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DAVID ATTENBOROUGH:
60 million years ago,

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on the shores of this tropical island,
an extraordinary story began.

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The waves brought ashore
an odd band of survivors,

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a few ancient creatures

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that had been accidentally swept across
hundreds of miles of ocean

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from a distant land.

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They found themselves here,
in a place unlike any other.

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Totally cut off
from the rest of the world,

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these castaways
made this island their own,

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gradually evolving
into a collection of wildlife

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that's strange, rare,
and utterly unique.

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So rare, that more than 80%

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of the species are found
nowhere else on Earth.

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The island was Madagascar.

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This is the story of what happens
when a set of animals and plants

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are cast away on an island
for millions of years.

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This is how this curious wonderland
came into being.

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It had all begun
millions of years earlier,

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when a great slab of land broke apart

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to form the continents
as we know them today.

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(DEEP RUMBLING)

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Africa went one way,
and India went the other.

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And an orphan chip of land
was cast adrift

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and ended up hundreds of miles
from the nearest land.

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(DEEP RUMBLING)

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Its unusual geological history,

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its isolation,
and its resting place in the tropics

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were to shape Madagascar's fortunes.

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It's the world's oldest island.

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And it's had time to develop
an astonishing range of landscapes.

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It's split in two
by a spine of mountains

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that runs its entire length
and each side has its own character.

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On the western side, lie huge forests,
populated with strange, bulging trees.

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Further south, an alien world,

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a parched and sandy wilderness
with an immense lake of salt,

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and gnarled and twisted spiny woodlands.

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And on the eastern side,
lush jungle drenched in rain.

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It's this combination of long isolation
and varied landscapes

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that's created the eccentric
diversity of wildlife

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which makes this island so special.

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These rainforests are unlike
any other rainforest on Earth.

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And they're home to Madagascar's
most successful inhabitants.

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They're lemurs.

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There are 80 different types,

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from nocturnal, mouse-size creatures,

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to this, the biggest,
the size of a child.

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It's an indri.

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(LEMURS CRYING OUT)

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They are direct descendants
of those first primitive mammals

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that had washed in from Africa
by chance.

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And now, they live nowhere else.

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(HOWLING LOU DLY)

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They have almost dog-like faces,
but they're primates, related to us.

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And when you watch them, you can see it.

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They're highly social.

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At two years old,
this young male is an adolescent,

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but he's still close to his mother.

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H is little sister
is just six months old.

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This family group will stay together
for several more years.

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Lemurs also have the grasping hands
and feet of all primates.

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It's fundamental
for a life in the trees,

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as well as an effective way
to put a stranglehold

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on an older brother.

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For an indri, childhood is long.

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It's nine years
before they're fully adult.

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There's plenty of time for play

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and perfecting
their impressive jumping skills.

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And, perhaps, even a
spot of showing off.

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Everywhere you look,
Madagascar has echoes of elsewhere.

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At first glance,
similar but with different origins.

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On the rainforest floor,

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an animal emerges
that might be mistaken for a hedgehog.

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But she's only
the most distant relation.

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She's a tenrec,
another of Madagascar's own inventions.

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And these are her youngsters.

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Dozens of them.

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Tenrecs have the distinction
of giving birth

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to more babies
than any other mammal on Earth,

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as many as 32 .

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Her babies are stripy,

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the better to hide
in the shadows of the rainforest floor.

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Their ancestor, too,
had washed in from Africa.

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And, like the lemurs, they've
diversified into many different species.

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As well as being
Madagascar's equivalent of hedgehogs,

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tenrecs also take the place
that moles and shrews

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would occupy anywhere else in the world.

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Madagascar's rich forests

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have been isolated
from outside influence for so long,

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they have become
an evolutionary cauldron,

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producing increasingly extreme
forms of life.

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(FEET PATTERING)

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And none are stranger than this.

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It's a giraffe-necked weevil.

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And this is a male.

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And this is the reason
for his extra long neck.

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He uses it for fighting.

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(RASPING)

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Meanwhile, a female weevil,
who's not quite as long-necked,

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is beginning an ambitious
construction project.

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She's snipping through the leaf's veins

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and making little creases in it.

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She also appears to referee the fight.

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She finally mates with the winner.

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Then, using her powerful legs,

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the female starts to fold
the leaf in half.

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She then curls up the end.

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And inside the curl,
she lays a single egg.

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All around the rainforest edge,

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females are busy rolling
and curling their leaf nests.

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Each seems to have her own design.

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Only in these particular rainforests,

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and only on this one
particular type of soft leaf,

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are conditions right
for her to make her nest.

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It's an astonishingly
specific behaviour.

