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1
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So many of my missions are spent trying
to save animals that once existed in
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huge numbers.
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00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:24,860
But what if there was an animal so
unique, so rare, it was essentially
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00:00:24,860 --> 00:00:25,880
unknown?
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00:00:27,380 --> 00:00:31,300
Not just a species, but in fact, a
genus.
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00:00:32,020 --> 00:00:36,620
So exotic that it was only first
discovered in 1996.
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00:00:38,470 --> 00:00:41,150
and has almost never been seen since.
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Possibly extinct, it's the rarest animal
in the world.
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Something like a unicorn.
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Yeah, something exactly like that.
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It's called the Thala, the Asian
unicorn.
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Every single year.
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As many as 2 ,000 species are deemed
extinct worldwide.
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00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:14,180
But the process we use to declare an
animal extinct is an inexact science.
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It happens all the time.
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Animals are rediscovered that were
thought to be gone forever.
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My grandfather discovered a coelacanth
66 million years after it was supposed
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be extinct.
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I'm Forrest Galante. I'm a wildlife
biologist.
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and my life's work is searching for
animals that we've given up on.
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On this expedition, I'm trekking deep
into the most remote forest of Vietnam
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in search of an animal so rare it was
only just discovered in
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1996 and hasn't been documented since.
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Our path will take us beyond untouched
terrain, revealing unknown species,
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and leading us deep into the largest
known cave passage in the world to
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a recently discovered hidden oasis as
exotic and unknown as the animal itself.
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This is Extinct or Alive. The Sala.
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This is Hanoi.
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Northern Vietnam's capital city,
squeezed between China and Laos.
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We're less than 50 miles from the
jungle, where the saula, the rarest
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the world, was first identified as a new
genus, meaning no similar animals exist
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in Southeast Asia.
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The scientific community was shocked. A
large mammal had gone unknown in the
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modern era.
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the first live sallow was captured in a
poacher's snare and transported into
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captivity. This animal evolved
completely in isolation without any
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relatives right here in the Annamites.
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Nearly five feet tall and weighing up to
200 pounds, the Asian unicorn has
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distinctive white facial markings.
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And even more unique are its scent
glands that it rubs on trees to attract
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mate.
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But little else is known about this
mysterious creature.
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Welcome to Hanoi. Good to see you.
Thanks for meeting me.
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Pleasure. Bill is the world's leading
expert on saula, and in fact the only
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Western scientist who has spent any time
around a live saula.
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My understanding is that it was given
that name, the unicorn, because when
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looking at it in profile, the horns
visually merge into one, and it looks as
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though it has a single horn.
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Yeah, I think part of it also is...
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An extraordinarily beautiful animal with
the white spots on the side of the
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faces.
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Rarely seen and known for being
unusually gentle, it's obvious how the
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stuck. When it was discovered, it was
probably the most surprising zoological
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find of the 20th century. Right.
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Because here you had not just a new
species of mammal weighing 100 kilos, an
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entirely new scientific genus.
Unbelievable.
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Yeah, it just blew the minds of
biologists and animals.
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And Bill would know. The Sala was
transferred from a private zoo
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in Laos, owned by General Chang, where
Bill was brought in to study it.
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When she was caught, she was probably
the most significant captive animal in
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world at that time. Sure.
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But from there, this story only gets
more unique and ultimately tragic.
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The female Sala Bill lovingly named
Martha died.
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only 18 days after her discovery.
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Friday morning, she was lying down, like
on her side, which wasn't a good sign.
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It was like dusk on this cold winter
day, and I just watched her breathe her
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last.
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General Cheng's staff basically cooked
her and ate her.
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No autopsy to reveal the cause of death,
and no remains to study or transfer to
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a museum.
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Two weeks after the world learned it
existed, the Asian unicorn was no more.
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But Phil has never lost hope.
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Are they extinct?
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Are they still here?
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I'm almost certain they're not extinct,
but there's still some in the forests of
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Vietnam and Laos. Good. Where would you
suggest I begin?
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We want to go to the Annamite Mountains,
which is the mountain range that forms
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the border between Laos and Vietnam.
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00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,460
I'm cruising along the western edge of
the Annamite Mountains.
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This mountain range stretches 700 miles
end -to -end, and the last sighting of a
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00:06:04,020 --> 00:06:08,940
Sala was in 2013 when a single trail
camera managed to capture an image.
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Since then, there's been a rush of
interest in finding the animal.
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I'm devoting this expedition to a
species that might not be extinct, but
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fact the world's rarest animal.
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And I'm far from the only one looking.
Over 500 cameras border the western and
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eastern edges of the Anemites. But if I
want to find this creature, I have to do
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something that everyone else is not
already doing. I have to go to a place
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further and deeper and harder to get to
than anyone else is going to look for
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the Salah.
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And by the way, some estimates say
there's up to 150 wild tigers in the
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the Anemite.
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So, my first destination is the most
remote village in this region.
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The last human settlement for 30 miles
in any direction.
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00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:06,180
Coming up off the river, this is the
village here, so I'm going to show some
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style of pics and see if anybody
recognizes the animal.
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You know this one, my friend? You know
this one?
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Hello.
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You know it?
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No?
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00:07:19,470 --> 00:07:20,470
Hi, guys.
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Do you guys know this one, this animal?
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They know it. This is good.
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Last year? So wait, three months ago,
you saw one up here? How far away? How
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from this area?
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Two days walking?
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Wow. All right, thank you. Thank you
very much.
