01x05 - In Search of the Tasmanian Tiger

[bunniefuu]

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Keep rowing.
We're almost there.

Man, rowing
from continent
to continent is rough.

We're here
in tasmania,

Land of mystery
and intrigue.

[Martin]
discovered in 1642

By a dutch navigator
named abel tasman,

Tasmania
is a huge island

About 200 miles
off of australia.

Home to strange
and amazing creatures--

[Martin]
the sugar glider,
a gliding possum...

[Chris]
the echidna,
an egg laying anteater...

[Martin]
the wallaby,
a pint-sized kangaroo...

[Chris]
the green rosella parrot...

[Martin]
the gray kangaroo,
who can grow to 5 feet...

[Chris]
the platypus
has a duck-like bill...

[Martin]
that burrow-digging
marsupial, the wombat...

[Chris]
and the tasmanian devil!

So stay tuned
to kratts' creatures

As we explore
the land of tasmania.

Iarriba!

Iandale, andale!

Tasmania's a really cool
place for two reasons.

One--there are
so many amazing
creatures

That live here
and nowhere else
in the world.

[Chris]
and two--it has awesome
wilderness areas--

From snow-capped mountains

To scrublands
and even rain forests--

Which makes it
a great creature habitat.

There's another fact
which sets up the whole show.

[Martin]
right.

[Chris]
not only is tasmania
a great creature habitat,

But it's the same place

Allison's great-grandfather
charlie and great-uncle luke

Came on their creature
expedition in 1922.

As far as
reasons to go
to tasmania go,

That has to be
one of the weirdest.

Weird? It's not weird.
It's totally cool.

I mean, charlie and luke

Were great zoologists
and great adventurers.

It'll be neat to re-create
their journeys into tasmania.

We'll follow
their journal,

And we'll have
no problem.

We might even find
some tasmanian tigers.

But the only problem
is that wild tigers

Are found only in asia.

[Chris]
the nearest tiger

Is 1,500 miles away,

No easy trip.

To find
other big cats,

You have to
travel far and wide,

But tasmania's not
a good place to look.

[Martin]
where's the best place to look
for mysterious wild cats?

[Chris]
easy.

Africa! It's the wild cat
mother lode,

And he may not be
the king of beasts,

But the lion is definitely

The powerhouse predator
of the savanna.

Not many cats
look cooler than the lion.

[Martin]
you know what?

I think they know
they're cool.

[Chris]
africa isn't
just home to the lion.

Check out
the fastest land mammal,

The super-charged
savanna speedster,

The cheetah.

[Martin]
look at her go!

She can hit speeds
of 70 miles per hour.

Cheetah cubs--

They're not quick now,
but when they grow up,

They'll accelerate from 0 to 45
miles per hour in 2 seconds!

Faster than a race car!

[Chris]
how about this little guy?

[Martin]
if the lion is the powerhouse,
the cheetah the speedster,

Then the leopard
is the prince of stealth.

[Chris]
he hunts by night.

Watch him pull
a 150-pound impala up the tree.

This is no tabby cat.

Africa's not the only place
you'll find big cats.

Global shift
to south america.

[Martin]
and the jaguar.

At 200 pounds,

He's one of south america's
largest carnivores.

[Chris]
there's more than jags here.
There's jaguarundis...

And ocelots

And margays.

[Martin]
moving on. Next stop--

North america.

Talk about a fierce feline.
Check out the bobcat.

[Chris]
don't forget
his cousin, the lynx,

The pointy-eared wildcat
of the north.

[Martin]
how about the mountain lion,

A.k.a. The cougar?

She roams from northern canada
to southern argentina,

Chowing down on everything
from rats to deer.

You can find wild cats
all over the world--


Cougars...

Jaguars...

Jaguarundis...

Lions...

Lynx...

Tigers...

Margays...

Don't forget
your hep-cat!

So to sum it up, al,
in tasmania,

There are no big cats.

Then what's this?

"June 12, 1922"--

Check it out--

"We are searching
for a creature

"That is
the most tenacious
of hunters,

"Stalking and
ambushing prey

With stealth
and strength."

Sounds like a tiger
to me, guys.

We'll see a creature
we've never
heard of!

[Martin]
maybe there is
a tasmanian tiger.

Let's start
looking.

O.k.
Here's what we do.

We start at the beginning
of charlie and luke's diary.

They started at hobart,

Then went north
to cradle mountain.

Easy as a walk
in the park.

Yeah, right.
Easy as a walk
in the park.

[Martin]
it's got to be
a 185-foot vertical drop!

[Chris]
I don't think those old guys
knew what they were doing.

Allison, are you sure they
knew what they were doing?

They were
famous scientists.

Of course they knew
what they were doing.

