01x02 - Episode 2

[bunniefuu]

[Mosaku] There's no
place like Africa.

A land of wonder...

...and extremes.

Now, National Geographic

takes you to every
corner of Africa.

See a new side to its
most famous residents.

Meet animals you've
never seen before.

And discover how its
extraordinary ecosystems

shape the lives of all
who call Africa,

home.

[♪ theme music playing]

Jungle blankets 900
million acres of Africa.

Including the second largest
rainforest on the planet,

the Congo.

A twisted labyrinth

hiding creatures found

nowhere else on Earth.

This year-old forest
elephant has spent her

whole life
under the canopy.

Today for the first time

she's stepping
into the open.

To meet her
extended family.

This clearing,
called a Bai,

is the only place
where you see so

many forest
elephants together.

It's an opportunity
for her mother to catch up

with old friends.

For the calf,

so many new faces,

can be a little
overwhelming.

But she's soon
forming bonds that

will last a lifetime.

[crickets chirping]

At night, the
atmosphere changes.

Mom keeps her calf close.

Special cameras capture
something never seen before.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

A spotted hyena.

Only a few clans are
known to exist in the Congo.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

The mother elephant
is 50 times his size,

her daughter,

barely twice.

If she sticks to Mom,

a lone hyena
isn't a problem.

But he's not alone.

[hyenas laughing]

In the open, their
young are vulnerable.

[trumpeting]

[growling]

The herd flees to the
safety of the trees.

But Mom and baby
have been left behind.

[growling]

[growling, hyenas laughing]

And now,
they're surrounded.

[growling]

[trumpeting]

[growling]

[growling]

[trumpeting]

[growling]

[growling]

The calf is exhausted...

[growling, trumpeting]

and trapped.

[distant trumpeting]

Just in time

their family
charges back.

Elephant bonds
are unbreakable.

[barking,
growling, trumpeting]

[trumpeting]

To survive
in Africa's jungles,

you must learn to
navigate its many dangers...

and find its
hidden opportunities.

But the Congo wasn't
always a tangled world.



it was dominated by
vast, grassy plains.

Then a shift
in the Earth's axis...

created a warmer
and wetter climate.

Triggering the
expansion of the

continent's largest rainforest.

Today, Central Africa
is blanketed by dense jungle,

an area three times
the size of Texas.

Billions of trees,

hiding more than


Including one,
discovered not long ago.

Kinda baboons.

They spend their days
foraging and having fun.

[♪ upbeat music playing]

For one ravenous youngster,

grass is not enough.

He leaves the
safety of the troop

to find
something tastier.

Waterberries.

That's more like it.

But up here he's exposed.

[Mosaku] A crowned eagle.

With skull-crushing talons,

larger than a human hand.

She's the most powerful
raptor in Africa.

A treetop hunting
specialist with a

taste for monkeys.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

Down here with the troop,

the youngster's
a bit safer.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

Eagles only
hunt in daylight.

So as nighttime approaches,

the baboons head
back up into the trees.

The youngster can get
some well-needed rest.

[♪ eerie music playing]

As daybreak nears

something in the distance

signals

an invasion.



The largest migration
of mammals on the planet.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

The baboons' home just
got a lot more crowded.

This is not the
time for the youngster

to let his guard down.

The eagles are hungry,

and now, there's
even more of them.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

[♪ dramatic music playing]

But it doesn't look
like they're after him.

The eagles have
switched their prey.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

[♪ dramatic music playing]

The baboons now
have their very own

"Deflector shield."

[♪ dramatic music playing]

At a key time of year

waterberry season.

The young baboon and his
family can now eat in peace.

But nothing here
stays the same for long.

The Congo is the lightning
capital of the world.

[lightning strikes]

And as our planet warms,

storms are getting
more and more violent.

Every year, millions of
bolts strike the forest.

It's not the impact
that's devastating

it's the supersonic
wave that follows.

Bark and wood explode.

Unable to absorb water,

the tree slowly dies.

[tree crashing]

[♪ somber music playing]

The loss of a giant
lets the light in

creating space for
new saplings to grow

homes for a very different
cast of jungle characters

including one very
hungry caterpillar.

Since birth,

she's done
nothing but eat.

Non-stop.

[crunching]

In just six weeks,

she's grown


now ready for her
ultimate makeover.

For that, she
needs a bit more space.

Her half-eaten shrub
is way too crowded.