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The fact that two days walk from here,
there could be saula, that's a very good
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sign. Hello!
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All of those hunters seem to recognize
the animal.
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Sounds like Phil may be right.
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The saula may still live in these
mountains.
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00:08:08,050 --> 00:08:12,970
Now that I've been given a direction
from one of the villagers, I'm using my
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Google Earth program to map where we're
heading within the mountain.
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And this is a huge, insanely difficult
terrain.
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Some of these peaks reach as high as 8
,500 feet.
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So I think what I want to do is try and
take the path of least resistance, which
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means following this river downstream.
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So tomorrow's going to be wet.
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On expedition, I try to pack for
anything. And we've got plenty of
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rope. spiked boots and a whole ton of
gear to cross this impossible terrain
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unfortunately i didn't pack a boat so
we're gonna have to make one bamboo is
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of the absolute greatest natural
materials grows quickly it's full of air
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00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:08,860
pockets it makes great water canteens
you can eat juvenile bamboo roots it's
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light completely sustainable to cut down
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00:09:17,260 --> 00:09:22,100
So each compartment that you can see in
the bamboo is its own individual air
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pocket, completely watertight. What
we're going to need is about 15 pockets
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each. I should clean it up a bit.
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00:09:29,340 --> 00:09:33,920
Now, I need a small raft, plus two
larger ones for the crew and gear.
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Luckily, I brought enough machetes for
everybody.
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Okay, that's one.
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Okay, we've got one crossbeam that runs
through the center of it all.
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That's going to hold it together.
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We're going to put another one up on
that end, and that's the foundation of
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raft.
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Where I grew up in Zimbabwe, we used to
have a dam on our farm.
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00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:58,840
So starting at about age seven, I used
to build rafts. Unfortunately, we had a
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bunch of wild bamboo on the property, so
I started building rafts at a very
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00:10:02,260 --> 00:10:05,740
young age to go out and catch fish and
chase animals around on.
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00:10:06,380 --> 00:10:10,820
Given that the Sala is a semi -aquatic
bovid, we're going to...
140
00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,020
try our best to camouflage ourselves.
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So these are military -grade ghillie
suits.
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So the idea is that if we're cruising
down the river, Salah just happens to be
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down in the water feeding or prancing
around, and we come floating up on it,
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it's not just going to dart away.
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I've brought enough to outfit the entire
crew, and now we're ready to launch.
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All right.
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Hey, it floats.
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It floats.
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Can you guys get the next one, do you
think?
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Yeah, we'll put the bigger one in and
stay behind you. Okay. Well, I'm going
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take off and get ahead then.
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Coming up.
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That's the red shank, Duke.
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Those are so stunning.
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And later.
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Look at this right here.
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The right size, the right shape.
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Here you go, Mitch.
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Oh, my God. Look at that.
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I want to scream with excitement.
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I'm in central Vietnam, heading
downriver to reach the Annamite
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I'm told I may find the world's rarest
animal, the saula.
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All right, just got out of the area of
human impact.
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Starting to look like some very wild,
very rugged habitat.
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The ghillie suit was created as a
portable hunting blind, designed to
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match your surroundings while keeping
you mobile.
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Big, big water buffalo.
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Completely relaxed.
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Just totally ignoring me.
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Completely unaware of my presence, which
is perfect. It means this ghillie
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suit's working really well. So I imagine
a salad would just stand there staring
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at me just like this.
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This is the spot that we picked out from
the Google Earth.
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A hike in from here, it looks like the
best valley to follow into the
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I'm spiking my pole through the raft to
keep it in place and mark the spot I've
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come ashore for the rest of the team.
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This thing is beyond impossible to move
through the bush in.
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While the ghillie suit was perfect
camouflage for the raft, it's only going
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slow us down on foot.
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All right.
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Time to start tracking.
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It's interesting about walking in the
jungles in Southeast Asia is you hear
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quiet it is. Now, most jungles
worldwide, there's a plethora of noise,
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birds, frogs.
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But in this part of the world, it's a
very quiet jungle.
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And the Saula has actually learned that.
They say when it moves, it's completely
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silent. It has no sound at all. So it's
not that there's no wildlife here. What
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it is, is that the wildlife here knows
how to be incredibly stealthy.
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Normally, the quiet puts people at ease.
But in this jungle, it's the quiet
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predators that are the most lethal.
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Oh, look at this nasty thing.
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This is a scolopendrous.
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It's a type of centipede that's highly
venomous, and a bite from that is
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incredibly painful.
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Look at the size of him. I mean, that is
a centipede bigger than my hand.
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He is beautiful, even if he's very, very
toxic.
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So interestingly enough, because there's
so many of these in Vietnam, there's a
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local remedy, and if you're bitten by
one, what you do is you use chicken spit
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on the side of the bite, and that
supposedly makes it feel better.
200
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So, how do you collect spit from a
chicken?
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Well, a gentleman never tells.
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Look at that.
203
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So cool. Just not something you want to
end up with in your sleeping bag.
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Already, we're seeing an increasing
amount of wildlife.
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00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:34,540
It's clear we're heading in the right
direction, based on the sheer amount of
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00:14:34,540 --> 00:14:38,080
game trails and animal tracks all around
us.
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00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:46,040
Once you get this far out, because of
the seasonality of the rains here, these
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creek beds make perfect game trails.
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00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:53,580
And not only do they make easy paths to
walk through, but the Thalas were known
210
00:14:53,580 --> 00:14:54,580
to love water.
