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In this driest of continents
there's a vast green landscape
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00:00:38,604 --> 00:00:42,836
that stretches for thousands of kilometers
round Australia's edge.
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00:00:43,442 --> 00:00:47,902
This is the Australian bush -
its most characteristic landscape.
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00:00:52,518 --> 00:00:54,247
The first European settlers,
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00:00:54,453 --> 00:00:57,752
pushing through it 200 years ago,
didn't like the bush.
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00:00:58,190 --> 00:00:59,782
It was daunting and alien,
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00:01:00,159 --> 00:01:02,719
and so big you could get lost and die.
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00:01:04,964 --> 00:01:09,333
In these hot, endless forests,
the very trees seemed to droop - these,
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00:01:09,501 --> 00:01:12,061
they said, were 'forests in rags'.
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00:01:12,238 --> 00:01:14,502
And from one end of
the country to another,
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00:01:14,740 --> 00:01:17,174
they all looked strangely alike.
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00:01:21,180 --> 00:01:24,172
Because these thousands of kilometers
of green are dominated
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00:01:24,350 --> 00:01:29,253
by just one kind of tree -
the eucalypt, or gum tree.
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00:01:29,421 --> 00:01:33,949
And around these trees live Australia's
oddest and most charismatic animals.
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00:01:36,896 --> 00:01:41,094
The eucalypt has transformed itself
into 700 different species,
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00:01:41,367 --> 00:01:43,426
some growing monstrously tall.
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00:01:47,940 --> 00:01:51,740
Some thrive in the baking north,
some in the chilly south,
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00:01:52,044 --> 00:01:54,478
and some even grow in the snow.
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00:02:02,721 --> 00:02:04,245
Wherever they find a foothold,
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00:02:04,490 --> 00:02:07,789
gum trees attract a vast
assortment of wildlife.
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00:02:09,795 --> 00:02:13,390
Australia is the eucalypt's native home -
it was born here.
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00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:19,360
But how has this peculiar tree managed to
spread itself over the entire continent?
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00:02:19,905 --> 00:02:23,466
And why is it that
so much lives around it?
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00:02:30,983 --> 00:02:33,781
Fifty million years ago,
when the climate was wetter,
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00:02:34,286 --> 00:02:37,050
much of Australia was
covered in rainforest.
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00:02:39,758 --> 00:02:42,818
In this lush land eucalypts
barely existed.
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00:02:43,295 --> 00:02:48,358
But the continent was gradually drying out
and the eucalypts seized their chance.
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00:02:51,570 --> 00:02:56,906
Far better able to cope with the harsh new
conditions, they rushed out and thrived.
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00:03:01,180 --> 00:03:06,117
Now eucalypt bushland encircles
Australia in an almost unbroken line.
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00:03:12,558 --> 00:03:16,460
But in this vast land every gum-tree
landscape is different.
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00:03:22,301 --> 00:03:25,099
The tropical north is
Crocodile Dundee country,
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00:03:25,404 --> 00:03:27,599
where the year swings between
months of crackling
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00:03:27,773 --> 00:03:30,503
dryness and weeks of pouring rain.
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00:03:36,982 --> 00:03:39,280
It's a hot and sultry place.
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00:03:41,253 --> 00:03:43,653
But eucalypts thrive here.
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00:03:43,822 --> 00:03:47,155
And up in these trees live big
and watchful lizards.
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00:03:49,628 --> 00:03:53,428
A frilled lizard can spot its
prey from 3 metres up a tree.
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00:03:54,133 --> 00:03:57,762
All it has to do then is
jump down and catch it.
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00:04:07,646 --> 00:04:09,375
For their size and big teeth,
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00:04:09,681 --> 00:04:11,945
frilled lizards have moderate tastes.
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00:04:12,117 --> 00:04:14,551
They eat almost nothing but insects.
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A good feeding area like
this is worth hanging onto.
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00:04:24,129 --> 00:04:27,121
A frilled lizard won't tolerate
a rival in its territory.
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00:04:37,342 --> 00:04:39,776
Competing males hiss and lash their tails,
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00:04:39,978 --> 00:04:43,311
raising their frills to make themselves
look bigger than they really are.
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00:04:46,051 --> 00:04:48,246
But it's dangerous down
there on the ground.
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00:04:56,762 --> 00:04:59,526
Whistling kites eat frilled
lizards round here.
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00:05:09,408 --> 00:05:11,399
All that frill-waving
and hissing forgotten,
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00:05:11,577 --> 00:05:15,741
the lizards make a two-legged dash
back to the safety of their trees.
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00:05:23,889 --> 00:05:27,552
The eucalypt's rough bark helps them
get a grip as they climb.
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00:05:37,603 --> 00:05:38,968
Once safely back up there,
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00:05:39,238 --> 00:05:43,038
they make themselves look as small
and inconspicuous as possible.
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00:05:49,882 --> 00:05:53,283
And for 90 % of their lives,
this is where they stay,
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00:05:53,585 --> 00:05:57,043
using the gum trees as
lookout posts and bolt-holes.
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00:06:07,733 --> 00:06:09,462
In these tropical northern woodlands,
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00:06:09,635 --> 00:06:13,230
the temperature most days
can top 30 degrees Celsius.
