"Have you ever wanted to fly with an eagle?" "To slow down time..." "See worlds beyond your perception" "Or track the most secretive jungle animals" "Well, join me, Steve Leonard as I reveal the technologies that make all of this possible." "And show how scientists are using them to investigate rainforest animals" "Big Brother surveillance, satellite tracking, and cutting edge cameras..." "Join us as we reveal how modern technology is revolutionising the way we view the natural world..." "Animal Science," "Animal Action, Animal Camera" "We are a planet being watched, as I speak hi-tech cameras are trained on the earth from space monitoring everything from the upper atmosphere ...down to street level." "ln fact, in our modern surveillance society, cameras are everywhere..." "networks scrutinise our city streets and eyes in the sky can follow our movements even at night..." "But this technology is not only watching us, it's also being used to study animal societies and we're finding answers to questions that have baffled scientists for years." "And Animal Camera's first mission, the mystery of the disappearing baboons." "This is Dave Gaynor, a baboon scientist with a puzzle to solve." "His baboons live here in de Hoop nature reserve in South Africa." "The 40 troop members are easy for Dave's team to study during the day, but some evenings they seem to simply vanish into thin air..." "After many days of following the baboons, researchers found out exactly where they were going, and it's not what you'd expect." "Down there that's where they go..." "and we're about to find out why..." "Below the entrance we found a maze of caves - but no clues as to what draws the baboons down there... so how can we help Dave find out?" "Time for stage one of our mission... to stake out the entrance with 4 secret cameras and wait for sunset..." "And here they come the baboons' disappearing act caught on camera for the first time." "Here we go..." "Dave's first insight into their hidden world... stage one of our mission complete." "But before we see what the baboons get up to, let's look at the tools of the animal camera surveillance team." "If you want to see a world beyond our senses, these are the cameras to use." "Most cameras, like this one we're using here, see colour and objects very much like our eyes do, but as scientists build better, more sensitive cameras we're finding out that there's more to light than meets the eye." "Either side of the rainbow of colours that we can see are others, out of our range." "Beyond what we see as blue, is the ultraviolet zone." "You are now seeing me through an ultra violet camera." "It's a kind of light that's invisible to us, but can be seen clearly by insects and some species of birds." "They and this camera can see anything that reflects or absorbs ultra-violet light - like this apparently transparent sun-block cream." "Flowers use these ultra-violet signals to attract insects to their nectar stores this buttercup looks very different to a foraging honey bee..." "And some birds, like the budgerigar, use the same signals to attract a mate..." "with reflective cheek patches." "Way beyond ultra-violet is the x-ray zone." "X-rays have been used in medicine for years, but now a new generation of x-ray cameras are revealing the inner workings of animals in action." "How else could we get the inside story on how a chameleon fires its ballistic tongue?" "But there's more." "At the opposite end of our rainbow, beyond what we see as red, is the infrared zone." "Far infra red, or thermal cameras, can see heat and turn it into colour." "This thermal camera is so sensitive it can pick up the heat radiating from my body and detect differences in temperature of less than a twentieth of a degree." "It can see my breath, my sweat glands, and even the blood vessels inside my body." "Without a need for light, these cameras can follow warm-bloodied animals in absolute darkness." "Elephants, barely visible with normal cameras, stand out like beacons in thermal vision, as do these lions." "But for a clearer night time image we need to switch to the near infrared." "To get a better picture of what's going on in the dark you need an infra red camera and an infra red light, like this one." "lnfra-red light is invisible to mammal eyes, so I can't see anything, but the camera can, making it perfect for nocturnal stake-outs." "And infra red cameras are just what we need for stage 2 of our baboon surveillance operation." "It's 8am, and the baboons are heading out for breakfast." "So how can we find out what they've been up to overnight?" "Well... once all the baboons are up, it's time for Animal Camera to get down." "At different points along the 200-metre cave system we install 8 infra red cameras and lights... all linked to our mission control tent up above." "The idea is that since baboons, like us, can't see in infra red, they won't notice the lights." "But to make sure I need to make a