Original subtitles

.

- 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, EVERYBODY.

I'M DYLAN DREYER AND THIS IS

"EARTH ODYSSEY".

TODAY WE DISCOVER ALL THE UNIQUE

AND MYSTERIOUS ANIMALS THAT CALL

MADAGASCAR HOME.

- LIKE THE RING-TAILED LEMUR; A - CREATURE THAT STILL HAS

SCIENTISTS SCRATCHING THEIR

HEADS.

PLUS, ALTHOUGH THIS LAND IS

ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO WALK ON,

ONE ANIMAL'S FEET HAS ENOUGH

PADDING TO MAKE THIS PLACE ITS

PAD.

AND LATER, WE HEAD TO THE CAVES

WHERE ONE REPTILE LIVES, BUT WHY

AND HOW IT LIVES THERE IS A

MYSTERY.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: EARTH'S WILDLIFE IS FULL - OF THE UNUSUAL.

- BUT IF YOU REALLY WANT TO SEE - THE BEST OF THE BIZARRE, LOOK NO

FURTHER THAN THE ISLAND OF

MADAGASCAR.

WHEN EVOLUTION ZIGGED,

MADAGASCAR ZAGGED AND CREATED A

WORLD THAT IS UNFAMILIAR TO THE

REST OF THE PLANET.

AND ONE OF THE MOST EYE-OPENING

EXAMPLES IS A MAMMAL THAT ALWAYS

APPEARS TO HAVE ITS EYES OPEN;

THE RING-TAILED LEMUR.

SITTING AROUND 250 MILES OFF

AFRICA'S SOUTHEASTERN COAST,

MADAGASCAR IS THE FOURTH LARGEST

ISLAND IN THE WORLD.

- AFTER BREAKING AWAY FROM THE - MAINLAND AND ULTIMATELY

SEPARATING FROM INDIA AROUND 90

MILLION YEARS AGO, MANY

CREATURES HERE BECAME TRAPPED.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: OTHERS DRIFTED TO - MADAGASCAR'S SHORES AT A LATER

DATE.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: OF ALMOST A QUARTER OF A

MILLION SPECIES FOUND ON THE

ISLAND, APPROXIMATELY 70 PERCENT

ARE UNIQUE.

THIS MYRIAD OF BIZARRE LIFE

FORMS HAD A HUGE IMPACT ON THE

EARLY HUMAN SETTLERS.

MADAGASCAR'S MOST ICONIC AND

INFLUENTIAL MAMMALS ARE FOUND

NOWHERE ELSE ON EARTH.

ELSEWHERE, ANCIENT PRIMATES WERE

BUSY EVOLVING INTO MONKEYS

WHEREAS HERE THEY DIVERSIFIED

INTO MORE THAN 100 DIFFERENT

TYPES OF LEMUR.

RING-TAILED LEMURS LIVE IN

GROUPS OF UP TO 30 INDIVIDUALS.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: STANDING APPROXIMATELY

15 INCHES TALL AND WEIGHING JUST

OVER 4 POUNDS, THEIR LONG,

STRIPED TAILS MAKE THEM STAND

OUT FROM ALL OTHER SPECIES.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: THE MORNING BEGINS WITH

A SPOT OF SUNBATHING.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: LIKE ALL LEMURS,

RINGTAILS HAVE A SLOW

METABOLISM; A SURVIVAL

ADAPTATION FOR WHENEVER FOOD IS

SCARCE.

BUT AS A CONSEQUENCE, THIS

CREATES A MINOR DRAWBACK.

- AT NIGHT, FOREST TEMPERATURES - CAN DROP TO NEAR FREEZING, SO

THIS YOGA-LIKE POSE FACING THE

SUN IS AN ESSENTIAL WAY TO WARM

UP.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: ONCE FULLY COOKED,

FORAGING BEGINS.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: USING THEIR EXCELLENT - SENSE OF SMELL, THE LEMURS HONE

IN ON CACTI.

- THESE SUCCULENTS PROVIDE VITAL - WATER NEEDS THROUGHOUT THIS

OFTEN-PARCHED ENVIRONMENT.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: FEMALES LEAD THE GROUP - USING A RANGE OF CALLS TO KEEP

THE REST OF THE TROOP IN LINE.

