WEBVTT

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[sil.]

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[music]

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The tropical rainforest

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the oldest and most complex
ecosystem on the surface of earth.

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The secrets of this magnificent wilderness
have captivated Alexander Skutch

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for more than 60 years.
An American scientist

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he came to Central America to study plants but was
soon drawn irresistibly to the colorful birds.

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He decided to follow them into the
rainforest to study their lives

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and here discovered the
splendor of this environment.

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I think the tropical rainforest

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is the highest expression of the
creative movement on this planet.

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It has a tremendous diversity of organisms.

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We\'re only recently with the exploration
of the upper levels of the forest

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we\'re getting to realize how
great the diversity is.

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So I consider the rainforests as
one of the last homes of mystery.

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Possibly as mysterious there\'s
a great depth of the ocean.

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Alexander Skutch is the grand
old man of the rainforest.

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He\'s the man who did your initial pioneering
work and all of us who work here in Costa Rica.

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When we\'re in the field we always
think of Alexander Skutch.

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We may be using modern techniques but
he provided us with the inspiration

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which allowed us to get to
the point where we are now.

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Skutch\'s dedication to tropical birds has taken
him beyond the details of their behavior.

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His intimate knowledge of
their lives and habitats

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has led him to look for the larger patterns of
life here and what we must do to live in harmony

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with this rapidly disappearing wilderness.

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[music]

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Now for the first time on film
the story of Alexander Skutch

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and the work that has kept him for a
lifetime in the tropical rainforest.

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[music]

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[music]

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[sil.]

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The great diversity of birds
here by his home in Costa Rica

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has been an endless source of fascination for
Skutch but when he first came to the tropics

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he had no intention of studying its
bird life, he was going to study plants

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until a single Rufus tailed hummingbird
changed his well-laid plans.

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It all started in 1928 when Skutch
received his PhD. in botany

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left his native Maryland to
travel to Western Panama

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where he had a fellowship to study the
banana plant at a research station

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at the edge of the rainforest.
Outside the window

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very soon after I arrived there it the
hummingbird began to build her nest

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on a little shrub right in front of the window
where I worked and that was so interesting

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that I became fascinated by it and that little
Rufus tailed hummingbird had more to do

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with my becoming an ornithologist
than anything else

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and then when I tried to find
out more about the birds

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I learned that practically all Central
American birds had been collected and named

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but nobody knew much about how they lived

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and I thought that was a a
fine field for me to enter

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because it was so open.

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Skutch was ahead of his time when he
started studying tropical bird behavior

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and it first had trouble
finding support for his work.

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In those days most ornithologists collected bird skins
for the museums that supported their expeditions

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but Skutch wanted to study the living
bird and was soon able to do so

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because his background in botany prepared him
to collect plants for museums for his income

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and so the birds lives could
unfold under his watchful eye.

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Setting up his blind

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he would observe their behavior from a
distance so as not to disturb them in any way.

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And as I rank amateur as I was then

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I was studying things that nobody
no one thought is to know about

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of course they went the tropics to
collect and run back to the states.

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But Skutch stayed on and for the first
12 years traveled around the rainforest

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from Guatemala to the Amazon pursuing
the secrets of tropical birds

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despite danger, discomfort,
and frustrations.

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I started out with great enthusiasm
to study the birds the rainforest

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when I soon discovered this was
a very frustrating endeavor.

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Too often I found a nest for

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which I have long searched only to return
the next morning to study the bird

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and to find that over night the nest
had been pillaged by some predator

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which took the eggs or the nestlings.
According to my records

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in the tropical forest four nests
out of five are lost to predators.

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This was a rather disturbing
thought but then it occurred to me

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that if tropical birds have such a hard time to
reproduce they must live a relatively long time

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otherwise the species would become extinct

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and this has been confirmed
by recent studies.

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[sil.]

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The long lifespan of 15 to 20 years for small birds
here has led to complex patterns of behavior

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that Skutch has studied. Here
we are at a courtship assembly

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in the orange colored mannequin.
Notice the bare spot on the ground.

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Every year during the breeding season
the orange collared mannequins

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gather in courtship assemblies where
each male displays vigorously

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over a small clearing he\'s made on the forest
floor. He jumps back and forth over his court

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making a loud noise with his wing feathers.

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Around him in the dense vegetation are a number
of similar courts each belonging to one male.