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The expectant fathers are apparently
just getting in the way.

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But they may be guarding
against tiny insects

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that would parasitise
the newly-laid egg.

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The female has bitten tiny notches
along the leaf's ribs

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to form a kind of Velcro strip,
to help it all stick together.

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A few final folds
and the nest is complete.

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When she finally
snips the leaf-roll off,

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it falls to the forest floor to hatch.

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All that effort, for just one egg.

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Madagascar has had a turbulent past.

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At its birth, it was ripped
from India and Africa,

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and the geological upheavals
have continued since.

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The north of the island is speckled
with slumbering volcanoes.

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On the forested slopes,
lives another Madagascar speciality,

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a chameleon.

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Chameleons weren't
amongst those pioneering castaways.

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Theirs is a different story.

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It's thought that they evolved here,
in Madagascar itself.

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They're wonderfully adapted
to a life in the trees.

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Their toes are fused,
so their feet grip like tongs.

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And the arrangement of their legs
is unusual for a reptile.

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They're beneath their body.

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This allows them to walk on branches
thinner than their body.

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(WHIPPING)

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A male panther chameleon,
one of the biggest.

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A second male is in his tree.

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He won't like that.

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If the intruder doesn't back down,
there will be trouble.

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(HISSING)

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They're evenly matched,
it's neck-and-neck.

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(BOTH HISSING)

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The territory holder wins,

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and the loser
takes the quickest way out.

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In these isolated forests,

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chameleons have taken a variety of paths

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and have diversified
to an astonishing degree.

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Some are miniatures and have the rich
forest floors to themselves.

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A pygmy chameleon,
the world's tiniest reptile,

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tiptoes through the leaf litter
on the steep volcanic slopes.

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She's so tiny,
she's scarcely bigger than an ant.

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And over here,
in a forest of toadstools, a male.

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He's looking for her.

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He's even smaller than she is.

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Finding a mate in a giant world
is challenging.

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And it's somewhat hazardous,

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when you could get run over
by a millipede!

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(PATTERING)

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It takes a while,
but when he finally reaches her,

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he has a special tactic.

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He's not going to let go.

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They're not mating, simply riding around

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until the time is right.

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He barely touches her,
just an occasional gentle, little sway.

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They can go round like this for days.

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But at least they won't lose each other

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in their big volcanic forest.

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The heart of Madagascar still rumbles
with geological activity.

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The centre of the island
is a wide plateau of uplifted rock.

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Here, there are still thousands
of earthquakes every year.

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Over eons of time,
millions of these tiny earthquakes

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have torn a vast hole
right in these central uplands

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forming this, Madagascar's biggest lake,

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Lac Alaotra.

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Around the edges of this
massive body of water,

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there are reed beds.

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But the vegetation is not fixed,

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it floats in great mats
in water three metres deep.

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It's tricky and inaccessible to most.

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But one creature has adapted
to live here, and only here.

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(WATER FLOWING)

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This is the Lac Alaotra reed lemur.

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Not only is it small enough
to climb the thinnest reeds,

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it can also survive
on a diet of tough grass.

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Unusually for a primate,
it lives its whole life over water.

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And it only lives on this one lake.

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This family group
has a patch of reeds to themselves.

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But they have a problem.

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To find enough to eat, you have to move
from reed bed to reed bed.

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And that takes skill and practice.

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These lemurs can swim,
but they prefer not to.

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So they have developed
a special technique

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for crossing the reed beds
without ending up in the water below.

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Their mother is an old hand.

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Even with a baby on her back,
she's sure-footed.

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And her older children
are getting the hang of it.

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(REED SPLASHING)

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These lemurs are so specialised,

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that they would struggle
to live anywhere else.

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While Madagascar's centre
was shaped by volcanic fire,

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the western side of the island
has an entirely different story.

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For millions of years
this landscape was drowned,

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and layers of limestone
formed underwater.

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When the ocean finally retreated,
this is what was left.

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It's a gigantic, ancient reef.

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The seabed was pushed up,
creating a great block of limestone.

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Over time, it's been carved by water
into forests of giant pinnacles.

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This is the Tsingy,

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one of Madagascar's
strangest landscapes.

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Underneath, it's riddled with caves,
dissolved away by underground rivers.

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In places, the limestone has collapsed,

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creating deep canyons.

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And in among them,
have grown little oases of forest,

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filled with oddities.

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The isolated forests
are rich sources of food,

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but not easy for outsiders to reach.

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The great walls of rock
make moving between them

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across razor sharp blades of stone,
seem impossible.

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Not so.
This, too, is the haunt of lemurs.

