From a documentary standpoint, I think that it is wrong for Herzog to exaggerate the truth, sometimes to the point where it is completely false. A documentary is supposed to convey facts, not lies. Even though the albino alligators were most likely not mutated by radiation, I feel that Herzog is trying to make an important point. Humans have mutated, or evolved, also in order to better adapt to our ever-changing environment, like the alligators.
There is one distinct relationship between the main part of The Cave of Forgotten Dreams and its postscript: the animals. The paintings in the cave are of animals – horses, lions, bison, and rhinoceros – and the animals in the postscript are alligators. The animals also show this theme of evolution. Some of the alligators have become albino, and a few of the animals in the cave paintings have evolved as well, such as the lions for example. There is also a theme of humanity in both parts of the movie. There is only one painting of a woman ever found in the cave. We can then infer that animals were more sacred to the ancient humans since they were the majority of the paintings. By adding the postscript about the nuclear reactors, Herzog is making a stab at humans today. The radiation from the reactors and the reactors themselves are destroying nature and harming the animals. Humans have evolved so much as to become ignorant of the harm we are causing to species that were once precious and admired.
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