[Music] in this amazing world that we have been given to take care of there is a special [Music] place a place where sunlight and water have created one of the most unique and beautiful regions on our precious [Music] [Applause] planet it's a land where a kaleidoscope of habitats has created a stunning rainbow of [Music] life from high mountain [Music] glaciers to Cloud [Music] forests and marshy mands from equatorial [Music] jungles to wide open grassland and swampy verdant flats from Desert Plains to mysterious lakes and and wild lost worlds craggy Islands wrapped in abundant oceans and
Raging [Music] Rivers to the world's most spectacular and unexplored ancient lands this is a country with some of the most incredible creatures and diverse environments on [Music] Earth it boasts nine unique natural habitats and is the second most biodiverse country on the planet a land of stunning often hidden natural beauty this is Colombia [Music] revealed to the outside world Colombia is often seen as a country with a dark and painful past but there is another Colombia a unique land of secret magical Beauty a magic that for many has never been seen [Music] situated in the
northwest of South [Music] America Colombia supports some of the most incredible Wildlife on the [Music] planet mammals birds frogs [Music] reptiles butterflies and plants and three legendary creatures of South America the biggest bird the most formid itable [Music] snake the strongest [Music] feline this wild Bounty is thanks to Colombia's overflowing gift from [Music] nature water [Music] [Applause] [Music] Colombia is embraced by the wild Pacific Ocean and the warm Caribbean Sea bordered by the Amazon and oronoko basins enriched by the great Cala and Magdalena Rivers Colombia is a country eternally bound to water water's Journey Begins
in the mountains the great Andy's range and the record-breaking peaks of Sierra Nevada Des Santa mat [Music] just 42 km from the sea these are the highest coastal mountains on [Music] Earth Legend has it these white capped Peaks touching the clouds are the gateway to [Music] heaven and still today the few remaining indigenous peoples of the Sierra Nevada de cata look up to the high crests to pay respect to their mother earth to the south of the sieras are the Majestic Andes Mountains stretching the length of Colombia [Music] meltwater from these ancient glaas runs off
into the rivers [Music] below the great ice fields of el kwii are some of the oldest Waters in [Music] [Music] Colombia [Music] high above saws the Condor it has the largest wingspan of any bird over 3 m Rising with the mountain thermals the andian Condor Glides above the clouds looking for food [Music] the Condor can live for 75 [Music] years but their numbers are in Decline as its wild lands are encroached upon breeding programs in Colombia and the USA must succeed if this breathtaking bird is to keep soaring across the andian skies here in the
high mountains life and death are just a breath [Music] apart at the end of the day the temperature drops to well below freezing in just a few [Music] hours [Music] but as the sun climbs in the sky the land below the icy peaks [Music] awakens and an amazing cycle [Music] Begins the fogs and clouds that roll in will end up quenching The Thirst of Millions this is part of Colombia's most distinctive landscape the [Music] param it is the richest high mountain environment in the world with over 00 unique types of plant flourishing [Music] here over
half of all the planet's paramos are found in [Music] Colombia the param is like like a giant sponge it absorbs the runoff from glaciers and pulls water from the clouds in a process called Cloud [Music] stripping here in chingaza the silvery green Giants the fron are key to this each Leaf has TI dowy hairs specially adapted to trap moisture from the [Music] fogs some plants can trap up to 40% of their weight in [Music] water the forests and plants breathe Mist off the param the wetlands filter water to make it pure and then the sponge
overflows with fresh water billions of gallons pour from the hillsides [Music] this water will quench The Thirst of the country's fastest growing cities Colombia's population has has grown by over 12 million in the past 20 years to more than 48 million nearly 80% of these people now live in rapidly expanding cities like Ki medag Jin and bogatar all of whom rely entirely on this natural Fountain but this resource is not Limitless and can only be protected if the paramo is this delicate landscape covers only 2% of [Music] Colombia yet it provides 70% of all the
