and right now - this habitat here in the tambopata national reserve is thriving. researchers report that all of the chicks we saw have now fledged - even the two in the experimental cement nest. and each success here offers hope for struggling macaw populations throughout the tropics. >> what we're looking at right is absolutely one of the most incredible wonders of the natural world. unbelievable. >> when it comes to studying creatures living inside the amazon rainforest, tambopata is about as good as it gets. this gorgeous creature is a juvenile red-tail boa and it looks so fresh because it just shed its skin. brimming with forest and life, there are likely thousands of species yet to be discovered. and that's where i come in. techknow first visited here in 2013 to look at this spider i helped discover. it's a tiny spider disguised as a big spider. that was the first animal recorded to actually build a fake animal from scratch - we also went to solve what was making this mysterious structure we call 'silkhenge'. these discoveries were talked about around the wor

. >> this is tambopata national reserve- in madre de dios - the mother of god. it's one of the world's most diverse ecosytems - and one of peru's most threatened. this is lapampa - in the buffer zone of the tambopata reserve. it's been devastated by illegal mining. but a small community of artisanal miners known as the manuanis are hoping to bring the rainforest back to la pampa. they are working with peruvian ecologist francisco roman. >> the only way into their camp is on the back of a motorbike, on a flooded dirt path. >> we've been driving for miles into what should be pristine rainforest. but instead it looks like this. >> skeletal remains hint at the forest that used to thrive here. >> behind me i can hear a macaw calling and i think there's a nest up in that tree. that's the problem with these mines - as they deplete this area, they just keep pushing further and further into the forest and the wildlife has nowhere to go. >> but can this land ever return to the pristine rainforest it once was? the prospect is daunting, work that has never been done before w