Original subtitles

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ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW

YOU'RE WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL ANDINFORMATIONAL.

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: JOIN ME, DYLAN DREYER, ON A JOURNEY

THROUGH ANCIENT HISTORY, BREATHTAKING SIGHTS AND

OUR PLANET'S GREATEST MYSTERIES.

WE'LL TRAVEL ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA ON A QUEST TO

DISCOVER HEALING PLANTS HIDDEN IN THE AMAZON

JUNGLE.

WE'LL EXPLORE THE AWESOME MAJESTY OF EAST AFRICA AND

THE GREAT GRASS PLAINS OF THE SERENGETI.

WE'LL TREK DEEP INTO OUR COUNTRY'S LAST WILD

FRONTIER.

AND MEET THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE SHADOW OF

MOUNT EVEREST.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: SOUTH AMERICA IS HOME TO THE LARGEST

FOREST, THE LONGEST MOUNTAIN RANGE AND THE

BIGGEST RIVER OF ALL THE CONTINENTS ON EARTH.

OUR JOURNEY BEGINS IN BRAZIL, HOME TO A RUSHING

RIVER OF WATER 10 TIMES THE SIZE OF THE

MISSISSIPPI.

DYLAN: WELCOME TO THE AMAZON.

THIS COLOSSAL RIVER FLOWS TOWARD THE RISING SUN AND

WITH IT ONE-FIFTH OF THE CONTINENTAL RUNOFF WATER

OF THE PLANET.

DYLAN: RIVERS FROM FIVE NATIONS POUR INTO THE VAST

FLATLAND OF EQUATORIAL BRAZIL TO FORM THE

GREATEST MOVING MASS OF FRESH WATER IN THE WORLD.

DYLAN: DR. MARK PLOTKIN IS AN ETHNOBOTANIST.

ETHNOBOTANY IS AN ANCIENT FIELD OF STUDY THAT SEEKS

TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

HUMANS AND THE COUNTLESS PLANT SPECIES THAT GROW

ALL AROUND US.

DYLAN: MARK BELIEVES THE AMAZON HOLDS SECRET CURES

TO MANY OF THE GREAT ILLNESSES THAT PLAGUE HUMANITY.

DYLAN: HE ALSO BELIEVES THE BEST WAY TO UNCOVER THOSE

SECRETS ARE FOUND WITH THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

MARK: THERE'S A REMARKABLE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE

PLANTS AND PEOPLES OF THE FOREST.

MARK: DON ANTONIO IS A SHAMAN OF THE COCAMA PEOPLE.

HE'S MY FRIEND AND MY TEACHER.

HIS KNOWLEDGE OF THE HEALING PROPERTIES OF THE

AMAZON FLORA IS EXTRAORDINARY.

MARK: VIRTUALLY EVERY USEFUL MEDICINAL OR AGRICULTURAL

PLANT THAT'S COME TO US FROM THE RAINFOREST WAS

FIRST LEARNED FROM INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

IN OUR SEARCH FOR NEW TREATMENTS FOR THE

DISEASES THAT PLAGUE US THE AMAZON RAINFOREST

REPRESENTS ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING PLACES TO LOOK.

DYLAN: BUT MARK WOULDN'T KNOW WHERE TO EVEN BEGIN

LOOKING IF NOT FOR THE FRIENDS HE HAS MADE AMONG

THE RIVER PEOPLE.

MEDICINE MEN WITH INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF THE DENSE

FOREST GUIDE MARK TO THE MOST PROMISING HEALING

PLANTS.

MARK: WE KNOW THAT FUNGI HAVE PROVIDED THE WORLD

WITH PENICILLIN AND OTHER ANTIBIOTICS, BUT THE

POTENTIAL OF TROPICAL FUNGI REMAINS LARGELY

UNKNOWN.

DYLAN: FOR YEARS MARK HAS BEEN LEARNING THE SECRETS

OF THE YAGUA INDIANS; A TRIBE OF AROUND 6,000

PEOPLE LIVING IN THE JUNGLES OF NORTHERN PERU.

