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00:38Incredible ingenuity, dedication, and extraordinary teamwork.
00:46This is what it takes to be a parent on our planet.
00:53Meet the hard-working parents, raising their families,
00:57doing all they can to protect and provide for the next generation.
01:07Discover the extraordinary ways animal parents navigate their world.
01:13But a changing planet is forcing them to adapt.
01:19Success for all parents has perhaps the greatest of consequences.
01:25It ensures the future of life on Earth.
01:32This is parenthood.
01:59A mother Orangutan in Borneo is building her bed for the night.
02:09First, a mattress of fresh leaves.
02:15Her young son, a few branches below, is getting to work on his own bunk.
02:24Not entirely successfully.
02:31It will take her almost a decade to prepare him for independence.
02:43Like many youngsters, he decides that his mother's bed is preferable.
02:51And climbs up for a cuddle.
03:01It takes years to perfect jungle living, and all rainforest parents learn to rely on the trees to protect and
03:11provide for them.
03:15It's a very large castle.
03:30The Himalayan Kingdom, where the forests are regarded as sacred.
03:39The jungles here provide a refuge for many rare species.
03:51Among them are some of our planet's most dedicated parents.
04:00Rufous-necked hornbills.
04:06Male and female pair for life and each year they renew their bond.
04:15Raising a hornbill chick takes teamwork.
04:19The first step is to secure a good home.
04:32Unlike most birds, hornbills don't make nests, but prefer a hole in a tree.
04:50Fortunately, the ancient forests of Bhutan contain plenty of options.
05:00Once the pair have found one that seems suitable, the female starts collecting mud from the forest floor.
05:14With it, she builds a barrier across the entrance that will prevent any strangers from getting in.
05:27But she is now imprisoned.
05:32And she will remain so for the next hundred days.
05:47She will be totally reliant on her partner for food.
05:55He'd better be up to it.
06:00Fruit forms the bulk of his offerings.
06:10A caterpillar is a welcome treat, once carefully prepared.
06:20Most of the time, the food is gratefully received.
06:28But not always.
06:42The lack of choice is beginning to get to her.
06:53The male works hard to maintain his daily deliveries.
06:59His commitment is total.
07:17But then, one beak becomes two.
07:30Their growing chick is thriving.
07:35Their growing chick is thriving.
07:36But the nursery is becoming increasingly cramped.
07:39And a touch grubby.
07:45Dad does his best to keep them both properly fed.
07:53But conditions inside the nest are now almost unbearable.
08:03Finally, after three months of imprisonment,
08:07she decides the time has come to leave.
08:13And to introduce her chick to the outside world.
08:23The male now starts to withhold food.
08:27A clear sign that he too thinks that the time has come.
08:35She starts to chip away at the baked mud.
08:46Her slight muscles are stiff and weak.
08:55Inch by inch, she squeezes her way out.
09:07Inch by inch, she squeezes her way out.
09:08Freedom again.
09:10Freedom again.
09:17Her chick, however, needs more time.
09:22The world seems rather daunting.
09:26His father swoops in...
09:29...to offer some encouragement.
09:33It's time to go.
09:44All his parents can do now is watch.
09:50The chick's journey inevitably has to begin with a leap of faith.
10:21He is ungainly and awkward.
10:29But that could have been a lot worse.
10:36They'll remain by his side for the next six months.
10:49Jungles may appear to be full of opportunities.
10:54But competition for homes can be intense.
11:01This Sri Lankan pug-nosed frog has been lucky.
11:06He's bagged a prime location.
11:09It even has a pool in the basement.
11:21And it's not long before an interested female arrives.
11:33Their embrace can last for days.
11:44But as soon as the eggs are laid, the female leaves.
11:49He is now on his own.
11:52A single parent.
12:01His new brood quickly attracts unwanted attention.
12:09Frog's eggs are food for many jungle creatures.
12:17He can protect them from some of the smaller threats.
12:24But he has little defense against the bigger ones.
12:31But he has little defense against the bigger ones.
12:33The tiger tarantula with a leg span the size of a human face.
12:41It can paralyze its victims with a single venomous bite.
12:51Almost nothing is safe from it.
13:00Certainly not a defenseless frog father.
13:15The little frog bravely holds his ground.
13:19The tiger tarantula with a human face.
13:44Actually, these two have met before.
