Planet Earth II03.docx
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Planet Earth II03.docx
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PlanetEarthII03
Earthistheonlyplanetweknowofwherelifeexists.
And,here,itdoessoinabundance.
ThejungleisEden.
Itcoverslessthan6%oftheEarth'ssurfacebutit'shometohalfofalltheplantsandanimalsonland.
Jungleshavejusttherightamountoflight,waterandnutrients,andtheyhavehadeverydayformillennia.
Lifehereshouldbeeasy.
Thisisanindri.
It'saprimate,likeus.
AndtheseforestsinMadagascarareitshome.
Buttosurvivehere...ithastofaceonemajorchallenge.
Paradiseiscrowded.
Lifefillseveryniche.
And,atanyonetime,astaggeringvarietyofspeciesandcountlessindividualsarestrivingforspaceandfood.
Likeeveryjungleanimal,indrihavetofindtheirownwaytosurviveinthemostcompetitiveplaceonEarth.
Junglesarecomplexplaces...tangledthree-dimensionalworldscreatedbylushtropicalvegetation.
90%oftheanimalsherespendtheirwholelivesupinthetrees.
Andeachofthemhastofinditsownwayofgettingaround.
Hanging100feetabovetheground,aspidermonkey.
Theytravelinfamilygroupsandfindeverythingtheyneedinthetopstoreyofthejungle.
Uphereisn'taplaceforthefaint-hearted.
Withlonglimbsandaprehensiletailthatcangriplikeahand,they'rebuiltforclimbing.
Butimaginehavingtolearntheseskillsashighupasthis.
Onethirdofspidermonkeysnevermakeittoadulthood.
Thisyoungsterisonlyafewmonthsold.
Herfuturedependsonherabilitytoclimb.
Playingonapracticetreewithherolderbrotherandsister,she'salreadylearningtousehertailasasafetyline...underherfather'sclosewatch.
She'skeentojoininthegamebutshe'stheyoungestand,asisthewayofthings,she'snotalwayswelcome.
Soshechoosesherownplacetoplay.
Butnotalltreesarethesame.
Thisoneisformoreadvancedclimbers.
Enthusiasm?
Certainly!
Technique?
Roomforimprovement.
Meanwhile,someofherfamilyhavemovedontolookforanewpatchoffreshfood.
Thetopofthecanopyisn'tforyoungsters.
Butfather'snotlookingandthetemptationtojointheothersisirresistible.
She'llneedtobecareful.
Afallfromherewouldmeancertaindeath.
It'sthefirsttimeshe'sbeenashighasthisonherown.
Assheclimbsstillhigher,thebranchesgetthinnerandthinner.
Hertailhascaughther...butnowshe'sstuckinmid-air,unabletoreachanyotherbranch.
Father,however,waswatching.
He'sbigandstrongenoughtoformabridgewithhisbodysothatshecanclimbtosafety.
Lessonlearned.
Butit'snotjustmonkeysthatlivehere,upinthetreetops.
And,ifyouaresmall,findingtherighttreecanmeanahomeforlife.
He'saDracolizard.
He'sonlythesizeofapencilandheeatsants.
Thisonetreecouldprovidehimwithallhewilleverneed...aconveyorbeltoffood.
It'saperfectplacetosettledown.
Well,itwouldbe...butthere'salreadysomeonehere.
Thislargermaleisthetree'sowner.
AndDracosdon'tshare.
Theowner'sflagisawarning.
Trespasserswon'tbetolerated.
Theowner'snotonlyintimidating...he'spreparedtobattle.
Adeadend.
Safetyisalongwayaway.
Nowhemustchoose.
Fight...orflee?
Onlyinthejungledoyoufindlizardsthatcansoarlikedragons.
Hecantravelover100feetinasingleleap.
It'saveryfastandefficientwaytomovethroughthejungle.
Maybethisnewtreewillhavefoodandnoresidentowner.
Everythinginthejunglehastocompeteforspace.
Only2%ofthesun'sraysreachtheground...soeventheplantsmustbattleforthelighttheyneedifthey'retogrow.
300yearsago,thisHuratreebeganitsraceforlight.
Andeverydaysince,ithasabsorbedthewaterandsunshineitneededtogrowintoagiant.
Ithassucceededindoingwhateverytreemustdotosurvive...riseabovethegloomofthejunglefloor.
And,whatismore,itssuccesshasgivenlifetoothers.
Itsbranchesnowcarry1,000otherplants.
Theseparticularferns,figsandorchidsliveonlyonthebranchesofothertrees.
1,000plantsgrowingononesingletree.
Throughouttheforest,thisstoryisrepeatedendlesstimes.
Asaconsequence,junglesarehometomorespeciesofplantsthananywhereelseonEarth.
Andthey,inturn,supportawealthofanimals.
InEcuador,thecompetitionisatitsmostintense.
Here,thereare100speciesofhummingbirdsalone...allfightingfornectar.
Eachfloweronlyhasasmallamountatanyonetime,andsoit'sfirstcome,firstserved.
Onehummingbirdhasgonetogreatlengthstoavoidconflictwithotherspecies.
Swordbillsaretheonlybirdwithabeaklongerthantheirbody.
Andsomeflowersaretooelongatedfortheother99speciesofhummingbirdsheretofeedfromthem.
Aswordbill'sextraordinarybeak,however,enablesittoreachtheplacesthatotherscan't...thetopofthisflower,wherethesweetnectarisproduced.
