Into The Wild Nature of Predators | Jungle Planet - Episode 1

本站添加: 2026-05-30

[00:00:12]at the start of the third millennium.

[00:00:14]Only 30% of the woodlands that once covered the whole planet remain.

[00:00:24]Over recent centuries, a huge proportion of them has disappeared at the hands of man. Even so, what is left is still vitally important to the ecological balance of the planet.

[00:00:41]One aspect of this natural equilibrium that is essential for life is the fascinating chain of relationships that forests and jungles foster between the things that live in them.

[00:00:58]This interaction takes many forms, but one of the most common is that between hunter and hunted.

[00:01:10]Insects feed on the sap of trees, their leaves, and fruit. This is the beginning of an energy chain that the preying mantis knows how to take full advantage of.

[00:01:27]This dimminative but impressive predator can destroy the kiton exoskeleton of insects as large as itself and consume them entirely.

[00:01:54]And after a satisfying meal, what could be better than a relaxing wash to remove any remnants of food?

[00:02:04]This assiduous cleaning ritual is essential for praying mantis.

[00:02:11]It also seems to be a pleasurable experience in which the insect invests its full attention.

[00:02:24]meaning it is entirely unaware of the danger it is in.

[00:02:44]The hunter becomes the hunted and the mantis ends up being a crunchy snack for a giant Madagascar chameleon.

[00:02:53]Another expert in the art of camouflage in the forest ecosystems where the number of predators is high. The struggle for survival has led to many sophisticated adaptations to avoid being hunted.

[00:03:14]Jungles are in fact home to creatures with some of the best disguises in the animal kingdom. In some cases, they are quite simply perfect.

[00:03:27]Smaller animals such as reptiles, amphibians, and insects are colored green and brown and even take forms that mimic leaves, branches, and lychans down to the tiniest detail.

[00:03:57]The least explored jungles, such as those of Borneo, host an extensive selection of animals that employ a diverse range of tricks to remain undetected.

[00:04:12]Hunter and prey alike need to blend into their environment. Doing so brings many advantages.

[00:04:25]The green crested lizard of Borneo usually has a color which is very similar to the leaves and lyas of the jungle. A perfect disguise to avoid detection by the numerous predators that lurk on all sides.

[00:04:43]But you also need to keep calm.

[00:04:48]This lizard has noticed a dangerous monitor lizard very close at hand.

[00:04:53]Simply keeping still might be enough to deceive the hunter, but it is very close and nerves are tested.

[00:05:04]When the monitor lizard draws closer, his nerves give way and he changes from his usual green color to a striking reddish hue.

[00:05:16]In the blink of an eye, he has become a colorful and easy target.

[00:05:21]His survival now depends on just one thing.

[00:05:29]A speedy escape.

[00:05:36]Compared to the lush and warm equatorial forests, the wild north is covered with a much simpler forest ecosystem, the largest on the planet.

[00:05:54]Winter makes the rules here, lasting about 8 months each year.

[00:06:02]And whoever dares to dwell in these vast woodlands must take this into account.

[00:06:12]The conifers of the tiger must tolerate wind, ice, and snow.

[00:06:19]In fact, the coniferous forests serve to temper the intense environmental conditions.

[00:06:32]The inhabitants of the tiger can withstand the onslaught of winter thanks to the protection, food, and opportunities that this cold, uniform forest offers.

[00:06:46]Large mammals resolutely resist the very low temperatures, the snow, and the scarcity of food.

[00:06:56]Finding sustenance in this frozen wasteland is not easy for anyone.

[00:07:09]Some animals, such as brown bears, need to fatten up and double in weight before spending winter in hiding, hibernating in their dens.

[00:07:23]The forest will provide them with sufficient food to meet their needs.

[00:07:36]Luckily for the bears, some inhabitants of the great forest have already succumbed to winter.

[00:07:45]The bodies of the first victims of the cold supply them with some additional fat.

[00:07:56]At this time of year, their metabolism converts 75% of what they eat into a thick layer of fat that little by little will be used for energy while they sleep during the winter.

[00:08:14]But conifers are not limited to icy northern territories.

