♪ [ speaking foreign language ] patagonia's forests are magical places.

here age-old relationships between animals, people and trees still survive. these bonds are needed like never before as these ancient forests face unprecedented threats. at the ends of the earth is a land of extremes. home to spectacular wildlife. for centuries, people and animals have battled for supremacy. but now enemies are becoming allies. together they face new

challenges in our rapidly changing world. >> you are at the mercy of the elements. >> this is the story of what it takes to survive. on the edge of the world. patagonia's forests are filled with fascinatiting wildlife and jaw-dropping vistas unlike anywhere else on earth. we're on a journey of discovery through patagonia's wild woodlands, from its northern rainforests to the tip of south america where the trees have to tough out long, freezing winters. forests filled with a host of

miraculous creatures. many found nowhere else on earth. today, though, these ancient woodlands are under siege, sometimes from surprising threats. these are araucarias, patagonia's most iconic trees. because of their intricate branching, they're also known as monkey puzzles. found only in southern south america, they were once far more common.

they're hanging on in a few remote spots, peppered along the slopes of patagonia's volcanoes in both chile and argentina. reaching up to 160 feet, these giants are survivors from the jurassic era more than 145 million years ago. distinct spiny leaves evolved as a defense against hungry long-necked dinosaurs. but today's visitors are less destructive. though they do raise a racket.

austral parakeets, the southernmost species of parrot on earth. a restless bunch, they flit from tree to tree in flocks of up to 15 birds. when they find a good feeding spot, numbers can swell to over 100. their preferred way to fatten up for the winter? gorging on monkey puzzle pine nuts. in return, the birds spread the seeds far and wide. but the parakeets aren't the only ones here for the harvest. the mapuche, indigenous people who have lived here for almost

3,000 years. they rely on these seeds for food. grinding them into flour to make bread. the mapuche's unique bond with the trees was almost broken. for hundreds of years, european colonizers stole their land and forests, stripping them for lumber, and the devastation continued through the 1990s. etrona peyao watched as homes were torched and many of her relatives fled to neighboring

countries. but she remained to defend her community and the trees. in recent decades the mapuche battled with loggers and the government demanding legal protection for the trees. and they won. today these once besieged monkey puzzle forests are protected by

law across patagonia. to the relief of parrots and humans alike. but while these giants may yet survive for more millennia, one of patagonia's tiniest creatures could really use a helping hand. ♪ let me down easy ♪

♪ ♪ let me down ♪ ♪ ♪ let me down easy ♪ ♪ ♪ ooh ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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a vast region straddling southern chile and argentina, north to south it's over 1,000 miles, more than 200 miles longer than california, and its mountain spine is blanketed by distinct forest kingdoms. in the north, nestled in a narrow strip between the mountains and the warm waters of the pacific, is the valdevean rainforest. bordered by ice caps, oceans and deserts, it has been cut off from the outside world for millions of years. this is the forest that time forgot. home to tiny magical creatures.

many found nowhere else on earth. only 13 inches high, say hello to the world's smallest deer, the southern pudu. this miniature mom has her fawn in tow. they'll stay close for up to a year. but pudus aren't the only tiny marvels here .

this elusive speedster is the monito del monte. it's a marsupial raising its young in pouches like koalas and kangaroos. the monito is the only creature in sowing america to truly hibernate. remarkably, it's lived here virtually unchanged for 60 million years. biologists study animal metabolism. he first discovered one of these puzzling little creatures at the start of his career. the monito's ability to survive the winter fascinated him, and

he made it his life's work to figure out exactly how they pull it off. solve the mystery and it might just help us to better understand our own metabolism. roberto quickly discovered that monitos really know how to pack on the pounds. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> like all monitos this tiny critter is nocturnal. to learn its secrets roberto and his team leave out baited cage traps overnight. this little guy just couldn't resist a free meal.

now he's ready to be weighed and measured. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> hibernation has enabled

monitos to survive the winters here. >> [ speaking foreign language ]. >> the truth is the monito's future is looking bleak. their forest home is being cut down to make way for farmland. >> [ speaking foreign language ] . >> but roberto remains optimistic.

>> [ speaking foreign language ] . >> just as the monito has roberto fighting for its protection, other creatures also have champions going the extra mile. if you wake up thinking about the market and want to make the right moves fast... get decision tech. for insights on when to buy and sell. and proactive alerts on market events. that's decision tech. only from fidelity.