test run." "And mission control are going to keep me in the dark, while you see me in infra-red." "Apparently there's a camera directly in front of me," "But I can't see a thing, I literally cannot see anything at all." "To know what's there, I have to feel my way along the cave sides." "There's only one of me down here, what's it like with 40 baboons crashing and bashing into each other?" "I can't see a thing, but fortunately mission control can see everything... every painful bash, bump and stumble..." "as I gradually build up a mental map of the cave floor and feel my way to the end chamber." "The good news Steve is the baboons are in the area and you've probably got about 5 minutes to get out of the cave, so if you head along on your mental map you should be fine..." "But fortunately, to get out faster, mission control allow me to put my head torch on." "Hey look at that, oh it's not what I pictured at all." "Oh wow, I can stand up for a start, why didn't you tell me I could stand up?" "Time to get out and leave it to the baboons." "So - our spy network's up and running..." "with a bit of luck, we'll soon find out exactly what the baboons get up to down here." "But first let's see how other innovations are shedding new light on the natural world." "New camera technologies are not only helping uncover animals hidden from view, they're also giving us an unique perspective on their way of life." "This is the closest you'll ever get to a bird's eye view as we take you on board the fastest roller coaster ride in the world with the ultimate sky diver, the peregrine falcon..." "...and the ground hugging goshawk - squeezing through the tightest gaps between the trees..." "But first, how's it done?" "The secret to these amazing images are miniature cameras, like this one, the smallest and lightest television cameras in the world." "The tiny video camera has a microwave transmitter that can beam pictures to a receiver station up to a mile away..." "all weighing just 28 grams." "Having miniature cameras is only half the story, you also need the right animal to put them on..." "This is Tilley, she's a 4-year-old golden eagle and for the last 6 months she's been trained to carry these ultra lightweight cameras." "So we've got the bird and we've got the camera, all we need now is somewhere spectacular for her to fly." "These are the Argyll hills near Loch Goyle in Scotland, ideal terrain for Tilley and for the Animal Camera team." "Here, our microwave receiver dish can pick up 'Eagle-cam' signals from more than a mile away and record the pictures on to video tape." "All we need to do is switch on, tune in, and away she goes..." "Enjoy the ride!" "Every detail of Tilley's superb aerodynamic design captured by miniature camera technology." "The cameras are so light, Tilley can easily carry two... giving a perfect panoramic view of the ultimate soaring machine..." "She can use the mountain up-draughts to glide effortlessly for hours on end..." "And her wings form a stable hunting platform as she scans the ground for food..." "our cameras don't get in her way at all." "Technology like this is allowing scientists to observe animals at a completely new level of detail." "And later in the series we'll reveal how Tilley's camera work is helping NASA with state-of-the-art aircraft design." "But right now, not everyone is impressed." "Large birds of prey often get mobbed by smaller, more manoeuvrable fliers like this buzzard" "The last thing they want is an eagle in their air space and for the first time ever, we can take you right to the heart of an aerial dog fight." "There's one quick way Tilley can get rid of this pest..." "She barrel rolls 180 degrees, flashing her giant talons... and it does the trick." "Our privileged view is over..." "the eagle has landed." "At the cave, the baboons are back... lt's getting really dark now, but Dave and I can see them coming into the cave on our surveillance cameras easily." "They're not the only ones that use the cave - these bats are pouring out." "And one by one, 40 baboons get ready to drop down into the hole." "And incredibly, just a hundred metres away we can watch them climbing down the walls, and coming towards are infra red cameras..." "This is the moment Dave's been waiting for... a chance to find out what his baboons are up to underground... but will they rumble us?" "And here they come, totally unaware that they're being watched." "Don't forget - they can't see a thing... oops!" "Well the baboons are deep inside the cave now, but we've got them all over our cameras here, we've even got shots of me when I was down there..." "And they seem to fare much better than I did." "Well having said that, look at the last one in the picture, he's patting the ground to double check what's coming up... exactly like I did." "It seems that if you're not sure where you're going it pays to tread lightly." "Some are a bit more sure of themselves, they've probably been