[LEMUR CALLING OUT]

- DYLAN: BRUTE FORCE IS OFTEN - NEEDED TO KEEP ANY

OVER-AMBITIOUS MALES AT BAY.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: PROTECTING FORAGING

TERRITORY IS KEY TO SURVIVAL, SO

THE GROUP SCENT-MARK.

MALES ALSO SPUR-MARK, SCRATCHING

A HORNED PROTRUSION ON THEIR

WRIST GLANDS AGAINST THE BARK.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: THIS DEMARCATION PROCESS - IS OFTEN ENOUGH TO KEEP

OUTSIDERS AWAY.

[JUNGLE SOUNDS]

- DYLAN: BUT WHEN IT COMES TO - INTERNAL DISPUTES, THE MALES

HAVE ANOTHER SECRET WEAPON.

UTILIZING HIS WRIST AND SHOULDER

GLANDS, THIS MALE SCENT-LOADS

THE END OF HIS TAIL.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: SUDDENLY, HE FLICKS AND - WAFTS IT IN THE DIRECTION OF HIS

RIVAL; A STINK FIGHT BEGINS.

[SOUND OF LEMURS FIGHTING]

DYLAN: HIS OPPONENT RESPONDS

WITH HIS OWN PUNGENT EFFORT.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: IT APPEARS HE IS NO - MATCH.

IN THIS GAME, THE SMELLIEST TAIL

ALWAYS WINS.

COMING UP, THE FOREST'S BIGGEST

TREE IS THE MOTHER OF MADAGASCAR

AND ALMOST AS OLD AS MOTHER

NATURE HERSELF.

PLUS, YOU WON'T BELIEVE THE SIZE

OF THIS REPTILE THAT MAKES ITS

HOME IN THE DARKEST PLACES ON

THE ISLAND OF MADAGASCAR.

THAT'S NEXT ON "EARTH ODYSSEY."

[BREAK]

.

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

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO - MADAGASCAR WHERE SOME OF THE

MOST UNIQUE ANIMALS IN THE WILD

CALL HOME.

BUT WHAT DO SCIENTISTS CALL THIS

HABITAT?

EXPERTS HAVE ARGUED FOR DECADES

OVER WHETHER IT'S A FOREST OR A

DESERT.

EVENTUALLY, THEY COMPROMISED AND

LABELED THE REGION A SPINY

THICKET DUE TO MANY TREES

POSSESSING LONG, SHARP SPINES.

WHILE SOME ARE LOW-LYING AND

DENSELY PACKED WITH BRANCHES,

OTHERS ARE TALL AND ALMOST

LIMBLESS.

- POSSIBLY THE MOST BIZARRE TREE - WITHIN THE THICKET IS ONE OF THE

LARGEST AND LONGEST LIVING.

APPEARING AS IF THEY'RE GROWING

UPSIDE DOWN, BAOBAB TREES ARE

PERFECTLY ADAPTED TO THIS DRY

AND HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT.

THEY ARE KNOWN LOCALLY AS THE

MOTHER OF THE FOREST.

AT ALMOST 100 FEET TALL AND A

GIRTH OF MORE THAN 30 FEET,

THEIR SWOLLEN TRUNKS CAN HOLD

MORE THAN 25,000 GALLONS OF

WATER.

THIS RESERVE ENABLES THEM TO

SURVIVE THE HARSHEST OF DESERT

DROUGHTS.

MODERN SCIENCE HAS SHOWN THE

BAOBAB CAN LIVE FOR MORE THAN

3,000 YEARS.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: THE SPINY THICKET - PROVIDES A RELATIVELY SAFE HOME

FOR MANY CREATURES.

ONE SPECIES, HOWEVER, HAS

ADOPTED A UNIQUE METHOD OF

GETTING AROUND WHENEVER LEAVING

THE SECURITY OF THE TREES.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: THIS PARTICULAR SIDEWAYS - LEAP IS MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS

THE DANCE OF THE SIFAKA.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: THESE MEDIUM-SIZED - PRIMATES ARE SO ADAPTED TO

LIVING IN THE TREES, WHENEVER ON

THE GROUND ALL THEY CAN DO IS

HOP.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: ONCE BACK AMONG THE - BRANCHES, HOWEVER, FEW CREATURES

CAN MATCH THEIR LEAPING PROWESS.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: SIFAKAS ARE ONE OF THE - VERY FEW PRIMATES TO REMAIN

UPRIGHT WHEN THEY JUMP.

