Original subtitles

(birds chirping)

- [Narrator] A mother orangutan in Borneo is building

her bed for the night.

(thoughtful music)

First, a mattress of fresh leaves.

Her young son, a few branches below is getting

to work on his own bunk,

(thoughtful music)

not entirely successfully.

(thoughtful music)

It'll take her almost a decade

to prepare him for independence.

(thoughtful music)

Like many youngsters, he decides

that his mother's bed is preferable

(thoughtful music)

and climbs up for a cuddle.

(thoughtful music)

It takes years to perfect jungle living

and all rainforest parents learn to rely on the trees

to protect and provide for them.

(thoughtful music)

Bhutan.

The Himalayan kingdom where the forests

are regarded as sacred.

(thoughtful music)

The jungles here provide a refuge for many rare species.

(thoughtful music) (creatures chittering)

Among them are some of our planet's most dedicated parents.

Rufus necked hornbills.

(thoughtful music)

Male and female pair for life,

and each year they renew their bond.

Raising a hornbills chick takes teamwork.

The first step is to secure a good home.

(upbeat music)

Unlike most birds, hornbills don't make nests,

but prefer a hole in a tree.

(whimsical music)

Fortunately, the ancient forests

of Bhutan contain plenty of options.

(whimsical music)

Once the pair have found one that seems suitable,

the female starts collecting mud from the forest floor.

(whimsical music) (creatures chittering)

With it, she builds a barrier across the entrance

that will prevent any strangers from getting in.

But she is now imprisoned

and she will remain so for the next hundred days.

(thoughtful music)

She will be totally reliant on her partner for food.

He'd better be up to it.

Fruit forms the bulk of his offerings.

(curious music)

A caterpillar is a welcome treat once carefully prepared.

Most of the time the food is gratefully received,

but not always.

(thoughtful music)

The lack of choice is beginning to get to her.

(bug buzzing)

The male works hard to maintain his daily deliveries.

His commitment is total.

(anxious music)

But then, one beak becomes two.

(joyful music)

Their growing chick is thriving,

but the nursery is becoming increasingly cramped

and a touch grubby.

Dad does his best to keep them both properly fed.

(bugs buzzing)

But conditions inside the nest are now almost unbearable.

(bugs buzzing)

Finally, after three months of imprisonment,

she decides the time has come to leave

and to introduce her chick to the outside world.

The male now starts to withhold food,

a clear sign that he too thinks that the time has come.

She starts to chip away at the baked mud.

(beak thudding)

The flight muscles are stiff and weak.

(anxious music)

Inch by inch she squeezes her way out.

(triumphant music)

Freedom again.

(triumphant music)

Her chick, however needs more time.

The world seems rather daunting.

His father swoops in to offer some encouragement.

(curious music)

It's time to go.

(anxious music)

All his parents can do now is watch.

The chick's journey inevitably has to begin

with a leap of faith.

(triumphant music)

He is ungainly and awkward,

but that could have been a lot worse.

They'll remain by his side for the next six months.

(joyful music)

Jungles may appear to be full of opportunities,

but competition for homes can be intense.

This Sri Lankan pug nosed frog has been lucky.

He's bagged a prime location.

It even has a pool in the basement.

(playful music)

And it's not long before an interested female arrives.

(playful music)

Their embrace can last for days.

(playful music)

But as soon as the eggs are laid, the female leaves.

He is now on his own.

A single parent.

(playful music)

His new brood quickly attracts unwanted attention.

Frog's eggs are food for many jungle creatures.

He can protect them from some of the smaller threats,

(intense music)

but he has little defence against the bigger ones.

(foreboding music)

A tiger tarantula with a leg span the size

of a human face,

they can paralyse its victims with a single venomous bite.

Almost nothing is safe from it.

(foreboding music)

Certainly not a defenceless frog father.

The little frog bravely holds his ground.

(foreboding music)

Actually, these two have met before.

They both live in the same tree hole.

The tarantula has a nice dry penthouse at the top,

while the frog prefers the damp basement.

