Original subtitles

(MONKEYS CHATTERING)

NARRATOR: In the wild,

there are alliances everywhere... (BUZZING)

..but they're not always mutual.

This lemur is crawling with parasites.

This millipede... isn't.

What happens next

is very weird.

(GULPING)

A quick bite... (GULPING)

..and a rub around the privates,

that wards off mosquitos...

...and gets the lemur higher than a hot air balloon.

(DEEP GROWLING)

Among the fast...

and fearsome

are the astoundingly crazy...

with strange behaviour

and outrageous fashion sense.

They're all in a competition to survive...

and weirdness always wins.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(CONGA DRUMS)

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

In the pantheon of sidekicks,

we must reserve pride of place

for one of the giants...

a little guy who keeps herbivores

all over the world

pest-free and healthy

with his titanic appetite for crap.

Dung beetles...

described by some entomologists

as God's gift to Earth.

(BUZZING)

Without these essential septic sidekicks

acting as clean-up crew,

we'd all be swimming in poo.

(UPBEAT HIP-HOP MUSIC)

(MOOING)

Flies and blood-sucking parasites

would breed uncontrollably.

(BUZZING)

Agriculture and ecosystems could collapse.

(MOOING)

There are almost 10,000 different species

of dung beetles around the world.

And they've been breaking down droppings

since the days of the dinosaurs.

(MOOING)

We might avoid it, but for them,

it's brown gold,

which they hide like buried treasure.

Eating it and fertilising the soil, all at once.

(BLEATING)

Don't poo-poo the poo,

it's full of partially digested food.

(DISTANT BLEATING)

This dung beetle's super sensitive antennae

have gone into overdrive.

(PING)

It knows, somewhere out there,

fresh faeces.

(MOOING)

(ADVENTUROUS MUSIC)

But other beetles have picked up the scent, too.

(MOOING)

He's gotta move fast.

Wing it!

(DISTANT MOOING)

He follows the scent for almost four kilometres.

There it is, a sweet pile of scat!

(SQUELCHING)

Already, it's become a free-for-all.

(BOING)

He's got to get in,

get his share, and get out

before more beetles arrive.

(BUZZING)

This load is juicy good.

Great water content

and heaps of plant material intact.

It's exactly what he needs.

(MOOING)

The cow wants it gone,

and the removal guy is here.

(DISTANT MOOING)

(SMOOTH JAZZ MUSIC)

Time to roll.

However, his poop prize has drawn attention.

This rival male wants it for himself.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(TRUMPET BLARING)

The name of the game, knock your opponent off balance.

(SLIDING WHISTLE)

The owner falls on his back,

a telling blow.

He rights himself.

It's crunch time!

He can't pull the marauder off,

so, he does the next best thing.

With the astounding ability to move objects

one thousand times his own weight,

he rolls the challenger

and the dung ball together.

(SLIDING WHISTLE)

(BAM!)

Body slam!

The bandit is vanquished.

(MUSIC CONCLUDES) (MOOING)

But the job's not done yet.

His home and partner

are still 200 metres away.

Luckily, dung beetles

are incredible navigators.

By day, they use the sun...

and by night,

they even use celestial navigation

to plot their course.

(MYSTICAL MUSIC)

Finally, he reaches home.

The waiting female buries the dung gift

by the entrance to their mating tunnel.

The dung ball becomes a source of food

and a nursery for the female's eggs.

The larvae that hatch grow big on essential nutrients,

creating a whole new generation

of guano aficionados.

(GENTLE BUZZING)

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

(CURIOUS MUSIC)

This young meat-eating vine

has a very grown-up problem.

The Cloud Forests of Borneo

are a hard place to find food...

especially when you're rooted to the spot.

But if this juvenile pitcher plant

grows old enough and high enough...

it may one day team up

to form one of the forest's

most dynamic duos.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

(WHIMSICAL MUSIC)

Up here, it's almost always wet.

The water leaches the soil

of its nutrients.

The plants at these higher altitudes

need a strategy to survive.

The young pitcher plant

begins life at ground level

as an everyday carnivorous vine...

(SINISTER MUSIC)

..stealing essential nitrogen from unsuspecting bugs.

