- 6 minutes ago
To win the mating game here, you need to be able to stand out from crowd. For some it's all about putting on a show, whereas others must fight for their chance ...When it comes to winning the mating game, a potential player can't afford to lose his head. Unless, that is, his intended partner is a cannibalistic mantis.
丛林与雨林虽然仅占地球表面积的2%，却栖息着全球80%的物种。想要在这片天地间的求偶竞争中胜出，就必须在众生中脱颖而出。有些动物靠的是“表演”来吸引异性，而另一些则必须通过争斗来赢取机会；还有少数物种，则需依靠通力合作才能成功。黑猩猩以凶残暴戾著称，对大多数黑猩猩而言，这也是获取配偶最直接的手段。
丛林与雨林虽然仅占地球表面积的2%，却栖息着全球80%的物种。想要在这片天地间的求偶竞争中胜出，就必须在众生中脱颖而出。有些动物靠的是“表演”来吸引异性，而另一些则必须通过争斗来赢取机会；还有少数物种，则需依靠通力合作才能成功。黑猩猩以凶残暴戾著称，对大多数黑猩猩而言，这也是获取配偶最直接的手段。
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TVTranscript
00:00Oh
00:39This display of raw power and aggression
00:44is the way by which a male chimpanzee proclaims his high status.
00:53He is willing to fight anyone
00:57if necessary.
01:04Male chimpanzees may become dominant in their twenties
01:08and high rank brings great privileges,
01:12such as the right to mate.
01:17But not every male chimp is in the same position.
01:24Damien, so named by the researchers observing him,
01:28is 14 years of age and not yet old enough to be dominant.
01:34Adolescence is a testing time in a chimp's life.
01:38This is when he must decide if and how he will stand out from other young males.
01:54The chimpanzees of Ngogo in Uganda live in the largest chimp society known to science.
02:06And thanks to the year-round abundance of food,
02:10there are nearly always females ready to mate.
02:15Some years, more than 20 babies are born here.
02:20But the majority of them are fathered by the most dominant males.
02:27The females usually have little say in the matter.
02:33Coercion is common.
02:45In time, Damien may become dominant and then he too may use his rank and strength to gain access to
02:53females.
02:56For now, though, he's always respectful to his superiors and shows that by taking his turn to groom them.
03:04He lacks the physical strength of the dominant males,
03:08but he's old enough to mate.
03:11So he's found a different way of getting close to a female.
03:17This is Penelope.
03:21She's a friend of Damien's.
03:23And he is regularly beside her when she needs a scratch.
03:29This is Sabine.
03:32She too is a friend of Damien's.
03:37Then there's Maya.
03:41And Anna.
03:43Damien may not be the biggest or the strongest, but he's a popular chimp.
03:50And it's not just a grooming service he offers.
03:56As any mother of two will tell you,
03:59offering to play with the kids while she has a break
04:02is a sure-far way of ingratiating yourself.
04:09These are not his offspring.
04:12But Damien often spends time with Anna and her infants
04:16on hand for a spot of childcare.
04:21And that has led to the two of them having a special bond.
04:29But now Anna has come into oestrus, her most fertile time.
04:36And an older male knows that she has.
04:46And that's the most fertile time.
04:47Damien gives him a wide berth.
04:56For now, all he can do is to watch from the sidelines.
05:03A female who's already proved herself to be a capable mother
05:07is always in high demand when she becomes ready to mate again.
05:17Shaking branches signals the older male's desire to mate.
05:33She is clearly nervous.
05:36And before he gets a chance to get really close,
05:40her calls alert the other heavyweight males.
05:46They will be prepared to fight for a chance to mate.
05:57Jamie knows he would stand no chance against them.
06:23Despite their bravado,
06:26in the chaos, none of them succeeds in mating with Anna.
06:34After, the males are keen to repair their friendships.
06:39And Anna slips away.
06:45With the threat of violence gone for the moment,
06:48and being slightly away from the dominant group,
06:53Damien finally gets close to Anna while she's still fertile.
07:00It's not uncommon for males
07:02to develop close friendships with females in order to mate.
07:08And Damien has clearly got a talent for doing just that.