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This most diverse group of primates

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has adapted to thrive
all over the island, even here.

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(STON ES CLATTERING)

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These are crowned lemurs.

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They don't live up here,

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but they must cross the peaks to find
fruiting trees in the forest pockets.

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Exposed to the tropical sun,
it's devilishly hot.

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The group seeks shelter
and a brief respite.

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The lemurs are vulnerable here
and need to get a move on.

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There's still a way to go
before they reach the forest.

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They get to what looks like
the most daunting part of the journey,

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a 30-metre drop,

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where the limestone has fallen away
to create sheer cliffs.

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But crowned lemurs
are as good at rock climbing

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as they are at tree climbing.

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Once down, they'll find shelter
from the heat

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and plenty to eat.

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But they must be on their guard.

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There is one danger that every lemur
on the island fears,

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a hunter that climbs
as well as they can,

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the fossa.

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No big African predators
made it to Madagascar.

245
00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:31,759
There are no lions, no leopards,
no wild dogs.

246
00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:36,759
Instead, the island's top predator
is a giant mongoose.

247
00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:40,399
And it eats lemurs.

248
00:27:45,360 --> 00:27:47,679
But it has more curious habits.

249
00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:51,719
It's the mating season,

250
00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:55,999
and this female has stationed herself
15 metres up a tree.

251
00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:59,639
She's chosen a branch
that will just support her own weight,

252
00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:01,439
plus that of a male.

253
00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:08,839
A male approaches.

254
00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:11,599
If she approves of him,
she'll allow him to mate,

255
00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:14,719
if she doesn't, she'll back away
to a thinner branch

256
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:16,639
and he won't be able to get to her.

257
00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:24,959
She's only fertile
for a few days a year,

258
00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:27,959
so setting herself up in this tall tree

259
00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:31,719
is a good way of advertising
her availability to suitors.

260
00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:34,759
And it seems to work.

261
00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:38,839
This the sixth male
she's entertained today.

262
00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:45,919
(GRUNTING)

263
00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:53,039
The great diversity
of Madagascar's wildlife

264
00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:56,079
is driven, not only
by the variation in landscape,

265
00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:58,399
but also by the climate.

266
00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:04,999
The spine of mountains
running the length of the island

267
00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:08,079
blocks the rain
blowing in from the east.

268
00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:10,759
While the east coast
is drenched year round,

269
00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:13,439
the west lies in a rain shadow.

270
00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:21,519
Plants that have evolved here
have had to adapt to an arid world.

271
00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:24,759
Some places get less
than a tenth of the rain

272
00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:26,839
that falls in the rainforests
of the east.

273
00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:31,599
This is the land of the baobab.

274
00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:37,839
These bizarrely-shaped trees evolved
to store water in their trunks.

275
00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:42,319
They're tough,
and can live to a great age.

276
00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:47,039
This baobab may be
over a thousand years old.

277
00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:52,719
In these desiccated landscapes,

278
00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,439
many plants have evolved
these bloated trunks

279
00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:58,039
to store water for the driest times.

280
00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:05,479
The west of the island is dotted
with these fat oddities.

281
00:30:05,560 --> 00:30:10,439
Many survive by just clinging
with long roots to cracks on bare rock.

282
00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:26,079
Like most plants here,
this Uncarina stores water in its stem.

283
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:28,879
And it's also economical
with its flowers,

284
00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:31,999
putting out a few a day
over several months.

285
00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:36,999
This gives maximum opportunity
for pollinators to visit.

286
00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:38,999
(BIRDS TWITTERING)

287
00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:42,839
But this is not what the Uncarina needs.

288
00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:46,639
A sunbird has become a nectar thief.

289
00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:51,039
Piercing the base of the flower,
it bypasses the pollen entirely.

290
00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:05,999
But the sunbird is not alone.

291
00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:47,839
Unfortunately for the shrub,
it's another flower bandit.

292
00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:51,839
In a place as tough as this,
a flower is well worth the effort.

293
00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:13,039
Madagascar is 1,000 miles
from end-to-end.

294
00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:16,679
The variation from north to south
is extreme.

295
00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:20,439
And the further south you go,
the dryer it gets.

296
00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:26,559
Most of the time, the rivers here
are barely ankle deep.

297
00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:33,759
But there's just enough
water and nutrients

298
00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:36,399
for a fringe of forest to take hold.

299
00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:40,439
And in Madagascar, where there's forest,
there are lemurs.

300
00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:44,759
These are sifakas.

301
00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:49,039
They're superb acrobats,
adapted to leaping from trunk to trunk.