211
00:14:57,500 --> 00:15:01,960
Look up in either direction, you can see
how there's just this perfect funnel.
212
00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:07,040
And it's just jagged, steep cliffs, this
little pocket of pristine habitat.
213
00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:12,960
It's so biologically unexplored. Every
little fish like that in these creeks,
214
00:15:12,980 --> 00:15:17,140
every butterfly, every insect, any of
them could be a new species because the
215
00:15:17,140 --> 00:15:18,760
reality is nobody's checked.
216
00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:24,440
As a biologist, I could easily lose
focus around all this diversity.
217
00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:30,980
But as we get more remote, it's
important we stay alert to anything that
218
00:15:30,980 --> 00:15:31,980
as a threat.
219
00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:34,020
Think, think, think, think, think,
think.
220
00:15:34,700 --> 00:15:36,560
Coming up. Did you hear that?
221
00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:38,880
This is a poacher's live trap.
222
00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:40,520
Look what's inside of it.
223
00:15:53,880 --> 00:16:00,280
We're deep in the jungles of Vietnam in
search of the world's rarest animal, the
224
00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:03,460
saula, also known as the Asian unicorn.
225
00:16:04,180 --> 00:16:09,340
And as we close in on the location local
hunters told us about, we're
226
00:16:09,340 --> 00:16:12,040
discovering an abundance of healthy
wildlife.
227
00:16:12,500 --> 00:16:13,940
Snake, snake, snake, snake, snake,
snake.
228
00:16:15,900 --> 00:16:17,920
Look at this beauty.
229
00:16:19,260 --> 00:16:22,780
Sharp -nosed vine snake. Look at the
length of him. You can't even tell, but
230
00:16:22,780 --> 00:16:23,980
he's like five feet long.
231
00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:27,500
Just a stunning snake, so we'll have a
look at him.
232
00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:32,080
They have a mild venom, which means you
won't die.
233
00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:34,980
after all the painful swelling and
vomiting.
234
00:16:36,020 --> 00:16:39,940
Isn't that just the most brilliant
emerald green you've ever seen?
235
00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:43,100
Now these guys eat frogs and small
lizards.
236
00:16:43,420 --> 00:16:44,420
See that?
237
00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:45,440
Easy fella.
238
00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:49,800
Look how he's flattening his neck.
That's biomimicry, flattening out the
239
00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:53,100
way a cobra does to say, look, I'm
venomous, leave me alone.
240
00:16:56,780 --> 00:16:59,060
Just amazingly beautiful animal.
241
00:17:00,380 --> 00:17:05,319
We're closing in on the spot that the
group of hunters I met with claimed to
242
00:17:05,319 --> 00:17:07,060
have seen a saula three months ago.
243
00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:13,300
But the terrain is only getting more
difficult as we head up into the
244
00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:18,859
You can see the insane steepness of this
entire environment.
245
00:17:19,220 --> 00:17:23,500
But the good thing is traveling along
these game trails are the perfect place
246
00:17:23,500 --> 00:17:26,560
put trail cameras. So set this one out
here.
247
00:17:26,859 --> 00:17:29,140
See these drop -offs are just so steep.
248
00:17:29,580 --> 00:17:34,880
Even with so much international
interest, I'm fairly confident I'm the
249
00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:37,640
setting up cameras this deep into the
anemite.
250
00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:45,340
Now, as the salas of bovid has four
stomach chambers, and in order to digest
251
00:17:45,340 --> 00:17:50,100
food, it needs minerals. The main
mineral being NaCl, aka salt.
252
00:17:50,500 --> 00:17:55,520
And salt is the hardest thing to find
out in the jungle. So, what I'm doing
253
00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:57,420
is hanging salt block.
254
00:18:02,380 --> 00:18:06,760
I'll just take my trail camera and place
that right here.
255
00:18:07,780 --> 00:18:08,780
Moving on.
256
00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:19,740
We're continuing along a game trail and
hoping for any sign of the Saula along
257
00:18:19,740 --> 00:18:20,579
the way.
258
00:18:20,580 --> 00:18:21,580
You guys hear that?
259
00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:23,160
That's a warning rattle.
260
00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:24,860
Something is threatened.
261
00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:26,620
Oh my God, look at this.
262
00:18:28,380 --> 00:18:30,240
This is a poacher's live trap.
263
00:18:30,860 --> 00:18:31,920
Look what's inside of it.
264
00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:36,200
You know what that is? East Asian
porcupine.
265
00:18:36,540 --> 00:18:38,200
I hate seeing this crap.
266
00:18:38,580 --> 00:18:44,540
Being five days in from the nearest
village and seeing live traps like this.
267
00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:47,460
It's just super beautiful.
268
00:18:48,360 --> 00:18:52,440
Those spikes are quill, actually
modified hair.
269
00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:57,780
And these porcupines rattle the thick
hollow ones in their tail to ward off
270
00:18:57,780 --> 00:18:58,780
attackers.
271
00:18:59,020 --> 00:19:03,140
These things will stab right into you.
They'll go inches deep, and honestly,
272
00:19:03,180 --> 00:19:04,340
it's like getting stabbed with a knife.
273
00:19:05,860 --> 00:19:07,380
Come on, buddy. Out you go.
274
00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:08,820
He's so nervous.
275
00:19:10,500 --> 00:19:11,500
There he is.
276
00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:13,960
There we go.
277
00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:18,500
Off he goes into the bush.