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By gathering in the same area the
male\'s cooperate to attract the females

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but they compete to mate with them.

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When a female comes to the assembly she
chooses a partner and dances with him.

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If she likes him they mate.

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[sil.]

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At this time most of the females
are off incubating their two eggs

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but the males continue to display.
It is better that the males stay

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away from the nest as their
bright colors attract predators.

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Studying the birds in the rainforest

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is not without its perils. In the
first place there are venomous snakes

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that one must be very wary of.
There\'s also a danger

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of falling trees especially the
beginning of the rainy season

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trees and branches tend to fall
and I\'ve learned to be careful

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where to set my blind to avoid the danger of
being killed by a falling branch or tree.

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The other annoyances despite
its occasional perils

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the forest is a very tranquil place.

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It changes a little from
year to year and also

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as a result of my long vigil in its myths
I have a sense of familiarity with

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just a few of its denizens
which is highly satisfying.

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For a dozen years

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sketch traveled around the rainforest
settling in for long stretches at a time

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in one part after another as he compiled
the life histories of the birds

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and collected plant specimens for museums.

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Skutch\'s background in botany provided more
than his income. It helped him understand

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much of the behavior of the birds and gave him
a unique perspective on this environment.

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In the past much has been made of the
fierce competition in the rainforest

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but here Skutch found that
the great variety of birds

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coexist peacefully through
specialized feeding habits.

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[sil.]

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Look at the various shapes
of hummingbirds bills.

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Each one has evolved to facilitate
the feeding of hummingbirds

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on flowers shaped more
or less like its bill.

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The birds avoid competition by
following different feeding patterns.

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The long-tailed hermit in this little hermit
visit different flowers on the same shrub

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but both feed on what is
called the trap line system.

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They repeatedly follow a route along which
their favorite flowers are scattered.

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Other hummingbirds are territorial and
like this flame throated hummingbird

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will defend one patch of bushes
and feed on their flowers.

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[sil.]

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This glittering gem chases
away other drinkers of nectar

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but doesn\'t regard Skutch as a competitor.

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[sil.]

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The great variety of
species in the rainforest

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indicates that a great variety of life
styles is possible in this environment.

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There on the whole I found
tropical birds very peaceful.

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[sil.]

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Skutch\'s studies have helped him recognize
the peaceful side of life for birds here.

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Nevertheless their nesting
remains extremely precarious.

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Next some surprising ways that birds
increase their chances for survival.

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[music]

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While predators abound in the rainforests Skutch
is more interested in the many strategies

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that birds have to avoid predation. Such as
building their nest out over a swift river

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or hidden inside a termite nest.

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He has even found that some birds build near a
wasp nest for the protection they will gain.

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Making their nests as inconspicuous

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or inaccessible as possible the birds also
complicate the work of the ornithologist.

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With a great deal of patience
and a few tricks of his own

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Skutch has been recording all the details of their lives
and is found that here in this lush habitat surprisingly

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many birds have clutches only half as
large as their northern relatives.

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A great advantage of the small
broods of many tropical birds

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is that if they lose them they haven\'t lost
so much as though they had spent more time

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and of their vital reserves and
they can begin more promptly

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to try to nest again. Many birds must try

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three or four times in the course
of a season to raise a family.

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When the nesting is successful Skutch
still follows their activities

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like an anxious parent and has discovered such
variations as in the golden necked woodpecker

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or the young birds after
they can fly return

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to live and sleep together safely in the
nest during the hazardous first year.

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Discoveries like these were Skutch\'s
rewards for his patient long watches

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and were starting to change his
image of life in the rainforest.

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In 1932 Skutch was studying the nesting
of the brown (inaudible) Guatemala

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when he made a momentous discovery.
And then I saw that

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not only a pair of birds was attending
in this but additional birds

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at one nest seven birds

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including the parents and five
helpers were attending nestlings.

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So in 1935 I published a paper in
the or called helpers At the Nest

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and that was the starting point of a study

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that many people have
taken up in recent years.

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People almost all over the world
especially in the tropics

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have found quite a number of diverse
birds that have helped at the nest

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and that system of breeding is
known as cooperative breeding

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which raises evolutionary questions

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that are the cause of much
discussion and there many theories

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and interpretations which they don\'t
attract me as much as actually seeing

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how the birds live watching them.

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The high point of Skutch\'s
early work came in 1937

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when he began the first study
that had ever been done

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of the most famous and magnificent
of tropical American birds.