down here more often and have a better mental map of the cave floor." "Youngsters take any chance to show off, even if nobody can see them..." "Apart from us that is... although the smell of our new cameras hasn't gone unnoticed." "ln 10 minutes, the baboons reach the main chambers, and try to find a spot where no one's going to accidentally kick them in the dark..." "Ooh, watch out!" "...But watch the reckless young acrobat on the right!" "Oh, crazy fool..." "Yep, best turn around and come down backwards if you don't want to fall headfirst." "Just like at the surface, families stick together by uttering little contact calls..." "But playful young ones always want to go off and explore even if they don't know quite what's in front of them." "Since mum can't keep an eye on them, she keeps a careful hand on them at all times." "It's a world of touch..." "and some surprisingly familiar sounds..." "Yes, that was what you thought it was." "Hmm... glad I'm not down there at the moment." "But all this activity doesn't last long." "Fifteen minutes after entering the cave the troop begins to settle down, it's clearly been a tiring day time for some shut-eye..." "So it's looking like they come down here to sleep... but there's always one that doesn't want to go to bed..." "Go on now... settle down." "But why the caves?" "Well, it's warmer for a start - up to ten degrees higher than at the surface." "And the drop to get in makes it safe from hunting leopards - the ideal hide out" "But with no sunrise down here, how will they know when to wake up?" "Our cameras are still rolling..." "so we'll be back later to find out." "Modern cameras aren't just helping us see in the dark." "They also unearth secrets simply too fast for the human eye." "For many years slow motion cameras have been helping to expand the most amazing moments in the natural world." "This image shows the action ten times slower than normal." "But guess what, slow motion cameras have just got even better..." "This camera can record events not ten, but up to one thousand times slower than normal." "That means one second lasting over fifteen minutes... lt's hard to imagine..." "so just watch this..." "Slowed down by 80 times, even a simple action is transformed revealing beauty and incredible details that we couldn't have glimpsed any other way." "And with cameras that can see this level of detail, you can then investigate the fastest animals in the world." "So what are they?" "Maybe not what you'd expect!" "First up - the Hydromantes salamander from the Sierra Nevada mountains in California." "It may not look like the most exciting animal in the world, but just watch this..." "That was the fastest tongue on earth..." "An insect caught and swallowed in less time than I can blink." "Only by slowing down the action 40 times can we really see what's going on." "That lightning speed comes from these large muscles, which squeeze the tongue out of the mouth rather like me squeezing a melon pip between my fingers." "It's a nice design, but the fastest tongue is no match for the fastest claw." "ln second place, the mantis shrimp, voracious hunter of the coral reefs... with probably the fastest punch of any animal... devastating to even the hardest snails." "How the mantis shrimp generates the force to do this has baffled scientists for years..." "until now, that is." "By combining the slow-motion camera with an underwater force meter, we can finally see the astonishing truth." "The meter shows the shrimp's punch packs a staggering 60 kilograms of force not so much a punch ....as a hammer blow." "This huge impact is all down to the sheer speed of the strike..." "Game over in a thousandth of a second." "The speed comes from compressing this part of the claw, and storing energy which is released in this explosive burst with the acceleration of a bullet." "The camera also revealed another amazing event - flashes of light." "Moments before impact, a pressure wave in front of the claw causes the water to boil... the steam immediately implodes, generating light, heat and possibly adding to the destructive force." "But it's still not the fastest so what is?" "Certainly not these guys... still sleeping!" "At number one, small but deadly - the trap jaw ant." "lts strike is five times faster than the mantis shrimp, 70 times faster than the salamander and 800 times faster than anything I can do." "As the name trap jaw suggests, this is the part you want to watch out for..." "The system is simple, the jaws have huge muscles to winch them into position... a microscopic latch to lock them open..." "and trigger hairs to unleash hell." "ln x-ray we can see the scythe like jaws rotate, and then lock open as the latch engages." "Now the huge muscles are under extreme tension... the trap is primed." "At this point there's no going back... all body parts must be pulled clear or risk the chop." "And here it comes." "Don't blink!" "The jaws slam shut in three ten