Equator Wildlife: Inside The Deadliest Dry Season On Earth

At the center of our planet, the equatorial sun drives a cycle of extreme transformation that splits the Amazon into two entirely different worlds. For half the year, heavy rains and melting snow from the Andes Mountains overwhelm the flat terrain, submerging hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of rainforest under fifteen meters of water. This creates a strange, beautiful liquid realm where monkeys and fish compete for the same forest canopy harvest, arowanas leap into the air to hunt tree-dwelling insects, and giant river wolves take over the hunting grounds of the jaguar. But as the floodwaters recede, the ultimate test of survival begins. The long, brutal dry season turns paradise into isolated, stagnant death pools stripped of oxygen. To survive this period of absolute famine, the wild residents must rely on bizarre evolutionary tactics. The massive pirarucu uses an ancient lung-like organ to breathe air directly from the atmosphere, while the heavy-eating tambaki fish and giant manatees must slow down and live entirely off the fat reserves they accumulated during the times of plenty. From fierce territory battles between giant otter packs and hungry caymans to the arrival of vulnerable new life, this is the story of an enduring ecosystem ruled by the relentless rhythm of the sun. Click here for more documentaries: http://bit.ly/2gSPaf6 Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/realwildschannel Follow us on Instagram:   / realwildchannel   Any queries, please contact us at: [email protected] #Jaguar #Otter #Wildlife