- 5 days ago
Features a magnificent, 600-year-old Outeniqua Yellowwood tree towering 40 meters above the canopy in a misty South African forest...
在绍特潘斯山脉的非洲山地森林中, 一棵巨大的奥特尼夸黄木为众多动植物提供了栖息地、食物和庇护...
在绍特潘斯山脉的非洲山地森林中, 一棵巨大的奥特尼夸黄木为众多动植物提供了栖息地、食物和庇护...
Category
🐳
AnimalsTranscript
00:10Nestled at the foot of these sheer cliffs is a wild and overgrown terrain, shards of
00:18light, the only solace in a dark, dank world. Rooted here lives a giant, a 600-year-old Oteniqua
00:36yellowwood. Towering 115 feet above the forest floor, it is the tallest native tree in South
00:50Africa. From its topmost branches to the ground below, the giant provides shelter and food
01:00to those that hide among its branches. For centuries, the Titan has seen life come and go. What
01:14secrets does it hold in its boughs? It is the keeper of tales in this ancient realm.
01:38This is the Sotpansberg, the rugged backbone to the Limpopo province, in the northernmost
01:46corner of South Africa. The giant yellowwood rules over this jungle. It's regent. It's
02:00of the mountains. March marks the end of summer in the Sotpansberg. At first glance, this
02:18Eden seems deserted. But it's easy for life here to hide in the overgrown thicket. The echoing
02:30chatter of birds provides the only solace that breaks the haunting silence. A booming call joins
02:44the ceaseless chorus of birdsong. The canopy is home to South Africa's only exclusively forest-dwelling
02:56primate, the Samango monkey. Notoriously skittish, it's a rare treat to catch a glimpse of this shy
03:11forest resident. It has a large family, 38 members. Within this troop is a single breeding male who
03:28presides over his harem of females and their offspring. The Samangos are drawn to what is referred to as the
03:39yellowwoods fruit. But fruits come from flowers, and there are none of those here. Oteniqua yellowwoods belong to an
03:49ancient family of trees called conifers, which evolved long before flowering plants appeared on the planet.
03:58Instead, they produce male and female cones, found on separate trees. Only females produce this so-called
04:09fruit. This giant is in fact queen of the forest. One year since her cones were pollinated, clusters of succulent
04:21yellow fruit now hang from her branches. Less than an inch in diameter, they have quite a resinous flavour.
04:30Still, birds and other animals enjoy their taste and flock to the yellowwoods branches.
04:45The monkeys' discarded seeds and chewed fruit chunks fall to the forest floor.
05:05Crested guinea fowl greedily peck at the scraps. During fruiting season, the yellowwood, helped by the monkeys,
05:15serves a banquet of discarded fruit to the flock. In fact, monkeys and guinea fowl often forage together.
05:31The birds scavenging on the primates' rejected leftovers.
05:38There's another benefit to this odd coupling. More eyes to look out for predators, both on the ground and up
05:49above.
05:55In these warm summer months, the Samangos welcome new members into their troop.
06:06A female usually only gives birth to one infant a year, not taking her eyes off it for the first
06:14month of its life.
06:18The youngster desperately clings to his mother as she clambers through the forest in search of food.
06:25His mother relies on the nutrients from the yellowwoods fruit to produce her milk.
06:32A supply she will need to maintain as she nurses him over the next two years.
06:44But monkeys and guinea fowl aren't the only ones to reap the Queen's rewards.
06:54From her branches, a hollow call echoes through the forest.
07:08Purple-crested turracos eat almost exclusively fruit and frequently visit the giant in fruiting season.
07:19Their glossy, colourful plumage is a sight to behold.
07:26With beautiful crimson flight feathers.
07:32But they're not the greatest of fliers.
07:37Instead, they nimbly run on branches in the canopy.
07:46Bounding and gliding from limb to limb.
07:56Turracos and other fruit-eating birds disperse the giant's seeds all over the forest.
08:17Darkness descends over the mountain.
08:27Wandering stars ignite the evening sky.
08:34For six centuries, this titan amongst trees has stood witness to this cosmic wonder.
08:50Creatures of the night stir.