thousandths of a second..." "Even slowed down 400 times, this still pushes the limits of the most sophisticated camera." "The fastest animal - and less the 5 millimetres long." "Back at the 'big brother' baboon stake-out it's now 7.30 am, and all the housemates are still asleep." "So how will they know when it's time to get up?" "Well, this might just be their alarm call..." "the bat night shift coming home... thousands of flapping wings above their heads..." "This early bird can't see them, but he knows they're there And he wants to make sure everyone else knows too..." "Within a few minutes, one or two of the baboons start to get restless but you've gotta be very careful where you tread." "The baboon dawn chorus starts up to rally the troops..." "There's no chance of sleeping late with this group" "Surely no one can sleep through this..." "But yes, there's always one..." "Come on sleepy head." "Remember he can't see a thing, so if he doesn't want to get left behind, he'd better hurry up and follow the grunts..." "That's it... good lad." "So Dave now has a complete picture of what his baboons get up to, day and night." "And with Animal Camera's infrared technology they didn't even know we were there!" "Although they do seem to find our power cables a welcome home improvement." "ln a landscape with no trees or cliffs, a cave like this is the ideal baboon hotel." "And it's tempting to think that, maybe 20,000 years ago, our prehistoric ancestors might have slept here too." "They've had a good night's rest, and now they're just heading out to feed and do all the things they couldn't do down there..." "And with that, our big brother stake out is complete and another mission is accomplished." "A cave system is relatively easy to stake out, but how about an entire tropical rainforest" "lmpossible?" "Well in Panama, Central America, they've done just that" "When they built the Panama canal, they had to flood huge areas of jungle leaving just the hilltops above the water." "Now this hilltop behind me is Barro Colorado Island." "lsolated in the middle of the Canal, it makes the perfect jungle observatory, and for over half a century it's been a hotbed of scientific scrutiny." "Here researchers are infiltrating every corner of the island on a hi-tech stakeout..." "The wildlife on this island is being observed from nearly every possible angle." "If you wanna know about rainforest, this is the place to be." "It's a living laboratory - under total surveillance." "More than 200 scientists from all over the world descend on Barro Colorado every year." "They're all here to investigate the forest and the animals...in enormous detail." "And Animal Camera's here to spy on the jungle spies..." "Although the island is teeming with all kinds of wildlife, it's much harder to track down than you might think from watching wildlife films." "There are 60 troops of howler monkeys... 12000 sloths... and more species of birds than the US and Canada combined." "But most of them keep a low profile." "Researchers have to outwit animals with a mind-blowing array of modern surveillance equipment, deployed on the ground and in the air." "Believe it or not, you can tell a lot about the rainforest from its treetops - if you have the right kit." "The thermal camera ..." "turns heat into a colour image." "Look at that numbnuts." "You wouldn't get me up there." "With a thermal camera, anything living stands out like a beacon." "Which is why a thermal camera can be so useful in dense rainforest." "Tree dwellers are invisible with the naked eye, but they glow in therma-vision." "With 1200 howler monkeys on the island you can hear them alright, but it's amazing how quickly they can disappear, unless you have the thermal camera to hand." "It's the same down on the forest floor an agouti blends into the background ...but it can't hide its body heat." "But the thermal camera is limited because it does need a human presence, enough to send many creatures into hiding." "To really illuminate animal behaviour, scientists here need to call on a vast array of technologies." "The first one is shedding light on high speed bat hunting in the dark." "There are 72 species of bats on this tiny little island." "It is only 15 square km." "That's more than you'd find in the entire United States of America." "But what's that got to do with me sitting in the water?" "Well this is the hunting ground of one of the larger" "And more impressive bats on the island..." "the bulldog bat." "It's unusual amongst bats because it fishes for its prey." "Even though we can see it with our infrared cameras, how does it detect and catch fish in the water in the pitch dark." "Bat biologist, Elisabeth Kalko was determined to find out." "She knew that those sounds are the echolocation calls that they're using to find their prey on the top of the water." "And that flashing?" "Well, it's to help Elisabeth find out more as she had one big problem... lt's so dark out here and they're so fast, it's impossible to see what's going on." "What Elisabeth needed to do was somehow slow down the action..." "lmpossible?" "Well, not if you can freeze time, ...and that's what this flashing's about." "...because this is coming from a multiflash" "The Multiflash... 