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Powerful forces make the islands
between Australia and Asia

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among the biologically richest
on Earth.

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One force
rules above all others,

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its daily rhythm so powerful,
all life must adapt.

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It turns rain forest trees
into towering giants,

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and others
into stealthy killers.

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Strange creatures hide
in its shadows,

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while others bask
in its life-giving energy.

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It's the awesome power
of the tropical sun.

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♪

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[gibbon singing]

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Life here follows
a daily rhythm,

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millions of years in the making.

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[gibbon singing]

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A constant cycle
driven by a celestial force.

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Families of gibbons declare
their ownership

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of the treetops through song.

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[gibbon singing]

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Sound travels farthest
in the still, cool air of dawn.

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[singing]

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The song of the gibbon heralds

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the most powerful force to rule
these ancient rain forests...

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the tropical sun.

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[singing]

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♪

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These islands stretch
along the equator...

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...with the sun rising
at the same time every day.

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Part of a timeless cycle.

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♪

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The plants and animals
of the rain forest

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depend on this one force
more than any other.

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The trees, subjects of the sun,
need its energy to grow.

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Already, billions of leaves
release water vapor

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as they trap
its life-giving rays.

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The sun will grow ever more
powerful as the day advances.

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Beneath the canopy,

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the early morning
is a busy time.

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The sun's green realm
is so complex

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that this young
Sumatran orangutan

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will spend as many as nine years
learning from his mother,

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the longest childhood of any
primate other than ourselves.

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An important day of lessons
is just getting started.

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♪

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Sumatran orangutans are the most
arboreal of the great apes.

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This newborn will spend
his whole life in the treetops.

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♪

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He'll need to learn
how to navigate safely.

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Mom moves only one limb
at a time.

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♪

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It gives her the balance to walk
the trickiest of tightropes.

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♪

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Orangutans are unique
among primates

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in the way they move
between trees.

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Instead of jumping,
she takes her time,

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using her weight to bridge gaps.

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♪

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In their years together,
mom will teach him

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all about life
beneath the sway of the sun...

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...for theirs
is a complex world,

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one filled with giants.

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Here, a single family of trees
dominates,

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and it has
for millions of years...

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the dipterocarps.

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♪

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There are hundreds of species,

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and in places,
they dominate the canopy.

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Like most trees,
the fight for life

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begins in the forest's
dark depths.

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As morning wears on,

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sunlight penetrates the shadows,
but fleetingly.

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Down here, plants have
only minutes each day

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to extract what energy they can.

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Young dipterocarps
play a waiting game.

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They can survive many years
hardly growing,

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waiting for a gap to open up
in the canopy

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to give them
their moment in the sun.

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♪

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These tall trees can stretch
more than 150 feet into the sky.

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♪

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To outcompete other trees,
they put more of their efforts

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into growing
their enormous trunks.

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♪

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Dipterocarps are the tallest
tropical trees on Earth,

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powered by competition
for the mighty sun.

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♪

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The first branches appear
only toward the very top,

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maximizing the exposure of
every leaf to the sun's energy.

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♪

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Such is the battle for light

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that the majority of life
is found up here in the canopy.

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But to live
in a forest of giant trees,

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animals require
extraordinary adaptations.

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While hot-blooded mammals like
Sumatran orangutans rise early,

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this reptile is spending
his morning basking in the sun.

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This is the Draco lizard.

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♪

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His dark skin helps absorb
more of the sun's energy.

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♪

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But warming up has a downside.

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He's a sitting target.

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♪

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Paradise tree snakes
like to eat Draco lizards.

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♪

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Time for a speedy exit.

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The trouble is,
the crowns of the giant trees

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all stand at different heights.

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There can be huge gaps
between them.

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It's easy
to get cornered up here.

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♪

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But not for the Draco.

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♪

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He can fly to safety...

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...though the chase
doesn't end there.

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In these forests,
even snakes fly.

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Wildlife here have
brilliant ways of surviving

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among the giant dipterocarps.

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♪

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But they're not alone

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when it comes
to clever survival tactics.

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In the struggle
to compete for sunlight,

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one rain forest plant has
evolved into a stealthy killer.

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It begins life high among
the dipterocarp's branches.

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But it needs more nutrients
than can be found here.

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While most trees grow
toward the light,

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this one reaches
into the darkness.

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♪

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Its roots travel downward
more than 150 feet...

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...a journey
that may take years.

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♪

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Right now, there's
no obvious threat to the host.

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But once the roots penetrate
the soil, everything changes.

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♪

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Fueled by water
and nutrients from the ground,

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the roots thicken.

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The plant sends down
more and more roots.

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Wherever they touch,
they fuse together.

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♪

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By now, the dipterocarp's fate
is sealed.

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It's in the grip
of a strangler fig.

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Over the years,
the roots choke the host.

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Outcompeted and unable to grow,
the giant is defeated.

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This will be its tomb.

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Years later,
a few shards of rotting wood

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are the only clues that
a huge tree once stood here.

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The strangler,
supported by its own roots,

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stands over the dipterocarp's
decaying remains...

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...a victor in the eternal
struggle for the sun's energy.

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A fruiting fig tree draws in
animals from across the forest.

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All who come to dine here

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will provide a vital service
for the strangler

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by helping spread its seed
through the canopy.

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♪

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A single tree produces as much
as a half a million fruits...

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...yet so many animals
visit the banquet

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that the tree can be stripped
bare within a week or two.

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♪

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Making the most
of this food source

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is a crucial lesson
for any young orangutan.

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♪

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00:17:49,537 --> 00:17:53,645
But this morning, the chance
to feed is coming to an end.

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It's approaching midday.

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In the exposed high canopy,

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the temperature is already
well over 85 degrees.

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♪

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The sun is beginning
to overwhelm.

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♪

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As it grows stronger, the trees
risk losing too much water.

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They begin to shut down.

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Now directly overhead,

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the all-powerful sun beats down
on the ancient rain forest.

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♪

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Its subjects must protect
themselves from its might.

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With the sun directly overhead

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and bearing down mercilessly
on the rain forest,

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activity comes to a stop.

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Orangutans head below the canopy
in search of relief.

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♪

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They retreat to their nests
to wait out the heat.

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♪

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The day's lessons
are now on hold.

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Everyone needs to conserve
their energy during these hours,

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including the area's
biggest male.

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♪

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Despite the conditions,

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one female
is still up and about.

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♪

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She seems interested
in the male.

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♪

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Orangutans are
largely solitary animals.

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And encounters like this one
are rare.

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♪

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The male seems to have
only one thing on his mind...

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that's keeping cool.

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The sun draws up so much water

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that as afternoon arrives,
clouds form.

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They build and build,

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till they burst.

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[thunder]

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[thunder]

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Four inches of rain
can fall in just two hours.

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One remarkable plant
turns rainfall to its advantage.

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00:23:28,289 --> 00:23:32,604
Gracilis is a carnivore
that preys on insects.

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It lures victims with nectar,

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offered on the underside
of its lid.

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♪

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00:23:48,793 --> 00:23:53,625
It's an easy meal
for a hungry ant,

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00:23:53,660 --> 00:23:57,077
but those who visit
risk their lives.

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00:23:57,111 --> 00:24:06,189
♪

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00:24:06,224 --> 00:24:09,607
There's enough grip to hang on,
but only just.

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It takes one direct hit.

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00:24:17,442 --> 00:24:36,668
♪

212
00:24:36,703 --> 00:24:39,706
There's no escape.

213
00:24:39,740 --> 00:24:44,573
The ant will slowly dissolve.

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00:24:44,607 --> 00:24:48,611
Gracilis turn downpours
into an advantage,

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00:24:48,646 --> 00:24:52,546
but others are at their best
when the rains subside.

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00:24:57,482 --> 00:25:02,004
Sun bears sit out the heaviest
of a rain forest deluge.

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00:25:02,038 --> 00:25:04,524
When the cooler
afternoon hours arrive,

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00:25:04,558 --> 00:25:06,767
they are at their most active.

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00:25:06,802 --> 00:25:14,775
♪

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00:25:14,810 --> 00:25:19,262
This female works hard
to find her favorite insects.

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00:25:30,066 --> 00:25:34,139
It takes all her strength to rip
open a fallen dipterocarp.

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00:25:46,462 --> 00:25:49,776
But there are
rich rewards inside.

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00:25:49,810 --> 00:25:57,542
♪

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00:25:57,577 --> 00:26:00,062
The afternoon rains
lower the temperature,

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00:26:00,096 --> 00:26:03,065
giving sun bears
a chance to feed.

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00:26:03,099 --> 00:26:08,864
♪

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00:26:08,898 --> 00:26:12,799
For others, all this water
presents a unique challenge.

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00:26:17,493 --> 00:26:20,392
As streams swell
across the rain forest,

229
00:26:20,427 --> 00:26:24,120
a miniature world
springs to life.

230
00:26:27,158 --> 00:26:31,093
In the late afternoon,
male rock frogs begin to gather.

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00:26:35,269 --> 00:26:38,687
They are here
to compete for a mate.

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00:26:40,861 --> 00:26:46,004
[chirping]

233
00:26:46,039 --> 00:26:48,489
The trouble is, being this tiny

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00:26:48,524 --> 00:26:51,561
makes it hard to be heard
above a waterfall...

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00:26:57,257 --> 00:27:02,089
[chirping]

236
00:27:02,124 --> 00:27:05,817
...so rock frogs vary
the duration, pitch, and volume

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00:27:05,852 --> 00:27:07,681
of their calls.

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00:27:07,716 --> 00:27:16,069
[chirping]

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00:27:16,103 --> 00:27:21,661
A decent effort, but this much
noise requires drastic action.

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00:27:21,695 --> 00:27:25,043
[chirping]

241
00:27:33,707 --> 00:27:36,676
By varying their calls
and waving to each other,

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00:27:36,710 --> 00:27:38,194
they have a unique solution

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00:27:38,229 --> 00:27:42,095
to life as a tiny frog
in a noisy world.

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00:27:53,209 --> 00:27:56,523
The males are here
hoping to attract a mate...

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00:28:00,492 --> 00:28:03,910
...though her arrival
can push things over the edge.

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00:28:12,642 --> 00:28:15,956
Despite a sophisticated
means of communication,

247
00:28:15,991 --> 00:28:19,097
it quickly descends
into a wrestling match.

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00:28:31,696 --> 00:28:35,113
Species here have come up
with all sorts of solutions

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00:28:35,148 --> 00:28:37,598
to deal with the regular rains.

250
00:28:43,812 --> 00:28:46,469
It's part
of an ancient daily pattern,

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00:28:46,504 --> 00:28:49,610
driven by the tropical sun.

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00:28:49,645 --> 00:28:58,792
♪

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00:28:58,827 --> 00:29:00,414
Over millions of years,

254
00:29:00,449 --> 00:29:05,212
its energy has created
a realm like no other,

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00:29:05,247 --> 00:29:09,803
all because it rules with
such extraordinary consistency.

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00:29:09,838 --> 00:29:22,643
♪

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00:29:22,678 --> 00:29:26,026
The islands stretch
from Australia to Asia,

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00:29:26,061 --> 00:29:29,754
along the equator.

259
00:29:29,789 --> 00:29:32,584
Day length changes very little.

260
00:29:37,486 --> 00:29:39,419
Some of these forests experience

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00:29:39,453 --> 00:29:44,286
the least seasonal change
of any habitat on Earth,

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00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:46,978
which poses a unique problem.

263
00:29:50,326 --> 00:29:54,503
The trees have no predictable
cues to time their breeding.

264
00:30:00,302 --> 00:30:05,031
Instead, they have to rely
on infrequent droughts.

265
00:30:14,212 --> 00:30:17,664
It could be every few years
or once a decade,

266
00:30:17,698 --> 00:30:21,495
but drought triggers the trees
to reproduce.

267
00:30:26,293 --> 00:30:28,778
The dipterocarps
lead the charge,

268
00:30:28,813 --> 00:30:33,369
each tree dropping
thousands of winged seeds.

269
00:30:33,404 --> 00:30:54,218
♪

270
00:30:54,252 --> 00:30:57,186
And ready to sweep the ground
clean of seeds

271
00:30:57,221 --> 00:30:59,982
are these forest denizens.