278
00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:20,360
Beautiful, unique animal.
279
00:19:20,740 --> 00:19:23,960
Have that amazing ability to rattle
their tail to ward off predators.
280
00:19:24,340 --> 00:19:26,620
It's hard to believe that people kill
them and eat them.
281
00:19:28,620 --> 00:19:31,280
And now what I want to do is destroy
this awful trap.
282
00:19:31,580 --> 00:19:32,800
Do you have those wire cutters?
283
00:19:36,340 --> 00:19:40,540
By nightfall, we've reached the area
where the hunters described their
284
00:19:40,540 --> 00:19:44,800
thalassiding. And I'm not waiting for
sunlight to have a look around.
285
00:19:45,340 --> 00:19:46,340
Look at this.
286
00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:48,600
Gross.
287
00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:51,580
Days into the bush.
288
00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:55,580
And signs of humans. And plastic.
289
00:19:55,780 --> 00:19:56,780
Plastic trash.
290
00:19:57,180 --> 00:20:01,040
It seems like no matter how far in we
go, there's still people going there.
291
00:20:02,580 --> 00:20:04,320
Look at that thunder in the background.
292
00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:05,900
Sounds like there's a storm coming.
293
00:20:07,620 --> 00:20:14,140
Another long night. A few nice snakes, a
couple small mammals, some great
294
00:20:14,140 --> 00:20:19,700
monkeys, but it's just not what I'm
looking for. There's just no signs of
295
00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:24,660
And even after being this many days in,
there's still signs of human traffic
296
00:20:24,660 --> 00:20:26,340
everywhere. There's footpaths.
297
00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:28,240
There's little pieces of plastic and
trash.
298
00:20:28,900 --> 00:20:31,940
This habitat is so tough, and it's
seeming so fruitless.
299
00:20:34,820 --> 00:20:37,020
So, probably time to head back to camp.
300
00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:39,880
My morale is taking a dip.
301
00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:47,460
We're almost a week into some very
difficult bush, but no sign of the
302
00:20:47,460 --> 00:20:49,280
clearly not out of man's reach.
303
00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:54,660
Any extra energy we had this morning is
quickly being sapped.
304
00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:58,820
hiking almost vertically into this thick
bush.
305
00:21:00,460 --> 00:21:05,980
And just when I'm trying to convince
myself it's all worth it, a deadly
306
00:21:07,420 --> 00:21:11,540
I come like all this way out here, where
you think no other person has ever
307
00:21:11,540 --> 00:21:13,940
stepped foot, and there's snares still.
308
00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:16,240
A week in.
309
00:21:17,870 --> 00:21:22,830
We're going to find a salla, and what do
we find? We find live porcupines and
310
00:21:22,830 --> 00:21:25,370
traps and snare wires that'll catch
anything.
311
00:21:26,890 --> 00:21:30,930
There's poachers all through these
mountains, and it's very discouraging.
312
00:21:32,250 --> 00:21:36,310
Months and sometimes years of planning
go into these expeditions.
313
00:21:36,750 --> 00:21:41,570
But when you deal with the most remote
areas of the world, you have to be ready
314
00:21:41,570 --> 00:21:42,570
for surprises.
315
00:21:43,010 --> 00:21:46,970
There's almost no chance we're going to
find the rarest animal in the world.
316
00:21:47,590 --> 00:21:48,930
where poachers are active.
317
00:21:49,510 --> 00:21:52,370
If people are here, they would have
found it.
318
00:21:53,710 --> 00:21:55,870
Luckily, I have a backup plan.
319
00:21:56,090 --> 00:22:00,810
I had this idea that there's one other
pocket that's truly untouched.
320
00:22:01,170 --> 00:22:03,990
It's a completely isolated pocket of
forest habitat.
321
00:22:04,310 --> 00:22:07,390
Kind of this primordial Eden in the
middle of this cave system.
322
00:22:07,690 --> 00:22:09,710
You're talking about that cave that you
showed me. Exactly.
323
00:22:10,270 --> 00:22:11,270
Songdoon.
324
00:22:12,490 --> 00:22:18,350
First discovered in 2009, and located
just off the border of Laos and Vietnam.
325
00:22:19,250 --> 00:22:23,850
Song Dung Cave roughly translates to
Cave of the Mountain River.
326
00:22:24,450 --> 00:22:27,590
It's the largest known cave passage in
the world.
327
00:22:27,830 --> 00:22:30,630
And the center of that cave is a
completely untouched rainforest.
328
00:22:31,050 --> 00:22:35,010
Seeing as the cave was only discovered
10 years ago, nobody's had an
329
00:22:35,010 --> 00:22:36,010
to hunt in there.
330
00:22:36,910 --> 00:22:40,130
Less than 2 ,000 people have ever been
inside.
331
00:22:40,670 --> 00:22:43,030
And the last group of biologists...
332
00:22:43,439 --> 00:22:45,040
discovered multiple new species.
333
00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:49,440
I mean, it's still early morning. If we
get a jump on it now, we save ourselves
334
00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:50,440
an extra day.
335
00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:54,700
And if we hike straight back out without
surveying, it'll probably only be five
336
00:22:54,700 --> 00:22:55,700
days.
337
00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:57,040
That's the call.
338
00:22:59,820 --> 00:23:02,140
It's going to take nearly a week to get
there.
339
00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:08,560
But it's one area I know the poachers
haven't reached.
340
00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:11,980
We're going to be in the heart of the
Salah habitat, and we're going to be...
