PANAMA CITY HAS BEEN AN IMPORTANT SHIPPING CENTER ON THE PACIFIC OCEAN FOR MORE THAN 400 YEARS.

THE FAMOUS CANAL THAT CONNECTS IT WITH THE ATLANTIC IS MORE THAN JUST A WATERWAY.

IT IS HOME TO ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREAT RAINFORESTS.

WITHOUT THE FOREST, THE CANAL DRIES UP.

FUNDING FOR IN THE AMERICAS WITH DAVID YETMAN WAS PROVIDED BY AGNES HAURY.

♪ MUSIC ♪ THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA WAS CREATED IN THE EARLY PART OF THE 20TH CENTURY WHEN PANAMANIANS WITH CONSIDERABLE HELP FROM THE UNITED STATES SECEDED FROM COLUMBIA.

THE UNITED STATES THEN PROCEEDED TO BUILD A CANAL ACROSS PANAMA.

TODAY PANAMA CITY IS THE ECONOMIC HUB OF WESTERN HEMISPHERE, THE HONG KONG OF THE AMERICAS.

PANAMA CITY CONNECTS NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA AND THE ATLANTIC AND THE PACIFIC.

MY FRIEND CORKY POSTER IS AN ARCHITECT WHO HAS SPENT CONSIDERABLE TIME IN AND AROUND PANAMA CITY.

HE UNDERSTANDS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CITY'S LOCATION.

I ALWAYS THINK OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE AS A BIG PINWHEEL, ONE OF THOSE THINGS YOU BLOW ON AND IT SPINS AROUND AND IF YOU WERE GOING TO MAKE A PINWHEEL OUT OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE YOU WOULD PUT THE PIN IN PANAMA.

THERE'S NOTHING REALLY THAT COMPETES WITH IT.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE GREAT CITIES ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST, REALLY YOU JUST HAVE THE BAY AREA, THE LOS ANGELES AREA, PANAMA AND LIMA AS THE MAJOR URBAN CENTERS ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST.

FROM WHAT YOU'VE TOLD ME, NINE OR TEN YEARS AGO THIS WAS PARADISE FOR ARTISTS WHO PAINTED BUSES.

THE WHOLE BUS TRANSIT SYSTEM IS ENTIRELY PRIVATE AND SO THERE WERE CLUSTERS OF BUSES OWNED BY COMPANIES BUT A LOT OF BUSES WERE OWNED BY INDIVIDUALS AND THEY JUST DREW PICTURES OF THEIR CHILDREN OR THEIR FAVORITE CHARACTERS OR WHATEVER ALL OVER THE SIDES OF THE BUSES AND SO IT WAS A GREAT DISPLAY OF ART THROUGHOUT THIS AREA.

NOW IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A MOVE TO MAKE A PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM.

I SEE METRO BUSES.

YEAH, THESE ARE KIND OF BORING.

KIND OF BORING AND REPLACING THE REALLY BEAUTIFUL COOL ONES THAT USED TO POPULATE ALL OF THE DOWNTOWN STREETS OF PANAMA CITY AND NOW YOU JUST SEE A FEW OF THEM.

YOU ALMOST SEEM TO HAVE A CERTAIN THEME THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SAY, WELL, MINE'S THE ONE WITH THE NAKED WOMAN OR MINE'S THE ONE WITH THE EAGLES POUNCING DOWN ON A RABBIT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

OR THE ONE WITH MY CHILDREN PLASTERED ALL AROUND THE OUTSIDE OF IT.

OR IN THE BACK IS A PICTURE OF MY UNCLE.

WE'LL SEE A LOT OF THOSE BUT NOT NEARLY AS MANY.

USED TO BE ON VIA ESPAÑA DOWNTOWN IT LOOKED LIKE A TRAIN BECAUSE THERE WERE 30 OR 40 OF THESE BUSES LINED UP ONE AFTER THE OTHER.

I HAVE BEEN FROM THE TIP OF SOUTH AMERICA TO NORTHERN CANADA.

I'VE NEVER SEEN ART REPRESENTED ON BUSES LIKE THIS ANYWHERE.

IT'S PANAMANIAN.

