Jungles Planet Earth II

Earth is the only planet we know of

where life exists.

And, here, it does so in abundance.

The jungle is Eden.

It covers less than 6% of the

Earth's surface

but it's home to half of all

the plants and animals on land.

Jungles have just the right

amount of light,

water and nutrients, and they have

had every day for millennia.

Life here should be easy.

This is an indri.

It's a primate, like us.

And these forests in Madagascar

are its home.

But to survive here...

..it has to face one major

challenge.

Paradise is crowded.

Life fills every niche.

And, at any one time, a staggering

variety of species and countless

individuals are striving for space

and food.

Like every jungle animal,

indri have to find their own way

to survive

in the most competitive place

on Earth.

Jungles are complex places...

..tangled three-dimensional worlds

created by lush tropical vegetation.

90% of the animals here spend their

whole lives up in the trees.

And each of them has to find its own

way of getting around.

Hanging 100 feet above the ground,

a spider monkey.

They travel in family groups and

find everything they need in the top

storey of the jungle.

Up here isn't a place for the

faint-hearted.

With long limbs and a prehensile

tail that can grip like a hand,

they're built for climbing.

But imagine having to learn these

skills as high up as this.

One third of spider monkeys never

make it to adulthood.

This youngster is only

a few months old.

Her future depends on her ability

to climb.

Playing on a practice tree with her

older brother and sister,

she's already learning to use her

tail as a safety line...

..under her father's close watch.

She's keen to join in the game but

she's the youngest and,

as is the way of things,

she's not always welcome.

So she chooses her own place to

play.

But not all trees are the same.

This one is for more advanced

climbers.

Enthusiasm? Certainly!

Technique?

Room for improvement.

Meanwhile, some of her family have

moved on to look for a new patch of

fresh food.

The top of the canopy isn't for

youngsters.

But Father's not looking and the

temptation to join the others is

irresistible.

She'll need to be careful.

A fall from here would mean certain

death.

It's the first time she's been as

high as this on her own.

As she climbs still higher, the

branches get thinner and thinner.

Her tail has caught her...

..but now she's stuck in mid-air,

unable to reach any other branch.

Father, however, was watching.

He's big and strong enough to form a

bridge with his body so that she can

climb to safety.

Lesson learned.

But it's not just monkeys that live

here, up in the treetops.

And, if you are small, finding the

right tree can mean a home for life.

He's a Draco lizard.

He's only the size of a pencil and

he eats ants.

This one tree could provide him with

all he will ever need -

a conveyor belt of food.

It's a perfect place to settle down.

Well, it would be...

..but there's already someone here.

This larger male is the tree's

owner.

And Dracos don't share.

The owner's flag is a warning.

Trespassers won't be tolerated.

The owner's not only intimidating...

..he's prepared to battle.

A dead end.

Safety is a long way away.

Now he must choose.

Fight...

..or flee?

Only in the jungle do you find

lizards that can soar like dragons.

He can travel over 100 feet

in a single leap.

It's a very fast and efficient way

to move through the jungle.

Maybe this new tree will have food

and no resident owner.

Everything in the jungle has to

compete for space.

Only 2% of the sun's rays reach the

ground...

..so even the plants must battle for

the light

they need if they're to grow.

300 years ago, this Hura tree began

its race for light.

And every day since, it has absorbed

the water and sunshine it needed to

grow into a giant.

It has succeeded in doing what every

tree must do to survive...

..rise above the gloom of the jungle

floor.

And, what is more, its success has

given life to others.

Its branches now carry 1,000

other plants.

These particular ferns,

figs and orchids live only on the

branches of other trees.

1,000 plants growing on one

single tree.

Throughout the forest, this story is

repeated endless times.

As a consequence, jungles are home

to more species of plants than

anywhere else on Earth.

And they, in turn, support a wealth

of animals.

In Ecuador, the competition is at

its most intense.

Here, there are 100 species of

hummingbirds alone...

..all fighting for nectar.

Each flower only has a small amount

at any one time,

and so it's first come,

first served.

One hummingbird has gone to great

lengths to avoid conflict

with other species.

Swordbills are the only bird with

a beak longer than their body.

And some flowers are too elongated

for the other 99 species of

hummingbirds here to feed from them.

A swordbill's extraordinary beak,

however,

enables it to reach the places that

others can't...

..the top of this flower, where the

sweet nectar is produced.