09:09Amongst them, a woodland doormouse is out on the prowl.
09:16Usually the bushy-tailed scavenger forages in the treetops.
09:22But tonight, it's rummaging between the fallen yellowwood fruit for a tasty titbit.
09:30All the while, cautiously listening for danger.
09:37It finds its prize, a discarded yellowwood seed.
09:44The mouse gnaws at the seed, ruining any chance of it taking root.
10:00As life in the forest wakes, the crested guinea fowls stir in the treetops all around the yellowwood.
10:13These peculiar birds roost in the forest canopy, where they are beyond the reach of danger.
10:24It's May. Autumn mornings are chilly up here amongst the leaves.
10:31And the flock abandons its roost to go forage beneath the yellowwood.
10:42The family is a social bunch, constantly communicating to stay in range of each other.
10:54A male dominates this community.
10:57A role he claimed and maintains by being the fittest cock with the most endurance.
11:06He keeps a blood-red eye on his flock of 30 from a perch.
11:22When it comes to searching for food, one has to admire their persistence.
11:35They spend most of the day scrounging through leaf litter to unearth seeds.
11:49Digging for roots and bulbs, and scratching and scraping to uncover a juicy morsel,
11:55like a spider or a millipede.
12:04In autumn, the flock has to work a little harder for their food.
12:09The yellowwood summer fruit is a distant memory.
12:16But the forest is full of hidden treasures.
12:20You just need to know where to look.
12:37A piercing shriek abruptly ends the peace and quiet of the morning treasure hunt.
12:46A male hyrax, also known as a dussey, is responsible for this shrill cry.
13:02His territorial calls defend the yellowwood year round.
13:10But fall being mating season, they're much more frequent now.
13:24He's guarding his den, a collection of large boulders in the shade of the giant.
13:34Hidden among them is his harem.
13:39He reigns over a colony of 17 females and their offspring.
13:47A rival male threatens him with quick posturing.
13:58But it doesn't take much to intimidate this interloper.
14:05He's no match for this season champion.
14:12With dorsal hairs standing on end, a second challenger confronts the ruler of this rock.
14:22But he doesn't have what it takes either.
14:32Another standoff.
14:35And this time, his opponent tries to intimidate him by grinding his molars.
14:45That shook him up a bit.
14:47Better for the dominant male to stand down than lose his den.
14:54Don't be deceived by its name.
14:57The rock hyrax is a master tree climber.
15:00And it often takes to the trees to forage.
15:05As the hyrax moves along the branches,
15:07it relies on the thick, rubbery soles on its feet to get a good grip.
15:19The inner toe on each hind foot serves as a long grooming claw.
15:24The dussey uses this, along with four comb-like incisors, to scratch almost any part of its body.
15:36Although the dussey may look like a rodent, its closest living relative could not seem more different.
15:43The African elephant, their close relationship determined by the similar structure of their feet and teeth.
15:53This colony has lived in the rocky crevices close to the Yellowwood for generations.
15:59Perhaps even witnessing the first growth of its seed.
16:06One den in South Africa was found to have urine layers dating back 55,000 years.
16:19This ancient forest can be a claustrophobic world.
16:29Even the spans between the trees are occupied.
16:36All around the Yellowwood, veils of silk draped between branches, gleaming in the sunlight.
16:51A kite spider, dangerously beautiful with crab-like spines, meticulously cleans its web.
17:02But the Queen cradles an even greater jewel in her upper reaches.
17:08Here, one of Africa's most striking orb weavers, the Darwin's bark spider, has spun her web.
17:25With the toughest silk ever seen, ten times stronger than Kevlar, these spiders spin some of the largest webs found
17:34in nature.
17:39Covering more than 30 square feet.
17:45The key to this extraordinary strength is the silk's elasticity, twice as resilient as other orb spinner's webs.
18:04Insects stand little chance of escaping such a masterpiece.
18:22When a second victim finds its way into her web, she gently plucks the thread to make sure there is
18:30something there.
18:37She injects digestive fluids into her prey's body, dissolving it from the inside.
18:52And bit by bit, from head to toe, she drains her quarry.
19:03Every last drop.