They probably planned
every last detail of the trip.

[Chris]
martin, you hear that?

It's like...

[Hissing]

[Martin]
chris! Behind you!

[Chris]
it's a tiger snake.

They're one of the most
venomous snakes here.

[Martin]
did you know they grow


And prey on everything
from frogs to birds?

[Chris]
of course.

I know something else
about tiger snakes.

Do you know what happens
if a tiger snake bites itself?

Nothing!
It's immune to its own venom.

Tiger snakes are
amazing,

And there's still
much to learn
about them.

One thing we know
is they're not
tasmanian tigers.

Charlie and luke
knew that, too.

They talk about finding
tiger snakes

On dead man's ridge,
exactly where you found one.

We're following
right in their footsteps.

They wrote,
"of all the snakes here,

People think the tiger snake
is the most aggressive."

They were pretty brave guys
to even go near it.

Maybe charlie
and luke

Were talking about
the tiger quoll.

Hey, now, that's
a tasmanian tiger
worth investigating.

[Chris]
rocky terrain, dense brush,

Definitely the right location
to find the tiger quoll.

[Martin]
why do they call him
a tiger?

He's got spots
all over him.

You'd think they'd call him
the leopard quoll.

[Chris]
leopard, tiger, either way,
he's a ferocious creature.

He hunts and chows down

On everything from birds
to sugar gliders.

Don't be fooled
by size.

Check out some
of the quoll's relatives,

Like the phascogale--
looks like a mouse,

But he hunts and eats
spiders and small lizards,

And he can tear through
the brush at hyperspeeds,

Just like the dunnart,

Who eats insects

And moves fast enough
to catch his prey

Without becoming
someone else's prey.

[Martin]
o.k. I got one--the kowari.

This carnivorous little guy
is tough enough

To survive in the deserts
of the australian outback.

[Chris]
one thing these guys
have in common other than size--

They're all meat eaters.

The tiger quoll is the biggest
hunter of the bunch.

He's a serious scavenger

Of dead carcasses.

[Martin]
so the quoll
and his relatives

Are tough hunters
and scavengers,

But none of them resemble
a tasmanian tiger.

[Allison]
hey, I knew that.

You still got a while
to travel for them.

Says here it took them
a number of dogs--

Of dogs?

Sorry, I read that wrong.

It took them
a number of days

To even get near
the tasmanian tiger.

That makes more sense.

Dogs like dingoes have nothing
to do with tasmania.

What? Dingoes have a lot
to do with tasmania.

And you know why?
Because they're not there.

About 5,000 years ago,

These wild canines

Made the journey
from asia to australia,

And they loved it there.

It's like australia and dingoes
were meant to be.

The dingo's success
wasn't good for other creatures

Like, say, tasmanian tigers
and tasmanian devils.

[Allison]
wait, I see what you mean.

The tazzy devil
and the tazzy tiger

Lived in australia
and tasmania,

But when the dingo
showed up in australia,

He became
the number one land predator.

The devils and tigers
couldn't compete.

The dingo never made it
to tasmania,

So the tigers and devils
were able to hold on.

That means that
while australia

Was a refuge
for most marsupials,

Tasmania was a refuge
for the devils and tigers.

[Allison]
what about other creatures,
like the sugar glider?

[Chris]
the sugar glider
never has to deal with dingoes.

It can glide
from tree to tree,

So it never has to worry
about the dingoes down below.

But the question
still remains.

Where are
the tigers?

You're close.

Matter of fact,

I think you're reallyclose.

It says here,

"We traveled
through the deep forests,

"And that's when we
first heard

And then found..."

What do you mean
it just ends?

It just
ends in midsentence.

Maybe they ran out of ink.

That doesn't
make sense.

Why would it just end
in midsentence?

Unless something
happened to
charlie and luke.

[Animal growling]

What didcharlie
and luke discover
in the mountains

Of tasmania?

Something tells me

The guys are about
to find out.

Of all
the stupid places

For charlie and luke
to run out of ink.

[Bird calling]

What is that?

I don't know,
but you know what
I think it is?

A kookaburra!

[Chris]
people might laugh at these
birds because they look weird,

But actually,
kookaburras are famous

For the way theylaugh.

[Kookaburra calling]
hoo hoo ha ha haa!

[Martin]
I wonder if there's any way
to make a kookaburra laugh.

So the guy
says to the wombat,

"You've got breath
like an emu."

[Kookaburra calling]
hoo hoo ha ha haa!

Let me try that.

What do you call
a camel with no humps?

Humphrey! [Hump-free]

Timing.

[Chris]
actually, even good jokes
won't work on a kookaburra.

Their laugh is actually
a territorial call,

A way of saying

"Step back, pal.
This is my turf."

[Martin]
he's a seriously tough bird.

