01x07 - Amazon River

[bunniefuu]

[upbeat music]

ABC MouseHey, everybody. Let's G-O, go!

Woman[singing] With ABC, --, and Do-Re-Mi

There's endless people and places to see

From the classroom, they can search and explore

With every adventure, you learn more

They visit countries near and far

They love to learn wherever they are

They see the world in a brand-new way

They make great new friends every day

ABC, --, and Do-Re-Mi

Come along and you will see

The more they travel, the more you know

Get ready, let's G-O, go!

[upbeat music]

[electronic chime]

ABC MouseOh, boy, a message from Tara.

-- MouseWhat does it say?

ABC Mouse: "I finally made it to the Gulf of Mexico."

-- MouseShe went more than , miles

from the start of the Mississippi River in a canoe.

Do-Re-Mi MouseWow, more than , miles.

ABC MouseI wonder...

does that make the Mississippi the largest river in the world?

Do-Re-Mi MouseWell, we have to find out.

AllLet's search it.

ABC MouseWorld's largest river.

[power winding down]

Do-Re-Mi Mouse[gasps] Oh, no. The power went out.

-- MouseHow are we going to search now?

ABC MouseLook what I found.

This river, called the Amazon, is more than , miles long.

Do-Re-Mi MouseAnd so is the Nile River in Egypt.

-- MouseBut the Amazon River has more water

than the next six largest rivers in the world put together.

ABC MouseA river that big must have lots of cool animals living along it.

-- MouseThere's only one way to find out.

ABC Mouse: What are we waiting for?

Let's G-O, go!

[laughter]

ABC MouseOh, right.

There's more than one way to get to the Amazon River.

But the quickest is to wait for the power to come back on.

[chuckles] Time really flies when you're with good friends.

[laughter]

ABC MouseAmazon River. Let's G-O, go!

-- MouseLook, a Howler monkey.

I read that you can hear their howl from up to three miles away.

ABC Mouse[laughs] And I thought I could be loud.

[laughter]

ABC MouseDo you see the teeth on those fish?

-- MouseThose are piranha.

Do-Re-Mi MouseOh, look, a sign for an Amazon River boat tour.

Come on.

[birds chirping]

ABC MouseIt's so big.

Do-Re-Mi MouseAnd beautiful.

-- MouseIn the rainy time of the year,

some parts of the Amazon River can be miles wide.

ABC MouseWhere does all the water come from?

{,…}

When it rains somewhere,

water in that area flows into small rivers and streams,

which run into larger rivers, and so on, until they all flow into the main river."],…}

Do-Re-Mi MouseSo all the rain that falls anywhere",…], index, start,…}

-- MouseThat's right, and this "big sink" is called the Amazon River Basin."],…}

It's about the same size as the United States.

ABC MouseThat's not big.

That's H-U-G-E, huge!

-- Mouse: The Amazon River basin includes the countries

of Brazil, Bolivia, Peru,

Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and even a tiny bit of Guyana.

[toad croaking]

ABC MouseHuh? What did you say?

Do-Re-Mi MouseI didn't say anything.

[toad croaking]

-- MouseLook.

ABC MouseHi, little guy.

Do-Re-Mi MouseAwww, isn't this the cutest little toad you've ever seen?

-- MouseIt's definitely the tiniest.

ABC MouseAnd friendliest.

[laughs] That tickles.

Bye-bye, tiny toad.

AndreaActually, it's an Amazonian tree toad.

I'm Andrea. Welcome to the Amazon.

AllHi. Hello. Hi, Andrea.

AndreaWould you like to go out on the boat?

I'd love to show you the beautiful Amazon River.

AllOh boy. Sure. Okay.

ABC MousePeekaboo. We see you.

See you later, alligator.

-- MouseActually, ABC, there are no alligators in the Amazon.

That's a caiman, which is a relative of an alligator.

AndreaYou're going to see a lot of different creatures,

like river turtles, manatees,

and lots of different kinds of fish.

-- MouseMore than , different kinds.

ABC MouseI think I just saw...a dolphin?

-- MouseIn a river? Are you sure?

AndreaThat's the Amazon river dolphin.


They only live in rivers, not in oceans like other dolphins.

Do-Re-Mi MouseAnd...it's pink.

AndreaHere, they love little fish like these.

ABC MouseHere you go.

-- Mouse[laughs]

ABC MouseThe Amazon River is filled with so many amazing animals.

AndreaAnd you are just seeing the ones that live in the water.

There are many more that live on the land.