Its modified leaves are a trap,

luring insects with its special nectar.

(EERIE MUSIC)

One false move or even

a badly-timed raindrop...

and they fall into the chamber of horrors,

where the plant...

digests them.

As the plant matures,

so does its palette.

(CURIOUS MUSIC)

When the plant was younger...

this tree shrew would have spelled danger.

But now,

the older pitcher has a deep appreciation...

for dung.

It's developed a new type of trap

that looks and works

like a toilet.

(TOILET FLUSHING)

The shrew's just here

to lap up the pitcher's sweet nectar.

(WHIMSICAL MUSIC)

The sugary fluid gives him all the energy

he'll need for hard foraging.

He doesn't even take a toilet break,

lest someone else get to the food.

(GURGLING) But when you gotta go...

you gotta go. (FARTING)

In one of the weirdest examples

of co-evolution,

this is how the mature pitcher plant

now makes its way in the Cloud Forest.

Because shrew scat is rich in nutrients.

Precious treasure in this habitat.

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

The next rain will flush it down...

for the plant to absorb.

It's a weird partnership, but it works.

Here in Borneo,

one animal's crap

is another plant's caviar.

(RAIN PATTERING)

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

The sea anemone is a noxious killer.

Deploying stinging nematocysts on their tentacles...

to subdue prey...

pumping them with lethal toxins.

From fish...

to sea hares.

If they can trap it, they'll eat it.

Even their jellyfish cousins can't get a pass.

Look away now if you're squeamish,

because victims have no chance.

(SLURPING)

When it comes to their turf,

anemones will take down anyone who crosses them.

But for these iconic little fish,

the anemone's a sweetheart.

A wingman for life.

(GENTLE MUSIC)

Living among a deadly sway of tentacles...

a layer of thick slime

protects Clownfish

from the anemone's sting.

So, when it comes time to start a Clownfish family of its own,

there's no better place to lay eggs.

Surrounded by tentacles,

they're safe from any marauding egg thieves.

This doting father

takes great care of the eggs...

and maintains the household

in his spare time.

In return for the anemone's protection,

he removes its parasites.

(GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES)

(MUSIC TURNS UPBEAT)

And chases away other fish

that want to feed on their home.

But the biggest bonus

comes from his faeces.

Ammonia-rich waste is fantastic fertilizer.

it helps the anemone breathe,

grow, and reproduce.

(MUSIC CONCLUDES)

Under the constant protection

of the parents and the anemone,

the eggs develop.

(SWEET MUSIC)

A week later,

they hatch under the cover of darkness.

Once born, baby Clownfish take a little time

to acclimatize to the anemone.

(SWEET MUSIC CONTINUES)

Rubbing themselves on its tentacles over and over...

the young fish acquire a kind of

chemical camouflage.

The anemone is no longer able to distinguish

between itself and the Clownfish.

Bonded together,

the two will become one of the ocean's ultimate allies.

(MUSIC CONCLUDES)

(CRICKETS CHIRPING)

NARRATOR: Trusty sidekicks come in all shapes and sizes.

(SNORTING)

But what happens when that trust

is repaid by cold betrayal?

No, not the hippo.

Say hello to his little friend:

Tweety-bird turned blood-thirsty vampire.

(EERIE MUSIC)

The oxpecker.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

Africa's dry season

is a particularly difficult time

for the animals here.

The only thing worse than the heat...

(BUZZING)

..are the hordes of bugs that plague its residents.

To make life tolerable,

you've got to take any help on offer.

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

Red-billed oxpeckers

run an on-the-go housekeeping service...

and business is brisk.

(BOING)

(URGENT MUSIC)

The red-bill is surprisingly dextrous

and gets right in

where it needs to.

Booger drip and saliva?

Nothing to turn your nose up at.

Ear wax? No problem.

The birds and beasts form a classic

mutualistic relationship.

You can't tell from their client's expression,

but that must feel fantastic.

(LOW RUMBLING)

(JOYFUL MUSIC)

Ear wax is made of saturated fatty acid,

high-energy food.

Dead skin? Right away, sir!

Like tiny scissors, the oxpecker's bill

scythes through the top layer of fur.

