NARRATOR: Jack does crazy things with wild animals to help protect and study them.
Really crazy. And maybe dangerous.
But Jack is a trained expert. Do not do what Jack does.
Seriously.
Approaching and handling wild animals can be dangerous.
Really. Just don’t do it!
JACK: I’m in Australia.
Whoa!
On a mission to understand how animals survive in the wild,
and help those that can’t.
About a third of Australia is covered in deadly hot desert.
Not many animals can survive out here.
But some have been able to adapt.
Whoa, my! Wow, look at that!
I’m going to pick him up very, very gently.
Totally, totally harmless.
Thorny Devil. That’s what it’s called.
It looks like he’s got these devil horns on the either side of his head.
There’s nothing frightening to me about this devil.
This lizard has a false head on the back of its neck to confuse predators.
It can change color to blend into the surroundings, and it eats thousands of ants a day.
A little lizard with lots of spikes all over its body.
To live out here you have to be extremely adapted to the environment.
Look all around me, there’s no water resource.
There’s no rain.
How does this lizard survive with such little water?
Now the Thorny Devil gets its water from the channels in its skin,
and it manages to extract the tiniest amount of water molecules
that are in the air, grasses, and also in the sand.
Now it’s an incredible adaptation.
But other animals are having a much harder time.
Brumbies are Australia’s wild horses.
They were brought from England in 1788 to help explorers journey through the outback.
When trains were invented, Brumbies were released and no longer needed.
Now over 300,000 Brumbies roam the desert.
Some of them are struggling to adapt to the current drought.
This is one of the last water holes in this whole area.
It’s so dry.
This is the only water resource for the animals around here.
The horses are a lot more vulnerable to thirst,
so if they haven’t drunk for a week, they would die.
So they’re out here looking for water, and we’re out here to rescue them,
and give them a chance to survive.
BRIAN: Standby.
JACK: I’m joining forces with Australian horse experts Brian and Anna.
They’ve devoted their lives to rescuing the wild Brumbies.
Once they come down to this area they won’t, hopefully won’t see us.
Go into that pen, and then we’ll close the gate.
And they’re the ones that will get rescued from these
life-threatening desert conditions.
ANNA: Once the heads come up, we’ll run.
Right now, they’re still drinking.
They haven’t seen us yet.
(neighing)
JACK: Woo! We got two.
ANNA: Your first Brumbies!
Nice work.
JACK: These horses can have a second chance now, and can join good homes that will
provide them with a lifelong supply of food and water.
Join me again for more Fearless Adventures.