13:51They both live in the same tree hole.
13:57They both live in the same tree hole.
13:58The tarantula has a nice dry penthouse at the top.
14:03While the frog prefers the damp basement.
14:13The stay-at-home frog keeps the place clean and free of ants.
14:21And the spider acts as a full-time security guard.
14:31Together, they make an excellent team.
14:39One that ensures a future for two entirely different families.
15:02For some parents, finding a suitable home is just the start of a very long journey.
15:11Learning the intricacies of the jungle can take a lifetime.
15:18And in the forests of Borneo, the amount of food on offer varies hugely each year.
15:30Orangutans have an encyclopedic knowledge of the forests.
15:36They not only know which plants are safe to eat, but when and where to look for them.
15:47This knowledge is passed down to their young, and today's lesson begins with a pandanus plant.
15:56A meal of its leaves is an excellent way to start the day.
16:13Bibi is an experienced mother, and has been giving her son Bias daily lessons for the last seven years.
16:28Bibi has a lot of work to do.
16:29Orangutan are mostly solitary animals.
16:33If Bias is eventually to survive on his own, Bibi has a lot of work to do.
16:50She will need to show him everything the forest has to offer.
16:58Including where to find over 300 different kinds of food.
17:05Including where to find over 300 different kinds of food.
17:09Like all Orangs, Bibi is vulnerable on the ground.
17:14But down here, there is important food.
17:25Termites.
17:28They are packed with nutrients, an important supplement for their regular diet.
17:35Bias isn't yet brave enough to sample them, but at least he's paying attention.
17:49A varied diet can be the difference between life and death.
17:58And at his age, Bias should really be fending for himself.
18:03But he still relies on his mother to show him the best bits.
18:17There is no shortage of leaves.
18:25But even so, he wants those particular ones that his mother is eating.
18:40And she is beginning to find that very irritating.
18:52Eventually, he gets the message and finds a branch of his own.
19:11Large fig trees are few and far between.
19:15And you have to know when they will be full of fruit.
19:18If you are not to make unnecessary journeys.
19:26They've timed their visit perfectly.
19:28Hundreds of figs are beginning to ripen.
19:36Bibi has devoted nearly a decade of her life to each of her children.
19:43Bias is approaching the end of his training and will soon need to branch out on his own.
20:01Leaving his devoted mother will be one of the most difficult moments in his life.
20:11And he isn't quite ready for it.
20:15Yet.
20:31Iguazu National Park in Argentina.
20:41The mother, Kawati, is in her nest with a litter of kits.
20:51She has looked after them with great care since the day they were born.
20:57But now they are close to independence.
21:00And she is able to start polishing further.
21:10Goati live in tight social groups.
21:13And the adults take turns to care for each other's young.
21:22And keep them out of harm's way.
21:29As one mother disappears into the canopy.
21:34The other is left in charge.
21:37And she is going to have her work cut out.
21:42The kits are just about manageable when in the trees.
21:48But once on the ground, it becomes total chaos.
22:09The babysitter is doing her best.
22:18But every time one of the missing kits is found,
22:24another wanders off.
22:32It's a babysitter's nightmare.
22:56Meanwhile, the other female is enjoying some quiet time on the other side of the river.
23:11She calls to the group.
23:19She calls to the group.
23:21But the babysitter knows that the kits would find it difficult to make the crossing.
23:29They've become separated.
23:39The babysitter, however, has an idea.
23:46She has learned to use something that previous generations didn't have.
23:53A bridge.
24:09A bridge.
24:12She just has to get the youngsters across it unscathed.
24:43The babysitter's
24:45The babysitter rounds up the final straggler and carries him to safety.
25:07With the group reunited, everyone has had quite enough adventure for one day.
25:17By sharing parental responsibilities, these koatis now successfully raise more offspring than they could ever do on their own.
25:33Jungle parents have to be endlessly resourceful.
25:39And the forests of Jamaica are now home to a creature whose ancestors were once ocean-goers,
25:47but who now live in the tiny pools of water that form at the base of jungle plants.
25:57This is a mother bromeliad crab.
26:05But her new home isn't perfect.
26:08It requires constant maintenance.
26:14Dead leaves fall into it.
26:18And that just won't do.
26:22The leaves have got to be removed.
26:30For her growing brood, nothing is too much trouble.
26:41Cleaning the nursery is just the start.