(JOYFUL MUSIC CONTINUES)

Ooh, wait a moment.

Is that an itty-bitty scratch?

Well, we better fix that up, too.

We don't want that getting all infected.

But for all their pest control and hygiene...

the oxpeckers have a darker side.

(MUSIC CONCLUDES)

(GRUNTING)

(MENACING MUSIC)

In the dry season,

overcrowded bathing spots

cause tempers to rise.

Hippos war for territory.

(SPLASHING)

(GRUNTING)

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(HONKING)

(GROWLING)

(MUSIC FADES, ENDS)

The winner gets the last patch of water.

The loser gets covered

in bloody wounds.

He could do with a bit of attention.

Oxpeckers clean the scratches

and prevent infections.

But the bird's first aid

has turned sinister.

(GROWLS)

They've switched gear

to become parasites themselves...

feeding on the hippo's flowing blood.

Oxpeckers have learned

that incessant pecking

can stop scabs from forming...

leaving wounds open.

Warm blood on tap...

whenever they need a drink.

(TENSE, SINISTER MUSIC)

Over weeks, the wounds get bigger,

and the oxpeckers keep at it.

(EERIE MUSIC)

Eventually, the hippo dies

from secondary infections.

A tragedy for the hippos...

(GRUNTS)

..but a treasure for the voracious oxpeckers.

Sidekicks that will kick you when you're down.

(MUSIC CONCLUDES)

(MENACING MUSIC) (SQUAWKING)

Take-offs are tricky.

(SQUAWKING)

Landings are iffy.

And the hairless head is a travesty.

But if you want to make an inconvenient body disappear,

look no further.

With stomach acids that dissolve metal...

vultures are the sidekicks humans don't deserve,

but absolutely need.

(SINISTER MUSIC)

(SQUAWKING)

Make them an offer of rotting flesh...

and they never refuse.

(SQUAWKING)

They can finish off a small animal carcass

in half an hour flat.

Bones and all.

(SQUAWKING)

Decaying carcasses often breed deadly anthrax,

botulinum toxins,

and rabies.

Vultures keep these diseases in check.

(SCREECHING)

A day in the life of these garbage disposal units

starts at dawn.

As the sun warms up the earth,

thermal air currents radiate skywards.

Just the lift a heavy bird needs.

(ADVENTUROUS MUSIC)

Masters of high-altitude flight,

Vultures typically climb to 6,000 metres,

surveilling the earth below.

Powerful binocular vision

helps them zero in on their quarry.

Target acquired.

A carcass.

Festering in the African heat,

it's turned putrid.

(SQUAWKING)

Marvelous!

But these white-backed vultures

have their place in the pecking order.

Protocol is key.

Lappet-faced vultures will muscle their way in.

Larger and more formidable than their cousins...

their dagger-like bills

are made for ripping through tough hide.

(SQUAWKING)

The white-backed vultures will get their turn soon enough.

Using their less pointy, meat cleaver bills...

they go to town on the soft tissue.

(SQUAWKING)

It might not seem like it,

but vultures are big on hygiene.

A bald head makes for easy cleaning.

(SQUAWKING)

(SCREECHING)

The last in line for the rotting buffet

are the foot soldiers.

(FLIES BUZZING)

Hooded vultures are the smallest of the lot...

but they are specialists.

They wield their narrow beaks like surgical knives...

removing the tiniest bits of flesh...

and diving to the hardest-to-reach areas.

This methodical clean-up service

is invaluable to every single creature in the ecosystem.

(SQUAWKING)

Their appetite for the dead,

in no small part,

helps to keep humans healthy and alive.

(SQUAWKING)

400 kilometres off the eastern coast of Africa...

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

..wild monsoons lash the jungles of Madagascar.

(RAIN PATTERING)

(APPREHENSIVE MUSIC)

Rivers swell...

and everyone does their best

to wait out the rains.

(RAIN PATTERING)

As the forest steams in the storm's wake...

Lemur species all over the island

now face a delicate problem.

(BUZZING)

(WHIMSICAL MUSIC)

(BUZZING)

The sultry conditions hatch plagues

of disease-carrying mosquitos...

and gut-churning intestinal worms.

