1 00:00:05,705 --> 00:00:08,037 In the wild heart of Venezuela, 2 00:00:08,274 --> 00:00:12,301 earth and water merge to create a landscape like no other 3 00:00:13,046 --> 00:00:16,038 one that has bred many a legendary appetite. 4 00:00:30,630 --> 00:00:34,464 But for the early explorers who ventured into this savage place, 5 00:00:34,701 --> 00:00:37,898 no creature loomed larger or more terrifying 6 00:00:38,138 --> 00:00:40,333 than South America's giant serpent. 7 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:52,609 Trophy hunters spun tales of 100-foot monsters, intent on human flesh 8 00:00:56,456 --> 00:01:01,189 and for centuries this astonishing creature has been obscured by legends 9 00:01:01,428 --> 00:01:04,727 as tangled and dense as the swamps it inhabits. 10 00:01:10,670 --> 00:01:14,663 But now a barefoot biologist is taking on the anaconda. 11 00:01:15,375 --> 00:01:20,608 His mission: To snatch its secrets from the murk of myth and terror, 12 00:01:21,081 --> 00:01:23,641 giving us our first glimpse 13 00:01:23,883 --> 00:01:28,286 into the hidden life of the largest snake on earth. 14 00:01:30,824 --> 00:01:32,223 Big snake. Big snake. 15 00:02:24,544 --> 00:02:27,035 In the first scarlet rays of morning 16 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:29,305 a primeval world awakens. 17 00:02:37,657 --> 00:02:42,594 Birds by the tens of thousands respond to the siren call of the llanos 18 00:02:43,196 --> 00:02:46,290 flooded savannas that cover one-third of Venezuela. 19 00:02:50,136 --> 00:02:54,004 Months of drenching rains have waterlogged these plains, 20 00:02:54,307 --> 00:03:00,337 creating a soggy Serengeti as vast and pristine as its African counterpart. 21 00:03:07,220 --> 00:03:09,711 But the dry season has begun, 22 00:03:09,956 --> 00:03:14,188 and herds of capybaras now begin to follow the receding water. 23 00:03:15,328 --> 00:03:21,164 These giant rodents the world's largest can weigh up to 140 pounds. 24 00:03:27,874 --> 00:03:31,776 Soon this lush place will be a parched plain... 25 00:03:32,679 --> 00:03:36,445 so the creatures of the llanos eat while the eating is good. 26 00:03:38,518 --> 00:03:42,852 But their idyll of peace and plenty is about to be interrupted. 27 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:52,564 Curled in the water hyacinth is 13 feet of starving serpent: 28 00:03:53,399 --> 00:03:55,560 A giant female anaconda. 29 00:03:56,669 --> 00:03:58,534 She has not eaten for months... 30 00:03:59,305 --> 00:04:03,241 and has her lidless eyes on a suitably giant meal. 31 00:04:13,253 --> 00:04:15,312 Oblivious to her presence, 32 00:04:15,622 --> 00:04:17,385 the capybara family plays. 33 00:04:22,262 --> 00:04:24,753 Dull eyed but sharp tongued, 34 00:04:25,231 --> 00:04:28,758 the snake tastes the air for the scent of her rodent prey. 35 00:04:51,658 --> 00:04:54,286 The season lends urgency to her hunger 36 00:04:54,527 --> 00:04:56,119 It's time for her to mate 37 00:04:56,396 --> 00:04:59,593 and only well-fed snakes breed successfully. 38 00:05:01,567 --> 00:05:04,058 Once pregnant she won't eat again until after 39 00:05:04,304 --> 00:05:09,173 the babies are born seven months later So she'd better eat well now. 40 00:05:25,458 --> 00:05:28,552 At her strike, the llanos takes flight 41 00:05:28,795 --> 00:05:31,696 But for one capybara, it's too late. 42 00:05:39,906 --> 00:05:43,467 Anacondas kill with power, not poison. 43 00:05:44,177 --> 00:05:46,805 Locked in the snake's deadly coils, 44 00:05:47,046 --> 00:05:51,574 the capybara is being squeezed so tight it cannot breathe... 45 00:05:52,218 --> 00:05:56,484 so tight, in fact, that it's blood can't circulate. 46 00:05:58,257 --> 00:06:01,283 Her elastic jaws stretched impossibly wide, 47 00:06:01,527 --> 00:06:06,396 she now begins the ponderous business of swallowing her victim head first. 48 00:06:13,639 --> 00:06:16,130 She has paid a price for this meal 49 00:06:16,442 --> 00:06:20,435 She bears the bite marks of the capybara's final struggle. 50 00:06:27,653 --> 00:06:32,590 There may be other snakes in the world that are as long as the anaconda, 51 00:06:32,825 --> 00:06:34,884 but none can match it for sheer bulk. 52 00:06:35,461 --> 00:06:39,329 Her body was a foot thick before she ate the capybara. 53 00:06:48,374 --> 00:06:52,868 Six hours later, the last of the rodent has disappeared into the snake. 54 00:06:53,212 --> 00:06:56,909 Her post-meal proportions are chilling to the human eye. 55 00:07:03,656 --> 00:07:05,783 She's actually quite vulnerable now. 56 00:07:06,759 --> 00:07:08,454 But fortunately for her, 57 00:07:08,694 --> 00:07:11,219 the only creature audacious enough to tangle 58 00:07:11,464 --> 00:07:13,955 with a full-grown female anaconda 59 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:16,395 is on the trail of another snake. 60 00:07:23,876 --> 00:07:27,505 Slogging through the hyacinth is biologist Jesus Rivas. 61 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:29,570 Since 1992, 62 00:07:29,949 --> 00:07:34,181 he's headed up the very first attempt to study anacondas in the wild 63 00:07:34,420 --> 00:07:37,287 a study funded in part by National Geographic. 64 00:07:42,328 --> 00:07:43,920 Before the study began, 65 00:07:44,163 --> 00:07:47,599 scientists knew virtually nothing about the biology 66 00:07:47,834 --> 00:07:50,166 of this shy and dangerous creature. 67 00:07:51,938 --> 00:07:53,030 Okay, you want me to hold... 68 00:07:53,272 --> 00:07:59,370 Wildlife biologist Renee Owens joined Jesus in his slippery pursuit in 1996. 