341
00:23:12,250 --> 00:23:16,610
in an isolated pocket. So at least if
there's one there, we're going to find
342
00:23:18,430 --> 00:23:22,710
Coming up. Get ready for a serious
climb. We're heading into the world's
343
00:23:22,710 --> 00:23:25,530
cave. Oh, my God. Look at that.
344
00:23:40,780 --> 00:23:46,360
After over a week of hiking through this
dense Vietnamese forest in search of
345
00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:51,440
the Asian unicorn, all we found were
poacher's traps and human debris.
346
00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:55,500
So we spent the last five days hiking
back out.
347
00:23:56,460 --> 00:24:01,700
My crew and I are now continuing our
long, difficult trek through the tall,
348
00:24:01,860 --> 00:24:06,640
jagged cliffs within these Annamite
Mountains to reach an untouched forest
349
00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,680
hidden within the world's largest cave.
350
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:16,560
An area deep in suspected Sala
territory.
351
00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:22,820
This is a game trail right here. See
those branches broken like this?
352
00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,640
That's very fresh. That's an animal.
Let's knock that down right there.
353
00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:30,220
These vines are freaking nasty.
354
00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:36,260
You can see this is an absolute corridor
for animals coming up down this.
355
00:24:36,810 --> 00:24:41,650
High -traffic spots like this are
perfect for trail cams. That's my first
356
00:24:41,650 --> 00:24:42,650
up right here.
357
00:24:44,810 --> 00:24:50,730
With so little information available
about the saula, it's difficult choosing
358
00:24:50,730 --> 00:24:51,730
bait.
359
00:24:52,890 --> 00:24:57,530
So now all this old squishy, stinky
fruit, and all those fruit sugars will
360
00:24:57,530 --> 00:25:01,990
ferment, and the smell will travel a
long, long distance. So we'll just see
361
00:25:01,990 --> 00:25:03,350
anybody wants to come in and eat that.
362
00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:09,260
Even with no sign of the Saola, I'm
feeling like I made the right choice.
363
00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:17,520
As we continue towards our new
destination, the untouched rainforest
364
00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:19,400
within Song Joong Pae.
365
00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:25,180
Right there. Look, look, look.
366
00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:26,880
See that?
367
00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:28,960
That's the Red Shank Duke.
368
00:25:29,900 --> 00:25:31,980
Those are so stunning.
369
00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:37,160
You see that red and that white and that
orange, that incredible coloration that
370
00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:40,400
has earned them the name of the queen of
the primates because of how stunning
371
00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:42,500
they are. They're the most colorful
primate on Earth.
372
00:25:43,220 --> 00:25:47,900
Lycol primates are extremely social, and
they live in troops of up to 15
373
00:25:47,900 --> 00:25:48,900
animals.
374
00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:54,420
These animals are critically endangered,
meaning they're at risk of serious
375
00:25:54,420 --> 00:25:58,180
extinction, but what a beautiful primate
they are to see here.
376
00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:01,780
Well, that's an incredibly rare treat.
377
00:26:05,420 --> 00:26:11,500
The five -day trek out of the Anamite
was nearly as long as the trek in,
378
00:26:11,500 --> 00:26:15,020
I had to return to each trail camera to
collect the footage.
379
00:26:16,020 --> 00:26:21,760
Now, after another three days on foot,
we're finally nearing the cave.
380
00:26:24,100 --> 00:26:26,520
Look at that.
381
00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:30,600
That's the entrance to Sungdoon Cave
right there.
382
00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:34,500
The largest, one of the least explored
caves in the world.
383
00:26:35,100 --> 00:26:38,520
Once we get down there, there's an
entire rainforest ecosystem.
384
00:26:40,580 --> 00:26:46,760
Shondum was just discovered in 2009,
with its vast,
385
00:26:47,020 --> 00:26:50,740
untouched darkness spanning over five
miles.
386
00:26:54,900 --> 00:27:01,820
This is the only access point to the
rainforest within, and with so little
387
00:27:01,820 --> 00:27:02,940
known about the animal,
388
00:27:03,820 --> 00:27:10,780
It's even possible we could discover a
saula inside, or possibly a new
389
00:27:10,780 --> 00:27:17,300
species that's evolved on its own,
trapped because the entrance is a 300
390
00:27:17,300 --> 00:27:19,140
drop to the cave's floor.
391
00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:22,680
Not only are we climbing down, but we're
going down with all of our biological
392
00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:28,740
gear, our scientific equipment, and
looking for an extinct animal, so get
393
00:27:28,740 --> 00:27:29,740
for a serious climb.
394
00:27:30,670 --> 00:27:35,770
Any animal that's climbed down here
would be trapped, leaving it no choice
395
00:27:35,770 --> 00:27:38,210
to find the rainforest just like we are.
396
00:27:38,410 --> 00:27:39,410
How you doing, Mitch?
397
00:27:39,570 --> 00:27:40,569
Having fun?
398
00:27:40,570 --> 00:27:41,850
We've got a ways to go.
399
00:27:42,290 --> 00:27:43,290
Sure do.
400
00:27:59,660 --> 00:28:06,580
I've just dropped 300 feet down into the
world's largest cave in search of
401
00:28:06,580 --> 00:28:12,100
a hidden, untouched rainforest that I
suspect could be home to the world's
402
00:28:12,100 --> 00:28:14,200
rarest animal, the saula.
403
00:28:16,020 --> 00:28:17,020
Whew!