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summer in the magnificent ancient valdivian rainforest. everyone's making the most of the good weather . magellanic woodpeckers, they're south america's largest woodpecker, up to a foot and a half tall.

dad sports a scarlet hood. while mom's feathers are all black. they are kept busy by their growing chick. he's beginning to get his own red crest. but his face still has some black feathers. he has a way to go. magellanic woodpecker couples are monogamous, defending their territory and sharing parenting duty for over two years. the family depends on old growth forest with plenty of rotting wood. teeming with juicy insects and grubs.

the hungry chick gives it a shot. right idea, wrong wood. it's not rotten enough. dad shows him how it's done. displaying his well-honed technique as he digs out grubs . the chick's got a lot to learn before he can fend for himself. while woodpeckers stand out among the trees, the valdivian

rainforest is a sanctuary for an extraordinary number of smaller, less obvious species. many still undiscovered. which attracts intrepid scientists like isai madriz. isai explores extreme environments, searching for some of the earth's least loved creatures. bugs. his passion began in college when he first looked at one through a microscope. >> i started seeing how beautiful they were.

a bug could be as beautiful as any mammal you might like. >> his mission to track down new species has led him to alerce andino national park in chile. >> this forest is special because it's considered a biodiversity hot spot. >> if you're looking for inspects, this is the place to be. >> today esai is on the hunt for a bug he's never captured before. a primitive crane fly. it's lived here for millions of years. like the monito, it's virtually unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs. being nocturnal, the crane fly is tricky to find and even

trickier to catch. esai uses a light trap. a small light bulb on top attracts the night-flying insects and a fan sucks them in. the next morning he checks the trap, hoping to find a new friend. >> very careful so i wouldn't damage the legs. wow. so beautiful. >> esai has finally caught one of these incredibly rare insects. >> what makes this species of primitive crane fly that we're after special is it's the largest species of that entire family.

>> some would assume it's simply a pest, but every creature here in the forest has a part to play. esai sees the crane flies as the forest's cleaning crew. their larvae chew up dead trees, helping them to rot and stopping them from damming up the rivers. he believes these tiny insects may support the whole rainforest. >> this could have a huge impact in the biodiversity that you see in rivers in this part of the world. >> species that play vital roles in the forests are worth seeking out and saving. >> all the evidence that i am

finding doing my field work leads to conservation. if you don't know what's out there, you cannot preserve those species. if it's been around for millions of years, that means they are hugely important for this ecosystem. we just don't know about it yet. >> esai isn't the only one hunting for extraordinary creatures. further south a man is on a mission to see one of patagonia's most elusive predators. discover intuitive technology at the lexus golden opportunity sales event. hepatitis c? don't just treat it. crush it with mavyret. conquer it with mavyret. cure it. with mavyret. mavyret cures all types of hep c. in only 8 weeks. the virus multiplies daily and can damage the liver over time. mavyret stops hep c and cures it.

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the vast and magical valdivian rainforest is home to many fascinating creatures, like this peculiar pocket-sized predator, the kodkod. they may look cute, but kodkods are ruthless killers. often preying on poultry, which puts them on the locals' hit

list. kodkods are now threatened with extinction. one man has become their defender, fernando vidal. he's given up his life as a pilot, devoting himself to looking after captured and injured kodkods. it all started when he was 12 years old and he tried to persuade neighbors not to kill a kodkod raiding their chicken coop. little did he know their futures would become so entwined. surprisingly little is known about these wild cats.

>> [ speaking foreign language ]. >> to try and understand them fernando wants to observe kodkods behaving naturally without fear of persecution. he's had a tipoff that some cats have been spotted 400 miles to the south in laguna san rafael national park. he's got five days to try to find them. but it won't be easy. kodkods are so elusive. some call them them the ghosts of the forest.

>> [ speaking foreign language ] . >> fernando spends the next four days combing the forest for tracks and signs, trying to stay optimistic. but the tiny cats always seem one step ahead. it's fernando's fifth and final day.

his last chance to see a kodkod here. after searching all day he finds evidence that he's getting close. [ speaking foreign language ] >> as the evening approaches and hope begins to fade -- it's the rarest of the rare. a melanistic, or black, kodkod.

this is almost certainly the first time a melanistic kodkod has been filmed in the wild. >> [ speaking foreign language ]. >> though it was just a glimpse, seeing a wild kodkod unafraid of humans gives fernando hope for the future of these little cats.

30 miles to the south, patagonia's forests are preparing for winter, and life for one of its most endangered creatures is about to change forever.

