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00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:37,520
The very centre of Africa.


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And the centre of two million square
miles of dense tropical rain forest.


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At first glance it seems deserted
and eerily still,


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not an easy place to live.


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MONKEY CHATTERS


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But in fact, there is a greater
concentration of animals here


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than anywhere else in Africa.


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And in this world,
they must grab every opportunity.


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Competition is intense
and unrelenting.


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TREE CREAKS


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Even the forest itself
fights its corner with spines


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and poisonous sap.


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Here, every living thing must
fight for its space.


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Such beauty.


15
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But the flower is self-serving,


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enticing animals
into an unwitting alliance.


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Stingless bees.


18
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They have to work hard.


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The forest flowers make them do so
by rationing their nectar,


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forcing each bee to visit
and so pollinate


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at least a thousand blooms each day.


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For the bees, it's worth the effort.


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They need the nectar to make honey,
which they store in pots.


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It's so precious, they keep it
hidden beneath the bark of a tree.


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But their secret is out.


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MONKEY HOWLS


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Nothing is safe in this forest.


28
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Chimpanzees love honey.


29
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She seems oblivious to danger.


30
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A fall from up here could be fatal.


31
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But she does need a bigger stick.


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Only a chimp has the ability to
break into a stingless bees'


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nest as well hidden as this.


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Chimps are extremely intelligent,


35
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but none is born with
the skill to use a tool.


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Youngsters like this one
must learn by watching.


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She uses special tools,
one after another,


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to get all the honey she can,


39
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and in a few minutes, she destroys
what took the bees years to build.


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In the rainforest, nothing is safe.


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MONKEY HOWLS


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Here in the Congo,


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there can be as many as 500 trees
crammed into every acre.


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In the battle for space,


45
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some will rise to over 60 metres
high in just a few decades.


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In a valley like this,


47
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there could be close on 1,000
different species of tree.


48
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Up here, the crowns barely touch.


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Each tree seems to
respect its neighbour's space.


50
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When they germinate down on
the forest floor, young trees


51
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and plants are less restrained.


52
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But every new generation
fights it out,


53
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in battles we can
see by accelerating time.


54
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They must get light if they are to
survive and they squeeze,


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crush and even slash one
another in order to reach it.


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Despite the thick canopy above,
some sunlight does filter through


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and allows a few low-light
specialists


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to bloom near the forest floor.


59
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Down here there are animals, too,
that seek out the sunlight.


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The forest's largest predator.


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A female rock python.


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Her body is five metres long, weighs
100 kilos and has 4,000 muscles


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that she uses to crush the life
out of her victims.


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But right now, her need is
not for food. It's for warmth.


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She finds a rare patch where a shaft
of sunlight strikes the ground


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and she begins to bask.


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She's cold-blooded,


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so this is the only way she can
raise the temperature of her body.


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But now she's becoming very
warm indeed,


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more than ten degrees hotter
than usual.


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At 40 degrees centigrade,
she's in danger of killing herself.


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Just in time, she moves off.


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She disappears below ground.


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This is her nest
and it's full of giant eggs.


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It's critical for the eggs
development


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that they stay above 30 degrees.


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Here in this special filming burrow,
she gently wraps her super-heated


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body around the eggs, passing
onto them the warmth of the sun.


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She has done this every
day for three months.


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The repeated heat stress on her body
is so great it could be lethal,


81
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and at the very least, it will take
three years for her to


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recover from incubating this one
clutch of eggs.


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Her parchment-shelled eggs carry
the pressed imprint of her scales -


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an indication of the strength
of her embrace.


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At last, her efforts are rewarded.


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But the babies can't stay here.
They must leave their sanctuary


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and find food in the tangled
world above.


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They're over 60 centimetres long,
already big enough to be


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a threat to the smaller
inhabitants of the forest.


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But they are themselves vulnerable.


91
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Particularly to other snakes.


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But this one is their mother.


93
00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:08,160
Unusually for snakes,


94
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her maternal instincts continue
for days after her eggs hatch.


95
00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:27,880
Even so, the forest is such
a dangerous place that only


96
00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:31,800
one in 100 of her youngsters
is likely to reach adulthood.


97
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Just occasionally,,
the competition eases.


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A tree suddenly produces fruit.


