1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:25,000 © anoXmous @ http://thepiratebay.sx/user/Zen_Bud 1 00:00:36,450 --> 00:00:39,830 This is our planet's hothouse. The jungle. 2 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:42,790 The tropical rainforest. 3 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,800 Forests like these occupy only three percent of the land 4 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:53,340 yet they're home to over half of the world's species. 5 00:00:54,510 --> 00:00:58,310 But how do so many different kinds of plants and animals 6 00:00:58,430 --> 00:01:02,390 find the space here to live alongside one another? 7 00:01:14,490 --> 00:01:20,580 On the dark, humid forest floor the jungle appears to be lifeless. 8 00:01:21,620 --> 00:01:25,790 Often the only signs of life are what you hear. 9 00:01:32,340 --> 00:01:37,140 A male blue bird of paradise is advertising for a mate. 10 00:01:39,050 --> 00:01:40,600 It's quite a performance 11 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:45,940 but he's not the only bird of paradise here keen to make an impression. 12 00:01:47,230 --> 00:01:51,020 There are nearly forty different kinds on the island of New Guinea 13 00:01:51,070 --> 00:01:55,200 each with a display seemingly more bizarre than the rest. 14 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:07,170 A riflebird of paradise. 15 00:02:17,130 --> 00:02:22,350 Like many jungle animals, birds of paradise avoid competing with each other 16 00:02:22,350 --> 00:02:28,100 and these do so by living in different parts of this jungle covered island. 17 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:40,740 The six plumed bird of paradise displays in his special clearing, on the forest floor. 18 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:52,880 The magnificent bird of paradise favors the low branches of bushes. 19 00:02:56,340 --> 00:03:00,140 His female is modestly dressed. 20 00:03:11,690 --> 00:03:14,320 The male has a good set of lungs 21 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:19,820 but he'll have to do more than flutter his eyelids, if he wants to impress her. 22 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:28,660 It'll all depend on his performance. 23 00:03:33,790 --> 00:03:37,710 The females may be dull looking but they're very picky 24 00:03:39,550 --> 00:03:43,350 and it's time for a really close inspection. 25 00:03:48,850 --> 00:03:53,730 His right side looks fine... but what about his left? 26 00:03:57,690 --> 00:04:02,240 Pretty impressive, but is he magnificent enough? 27 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,620 Oh dear. Her departure says it all. 28 00:04:08,250 --> 00:04:12,330 Generations of choosy females have driven the evolution 29 00:04:12,460 --> 00:04:14,790 of these remarkable displays. 30 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:20,670 The more extravagant a male is, the more likely he'll be noticed. 31 00:04:46,370 --> 00:04:52,910 New Guinea lies in a warm tropical belt that girdles our planet around the equator. 32 00:04:53,290 --> 00:04:56,710 With abundant rainfall and twelve hours of daylight 33 00:04:56,750 --> 00:05:03,300 three hundred and sixty five days a year, it's here that rainforests flourish. 34 00:05:08,140 --> 00:05:14,560 Surprisingly only two percent of the sunlight filters down to the forest floor. 35 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:20,610 Down here seedlings struggle to grow 36 00:05:20,980 --> 00:05:24,070 but the gloom is not eternal. 37 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:01,650 The death of a forest giant is always sading 38 00:06:01,860 --> 00:06:06,450 but it has to happen if the forest is to remain healthy. 39 00:06:08,070 --> 00:06:14,250 The sudden blaze of sunlight will bring life to the forest floor. 40 00:06:17,330 --> 00:06:23,590 A single hectare of rainforest may contain as many as 250 species of tree. 41 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:27,050 That's nearly ten times the number that grow in Britain 42 00:06:27,300 --> 00:06:32,720 and the thirst for light triggers a race for a place in the sun. 43 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:50,160 There's no time to waste. 44 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:57,080 A seed that may have fallen only a few days ago, now bursts through the leaf litter. 