[bright hopeful music] [birds chirping] [monkey howling] [hooves thudding] [dramatic music] [dramatic music continues] [dramatic music] [dramatic music continues] [triumphant music] [triumphant music continues] - Hi, I'm George Page for "Nature."

In today's film, we take our cameras for the first time to Venezuela, a rugged and beautiful country at the top of South America.

And in central Venezuela there's a vast 77,000 square mile area of flat, grassy savanna and forested swamps called Llanos, one of the richest wildlife regions in all of South America.

Immense tracks of the Llanos are privately owned, enormous ranches covering tens of thousands of acres.

Surprisingly, a number of the highly successful landowners have also become dedicated conservationists, opening up their property to biologists and working to protect the Llanos wildlife from the ever-increasing threats of poachers and hunters.

Our film was shot on these ranches and along the banks of the Orinoco River, which splits Venezuela across the middle.

The Llanos is not a place for the casual visitor, the fierce heat and voracious insects see to that.

But with perseverance and the right guides, a naturalist or a filmmaker can discover many treasures, as we'll see in our film by Wolfgang Bayer.

[gentle music] [birds chirping] [gentle music continues] [birds squawking] [gentle music continues] [birds chirping] [gentle music continues] [gentle music continues] [gentle music continues] [birds squawking] [gentle music continues] [birds chirping] [birds chirping] The LLanos, a vast grassy plain that stretches over much of central Venezuela.

It appears quiet and pastoral, but it's a region of remarkable extremes.

From May until October rains flood most of the 77,000 square miles savanna.

Large numbers of exotic creatures like the capybara, a giant aquatic rodent, enjoy the lushness of the season.

[birds chirping] But in November, the rains cease for six months.

These dramatically divergent conditions, alternating between flood and drought, forge a land of exciting variety.

The animals of the Llanos have adapted to these extremes, and to each other, however unlikely the combination may appear.

These seasonal changes have a striking effect on most animals in the LLanos, including the spectacled caiman, a member of the alligator family.

[birds chirping] When heavy rains flood the plains during the rainy season, up to 80% of the land area is covered with water.

The animals disperse, taking advantage of the spacious wetland.

During the ensuing dry season, lakes shrink to ponds, forcing the animals to congregate in smaller areas.

[birds chirping] In the riparian habitat along the rivers, gallery forests provide a different habitat for a variety of animals.

[monkeys howling] High in the treetops, howler monkeys communicate with that distinctive vocalization for which they're named.

A territorial behavior, howling creates a sound boundary separating the various family groups.

[monkeys howling] The capuchin monkey moves through the trees with the help of a grasping prehensile tail, which acts as a fifth hand.

[birds chirping] Typically, these monkeys eat small fruits and other vegetation, supplementing their diet with insects.

Down below, life is more dangerous.

A caiman has caught a large fresh water eel.

Safe on its high perch, the capuchin watches as the Caiman struggles to swallow its prey.

[birds chirping] Cautiously, it adventures into the hostile world on the ground for a drink.

[birds chirping] [birds chirping] As the capuchin moves warily toward the water, it's joined by another family member.

[birds chirping] These animated primates, once popular as organ grinder monkeys, live in small social groups.

In this situation, the extra eyes provide insurance against a surprise attack from predators.

The pond provides a rich food source for the caiman, which feeds primarily on insects, crabs, and snails.

But like most predators, the caiman feeds on what's easiest to catch.

The alert and agile capuchins would be difficult prey.

[birds chirping] [birds chirping] One animal that has adapted especially well to life in the Llanos is the capybara, the world's largest rodent.

Although capybaras appear to be at home on land, they're never far from the refuge of ponds or rivers where they find their favorite food.

They can weigh more than a hundred pounds and their webbed feet make them strong swimmers.

[birds chirping] In the afternoon and evening hours, capybaras graze on the short grasses and aquatic plants found along the waterways.

The yellow-headed caracara has a symbiotic relationship with the capybaras, feeding on the irritating ticks and flies that continually plagued them.

This capybara seems to enjoy the attention and rolls to give the bird access to new morsels.

[birds chirping] These cattle tyrants not only pick the parasitic bugs from the fur of the capybara, but hitch a free ride through the flooded savanna.

[birds chirping] Males have a highly developed scent gland on the ridge of their noses.

Called the morrillo, it secretes a sticky substance used to mark territorial boundaries.