99
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It's a magnet for the creatures
of the canopy, and they, in turn,


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as they feed, create a bonanza
for those on the ground below.


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CHIMP SNORTS


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A mob of red river hogs.


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00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:25,040
HOGS SNORT AND SNIFF


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00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:30,560
They have travelled over two miles
through the thick undergrowth


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to get to this fall of fruit.


106
00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:36,720
But in the African forest,
little comes for free.


107
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This feast is a bribe.


108
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The hogs will carry
the seeds in their stomachs


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and deposit them
far from the parent tree.


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Night falls.


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00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:14,320
But one living community,
which is neither animal nor plant


112
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continues its never ending
work in the darkness.


113
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This ground is alive with fungi that
digest all the litter


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discarded by the forest.


115
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Some rare fungi do so with enzymes
that are luminous.


116
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The local people call them
"chimpanzee fire."


117
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Without the fungi, the dead
vegetation would pile so high


118
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the living trees would be submerged.


119
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Dawn, and a new day reveals just
how much control the jungle


120
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has over its own environment.


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The forests of the Congo
are the lungs of Africa.


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00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:41,160
As they use the sunlight to
build their tissues,


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so they release oxygen
and water vapour into the air.


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Each hectare of forest produces,
as vapour,


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almost 190,000 litres
of water a year.


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So much that it
creates its own weather.


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Clouds blanket the forest, driving
up the humidity and temperature.


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A storm is brewing.


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00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:21,680
The Congo might be
the richest part of Africa,


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but it's also the most violent.


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00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:40,400
ROARING THUNDER


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BOOMING THUNDERCLAP


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Each year, as many as 100 million
lightning bolts


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strike the forest.


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That's more than anywhere
else in the world.


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00:17:58,320 --> 00:17:59,560
BOOMING THUNDERCLAP


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And with the lightning
comes the rain.


138
00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:20,080
Up to 95% of the rain that
falls here


139
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is generated by the forest itself.


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00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:33,160
ROLLING THUNDER


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With the deluge will come change to
the animals and to the forest.


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It's certainly perfect
weather for frogs.


143
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The big storm is the cue for
the most important climb


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of this frog's life.


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00:19:02,120 --> 00:19:04,440
It's a male in search of a mate.


146
00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:12,800
But if he is to find one,
he has to get to the top.


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00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:49,280
He needs to keep his wits about him,


148
00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:51,880
for the rain also brings out
hunters.


149
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Easy does it.


150
00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:18,960
The top, at last.


151
00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:22,840
But he's late to the party.


152
00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:28,000
FROGS CHIRP


153
00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:38,120
The higher a male sits,
the further his voice will carry,


154
00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:40,840
so the top slots are worth
fighting for.


155
00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:20,240
And he's won.


156
00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:21,920
He has the top place.


157
00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:27,360
So now it's time to sing.


158
00:21:27,360 --> 00:21:28,400
FROG CHIRPS


159
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:36,800
FROG CHIRPS


160
00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:40,400
And a white-bellied
female responds.


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They join together to mate.


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The loser will have to wait for the
next storm before he sings again.


163
00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:13,080
She lays her eggs on a blade
of a long leaf.


164
00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,080
And he, using his back legs,
folds it over


165
00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:20,160
and glues its two edges together,
shutting the eggs inside.


166
00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:36,120
This sealed nest is the safest place
these leaf-folding frogs


167
00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:39,040
can find to protect their precious
brood.


168
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Within days, the eggs are
developing.


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00:22:56,360 --> 00:22:58,280
The timing is perfect.


170
00:23:08,120 --> 00:23:11,720
The rain washes away the glue
and the tadpoles slip


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00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:14,680
out of the leaves into the growing
puddles below.


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00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:33,920
The rainy season reaches its peak
and the ground has been transformed.


173
00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:49,400
The forest is flooded.


174
00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:50,960
It's a new world.


175
00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,720
Fish swim in from
the swollen streams,


176
00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:04,360
exploiting this newly created space,
snapping up the drowning insects.


177
00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:12,320
This is a butterfly fish.


178
00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:20,200
A Congo bichir.


179
00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:28,600
The hunter becomes the hunted.


180
00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:49,520
The butterfly fish is too quick
and leaps out of danger.