26:48For the first ten days, the tiny crabs don't have hard shells
26:54and are easily picked off by hungry predators.
27:09They're totally defenseless.
27:22They're totally defenseless.
27:25They're always rich in calcium.
27:33She drops a few into the nursery pool, where they will dissolve
27:37and can then be reabsorbed by the tiny crablets, helping them to toughen up.
27:47Managing her nursery pool is a daily battle.
27:53Too many leaves, more shells to find,
27:58and each day she risks losing more of her brood.
28:15When eventually the youngster's shells have hardened,
28:19she has to provide them with food.
28:27She doesn't leave the safety of her bromeliad home,
28:31but relies on food coming to her.
28:37A millipede in search of a meal of decomposing leaves.
28:45She readied herself.
28:51It won't be easy, but there's a bounty to be had.
29:12She eventually gets to grips with her capture and breaks it up into bite-sized chunks.
29:26The body of the millipede will not only feed her whole family,
29:31but will also help to further strengthen the crablets' shells.
29:40The crablets love the guts best.
29:52The mother crab has managed to create an environment that suits her family.
30:01But some jungles are now being transformed in ways that make raising young almost impossible.
30:14The cast forests of southern China.
30:20The limestone peaks are home to one of the rarest of monkeys.
30:28The white-headed langur.
30:39This infant is one of the last of his kind.
30:44It's precious not just for his mother, but for the future of his entire species.
30:53A ledge high up these vertical cliffs may be a safe place to sleep.
31:02But it's less than perfect as a nursery.
31:11Travelling around up here is not for the inexperienced.
31:17But eventually, all langurs must learn to master the rock face.
31:35Fortunately, there are plenty of others willing to lend a hand.
31:44Young langurs can spend as much as a third of their time under the care of other females.
31:56Around mid-morning, the group begin their daily descent to the base of their pinnacle.
32:06One false step here could be fatal.
32:27But this is the place where their mothers find their food.
32:43Once their babies are free to develop their climbing skills.
32:57Langurs need a variety of fresh leaves every day.
33:03Not long ago, the troop had a much larger forest territory.
33:09But they have become isolated on their rocky island.
33:16Which is now entirely surrounded by farmland.
33:25The patches of jungle that remain have become increasingly rare.
33:39A couple of outsiders have been spotted approaching through the fields.
33:50Looking to take over the island.
34:00Rival males will kill the offspring of others.
34:04Rival males will kill the offspring of others.
34:09So the mothers quickly get out of the way.
34:13And retreat to the safety of the cliffs.
34:22Leaving the rest of the troops to resist the attack.
34:38The intruders have been repelled for now.
34:45But not everyone has gone unscathed.
34:47But not everyone has gone unscathed.
34:56The troop begin the long climb back up.
35:05The mother and her precious cargo carefully work their way up the cliff.
35:16The walls are near vertical.
35:18And the holds razor thin.
35:40These langurs have adapted to this perilous habitat.
35:47And their island refuge provides the mother and her baby with a safe haven.
35:53For now.
35:57But one day the youngster will be forced to leave his mother's family.
36:03And establish a territory of his own.
36:08And that will not be easy.
36:15Forest habitat is being lost all over the world.
36:19But nowhere is this more pronounced.
36:23Than in the Brazilian Amazon.
36:28Every year, vast swathes of jungle are deliberately set on fire.
36:35Leaving millions of animal parents homeless.
36:42Many are forced to find refuge in nearby patches of forest.
36:58Among them, a particularly rare and seldom seen creature.
37:04An Amazonian tapir.
37:06A close relative of rhinos.
37:10And South America's largest land mammal.
37:21Her young calf sticks close by her side.
37:34They are in search of a new territory.
37:37Which has the resources they need to survive.
38:02Finding enough vegetation to eat is not a problem.
38:09But many jungle plants lack crucial minerals.
38:13And some contain a mix of toxic chemicals.
38:24Over time, these toxins can build up in a tapir's body.
38:31Eventually, some need to seek out a remedy.
38:39She leads her young calf upstream in the hope of finding the cure.
38:46The female knew where to go in the patch of forest where she was born.
38:52But as her former territory continues to burn behind her.
38:57She's forced to look for somewhere new.
39:14As night falls, the jungle comes alive.
39:35Using her keen sense of smell, she cautiously guides her calf through the forest.
