Original subtitles

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NARRATOR: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL, YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT IS EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: HI, EVERYONE, I'M DYLAN DREYER.

GET READY TO EMBARK ON AN EPIC ADVENTURE AROUND THE WORLD.

THIS IS "EARTH ODYSSEY".

TODAY, WE'RE OFF TO EXPLORE INDIA AND GET AN UP-CLOSE LOOK

AT ITS INCREDIBLY DIVERSE WILDLIFE.

IN THE THAR DESERT, AN ENTIRE MOUNTAIN IS DEDICATED TO THIS

BELOVED BIRD.

THEN IN THE HIGHLY CONTESTED TREETOPS, HOME PROTECTION ALWAYS

COMES FIRST.

PLUS, HOW THESE NATIVE NOMADS LIVE THE HIGH-LIFE IN THE

HIMALAYAS.

BUT FIRST, WE CATCH UP ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S MOST REVERED LOCAL

LEGENDS, THE INDIAN LEOPARD.

ALL OF THIS AND A WHOLE LOT MORE COMING UP ON "EARTH ODYSSEY".

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: INDIA'S NATURAL DIVERSITY CAN BE SEEN IN EVERY

DIRECTION YOU LOOK, FROM THE DENSE MANGROVES IN THE EAST, TO

THE LUSH RAINFORESTS OF THE SOUTH, THE SNOW-COVERED

MOUNTAINS IN THE NORTH, AND THE BRUTAL DESERTS IN THE WEST.

EACH REGION OFFERS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT AND ITS

OWN VAST ARRAY OF BIODIVERSITY WITH SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST

ICONIC ANIMALS, INCLUDING ONE OF THE MOST FEARED FELINES ON

EARTH.

IN THE NORTH OF INDIA, LIFE MUST FIND A WAY TO SURVIVE IN ONE OF

SOUTH ASIA'S DRIEST REGIONS.

HERE AMONG THE CRAGGY HILLS AT THE EDGE OF THE THAR DESERT,

HUMAN ACTIVITY HAS MAROONED ONE OF INDIA'S MOST ICONIC

PREDATORS.

AMONG THESE ROCKS LAY THE REMAINS OF A RECENT MEAL.

THIS INDIAN LEOPARD IS A STEALTHY, NOCTURNAL HUNTER.

CAPABLE OF TAKING DOWN PREY THREE TIMES ITS SIZE,

THIS MALE HAS BEEN OUT HUNTING ALL NIGHT.

IN THE COOL DAWN AIR, HE PATROLS HIS ROCKY DOMAIN.

KEEPING OUT A WATCHFUL EYE FOR INTRUDERS.

HE WOULD PREFER TO LIVE A SOLITARY EXISTENCE, BUT DUE TO

HABITAT LOSS, HE MUST NOW SHARE THE SINGLE HUNTING GROUND WITH

FIVE OTHER LEOPARDS.

WITH SO MUCH COMPETITION, THESE BIG CATS ARE BEING FORCED TO

HUNT NIGHT AND DAY.

THE SUN MAY BE RISING, BUT THIS YOUNG FEMALE IS HEADING DOWN TO

SEARCH FOR PREY.

AT JUST TWO YEARS OLD, SHE'S STILL PERFECTING HER TECHNIQUE.

AND SHE'S ALREADY BEEN SPOTTED.

ALWAYS READY TO SOUND THE ALARM, A TROOP OF HANUMAN LANGURS ARE

KEEPING A CLOSE WATCH ON THE BIG CAT'S EVERY MOVE.

THEY'VE CREATED SO MUCH NOISE, THE WHOLE FOREST IS ALERTED TO

THIS LEOPARD'S UNEXPECTED APPROACH.

INCLUDING INDIA'S LARGEST ANTELOPE.

NILGAI ARE BIG AND FAST.

BUT THE CALF IS AN OBVIOUS TARGET.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: EVEN A LEOPARD THIS YOUNG KNOWS NOT TO WASTE ENERGY

ON A LONG CHASE.

PATIENCE WILL BE HER SECRET WEAPON.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: SHE SPOTS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A SURPRISE ATTACK.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: BUT UNFORTUNATELY FOR THIS ROOKIE HUNTER, HER

CAMOUFLAGE IS BEST SUITED FOR LOW LIGHT.

AND IN THE BRIGHTNESS OF DAY, THE NILGAI SOON SPOT THE

APPROACHING DANGER.

PERHAPS ONCE NIGHT FALLS, THE BIG CAT WILL REGAIN THE UPPER

HAND.

SOUTH ASIA'S DIVERSE WILDLIFE FACES A MYRIAD OF CHALLENGES.