181
00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:25,920
The floods gradually drain
back into the established waterways


182
00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:28,840
that run through
the forest like blood vessels.


183
00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:35,840
There is so much water flowing
through the forest that even


184
00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:40,080
little rivulets can carve out
the soil around an ancient boulder.


185
00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:59,600
This is the home of one forest
creature that has lived


186
00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:03,760
here in the Congo
for 44 million years.


187
00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:08,280
Picathartes.


188
00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:19,400
These birds mate for life,


189
00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:23,440
and the male reaffirms the bond
by displaying to the female.


190
00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:29,720
They're building a mud nest
on the underside of the boulder's


191
00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:32,600
overhang, where it'll be
protected from the rain.


192
00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:37,120
The female takes the lead.


193
00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:11,920
The male doesn't seem quite
so skilful.


194
00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:16,840
Oh, dear.


195
00:27:18,360 --> 00:27:20,840
Luckily, she can put things right.


196
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,560
Now she's collecting
the soft furnishings.


197
00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:35,680
He's brought some, too,
but he still can't get it right.


198
00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:47,480
In the end, the female seems
satisfied with the finish -


199
00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:48,920
and just in time.


200
00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:56,520
THUNDER


201
00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:09,000
It might look as if he
has been banished into the rain,


202
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,520
but in fact, they're a great team.


203
00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:16,240
They share the incubation,


204
00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:20,320
12 hours on, 12 hours off,
for the next three weeks.


205
00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,360
In due course,
there are mouths to feed,


206
00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:32,960
and now the male must
prove his worth.


207
00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:50,360
Worms are a good start,
and he's doing well.


208
00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:54,400
But the chicks are insatiable.


209
00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:05,480
Fortunately, other things
are on the menu.


210
00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:24,680
He might be a poor nest-builder.


211
00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:27,000
But he is redeeming himself now.


212
00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:32,000
Domestic bliss!


213
00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:39,080
Rocky overhangs are the only place
where Picathartes


214
00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:40,720
will build their nest,


215
00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:44,200
so they owe their home
to the stream that revealed


216
00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:46,040
the flank of the giant boulder.


217
00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:55,200
This stream
and countless others like it


218
00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:58,920
merge to form the great
rivers of Central Africa.


219
00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:15,160
More than 450 billion
litres of rainwater,


220
00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:18,840
travelling down thousands of rivers,
are heading west.


221
00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:26,680
The waters pick up speed
as the rivers spill over the edge


222
00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:31,440
of the central plateau and create
giant cascades of white water.


223
00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:02,720
The Kongou forces its way through
the wildest, most untouched


224
00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:05,400
forest in the whole of Africa.


225
00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:53,120
The Congo river system drains
an area the size of India,


226
00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:56,200
carrying the waters westwards
towards the Atlantic.


227
00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:01,760
But before it reaches the coast,
the rivers broaden,


228
00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:03,280
forcing back the forest.


229
00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:11,280
And here for the first time,
there is space.


230
00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:15,560
Wide, flat and safe.


231
00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:22,040
These stretches of sand attract
visitors from the coast.


232
00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:27,600
Skimmers searching for somewhere
safe to settle.


233
00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:44,080
The lower mandible of their beaks
is greatly elongated.


234
00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:49,400
They slice it through the surface
of the water at ten metres a second.


235
00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:56,160
If and when it hits a tiny fish,
it'll snap shut.


236
00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:07,400
But why come up river to these
open sand flats?


237
00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:15,280
This is the answer.


238
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:16,320
BABY BIRD CHIRPS


239
00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:29,760
But this nursery will not exist
for long.


240
00:33:29,760 --> 00:33:33,160
Four weeks from now, it'll be
under ten metres of water.


241
00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:38,840
If by then these chicks can't fly,
they will drown.


242
00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:47,120
The problem for young skimmers
is that when they hatch,


243
00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:50,440
the lower part of their beaks
is the same size as the upper.


244
00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:55,080
While they wait for it to grow,


245
00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:58,240
they do their best to learn
the skimming technique.


246
00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:51,560
THUNDER


247
00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:08,720
Open spaces may be safe,


248
00:35:08,720 --> 00:35:11,880
but they give no protection
against the driving rain.


249
00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:31,800
These storms are a warning that
the skimmers must soon leave.