45 00:07:10,970 --> 00:07:16,350 With so many competitors, getting a good start is critical 46 00:07:18,350 --> 00:07:22,150 but each plant has it's own particular strategy 47 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:26,030 for making the most of this rare opportunity. 48 00:07:26,860 --> 00:07:29,700 The seeds of hardwoods are quick to germinate 49 00:07:29,820 --> 00:07:35,410 but, like the fabled tortoise, their strategy is to be slow and steady. 50 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:47,300 Vines and other climbers put all their energy into rapid vertical growth, rather than girth 51 00:07:47,460 --> 00:07:50,550 though they'll need to be well supported. 52 00:07:56,520 --> 00:08:01,140 The climbers' strategy looks chaotic but there's method in their madness. 53 00:08:01,190 --> 00:08:08,190 Their growing tips circle like lassoes, searching out anchors for their spindly stems. 54 00:08:14,660 --> 00:08:16,830 They put coils in their tendrils 55 00:08:16,950 --> 00:08:21,460 so that if their support moves, they will stretch and not snap. 56 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:28,050 But the frontrunners at this stage, the first to fill the clearing, 57 00:08:28,210 --> 00:08:31,420 are pioneers like the macaranga. 58 00:08:32,380 --> 00:08:38,890 Their immense leaves capture huge amounts of sunlight, so fueling their growth. 59 00:08:44,940 --> 00:08:49,480 As a result the macarangas grow a remarkable eight meters a year 60 00:08:49,570 --> 00:08:53,240 surging ahead of almost all their rivals. 61 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,710 In the race for the top sport hundreds will start 62 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:16,720 yet few will ever reach the finishing line, their growth cut short by the diminishing light. 63 00:09:19,220 --> 00:09:23,140 In less than four years, the gap will have gone 64 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:26,980 but that's not the end of the race. 65 00:09:35,570 --> 00:09:41,950 The ultimate winners are the tortoises, the slow and steady hardwoods. 66 00:09:43,790 --> 00:09:47,000 When the short lived pioneers have fallen 67 00:09:47,250 --> 00:09:52,960 it's the hardwoods that take their place, and a fifty meter giant, like this one, 68 00:09:53,130 --> 00:09:58,720 may keep it's place in the sun for another two hundred years. 69 00:10:35,630 --> 00:10:39,970 At the top, is the canopy, the engine room of the jungle. 70 00:10:40,220 --> 00:10:45,930 It's up here that most of the animal life in the rainforest can be found 71 00:10:46,810 --> 00:10:54,530 But despite the apparent abundance of vegetable food, gathering it is seldom easy. 72 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:09,960 With no real seasons 73 00:11:10,290 --> 00:11:14,550 each tree flowers or fruits at a different time of the year 74 00:11:14,590 --> 00:11:18,930 which means that food is very widely spaced. 75 00:11:23,930 --> 00:11:29,310 Monkeys, like these tamarinds, must search the canopy for all kinds of food 76 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:31,610 if they're to survive. 77 00:11:34,190 --> 00:11:39,280 but across the world's rainforests there's one type of fruiting tree 78 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:43,450 that always delivers: the fig. 79 00:11:52,750 --> 00:11:59,130 Wherever they grow, figs are a magnet for the great diversity of animals. 80 00:12:01,260 --> 00:12:06,100 In the Amazon, the first to appear are the spider monkeys. 81 00:12:07,430 --> 00:12:10,730 These large primates are big fig eaters 82 00:12:10,810 --> 00:12:16,320 But they won't have the tree to themselves for long. Others will want a share. 83 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,820 like the diminutive emperor tamarinds. 84 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:30,410 The tamarinds love figs too, but being petite means they're easily scared off. 85 00:12:40,590 --> 00:12:45,720 Squirrel monkeys are also small but they have strength in numbers. 86 00:12:48,140 --> 00:12:54,310 Their timeshare on the tree may be short, so their tactics are more smash and grab. 87 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:06,780 Capuchin monkeys are the bully boys in these forests 88 00:13:06,950 --> 00:13:10,500 and they want the ripe figs for themselves. 