69 00:08:02,014 --> 00:08:03,982 The husband and wife team have caught 70 00:08:04,217 --> 00:08:08,153 and catalogued almost 800 of these giant snakes. 71 00:08:08,621 --> 00:08:10,111 Many are given names: 72 00:08:10,556 --> 00:08:12,922 This one they call Godzilla. 73 00:08:13,693 --> 00:08:14,557 Are you losing your grip? 74 00:08:15,328 --> 00:08:16,192 In a second I will. 75 00:08:16,796 --> 00:08:18,821 Oh, you won't. Hold it tight. 76 00:08:19,398 --> 00:08:22,196 This is an animal that is the absolute master of the swamp, 77 00:08:22,802 --> 00:08:24,963 the custom-made animal for this place. 78 00:08:25,538 --> 00:08:31,499 Catch and kill animals much stronger and much tougher than people. 79 00:08:32,545 --> 00:08:33,876 Oh, it's a big mama. 80 00:08:34,247 --> 00:08:35,612 Come here and get a better grip. 81 00:08:36,115 --> 00:08:37,139 Come here. 82 00:08:38,150 --> 00:08:41,051 To work on a dangerous animal like this... 83 00:08:41,287 --> 00:08:43,482 potentially, at least, very dangerous, 84 00:08:43,723 --> 00:08:48,092 you have to have complete trust in each other or you just can't do it, 85 00:08:48,327 --> 00:08:51,524 because you can't go in and be worrying about... 86 00:08:51,764 --> 00:08:54,460 what could go wrong and how you could be hurt. 87 00:08:56,168 --> 00:08:56,896 Godzilla. 88 00:08:58,804 --> 00:09:01,204 We are having a ball, aren't we? 89 00:09:05,044 --> 00:09:09,845 What I want to do is to get to know what the anaconda is all about... 90 00:09:10,816 --> 00:09:13,842 we're going to study where they live, 91 00:09:14,086 --> 00:09:16,111 what they eat, when they breed, 92 00:09:16,355 --> 00:09:18,482 what temperature they prefer, 93 00:09:18,724 --> 00:09:20,885 what vegetation they like... 94 00:09:21,127 --> 00:09:24,790 to put on the snake shoes and wear them. 95 00:09:25,031 --> 00:09:26,293 Wait, wait, wait. 96 00:09:28,167 --> 00:09:31,898 Jesus and Renee want to observe the females during breeding. 97 00:09:32,138 --> 00:09:36,131 To do so, they must get radio transmitters into as many snakes 98 00:09:36,375 --> 00:09:38,309 as possible in the next few weeks. 99 00:09:39,011 --> 00:09:42,811 The force feeding may look brutal but it's little more than an 100 00:09:43,049 --> 00:09:45,779 annoyance to a snake large enough to swallow a small person. 101 00:09:48,654 --> 00:09:50,451 I need you to hold the head now, Renee. 102 00:09:51,023 --> 00:09:51,990 Below my hands. 103 00:09:53,159 --> 00:09:55,252 Wait, wait. Okay, got her. 104 00:09:58,497 --> 00:09:59,088 Ah, don't worry. 105 00:09:59,332 --> 00:10:00,993 Oh, you want to kiss me, don't you? 106 00:10:01,233 --> 00:10:02,291 I'm not your lover. 107 00:10:02,535 --> 00:10:04,503 I'm trying to keep the female from getting away. 108 00:10:04,737 --> 00:10:06,398 And I have to do that any way I can. 109 00:10:07,006 --> 00:10:09,497 They're slippery, there's no traction, 110 00:10:09,742 --> 00:10:11,937 there's nothing to grab onto... 111 00:10:12,178 --> 00:10:15,272 I'll pretty much kneel on the body of the female... 112 00:10:15,514 --> 00:10:18,449 I think it went down far enough cause it's the only way 113 00:10:18,684 --> 00:10:20,208 I have to keep her in one place. 114 00:10:21,487 --> 00:10:23,751 It is thrilling and dangerous work. 115 00:10:24,056 --> 00:10:28,390 But perhaps this female will lead them to the heart of a great mystery 116 00:10:28,694 --> 00:10:31,026 the remarkable love life of the anaconda. 117 00:10:37,570 --> 00:10:38,434 Godzilla. 118 00:10:52,385 --> 00:10:56,685 Jesus's living laboratory is an enormous patchwork of llanos, 119 00:10:57,023 --> 00:10:59,651 thanks to three Venezuelan cattle ranches that 120 00:10:59,892 --> 00:11:02,190 play host to the anaconda study. 121 00:11:06,399 --> 00:11:10,768 With so much ground to cover the best way for Jesus to keep tabs 122 00:11:11,003 --> 00:11:13,767 on his radio-tagged snakes is from the air. 123 00:11:18,878 --> 00:11:24,043 Conspicuous in the hyacinth below is the giant female that ate the capybara 124 00:11:24,283 --> 00:11:27,514 a snake Jesus has named Diega. 125 00:11:30,990 --> 00:11:34,858 Warmth from the sun speeds up Diega's digestive process... 126 00:11:35,461 --> 00:11:38,624 bloating her with gasses and keeping her afloat. 127 00:11:39,365 --> 00:11:41,060 Jesus will keep an eye on her 128 00:11:41,467 --> 00:11:45,062 and return to collect her when she's gotten back her girlish figure. 129 00:11:55,481 --> 00:11:57,847 With the serpent sleeping off her meal, 130 00:11:58,084 --> 00:12:01,076 this part of Eden seems impossibly idyllic. 131 00:12:07,893 --> 00:12:11,021 But not all of the capybara's companions in the llanos 132 00:12:11,297 --> 00:12:13,765 are as harmless as the snowy egret. 133 00:12:15,868 --> 00:12:17,563 For this is the land of the caiman, 134 00:12:17,803 --> 00:12:20,237 South America's infamous alligator cousin. 135 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:29,471 For a reptile of this size, 136 00:12:29,715 --> 00:12:33,344 there is no more sumptuous meal than the giant rodent. 137 00:12:51,203 --> 00:12:53,637 The scent of blood in the water draws a crowd 138 00:12:53,873 --> 00:12:55,670 of fearsome scavengers from below 139 00:12:56,175 --> 00:12:58,871 Red piranha gather hoping for leftovers. 140 00:13:08,220 --> 00:13:11,712 But today the hungry caiman will disappoint. 