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I decided well now it\'s time
for me to set up the castle

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so I looked around and I
found a very surprisingly

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good cottage pie up on the slopes of
the Cordillera central of Costa Rica

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and I went up there in July of 1937.

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In his book A Naturalist in Costa Rica

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Skutch tells the story of his
journey in quest of the Quetzal.

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He writes, \"what an inhospitable
reception I was given

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in the middle of the month began a storm of wind
and rains such as I never anywhere experienced.

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One who has not actually
felt it can hardly conceive

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the penetrating chill of moisture-laden
winds on an exposed tropical mountainside

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5,500 feet above sea level even while the
thermometer stands above the freezing point.

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How hardy are the birds of
these mountain forests.

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The Quetzal is the most resplendent member of
the family of lovely birds called the Trogons.

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There was glamour and mystery

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surrounding this bird which may
be the more eager to study it.

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Before the conquest the Indians
of Mexico and Guatemala

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used its long green Klum\'s in their feather
work especially their headdresses.

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Royalty and nobility alone
had the right to wear them.

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During the years that I lived in Guatemala

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I saw much of the quetzals on
banknotes and on postage stamps

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but it was long before I glimpsed a
living is quetzals in the forest.

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In Costa Rica the greater area forests
still standing at the higher elevations

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made it more favorable
for studying quetzals.

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These cloud forests are unusually wet and supportive
vegetation whose luxuriant is hardly imaginable

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by those who have not seen it.

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Since there was scarcely any
agriculture in this wet wooded region

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my diet for a considerable
period was reduced to

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little more than black beans rice and
tortillas these had long been my mainstay

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but without fruits and vegetables
to act as 11 in supply vitamins

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they are grim fare sometimes I
hungered so for something green

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that I wished I could eat the foliage of
the trees like the black howler monkeys

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that I saw in the surrounding forest.

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[sil.]

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The black faced solitaires peeled
out their strange metallic calls.

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[sil.]

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August favored us with a few bright days and I
took advantage of them to climb volcan Poás

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which was quite close by.

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A strong odor of sulfur emanating
from its bubbling crater while nearby

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the older inactive crater presented
a totally different heavenly scene.

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This contrast made Poás one of
the most impressive volcanoes

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that I have ever climbed.

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[sil.]

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The calls of the bell bird
resounded through the forest

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but where could the quetzals be?

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In March after nine months
of waiting I began to hear

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the beautiful mellow calls of the quetzals.

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[sil.]

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Then at last on April the 4th
my dream of years came true.

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While following my favorite walk I saw
quetzals cleaned up right for a few seconds

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in front of a wide round opening near
the top of the tall massive trunk

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at the forests edge. Then he
flew down into the woods.

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Now was a time for caution.

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I went away without showing too
much interest in my discovery.

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Quietly approaching the rotting trunk a few
mornings later I noticed two slender green plumes

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projecting from the upper edge of the doorway
and waving with every passing breeze.

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My predictions were already confirmed
the male took his turn at incubation.

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Although I could not see
into this high nest

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by long-continued watches I learned
that the female incubated the eggs

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throughout the nights and in the middle of the day while
the mornings and afternoons were taken by the male.

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[sil.]

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Arriving to replace its made on the nest the
male would call softly as in courtship.

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[sil.]

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Away from the nest I noticed
that the quetzals were feeding

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largely on fruits of the laurel
trees wild relatives of the avocado

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which they usually plucked off on the wing.

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[sil.]

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At first both parents took nearly equal
parts in the feeding and brooding

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but towards the end the female for
some unknown reason seemed to tire

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and the male alone faithfully attended the
nestlings during their last week in the hole.

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The superlative beauty of the Quetzal grew

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upon me during those long months
of close association with it

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and amply repaid every sacrifice I\'d
made to cultivate its acquaintance.

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The drenchings, the wet feet, the chills
and the rheumatism that I suffered

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while studying its home life
left no lasting ill effects

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but the recollection of intimate contacts

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with so magnificent creature will remain bright
and vividfying as long as memory itself endures.

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[music]

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[sil.]

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In the years that have passed since
Skutch first studied the Quetzal

00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.999
its cloud forest habitats have been reduced
to a fraction of their original expanse.

00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.999
The destruction of the forest has
been going on at such a rate

00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:09.999
that in little over half a century the
forested area of the country has been reduced

00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.999
from 3/4 to possibly one quarter.