250
00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:36,000
The river is already rising.


251
00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:52,840
This year the chicks get
away in time.


252
00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:17,280
It's not just water that has
the power to clear a way


253
00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:18,600
through the forest.


254
00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:23,560
There are animals that
could do that too.


255
00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:30,200
They have created a network
of pathways that criss-cross


256
00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:33,120
the lowland forest and run
for thousands of miles


257
00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:34,320
in all directions.


258
00:36:37,240 --> 00:36:39,080
CACOPHONY OF ANIMAL SOUNDS


259
00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:01,880
These path-makers are surprisingly
stealthy.


260
00:37:03,640 --> 00:37:09,360
But as night falls, there's a chance
of catching a glimpse of them.


261
00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:10,400
ROAR


262
00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:21,200
ELEPHANT TRUMPETS


263
00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:23,920
ELEPHANT ROARS


264
00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:30,360
Forest elephants are very
social creatures,


265
00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:34,400
but in dense jungle it's
hard for them to find one another.


266
00:37:41,480 --> 00:37:43,080
These elephants are lucky.


267
00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:49,640
Here in the Congo, there is one
special place


268
00:37:49,640 --> 00:37:51,480
where they can meet and mingle.


269
00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:58,320
A place that the elephants
have created for themselves.


270
00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:03,720
And this is it.


271
00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:12,160
ROARING


272
00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:23,960
Dzanga-Bai, the legendary
"village of elephants".


273
00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:27,280
BABY ELEPHANT TRUMPETS


274
00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:32,440
ELEPHANTS ROAR AND TRUMPET


275
00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:44,560
As well as being a place where they
can enjoy one another's company,


276
00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:49,800
this great clearing satisfies
another craving...


277
00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:51,280
for salts.


278
00:38:57,480 --> 00:38:59,680
ELEPHANTS TRUMPET


279
00:39:00,920 --> 00:39:03,440
The salts lie deep under the mud,


280
00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:06,320
so the elephants have got to mine
for them,


281
00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:10,240
which they do with high pressure
water jets from their trunks.


282
00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:31,920
The precious salts


283
00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:36,560
and the chance to socialise bring
in elephants from far and wide.


284
00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:46,000
If an elephant is in the mood to
mate, this is the place to be.


285
00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:47,640
ELEPHANT TRUMPETS


286
00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:52,320
This young bull is in a state
of musth, a kind of sexual fury.


287
00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:53,440
ELEPHANT TRUMPETS


288
00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:14,960
He is so pumped up by hormones
and the excitements of the crowd


289
00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:17,600
that he seems to have taken leave
of his senses.


290
00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:40,320
ELEPHANT TRUMPETS


291
00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:44,920
But will throwing his weight about
impress the females?


292
00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:46,880
ELEPHANT TRUMPETS


293
00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:51,480
The cows only become fertile
once every two years.


294
00:40:51,480 --> 00:40:55,840
So opportunities to encounter one
at the right time are not common.


295
00:40:55,840 --> 00:41:00,520
This could well be the first chance
this young male has had.


296
00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:04,440
He's lucky.


297
00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:08,440
And there are no older bulls around
to put him in his place.


298
00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:23,440
Just for a moment,
he is king of the bai.


299
00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:34,520
ELEPHANT TRUMPETS


300
00:41:53,320 --> 00:41:56,120
But his rule doesn't last for long.


301
00:41:57,360 --> 00:41:59,800
Enter another lusty bull.


302
00:42:02,720 --> 00:42:04,160
And a much bigger one.


303
00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:17,720
But the young bull is still
charged up with testosterone.


304
00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:21,840
Bold or foolish,
he's going into battle.


305
00:43:18,480 --> 00:43:20,880
He never really had a chance.


306
00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:39,400
Dzanga-bai is a huge clearing,


307
00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:44,240
but it's still just a speck in this
vast expanse of green.


308
00:43:46,880 --> 00:43:50,360
Elephants might fell trees
and carve pathways,


309
00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:54,800
but nothing natural can hold back
this forest for ever.


310
00:43:57,200 --> 00:44:00,040
Nothing but the Atlantic Ocean.


311
00:44:18,920 --> 00:44:22,600
Loango Beach,
on Africa's west coast -


312
00:44:22,600 --> 00:44:25,040
one of the last truly wild places


313
00:44:25,040 --> 00:44:28,000
where the Congo jungle
meets the sea.