141 00:13:12,224 --> 00:13:15,955 He's not about to let even a careless mouthful escape his jaws. 142 00:13:22,334 --> 00:13:25,565 Twice a day now the anaconda patrol makes the rounds, 143 00:13:25,805 --> 00:13:30,071 with spotters on the roof Renee behind the wheel, and her dog, Chukka 144 00:13:30,309 --> 00:13:33,142 an apprentice snake hunter himself riding shotgun. 145 00:13:36,982 --> 00:13:38,779 It's been a red-letter day 146 00:13:39,084 --> 00:13:42,349 four snakes already captured and one to go. 147 00:13:48,527 --> 00:13:50,324 They've come for Diega 148 00:13:50,563 --> 00:13:53,293 who's been digesting her capybara supper for more than two weeks. 149 00:13:58,771 --> 00:14:01,604 Jesus prefers to do his snake-hunting barefoot 150 00:14:01,841 --> 00:14:04,776 it's the best way to feel the slippery skin of an anaconda 151 00:14:05,010 --> 00:14:06,375 under the hyacinth. 152 00:14:06,812 --> 00:14:09,576 But in waters that contain piranha, stingrays, 153 00:14:09,815 --> 00:14:13,307 electric eels and caiman, he's taking a considerable risk. 154 00:14:16,755 --> 00:14:18,313 When anaconda-hunting, 155 00:14:18,557 --> 00:14:22,254 there's safety in numbers and colleague John Thorbjarnarson 156 00:14:22,494 --> 00:14:23,654 sometimes joins in. 157 00:14:24,864 --> 00:14:28,197 When you go out, never by yourself because these animals are big 158 00:14:28,701 --> 00:14:31,067 and they are predators and you are potential prey. 159 00:14:31,737 --> 00:14:34,865 Two of my assistants have been attacked by anaconda. 160 00:14:39,044 --> 00:14:40,306 Chukka, look, snake, Chukka. 161 00:14:48,854 --> 00:14:52,187 A protesting Diega is removed from her refuge. 162 00:14:52,725 --> 00:14:55,819 Fortunately, she's still sluggish from her meal 163 00:14:56,061 --> 00:14:57,961 and would rather escape than attack. 164 00:14:59,265 --> 00:15:00,027 Wow! 165 00:15:02,101 --> 00:15:03,159 It's beautiful. 166 00:15:03,636 --> 00:15:04,830 Look at those colors. 167 00:15:05,404 --> 00:15:10,068 Diega is not nearly as taken with Jesus as he is with her. 168 00:15:11,443 --> 00:15:15,402 Renee puts an old sock over the snake's massive head 169 00:15:15,648 --> 00:15:16,945 to keep the teeth at bay. 170 00:15:17,549 --> 00:15:18,243 Stay! 171 00:15:18,484 --> 00:15:19,883 Stay! 172 00:15:20,219 --> 00:15:20,947 Be good. 173 00:15:24,456 --> 00:15:25,821 This is like mud wrestling. 174 00:15:32,231 --> 00:15:35,132 Previous catches of the day are getting restless in the truck. 175 00:15:37,937 --> 00:15:40,201 It's time to steer a course for home. 176 00:16:10,135 --> 00:16:12,160 With their home doubling as their laboratory, 177 00:16:12,604 --> 00:16:16,404 living with snakes has become a way of life for Renee and Jesus. 178 00:16:17,076 --> 00:16:19,340 I think we can do the female first. 179 00:16:20,512 --> 00:16:22,207 It's eight hundred and forty-three, right? 180 00:16:22,614 --> 00:16:25,515 8-4-3. 181 00:16:25,751 --> 00:16:29,517 Once inside, they begin processing the snakes. 182 00:16:29,755 --> 00:16:30,414 What number is this? 183 00:16:30,789 --> 00:16:31,721 Eight hundred and what? 184 00:16:31,957 --> 00:16:34,687 Jesus marks each snake with a number. 185 00:16:37,396 --> 00:16:42,527 Renee sketches their tail markings the anaconda version of a fingerprint. 186 00:16:43,168 --> 00:16:45,432 It's easier than wrestling snakes in the wild, 187 00:16:45,938 --> 00:16:48,031 but it has its drawbacks too. 188 00:16:49,174 --> 00:16:51,665 Living with snakes basically is that it stinks. 189 00:16:52,177 --> 00:16:54,441 Literally, it just smells really bad. 190 00:16:54,813 --> 00:16:59,250 They have this musk that smells if you're not really an expert 191 00:16:59,485 --> 00:17:03,478 it smells just like an animal that's been rotting for about five days. 192 00:17:04,056 --> 00:17:07,253 And there are times when we have in the house anywhere 193 00:17:07,493 --> 00:17:10,894 from three to 20 to 25 bags of snakes sitting around the house 194 00:17:11,130 --> 00:17:15,590 with four drums full of big snakes, so basically, yeah, it stinks. 195 00:17:23,075 --> 00:17:27,444 Diega measures about 13 feet long a giant snake, 196 00:17:28,013 --> 00:17:30,072 but by no means the largest. 197 00:17:31,316 --> 00:17:33,944 No one knows how long an anaconda can get. 198 00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:38,783 The 150-foot monsters described in Brazilian news accounts 199 00:17:39,024 --> 00:17:41,390 are biologically impossible. 200 00:17:41,994 --> 00:17:44,792 Even the largest trophy skins don't approach that. 201 00:17:45,564 --> 00:17:50,001 But Jesus's most conservative estimate still boggles the mind. 202 00:17:50,436 --> 00:17:53,769 This is an animal that can grow real close to 30 feet. 203 00:17:54,173 --> 00:17:58,974 The weight of an animal of that kind is something like 1,200 pounds. 204 00:17:59,478 --> 00:18:03,437 We're talking about more than a boar more than a normal cow. 205 00:18:10,389 --> 00:18:13,051 Now catalogued and fitted with a transmitter, 206 00:18:13,292 --> 00:18:15,123 Diega is returned to the llanos. 207 00:18:15,894 --> 00:18:17,521 Guess about here. Alright. 208 00:18:20,499 --> 00:18:23,161 Renee and Jesus bid her a temporary farewell, 209 00:18:23,402 --> 00:18:26,530 hoping that she will successfully mate. 210 00:18:28,807 --> 00:18:30,468 We'll keep in touch. 211 00:18:30,709 --> 00:18:31,641 Yup, we'll be back. 212 00:18:31,877 --> 00:18:33,003 You bet we'll keep in touch. 213 00:18:44,990 --> 00:18:48,255 As the dry season progresses the heat intensifies 214 00:18:48,494 --> 00:18:52,954 and wildlife traffic jams worsen in the remaining waterways. 