Original subtitles

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: In the heart of South-East Asia,

one of the fastest developing cities on Earth,

Singapore,

a thriving futuristic metropolis,

where the wild has adapted to an urban life.

But on the fringes of the city, there is still wilderness.

Rainforest.

An extraordinary variety of animals and plants live here

in this multi-layered habitat.

From the high leafy canopy

to the darkness of the forest floor...

..the jungle is teeming with unexpected life.

Where species have to battle if they are to survive.

These are the extraordinary locals that still live in the forest...

..of the Wild City.

Rainforests contain a greater variety of species

than any other habitat on land.

Here, there is an abundance of light, water and nutrients

that together create a lush, tropical world.

Even in the city's small forest reserves...

..the diversity is astonishing.

And here, surprisingly, lives

one of the least known primates in the world.

This is a Raffles' banded langur,

a large tree-dwelling monkey that is found

only in Malaysia and here in Singapore.

Elsewhere, the forest where they once lived has been destroyed.

Only a few hundred individuals survive.

And this forest in Singapore contains about 60 of them.

They're just over a metre tall,

the largest non-human primate in the city.

But very few people here even know of their existence.

Shy, secretive and elusive,

they live in small family groups, high in the treetops.

This troop of nine is one of the largest.

The boss of the group, the alpha male, has been busy.

He's fathered four youngsters in the last few years.

The baby of the family is just over 12 months old.

Dad is a hands-off parent.

Mum cares for the baby.

And at this age, the youngster still has a lot to learn

about life in the canopy.

The largest rainforest trees in Singapore

stand over 40 metres tall.

These giants tower above the rest of the vegetation.

Their canopy is the sunniest place in the jungle.

Below, life is not as bright.

Only around 10% of the sun's rays filter down to the understorey.

And on the forest floor, it's even darker.

Each of the residents has its own particular niche

within this multi-layered world.

And halfway up a tree trunk is home for a little lizard.

A black-bearded draco.

Marvellously camouflaged.

It seldom, if ever, descends to the ground.

And why should he?

Up here, he has everything he needs.

Lunch comes to him like a well-oiled sushi train.

He has a specialised sticky tongue

with which he collects what he fancies.

The buffet almost never runs out.

Missed one. Not to worry.

Plenty more where that came from.

In just a few minutes, he gulps down over 20 ants.

Life on the trunk is pretty good.

But living in the understorey by yourself

can be lonely.

It's time for him to find a mate.

But he's marvellously disguised as a piece of bark.

How will a possible partner even see him?

Well, he has a flag.

A throat flap that he can display when he wants to.

It warns off other males...

..and attracts the females.

This one gets the message.

(ROMANTIC MUSIC)

Things progress fast.

She's already moved in.

But there's a problem.

(TENSE MUSIC)

The male's signals

have caught the attention of an Oriental whip snake.

It, too, is a master of camouflage and a very skilled hunter.

Its elongated eyes set far forward on its head

give it excellent vision.

And a pencil-sized lizard would make an excellent meal.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

He forgets about the female.

It's every lizard for himself.

So, he takes to the air.

He unfolds skinny wings, one on each flank,

that enable him to glide over 10 metres in a single jump.

Now safe on another tree, it's time to return to invisibility.

Singapore's forest reserves are small.

The largest of them is just over 2,000 hectares.

But between them, they contain

20,000 species of land-living animals and plants.

And deep in the jungle, new species are still being discovered.

With darkness, an extraordinary rarity appears.

A tiny greater mouse-deer.

This pint-sized little creature was thought to have become extinct here

over 80 years ago,

but just recently it's been rediscovered

on one of the country's offshore islands.

Standing at just over 30cm tall,

mouse-deer are one of the smallest of all hooved animals.

They feed mostly on fruit that has fallen from above.

They are solitary little creatures

and they are, understandably, very nervous,

for they have no defence except invisibility.

Tiptoeing about on tiny hooves,

they move through the undergrowth without making a sound.

It's safer to hide and then sit down for a meal.

With a chambered stomach like a cow's,

the mouse-deer has to chew and re-chew every mouthful.

The rediscovery of a species like this in such a small country

is truly remarkable.

And who knows what other secrets the forest may still contain?

In the central forests of Singapore...

..life in the treetops can be idyllic.

There's plenty of food to go around.

But it still takes skill to survive in the upper canopy.

Youngsters in the langur troop must learn to climb

from an early age.

(LIGHT MUSIC)

Playing helps to improve climbing coordination.

The baby of the family is not quite ready to join in

with his boisterous siblings.

But gaining confidence in moving around in the treetops is crucial.

Unlike other kinds of langurs,

these hardly ever descend to the ground

and they may have to travel far through the branches

to find enough to eat.