07:15Because two years ago,
07:17he became the youngest father in the history of the Ngogo group.
07:25Which proves that a little charm can go a long way.
07:34Jungles cover just 2% of the planet.
07:38But they're home to 80% of all land living animal species.
07:45To win the mating game in these dense forests,
07:49you need to find a way to stand out.
07:52And some male animals spend their entire lives
07:56honing their seduction techniques.
08:00In the remote valleys of New Guinea,
08:02there are...
08:04strange sounds.
08:08and the most curious constructions
08:10that mystified the first European explorers.
08:14Some believe these structures
08:16had been made by the local people
08:18in their tribal rituals.
08:22They're ringed with moss
08:24and littered with seeds.
08:28Strange decorations hang from the branches nearby.
08:34But in fact,
08:35this 60 centimetre tall construction
08:38has been built by a bird
08:41no bigger than a thrush.
08:45A male McGregor's bowerbird.
09:04He has built this tower with hundreds of sticks,
09:08and he maintains it year after year.
09:12It has one purpose and one purpose only.
09:17to impress females.
09:21It requires constant maintenance.
09:26What's that stick doing there?
09:37That won't do.
09:42But now, this.
09:49Perfect.
09:52This construction, his bower dominates his life.
09:59With maintenance done for the day,
10:03it's time to renew the decorations.
10:06a busy gardener's.
10:07Rotting berries.
10:12And...
10:15Caterpillar droppings.
10:21Delightful!
10:27A female assesses his construction and now he sings to her as a younger bird before he
10:47started gathering sticks he collected sounds and now to entice a closer he
11:00reproduces some of them some are songs he has heard elsewhere in the forest the
11:15calls of other kinds of birds others are harder to identify chopping wood perhaps
11:32a barking dog even the sound of children playing
11:46and their frustrated parents the range of his mimicry it seems like his power is
11:55also a way of impressing her she seems to be listening attentively now they begin to
12:10dance around their maple
12:27he's careful not to completely reveal himself
12:34excitement mounts
12:42and now he goes for it
12:51was it too soon
12:56she's back still interested
13:17their union is brief she will now return to her nest lay her eggs and raise her young
13:27while he stays beside his maypole keeping it in good repair ready for more females
13:44on Kenya's forested mountain slopes another male will also have to seek the approval of a female if they're to
13:53mate
13:55a jackson's chameleon
13:59a jackson's chameleon
13:59he lives high in the trees camouflaged among the foliage
14:03he lives high in the trees camouflaged among the foliage
14:07a loner he rarely ventures to lower levels
14:16a loner he rarely ventures to lower levels
14:22in the vegetation
14:23females usually stay at lower levels in the vegetation
14:31but despite his panoramic vision
14:34looking for a partner can be tricky when your potential mate matches her surroundings so closely
14:51to him it seems she's perfect
14:57and from now on he's only got eyes for her
15:03she is less interested
15:10but she's keeping an eye on him
15:13he could be a mate
15:20he's able to change the spacing between pigment cells in his skin
15:25and so emphasize different colors
15:32and this is how they communicate
15:37and how he hopes to court her
15:45his opening gambit is to turn bright green
15:52and then to flare his neck to signal his desire
15:58next his signature move
16:02a sort of staccato quick step
16:12it's got her interested
16:16then a bit of side stepping
16:21and lastly a brandish of his magnificent trio of horns
16:36she casts a critical eye over him
16:41if she then turns bright green herself
16:44he's probably on to a winner
16:50oh dear
16:53she's going darker
17:00just so she makes herself clear
17:02it's a definite no
17:11what now
17:13what now
17:13if he stays around
17:16she may be more receptive
17:17in a few days time
17:20but he's not the only male on the lookout for a female
17:31this new male
17:33displaying his bright green
17:36isn't flirting
17:40bold colors shown to the same sex
17:43are a sign of aggression
17:48and showing his flank
17:50means that this is only going one way
18:08his aim is to unbalance his opponent
18:12until he concedes defeat
18:14by going darker
18:25and that's what's happened
18:30it's all over
18:41and now that his competitor has been seen
18:45off
18:47perhaps she's had a change of heart
18:51and colour