That one fits the bill.

No time to waste;

others are
already ahead of her.

But something deadly
patrols the forest floor.

An assassin bug.

Armed with a long
dagger-like beak,

for sucking
out innards.

And they hunt, in packs.

You might wanna look away,

now!

[Mosaku] Time for the
caterpillar to make her move.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

[♪ dramatic music playing]

Stay

out

of sight.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

Nearly there

but not out of
the woods yet.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

Her ten super sucky
grippers help her up.

His six spindly legs

aren't up to the job.

Slow and sticky
wins the race.

Over the next 12 hours,

she spins a cocoon.


protective silk

keeping her safe
for three months

until her
metamorphosis is complete.

From a hungry caterpillar,

to Africa's moon moth.

All because of
a fallen tree.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

In the Congo,

lightning strikes down


But there's a force that's
even more destructive

[chainsaw whirring]

humans.

Each year they cut
down 300 million.

Pushing people and
wildlife closer together.

[birds chirping]

This young tree
Pangolin was taken by

poachers as a baby.

Some people wrongly
believe her scales

can cure disease,

making pangolins the
most trafficked mammal

on the planet.

She was rescued,

but her mother
didn't make it.

Now this orphan
has a second chance,

in a protected sanctuary.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

Living in the trees means
mastering how to climb.

And there's no
one to teach her.

A little daunting
when you're no bigger

than a kitten.

Time to be brave.

Let's try that again.

Much better!

She learns to lift her
entire body weight with

the tips of her claws.

But life in the treetops
is a constant tightrope.

A fall,

could be fatal.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

[♪ dramatic music playing]

Just in time,

she discovers
her superpower.

A prehensile tail.

It's like having
a fifth limb!

[Mosaku] The young
pangolin will now spend

most of her life
in the trees.

Like a monkey,
with scales.

When she's hungry, she has
to sniff out food below,

and learn
how to get it.

Bullseye!

Termites.

Her favorite!

Her tongue is as
long as her body,

and can grab several
thousand a day.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

While Pangolin numbers
are still declining,

thanks to reserves
like this one,

they now have
a chance to recover.

Today, there are more
than 200 protected areas

in Africa's jungles.

One, deep in the Congo,
is the last stronghold

for some of our most
endangered relatives.

A family of western
lowland gorillas,

led by their patriarch,

the silverback.

At 42, he's nearing
the end of his life.

He can't afford
to slow down,

his family's survival
rests on his shoulders.

He must lead them to some


The rainforest has
seasonal fruits and

leaves on the menu,

but they
can be hard to find.

The silverback needs
everyone to focus.

[♪ playful music playing]

And his two-year-old son,

Junior,
isn't helping.

[♪ playful music playing]

Even when he pitches in,

his heart isn't in it.

His older sister's
found something,

termites!

A vital
source of protein.

His sister's learned
this crucial skill...

he can't quite crack it.

Frustrating!

And a bored
toddler is trouble.

[♪ playful music playing]

[♪ playful music playing]

This is no game.

If Junior's to survive,

he must learn the family
trade from his father.

Dad won't be
around forever,

and he knows all
the fruit trees.

This one is their last
chance for the day.

But there's a problem.

All that's left
is 100 feet up.

[Mosaku] The fruit is
too high for an aging,



Well, that's lucky!

[crunching]

The fearless two-year-old
can reach the remaining fruit,

right at the top.

[rustling]

[♪ playful music playing]

There's enough
for everyone.

Though he still saves
the biggest for himself.

It takes years to learn
the ways of the jungle.

With his father
as a role model,

he might just
master this home.

Finding food in the
rainforest is often

harder than it looks.

But there's plenty hidden,

if you're willing
to brave the unknown.

An ancient cave,

[♪ dramatic music playing]

pitch black,

stiflingly hot

and swarming
with thousands

of bats.

The floor is feet
deep in seething piles

of their poop.

And in the shadows,

lurks a monster.

[♪ eerie music playing]

A tiny,
dwarf crocodile.

She's the smallest
croc on the planet!

[♪ playful music playing]

You'd expect to see
her in the swamps above,

but she's down here,

in search of food.

[wings flapping]

A bat could feed
her for weeks.

But in flight
they're out of reach.

In the
crowded roost above,

squabbles are inevitable.

The losers are
left dazed and confused.

This could be
an opportunity.