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00:06:15,574 --> 00:06:18,737
But Australia is a land
of enormous contrasts.
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00:06:19,478 --> 00:06:23,744
Move from the far north to the far south,
at the same time of year,
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00:06:24,016 --> 00:06:27,417
and the change couldn't be more extreme.
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00:06:33,225 --> 00:06:37,127
Here it's mountainous,
and metres deep in snow.
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00:06:37,429 --> 00:06:38,828
Australia is so big,
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00:06:39,064 --> 00:06:42,761
it can have baking heat in one place
and winter in another.
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00:06:43,135 --> 00:06:45,729
And eucalypts can cope with both.
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00:06:47,506 --> 00:06:50,066
On the ancient mountains of
Australia's southern Alps
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00:06:50,242 --> 00:06:52,608
grow woodlands of snow gums.
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00:06:56,515 --> 00:06:59,382
They can tolerate temperatures
as low as minus 20,
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00:07:00,786 --> 00:07:04,187
twisted and dwarfed by
the wind and the cold.
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00:07:08,327 --> 00:07:13,788
And in these snowy uplands, among
these hardy trees, there are parrots.
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00:07:25,043 --> 00:07:29,139
Gang-gang cockatoos feast on
the eucalypt's hard seed capsules,
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00:07:29,314 --> 00:07:31,339
cracking them open
with their strong beaks.
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00:07:33,652 --> 00:07:35,950
Many birds move to lower ground in winter,
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00:07:36,288 --> 00:07:41,055
but gang-gangs brave the cold to take
advantage of this valuable food.
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00:07:45,664 --> 00:07:48,656
Up here, the weather
can quickly turn nasty.
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00:07:49,801 --> 00:07:52,736
The mountains are snowbound
for months of the year.
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00:07:53,038 --> 00:07:55,165
This is no place for wimps.
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00:07:58,944 --> 00:08:01,208
But wombats, with their thick fur,
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00:08:01,446 --> 00:08:05,177
trudge out to dig for grass
buried under the snow.
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00:08:09,721 --> 00:08:12,622
And up in the trees
the gang-gangs keep on feeding,
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00:08:12,791 --> 00:08:16,227
even with their jaunty
feathers all caked in ice.
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00:08:21,166 --> 00:08:23,634
The red-headed males, grey-headed females
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00:08:23,969 --> 00:08:28,770
and blushing juveniles pick away
together at the gum tree feast.
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00:08:46,992 --> 00:08:50,792
Australia's south-eastern mountains
trap the cold and soaking air
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00:08:50,962 --> 00:08:53,123
that blows in from the southern seas.
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00:08:53,432 --> 00:08:55,866
Moisture falls as snow and rain.
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00:08:58,837 --> 00:09:01,897
Australia may be the driest
inhabited continent on earth,
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00:09:02,074 --> 00:09:04,668
but here there's plenty of water.
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00:09:12,184 --> 00:09:14,675
And on the lower slopes
of these misty mountains,
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00:09:14,886 --> 00:09:17,286
the trees grow monumentally tall.
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00:09:22,794 --> 00:09:25,092
With wetter weather
and slightly better soil,
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00:09:25,397 --> 00:09:28,389
they reach a height of
more than a hundred metres.
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00:09:29,968 --> 00:09:32,232
Towering above the rest
of the forest greenery,
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00:09:32,637 --> 00:09:35,902
these trees can grow over a metre a year.
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00:09:37,409 --> 00:09:40,242
These are the tallest
hardwood trees in the world -
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00:09:40,879 --> 00:09:43,109
and they're eucalypts.
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00:09:49,087 --> 00:09:52,022
The first British settlers
called them mountain ash,
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00:09:52,290 --> 00:09:54,952
because they were homesick
for the old country.
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00:09:57,662 --> 00:10:00,756
And they do have the feeling
of lush European forests -
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00:10:01,099 --> 00:10:03,727
until the inhabitants turn up.
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00:10:14,780 --> 00:10:18,409
From the dense,
damp undergrowth comes a strange recital.
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00:10:18,784 --> 00:10:21,548
Not a flock of different birds,
but just one.
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00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:24,689
The superb lyrebird is striking up.
102
00:10:29,194 --> 00:10:31,788
Male lyrebirds mimic
the other birds around them,
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00:10:32,197 --> 00:10:35,496
pulling their songs together
into an impressive repertoire.
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00:10:35,901 --> 00:10:39,166
Wattlebirds, honeyeaters,
whipbirds, kookaburras -
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he does them all!
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00:10:56,354 --> 00:11:00,450
His powerful voice can carry as much
as a kilometre through the forest.
107
00:11:03,261 --> 00:11:05,627
Clearing a stage for himself
on a mound of earth,
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00:11:05,797 --> 00:11:08,163
he belts out his performance.
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00:11:08,533 --> 00:11:11,764
All this effort is to attract
as many females as possible,
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00:11:12,270 --> 00:11:15,000
and he'll carry on like this for hours.
111
00:11:24,816 --> 00:11:28,377
When darkness falls, and the
lyrebirds are asleep up in the trees,
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00:11:28,753 --> 00:11:31,586
a different set of wildlife emerges.
