Prairies of Amazonia

The episode is set in South America where the Amazon used to stand in 5 million years time. It features three species: (1) Carakiller, a descendant of the mountain caracara which has evolved to replace land predators; (2) Babookari, a descendant of the uakari which lives like baboons and has discovered how to catch fish; (3) Rattleback, a descendant of an agouti which has developed tough armour and can live through quickly-passing grass fires. This episode shows that due to the cooling of the planet, the Amazon rainforest has vanished and has been replaced by grassland. Most primates have died out but the Babookari has evolved to live on the plains. They have also become much cleverer and can now make nets out of twigs to catch fish. There is also the rattleback, a heavily armoured rodent which is somewhat fireproof, and lives on a diet of Carakiller eggs, grass stems, and tubers. The episode also shows the biggest danger to these animals - fire.

Writing:
  • Victoria Coules
  • Pierre de Lespinois

Stars:
Release Date: 2002-04-02
Seasons: 1
TMDb: 7.3/10
  • Country: CA, GB, US
  • Language: English
  • Runtime: 325

Other episodes for this season

Welcome to the Future
Episode 1 - Welcome to the Future
Return of the Ice
Episode 2 - Return of the Ice
The Vanished Sea
Episode 3 - The Vanished Sea
Prairies of Amazonia
Episode 4 - Prairies of Amazonia
Cold Kansas Desert
Episode 5 - Cold Kansas Desert
Waterland
Episode 6 - Waterland
Flooded World
Episode 7 - Flooded World
Tropical Antarctica
Episode 8 - Tropical Antarctica
The Great Plateau
Episode 9 - The Great Plateau
The Endless Desert
Episode 10 - The Endless Desert
The Global Ocean
Episode 11 - The Global Ocean
Graveyard Desert
Episode 12 - Graveyard Desert
The Tentacled Forest
Episode 13 - The Tentacled Forest