(BOLD INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
NARRATOR: Among the domestic animals of the Earth,
the cat has long been man's friend and companion.
The association is an old and honored one,
reflected in the art of ancient cultures
and the symbols of long-forgotten dynasties.
Yet for all its time in civilized circles,
the cat has never completely given up its wilderness ways.
Given the opportunity, the tame cat will inevitably revert to type,
and become again, the stealthy hunter.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Though it may have forgotten the old techniques from lack of practice,
its natural instincts remain unchanged.
And for the domestic cat,
there's always human hospitality to fall back on, in case of failure.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
For its wild cousins, however, there's no bowl of milk at the end of the trail.
Out of necessity, the cats of the wilderness must fend for themselves.
Thus, their talents as hunters are sharpened to the highest degree.
And on this common ground, all cats are alike.
The tiger, for one, is merely the tabby cat drawn larger than life.
It moves with the same grace
and hunts its prey with the same calculated cunning.
It's perhaps because he has never dominated this species,
that man has always regarded the cats with admiration and respect.
For as long as human history has been recorded,
he has honored the greatest of cats, the lion.
In the culture of every ancient civilization,
this animal has served as a symbol of royalty and power.
In the realm of nature, the living lion walks in lordly splendor,
a true king of beasts.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Almost any of the great cats could wear the lion's crown,
for all are noted for their courage, their intelligence and their power.
In all the animal kingdom, there exist no better hunters.
As a stalker of prey, the cheetah is without peer.
In Ancient Egypt, this beast was actually trained for the hunt.
The cheetah is a docile creature.
In fact, it could almost be taken for a dog,
and like the greyhound it resembles, literally runs its quarry to earth.
(FAST-PACED INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
At the moment of the kill, however,
the cheetah becomes completely the cat,
and could never be mistaken for anything else.
The leopard is another to be reckoned with.
Here is a killer both wanton and ruthless,
the executioner of the African plain.
The great cats of the world are a powerful force in nature.
It would seem to be their function to purge all other species of weaklings.
And in such a role, they're known on every continent.
In North America, the ruling member of the tribe is the cougar,
or mountain lion.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Here is a hunter with a price on his head.
Elusive and mysterious in his habits,
the cougar lives by his wits
and somehow survives just because he is a cat,
self-reliant, resourceful and clever.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
But of all these stalkers of prey,
the one that is the most unique is the cat of South America,
the jaguar.
This is the jungle cat.
Here is the quintessence of all that goes to make up a true cat.
For grace and beauty, for perseverance and power,
the jaguar will hold its own with all others of its kind.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
The jungle cat lives deep in the rainforests of Brazil.
It roams the vast Amazon Basin,
half a continent covered with tangled vegetation.
Its secret domain is the scene of our True-Life Adventure,
and its predatory habits, our theme.
For this is the story of the greatest hunter of them all.
(ENCHANTING INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
(MONKEY SQUEALING)
(ROARING)
(MONKEY SQUEALING)
(PLAYFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Though the treetop residents are relatively safe,
the creatures living on the forest floor must keep forever on the alert.
Among these, the tiny rodents called the pacas
tend to suffer the greatest losses.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Their number is almost constantly dwindling,
for in the very nature of things here, the paca is to the jaguar
what the ordinary mouse is to the ordinary cat,
fair game always.
(MONKEY SQUEALING)
With every kill the jaguar makes, the monkeys call her names,
from a safe distance, naturally.
And the macaws hurl down their own kind of epithets.
(MACAWS SQUAWKING)
But the great cat goes about her deadly business,
unmoved and undisturbed.
Hers is a career of assassination,
and she makes no pretense that it should be otherwise.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
The jaguars live in the largest jungle on Earth.
It is impassable and impenetrable,
a natural barrier to man and all his works.
And so it remains the jungle cat's exclusive domain.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Approximately 300,000 species of plants grow here,
more than in any other locale.
Rain falls nearly every day of the year.
In fact, it's measured in feet rather than inches.
And this accounts for the luxuriance of the vegetation.
This is a true rainforest.
Its peculiar characteristic is that everything grows to extraordinary size.