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00:11:33,758 --> 00:11:36,454
Mountain ash can live to be 300 years old,
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00:11:36,795 --> 00:11:38,387
and many are full of holes.
115
00:11:38,763 --> 00:11:42,529
At night, these holes
produce some curious animals.
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00:11:46,505 --> 00:11:50,601
Australia has no monkeys -
instead it has these.
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00:11:51,776 --> 00:11:52,743
They're possums,
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00:11:53,178 --> 00:11:57,410
and just after dark they come out
of their gum tree nests, to feed.
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00:11:59,718 --> 00:12:02,881
Tiny Leadbeater's possums zip
through the lower trees
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00:12:03,054 --> 00:12:04,885
looking for insects and sap.
121
00:12:11,496 --> 00:12:12,986
They're sociable animals,
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00:12:13,231 --> 00:12:15,859
and eight or more
may share a single hollow.
123
00:12:23,041 --> 00:12:25,066
Hollow eucalypts are desirable homes,
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00:12:25,577 --> 00:12:28,774
but to live in these big trees
you have to be agile.
125
00:12:36,187 --> 00:12:39,384
Mountain brush-tailed possums
are far bigger and slower,
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00:12:39,624 --> 00:12:41,091
but they're competent climbers.
127
00:12:41,526 --> 00:12:42,515
They're tree-dwellers,
128
00:12:42,694 --> 00:12:45,720
but they spend a fair bit of time
on the forest floor,
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00:12:45,897 --> 00:12:49,663
coming down in the darkness
to eat fungi and fallen seeds.
130
00:12:56,808 --> 00:13:00,335
It's tricky enough having to negotiate
these dense trees by yourself,
131
00:13:00,645 --> 00:13:03,876
but imagine what it's like having
to haul a baby around with you.
132
00:13:06,384 --> 00:13:09,512
This female has carried her baby
in her pouch for six months,
133
00:13:09,988 --> 00:13:12,786
and it will ride on her back
for another two.
134
00:13:22,267 --> 00:13:25,134
But alongside her,
and safe from attack by owls,
135
00:13:25,403 --> 00:13:28,839
it learns all the skills
it will need for a life on its own.
136
00:13:32,010 --> 00:13:34,274
For now it can feast on fallen seeds,
137
00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:36,203
and it might even have a quick suckle
138
00:13:36,381 --> 00:13:40,977
while mum's busy grooming herself
with her huge tree-climber's feet.
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00:13:52,397 --> 00:13:53,796
And before daylight comes,
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00:13:54,065 --> 00:13:58,934
mother and baby will disappear into
the safety of their gum tree den.
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00:14:13,284 --> 00:14:15,013
These giant eucalypts thrive here
142
00:14:15,186 --> 00:14:18,019
because there's more water,
and fractionally better soil,
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00:14:18,189 --> 00:14:20,089
than in other parts of Australia.
144
00:14:20,959 --> 00:14:23,655
But though eucalypts do well
in the wetter fringes of the land,
145
00:14:23,928 --> 00:14:25,418
they don't just stop there.
146
00:14:38,309 --> 00:14:42,370
The further you move inland,
the more arid the scenery becomes.
147
00:14:46,418 --> 00:14:50,218
The typical Australian landscape
is hot, dry and sandy,
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00:14:50,655 --> 00:14:53,123
not an easy place to put down roots.
149
00:14:53,291 --> 00:14:56,226
But gum trees pop up almost everywhere.
150
00:14:56,928 --> 00:14:59,362
They grow alongside
trickles of inland rivers,
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00:14:59,631 --> 00:15:01,360
where there's barely any water flowing,
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00:15:01,666 --> 00:15:04,692
putting down deep roots to suck
what moisture there is.
153
00:15:08,740 --> 00:15:09,968
They grow in the outback,
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00:15:10,175 --> 00:15:13,303
where conditions couldn't be
more different from the misty highlands.
155
00:15:13,778 --> 00:15:15,837
Here there's only a tenth of the rainfall,
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00:15:16,214 --> 00:15:19,809
and the soil is thin,
worn down by sheer age.
157
00:15:29,427 --> 00:15:31,952
A white trunk reflects
the glare of the sun,
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00:15:32,297 --> 00:15:35,164
and leaves hang down to avoid overheating.
159
00:15:37,769 --> 00:15:40,761
But when daytime
temperatures climb to 40 plus,
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00:15:40,972 --> 00:15:44,840
red kangaroos are grateful
for even this thin shade.
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00:16:02,127 --> 00:16:05,927
Once parked, a big red
will spend its day under the trees,
162
00:16:06,397 --> 00:16:10,128
until the sun goes down
and the land cools again.
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00:16:17,876 --> 00:16:23,337
Even here, among the red rocks of
the Centre, gum trees have a toehold.
164
00:16:26,851 --> 00:16:29,752
This most ethereal tree is a ghost gum,
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00:16:29,921 --> 00:16:31,980
and it grows in Australia's heart.
166
00:16:33,191 --> 00:16:35,125
It clings to crumbling gorges,
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00:16:35,293 --> 00:16:39,559
where water is scarce and
only the hardiest survive.
168
00:16:44,335 --> 00:16:46,326
This is one tough tree.