215 00:18:57,636 --> 00:19:01,663 Capybara herds are forced to congregate in shrinking pools. 216 00:19:05,644 --> 00:19:10,308 And tempers run short among dominant males with harems to guard. 217 00:19:15,754 --> 00:19:19,747 At the water's edge a newborn gets a maternal once-over. 218 00:19:26,198 --> 00:19:30,225 But the mother is still in labor there are more on the way. 219 00:19:33,238 --> 00:19:36,230 The impending birth has attracted vultures. 220 00:19:36,475 --> 00:19:38,966 But they'll play an unexpected role here. 221 00:19:52,324 --> 00:19:57,785 Unlikely midwives, they strip the newborn of its protein-rich placenta, 222 00:19:58,030 --> 00:20:00,828 and squabble over it leaving the baby free 223 00:20:01,066 --> 00:20:03,034 to take its first labored breaths. 224 00:20:13,812 --> 00:20:16,940 The newborns could use a few minutes to get their bearings, 225 00:20:17,316 --> 00:20:19,682 but the llanos offers no grace periods. 226 00:20:23,889 --> 00:20:26,949 They've been noticed by a dominant male nearby. 227 00:20:29,161 --> 00:20:31,322 And his interest may not be benign. 228 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:38,094 This newborn may be the offspring of the dominant male 229 00:20:38,403 --> 00:20:40,132 or that of an upstart rival. 230 00:20:43,442 --> 00:20:47,344 Scientists have yet to determine what force now drives him to act. 231 00:20:48,647 --> 00:20:50,842 In a rarely seen display of violence 232 00:20:51,083 --> 00:20:56,521 he passes sentence on the newborns and appoints himself executioner. 233 00:21:03,495 --> 00:21:05,656 No death goes unnoticed on the llanos. 234 00:21:09,735 --> 00:21:12,363 Spectacled caiman bide their time. 235 00:21:28,220 --> 00:21:33,021 Instantly, the vultures shed their midwife ways for a more familiar role. 236 00:21:50,108 --> 00:21:52,804 Then the caimans lurch ashore for their share. 237 00:22:09,561 --> 00:22:12,257 An underwater cleanup crew will get the rest. 238 00:22:14,399 --> 00:22:17,334 Piranhas, drawn as always to a scene of carnage, 239 00:22:17,569 --> 00:22:19,127 work their grisly magic. 240 00:22:55,140 --> 00:22:59,839 Minutes later, all that remains of the young capybara are the bones. 241 00:23:07,085 --> 00:23:10,248 In a place where some lifetimes are measured in minutes, 242 00:23:10,555 --> 00:23:12,887 a lucky survivor clings to its mother. 243 00:23:13,759 --> 00:23:16,250 He may have no more to fear from his own kind. 244 00:23:16,828 --> 00:23:20,025 But the capybara's enemies on the llanos are many. 245 00:23:29,374 --> 00:23:32,002 It's late afternoon in the Venezuelan savanna. 246 00:23:32,677 --> 00:23:35,237 Everywhere, anacondas are on the move, 247 00:23:35,747 --> 00:23:40,013 taking advantage of cooler temperatures to keep up with the receding waters. 248 00:23:47,325 --> 00:23:51,284 Jesus and Renee savor these last few weeks in the llanos. 249 00:23:51,897 --> 00:23:56,800 Soon the rains will come, making fieldwork virtually impossible. 250 00:23:57,269 --> 00:24:00,466 Work in the llanos is really a unique experience. 251 00:24:00,705 --> 00:24:05,369 You can see the shape of the earth like an ocean of savannah around you. 252 00:24:05,610 --> 00:24:08,943 You have the feeling that those animals that are out there 253 00:24:09,181 --> 00:24:12,446 were there before Columbus arrived to America. 254 00:24:12,784 --> 00:24:14,274 I feel like this is where I belong. 255 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:25,218 Skimmers grab a last meal as dusk descends. 256 00:24:36,141 --> 00:24:39,406 The evening slant of light signals rush hour in the llanos, 257 00:24:39,644 --> 00:24:41,703 as the birds head home to roost, 258 00:24:41,947 --> 00:24:44,313 further darkening the sky with their numbers. 259 00:24:57,696 --> 00:25:01,223 On a riverbank a jaguar finds his last minutes 260 00:25:01,466 --> 00:25:03,832 of daytime rest plagued by flies. 261 00:25:04,903 --> 00:25:08,498 The big cat needs to rouse himself soon and find a meal. 262 00:25:36,501 --> 00:25:39,129 Morning finds a massive female anaconda 263 00:25:39,371 --> 00:25:42,431 looking for an escape from the rising sun. 264 00:25:50,815 --> 00:25:54,911 The drying river bed exposes muddy crevices among the roots 265 00:25:55,153 --> 00:25:57,144 cool, damp caves 266 00:25:57,389 --> 00:26:00,483 where a snake might wait out the last weeks of the dry season. 267 00:26:01,326 --> 00:26:05,524 But the best laid plans of anacondas are no match for Jesus 268 00:26:05,764 --> 00:26:09,222 and his uncanny knack for uncovering snake haunts. 269 00:26:12,637 --> 00:26:16,368 This is the domain of an anaconda named Marion... 270 00:26:16,942 --> 00:26:19,934 an old friend with a notoriously bad temper. 271 00:26:20,345 --> 00:26:21,744 I think there's a snake here, guys. 272 00:26:23,815 --> 00:26:25,112 Yup, a big one, too. 273 00:26:25,350 --> 00:26:26,214 Big, like Marion big? 274 00:26:27,986 --> 00:26:29,578 Probably, Marion, big, yeah. 275 00:26:29,821 --> 00:26:30,913 If it's Marion, she'll come straight for me. 276 00:26:31,156 --> 00:26:32,180 She hates me. 277 00:26:33,024 --> 00:26:34,150 Uh oh, she's Marion. 278 00:26:34,392 --> 00:26:35,620 She already snapped at the pole. 279 00:26:35,860 --> 00:26:37,020 She snapped at the pole already. 280 00:26:37,829 --> 00:26:41,356 Renee will never forget her introduction to Marion. 