19:07All this happens on a web, a hundred feet off the ground, within the giant's embrace.
19:22With winter around the corner, the giant is no longer the generous provider she once was.
19:30For now, her branches hold neither cones nor fruit.
19:38The Samango monkeys have to look for food elsewhere, their movement confined to a 115-acre stretch of forest around
19:47the yellow wood.
19:51Luckily, there's plenty to choose from in the jungle.
19:57They shove sugar-rich fruit into their cheek pouches to consume at a later stage in a less exposed part
20:06of the forest.
20:13Leaves also make it onto the menu.
20:18But a female hits the jackpot.
20:21A praying mantis.
20:24A juicy delicacy.
20:28Even better than the mantis, are caterpillars.
20:34The hairy ones burn and need to be handled with care.
20:39She rubs the insect on a branch to get rid of the stinging hairs.
20:46Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
20:58Fruit digests in the monkey's stomach.
21:05While leaves ferment in a pocket, attached to its colon.
21:15Related females form the social core of the troop.
21:19Passing their knowledge of the best fruiting trees onto their young.
21:26For these monkeys, there's little need to leave this small patch of lush, green paradise.
21:35And they will brutally defend their fruiting trees against rival troops.
21:45With the onset of winter, the Samangos will have to be even more vigilant, as food will become scant in
21:53the months ahead.
22:08The Sotpansberg lies at the meeting point of several biomes.
22:13As thick indigenous forests merge with grassland from the south and dry savannah from the north.
22:23In June, a hodgepodge of spicy, sweet fragrances hangs thick in the cold winter air.
22:31As blooming aloes and shrubs transform the rocky grassland just outside the forest.
22:41Home to two thirds of the country's birds and mammals, the area encompassing the Sotpansberg mountains holds more life than
22:51anywhere else in South Africa.
23:16This is her domain.
23:26She rules this kingdom.
23:35But the queen does not stand alone.
23:40She has a king.
23:46Behind the giant is another yellow wood.
23:51Her male counterpart.
23:56Despite being much smaller than his female companion, he is still a magnificent tree.
24:08His branches bear light green male cones.
24:14These slender, catkin-like cones have been developing for the last 18 months.
24:22But they still aren't ready to release their pollen.
24:38This morning is bitterly cold inside the forest.
24:42The temperature hovering just below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
24:49The boulders underneath the yellow wood bake in patches of shifting sunlight.
24:55It's the perfect spot for a dussey to bask in the heat.
25:01And stretching out on a high sunny branch is never too much trouble.
25:10Because of its low metabolism, it's difficult for a hyrax to control its body temperature.
25:18So lying in the sun helps to thaw cold, stiff limbs.
25:31On chilly mornings like these, it increases its heartbeat to 160 beats per minute to warm up.
25:43When the hyrax gets too hot, panting helps it cool down through the evaporation of saliva.
25:51It can breathe up to 200 breaths per minute.
25:59The dussey has evolved into a somewhat lazy creature.
26:04It spends 95% of its day sunbathing or resting.
26:11An eternity for a herbivore.
26:22The Samango monkeys also seek out the sun to bask in its warmth.
26:28It makes for lazy downtime.
26:34Living in a forest, one's likely to collect a few ticks and fleas.
26:42It's a real nuisance when all one wants to do is bake in the sun.
26:50Sometimes a monkey just needs more hands.
26:56Fortunately, a troop mate makes up for this shortcoming.
27:03In the Samango troop, everyone is regarded as a friend.
27:08And grooming reaffirms those friendships.
27:14The alpha male enjoys more grooming attention from his harem of females than any other troop member.
27:22A sign of their devotion.
27:27Social grooming ensures peace within the troop.
27:31And aggression is rare.
27:36It's the good life.
27:39The troop has nothing to worry about.
27:47Little do these sunbathers realize that two of their biggest enemies have moved back into the neighborhood.
28:04A pair of crowned eagles has been using this nest for many years.
28:12Each year adding more material to it.
28:16Resulting in the monstrous structure it is today.
28:23But it's not their only nest.
28:25The queen cradles a second, which the pair used last season to raise a single chick.