The palm trees shoot up hundreds of feet into the air,
towering above everything else.
Plants that are technically violets grow large as apple trees,
and a species of rose attains a height of 150 feet.
The vines are as thick as tree trunks,
and the wildflowers springing up on every side
are oversized orchids.
In this natural hothouse, they appear everywhere,
an endless profusion of exotic shapes and colors.
In quiet bayous, the lily pads grow big as tabletops,
covering the waters with a strange green floor.
This is a land crisscrossed with thousands of nameless streams.
Almost hidden by the overhanging foliage,
they go their way, unexplored, unknown and unrecorded on any map.
Only those that can qualify as major rivers
enjoy the distinction of a name.
And some, like the Iguaçú River, create spectacular waterfalls.
These are the cataracts of the Iguaçú,
on the border between Brazil and Argentina.
This panorama is world-famed and on a scale to match any on Earth.
On approaching the brink of the chasm,
these waters plunge 200 feet into the mist-filled gorge below.
The Iguaçú goes its way, independent of the main system of streams,
but most other Brazilian rivers
form a vast network that drains the heart of the jungle cat's domain.
Tributaries, like the Madeira, the Tapajós,
the Xingu, the Branco,
all combine their currents to create the mightiest river of all,
the Amazon.
Where the Rio Negro joins the Amazon,
the two rivers remain in suspended deadlock
for a considerable distance downstream.
So powerful is the Amazon's flow and so thick is the incoming silt,
that the two currents will not immediately blend.
Four thousand miles in length and some 200 miles wide at its mouth,
the Amazon carries more water to the sea
than any other river in the world.
At certain times of the year, it also overruns the land
and creates a scene of flood reaching as far as the eye can see.
Along the Amazon's course,
there is a teeming and colorful variety of life,
mammals and birds and reptiles among the strangest in nature.
This being the jungle, monkeys are everywhere.
Indeed, it would hardly seem a jungle without them.
But in addition to these, there are giant-sized lizards
that seem a throwback to a prehistoric past.
(FUNKY INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Then there are the weird birds, creatures out of a fantasy.
Such is the toucan,
whose bill resembles the claws of an oversized lobster.
Strange equipment indeed for the dainty fruits he favors.
This jungle locale teems with parrots
to the number of 100 different species.
Most of them dress in shades of green,
preferring to blend with their surroundings.
But here are birds of quite a different feather.
These are the macaws,
clothes-conscious cousins of the parrots,
who like to stand out in all their flamboyant beauty.
Perhaps the most brilliant plumage of all
belongs to the ibis family.
These are the scarlet ibis, debonair members of the stork clan.
They feed in undisturbed solitude along these hidden backwaters.
The river swarms with fish and the catchers of fish,
but none so unorthodox as the skimmer.
This bird's approach to the problem is indeed a strange one.
He hopes to make a catch without ever touching down on the surface.
(ENCHANTING INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
There are just two things he must be careful about,
submerged logs and submerged crocodiles.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
The South American version of the crocodile
is called the jacaré or sometimes the caiman.
It's a distinct species peculiar to this part of the world,
but it remains a typical crocodile
in its voracious habit of eating almost anything.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Sometimes, bird and reptile mingle in rather startling proximity.
Each seems to know the limit of the other's abilities
and just how far to go with the laws of chance.
The wiser among the egrets, however, will return to its own element
and take itself elsewhere when jacarés are known to be around.
The panic of a single bird will sometimes set off a chain reaction,
for none can tell when the jacaré will bid for its victim.
When the flamingos take to the sky,
the resulting panorama can be curiously beautiful and impressive.
This, then, is the world of the jungle cat.
In a way, it's a primeval Garden of Eden,
complete with serpent.
It's a strange and eerie world,
a world of paradox,
where plenty prevails, yet hunger stalks.
Here, life is hectic, fiercely competitive,
exciting and grim.
For this, we must remember, is the jungle, raw and untamed,
where all are ruled by the law of fang and claw.
Like all the cats, jaguars are aloof and independent,
and generally prefer to travel alone.