country's fresh [Music] water and the tragedy is the precious paramos are being eaten Away by Agriculture and Industry the loss of these lands will turn off the tap to Millions below the paramos Lush Greenery drapes the mountains the fertile slopes are nurseries to the Abundant Cloud forests that overflow with [Music] life a spectacle bear is a rare sight he is looking for food the only bears in South America their existence is under threat from poaching and habitat loss their survival depends on the preservation of the complex ecosystem they live in conservationists are now using satellite
technology to gather vital information and protect the remaining Bears estimated to be less than 3,000 left in the wild spectacled bears climb trees to feed on fruit nuts and [Music] honey this youngster needs all the climbing practice he can [Music] get also in the Lush temperate zones across Colombia is a tiny winged [Music] Wonder flitting between the flowers are over 147 species of hummingbird more than anywhere else on [Music] [Music] Earth Legend says they are sent to Earth to seduce the moon and that they fly long distances on the back of [Music] geese the truth
is almost as incredible as the Legends hummingbird's wings beat around 60 times a second they can visit up to 5,000 flowers a [Music] day consuming twice their body weight to get enough [Music] energy and because each flower is a precious feeding station the territory needs [Music] [Applause] [Music] defending [Music] oh [Music] the battle over the winner keeps its [Music] flower the loser will have to try his luck somewhere [Music] else [Music] to the west of Colombia between the Andes and the Pacific lie the rain soaked CA and choco [Music] regions these unique forested slopes are
the wetest places on Earth all along Colombia's Pacific Coast the humidity transforms the region into one of the world's most extraordinary bio hotspots [Music] small patches of forest are home to a thousand varieties of [Music] butterfly they drink from a damp forest floor soaked in Mineral Rich [Music] liquids inside this Chrysalis is one of the largest and most brightly colored creatures of its [Music] kind [Music] the great blue morpho [Music] butterfly its whole life from caterpillar to butterfly is only about 4 months [Music] long [Music] when the butterfly's wings are closed the brown spotted Underside
provides camouflage against predators such as Birds [Music] but in Flight it is a breathtaking Beauty in [Applause] [Music] blue [Music] Birds also beel the branches of the forest over 800 [Music] species the male Club winged mannequin beats its wings a 100 times a second creating a sound like a [Music] song [Music] meanwhile the male wiet tailed mannequins compete with each other over who's the best [Music] dancer the female will [Music] decide this natural hot house is also the perfect place for orchids there are more species here than anywhere else on Earth but also lurking on
the wet forest floor is one of the deadliest creatures on [Music] Earth the golden dart frog is the world's most poisonous vertebrate it's classed as hypertoxic a single frog has enough Venom to kill 10 grown men it is also critically endangered and found only in Colombia's choco region advertising its presence the bright golden color acts as a warning to its only potential Predator a species of snake Copus epinephelus which is resistant to the Frog's deadly venom but not completely immune the venomous vertebrate gathers its toxicity from a diet of poisonous ants and termites [Music] a
sticky tongue works well sometimes too well especially if the ant has time to bite [Music] after eating enough ants and extracting their poison the Frog now exudes a super Venom from its [Music] back another creature found by the ever flowing rivers of the choco has a different idea on how to stay out of [Music] trouble sunlight keeps their muscles warm and ready to make a run for it at the first sign of danger and in this jungle that could come from anywhere [Music] the speed and wept feet of the basilisk lizards means that water is
no barrier to [Music] escape the richness created by The Rains of the choco fuels Nature's dazzling tapestry these same rains feed Rivers flowing West down off the mountain [Music] slopes they Meander past villages to the coast their Waters destined to meet the world's largest ocean [Music] the [Music] Pacific this great ocean kingdom is the coastal Corridor of the humpback whale now in a protected area every July in a Secret Cove here in the choco zut tra National Park these remarkable Waters Echo with an ancient [Music] song it's the sound of humpback whales migrating from the
cooler latitudes of the Antarctic [Music] Peninsula guarding the entrance to this Cove is a young male [Music] while this lone male sings the whales under his protection arrive a mother with her [Music] [Applause] [Music] calf the Bay becomes a [Music] classroom and it's about to provide the experience of a lifetime for a flotilla of whale watchers and ecotourists this learned skill enables whales to clean microbes off their skin and stun fish for [Music] [Music] hunting [Music] [Music] moving North in the choco rainfall is more modest and forests thin out but this tree provides a special