[birds chirping] Male-dominated family groups averaging about 10 members occupy areas ranging from five to 500 acres, depending on the season.

In the Llanos, capybaras can breed year round, though mating peaks at the beginning of the rainy season in May.

Four to seven babies are born in a litter.

Females are able to breed when they're only 18 months old.

In a 10-year lifespan, one female capybara can produce up to 70 young.

[birds chirping] In November, as the season shift from wet to dry, there's increasing competition for what little food and water is available.

Without the rain, the once lush Llanos becomes parched.

Food disappears.

The drought begins to take its toll.

Lakes that once covered acres of savanna are reduced to small ponds.

[birds chirping] The cold-blooded caiman must work hard to maintain an even body temperature.

The relentless heat of the sun continues to evaporate the precious water supply.

The caiman tries to deepen the pool by digging into the mud.

Submerging in water keeps its temperature down during the intense heat of midday.

[birds chirping] In the Llanos, an animal's ability to cope with extreme situations is the key to its survival.

[birds chirping] The caiman has developed remarkable adaptations to drought conditions.

Burying itself in the mud, it can assume a state similar to hibernation and wait for the life-saving rains.

[birds chirping] Migration is another form of adaptation that enables survival.

Some caimans make a ponderous trek in search of dry season ponds.

[birds chirping] [caiman shuffling] [birds chirping] Other animals don't have the option of walking away from their predicament.

These fish, trapped in landlocked ponds, become more and more concentrated as the water evaporates.

[birds chirping] The fish are actually gulping for air, an adaptation that prolongs their existence.

But as the shoreline shrinks, their future looks grim.

[birds chirping] [birds chirping] Though the dry season is hard on some animals, it provides others with a rich bounty.

Wading birds enjoy the annual feast provided by the fish's misfortune.

It's a feeding frenzy, with birds walking through literally thousands of swarming fish.

The wood stork hunts by touch, using its beak as a sensory tool which snaps shut the instant prey is felt.

[birds squawking] A great blue heron has speared a fish, an unusual hunting technique for this bird.

[birds squawking] [birds squawking] This wood stork's eyes seem bigger than its stomach and perhaps its beak.

[birds squawking] [birds squawking] Unlike most of the animals in the Llanos, birds benefit from the change in habitat during the dry season.

When they've had their fill, they fly away to roost along the riverbank.

[birds squawking] [water gurgling] The cycle will repeat itself next year when fish disperse from the rivers into the flooded savanna during the rains only to be trapped once more as the connecting waterways disappear in the drought.

[birds chirping] The drought persists and the land becomes desolate.

Its inhabitants have moved elsewhere or have perished.

[birds chirping] [thunder rumbling] Finally, in May, the rains sweep in from the southeast.

The skies open up filling the plains with desperately needed water.

[rain drumming] The brown desiccated savanna begins its transformation as the first green grasses appear.

The capybara welcomes this relief from the scorching heat.

It will rain for six months, filling the plain to depths ranging from a few inches to several feet.

[gentle music] A luxurious swamp forms filled with lush sedges and dense aquatic plants covering an area the size of Texas.

[gentle music] [birds chirping] Family groups of capybaras disperse from the concentrated dry season communities and relax in the expanded wetlands.

The rain marks the beginning of the capybara's most productive season, but a new threat has entered their world.

[water splashing] [hooves thudding] [hooves thudding] [capybara squealing] There was little thought for wildlife and their habitat when the Llanos was transformed into cattle country.

[cattle mooing] The vast savanna was the perfect place for the cattle industry, but ranching has changed the balance of nature in the Llanos.

Capybaras were originally considered a pest and were killed indiscriminately.

Major predators like the jaguar were exterminated systematically, disrupting the relationship between predator and prey.

[cowboys chattering] Spaniards settled this country in the 1500s, taming the land to European standards.

Cattle and horses were introduced to the savanna.

Those that escaped from captivity adapted well to the local conditions.

[birds chirping] Today, scattered bands of wild horses run free in the LLanos.

[birds chirping] [hooves thudding] [horses snorting] [birds chirping] The cowboys take advantage of this resource.

When they need new horses, they simply go out and round them up.

[gentle music] [cowboy shouting] [gentle music continues] [gentle music continues] [gentle music continues] [hooves thudding] [hooves thudding] These Venezuelan cowboys were instrumental in the revolt against Spanish rule and won their independence in 1821.

The fighting spirit seems a trait common to both man and horse in the Llanos.

