanal,
their impact
is still limited.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
(Narrator): Saltwater lakes
are found only in this part
of the Pantanal.
Their presence is still
a mystery.
They have a very high sodium
carbonate content
and to the local wildlife,
the minerals are like candy.
(Narrator): This is
a pregnant feral pig...
not a peccary.
They first invaded the Pantanal
over 200 years ago.
They're domestic pigs
gone wild.
The extreme conditions of these
unique lakes also attract
native species.
(hum of insects)
Throughout the year,
blooms of blue-green algae,
called cyanobacteria,
support millions
of aquatic insects.
(hum of insects)
Hordes of brine flies
congregate
on the floating algae mats
to feed.
(Narrator): Birds are also
very fond of the saltwater
lakes.
They're here
for the insects,
like water boatmen and water
scavenger beetles.
♪♪♪
(Narrator): Black-necked
stilts carefully pick
their way through
the green slime.
♪♪♪
These greater yellowlegs are
seasonal migrants
from Canada
and the United States.
♪♪♪
Their sensitive bills allow them
to find tiny insects
and larvae buried
in the mud and sand.
♪♪♪
(skimmers squawk)
Saltwater lakes are still
a bit of an enigma
♪♪♪
In this area, a saltwater lake
can be found
just a few hundred yards
from a freshwater lake.
♪♪♪
And this still puzzles
scientists.
♪♪♪
It was once thought that these
salty lakes were remnants
of an ancient saltpan,
created over 2 million
years ago.
However, recent studies show
that the freshwater
and the saltwater lakes come
from the same water table.
♪♪♪
How does one body of water turn
salty and alkaline,
while another lake, just a few
yards away, remains fresh?
♪♪♪
Scientists discovered
that there is
an impermeable soil layer around
the salt lakes
that isolates them
from the fresh water.
This results in long periods
of evaporation and concentrates
the dissolved salts
in the water,
which, after decades
creates the salty
alkaline conditions typical
of these unique lakes.
♪♪♪
Why some lakes have an
impermeable soil layer
and others don't
is still a mystery.
♪♪♪
One fact remains.
The richness of the algae
they provide is a big draw
for the local wildlife
and migratory wading birds.
Deep in
the adjacent forest,
(hissing
of movements)
Alexine and her team are still
battling a roadblock.
(engine revs)
There's no way
through it.
(engine revs)
So they're going
around it.
(engine revs)
- Whoa! Wouh!
(Narrator):
It takes some muscle,
(shock of
the blade)
but they manage to clear a path
through the forest.
(engine revs)
After a few tries,
and some
tight maneuvers,
they're back on the road
chasing Trina
and the rest of the white-lipped
peccary herd.
♪♪♪
Trina is way up ahead.
♪♪♪
Peccaries travel up
to 6 miles a day
to find good foraging
sites.
♪♪♪
And Trina's herd has just found
its next pit stop...
♪♪♪
A place where fruit trees
flourish
and palm trees
are abundant.
There are many species of palm
trees in the Pantanal.
♪♪♪
The three most common species
spell A, B, C.
♪♪♪
A is for the acuri palm
♪♪♪
which produces fruits that grow
in large bunches.
They're a favorite
of the hyacinth macaws.
♪♪♪
If they're not plucked off
the bunch,
they'll ripen and fall
to the ground,
a treat
for the peccaries.
♪♪♪
B is for
the bocaiuva palm.
They grow up
to 50 feet tall
and also produce fruit
in clusters.
♪♪♪
The ripe fruits that land
on the forest floor have
a brittle shell
that contains
an edible kernel
underneath a thick layer
of soft pulp.
It's another peccary
delicacy,
which humans also use to make
flour and sweets.
♪♪♪
C is for
the caranda palm.
They also produce edible
fruits and seeds.
♪♪♪
And they're well adapted to cope
with the extreme droughts
and floods that besiege
the Pantanal every year.
♪♪♪
Peccaries are constantly
on the move in search
of their next meal.
For now,
it's time to fuel up
before the next calorie
burning trek.