treat for one of Colombia's most bizar mammals their favorite food is the flower of the potbellied [Music] tree but Fallen flowers are not good enough for the three toad [Music] sloth [Music] they will travel over long distances slowly to get to this fresh [Music] delicacy when full up 2/3 of the sloth's body weight is [Music] food lunch can take a month or more to [Music] digest but their cute looks means sloths are good business for animal traffickers one of the fastest growing illegal businesses in [Music] Colombia highly adapted to their environment those trapped to become
pets nearly always [Music] die this young sloth was found sick and dying in a Backstreet shop he is one of nearly 400 which conservationists have rescued and returned to the wild in recent [Music] years this sloth is now lucky enough to be able to live in one of Colombia's protected forests [Music] but to the northwest of the country only 5% of the original primary Forest [Music] remains one beautiful but tragic symbol of this loss has become an emblem of exotic Colombia these are the great wax Palms of Indo and this is the only place on
Earth where they grow they stand tall some at over 60 M once part of a thriving Forest now this Forest is gone cut down to make way for cattle to graze which eat the precious new seedlings now that they have lost the protection of the rainforest so no new Palms can grow but cattle make money and feed [Music] [Applause] [Music] people these lonely trees that have stood for a 100 years could be gone in a [Music] generation they are a stark warning to save the remaining forests before it's too late every year Colombia's unique biodiversity
is exposed to increasing [Music] threat through the center and north of Colombia Two Rivers bear the brunt of this habitat destruction the CA and the [Music] Magdalena they are the busy arteries for industry connecting cities with the [Music] coast Lush forests bordered their once clean Waters but now the saplings are burned before they can grow river water is polluted by uncontrolled industry and Township waste and they are lined by a sea of monocrops and Mining one tiny creature amongst many is struggling in this deadly deforestation [Music] the cotton top Tamarind they only live in Colombia
in forests that once blanketed the Northwest and they are in trouble there are now thought to be less than 2,000 wild adults left on us Earth a team of dedicated scientists are battling against the odds to save the remaining cotton Toops and ultimately increase their numbers but although their habitat is now being protected the law is often ignored every day the last few patches of forest are being eaten Away by illegal forestry and farming the struggle of the cotton tops must encourage everyone to preserve Colombia's beautiful land and the creatures who live in [Music] it
for one truly iconic animal the river valleys of Colombia are the ancient highways to and from its hunting [Music] grounds at the top of the food chain the Jaguar is the biggest cat in the Americas with an estimated population of just 50 ,000 left in the wild in South America scientists are working to protect This Magnificent Cat by creating jungle corridors safe routes to link core Jaguar populations from northern Argentina to Mexico passing through Colombia the complex network of river channels are no obstacle to these felines [Music] unlike most cats Jaguars are good [Music] swimmers
[Music] stalk and Ambush Predators they use natural cover to silently creep up on [Music] prey Jaguars eat fish and turtles from the rivers but they also hunt larger land prey such as deer and these peckies [Music] [Music] pound for pound Jaguars have the most powerful jaws of all the big cats they can kill with one bite at the back of the head directly through the skull of their prey [Music] to the east of the Andes is the Los yanos part of the Great oronoko River Basin these vast low-lying Wetlands bordered by striking Peaks are Colombia's
great PLS spreading over more than 30% of the country's surface area one of the world's most biologically diverse grasslands home to the world's largest rodent the kabara and South America's biggest snake the [Music] [Music] Anaconda there are also nearly 5 million head of cattle in the [Music] region and every year they are rounded up which can be a very nervous time for some animals these birds have good reason to be [Music] [Music] worried making your home underground is not the safest place to be in a stampede but for burrowing owls it's a part of [Music]