And since they are nomads by habit,
their roaming often takes them
over several hundred square miles of territory.
In the course of their patrols,
they come to adopt a certain hunting ground as their own,
and bitterly resent the intrusion of other jaguars.
And so, when an accidental meeting occurs,
without proper introduction and presentation of credentials,
there's sure to be a fight.
A battle between these cats,
each weighing in the neighborhood of 200 pounds,
is a savage and vicious affair.
Having disposed of her enemy, the jungle cat takes a moment's rest.
It was a lively tussle while it lasted,
but fortunately, she's managed to get through without permanent damage.
Suddenly, a third jaguar appears.
Yes, this is a jaguar,
even though its coat is as dark as the jungle night.
Unusual as he may appear, a black specimen such as this
is not actually rare.
If he's uncommon at all, it's in the fact that he's uncommonly handsome.
This fellow is a huge male.
And to judge from his attitude,
he could well be the one to take over this territory.
Two-hundred-seventy-five pounds of fighting trim.
(JAGUARS GROWLING)
This time, it appears, the jungle's mistress may have met her match.
(BOTH CONTINUE GROWLING)
But as the battle progresses,
the attitude of the belligerents begins to change.
In a moment, it's clear that what began as an all-out argument
has turned into a romantic love spat.
(ROMANTIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
It seems these two aren't mad at each other at all.
This is a sort of rough-and-tumble courtship,
the kind that cats thrive on.
(ROMANTIC MUSIC CONTINUES)
And so, each wooed and won in the proper jungle fashion,
the handsome pair agrees to travel through life together.
Time has passed. One hundred days, to be exact.
And now our jungle mistress finds herself a mother
with a family to care for.
The two kittens are small images of their parents,
one resembling its father,
and the other an identical reproduction of its mother in miniature.
Although the jungle way can be incredibly harsh at times,
there are these moments when life has its lighter side.
And on occasions such as this,
the jungle cat is capable of gentleness and unending patience.
Now she's companion, protector, and teacher,
dedicated to the welfare of her young.
From the beginning, the jaguar kitten is all cat,
very early displaying the curiosity that marks his kind.
He's sure-footed, too, or tries to be to the best of his ability,
and rather abhors the idea of falling into the creek.
He doesn't know it yet, but he's going to have to get used to water,
for sooner or later, every creature of the jungle must learn to swim.
Unlike most cats, the jaguars don't mind the water,
in fact, almost seem to enjoy it.
And the mother cat is anxious that her youngsters learn to like it early.
And so she spends many pleasant hours with them
at the swimming hole.
These hidden streams are the playground of many a jungle resident,
but none seems to get quite as much kick out of life
as this carefree creature.
This is the South American otter.
He cruises these mysterious backwaters, seeking adventure,
taking an occasional fish, going out of his way to have fun.
An otter is an otter no matter where you find him,
and true to type, this one loves to play.
It doesn't much matter with whom.
He'll even heckle such stolid fellows as the capybara.
In general disposition, the capybara is the otter's exact opposite.
As a playmate, he's pretty much a stick in the mud,
sober, slow-moving and quite without imagination.
He's the world's largest rodent,
a cousin of the North American beaver,
but without any of the beaver's talent as a construction engineer.
To the capybara, "play" means going off by himself
and quietly munching water plants.
An otter must work off his supercharged energy somehow.
And, if necessary, he'll invent games he can play by himself.
For instance, there's a sort of "he went thataway" affair
that involves chasing his own tail.
If he can find a jungle vine hanging low over the water,
he makes up a trapeze routine that can go on for an entire morning.
Suddenly he's interrupted by a strange sound.
It seems to be coming from some king-sized fish
with a case of king-sized hiccups.
These are an air-gulping species called the pirarucu.
They swallow air periodically and expel it through their gills,
and their belching can be heard for almost a mile.
Here's something to amuse a bored otter,
a burping fish.
An old hand at pursuing fishes, he's intrigued just on general principles.
He discovers, however, that these are twice as big as he is.
The pirarucu are related to the salmon and the herring,
and they grow to six and seven feet in length.