YES, WE'RE IN PANAMA.

PANAMA CITY OF THE 21ST CENTURY IS CROWDED AND NOISY.

HALF A MILLENNIUM AND A 20 MINUTE TAXI CAB DRIVE FROM DOWNTOWN WE GET A GLIMPSE OF A MUCH QUIETER AND OLDER SETTING.

NEARLY 500 YEARS AGO, LONG BEFORE ANYBODY DREAMED OF THE CANAL, THE SPANIARDS RECOGNIZED THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF PANAMA CITY.

NO ONE AT THAT TIME HAD ANY IDEA OF A CANAL BUT IT WAS A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE CARIBBEAN AND THE PACIFIC.

100 YEARS AFTER FOUNDING THE CITY, THE SPANIARDS WERE ATTACKED BY HENRY MORGAN, THE PIRATE.

HE SACKED THE PLACE COMING IN FROM BEHIND WHEN THE SPANIARDS WERE LOOKING OUT TO THE SEA.

THE CITY REGROUPED, GREW AND GREW BUT IT WOULD BE ANOTHER 200 YEARS BEFORE ANYBODY CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF BUILDING A CANAL ACROSS THE ISTHMUS TO CONNECT THE CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC.

WHAT INTERESTS ME ABOUT PANAMA AS AN ARCHITECT AND A PLANNER IS THAT IT HAS SEVERAL CITIES HERE.

IT HAS THE ANCIENT CITY FOUNDED IN THE EARLY 1500S THAT REPRESENTS A DEFENSIVE CITY, A STONE CITY WITH A VERY TIGHT LAYOUT.

AFTER THE SACK OF PANAMA VIEJO IT ESTABLISHED A VERY SPANISH COLONIAL CITY IN THE STYLE OF THE LAW OF THE INDIES FOLLOWING ALL THE RULES OF THE SPANISH COLONIAL LAYOUT OF CITIES.

IT'S ALSO AS AN ARCHITECT AND DEALING WITH ENGINEERS ALL THE TIME THE ASTOUNDING ENGINEERING FEAT OF THE PANAMA CANAL IN THE EARLY 1900S AND THEN FINALLY THE MODERN CITY, THE SKYSCRAPERS, THE HEAVY TRAFFIC, ALL SHOWS A REALLY STRONG CONTRAST TO THE EARLIER CIVILIZATIONS, THE EARLY CITIES CONTEMPORARY PANAMA WAS BUILT UPON.

I WONDER HOW MORGAN ACTUALLY CAME UP ON THE CITY FROM BEHIND.

MORGAN THE PIRATE PROBABLY FOLLOWED THE ROUTE OF THE CURRENT CANAL, THE PANAMA CANAL, IN ORDER TO COME ACROSS THE ISTHMUS TO COME AND ATTACK THE BACK SIDE OF PANAMA VIEJO.

THERE WERE PROBABLY NATIVE TRAILS ALL THE WAY ACROSS THERE.

OF COURSE, THEY KNEW ABOUT IT.

THEY'D BEEN HERE FOR A LONG TIME.

IN SPITE OF SEVERAL ATTACKS BY PIRATES AND FOREIGNERS, PANAMA CITY REMAINED AND FLOURISHED.

CORKY AND I ARE IMPRESSED WITH THE NEW ORLEANS LIKE APPEARANCE OF THE OLD CITY, PANAMA VIEJO.

MY UNEDUCATED ARCHITECTURAL EYE TELLS ME THAT THIS WAS DESIGNED, BUILT IN A TIME WHEN THERE WEREN'T AN AWFUL LOT OF AUTOMOBILES AND NO AIR CONDITIONERS.

THAT'S JUST A GUESS.

YEAH, THAT'S CORRECT.

WE HAD BASICALLY A TROPICAL SPANISH COLONIAL CITY WHERE YOU WANT LOTS OF SHADE SO THE BUILDINGS ARE FIVE TIMES TALLER THAN THE STREET IS WIDE.

SO THERE ALWAYS WILL BE SHADE.

NO MATTER WHAT TIME OF DAY THERE WILL BE SHADE.