(playful music)

The stay-at-home frog keeps the place clean and free of ants

and the spider acts as a full-time security guard.

(playful music)

Together they make an excellent team,

(playful music)

one that ensures a future

for two entirely different families.

(curious music)

For some parents, finding a suitable home is just the start

of a very long journey.

Learning the intricacies of the jungle can take a lifetime.

And in the forest of Borneo the amount of food on offer,

there is hugely each year.

Orangutans have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the forests.

They not only know which plants are safe to eat,

but when and where to look for them.

This knowledge is passed down to their young

and today's lesson begins with Amadeus plant.

A meal of its leaves is an excellent way to start the day.

(playful music)

Bebe is an experienced mother

and has been giving her son Vias daily lessons

for the last seven years.

(playful music)

Orangutans are mostly solitary animals.

If Vias is eventually to survive on his own,

Bebe has a lot of work to do.

(playful music)

She will need to show him everything

the forest has to offer,

including where to find over 300 different kinds of food.

(playful music)

Like all orangutans, Bebe is vulnerable on the ground,

but down here there is important food.

Termites.

They're packed with nutrients, an important supplement

for their regular diet.

Vias isn't yet brave enough to sample them,

but at least he's paying attention.

(wood crunching)

A varied diet can be the difference between life and death,

and at his age, Vias should really be fending for himself,

but he still relies on his mother to show him the best bits.

(playful music) (orangutans chittering)

There is no shortage of leaves,

but even so, he wants those particular ones

that his mother is eating.

(playful music)

And she is beginning to find that very irritating.

(dramatic music) (Vias squealing)

Eventually, he gets the message

and finds a branch of his own.

(dramatic music)

Large fig trees are few and far between

and you have to know when they will be full of fruit

if you are not to make unnecessary journeys.

They've timed their visit perfectly.

Hundreds of figs are beginning to ripen.

(Bebe chewing)

Bebe has devoted nearly a decade of her life

to each of her children.

Vias is approaching the end of his training

and will soon need to branch out on his own.

(gentle music)

Leaving his devoted mother will be one

of the most difficult moments in his life

(gentle music)

and he isn't quite ready for it, yet.

(gentle music)

(water rushing)

Iguazu National Park in Argentina.

(water rushing)

(gentle music)

The mother coati is in her nest with a litter of kits.

(gentle music)

She has looked after them

with great care since the day they were born.

But now they're close to independence

and she's able to start foraging further.

(gentle music)

Coati live in tight social groups

and the adults take turns to care for each other's young

(coati chittering)

and keep them out of harm's way.

(gentle music)

As one mother disappears into the canopy,

the other is left in charge

and she is going to have her work cut out.

The kids are just about manageable within the trees,

but once on the ground, it becomes total chaos.

(upbeat country music)

The babysitter is doing her best,

(upbeat country music)

but every time one of the missing kits is found,

another wanders off.

(playful country music)

It's a babysitter's nightmare.

(playful country music)

Meanwhile, the other female is enjoying some quiet time

on the other side of the river.

(water rushing)

She calls to the group.

(coati calling)

But the babysitter knows

that the kits would find it difficult to make the crossing.

They've become separated.

(foreboding music)

The babysitter, however, has an idea.

She has learned to use something

that previous generations didn't have, the bridge.

(playful music)

She just has to get the youngsters across it unscathed.

(uplifting music)

The babysitter rounds up the final straggler

and carries him to safety.

(uplifting music)

With the group reunited,

everyone has had quite enough adventure for one day.

(uplifting music)

By sharing parental responsibilities.

These coatis now successfully raised more offspring

than they could ever do on their own.

(birds chirping)

Jungle parents have to be endlessly resourceful

and the forests of Jamaica are now home

to a creature whose ancestors were once ocean goers,

but who now live in the tiny pools of water

that form at the base of jungle plants.

This is a mother bromeliad crab,

but her new home isn't perfect.

It requires constant maintenance.

Dead leaves fall into it and that just won't do.

The leaves have got to be removed.

(mellow music)

For her growing brood, nothing is too much trouble.