(GULP)

Every Lemur is fair game for parasites.

They need a fix, and fast!

Enter Madagascar's giant millipede.

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

(GRUNTING)

These arthropods don't bite...

and their defensive secretions

are mostly harmless to humans.

But to lemurs,

they are precious.

(PLAYFUL MUSIC CONTINUES)

They smell weird...

and taste worse.

(GULPING)

But lemurs don't want to eat them.

These unsuspecting insects

are the answer to their pest problem.

(LEMURS HOWLING)

A quick nibble, and the millipede

secretes a nasty ooze.

The toxic sludge would deter most...

but not lemurs.

The fluid contains benzoquinone...

a great insecticide that repels mosquitos.

(BOING)

Mixed with their own saliva,

lemurs rub the foul-smelling concoction

all over their bodies.

Especially the hard-to-reach places...

(BOING)

..under the tail...

around the genitalia...

(BOING)

..the last place you'd want a parasite.

(LEMUR HOWLS)

(LOW RUMBLING)

Like sour candy,

the millipede secretions make the lemurs drool...

and their eyes glaze over.

(MYSTICAL MUSIC)

(LOW GROWL)

There's something else at work here.

(MUSIC TURNS CHILL)

The spaced-out expression says everything.

(PANTING)

This millipede juice may be good for their bodies...

but it's also a strong narcotic.

(CHILL MUSIC CONTINUES)

(MUSIC FADES, ENDS)

But all good trips must end, sometime.

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

An afternoon nap is the need of the hour.

(SIGHS)

Millipedes, it seems,

get nothing from this one-sided relationship.

But at least they live to tell the tale...

getting back to the business of being millipedes.

Until the next mosquito apocalypse,

when lemurs everywhere

turn to these little

psychoactive avengers

for salvation.

(GULPING)

(GENTLE MUSIC)

NARRATOR: This primordial south-east Asian jungle

is home to one of nature's

most far-out pairings.

(SQUAWKING)

A flying rhinoceros.

Lifelong soulmates

with a strange method of sealing their union.

(SQUAWKING CONTINUES)

(QUIRKY MUSIC)

Hornbills have one of the weirdest

breeding strategies of any bird.

It all starts ordinarily enough.

The tallest trees in Borneo's forests

are like arboreal cafes.

(SMOOTH JAZZ MUSIC)

Leafy hubs for hornbill flirtations.

(CHIRPING)

It's like Love Island, treetop edition.

(SQUAWKING)

Bachelors groom themselves

with special oil,

like hair conditioner for feathers.

(MUSIC CONCLUDES)

(SEDUCTIVE MUSIC)

Slicked back plumage on point,

long batted eyelashes to keep the sun out.

This guy is the envy

of the whole jungle.

As far as this female is concerned,

his massive casque

is massively attractive.

(WHISTLING)

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

Now he's got her attention... (SEDUCTIVE GROWL)

..they can move on to a little courtship.

Hornbills pair for life.

So, this girl is looking for her ultimate sidekick.

She has one chance to make sure

her chosen beau can go the distance.

She wants a snack.

Ever eager to please, the male presents her

with the juciest figs in town.

And he's got more where that came from.

He's not just a pretty face,

he's also a provider.

(PECKING)

She's convinced.

This guy is her perfect co-pilot.

Next, the smitten couple must cement their union.

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

In the hornbill world,

cement is the operative word.

(SQUAWKING)

In one of the most unusual

nesting practices amongst birds...

the female imprisons herself

within a tree cavity

for almost two months.

Surely her loving partner

will get her out of this predicament.

But it's quite the opposite.

Hidden behind a wall of clay,

dropping and saliva,

she and her brood are safe from predators

and the sweltering heat.

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

The doting male delivers fruit

through the hole in the tree.

(PECKING)

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

Cut off from the world

and totally dependent on her partner for survival.

The rigorous selection process

that he was subjected to

finally makes sense.

He will bring her food nearly 20 times every day.

The future of their genes depends completely

on his ability to provide.

The pair will repeat this process

almost 40 times throughout their lives...

rendering this couple

the tightest of fits.