YOU WANT PORCHES IN EVERY BUILDING SO THAT YOU CAN ALWAYS GET OUT OF THE BUILDING AND GET SOME FRESH AIR.

YOU WANT CROSS VENTILATION IN ALL THE ROOMS SO THERE NEVER WERE ANY HALLWAYS.

BUT IT STILL RESPECTS THE SPANISH TRADITION OF GRIDDED STREETS, PLAZAS.

THE CASCO VIEJO IN PANAMA CITY IS NEW ORLEANS.

IT FEELS A WHOLE LOT THE SAME.

YOU'RE RIGHT.

IT HAS THE SAME FEEL.

SPANISH COLONIAL WITH A LITTLE BIT OF A FRENCH OVERLAY.

THE REASON THE SPANISH PICKED PANAMA OF COURSE IS THAT THEY WERE PLUNDERING THE GOLD AND SILVER FROM THE PACIFIC COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA AND SINCE THE PANAMA CANAL WAS NOT YET HERE THE LOGICAL PORT OF EMBARKATION TO SPAIN WAS INTO THIS CITY, THE PORT OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN AND THEN BY LAND ACROSS THE ISTHMUS AND THEN ULTIMATELY BACK TO THE OLD WORLD, BACK TO SPAIN.

EVEN BEFORE THE CANAL WAS BUILT, THE NARROW WAIST OF PANAMA FORMED A FOCAL POINT OF EAST/WEST SHIPPING IN THE AMERICAS.

WHEN THE CANAL WAS OPENED IN 1914, WORLD COMMERCE CHANGED IMMEDIATELY.

TODAY THE BALCONY OF A RESTAURANT GAVE US A GOOD VIEW OF MIRAFLORES LOCKS.

THERE REALLY IS NO OTHER PUBLIC WORKS PROJECT IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD LIKE THE PANAMA CANAL AND IF YOU FIGURE THAT EVERY SHIP GOING THROUGH HERE SAVES 8,000 MILES IT CHANGED COMMERCE INTERNATIONALLY RIGHT AWAY AS SOON AS IT OPENED.

RIGHT.

THEY WENT FROM TWO WEEKS TO GET AROUND THE HORN TO EIGHT HOURS TO GET THROUGH THE CANAL.

AND THAT WAS A FAST BOAT GETTING AROUND THE HORN.

AND THAT'S A CONTEMPORARY BOAT.

THAT'S TODAY.

THE OLD DAYS IT WAS A LOT SLOWER.

THIS ENTIRE SYSTEM OF MOVING BOATS DEPENDS UPON VERY PRECISE CONTROL OF WATER.

THE CANAL IS FUELED.

THAT IS, THE WATER THAT MAKES THE CANAL HAPPEN COMES FROM THE WATERSHED OF THE CHAGRES RIVER WHICH IS UP IN THE MOUNTAINS, THE MOUNTAINS THAT WE HAVE TO GET OVER WITH THIS WATER STAIRCASE THAT GETS US OVER THE MOUNTAINS.

AND EVERY TIME A BOAT PASSES THROUGH THE CANAL, ONE OF THE FULL VOLUME OF THE LOCK IS FRESHWATER PUMPED TO THE SEA AS THE LOCK GETS LOWERED.

AS I UNDERSTAND IT, YOUR GREAT GRANDFATHER IN LAW WAS A MAN BY THE NAME OF GOETHALS WHO WAS IN CHARGE OF EVERYTHING.

THAT'S CORRECT.

GENERAL GEORGE GOETHALS FROM THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS WAS THE CHIEF ENGINEER ON THE PANAMA CANAL AND THE FIRST GOVERNOR OF THE PANAMA CANAL ZONE.

MY WIFE IS HIS GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER.

I THINK A TRIBUTE TO HIS GENIUS WAS THAT THE CANAL IS ALMOST THE SAME AS IT WAS 100 YEARS AGO.

IT'S VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL.

THE LOCOMOTIVES ARE THE SAME, THE LOCKS ARE THE SAME.

YOU'RE LOOKING AT ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT HERE, ALL FROM 1914.

AND, THE BRIGHTEST, BEST TRAINED ENGINEERS IN THE WORLD FROM FRANCE WERE UNABLE TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT.