Every adult member
of the herd keeps an eye out...
especially
for jaguars.
(clacking teeth)
(bird chirping)
This crab-eating fox is not
a threat to the peccaries.
(bird chirping)
But they'll raise the bristles
along their backs to increase
their apparent size whenever
they sense danger.
They'll also alert the rest
of the group by clacking
their teeth.
(clacking teeth)
(grunts)
(clacking teeth)
Peccaries don't see very well,
so they rely on their hearing
and sense of smell
to detect predators.
(clacking teeth)
They'll charge
if they feel threatened,
but their best defense
is to scatter into the trees.
(clacking teeth)
(bird chirping)
They don't have to bother
this time.
The fox is just
passing by,
looking for
his mate.
♪♪♪
Alexine and her team lost
precious time finding a way
past the fallen tree blocking
the road.
♪♪♪
Now they're back
on Trina's trail
and they're trying to lock in
on her GPS signal.
♪♪♪
So far, just noise.
They try their luck with
a more powerful hand-held
directional antenna.
(sizzle)
Their study area is a typical
Pantanal cattle ranch,
over 22 thousand acres.
♪♪♪
Finding a radio signal in such
a vast territory
takes a lot of patience,
and resolve.
Over the years,
Alexine discovered
that the herds
are not well defined.
(Alexine): Right now,
I am tracking three sub-herds.
Each one of those sub-herds
contains about 75 individuals.
But we know from animals
that are chipped
and recaptures,
and from our genetic work,
that there is fusion and fission
between these sub-herds.
♪♪♪
And basically, what we're
talking about is a herd
of, let's say,
300 individuals
dividing up
into sub-herds,
and they're all related.
(Narrator): Trina travels
with one of the sub-herds.
(sizzle)
They can't find her.
But then...
(beeps)
Another signal
breaks through.
It's Nanda,
she and Canela
are also wearing GPS collars.
(Alexine): The white-lipped
peccary here is Nanda.
She's probably resting
because it's so hot...
(Narrator): It would be
impossible to find
foraging spots large enough
to accommodate
the voracious appetite
of all 300 peccaries.
That's why this extended
and sizable family divides
into smaller groups.
(Alexine): I'm going to check to
see if Trina is with her...
She's another number,
she's 620.
(sizzle)
(Narrator): The signal for
each sub-herd has it's own
frequency.
(sizzle)
(Alexine): She's not here.
She's probably
in another area.
(sizzle)
(Narrator):
Alexine keeps tabs on all three.
(Alexine): White lipped peccary
Canela.
600...
She's not here either.
Only Nanda's here.
(sizzle)
So there's definitely
3 distinct sub-herds.
(sizzle)
♪♪♪
(Narrator): Nanda and
her group have taken shelter
from the harsh
midday sun.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
But even in the shade
of the forest,
they struggle
to cool off.
♪♪♪
While she rests,
Nanda covers her belly
with sand.
♪♪♪
It's an old habit.
That's how peccaries
clean themselves.
♪♪♪
The impact of the soaring
temperatures
and severe drought is evident
along the banks
of the main river
that flows through the area.
♪♪♪
The Rio Negro,
the Black River.
♪♪♪
It flows southwards,
carrying with it
a thick soup
of sediments and nutrients
that replenish the soil.
♪♪♪
It hasn't rained here
for about 5 months.
♪♪♪
And as temperatures reach
105 degrees Fahrenheit,
soon after sunrise,
the river is
drying up.
♪♪♪
(bird chirping)
There are 5 species of
kingfishers in the Pantanal.
The ringed kingfisher
is the largest
and most abundant.
The green kingfisher
is harder to spot.
But, with water levels
so low,
even the shy ones come out
of the shade to hunt for fish.
♪♪♪
It's a little
past noon,
and apart from Fernando
and his boat,
there's little activity
on the river.
Like most animals,
the long-nosed bats are resting.
♪♪♪
The bats are a lot busier
during the night,
feeding on mosquitoes
and midges.