39:50The more animals they encounter, the closer they're likely to be to their destination.
40:03She can smell something familiar in the darkness.
40:19Clay.
40:21The remedy that she and her calf so badly need.
40:29It's thought the clay neutralizes the toxins and provides essential minerals lacking in their diet.
40:42Others arrive.
40:43All searching for the same thing.
40:48The particular chemical compounds within this clay.
40:58As more tapir arrive, they dig into the soil, making it accessible to other less powerful species.
41:22The location of this clay lick is a crucial part of the calf's education.
41:30There are unique sites like this all over the Amazon, including many that have not yet been identified by humans.
41:41Even the most remote forests on Earth are no longer immune from modern disturbances.
41:50The daintree in northern Australia.
41:55Dinosaurs once lived here.
42:03And their feathered descendants still prowl the understory today.
42:10A casserie.
42:13A casserie.
42:13This one is nicknamed crinkle.
42:21He's nearly 45 years old.
42:24And like all casserie.
42:26And like all casserie fathers, he has the responsibility of rearing the young.
42:34Success is never guaranteed.
42:36And this year is tougher than ever.
42:41It's the middle of the dry season.
42:46Crinkle's head cask helps him shed heat quickly.
42:55But his chicks have no such defence.
42:58In these temperatures, they need to drink almost every day if they're to survive.
43:04But it has hardly rained for months.
43:11The forest is parched.
43:14And many of the riverbeds are dry.
43:34Crinkle breaks up some fruit for his Chicks.
43:37But it won't sustain them for long.
44:00He must find water.
44:06There is a remote pool at the far limit of his territory.
44:12The journey there is risky, but his chicks are hungry and thirsty and increasingly desperate.
44:24Even in a good year, only 50% of Kasseri chicks survive.
44:31He urges them on.
44:40They must be cautious.
44:41The search for water is drawing other animals into the area.
44:50Feral pigs introduced by humans are now abundant in these forests.
44:59Following their scent, wild dingoes are also moving in.
45:07Both of these animals are known to kill Kasseri chicks.
45:17Krinkel is by no means defenseless.
45:20His razor sharp talons are effective weapons, but he will be unable to save his chicks if
45:27they don't find water soon.
45:29Krinkel is by no means defenseless.
45:44At last.
45:46Krinkel is by no means defenseless.
45:53And for now, they are alone.
45:57Krinkel is by no means defenseless.
46:14The oasis provides precious relief.
46:22Krinkel is by no means defenseless.
46:23And what is more, the Kwang Dong tree here is full of fruit, a food much relished by Kasseris.
46:37Krinkel is by no means defenseless.
46:38And in return, the Kasseri distribute the seeds around the forest, helping the trees to spread.
46:45Krinkel is by no means defenseless.
46:56All over the world, animals and trees depend on each other.
47:06But there are some trees that do more than we ever thought possible.
47:13Krinkel is by no means defenseless.
47:16A 200-year-old ajo tree in Costa Rica, covered in golden blooms.
47:27As one of the largest trees in the area, it has unrestricted access to the sun.
47:38Krinkel is by no means defenseless.
47:39However, for the saplings growing on the forest floor, collecting the relatively little light
47:44to filters down isn't quite so easy.
47:50But the ajo tree's influence is great.
47:58It's immense canopy absorbs the sunlight, using its energy to synthesize sugars in its leaves,
48:08which then circulate through its branches right down to its roots.
48:17Here, it collaborates with microscopic fungi, and it distributes excess nutrients to the tiny saplings nearby.
48:28This underground network enables trees to support the next generation.
48:40These complex relationships take years to establish.
48:46And it's clear that as trees age, they become increasingly important for the forest, acting
48:53as protectors and providers for the whole ecosystem.
48:59A cavity in the ajo's ancient trunk provides a home for a family of bats.
49:18And thousands of insects visit it each day.
49:29This ajo is a keystone of the forest, but it's not unique.
49:44The world over, such giant individuals play a pivotal role in their respective forests.
49:56They are the key to a healthy jungle.
50:00From the majestic Barante in Borneo to the giant Capoc in Brazil.
50:08Trees like these provide homes for a huge variety of animal families.
50:18And turn neighborhoods depend on them for food.
50:31They are the center of their community.
50:42And are vital to all parents who make their homes in jungles.
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