(MUSIC SWEETENS)

(CURIOUS MUSIC)

This planet has quite a flair

for creating life

in endlessly strange forms.

But evolution keeps making crabs...

and nobody knows why!

(ADVENTUROUS MUSIC)

In the last 250 million years,

crab-like animals have evolved independently

at least five times over

from very different ancestors.

Giving us around 7,000 different species today.

(SLIDING WHISTLE)

(ADVENTUROUS MUSIC CONTINUES)

Crabs clearly still get taken down by predators

up to the task.

But the reason crabs keep appearing

may be because their body plan

is so versatile

when it comes to hiding from predators.

(SLIDING WHISTLE)

So, does a crab-like body make you an evolutionary rock star?

Well, fire urchins and sea anemones think so.

Because once they've hooked up with certain crabs,

these power-couples

will change each others lives forever.

Fire urchins are prickly deep-sea dwellers

that are as dangerous as they look.

Those spines are tipped with venom.

That would be enough to ward off most species.

But not the carrier crab.

The crab's modified back legs

have just one purpose.

Whisking impressionable urchins away

for the ride of their life.

Coupled up and happy,

they hit the road.

The urchin's punked-up wig of venomous barbs

protects the crab from predators...

so he's free to indulge in his favourite foods.

And the Urchin gets to see the world from first class.

Carried away to exotic new feeding grounds

faster than it could ever go

on its own tube feet.

Like John and Yoko,

this rock star couple

have each other's backs no matter what.

(MUSIC CONCLUDES)

But rockstar crabs can couple up

in all kinds of ways.

(ROCK MUSIC)

The boxer crab is more a glam-rocker;

spends most of its days attached to reefs

in shallow waters.

At these depths, it's vulnerable to birds,

fish, octopus,

and even other crabs.

(EERIE MUSIC)

Tough crowd to control.

Luckily, it's not alone.

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

While these foxy-white pom-poms

may look like part of its eight limbs...

they are in fact, two venomous sea anemones

carried in its claws for protection.

Dancing and weaving on its back legs,

the boxer floats its white gloves

as a warning...

(BELL DINGING) (CROWD CHEERING)

..stinging anyone who dares to come too close.

(BELL DINGING)

In exchange for this defence,

as the crab forages,

the anemones are nourished by the crab's food scraps.

(APPREHENSIVE MUSIC)

In the life of evolutionary rock stars,

the carrier and the boxer

are two crabs that know the power

of a great duet.

(GENTLE MUSIC)

Among the world of aquatic sidekicks...

there is a kind of fish with a crude reputation

as that annoying guest

who never quite knows when to leave.

In short, these fish suck... (SLURPING) ..big time!

The remora's dorsal fin has adapted over time

to become a suction disk,

making them super clingy hitchhikers.

With no air bladder to keep them afloat like normal fish,

they depend on hospitable hosts

to travel and to find food.

But they've got to choose a ride that works for them.

How about these whale sharks?

These giants might be slow movers,

but they travel vast distances.

For a remora looking to explore new territory,

whale shark parties are where it's at.

Up to two dozen remoras crowd one whale shark.

They snack on parasitic copepods

that plague the giant fish.

So, whale sharks don't mind too much

when it comes to giving them a lift.

Then there's more... sharky sharks.

(PLAYFUL MUSIC)

You'd think it would be harder to hold on to fast-moving hosts.

But it's the opposite.

The remora seals its suction disk against the shark's body.

The faster the shark swims,

the increasing water pressure

amplifies the remora's suction seal.

And if the host deems its guest

a tad too annoying... (GULP)

..they make for handy appetizers.

Then, there are these little suckers.

(GENTLE MUSIC)

For this species of remora,

green sea turtles

are the preferred super host.

While the turtle grazes on seagrass,

they wait in anticipation.

(CHOMPING)

Any time now.

Wait for it.

Oh, something's stirring.

(FARTS)

It just happens to be the turtle's tummy.

And the grateful bottom-feeders

suck up the offering. (SLURPING)

The planet is filled to the brim with, um...

strange companionships.

But remoras like this

take the sidekick thing

to a whole new level.

Because nature is never weirder

than a toilet-trained fish.

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