89 00:13:27,850 --> 00:13:32,060 Figs are one of the few trees that fruit the year round 90 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:39,320 so when other food is scarce, these fruits are always available somewhere or other. 91 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:49,330 Even for leaf eaters, like howler monkeys the ripe figs are just too good to miss. 92 00:13:55,290 --> 00:14:00,380 And howlers are too big for the capuchins to chase off. 93 00:14:04,010 --> 00:14:09,510 Figs are so popular, that as many as 44 different kinds of bird and monkey 94 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:14,310 have been seen working a shift system on a single tree. 95 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:29,200 Because fruiting trees are so valuable, many monkeys are territorial 96 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:31,200 And if you live in the treetops 97 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:36,670 there's perhaps no better way of staking your claim to a territory, than this. 98 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:46,800 The calls of the siamang gibbons begin as a duet 99 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:49,470 between the dominant male and female. 100 00:15:02,110 --> 00:15:08,450 The rest of their families soon join in, and it results in a frenzy of activity. 101 00:15:16,910 --> 00:15:22,540 The calls can carry over a mile, and their message is clear. 102 00:15:27,380 --> 00:15:32,850 They tell any neighboring siamangs this is our territory. Keep out. 103 00:15:43,110 --> 00:15:48,700 Up here the calls of siamang gibbons seem to dominate the airwaves 104 00:15:48,700 --> 00:15:51,620 but with the jungle's incredible diversity 105 00:15:51,620 --> 00:15:55,080 there are countless others trying to be heard too. 106 00:16:01,290 --> 00:16:06,170 Every layer seems to beat to a different tune. 107 00:16:23,230 --> 00:16:27,900 In the early morning the forest's chorus is particularly rich. 108 00:16:28,150 --> 00:16:32,110 Sounds travel further in the cooler air 109 00:16:35,700 --> 00:16:42,040 But few calls can penetrate as far through the dense vegetation as this one 110 00:16:42,210 --> 00:16:46,670 the deep bass solo of a male orangutan. 111 00:17:02,350 --> 00:17:05,810 In the middle of the day little stirs in the jungle 112 00:17:05,860 --> 00:17:10,570 and the hot dense air muffles the sound. 113 00:17:13,070 --> 00:17:18,790 As the afternoon wears on, a different set of players begin to warm up. 114 00:17:20,910 --> 00:17:27,380 Insects work in harmony, timing their calls to fall between the notes of others. 115 00:17:35,050 --> 00:17:38,140 Many singers stick to precise schedules 116 00:17:38,350 --> 00:17:42,430 and right on cue the six o'clock cicada. 117 00:17:54,740 --> 00:17:58,740 Night brings out a whole new orchestra. 118 00:18:23,310 --> 00:18:27,900 The cacophony of competing calls seems deafening to us 119 00:18:28,060 --> 00:18:34,110 but frogs ears are tuned to hear only the calls of their own kind. 120 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:45,620 The songs of courtship echo from all around. 121 00:18:58,470 --> 00:19:04,180 Male gliding leaf frogs leap from the treetops. 122 00:19:38,930 --> 00:19:45,770 To slow their descent, they use their huge webbed feet as parachutes. 123 00:19:50,060 --> 00:19:55,070 These large tree frogs spend most of their lives in the high canopy 124 00:19:55,150 --> 00:19:58,950 and only come down when it's time to breed. 125 00:20:04,410 --> 00:20:09,710 Once settled, they begin to serenade their unseen females. 126 00:20:21,510 --> 00:20:25,890 Now it's time for the females to make their move. 127 00:20:30,270 --> 00:20:35,400 There's no shortage of suitors, but this female has already made her choice. 128 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:41,400 She's heading towards the loudest call, because loud calls come from big frogs 129 00:20:41,860 --> 00:20:49,700 and big is best, but to reach him she must run the gauntlet of a gang of smaller suitors. 130 00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:55,040 Their only chance of mating is to make a sneaky interception. 131 00:21:00,590 --> 00:21:02,050 He's scored. 132 00:21:02,220 --> 00:21:09,350 But with more females arriving all the time, it's not over until the fat frog stops singing. 