HE WAS ABLE TO DO THAT.

WITH A LOT OF HELP FROM A LOT OF WORKERS.

A LOT OF WORKERS.

THERE WERE A LOT OF DEATHS BUT AS A RESULT WE FOUND OUT ABOUT WHAT CAUSES YELLOW FEVER AS A RESULT OF THE CANAL.

AS MUCH AN ENGINEERING TRIUMPH AS IT IS AN ORGANIZATIONAL TRIUMPH.

GETTING THAT KIND OF EFFORT AIMED AT A SINGLE TASK IS VERY MUCH A 19TH CENTURY ACTIVITY.

IT'D BE HARDER TO PULL THAT OFF RIGHT NOW.

THE MYTH IS THAT THE REASON THE LOCKS ARE REQUIRED IS THAT THE ATLANTIC AND THE PACIFIC HAVE DIFFERENT SEA LEVELS.

THAT'S NONSENSE.

THAT'S NOT TRUE.

THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH GATUN LAKE ON TOP OF THE CENTRAL HIGHLAND OF PANAMA AND THEY NEED A WATER STAIRCASE TO GET THE SHIPS UP TO THE LEVEL OF GATUN LAKE AND THEN BACK DOWN TO THE CARIBBEAN OR VICE VERSA.

SO REALLY WE HAVE A WATER STAIRCASE, STEP BY STEP THE SHIPS COME IN AND GET UP TO THE LANDING AT THE TOP AND THEN GO BACK DOWN THE STAIRCASE TO THE OTHER OCEAN.

AND IT TAKES THEM 10 HOURS TO GET THROUGH.

EIGHT TO 10 HOURS.

YOU'VE TOLD ME THERE'S A MEASUREMENT CALLED THE PANAMAX AND SHIPS INTERNATIONALLY ARE CONSTRUCTED TO THE DIMENSIONS OF THE LOCKS.

PANAMAX IS EIGHT INCHES SMALLER ON EACH SIDE THAN THE CAPACITY OF THE LOCK AND A LITTLE BIT SHORTER ON EACH END AND THAT'S A DIMENSION.

YOU COULD SAY, 'HOW BIG IS MY SHIP?

MY SHIP IS PANAMAX'.

MEANING THE DIMENSIONS OF THE SHIP ARE THE MAXIMUM DIMENSIONS THAT COULD FIT IN THE LOCKS OF THE PANAMA CANAL.

THE OTHER THING MOST PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND IS MOST OF THE PANAMA CANAL IS GATUN LAKE WHICH IS A BIG WIDE OPEN LAKE.

SO IT'S ONLY REALLY NARROW AS IT IS HERE IN THE VERY FEW PLACES WHERE THE LOCKS EXIST.

THE REST OF THE TIME YOU'RE IN MOSTLY OPEN WATER OR AT LEAST A NARROW CANYON FILLED WITH WATER.

THE HEALTH OF THE JUNGLE WATERSHED ON THE CHAGRES RIVER EQUALS THE HEALTH OF THE PANAMA CANAL.

THOSE TWO ARE INEXTRICABLY CONNECTED.

THOSE TWO GO TOGETHER.

WHEN THE WATERSHED IS DAMAGED, THE CANAL IS DAMAGED.

WHEN THERE'S DROUGHT, FEWER SHIPS CAN PASS THROUGH BECAUSE EACH SHIP PUMPS VAST AMOUNTS OF FRESHWATER TO THE SALTWATER SEA.

GATUN LAKE SUPPLIES WATER TO THE CANAL AND IT DOUBLES AS A NATURALIST'S PARADISE.

I HAVEN'T BEEN ON THE CHAGRES RIVER BEFORE BUT THESE GUYS ARE PROS AND THEY TELL ME THAT THEY'LL GUARANTEE WILDLIFE.

IT'S JUST UNENDING FOREST OUT HERE, THIS PRESERVES THE WATERSHED AND PRESERVES THE WILDLIFE.

THEY SAY THERE'S AN ISLAND WITH MONKEYS ON IT.

WE SHOULD SEE PLENTY OF THOSE.

TOUCANS ARE ALMOST GUARANTEED.