281 00:26:42,067 --> 00:26:44,763 Yeah, when Marion bit me it was kind of a surprise, 282 00:26:45,003 --> 00:26:47,938 because I'd seen Jesus get bit by snakes all the time. 283 00:26:48,173 --> 00:26:50,869 He might not admit that, but he gets bit a lot. 284 00:26:51,109 --> 00:26:52,906 It goes with the territory. 285 00:26:53,144 --> 00:26:54,941 I thought Well, it can't hurt that much, 286 00:26:55,180 --> 00:26:57,614 because it happens all the time. He doesn't say much. 287 00:26:57,849 --> 00:26:59,976 And she bit me, and yeah it hurt like hell. 288 00:27:00,218 --> 00:27:03,779 That's a huge head just full of muscle it's just pure muscle. 289 00:27:04,089 --> 00:27:06,148 And she got the smallest part of my body, 290 00:27:06,391 --> 00:27:08,621 and yeah, there's no denying it. It hurts a lot. 291 00:27:09,094 --> 00:27:09,856 Alright 292 00:27:14,199 --> 00:27:15,791 Big snake, big snake. 293 00:27:17,102 --> 00:27:21,163 Marion has always made her contributions to science reluctantly. 294 00:27:21,706 --> 00:27:24,834 Jesus is convinced she remembers each capture... 295 00:27:25,377 --> 00:27:27,845 and gets more dangerous with each encounter. 296 00:27:30,148 --> 00:27:30,910 Alright. 297 00:27:33,084 --> 00:27:35,416 Alright. It's her. 298 00:27:37,756 --> 00:27:41,385 Marion is quite capable of killing a human being. 299 00:27:48,199 --> 00:27:50,190 If I let her wrap around me, I'm history. 300 00:27:50,435 --> 00:27:53,063 I'm gone. I'd need at least two more, 301 00:27:53,304 --> 00:27:57,172 three more people to unwrap her because once she makes the loop, 302 00:27:57,409 --> 00:27:59,639 she is absolutely impossible to undo. 303 00:27:59,878 --> 00:28:03,541 You can't just stick your hands between the loops and loosen her up. 304 00:28:03,782 --> 00:28:04,874 It's much too tight. 305 00:28:05,116 --> 00:28:09,109 So even if I have people helping me they need to know what they're doing, 306 00:28:09,354 --> 00:28:12,380 because otherwise it's very hard to it's a very strong animal. 307 00:28:13,091 --> 00:28:21,294 And also the teeth are shaped like needles pushing backwards. 308 00:28:21,533 --> 00:28:25,264 First the mouth holds and then if the animal gets 309 00:28:25,503 --> 00:28:27,368 to make a loop around the prey, 310 00:28:27,605 --> 00:28:31,006 it doesn't matter what kind of prey it is, it's dead. 311 00:28:34,979 --> 00:28:38,437 Anacondas can and do take prey the size of humans, 312 00:28:38,683 --> 00:28:41,516 and many a person's disappearance on the llanos 313 00:28:41,753 --> 00:28:43,550 has been blamed on the giant snakes. 314 00:28:44,889 --> 00:28:47,585 Though no human deaths have been confirmed, 315 00:28:47,826 --> 00:28:51,592 members of the anaconda team have been stalked and attacked. 316 00:28:52,997 --> 00:28:56,160 So, yeah, having been bitten sometimes 317 00:28:56,401 --> 00:28:58,392 yet doing the right thing 318 00:28:58,636 --> 00:29:03,573 I've managed to have all my fingers and toes so far. 319 00:29:10,115 --> 00:29:11,241 Over the years 320 00:29:11,483 --> 00:29:14,475 Jesus has recaptured some of his snakes several times. 321 00:29:15,453 --> 00:29:19,082 He's come to like and respect them as individuals, 322 00:29:19,324 --> 00:29:22,054 but understands that the feelings aren't mutual. 323 00:29:22,894 --> 00:29:25,055 Each time I catch them each time I find them, 324 00:29:25,296 --> 00:29:26,661 I learn something new about them. 325 00:29:26,898 --> 00:29:28,263 And I get attached to them. 326 00:29:28,500 --> 00:29:29,967 I get to understand even their personalities, 327 00:29:30,201 --> 00:29:32,362 makes me really happy when we find an old friend. 328 00:29:32,604 --> 00:29:35,937 But I don't think they're quite as happy to see me as I am to see them. 329 00:29:38,610 --> 00:29:40,669 No, let go, let go. Give me room. 330 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:43,245 Trying to defend herself 331 00:29:43,481 --> 00:29:46,712 this old friend has sunk her fangs into Jesus' hand. 332 00:29:50,421 --> 00:29:51,513 Okay, open the mouth now. 333 00:29:52,223 --> 00:29:52,814 Ready? 334 00:29:53,358 --> 00:29:54,086 Yeah. 335 00:29:55,093 --> 00:29:57,084 Alright, push your finger forward if you can. 336 00:29:57,829 --> 00:30:00,195 Because her teeth curve backwards, 337 00:30:00,431 --> 00:30:02,991 he must fight off the instinct to pull away, 338 00:30:03,234 --> 00:30:04,826 which would only do more damage. 339 00:30:05,837 --> 00:30:10,103 Instead, he must push his hand deeper into her mouth 340 00:30:10,341 --> 00:30:11,774 to free his skewered finger. 341 00:30:13,244 --> 00:30:14,734 Alright, back a little bit. 342 00:30:14,979 --> 00:30:16,913 No, it's caught... 343 00:30:17,148 --> 00:30:18,206 Yeah... 344 00:30:18,750 --> 00:30:20,377 Need a stick. 345 00:30:20,618 --> 00:30:22,813 Alright... 346 00:30:26,157 --> 00:30:27,715 A stick, yeah. 347 00:30:27,959 --> 00:30:30,223 Long on power and short 348 00:30:30,461 --> 00:30:34,124 on stamina the anaconda relents after a few minutes. 349 00:30:34,365 --> 00:30:35,354 It's loosening up now. 350 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:36,589 Okay, okay. We got it, we got it. 351 00:30:36,901 --> 00:30:37,868 Okay. 352 00:30:38,236 --> 00:30:40,636 After six years of snake encounters 353 00:30:40,872 --> 00:30:44,069 Jesus still marvels at the range of temperaments 354 00:30:44,309 --> 00:30:45,799 among his favorite creatures. 355 00:30:47,011 --> 00:30:50,139 Anaconda have a very interesting personality. 