19:11Alas
19:13it's still clearly
19:15a no
19:21changing colour among chameleons
19:24brings a swift end to conflict
19:28and when mating competition could be really violent
19:32colour can help to reduce the chance of coming to blows
19:39the jungles of Gabon in West Africa
19:41are home to the most brightly coloured of all mammals
19:49mandrills
19:59the males are also the heaviest monkeys in the world
20:03over three times heavier than the females
20:12this alpha male's brilliant patches of skin colour
20:16helps him to stand out from the crowd
20:20whether he's advancing
20:24or walking away
20:28the intensity of the colour
20:31is an indication of the levels of testosterone in his body
20:37and that is both a come on to females
20:40and a warning to males
20:46only the brightest get to mate
20:50and he has been dominant all year
20:56but challenges have arrived
21:00also hoping that their colours will impress the females
21:06the alpha male
21:07the alpha male
21:07will have his work cut out
21:08to deal with these new comers
21:15he keeps as close as he can
21:17to the fertile females
21:24but a rival
21:27is never far away
21:32the alpha assesses his opponents
21:35by their colour
21:37only if a rival is really bright
21:39will he be considered a threat
21:44but this one
21:45is just that
22:00the alpha proclaims his authority
22:03with a head jerk
22:09grinding his teeth
22:10shows just how tense and stressed he is
22:18with his opponent refusing to back down
22:21it'll take more than body language
22:23to decide who has this year's mating rights
23:02in just a matter of seconds
23:04the alpha has lost his crown
23:08and been badly wounded
23:14his reign is over
23:20the victor will have a rush of testosterone
23:23making his future bright
23:31the deposed alpha's colour however
23:33will fade
23:35and with it
23:37his chance of mating again
23:44Rivalry is often dangerous
23:46but in some cases
23:47it's the potential mate herself
23:50who is the real threat
23:57if a male Australian tree running mantis
24:01is to stand any chance of mating
24:02he must approach the female from behind
24:07and he must do so cautiously
24:13something she appears keen to prevent
24:18and that leads to a lot of false starts
24:21and a lot of running around trees
24:28a whole new approach
24:30to speed dating
24:38so close
24:39so close
24:42and yet
24:44so far
24:55giving him the run around
24:57tests his fitness
25:02a stealthy approach
25:04will show whether he is a capable hunter
25:08an important skill
25:10an important skill to pass on to her offspring
25:14or he could just be a cautious male
25:17who knows that it's best not to approach any predator head on
25:23the thing about trying to get cosy with killers
25:28is that it's often best to do it
25:30when they have their hands full
25:36even then
25:38it's prudent to approach from the rear
25:45but not all male praying mantis appear to take the same approach
25:55the male false garden mantis
25:59the male false garden mantis
26:00has also detected the scent of a female
26:03she's close
26:11she's attracting him with her seductive pheromones
26:17she's also much larger
26:20and heavily armed
26:24but to him
26:26she smells so good
26:30to her though
26:33he looks good enough to eat
26:48the female of this species
26:50consumes her partner's head first
26:55his struggles are not an attempt to flee
27:00he's just trying to position himself properly
27:06he has lost his head
27:09but he hasn't given up on mating
27:13amazingly his body
27:15though headless
27:16is able to find and latch on to the female
27:22his abdomen
27:24will continue mating with her for several hours
27:26before all signs of life disappear
27:32the strategy may seem macabre
27:34but it gives the female a large quantity of protein
27:37with which she can produce even more eggs
27:43so in spite of losing his head
27:46this male father's posthumous offspring
27:54when a potential mate really is deadly
27:57it's best to keep a low profile
28:02but if that's not an option
28:04expect to get eaten
28:12for others
28:14for others
28:14the mating game
28:15appears to be more romantic
28:23once the sun sets in the coastal forests of Malaysia
28:27one of nature's most magical spectacles begins
28:34the fading light rouses a male beetle
28:41for this tiny creature just five millimeters long
28:45successful courtship depends on cooperation
28:49with literally thousands of others
28:56it's time
28:58it's time
28:59to get lit up
29:05his bioluminescent flash carries a simple message