DYLAN: THEY COAT THE ENDS OF THEIR DARTS WITH A

POISON CALLED CURARE, A SECRET MIXTURE OF BARK AND

LEAVES.

MARK HAS BEEN FASCINATED BY THE MYSTERIES OF CURARE

FOR MANY YEARS.

ALTHOUGH IT CAN BE LETHAL, IN SMALL DOSES CURARE IS A

POWERFUL MEDICINE.

MARK: IN THE HANDS OF WESTERN PHYSICIANS CURARE

HAS ALREADY BECOME A LIFE-GIVING MEDICATION.

EACH TRIBE HAS ITS OWN RECIPE FOR CURARE; I

BELIEVE THAT SOME OF THEM WILL LEAD US TO NEW AND

EFFECTIVE MEDICINES.

ONE TYPE IS USED AS A MUSCLE RELAXANT, ANOTHER

AS HEART MEDICINE.

DYLAN: PLOTKIN AND OTHER ETHNOBOTANISTS HOPE TO

PRESS AND DOCUMENT AS MANY AMAZON PLANTS AS POSSIBLE

BEFORE THE KNOWLEDGE OF THESE TRIBES IS LOST.

DYLAN: LEARNING THE JEALOUSLY-GUARDED SECRETS

OF THE YAGUA INDIANS REQUIRES GENUINE

FRIENDSHIP, MUTUAL TRUST AND AN INVITATION TO A

GOOD PARTY.

MARK: WHAT WESTERN SCIENTISTS ONCE DISMISSED

AS MAGIC WE ARE NOW FINDING TO HAVE A VERY

REAL THERAPEUTIC EFFECT.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL FOLLOW THE GREAT

HERDS ACROSS THE WETLANDS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA.

AND LATER, WE'LL TRAVEL TO THE ROOFTOP OF THE WORLD

WHERE THE HIGHEST MOUNTAINS TOUCH THE SKY.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES NEXT.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW

ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON

NBC. DYLAN: THE WORD SERENGETI COMES FROM THE MAASAI

PEOPLE.

AND MEANS "THE PLACE WHERE THE LAND RUNS ON FOREVER."

IN OUR MODERN AGE WE KNOW THIS ISN'T EXACTLY TRUE.

THE SERENGETI IS LOSING GROUND EVERY YEAR FROM

THREATS LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE, POLLUTION AND

HABITAT LOSS.

DYLAN: LONG BEFORE HUMAN MEMORY

GREAT NEARBY VOLCANOES LIKE NYIRAGONGO

EMPTY THEMSELVES INTO THE SKY.

A SEA OF VOLCANIC ASH FELL AND SETTLED ACROSS THE

ANCIENT SERENGETI.

SLOWLY, OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS, TIME AND THE

ELEMENTS TURN THE ASH INTO RICH SOIL.

DYLAN: TODAY THE SERENGETI IS A LUSH VALLEY OF VAST

GRASSLANDS PRESERVED AS THE MOST IMPORTANT ANIMAL

SANCTUARY IN THE WORLD...

... 70 LARGE MAMMAL SPECIES LIVE HERE ALONGSIDE OVER

500 SPECIES OF BIRDS.

DYLAN: IN A LAND AS FERTILE AS IT IS BEAUTIFUL, MILLIONS OF

DIVERSE CREATURES SURVIVE AND THRIVE.

MANY ARE HERBIVORES; ANIMALS THAT FEED ON THE

ENDLESS PLANTS AND GRASSES THAT GROW HERE.

THE AFRICAN BUSH ELEPHANT IS THE LARGEST LAND ANIMAL

ON EARTH.

THEY GROW 10 FEET TALL AT THE SHOULDER AND WEIGH 6

TONS.

A SINGLE ELEPHANT CAN EAT 500 POUNDS OF PLANTS EVERY

DAY.

MANY SPECIES ON THE SERENGETI SPEND TWO-THIRDS

OF THEIR LIVES GRAZING.