(mellow music)

Cleaning the nursery is just the start.

(mellow music)

For the first 10 days, the tiny crabs don't have hard shells

and are easily picked off by hungry predators.

(foreboding music)

They're totally defenceless.

Fortunately, their industrious mother knows just the thing.

The forest is littered with snail shells rich in calcium.

She drops a few into the nursery pool

where they will dissolve

and can then be reabsorbed by the tiny crablets,

helping them to toughen up.

Managing her nursery pool is a daily battle.

Too many leaves more shells to find,

and each day she risks losing more of her brood.

(anxious music)

When eventually the youngsters shells have hardened,

she has to provide them with food.

She doesn't leave the safety of her bromeliad home,

but relies on food coming to her.

A millipede search of a meal of decomposing leaves.

(anxious music)

She readies herself.

(anxious music)

It won't be easy, but there's a bounty to be had.

(intense music)

She eventually gets to grips with her capture

and breaks it up into bite-sized chunks.

The body of the millipede will not only feed her whole

family, but will also help

to further strengthen the crablet's shells.

The crablets love the guts best.

(mellow music)

The mother crab has managed to create an environment

that suits her family.

But some jungles are now being transformed in ways

that make raising young almost impossible.

(birds chirping)

The Karst forest of southern China.

The limestone peaks are home to one of the rarest

of monkeys, the white-headed langur.

(monkey hooting)

This infant is one of the last of his kind.

It's precious not just to his mother,

but for the future of his entire species.

A ledge high up these vertical cliffs may be a safe place

to sleep, but it's less than perfect as a nursery.

(thoughtful music)

Travelling around up here is not for the inexperienced,

but eventually all langurs

must learn to master the rock face.

(thoughtful music)

Fortunately, there are plenty of others willing

to lend a hand.

(gentle music)

Young langurs can spend as much as a third

of their time under the care of other females.

Around mid-morning, the group begin their daily descent

to the base of their pinnacle.

One false step here could be fatal.

(intense music)

But this is the place where their mothers find their food.

(intense music)

Whilst their babies are free to develop

their climbing skills.

(gentle music)

Langurs need a variety of fresh leaves every day.

Not long ago, the troop had a much larger forest territory,

but they have become isolated on their rocky island,

which is now entirely surrounded by farmland.

(thoughtful music)

The patches of jungle

that remain have become increasingly rare.

A couple of outsiders have been spotted approaching

through the fields.

(dramatic music)

(horn honking)

Looking to take over the island,

(langur squawking) (intense music)

rival males will kill the offspring of others,

(intense music)

so the mothers quickly get out of the way

and retreat to the safety of the cliffs,

leaving the rest of the troop to resist the attack.

(dramatic music)

The intruders have been repelled for now,

but not everyone has gone unscathed.

The troop begin the long climb back up.

(creatures chittering)

The mother and her precious cargo

carefully work their way up the cliff.

(gentle music)

The walls are near vertical and the holes razor thin.

(gentle music)

These langurs have adapted to this perilous habitat

and their island refuge provides the mother

and her baby with a safe haven, for now.

But one day the youngster will be forced

to leave his mother's family

and establish a territory of his own

and that will not be easy.

(thoughtful music)

Forest habitat is being lost all over the world,

but nowhere is this more pronounced

than in the Brazilian Amazon.

Every year vast swathes

of jungle are deliberately set on fire,

leaving millions of animal parents homeless.

Many are forced to find refuge in nearby patches of forest.

(creatures chittering)

Among them, a particularly rare and seldom seen creature

an Amazonian tapir, a close relative of rhinos

and South America's largest land mammal.

A young calf sticks close by her side.

(water splashing)

They are in search of a new territory

which has the resources they need to survive.

(playful music)

Finding enough vegetation to eat is not a problem,

but many jungle plants lack crucial minerals

and some contain a mix of toxic chemicals.

(playful music)

Over time, these toxins can build up in a tapir's body.

Eventually, some need to seek out a remedy.

She leads her young calf upstream

in the hope of finding the cure.