28:34This year they've chosen instead to nest in a white stinkwood tree on the edge of the forest.
28:42The raptors aren't afraid to make their presence known.
28:47Calling to each other at the nest.
28:51And soon, both the monkeys and the dasis are aware of the threat in the vicinity.
28:59Crowned eagles are the most powerful eagles in Africa.
29:04Killing animals up to five times their own weight.
29:08Crushing skulls and breaking spines with long talons.
29:22Their wingspan stretches almost six feet across.
29:27A formidable predator for any small furry animal.
29:35With spring around the corner, they've laid one egg.
29:40The female stays behind on the nest to incubate it.
29:44While the male goes off to hunt for her.
29:56A Samango's alarm call scatters the monkeys and hyraxes.
30:01All running for cover.
30:17In the confusion, someone is missing.
30:28Back on the nest, the female waits anxiously for her partner to return.
30:36Success.
30:38She greedily pecks at his gift.
30:41A young hyrax.
30:54Spring offers little relief from the dry September heat.
31:00The rain will only arrive at the end of the season.
31:05The giant is susceptible to this drought.
31:08It needs a good deal of water.
31:11Instead of only shallow roots penetrating the soil to capture rainwater,
31:16it sends a taproot deep into the earth.
31:21This longer taproot has its own extensive root system to seek out different sources of moisture.
31:35Less than half a mile away, up on the plateau, the mountain blesses the forest with the bounty of runoff
31:42from higher altitudes.
31:55Like veins, these small rivers carry the thicket's lifeblood through the yellowwood's forest.
32:07On and on it flows, the current bringing life to every rift and crevice.
32:22In the blinding light of the September afternoon, the stream is like a semi-molten mirror.
32:29It quenches the thirst of many of the Sotpansberg's plants and animals.
32:39Where pools form, whirligig beetles swim on the water's surface.
32:47They scavenge for trapped or floating insects, performing what appears to be an elaborate aquatic ballet.
33:04A common river frog watches for prey on the bank.
33:10With powerful hind legs and a fair amount of webbing between the toes,
33:15it's perfectly adapted to hunt in this waterlogged environment.
33:21Its distinct call, a croak and rattle, announces its presence to rivals.
33:29This is my stalking ground.
33:41A damselfly also hunts along this stream.
33:49It's drawn by midges, mayflies and mosquitoes that frequent these waters.
33:56All this aerial master has to do is pluck them from the air.
34:05Another damselfly uses his tail to keep a firm grip on the female he's just mated with.
34:13Preventing other suitors from removing his sperm to insert their own.
34:21Only when she's laid her eggs is his posterity ensured.
34:26She deposits them under water.
34:29In slits, she cuts in the stems of water plants.
34:36Once done, she must dry off before she can continue on her journey.
34:45The stream flows like time, always onward.
34:51The giant draws strength from the nutrient-rich waters.
34:56The wet, fertile soil has made this yellow wood the awe-inspiring colossus it is today.
35:09But the queen's reign is threatened.
35:13A usurper is tightening its grip around her throne.
35:18An imposter, slowly depriving her of nourishment.
35:24For years, this strangler fig has been making its way up her trunk
35:29with a network of aerial roots.
35:35The fig puts out a lush canopy of leaves that rob the queen of her sunlight.
35:45Each day, it tightens its grip,
35:49slowly squeezing the life from its unwilling host.
35:54It is a fatal embrace, one that will eventually topple the giant.
36:06Once again, change comes over the Sotpansberg.
36:15Clouds gather on the horizon.
36:19A storm is brewing.
36:24Electricity is in the air.
36:31The forest seems uneasy.
36:38With the arrival of rain, spring ends.
36:48The November downpour restores the landscape to its true splendour.
36:56Enveloping the yellow wood in a white haze.
37:04The Samangos despise wet days like this.
37:09The Samangos despise wet days like this.
37:09And they choose not to forage too far from the giant.
37:13She's their sanctuary.
37:19Even though they're drenched, they carry on with their daily business.
37:38The guinea fowl don't seem troubled by the rain.
37:50A forest rain frog, endemic to this area, stumbles onto their feeding ground.
37:58Many a guinea fowl have fought over such a delicacy.