THE WHITE RHINOCEROS,

THE ICONIC ZEBRA,

THE UNPREDICTABLE AFRICAN BUFFALO,

THE 17-FOOT TALL MAASAI GIRAFFE,

AND THE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMAL IN THE SERENGETI

- THE HIPPOPOTAMUS.

HIPPOS ARE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO LIVE IN THEIR

OWN SALAD BOWL.

BUT THOSE MASSIVE JAWS ARE DEADLY.

A SINGLE BITE CAN CLEAVE A CROCODILE IN HALF.

THERE'S A SAYING ON THE SERENGETI - "NEVER COME

BETWEEN A HIPPO AND ITS WATERING HOLE."

♪ TRIBE SINGING ♪

DYLAN: MAASAI PEOPLE FOLLOW A NOMADIC EXISTENCE

ALONG THE EDGES OF THE SERENGETI.

DYLAN: THEY ARE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF THIS LAND.

THEIR ANCESTORS MAY HAVE LIVED HERE FOR AS LONG AS

HUMANS HAVE LIVED ANYWHERE...

...THE MAASAI BELIEVE THAT HEAVEN GAVE THEM AND ONLY

THEM ALL THE CATTLE ON EARTH.

DYLAN: LEOPARDS AND LIONS ROAM THROUGH THE PASTURES

OF THE MAASAI AND MOTHERS REMIND THEIR CHILDREN NOT

TO STRAY TOO FAR FROM HOME AT NIGHT.

PREDATORS ARE A BRUTAL REALITY OF LIFE ON THE

SERENGETI.

ONCE THE MOST FORMIDABLE WARRIORS IN EAST AFRICA,

THE MAASAI STILL DEFEND THEIR CATTLE AND FAMILIES

WITH SPEARS.

DYLAN: ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO EXPERIENCE

THE SERENGETI IS BY AIR.

TANZANIA AND KENYA HAVE PRESERVED VAST AREAS AS

NATIONAL PARKS, PROCLAIMING THEM A WORLD

HERITAGE OF ALL MANKIND.

THE SUPPORT FROM TOURISM IS NOW INDISPENSABLE TO

THE SURVIVAL OF THIS HERITAGE; LINKING THE

DESTINY OF THE SERENGETI WITH THE VISITORS WHO PASS

IN AWE.

THE SERENGETI THEY BEHOLD IS CHANGING, THREATENED BY

POPULATION GROWTH AND POACHING, BUT VIGOROUSLY

PROTECTED AS WELL.

ENCOURAGED BY GREATER SAFETY, THE HERDS ARE

MULTIPLYING RAPIDLY.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON

NBC.DYLAN: CLIMATE CHANGE IS CAUSING MASSIVE

DISRUPTIONS TO THE DELICATE ECOSYSTEMS OF THE

ARCTIC.

DEDICATED SCIENTISTS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE ARE IN A

RACE AGAINST TIME TO PROTECT THE ARCTIC BEFORE

IT'S TOO LATE.

DR. SHARI GEARHEARD WAS DESTINED TO BE AN ARCTIC

SCIENTIST.

AS A CHILD IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO SHE WAS FASCINATED

WITH THE NORTH AND DEVOURED EVERY BOOK AND TV

SPECIAL SHE COULD FIND.

SHARI: I NEVER DREAMED I'D HAVE MY OWN DOG TEAM.

IT WAS THE START OF MY REAL EDUCATION UP HERE.

WHEN MY DOGS ARE HAPPY, I'M HAPPY.

DYLAN: SHARI AND HER TEAM HAVE BUILT A SERIES OF

MONITORING STATIONS ON THE SEA ICE AROUND THE CLYDE

RIVER ON BAFFIN ISLAND.

DYLAN: EVERY WEEK THEY RETURN TO

TAKE MEASUREMENTS.

IT'S PART OF A LARGER GLOBAL EFFORT TO

UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE

ARCTIC.

SHARI: IT'S A VERY SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUE.

ILKOOK DRILLS HOLES FOR THE WIRES THAT ARE FROZEN

INTO THE SEA ICE.