I'D LIKE TO SEE SOME CROCODILES BUT THEY THINK THAT THE CHANCES ARE NOT GREAT.

FROM A DISTANCE.

YEAH, FROM A DISTANCE.

WE'RE GOING TO BARELY MAKE IT.

THAT BOAT IS IMMENSE.

I CAN'T CONCEIVE HOW BIG IT IS BUT WHEN THE NEW SECTION OPENS IN 2014, IT'S GOING TO BE A MIDGET.

THE NEW BOATS WILL BE 400 FEET LONGER AND 70 FEET WIDER.

SO THEY CALL THIS BOAT THE STANDARD MEASURE IS THE PANAMAX.

PANAMAX.

AND THE NEW ONES.

AND THE NEW ONES WILL BE POST-PANAMAX.

ALTOGETHER SHIPS ARE RAISED 85 FEET.

THAT'S THE LEVEL OF THE WATER YOU'RE ON RIGHT NOW, 85 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.

AND FOR THAT SHIP TO GO THROUGH, IT TAKES 52 MILLION GALLONS OF FRESH WATER FROM THIS LAKE.

26, HALF OF IT, GETS INTO THE LAKE, 26 WILL GET BACK INTO THE OTHER OCEAN.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR A BOAT THAT SIZE TO MAKE THE WHOLE PASSAGE, ATLANTIC TO PACIFIC OR PACIFIC TO ATLANTIC?

IT WILL BE BETWEEN EIGHT TO 10 HOURS ONCE THE PILOT IS IN PLACE.

AND IT WILL COST THE OWNERS OF THE BOAT $300,000?

A SHIP LIKE THAT ABOUT, YEAH, OVER $300,000, DEFINITELY.

AND HOW MUCH WILL IT COST A ROWBOAT?

A ROWBOAT?

THERE WAS A GUY WHO WEIGHED 140 POUNDS, HE SWAM THE CANAL.

THEY CHARGED HIM 36 CENTS.

YEAH, WELL, I THINK HE WAS RIPPED OFF.

FOR 141 POUNDS AND THAT WAS BACK IN 1928.

I WOULD COST A LOT MORE.

WE'RE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY PRISTINE LOWLAND RAINFOREST.

IF YOU WERE TO TAKE OFF IN A HELICOPTER OUT OF HERE, IT WOULD BE AN IMPRESSIVE SIGHT ALL AROUND.

IT'S JUST ALL OVER.

HEY, EL DUSKY AMBER.

HE'S CHECKING ON HER.

THAT'S THE MALE.

ARE YOU THERE?

IT GOES LIKE THIS.

[BIRD CALLS] THE FEMALE GOES CHE CHE.

IF THE FEMALE DOESN'T DO THAT ON THE THIRD TRY, THE MALE LEAVES HER.

THAT'S A SONG WREN.

[BIRD CALLS] THE SONG WREN.

BEAUTIFUL.

FROM A DISTANCE IT SOUNDS LIKE A TRAIN COMING.

OH, WONDERFUL.

THE SONG WREN.

[BIRD CALLS] UP IN THAT TREE IS A SLOTH.

HOW IN THE WORLD...IT JUST LOOKS LIKE THIS LITTLE BLOB OF FUR BUT IT'S GOT TO BE PRETTY BIG.

IN SPANISH THEY CALL THEM PEREZOSOS WHICH MEANS SLOTH OR LAZY ONE.

SO SLOTHFUL AND LAZINESS I GUESS ARE THE SAME THING.

THEY STAY UP IN THE CANOPY EATING LEAVES.

THEY COMES DOWN TO THE GROUND EVERY FEW DAYS JUST TO DEFECATE AND STRETCH AND THEN, BOOM, BACK UP IN THE TREES.

LOOK AT THIS NEST HERE.

OKAY.

WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IS A AZTEC ANT NEST.

THEY'RE ARBOREAL ANTS.

IT MEANS THEY LIVE IN TREES.

AND WHAT I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU IS A WAY OF MAKING USE OF THIS NEST IN JUNGLE SURVIVAL.

WITH OVER 20 SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES HERE, YOU'VE GT TO WORRY IF YOU'RE GOING TO SLEEP ON THE FOREST FLOOR.