[00:08:18]Some have even adapted to hot and humid weather, resulting in utterly unique forests such as the Everglades or eternal swamps of Florida.

[00:08:30]It is water that defines the character of this territory. And as out of place as they may seem, Kimon and alligators are an essential part of this woodland ecosystem.

[00:08:46]Kimon belong to an ancient lineage. They live here among the roots, trunks and branches of bald cypresses.

[00:09:02]And in the Florida swamps, no one is safe from their jaws.

[00:09:12]One of the reasons kimon are so abundant here is the mild climate essential for large coldblooded animals.

[00:09:29]The climate in the Everglades is subtropical, warm and humid.

[00:09:43]The Everglades are a place fraught with uncertainty. A landscape halfway between land and water. A bogggy territory in which only the most courageous and the best prepared can survive.

[00:09:58]Up in the branches, woodpeckers create their own store rooms in which they hide their small culinary treasures.

[00:10:09]They like to excavate the soft fibrous trunks of palms where they hide acorns and all kinds of fruit.

[00:10:20]Far from the Everglades, lush forests of tropical appearance unexpectedly flourish in the middle of the largest ocean on the planet.

[00:10:31]The Canary Island laurel forest is a window onto the tertiary era, a voyage to jungle landscapes of 20 million years ago.

[00:10:41]This botanical relic owes its existence to the trade winds of the Atlantic Ocean.

[00:10:52]Wind and ocean combined to provide the humidity and temperature necessary for this jungle to survive. The Loris silver is a fossil forest where around 25 species of trees that have barely changed since time immemorial flourish.

[00:11:13]The fruits of some trees such as the vignettigo are real treats for some relatively recent arrivals such as the brown rat.

[00:11:23]Eating these fruits just when due to the process of maturation they are full of alcohol, the rats often get drunk and end up falling from the trees.

[00:11:46]The loris silver traps water from the clouds and converts it into streams where Bolly's pigeons unique to the Canary Island floral forests drink and bathe.

[00:12:04]During the summer, they gather at the few puddles that survive the drought.

[00:12:15]The loris forest is also home to another bird unique to this region.

[00:12:22]The laurel pigeon lives in the jungle, but nests on volcanic rocks, a habit that costs them dearly.

[00:12:30]Rats have become serious predators, stealing from the nests of the endemic birds, in particular of the laurel pigeon.

[00:12:40]About 75% of their eggs are consumed by the rats.

[00:12:47]The Canary Island buzzard shares the cliffs with the pigeons and to some extent is their ally. It is the only large predator on the islands capable of eliminating the rats that have invaded this unique forest.

[00:13:04]Another lost world has also remained isolated for more than 120 million years. The island of Madagascar.

[00:13:14]Its remoteness has meant that it is a natural laboratory in which the vast majority of the plants and animals are unique to the island.

[00:13:23]For example, it is the only natural home of all the species of lemur. Today, more than 100 species survive here, a large percentage of which are critically endangered.

[00:13:39]A blood curdling howl pierces the dawn light.

[00:13:47]Soon it becomes a breathtaking chorus.

[00:14:04]In fact, this is nothing more than the jungle animals technique of communicating when temperatures and humidity are lower.

[00:14:13]These conditions allow sound to carry further and more clearly.

[00:14:41]This is how the Indies reaffirm their territory and tribal bonds.

[00:14:56]Far away in the Californian interior, an equally disconcerting call can be heard.

[00:15:05]California, land of legends, where trees give meaning and personality to some of the most emblematic wild places on the North American continent.

[00:15:33]The calls seem to emanate from the forest.

[00:15:41]Wapitis or elk, one of the world's largest deer. They leave the forests when they come into heat.

[00:15:52]The colossal wapitis remain inside the forest for most of the year, eating leaves, buds, and tree bark.

[00:16:07]But in autumn when the rutting season begins, they emerge from the protection of the forest onto the broad meadows where the males gather their harims.

[00:16:43]They call at dusk and dawn to reaffirm their strength and challenge their rivals.

[00:17:06]In this part of North America, the tallest species of trees on the planet thrive. All of them conifers.