133 00:21:15,610 --> 00:21:21,320 Feet, so vital for gliding, are now put to other uses. 134 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:30,830 Two's company, three's inconvenient 135 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:35,750 but in any case, all male frogs are equipped with dry thumbs 136 00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:40,760 which enable them to get a vice like grip on their moist partners. 137 00:21:42,090 --> 00:21:46,510 It's a case of first come first served. 138 00:21:54,270 --> 00:22:01,030 Living in such a humid environment, means jungle frogs are less tied to puddles and pools 139 00:22:01,230 --> 00:22:04,820 and these even lay their eggs out of water. 140 00:22:14,620 --> 00:22:17,210 There's little chance of them drying out 141 00:22:17,540 --> 00:22:21,420 and up here they're safer from predators. 142 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:33,560 Surprisingly, it doesn't rain every day in the rainforest 143 00:22:34,230 --> 00:22:38,020 but more still falls here than anywhere else on Earth. 144 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,530 On average, over two meters a year. 145 00:22:51,740 --> 00:22:57,710 A single tree can suck up hundreds of tons of water each year 146 00:23:00,170 --> 00:23:02,590 But the trees can't use all this water 147 00:23:02,710 --> 00:23:09,430 so, much of it returns to the air as vapor, forming mist and clouds. 148 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:19,520 In the Amazon, the largest unbroken stretch of rainforest in the world, 149 00:23:19,730 --> 00:23:27,030 half of all the rainwater that falls, comes from clouds produced by the trees themselves. 150 00:23:59,310 --> 00:24:04,980 With so much rain, it's not surprising that many of the worlds largest rivers 151 00:24:05,150 --> 00:24:07,940 are found in rainforests. 152 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,210 Inside the forest, the high humidity 153 00:24:26,300 --> 00:24:34,350 creates the perfect conditions for a strange world, where life is built on decay. 154 00:24:46,230 --> 00:24:54,990 Amoeba like slime molds cruise the surface, feeding on bacteria and rotting vegetation. 155 00:25:11,010 --> 00:25:15,220 Fungi also flourish on decay. 156 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:21,690 These are the fruiting bodies of the fungi, the only visible sign 157 00:25:21,770 --> 00:25:27,150 of a vast underground network of fungal filaments. 158 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:04,310 In temperate forests, the buildup of leaf litter creates rich stores of nutrients. 159 00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:07,440 That however, doesn't happen here. 160 00:26:11,230 --> 00:26:15,450 Nutrients that reach the soil are leeched out by the rain 161 00:26:15,450 --> 00:26:19,990 but fungi are connected to tree roots by their underground filaments 162 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:22,330 and by quickly consuming the dead 163 00:26:22,370 --> 00:26:28,040 they help to recycle crucial minerals straight back into the trees. 164 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:40,930 And this recycling happens faster here, than anywhere else on the planet. 165 00:27:00,910 --> 00:27:06,250 There are thought to be nearly a million different types of fungi in the tropics. 166 00:27:06,370 --> 00:27:10,840 The vast majority still unknown to science 167 00:27:17,050 --> 00:27:19,470 But one thing's for certain 168 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:24,680 without fungi, rainforests could not exist. 169 00:27:35,740 --> 00:27:38,740 Nothing goes to waste in the rainforest. 170 00:27:38,990 --> 00:27:43,830 The fungi become food for others like these beetle larvae. 171 00:27:48,170 --> 00:27:51,250 Finding the fungus isn't a problem for the grubs 172 00:27:51,330 --> 00:27:55,920 since their caring parents actually show them the way. 173 00:28:09,230 --> 00:28:14,520 Incredibly, 80% of all insects live in jungles 174 00:28:14,900 --> 00:28:21,780 fewer more successful than the ants. There can be 8 million individuals in a single hectare. 175 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:27,250 but jungle ants don't have it all their own way. 176 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:39,260 These bullet ants are showing some worrying symptoms. 