This morning, one of the forest's special treats has caught their eye.

Around the size of a pineapple,

the chempedak is one of the largest fruits in the forest.

Worth making an effort for.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

With light, slender bodies, and long, flexible limbs,

langurs can easily cross breaks in the canopy.

But this youngster is too small to make such giant leaps.

Mum will have to carry him.

A baby on board is extra weight,

so jumps have to be very carefully judged.

With everyone safely across, the whole troop can start to feed.

The fruit might not be fully ripe, but they don't seem to mind.

Their large pot bellies contain specialised gut bacteria

that help them digest their meal.

And that allows them to feed on a great variety

of leaves and fruit.

But while the family tuck in,

it soon becomes apparent that they have company.

The greater racket-tailed drongo.

Both male and female have long, stylish tail feathers.

This juvenile is still growing his first pair.

He's already left the nest and mum is now

teaching him how to find food.

Lesson one - how to take advantage of your furry neighbours.

Drongos feed mainly on insects.

But spotting them can be tricky.

It's easier to let others do the work.

Langurs travelling through the canopy cause quite a stir.

It unsettles many of the smaller residents.

One for mum.

And one for the fledgling.

The langurs and the drongos live peacefully side by side.

But life here is not always so amicable.

The forest is home to thousands of tiny creatures

that are often overlooked.

Many are strange and mysterious.

This is a bagworm,

a caterpillar that has assembled its own camouflage.

A pile of twigs...

..or sometimes a more mossy look.

Nearby, a pair of shield bugs.

This end-to-end mating has gone on for hours.

Finally finished,

the female will now lay around a hundred eggs.

But life in the undergrowth

can come to an end in the blink of an eye.

This chrysalis doesn't stand a chance against

one of the most efficient animals in the world.

Ants.

In Singapore, there are at least 200 species of them,

each playing its own particular part in the ecosystem.

And one of the most aggressive and largest is the weaver ant.

These tree dwellers are also some of the forest's best engineers.

Weaver ants use living leaves to build their nests.

Teamwork is essential to get the job done.

Together, they design and shape a home.

Special pads on their feet allow the workers to hang upside down.

No safety ropes needed here.

Once the leaves have been shaped into a pod,

it's time to bring in the glue guns.

Their own larvae are gently squeezed to make them produce a sticky silk.

With that, they weave a fabric that

holds the leaves together in the correct position.

As the colony expands, the workers keep on building.

Nests can grow as big as a football.

The queen hides away inside the best one.

Her job is to pump out eggs...

..while her team of engineers bring her food.

They make it look easy.

But this heavy labour is thirsty work.

Luckily, they have their very own juice bar.

They keep herds of tiny aphids next to their nests.

With a bit of gentle stroking, these docile insects

excrete sweet drops of honeydew.

A sugary, high-energy boost.

Just what a worker needs.

It's nearly time to get back to the construction site.

As another day ends in Singapore, the nocturnal creatures emerge.

And the city transforms

into a very different landscape of light and colour.

But deep in the forest, nature puts on her own nightly show.

A specialised UV light reveals fungi and animals

that can glow in the dark.

A long-tailed scorpion.

The species belongs to one of the most ancient family groups

alive today.

They have inhabited the planet for over 450 million years.

Scorpions are almost indestructible.

They're armoured by a thick exoskeleton.

They have powerful claws and a sting.

This species is an ambush hunter.

It waits patiently for a meal to come by.

A single cricket like this will last it for months.

And scorpions are not fussy eaters.

They don't hesitate to eat each other, given the chance.

It's a brutal end,

but scorpions haven't survived as long as they have by being picky.

As the sun rises in Singapore, the day quickly begins to heat up.

The cold-blooded creatures of the forest need this warmth

if they are to get moving.

This may look like a paradise,

but sometimes it's far from idyllic.

A rainforest is one of the most competitive ecosystems on Earth.

Its inhabitants have to battle unceasingly if they are to survive.

They struggle to reach the light...

..and race to mate.

The elegant bronzeback,

a tree-dwelling snake found across South-East Asia.

Both sexes are usually solitary...

..but today, something is in the air.

Pheromones released by this female signal that she's ready to mate.

Three suitors line up.

All hope to win her.

But it's she who will call the shots.

If they want a chance, they must fight for it.

By playing hard to get, she aims to find

the strongest and most determined male.

Snakes have at least 16 times more individual muscles

than the average human.

And they use this strength to squeeze and heave each other out of the way.

This mating battle goes on for hours.

Until, finally, one of the males

manages to get into the right position.

A gentle chin stroke - a snake's way to charm.

She appears to be won over.

Now he needs to align his reproductive organs with hers.

It's not easy when two other males are still trying to join in.

But everything seems to be lining up.