302
00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:58,319
But where the gap is too great
or in more open stretches of river bank,

303
00:32:58,400 --> 00:33:01,839
they abandon the trees
and do something extraordinary.

304
00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:13,679
Their hind legs are too long
to walk on all fours.

305
00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:16,239
So they stay upright and gallop.

306
00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:26,839
These river forests are an oasis
in this dry landscape.

307
00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:30,519
That can lead to some spectacular
competition for territory.

308
00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:35,039
A female paradise flycatcher
is busy building a nest.

309
00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:36,959
(BIRD CHIRPING)

310
00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:40,159
Both male and female have red feathers.

311
00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:42,359
But the males are particularly striking,

312
00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:46,399
with long tail plumes
and bright blue rings round their eyes.

313
00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:54,839
Curiously, although all males
start out with red feathers,

314
00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:57,759
some males turn completely white.

315
00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:01,919
No one knows why but it's something
that's exceedingly rare in birds,

316
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:04,039
another Madagascar oddity.

317
00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:11,999
The red female and her white partner
construct the nest between them.

318
00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:22,999
It's a delicate affair
built of leaves and grasses

319
00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:24,879
woven together with cobwebs

320
00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:27,439
and it takes days of careful work.

321
00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:40,119
(BIRD SINGING)

322
00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:44,559
A red male watches nearby.

323
00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:48,079
Breeding territory is particularly
jealously guarded.

324
00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:50,479
The white male must see him off.

325
00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:12,519
Danger averted,
the couple return to work.

326
00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:21,079
But there's worse to come,

327
00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:24,679
a drongo.

328
00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:42,799
For some reason, it sets about
destroying the carefully-made nest.

329
00:35:45,080 --> 00:35:48,559
There is nothing the flycatcher couple
can do about it.

330
00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:50,279
(BIRDS SQUAWKING)

331
00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:55,999
The drongo isn't even stealing
the material,

332
00:35:56,080 --> 00:35:59,159
just chasing the flycatchers
from their territory.

333
00:35:59,240 --> 00:36:01,999
Competition for space is that fierce.

334
00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:07,239
(BIRDS CONTIN U E SQUAWKING)

335
00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:26,639
(BIRDS SQUAWKING)

336
00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:45,359
The female gives up and leaves.

337
00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:49,439
Maybe she'll look
for a more assertive male.

338
00:36:59,080 --> 00:37:03,479
Go far enough south
and the island changes once more

339
00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:07,039
into a landscape of scrub and spines.

340
00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:13,279
This place may go years without rain.

341
00:37:14,480 --> 00:37:16,759
Strangely, there is water here.

342
00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:23,719
This vast lake is 10 miles long
and just 2 metres deep.

343
00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:28,399
But it's not what it seems.

344
00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:33,599
(FLAMINGOS SQUAWKING)

345
00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:38,479
Greater flamingos fly 2 50 miles
from Africa to breed here.

346
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:42,399
But they pretty much have it
to themselves,

347
00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:44,679
because this is not fresh water.

348
00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:48,719
It's a salt lake gradually evaporating
in the heat and draught,

349
00:37:50,160 --> 00:37:52,159
and it's hostile to life.

350
00:38:09,280 --> 00:38:14,759
This whole area has been getting dryer
for the last 40,000 years,

351
00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:20,079
but the plants and animals here
are uniquely adapted to extreme aridity.

352
00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:28,839
Mornings are surprisingly chilly.

353
00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:32,679
A rare Verreaux's Coua found
only around this lake

354
00:38:32,760 --> 00:38:35,719
puffs itself up
until it's almost spherical.

355
00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:48,799
Ring-tailed lemurs sunbathe, too.

356
00:38:48,880 --> 00:38:53,239
The most adaptable of all the lemurs,
they can cope with the dryness,

357
00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:56,079
but they can't go
without water entirely.

358
00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:03,399
(LEMURS CHATTERING)

359
00:39:11,240 --> 00:39:15,199
A giant fig,
surprisingly and persistently green,

360
00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:18,519
wafts its thirsty roots
across the ground.

361
00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:21,599
There's water here somewhere,
but it's hidden.

362
00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:35,159
It's part of a southern river system
that flows underground here,

363
00:39:35,240 --> 00:39:39,399
carving holes into the limestone
like a Swiss cheese.

364
00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:42,319
But it can only be reached
in a few places.

365
00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:44,919
(BIRDS CHIRPING)

366
00:39:45,720 --> 00:39:47,919
(WATER DRIPPING)

367
00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:11,759
For the ring-tails, it's a lifeline.

368
00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:13,919
And they visit every day.