Sometimes, as a result of the floods,
they get trapped in these landlocked pools
and find their swimming space rather cramped.
Especially when they must share it with a mischievous otter.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Now there comes on the scene a true fancier of fresh fish,
and he may just be big enough to do something about these monsters.
First he tries the standard approach, poking at them with his paw,
looking for all the world
like an oversized kitten beside a goldfish pond.
But if you're really out to catch a fish,
you've got to be prepared to catch it.
Seven-foot fish versus eight-foot jaguar.
For a while, it's almost an even tussle.
Whatever the prize, fish, fowl or flesh, the jaguar's not one to give up.
He pursues and pursues and, above all, persists.
And so, in the end, the exhausted pirarucu is overpowered,
to become a fine fish dinner for the jungle cat's family.
As the days go by in lazy succession,
the junior jungle cats grow a little bolder,
a little more independent.
And soon they're ready to do a little hunting on their own.
By now they've been weaned and are ready for a meat diet.
These kittens take to the art of the chase naturally.
It all comes instinctively,
for with these little fellows, hunting is in the blood.
As with all cats, birds seem to have a strange fascination for them,
especially these gaily-colored birds of the jungle.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
When they discover a flock of parakeets,
they figure they've struck it rich.
With all these to try for, they can hardly miss.
But the leader of the expedition commits a slight error.
(JAGUAR MEOWS)
Well, mistake number one.
But that's how you learn, apparently. And so they push on.
Here's a little fellow about their own age,
and apparently as new to the ways of the world.
From the looks of things, he's trying to make his first mistake, too.
If he lets go now,
the kittens below are almost certain to catch him on the first bounce.
(PLAYFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Finally, Mother arrives, and not a second too soon.
In fact, in her excitement, she almost drops the baby herself.
This business of catching something
turns out to be harder than they thought.
Already their feet hurt. They're hot and tired.
And finally, they decide to leave it all to Father.
They'll rest awhile and let him bring something home later.
Now that there's a family to support, the parents hunt as a team.
If one jaguar is deadly,
it naturally follows that two can be quite disastrous.
Their favorite prey, the creature they're almost constantly seeking,
is this animal called the tapir.
The tapir is a relative of the rhinoceros and a distant cousin of the horse.
From the looks of that snout,
he could even have a bit of elephant mixed in somewhere along the line.
He's the complete vegetarian and perfectly harmless.
But it's just because he does feed well and grows fat
that he's such a temptation to the jungle cats.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Full grown, he's about the size of a small donkey,
weighing from 500 to 700 pounds.
And to the cat family, he represents a feast that may well last a week.
The tapirs spend considerable time
keeping cool in their favorite water holes.
Knowing this, the jaguars make a daily check on these hidden haunts.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Well, it was a good try, but not quite good enough.
For once, the jungle cats must go hungry.
But maybe they won't starve after all.
Here comes a pork chop on the hoof.
This is the collared peccary, the wild pig of the jungle.
He's an extremely dangerous animal.
Indeed, this fellow may take some handling.
But to the jungle cats, a little risk simply adds zest to the game.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
(LOUD SQUEALING)
(JAGUAR GROWLING)
It's going to take strategy and a bit of teamwork to down this fellow.
The female starts the key maneuver
by drawing the pig's attention to herself.
(GROWLING)
This allows her partner to strike from behind
and finally make the kill.
It's more and more apparent
that the safest place in the jungle is up in the trees.
Indeed, if all species lived on the ground,
within reach of the jungle cats, there would soon be none left.
To counteract this threat,
the other creatures evolved special equipment of their own.
And one whose talents are developed to a high degree
is this treetop traveler.
This is the tamandua, or lesser anteater.
He lives on a diet of ants and termites and practically nothing else.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
He finds this staple food handily available in the treetops,
in these aerial anthills called termatariums.
With strong talons developed over centuries of such effort,
he tears these termite cities apart,
and scoops up the fleeing fugitives with his facile tongue.
Because he must work high above the ground,
the tamandua has developed his own safety device,
a sensitive prehensile tail
that automatically anchors him better than any hand.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Among the anteaters, this is the classic fighting stance,
arms held wide apart as though to invite attack.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
But there's a method in this madness,
for in this pose, the sharp talons are ready,
and these can be deadly.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Here, the dispute is more or less in the family
and not as serious as might be.
It was sort of a question of priority, who should give way to whom.
When the shuffle puts them on opposite sides of the argument,
they decide they can break it off with dignity.
And so they go their respective, ill-tempered ways.
In some respects,
the anteaters are the strangest among all the strange creatures of the jungle.
The mere fact of an animal existing solely on insects is startling,
especially when the creature is the size of this one.
This is the giant anteater, largest of all the tribe.
This fellow's daily intake of ants
could well be figured in bushel baskets.
The anteater's tongue is long and limber
and coated with a sticky substance.
It can probe the tiniest cracks and crannies,
and for the ants, escape is practically impossible.
Generally speaking, the anteaters are without enemies.
The only animal that's inclined to molest them,
as might be expected, is the jungle cat.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Like every cat in creation, the jaguar is plagued by curiosity.
If something moves, he's got to know what it is,
if only to provide a moment of diverting amusement.
(RHYTHMIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
In self-defense, the anteater assumes his fighting stance
and keeps his sharp talons ready.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
At times, he becomes the aggressor,
turning the tables and chasing his tormentor.
When he sees the chance for a getaway, he takes to the river,
puts an expanse of water between himself and the cat.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Apparently the jaguar doesn't feel like carrying things that far,
and so he lets the victim go.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
After all that exertion, the anteater needs a rest.
But before lying down, he scoops out
an improvised couch on the jungle floor.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
Then he circles the spot and finally spirals into bed.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
Although the problems of the hunt
are the jungle cat's daily occupation,
she must often interrupt them to continue the training of her young.
In time, they must take her place,
and to do so, they must know all the jungle's weird ways.
And now comes the strangest lesson of their young careers,
how to deal with their worst enemy.
(STARTLING INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
(GROWLING)
(SOFT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
There are many things for the kittens to learn from this demonstration,
and one of them is this,
it's important to know when to move in and when to move back.
And when to call in the reserves.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
It would seem the big cats have stirred up a whole nest of jacarés,
and now it's a matter of picking one they can handle.
Here's a likely-looking candidate.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
Cat versus crocodile,
a battle out of the swamps of eternity.
The cat has cleverness and guile on its side.
The crocodile, brute strength and a killer's instinct.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
The cat's problem is simple, though not easy.
It's how to get past those murderous teeth.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
When the thing is done, it is done simply and most effectively.
By drowning.
(SOMBER INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Thus perishes the amphibious lizard that haunts the jungle swamps.
Again the jaguars conquer, simply because they know no fear.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
Of necessity, the hunters of the jungle must work for their keep.
But for others, food is to be had without effort.
The vegetarians find the jungle a vast banquet table
and all its delicacies free for the taking.
(FAST-PACED INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
The various species of monkeys are especially well provided for.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
Such is life for the monkeys.
Eat then sleep,
sleep, then eat.
And between times, do no more work than absolutely necessary.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
Of course it pays, every once in a while,
to take a check on the jungle cat.
(EERIE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
And if she's where she belongs, and you're where you belong,
then your jungle siesta can be undisturbed.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
If after all this food and rest, you feel your energy beginning to stir a bit,
then it's time for your constitutional.
For the monkey clan,
this means a fast quarter-mile along these treetop highways.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
If he's especially ambitious, the monkey's workout
is apt to include a few quick swings on a jungle trapeze.
(PLAYFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
These spider monkeys have their own sense of balance
and a prehensile tail to take care of any errors in judgment.
(LIGHT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Out of nowhere, a boa constrictor appears.
And this means that all monkey business is over.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
The boa is one of the largest constrictors
living in the Brazilian jungle,
and although not poisonous, it's extremely dangerous.
It strangles its prey in its muscular coils,
if and when it catches something.
(MONKEYS SCREECHING)
Fortunately for the monkeys, the boa is not a fast crawler.
The bigger it is, the slower it travels.
It takes a little time, in fact,
to move 300 pairs of ribs past a given point.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
But the boa requires only one good meal a month,
and so it has plenty of time to devote to the art of ambush.
It's for this reason that it will lie along the limb of a tree,
simulating the branch upon which it rests.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
When it freezes into position,
its mottled markings make it very difficult to see.
The monkeys see it, however. No doubt about that.
And they know exactly which end they can play around with,
and which end to leave strictly alone.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
(COMICAL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
It's amazing what liberties these impish creatures will take.
Undoubtedly, this is the monkey's way of living dangerously.
(COMICAL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Finally, tiring of their little game, the monkeys do a quick exit.
They've decided this isn't their month to be the boa's banquet.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
And now, here's a new kind of fun,
a pair of baby toucans.
Not ready to fly, and not ready to fight, either.
(TOUCANS SQUAWKING)
Sometimes, a monkey is like a naughty child,
not so much malicious as mischievous.
(LIGHT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Like a kid with a new toy, he's got to know what makes this thing work,
even if he breaks it finding out.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
(TOUCANS SQUAWK)
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
When it comes to getting into trouble,
the monkeys have some cousins
who are rather good at it, too.
These are the so-called near-monkeys,
the marmosets and the tamarins.
They seem to share the tribe's general proclivities
for meddling in somebody else's business.
(SQUAWKING)
Among their number, they include some odd specimens,
like this fellow.
He's called the mustached tamarin,
and could hardly be anything else.
(LIGHT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Then there's a relative known as the lion marmoset,
so named for his color and not for his courage or his size.
(COMICAL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Next, there's the tufted marmoset,
a fellow with his whiskers in his ears.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
This is the silky marmoset, the albino member of the family.
And finally, there's an idiot cousin
who might be called the half-witted marmoset.
He's the one who likes to play with snakes.
In this case, an emerald tree boa.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
The tree boa is another of the constrictors,
not poisonous, but not the best of playmates either.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
Foolhardiness must always pay its price.
If you will commit suicide, the jungle is quick to accommodate.
High above all this trouble and turmoil,
there lives a species whose life is simple and serene.
Not for them these nerve-racking moments of constant crisis.
Theirs is a slow and unruffled existence,
for that's exactly the kind of creatures they are,
the slow and unruffled sloths.
The sloth spends its whole life suspended in space.
Not because it wants to especially,
but simply because it can't behave in any other fashion.
It's so accustomed to this topsy-turvy existence,
that it can't walk upright on all fours.
In fact, a sloth that finds itself on the ground
is just about in the worst predicament possible.
(SLOW INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Only when it can climb back into the trees
is it in its proper element.
And not just any old tree,
for this particular species can live only on one kind of food,
the leaves and seedpods of the cecropia tree.
Thus, its restricted diet keeps it within a relatively limited area.
To a sloth, this doesn't seem a handicap, however.
He wasn't going anywhere, anyway.
And even if he should decide to try, he won't travel far,
for it takes him all day just to cross the street.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
Uh-oh. Here come the nuisances again.
These white-faced rascals seem annoyed at the sloths for some reason.
Perhaps it's because they've taken over the monkeys' favorite tree.
(PLAYFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Ordinarily, sloths never enter the water once in a generation,
and yet, when plunged into it, like this,
they're able to swim just like everything else.
They might do well to step up the tempo a bit, however.
Now the anaconda's on their trail.
This is the river-going version of the boa constrictor,
and twice as dangerous to all that's warm-blooded and mortal.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
And now safety is within their grasp. If they could only grasp it.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
At last, a mother's courage and tenacity win out,
even over physical ineptitude.
The feud between the sloths and the monkeys is an old one,
a form of harassment that never ends.
The acrobatic monkeys are so clever and the handicapped sloth so helpless,
they take great delight in showing him up whenever they get the chance.
If ever there was an underdog in the world,
the poor sloth is it.
Before long, however, the monkeys seem to lose interest in their victim.
They drop him as suddenly as they took him up.
In a moment, it's clear why.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
A couple of curious spectators
are quite spellbound by these developments.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
Desperately seeking some small advantage,
the sloth tries the one trick it knows.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
By now, the sloth is literally hanging on for dear life.
But so is the cat, it turns out.
If there's one thing to unsettle the jaguar,
it's a sense of unsureness.
This limb may give way, and it's a long way down,
even for a creature accustomed to making good landings.
Never one to give up,
the sloth finds a thin chance offering itself.
It's the slenderest of chances, but it's well worth the taking.
And so for once, the mighty jungle cat is defeated,
not by superior strength or better reflexes,
but simply by steadier nerves.
Thus do the meek survive.
The jaguar's disappointment is something she takes in stride.
It's happened before and it may well happen again.
She quickly forgets the whole thing when she rejoins her family.
Here's something she can't ignore, however.
The boa constrictor,
poised to strike.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
The boa strikes not to kill, but to catch hold.
Once attached, it will loop its great coils
around a victim with lightning speed.
Realizing all this, the mother maneuvers for the kill.
She displays a certain respect for the snake, but no real fear.
She's met its kind before.
She knows that as long as she stays out of reach,
she's reasonably safe.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
After the first skirmish,
the mother jaguar decides another tack is in order.
But first, she must make sure her kittens are out of harm's way.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Now to get down to the deadly business at hand.
The cat discovers that the reptile has crawled onto an overhanging limb.
She bats at it, feinting like a clever boxer.
Her object, to bring the boa's head within reach.
That's the vulnerable spot, the neck, just behind the head.
If she can once get at it.
(SUSPENSEFUL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Once on the ground, however, the advantage swings to the snake,
for now there's room to maneuver and strike again.
Again this has become a situation requiring teamwork,
and help arrives when her mate comes on the scene.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
With the attack coming from two sides, the snake tries retreat.
This unheard-of tactic rouses the jaguar to a new pitch of resentment.
He's determined to see this through to a decision.
And this monster is not going to be the one that got away.
Not if he can help it.
(INTENSE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Can a 200-pound jaguar hold a 300-pound snake?
That's the question now.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
The power of the reptile finally prevails.
And now the battle moves to an element the snake likes better.
Every creature has a last-ditch strategy.
The snake's is this.
Lure the enemy in over his depth, then seize him in the muddy waters.
Most creatures would see the danger developing
and think twice before stepping into the trap.
But not the jaguar.
He doesn't care about danger.
His blood is up and he means business.
And so he goes after the giant reptile.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
There occurs one bad moment,
when the cat seems terribly close to suffocation.
His mate moves in to help.
But before she can get into the fray,
the male manages to break the stranglehold.
Now he has the enemy out on dry land again.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
For all its great strength,
the snake is beginning to show signs of exhaustion.
Its movements have become sluggish and its reflexes slow.
All it can do now is to try to protect its vulnerable head.
(INTENSE MUSIC CONTINUES)
Finally, death comes.
The dreaded reptile lies limp and lifeless.
The moment the enemy is disposed of, the jaguars ignore it completely.
Soon, the incident is quite forgotten.
For the jungle cats, it was all in a day's work.
Nothing unusual about it. Nothing unusual at all.
For this little time, we have dwelled in the world of the jungle cats.
And in watching their True-Life Adventure,
we have come to realize that these truly are the most cat-like of all cats.
Theirs is a life like none other on Earth.
Theirs is a domain without equal anywhere.
It is both home and haven to some of the strangest of creatures.
And for a brief moment,
we've had an intimate glimpse of some of these, too.
The tamandua, dressed in his curious jacket.
The tapir, braving the perils of the hidden rivers.
The indestructible sloth and her quaint child.
The gaudy birds in all their vibrant plumage.
The silent reptiles lying in wait.
And that ancient of ancients, the jacaré,
lurking in the dark waters like the soul of the jungle itself.
(DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)
Now the tropical rains deluge this leafy world,
bringing a moment of peace.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
But peace is only temporary, and not the natural order of things,
for as long as the jaguar rules supreme,
life will continue to be exciting and hazardous.
For such is the need and the way of the hunter.
And such, more than any other creature,
is the way of the jungle cat.