BUT I CAN USE THIS TO MY ADVANTAGE AND THIS IS WHAT I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU.

GOT THAT?

WATCH.

THE SMELL.

SMELL, DAVE.

FORMIC ACID?

PURE, CONCENTRATED.

FORMIC ACID, YEAH.

IF I COVER MYSELF WITH THIS LIKE THIS, IT'S INSTANT INSECT REPELLANT AS WELL AS REPELLANT FOR ANYTHING THAT WANTS TO CRAWL UP NEXT TO YOU BECAUSE NOTHING LIKES ANTS.

THE FORMIC ACID STICKS TO MY SKIN AND THAT'S PERFECT REPELLANT, NATURAL REPELLANT.

I'LL BE DARNED.

THAT'S TERRIFIC.

THESE GUYS ARE EVERYWHERE.

HOW MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF TREES DO YOU THINK WE WOULD FIND IN HERE?

HOW MANY SPECIES OF TREES?

I WOULD ESTIMATE AROUND OVER 200 SPECIES RIGHT HERE EASILY OF TREES.

AND THAT'S FOR STARTERS, HUH?

YEAH.

LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, LOOK AT THESE BEAUTIFUL FIGS.

YOU FIND A LOT OF FIGS ON THE EDGE OF THE WATER.

A PERSON LIVED THERE AT SOME POINT BECAUSE THIS IS AN INTRODUCED SPECIES INTO THE TROPICS, SAME WITH PLANTAINS AND BANANAS.

WHEREVER YOU SEE THAT IT'S BECAUSE THERE'S A HUMAN NEARBY.

THIS IS A HILL THAT HAS BEEN CUT BACK SO THAT THE NEW SHIPS THAT ARE COMING FOR THE NEW CANAL WILL HAVE MORE ROOM TO MANEUVER BUT THEY'RE DRILLING THERE TO MAKE IT DEEPER AND THEN YOU SEE THE PIPES IN THE BACK WHERE THEY PUMP THE SLUDGE TO SPECIFIC AREAS IN THE BACKWOODS OF THE CANAL.

THERE, THERE, ON THE RIGHT, ON THE TREE.

THEY'RE COMING.

OKAY, THAT'S THE WHITE FISH, CAPUCHIN.

YEAH, THERE'S THE CAPUCHIN.

HERE HE GOES.

WATCH.

[NATIVE LANGUAGE] I THINK WE'VE BEEN ATTACKED BY FEROCIOUS PRIMATES.

MAYBE WE'RE NOT THE FIRST PEOPLE TO BE HERE BEFORE.

THIS IS MAMA.

QUE PASO, MAMA?

THESE ARE WHITE FACE CAPUCHINS WHO SEEM TO BE ACCUSTOMED TO THE ADVENT OF HUMAN BEINGS.

[YELLING/WHISTLING] ALL RIGHT.

THERE'S A HOWLER MONKEY IN THAT FIG.

IT'S WAY UP IN THE TOP AND HANGING DOWN.

THEY LOVE FIGS.

HOWLER MONKEYS LOVE FIGS.

THESE FORESTS HAVE NUMEROUS SPECIES OF FIGS, THEY'RE VERY COMMON TREES, AND WHEN THEY FRUIT THEY PRODUCE TONS OF FRUIT SO HOWLERS JUST SEEM TO HAVE A SPECIAL ATTRACTION TO THE BIG FIG TREES.

AND YOU CAN SEE...NOW HE'S STRETCHING OUT.

BOY, IT'S AMAZING HOW QUICKLY THEY CAN MOVE.

IF THERE'S ONE OF THOSE, THERE'S GOT TO BE GOBS OF THEM CAUSE THEY RUN IN TROOPS.

A SNAIL KITE.

THAT'S A SNAIL KITE, OKAY.

SO DO THEY EAT SNAILS?

YES.

THEY EAT EXCLUSIVELY SNAILS.

REALLY?

THAT'S THEIR CALL.

YOU DO VERY, VERY GOOD IMITATIONS, ARNON.

I'M ENVIOUS OF YOUR ABILITY.