It has found a solution that means

it doesn't have to join the fight.

And, as each long flower blooms, it

gives the swordbill a fresh supply

of food all to itself.

But having a beak longer than your

body does have its drawbacks.

For a start, it's tricky to keep it

clean.

Harder still, how do you preen your

body feathers?

Unlike the other hummers,

swordbills can't reach their

feathers with their beak.

The only option, a good old scratch.

It's a little unrefined...

..but a small price to pay for an

exclusive food supply...

..especially when feeding times are

only too frequently interrupted

by storms.

Jungles are the richest places

on Earth

because of one remarkable fact...

..they make their own weather.

Every day, water rises from the

surface of the leaves as vapour.

It's as if the trees breathe out

clouds.

They gather over the forest until,

finally...

..they burst.

Rain is the lifeblood of every

jungle.

And all have to do their best to

endure the daily downpour.

In some jungles, like here in

Brazil,

it rains so much that, for part of

the year, the trees are

almost totally submerged.

The forest floor is 30 feet below

the water's surface.

This is a mysterious world, a place

few people have ever explored.

We have much to discover about the

animals for which this is home...

..including some you might never

expect to find amongst trees.

Here, 1,000 miles from the sea,

are dolphins.

A newly identified species of river

dolphin found nowhere else on Earth.

In these black, tangled waters, they

have become almost totally blind,

so they move slowly,

carefully using their sonar to scan

the forest floor for fish.

If this forest can hide a new

species of dolphin...

..what else might there be here,

awaiting discovery?

At the shallow margins of the

flooded jungle,

rivers flow through lush vegetation.

Here, food is so abundant,

it supports giants.

Capybara, the biggest rodents

in the world...

..giant otters the size of a man...

..and the rulers of these rivers...

..caiman.

They grow to ten feet long and kill

anything

they get between their jaws.

But there are more artful hunters...

..drawn here from the surrounding

forest.

A jaguar, the supreme jungle

predator.

The river marks the edge of his

territory...

..but here he has competition.

He's now in the territory of

a female.

She has ruled this stretch of river

for five years.

This is her place to hunt.

Capybara are strong and wary.

The key is stealth.

She needs to get within three feet

if she's to pounce.

Not this time.

She's not the only female here.

Each part of this jungle's edge is

ruled by a different queen.

Few places on Earth have enough food

to support so many big cats.

The male hunts in a different way.

Weighing almost 300 lbs,

it's hard to be stealthy...

..and with so many other jaguars

around,

he doesn't bother with

wary capybara.

He seeks a different prey.

He's become a killer

of killers.

Jaguars have the most powerful bite

of any cat.

And he knows the caiman's most

vulnerable point...

..the back of its skull.

Hunters living in the dense

understorey of the jungle

come in all shapes and sizes.

But they share a problem.

How to tell what is a plant,

and what is prey.

This is a game of hide and seek

that can be won or lost

in the blink of an eye.

The long contest between

predator and prey

has produced mimicry of

astounding accuracy.

A leaf-tailed gecko masquerading

as lichen.

Some animals take camouflage

a stage further still...

..and these streams in Costa Rica

are home to one of the most

remarkable.

A glass frog.

A male, and tiny,

no bigger than your fingernail

and almost entirely transparent...

..as he needs to be.

Almost everything that walks past

here could eat him,

even a cricket.

His best chance is to stay

absolutely still and trust that

the cricket looks right through him.

Danger passed,

and that's just as well,

because he is a father...

..and he's guarding some

very precious eggs.

For the last few weeks, females,

one after the other,

have visited him and entrusted him

with their offspring.

Some are now almost ready to hatch.

There are several clutches on the

leaf, and those at the top,

the most recently laid,

are barely a day old.

But in the jungle, there's always

someone out to get you.

This wasp is a specialist hunter

of frogs' eggs.

It's noticed the wriggling tadpoles

at the bottom of the leaf.

He mustn't move.

The youngest eggs are

the most vulnerable,

and he can't guard them all.

But these tadpoles are not as

helpless as they might appear.

Incredibly, the unhatched tadpoles

can sense danger,

and the oldest and strongest wriggle

free and drop into the stream below.

The eggs at the top of the leaf,

however,

are still too young to hatch,

and now the wasps

know they're there.

But the male's back looks very like

the youngest cluster of eggs...

..and that seems to

confuse the wasps.

Using his own body as a decoy

is a huge risk.