404
00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:24,360
That was an absolutely amazing climb,
going from 300 feet,
405
00:28:24,460 --> 00:28:27,260
where that small opening is, down to the
base here.
406
00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:32,780
Unbelievable. And what I have here is a
very rudimentary map of the system.
407
00:28:33,500 --> 00:28:38,060
It's five and a half miles end to end.
And about four and a half miles through
408
00:28:38,060 --> 00:28:40,060
that is the jungle section.
409
00:28:40,860 --> 00:28:43,380
Which is where we'll find the hidden
rainforest.
410
00:28:44,140 --> 00:28:50,740
An isolated world, big enough to support
the flying foxes and even tigers that
411
00:28:50,740 --> 00:28:51,880
have been seen in the area.
412
00:28:52,140 --> 00:28:56,720
So it's definitely big enough to support
a small population of saula.
413
00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:01,240
But getting there means climbing,
rappelling, and even swimming.
414
00:29:01,700 --> 00:29:06,880
A mountain climber like Basala could
likely handle it, as could the mountain
415
00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:10,620
goats, sparrows, and sun bears that
inhabit this range.
416
00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:16,100
And while none of them would make a home
in this passage, we'll still need to
417
00:29:16,100 --> 00:29:18,020
keep an eye out as we trek through.
418
00:29:19,660 --> 00:29:20,960
Oh, look at this.
419
00:29:23,380 --> 00:29:25,540
There's an entire pile of bones here.
420
00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:30,440
These are not fossilized. They're
calcified, meaning tons and tons of
421
00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:33,220
deposits of calcium have added up on top
of them.
422
00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:38,540
If you look at the pelvic girdle, it
actually looks like it could be the
423
00:29:38,540 --> 00:29:39,499
from bovid.
424
00:29:39,500 --> 00:29:41,700
That being said, it's really hard to
tell.
425
00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:45,400
The only way I'm going to know what it
is is if I take a sample with me. So I'm
426
00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,600
going to take one of these, and if it
hasn't been completely corrupted by all
427
00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:51,220
the calcium, we might actually be able
to get a genetic sample.
428
00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:53,420
Very, very exciting to see this here.
429
00:29:56,149 --> 00:29:58,150
So you can hear we're getting close to
the river now.
430
00:30:00,570 --> 00:30:06,010
You can see it's a huge river within the
cave, so it's absolutely enormous. So
431
00:30:06,010 --> 00:30:10,010
now the key is to follow the river, keep
going down, and eventually we'll get to
432
00:30:10,010 --> 00:30:11,010
the bar.
433
00:30:18,850 --> 00:30:22,750
Everywhere I turn, there seems to be a
new discovery down here.
434
00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:25,620
even in the tiny puddles of water.
435
00:30:25,820 --> 00:30:27,320
Oh, look at this.
436
00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:32,340
There's a completely white, translucent
little fish here.
437
00:30:32,580 --> 00:30:33,580
Come on, little guy.
438
00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:38,840
This is a tiny little species of loach,
and loaches are a member of the catfish
439
00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:44,000
family. And these fish have been
isolated from sunshine and isolated from
440
00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:48,180
outside world for so many generations
that they've completely evolved away
441
00:30:48,180 --> 00:30:49,180
having eyeballs.
442
00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:54,440
And it just goes to tell you how cut off
from the outside world this piece of
443
00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:58,240
cave is, because you'd end up with
animals that are evolved for perfect
444
00:30:58,240 --> 00:30:59,240
like this creature.
445
00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:02,660
This one was trapped in this tiny little
pool here, so I'm going to look for
446
00:31:02,660 --> 00:31:05,420
some friends of his in one of the other
pools and release him.
447
00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:09,980
Here we go. We'll put him right down in
here.
448
00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:15,820
All right, off you go, little guy.
449
00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:19,220
Man, that is amazing. What a cool fish.
450
00:31:22,900 --> 00:31:28,760
We've been inside this cave for over 36
hours with no sunlight.
451
00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:35,200
I've lost any concept of day or night,
but I know we've passed the four -mile
452
00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:36,200
mark.
453
00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:42,000
Now the path is only getting more
difficult, but finally I'm beginning to
454
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:45,240
the light. I smell fresh air seeping in.
455
00:31:46,450 --> 00:31:47,890
So that's where we're trying to go.
456
00:31:48,530 --> 00:31:52,390
But if we want to get there, we have to
get through all these 30 -foot boulders
457
00:31:52,390 --> 00:31:53,390
first.
458
00:31:54,890 --> 00:31:58,170
It's so narrow here that we have to go
one at a time.
459
00:31:58,890 --> 00:32:02,990
Just got to head down into that crack
and see how we go.
460
00:32:04,890 --> 00:32:07,930
This way, guys.
461
00:32:08,850 --> 00:32:09,850
Okay.
462
00:32:09,950 --> 00:32:10,950
There we go.
463
00:32:11,090 --> 00:32:12,130
A little bit of daylight.
464
00:32:13,100 --> 00:32:15,940
Our first sunlight in nearly two days.
465
00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:18,400
This is it.
466
00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:21,020
We found the secret oasis.
467
00:32:25,980 --> 00:32:28,760
Oh my God, look at that.
468
00:32:31,900 --> 00:32:36,280
I like want to scream with excitement
right now. Just to know that right there
469
00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:40,800
is this primordial patch of jungle
completely untouched by man.
470
00:32:41,650 --> 00:32:43,770
likely the last one in Southeast Asia.