314
00:44:39,800 --> 00:44:46,360
Here, the forest gives way to sand,
surf and fresh sea air.


315
00:44:46,360 --> 00:44:53,200
The cool breezes and warm sunlight


316
00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:56,840
entice creatures out
of the dark forest.


317
00:44:56,840 --> 00:44:58,120
LOWING


318
00:44:58,120 --> 00:45:00,800
Forest buffalo appear first.


319
00:45:19,720 --> 00:45:22,440
And here in the surf...


320
00:45:22,440 --> 00:45:23,720
there are hippo.


321
00:45:32,720 --> 00:45:37,760
Spray blows in from the sea,
making the grass salty.


322
00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:55,520
So here elephants can get
their tasty salt


323
00:45:55,520 --> 00:45:57,280
without having to dig for it.


324
00:46:00,360 --> 00:46:04,720
This mother with her tiny baby
can feel the sun on her back.


325
00:46:04,720 --> 00:46:07,520
Here, it's safe for her little one.


326
00:46:08,840 --> 00:46:11,880
They're free to eat in peace.


327
00:46:13,840 --> 00:46:16,760
The bulls have all the room
they need.


328
00:46:16,760 --> 00:46:18,800
So there is less risk of a fight.


329
00:46:32,520 --> 00:46:36,160
Everyone,
from gorillas to forest hogs,


330
00:46:36,160 --> 00:46:39,720
ventures out to relax on the beach.


331
00:46:39,720 --> 00:46:41,160
BOAR GRUNT


332
00:47:15,720 --> 00:47:18,920
But the forest creatures
can't stay out here forever.


333
00:47:23,440 --> 00:47:25,160
Despite everything -


334
00:47:25,160 --> 00:47:29,200
the intense competition,
the threats, the darkness -


335
00:47:29,200 --> 00:47:35,200
they need their forest, just as
their forest needs them.


336
00:47:37,360 --> 00:47:38,640
ELEPHANT TRUMPETS


337
00:48:03,720 --> 00:48:05,400
The Congo rainforest.


338
00:48:05,400 --> 00:48:08,400
A four-day journey
to the heart of Africa.


339
00:48:11,360 --> 00:48:14,240
Once the plane leaves,
you're on your own.


340
00:48:16,560 --> 00:48:20,680
This expedition planned to film two
of the Congo's best-kept secrets.


341
00:48:20,680 --> 00:48:22,600
But to even find them,


342
00:48:22,600 --> 00:48:26,120
the crew would have to work
very hard indeed.


343
00:48:26,120 --> 00:48:28,120
You might as well be on a
different planet


344
00:48:28,120 --> 00:48:30,760
coming to a place like this,
Planet Congo.


345
00:48:34,520 --> 00:48:36,760
Mysterious...


346
00:48:37,760 --> 00:48:39,600
..difficult...


347
00:48:39,600 --> 00:48:41,640
complex...


348
00:48:41,640 --> 00:48:43,440
challenging.


349
00:48:45,160 --> 00:48:48,520
'You know, everything's
trying to bite you.'


350
00:48:49,640 --> 00:48:50,920
Suck your blood.


351
00:48:53,560 --> 00:48:57,600
It's like being tickled by a million
feathers at the same time.


352
00:48:57,600 --> 00:48:59,360
HE LAUGHS


353
00:48:59,360 --> 00:49:00,800
HE SIGHS


354
00:49:06,800 --> 00:49:10,720
The insects might be torture, but
that's the least of their worries.


355
00:49:13,480 --> 00:49:17,720
The only way to get deep into the
jungle is to follow these trails.


356
00:49:18,840 --> 00:49:22,080
Trails made by dangerous
forest elephants.


357
00:49:23,360 --> 00:49:27,120
'Well, the first thing you need to
know about the forest elephant is,


358
00:49:27,120 --> 00:49:29,760
'you don't want to meet one.'


359
00:49:29,760 --> 00:49:32,400
Cos running away
can elicit a charge,


360
00:49:32,400 --> 00:49:35,440
'and it could be exactly
the wrong thing to do.'


361
00:49:36,440 --> 00:49:40,240
Our team are completely dependent
on their Bayaka guides for safety.