WHILE THE MONSOON RAINS HAVE GIVEN LIFE TO CERTAIN REGIONS,

THE INCREASING EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE MAKE THE FUTURE

OF THIS SUBCONTINENT UNCERTAIN.

FOR EVERY UNIQUE CREATURE THAT CALLS THIS PLACE HOME, EACH MUST

FIGHT TO ENSURE THE SURVIVAL OF THEIR SPECIES.

AS THE ELEMENTS BECOME MORE HARSH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

CHANGES, SO TOO MUST THESE AMAZING ANIMALS IN THEIR FIGHT

TO SURVIVE.

COMING UP, THESE PRIMATES WILL GO OUT ON A LIMB TO PROTECT

THEIR HOME.

PLUS, WE'LL VISIT A SANCTUARY WHERE ONE OF INDIA'S MOST

SPECTACULAR BIRDS CAN BE IN PEACE.

AND LATER, WE TREK TO A REMOTE PART OF INDIA TO SEE ONE OF THE

WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS PREDATORS.

ALL OF THIS WHEN WE RETURN TO "EARTH ODYSSEY".

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NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: IN THE FORESTS OF NORTHEAST INDIA, ONE RARE

SPECIES OF PRIMATE SPENDS ITS ENTIRE LIFE IN THE CANOPY.

FEEDING, FIGHTING, AND MATING, ALL HIGH ABOVE THE GROUND.

THE GOLDEN LANGUR.

THESE TREE-DWELLERS LIVE IN TIGHTLY KNIT SOCIAL GROUPS.

THEIR BREEDING SEASON RUNS YEAR-ROUND.

BUT FEMALES GIVE BIRTH TO JUST A SINGLE BABY.

CONTRIBUTING TO THEIR STATUS AS ONE OF INDIA'S MOST ENDANGERED

MAMMALS.

THESE LANGURS SPEND THEIR WHOLE LIFE IN THE TREES AND WILL

RARELY SET FOOT ON THE GROUND.

ALL THE FOOD THEY NEED CAN BE FOUND IN THE CANOPY, WITH MATURE

LEAVES AND FRESH BUDS MAKING UP THE MAJORITY OF THEIR DIET.

AND MOST OF THEIR WATER COMES FROM DEW AND RAIN-SOAKED LEAVES.

HOWEVER, DESPITE THE ABUNDANCE OF SNACKS, COMPETITION OVER

FEEDING IS RIPE.

MINOR DISAGREEMENTS CAN SOON GET OUT OF HAND.

BUT GOLDEN LANGURS USUALLY OPT FOR FLIGHT, NOT FIGHT.

AND SIMPLY LEAP AWAY.

LARGE HIND LIMBS PROVIDE POWERFUL PROPULSION, WHILST

LONG, PADDED FINGERS ALLOW FOR EFFECTIVE HOOKING AND GRABBING.

LANGURS ARE ONE OF THE FEW PRIMATES TO HAVE ALL BUT LOST

THEIR THUMBS.

AN EVOLUTIONARY ADAPTATION TO HELP WHILE SWINGING THROUGH THE

TREES.

THEY ALSO HAVE A LONG TAIL, WHICH ENHANCES BALANCE AND MAKES

ESCAPING A QUARREL A FAR EASIER TASK.

BUT WHEN THE FIGHTING COMES TO AN END, THEY HAVE A VERY GENTLE

WAY OF MAKING UP.

GROOMING IS ONE OF THEIR FAVORITE PASTIMES AND IT ISN'T

ALWAYS DONE ALONE.

LANGURS TURN THIS INTO A SOCIAL AFFAIR.

THEY OFTEN RUMMAGE THROUGH EACH OTHER'S FUR TO ENFORCE SOCIAL

BONDS AND RELIEVE STRESS.

COMING UP, WE HEAD TO THE THAR DESERT TO EXPLORE A MOUNTAIN

MADE PERFECT FOR BIRDS.

PLUS, DISCOVER A LIFE IN THE CLOUDS WITH THESE INDIAN NOMADS.

WHEN "EARTH ODYSSEY" RETURNS.

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NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: BIRDS OF PREY, ALSO KNOWN AS RAPTORS, ARE SOME OF

THE MOST SKILLED PREDATORS IN THE WORLD.

THEY HAVE TO BE, CONSIDERING THEY TYPICALLY HUNT CREATURES

THAT ARE BIGGER THAN THEY ARE.

INDIA IS HOME TO TEN DIFFERENT SPECIES OF RAPTORS, ALL FEARED

BY THEIR PREY, BUT BELOVED BY THE INDIAN PEOPLE.

