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An eastern sun rises on a world of magic
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Like restless spirits
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flying foxes return with the dawn
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to their roost in Indonesian forest
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Dense tropical jungle covers
more than half
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this land of 17,000 islands
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a land where elemental forces
are still at work
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For millions of years
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this has been a turbulent corner
of the planet
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New islands rise from the seabed
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Older islands are worn down and destroyed
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by water and by fire
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This is the most volcanic region in the world
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Indonesia has 155 active volcanos
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But when the volcanos sleep
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conditions are ideal for the growth of forest
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Here on the equator
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high rainfall, tropical heat and fertile soil
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nurture a jungle unrivaled in its luxuries
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There are literally thousands
of different kinds of tree here
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and they support a variety
of animal life to match
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Indonesia has a greater range of animal species
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than any other country in the world
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Most of them live here
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in the tropical rainforest
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It's not just variety that makes
the jungles of Indonesia so exceptional
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There's an extraordinary mix of plants and animals
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some are Asian, others would look more
at home in Australia
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That's because the island chain
links the 2 continents
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like a line of stepping stones that runs
all the way from northern Australia to Asia
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At the western end of the chain
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the giant islands of Sumatra and Borneo
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carry much of Indonesia's forest
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It's a forest that's home to giants
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Amorphophallus, the titan arum
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Its erect flower spike can rise
to the height of 2 men
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It's the tallest flower in the world
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It stinks of rotting meat
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a feature that it shares with
another giant flower - the rafflesia
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00:05:07,434 --> 00:05:09,922
Both are pollinated by flies
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Rafflesia flowers can be 1m across
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This extraordinary plant has no leaves,
stem or root
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It lives as a parasite on lianas
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and flowers just once in its life
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Some of the world's tallest trees are here
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the dipterocarpus,
named after their 2-winged seeds
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They can grow to 60m
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This forest of giants
has gigantic animals too,
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elephants
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There's even a rhinoceros
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The hairy Sumatra rhino
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is the smallest of the world's 5 kinds
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but it still weighs a ton
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Animals like rhinos and elephants
came here from Asia
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Many times in the past
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the sea level was much lower
than it is today
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So islands that are now surrounded by shallow sea
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were linked to the mainland
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The Sumatran rhino is
one of the world's rarest animals
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fewer than 1000 survive