The female knew where to go in the patch of forest

where she was born,

but as her former territory continues to burn behind her,

she's forced to look for somewhere new.

(dramatic music)

As night falls, the jungle comes alive.

(dramatic music)

Using her keen sense of smell,

she cautiously guides her calf through the forest.

(dramatic music) (wings fluttering)

The more animals they encounter,

the closer they're likely to be

to their destination.

She can smell something familiar in the darkness.

Clay, the remedy that she

and her calf so badly need.

(thoughtful music)

It is thought the clay neutralises the toxins

and provides essential minerals lacking in their diet.

Others arrive, all searching for the same thing.

The particular chemical compounds within this clay.

(gentle music)

As more tapir arrive,

they dig into the soil, making it accessible

to other less powerful species.

(uplifting music)

The location of this clay lick is a crucial part

of the calf's education.

There are unique sites like this all over the Amazon,

including many that have not yet been identified by humans.

Even the most remote forests on earth are no longer immune

from modern disturbances.

The Daintree in Northern Australia.

Dinosaurs once lived here

(curious music)

and their feathered descendants still prowl

the understory today.

The cassowary, this one is nicknamed Crinkle.

(curious music)

He's nearly 45 years old

and like all cassowary fathers,

he has the responsibility of rearing the young.

(curious music)

Success is never guaranteed,

and this year is tougher than ever.

It is the middle of the dry season.

Crinkle's head cask helps him shed heat quickly,

(curious music)

but his chicks have no such defence.

In these temperatures,

they need to drink almost every day if they're to survive,

but it has hardly rained for months.

(creatures chittering)

Their forest is parched

and many of the river beds are dry.

(creatures chittering)

Crinkle breaks up some fruit for his chicks,

but it won't sustain them for long.

(creatures chittering)

He must find water.

There is a remote pool at the far limit of his territory.

The journey there is risky,

but his chicks are hungry and thirsty

and increasingly desperate.

Even in a good year, only 50% of cassowary chicks survive.

He urges them on.

(intense music)

They must be cautious.

The search for water is drawing other animals into the area.

Feral pigs introduced

by humans are now abundant in these forests.

(dramatic music)

Following their scent, while dingoes are also moving in.

(dramatic music)

Both of these animals are known to kill cassowary chicks.

Crinkle is by no means defenceless.

His razor-sharp talons are effective weapons,

but he will be unable

to save his chicks if they don't find water soon.

(chicks chirping) (dramatic music)

At last.

(water splashing)

And for now they are alone.

(peaceful music)

The oasis provides precious relief.

And what is more,

the quandong tree here is full of fruit,

a food, much relished by cassowary.

And in return, the cassowary distribute the seeds

around the forest, helping the trees to spread.

(peaceful music)

(chick chirps)

All over the world,

animals and trees depend on each other,

but there are some trees

that do more than we ever thought possible.

A 200 year old ajo tree in Costa Rica

covered in golden blooms,

as one of the largest trees in the area

it has unrestricted access to the sun.

However, for the saplings growing on the forest floor,

collecting the relatively little light

that filters down isn't quite so easy.

But the ajo tree's influence is great.

Its immense canopy absorbs the sunlight,

using its energy to synthesise sugars in its leaves,

which then circulate

through its branches right down to its roots.

Here it collaborates with microscopic fungi

and it distributes excess nutrients

to the tiny saplings nearby.

This underground network enables trees

to support the next generation.

(uplifting music)

These complex relationships take years to establish,

and it's clear that as trees age,

they become increasingly important for the forest,

acting as protectors and providers for the whole ecosystem.

A (indistinct) in the ajo's ancient trunk provides a home

for a family of bats.

(uplifting music)

And thousands of insects visit it each day.

(uplifting music)

This ajo is a keystone of the forest,

(uplifting music)

but it's not unique.

The world over such giant individuals play a pivotal role in

their respective forests.

(uplifting music)

They are the key to a healthy jungle.

From the majestic meranti in Borneo

to the giant kapok in Brazil.

Trees like these provide homes

for a huge variety of animal families.

