- 7 hours ago
Africa
Category
🐳
AnimalsTranscript
00:04THE END
00:34The very center of Africa.
00:41And the center of two million square miles of dense tropical rainforest.
01:01At first glance, it seems deserted and eerily still.
01:07Not an easy place to live.
01:20But in fact, there is a greater concentration of animals here
01:25than anywhere else in Africa.
01:32And in this world, they must grab every opportunity.
01:38Competition is intense and unrelenting.
01:46Even the forest itself fights its corner with spines and poisonous sap.
01:57Here, every living thing must fight for its space.
02:19Such beauty.
02:24But the flower is self-serving, enticing animals into an unwitting alliance.
02:31Stingless bees.
02:33They have to work hard.
02:35The forest flowers make them do so by rationing their nectar,
02:39forcing each bee to visit and so pollinate at least a thousand brooms each day.
03:00For the bees, it's worth the effort.
03:03They need the nectar to make honey, which they store in pots.
03:08It's so precious, they keep it hidden beneath the bark of a tree.
03:24But their secret is out.
03:36Nothing is safe in this forest.
03:48Nothing is safe in this forest.
03:49Until next time...
03:57Chimpanzees love honey.
04:10Chimpanzees love honey.
04:12A fall from up here could be fatal.
04:18But she does need a bigger stick.
04:46Only a chimp has the ability to break into a stingless bee's nest as well-hidden as this.
04:57Chimps are extremely intelligent, but none is born with the skill to use a tool.
05:14Youngsters like this one must learn by watching.
05:47She uses special tools, one after another, to get all the honey she can.
05:53And in a few minutes, she destroys what took the bees years to build.
06:06In the rainforest, nothing is safe.
06:18Here in the Congo, there can be as many as 500 trees crammed into every acre.
06:26In the battle for space, some will rise to over 60 meters high in just a few decades.
06:39In a valley like this, there could be close on 1,000 different species of tree.
06:48Up here, the crowns barely touch.
06:51Each tree seems to respect its neighbor's space.
06:59When they germinate down on the forest floor, young trees and plants are less restrained.
07:08But every new generation fights it out in battles we can see by accelerating time.
07:16They must get light if they are to survive.
07:19And they squeeze, crush, and even slash one another in order to reach it.
07:46Despite the thick canopy above, some sunlight does filter through and allows a few low-light specialists
07:53to bloom near the forest floor.
08:25Down here, there are animals, too, that seek out the sunlight.
08:39The forest's largest predator.
08:45One of the três, the forest, the forest's largest predator.
08:45A female rock python.
08:49Her body is five meters long, weighs 100 kilos, and has 4,000 muscles that she uses to crush
08:58the life out of her victims.
09:02But right now, her need is not for food.
09:05It's for warmth.
09:13She finds a rare patch where a shaft of sunlight strikes the ground,
09:19and she begins to bask.
09:25She's cold-blooded,
09:27so this is the only way she can raise the temperature of her body.
09:35But now she's becoming very warm indeed, more than 10 degrees hotter than usual.
09:41At 40 degrees centigrade, she's in danger of killing herself.
09:50Just in time, she moves off.
10:00She disappears below ground.
10:13This is her nest, and it's full of giant eggs.
10:22It's critical for the egg's development that they stay above 30 degrees.
10:33Here, in this special filming burrow, she gently wraps her superheated body around the eggs,
10:40passing on to them the warmth of the sun.
10:49She has done this every day for three months.
10:54The repeated heat stress on her body is so great, it could be lethal.
10:59And at the very least, it will take three years for her to recover from incubating this one clutch of
11:06eggs.
11:28Her parchment-shelled eggs carry the pressed imprint of her scales,
11:33an indication of the strength of her embrace.
11:45At last, her efforts are rewarded.
12:06But the babies can't stay here.
12:09They must leave their sanctuary and find food in the tangled world above.
12:42They're over 60 centimeters.