356 00:30:50,381 --> 00:30:52,975 Some animals are normally oblivious 357 00:30:53,218 --> 00:30:55,379 and we have caught them several times 358 00:30:55,620 --> 00:30:57,281 and we know they are tame animals. 359 00:30:57,522 --> 00:30:59,786 Some of them are absolute bitches. 360 00:31:00,158 --> 00:31:02,388 They're really... they get to be really mean. 361 00:31:15,874 --> 00:31:19,275 As the heat of the dry season continues to intensify, 362 00:31:19,677 --> 00:31:24,774 the reptilian residents of the llanos bask along disappearing streams. 363 00:31:28,419 --> 00:31:31,388 Capybaras hunker down in what water remains. 364 00:31:40,031 --> 00:31:41,896 For the yellow-headed caracara 365 00:31:42,133 --> 00:31:45,591 the capybaras are an obliging, moveable feast of ticks. 366 00:31:56,748 --> 00:32:00,878 The floodplain that lured many piranhas away from their home rivers 367 00:32:01,119 --> 00:32:03,883 is now evaporating rapidly trapping many. 368 00:32:04,589 --> 00:32:09,617 Stranded and suffocating the once fear some killer is helpless. 369 00:32:12,463 --> 00:32:15,159 No one knows exactly why caimans gape 370 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:17,960 but they might as well be grinning in anticipation. 371 00:32:29,047 --> 00:32:32,505 The crocodilians move in and put an end to the piranha's suffering. 372 00:32:33,318 --> 00:32:35,047 But when the rains come again, 373 00:32:35,286 --> 00:32:37,277 the carnivorous fish will have their day. 374 00:32:44,228 --> 00:32:45,991 It's now late May 375 00:32:46,230 --> 00:32:50,394 six months since the Venezuelan savanna has seen a drop of rain. 376 00:32:52,971 --> 00:32:57,670 But a season of calamity for fish is a season of plenty for birds. 377 00:33:00,611 --> 00:33:05,446 Dozens deep at the water's edge birds wait their turn at the buffet. 378 00:33:12,190 --> 00:33:15,682 Each species has perfected its own feeding technique. 379 00:33:21,232 --> 00:33:24,929 Little distracts the voracious birds from the feast, 380 00:33:25,169 --> 00:33:28,366 but an uninvited guest is about to get their attention. 381 00:33:31,809 --> 00:33:36,075 It's Diega, in search of a nice quiet shallow for mating. 382 00:33:40,585 --> 00:33:44,385 Her arrival seems to elicit more curiosity than fear, 383 00:33:44,622 --> 00:33:48,114 despite the fact that anacondas regularly eat birds. 384 00:33:50,695 --> 00:33:54,153 It's almost as if they know that the snake is an ambush hunter... 385 00:33:54,399 --> 00:33:57,800 and won't waste her energy striking at prey that can see her coming. 386 00:33:59,137 --> 00:34:01,401 Indignant orinoco geese announce 387 00:34:01,639 --> 00:34:04,699 that this is no place for an amorous anaconda. 388 00:34:07,111 --> 00:34:09,511 And the stilts escort her off the property. 389 00:34:12,383 --> 00:34:16,752 Diega retreats, but with an anaconda's characteristic lack of haste... 390 00:34:17,388 --> 00:34:19,253 leaving this place to the birds. 391 00:34:27,765 --> 00:34:32,702 Eventually, Diega finds a suitable place to await her gentlemen callers. 392 00:34:35,740 --> 00:34:39,005 It's likely that the female anaconda sends out 393 00:34:39,243 --> 00:34:41,905 come hither chemicals, or pheromones, 394 00:34:42,146 --> 00:34:45,411 so that the males can locate her using their tongues 395 00:34:45,650 --> 00:34:47,515 as sexual divining rods. 396 00:35:03,468 --> 00:35:06,631 Male anacondas are much smaller than the females. 397 00:35:06,871 --> 00:35:10,807 But with these giant snakes small is a relative term. 398 00:35:25,690 --> 00:35:30,059 He arrives to find the mating party in full swing, but he's undeterred. 399 00:35:41,139 --> 00:35:44,631 Several males have already wrapped themselves around Diega. 400 00:35:44,976 --> 00:35:47,376 It may look like her dance card is full, 401 00:35:47,612 --> 00:35:52,174 but sometimes a female will accommodate up to a dozen males in a breeding ball 402 00:35:52,416 --> 00:35:56,182 a phenomenon Jesus is now trying to understand. 403 00:35:57,288 --> 00:36:01,281 Breeding balls are made of one female and several males 404 00:36:01,526 --> 00:36:06,225 and the question is whether one male gets to mate or several of them do it. 405 00:36:06,664 --> 00:36:08,325 Is it the largest male? 406 00:36:08,566 --> 00:36:09,760 Is it the smallest? 407 00:36:10,001 --> 00:36:12,367 Is it the one that gets their first? 408 00:36:12,603 --> 00:36:13,797 Is it the one that tickles her better? 409 00:36:15,606 --> 00:36:18,871 The "tickling" is done with the male's mating spur, 410 00:36:19,477 --> 00:36:22,969 the last vestige of his lizard ancestor's hind leg. 411 00:36:27,752 --> 00:36:31,620 After mating, the male leaves a sperm plug in the female, 412 00:36:31,856 --> 00:36:36,156 but Jesus believes rival males may be able to squeeze it out of her. 413 00:36:36,694 --> 00:36:38,127 The key question 414 00:36:38,362 --> 00:36:41,661 whether females are impregnated by one male or many 415 00:36:41,899 --> 00:36:45,130 can only be answered if the snakes breed successfully. 416 00:36:56,447 --> 00:36:58,176 Following her radio signals, 417 00:36:58,416 --> 00:37:03,786 Jesus and Renee are thrilled to find Diega has become the belle of the ball. 418 00:37:07,758 --> 00:37:12,218 What comes next will test their snake-handling skills to the limit. 419 00:37:13,764 --> 00:37:17,564 Not only is gathering information of snakes not easy, 420 00:37:17,802 --> 00:37:20,362 but it is basically a race against time. 421 00:37:20,605 --> 00:37:23,733 Once the dry season hits we're out there every day 422 00:37:23,975 --> 00:37:26,671 trying to find as many snakes as we can process. 