HE JUST CAUGHT A SNAIL.

HE GOT ONE, HUH?

LOOK, HE'S GOING TO EAT IT NOW.

[NATIVE LANGUAGE] ESCARGOT.

THAT POOR KITE IS EATING A SNAIL, IT'S ESCARGOT, BUT IT HAS NO GARLIC AND NO BUTTER TO GO ALONG WITH IT.

IT DOESN'T KNOW REAL SNAILS.

LOOK, RIGHT THERE.

LOOK AT THE SPINE'S RIGHT THERE.

I SEE.

IT'S A MALE.

THAT'S A HUGE MALE, LOOK AT THAT.

WHAT DO IGUANAS LIVE ON HERE?

THEY'RE VEGETARIANS, RIGHT?

STRICTLY, YES.

IGUANAS HERE LIKE LEAVES AND FRUITS.

THEY'RE QUITE ABUNDANT HERE BECAUSE HUNTING HERE IS VERY, VERY LIMITED AND RESTRICTED.

IT'S DONE LEGALLY ACTUALLY.

BUT IN OTHER AREAS OF PANAMA WHERE YOU HAVE MORE INDIGENOUS POPULATION THEY WOULD NOT SIT LIKE THAT.

THEY'D BE OUT OF HERE WITH THE FIRST SIGN OF A HUMAN BEING.

RIGHT.

THE ONES THAT DON'T DO THAT DON'T SURVIVE.

CORRECT.

SO DO THE FEMALES HAVE SPINES LIKE THAT?

NO, ONLY THE MALE DO AND IF YOU SEE, DAVID, HE'S STARTING TO DEVELOP AN ORANGE-Y COLOR.

YES.

THAT'S BECAUSE HE'S GETTING INTO THE BREEDING TIME.

INTO THE BREEDING TIME, OKAY.

YEAH.

OH, LOOK AT THE TAIL.

LOOK AT THE TAIL, YEAH.

OH, MY.

AND THE TAIL ALSO HELPS THEM ESCAPE PREDATION BECAUSE IT DIVERTS THE ATTENTION OF THE PREDATOR.

MY GUESS IS THAT WHEN THE CANAL WAS BEING BUILT THE BUILDERS WERE ECOLOGICALLY SOPHISTICATED.

THEY KNEW HOW IMPORTANT THE FOREST WAS FOR MAINTAINING THE WATER BUT THEY PROBABLY DID NOT ANTICIPATE ECOTOURISM AS BEING A BIG SOURCE OF REVENUE FOR PANAMA.

AND LOOK WHAT A COMBINATION.

YOU'RE LOOKING AT MONKEYS, IGUANAS AND THEN YOU TURN YOUR HEAD AND THERE IS A PANAMAX SHIP GOING BY.

THAT KIND OF...THOSE THINGS ARE QUITE IMPRESSIVE.

RIGHT IN THE FACE OF A PANAMAX SHIP, MASSIVE, THOUSAND CONTAINERS, THERE'S A WHITE FACE CAPUCHIN GRABBING A PEANUT FROM YOU.

CORRECT.

IS THAT A HOWLER UP THERE?

THAT'S A BIG...THAT'S A MACHO, ISN'T IT?

[NATIVE LANGUAGE] ES SU MACHO.

HOWLERS ARE THE BIGGEST PRIMATES IN PANAMA.

RIGHT.

I THINK THEY'RE THE BIGGEST PRIMATES IN THE AMERICAS.

[MONKEY HOWLS] THEY'RE HOWLING WAY OUT THERE.

LET'S SEE IF WE CAN SEE HIM THROUGH THE LEAVES.

THE HOWLER MONKEYS TEND TO TRAVEL IN TROOPS THAT WILL LAST MANY, MANY YEARS.

THEY FORAGE UP IN THE VERY HIGH CANOPY.

THEY EAT LEAVES AND ESPECIALLY THEY LOVE FIGS.

THIS POWERFUL SOUND, ALMOST DEAFENINGLY EERIE SOUND.

THEY PROTECT THEMSELVES BY URINATING AND DEFECATING ON PEOPLE BELOW.

THEY SEEM TO TAKE GREAT DELIGHT IN THAT.