12:45already big enough to be a threat to the smaller inhabitants of the forest.
12:53But they are themselves vulnerable.
12:58Particularly to other snakes.
13:04But this one is their mother.
13:06Unusually for snakes, her maternal instincts continue for days after her eggs hatch.
13:23Even so, the forest is such a dangerous place
13:26that only one in a hundred of her youngsters is likely to reach adulthood.
13:37Just occasionally, the competition eases.
13:44A tree suddenly produces fruit.
13:51It's a magnet for the creatures of the canopy,
13:54and they, in turn as they feed, create a bonanza for those on the ground below.
14:20A mob of red river hogs.
14:27They have traveled over two miles through the thick undergrowth to get to this fall of fruit.
14:33But in the African forest, little comes for free.
14:41This feast is a bribe.
14:45The hogs will carry the seeds in their stomachs
14:48and deposit them far from the parent tree.
15:06Night falls.
15:09But one living community, which is neither animal nor plant,
15:14continues its never-ending work in the darkness.
15:24This ground is alive with fungi that digest all the litter discarded by the forest.
15:37Some rare fungi do so with enzymes that are luminous.
15:49The local people call them chimpanzee fire.
15:59Without the fungi, the dead vegetation would pile so high,
16:03the living trees would be submerged.
16:22Dawn.
16:24And a new day reveals just how much control the jungle has over its own environment.
16:34The forests of the Congo are the lungs of Africa.
16:38The forests of the Congo are the lungs of Africa.
16:38As they use the sunlight to build their tissues,
16:41so they release oxygen and water vapor into the air.
16:50Each hectare of forest produces, as vapor, almost 190,000 liters of water a year.
16:59So much that it creates its own weather.
17:06Clouds blanket the forest, driving up the humidity and temperature.
17:12A storm is brewing.
17:17The Congo might be the richest part of Africa, but it's also the most violent.
17:26This is the end of the world.
17:50Each year, as many as a hundred million lightning bolts strike the forest.
17:55That's more than anywhere else in the world.
18:05And with the lightning comes the rain.
18:16Up to 95% of the rain that falls here is generated by the forest itself.
18:39With the deluge will come change to the animals and to the forest.
18:49It's certainly perfect weather for frogs.
18:55The big storm is the cue for the most important climb of this frog's life.
19:02It's a male in search of a mate.
19:08But if he is to find one, he has to get to the top.
19:12I think it's a great guy to walk through the forest, and he has to get to the forest.
19:46He needs to keep his wits about him,
19:49for the rain also brings out hunters.
20:06Easy does it.
20:17The top at last.
20:20But he's late to the party.
20:33The higher a male sits, the further his voice will carry.
20:37So the top slots are worth fighting for.
20:48The higher a male.
20:49At the top of the party.
20:49The higher a male.
20:51The higher a male.
20:57The higher a male.
21:05He's used to carry on his wand.
21:06He's used to carry the roller.
21:06The higher a male.
21:17and he's won he has the top place so now
21:25it's time to sing and a white-bellied
21:38female responds they join together to
21:51mate the loser will have to wait for the
22:01next storm before he sings again she lays
22:10her eggs on a blade of a long leaf and he
22:13using his back legs folds it over and
22:16glues its two edges together shutting
22:18the eggs inside this sealed nest is the
22:34safest place these leaf folding frogs
22:36can find to protect their precious brood
22:51within days the eggs are developing
22:56the timing is perfect
23:07the rain washes away the glue and the
23:10tadpoles slip out of the leaves into the
23:13growing puddles below
23:26the rainy season reaches its peak and
23:30the ground has been transformed
23:46the forest is flooded it's a new world
23:56fish swim in from the swollen streams
23:59exploiting this newly created space
24:02snapping up the drowning insects
24:10this is a butterfly fish
24:18a congo bishir
24:25the butterfly fish is too quick and leaps out of danger
24:49inside this is a butterfly fish
25:20The floods gradually drain back into the established waterways
25:25that run through the forest like blood vessels.