The wasp stings could kill him.

He's managed to save

most of his young.

He'll have to remain on guard

for another two weeks,

but in the jungle, just surviving

the day can count as a success.

With the coming of the night,

a new cast of jungle characters

takes to the stage.

Flying insects begin to glow

as they search for mates.

Fungi, unlike plants, thrive in the

darkness of the forest floor.

They're hidden until they begin to

develop the incredible structures

with which they reproduce.

Each releases millions of

microscopic spores

that drift invisibly away.

Many have fruiting bodies that reach

upwards to catch any feeble current

there might be in the clammy air.

But this one, as it grows,

becomes luminous.

Why fungi light up

has remained a mystery...

..until now.

Scientists studying the

brightest fungi in the world

think they may have an answer.

Like a beacon,

the light attracts insects.

From far and wide.

To this click beetle, a bright light

means only one thing -

a female click beetle,

so he flashes in reply.

But he doesn't get the reception

he was expecting.

Confused, he starts searching for a

female, and that helps the fungus.

By the time he gives up, he's

covered in the fungus's spores.

And, as he continues his quest

for a female,

he carries these spores to other

parts of the forest.

And there are even stranger things

glowing in the jungle night.

These are the multicoloured lights

of a railroad worm.

It's not really a worm, but a

poisonous, caterpillar-like beetle.

The yellow lights warn other

creatures to keep out of its way.

It's hunting for millipedes.

When it finds the trail of one,

it switches off its yellow lights.

Now it only has a red light

on its head.

Millipedes can't see red light.

So, to them, the railroad worm in

stealth mode is virtually invisible.

And that is the end

of the millipede.

Competition in the jungles forces

animals to specialise

in every aspect of their life,

including courtship.

This has produced some of the most

beautiful and elaborate displays

on the planet.

A male red bird-of-paradise,

competing to attract a female

by dancing.

One has come to survey

what's on offer.

She is an independent lady,

and she will select whichever male

takes her fancy.

She makes her choice.

But now she doesn't seem

quite so sure.

No? Perhaps he's just

a little too keen.

Maybe he'll have better luck

tomorrow.

Red birds-of-paradise display

in the treetops.

Other members of the family dance

in the gloom of the forest floor.

This is a Wilson's bird-of-paradise.

He's brightly coloured,

but about the size of a sparrow.

He's lived most of his life alone,

but now he's an adult,

and he too needs

to attract a mate.

This little patch of light

might help him do so.

First, he tidies things up.

Showing off in this jumble of leaves

wouldn't be easy,

and his beauty will stand out better

against a plain background.

He doesn't want bright leaves to

divert a visitor's attention.

They all need to go.

Even the green ones.

Especially the green ones.

His stage is set.

A central pole,

and a little patch of light.

It's perfect.

And now, he must hope a female

hears his call.

He can wait here for weeks on end.

At last, a female.

Time to take up position.

She will judge him by the brightness

of his feathers.

But for the female to see him

at his best,

he needs her to perch

directly above his stage,

under the light.

This might be his only chance

to shine.

Now, when she's looking directly

down on him, he reveals a display

for her eyes only.

In the gloom of the forest floor,

he is a dazzling blaze

of iridescent green.

The brightest leaf in the forest.

And that does the trick.

Each animal must find its own way

of surviving the competition

of the jungle.

This crowded world is so full of

invention that almost all kinds

of animals on land can trace

their origins back here...

..including us.

These forests in Madagascar are home

to one of our distant cousins.

This female indri has fought to keep

this particular patch of forest

safe for herself and her family.

Every morning, the family come

together to sing,

their way of reminding others

that this is their home.

Indri are so closely adapted

to living here

that now they can live nowhere else.

For them and the billions of animals

with whom they share their home,

the jungle is a sanctuary.

But this is changing.

Even in the ten years since the head

of this family was born,

one million hectares of the

rainforest have been destroyed

in Madagascar alone,

and, with it, half the indri

families that once lived there.

The local people say the indris are

our brothers and their song is

a call to remind us that we, too,

once depended on the jungle.

This Eden is still a place of

wonder and magic.

Something, surely, worth protecting.

Jungles are still some of the least

explored places on Earth,

and with good reason.

They are testing places to work.

Here in the flooded forests of

Brazil,

the team are on the trail of a newly

discovered species of river dolphin.

So little is known about it that

just finding it will be a challenge.