ISA KIDLOCK SENDS AN ELECTRIC CURRENT THROUGH

THE WIRE.

THE HEATED WIRE MELTS THE ICE AROUND IT.

HE PULLS IT UP UNTIL THE BOLT HITS THE BOTTOM OF

THE ICE.

THAT TELLS US EXACTLY HOW THICK IT IS.

DYLAN: THE ICE AROUND THE NORTH POLE HAS BUILT UP

OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS AND REMAINS FROZEN

YEAR-ROUND, AT LEAST FOR NOW.

IT KEEPS THE ARCTIC COOL EVEN IN SUMMER BY

REFLECTING THE SUN'S ENERGY BACK OUT INTO

SPACE.

IN MORE SOUTHERN AREAS LIKE THE COAST OF BAFFIN

ISLAND, THE OCEAN FREEZES OVER AGAIN EVERY WINTER.

SHARI: I CAME UP TO THE ARCTIC 18 YEARS AGO TO

STUDY WHAT THE INUIT KNOW ABOUT ICE AND CLIMATE

CHANGE.

I FELL IN LOVE WITH THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE AND

I'VE BEEN LIVING AND WORKING HERE EVER SINCE.

DYLAN: TODAY ILKOOK IS GUIDING SHARI AND HER TEAM

TO THEIR MOST REMOTE WEATHER STATION.

SHARI: WE HAVE THREE WEATHER STATIONS SPREAD

OUT ALONG THE COASTLINE AND THEY ARE AMONG THE

MOST SOPHISTICATED ON THE PLANET.

THE DATA ARE UPLOADED BY SATELLITE TO A WEBSITE

THAT PEOPLE IN CLYDE RIVER CAN CHECK BEFORE THEY HEAD

OUT ON THE LAND.

WEATHER IN THE ARCTIC CAN CHANGE QUICKLY.

ELDERS LIKE ILKOOK HAVE NOTICED THAT LATELY IT'S

BECOME MORE UNPREDICTABLE WHICH MAKES TRAVELING ON

THE ICE EVEN MORE DANGEROUS...

... GLENN, THAT RAVEN GOT IN HERE AGAIN THIS YEAR.

GLENN: YEAH, IT'S PRETTY BAD.

DYLAN: SHARI'S RESEARCH IS VITAL TO OUR UNDERSTANDING

OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND HOW THAT CHANGE WILL

IMPACT PEOPLE LIKE HER FRIENDS OF THE INUIT

COMMUNITY.

SHARI: ILKOOK WAS BORN IN A SEAL SKIN TENT AND SPENT

MOST OF HIS LIFE LIVING OFF THE LAND.

IT WAS A NOMADIC LIFE DRIVEN BY THE SEASONS, IN

A WORLD DOMINATED BY ICE AND SNOW FOR 9 MONTHS OF

THE YEAR.

ILKOOK LEARNED HOW TO FISH AND HUNT AND BUILD AN

IGLOO.

BY THE TIME HE WAS A TEENAGER HE WAS ALREADY

ABLE TO READ THE ICE.

WHEN ILKOOK WAS YOUNGER HE COULD HUNT ON THE ICE

UNTIL LATE JULY.

BUT THINGS HAVE CHANGED.

THE ICE SEASON IS OVER A MONTH SHORTER THAN IT USED

TO BE.

THE INUIT HAVE ALWAYS ADAPTED TO CHANGE.

ELDERS LIKE ILKOOK ARE IMPORTANT LEADERS IN THE

EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THE

ICE.

WHEN I FIRST CAME UP HERE I SAW ICE AS JUST ICE;

FROZEN OCEAN.

BEING WITH ILKOOK AND HIS FAMILY, I'VE LEARNED THAT

ICE IS MUCH MORE THAN THAT.

IT HAS SOUNDS, TASTES, SMELLS AND TEXTURES.

ICE INSPIRES SONGS AND STORIES.

IT'S WHERE PEOPLE FIND FOOD, IT'S WHERE THEY GET

TOGETHER.