177 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:43,720 Spores from a parasitic fungus called cordyceps 178 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:48,140 have infiltrated their bodies and their minds. 179 00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:59,400 It's infected brain directs this ant upwards 180 00:29:00,860 --> 00:29:06,200 then, utterly disorientated, it grips a stem with it's mandibles. 181 00:29:06,700 --> 00:29:09,870 Those afflicted, that are discovered by the workers 182 00:29:09,870 --> 00:29:14,330 are quickly taken away and dumped far away from the colony. 183 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:20,800 It seems extreme, but this is the reason why. 184 00:29:22,340 --> 00:29:25,180 Like something out of science fiction 185 00:29:25,350 --> 00:29:31,020 the fruiting body of the cordyceps erupts from the ant's head. 186 00:29:45,570 --> 00:29:48,080 It can take three weeks to grow 187 00:29:48,410 --> 00:29:53,080 and when finished, the deadly spores will burst from it's tip 188 00:29:53,290 --> 00:29:58,800 then, any ant in the vicinity will be in serious risk of death. 189 00:30:01,090 --> 00:30:05,720 The fungus is so virulent, it can wipe out whole colonies of ants 190 00:30:06,140 --> 00:30:10,140 and it's not just ants that fall victim to this killer. 191 00:30:12,230 --> 00:30:17,020 There are literally thousands of different types of cordyceps fungi 192 00:30:17,150 --> 00:30:23,280 and remarkably, each specializes on just one species 193 00:30:59,020 --> 00:31:04,030 but these attacks do have a positive effect on the jungle's diversity. 194 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:10,910 Since parasites like these stop any one group of animal getting the upper hand. 195 00:31:11,370 --> 00:31:16,920 The more numerous a species becomes, the more likely it'll be attacked by it's nemesis 196 00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:19,630 a cordyceps fungus. 197 00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:49,490 With so much competition, jungles have become the home of the specialist. 198 00:31:49,700 --> 00:31:54,950 Now this animal, in the island of Borneo, is one of the most unusual. 199 00:31:55,700 --> 00:32:00,920 It's a colugo, or flying lemur, though this is something of a misnomer 200 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:05,050 as it doesn't actually fly and it certainly isn't a lemur 201 00:32:05,210 --> 00:32:10,300 in fact nobody's quite sure who it's closest relative is. 202 00:32:29,860 --> 00:32:33,830 The colugo depends on a diet of young leaves 203 00:32:33,950 --> 00:32:38,660 and to find enough of them, it must move from tree to tree. 204 00:32:40,210 --> 00:32:46,840 The leaves are not very nutritious, but then, getting around doesn't use much energy. 205 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:57,600 In a single night, a colugo might have to travel as far as two miles 206 00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:03,440 but that task is made easier by it's superior gliding skills. 207 00:33:35,390 --> 00:33:40,100 The secret of success in the competitive jungle is specializing 208 00:33:40,230 --> 00:33:44,730 and this has led to the evolution of some very intimate relationships 209 00:33:44,690 --> 00:33:48,190 between plants and animals. 210 00:33:49,030 --> 00:33:53,450 These are pitcher plants also from Borneo. 211 00:33:58,620 --> 00:34:02,580 Adapted to living in very low nutrient soils 212 00:34:02,790 --> 00:34:08,170 the pitcher plant gets most of it's nourishment from insects lured to nectar glands 213 00:34:08,300 --> 00:34:11,130 on the underside of the lids. 214 00:34:12,260 --> 00:34:18,680 Once onboard, the waxy sides of the pitcher ensure there's little chance of escape. 215 00:34:21,930 --> 00:34:25,770 Most slip to a watery grave. 216 00:34:33,240 --> 00:34:37,570 At the bottom of the pitcher glands secrete enzymes 217 00:34:37,700 --> 00:34:42,660 which help to digest the corpses, so feeding the plant. 218 00:34:43,580 --> 00:34:47,830 But not all visitors have a fatal attraction to the pitchers. 219 00:34:48,960 --> 00:34:56,760 The red crab spider spends it's entire life in the pitchers, hanging on with threads of silk. 220 00:35:05,690 --> 00:35:11,900 Instead of building a web, it relies on the water filled pitcher to trap it's food. 221 00:35:14,530 --> 00:35:19,410 When an ant falls in, the spider simply waits for it to drown 222 00:35:19,530 --> 00:35:24,080 and then abseils down for a spot of fishing. 