12 flashlights fire in less than half a second to freeze the action on a single photograph." "As the bat swoops in, Elisabeth sets off the multiflash and records the bat's calls with an ultrasound microphone." "Each flash spotlights a separate instant in the bat's approach... giving 12 images on a single photograph - less than half a second frozen in time." "When Elisabeth plays back the flash sequence alongside the bat's calls, the multiflash set up reveals exactly what's going on." "The bat searches for prey by sending out a slow series of loud calls over the water..." "When the water's smooth, the calls just bounce away." "But if a fish disturbs the surface, it makes ripples that reflect the sounds back to the bat, triggering an attack..." "As it homes in, the bat speeds up its calls to build up a crisp sonar picture of the ripple... ln the final approach, it computes precisely where the target will be by the time its claws connect." "Bang on target." "So, with multiflash and ultrasound technology, scientists see in the dark, freeze action and eavesdrop on silence." "Amazing insights into the bulldog bat we wouldn't have had any other way." "Bulldog bats are relatively easy to find." "But finding animals deep in the forest is another matter altogether." "Mammal experts Jackie and Greg Willis have the mammoth task of recording the species that live here." "So how can they identify animals they never see?" "Technology to the rescue once again... 35 camera traps set up at key points all over the island." "Unlike the thermal camera, these ones can sit here unattended, constantly snapping the passing animals unawares." "Modern day camera traps have a clever way of detecting animals passing through the forest." "They pick up the body heat, so this one should take a photo of me round about..." "Now!" "Sharp looking fella!" "These hidden cameras are busy day and night snapping anything that crosses their path." "Over the past five years, what they've revealed has been astonishing." "They've taken four and a half thousand photos... including the rare jaguarundi and tayra." "Animals that haven't been seen on the island for 70 years." "The ocelot portfolio was especially intriguing - they don't seem to be camera-shy!" "Jackie and Greg didn't think there could be more than 6 ocelots on the whole island, so they thought they were seeing the same ones again and again..." "However..." "Each ocelot has a unique set of spots, pretty much like a fingerprint." "So using these images... researchers have been able to identify 26 individuals on the island." "Far more than they expected to find." "And they proved this by leaving two cameras at each trap;" "they could photograph both sides of the animal at once... producing an identikit for every ocelot on the island." "...." "But what's that collar about?" "Well, snapshots only record a moment in time." "To keep track of animals on the move, you need technology... radio telemetry" "Ocelot researcher, Ricardo Moreno is using it to keep tabs on six ocelots" "Because they're so illusive and well camouflaged, they're impossible to find ordinarily." "This one's been anaesthetised so Ricardo can change its radio collar." "When she wakes up she'll disappear." "But with the radio collar we should be able to find her." "Ricardo's let me loose with his receiver, so lets see if I can track one down." "We've got a beep... lt could take some time..." "so I'll see you later..." "That's not an ocelot... that's an agouti..." "that's what ocelots eat." "I don't think you've seen one have you?" "I've been going about, I don't know, 30 minutes and still nothing..." "Time to give up." "There are no ocelots on this island, Ricardo was obviously lying!" "By tracking ocelots on foot," "Ricardo is gaining new insights into how they behave and interact." "But its really hard work." "The terrain is unforgiving." "And radio waves don't travel well through trees or dense undergrowth." "To make life easier you need go really high tech." "Because the best way to receive radio signals in dense jungle like this is to get above it and I'm starting to learn something else about this island... there are no limits." "lsn't this great..." "I'm about 150 feet from the ground with a stunning view over the whole forest canopy." "This tower is one of seven that forms a spy network over the entire island." "There's one over there, and there's one right behind me." "24 hours a day they're tuned in to the radio signals being transmitted from the forest below and beaming them back to computers in the lab." "The great thing about these towers is they don't need to eat, drink... or even go to the toilet - they don't need