life once the male has checked the coast is clear it's safe for this season's chicks to emerge to experience the Glorious wide open Plains of Los yanos for the first [Music] time but life won't be easy for these young owls the coming months January to April will get harder for all the Region's animals the winds have turned and the Northeast trades from the Caribbean blow across the flat Eastern [Music] Plains with no mountains to encourage rain the flooded Savannah [Music] dries in the drought conditions everything is struggling to survive [Music] but these Caymans have a
plan they bury themselves in the mud and enter a sleep State called estation Almost motionless and using little energy they will remain shut down until the pools flood and the food [Music] [Music] returns in the Early Mornings in the dry season on a few remote river banks in the oronoko Basin one of the rarest and strangest sounds on the planet can be [Music] heard it comes from one of the most critically endangered reptiles on Earth hunted almost to Extinction for their [Music] skin the sound is the mating call of the male oronoko crocodile [Music] [Music]
[Music] the male and female begin to snout and circle one another in a ritualized courtship eventually the male rotates the female and they end up belly to belly and [Music] submerge the female lays up to 40 eggs [Music] underground they will have to stay safe for 80 days before they hatch if they are not buried deep enough Predators will detect [Music] them the teu lizard tastes the air in his [Music] sech after almost 3 months the mother will return her belly to the ground she listens for the sound of hatching tiny crocodiles catch the mother's
attention she digs to help them [Music] emerge and Life [Music] Begins [Music] [Music] the mother carefully carries each baby to the safety the water these infant crocodiles still have a lot to get through but hopefully the skin hunters will not return the dry season continues and in many places things get worse before they get [Music] [Music] better at long last the rains arrive over March and April water levels in some Rivers Rise by up to 8 m a time of Plenty Returns the Scarlet Ibis Gather in their lofty perches waiting for the insects disturbed by
the rising Waters as the sun sets over the plains the drought seems an eternity [Music] away to the west of the yanos in a region called Sania De La Macarena the end of the dry season ignites an incredibly colorful [Music] Bloom this Rainbow River is unique to Colombia called Cano cristalis it's often celebrated as the most beautiful River in the world the crystal clear waters showcase the Vivid colors of the water [Music] [Music] weeds the red color is thought to protect the plant from the equatorial [Music] Sun this spectacular display has a brief [Music] window
too little water and the plants die too much rain and the river swells submerging the glory further to the South the waters flow to feed the mother of all Rivers the world's largest and South America's longest this is Colombia's Amazon basin [Music] as the waters slow and calm they embrace the [Music] forest a horned toad watches [Music] Howa monkeys earn their name woolly monkeys forage and squirrel monkeys scratch a livelihood from the leaf litter below but anticipation is building the rainy season has now arrived in the [Music] south the rivers of Colombia's Amazon basins swell
the forests flood and the environment is transformed [Music] River and rainforest have become [Music] one beneath the surface a new world has appeared what was once Forest is now a rich underwater habitat the anaconda's territory has [Music] grown the fish have fresh feeding grounds amongst them is a hunter as notorious as the Jaguar known as the tiger of the river the silver arowana has changed little over 150 million [Music] years it's the male who looks after the young fry in its mouth [Music] perhaps even more unusual is the way arowana [Music] hunt living in a
tree doesn't mean you're safe from its jaws this bush Cricket is completely unaware of what lurks beneath arowana have a divided eye that allows them to see under the water and at the surface at the same [Music] time they have been known to leap over 2 m plucking prey from a branch or overhanging Vine [Music] the Great Rivers of Colombia's lowland tropical forests wander and wind as they grow the waters enriched by the organic de Dey they dislodge turn dark [Music] brown patrolling the dark Waters is a creature once believed to be from Legends the