ICE IS NOT JUST ICE, HERE IT'S A WHOLE WAY OF LIFE.

DYLAN: THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER

THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW

ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON

NBC.DYLAN: WHEN THE ANCIENT SUPERCONTINENT PANGEA

BROKE APART 200 MILLION YEARS AGO SOME OF THE

PIECES EVENTUALLY COLLIDED BACK TOGETHER AGAIN.

THE LAND MASS OF INDIA TRAVELED NORTH AND SMASHED

INTO ASIA, CREATING THE WORLD'S TALLEST MOUNTAINS;

THE HIMALAYAS.

DYLAN: THIS IS THE LAND OF TIBET, HOME TO MOUNT

EVEREST AND THE HIGHEST PLATEAU IN THE WORLD.

THE PEOPLE LIVING IN ITS SHADOWS CALL IT

CHONG-TONG, THE LONELY PLACE.

THE BUDDHISTS OF TIBET BELIEVE IN THE SACRED

CONNECTION BETWEEN PEOPLE AND THE WILDERNESS LONG

VANISHED ELSEWHERE.

PRAYERS ARE WRITTEN ON FLAGS TO BE CARRIED BY THE

MOUNTAIN WIND.

THESE PRAYERS ARE FOR PEACE, COMPASSION AND

WISDOM.

DYLAN: FOR TIBETANS, DANCING IS A WAY OF LIFE.

THIS IS AN ANCIENT RELIGIOUS DANCE WHERE

BUDDHISTS' PRAYERS ARE SET TO MUSIC TO CELEBRATE THE

CYCLES OF LIFE AND WARD OFF EVIL SPIRITS.

FESTIVALS LIKE THIS ONE HAVE BEEN PERFORMED IN

THIS LAND SINCE BEFORE THE DAWN OF HISTORY.

DYLAN: LIVING AS NOMADS, PEOPLE CONSERVE THE

GRASSLAND BY CONSTANTLY MOVING TO FEED THEIR YAKS,

SHEEP AND GOATS.

THEIR VERY SURVIVAL IS CLOSELY BOUND TO THEIR

ANIMALS.

BUT THEIR LIVES ARE SUSTAINED BY THE YAK.

THE YAK CARRIES ALL THEIR BELONGINGS AND GIVES MILK,

BUTTER AND MEAT; ALMOST EVERYTHING THEY NEED TO

SURVIVE.

IN THE LAND WHERE TEMPERATURES CAN DROP 80

DEGREES FAHRENHEIT IN ONE DAY, YAK HIDES ALSO

PROVIDE THE MAIN SOURCE OF WOOL FOR CLOTHING AND

SHELTER.

DYLAN: THEIR SHELTER MEANS SURVIVAL AND HOME.

AN ENTIRE FAMILY LIVES IN THIS SMALL TENT.

IT'S COZY AND WARM.

AND FRESH TEA IS READY ON COLD AUTUMN DAYS...

...PRAYERS ARE ALSO WRITTEN INSIDE PRAYER WHEELS TO

SPIN TO THE HEAVENS.

THE SPINNING WHEEL REPRESENTS THE SPINNING

CYCLES OF LIFE AND CONNECTS TIBETANS TO THEIR

RELIGION, THEIR LAND AND THEMSELVES.

AS PART OF THAT CONNECTION PILGRIMS TRAVEL HUNDREDS

OF MILES IN WALKING MEDITATION TO MONASTERIES

AND HOLY SITES.

EVEN SOME LAKES IN TIBET ARE CONSIDERED HOLY.

DYLAN: THESE ARE THE MAIN HEADWATERS TO ASIA.

THEY IRRIGATE LAND AND FEED A QUARTER OF

HUMANITY.

DYLAN: THE WORLD WE RECOGNIZE TODAY IS

BILLIONS OF YEARS IN THE MAKING.

I FOR ONE THINK THE RESULTS ARE PRETTY

SPECTACULAR.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR JOURNEY TO SOME OF THOSE

GREATEST, MOST EXTREME PLACES IN THE WORLD.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ MUSIC ♪