362
00:49:44,200 --> 00:49:46,560
WHISPERS:


363
00:49:50,560 --> 00:49:54,400
But it's these same forest elephants
that James has come to film.


364
00:49:54,400 --> 00:49:56,480
And just to make the challenge
harder,


365
00:49:56,480 --> 00:49:59,000
he's here to film them in the dark.


366
00:50:01,560 --> 00:50:04,320
Nobody knows exactly what
they get up to at night -


367
00:50:04,320 --> 00:50:07,120
they haven't been filmed
like this before.


368
00:50:10,880 --> 00:50:13,920
I couldn't rig this place
if the Bayaka weren't here.


369
00:50:13,920 --> 00:50:16,440
Watching my back, really.


370
00:50:16,440 --> 00:50:19,160
James needs to operate
the remote cameras


371
00:50:19,160 --> 00:50:21,320
from somewhere
out of the elephants' reach.


372
00:50:27,400 --> 00:50:30,400
A tree platform
seems like the best option.


373
00:50:35,560 --> 00:50:38,360
Apparently, they have very big
elephants round here.


374
00:50:38,360 --> 00:50:41,120
They want us to put it
a bit higher, so...


375
00:50:41,120 --> 00:50:42,800
I think I'll do what they say.


376
00:50:44,160 --> 00:50:46,720
But no-one wants to stay out
at night


377
00:50:46,720 --> 00:50:48,560
and help James with the filming.


378
00:50:58,440 --> 00:51:01,360
So James will be alone
until morning.


379
00:51:01,360 --> 00:51:04,040
If anything goes wrong,
he's on his own.


380
00:51:04,040 --> 00:51:06,840
If they really wanted to,
they could push these trees over.


381
00:51:06,840 --> 00:51:09,400
I can't imagine that's going to be
an issue.


382
00:51:11,680 --> 00:51:13,840
As James settled down for the night,


383
00:51:13,840 --> 00:51:17,440
he's got no idea of the trouble
that's coming his way.


384
00:51:26,600 --> 00:51:27,800
What's going on?


385
00:51:27,800 --> 00:51:32,040
20 miles away, Mark MacEwen is also
up in the middle of the night.


386
00:51:32,040 --> 00:51:36,360
The animal he's after
is proving impossible to find.


387
00:51:36,360 --> 00:51:37,400
Ah...


388
00:51:38,920 --> 00:51:43,240
So we get up in the darkness and we
walk through the jungle at night,


389
00:51:43,240 --> 00:51:46,320
hoping to hear the sound
of cracking branches


390
00:51:46,320 --> 00:51:49,200
or leaves moving up in the trees.


391
00:51:49,200 --> 00:51:52,600
That means chimpanzees
are stirring in the treetops,


392
00:51:52,600 --> 00:51:55,600
and Mark is here to film chimps
hunting for honey.


393
00:51:57,680 --> 00:52:00,400
There's one chimp in particular
he needs to find -


394
00:52:00,400 --> 00:52:03,000
a teenager with a very sweet tooth,


395
00:52:03,000 --> 00:52:06,760
known to go further in the pursuit
of a bees' nest than any other.


396
00:52:11,080 --> 00:52:15,240
I've spent six days walking,


397
00:52:15,240 --> 00:52:21,000
probably the equivalent of a half
marathon every day in 100% humidity,


398
00:52:21,000 --> 00:52:24,720
and about 95 degrees in the shade.


399
00:52:24,720 --> 00:52:27,560
And we just can't find our
chimpanzee.


400
00:52:30,560 --> 00:52:34,560
Time is ticking away, and Mark
is running out of filming days.


401
00:52:40,960 --> 00:52:43,000
At the moment,
I just need some good luck.


402
00:52:43,000 --> 00:52:45,520
We've come an awfully long way
to get this sequence.


403
00:52:45,520 --> 00:52:48,280
We've got probably 10, 12 days left.


404
00:52:50,000 --> 00:52:51,920
But it's hard work at the moment.


405
00:52:51,920 --> 00:52:56,600
All Mark can do is persevere,
and hope for a break.


406
00:53:02,200 --> 00:53:04,640
But not all the forest creatures
are so shy.


