The Wild Ones

Our planet is under threat like never before.

This shouldn't happen. It breaks my heart.

We lose up to 150 different species every single day.

Oh, my word!

That's actually crazy.

And a million more are threatened with extinction.

But we are on a mission to try and change that.

That is a big drop-off.

Keep your eyes forward, mate. You know what I mean?

This is gonna be some ride.

We're entering the unknown.

Our job: to find and film

some of the rarest animals on the planet.

We got it.

- I can't believe it! - Show me!

And help scientists to save them.

- That's the last one. Yeah. - Last one. Yeah.

This is beautiful.

Before it's too late.

That is destroying the entire ecosystem. Look at that.

I'm Dec and I specialize in getting cameras into places

where no one else can.

Ooh, that's pretty tight in here.

If a bear comes now, I'm a goner.

I'm Vianet. I connect to these animals through my camera lens.

This is extraordinary. It's looking straight at me.

And I'm Aldo.

Former Royal Marines commando and team leader.

- All right, big man? - I'm all good!

It's my job to keep Vianet and Dec safe.

Do you think this will take my weight?

No!

This might…

be my toughest challenge yet.

- Radio check. - Yeah, Aldo good. Check. Out.

We're entering the land of the king of the jungle here.

The smell of it. The trees. I'm lacking words to…

to describe what I'm looking at.

Absolutely incredible.

- I don't know about you guys. - Yeah, I like it.

- You like it, do you? - Do you like it?

- Yeah! -

- I'll chuck you in the water! -

We're in Malaysia, in the heart of Southeast Asia…

heading to one of the oldest rainforests on the planet.

Taman Negara.

We're searching for the world's rarest wild tiger,

the Malayan tiger.

It's crazy to think there's tigers roaming this forest.

At the moment, it just looks like a blanket of pure green.

It's beautiful.

But the forest hides an ugly truth.

Over the last century, tiger numbers have crashed by over 90 percent.

On the last count, they said there was no more than 150 left.

That's heart-breaking.

Out of the nine different tigers worldwide,

three are now extinct.

And a key threat is poaching.

Criminals make thousands of dollars from a single animal.

And the Malayan tiger could be next to go…

unless Malaysia's army of over 1,000 rangers

can keep them safe.

What makes this forest so special is how well protected it is.

Do you see the rangers' station up there?

These guys are the true heroes of this forest.

We need to find out if the ranger protection is working,

and whether the population is bouncing back.

To do that, we've got to get these secretive cats on camera.

Where we're heading now is one of the last remaining wildernesses.

It's thought there's been more people in space than have been up this river.

Ahead of us is a two-day journey

through 20 miles of thick jungle.

How are we gonna get up there?

- That's a big fall. - Yeah, that's a big tree.

Boys, I think we might be getting out here.

We're entering the unknown.

Just be careful. The flow is quite fast.

I've never had to travel like this, man!

The fallen tree has created a narrow channel

of treacherous, fast-moving water.

- Coming in hot. - Guys, just watch…

Pass it on, pass it on.

Watch your feet, guys. There's a load of logs underneath.

Oh, shit!

Without tigers at the top of the food chain,

this entire ecosystem is under threat.

We're going through.

One more. One more boat.

But protecting them also preserves the jungle itself

and thousands of species that live here.

It's good. It's good.

That's it. Last boat.

We're done.

- Way-hey! - Well done!

- Good team effort, man! - It's a good way to get into the forest.

Oh, I feel like swimming now.

- Yeah. Go for a little… - I can actually really have a dip.

- - Yeah.

I'm glad there's no crocs in here.

But just when we think we can't get any wetter…

- - Ah! Look at that!

Oh! Look at that.

- Hey! - Man!

Oh, is it broken? It's broken!

I've got gaffer tape!

- - Ah, there we go.

You look like a retired commando.

This makes so much sense. In the rainforest, what do you expect?

It rains most days here.

But this is nothing compared to the monsoon that is due to arrive

in just two weeks,

when this jungle becomes impassable for four solid months.

So we have to get in, and out, before that starts.

After eight hours on the water,

we're only halfway to our destination in the center of the park.

Time to set up camp.

I am really tired, but I've still got to spend some time

making sure that my little comfort zone

is going to be nice for me to sleep in tonight.

So I've just got the old machete. I'm gonna clear this area.

I've already been bitten by an ant on the ear.

I don't know how it got up on my ear.

Yeah, it's all good in the jungle.

Change the yellow bags out for black bags.

- That black bag at your right foot, Dec. - This one?

Take that food bag over there.

The river from here gets much narrower and much shallower.

So we need to decant all of our kit into these Canadian canoes.

- This is gonna be some ride! -

What's gonna be interesting is when we get to the first set of rapids,

'cause these boats are heavy.

As soon as it catches a little bit of water, then we're sinking.

Heavy, very heavy.

We good?

Yeah. Yeah.

He thinks we're okay. That's good.

Oy, it's getting rapidy now!

This feels so precarious.

Ten canoes…

Go, go, go, go!

…a team of 30 people…

…and all our filming equipment

heading the wrong way up river rapids.

What could possibly go wrong?

That's right, get the rope ready.

Whoa! Oh, shit!

- Dec! Dec! - Dec, you all right?

That could be a disaster.

Lift it!

Yeah.

- This. Yeah. - You good?

Are you okay?

That is drenched.

Oh, this will be horrible.

We have to hope the waterproof boxes do their job.

I've got a Peli case. It looks dry.

- Is the engine all good? - Is the engine flooded?

Okay, yeah, okay.

This stretch of river is different from before.

Even shallower.

Even faster.

But it's not far now.

Here comes the rain!

After two days of battling up 20 miles of white water…

Whoa! Oh!

…we finally make it to our base camp.

Well, I mean, I literally can't get any wetter.

But here we are. Look at this view!

- Look at that! - That is absolutely stunning.

We are camping out at the base of 1,000 feet of towering limestone.

This huge rock is the heart of Taman Negara.

Well, I think this is one of the greatest natural wonders of the world, isn't it?

Look at it!

I can't wait to see that when I'm not so damp. Yeah.

You know what, guys? The rain is a blessing.

At least I won't have to shower tonight, eh?

This untouched area is packed with unexplored caves and valleys.

And it should be perfect tiger territory.

But first, we have to find a safe place to set up camp.

You know, I'm not worried about tigers here,

but I am slightly worried about elephants.

As much as I'd love to see an elephant,

I wouldn't want to get too close to one, you know?

- They come through here. - Oh, really?

Yeah, there's a trail through the back there.

Oh, wow. Do you want to swap places with me?

What do you…? Do we get out? We've got to get out, right?

Yeah, but strategically, not just running.

Because when you run, you're asking for it.

- Yeah? - Yeah, definitely.

Shall we do a test run tonight?

Yeah, I'd love to do one of those.

You'll see Dec running about in his boxer shorts at three o'clock in the morning!

I don't think I'm gonna be sleeping in my boxer shorts.

- It's too hot. -

So this one has been on me for a little while.

That is a tiny leech.