00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.999
Most of that forest is in the
national parks and reservations.

00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.999
There is new evidence
that existing reserves

00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.999
may not be large enough to support
the Quetzal and many other species.

00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.999
Recently researchers have been tracking the
movements of the Quetzals with radio telemetry

00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:39.999
and have found that during the stormiest
months they leave the cloud forest

00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.999
and migrate to lower elevations following the
fruiting of the laurel trees they depend on

00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:49.999
and the laurel trees in turn depend
on the Quetzal to spread their seeds.

00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.999
It is evident much greater expanses
of forest will have to be set aside

00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.999
if the Quetzal and many other
species are to survive.

00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.999
Plant ecologist Sharon Kinsman.

00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:09.999
One of the things that happens
when a reserve any national park

00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.999
anywhere in the world is set up originally
usually it is surrounded by the same habitat.

00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.999
However it can become like a little
pocket-handkerchief, a little island

00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.999
in the middle of some other very
different kind of environment.

00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.999
Here it would be completely de-forested slopes and we
need then to look very carefully at existing reserves

00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.999
and look at where they need to be expanded

00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.999
so that animal populations have the size they need
and have the diversity of habitats they need.

00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.999
These places are beautiful beyond belief.

00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.999
There\'s simply so much more here around every
corner under every leaf of every tree.

00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:54.999
Something curious beautiful colourful

00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.999
scented that overwhelms you

00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.999
with the richness of what
a tropical forest is.

00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
I think the tropical rainforest

00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.999
is the highest expression of the
creative movement on this planet.

00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.999
On the other hand when
you destroy rainforests

00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.999
you destroy something that cannot
be replaced for hundreds of years.

00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:29.999
In recent years there\'s been a tremendous surge
of scientific interest in the rainforest

00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.999
to try to discover its secrets
before it\'s too late.

00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.999
Forest ecologist Milton Lieberman
is studying evapo-transpiration

00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.999
the movement of water vapour
out of the forest into the air

00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
measuring and recording a
host of atmospheric data.

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
One of the questions that people sometimes
I ask us is why are we interested

00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
in the loss of water through leaves and
the answer is that the trees themselves

00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
provide the climate in areas of the world
where there are no trees one finds deserts

00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
the process of desertification
is very often

00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.999
a result of the removal of trees and the
last thing that anybody wants of course

00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.999
is for all the tropical areas
of the world to become deserts.

00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.999
There is no greater fallacy than supposing that
because land supports a magnificent forest

00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.999
it is suitable for sustained agriculture. Most of the
mineral nutrients are bound up in the vegetation

00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:34.999
and when that is removed little is left.

00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:43.000
[music]

00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:49.999
When Skutch settled down on his own land in Costa Rica
he decided to try to live in harmony with the rainforest

00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.999
to whatever extent was possible
to try to find the balance

00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.999
between man and nature that this
magnificent forest calls for.

00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.999
[music]

00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:13.000
[sil.]

00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:19.999
Since 1941 Alexander Skutch has made his home
here on his farm in nature reserve in Costa Rica

00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.999
studying the birds and trying to follow the
kind of life he always wanted to lead.

00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.999
The story of how Skutch
came to settle on this farm

00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:34.999
goes back to his childhood in Maryland.

00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:39.999
We lived on a farm near
Pikesville in Baltimore County.

00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.999
We had lots of farm animals in addition to that
my father bought me quite a variety of pets.

00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.999
We had (inaudible) of which I was very fond

00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.999
and ducklings and we had a peacock.

00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.999
My father had a big collection of books.
He liked books.

00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.999
He liked prints and things like that
but he was not a good business man.

00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:09.999
So his business failed. The
farm was sold at auction

00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.999
when I was 12 years old and soon after
that we moved little closer to the city

00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:19.999
on Clark\'s plane on the
outskirts of Baltimore.

00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.999
I didn\'t know what was happening in here it all
happens but I came home from school one day

00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.999
and I found the horses were gone and the other
animals had been sold at auction and so I cried.

00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.999
I was only 12 and as a consolation present

00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:39.999
my father gave me a gold watch.

00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.999
But Skutch was soon back out in nature
canoeing and exploring the woods near his home

00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:49.999
building an interest in biology that
took him to the tropics after college

00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.999
where he spent many years wandering around without home of his own
before it was ready to start looking for a place to settle down.