38:04But they somehow fail to notice the lumbering amphibian.
38:08And he makes a quick getaway.
38:18It's rare for the hyraxes to forage in the middle of the day when temperatures are highest.
38:24They are making the best of the gloomy weather.
38:29They take to the trees to relish the burst of fresh new foliage.
38:36Dassies can eat almost any vegetation.
38:40Even the forest's most hardy morsels are no match for the symbiotic bacteria that fill their three-chambered stomachs,
38:50allowing them to break down an impressive variety of plants.
38:56Agile climbers, these acrobats will balance on the thinnest branches to get to the juiciest leaves.
39:09Which leads to some precarious situations.
39:29December is the wet season in the Sotpansberg.
39:34It's a sultry and humid place.
39:39Mist dancing between peaks and crags.
39:54These mountains have one of the highest rainfalls recorded in South Africa.
40:00With an average of almost 75 inches of rain per year.
40:16The forest in the valleys of the mountain thrive on all this moisture in the air.
40:36On the yellowwoods branches, lichens and epiphytes soak up water from the fog.
40:49Although it's not raining, the mist produces an incessant drip inside the forest.
40:59Everything is soaked through.
41:07As the sun makes an appearance, light sparkles through droplets caught by the yellowwoods
41:15epiphytes.
41:22Orchids, ferns and succulents, like the lemon bean bush, all grow amongst the giant's
41:31leaves.
41:35But most noticeable between the yellowwoods branches are usni, also known as old man's
41:43beard.
41:47This lichen doesn't damage the tree, but grows symbiotically with its host plant.
41:55The beard-like growth is actually two organisms living together, an algae and a fungus.
42:05Sensitive to pollution, the grey-green tassels thrive on the clean air in the Sotpansberg.
42:26Close to the yellowwood, a delicate rasping call disrupts the calm of the forest.
42:36It's a female paradise flycatcher, and she's very agitated.
42:48Her mate looks on from another branch.
42:53Unlike her, he has long, beautiful tail feathers.
43:05African paradise flycatchers are usually noisy birds, but today the couple seems particularly
43:13perturbed.
43:19And here is why.
43:23This is not a branch.
43:31It's an African vine snake.
43:37Its ability to freeze, imitating a twig, makes it hard to spot.
43:44But the flycatchers don't miss a thing.
43:50Their nest must be close by.
43:55The tiny snake is extremely venomous, and is potentially fatal to humans.
44:02No anti-venom exists.
44:06A small bird, like the flycatcher, stands no chance.
44:18As the days grow even warmer, summer begins to transform the yellowwood.
44:26In January, the giant sprouts a flourish of new leaves.
44:33The tender, light green shoots stand out boldly against her usual dark foliage.
44:41But this is just the beginning.
44:47On the male yellowwood, two years since they first emerged, the cones have turned to the
44:54ground brown and have released their precious pollen.
45:02All that is left is a white, powdery residue on the cone's spiralling scales.
45:13The pollen floats on the wind, a fertile dust that delicately drifts towards her
45:24the female yellowwood.
45:31It settles on the giant's newly developed cones, pollinating them.
45:39These smooth, spherical cones will take about a year to develop into fleshy fruit, each holding
45:48a precious woody seed.
45:53Perhaps one, centuries from now, will grow to the size of this titan.
46:04Seconds or minutes, even hours, are inconsequential to the queen.
46:12For this ancient giant, seasons come and go in the blink of an eye.
46:19Even before European explorers discovered southern Africa, this mighty Oteniqua yellowwood sheltered
46:29life in the safety of her branches.
46:35But she is a rare survivor.
46:39Logging is decimating her species.
46:43Fewer than 10% of old giant yellowwoods remain.
46:50And as her rarity rises, so too does her price, making her timber an ever more sought-after bounty.
47:09This giant is one of a handful of yellowwood trees, more than 500 years old, still standing.
47:20She's now protected in South Africa.
47:23But the future of her saplings still hangs in the balance.
47:55She is the moststered voice perfect.
48:00She's now protected in South Africa.
48:01But the future of her offspring, she's now protected in South Africa.
Comments