25:32There is so much water flowing through the forest
25:35that even little rivulets can carve out the soil
25:38around an ancient boulder.
25:55This is the home of one forest creature
25:58that has lived here in the Congo for 44 million years.
26:07Picathartes.
26:16These birds mate for life,
26:18and the male reaffonds the bond by displaying to the female.
26:26They're building a mud nest on the underside of the boulder's overhang
26:30where it'll be protected from the rain.
26:34The female takes the lead.
27:06And they are building a bamboo see to the pessoas
27:08The male doesn't seem quite so skillful.
27:15Oh, dear.
27:18Luckily, she can put things right.
27:26Now she's collecting the soft furnishings.
27:31He's brought some too, but he still can't get it right.
27:43In the end, the female seems satisfied with the finish,
27:47and just in time.
28:05It might look as if he has been banished
28:08into the rain, but in fact, they're a great team.
28:13They share the incubation, 12 hours on, 12 hours off,
28:18for the next three weeks.
28:26In due course, there are mouths to feed,
28:29and now the male must prove his worth.
28:47Worms are a good start, and he's doing well.
28:52But the chicks are insatiable.
29:02Fortunately, other things are on the menu.
29:20He might be a poor nest builder,
29:24but he's redeeming himself now.
29:31Domestic bliss.
29:35Rocky overhangs are the only place
29:38where Picathartes will build their nest,
29:40so they owe their home to the stream
29:42that revealed the flank of the giant boulder.
29:52This stream, and countless others like it,
29:55merge to form the great rivers of Central Africa.
30:10More than 450 billion litres of rainwater,
30:15travelling down thousands of rivers,
30:17are heading west.
30:23The waters pick up speed as the rivers spill over the edge
30:26of the central plateau
30:27and create giant cascades of white water.
30:58The Kongu forces its way through the wildest,
31:02most untouched forest in the whole of Africa.
31:05most untouched forest in the whole of Africa.
31:07The Kongu forces are the only place
31:07The kink for the river.
31:13The red water with the population.
31:14The Kink.
31:23The red water with the bird,
31:24the red water with the WCAV.
31:48The Congo River system drains an area the size of India,
31:52carrying the waters westward,
31:54and fastwards towards the Atlantic.
31:58But before it reaches the coast,
32:00the rivers broaden, forcing back the forest.
32:07And here, for the first time, there is space.
32:12Wide, flat, and safe.
32:18These stretches of sand attract visitors from the coast.
32:24Skimmers, searching for somewhere safe to settle.
32:39The lower mandible of their beaks is greatly elongated.
32:45They slice it through the surface of the water at 10 meters a second.
32:52If and when it hits a tiny fish, it'll snapshot.
33:03But why come upriver to these open sand flats?
33:13This is the answer.
33:25But this nursery will not exist for long.
33:28Four weeks from now, it'll be under 10 meters of water.
33:34If by then these chicks can't fly, they will drown.
33:42The problem for young skimmers is that when they hatch,
33:46the lower part of their beaks is the same size as the upper.
33:53While they wait for it to grow,
33:55they do their best to learn the skimming technique.
33:58They are now.
34:02So they have a bigger room for their.
34:21So the wilderness is very, very close to them.
34:21Now, if the new forest you have to prepare for them to remove the water.
34:21So the next layer is the method you can see is the same size size size.
34:21is the same size size size size size size size size size size size size size size size size size.
34:25Let's go.
35:06Open spaces may be safe, but they give no protection against the driving rain.
35:27These storms are a warning that the skimmers must soon leave.
35:33The river is already rising.
35:49This year, the chicks get away in time.
36:13It's not just water that has the power to clear away through the forest.
36:20There are animals that can do that too.
36:26They have created a network of pathways that crisscross the lowland forest and run for thousands
36:32of miles in all directions.
36:58These pathmakers are surprisingly stealthy.
37:03But as night falls, there's a chance of catching a glimpse of them.