Ithasfoundasolutionthatmeansitdoesn'thavetojointhefight.
And,aseachlongflowerblooms,itgivestheswordbillafreshsupplyoffoodalltoitself.
Buthavingabeaklongerthanyourbodydoeshaveitsdrawbacks.
Forastart,it'strickytokeepitclean.
Harderstill,howdoyoupreenyourbodyfeathers?
Unliketheotherhummers,swordbillscan'treachtheirfeatherswiththeirbeak.
Theonlyoption,agoodoldscratch.
It'salittleunrefined...butasmallpricetopayforanexclusivefoodsupply...especiallywhenfeedingtimesareonlytoofrequentlyinterruptedbystorms.
JunglesaretherichestplacesonEarthbecauseofoneremarkablefact...theymaketheirownweather.
Everyday,waterrisesfromthesurfaceoftheleavesasvapor.
It'sasifthetreesbreatheoutclouds.
Theygatherovertheforestuntil,finally...theyburst.
Rainisthelifebloodofeveryjungle.
Andallhavetodotheirbesttoendurethedailydownpour.
Insomejungles,likehereinBrazil,itrainssomuchthat,forpartoftheyear,thetreesarealmosttotallysubmerged.
Theforestflooris30feetbelowthewater'ssurface.
Thisisamysteriousworld,aplacefewpeoplehaveeverexplored.
Wehavemuchtodiscoverabouttheanimalsforwhichthisishome...includingsomeyoumightneverexpecttofindamongsttrees.
Here,1,000milesfromthesea,aredolphins.
AnewlyidentifiedspeciesofriverdolphinfoundnowhereelseonEarth.
Intheseblack,tangledwaters,theyhavebecomealmosttotallyblind,sotheymoveslowly,carefullyusingtheirsonartoscantheforestfloorforfish.
Ifthisforestcanhideanewspeciesofdolphin...whatelsemighttherebehere,awaitingdiscovery?
Attheshallowmarginsofthefloodedjungle,riversflowthroughlushvegetation.
Here,foodissoabundant,itsupportsgiants.
Capybara,thebiggestrodentsintheworld...giantottersthesizeofaman...andtherulersoftheserivers...caiman.
Theygrowtotenfeetlongandkillanythingtheygetbetweentheirjaws.
Buttherearemoreartfulhunters...drawnherefromthesurroundingforest.
Ajaguar,thesupremejunglepredator.
Therivermarkstheedgeofhisterritory...butherehehascompetition.
He'snowintheterritoryofafemale.
Shehasruledthisstretchofriverforfiveyears.
Thisisherplacetohunt.
Capybaraarestrongandwary.
Thekeyisstealth.
Sheneedstogetwithinthreefeetifshe'stopounce.
She'snottheonlyfemalehere.
Eachpartofthisjungle'sedgeisruledbyadifferentqueen.
FewplacesonEarthhaveenoughfoodtosupportsomanybigcats.
Themalehuntsinadifferentway.
Weighingalmost300lbs,it'shardtobestealthy...andwithsomanyotherjaguarsaround,hedoesn'tbotherwithwarycapybara.
Heseeksadifferentprey.
He'sbecomeakillerofkillers.
Jaguarshavethemostpowerfulbiteofanycat.
Andheknowsthecaiman'smostvulnerablepoint...thebackofitsskull.
Hunterslivinginthedenseunderstoreyofthejunglecomeinallshapesandsizes.
Buttheyshareaproblem.
Howtotellwhatisaplant,andwhatisprey.
Thisisagameofhideandseekthatcanbewonorlostintheblinkofaneye.
Thelongcontestbetweenpredatorandpreyhasproducedmimicryofastoundingaccuracy.
Aleaf-tailedgeckomasqueradingaslichen.
Someanimalstakecamouflageastagefurtherstill...andthesestreamsinCostaRicaarehometooneofthemostremarkable.
Aglassfrog.
Amale,andtiny,nobiggerthanyourfingernailandalmostentirelytransparent...asheneedstobe.
Almosteverythingthatwalkspastherecouldeathimevenacricket.
Hisbestchanceistostayabsolutelystillandtrustthatthecricketlooksrightthroughhim.
Dangerpassedandthat'sjustaswell,becauseheisafather...andhe'sguardingsomeverypreciouseggs.
Forthelastfewweeks,females,oneaftertheother,havevisitedhimandentrustedhimwiththeiroffspring.
Somearenowalmostreadytohatch.
Thereareseveralclutchesontheleaf,andthoseatthetop,themostrecentlylaid,arebarelyadayold.
Butinthejungle,there'salwayssomeoneouttogetyou.
Thiswaspisaspecialisthunteroffrogs'eggs.
It'snoticedthewrigglingtadpolesatthebottomoftheleaf.
Hemustn'tmove.
Theyoungesteggsarethemostvulnerable,andhecan'tguardthemall.
Butthesetadpolesarenotashelplessastheymightappear.
Incredibly,theunhatchedtadpolescansensedangerandtheoldestandstrongestwrigglefreeanddropintothestreambelow.
Theeggsatthetopoftheleaf,however,arestilltooyoungtohatch,andnowthewaspsknowthey'rethere.
Butthemale'sbacklooksveryliketheyoungestclusterofeggs...andthatseemstoconfusethewasps.
Usinghisownbodyasadecoyisahugerisk.
Thewaspstingscouldkillhim.
He'smanagedtosavemostofhisyoung.
He'llhavetorem
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