169
00:16:50,275 --> 00:16:52,209
But even the scrawniest of eucalypts
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00:16:52,377 --> 00:16:56,006
in the most desiccated
places have a surprise.
171
00:16:58,183 --> 00:17:01,846
They produce the most beautiful,
nectar-filled flowers.
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00:17:10,395 --> 00:17:13,831
The colours and shapes are as
diverse as the trees themselves,
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00:17:13,998 --> 00:17:16,694
each attractive to
different animal visitors.
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00:17:17,101 --> 00:17:18,728
Many flowers are cup-shaped,
175
00:17:18,903 --> 00:17:22,737
allowing insects inside
to gather pollen and nectar.
176
00:17:28,379 --> 00:17:31,473
Blossoms appear on different trees
at different times of the year,
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00:17:31,716 --> 00:17:33,650
providing an ever-moving feast.
178
00:17:34,319 --> 00:17:37,652
Lorikeets and honeyeaters are
energetic nectar specialists,
179
00:17:37,822 --> 00:17:40,450
always on the lookout for
new flowers to drink at.
180
00:17:58,443 --> 00:17:59,933
Eucalypts are such a draw
181
00:18:00,178 --> 00:18:04,581
that flying foxes in the tropical north
will fly fifty kilometres every night,
182
00:18:05,083 --> 00:18:08,985
moving from flowering tree
to flowering tree to feed.
183
00:18:24,435 --> 00:18:26,369
In return for this feast of nectar,
184
00:18:26,638 --> 00:18:29,004
the trees use these big bats as couriers,
185
00:18:29,307 --> 00:18:30,501
covering them in pollen,
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00:18:30,975 --> 00:18:34,376
which they'll pass on to the flowers
of next tree they visit.
187
00:18:46,424 --> 00:18:49,916
Even if you can't fly,
eucalypt flowers are worth the climb.
188
00:18:50,495 --> 00:18:55,194
The tiny Western pygmy possum in
southern Australia emerges at nightfall.
189
00:18:55,833 --> 00:18:59,769
It eats plenty of insects,
but it's also very partial to nectar.
190
00:19:14,719 --> 00:19:16,414
Weighing little more than a boiled sweet,
191
00:19:16,621 --> 00:19:18,612
and not much bigger than
the flowers themselves,
192
00:19:18,990 --> 00:19:22,187
it laps up the nectar with
a tongue shaped like a little brush.
193
00:19:32,670 --> 00:19:35,138
This possum is a strictly
nocturnal animal.
194
00:19:35,406 --> 00:19:36,202
Come the dawn,
195
00:19:36,374 --> 00:19:39,901
it retires to its tree-hollow nest -
made of gum leaves.
196
00:19:51,255 --> 00:19:54,952
Nectar is cheap for these trees
to produce, and they give it away freely.
197
00:19:55,326 --> 00:19:57,726
But their leaves are another story.
198
00:20:02,767 --> 00:20:05,861
They're precious in a land
where nutrients are in short supply,
199
00:20:06,237 --> 00:20:08,728
and the eucalypts do their best
to hang on to them.
200
00:20:09,207 --> 00:20:11,232
They're hard, and full of toxic chemicals,
201
00:20:11,609 --> 00:20:14,635
including the oils,
which give them their distinctive smell.
202
00:20:15,146 --> 00:20:19,014
It's enough to stop most animals
eating them, but not all.
203
00:20:24,489 --> 00:20:26,821
And this is the classic gum eater.
204
00:20:27,191 --> 00:20:28,886
In fact it doesn't eat much else.
205
00:20:36,467 --> 00:20:38,799
Koalas evolved with the eucalypts,
206
00:20:39,170 --> 00:20:41,661
and they're just about able
to cope with their leaves,
207
00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:45,305
thanks to a large and
complicated digestive system.
208
00:20:47,311 --> 00:20:48,539
But it has to be careful -
209
00:20:49,013 --> 00:20:49,980
before it eats,
210
00:20:50,348 --> 00:20:53,044
it has a sniff to check
the chemical strength.
211
00:20:55,620 --> 00:20:57,053
And those leaves are so hard,
212
00:20:57,288 --> 00:21:01,622
it has to chew more than sixteen thousand
times a day to break them down.
213
00:21:02,260 --> 00:21:06,128
An old koala will eventually
wear out its teeth completely.
214
00:21:15,573 --> 00:21:18,565
It's all such hard work
for so little nutrients,
215
00:21:18,876 --> 00:21:21,902
that koalas have to sleep
for 20 hours a day,
216
00:21:22,246 --> 00:21:23,907
just to save energy.
217
00:21:44,302 --> 00:21:46,827
This is a highly specialised way of life.
218
00:21:47,271 --> 00:21:50,206
A tiny baby koala,
barely out of the pouch,
219
00:21:50,374 --> 00:21:53,673
won't be able to cope with eating
gum leaves straight away.
220
00:21:55,279 --> 00:21:58,476
First it must have a snack of
its mother's special droppings.
221
00:22:06,757 --> 00:22:08,190
Disgusting as it may seem,
222
00:22:08,493 --> 00:22:11,053
the baby koala wouldn't survive otherwise.