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Like all rhinos, it's persecuted for its horn
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Along with undisturbed forest
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rhinos need mineral salt licks
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and also mud
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Wallowing keeps their skin in good condition
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00:07:09,868 --> 00:07:12,475
and brings relief from biting insects
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The Asian elephant is endangered too
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Sumatra has 3/4000
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and Borneo barely 1000
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They used to live on Java as well,
the next island to the east
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00:07:31,527 --> 00:07:33,214
but rising human populations
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and intensive agriculture
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leave no room for giants like this
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Giants they may be
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but these elephants are actually smaller
than their mainland relatives
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The same is true of many other island animals
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but no one knows why
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A herd of elephants needs
a lot of forest to support it
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Each adult can eat 150k of greenery a day
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The age-old drama of hunted and hunter
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still plays on this jungle stage
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Sumatra's forest still has tigers
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Like elephants and rhinos
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they came from mainland Asia during the
Ice Ages when the sea levels were lower
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A litter of cubs like this
is a rare and privileged sight
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00:10:34,853 --> 00:10:38,499
Fewer than 500 Sumatran tigers still survive
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The Sumatran is the smallest
of the 5 surviving races of tiger
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and the darkest in color
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Perhaps that makes it better suited to life
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in the dense tropical rainforest
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As a top predator, the tiger
needs a large area to feed itself
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especially in forest
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where prey like deer and pig
seldom live in great numbers
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00:11:32,144 --> 00:11:34,500
Java and Bali once had tigers
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but they were killed off
by a rising tide of people
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As populations grow and the forest shrinks
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Sumatra's tigers also face an uncertain future
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Even at their peak
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tigers never spread far along the island chain
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Deep channels between the islands
were always a barrier
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00:12:07,267 --> 00:12:09,242
At the eastern end of archipelago
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on the giant island of New Guinea
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their place is taken by a very different hunter
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00:12:24,786 --> 00:12:27,726
This is New Guinea's nearest rival to the tiger
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00:12:28,220 --> 00:12:29,220
the quoll
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It's the island's largest predatory mammal
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00:12:31,983 --> 00:12:34,840
but it's no bigger than a domestic cat
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00:12:38,592 --> 00:12:41,792
It hunts insects, lizards, rats and mice
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00:12:41,892 --> 00:12:43,705
and it raids birds' nests
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00:12:48,551 --> 00:12:52,397
The quoll is marsupial,
a mammal with a pouch like the kangaroo
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00:12:52,497 --> 00:12:54,689
and that's a clue to its origins
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00:12:54,789 --> 00:12:57,388
Its ancestors came from Australia
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00:13:11,210 --> 00:13:15,144
The forest of the quoll is a world away
from the jungles of Sumatra
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with their tigers, rhinos and elephants
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As little as 10,000 years ago
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New Guinea was part of Australia