423 00:37:27,011 --> 00:37:29,741 Once we find breeding balls it's not like catching one snake. 424 00:37:29,981 --> 00:37:32,142 Suddenly you have three four up to 12 snakes 425 00:37:32,383 --> 00:37:34,681 to deal with at one catch. 426 00:37:35,186 --> 00:37:36,744 So, that's a lot of work to do. 427 00:37:44,495 --> 00:37:48,898 Back at the ranch, it's the males' turn to do their bit for science. 428 00:37:50,234 --> 00:37:53,567 Jesus takes blood samples for DNA testing. 429 00:37:53,838 --> 00:37:58,366 Eventually, he'll compare their DNA to that of the offspring 430 00:37:58,609 --> 00:38:00,702 to find out who fathered whom 431 00:38:00,945 --> 00:38:05,041 that is, if all goes well, and Diega has babies in the fall. 432 00:38:06,083 --> 00:38:08,051 But that's far from certain. 433 00:38:08,319 --> 00:38:11,914 She hasn't given birth in the four years Jesus has followed her. 434 00:38:12,156 --> 00:38:15,148 And she's up against the worst dry season in years. 435 00:38:16,527 --> 00:38:18,961 There's no telling when the rains will arrive. 436 00:38:24,802 --> 00:38:28,465 The inland sea has become a mere patchwork of puddles. 437 00:38:28,706 --> 00:38:32,836 Heat and crowding are already taking a toll on the capybaras. 438 00:38:41,752 --> 00:38:46,689 The caracaran once a welcome parasite remover, has become a torment 439 00:38:46,924 --> 00:38:49,484 the weakened capybara has little energy to fight off. 440 00:38:50,594 --> 00:38:53,222 The bird feeds with impunity on the rodent's wounds, 441 00:38:53,531 --> 00:38:55,328 which were inflicted by rivals. 442 00:39:01,772 --> 00:39:04,935 Nearby, an opportunistic predator lurks. 443 00:39:05,810 --> 00:39:10,213 Known as the cougar or mountain lion farther north in the Americas, 444 00:39:10,448 --> 00:39:14,248 the puma finds easy and abundant prey on the llanos. 445 00:39:29,166 --> 00:39:31,760 These are especially hard times for Diega. 446 00:39:32,236 --> 00:39:35,637 Now pregnant she must choose her waterholes well. 447 00:39:36,207 --> 00:39:39,267 Some will disappear altogether in the deepening dry. 448 00:39:39,510 --> 00:39:44,379 And she won't survive for long if she is exposed on the parching surface. 449 00:39:52,156 --> 00:39:54,818 Just seven degrees north of the equator, 450 00:39:55,059 --> 00:39:59,325 with the summer solstice approaching the llanos evaporates. 451 00:40:05,669 --> 00:40:09,799 Scarlet ibises keep a close eye on their sometime nemesis. 452 00:40:28,993 --> 00:40:31,086 In waterholes turned sucking mud, 453 00:40:31,328 --> 00:40:34,729 capybaras wallow and catfish struggle to breathe. 454 00:40:42,006 --> 00:40:44,998 With her water supply running dangerously low, 455 00:40:45,242 --> 00:40:48,609 Diega must now make an excruciating pilgrimage 456 00:40:48,846 --> 00:40:51,076 through the muck in search of shelter. 457 00:41:03,194 --> 00:41:05,890 But the conditions only worsen, 458 00:41:06,197 --> 00:41:10,531 and the next day finds Diega in the shelterof last resort 459 00:41:10,768 --> 00:41:12,736 under the baking mud itself. 460 00:41:15,005 --> 00:41:19,908 Here she will wait for the rains... which show no sign of arriving soon. 461 00:41:33,524 --> 00:41:36,652 Some pregnant females lie exposed on the surface, 462 00:41:36,894 --> 00:41:40,386 where temperatures can reach a deadly 130 degrees. 463 00:41:41,298 --> 00:41:43,630 Many will not make it till the rains come, 464 00:41:43,868 --> 00:41:46,029 and their broods will die with them 465 00:41:46,270 --> 00:41:49,137 a fate shared by many on the scorched llanos. 466 00:42:02,720 --> 00:42:04,881 On the parched plains of Venezuela, 467 00:42:05,122 --> 00:42:08,455 the horizon rumbles with the promise of rain. 468 00:42:34,018 --> 00:42:37,681 The scientists have left the flooded llanos to the capybaras, 469 00:42:37,922 --> 00:42:42,621 not yet knowing if Diega or their other pregnant anacondas survived. 470 00:42:52,336 --> 00:42:54,770 Not until the rains begin to let up 471 00:42:55,005 --> 00:42:58,236 can a worried Jesus take to the air in search of his snakes. 472 00:42:59,109 --> 00:43:01,839 When I go to find Diega after the dry season, 473 00:43:02,079 --> 00:43:04,980 I wonder if she had made it. 474 00:43:05,382 --> 00:43:08,818 This dry season was so hard and so hot 475 00:43:09,119 --> 00:43:12,213 that there was a good chance she dried out. 476 00:43:23,901 --> 00:43:29,168 But Diega has made it, surviving both the drought and her seven-month fast. 477 00:43:29,607 --> 00:43:33,543 She's claimed a bit of high ground to await the birth of her babies... 478 00:43:33,877 --> 00:43:36,175 only then will she eat again. 479 00:43:38,682 --> 00:43:41,947 There will be other reptile births this season as well. 480 00:43:43,454 --> 00:43:47,015 All around, young caimans make their debut on the llanos. 481 00:43:52,963 --> 00:43:55,727 The baby crocodilians emerge from their eggs 482 00:43:55,966 --> 00:43:57,934 snub nosed and chirping. 483 00:44:03,073 --> 00:44:07,737 Almost immediately, they set forth under the watchful eye of their mother. 484 00:44:25,596 --> 00:44:28,656 They are exposed and vulnerable on land, 485 00:44:28,899 --> 00:44:32,596 and waste no time making for the relative safety of the water. 486 00:44:33,637 --> 00:44:37,539 There, they congregate where their mother can keep an eye on them. 487 00:44:42,146 --> 00:44:43,943 Within hours of their birth, 488 00:44:44,181 --> 00:44:47,241 they're pouncing after their first insect meals. 