Link to Wild south america: 5- Amazon jungle documentary
Documentary Description
Episode five covers the Amazon rainforest, home to more varieties of
plants and animals than anywhere else on Earth. Despite the profusion of
life, finding food can be a challenge for both people and animals. Many
plants have poisonous leaves, seeds and fruit to protect themselves
against attack. The Guarani, a native tribe, practise low-impact hunting
using blowpipes. They make darts using downy fibres from kapok seeds
for the flights, and dip the tips in natural toxins. Some animals eat
only the youngest shoots, which contain less poison. Others such as
white-faced sakis have developed special digestive systems to cope with
their toxic diet. At a clay lick, spider monkeys risk descending to the
forest floor to eat clay, which helps to neutralise the toxins. They are
not alone – other visitors include a brocket deer, white-lipped
peccaries and parrots. At night, the flooded lick is visited by the shy
Brazilian tapir. Red-and-green macaws take clay at special places along
the rivers, a great social occasion for the birds. Army ants are shown
overwhelming their prey, but some creatures have developed clever ways
to avoid detection. Antbirds are reliant on the ants to flush out
fleeing insects. In the canopy, bromeliads are a vital water source for
all tree dwellers, including woolly monkeys and the dazzling paradise
tanager. Each plant can store up to ten litres and is a microcosm of
life. Golden-mantled tamarins are successful because they are supreme
opportunists, eating fruits and insects and living in tightly-knit
groups