00:27:55.000 --> 00:28:03.000
[music]

00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:09.999
In 1941 after 12 years of studying birds and
collecting plants from Guatemala to the Amazon

00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.999
Skutch decided to return to his favorite
Valley on the Pacific side of Costa Rica

00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:19.999
and here finally he found his dream; a
farm with a good tract of rainforest.

00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.999
At last he had some land of his own

00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:29.999
where he could not only study nature but
protect the living things around him.

00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.999
As he explored his new home

00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:39.999
the land displayed its exuberant vitality.

00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:48.000
[music]

00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.999
Woodland and river, flora and fauna;

00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:09.999
he took it all fondly under his
protection and hopes that here

00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:14.999
he would be a worthy successor to the earlier inhabitants
of this land whose ancient rock carvings were all around.

00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:19.999
[sil.]

00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.999
In a clearing Skutch built his house out of
local materials in a sturdy traditional style

00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:29.999
and it has stood the test of time.

00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.999
Today Skutch\'s wife Pamela
who is British by birth

00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:39.999
keeps the greenery under control around the house
taking care not to disturb the many nests in the yard.

00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.999
A pair of scarlet runt tanagers
are raising their young

00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:49.999
just outside Skutch\'s window.

00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.999
He will keep a close watch on
the progress of their nesting.

00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.999
In this naturalist paradise besides studying
birds Skutch has had other ambitions.

00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.999
His goals have been to live in harmony
with nature to whatever extent is possible

00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:09.999
and practical and to grow his own food

00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.999
and farm on a small scale by following
his knowledge of the rainforest.

00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.999
They say that a tropical forest like this

00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.999
lives on it\'s fallen leaves that means
that most of the mineral nutrients

00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.999
such as plants used are actually bound
up in the living tissue of plants

00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.999
their stems and leaves
and fruits and flowers

00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.999
and the continuing supply of these
mineral nutrients especially potassium,

00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.999
phosphorous and things like
that depends upon the decay

00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:49.999
of the fallen leaves and branches.
As soon as they decay the branches

00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:54.999
caused by bacteria and fungi

00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:59.999
releases minerals it seem to be snatched up by
the many roots from (inaudible) from the ground

00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.999
and carried up into living tissues again.

00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.999
The soil in tropical forests is
generally poor and highly vulnerable

00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.999
to leaching and erosion from the
heavy rains that fall here.

00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.999
For his corn crop Skutch decided to follow the
traditional slash-and-burn system of agriculture

00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.999
that have been practiced
here by his predecessors.

00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:29.999
The soil is not as exposed to erosion with this method as would
happen after ploughing and when the land is cleared and burned

00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.999
the ashes provide enough nutrients
for two or three crops.

00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.999
This ancient system of agriculture requires
that most of the land is left idle

00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.999
and allowed to slowly recuperate for
seven or eight years between crops.

00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:49.999
[sil.]

00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:54.999
As a naturalist Skutch regrets the destruction
of second-growth habitat this system entails

00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:59.999
but as a farmer he believes that it\'s
the best way to sustain an annual crop

00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.999
along the edges of the rain forest.

00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:09.999
Fruit trees are especially compatible
with rain forest conditions.

00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:14.999
Their are permanent roots in vegetation protect the soil
and take advantage of the year long growing season.

00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:19.999
[sil.]

00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.999
Skutch cuts the banana
tree down when harvesting

00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:29.999
because a new chute will develop and bear fruit while
the old trunk decomposes and provides the nutrients.

00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:34.999
[sil.]

00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:39.999
By dispersing his fruit
trees around the forest

00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.999
sketch maintains the natural balance
and pesticides don\'t have to be used.

00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.999
[sil.]

00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.999
He harvests his oranges with the
help of his adopted son Edwin

00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.999
who grew up on this farm in a
family that were caretakers here.

00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:08.000
[sil.]

00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:14.999
Skutch is convinced of the
advantages of fruit trees

00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:19.999
for farming along the edges of the
rainforest. He would like to see breadfruit

00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.999
and many other fruits better
utilized and new varieties developed

00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:29.999
that could contribute to a balanced
diet and balanced agriculture.

00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.999
Meanwhile corn continues
to be the staff of life

00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:39.999
in much of tropical America. Skutch
uses traditional varieties of corn

00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.999
with strong husks that provide a
natural protection against insects

00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:49.999
and without chemicals or fertilizers he\'s had
a satisfactory crop of corn every year now

00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:54.999
for more than 40 years.