471
00:32:44,530 --> 00:32:50,030
Any animal that's ever entered the cave
would have to come here to survive and
472
00:32:50,030 --> 00:32:51,670
then likely flourish.
473
00:32:52,010 --> 00:32:55,490
What's amazing is the level of endemism
that would occur in a place like this,
474
00:32:55,590 --> 00:32:58,450
meaning species that occur nowhere else
on Earth.
475
00:33:01,490 --> 00:33:05,850
From what I could see, it's absolutely
stunning. I mean, it's so green, it's so
476
00:33:05,850 --> 00:33:07,390
lush, and it's just perfect.
477
00:33:07,980 --> 00:33:11,260
What we're going to do is just go as
quietly as we can, pepper the area with
478
00:33:11,260 --> 00:33:14,860
trail cameras, put up our mineral
blocks, retreat back into the cave, and
479
00:33:14,860 --> 00:33:16,160
wait and hope for the best.
480
00:33:18,420 --> 00:33:20,500
Do you guys see this beautiful little
snail here?
481
00:33:20,980 --> 00:33:23,860
I've never seen a lime green colored
snail before.
482
00:33:29,540 --> 00:33:30,620
With a pink rim.
483
00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:33,600
This is the invertebrate book.
484
00:33:34,030 --> 00:33:37,550
for Southeast Asia, and there's nothing
in this book that matches this
485
00:33:37,550 --> 00:33:38,550
description.
486
00:33:38,650 --> 00:33:42,950
So, you know, we're in one of the least
biologically explored places on the
487
00:33:42,950 --> 00:33:46,950
planet. You can see it's died. Because
there's no animal in there, it's
488
00:33:46,950 --> 00:33:50,970
completely harmless to take it with me.
So I'm going to bag it up, bring it with
489
00:33:50,970 --> 00:33:54,790
us, and show it to a friend of mine
who's an invertebrate expert. But this
490
00:33:54,790 --> 00:33:58,010
pretty cool. I think we've just found a
new species down here in the cave.
491
00:34:04,360 --> 00:34:06,640
You see all the white bits on the leaves
here in the vegetation?
492
00:34:08,020 --> 00:34:14,080
That's all bird and bat guano, meaning
droppings. And that guano has created
493
00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:17,139
fertilizer that has made this such a
rich forest.
494
00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:22,280
I'm hoping it's made the scenario that
an animal like a sow has happened to
495
00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:23,280
in complete isolation.
496
00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:30,300
And with no human disturbance.
497
00:34:30,909 --> 00:34:34,350
There seem to be signs of wildlife
everywhere I look.
498
00:34:37,290 --> 00:34:39,989
Look at that right here.
499
00:34:40,290 --> 00:34:41,290
You see that?
500
00:34:41,429 --> 00:34:42,710
Coming up. Oh.
501
00:34:56,810 --> 00:34:57,910
I'm in Vietnam.
502
00:34:59,790 --> 00:35:02,490
Deep inside the world's largest cave.
503
00:35:03,970 --> 00:35:09,970
After trekking for two days in pitch
black, we've reached the untouched
504
00:35:09,970 --> 00:35:11,430
rainforest buried within.
505
00:35:11,830 --> 00:35:18,510
A perfect oasis for a Saula, hidden from
mankind with no access from above.
506
00:35:19,570 --> 00:35:25,290
And I've redirected the entire
expedition on my hunch we'll find
507
00:35:25,670 --> 00:35:28,210
Look at this right here.
508
00:35:30,860 --> 00:35:31,860
Do you see that?
509
00:35:32,240 --> 00:35:35,020
That is from a cloven -hoofed animal.
510
00:35:35,780 --> 00:35:40,040
Down here in the middle of this jungle,
there's only two things that have a hoof
511
00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:43,140
like that. It could be out here. One's a
mountain goat, and the other, of
512
00:35:43,140 --> 00:35:44,600
course, is a saula.
513
00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:49,080
That's exactly what we've been looking
for, the sign of a saula down here.
514
00:35:51,720 --> 00:35:54,360
Look here. See, there's a little track
that comes down through the vegetation
515
00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:56,500
here. Oh, look, there is actually
another one here. Look.
516
00:35:57,460 --> 00:35:58,480
I didn't even see that.
517
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:03,100
That's a really, really good track. It's
the right size, the right shape.
518
00:36:06,300 --> 00:36:11,240
I've brought some plaster so I can make
an exact model of these prints and take
519
00:36:11,240 --> 00:36:12,400
them home to be analyzed.
520
00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:17,800
Just like that.
521
00:36:18,820 --> 00:36:20,980
Just make sure you get all of the track
there.
522
00:36:22,100 --> 00:36:23,120
Absolutely perfect.
523
00:36:23,780 --> 00:36:25,680
I want to go to the other one that's up
there.
524
00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:29,260
That has to sit for about 20 minutes
until it's rock solid.
525
00:36:29,700 --> 00:36:31,100
Come to this one over here.
526
00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:34,300
Just perfect.
527
00:36:36,140 --> 00:36:41,740
Even without a saula print on file,
analysts will be able to determine what
528
00:36:41,740 --> 00:36:44,120
bovid left us by process of elimination.
529
00:36:45,540 --> 00:36:49,520
Never in my life have I been so happy to
just find a single track.
530
00:36:50,340 --> 00:36:51,600
Look at this little leech.
531
00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:53,980
The good news about this is...
532
00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:56,320
There are only leeches where there are
mammals.