369
00:41:04,080 --> 00:41:07,039
In the water, too,
there are curiosities,

370
00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:11,439
strange white fish found only
in these caverns.

371
00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:15,039
They've been trapped in these
underground rivers for millennia,

372
00:41:15,120 --> 00:41:17,559
and they, too, have gone their own way.

373
00:41:23,080 --> 00:41:27,359
They've not only lost all their pigment,
they've lost their eyes, too.

374
00:41:33,160 --> 00:41:35,919
They also swim upside down.

375
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:39,039
This may be to help them feed
on the surface.

376
00:41:39,120 --> 00:41:43,319
But, in a dark world,
it barely matters which way is up.

377
00:42:13,080 --> 00:42:15,559
Here in the far south of the island,

378
00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:19,959
the extreme conditions make this
a land of rare specialists.

379
00:42:20,800 --> 00:42:24,439
There is wildlife that's found
nowhere else in Madagascar.

380
00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:28,239
A little nocturnal mammal,
whistling in the dark.

381
00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:37,879
It's Grandidier's vontsira,
one of the world's rarest carnivores.

382
00:42:39,120 --> 00:42:43,279
They survive on a diet
of almost nothing but insects.

383
00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:46,519
As the climate here dried,

384
00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:49,759
only the toughest and most adaptable
stayed on.

385
00:42:49,840 --> 00:42:55,199
Grandidier's vontsira, able to survive
on such a diet, was able to hang on.

386
00:42:55,280 --> 00:42:57,559
(VONTSIRA CH U RRING)

387
00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:18,559
They're sociable and playful,

388
00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:21,439
but their lives remain
largely a mystery.

389
00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:30,039
The intense dryness
at this end of the island

390
00:43:30,120 --> 00:43:32,959
has demanded some ingenious behaviour.

391
00:43:33,040 --> 00:43:35,039
In this desert scrubland,

392
00:43:35,120 --> 00:43:39,879
desiccation is just as problematic
for a spider as for a mammal.

393
00:43:39,960 --> 00:43:43,879
An empty snail shell would make
a perfect refuge from the heat.

394
00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:48,759
But it's not safe lying on the sand.

395
00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:56,399
So this spider begins
an astonishing process.

396
00:43:56,480 --> 00:44:01,479
It attaches silk to the shell
and starts to haul it into a bush.

397
00:44:16,080 --> 00:44:18,839
This is the first time
this has been filmed.

398
00:44:18,920 --> 00:44:22,719
And may be the first time
it's even been observed in the wild.

399
00:44:30,120 --> 00:44:33,079
Each new strand is shorter
than the last,

400
00:44:33,160 --> 00:44:36,199
so the shell gradually gets pulled up.

401
00:44:36,280 --> 00:44:38,159
Technique is key.

402
00:44:38,240 --> 00:44:40,519
It's important that the shell is secured

403
00:44:40,600 --> 00:44:43,799
from several angles
for maximum stability.

404
00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:49,959
(WIN D BLOWING)

405
00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:53,319
This spider has got it wrong.

406
00:44:53,400 --> 00:44:57,199
And when the wind springs up,
it totally loses control.

407
00:45:18,880 --> 00:45:21,479
This one shows how it should be done.

408
00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:10,119
This is the farthest
southerly point of Madagascar.

409
00:46:11,760 --> 00:46:15,359
Beyond this is nothing
until you reach Antarctica.

410
00:46:26,120 --> 00:46:31,799
This is the oldest, most arid,
and most remote landscape of all.

411
00:46:32,760 --> 00:46:37,039
The spiny trees are dwarves
bent by the wind.

412
00:46:38,720 --> 00:46:43,599
And, on these windswept cliffs,
there are radiated tortoises,

413
00:46:43,680 --> 00:46:46,079
one of the world's
most beautiful species.

414
00:46:46,160 --> 00:46:48,959
They're only found
in these southern scrublands.

415
00:46:59,880 --> 00:47:02,999
A male sets off in pursuit of a female.

416
00:47:28,360 --> 00:47:32,959
He'd be able to mate with her
if only he can get her to stand still.

417
00:47:37,320 --> 00:47:41,919
He uses the front of his shell
to lift her back legs off the ground.

418
00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:44,159
She seems less than willing.

419
00:47:47,120 --> 00:47:48,719
It's a slow process,

420
00:47:48,800 --> 00:47:52,799
but radiated tortoises don't do
anything very quickly.

421
00:47:52,880 --> 00:47:55,759
They don't become parents
until the age of 20,

422
00:47:55,840 --> 00:47:58,999
and they may live to be 130.

423
00:47:59,080 --> 00:48:04,599
One legendary individual
was claimed to be 188,

424
00:48:04,680 --> 00:48:08,199
which would make him
the longest living animal on Earth.