223 00:35:30,790 --> 00:35:35,130 Alive, this ant would be far too dangerous for the spider to tackle 224 00:35:35,260 --> 00:35:41,390 so, using the pitchers as traps, means it can get bigger meals 225 00:35:43,180 --> 00:35:46,350 and the spider doesn't rob the pitcher of everything. 226 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:50,360 The digested remains of it's booty will end up in the water 227 00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:54,030 providing instant food for the plant. 228 00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:02,780 Other food, like mosquito larvae, seems to be out of reach 229 00:36:02,870 --> 00:36:06,040 but the spider has another sup rising trick. 230 00:36:06,330 --> 00:36:09,580 By taking it's own air supply trapped in a bubble 231 00:36:09,710 --> 00:36:14,880 the crab spider can actually dive to the very bottom of the pitcher. 232 00:36:18,010 --> 00:36:25,140 Once the prey is captured, the spider hauls itself back up it's silken safety line. 233 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:38,110 The pitcher is a one stop shop for this spider, but it's not alone. 234 00:36:38,450 --> 00:36:44,490 In the jungle there's competition for everything, even a small water filled pitcher plant. 235 00:37:00,680 --> 00:37:05,560 Such specialists create the jungle's remarkable diversity 236 00:37:05,970 --> 00:37:09,270 but finding enough food to survive is so challenging 237 00:37:09,350 --> 00:37:12,520 that most animals living here tend to be small 238 00:37:12,810 --> 00:37:15,320 though there are exceptions. 239 00:37:23,070 --> 00:37:26,580 This is the Congo in Africa. 240 00:37:26,830 --> 00:37:32,500 It's a vast wilderness and the least explored of all jungles. 241 00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:40,920 From up here the forest looks similar to the ones that grow in the Amazon or Southeast Asia. 242 00:37:41,510 --> 00:37:45,970 but down below there are some unexpected sights. 243 00:38:03,860 --> 00:38:08,990 Crisscrossing this forest, are countless miles of highways 244 00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:12,710 and they were made by something big. 245 00:38:22,050 --> 00:38:27,100 Forest elephants roam great distances in their search for food 246 00:38:27,470 --> 00:38:32,680 but to survive, they must emerge from the gloom of the forest. 247 00:38:34,230 --> 00:38:40,730 And clearings like this one, are a magnet for elephants from far and wide. 248 00:39:36,710 --> 00:39:42,300 These elephants live in much smaller groups than their savanna cousins. 249 00:39:42,840 --> 00:39:48,800 This might be the first time that one group will have seen another for a month. 250 00:39:58,310 --> 00:40:05,530 For the adult males it's a welcome break in an otherwise largely solitary existence 251 00:40:13,620 --> 00:40:17,710 and they're not the only animals attracted to the clearing. 252 00:40:20,250 --> 00:40:25,960 Forest buffaloes and red river hogs are also regular visitors 253 00:40:26,340 --> 00:40:31,850 as are bongos, which are very difficult to see outside these clearings. 254 00:40:32,350 --> 00:40:38,390 All these large forest animals have come here to collect an essential element of their diet 255 00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:41,560 that lies buried beneath the mud. 256 00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:51,360 And the elephant's trunk is the perfect tool for reaching it. 257 00:41:05,500 --> 00:41:07,010 To get what they seek 258 00:41:07,010 --> 00:41:12,550 the prospecting elephants must first blow away the covering layer of silt. 259 00:41:34,700 --> 00:41:37,620 Satisfaction at last. 260 00:41:42,620 --> 00:41:45,670 They're collecting a particular kind of clay 261 00:41:45,750 --> 00:41:50,090 that contains vital minerals scarce in their natural diet. 262 00:41:50,380 --> 00:41:56,640 It may be mud, but there's just nothing quite like it for enriching the blood. 263 00:41:57,680 --> 00:42:04,440 The clay also helps to absorb the toxins found in many leaves that the elephants eat. 264 00:42:10,030 --> 00:42:13,030 There are other benefits to coming here. 265 00:42:13,820 --> 00:42:17,120 These clearings are the only places where the forest elephants 266 00:42:17,120 --> 00:42:20,040 can get together in such numbers. 