37:26Forest elephants are very social creatures.
37:30But in dense jungle, it's hard for them to find one another.
37:41These elephants are lucky.
37:45Here in the Congo, there is one special place where they can meet and mingle.
37:53A place that the elephants have created for themselves.
38:01And this is it.
38:03And this is it.
38:19Sangabai, the legendary village of elephants.
38:40As well as being a place where they can enjoy one another's company,
38:44this great clearing satisfies another craving.
38:49For salts.
39:00The salts lie deep under the mud, so the elephants have got to mine for them,
39:06which they do with high-pressure water jets from their trunks.
39:29The precious salts and the chance to socialize bring in elephants from far and wide.
39:39If an elephant is in the mood to mate, this is the place to be.
39:47This young bull is in a state of must, a kind of sexual fury.
40:10He is so pumped up by hormones and the excitements of the crowd that he seems to have taken leave
40:16of his senses.
40:41But will throwing his weight about impress the females?
40:47The cows only become fertile once every two years, so opportunities to encounter one at the right time are not
40:55common.
40:56This could well be the first chance this young male has had.
41:03He's lucky, and there are no older bulls around to put him in his place.
41:19Just for a moment, he is king of the by.
41:23I'm sorry.
41:24I'm sorry.
41:25I'm sorry.
41:34Peter Casals but he'sディор!
41:52But his rule doesn't last for long.
41:57Enter another lusty bull, and a much bigger one.
42:13But the young bull is still charged up with testosterone.
42:18Bold or foolish, he's going into battle.
42:30No!
42:35No!
42:37No!
42:38No!
42:48No!
42:49No!
42:50No!
42:52No!
42:56No!
43:10No!
43:13No!
43:16No!
43:16No!
43:16No!
43:17No!
43:19I never really had a chance.
43:37Zangabai is a huge clearing,
43:39but it's still just a speck in this vast expanse of green.
43:46Elephants might fell trees and carve pathways,
43:50but nothing natural can hold back this forest forever.
43:56Nothing but the Atlantic Ocean.
44:19Loango Beach on Africa's west coast,
44:22one of the last truly wild places where the Congo jungle meets the sea.
44:39Here, the forest gives way to sand, surf and fresh sea air.
44:49The cool breezes and warm sunlight entice creatures out of the dark forest.
44:58Forest buffalo appear first.
45:19And here in the surf, they're a hippo.
45:29And here in the surf, they're a hippo.
45:52So here, elephants can get their tasty salt without having to dig for it.
45:58So here, elephants can get their tasty salt without having to dig for it.
46:00This mother with her tiny baby can feel the sun on her back.
46:05Here, it's safe for her little one.
46:08They're free to eat in peace.
46:13The bulls have all the room they need, so there is less risk of a fight.
46:32Everyone from gorillas to forest hogs ventures out to relax on the beach.
46:48Everyone from gorillas to forest hogs ventures out to relax on the beach.
47:15But the forest's creatures can't stay out here forever.
47:23Despite everything, the intense competition, the threats, the darkness, they need their
47:30forest just as their forest needs them.
48:03The Congo Rainforest, a four-day journey to the heart of Africa.
48:11Once the plane leaves, you're on your own.
48:16This expedition planned to film two of the Congo's best-kept secrets.
48:20But to even find them, the crew would have to work very hard indeed.
48:26You might as well be on a different planet, coming to a place like this.
48:30Planet Congo.
48:34Mysterious.
48:37Difficult.
48:39Complex.
48:41Challenging.
48:46Everything's trying to bite you.
48:49Suck your blood.
48:54It's like being tickled by a million feathers at the same time.
49:06The insects might be torture, but that's the least of their worries.
49:13The only way to get deep into the jungle is to follow these trails.
49:19Trails made by dangerous forest elephants.
49:23Well, the first thing you need to know about forest elephants is you don't want to meet
49:28one.
49:30Because running away can elicit a charge, and it could be exactly the wrong thing to do.