LONG BALANCE-ENHANCING TAILS

ENABLE THEM TO COVER UP TO 30

FEET IN A SINGLE LEAP.

- WEBBED SKIN UNDER THEIR ARMS - GIVES ADDITIONAL LIFT DURING THE

GRACEFUL GLIDES.

- THICK PADS PROTECT THEIR HANDS - AND FEET FROM THE UNAVOIDABLE

MASS OF SHARP THORNS.

THESE ACROBATIC LEMURS LIVE IN

SMALL GROUPS RARELY EXCEEDING 10

ANIMALS.

LIKE THEIR RING-TAILED COUSINS,

SIFAKA FEMALES ALSO RULE THE

ROOST.

THIS YOUNGSTER IS BARELY A WEEK

OLD AND WILL REMAIN CLOSE TO HIS

MOTHER FOR THE NEXT 6 MONTHS.

- THROUGHOUT THIS TIME, THE ENTIRE - TROOP WILL KEEP A LOOKOUT FOR

HER SAFETY.

FORTUNATELY, VERY FEW PREDATORS

ROAM THIS ISLAND.

COMING UP, WE'LL MEET ONE

SPECIES OF LEMUR THAT YOU'LL

NEVER MEET ANYWHERE ELSE ON

EARTH.

PLUS, WE EXPLORE THE CAVES OF

MADAGASCAR TO FIND THE

CROCODILES YOU WON'T FIND FOR

MILES AND MILES.

NEXT ON "EARTH ODYSSEY."

[BREAK]

.

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

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: MORE THAN 150 MILLION

YEARS AGO THE ISLAND OF

MADAGASCAR BROKE OFF FROM THE

COAST OF AFRICA.

SINCE THEN, THOUSANDS OF SPECIES

HAVE CALLED MADAGASCAR HOME.

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE COASTS

OF AFRICA AND MADAGASCAR MAY BE

- SHORT, BUT FOR THE EARLY - SETTLERS, ADVENTURING ACROSS THE

- SEA ALWAYS PROVED TO BE A LONG - TRIP.

DESPITE LYING JUST AROUND 250

MILES FROM THE COAST OF AFRICA,

IT APPEARS EARLY SEAFARERS

WEREN'T SUCCESSFUL MAKING THE

- SHORT CROSSING FROM THE - MAINLAND.

- STRONG SURFACE CURRENTS AND - FEROCIOUS SEAS MADE NAVIGATING

THE CHANNEL ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE.

[MUSIC]

[SOUND OF WAVESCRASHING]

DYLAN: INSTEAD, MADAGASCAR WAS

INITIALLY COLONIZED BY A SMALL

PARTY OF INDONESIANS

APPROXIMATELY 1,200 YEARS AGO.

DRIVEN BY THE EQUATORIAL

EAST/WEST CURRENT IN GIANT

OUTRIGGER CANOES, THEY LANDED

SAFELY ON THE ISLAND'S

NORTHEASTERN SHORES FOLLOWING

AN EPIC 3,700-MILE JOURNEY.

MADAGASCAR'S COASTLINE HAS

ALTERED GREATLY SINCE BREAKING

AWAY FROM AFRICA AROUND 160

MILLION YEARS AGO.

AROUND 40 MILES INLAND IS A

UNIQUE GEOLOGICAL FEATURE BORN

UNDER THE SEA.

THIS MASS OF RAZOR-SHARP

PINNACLES IS KNOWN AS THE

TSINGY.

- ONCE A SUBMERGED CORAL REEF, - TECTONIC ACTIVITY RAISED THIS

LIMESTONE MASSIVE MORE THAN 300

FEET ABOVE THE SEA.

EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS,

RAINWATER DISSOLVED AND CARVED

UP THE CALCIUM-RICH ROCK.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: THE NAME "TSINGY"

TRANSLATES TO "AS WHERE ONE

CANNOT WALK BAREFOOT," SO LOCAL

PEOPLE RARELY VENTURE INTO THIS

NEEDLE-LIKE STONE FOREST.

HOWEVER, CERTAIN CREATURES HAVE

SET UP HOME HERE.