00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.999
Skutch\'s experience suggests that small
farmers a long side the rainforests

00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.999
can practice sustainable agriculture and
thus reduce the clearing of virgin land.

00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:13.000
[music]

00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:29.999
A neighbor\'s daughter has come over
to help out with making tortillas.

00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:38.000
[music]

00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:09.999
Would you like a tortilla?

00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:14.999
Yes. Once while I visited
a farm in Guatemala

00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:19.999
my host told me that I
ate like a hummingbird.

00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:24.999
I replied that fortunately I did not.
Else I would consume so much food

00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:29.999
that he would never invite me again. If I
ate at the rate that the hummingbird does

00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:34.999
I would consume about 200
pounds of food a day.

00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.999
[music]

00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.999
The years were going by peacefully
on the farm for Skutch until 1948

00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:49.999
when political turmoil
reached his remote valley.

00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.999
Then we\'re here in the valley passed through a
reign of terror that lasted for over a month.

00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.999
The government facing displacement

00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.999
enlisted a lot of laborers
from the banana plantations

00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.999
down on the Pacific coast and they came
up here and began to raid the valley,

00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:14.999
burning, killing,

00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.999
raping doing just as they pleased
with that and in law whatever.

00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.999
We were off the main road

00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.999
but from time to time a rumor
would reach us that the knickers

00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.999
as these mercenary troops were
called were marching our way.

00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.999
So we were in a flurry.

00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.999
The first thing we would do was
take the horses and cattle

00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.999
and hide them in that
thickest part of the forest.

00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:54.999
Then with valuables in the house
we would take out and hide

00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:59.999
in the neighboring forest. For
example I had a little safe

00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.999
which was mostly filled with
my unpublished manuscripts

00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:09.999
and a bit of cash enough to
see me through the year.

00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:14.999
We took that out four of us got together and carried
it out into the forest and turned it facedown

00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:19.999
despite several false alarms

00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.999
the mercenaries never did reach
this particular part of the valley.

00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.999
So we were spared an invasion.
After the shooting was over

00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:34.999
I started my horse and ran into San Ysidro

00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:39.999
and found a village almost in ruins.

00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.999
Doors and windows poured off.
Houses were burned.

00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:49.999
People who I used to see on the streets
were never there anymore. They\'d been shot

00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:54.999
and it was reported to me that

00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:59.999
the knickers had been told that I had a big amount
of cash in my safe and they have scheduled to come

00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:04.999
and visit me on the very day that
the returning victorious troops

00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.999
of the Revolutionary Party had
driven them out of the valley.

00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:14.999
[sil.]

00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:19.999
Two years after the revolution Skutch
courted and married Pamela Lancaster

00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.999
the youngest daughter of an
English naturalist in Costa Rica.

00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:29.999
My father was also naturalist
and he was renowned

00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.999
for his fine orchid collection.

00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.999
My father wanted to be sure
that this was the type of life

00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.999
that I wanted to lead
living in the backwoods

00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:49.999
and I\'ve never really regretted it.

00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:54.999
It\'s really a simple life we lead

00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:59.999
but we\'re very fortunate to have

00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.999
natural beauty, pure air,
and mostly good neighbors.

00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:13.000
[music]

00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:19.999
Yes it is raining. We have one of the
highest rainfalls in the country here

00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:24.999
and the rainy season lasts nine months.

00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:29.999
But most of the mornings are sunny

00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.999
during that time. Rains in the
afternoon onwards or at night.

00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.999
Alexander has a lot of patients

00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.999
much more than most people I would say
because especially when he\'s studying

00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.999
nest of some particular bird
he will set up his blind

00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:54.999
and then go out at five
o\'clock in the morning

00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:59.999
and take some breakfast with him and spend

00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.999
as much as six hours there at a time
taking notes of all the activity

00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:09.999
of the building of the nest and so on.

00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:14.999
Never in the whole of the time that he\'s
been studying birds has he caught one

00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:19.999
or made a collection of them because
that\'s against his principles.

00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:24.999
They\'ve always been in their natural state.

00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:33.000
[sil.]

00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.999
Over the years as more birds built
their nests around his house

00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.999
a conflict arose that tested Skutch\'s
resolved to live in harmony with nature.