(uplifting music)

In turn neighbourhoods depend on them for food.

(uplifting music)

They're the centre of their community

(uplifting music)

and are vital to all parents

who make their homes in jungles.

(uplifting music)

To film the parenting behaviour of Amazonian tapirs

camera woman, Katie Mayhew joined Brazilian cameraman,

Joel Paolo (speaking foreign language).

- We're going to the Salt Lake to retrieve a camera trap,

see if the tapers are coming.

- [Narrator] Their destination is a protected area

in the Amazon rainforest called Cristalino Reserve.

A key stronghold for the rarely seen tapirs.

(upbeat music)

First they head to a salt lick, an area regularly visited

by many kinds of animals.

(Katie speaking in foreign language)

- Yes, wow. And lots of baby tapirs.

- Wow. - There are tapirs.

One sitting, there

are two adults. - Two big ones though.

Yeah. - Two big ones.

This is really promising.

(uplifting music)

- [Narrator] The remote cameras show tapir activity

in both day and night,

(thoughtful music)

so to maximise their chances, they employ a thermal camera.

- It's unbelievable how this technology helps.

It's finding the animals,

but also discovering what they do during the night

and especially the tapir.

Basically, we know nothing about them, how they take care

of their babies, and we'll try to find out what they do.

Very, very active night with lots of (indistinct).

A big cat that we don't know exactly what it is.

Capybaras. So many animals.

- It's a good start, but not the mother and baby tapir

they're hoping for.

(Guide speaking in foreign language)

- Happened? - Yeah, they saw one

in a place

that we know a mother with a baby.

Yeah. - That's so exciting.

- [Narrator] Katie goes to stake out the area,

- So, we've been on the river for 12 hours now

and we have seen not a lot.

- [Narrator] At the clay lick,

Joel's not having much luck either.

- Very quiet night. I've been waiting here for hours.

Strange. I was expecting more activity here.

This is gonna be hard.

- After 10 days in the 40 degree heat,

delirium is setting in.

- Being on the river for eight hours I think,

and we think there's a baby tapir here in the bushes.

So we're just waiting,

But we don't actually know if it's there.

(water splashing)

- [Narrator] But a few hours later, Katie's instincts

and patience pay off.

- Thought I saw some movement in the water

and it was the stripey baby and the mom.

And they just swam by the rocks

and then the babies disappear into the bushes.

Waiting like so, so long.

- [Narrator] Joel's on the right track too.

- So the other boat just saw a baby tapir

called us and we're following him.

Hopefully we'll see one finally.

- In the bushes,

the sleepy mother tapir and her striped calf.

(gentle music)

- Suckling, the mother's sleeping.

The baby, like spend a whole afternoon there with her.

I will never, ever forget this day.

Unbelievable moment.

(gentle music)

- [Narrator] A glimpse of a mother

and her baby is an encouraging sign,

but the teams still need to film them at night

to tell the full story.

Katie tries her luck at a different clay lick.

- So we've set up our little hiding area.

The clay lick looks good, so now we have

to go set up the camera

and then come back tonight and hope for the best.

(creatures chittering)

- Just using the thermal scope to kind of spot things

around the lake so I can try

and give Katie a bit of heads up if something's coming in.

But it's crazy.

It's like I can see everything through here,

there's hundreds of bats flying around.

(creatures chittering)

- [Katie] Can you see anything Nancy?

- Yeah, yeah there's about 20 metres

back from the edge of the clay lick.

(hopeful music)

- I'm like shaking so much.

There are bats flying over there

and then and a juvenile and the juvenile's male.

Mom's teaching the young ones, sort of bite the bark

and clean up all the minerals that they need.

It's just so nice to see.

Yeah, it's very cool. Very happy bunny right now.

- [Narrator] Detailed images like this

have never been seen before,

but thanks to protected areas like Cristalino Reserve,

the team has been able to film the secret lives

of the Amazonian tapirs and their young.

- [Joel] Never in my life I thought

I would see something like it.

20 days waiting for a chance.

(hopeful music)

(uplifting music)