Jaguars are extremely
elusive cats.
Fernando has seen
so many this year,
because the region has been hit
with a record-breaking
heat wave.
All the animals are
forced out of hiding
if they want
to find water,
including
the bigger guys.
♪♪♪
Tapirs are one
of the larger mammals
of the Pantanal.
Tapirs can be three feet tall
and can weigh 800 pounds!
♪♪♪
They're odd-toed
ungulates.
They support their weight
on 3 toes,
♪♪♪
unlike peccaries which are
even-toed ungulates
and support their weight
on 2 toes.
♪♪♪
They like fruits
but often prefer
to browse leaves.
♪♪♪
They eat a lot and digest their
food slowly over several days.
♪♪♪
Unlike peccaries,
tapirs are loners
and only look for company
when it's time
to mate.
♪♪♪
The river provides welcome
relief from the heat of the day.
But for some,
the dry season has
its perks.
For the elegant
black skimmers,
there's new nesting
real estate.
(shouts of the skimmer)
Sandbars exposed
by the receding river
that are the perfect spot
to raise a family.
(The skimmers squawk.)
They like to nest in the open,
close to the water.
(The skimmers squawk.)
They also like company
and they're loud.
(The skimmers squawk.)
The chicks in this family
are about 20 days old.
(The skimmers squawk.)
They're already as big
as the adults
but their pale plumage
has yet to take on
the classic black
skimmer tuxedo look.
(The skimmers squawk.)
♪♪♪
The sandbars attract
other residents...
♪♪♪
Like the large billed
terns.
They count on each other
to protect the nesting colony.
(The skimmers squawk.)
The young black skimmers
won't be able to fly for another
2 to 3 weeks
and they still don't have
the necessary skills
to fend for themselves.
(The skimmers squawk.)
Like your typical
teenagers,
they're always hungry and are
always begging for more food.
♪♪♪
So the parents are off,
gone fishing.
♪♪♪
For the black skimmers,
a fishing expedition looks
like a graceful choreography.
♪♪♪
Skimmers usually feed
in large flocks.
♪♪♪
(The skimmers squawk.)
When the winds are low
and the water is calm...
♪♪♪
They fly over it,
"skimming" the surface
with their huge lower bill.
♪♪♪
When it feels a prey,
a small fish, insect
or a crustacean,
the skimmer bows its head down
and closes its bill.
♪♪♪
They can swallow their catch
while flying.
♪♪♪
And then, if their chick
is lucky,
they'll regurgitate it,
but not this time!
♪♪♪
A few miles away,
(engine revs)
Alexine and her team are still
trying to find Trina.
They make a short detour
to check some camera traps.
♪♪♪
(Alexine): We put
a camera trap under
this tree that we call
the monkey ear tree.
♪♪♪
You can see it looks
like a monkey ear.
It's a delicious fruit
and it falls very quickly.
♪♪♪
And all wildlife enjoys
eating it
and white-lipped peccaries
do as well.
♪♪♪
(Narrator): These monkey ear
trees are at the end of
their fruiting cycle.
♪♪♪
It's a bonanza
for the peccaries,
and they take
full advantage of it.
(Alexine): They were visiting
it every day for at least
a week,
and they're still coming
to eat it.
♪♪♪
All 3 groups could come
to this spot and eat it
because there's that overlap
between the sub-herds.
So this could be 3,
4 different groups coming here.
(Narrator): The images
captured by the camera give
Alexine a few precious insights
into the herd's behavior.
♪♪♪
They can't specifically
identify the animals
or which sub-herd
they belong to,
but they can establish
the group's feeding patterns:
when and what they prefer
to eat, and how often.
Time to get back
on the road.
♪♪♪
They decide to head towards
the Rio Negro,
it's the closest body
of water.
♪♪♪
And it's
a pretty sure bet
that's where most animals
are in this heat.
♪♪♪
The birds
are already here.
Roseate spoonbills swing their
strange-looking spoon-shaped
beaks through
the muddy water,
looking for shrimps
and other crustaceans,
aquatic insects,
frogs and tadpoles.