00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:49.999
A growing number of snakes were
attracted by all the activity

00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:54.999
and were invading the garden

00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:59.999
raiding nests and killing birds threatening the
Agouti and the other inhabitants of the farm.

00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.999
So what was I to do

00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.999
which was I had to protect that considered
various philosophical principles

00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:14.999
about our relationship with nature

00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:19.999
and I decided the system
that I wish to follow

00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.999
was to form a harmonious association
of the animals around me.

00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:29.999
For example the birds could live
in harmony with each other.

00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:34.999
None of the birds that nested in the
garden with one possible exception

00:41:35.000 --> 00:41:39.999
was really enjoys to the others. The
Aagoutis that came out of the forest

00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:44.999
lived in harmony with the birds

00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:49.999
and so far that was very good.
Mistakes were another question.

00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.999
So I went. I had to decide that any
animal that disrupted their harmony

00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.999
from the small area around the
house would be eliminated

00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.999
(inaudible) perhaps but in many
cases I had to destroy them.

00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:09.999
So I found it impossible to live
in perfect harmony with nature

00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:14.999
because nature itself is not perfectly
harmonious not by a long way.

00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:19.999
In the forest

00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.999
the situation is different perhaps
in a vast expanse of forest.

00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:29.999
The best you can do is
to leave nature alone

00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.999
and let it work out its own difficulties.

00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:39.999
Life in the rain forest has kept Skutch continually
aware of his relationships with nature

00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:44.999
but the fierce competition for survival in the
rain forest has not kept him from recognizing

00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:49.999
the underlying harmony and cooperation.

00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:54.999
I think nature is pervaded by a
tendency to build up its contents

00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:59.999
into harmonious patterns.

00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:04.999
All around him Skutch sees evidence of the mutual
adaptations between organisms exchanging benefits

00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:09.999
in harmonious ways.

00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:14.999
Skutch perceives a wide
range of values in nature.

00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:19.999
Competition has been a more potent
factor in evolution than cooperation

00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:24.999
but I think we owe most of the
more valuable aspects of life,

00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:29.999
the more promising aspects
of life to cooperation

00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:34.999
and primitive form of popular
cooperation of course

00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:39.999
is the cooperation of the two
parents to raise their progeny

00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:44.999
and I think from that beginning
many of the more advanced

00:43:45.000 --> 00:43:49.999
modes of cooperation have developed over
the centuries over the generations.

00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:54.999
[sil.]

00:43:55.000 --> 00:43:59.999
Some people ask me what I think about

00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:04.999
when I sit for hours watching birds. In
the first place I I\'m thinking about

00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:09.999
when the birds are going to come and go from their nest and
if they\'re feeding nesting is what they\'re going to bring

00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:14.999
but there are long periods of inactivity
and then my mind begins to wander.

00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:19.999
One of the things I think about is where

00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:24.999
what the birds must be thinking or feeling.

00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:29.999
Do they show an emotional
attachment to their young

00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:34.999
which it seems to me that they do. Of
course they become apparently so distressed

00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:39.999
when anything threatens their nests

00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:44.999
or when the predator takes
their eggs or young.

00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:49.999
It also brings up the question
of morality and duty.

00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:54.999
Certainly a bird that for weeks together

00:44:55.000 --> 00:44:59.999
diligently attempts to all the needs
of her progeny must have if not

00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:04.999
what we might call a developed sense of
duties something corresponding to it

00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:09.999
that has finally led up with the
greater development of the human mind

00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:14.999
into a more conscious and
foreseeing morality.

00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:19.999
[sil.]

00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:24.999
Another aspect is where faith enters in.

00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:29.999
A bird build its nest with no assurance that
it will be able to raise nesting in that nests

00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:34.999
because there\'s so many mischances
between laying the foundations of a nest

00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:39.999
and bringing forth the fledglings

00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:44.999
and the same applies to us.

00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:49.999
We undertake something with no assurance
at all that we\'ll be successful.

00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:54.999
We start on a journey without any guarantee
that we will reach our destination

00:45:55.000 --> 00:45:59.999
and so forth all through life so it seems to me that
faith is a fundamental property of living things.

00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:08.000
[music]

00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:39.999
Early one morning sketch notices that

00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.999
one of the young Tanagers has finally left the nest.
The remaining one probably the second to hatch

00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:49.999
is hesitating to leave.