This is believed to be the first time

the mating behaviour of the elegant bronzeback

has ever been documented.

And it was recorded right here in the forests of Singapore.

The jungle may be a refuge for wild creatures,

but the urban world is never far away.

Some of the locals have adapted to take advantage of this.

A building on the edge of the forest,

the perfect roost for a colony of fruit bats.

Daytime is rest time for these nocturnal mammals.

But not everyone is ready for sleep.

A hungry youngster keeps mum awake.

He's just over a month old

and totally dependent on her for milk.

But being a bat mother is no easy task.

Babies are like limpets. He's constantly by her side.

Even during a bath, the pup stays close.

It's a bit of a squeeze, but she manages to wash around him.

And keeping her wings in tiptop condition is very important.

Tonight, she will once again fly off to look for dinner.

But, for now, with baby fed and bathed,

she can get some much-needed rest.

Bats are one of the few animals in the world that sleep upside down.

Specialised tendons in the feet make hanging easy.

And the design of this roof suits them perfectly.

High, safe and sheltered from the midday heat.

During the hottest part of the day, temperatures in the forest

can reach 34 degrees.

The residents do their best to keep cool.

A spotted wood owl flutters its throat.

It's a way of panting to cool off.

Others just stretch out and snooze.

While the rest of the langur family relax,

the alpha male keeps guard.

Males leave their troop when they're around four years of age

and try to collect a harem of females.

But an alpha's leadership is never really secure.

There is always the danger of new males

trying to take over his females.

And two young bachelors have just arrived.

The females and youngsters scatter.

This is a dangerous situation.

The invaders could be looking for a fight.

Their leader must drive them out.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

It's chaos in the treetops.

A final push and the intruders disappear.

The alpha male has secured his family's territory.

But in the panic, the youngest member of the troop

has become separated.

Lost and alone in the forest, he's vulnerable.

(THUNDER RUMBLES IN THE DISTANCE)

And a storm is on the way.

The youngest member of the langur troop

is still in trouble.

(THUNDER RUMBLES IN THE DISTANCE)

A storm is brewing.

Singapore's jungle depends on one vital element.

Rain.

Water is the lifeblood of the forest.

Over 800 million litres can splash down in just a few hours.

(TENSE MUSIC)

The residents do their best to take shelter.

But some have to sit it out.

Scared and alone, the baby of the family does his best

to keep dry.

Finally, the deluge is over.

And the langur family are on the move.

Hearing the desperate calls of the missing youngster,

they come to collect him.

Reunited with mum, he's lucky to have been found in time.

At this age, he still relies on his family members

to lead the way to food.

But this time spent away from the troop is his first step

towards independence.

(WONDROUS MUSIC)

Across the island of Singapore, it's fruiting season.

Huge ripe durians fall to the ground

while, above, other plants add a splash of colour to the green.

It's a feast for many of the residents.

And the plantain squirrel will go to great lengths to be first in line.

Weighing around 200 grams,

these pint-sized acrobats can jump over three metres.

A death-defying performance, all for the sake of a piece of fruit.

But sometimes, it takes more than a high-flying stunt

to reach the best of the fruits.

The chempedak is finally ripe.

Inside, there's a sweet custard-like treat.

But first, you have to get through the thick, spiky skin.

A different kind of gymnastics is required for this job.

An upside-down balancing act.

At last, all her persistence pays off.

Ripe chempedak is one of the most delicious fruits in the forest.

And she's not the only one who wants a piece...

..or indeed the whole thing.

And while she may have done all the hard work,

that doesn't mean that those below can't also get a share.

A juvenile lesser mouse-deer.

It's very rare to see one out and about during the day.

Just like the other species of mouse-deer,

they prefer to forage under the cover of darkness.

We don't know how many lesser mouse-deers survive in Singapore.

The species used to be found right across the country.

Now they live only in the Central Forest Reserve...

..the same jungle home as the Raffles' banded langur.

These days, the troop have been more elusive than usual.

And the reason why is soon revealed.

After five months of pregnancy, one of the females has given birth.

At just a few weeks old, baby is totally reliant on mum.

And she keeps a constant guiding hand on him

as he begins to learn how to get about in the canopy.

Nearby, his older brother has now graduated

from being the baby of the troop.

Another step towards his eventual independence.

The first few months of the newborn's life

are when he is most vulnerable.

But mum will do everything she can to protect him.

She'll carry him in her arms until he's big enough

to start exploring their treetop world for himself.

The forests in Singapore are a haven for thousands of residents.

Multi-storeyed, interconnected layers of life.

Communities within a city that are precious

and worth preserving.

A surprising, wild, tropical world.

These are the forest locals that make Singapore

the Wild City.

Captions by Red Bee Media

Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation