[water gurgling] [otter bleating] [dramatic music] [otter bleating] [dramatic music] - It's ironic that some of the world's most appealing animals have also been some of the most persecuted, especially those with lustrous fur like the otter.

Otter skins by the thousands were once made into coats and hats to adorn people.

Otters are now protected internationally, but the law does not always ensure their safety.

The world's largest otter is fighting for its very survival in the rivers of the South American rainforests.

The Giant Otter was once abundant, but its numbers are rapidly dwindling.

Illegal poaching still supplies the demand for skins and, tragically, the otter's own lifestyle places them in danger.

Their bold curiosity and large playful groups make them vulnerable to hunters, but these are also the very characteristics we find so endearing.

[birds and insects chirping] The jungles of the Amazon, mysterious tangles of light and shadow, hiding countless secret lives.

[otters calling] Strange voices echo through the trees, unaware of danger moving by on silent feet.

Forest and rivers mingle in confusion and, through them, glide sleek and agile creatures.

Animals perfectly made for the shimmering waters of this flooded forest.

[otter calling] [water splashing] Giant Otters are the largest and rarest otters in the world.

Reaching seven feet in length, they're almost twice the size of their largest cousin, the Sea Otter.

To Spanish conquistadors, they were [speaking in foreign language] River wolves.

[dramatic music] [otter calling] Perhaps to the Spanish, the haunting calls of the otters were a fearful voice in the jungle, but the playful otters posed no threat to them.

[dramatic music] It was people who brought trouble to the otters.

Europeans soon discovered the velvet beauty of their fur and the once plentiful otters began to disappear.

Today, giant otters are fully protected, but the demand for their pelts continues and the trade goes on illegally.

[otter purring] No one knows for certain how many otters survive.

There may be no more than a 1,000.

Once their range covered most of the Amazonian region, but now, they're found only in isolated areas of the remote interior.

[otter purring] [water gurgling] Perfectly at ease in their river home, the otters make no effort to hide their presence.

They enjoy each other's company, and a large group hunting and playing, is easy to spot.

And hearing them is unavoidable.

With an extensive repertoire of snorts, bleats and other calls, they maintain a constant conversation announcing their activities up and down the river.

[otters snorting and bleating] Giant Otters live in extended family groups numbering up to 20 individuals.

Large groups like this have become rare.

Few places are left where the otters are undisturbed, but one of them is the Rupununi region in Guyana, just north of Brazil.

Guyana means land of many waters.

The seasonal torrents of rainfall are captured in the highlands and sent rushing down to flood the Amazon lowlands.

[water roaring] Kaieteur at 822 feet is the longest single-drop fall in the world.

These falls and rapids make the rivers unnavigable, discouraging development and keeping the surrounding forest untamed.

[birds and insects chirping] It's February, the height of the dry season.

There's been no rain for three months.

The great rivers have retreated from the floodplains to the confines of their channels.

A few isolated pools dotted over the savannas and forests are the only wet areas left.

The aquatic animals of the Amazon are now concentrated in these floodplain pools.

[frogs croaking] Magnificent giant water lilies flourish in the full sunlight and quiet shallow water.

The otters cruise among the six-foot leaves fishing for the hapless prey that hides under these lily pads.

In the dry season, life is easy for predators.

They amble at their leisure from pond to pond.

Their prey is trapped for them.

Giant otters hunt mainly by sight, but in muddy water, they rely heavily on their sensitive whiskers to detect the slightest movement.

An eel is devoured with relish.

A quick dive yields another delicacy, red piranha.

With full stomachs, the otters relax in the shallows.

It's believed they pair for life, unusual for mammals.

Play reinforces the partnership and the two become inseparable.

Play is the privilege of animals lucky enough to have an abundance of food.

Surrounded by a captive larder, they have plenty of spare time.

[otter bleating] The otters are not alone in exploiting the drying ponds.

Kingfishers fly in to join the feast using their own direct method.

[bird chirping] [water splashing] When the water is no more than a few inches deep, great flocks of egrets, herons and storks gather at the receding edges of the ponds.

[water splashing] With a rich collection of fish, crab, shrimp and molluscs, these shallow waters are a paradise for waiting birds.

[bird squawking] When there are no fish left, the birds will fly on to another shrinking pool.

The otters, meanwhile, head back to the river, traveling along trails made by other forest animals.

On land, the giant otter is slow and clumsy, vulnerable to attack from one of its few natural enemies, the jaguar.

[dramatic music] This elegant cat is a formidable predator, with a reputation in Amazonian folklore for uncanny cleverness.

It's said to know in great detail the habits of its many victims.

Stalking the river banks and jungle trails, the cat discovers a scent mark left by a recent passerby.

[suspenseful music] Even with its ample armor of claws and fangs, the jaguar is cautious.

And quiet.

[suspenseful music] Quick ears pick up a slight sound overhead.

High in the canopy, a Tayra moves across the branches.

The Indians call this animal the tree otter.

In fact, it is a distant cousin of the Giant Otter and looks similar.

Both species belong to the weasel family, but the Tayra is at home in the treetops, safely out of reach.

The jaguar moves on to hunt more accessible prey.

Am agouti would make a fine meal.

It's confined to the forest floor where it searches for fallen fruit.

[birds and insects chirping] This large rodent is hunted by wild cats, bush dogs and also by Indians.

Little wonder that it's wary at the faintest whiff of danger.

But a Giant Otter is no cause for alarm.

[birds and insects chirping] [water gurgling] The waters of many Amazon tributaries are strangely dark and clear.

Steeped in the tannins of decaying leaves, these creeks are acidic, a tea-colored brew called black water.

[water splashing] In these small streams, the otter reign supreme, graceful and confident.

Even a dangerous adversary is approached with a bold swagger.

[otter snorting] A 20-foot anaconda is quite capable of constricting and swallowing an animal the size of this otter, but insatiable curiosity overrules caution.

[birds and insects chirping] [otter snorting] Like a mongoose, the otter is quick enough to keep out of striking distance.

This snake is too big to eat, but presents an irresistible opportunity for mischief.

Finally, its curiosity satisfied, the otter moves on.

By the end of the dry season, water is low even in the major rivers.

Sand banks appear, further cutting off scores of fish and leaving them trapped in the shallows.

The otters are quick to plunder the river's riches.

[otter bleating] The pool serve as a nursery for baby caiman.

There's plenty of fish to eat, but these young reptiles make a tasty alternative.

[otter snorting] Caimans are tricky to catch even far an otter.

Their needle-sharp teeth can penetrate an otter's thick pelt and their feisty resistance is taken seriously.

[otter snorting] A less antagonistic piranha is an easier option.

[otter snorting] Although this caiman put up a brave and desperate fight, a foot-long reptile is no match for a seven-foot otter, but most baby caiman will survive.

When giant otters are not fishing or sleeping, they're invariably playing.

[otter bleating] With characteristic enthusiasm, the otters chatter back and forth with snorts, sneeze-like huffs and penetrating wails.

[otters wailing] Each family claims its own stretch of river, usually about two miles.

[otter bleating] Giant Otters go to great lengths to scent mark their territory with urine and strong smelling droppings called spraint.

The scent informs other Giant Otters that the area is occupied and enables them to determine the owner's age, sex and breeding condition.

High along the bank, the pair has excavated a den where they have hidden their two cubs.

Giant otters have been known to breed at any time of the year, but most cubs are born during the dry season.

When the river is low, the breeding den is unlikely to be flooded.

And with fish concentrated in the river, there's no shortage of food.

[otters bleating] The cubs are six weeks old.

Their eyes have opened, but like all babies, they still need a lot of sleep.

They're sufficiently independent to be left alone for short periods, but their parents return every few hours to check on them.

[otters bleating] The parents' arrival is a cause for excitement.

The young otters get very hungry.

[otters bleating] When the cubs are about this age, the adults decide to introduce them to the outside world.

[otters bleating] [water splashing] One parent surveys the river first to make sure that no jaguars or people are nearby.

Only when it's sure the coast is clear does it return to collect the cubs.

Leaving the cubs on the bank, the adults enter the water and cautiously head upstream scouting for any possible danger.

But only cormorants have come to the river.

[otter bleating] [birds screeching] [otter bleating] [water splashing] The parents have determined that it's safe and go back to coax their babies into the water.

For baby otters, the river is a strange new world where the unknown lurks around every corner.

[otter bleating] Otter cubs are not the water babies one might expect.

The river is cold after the warmth of the den and the cubs are reluctant to get their feet wet.

[otter bleating] After a great deal of persuasion, the youngsters make it to the water's edge and that it seems is quite far enough.

[water splashing] They're torn between fear of the river and the desire to follow their parents.

[otter bleating] No amount of enticing or bullying will lure the cubs into the river just yet.

It could be days before they finally take the plunge.

[bird chirping] But there's little time to waste.

Soon, their entire world will be transformed.

A distant rumble signals an end to the drought.

Clouds roll in from the Atlantic Ocean laden with moisture.

The otter cubs must be able to swim before the flood.

[dramatic music] The rains fall gently at first, enveloping the forest in veils of mist.

Once they start, they will last for months.

[dramatic music] [rain pounding] [dramatic music] [otter bleating] The mood is one of celebration as the rains refresh the land and replenish the river.

[dramatic music] Within a few days, the banks are splashed with color, exotic hues found only in the tropics.

Magnificent orchids.

These are epithetic species which use trees as ladders up to the sunlight, but take no nourishment from them.

[dramatic music] At the height of the flood, the jungle is in full flower.

Water reclaims the land, pouring over the stream banks and spreading out over an incredible 60,000 square miles of Amazonian floodplain.

[water gurgling] It invades the lowland forest, drowning the understory in more than 30 feet of water.

The flood brings a flush of nutrient-enriched silt, nourishment needed by the forest to fuel the animal communities that depend upon it.

[otter bleating] Fish migrate back into the flooded forest to feed and spawn, and the otters pursue them.

Now, the otters dive among branches that a few weeks before were high overhead.

Just how the forest has adapted to survive up to seven months of inundation every year is still a mystery to science.

Roots require oxygen and understory trees receive almost no light.

Yet the flooded forest survives unscathed and provides a much-needed refuge for the otters as well.

[insects chirping] Just 50 miles away across the border in Brazil, the otter population has been ravaged by hunting and habitat destruction.

A new road is being built from Boa Vista in Brazil to the coast of Guyana.

This will bring hunters, fur traders and foresters.

Almost overnight, the sanctuary for the giant otter could fall to human economic imperatives.

[chainsaw whirring] As in all South American forests, the chainsaw has replaced the ax.

[chainsaw whirring] A forest giant, which may have taken 200 years to grow, can now be felled in 200 seconds.

[tree trunk cracking] [tree crashes] Here in Guyana, logging is still limited, but this is a poor land and the fine timber from tropical forests is in great demand.

For this small country, these trees are an important resource that can attract urgently-needed capital and provide jobs.

Clear cutting, however, destroys the very resource itself and leads to erosion and river pollution.

The Giant Otters will disappear with the forest, if measures are not taken to save them.

Diane McTurk is deeply concerned about the otters plight.

She owns a large ranch in the heart of the Rupununi Plains and is trying to protect the otters on her land.

She devotes an increasing amount of time to rearing orphaned cubs.

Every day, Diane takes her cubs for a swim in the Rupununi river - [Diane] Come [indistinct] - [George] She hopes that eventually these youngsters will return to the wild.

In the meantime, she tries to be a surrogate mother teaching them the skills they will need in their natural environment.

- To do!

Come here, come here.

I got [indistinct] Come here, Rufus, baby.

Come here, Rufus.

[water gurgling] Rufus, what you want is your lunch.

[water splashing] - [George] Diane's family has been here for two generations but the Macushi Indians have been here for thousands of years and, in all that time, they coexisted with the wildlife.

Now times have changed.

They wear Western clothes, but in some ways, live much as their ancestors did.

Cassava is still made into bread in the traditional manner and fish is still their staple diet.

But foreigners have introduced new commodities which the Indians have accepted.

[speaking in foreign language] Few Indians live off the land today.

Many are employed by settlers and use their earnings to buy what they need instead of relying on the rainforest for plants and game.

Money is changing their culture and has given them a reason to kill rare wild animals and sell their pelts.

[chicken squawking] The otters face another threat from the Indians.

Like people the world over, the Macushi are fond of keeping pets.

In addition to dogs and cats, they also take in a variety of wild animals, including Giant Otters.

The Indians catch cubs illegally and occasionally sell them to people looking for exotic pets.

These buyers are also guilty of threatening the species.

Otter cubs are adorable, but they're difficult and demanding to rear.

It's when the youngsters become sick or weak that the Indians tire of them and take them to Diane.

[otter crying] - You are not feeding as well as I would like.

You go down there and- - [George] Even in capable hands, the chances for orphaned cubs are slim.

They're often ill or even dying by the time Diane gets them.

A suitable milk substitute is difficult to obtain in the jungle as are antibiotics.

And if they do survive to adulthood, they will face additional danger because they don't fear humans.

[indistinct] - [Diane] Sleepy time.

Time for these little babies to go to sleep.

Time for these babies, come.

Yes, my babies.

Sleepy time, my darling.

It is sleepy time.

Time for you to go to sleep.

[water gurgling] - [George] Giant Otters rarely threaten livestock, but they do compete for fish and the Indians regard them as rivals.

Fish are an important source of protein for the Macushi and skilled fishermen are highly respected.

True to legend, South American river's teem with piranha.

The most famous is the Red-Bellied Piranha, the sometimes star of Hollywood horror films.

There are no verified reports of any humans being killed by piranha, but fingers are easily lost to their razor-sharp teeth.

The Macushi still use the traditional bow and arrow to hunt large fish and any other possible game.

[arrow swishing] [water splashes] An otter pelt is worth $15 on the black market, the equivalent of two weeks wages.

Large webbed footprints are easy to track in the soft mud.

The Macushi are among the most skillful hunters in the world.

They can move silently through the bush and sneak up on their quarry.

[bird screeching] An unexpected encounter with a peccary diverts their attention away from the otter.

This South American wild pig is prized for its meat and a peccary is worth more to the Indians than an otter pelt.

[peccary grunts] [arrow swishes] The pig is lost to the river.

A wounded animal is likely to be attacked by piranha, especially in times of low water.

Activity upstream means the piranha are homing in along the blood trail.

Under these conditions, the Indians are reluctant to wade in.

[birds screeching] As soon as the carcass snags on a drowned tree the fish close in.

They approach with surprising caution.

But within minutes, the water around the peccary is a mass of snapping jaws.

In half an hour, the pig will be reduced to bones.

[otter bleating] In these piranha-infested waters, an aquatic mammal's chance of survival might seem slim, but contrary to popular belief, piranha usually attack only dead or dying animals.

A healthy otter is too fast and agile.

It's the fish which need to be wary.

They're among the Giant Otter's favorite foods.

[otters bleating] Although Giant Otters live in close family groups, they never share their catch.

Instead, they guard it jealously, warning the others to keep their distance.

This otter has caught a large black piranha, about two feet long and weighing seven pounds.

Like the Indians, otters handle these fish with caution.

Prey are usually eaten head first, but a piranha's jaws are left until last.

Tiny fish swarm around the feeding animal scavenging for scraps.

Each otter can consume about 20 pounds of fish every day.

It's this enormous appetite, which brings the Giant Otters into conflict with people.

But the river's teem with fish, so predators like the Giant Otter have little effect on their numbers.

Man, however, is beginning to upset the balance.

Piranha are bony but delicious.

[speaking in foreign language] The Indians now use nets to catch fish, an effective technique, but undiscriminating and wasteful.

These men have caught more than they need.

Unpalatable species and those spoiled in the sun are discarded.

But when fish stocks fall, it's the otters who get the blame.

The fishing expedition has not gone unnoticed.

Vultures have an uncanny ability to spot a potential meal.

Vultures have a gruesome reputation as disposers of corpses, but they perform a vital role.

By keeping the land clear of rotting flesh, they help to reduce the risk of disease.

Their sinister aspect on the ground is transformed in flight to serenity.

[gentle music] There are two species common in Guyana, the Black Vulture, which locates food by sight, and the Turkey Vulture, which relies on its keen sense of smell.

[flies buzzing] The gathering birds and the smell of rotting fish attract the attention of one of the most formidable residents of these rivers, the Black Caiman.

[water splashing] Caiman are South American alligators and can grow to a staggering 20 feet in length.

Like the Giant Otter, these magnificent reptiles are now endangered.

They're more than capable of catching their own food, but will scavenge when the opportunity arises.

Caiman can take even the largest prey.

It's hard to imagine that any animal could intimidate them, but groups of Giant Otters have been known to attack and kill large caiman.

[otters bleating] A distant caterwauling warns the caiman of an imminent confrontation and it sinks below the surface.

[otter bleating] For sheer speed and agility, even these huge reptiles cannot challenge the Giant Otter for supremacy in the underwater world.

[otters bleating] [dramatic music] [water splashing] [otter snorting] [otter bleating] Diane McTurk's efforts will have little effect on the world population of this beautiful creature, but at least the groups which live in her ranch have a chance of survival.

- [Diane] You had enough swimming and you want to eat.

You had enough swimming and you're eating.

- [George] Last year, Diane released two adult females into the wild.

During the rains, like the rest of their kin, they disappeared into the tangled forest.

Diane was told that both animals had been killed.

But after seven months, she was thrilled when both otters returned hungry but healthy.

[otter bleating] - Come, let's go.

Come, let's go, my little.

[otter bleating] - [George] They haven't yet learned to fear people and it's remarkable they're still thriving.

[otter bleating] More remarkable still, the females returned with two males.

The males tolerate their mates bewildering behavior for short periods, but then call them back to the wild.

[otter bleating] Diane's hopes for them are fulfilled.

They have been accepted by their own kind.

The latest news is that one of the females is suckling young.

Diane is trying to persuade the Guyanese government to designate this region of the Rupununi as a wildlife reserve.

It's only a tiny fragment of the otter's former range, but it may be just large enough to offer hope for their future.

[otters bleating] [gentle music] Without the Giant Otters, a terrible silence would settle over these waters.

For it's the otters that give a voice to the river.

It's their calls which lead the joyful chorus of the wild Amazon.

[otters bleating] [water splashing] [dramatic music]