29:12I am here and ready to mate
29:22but he's not alone
29:25more fireflies begin to show their lights
29:32and before long
29:36their entire tree is illuminated
29:53and then
29:57patterns in the flashing
29:58begin to emerge
30:04the fireflies are synchronizing their display
30:13one moment
30:14the light show
30:15appears as a repeated simultaneous flash
30:20and the next
30:23waves of light ripple along the river bank
30:31by the time the night is at its darkest
30:34the forest edge is throbbing with living light
30:39the fireflies
30:39the fireflies
30:46alone an individual male's flash will not travel very far
30:51but by flashing at the same time as other males
30:56his light is that much brighter
31:04carrying his signal to females far and wide
31:10it's believed the gaps in the synchronous flashing
31:13provide moments in which the females can respond with flashes of their own
31:22it's all the encouragement he needs
31:29but her continual movements as he mounts suggests that she is yet to be convinced
31:41he isn't attempting to mate yet
31:45he is contorting his body so that his lantern is over her face dazzling her
31:54it may be that he's trying to prevent her from seeing other males
32:01he doesn't want her catching a flash from someone brighter
32:08most species of fireflies stop displaying once they've attracted a female
32:14but he continues
32:15it seems his cooperation has become a con
32:21his continual flashes trick his rivals into believing he's still on the lookout with the rest of them
32:36she has now accepted him
32:38while his former collaborators flash away none the wiser
32:53but the fact is that many jungle courtship rituals are still not properly understood
33:04the rainforest of Southeast Asia are the home of a bird that produces one of the most dramatic
33:11and barely studied of all courtship displays
33:18even many local people only know of its existence
33:23from the loud calls that sometimes echo to the forest
33:32the great Argus pheasant
33:48a male is calling to attract a female
33:51a male is calling to attract a female
33:57he's created a wide clearing in the forest
34:01to serve as the arena in which he will dance
34:09he keeps it immaculately tidy
34:19though why he should choose to remove one leaf rather than another
34:25is often not clear
34:30it's a time-consuming job
34:32it's a time-consuming job
34:33but he also has a special technique
34:37for removing leaves wholesale
34:44who needs a leaf blower
34:46when you have a wingspan of more than a meter
34:53sticks however
34:54still have to be removed one by one
35:00he must also it seems
35:02loosen up his feathers
35:04and extend his gigantic wings
35:06before a female arrives
35:11now he chooses a particular stick
35:14as the focus for a full workout
35:24he hopes to use the pattern on his splayed wings
35:28to beguile a female
35:32they transform him
35:43there's a sound
35:45there's a sound of something approaching
35:48oh dear
35:49a monkey
35:52not who he was waiting for
36:01and now
36:02there's a wild pig
36:15with all these interruptions
36:17it's just as well
36:19he's left plenty of time
36:20for rehearsals
36:47and there she is
36:49now
36:53time
36:55for action
37:04one or two preliminary skirmishes
37:17and then
37:19a spectacle
37:21that has never been filmed in the wild before
37:26the full display
37:43the lines of eyespots along each of his wing feathers
37:47astounded Charles Darwin
37:52why should they be so detailed
37:54that they have a three-dimensional appearance
38:00he could only conclude
38:02that it particularly pleases females
38:19but not
38:20apparently this one
38:24apparently this one
38:35and now
38:36the pigs are back
38:43even the most spectacular displays
38:48don't always do the trick
38:56on the Caribbean island of Dominica
38:59another bird
39:00has found it takes more than just pretty plumes
39:03to win over some females
39:12the male purple-throated carib
39:16the male purple-throated carib
39:16is a hungry hummingbird
39:28bird
39:29beating his wings around twenty times a second
39:32he burns energy at a phenomenal rate
39:40the sweet nectar produced by these flowering heliconias
39:44is the energy-rich food
39:47he must have to keep him flying
39:52his species evolved in parallel with his source of food
40:00the heliconias flowers which he pollinates
40:02as he moves from bloom to bloom
40:08and now as a result
40:10the heliconias produce their flowers
40:12at exactly the same time
40:14as the birds begin to mate
40:19while he's busy fueling up