[hooves thudding] [people chattering] Fortunately, cattle ranching has had minimal impact on wildlife habitat.

[cows mooing] It has actually prevented other forms of development such as agriculture from spoiling habitat, and in some cases wildlife protection has become a major priority among ranchers.

This is especially true on the Pinero Ranch where a conservation program has been adopted with the aid of the World Wildlife Fund.

The basic philosophy here is to make cattle breeding and wildlife conservation complimentary goals.

[cowboy speaking in foreign language] [cowboy speaking in foreign language] Ranch owner Antonio Branger is determined to preserve for posterity his portion of the Llanos and its wildlife.

[cowboys speaking in foreign language] Breeding cattle that are best suited to survive the harsh conditions here is an important part of coexisting with nature.

Careful genetic records are kept and used in a program designed to develop a new breed of superior cattle.

[cows mooing] [people chattering] The calves are bred from stock that's able to withstand the hot tropical climate and produce a high yield of beef.

Their ability to thrive in the seasonal extremes has enabled them to coexist with wildlife and is the key to their profitability.

[cows mooing] [cows mooing] But on other ranches, losses of cattle stock are still high and droughts alternating with floods result in low calf production.

[gentle music] [birds squawking] These casualties do not go to waste.

They attract one of the rarest birds in the Llanos, the king vulture.

The king vulture rules from the top of the hierarchy among carrion-eating birds.

[birds squawking] [birds squawking] Other vultures step aside when the king arrives.

[birds squawking] Within the same species, there are strong internal hierarchies as well.

Another family of king vultures has found the carcass and a bloody fight ensues to drive away the intruders.

[birds squawking] [birds squawking] [birds squawking] The smaller black vultures take a keen interest in the fight.

They often depend on the larger birds to tear open the newly found carcass.

[birds squawking] The complex interaction between the vultures is just one part of an ecosystem which has evolved to make use of all its elements, dead or alive.

[birds squawking] All forms of native life support the vitality of the natural habitat, which in turn supports the ranching operation.

This awareness has helped the Pinero Ranch develop its management plan.

Preservation of habitat benefits both domestic stock and wildlife, like the scarlet ibis.

[cow mooing] [birds chirping] The caracara not only picks parasites off the fur of capybaras, but removes the same ticks and flies from the hides of cattle.

[birds chirping] The bird has acquired an additional food source and the cows are made more comfortable by the arrangement.

Cattle and capybaras appear to coexist very well.

Only for a short period during the dry season do they forage for the same grasses around the waterways.

[birds chirping] Conserving natural habitat has helped to make the Llanos one of the best bird watching locations in the world.

It's not uncommon to observe more than 100 different species in a single day.

[birds chirping] Unique adaptations like the flattened bill of the roseate spoonbill create a large surface for catching slow-moving, bottom-dwelling prey.

[birds squawking] - This is the tiger heron.

Look at all that stuff.

- [George] The tiger heron derives its name from its striking juvenile plumage.

- [Guide] Then they get behind it, in fact there's the [indistinct] heron now.

- [George] A common trait among many of the waders is long, stilt-like legs.

[birds chirping] Oversized feet help the wattled jacana walk on aquatic plants in search of insects.

[birds squawking] The bright red color of the scarlet ibis is directly related to its diet, feeding almost exclusively on tiny fresh water crustaceans gives their feathers the vivid hue.

The exaggerated lower beak of the skimmer bird is a sensory hunting tool.

[birds squawking] A quick reflex snaps the beak closed when the skimmer encounters a fish.

[gentle music] [birds squawking] [gentle music continues] [birds squawking] [gentle music continues] [birds squawking] [gentle music continues] [birds squawking] [gentle music continues] [birds squawking] [engine puttering] [people chattering] Nature safaris, such as this, have become an important financial boost to the economy of the Pinero Ranch.

- Look at them!

- Oh, look at that.

- [George] Animals here are easy to find and surprisingly tame because hunting is no longer allowed.

Tourists are willing to spend hundreds of dollars a day for the opportunity to experience this refuge for wildlife.

[birds squawking] Conservation is paying off, but it hasn't always been that way.

In the 1930s, the Orinoco crocodile was ruthlessly hunted for its hide.

The exotic skin was fashioned into high-priced shoes, wallets and belts for status-minded consumers.

Today, the a Orinoco crocodile is nearly extinct.

The largest reptile in South America, it can reach lengths of 25 feet.

It will eat anything it can catch and kill, including its smaller cousin, the caiman.

[water splashing] [birds chirping] [water splashing] [birds chirping] [birds chirping] [birds chirping] Since the decline of the Orinoco crocodile, the caiman population has exploded.

Caimans have not only taken over the riparian territory of the crocodile, but also the ponds and lagoons developed by the ranchers for their cattle.

Even roadside ditches have become additional caiman habitat.

[people chattering] Large numbers of caimans and fish concentrate in permanent dry season ponds.

Biologists are trying to find out why fish populations seem to remain relatively constant despite the fact that the number of caimans is on the rise.

[people chattering] They've discovered that caimans actually eat relatively few fish, preferring freshwater crabs and apple snails.

Fish and other small animals are taken only occasionally.

[people chattering] The opportunistic caimans have adapted extraordinarily well to the changes that ranching has brought to the Llanos.

The question becomes what to do with them all.

[crickets chirping] On the Pinero Ranch, biologist Lee Fitzgerald is studying the seasonal migratory patterns of caimans.

In total darkness, he wades chest deep in a pond full of these crocodilians.

[crickets chirping] His headlamp blinds them and makes it easier to follow their movements.

[crickets chirping] [water splashing] [crickets chirping] [water splashing] [crickets chirping] Fitzgerald explains the research.

- [Lee] Caimans are very easy to study in the dry season because they concentrate in these dry season ponds and it makes it very easy for us to capture large numbers and mark them and also to census their populations.

Can you hold them?

- Uh-huh.

[crickets chirping] - [George] Although caimans are not aggressive, Fitzgerald and his wife Jenny carefully secure the animal as a safety precaution.

- [Lee] We take transects through all the different kinds of wetlands habitat and then we can extrapolate those caiman densities to figure out an entire population estimate for the whole ranch.

It's quite high.

It's probably between 60 and 80,000 caimans.

What's more interesting is to know how many caimans are in the specific areas where they will eventually be harvested.

The harvest scheme is set up to remove surplus males from the population, and by removing surplus males, there will always be some males left to inseminate the females and the population growth rate won't change.

[crickets chirping] Because of their value, they can be managed and that value in turn justifies the habitats and therefore the whole ecosystem that they live in.

[crickets chirping] - [George] These studies provide the government with the information necessary to determine the number of caimans that can be harvested safely.

[crickets chirping] [water splashing] [birds chirping] [water splashing] Only adult males are taken.

Hunters select their targets by size.

Only males reach lengths of six feet or more, making them easy to distinguish.

[crickets chirping] [water splashing] The Venezuelan government is being cautious, issuing only 1,000 caiman permits per year.

It seems a minute percentage of the estimated 60 to 80,000 caimans on the Pinero Ranch alone, but their population must be monitored very carefully if they're to remain an important renewable resource.

Without protection, a species can disappear quickly.

It happened in Columbia.

Due to unregulated hunting, by 1970, the caiman was gone from Columbia.

[water splashing] [water splashing] [club thudding] [crickets chirping] [people chattering] European buyers examine the quality of the skins to determine their market value.

The exotic skins eventually will turn up as expensive belts, purses, and watchbands.

[skins shuffling] [birds chirping] The income generated by the annual hunt helps to defray the high expense of developing water projects on the ranches.

Year-round water sources benefit wildlife as well as the domestic stock.

[engine rumbling] Dams are constructed to hold the surplus water of the rainy season.

[birds chirping] Like caimans, capybaras have moved into this newly created habitat and have prospered.

Their rodent heritage enables them to increase their population by up to 30% in a single year.

This incredible fertility rate is the key to their potential success as a ranch animal.

[water whooshing] [capybaras squeaking] [gentle music] [gentle music continues] [hooves thudding] [water splashing] [gentle music] [gentle music continues] [water splashing] It's no coincidence that this roundup occurs during the religious season of Lent when only fish can be eaten by the predominantly Catholic population.

300 years ago, the church decided that because of their aquatic nature, capybaras should be classified as fish.

Their meat is still in high demand during the Lenten season.

[horses whickering] Income from the two month harvest will pay operating expenses on El Frio Ranch for the entire year.

[people chattering] [birds chirping] Maintaining the natural habitat which supports the capybara makes good business sense.

It not only benefits the capybara, but many other species that depend on the wetlands for food during the breeding season.

[birds chirping] Like the El Frio and Pinero Ranches, the Masaguaral Ranch is run with conservation in mind.

[cows mooing] Making its cattle operation compatible with wildlife and habitat protection has always been a high priority to owner Thomas Blohm.

[birds chirping] - [Thomas] Since 1944, we have been running this ranch, the past 43 years.

Beef cattle production has been the main issue here, and then at the same time, since '44, we started to protect the wildlife too, and what I wanted to prove was that beef cattle ranching and a lot of agriculture can be done without the wildlife interfering.

Wildlife increased a lot after we began to protect it, after we improved some of the habit habitat by pumping water into some of the lagoons, the wells were dug in the old times when things were cheaper.

Today, a deep well cost about half a million boliveras.

In the old times, it was only about 60,000 boliveras.

If we were to repeat it today, we probably wouldn't do it because of the high cost.

[engine puttering] [water whooshing] - [George] His wells begin to pump at the end of the rainy season before everything is dried out, pumping 1 million gallons a day from November until the first rains arrive in late April.

[birds chirping] The water creates a dry season oasis on his ranch.

[birds chirping] It's an effort that has produced a spectacular wildlife refuge here.

[birds squawking] - [Thomas] This one lagoon we have here, the Guacimos Lagoon, is probably the biggest lagoon left with water during the dry season in the entire state of Guarico.

When there are 90,000 ducks there and they all fly up, it's a a tremendous noise, and then it gets almost dark when that many ducks fly over you.

[birds squawking] [birds squawking] - [George] Blohm doesn't allow duck hunting.

For him, ducks bring beauty and spiritual richness to his ranch.

[birds squawking] - But his neighbors have a different attitude.

Their land has been cleared to make way for rice, a profitable new crop in the Llanos.

They complain that his ducks are eating their rice.

But it's the ducks that face an ominous new threat.

[traffic whooshing] [water whooshing] Contact with strong agricultural chemicals is proving deadly to birds.

But the powerful herbicides and pesticides help to produce one of the world's highest rice yields.

Ironically, studies have shown that ducks feed primarily on insects and weeds.

They damage no more than 2% of the rice crop.

[engine puttering] Crop dusting with these dangerous chemicals could potentially destroy breeding populations.

[birds squawking] The close proximity of their rookery to the fields makes these egrets especially vulnerable to the toxins.

[engine rumbling] [birds squawking] Nesting sites are rapidly being converted into new fields with the success of farming.

[engine rumbling] [birds squawking] [engine rumbling] [birds squawking] The natural ecological balance in the Llanos is also being pressured by land reform initiatives in Venezuela.

Although the government is generally supportive of conservation efforts, it has made it legally attractive for squatters from overcrowded cities to settle on fallow private land.

With them come pigs, which inevitably escape and become feral.

[pigs grunting] Their feeding habits can damage the fragile landscape.

Digging for roots and tubers, they destroy the grasslands for all the grazing animals.

[pigs grunting] Efforts to totally eliminate wild pigs have been unsuccessful.

Since pigs are most destructive in large numbers, constant control of their densities is a partial solution to the problem.

[pigs grunting] [pigs grunting] The growth of small industries is also changing habitat.

Charcoal production diminishes the sparse forest.

Large logs must be used to produce charcoal and wildlife like the howler monkey that require the larger trees as habitat are most affected by this industry.

[bag thudding] [fire crackling] Forests are also lost to the frequent fires in the Llanos.

[fire roaring] Egrets are among the few to benefit from the blaze.

Flames drive grasshoppers and other insects to the front of the fire line.

[fire roaring] The egrets wait to gorge themselves on the hapless insects.

Pastureland is rejuvenated by periodic controlled burns.

A fire break is bulldozed to limit the spread of flames.

[engine puttering] Burning old dry grasses releases nutrients into the soil.

[people chattering] [fire crackling] [fire crackling] Natural fires serve the same purpose in the wild, burning intensifies the regrowth of species that have adapted to frequent fires.

Controlled burns are most effective when set at the end of the rainy season, when the damp root systems will not be destroyed by the heat.

[fire crackling] Grass fires tend to burn quickly and at low temperatures, keeping the soil relative cool.

Although this field looks devastated, it is only a matter of days before new sprouts appear in the blackened earth.

New growth, rich in nutrients provides better forage for grazing animals.

[birds chirping] Thomas Blohm has a different approach.

He does not burn his grass or cut down trees to make new pasture and his cattle have benefited.