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its wildlife reflects that link
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00:13:30,274 --> 00:13:32,801
The quoll is not the only marsupial here
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Sugar gliders
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They spend the day huddled
in their nest high in a hollow tree
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emerging only at night
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Perhaps because of their secretive nature
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00:14:02,113 --> 00:14:05,753
they are regarded with great suspicion
by some of New Guinea's tribes
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00:14:05,853 --> 00:14:08,000
People believe they are sorcerers
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assuming animal form
so they can spy on their victims
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00:14:23,892 --> 00:14:28,125
In fact, the sugar glider's nocturnal
habits have a simpler explanation
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00:14:28,225 --> 00:14:32,498
They eat sap and insects and nectar
from flower in forest trees
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00:14:32,598 --> 00:14:35,725
so they often have to climb right up to
the ends of the branches
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00:14:36,149 --> 00:14:41,958
If they were out on a limb during the day,
they'll be very exposed to predators
like hawks and eagles
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00:14:47,477 --> 00:14:50,508
Under cover of darkness, the risks are less
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00:14:50,608 --> 00:14:53,851
And they reduce them even more
by never going down to the ground
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Using folds of skin between their limbs
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they glide from tree to tree
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00:15:23,489 --> 00:15:25,961
New Guinea is a very rugged island
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00:15:26,357 --> 00:15:30,915
well into the 20th century, much of
the interior was still unexplored
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00:15:34,838 --> 00:15:38,025
The mountain forests were slow
to give up their secrets
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00:15:40,859 --> 00:15:44,879
Among them is one of the most
extraordinary creatures on the planet
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00:15:54,589 --> 00:15:56,660
The long-beaked echidna
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00:15:57,215 --> 00:16:00,701
This remarkable animal is a mammal
but a very primitive kind
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00:16:01,211 --> 00:16:03,818
It's warm-blooded and feeds
its young with milk
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00:16:03,918 --> 00:16:07,396
but it lays eggs like a bird or a reptile
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00:16:08,163 --> 00:16:10,460
It's another relic from New Guinea's past
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00:16:11,086 --> 00:16:13,547
Its only living relatives are in Australia
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00:16:17,652 --> 00:16:19,607
The echidna eats earthworms
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00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:23,722
electrical sensors in its snout
may help it sniff them out
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00:16:30,486 --> 00:16:36,381
Its tongue is armed with horny spikes
that impale the worms and transfer them
to its toothless mouth
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00:16:45,582 --> 00:16:47,089
The long-beaked echidna
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00:16:47,189 --> 00:16:50,611
lives only in New Guinea's
high cool mountain forests
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00:16:50,711 --> 00:16:53,282
as well as worms, it eats termites
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00:16:53,382 --> 00:16:57,737
hence its other name - the giant spiny ant eater
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00:17:09,395 --> 00:17:11,963
The female lays just one egg a year
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00:17:12,063 --> 00:17:16,592
When the infant hatches,
she carries it in a pouch like a kangaroo
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00:17:16,692 --> 00:17:19,096
until it gets too spiky for comfort
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00:17:42,352 --> 00:17:46,929
The mountains of New Guinea's central
spine rise to more than 5000m
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They are a barrier to the movement
of both animals and people
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00:17:56,636 --> 00:18:01,440
Even on the equator, their summits are
crowned with perpetual ice and snow
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00:18:02,089 --> 00:18:05,255
There's nothing higher
between here and the Himalayas
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00:18:27,430 --> 00:18:30,277
To the south of the mountains
the land falls steeply
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00:18:33,757 --> 00:18:36,818
Below lies a tract of swampy lowland forest
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00:18:36,918 --> 00:18:40,019
so poor and hostile that people