40:22a female is also making her preparations
40:27she is collecting spider silk
40:36she uses it as an adhesive in making her tiny nest
40:46and now all she needs is a mate
40:55the male needs a way to ensure he is the one for her
40:59his way of doing so is simple
41:06within his territory he has five times more nectar producing flowers
41:11than he himself needs
41:17but those he doesn't drink from himself
41:20will attract females
41:24his problem
41:25his problem is that it's not only hummingbirds that have a taste
41:28for the sweet stuff
41:34so have banana quits
41:38and there's a flock of them
41:42he has a constant battle
41:46trying to prevent them drinking his flowers dry
41:58the sheer size of his territory and the large number of flowers it contains
42:03makes his job never ending
42:13during a rare respite in his guard duties
42:17the female arrives to see what he has on offer
42:25not so fast
42:28he's no pushover
42:30he's not going to let any bird
42:31drink his nectar
42:34chasing her away however
42:36is part of his strategy
42:40he does so repeatedly
42:42until he's certain that she really wants to be in his territory
42:56and only then
42:59does he allow her to feed
43:10as she flits from flower to flower
43:13he shows her
43:15his true colors
43:35he's given her flowers
43:38and impressed her with his aerobatics
43:46they are now
43:48they are now
43:49a pear
43:58food is available the year round in jungles
44:02and this enables many species to have mating seasons
44:05that last for months
44:12some however
44:12must wait all year
44:15for one special night
44:20some frogs in French Guiana
44:24need more water in which to breed
44:26than even the humid rain forest air can provide
44:43but at the very wettest time of year
44:48pools appear on the forest floor
44:55horned frogs spend much of their time hidden
44:58but the moment for action
45:00but the moment for action
45:01has arrived
45:11the rain has stopped
45:13but this is the calm before the storm
45:20a pair of tree frogs
45:22in the foliage above the pool
45:26they need to find a leaf in a particular position
45:30and this will do nicely
45:38they lay their eggs in a sticky jelly on a leaf
45:41above the newly formed pool
45:49below the horned frog takes a more direct route
45:56he heads straight in
46:03other males have already started calling
46:08and before long
46:09several species up in the treetops are also doing so
46:16all of them need pools as nurseries for their tadpoles
46:29frogs that for most of the year are rarely seen
46:32come down from the tree canopy
46:37golden eyed tree frogs take the short cut down
46:46the throat sacs that bulge out on either side of their head
46:49amplify their cause
46:53different species of males jostle for position in the water
47:03and as frequently as they can
47:04thousands of frogs are now calling as loudly
47:07and as frequently as they can
47:21but what makes this place unlike anywhere else in the world
47:25is that as many as ten different species
47:28are trying to mate simultaneously
47:38as each male endeavours to call louder than his rivals
47:43the chorus becomes almost deafening
47:48things are becoming chaotic
47:52some males in the confusion
47:54are attempting to mate with the females of a different species
48:01the winner is the one with the tightest grip
48:05and the strongest kick
48:07the strategy is simple
48:11find a female quickly
48:14and cling on tight
48:17but make sure she's your type
48:22and in less than 12 hours
48:27it's all over
48:32left behind
48:33a soup of mixed spawn
48:37a future for at least ten different species of frog
48:42and it's time for those dangling tadpoles
48:46to join the crowds below
48:52millions of frogs
48:54some of which will be back next year
48:56doing their best once again
48:58to contribute to the next generation
49:06it is exactly because jungles are so crowded with life
49:11that animals have to have so many complex strategies
49:14if they are all to win
49:17the mating game
49:30to film courting animals in jungles around the world
49:34took determination
49:36into the forest again
49:39grit
49:40grit
49:42and a sense of humour
49:45it's definitely going to be a nightmare
49:58you can't leave me now
50:02we're in this together
50:04a minute ago with too much water
50:06now it's too much mud
50:08oh wow
50:09you are truly stuck there aren't you
50:12sorry
50:14but there was one story in particular
50:16which posed a unique challenge
50:20filming explosive breeding in rainforest frogs
50:24in French Guiana
50:27Walter Huddle, the team's guide