223
00:22:11,229 --> 00:22:12,457
By eating 'pap',
224
00:22:12,797 --> 00:22:16,733
it's taking in vital bacteria
passed from its mother's gut,
225
00:22:17,001 --> 00:22:19,697
which will later help
it digest those leaves.
226
00:22:22,907 --> 00:22:25,068
It's a bit like eating live yoghurt.
227
00:22:40,625 --> 00:22:44,186
When you're this tiny, it's sometimes
hard to work out which way is up,
228
00:22:44,795 --> 00:22:48,561
which is especially hazardous
when you're ten metres above the ground.
229
00:23:01,546 --> 00:23:05,209
And koala mothers are pretty laid-back
when it comes to childcare.
230
00:23:05,616 --> 00:23:09,950
But at six months, this baby has
to get used to a life in the trees.
231
00:23:10,121 --> 00:23:13,284
If it's lucky it will live
to be fifteen years old.
232
00:23:19,363 --> 00:23:22,491
Young koalas stay dependent on
their mothers for a whole year,
233
00:23:22,900 --> 00:23:26,267
but as they grow,
they start to become more adventurous.
234
00:23:42,420 --> 00:23:45,821
In spite of the hazards,
most koalas survive their childhood,
235
00:23:46,123 --> 00:23:48,591
and the bond with their mothers
is usually broken only
236
00:23:48,759 --> 00:23:51,250
when she gives birth to her next baby.
237
00:23:55,299 --> 00:23:56,766
Koalas don't make dens,
238
00:23:57,268 --> 00:24:01,136
so a mother has nowhere that
she can leave her offspring in safety.
239
00:24:01,739 --> 00:24:06,369
The only option is to carry it round
with her as she moves from tree to tree.
240
00:24:19,290 --> 00:24:21,485
Most mothers carry
their children on their back,
241
00:24:21,859 --> 00:24:25,090
but others have slightly
more unconventional ways.
242
00:24:35,606 --> 00:24:38,006
And when your baby can be
a quarter of your weight,
243
00:24:38,476 --> 00:24:40,068
that's a lot to heave around.
244
00:24:52,757 --> 00:24:54,019
It's all very hard work.
245
00:24:56,093 --> 00:24:58,391
Gum trees tend to grow
widely spaced apart -
246
00:24:58,863 --> 00:25:00,524
but there are other woodland dwellers
247
00:25:00,698 --> 00:25:03,292
that seem to have cracked
the problem of getting around.
248
00:25:06,370 --> 00:25:07,530
They glide.
249
00:25:12,143 --> 00:25:16,978
A yellow-bellied glider can sail
as far as 120 metres from tree to tree,
250
00:25:17,381 --> 00:25:19,576
making strange noises in the night.
251
00:25:26,757 --> 00:25:29,191
It spends its days inside hollow trees,
252
00:25:29,427 --> 00:25:31,987
only emerging when darkness falls.
253
00:25:41,238 --> 00:25:46,335
A cape of skin stretches from wrists to
ankles, and this is what gives it lift.
254
00:25:47,478 --> 00:25:50,311
As it comes in to land,
it swings its limbs forward,
255
00:25:50,481 --> 00:25:53,177
touching down with all four feet together.
256
00:25:54,719 --> 00:25:57,381
Gripping toes and big claws
help it to hang on.
257
00:26:05,296 --> 00:26:07,127
It's out and about to feed.
258
00:26:07,598 --> 00:26:09,828
Yellow-bellied gliders
are fond of insects,
259
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,230
and eucalypt nectar when they can get it.
260
00:26:12,603 --> 00:26:16,630
But they also bite notches in the bark
of trees and eat the oozing sap,
261
00:26:17,708 --> 00:26:20,040
often in the company of a few relatives.
262
00:26:30,354 --> 00:26:31,753
On such a meagre diet,
263
00:26:32,056 --> 00:26:34,354
gliding is a low-energy way to travel.
264
00:26:44,402 --> 00:26:46,233
This is an economical place.
265
00:26:49,940 --> 00:26:52,033
Eucalypts are almost all evergreen,
266
00:26:52,410 --> 00:26:57,040
and evergreen leaves are expensive to
produce when soil nutrients are low.
267
00:26:58,516 --> 00:27:00,677
But they do last for a good long time.
268
00:27:06,056 --> 00:27:10,584
Eucalypts stand dusty and ragged,
with leaves that may be several years old.
269
00:27:11,429 --> 00:27:15,957
And even when they do fall, something
is sure to want to put them to good use.
270
00:27:22,306 --> 00:27:25,207
In the arid gum-tree shrublands
of southern Australia,
271
00:27:25,409 --> 00:27:27,001
the mallee fowl is busy.
272
00:27:27,845 --> 00:27:31,576
The female has laid her eggs in a huge
mound of soil and dead leaves
273
00:27:31,949 --> 00:27:35,112
that she and her mate have
carefully scraped into shape.
274
00:27:41,325 --> 00:27:45,785
As this pile rots down, the heat
generated incubates the buried eggs.
275
00:27:46,297 --> 00:27:49,357
Too much or too little heat
and the eggs will die,
276
00:27:49,733 --> 00:27:54,329
so the birds keep on adjusting the mound
to keep it at a steady 34 degrees.
