Original subtitles

Our planet is home to millions of different animals.

The big and the powerful capture our attention.

But there is another story to tell.

Beneath our feet are hidden, almost magical worlds...

..teeming with extraordinary little creatures.

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

The world looks very different to them.

A falling acorn...

..becomes a meteor.

A tiny trickle,

a tsunami.

And every enemy...

is a giant.

Now, using the latest technology,

we can recreate the world from their perspective.

In this episode,

we enter the secret worlds of two urban jungles -

the chaos and commotion of Rio...

..and the futuristic metropolis that is Tokyo.

These are dramatic tales of life inside the Hidden Kingdoms.

BIRDS CHIRP

HIGH-PITCHED WHISTLING

Tiny marmoset monkeys,

small enough to sit in the palm of your hand.

They're a close-knit family,

at home in the tree tops of the forest.

But this is no ordinary forest.

CAR ALARM BLARES

DISTANT SHOUTING

Rio de Janeiro.

This vast city

crammed with over six million people

is eating into the jungle.

But some jungle creatures

are standing their ground.

The only way to survive

is by making the most of what humans can offer.

For a gang of marmosets,

finding food in the city

means leaving the safety of the trees.

It's a journey fraught with danger.

HIGH-PITCHED WHISTLING

One young male is bold enough to lead the way.

To marmosets,

these power cables are like tree branches...

..if a little more slippery.

Surveying the streets below, they can spot any opportunity for a meal.

HORN BLARES

The streets of Rio

are strewn with discarded litter.

BACKGROUND CHATTER

CAR HORN TOOTS

CAT MEOWS

CAT PURRS

But they are also patrolled by cats and dogs.

CAT PURRS

CAT MEOWS

To survive, the marmosets must work as a team.

CAT MEOWS

HIGH-PITCHED WHISTLING

Look-outs sound the alarm.

Young marmosets are more inquisitive than the adults.

INDISTINCT CHATTER

The city is so noisy,

it's hard to hear the others calling time to move on.

SIRENS WAIL AND HORNS BLARE

MARMOSETS SQUEAK

The link to the rest of the family has been severed.

He has no choice but to take to the streets.

ALARM BLARES HORNS BEEP

How can this young marmoset survive

without the protection of his family?

HIGH-PITCHED WHISTLING

On the other side of the planet...

..Tokyo.

With well over 30 million people,

there's barely room for any green space.

This concrete jungle

is one of the most inhospitable places on earth

for wild animals.

But there is one out tonight,

an armour-plated mini monster...

..a rhinoceros beetle.

Removed from the forest, he's now a captive...

..and a gladiator.

BELL RINGS Introduced to another male,

all he needs to do

is what comes naturally to him...

..fight.

The winner is the one who throws the other on his back.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

He wins.

BEETLE CHIRRUPS

Beetles usually eat high-energy tree sap.

Here, some fruit will have to do.

Then he's back in the ring.

For their size,

rhinoceros beetles are the strongest creature on Earth -

able to lift over 100 times their own body weight.

Males with longer horns are more likely to win

and this male's horn is as big as they get.

But even he's not invincible.

Nonstop fighting is exhausting.

CROWD GROANS

MAN SHOUTS

No longer a hero,

he's just an unwanted bug.

Now the only hope for survival

is to find an oasis amongst the concrete.

CROWD SHOUT

Back in Rio,

the young marmoset is searching for his lost family.

HORN BLASTS

Down at street level,

he is far from alone.

A cane toad -

quite at home in the gutter...

..and poisonous to the touch.

RATTLING

The warning rattle of a snake...

HIGH-PITCHED WHISTLING

..mimicked by a burrowing owl to keep intruders away.

Burrowing owls have adapted well to city life...

..and even enjoy a trip to the beach.

Rotten food isn't on the menu,

but collecting it is all part of a plan.

Just one more trip is needed.

This time, to visit the local agouti.

Agouti usually live in the forest,

but these have come to feast on scraps left by the residents.

CAR HORN TOOTS

It looks like the owl has hit the jackpot, too.

A crowd this size would never occur in the forest

but here, food is abundant.

The agouti barely notice one more mouth to feed.

Cats, on the other hand, miss nothing.

MEOWING The city owl is too quick for a cat.

Back at the burrow,

it's time to put the plan into action.

WHISTLING It's not long

before visitors are attracted to the smell.

He's been setting a trap all along.

Burrowing owls live on a diet of bugs.

In the wild, owls use animal dung as bait,

but this one has adapted brilliantly to city life

and can now enjoy its own home delivery service.

Life is not proving quite so easy for the marmoset.

Without the rest of the gang to help him,

the youngster is very hungry...

..and very alone.

In Tokyo, the rhinoceros beetle is not just alone,

but still miles from any oasis.

He does have one trick up his sleeve, though...

..a huge pair of wings...

..and the strength to perform a vertical take-off.

He may have escaped the back streets,

but flying around Tokyo's skyscrapers

is a precarious business.

He isn't alone.

The sky is filled with other nocturnal bugs.

Insects normally navigate by the light of the moon.

Tokyo's lightscape plays havoc with their map reading.

Light radiates in all directions...

..and the confused bugs are lured closer and closer...

..right into the path of a predator.

RADAR PULSES

The glaring lights don't distract bats.

They see with sound.

Listening to the echoes from its high-pitched calls

allows the bat to form a detailed picture

of the world around it.

A large, clumsy rhinoceros beetle

might seem a tempting target.

One way to avoid capture is to drop out of the sky.

That's one thing a heavy beetle can do well.

Bats aren't the only animals up here feasting on the glut of bugs.

BUZZING

It's warmer in the busy city than in the surrounding countryside,

so very attractive to cold-blooded geckos.

The extra heat speeds up the lizard's metabolism,

allowing it to strike with lightning speed.

In the forests,

geckos hunt on the trunks of tall trees,

so a Tokyo skyscraper is home from home.

Gecko feet can normally stick to anything.

Unfortunately, the tall buildings and the warm city air

can create a problem never found in the forest.

The swirling currents of air

form millions of mini tornadoes.

There's too much turbulence, even for a gecko.

When its grip fails, a gecko can glide to safety.

But he's landed on someone else's patch.

The hungry rhinoceros beetle has gate-crashed too...

..all in the sight of the deadliest man-eater in Tokyo.

In Rio's labyrinthine streets,

there are endless places for animals to hide.

A leafcutter ant has left the security of its family

to scout for food.

CAR DRIVES PAST

Ants use their antennae to detect food.

This is fuel for the colony.

Within minutes, fellow workers are by her side,

having followed a trail of chemicals

that she has deliberately left behind her.

The ants must work fast.

Down here, exhaust fumes can create a thick toxic smog.

Now they must take the long road home,

back to the rest of the colony.

As the first worker ants

reach the safety of the underground colony,

city life is about to come crashing in on their world.

Washed away from the colony,

any chance of finding the way back seems impossible.

But there's help to guide them.

Despite the flood, the chemical trail is still strong.

A single gram of it would be powerful enough

to create a trail around the entire globe.

Such extraordinary communication and teamwork enables leafcutter ants

to overcome whatever the city throws at them.

The only way marmosets can keep in touch is by calling.

For a moment, the young male thinks his calls are being returned.

SQUEAKING

But the noises of the city can be deceptive.

It's not the call of his family, but the sound of a truck braking.

Down on the streets, there are trucks everywhere.

SQUEAKING AND RATTLING

HORN BLASTS

Back in Tokyo, the beetle has landed in the lair of a man-eater.

This praying mantis is trying to attract a mate.

The breeze will carry her scent to the city beyond.

Out on the town, a male is quickly hooked.

But he's aware of this lady's reputation.

He has to exercise a bit of caution.

This city breeze will work in his favour,

distracting her from his approach.

He's lucky. Most males don't even make it this far.

Success.

But the lady wants more...

His head.

It may look gruesome,

but the extra protein that the female gets from eating him

will actually improve the chance of his young surviving.

A bamboo house plant provides a mantis with all she needs,

but it's not enough for a rhinoceros beetle.

He needs tree sap.

The scent is on the air, but it's drawing him deeper into the city.

Saved by his armour.

A jumping spider -

no bigger than a grain of rice.

Up on a traffic light, the spider is looking for a meal.

These spiders don't make webs. Instead, they hunt.

Using his silk safety line, the spider gets within range.

It locks eight eyes on the target, focuses, jumps...

..and misses.

In the forest, jumping spiders rarely miss their target.

And they certainly don't miss it again...

..and again...

..and again.

In red light, the spider can't judge distance properly.

But when the light turns green,

everything snaps back into focus.

This time, the aim is perfect.

Unfortunately, in a city with this much traffic,

it's only a matter of time before the lights turn red again.

Caught in the rush, the rhinoceros beetle hasn't the energy to fly.

Any chance of finding sanctuary seems impossible.

Night in Rio.

Marmosets normally retreat to the treetops

and huddle together for warmth and security.

This young marmoset isn't so lucky.

Under the cover of darkness, unsavoury characters appear.

SQUAWKING

SQUEAKING

Rats are the ultimate city winners -

opportunists that can adapt to any environment

and consume almost anything they find.

The city offers a tarantula

countless places to make a burrow.

DRAMATIC MUSIC

MUSIC BUILDS

Night also brings out the city's most ruthless hunter.

Silent and supple, with superb night vision,

cats are the kings of Rio's back streets.

And a marmoset's worst enemy.

CAT MEOWS

Even a cat can't match the agility

of a marmoset that's learnt to live on the high wires of Rio.

CATS YOWL

At last, dawn is near, bringing relative safety to the marmoset.

But in Tokyo, dawn brings a beetle's nemesis.

BIRDS CAW LOUDLY

The skyscrapers echo with their calls.

In the forest, beetles bury themselves in the ground

to sit out the perils of the day.

THUD

A crow.

THUDDING

For the beetle, it's like facing a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

With every step, the beetle tests the ground,

looking for somewhere to hide.

Crows are one of the world's most intelligent animals.

They always rise to a challenge, especially where food is concerned.

To a beetle, these wrappers are the closest thing

to burying itself in fallen leaves.

THUDDING

A crow's beak can crack a beetle's armour like an egg.

The beetle makes a break for it.

With size comes strength -

he can force his way between the heavy sacks.

CROW CAWS

CROW CAWS LOUDLY

Safe for a moment,

the beetle catches the scent of trees on the warm air.

At last they're close.

It's a temple - a sanctuary for humanity in the heart of the city.

At last, trees flowing with delicious sap.

The garden has attracted other beetles.

A female.

He's not the only male to be interested.

At last, there's everything to fight for.

He has lost before.

This will be the battle of his life.

He searches for some extra grip, then makes his move.

For the beetle, life has just got a whole lot better.

Back in a world he knows,

he can now spend the rest of his short life

surrounded by everything he needs.

Outside this oasis in the unforgiving world of Tokyo,

only the most resilient and most adaptable can survive.

Dawn in Rio.

It's now nearly a day

since the young marmoset was separated from his family.

Suddenly he hears them,

far over on the other side of the road.

The only way to them is to cross the wire

and he's seen how dangerous that can be.

But the alternative is the danger of life alone.

At last, he's back.

For any social animal, the only way to survive

is with the support and protection of friends and family.

Only a few animals have the skills

to meet the challenges of city life.

But for those who can, there are great rewards.

With over half the world's population now living in cities,

animals and humans are forced to live side by side.

Wherever you are, you're never far

from the tiny heroes of the Hidden Kingdoms.

Marmosets are the miniature stars of Rio.

Mastering life on the electric cables is key to their survival.

To show the marmoset's high-wire perspective

required a whole range of filming techniques.

But before filming could even start, we had to find the monkeys.

Cameraman Mark Payne-Gill and director Gavin Maxwell

have filmed monkeys in the jungle countless times.

Filming monkeys in the urban jungle is a whole new challenge.

This is good down here, lots of trees and wires.

This way. There, over there. There.

The traffic, the people and the buildings

make keeping up with the marmosets surprisingly difficult.

It's a bit daunting to start with,

all the motorbikes and all the people and all the noise.

I think they are up here. Up that alley way, that way.

Argh, this is so frustrating. They are always one step ahead of me.

The monkeys always have the advantage of their aerial runways,

leaving Gavin and Mark trailing behind.

Marmosets are so agile. There's nothing in their way, really,

whereas I've got to navigate all these streets,

go round corners and I can lose them very quickly.

And then, of course, they can go back that way.

To try to beat the traffic, they head up to higher ground

and a better vantage point.

Just when they think they've found the answer...

DOG BARKS

HIGH-PITCHED WHISTLING

RADIO PLAYS FROM CAR

So it's not going that well.

It's probably one of the hardest places

I've ever come to film monkeys

in all the years that I've been filming them in jungles, in their natural habitat.

After three days racing round the hectic city,

they still don't have a single decent shot of a marmoset.

To increase their chances of finding a settled troop,

the two decide to split up.

I think I can hear one down here.

'Mark, I've got some up here.

'There are about four of them up on the hill now.' I'm on my way.

'Come on, quick, quick.'

Gavin has found an area

where a family of marmosets come together to socialise.

They're doing some really cool stuff.

Finding them is one thing,

but now the crew need to encourage the group to stay around

as long as possible.

It will take time to get the monkeys used to their presence.

We're trying to mimic their calls and make a very high-pitched call.

So I'm going to go... Sss!

Sss!

That sounds nothing like them.

A proper recording might do better.

We're on Led Zeppelin at the moment. Hang on.

I'm sure they like heavy metal, but not today.

There we go, there we go. Listen to that.

RECORDING PLAYS OF MARMOSET SQUEAKS

It certainly seems to help and over the next few days,

the group start to ignore the cameras

and the crew get some key shots.

It means we can get some really nice behaviour of them

just doing what they do normally.

Now it's time to get closer

to see what life on the wires looks like

from the marmosets' own perspective.

We're just slowly, slowly building their trust.

They want to get the camera as near as possible.

But those are high-voltage cables

and there are enough reminders that the wires are live.

If we can get the marmosets running along the wires here,

literally we'll be looking eye to eye to them.

He's really using his tail then,

to keep himself balanced when he's running quickly like that.

From this unique viewpoint,

the acrobatic skills of the marmosets come sharply into focus.

How on earth does it do that? He's up on a wobbly wire

and he leaps over another marmoset and lands on the wire again.

That's incredible.

They leap from wire to wire

and for a moment they're just in midair.

I think that looks really dangerous.

Eventually the crew reach the limits

of how much more they can safely achieve here.

They will need to move to a more controlled environment

to film their stars in any greater detail.

Leaving the glamour of Rio behind them,

they head to a small shed... in Cumbria.

Here, in a wildlife sanctuary, lives a troop of marmosets -

the high-wire stunt doubles for the next phase of the filming.

First the marmosets' home needs to be transformed

into a special effects studio.

Using a blue screen will allow them

to superimpose images of Rio in the background.

For the marmosets themselves,

there's a state-of-the-art slow-motion camera.

We're going to use this to show how agile they are

and how they can actually grip on to the wire

and what's going on as they're moving at such high speed.

Once the studio is set up, it doesn't take long

for the curious marmosets to take an interest.

Unfortunately, it's an interest in our cameras rather than the wire.

Oi, get off my lens.

They're everywhere except on the wire.

The wire is over there.

Here we go.

It's not long before these intelligent monkeys

are exploring the wires...

..and it's all captured in super-slow motion.

OK, well, that's very, very promising.

Rolling.

Now it's time to replicate the acrobatic leaps

made by their cousins in Rio.

Yeah, I guess it's exaggerated by the wide-angle lens as well.

One at a time, they're queuing up.

But will our stunt doubles show the same level of skills?

Oh, wow. Oh, that's lovely! Wow, that's nice.

It's like he's floating in the air in that one.

Very pleased. Hello. Hello. Oop! He's pleased as well.

Well, final shot of the sequence.

What I want is a big close-up.

It's one small leap for a marmoset...

and one extraordinary shot.

Hey! Brilliant.

The Cumbrian marmosets are just as agile as their Brazilian relatives.

Throughout the whole series,

the combination of wild filming and special effects

has enabled us to recreate

the extraordinary lives of the heroes in the Hidden Kingdoms.