50:29is a herpetologist
50:30who spent over 25 years
50:32studying frogs in French Guiana
50:36explosive breeding
50:37explosive breeding is a fascinating thing
50:39on one single day in the year
50:41thousands of frogs
50:44combing in on a little pond
50:46and they are coming from the canopy
50:48where you never have access to
50:50or they're coming from the leaf litter
50:52you'll never look under the leaf litter
50:54and there they live
50:56all year
50:57and only on one or two days
50:59you see them out there
51:00in the pond breeding
51:02and that's what we call the explosive breeding
51:05event
51:06the phenomenon the crew were hoping to film
51:09happens on just one night
51:11between November and February
51:17the team have chosen a four week period over Christmas and New Year
51:22the hunter
51:23cameraman Philip Klein and Jack Hines
51:26wait for the temporary pond to form
51:29without which the frogs won't breed
51:40the heavy rain begins
51:53it's raining
51:54it's raining
51:57we've been waiting two weeks for this rain
51:59and hopefully it's going to stay and
52:01you know properly flood the forest
52:04well this is definitely good news
52:07but it has to keep on going
52:10the rain has just started now a few minutes ago
52:13and it should rain for hours
52:16this is what the frogs and we like
52:21in the previously dry area of the forest
52:24a new pond has formed
52:26an excellent frog nursery
52:29you can go underneath
52:33stay there
52:35things are looking good
52:38when we came here this afternoon
52:40this was completely dry
52:42and it has rained all afternoon and all night
52:45and now we have got our pool of water
52:53despite a promising start
52:55the heavy rains stop
52:56and the frogs have yet to make an appearance
53:00but Christmas provides a welcome distraction
53:06it's Christmas Eve today
53:07and we've got a lot of new visitors
53:09coming to celebrate Christmas with us
53:13and even Father Christmas makes it to the jungle
53:20explosive nights in French Guyane
53:28we were just getting settled in for the night
53:33they're cooking a big nice Christmas dinner
53:35and then it's just started heavily raining
53:37so we've come out to see how the ponds are looking
53:40and it would be a bit of a Christmas miracle if it happens this evening
53:50and this is going to be full, full of frogs
53:54what's happening Jack?
53:57it's Christmas day and we have just found out that frogs have started to explosively breed
54:03so the soil system is going
54:06well I think this is a good Christmas present
54:10there are hundreds of frogs there
54:12so it will be a fantastic night tonight
54:17you ready?
54:19I'm ready
54:20let's go
54:30thousands of frogs from several different species descend upon the pond
54:38it's impossible to be near the pond
54:41without wearing earplugs
54:42the noise of the frogs calling is deafening
54:48crazy
54:59and you hear the noise, I mean, you can hear it
55:02it's quite a sound back there
55:04and we are still about 50 meters away from the real sight
55:07how's it looking Jack?
55:09it's looking crazy out there
55:10it's so unbelievably noisy
55:16I mean, this is really explosive breeding at its best
55:22and especially also from the acoustic point of view
55:25it sounds like fighter planes coming
55:27it's a roaring sound in the background
55:30you have high pitched frogs calling the little ones
55:33and you have also the
55:35frog
55:36so you do have a great mix and you can hear it
55:40it's unbelievable what's happening here in this forest
55:46the crew filmed continuously for over 10 hours
56:08it's a new dawn
56:10it's a new day
56:11it's a new dawn
56:12we missed Christmas
56:14maybe they left us some dinner
56:17hopefully
56:17but I realised we didn't eat
56:19but I realised we didn't eat
56:24it is almost spooky
56:27there's nothing
56:28you don't see a frog
56:30it is silent
56:32it's unbelievable
56:33but that's what it is
56:34that's what explosive breeding is all about
56:37it happens
56:37and then it's gone
56:41throughout production of the mating game
56:44the team were reliant on expert help
56:46to be in the right place at the right time
56:51thanks to Walter's knowledge and a bit of luck
56:54the crew timed it right for the best Christmas present
56:57they could have hoped for
57:03next time it is the most fleeting of habitats
57:07fresh water
57:10animals that rely on it to breed
57:13must time their mating strategies to perfection
57:17when they do
57:20the results can be spectacular
57:30there will be ripe