425
00:48:12,120 --> 00:48:14,919
It's also one of the most endangered.

426
00:48:15,000 --> 00:48:18,799
It's hunted and its unique
spiny habitat is being destroyed,

427
00:48:18,880 --> 00:48:21,279
bit by bit, cut down for firewood.

428
00:48:31,080 --> 00:48:33,599
It was once abundant on Madagascar.

429
00:48:34,200 --> 00:48:39,079
Now, it could well be extinct
in the wild within the next 20 years.

430
00:48:48,120 --> 00:48:50,439
On this same windswept beach,

431
00:48:50,800 --> 00:48:53,559
lie thousands of fragments of eggshells.

432
00:48:54,800 --> 00:48:58,999
These are the ancient nest sites
of an astonishing creature,

433
00:48:59,080 --> 00:49:01,719
the biggest bird that ever lived.

434
00:49:02,200 --> 00:49:05,639
The elephant bird stood
more than three metres tall.

435
00:49:06,040 --> 00:49:07,639
And 1,000 years ago,

436
00:49:07,720 --> 00:49:10,639
it would have roamed
these spiny scrublands.

437
00:49:14,280 --> 00:49:17,599
In the warm sand, it laid its huge eggs,

438
00:49:17,680 --> 00:49:19,719
bigger than dinosaur eggs.

439
00:49:20,080 --> 00:49:23,559
This astonishing bird
only lived in Madagascar,

440
00:49:23,640 --> 00:49:26,239
and it was extraordinarily successful.

441
00:49:29,040 --> 00:49:31,439
But, then, it totally disappeared.

442
00:49:32,200 --> 00:49:34,759
These egg fragments and bits of bone

443
00:49:34,840 --> 00:49:38,039
are all that remains to show
it was here at all.

444
00:49:42,080 --> 00:49:45,879
Two thousand years ago,
humans first came to Madagascar,

445
00:49:46,560 --> 00:49:50,479
and it seems the elephant bird
started to vanish soon after.

446
00:49:51,200 --> 00:49:53,279
It's a story that's continued.

447
00:49:53,400 --> 00:49:56,799
Many of Madagascar's
wild landscapes and species

448
00:49:56,880 --> 00:49:59,319
are under threat
of disappearing forever,

449
00:49:59,520 --> 00:50:02,639
just as we're beginning
to discover and understand

450
00:50:02,720 --> 00:50:05,479
the extraordinary diversity
of life here.

451
00:50:09,080 --> 00:50:11,919
It's only during the last few decades

452
00:50:12,160 --> 00:50:15,919
that we've really started
to appreciate this curious land.

453
00:50:16,440 --> 00:50:18,639
Let's hope it's not too late.

454
00:50:36,880 --> 00:50:39,919
Much of Madagascar's
wildlife is secretive

455
00:50:40,040 --> 00:50:42,799
and a challenge to find, let alone film.

456
00:50:44,600 --> 00:50:47,479
The team were keen
to tell the story of a little lemur

457
00:50:47,560 --> 00:50:50,279
that only lives on this one remote lake.

458
00:50:50,360 --> 00:50:53,439
There are very few of them left
because they've long been hunted,

459
00:50:53,520 --> 00:50:56,319
and the reed beds where they live
are being cut down.

460
00:50:59,520 --> 00:51:02,159
But in one village on Lac Alaotra,

461
00:51:02,240 --> 00:51:06,199
the local people have made strenuous
efforts to save the reed lemurs,

462
00:51:06,280 --> 00:51:08,759
and they knew where they might be found.

463
00:51:08,840 --> 00:51:12,599
Field assistant Jonathan Fiely
and cameraman Gavin Thurston

464
00:51:12,680 --> 00:51:15,399
set out with local fisherman
and wildlife guide

465
00:51:15,480 --> 00:51:17,159
Andrianirina Rajohonson,

466
00:51:17,240 --> 00:51:20,239
who's spent many months
following the lemurs.

467
00:51:22,960 --> 00:51:25,119
The team wanted to film
its specialised way

468
00:51:25,200 --> 00:51:28,239
of moving through
these floating beds of reeds.

469
00:51:28,320 --> 00:51:32,039
Easy for the lemurs,
not so easy for a film crew.

470
00:51:38,320 --> 00:51:40,719
In fact, in the tangled reed beds

471
00:51:40,800 --> 00:51:43,799
it seemed almost impossible
even to see them at all.

472
00:51:43,880 --> 00:51:47,359
They're so nimble, they simply
melt away into the reeds.

473
00:51:51,160 --> 00:51:56,439
The team negotiated the channels
in an attempt to track them down.

474
00:52:02,160 --> 00:52:04,839
The trouble was
there's no dry land here.

475
00:52:05,120 --> 00:52:08,199
Gavin would have to try
and film them from a canoe.

476
00:52:08,280 --> 00:52:12,799
Following a cyclone, the lake was deep,
and the water particularly choppy.

477
00:52:20,320 --> 00:52:22,359
We're gonna need a bigger boat.
(CHUCKLING)

478
00:52:23,920 --> 00:52:26,999
It's way to rocky and the boat's going
all over the shop.

479
00:52:27,080 --> 00:52:29,559
Uh, we've got a few toys up our sleeve.

480
00:52:29,640 --> 00:52:33,279
We've got a big stick (LAUGHING)
to help stabilise the canoe.

481
00:52:33,360 --> 00:52:36,199
This must look like
sort of amateurville.

482
00:52:36,280 --> 00:52:38,119
Um, and it is quite precarious.

483
00:52:38,240 --> 00:52:42,399
You know, we've got some £40,000 worth
of camera balanced in a rocky canoe

484
00:52:43,160 --> 00:52:45,839
which looks like we've just hired it
from the local boating lake.

485
00:52:46,080 --> 00:52:48,639
THURSTON: But I'm feeling positive.

486
00:52:49,040 --> 00:52:51,879
ATTENBOROUGH: It was back to base
for plan B.

487
00:52:51,960 --> 00:52:55,439
Gavin and Andrianirina decided
to build a platform.

488
00:52:55,640 --> 00:52:57,959
But it would have to be
very carefully designed.

489
00:52:58,040 --> 00:52:59,159
(SPEAKING FRENCH)

490
00:52:59,480 --> 00:53:01,919
ATTENBOROUGH: It turned into quite
an undertaking.

491
00:53:04,040 --> 00:53:06,359
(MACHINE WHIRRING)

492
00:53:12,800 --> 00:53:14,639
(SAWING)

493
00:53:16,240 --> 00:53:18,039
We're trying to adapt this construction

494
00:53:18,120 --> 00:53:21,719
so when we get out to the reeds
we don't need to use any nails at all.

495
00:53:21,800 --> 00:53:23,479
I'm just worried
if they start banging the nails,

496
00:53:23,560 --> 00:53:25,559
they'll drive these animals
even deeper into the reeds.

497
00:53:26,440 --> 00:53:29,479
So we're making this precarious,
4-metre-high platform

498
00:53:29,560 --> 00:53:32,479
above the water without any nails.

499
00:53:38,840 --> 00:53:40,199
ATTENBOROUGH: At dawn the next day,

500
00:53:40,280 --> 00:53:43,479
the platforms were loaded up
to be taken out to the reed beds.

501
00:53:50,320 --> 00:53:53,879
Getting the canoes through
the tangled vegetation was hard enough.

502
00:53:54,440 --> 00:53:58,039
Moving through with the platforms
was a different matter.

503
00:54:03,960 --> 00:54:07,639
And the whole operation had
to be completed as quietly as possible

504
00:54:07,720 --> 00:54:09,999
for fear of scaring the lemurs.

505
00:54:12,760 --> 00:54:17,079
One false move and the whole team
would end up in the water.

506
00:54:25,160 --> 00:54:28,799
At last, a clear and stable view
through the reed bed.

507
00:54:36,280 --> 00:54:39,399
Gavin got himself settled
and started filming.

508
00:54:43,400 --> 00:54:45,239
But it wasn't easy.

509
00:54:45,320 --> 00:54:48,799
The very thing he wanted to film,
the lemurs on the move,

510
00:54:48,880 --> 00:54:51,879
was limited by the fact
that when they moved off,

511
00:54:51,960 --> 00:54:54,719
Gavin could only wait
for them to return.

512
00:54:55,920 --> 00:54:57,239
This is quite frustrating really,

513
00:54:57,320 --> 00:54:58,919
'cause it doesn't matter
how much experience you've got,

514
00:54:59,000 --> 00:55:02,159
with something like this,
filming from the boat was too wobbly

515
00:55:02,240 --> 00:55:04,599
and working off a platform,
you're literally stuck in one place

516
00:55:04,680 --> 00:55:07,159
in the hope that they'll come
within sight.

517
00:55:07,240 --> 00:55:08,759
I think we'll get it.

518
00:55:08,840 --> 00:55:12,439
Between that and this sort
of cyclonic weather. Ooh. (LAUGHS)

519
00:55:12,520 --> 00:55:14,639
(STORM CLOUDS RUMBLING)

520
00:55:14,720 --> 00:55:17,999
ATTENBOROUGH: Just as they'd got
set up, a storm was rolling in.

521
00:55:18,680 --> 00:55:20,839
The last place you want
to be is on a lake

522
00:55:20,920 --> 00:55:23,199
in a canoe in a thunderstorm.

523
00:55:23,280 --> 00:55:25,999
So they paddled back
as quickly as they could,

524
00:55:26,080 --> 00:55:28,999
and then could only wait
for the storm to pass.

525
00:55:29,240 --> 00:55:31,679
That took three days.

526
00:55:36,960 --> 00:55:40,879
Finally, it dawned clear and calm.

527
00:55:43,840 --> 00:55:46,079
Things were looking more promising.

528
00:55:48,000 --> 00:55:51,079
(SPEAKING FRENCH)

529
00:55:54,400 --> 00:55:57,319
(WHISPERING) Gavin's just inside
the reed bed right over there.

530
00:55:57,400 --> 00:56:00,039
We set him up about 5:20 this morning.

531
00:56:00,720 --> 00:56:02,439
ATTENBOROUGH: The team were in luck.

532
00:56:02,520 --> 00:56:06,519
The lemurs were feeding right next
to where Gavin was stationed.

533
00:56:06,600 --> 00:56:08,439
With Andrianirina's careful guidance,

534
00:56:08,520 --> 00:56:11,759
they were in the right place
at the right time.

535
00:56:11,840 --> 00:56:13,879
It might look a bit Heath Robinson

536
00:56:13,960 --> 00:56:18,239
but, at last, Gavin was getting shots
of one of the world's rarest lemurs

537
00:56:18,320 --> 00:56:20,359
moving and feeding in the reeds.

538
00:56:20,440 --> 00:56:23,799
And for the first time,
a mother and her baby.

539
00:56:29,360 --> 00:56:33,359
But even after 10 days,
they were still unpredictable.

540
00:56:36,040 --> 00:56:37,799
(SOFTLY) 7:00 in the morning.

541
00:56:39,240 --> 00:56:41,079
They've gone to sleep.

542
00:56:41,840 --> 00:56:43,919
They're just tucked down in here asleep.

543
00:56:47,720 --> 00:56:49,439
THURSTON: I've really quite grown
to like them.

544
00:56:49,520 --> 00:56:51,599
It's just quite sad
that they are critically endangered.

545
00:56:51,680 --> 00:56:54,439
They only live in the reeds
around this one lake.

546
00:56:54,520 --> 00:56:57,559
And there's very few small areas
of reeds left.

547
00:56:58,160 --> 00:56:59,639
And if those reeds do disappear,

548
00:56:59,720 --> 00:57:01,479
then those lemurs are going
to disappear with them.

549
00:57:01,560 --> 00:57:03,039
And I think it'd be really sad to lose

550
00:57:03,120 --> 00:57:06,039
such a cute, cuddly little lemur
like that.

551
00:57:07,800 --> 00:57:09,359
ATTENBOROUGH: These little lemurs
have been pushed

552
00:57:09,440 --> 00:57:11,599
to the brink of extinction by hunting

553
00:57:11,680 --> 00:57:14,359
and the gradual destruction
of their reed beds.

554
00:57:14,440 --> 00:57:17,439
But the quiet determination
of people like Andrianirina

555
00:57:17,520 --> 00:57:20,719
mean that local attitudes
are beginning to change.

556
00:57:21,000 --> 00:57:23,519
(SPEAKING FRENCH)

557
00:57:43,720 --> 00:57:47,599
ATTENBOROUGH: Madagascar is one
of the poorest countries in the world.

558
00:57:47,680 --> 00:57:52,319
It's as much as most people can do
to earn a basic living from the land.

559
00:57:52,400 --> 00:57:55,799
And it may be the passion
and the involvement of local people

560
00:57:55,920 --> 00:58:01,279
that is key to preserving its unique
and increasingly fragile wild treasures.

561
00:58:09,440 --> 00:58:10,519
In the next episode,

562
00:58:10,600 --> 00:58:13,959
we travel into Madagascar's
most luxuriant landscape.

563
00:58:14,640 --> 00:58:17,239
Between the wild peaks
of the eastern mountains

564
00:58:17,320 --> 00:58:18,799
and the tropical shore,

565
00:58:18,880 --> 00:58:23,039
lies a magical world of rainforest
where nature has run riot.

566
00:58:23,600 --> 00:58:26,199
It's the jewel in Madagascar's crown.

567
00:58:26,320 --> 00:58:27,439
(LEMUR BARKING)