[00:17:20]This is the territory of the ponderosa pine, the incense cedar, the white fur, and towering above them all, the giant sequoia.

[00:17:36]Small white-tailed deer, the most woodland loving species of American deer, weigh up to 160 kilos. Next to the redwoods, they all but disappear.

[00:17:53]The California Seoia, the giant of giants. It has, for good reason, been described as the most impressive living being on the planet. It can far exceed heights of 100 m and has the largest biomass of any living thing on Earth.

[00:18:09]The largest specimen is estimated to weigh over 2,000 tons.

[00:18:19]They are also extraordinarily longive trees. Some are more than 3,000 years old.

[00:18:28]The giant sequoas were at their peak in the Cretaceous period. Today, they only exist in the wild in much reduced areas of California.

[00:19:00]The woodlands of South Africa, the Bushfeld, are far more modest in size.

[00:19:05]But despite their ordinary appearance, they hide a genuine surprise.

[00:19:12]The Mupane, which covers extensive territories. This tree is unique to the region and its local name means butterfly which it receives thanks to the shape of its leaves.

[00:19:27]The bushfelt is an extensive maze of trees and bushes, refuge for a huge number of animals, many in great danger of extinction, such as the black rhino.

[00:19:41]Scrub bushes and trees hide the last black rhino. This is its only sanctuary.

[00:19:55]At this time of year, nighttime temperatures may drop below zero.

[00:20:01]So, the young rhino, weighing half a ton at nearly 2 years of age, continues suckling to help it get through the cold, dry summer.

[00:20:10]The jungles and forests of planet Earth are the last refuge of many threatened species of plants and animals.

[00:20:18]The southern white rhino is facing similar circumstances to its northern cousin. Its population is decreasing dramatically and it can only survive in the densest savannah.

[00:20:37]Large males mark the borders of their territory by spraying urine and spreading excrement.

[00:20:46]They will tolerate other males up to a point, but when a female in heat appears, tensions rise.

[00:20:54]The atmosphere soon changes when the males compete for her attention.

[00:21:02]2 and 1/2 tons moving at 50 km an hour can do some serious damage.

[00:21:55]All right. Until recently, 14% of the Earth's surface was covered with primary forests, including much of South Africa and Borneo, for example.

[00:22:18]Today, this number has been reduced to only 6%.

[00:22:23]At this rate of deforestation, the woodland home of the Orurangutan will have disappeared by 2050.

[00:22:31]However, these primates, like so many other animals and plants of the forests and jungles, continue their daily lives oblivious to their uncertain future.

[00:22:45]Orangutan prepare their nest of branches and leaves, making a new bed every night.

[00:22:53]They're complex constructions where they sleep safely and protected from mosquitoes and rain.

[00:23:21]Despite its lushness, the jungle does not actually produce enough food for large groups of orangutans to be able to eat together. So, they find food for themselves without competing with each other.

[00:23:39]However, when a large tree is ripe with fruit, a few orangutans will meet and enjoy close and beneficial social relationships as long as there are no dominant males around.

[00:23:55]Females and the young happily play and interact.

[00:24:16]but they will have to resume their solitary nomadic life soon enough.

[00:24:23]The diversity of forests and woodlands that extend across the earth are a true treasure. an exceptional wealth of regions and ecosystems as unique as the mangroves. Tropical forests capable of surviving with their roots submerged in the sea.

[00:24:42]This strange woodland, like so many others, is home to unique animals like the Kbosus monkey, which depends entirely on the mangroves to survive.

[00:25:00]The probosis monkey, a perfect symbol of how most terrestrial flora and fauna is intimately linked to woodland environments, to those magical, varied, and surprising territories that cover a large part of the planet.

[00:25:31]If there is anything that defines jungle and forest ecosystems, it is their diversity. They are places where the relationships between vastly different beings are their very essence.

[00:25:45]Woodlands, jungles, and forests. Three different versions of the same concept.

[00:25:50]Complex ecosystems where trees are the foundations, the building blocks of the most sophisticated constructions in nature, where the drama of life is played out daily in dazzling, extraordinary settings.