277
00:27:57,408 --> 00:27:59,933
Both birds have temperature
sensors in their mouths -
278
00:28:00,344 --> 00:28:02,835
a quick taste keeps things monitored.
279
00:28:10,855 --> 00:28:14,689
Two months after they're laid,
the eggs begin to hatch.
280
00:28:24,835 --> 00:28:28,532
The chick bursts out and
starts its journey upwards.
281
00:28:29,139 --> 00:28:32,472
When you're buried a metre down,
this is no picnic.
282
00:28:32,910 --> 00:28:35,242
It can take two days
to get to the surface,
283
00:28:36,547 --> 00:28:39,380
and it gets no help
at all from its parents.
284
00:28:48,726 --> 00:28:50,887
This is one tough little chick!
285
00:29:05,409 --> 00:29:08,435
When it finally gets out,
it's able to walk immediately,
286
00:29:08,612 --> 00:29:10,876
and it toddles off into the bush.
287
00:29:11,081 --> 00:29:15,108
It can even feed itself,
and it'll be able to fly within a day.
288
00:29:30,768 --> 00:29:32,998
It's just as well it's so self-sufficient,
289
00:29:33,404 --> 00:29:36,498
because from now on, it's on its own.
290
00:29:38,208 --> 00:29:40,335
And with all those dry,
dead leaves around,
291
00:29:40,744 --> 00:29:43,212
the bush is a dangerous place to be...
292
00:29:48,886 --> 00:29:51,411
Of all that gum trees have to endure,
293
00:29:51,722 --> 00:29:54,282
this surely seems the most devastating.
294
00:30:06,704 --> 00:30:10,731
Australia's landscape has been
dramatically shaped by fires.
295
00:30:11,141 --> 00:30:13,006
They happen right across the country -
296
00:30:13,477 --> 00:30:16,071
and in some areas very frequently.
297
00:30:18,515 --> 00:30:21,245
Whether started by lightning
or careless matches,
298
00:30:21,652 --> 00:30:23,677
bushfires are a fact of life.
299
00:30:24,922 --> 00:30:27,948
In dry conditions,
the fires quickly take hold.
300
00:30:30,094 --> 00:30:32,528
Strips of bark peel away in flames,
301
00:30:32,763 --> 00:30:37,530
carried off in the wind to start new fires
as much as thirty kilometres away.
302
00:30:49,613 --> 00:30:51,046
In eucalypt woodlands the litter
303
00:30:51,215 --> 00:30:53,979
that collects round the trees
is highly flammable,
304
00:30:54,385 --> 00:30:58,321
and can create a fire as hot as
a thousand degrees centigrade.
305
00:31:08,465 --> 00:31:12,333
It may look like a disaster for the trees,
but the bizarre truth is,
306
00:31:12,703 --> 00:31:16,662
eucalypts seem to encourage their
surroundings to burst into flames.
307
00:31:22,613 --> 00:31:24,604
Many have thick and insulating bark,
308
00:31:25,015 --> 00:31:28,007
able to withstand all
but the most ferocious fires.
309
00:31:31,855 --> 00:31:35,689
Some gums actually need a really
good blaze to release their seeds,
310
00:31:35,959 --> 00:31:39,793
and provide a fertile bed of ash
on which they'll later sprout.
311
00:31:46,003 --> 00:31:49,530
This dry old country has been
burning like this for millennia.
312
00:31:56,013 --> 00:31:57,344
Although it may not look like it,
313
00:31:57,715 --> 00:32:01,173
the gum-trees have
the situation well under control.
314
00:32:09,927 --> 00:32:14,387
And this devastation is a prelude
to something quite remarkable.
315
00:32:15,032 --> 00:32:17,398
Within weeks of a fire that
seems to have killed them,
316
00:32:17,868 --> 00:32:20,996
many gum trees start popping
out fresh green shoots.
317
00:32:21,572 --> 00:32:23,563
They grow from buds underneath the bark,
318
00:32:24,041 --> 00:32:26,942
where they'd been protected
from the intense heat.
319
00:32:35,986 --> 00:32:38,887
Bare and blackened branches
are suddenly green again,
320
00:32:39,056 --> 00:32:41,149
and the trees carry on as normal.
321
00:32:41,525 --> 00:32:43,322
It's almost like a magic trick.
322
00:32:49,566 --> 00:32:53,969
In this volatile country,
eucalypts seem able to cope with anything.
323
00:32:54,638 --> 00:32:57,232
To add to the damage
begun by fire and rain,
324
00:32:57,608 --> 00:33:00,304
they are chewed away
by millions of termites.
325
00:33:06,150 --> 00:33:10,314
Australia's gum trees are among
the most termite-ridden in the world.
326
00:33:10,654 --> 00:33:15,148
Some are completely hollowed out by
the activities of these little insects.
327
00:33:17,461 --> 00:33:21,898
But with so many termites around,
there are other animals ready to eat them.
328
00:33:23,734 --> 00:33:24,826
Including these.
329
00:33:25,469 --> 00:33:29,633
They're Numbats and they live in the
woodlands of Australia's southwest.
330
00:33:38,248 --> 00:33:42,480
Numbats have tiny mouths and their
teeth are not particularly effective.