a break at all." "Now these towers are constantly talking to each other, but what are they talking about?" "Well, mainly they're talking about ocelots, agoutis and a sloth that have been radio collared and are living somewhere in the forest below me." "Scientists can now monitor the animals they rarely get a glimpse of remotely." "The computers compare the strength of signals from the collars to work out the animals' location." "So now, researchers can tell where each individual is, at any time of day or night..." "But what's really revolutionary about the tower networks is that it also broadcasts what the animals are doing." "Like agoutis." "Motion sensors in their collars reveal when they're active, sleeping and occasionally, when they've died, giving us surprising insights into an agouti's life." "The data from the towers shows that some agoutis are up and about all night, but why would they risk coming out when so many predators are on the prowl?" "This is just one mystery scientists are hoping they will solve using the wonders of radio waves." "The wonders of camera technology had given Jackie and Greg a more sophisticated research tool as well." "Remotely triggered video cameras" "These video cameras detect body heat much like the still cameras and they turn on for about 30 seconds." "It makes viewing a bit jumpy, but by filming animals unawares, it's revealed some fascinating behaviour." "Instead of just taking a photograph, these cameras spy on animals in action, going about their business undisturbed." "When the agouti researcher, Enzo Aliaga-Rossel, discovered one of his collared agoutis had been killed, he wanted to stake out the crime scene to find the culprit." "The agouti had been beheaded and stashed under some leaves, which didn't fit the profile of any of the predators on the island." "So, Enzo called in Jackie and Greg's video technology." "Once they'd set up the camera near the carcass all they had to do was wait that's a paca." "Can't be him, he's vegetarian." "That's a brocket deer... eats leaves." "Another paca." "Nothing too suspicious." "Hang on, what's this here?" "ah... ocelot!" "It's a big surprise - no one suspected ocelots might hide their prey like this." "This cat seems to have come back for seconds." "But something even more amazing was to come another ocelot!" "It seems the mother may have stashed her food to share it later with her cub." "This is the first time ever a wild mother ocelot and her cub have been caught on camera - shedding new light on this elusive jungle cat." "Scientists would never have seen anything like this... even if they spent a lifetime in the jungle." "This unique footage is thanks to combining their skill with the magic of technology." "Technology is revealing unique insights into the animals of Barro Colorado but one thing binds all the animals that live here." "The fabric of the forest provides everything animals here need for survival." "To make sure they do survive, scientists also need to know about the forest itself... so they've set up intensive study zones." "is there no place to hide?" "This virtual cube of forest is the size of a hundred football fields." "lts been in the spotlight for a quarter of a century." "But where did scientists begin?" "First, they marked out the boundaries at ground level." "Second, they tackled the task of counting every single tree... lt took nearly a year to identify all the trees in the cube - 240,000 of them." "Every 5 years, they mark, identify them and record their girth." "The smaller plants - 210,000 of them - get the same treatment." "Every single leaf is on the list." "Meanwhile the temperature, humidity and rainfall are continually monitored." "The forest is scrutinised from every angle." "Specialist cameras probe the ground each month, exposing a dynamic web of root wars." "An insider's view of the jungle underworld..." "And from the air scientists scan the cube's treetops... now, which ones were they again?" "Ah, there we go." "Infrared cameras survey the canopy..." "each species of tree reflects differently and the way their leaves glow shows us how healthy they are." "All this long-term surveillance is showing that every animal and plant is linked... part of a living network more amazing than our most advanced technology." "With one animal disappearing from tropical forests each day, understanding how it works is a top priority." "Which is why this cube isn't unique." "It's one of 20 encircling the planet... each one adding more revelations than we could have ever imagined..." "With the help of modern technology scientists are revealing natures secrets." "We've seen action too fast for the human eye, penetrated the darkness, flown with eagles and revealed invisible jungle life." "lts getting easy to find and observe animals hidden from view." "But its worth remembering, that even in the most intensively studied rainforest in the world, we've still barely scratched the surface."