He'll eat young birds, snakes,
small mammals, insects,

And even crabs, which he breaks
open with his powerful beak.

[Kookaburra calling]
hoo hoo ha ha haa!

Hey, martin!
Another creature
of the night!

[Martin]
a ring-tailed possum.

He's just perched
in the tree.

I think
he spotted something.

I wonder what.

[Chris]
hey, what's that sound?

Let's check it out.

[Allison]
guys, what's up?

[Chris]
the kookaburra is gone,

But clues are telling us
that another creature is nearby.

There's that weird
howling and growling.

[Growling]

[Martin]
whoever's out there,

They've got
their eyes on us,

And they've got us
surrounded.

[Growling]

And look!

[Animal growling]

Somebody's been
feasting on this
rotten carcass.

[Martin]
o.k. Wait a minute.

We're in tasmania.

We're hearing
really weird noises.

We're seeing chewed carcasses.

Wait!

That means
that we've been
getting freaked out

By the tasmanian devil!

[Allison]
tasmanian devil?

The real tasmanian devil?

This is amazing!

We haven't found
a tasmanian tiger,

But we're going to see
a real tasmanian devil.

I don't even know
what they look like.

[Animals growling]

There they are.

[Together]
the tasmanian devils!

[Allison]
hold it!

Everyone is probably thinking
about the tasmanian devil

From saturday morning
cartoons.

I know iam,

But we're going to see
the real thing.

We should all keep
open minds about this.

Tasmanian devils
sound really ferocious...

[Growling]

[Martin]
and they are.

These amazing creatures
are great scavengers,

Which means they eat animals
that are already dead.

[Chris]
and they're picky
about who they eat with--

Preferably nobody.

But when devils
scrap over food,

It's not always
the biggest who wins.

Sometimes a little devil
will win ifhe's hungry.

Listen to them growling,
grunting, and screaming.

[Chris]
those sounds don't mean
they're angry.

They're just trying
to scare the other guy

Away from the food,

But all that ruckus raising
can really backfire

Because if other devils hear it,
they'll move in.

Every devil in earshot
comes looking for grub.

Hey, martin.

Look at how they're eating
that dead kangaroo.

[Martin]
eating it?
They're inhaling it!

Five hungry devils
can polish off a kangaroo

In a single night.

[Growling]

[Chris]
tazzy devils can chew up
just about anything.

[Martin]
sure, because t-devils have
superpowerful jaws

That can even chew
through leather boots.

[Chris]
leather boots?

[Martin]
yeah.

[Chris]
imagine that.

Wow.

[Chris]
you got to have
strong jaws for that.

[Martin]
no kidding. Big devils can even
crunch up kangaroo leg bones.

[Chris]
can you imagine if humans
tried to bite through bone?

[Devils growling]

I haven't eaten
all day.

I might join them.

You can't eat
that stuff.

The devils can eat
rotten, raw meat

Because they've got
an incredible immune system.

Yeah. You're right.

If I chowed down
with the devils,

I'd probably need
this much medicine

To keep
from getting sick
and dying.

[Chris]
the smell of that carcass
makes me want to...well, puke.

[Martin]
it's perfectly natural.

They can eat a carcass
that's been rotting for days.

[Chris]
now I amgoing to barf.

[Martin]
you notice something
about the way t-devils move?

They seem so fierce.

They're actually
slow and clumsy.

[Chris]
could it be that t-devils
aren't so ferocious?

Take a look.

This guy doesn't
seem so tough.

He seems
more scared of us.

[Chris]
yeah. He's moving off.

[Growling]

[Martin]
chris, it's a devil
in the tree!

[Chris]
he's getting high up
to sniff out another carcass.

I didn't know
devils could climb.

[Martin]
there's a lot people
don't know about devils.

T-devil babies grow up
in pouches, just like kangaroos.

[Chris]
one of the first things
they learn to do is scrap.

[Martin]
a baby t-devil play fight
is one wild tangle.

But you know what?
Nobody is getting hurt.

Matter of fact,

Even though they may look
like gnarly monsters,

They're actually
little blustery bluffers

That couldn't even
k*ll a rat.

[Chris]
we should add t-devils
to the long list

Of misunderstood creatures.

[Martin]
speaking of misunderstood...

[Chris]
spiders! Aah!

Get them away from me!

[Martin]
oh, boy.

Talk about arachnophobia.

We all know people who are
freaked out by spiders, but why?

They look like furry
eight-legged little monsters,

But they're not.

If you learn about spiders,
you'll begin to understand

That they're more cool
than creepy.

[Martin]
sharks...the terrors
of the deep.

[Chris]
yeah, right.
Terrors of the deep.

Every year, humans hunt
tens of thousands of sharks,

But there's been less
than 75 shark att*cks on humans.