331
00:33:43,053 --> 00:33:44,714
But as they only eat termites,
332
00:33:45,222 --> 00:33:48,658
all they need is a good sense
of smell and the right tongue -
333
00:33:49,126 --> 00:33:52,584
sticky, manoeuvrable, and very, very long.
334
00:33:57,868 --> 00:34:01,395
It can flick termites into its
mouth and swallow them whole.
335
00:34:15,252 --> 00:34:17,948
Most of Australia's small
mammals are nocturnal,
336
00:34:18,488 --> 00:34:21,924
but numbats don't get out of bed
until the sun has warmed the ground,
337
00:34:22,159 --> 00:34:24,821
and the termites are active
just below the surface.
338
00:34:44,414 --> 00:34:46,245
Numbats are solitary animals,
339
00:34:46,750 --> 00:34:49,651
but these are young ones,
out and about together.
340
00:34:50,220 --> 00:34:52,484
When they're old enough
they'll feed on their own,
341
00:34:52,789 --> 00:34:57,123
like their parents,
getting through 20,000 termites a day.
342
00:35:05,602 --> 00:35:08,264
These youngsters will stay
together for a few months,
343
00:35:08,505 --> 00:35:10,200
learning to fend for themselves.
344
00:35:11,909 --> 00:35:15,401
Until then, the slightest danger,
real or imaginary,
345
00:35:15,646 --> 00:35:19,878
will send them fleeing to their den,
in the safety of a gum tree hollow.
346
00:35:27,391 --> 00:35:30,189
Hollow trees are
a real feature of the bush.
347
00:35:30,827 --> 00:35:33,523
There was once a man
who lived inside a giant gum tree -
348
00:35:33,830 --> 00:35:36,321
and raised a family of four there.
349
00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:39,633
Tall trees, strange tales.
350
00:35:50,881 --> 00:35:52,678
There is a particular type of gum
351
00:35:52,849 --> 00:35:56,285
that thrives on the banks of
the Murray River of southern Australia.
352
00:35:57,254 --> 00:36:00,781
The river red gum grows here
in enormous forests,
353
00:36:01,158 --> 00:36:03,922
and some of the trees
may be 500 years old.
354
00:36:07,831 --> 00:36:09,492
The oldest trees are full of holes,
355
00:36:09,933 --> 00:36:12,993
and they're especially
popular with parrots.
356
00:36:20,444 --> 00:36:22,378
Regent parrots make their homes here.
357
00:36:24,114 --> 00:36:27,208
In the breeding season,
the male brings food to the female,
358
00:36:27,517 --> 00:36:29,348
who is never far away from the nest.
359
00:36:40,931 --> 00:36:44,765
And that nest may be more than
five metres down inside the tree.
360
00:37:05,922 --> 00:37:10,552
It may seem like hard work to have
to climb so far, but it's sensible -
361
00:37:10,894 --> 00:37:13,795
it protects the eggs and
young from the elements,
362
00:37:13,997 --> 00:37:16,192
and from other hazards.
363
00:37:18,168 --> 00:37:19,897
There are thieves around.
364
00:37:30,414 --> 00:37:36,182
Given the chance, a lace monitor would
easily make a meal of an egg or a chick.
365
00:37:43,860 --> 00:37:47,728
In the nesting season,
they're a major part of its diet.
366
00:37:47,998 --> 00:37:50,296
And it knows where they live...
367
00:38:19,229 --> 00:38:25,168
The danger passes, and the lace monitor
turns its attentions elsewhere.
368
00:38:30,040 --> 00:38:33,942
These gum tree forests flank the river
for hundreds of kilometres,
369
00:38:34,311 --> 00:38:36,040
and they're full of wildlife.
370
00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:38,880
Some of it has the oddest behaviour.
371
00:38:41,585 --> 00:38:42,517
When night falls,
372
00:38:42,853 --> 00:38:46,584
a strange, savage little marsupial
makes its appearance.
373
00:38:51,061 --> 00:38:53,552
It's a yellow-footed antechinus.
374
00:38:55,298 --> 00:38:59,894
The size of a mouse, it's a voracious
and feisty little carnivore.
375
00:39:19,022 --> 00:39:22,753
Thus fortified, this male
has a busy time ahead of him.
376
00:39:33,904 --> 00:39:35,565
It's a bizarre life cycle.
377
00:39:35,906 --> 00:39:39,467
These animals have just one short,
sharp mating season,
378
00:39:39,709 --> 00:39:43,201
and competition for females
during that time is so strong
379
00:39:43,547 --> 00:39:45,913
that the males even give up food.
380
00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:52,213
Each mating can last twelve hours,
381
00:39:52,656 --> 00:39:54,021
and it's a bit of a free for all,
382
00:39:54,491 --> 00:39:57,255
with the females having
a pretty rough time of it.
383
00:40:25,188 --> 00:40:29,386
The stress is all so much that
after 2 weeks of frantic activity,
384
00:40:29,693 --> 00:40:31,456
all the males drop dead.
385
00:40:32,596 --> 00:40:35,326
The pregnant females are
left to carry on alone -
386
00:40:40,904 --> 00:40:42,565
...but with the males out of the way,
387
00:40:42,973 --> 00:40:46,431
it does mean there will be more food
left for mother and the kids.