largest of dolphins the rare pink river dolphins hunting their prey in murky water using echolocation over the years so many have been killed they are now seriously endangered sustainable fishing techniques are helping to protect them while preserving future fish stocks for local fishermen to feed their families living proof that there are ways to protect this part of wild [Music] Colombia hopefully it will not be too little too [Music] late each year new creatures emerge that remind us we must take care of the Wilderness because we never know what it may be [Music] hiding as recently
as 2010 an amazing new animal was discovered hiding in the dense impenetrable forests of Colombia it was a shy small mammal completely unknown to [Music] science the Keta Titi monkey the rarest monkey in the world [Music] as few as 250 are estimated to exist and they are only found here in Colombia [Music] they make for Life the bond cemented by a twisting of [Music] tails [Music] witnessing for the first time the precious Titi is an amazing [Music] privilege this newly discovered monkey proving again that wild Colombia is still full of potential discoveries and there's more
surprises out at Sea two unique islands of the Pacific coast have their own survival stories to tell marello and [Music] gorgona here on the Pacific island of gorgona nature is coming back from the [Music] dead less than a century ago the forest was slashed and burnt to make a prison [Music] complex now closed it's become a national park and the trees and Wildlife are coming back showing again that nature will return if the right steps are [Music] taken [Music] [Music] further off the Pacific coast on the most westerly part of Colombia nature is Breaking All
the [Music] Rules Mell Island is a volcanic monolith 378 km from land in the middle of nowhere it is pure rock it shouldn't support life yet land crabs and lizards Scurry about life exists here because of the waste of one sea bird the NASA booby over 100,000 of them more than anywhere else on the planet the unforgiving environment and shortage of food means survival strategies take a ruthless [Music] turn boobies can hatch two chicks but one will be 5 days older and 5 days stronger than the [Music] other the older chick is programmed to take
care of itself in a drastic way while the adults watch it will kill its weaker sibling ejecting it from The Nest ensures it will get enough food from the parents for [Music] itself [Music] the second chick becomes rich picking for the crabs and life goes on once a chick has removed its sibling the parents dutifully take care of the Lone Survivor it's Nature's insurance policy every breeding season if the first egg does not hatch there is always another to take its [Music] place [Music] further north of the Caribbean coast of Mainland Columbia is a cluster
of small Tropical [Music] Islands one Providencia in the San Andreas archipelago is just what you'd expect from a Caribbean [Music] Paradise except when night falls then watch out for [Music] zombies every year the land loving black crabs known locally as zombie crabs come down from the [Music] Hills their mission is to get to the beach and lay eggs that can hatch in the [Music] sea the crabs are a local delicacy but during the migration roads are closed to cars and bikers ride carefully Colombians work together to protect the crabs during the breeding season and it's
paying [Music] off the crabs live on to produce millions of young food for humans and a healthy population of wild crabs sustainability in [Music] action so many crabs lay so many eggs that even when natural Predators flock to feed enough will survive for a Next [Music] Generation and Beyond the beaches on coral reefs and protected Marine reserves life thrives beneath the waves in Colombia's Pacific Waters close to the equator the creatures of the underwater worlds are startling in their numbers heat from the equatorial Sun overhead drives a food rich current that swells up from the
[Music] depths it creates one of the most extraordinary pyramids of marine life to be found anywhere in any [Music] [Music] [Music] ocean Snapper tuner yellow tals and Barracuda Dance in the [Music] sunlight it's a magical theater of light and life [Music] from January to April the action intensifies the most spectacular underwater assembly begins hundreds of hammerhead sharks appear from the deep pacific in one of the biggest Gatherings on Earth [Music] some sharks have wounds and infected Battle Scars so a hospital cleaning station opens for [Music] [Music] business Barber and Clarion fish busily Peck up the
parasites that feed on the shark's skin it's food for them and medical care for the hammerheads the perfect symbiotic relationship Nature has maintained this complex and delicate balance over 4 billion years of evolution on Earth then 15,000 years ago humans arrived from Africa and began to change the landscape forever Crossing from the north Colombia was the first stop for humans in South America they were curious creatures walking on two legs and using [Music] Tools H gatherers lived in the rainforests and along the coast some settled constructing a permanent [Music] shelter as the centuries went by
with growing Ingenuity and skill they built Grand Terrace towns out of the stone this is one of the best preserved and comes from a time before the Empire of the incor it was discovered in the early 1970s and remains a monument to civilization for almost a thousand years this epic construction now known as the ruins of the lost city was the Hub of trade in Colombia's Northern [Music] rainforests descendants of these early indigenous Colombians still survive today living in secluded pockets in remote forest and high [Music] mountains as well as embracing the forests early people
followed the water the rivers became trade routs and just like today they populated the Lakes lagoons and seash Shores thriving on The Waters Fishing to [Music] survive for many thousands of years Colombians were at one with nature But as time went by the population grew and so did the need and greed of [Music] man soon the natural resources of Colombia were feeding a global desire for gold precious metals and exotic [Music] exports great cities and ports like here in kataha Stand proud welcoming Traders and visitors but as the towns and cities grew the population began
to pollute the Waters of the rivers and seas and turn the forests into wastelands it's still happening [Music] today Colombia's wild lands are being harvested and [Music] [Music] abused the leaving for gold coal emeralds and oil coffee rice Palm soy and sugar seems Unstoppable each industry making its own scar on the landscape and its own stain in the waters the destruction of ancient habitats will soon soon be irreversible the jungles wetlands and rivers home to Colombia's plants and creatures are being destroyed but the civil unrest of the past 50 years has left many natural habitats
untouched as people moved from the countryside into to cities giving Colombia a unique opportunity to preserve environments which many other countries have already lost to human encroachment national parks and protected areas created from the 1960s onwards are also playing a vital role in keeping Colombia's incredible natural wealth alive one of these Parks is beyond imagination it is the best kept secret in South America and is the unknown Wild Heart of Colombia it's called cherub and it is a reminder of Colombia's [Music] [Applause] [Music] beginnings [Music] in this unspoiled Haven Wildlife abounds and uncontacted tribes are
still thought to [Music] live this is truly a lost [Music] world standing proud above all are the massive rock towers tables of the Gods called teis carved from the oldest rock on [Music] [Music] Earth [Music] no one knows what awaits Discovery here in Colombia's Heartland it's the most unexplored ecosystem on the [Music] [Music] planet the rocks of chipete speak to us written on the stones is a message from the past in paintings the color of [Music] blood over 20,000 drawings the first Great temple of American art deliver an ancient message that holds true today the
people who once lived here have left in pictures testimony of their awe and respect for the wild their images show us it's not human Destiny to destroy the world the you Universal message is we must care for the world we have been given every living thing on Earth has been entrusted to us to protect we are the guardians of our planet the magical creatures living in Wild Colombia are proof it's not too late for Action the Condor and hummingbird should always Grace Colombia's clear skies rays and whales must be free to swim in clean oceans
unpolluted rivers need to flow for dolphins fish and all who drink the waters forests must be protected and new ones created for the endang injured monkeys and precious animals that call the jungle home for the sake of all living things including the people who live here Colombia's wildlands must be cared for in 2015 this film premiered in Colombia for the arakas one of the country's oldest indigenous tribes who still live deep in the rainforest in Sierra Nevada Des Santa mat it was a truly unique experience in Nabu samake their sacred Village the arakas follow a
long and pure philosophy which teaches them to take care of the planet and live in harmony with nature an ancient way of life that is fin a new resonance in our modern world the formal Premier followed in Boga and was attended by diplomats the film received an unprecedented reception the most popular film in Colombia's history in a country so V vast and varied it was the first time that many had seen the incredible natural beauty of their own Homeland it must not be the [Music] last [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]