Their base for five weeks is a hut

on the only bit of dry land around,

but it's already occupied.

It appears someone's been

making a nest.

A resident rat.

Hello, little rat.

And on the food cupboard...

Hello. Are you a bit shy?

If the housemates are hostile,

the hitchhikers are even worse.

A large spider.

Oh, my God.

And a colony of aggressive red ants

looking for a ride.

Shall we knock into them?

They'll board the boat like

a bunch of pirates,

and they'll gnaw our faces off.

That might not be quite true,

but intimidating animals are the

least of their problems.

The flooded forest is not only vast,

it's impenetrable, and this new

species of dolphin could be anywhere

in 150,000 square miles of

tangled treetops.

But the crew have a plan.

Dolphins use sound to find their way

through the flooded forest

by making clicks. Sonar.

Waterproof microphones allow the

crew to eavesdrop on the dolphins,

and so follow them.

But that's easier said than done.

So, this is the clear path.

Can you see it? There.

It takes them a week to get their

first glimpse of this new species,

and even then,

it lasts less than a second.

There appears to be

only one dolphin.

And, frustratingly, it can pop up

anywhere without warning.

Been looking through the water and

seeing bodies kind of appear

out of the murk,

and then disappear again.

Eventually, the dolphin leads the

crew to an open gap in the forest.

We made it! Yay!

Here, at last, there may be a chance

of getting something in the can.

Their first shot, but again, a

single breath, and then it's gone.

Hello, you.

With the dolphin as close as this,

the crew can try

a different technique -

towing an underwater camera

behind the boat.

Dolphin literally just came up

parallel to it.

The problem is that the water is so

murky, that the dolphin is

almost invisible, even when right

next to the camera.

However, now the dolphin is

in this channel,

the crew can try a different tack.

Michael Sanderson is

a drone operator.

As long as the dolphin's in open

water,

it might be possible to follow it

from the air.

We've worked out the dolphins

seem to be here,

and we can do the drone work,

so this is our kind of best bet.

Leaving Michael and his drone

on the sand spit,

the crew head back to open water.

But this is called the flooded

forest for a reason.

The rain here can be torrential,

and although storms

normally pass quickly,

this one is clearly not

a normal storm.

Is it not working?

The motor has broken,

and with the boat flooding,

the crew must head for the bank.

It looked like the rainstorm

was going to pass,

and it hasn't passed at all.

It's very, very heavy,

and I'm soaked through to the skin.

They're stranded, the kit is

getting drenched,

trees are falling, and Michael is

trapped somewhere down-river.

This is the hardest rain I've ever

seen in my life.

It's incredible.

I'm hoping Michael's all right.

And there's been tree fall

all up around behind us.

Michael's down there on a tiny

little sand spit,

with the other boat,

with his opticopter out.

Kind of scary.

After two hours,

a break in the storm gives Michael

a chance to rejoin the team.

Just got caught in one of the

heaviest storms I've ever seen.

Got up to this much water on the

tarp, and the other one, so

I don't know if this is

going to live any more,

because that was on the floor.

It looks like it's game over

for the drone.

Yeah, it was pretty scary,

wasn't it?

Over the next 12 hours,

the storm returns again and again.

If this bad weather continues,

the crew may not be able to

get back out to the dolphin.

The next morning,

clear skies,

and the drone might be fixable.

But the longer it takes,

the more chance that the dolphin

will have returned to

the flooded forest,

and then it'll be

back to square one.

But finally, their luck is in.

The dolphin is still there.

For the first time,

they have a chance to film

from the water and the air,

and finally discover

what this elusive animal

is really doing.

They were in the boat and they were

looking around and going,

"Yeah, there are some bubbles."

We were flying with the drone and we

could see dolphins,

and while they thought they could

only see one dolphin, we saw five.

And they had no idea.

The crew are surprised to find

these dolphins aren't solitary,

but come together to hunt as a team.

You're starting to see stuff with

the drone that you suddenly go,

"I thought there was one dolphin

there," and

then you count that there are five

and then you're looking in one place

and they're all behind you,

laughing at you.

This new perspective has given the

crew a first glimpse

into a mysterious jungle animal

in one of the least-known corners

of the Earth.

Next time - a land of extremes that

pushes life to the limit.

Animals have extraordinary ways of

dealing with the hostile conditions.

Creating the most epic survival

stories on Earth.

These are deserts.