call it - the death zone
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00:18:49,590 --> 00:18:52,039
The ground is flooded for much of the year,
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little lives here but fish and frogs
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and remarkably - people
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00:19:03,683 --> 00:19:05,592
The Korowai tribe had learnt
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00:19:05,692 --> 00:19:08,718
how to rest a living from
these unpromising surroundings
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00:19:15,900 --> 00:19:19,557
To catch fish, they seal off
a section of stream with dams
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00:19:26,632 --> 00:19:28,889
Then they scoop out the water with paddles
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00:19:28,989 --> 00:19:31,277
made from part of a local palm tree
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00:19:56,652 --> 00:19:58,685
This is very much a team effort
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00:19:58,785 --> 00:20:02,109
Every ablebodied member of the group
takes their share of the work
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both men and women
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00:20:32,546 --> 00:20:34,018
When the water is drained
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00:20:34,118 --> 00:20:36,306
the stranded fish can be picked out of the mud
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00:20:36,406 --> 00:20:39,518
but they're a meager reward for all that effort
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With food so hard to come by
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it's no surprise that this forest
supports so few people
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00:20:55,656 --> 00:20:58,666
If the Korowai's fishing methods are unusual
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their houses are even more so
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00:21:18,467 --> 00:21:21,405
These must be the ultimate in tree houses
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some are 15m above the ground
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00:21:30,634 --> 00:21:33,067
The Korowai say that living in the trees
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00:21:33,167 --> 00:21:34,864
they can see the birds in the mountains
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00:21:34,964 --> 00:21:39,009
and it's harder for demons and sorcerers
to climb their stairs
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00:21:41,259 --> 00:21:43,920
It also keeps them safe from floods
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00:21:44,020 --> 00:21:45,883
and there're fewer mosquitoes
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00:21:45,983 --> 00:21:48,425
and it's a defense against people too
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Until very recently, blood feuds and head
hunting raids were part of everyday life here
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00:22:00,373 --> 00:22:02,517
With their intimate knowledge of the forest
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00:22:02,617 --> 00:22:06,109
the Korowai can live in a land where
most people would starve
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00:22:07,375 --> 00:22:10,308
Sago from the pith of a palm tree
is their stable diet
191
00:22:10,408 --> 00:22:14,248
along with lizards and insects,
fish and frogs
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00:22:14,348 --> 00:22:16,329
and the occasional - pig
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00:22:24,555 --> 00:22:28,762
Well into the 1970s,
war between neighboring tribes
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00:22:28,862 --> 00:22:30,492
was a way of life in New Guinea
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00:22:31,206 --> 00:22:34,392
Few people could travel far
beyond their tribal boundaries
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00:22:35,148 --> 00:22:37,791
Isolated by strife and rugged terrain
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each tribe develops its own culture
198
00:22:42,990 --> 00:22:46,278
New Guinea has more than 1000 languages
199
00:22:46,754 --> 00:22:49,907
Half of them spoken by less than 1000 people
200
00:22:57,778 --> 00:23:01,355
The people of New Guinea's interior
seem lost in time
201
00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:05,380
Only in the last few decades,
has contact with the outside world
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00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:07,752
brought the beginnings of change
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00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:14,857
In much the same way, New Guinea's
mammals are locked in a time warp
204
00:23:15,145 --> 00:23:18,846
isolated from other kinds,
the marsupials flourished
205
00:23:21,261 --> 00:23:24,701
In New Guinea, even the kangaroos climb trees
206
00:23:24,801 --> 00:23:26,586
though not very well
207
00:23:35,884 --> 00:23:38,325
Tree kangaroos are sluggish animals
208
00:23:38,725 --> 00:23:40,414
Perhaps because their diet of leaves
209
00:23:40,514 --> 00:23:43,766
is low in nutrients and high in poisonous toxins
210
00:23:43,866 --> 00:23:46,855
They have an extremely slow metabolism
211
00:23:47,325 --> 00:23:49,954
and that is reflected in their movements
212
00:23:54,267 --> 00:23:56,446
There are several kinds of tree kangaroo
213
00:23:56,546 --> 00:23:58,634
like the ones that live on the ground
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00:23:58,734 --> 00:24:00,884
they carry their young in a pouch
215
00:24:00,984 --> 00:24:03,346
but they are very different in other ways
216
00:24:06,730 --> 00:24:09,056
Their fore and hide limbs are of equal length
217
00:24:09,156 --> 00:24:10,993
to make it easier to climb
218
00:24:11,458 --> 00:24:15,000
Their wide paws have roughened pads
to stop them slipping
219
00:24:15,100 --> 00:24:18,891
and their feet have powerful claws
to grasp the branches
220
00:24:42,477 --> 00:24:43,675
The many kinds of tree kangaroo
221
00:24:43,775 --> 00:24:46,293
make a good living in the forest canopy
222
00:24:47,179 --> 00:24:50,769
But none of them look as if
they are entirely at home in the trees
223
00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:13,078
Climbers like these couldn't compete
224
00:25:13,178 --> 00:25:15,520
against more agile tree livers
225
00:25:16,530 --> 00:25:19,739
Like the ones at the western end
of the archipelago
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00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,485
In the forests of Borneo and Sumatra
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00:25:28,585 --> 00:25:32,424
monkeys and apes take the place
of tree kangaroos
228
00:25:41,327 --> 00:25:42,427
Gibbons,
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00:25:42,527 --> 00:25:48,685
fueled by a diet of fruit, these little
apes are the supreme arboreal athletes
230
00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:50,740
They live in small families
231
00:25:51,447 --> 00:25:53,274
and every morning, male and female
232
00:25:53,374 --> 00:25:56,933
mark their territory by
singing a swinging duet
233
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:57,042
Up in the tree tops, nothing can match
the grace of a gibbon in full flight
234
00:26:57,776 --> 00:27:00,160
only the birds move faster
235
00:27:36,326 --> 00:27:39,154
Gibbons spend their whole life up in the tree tops
236
00:27:40,884 --> 00:27:42,776
They never come down to the ground
237
00:27:42,876 --> 00:27:46,109
as the forest canopy provides all their needs
238
00:27:49,799 --> 00:27:52,130
It's a world all of its own
239
00:28:04,590 --> 00:28:09,071
Monkeys and apes are the defining
elements of these magical forests
240
00:28:09,321 --> 00:28:10,955
Indonesia has a greater variety
241
00:28:11,055 --> 00:28:13,277
than any other Asian country
242
00:28:49,661 --> 00:28:50,805
The orangutan
243
00:28:51,580 --> 00:28:53,251
the 'man of the forest'
244
00:29:00,278 --> 00:29:02,512
This great ape lives only in Borneo
245
00:29:02,612 --> 00:29:04,348
and here in Sumatra
246
00:29:04,448 --> 00:29:07,688
20,000 years ago, it was found on
the mainland too
247
00:29:07,788 --> 00:29:10,720
but now these islands are its last refuge
248
00:29:13,654 --> 00:29:16,000
Orangutans are fruit eaters
249
00:29:16,100 --> 00:29:18,680
but prolific fruiting trees like figs
are widely scattered
250
00:29:18,681 --> 00:29:22,649
so they have to cover a lot of forest
to find enough food
251
00:29:25,756 --> 00:29:27,099
Few trees have enough fruit to feed
252
00:29:27,199 --> 00:29:32,967
more than one or two animals as big as these
so these apes can't live in large groups
253
00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:39,958
Young animals stay with their mothers
for several years
254
00:29:40,058 --> 00:29:42,882
but full-grown males are solitary
255
00:29:53,259 --> 00:29:54,723
Despite their weight
256
00:29:54,823 --> 00:29:58,866
orangutans in Sumatra spend most
of their time up in the trees
257
00:29:59,311 --> 00:30:02,696
They travel on the ground only
when there's no alternative
258
00:30:04,428 --> 00:30:07,049
and this is one reason why
259
00:30:24,437 --> 00:30:26,667
Sumatra still has tigers
260
00:30:27,265 --> 00:30:29,251
A tiger could kill an orangutan
261
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:31,638
especial a young one
262
00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:55,000
500km across the sea
263
00:30:55,100 --> 00:30:57,294
on the neighboring island of Borneo
264
00:30:57,394 --> 00:30:59,675
it's a different story
265
00:31:01,900 --> 00:31:03,756
Here, there are no tigers
266
00:31:03,856 --> 00:31:06,729
so the orangs are safer on the ground
267
00:31:08,797 --> 00:31:12,202
Bornean orangutans are much heavier
than their Sumatra cousins
268
00:31:12,741 --> 00:31:17,268
Some of the males are so huge that
the trees can scarcely bear their weight
269
00:31:21,153 --> 00:31:24,077
Males grow twice the size of females
270
00:31:24,623 --> 00:31:27,461
A full-grown male can weigh 100k,
271
00:31:27,561 --> 00:31:30,951
so swinging through the forest canopy
is hardly an option
272
00:31:31,290 --> 00:31:33,101
It's easier to walk
273
00:31:38,408 --> 00:31:40,210
With their greater size
274
00:31:40,310 --> 00:31:43,106
males have to wander much
more widely than females
275
00:31:43,206 --> 00:31:44,538
in their search for fruit
276
00:31:45,354 --> 00:31:47,903
But that search is far from random
277
00:31:48,518 --> 00:31:53,136
It seems they can remember the location
of fruiting trees from year to year
278
00:31:53,236 --> 00:31:55,999
and arrive just as the fruit is ripening
279
00:31:56,200 --> 00:32:00,229
Although fruit is their staple diet
280
00:32:00,329 --> 00:32:05,024
they are not averse to a snack of animal protein
if the opportunity arises
281
00:32:07,479 --> 00:32:10,976
Termites inside a decaying tree trunk
282
00:32:14,318 --> 00:32:17,688
now the male's colossal strength comes in handy
283
00:32:45,736 --> 00:32:47,445
Few other apes and monkeys have males
284
00:32:47,545 --> 00:32:50,038
so much larger than the females
285
00:32:50,551 --> 00:32:53,759
perhaps male competition for mates
is more intense
286
00:32:53,859 --> 00:32:58,565
or perhaps for female orangutans,
size matters
287
00:33:03,698 --> 00:33:08,542
Several times a day, these bigger males
declare their presence from the tree tops
288
00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:22,387
Their calls can be heard from a great distance
289
00:33:22,487 --> 00:33:25,062
lesser males keep out of the way
290
00:33:41,269 --> 00:33:43,150
The calls of monkeys and apes
291
00:33:43,151 --> 00:33:46,025
are the signature tune of these western forests
292
00:33:50,770 --> 00:33:52,123
Far to the east
293
00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:55,396
in New Guinea, the orchestra
294
00:33:55,397 --> 00:33:57,138
has very different players
295
00:34:08,245 --> 00:34:10,770
No primates sing in this dawn chorus
296
00:34:11,414 --> 00:34:14,429
This is a land of birds
297
00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:37,255
The most spectacular of New Guinea's birds
298
00:34:37,355 --> 00:34:39,460
are the birds of paradise
299
00:34:41,550 --> 00:34:44,202
There are 38 different kinds here
300
00:34:44,302 --> 00:34:47,733
The ones in this tree are red birds of paradise
301
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:52,113
They are found only in a few small islands
off the coast of New Guinea
302
00:34:53,660 --> 00:34:56,531
Males flaunt their flamboyant plumes
303
00:34:56,631 --> 00:34:58,840
to attract the more drably colored females
304
00:35:00,428 --> 00:35:02,704
Several males perform together
305
00:35:02,804 --> 00:35:05,760
competing for the attention of prospective mates
306
00:35:06,228 --> 00:35:10,187
They make their dance easier to see
by stripping leaves from the branches
307
00:35:27,980 --> 00:35:31,427
These colorful displays
can be seen from a great distance
308
00:35:31,527 --> 00:35:34,874
They attract females from far and wide
309
00:36:07,433 --> 00:36:11,433
Red birds of paradise always
display up in the tree tops
310
00:36:14,746 --> 00:36:18,520
Deep within the forest,
visibility is much poorer
311
00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:23,830
so birds that live in the undergrowth
must adopt a different strategy
312
00:36:31,668 --> 00:36:33,427
The Wilson's bird of paradise
313
00:36:33,527 --> 00:36:36,851
uses its penetrating calls to attract females
314
00:36:50,458 --> 00:36:53,321
Each adult male has its own display ground
315
00:36:53,421 --> 00:36:56,631
and its plumage is intricate rather than flamboyant
316
00:36:56,731 --> 00:36:58,957
designed to be admired up-close
317
00:36:59,057 --> 00:37:01,213
in a dance of courtship
318
00:37:02,457 --> 00:37:05,484
but that bird beside him is a younger male
319
00:37:05,900 --> 00:37:07,977
the dance has to be learnt
320
00:37:08,657 --> 00:37:11,546
Young males acquire the skill
by watching an older male
321
00:37:11,646 --> 00:37:13,477
and copying his every move
322
00:37:14,395 --> 00:37:18,414
He tolerates them because
they look just like females
323
00:37:19,068 --> 00:37:22,032
Learning the dance can take 7 years
324
00:37:29,736 --> 00:37:32,090
The novice's disguise is so effective
325
00:37:32,190 --> 00:37:34,311
that an adult male can be deceived
326
00:37:34,411 --> 00:37:35,967
into courting the wrong sex
327
00:37:37,351 --> 00:37:39,832
That's not a female at the top of the twig
328
00:37:39,932 --> 00:37:42,014
but another young male
329
00:37:42,640 --> 00:37:46,066
When the eager male discovers his terrible mistake
330
00:37:46,166 --> 00:37:48,310
all hell breaks loose
331
00:38:16,650 --> 00:38:18,830
The undergrowth of the forest floor
332
00:38:18,930 --> 00:38:21,685
hides one of New Guinea's most feared creatures
333
00:38:23,463 --> 00:38:25,424
one that can kill
334
00:38:50,377 --> 00:38:52,017
The cassowary
335
00:38:52,342 --> 00:38:55,832
this flightless giant is New Guinea's largest bird
336
00:38:56,136 --> 00:38:58,520
It can grow to the height of a man
337
00:39:03,545 --> 00:39:06,680
Even these brown youngsters are no chickens
338
00:39:09,369 --> 00:39:11,399
Like so many of New Guinea's animals
339
00:39:11,499 --> 00:39:14,064
the cassowary has Australian affinities
340
00:39:16,554 --> 00:39:19,299
Being flightless here is no disadvantage
341
00:39:19,399 --> 00:39:23,696
New Guinea has no tigers
only the palm-sized quoll
342
00:39:24,598 --> 00:39:27,235
and a cassowary is far from defenseless
343
00:39:27,335 --> 00:39:30,425
its powerful feet are armed with a lethal claw
344
00:39:30,525 --> 00:39:33,467
it can disembowel with a single kick
345
00:39:37,674 --> 00:39:39,477
Unusually among birds
346
00:39:39,577 --> 00:39:41,669
it's the male that looks after the young
347
00:39:44,229 --> 00:39:48,399
After mating, the female
lays her eggs and disappears
348
00:39:48,499 --> 00:39:51,591
leaving her partner to incubate them
and care for the chicks
349
00:40:01,527 --> 00:40:04,000
Cassowaries spend most of their time
searching for food
350
00:40:04,100 --> 00:40:05,397
on the forest floor
351
00:40:05,709 --> 00:40:07,606
They eat seeds, insects
352
00:40:07,706 --> 00:40:09,184
and especially fruit
353
00:40:15,475 --> 00:40:19,428
These enormous birds consume
a huge amount of fruit every day
354
00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:24,107
Surprisingly, enough has dropped
by other birds feeding up in the trees
355
00:40:24,207 --> 00:40:25,879
to give them all their need
356
00:40:27,698 --> 00:40:31,203
Cassowaries help to spread the seeds
of many forest trees
357
00:40:31,303 --> 00:40:33,729
By the time they've passed
through the bird's gut
358
00:40:33,829 --> 00:40:36,639
they can be well away
from their parent tree
359
00:40:40,589 --> 00:40:43,528
Local people in New Guinea
hunt cassowaries for their meat
360
00:40:43,628 --> 00:40:47,100
and sometimes keep young ones
in captivity to fatten them up
361
00:40:55,294 --> 00:40:58,480
There has been a trade in these birds
for hundreds of years
362
00:40:58,580 --> 00:41:04,124
A cassowary can be exchanged
for 8 pigs or even a wife
363
00:41:17,376 --> 00:41:20,579
New Guinea at the eastern end
of the island chain
364
00:41:20,679 --> 00:41:24,431
has very different animals
to Borneo and Sumatra in the west
365
00:41:25,075 --> 00:41:27,857
Although this forest ride across the archipelago
366
00:41:27,957 --> 00:41:31,193
very few creatures have made it
from one end to the other
367
00:41:31,293 --> 00:41:34,652
Deep channels between the islands
limit their spread
368
00:41:38,540 --> 00:41:41,046
But some animals have made their journey
369
00:41:41,146 --> 00:41:46,174
They're found at the full-length of
the 5000km of Indonesia's island chain
370
00:41:50,644 --> 00:41:51,844
Bats
371
00:41:59,452 --> 00:42:02,675
These are fruit bats, flying foxes
372
00:42:02,775 --> 00:42:08,028
with a wingspan of 1.5m
they're the largest bats in the world
373
00:42:08,128 --> 00:42:09,677
and they are great flyers
374
00:42:09,777 --> 00:42:13,382
They can travel 60km in a night
searching for food
375
00:42:13,482 --> 00:42:16,800
so to them, island hopping
is no problem
376
00:42:20,019 --> 00:42:22,422
At dawn they return to a communal roost
377
00:42:22,522 --> 00:42:26,265
that during the breeding season
can number hundreds of thousands
378
00:42:29,310 --> 00:42:31,880
This female already has a youngster
379
00:42:32,401 --> 00:42:38,782
She'll carry it with her for the first month,
but as it gets heavier she will leave
it behind at the roost when she goes foraging
380
00:42:59,761 --> 00:43:03,480
Mature male fruit bats have territories
in their roosting trees
381
00:43:03,797 --> 00:43:07,319
Branches that they mark with scent
and defend against other males
382
00:43:07,953 --> 00:43:12,023
The females decide where to roost
and who to mate with
383
00:43:21,465 --> 00:43:24,575
The males are remarkably well endowed
384
00:43:39,577 --> 00:43:44,388
Each morning the male checks out
all the females roosting on his branch
385
00:43:47,685 --> 00:43:50,438
Courtship can be lengthy and intense
386
00:43:50,538 --> 00:43:53,067
20 minutes of deep grooming
387
00:43:53,167 --> 00:43:57,357
licking the female's nether parts with a
long rough tongue, perhaps to arouse her
388
00:43:57,427 --> 00:44:00,945
or perhaps to remove any rival male's sperm
389
00:44:16,982 --> 00:44:21,170
Mating is vigorous, noisy and repetitive
390
00:44:40,626 --> 00:44:42,021
Bat male looked violent
391
00:44:42,714 --> 00:44:45,561
but the female can always let go of the branch
392
00:44:45,920 --> 00:44:48,480
and fly off when she's had enough
393
00:45:13,360 --> 00:45:17,340
Fruit bats are among the most successful
of Indonesia's creatures
394
00:45:17,478 --> 00:45:19,641
and the most widespread
395
00:45:24,201 --> 00:45:29,186
Right across the country, sunsets are patterned
with silhouettes of their departing hoards
396
00:45:29,286 --> 00:45:33,699
as they leave their roosts
on their nightly search for food
397
00:45:36,075 --> 00:45:38,881
Fruit bats are found throughout the archipelago
398
00:45:38,981 --> 00:45:40,698
wherever there is forest
399
00:45:41,242 --> 00:45:44,716
But what is most striking about Indonesia
is its variety
400
00:45:46,502 --> 00:45:50,331
Its 17000 islands separate 2 oceans
401
00:45:50,431 --> 00:45:52,820
and unite 2 continents
402
00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:57,332
They're set in some of the richest seas
in the world
403
00:46:11,542 --> 00:46:15,444
That natural variety is matched
by a human diversity
404
00:46:15,544 --> 00:46:20,745
This is a meeting point for cultures
- old and new
405
00:46:29,502 --> 00:46:32,049
Over the centuries, Indonesia's peoples
406
00:46:32,149 --> 00:46:34,951
have developed their own unique ways of life
407
00:46:41,350 --> 00:46:45,412
In much the same way,
many of the animals here are unique
408
00:46:50,780 --> 00:46:52,694
Isolated on remote islands
409
00:46:52,794 --> 00:46:54,505
the castaways of two continents
410
00:46:54,605 --> 00:46:58,585
went their own way to become creatures
found nowhere else on earth
411
00:47:06,705 --> 00:47:09,000
Throughout the natural history of Indonesia
412
00:47:09,100 --> 00:47:12,317
the only certainty has been change
413
00:47:24,283 --> 00:47:30,231
Over millions of years, volcanos
built new islands in what was once open ocean
414
00:47:31,472 --> 00:47:34,931
islands of opportunity for new life to conquer
415
00:47:38,044 --> 00:47:41,901
The story of wild Indonesia
has been written in fire
416
00:47:43,431 --> 00:47:46,614
and that fire still burns today
417
00:47:47,621 --> 00:47:59,671
Transcription by Andrew and Hattie
www.mvgroup.org
34382
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