407
00:53:06,160 --> 00:53:09,560
Perched high in his tree,
James Aldred is waiting patiently


408
00:53:09,560 --> 00:53:11,080
for the elephants to come in.


409
00:53:13,960 --> 00:53:15,920
GROWLING


410
00:53:16,960 --> 00:53:19,600
At last, the elephants are here,


411
00:53:19,600 --> 00:53:21,640
but they're behaving strangely.


412
00:53:29,400 --> 00:53:32,920
(He knows something's
not quite right.)


413
00:53:32,920 --> 00:53:36,280
The elephants seem agitated.


414
00:53:43,640 --> 00:53:45,560
They just want to get rid of you.


415
00:53:47,000 --> 00:53:49,720
One begins to thump the tree
with its head.


416
00:53:49,720 --> 00:53:52,120
CRASHING


417
00:53:52,120 --> 00:53:54,680
James has no option
but to weather the attack.


418
00:53:57,720 --> 00:53:59,080
CRASHING


419
00:53:59,080 --> 00:54:01,240
"Let's lean forward
and keep head-butting,


420
00:54:01,240 --> 00:54:03,560
"keep head-butting,
keep head-butting."


421
00:54:06,400 --> 00:54:08,240
Suddenly, the cameras cut out.


422
00:54:10,200 --> 00:54:13,040
And James is left
in complete darkness.


423
00:54:16,800 --> 00:54:21,760
After three weeks searching, Mark
has lost nearly two stone in weight,


424
00:54:21,760 --> 00:54:24,520
but he hasn't given up.


425
00:54:24,520 --> 00:54:27,800
He can't afford to
put down his camera for a second.


426
00:54:29,480 --> 00:54:32,800
Suddenly, the guide
spots the honey hunter.


427
00:54:32,800 --> 00:54:34,440
This is it.


428
00:54:51,600 --> 00:54:52,960
(Where is she?)


429
00:54:52,960 --> 00:54:54,400
(She's inside the tree.)


430
00:54:59,920 --> 00:55:02,600
Just for some honey,
she's risking her life.


431
00:55:02,600 --> 00:55:03,800
It's amazing.


432
00:55:23,960 --> 00:55:25,880
'Well, I think I just
couldn't stop smiling'


433
00:55:25,880 --> 00:55:29,120
for several days after filming.
The relief was just unbelievable.


434
00:55:38,440 --> 00:55:42,920
Back at the camera platform,
James has had a long night.


435
00:55:44,520 --> 00:55:48,840
For over four hours, the elephant
tried to shake him out of the tree.


436
00:55:53,040 --> 00:55:56,000
Got down this morning
when the Bayaka came to collect me,


437
00:55:56,000 --> 00:55:59,120
went to look at the camera, and
he'd pulled it out of the tree,


438
00:55:59,120 --> 00:56:01,080
and he'd chewed
through the power cable.


439
00:56:02,240 --> 00:56:06,080
He must have gotten a bit of a
shock, I mean only 12 volts, but...


440
00:56:06,080 --> 00:56:09,000
Serves him right, quite honestly.
HE LAUGHS


441
00:56:09,000 --> 00:56:13,280
But at least we got a shot of him
before he trashed the camera.


442
00:56:13,280 --> 00:56:14,600
HE LAUGHS


443
00:56:14,600 --> 00:56:15,800
Silver lining.


444
00:56:17,280 --> 00:56:21,960
Despite this bumpy start, the
elephants soon got used to James,


445
00:56:21,960 --> 00:56:24,360
and James got used to the elephants.


446
00:56:24,360 --> 00:56:28,680
Filming here was never going
to be easy,


447
00:56:28,680 --> 00:56:32,440
but we were soon able to reveal
the night life of forest elephants


448
00:56:32,440 --> 00:56:34,240
like never before.


449
00:56:35,440 --> 00:56:37,960
GROWLING


450
00:56:51,920 --> 00:56:55,520
Next time, Africa's Great Cape.


451
00:56:58,360 --> 00:57:03,480
Where a land of mountains and
deserts is flanked by two coasts.


452
00:57:07,240 --> 00:57:13,240
Only in this part of Africa
do powerful oceanic forces combine


453
00:57:13,240 --> 00:57:15,520
in such a riotous explosion of life.


454
00:57:37,920 --> 00:57:40,960
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