489 00:45:04,468 --> 00:45:08,666 By night, Diega prepares to usher her own family into the world. 490 00:45:18,182 --> 00:45:21,208 Unlike the caiman and most other reptiles, 491 00:45:21,452 --> 00:45:23,352 she gives birth to live young. 492 00:45:30,828 --> 00:45:33,661 Diega has about 40 babies 493 00:45:33,897 --> 00:45:36,627 representing about a third of her body weight. 494 00:45:46,110 --> 00:45:51,571 She also expels a dozen orange spheres eggs that never developed. 495 00:46:01,959 --> 00:46:04,689 The starving mother eats some of her eggs. 496 00:46:05,262 --> 00:46:08,629 These will help sustain her until she's ready to hunt again. 497 00:46:20,844 --> 00:46:23,005 She'll also eat stillborns 498 00:46:24,114 --> 00:46:28,380 hastily backing off if she gnaws a live one by mistake. 499 00:46:35,325 --> 00:46:38,226 Anacondas do not care for their young. 500 00:46:38,462 --> 00:46:41,056 Diega's babies are now on their own. 501 00:46:53,777 --> 00:46:57,178 Within minutes, the first of the newborns moves off, 502 00:46:57,948 --> 00:47:00,314 ready to take its chances in the llanos. 503 00:47:04,555 --> 00:47:07,285 Perhaps half of Diega's offspring will survive. 504 00:47:20,938 --> 00:47:23,736 Even as the neighboring rainforests disappear, 505 00:47:23,974 --> 00:47:27,341 the anaconda continues to thrive in these flooded lowlands. 506 00:47:38,889 --> 00:47:43,155 This morning, the caimans find a free breakfast on the riverbanks 507 00:47:43,694 --> 00:47:47,289 Diega's remaining stillborns which are greedily snapped up. 508 00:47:56,907 --> 00:47:59,774 Some of her living offspring lie low in the hyacinth 509 00:48:00,043 --> 00:48:03,035 doing their best not to attract unwanted attention. 510 00:48:36,680 --> 00:48:40,411 It's time this newborn snake went in search of its first meal. 511 00:48:41,084 --> 00:48:44,247 In fact, a baby caiman might do nicely 512 00:48:44,821 --> 00:48:48,052 But to hunt is to risk becoming the hunted. 513 00:48:54,865 --> 00:48:59,495 Usually, stealth and camouflage render the anaconda invisible to the piranha. 514 00:49:05,943 --> 00:49:08,173 Like a root adrift in a current, 515 00:49:08,412 --> 00:49:10,937 the baby makes its way through the hyacinth. 516 00:49:15,018 --> 00:49:16,645 On rare occasions, though, 517 00:49:16,887 --> 00:49:20,721 an inexperienced youngster blunders into more open waters. 518 00:49:39,643 --> 00:49:43,739 Another baby grabs this opportunity to beat a hasty retreat. 519 00:49:44,314 --> 00:49:49,718 But the llanos has not begun to exhaust its supply of unpleasant surprises. 520 00:49:59,229 --> 00:50:03,256 Like most cats the ocelot's not a big fan of water. 521 00:50:11,375 --> 00:50:14,640 But he'll suffer a dunking in the interests of an anaconda lunch. 522 00:50:29,893 --> 00:50:32,088 Long before they're full-grown 523 00:50:32,329 --> 00:50:34,160 Diega's brood will be decimated. 524 00:50:36,133 --> 00:50:38,465 Those babies have a tough life in front. 525 00:50:38,802 --> 00:50:40,497 They have a lot of predators. 526 00:50:40,771 --> 00:50:43,569 As much as the big ones have almost no predators, 527 00:50:43,807 --> 00:50:45,866 it is completely the opposite in babies. 528 00:50:46,176 --> 00:50:48,007 Nearly every animal can take them. 529 00:50:53,417 --> 00:50:57,478 While Jesus gets acquainted with this year's crop of anacondas, 530 00:50:57,721 --> 00:50:59,655 they get their first taste of him. 531 00:51:02,359 --> 00:51:03,986 With each new generation, 532 00:51:04,227 --> 00:51:06,695 Jesus is one step closer to understanding 533 00:51:06,930 --> 00:51:09,194 the mysteries of anaconda reproduction. 534 00:51:09,466 --> 00:51:10,797 Like their parents 535 00:51:11,034 --> 00:51:14,367 these babies will be numbered, catalogued, and DNA tested. 536 00:51:19,676 --> 00:51:22,611 Then he will return them to the llanos 537 00:51:22,846 --> 00:51:25,906 with a mixture of trepidation and envy 538 00:51:27,617 --> 00:51:30,211 When I let them go I'm jealous I cannot glide 539 00:51:30,454 --> 00:51:33,446 so graceful in the swamp as they do and then spend their life there. 540 00:51:33,690 --> 00:51:37,023 And I have this sense of, you know, 541 00:51:37,260 --> 00:51:39,490 the kids go to college that all the parents have. 542 00:51:39,729 --> 00:51:42,289 They're out on their own and I hope they do well. 543 00:52:01,418 --> 00:52:03,909 Though science is beginning to lift the veil 544 00:52:04,154 --> 00:52:06,452 of terror that surrounds the anaconda, 545 00:52:06,690 --> 00:52:09,989 many of the giant snake's greatest secrets remain unknown. 546 00:52:11,995 --> 00:52:14,520 In the continuing search for answers, 547 00:52:14,764 --> 00:52:18,495 Jesus and Renee will have to probe deeper into the recesses 548 00:52:18,735 --> 00:52:20,999 of South America's jungles, 549 00:52:22,038 --> 00:52:24,734 and there's just no telling what they'll find. 550 00:52:26,276 --> 00:52:31,475 I have no doubt that the giant of giants of anacondas is out there. 551 00:52:31,848 --> 00:52:34,646 Whether we'll find it is a whole other question. 552 00:52:37,420 --> 00:52:42,380 I've thought a lot about what to do if we find this animal that is 553 00:52:42,626 --> 00:52:47,290 too big for me to catch but is too big for me to let go. 554 00:52:48,331 --> 00:52:50,424 I don't know what I will do. 555 00:52:50,667 --> 00:52:53,158 It will be some tough fight. 556 00:52:53,403 --> 00:52:54,734 And I don't know who's gonna win.