Lago de Guri - Operacion Rescate (1960s)

[Music] why yana land of legend and mystery gold and diamonds tonka beans and rubber trees jungle Indian tribes striking vegetation and wildlife why Jana a vast rich region in the southeast of Venezuela covers an area of over 170,000 square miles it was in Vienna in 1937 that bush pilot jimmy angel discovered the world's highest waterfall over 3000 feet high in his honor it is now called Angel Falls Kanaya one of the highlights of South America is located in the high plateau region of Vienna the mighty Orinoco the third longest river in South America [Music] [Applause] blowing past that they pull yes and plateaus of the vast region known as Grand savannah is the Orinoco largest tributary the river Carinae a source of immense hydraulic power with an extraordinary potential of 24,000 kilowatts before being able to use the power of this river to generate electricity for Venezuela's development man first had to control it and it is in the Loire Karen aid in the knack Lima Canyon where a man took charge [Music] in 1965 just over 60 miles from see iguana work was begun on the Guri dam one of the three most important in the Western Hemisphere and one of the 15 largest in the world rock had to be excavated during the first phase over 53 million cubic feet of concrete were poured to build a dam that is 350 feet high and 2222 feet long [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] once the turbulent waters of the carinii were dammed they began to rise rapidly [Music] [Music] since such an extensive area was going to be flooded the corporación Venice Ilana de Vienna decided to mount a major rescue operation to save the very large number of animals that ran the risk of perishing in the rising waters every possible detail was studied cages were constructed to protect the animals until they could be released to carry out a task as demanding as Operation Rescue every piece of equipment and every person involved had to be tested local workers and Indians from a nearby tribe were taught how to rescue animals and old boats in turbulent water and identified the many types of wildlife found in Vienna [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] in times of flooding animals seek refuge on high ground and wait for the waters to subside but this time there was to be no subsiding half-past five in the morning let's go [Music] hour after hour animals are patiently tracked down in areas that are already flooded or soon will be [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] rescued animals are taken to specially prepared cages and compounds the Bakke row or bush pig similar to the European wild boar is very common in this area for defense against its enemies especially the Puma and the Jaguar it relies on its fearsome tusks [Music] [Music] the waters keep rising it is a race against the clock the machi retar a Indian is an expert hunter ready to confront animals in their own territory he can jump or swing from branch to branch with all the skill and agility of the monkeys many varieties of ape abound in this region including the striped bass the little widow and the howler [Music] [Applause] despite every precaution nature always has surprises waiting [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] thanks to the strict safety rules and the training received the rescue teams perform their duties without a hitch [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] injured animals are those possibly suffering from disease are given treatment vaccinated and kept in quarantine many species are sent to Venezuelan zoos in lpar the eastern park catch mi park Meraki and Barquisimeto poisonous snakes are used for scientific study and have their venom extracted to make snakebite serum the large number trapped has contributed greatly to such research which it has speeded up by over two years while the waters rise animals remaining on the newly-formed islands are in danger of dying of hunger as food becomes scarce the dogs encourage the animals to move on [Music] [Applause] [Music] over a hundred deer were rescued from the newly-formed lake and surrounding region [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] one lonely straggler the capybara Archy glière is a large animal and difficult to rescue since it is an expert swimmer and armed with very sharp teeth not understanding that man is on a rescue mission and feeling itself cornered the chook we're a would rather drown than be captured so man has to move fast and save it against its will [Music] yes that's right it's a donkey [Music] back at headquarters they're keeping a daily count of the animals rescued by each team every day some 200 animals were rescued more than 18,000 in the course of the three month-long rescue operation [Music] dear anacondas foxes armadillos non-poisonous snakes porcupines monkeys turtles opossums launch foxes capybaras sloths some fifty five different species were rescued and moved to safe areas [Music] the animals were set free close to their former habitat so as not to disturb the ecological balance of the region indeed this was the main reason for carrying out this rescue operation [Music] the reservoir grows bigger forming the new gory lake covering an area of over 300 square miles its water will feed the three turbines of the Guri dam at a rate of 174 thousand gallons per second bringing the power of the carinii River into the service of man why Jana the key to the development of Venezuela [Music]