The problem is,

although she can
hear the bats fall,

she can't
see in the dark.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

[♪ dramatic music playing]

The more she
charges around,

the easier it is for
the bats to sense her coming!

Time for a new strategy.

Stealth mode.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

[crunching, chewing]

She's found food that few
else in the Congo can access.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

And she's not
the only one!

A whole population
is living down here.

They're so specialized
they could become an

entirely new species.

[screeching]

The crocodile's home was
created by the same force

that shapes all
of the jungle,

water.

More rain can fall
here in two weeks

than a year in New York.

Fueling the deepest
river in the world,

the Congo,

and its vast
network of waterways.

As they cut
through the jungle,

they form
inter-connected highways,

that some have
learned to navigate.

This old bull forest
elephant has spent decades

mastering the jungle,

and discovered
a secret or two.

He's so old, he's
lost both his tusks

and probably
most of his teeth.

So, he's looking for a
more age-appropriate diet.

To get to it, he's
following the river

downstream,

but ahead, danger.

Two miles of
thunderous torrents,

and 300-foot
sheer drops.

These are the
Kongou Falls,

where 1,000 tons of water
rushes through every second.

He knows
something is hidden

but it's over the edge.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

[Mosaku] One wrong
step could be the bull

elephant's last.

His five tons keeps
him anchored to the rock.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

Here, he strikes gold.

A nutrient-rich plant,

only found in the
fastest-flowing rapids.

And it's soft
enough to eat,

even with
his ancient teeth.

He may be old,

but his wisdom,
size and strength,

allows him to access
this hidden treasure.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

Life here can be perilous,

but for those able to
navigate Africa's jungle,

there is no place

like home.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

-Do you hear that?

[screeching]

That's a bat.

That means we're
pretty close.

[Mosaku] Rolex
National Geographic

Perpetual Planet
Explorer Matt Shirley

has spent 20 years
studying African crocodiles,

but what he discovered
in the old-growth forests of

Gabon changes everything
we know about the species.

-We're two days in
the making to get here.

{\an8}Finally arrived;

{\an8}you can see
this nice forest,

{\an8}and then, bam!

{\an8}Hidden cave system.

[Mosaku] These caves
are the unlikely home

to the world's
smallest crocodile.

[Matt] But we don't understand
their actual hunting behavior.

How do they get
access to these bats,

this amazing
massive food resource?

So this is the big mystery
we're hoping to solve.

[Mosaku] To minimize their
impact on the wildlife

Matt and the
National Geographic team

prepare to enter
the cave at night,

while most bats
are away foraging.

[Matt] We've got coveralls,
goggles, respiratory masks,

because, let's face it,
none of us want to be

the very first people to
come down with Ebola or

some other crazy
disease from these caves.

[Mosaku] This cave is
the stuff of nightmares.

The air is thick
with the smell of poop.

[crew] Oh!

[Mosaku] The floor
is crawling with bugs.

Luckily, the team
don't have to stay long.

Specially designed,
remote-controlled cameras

allow them to film in total
darkness from a distance.

[Matt] By leaving
these remote cameras,

we'll be able to know what
is the very interesting,

unique behavior
of these crocodiles in

this cave system.

Oh okay.

[Mosaku] For weeks,


the crew watch

and wait.

[Clement] They really
do stay still for a long time,

but at any moment
anything can happen.

[Mosaku] Two weeks in,
and still no luck.

-I've lost count of how many
days we've been in this shed.

[Clement] Week
four of crocodile watch.

Oh!

-Aw!

[Mosaku] Finally,
some action.

-Oh yes!

[Mosaku] The crew start
to understand how these

crocs catch their food.

[Matt] Almost everything
that we're seeing here

is new and novel.

This is evolution
in action.

[screeching]

[crew] Oh yeah, look!

[Sophie] We've got
it bat hunting!

[Mosaku] For
the first time ever,

the secrets of this hunting
behavior can be revealed.

[crunching]

-A documentary like this,

shedding light
on these really bizarre

and highly
unknown crocodiles,

is so important.

Plus,
they're really cute.

[Mosaku] Next.

[expl*si*n]

Africa's islands.

Over 250 remote outposts,

hundreds of miles
from the mainland,

including the most
ancient island on Earth!

Animals marooned here
evolved weird and

wonderful ways of life.

But these islands can
be a dangerous paradise,

where only the most
ingenious will survive!

[♪ music playing
through credits]