You're more likely
to get att*cked by a cow

Than a shark.

[Chris]
african wild dogs are evil,
vicious, relentless, ruthless,

Bloodthirsty K*llers.

[Martin]
hello! It's that
foolish notion

That caused people to hunt them
to near extinction,

But today we know wild dogs
are just efficient.

Their packs
are close-knit families.

There's never been
a recorded att*ck on a human.

[Martin]
rabid bats take wing
to slake their thirst for blood!

[Chris]
come on!

There are a lot
scarier things than bats.

A healthy bat
has never att*cked a human.

Most bats
are insect eaters.

As a matter of fact,
bats are cool.

You should get
to know them.

[Chris]
snakes...

Poisonous, stinging, slithery,
sinister coils of death!

[Martin]
good line--
not true.

Hey, a snake won't bite
unless youscare it.

Remember, snakes are
more scared of people.

To get along with snakes,
here's what you do--

Find out
which snakes are poisonous

And leave them alone.

Then you can
check out the rest

Because most snakes
are totally harmless.

[Martin]
wolves are nothing
but lowdown, dirty varmints!

[Chris]
anybody with creature sense
knows that wolves are awesome.

They're north america's
superpredators,

But don't worry.

No human has ever been att*cked
by a healthy wild wolf.

They like to keep to themselves
and to their families.

[Martin]
so when it comes
to misunderstood animals,

T-devils are
in good company.

[Chris]
what have we
figured out here?

[Martin]
one thing is for sure--

Tazzy devils are not
vicious, ruthless K*llers.

[Chris]
they make ferocious noises,

They may be able
to chomp through bone,

And they eat dead things,

But they're completely
harmless to humans.

Tasmanian devils are tough,
but sort of clumsy--

Little scavengers
that don't bother anyone--

Cool creatures,
and rare.

Tasmanian devils
only live here,

On the island
of tasmania,

And the reason
for that...

It's here in charlie
and luke's second diary.

The reason is
that the dingoes of australia

Never got to tasmania,

So they couldn't
wipe them out

The way they did
in mainland australia.

Uh-oh.

Tasmanian devils
andtasmanian tigers

Are being hunted
by humans.

People believe these creatures
are k*lling their livestock.

[Martin]
hunted? Are you sure?

That's what it says.

They're both being hunted
by humans.

Wait a minute.

In tasmania,
it's illegal to k*ll
a tasmanian devil.

Yeah.
It's been that way
since the 1940s.

Yeah, but 1940
was 18 years

After charlie and luke
were in tasmania.

If both creatures were
being hunted during that time...

I think I know what happened
to the tasmanian tiger.

There's one information file
I didn't check.

Oh, man.

The reason you guys aren't
finding the tasmanian tiger

Is because
it's now extinct.

The last one ever seen is
supposed to have d*ed in 1936.

You mean he's gone?
No more?

Maybe it wasn't hunters.

It says here
that there was an epidemic

That k*lled
a lot of tiger quolls

Off the eastern mainland


So the quolls
and devils survived,

And the tiger
didn't.

At least people stopped hunting
in time to save the devils.

Not in time
for the tigers.

In other words,
the world came very close

To losing not only
the tasmanian tiger,

But this little guy, too.

By the time
the government

Started protecting
the tasmanian tiger,

It was too late,
and they had
disappeared.

The tasmanian devil
remains.

They're now on the list
of protected species.

Hey, al, do you think
charlie and luke

Ever saw
the tasmanian tiger?

Believe it or not,
they actually did,

In the last place
you'd imagine.

[Allison]
they said that
"we saw before us

"The most tenacious
of hunters.

"He never tired
or gave up his chase.

"The tasmanian tiger
simply wore out his quarry,

No matter how long
it took."

But what they didn't tell us
was this--

That it's a magnificent
and beautiful creature indeed.

Sometimes we do the right things
for the right reasons,

But it's just too late.

We were too late
to save the tasmanian tiger.

But maybe there is
a little hope.

Over the years, there have
been sightings of the tiger.

It's neat to think that
it might still be alive.

Hey, you never know.

Did you see that?

In those bushes.

Whatever it was,
it had stripes
on its back.

[Allison]
wow! Do you think?
Is it possible?

You never know.

You can't keep
a good tasmanian
tiger down.

[Chris]
o.k. Here's the plan.

Figure tasmania's--
what, about 2,624 square miles?

It shouldn't be too hard.

How many places are there

For a striped marsupial tiger
to hide out?

[Martin]
it should be easy.

If we could search


We'll cover tass
in 524 days.

That's a lot of days.

[Chris]
what happened to
your sense of adventure?

[Martin]
I still got it,

But 524 days
is still a lot of days.