NOWHERE IS THIS MORE APPARENT THAN IN THE THAR DESERT, WHERE

LOCALS HAVE DEDICATED AN ENTIRE MOUNTAIN TO THESE HIGH-FLYING

HUNTERS.

WELCOME BACK TO INDIA, WHERE WE MAKE OUR WAY TO A CITY KNOWN AS

THE GATEWAY TO THE DESERT, JODHPUR.

IT'S DOMINATED BY ONE OF INDIA'S MOST IMPRESSIVE BUILDINGS,

MEHRANGARH FORT.

ALSO KNOWN AS MOUNTAIN OF BIRDS.

ITS BATTLEMENTS TOWER 400 FEET ABOVE THE CITY.

AND THEY'VE BEEN OCCUPIED FOR CENTURIES.

THE FORT IS A STRONGHOLD FOR BIRDS OF PREY, THANKS TO THE

PEOPLE OF JODHPUR.

IN THE FABLED BLUE CITY, RAPTORS HAVE LONG BEEN PROTECTED.

CARING FOR THE BLACK KITE POPULATION IS A TASK LATIF

KARACHI TAKES TO HEART.

LATIF FEEDS THE KITES EVERYDAY AS HIS FAMILY HAS DONE FOR

GENERATIONS.

IT IS A GREAT HONOR.

NURTURED BY THE CITY, THE KITES THRIVE IN THEIR DESERT FORTRESS.

THEY SHARE THEIR HOME WITH LONG-BILLED VULTURES THAT NEST

ON ITS BATTLEMENTS.

BUT INDIA'S VULTURES HAVEN'T BEEN SO LUCKY.

THEIR NUMBERS FELL BY 90 PERCENT IN RECENT YEARS.

ACCIDENTALLY POISONED BY A DRUG THAT IS NOW BANNED.

FEWER VULTURES NEST HERE NOW, BUT JODHPUR'S FORT REMAINS A

VITAL BREEDING GROUND.

NUMBERS ARE SLOWLY RECOVERING.

VULTURES RISE ON THERMALS AND SOAR EFFORTLESSLY ABOVE THE BLUE

CITY.

THE STREETS BELOW ARE CROWDED WITH WORKING ANIMALS.

COWS ARE SACRED TO HINDUS AND CANNOT BE EATEN WHEN THEY DIE.

INSTEAD, THEY MUST BE RESPECTFULLY DISPOSED OF.

EVERYDAY, CARCASSES ARE WHEELED TO THE EDGE OF THE CITY, WHERE

THERE ARE LEFT TO THE SCAVENGERS.

BIRDS OF PREY ARE INVALUABLE TO SOCIETY.

VULTURES ARE FED, IN RETURN, THEY CLEAN UP THE CITY.

HELPING ENSURE DISEASE DOESN'T SPREAD.

COMING UP, VULTURES AREN'T THE ONLY ANIMALS IN INDIA LIVING

SIDE BY SIDE WITH HUMANS.

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NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO INDIA, WHERE IN THE STAGGERING

MOUNTAINS OF THE HIMALAYAS, EVEN A SNOW LEOPARD REFUSES TO BRAVE

THE FRIGID TEMPERATURES ABOVE 18,000 FEET.

AND IT APPEARS THIS OXYGEN-DEPLETED ALTITUDE IS THE

LIMIT FOR ANOTHER MAMMAL THAT ALSO STRUGGLES TO SURVIVE IN THE

MOUNTAINS OF INDIA'S MOST NORTHERN REGION, LADAKH.

FOLLOWING A SIX HOUR TREK FROM THE HIMALAYA'S HIGHER PLAINS,

THE CHANGPA TRIBE FINALLY REACH THEIR TEMPORARY WINTER BASE.

THESE NOMADIC HERDERS CAN'T SURVIVE THE HARSH WINTER COLD

ABOVE 16,000 FEET, SO INSTEAD, TRAVEL MORE THAN SIX MILES TO

REACH THE LOWER ALTITUDE PLAINS.

EVEN HERE, AT 13,000 FEET, IN A BLINK OF THE SUN, TEMPERATURES

CAN SUDDENLY PLUMMET FROM PLUS 41 TO MINUS 22 DEGREES

FAHRENHEIT.

SETTING UP CAMP BY ONE OF THE PREVIOUS SEASON'S DRYSTONE

CORRALS IS TOP OF THE TO-DO LIST BEFORE THE BONE-CHILLING NIGHT

AIR CREEPS IN.

AS THE EARLY MORNING SUN TAKES THE AMBIENT AIR ABOVE FREEZING,

BABY GOATS THAT SPENT THE NIGHT UNDER THE WARM COVER OF CANVAS

ARE RETURNED TO THE HERD.