388
00:40:50,513 --> 00:40:56,076
It's a perilous environment, this gum
tree bushland - in more ways than one.
389
00:40:59,222 --> 00:41:03,488
These giant old red gums have
been nicknamed 'widow-makers'.
390
00:41:03,727 --> 00:41:05,285
And this is why.
391
00:41:08,999 --> 00:41:11,365
They have an alarming tendency
to drop their branches,
392
00:41:11,534 --> 00:41:14,628
without warning, on the calmest of days.
393
00:41:25,315 --> 00:41:30,116
The wood is so heavy that if it falls
into the river, it sinks like a stone.
394
00:41:34,724 --> 00:41:36,715
And so the river is full of 'snags' -
395
00:41:37,093 --> 00:41:40,585
a tangle of fallen branches
and collapsed trees.
396
00:41:45,568 --> 00:41:48,162
But even these drowned
limbs have their uses.
397
00:41:48,938 --> 00:41:51,736
Waterbirds use them as lookout posts.
398
00:41:59,883 --> 00:42:03,319
These underwater woodlands
are also the perfect hideout
399
00:42:03,486 --> 00:42:06,512
for Australia's biggest freshwater fish.
400
00:42:07,490 --> 00:42:11,586
The Murray cod can reach more than
a metre long - even bigger,
401
00:42:11,761 --> 00:42:13,820
if fishermen's tales are true -
402
00:42:13,997 --> 00:42:15,828
and weigh more than a man.
403
00:42:18,768 --> 00:42:21,362
Under these snags
it can hide from predators,
404
00:42:21,771 --> 00:42:25,138
rest from the flow of the river
and shelter from the sun,
405
00:42:25,542 --> 00:42:28,443
while it lives to be a hundred years old.
406
00:42:34,284 --> 00:42:37,981
In the Australian bush,
even the fish live in trees.
407
00:43:18,628 --> 00:43:22,064
The Murray river is shallow
and the banks are low.
408
00:43:22,632 --> 00:43:26,466
Once every few years,
when spring rains are especially heavy,
409
00:43:26,803 --> 00:43:29,431
and snow melts fast
in the mountains upstream,
410
00:43:29,839 --> 00:43:35,971
the big river breaks its banks.
And it moves into the surrounding forest.
411
00:44:01,404 --> 00:44:03,463
It looks like a beautiful disaster.
412
00:44:04,073 --> 00:44:07,702
But the bushland inhabitants
are surprisingly adaptable.
413
00:44:14,617 --> 00:44:17,643
When put to it, a kangaroo can swim.
414
00:44:48,651 --> 00:44:51,984
And the gum trees themselves
are perfectly at home.
415
00:44:52,355 --> 00:44:55,882
In this dry place,
where rainfall is generally so low,
416
00:44:56,392 --> 00:45:00,260
these big trees would die of thirst
without floods from time to time.
417
00:45:00,830 --> 00:45:05,665
For now, they can drink deep and
put on a spurt of green growth.
418
00:45:12,208 --> 00:45:15,769
For a while, the forest is
transformed into a wetland -
419
00:45:16,112 --> 00:45:18,444
a maze of swamps and billabongs.
420
00:45:34,197 --> 00:45:38,395
Where just a few days ago
kangaroos browsed in grassy clearings,
421
00:45:38,768 --> 00:45:42,829
now there are spoonbills and
egrets fishing among the trees.
422
00:46:00,156 --> 00:46:03,125
Floods like these are less frequent
than they once were.
423
00:46:03,793 --> 00:46:06,159
The Murray's flow has been
altered by people,
424
00:46:06,596 --> 00:46:08,996
because the water was needed elsewhere.
425
00:46:09,566 --> 00:46:13,366
But when they do happen,
the results are spectacular.
426
00:46:14,137 --> 00:46:16,605
The wildlife is tuned
to events like these.
427
00:46:17,273 --> 00:46:18,706
Fish begin to breed,
428
00:46:19,042 --> 00:46:23,877
and thousands of waterbirds are prompted
to start nesting around the flooded trees.
429
00:46:52,675 --> 00:46:55,769
This is the driest inhabited
continent in the world,
430
00:46:56,079 --> 00:46:59,674
and yet here are kangaroos
up to their knees in water!
431
00:47:00,650 --> 00:47:04,746
The Australian bush is nothing
if not contradictory.
432
00:47:48,898 --> 00:47:51,196
The first European settlers had dismissed
433
00:47:51,367 --> 00:47:55,599
these vast green swathes
as just 'forests in rags'.
434
00:47:56,105 --> 00:47:59,268
But as they got to grips with
the curious land, the bush,
435
00:47:59,609 --> 00:48:01,839
with its resilience and strange wildlife,
436
00:48:02,178 --> 00:48:04,408
became the essence of Australia.
437
00:48:04,914 --> 00:48:06,609
It's a land of pioneers,
438
00:48:06,983 --> 00:48:10,282
where adaptability and tenacity
are the keys to survival.
439
00:48:10,787 --> 00:48:14,314
And gum trees seem to suit it very well.
38795
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