533
00:36:56,840 --> 00:37:00,060
We've got tracks right here. We've got a
game trail right there.
534
00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:04,340
Interestingly enough, this guy could
actually have the definitive proof we
535
00:37:04,340 --> 00:37:05,299
from Sala.
536
00:37:05,300 --> 00:37:09,620
There's groups that are working on
taking blood from leeches and testing
537
00:37:09,620 --> 00:37:12,400
for Sala DNA. So in fact, what I'm going
to do is keep this.
538
00:37:13,460 --> 00:37:14,460
Grab a vial.
539
00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:36,640
You can see, clear as anything, that
these are from an undulate. They're from
540
00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:40,540
cloven -hoofed animal, and it looks like
they round in that heart shape at the
541
00:37:40,540 --> 00:37:44,920
top. Now, whether or not this is from a
saula, I really can't say. It's not
542
00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:45,920
definitive proof.
543
00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:51,680
But what it is proof of is a large
cloven -hoofed animal that lives in a
544
00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:55,220
where many saula have been reported.
I'll get them analyzed with some saula
545
00:37:55,220 --> 00:37:58,360
experts and consider this a step in the
right direction.
546
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:08,820
While I haven't spotted a live saula, we
now have prints, a leech, calcified
547
00:38:08,820 --> 00:38:14,660
bones, and an enormous amount of trail
cam footage, any of which still has a
548
00:38:14,660 --> 00:38:19,020
chance of revealing definitive proof the
saula is alive and well.
549
00:38:20,340 --> 00:38:26,080
This has been one of the longest
expeditions I've ever attempted, and my
550
00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:27,760
resources are tapped out.
551
00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:33,790
After one more night in the tent, We've
now got another mile to trek through
552
00:38:33,790 --> 00:38:39,050
Song Joong -K to reach the other end and
get back to the surface.
553
00:38:50,630 --> 00:38:56,910
After days underground in the most
breathtaking environment I've ever seen,
554
00:38:56,910 --> 00:39:00,450
feel how I'd imagine an astronaut feels.
555
00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:07,780
landing back on Earth, carrying precious
cargo that we hope will
556
00:39:07,780 --> 00:39:09,920
expand our understanding of the
universe.
557
00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:17,060
The Annamite Mountains are large and
mysterious, not unlike our Saula.
558
00:39:17,340 --> 00:39:23,040
And although I found very few signs of
the world's most recently discovered
559
00:39:23,040 --> 00:39:28,660
large mammal, sometimes it's not about
signs. It's about gut feeling and
560
00:39:28,660 --> 00:39:29,660
instinct.
561
00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:35,780
What we did find is an ecosystem full of
amazing, unique, incredible creatures.
562
00:39:36,140 --> 00:39:39,880
And if you think about all of the
animals that occur in the animites, in
563
00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:45,740
incredible region of bioabundance with
this amazing amount of endemism, not
564
00:39:45,740 --> 00:39:50,460
do I believe that the saula is still
here, but I'm convinced that as more
565
00:39:50,460 --> 00:39:54,820
research efforts take place in this
region, we're going to find out that
566
00:39:54,820 --> 00:39:58,800
are all kinds of undiscovered species
just like this unicorn.
567
00:40:05,870 --> 00:40:09,730
So when I left Vietnam, I left a whole
bunch of trail cameras set up all over
568
00:40:09,730 --> 00:40:12,490
the place. But fortunately, I have great
contact there, and they went and
569
00:40:12,490 --> 00:40:16,630
collected all of the SD cards out of the
trail cameras.
570
00:40:16,930 --> 00:40:19,250
And I have them here, and I'm excited to
see what's on them.
571
00:40:22,150 --> 00:40:26,810
Oh, there's a palm civet here, and he's
certainly not a... Oh, he just grabbed a
572
00:40:26,810 --> 00:40:27,810
little bug.
573
00:40:29,430 --> 00:40:30,830
Good to see there's some life, though.
574
00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:42,580
Oh, up in the right -hand corner behind
the salt block, there's a big four
575
00:40:42,580 --> 00:40:43,580
-legged animal.
576
00:40:45,980 --> 00:40:49,080
And when I say big, I mean exactly saula
size.
577
00:40:50,260 --> 00:40:54,220
There's one other animal that lives in
this part of the world called the cerro.
578
00:40:54,620 --> 00:41:00,440
The Indo -Chinese cerro has a very
similar size and body structure to the
579
00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:05,160
but this rare, near -threatened animal
is actually a goat relative.
580
00:41:05,660 --> 00:41:09,780
And unless we get him on another camera,
I can't be sure which it is.
581
00:41:10,280 --> 00:41:13,120
This card is up above where the salt
lick was.
582
00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:16,160
There he is.
583
00:41:20,300 --> 00:41:21,400
Just our luck.
584
00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:26,280
We did get him on another camera, just
not the right parts.
585
00:41:27,340 --> 00:41:31,380
The defining features are on the face.
And of course, the only part of this
586
00:41:31,380 --> 00:41:32,660
animal I cannot see is its head.
587
00:41:33,100 --> 00:41:34,960
And that's the last of the footage.
588
00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:37,220
Not enough to be definitive.
589
00:41:37,660 --> 00:41:41,560
We know there's at least one animal that
matches the description of the thala
590
00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:42,560
right here.
591
00:41:43,660 --> 00:41:46,220
It could be a thero, but it looks like a
thala.
592
00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:49,080
We need to get back to Vietnam.
50556
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