During severe droughts, the cattle are able to forage in the preserved forest habitat.

[cows mooing] - [Thomas] There's an tendency in these countries to clear down the forest and grow artificial pastures on it.

But in the dry season, the pastures are simply gone either by fire or chewed up by the cattle.

Other places, some neighbor ranches, which have the same amount of cattle, they have heavy losses and I have hardly any, and I have a feeling that the fact that I protected the habitat for the wildlife that help out the cattle too.

[birds chirping] By not deforesting, allowing things to grow over with brush and forest, a lot of species are increasing.

[monkeys howling] [birds chirping] - [George] Blohm decided that the best use for the abundant wildlife on Masaguaral Ranch was research.

[monkeys howling] Working with international organizations, the ranch has become a haven for scientific projects.

[monkeys howling] [stick thudding] Smithsonian biologist Dr. Rudy Rudran is studying the behavior and ecology of red howler monkeys.

[leaves rustling] [monkeys squealing] - [Rudy] This area is an ideal place for long-term studies because there is no habitat destruction, the habitat is left undisturbed.

It's also very easy to follow animals around.

The visibility is excellent for detailed observation of behavior in ecology to find out how they interact with each other.

In 1976, when I started this study, the density of the red howlers here was about 85 animals per square kilometer, but right now the density is about 200 animals per square kilometer.

This is an unusual situation, at least when you compare with other study areas.

You know, in other studies of primates it's only rarely that you find the formation of new groups.

[birds chirping] - [George] Dr. Rudran feels this growth pattern has a direct relationship to the size of the expanding patches of forest.

Blohm's philosophy is that the information gathered will enlighten the public to the needs of wildlife and habitat preservation.

He has been host to 75 scientist in a single year.

- Well, this is, well as you can see, we tagged three males in this group and it's a multi-male group, okay?

The other group that we saw earlier on had just one single male, which was a uni-male group structure, and here we have a multi-male group structure with several males.

[birds chirping] [recording of birds chirping] - [George] An experiment is underway nearby.

[birds chirping] Dr. Steve Zach removes the dominant breeding female from a family group of wrens to study why other wrens decide to compete for the empty position.

He feels that knowledge about what these animals do and the choices they make are important to the study of social animals in general.

[birds chirping] The future of the endangered Orinoco crocodile is brightened by the captive breeding program on Masaguaral.

- Give it a little bit more tape.

- [George] The Blohm ranch is a refuge for this intimidating and aggressive reptile, which has been almost exterminated throughout its natural habitat.

[water splashing] [birds chirping] [water splashing] [birds chirping] Biologist John Thorabjarnarson explains the recovery program.

- [John] The whole idea of captive rearing and reintroduction is based on the fact that in the wild, the crocodiles are most vulnerable to predators when they're eggs in the nest, or as small crocodiles, as hatchlings or juveniles.

We take out half of the eggs to ensure against flooding or accidental predator coming in and digging out the the eggs and destroying the nest.

[birds chirping] The captive rearing is being done to speed population recovery of wild populations.

[birds chirping] Captive breeding projects can tend to divert the attention away from the principle problem, which is that of protection of wild animals and their habitat.

So without the protection of the wild populations of crocodiles and without the protection of their habitat, captive breeding and reintroduction of crocodiles is really academic.

There's no point to it because the crocodiles will just be killed or their habitat will be destroyed.

Protection of the animals in the wild is the most critical thing that's involved in the conservation of the species.

[birds chirping] - [George] Blohm's practical and sensitive approach to living with his environment may give many species a chance to survive into the 21st century.

[birds squawking] - [Thomas] What is good for domestic animals in great part is good for wildlife too.

If you cannot put one more cow on your ranch, you still can squeeze in a lot of wildlife.

They don't compete.

[birds squawking] - [George] The Llanos is on the threshold of change, faced with agricultural development and land reform.

But there is hope in the efforts of conservation pioneers who seek new uses for the natural systems.

Future generations must follow their lead to ensure the preservation of this land of remarkable contrast, The Llanos.

[birds squawking] [gentle music] [birds chirping] [gentle music continues] [birds chirping] [gentle music continues] [birds chirping] [gentle music continues] [birds chirping] [gentle music continues] [birds chirping] [birds chirping] James Shreeve has written a companion book to the "Nature" series, "Nature, The Other Earthlings."

It is available in bookstores and libraries.

[bright music]