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though summer is nearly over in patagonia's mountain forests, temperatures are still pushing 90 degrees fahrenheit. young pumas are getting older and bolder. honing their climbing skills. but their claws are no defense against the season's greatest threat .

the forests are tinder dry. all it takes is a spark. devastating fires are all too common in patagonia's dryer forests. though lightning starts a few of them, more than 90% are caused by humans, either accidentally or to clear land for grazing. every year tens of thousands of acres of forest are turned to ash.

fires are even a problem in the colder regions of patagonia. at the far end of the continent majestic southern beach forests stretch for nearly 700 miles down towards the antarctic. ♪ autumn's here. so deciduous trees prepare for winter, drawing back nutrients from their leaves. the result, a stunning blanket of color rivaling any treescape on earth. but this magical display doesn't

last long. the first snows of winter have arrived. for ranger daniel vasquez romero it's a special time of year. he used to be a commercial sheep rancher, but his love of nature has led him to a new calling, rounding up a very different kind of creature. the incredibly rare south andean deer. the hmt uemul.

their short legs and stocky build are perfectly adapted for life in upland forests. daniel uses radio tracking callers to follow them over the rough terrain. they are necessary for their survival. poaching a habitat loss and have driven the huemul to the brink of extinction. fewer than 1,500 remain. just 1% of their former population, making them one of the rarest mammals on the planet. at the start of winter, daniel fits the young huemuls with their first radio-tracking callers. he's joined by colleague and wildlife veterinarian christian sausedo. they've both dedicated their lives to a project that is transforming patagonia. in a groundbreaking partnership

the governments of chile and argentina have teamed up with a charity, tompkins conservation. their mission, to rewild vast areas of former farmland. cristian is in charge of the project, hoping to save the huemul. >> since the beginning the huemul as an endangered species has been a very important species. our reports for conservation have been focused on huemul because protecti ing huemul you are protecting forests and other species. >> to do this cristian must take drastic measures.

this year's fawns need to be darted and sedated. it may look dramatic, but it's harmless for the deer. they get a health check and a collar that will help keep them safe. >> i hope that the work that we have been doing contribute to the recovery of this species and the ecosystems in patagonia. we should keep working for that. >> for this new generation of huemuls life will now be a little safer with cristian and daniel watching over them.

but for another of patagonia's forests the future is less certain. in the far south an unwelcome developer is causing big trouble. with deadly consequences. the cnn original series, patagonia, has brought to you by dish, tuned in to you. >> nothing is coming, that's right, nothing is coming.

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large out-of-state corporations have set their sights on california. they've written prop 27, to allow online sports betting. they tell us it will fund programs for the homeless. but read prop 27's fine print. 90% of profits go to out-of-state corporations, leaving almost nothing for the homeless. no real jobs are created here. but the promise between our state and our sovereign tribes would be broken forever. these out-of-state corporations don't care about california. but we do. stand with us.

>> in patagonias far south sits the -- rugged collection of islands covering almost 30,000 square miles. in the park, winters icy grip is tightening. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the fares are getting busy. and the numbers are looming.

which is a problem because they're not supposed to be here. they're relentless showing is decimating the forests. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> in 1946, just ten pairs of beavers were imported here from canada. the idea was to launch a new for trade. no one realized how much damage beavers can do, if left unchecked by predators. today, more than 100,000 beavers are ravaging patagonia. there is no easy solution.

as arredondo from the wildlife conversation society is well aware. >> [speaking spanish] >> unlike their north american cousins, these trees can't grow knew that once from stumps. and according to conditions, they simply drown. thousands of acres of trees are dying every year, driving this man and his team to do the unthinkable. >> exterminate the invaders. they set up humane but lethal drop trap.

only then can they destroy the dance dance dams. finally, the forest waters can flow freely again. eradicating the beavers will be tough. but it's important work. not just for this wilderness, but for the planet. patagonias a vast forests, like the jungles of the amazon, trap huge amounts of carbon, helping to fight climate change. >> [speaking spanish]

[speaking spanish] >> only now are waking up to the importance of protecting patagonias forests. but some have known how vital they are all along. the monkey puzzle forests, conservation has been going on unnoticed for generations. this community has been taking care of their trees for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

>> [speaking foreign language] [speaking foreign language] >> there was suspected a show for those trees demonstrates how flores can survive. and thrive. long into the future. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> next on patagonia ♪ ♪ ♪

: life on the edge of the world. we go behind the scenes. and reveal how our crews battle the elements. >> to film the animals and the people who live in one of the wildest places on earth. >> [inaudible] >> and brusly's second film, there is a part where he beats up a group of japanese bodyguards. but don't worry, when reason was that they've given him a gift, a gift was a frame picture that right, the chinese of the sikh innovation. afte