49:36Our team are completely dependent on their bayaca guides for safety.
49:50But it's these same forest elephants that James has come to film.
49:54And just to make the challenge harder, he's here to film them in the dark.
50:01Nobody knows exactly what they get up to at night.
50:04They haven't been filmed like this before.
50:10I can rig this place if the bayaca weren't here.
50:14Watching my back, really.
50:16James needs to operate the remote cameras from somewhere out of the elephant's reach.
50:27A tree platform seems like the best option.
50:36Apparently they have very big elephants around here.
50:38They want us to put it a bit higher, so I think I'll do what they say.
50:44But no one wants to stay out at night and help James with the filming.
50:58So, James will be alone until morning.
51:01If anything goes wrong, he's on his own.
51:04If they really wanted to, they could push these trees over.
51:07I can't imagine that's going to be an issue.
51:12As James settled down for the night, he's got no idea of the trouble that's coming his way.
51:26What's going on?
51:2720 miles away, Mark McEwan is also up in the middle of the night.
51:32The animal he's after is proving impossible to find.
51:38So we get up in the darkness and we walk through the jungle at night,
51:43hoping to hear the sound of cracking branches or leaves moving up in the trees.
51:49That means chimpanzees are stirring in the treetops,
51:52and Mark is here to film chimps hunting for honey.
51:57There's one chimp in particular he needs to find,
52:00a teenager with a very sweet tooth,
52:03known to go further in the pursuit of a bee's nest than any other.
52:11I've spent six days walking probably the equivalent of half marathon every day
52:18in 100% humidity and about 95 degrees in the shade.
52:24And we just can't find our chimpanzee.
52:30Time is ticking away and Mark is running out of filming days.
52:41At the moment I just need some good luck.
52:43We've come an awfully long way to get this sequence.
52:45We've got probably 10, 12 days left.
52:49But it's hard work at the moment.
52:52All Mark can do is persevere and hope for a break.
53:02But not all the forest creatures are so shy.
53:06Perched high in his tree, James Aldred is waiting patiently for the elephants to come in.
53:17At last, the elephants are here.
53:19But they're behaving strangely.
53:43They just want to get rid of him.
53:46One begins to thump the tree with its head.
53:49They just want to get rid of him.
53:52James has no option but to weather the attack.
53:59Let's lean forward and keep headbutting, keep headbutting, keep headbutting, keep headbutting.
54:06Suddenly the camera's cut out.
54:10And James is left in complete darkness.
54:17After three weeks searching, Mark has lost nearly two stone in weight, but he hasn't given up.
54:24He can't afford to put down his camera for a second.
54:30Suddenly the guide spots the honey hunter.
54:32This is it.
54:33This is it.
54:51Where is she?
54:52She's inside the tree.
54:59Just for some honey, she's risking her life.
55:02It's amazing.
55:23I don't think I just didn't stop smiling for several days after filming that.
55:27The relief is just unbelievable.
55:38Back at the camera platform, James has had a long night.
55:45For over four hours, the elephant tried to shake him out of the tree.
55:53Got down this morning when the bayaca came to collect me.
55:56Went to look at the camera and he'd pulled it out of the tree.
55:59And he chewed through the power cable.
56:02He must have gotten a bit of a shock.
56:04I mean, only 12 volts, but...
56:06Served him right, quite honestly.
56:08But at least we got a shot of him before he trashed the camera.
56:14Silver lining.
56:17Despite this bumpy start, the elephants soon got used to James.
56:21And James got used to the elephants.
56:26Filming here was never going to be easy, but we were soon able to reveal the nightlife of forest elephants
56:32like never before.
56:51Next time, Africa's Great Cape.
56:57Next time, Africa's Great Cape.
57:07Only in this part of Africa do powerful oceanic forces combine in such a riotous explosion of life.
57:38Go online to the bbc.co.uk TV blog to discover how the Africa team go about getting the best.
57:45The perfect wildlife shot.