FOR CENTURIES, NOMADS HAVE BEEN HERDING THE GOATS, WHOSE

DELICATE WOOL SUPPLIES THE CASHMERE SHAWL INDUSTRY.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: NEWBORN KIDS GUARANTEE THE FUTURE SUPPLY OF RAW WOOL,

KNOWN AS PASHM, SO THEY RECEIVE SPECIAL CARE AND ARE

ALWAYS FIRST TO BE TENDED TO.

A CONSTANTLY SMOKING STOVE IS THE CENTER POINT TO NOMADIC

LIFE, ALONGSIDE A DECORATED ALTAR USED FOR DAILY WORSHIP.

WITH THEIR ORIGINS IN NEIGHBORING COUNTRY TIBET, THE

CHANGPA ARE DEVOUT FOLLOWERS OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM.

THEY BELIEVE THE WORLD IS DIVIDED INTO THREE DISTINCT

LAYERS.

THE UPPER TIER BEING THE HOME OF THE GODS, THE LOWER, THE DOMAIN

OF THE UNDERWORLD SPIRITS, AND SANDWICHED IN THE MIDDLE IS THE

LAYER SHARED BY PEOPLE AND ANIMALS.

BELIEVING THAT THEIR LIVESTOCK IS A GIFT FROM THE GODS, EACH

MORNING, INCENSE BURNT AT THE TENT'S ALTAR IS TAKEN OUTSIDE

AND OFFERED TO THEIR ANIMALS.

THE NUMBER OF GOATS, SHEEP, AND YAK A FAMILY OWNS DEFINES

WEALTH.

THE MOST WELL-OFF CAN POSSESS MORE THAN A THOUSAND ANIMALS.

WITH TREES UNABLE TO GROW IN THIS HIGH-ALTITUDE CLIMATE,

FIREWOOD IS CONVENIENTLY REPLACED BY ANOTHER RENEWABLE

SOURCE.

WHILE HIS MOTHER AND FATHER REMAIN AT CAMP TACKLING DOMESTIC

DUTIES, 18-YEAR-OLD TUBSTON HEADS OFF FOR THE DAY, IN SEARCH

OF GRAZING, TO SATISFY HIS HERD OF 100 HUNGRY MOUTHS.

BOYS START SHEPHERDING WITH THEIR FATHERS AT THE AGE OF

EIGHT AND WHEN CONFIDENT, HEAD OFF INTO THE HILLS ON THEIR OWN.

ALTHOUGH SHEEP AND YAK FIBERS ALSO PROVIDE A SOURCE OF INCOME,

IT IS THE INDIGENOUS TIBETAN, OR PASHMINA MOUNTAIN GOATS, THAT

ARE THE MOST VALUED.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: THE HARSH CLIMATE OF THE LADAKH PLATEAU FORCES THE GOATS

TO GROW AN EXTRA LAYER OF DOWNY FIBER BENEATH THEIR UPPER COAT,

PRODUCING SOME OF THE FINEST WOOL AVAILABLE TODAY.

BACK IN THE 19TH CENTURY, THE EVER-SCHEMING EAST INDIA COMPANY

REALIZED THE VALUE OF SUCH FIBERS AND WERE QUICK TO COERCE

THE LADAKHI KINGS TO SIDE WITH THE EMPIRE.

BUT THE SO-CALLED PASHMINA WARS BETWEEN THE REGION'S VARIOUS

RULERS DATE BACK MORE THAN 400 YEARS.

ALTHOUGH THE LOWER GRAZING GROUNDS AREN'T COVERED BY SNOW

LIKE THE HIGHER PLAINS, THEIR SHORT, DRIED GRASSES PROVIDE A

VERY LIMITED VASTLY SPREAD-OUT RESOURCE.

TUBSTON AND HIS HERD HAVE NO OPTION BUT TO COVER MORE THAN

SIX MILES EACH DAY, IN SEARCH OF EDIBLE PASTURE.

IT'S AN ARDUOUS BUT REWARDING NINE HOUR TRIP.

THE COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE HUMAN AND ANIMAL

POPULATIONS OF INDIA HAS HELPED TO PROTECT A MULTITUDE OF

ENDANGERED NATIVE SPECIES.

THIS CONNECTION AND MUTUAL RESPECT IS SAVING ANIMAL LIVES

EVERYDAY, SETTING AN EXAMPLE AROUND THE WORLD.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY ON OUR INDIAN EXCURSION.

I HOPE TO SEE YOU FOR THE NEXT ADVENTURE ON "EARTH ODYSSEY".

[MUSIC]