267 00:42:20,200 --> 00:42:26,540 When they return to the forest, they will have to go their separate ways, once more. 268 00:42:47,020 --> 00:42:50,320 If large animals are rare in jungles 269 00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:56,240 then groups of large animals actually living together, are even rarer. 270 00:43:14,970 --> 00:43:22,020 This posse of hunters is not only formidable, it's also very large. 271 00:43:41,330 --> 00:43:45,710 In their search for food chimpanzees move effortlessly 272 00:43:45,710 --> 00:43:48,790 between the forest floor and the canopy. 273 00:43:48,920 --> 00:43:53,130 They're one of the few jungle animals able to do so. 274 00:44:07,730 --> 00:44:11,820 Figs are a vital part of a chimpanzee's diet 275 00:44:12,190 --> 00:44:16,360 and some just can't seem to get enough of them. 276 00:44:25,910 --> 00:44:30,250 But there's something special about this stretch of forest in Uganda. 277 00:44:30,290 --> 00:44:33,250 Fruit is actually abundant 278 00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:43,680 and a lot of food supports lots of chimps. 279 00:45:00,280 --> 00:45:04,370 At a hundred and fifty strong, this community of chimps 280 00:45:04,330 --> 00:45:07,160 is the biggest yet found in Africa. 281 00:45:07,330 --> 00:45:12,830 Their numbers are so large, that they need a big territory, lots of fig trees 282 00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:15,460 and they're willing to fight for it. 283 00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:31,060 These calls announce the start of a raid into land controlled by their neighbors. 284 00:45:37,360 --> 00:45:44,490 As they leave their core zone, the patrol goes silent, occasionally stopping to listen. 285 00:45:48,790 --> 00:45:54,580 Signs of the enemy are detected and examined closely. 286 00:46:08,720 --> 00:46:13,900 The chimp militia are now at the very edge of their territory. 287 00:46:14,650 --> 00:46:18,400 All need to be on maximum alert. 288 00:46:26,700 --> 00:46:29,790 Then it's wait and listen. 289 00:46:51,270 --> 00:46:55,480 An unfamiliar chimp call raises the tension. 290 00:46:55,520 --> 00:47:02,990 It's an uncertain time. The size of the rival group is as yet unknown. 291 00:47:05,490 --> 00:47:09,240 Not far away the neighbors are feeding in a fig tree 292 00:47:09,580 --> 00:47:12,870 oblivious to the approaching dangers. 293 00:47:14,250 --> 00:47:18,000 The patrol moves off with a sense of purpose. 294 00:47:18,040 --> 00:47:21,920 They must remain silent until they close in on their rivals. 295 00:47:34,480 --> 00:47:36,310 The attack is on. 296 00:47:38,900 --> 00:47:44,900 To intimidate their opponents, the aggressors scream and drum on buttress roots. 297 00:48:05,170 --> 00:48:08,390 Several males corner an enemy female. 298 00:48:08,390 --> 00:48:13,390 It's a ferocious attack, and she's lucky to escape with her life. 299 00:48:30,660 --> 00:48:33,540 Others are not so fortunate. 300 00:48:39,790 --> 00:48:44,130 The battle won, a grizzly scene unfolds. 301 00:48:45,010 --> 00:48:48,260 An enemy youngster has been caught and killed. 302 00:48:48,510 --> 00:48:54,100 The carcass is shared between members of the group, and eaten. 303 00:48:57,390 --> 00:49:02,650 Killing a competitor makes sense if you want to protect your food supply 304 00:49:05,820 --> 00:49:11,030 but exactly why they cannibalize the dead chimp, is not fully understood. 305 00:49:12,120 --> 00:49:17,080 It may simply be a chance for some extra protein. 306 00:49:28,590 --> 00:49:32,760 Teamwork has brought this group of chimps great success 307 00:49:32,970 --> 00:49:36,890 but they'll soon reach the limits of their power. 308 00:49:37,680 --> 00:49:44,820 The competition for resources ensures that no one species dominates the jungle. 309 00:49:51,320 --> 00:49:55,490 The rainforest's great diversity has come at a cost. 310 00:49:55,660 --> 00:49:59,830 It has made them the most finely balanced ecosystems in the world 311 00:50:00,040 --> 00:50:05,040 only too easily upset and destroyed by that other great ape 312 00:50:05,290 --> 00:50:08,170 the chimpanzee's closest relative 313 00:50:08,510 --> 00:50:11,930 Ourselves. 284 00:50:13,992 --> 00:50:28,992 © anoXmous @ http://thepiratebay.sx/user/Zen_Bud