00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:54.999
This is a dangerous moment to young
tanagers life. If it falls to the ground

00:46:55.000 --> 00:46:59.999
the snake might catch it. If it purchased too
conspicuously a Hawk might snatch it up.

00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:04.999
[music]

00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:09.999
When I was younger I
used to divide the world

00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:14.999
into the animal kingdom into
two classes for example birds

00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:19.999
and fairy creatures were good and
sort of (inaudible) protection

00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:24.999
while have snakes belong to the other
creation and could have been abolished

00:47:25.000 --> 00:47:29.999
but now I figure if that
distinction is difficult to make.

00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:34.999
Each is just trying to live.

00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:39.999
Finally it leaves. The parents will soon
lead the pair off to dense vegetation

00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.999
where they will remain well
hidden for about two weeks.

00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:49.999
[music]

00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:54.999
Skutch\'s reflections on nature and life

00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:59.999
led him eventually to develop a philosophy.

00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:04.999
As I grew older I felt the need of having some
world of view. I think every thinking person

00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:09.999
needs some worldview,

00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:14.999
some idea of what the universe is all about and
what his particular road of the universe is

00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:19.999
and I couldn\'t find any philosophy

00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:24.999
or any religion that quite satisfied
me that it seemed sure quite adequate.

00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:29.999
So I tried to develop one for myself.

00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:34.999
I try to develop a philosophy on the
starting point of harmonization.

00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:39.999
In a number of books Skutch
has worked out a philosophy

00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:44.999
based on the overriding harmony of exists.
He sees a common process at work

00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:49.999
throughout the universe. The
building up of simple elements

00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:54.999
into ever more complex and harmonious
patterns. One example of harmonization

00:48:55.000 --> 00:48:59.999
is the growth of an organism
such as a green plant

00:49:00.000 --> 00:49:04.999
that takes up materials from the soil and air very
simple materials and using sunlight builds them up

00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:09.999
into a beautiful often very large
and well integrated organism.

00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:14.999
Animals start up where plants leave off.

00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:19.999
They take elaborated materials
from plants and build them up

00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:24.999
into higher levels of complexity and
integration. The process leads in nature

00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:29.999
to a balanced ecosystem; an
interdependent community

00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:34.999
where everything is connected

00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:39.999
and the same continues in us.
Skutch believes

00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:44.999
we can choose to follow the path of
harmonization as we come to recognize it.

00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:49.999
[sil.]

00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:54.999
I think our principal role in the universe what
we do that gives the universe a higher value

00:49:55.000 --> 00:49:59.999
is to appreciate it,

00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:04.999
to see its beauties, try to interpret them

00:50:05.000 --> 00:50:09.999
and to be compassionate to the
other creatures around us.

00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:14.999
I think that raises the universe to much
higher level on this particular planet.

00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:19.999
[sil.]

00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:24.999
Now well into his 80s
Skutch keeps writing away

00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:29.999
about tropical nature and his observations
adding to his growing body of work

00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:34.999
and continuing to invoke reverence
for nature and the rainforest.

00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:39.999
A growing stream of visitors

00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:44.999
has been coming to Skutch\'s farm in recent
years this is the ornithology class

00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:49.999
from the University of Costa Rica.

00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:58.000
[music]

00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:04.999
Costa Ricans are among the best educated and
most conservation minded people in Latin America

00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:09.999
and yet they face an enormous challenge because their country
also has one of the region\'s highest rates of deforestation.

00:51:10.000 --> 00:51:14.999
The need for exports and cash crops

00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:19.999
has denuded much of the countryside
and still it continues.

00:51:20.000 --> 00:51:24.999
Not just in Central America
but throughout the world

00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:29.999
we are getting dangerously out of balance
with nature and the land that supports us.

00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:34.999
[sil.]

00:51:35.000 --> 00:51:39.999
I think what human society
most lacks is moderation.

00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:44.999
Some of the ancient philosophers
especially Plato as I recall now

00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:49.999
thought that moderation and things of that
nature is really the highest of the virtues.

00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:54.999
What we need above all is moderation

00:51:55.000 --> 00:51:59.999
in our demands upon nature. We must
return to the ancient attitude

00:52:00.000 --> 00:52:04.999
of reverence towards the land in nature.

00:52:05.000 --> 00:52:09.999
We must regard it as something holy.

00:52:10.000 --> 00:52:18.000
[music]