CROWNED LEMURS NEGOTIATE THESE

VERTICAL BLADES WITH BALLETIC

EASE.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: EXTRA-THICK PADDING ON - THEIR HANDS AND FEET OFFERS

ESSENTIAL PROTECTION.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: UP HERE, THEY FACE - LITTLE COMPETITION IN THEIR

SEARCH FOR LIZARDS AND INSECTS;

THE DIETARY SUPPLEMENT DURING

THE DRY SEASON.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: ALTHOUGH LOCAL PEOPLE - RARELY VENTURE ACROSS THESE

POINTED PEAKS, BENEATH THEIR

HARSH EXTERIOR IT'S A VERY

DIFFERENT STORY.

COMING UP, THE CAVES OF

MADAGASCAR ARE FOR SOME REASON

HOME TO ONE OF THE BIGGEST

REPTILES IN THE WORLD.

AND THAT'S NOT EVEN THE MOST

MYSTERIOUS ASPECT OF THIS

CURIOUS CROCODILE.

[BREAK]

.

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

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO - MADAGASCAR.

- WE'RE AT THE NORTHERN TIP OF THE - ISLAND.

AN UNDERWORLD OF SECRET CAVERNS

AND EXTENSIVE CAVES STRETCHES

FOR MORE THAN 60 MILES BELOW THE

STONE MASSIVE.

TO LOCAL PEOPLE, THIS

SUBTERRANEAN WORLD IS SACRED.

THEIR ANCESTORS HID HERE TO

ESCAPE TRIBAL WARS.

THE BODIES OF ANCIENT KINGS WERE

ALSO LAID TO REST HERE.

IN SOME PLACES THE CAVERN ROOF

HAS COLLAPSED, ALLOWING ISOLATED

POCKETS OF DECIDUOUS FOREST TO

TAKE ROOT.

BUT DEEPER INSIDE THIS DIMLY-LIT

LABYRINTH LIES A WORLD OF

GIANTS.

GROWING TO ALMOST 11 INCHES IN

LENGTH, THE WORLD'S LARGEST

MILLIPEDE THRIVES IN THIS DARK,

DAMP ENVIRONMENT.

- IT FEEDS ON DECAYING VEGETATION - DEPOSITED BY THE VISITING RIVERS

AND STREAMS.

ANOTHER GIANT IS GIVEN A WIDE

BERTH BY ANY LOCALS BRAVE ENOUGH

TO ENTER ITS MURKY LAIR.

THIS IS THE DOMAIN OF THE

WORLD'S ONLY CAVE-DWELLING

CROCODILES.

REACHING A LENGTH OF UP TO 20

FEET, THESE REPTILES ARE SOME OF

- THE LARGEST SPECIMENS IN THE - WORLD.

AND WHY THESE CROCODILES INHABIT

THE CAVES HAS LONG BEEN A

MYSTERY TO SCIENTISTS.

THIS DARK, DAMP ENVIRONMENT MAY

BE AN ESCAPE FROM THE REGION'S

HIGH DAYTIME TEMPERATURE.

- BUT IN THEORY, IT'S WAY TOO COOL - IN THERE FOR THEIR BODIES TO

FUNCTION.

- IT'S NO WONDER CERTAIN LOCALS - BELIEVE THESE REPTILES HAVE

SUPERNATURAL POWERS AND ALSO

HARBOR THE SPIRITS OF THEIR

RELATIVES.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: THESE CHILDREN HAVE COME - TO THE CAVE ENTRANCE ON BEHALF

OF THEIR VILLAGE.

- THROUGH THE LOCAL SHAMAN, - THEY'RE ASKING THEIR CROCODILE

ANCESTORS FOR GOOD RAINS IN

ORDER TO SECURE THIS YEAR'S

HARVEST.

MADAGASCAR IS RICH WITH

FASCINATING ANIMALS AND ANCIENT

TRADITIONS.

AND YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'LL

FIND HIGH UP IN THE SUNNY TREES

- OR DEEP DOWN IN THE DARKEST - CAVES.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US ON OUR

ADVENTURE TO MADAGASCAR WHERE

THE WONDERFULLY WEIRD WILDLIFE

IS ALWAYS ON FULL DISPLAY.

JOIN US AGAIN ON OUR NEXT "EARTH

ODYSSEY".

[MUSIC]