ABC MouseLike what?

AndreaLike the world's largest rodent, the capybara.

ABC MouseWow.

[laughs] I've gotta see one.

AndreaThen you should go see my friend Lona.

She's a wildlife biologist, and she loves capybaras.

[upbeat music]

LonaI'm so glad Andrea sent you my way.

LonaI always see capybaras in one area by the river.

ABC MouseUh, Lona,

is it normal for leaves here to have legs?

LonaThat's not a leaf.

It's an insect.

AllIt is?

LonaIt's called a leaf-mimic katydid.

ABC MouseI get it.

To imitate or look like something is to mimic it.

LonaExactly.

Looking like a leaf helps protect it from getting eaten by birds

or frogs or something else.

-- MouseLook, capybaras.

We found them.

ABC MouseIt's a family.

Do-Re-Mi MouseDo-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-WHOA!

Oh, look at the baby.

I might just melt.

ABC MouseI hope he can swim.

AndreaCapybaras are excellent swimmers.

An adult can hold its breath for up to five minutes.

-- MouseOoh, that's a fun fact.

ABC MouseI wonder if I can hold my breath that long.

-- MouseFive minutes is seconds, ABC.

ABC MouseNo problem.

[inhales]

LonaSpeaking of breathing, see the forest surrounding the marsh?

Scientists like to call it "the lungs of the Earth."

-- MouseIs it because all those trees make something

that people and other animals breathe in, oxygen?

LonaI had a feeling you'd know.

ABC Mouse[exhales]

Do-Re-Mi MouseWas that seconds?

-- MouseNot even close.

[laughter]

ABC MouseI think I just need a little practice.

-- MouseOr a lot of practice.

[laughter]

AndreaThe rainforest and river are not only important to animals and plants"],…}

but also to the people who live here.

Do-Re-Mi MousePeople? -- MouseWe haven't seen any people so far.

LonaOh, there are a lot of people that live along the river,

some in big cities, and others live in small communities

just as their ancestors have lived for hundreds of years.

-- MouseWith no electricity?

LonaThat's right, like the Yanomami tribe.

ABC MouseCan we meet 'em?

LonaAh, yes, here he is, my friend Doctor Charles Douglas.

He's studying the Yanomami.

[birds chirping]

CharlesABC, Do-Re-Mi, --.

We don't get a lot of visitors.

Welcome to the home of the Yanomami.

{,…}

This is a shabono.

Many different families live together under this roof made from leaves.

From the food they eat to the house where they live,

almost everything you see comes from the plants and animals here.

ABC MouseWow, really? That's so cool.

Do-Re-Mi MouseLook at that.

It's amazing how they can use plants

to make such beautiful baskets.

CharlesAnd those baskets help them do a lot of work too,

like carry fruit and vegetables.

-- MouseAre they going hunting?

CharlesNo, fishing.

ABC MouseWith bows and arrows?

CharlesYep. Would you like to see how?

ABC MouseWe'd love to. -- MouseAbsolutely.

Come on, Do-Re-Mi.

Do-Re-Mi MouseActually, I was thinking, maybe I can stay here

and learn how to make those baskets.

See you later.

CharlesThe ancestors of the Yanomami were the first people to live here.

They depend on the rainforest to survive,

just like their ancestors did thousands of years ago.

ABC MouseWhat would happen to them if the rainforest disappeared?

-- MouseOh, my goodness. That would be awful.

CharlesYep, a lot of people, including scientists, like me,

are working to protect the Amazon River Basin to make sure that doesn't happen."],…}

[bird squawks]

[birds squawking]

ABC MouseWow, there sure are a lot of birds in the Amazon.

-- MouseOh, that must be one of their canoes.


ABC MouseOh, hey, wait up.

-- Mouse: I've never seen a canoe like this before.

CharlesIt's carved from a single tree.

-- MouseWow.

ABC MouseThey really do use bows and arrows to fish.

Amazing.

Do-Re-Mi MouseTa-da!

ABC MouseWe're back.

-- MouseDid you make that all by yourself?

Do-Re-Mi MouseUh-huh. But I had some excellent teachers.

Oh, did you catch anything?

ABC MouseAll kinds of fish, even a piranha.

Look at those chompers.

-- MouseBest of all, we made another tiny toad friend.

Do-Re-Mi Mouse: [laughs] Ohh,

each little toad is cuter than the last.

ABC MouseHe's very "hoppy" to meet you.

[laughter]

[toad croaking]

[mouse squeaks]