LOOK!

LOOK AT THAT WHITE TREE IN THE FRONT.

THIS ONE THAT IS MOVING.

THAT'S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TOUCAN, THE MOST COLORFUL TOUCAN IN THE AMERICAS.

YEAH, THAT BEAK IS SOMETHING ELSE.

RAMPHASTOS SULFURATUS.

COUNT THE COLORS.

THERE'S ORANGE, BLUE, YELLOW, GREEN, RED, BLACK, WHITE.

OH, MAN.

THAT'S A VERY COLORFUL BANANA.

THAT BEAK IS A GROTESQUE EVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENT BUT THEY ACTUALLY CAN EAT JUST ABOUT ANY FRUIT AND ARNAUD TELLS ME THEY WILL ACTUALLY EAT LITTLE BIRDS.

WOW!

WHAT A DISPLAY!

THANK YOU.

WAY OVER IN THE BRANCHES WE CAN SEE A GRAY HAWK.

THEY LIKE TO FISH.

THEY MAKE IT ALL THE WAY INTO ARIZONA.

[NATIVE LANGUAGE] IT'S A LITTLE DISQUIETING YOU SEE CROCODILES IN HERE AND APPARENTLY THEIR NUMBERS ARE INCREASING.

WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT ARE MANGROVE SWALLOWS.

THEY LIKE TO BE ALWAYS CLOSE TO THE WATER.

THEY'RE CHARACTERIZED BY THIS WHITE RUMP IN THEIR LOWER BACK THAT YOU WILL SEE AS SOON AS THEY FLY, THEIR BEAUTIFUL STEELY BLUE PLUMAGE WITH WHITE FRONTS.

MANGROVE SWALLOWS.

ISN'T THAT AN AWESOME LOOKING THING?

THAT IS UNREAL.

ONE STARTS AND THEN THE OTHERS DO IT.

LOOK.

THESE ARE LONG-NOSED BATS.

THERE ARE FIVE OF THEM RIGHT UNDER THIS SNAG.

THEY LIVE HERE.

WHEN THE SUN SETS, THEY WILL FLY OFF IN SEARCH OF INSECTS.

THEY'RE INSECTIVOROUS.

THEY LIVE ON INSECTS.

AND THEN FLY UNTIL THEY CAN'T EAT ANYMORE, PROBABLY A GOOD PERCENTAGE OF THEIR WEIGHT, THEN COME BACK AND HANG OUT AGAIN.

THEY HAVE THIS UNCANNY BEHAVIOR THAT IF ONE OF THEM MOVES BECAUSE THEY'RE WORRIED, ALL OF THE OTHERS INSTANTLY DO WHAT THEY'RE DOING, IT'S A COPY CAT.

THEY DON'T REALLY LOOK LIKE BATS.

THEY LOOK LIKE MAYBE HUGE SPIDERS OR TICKS.

BUT TO SEE THE INTACT FOREST HERE AFTER 100 YEARS, UTTERLY PROTECTED, IT REALLY LENDS CREDENCE TO THE FACT THAT THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE NEEDS OF INDUSTRY CAN WORK TOGETHER AND DO.

IT'S HOPEFUL.

THERE IS A LOT OF GOOD FOREST LEFT IN PANAMA.

THEY ARE PART OF BRAZIL'S AFRICAN CONNECTION.

CAPOEIRA.

CANDOMBLÉ.

ACARAJÉ.

THEY ALL ORIGINATED IN BAHIA, BRAZIL, AND NOWHERE ELSE.

JOIN US NEXT TIME IN THE AMERICAS WITH ME, DAVID YETMAN.

FUNDING FOR IN THE AMERICAS WITH DAVID YETMAN WAS PROVIDED BY AGNES HAURY.

COPIES OF THIS AND OTHER EPISODES OF IN THE AMERICAS WITH DAVID YETMAN ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE SOUTHWEST CENTER.

TO ORDER CALL 1-800-937-8632.

PLEASE MENTION THE EPISODE NUMBER AND PROGRAM TITLE.

PLEASE BE SURE TO VISIT US AT INTHEAMERICAS.COM OR INTHEAMERICAS.ORG.