Their specialized bills have
sensitive nerve endings
that help them feel their prey
when they brush against it.
Their pink color comes
from some of the crustaceans
they eat,
which themselves feed on
pink algae.
While they look
almost entirely pink,
the adults have no feathers
on their bald pale green heads.
In the breeding season,
their heads will turn
a buffed gold.
♪♪♪
Another wader...
The whistling heron's fishing
technique is a lot more focused.
♪♪♪
He's a slow,
but cunning predator.
This heron isn't after
insects or crustaceans,
he's looking
for something meatier.
♪♪♪
He can stay immobile
or walk slowly
for long periods.
The frog doesn't go down
without a struggle.
It's a tasty meal
for the heron
who's taking its time
and even drinking
a little water
to help the frog
slide down smoothly.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
A little further up
the river,
a family of capybaras
is grazing
on aquatic plants
and grasses.
They're the world largest
rodents
and could normally do
this all day long.
Now it's just
too darn hot.
Best to stay still
and cool off.
They look well suited
to land...
But capybaras are also
excellent swimmers.
Their ears, eyes and nostrils
are on the top of their heads,
leaving most of their bodies
underwater.
These rodents live in groups
of up to 30 animals
and are highly social.
(grunts)
They are led
by a dominant male.
On the other side
of the river,
there's one group that doesn't
seem capable of standing still.
A family
of giant otters.
The adults are almost
6 feet long.
Parents and their offspring from
previous years live together.
(splash)
Something seems to have caught
the giant otters' attention.
♪♪♪
They bob their heads
in and out of the water,
spy hopping
to take a peek.
♪♪♪
It's a lone caiman...
(squeaks)
entering giant
otter territory.
♪♪♪
The subordinate male capybaras
have also spotted the intruder
and give
a warning call.
(shouts)
The females don't like the look
of the situation either
and gather the youngsters
together to make a quiet exit...
♪♪♪
While the large dominant male
protects the rear.
The caiman has spotted
a large fish.
♪♪♪
He nabs it
and quickly leaves.
The giant otter can only take
a quick nip,
and vocalize her discontent.
(scream)
The caiman hangs on
to its catch.
And then makes its way
into the brush
to hide from other caimans,
and eat in peace.
♪♪♪
Alexine and her team
have finally found Trina.
She's the one on the right,
with the collar.
Trina's group is using a large
lake to cool off and forage.
As the dry season peaks
and fruits become scarce,
these lakes and the aquatic
plants they offer
ensure the peccaries'
survival year round.
♪♪♪
And that's why this region
is so special
and so important
to preserve.
(Alexine): We're studying
the species and I can tell:
"Oh, I love white-lipped
peccaries; they do all these
wonderful things".
But that's not the case;
I love all wildlife;
I want to see them
all well.
Because like jaguars
depend on peccaries,
and we know cases
where the white-lipped peccaries
were hunted
until they became locally
extinct
and the jaguars
will disappear.
(Narrator): And that's why
white-lipped peccary research
is so important.
When Alexine tracks
peccary herds,
she's not only gathering
information about their
behavior,
she's also learning
about what it takes
to keep a population of 300
mammals healthy and thriving.
If she can do that,
she'll help preserve all
the wildlife in the Pantanal.
(Alexine): And with this data,
we can define
ecological corridors throughout
the Pantanal
because if the future
is more deforestation,
we want to be ready for that;
we want to be able to propose:
"Look it, these are important
ecological corridors."
You know we have to tell
the landowner:
"This needs to stay
and be maintained."
So, white-lipped peccaries will
help me define these corridors
to maintain healthy populations
of wildlife.
♪♪♪
(Narrator):
They aren't cute or cuddly,
they're messy
and they stink...
Yet the white-lipped peccaries
are the unlikely
and unsung conservation heroes
of the Pantanal.
♪♪♪
And, as long
as they roam,
the more glamorous animals of
this amazing region, will too.
♪♪♪