272
00:31:00,017 --> 00:31:13,202
♪

273
00:31:16,619 --> 00:31:20,900
Bearded pigs love the seeds
of the dipterocarp trees.

274
00:31:23,005 --> 00:31:27,285
During the glut, most seeds
are eaten or destroyed.

275
00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:31,427
But by dropping so many at once,
the giant trees ensure

276
00:31:31,462 --> 00:31:36,122
that at least some escape
the pigs' hungry jaws.

277
00:31:36,156 --> 00:31:38,124
All animals
have to take advantage

278
00:31:38,158 --> 00:31:41,058
of these predictable times
of plenty.

279
00:31:44,371 --> 00:31:46,649
And it's not
just the dipterocarps.

280
00:31:46,684 --> 00:31:51,482
Many trees here bear fruit
only every few years.

281
00:31:53,346 --> 00:31:55,003
Orangutans aren't limited

282
00:31:55,037 --> 00:31:59,386
to scooping a meal
off the forest floor.

283
00:31:59,421 --> 00:32:02,527
They're equipped
to go straight to the source.

284
00:32:21,270 --> 00:32:22,927
In the years spent with mom,

285
00:32:22,962 --> 00:32:25,654
a youngster learns
where to find fruit

286
00:32:25,688 --> 00:32:28,829
before setting out on his own.

287
00:32:28,864 --> 00:32:38,667
♪

288
00:32:38,701 --> 00:32:41,877
It's a unique paradox
of some of these rain forests

289
00:32:41,911 --> 00:32:44,328
that despite
the abundance of life,

290
00:32:44,362 --> 00:32:48,401
there are long spells
when fruit is scarce.

291
00:32:51,852 --> 00:32:53,785
Mother knows only too well

292
00:32:53,820 --> 00:32:57,651
that she can't rely
on fruit alone to get by.

293
00:33:04,624 --> 00:33:10,423
Hidden in the treetops
is a rich supply of ants.

294
00:33:10,457 --> 00:33:13,874
You just need to know
where to find them.

295
00:33:17,016 --> 00:33:18,569
To thrive in these forests

296
00:33:18,603 --> 00:33:22,918
is all about learning
what to eat, where, and when.

297
00:33:22,952 --> 00:33:35,068
♪

298
00:33:35,103 --> 00:33:39,072
Today's lessons
will soon be over.

299
00:33:39,107 --> 00:33:59,058
♪

300
00:33:59,092 --> 00:34:03,165
The subjects of the sun must
prepare for the coming night...

301
00:34:07,135 --> 00:34:09,792
...for there is
another realm here.

302
00:34:12,795 --> 00:34:16,075
It's one where creatures
hide away from the sun's power

303
00:34:16,109 --> 00:34:19,664
and have evolved
to live shrouded in darkness.

304
00:34:26,844 --> 00:34:30,710
The transition is marked
by an extraordinary sound.

305
00:34:30,744 --> 00:34:34,645
[buzzing]

306
00:34:34,679 --> 00:34:38,752
Right on cue, the call
of the 6 o'clock cicada.

307
00:34:38,787 --> 00:34:47,934
[buzzing]

308
00:34:51,282 --> 00:34:55,976
[buzzing]

309
00:34:56,011 --> 00:34:59,877
Night here is
a shadowing sanctuary of freaks.

310
00:35:03,432 --> 00:35:06,021
Fungi glow with a soft light

311
00:35:06,055 --> 00:35:10,646
to lure insects
that will disperse their spores.

312
00:35:10,681 --> 00:35:18,792
♪

313
00:35:18,827 --> 00:35:21,623
With just the light of the moon
to see by,

314
00:35:21,657 --> 00:35:26,800
one denizen of the darkness
undergoes a bizarre change...

315
00:35:28,526 --> 00:35:30,459
Deinopsis.

316
00:35:37,570 --> 00:35:41,436
Her two large eyes
are truly astonishing.

317
00:35:45,543 --> 00:35:51,618
Right now they're changing.

318
00:35:51,653 --> 00:35:53,931
Cells inside them build to form

319
00:35:53,965 --> 00:35:56,761
an extremely
light-sensitive membrane,

320
00:35:56,796 --> 00:36:00,317
essential to the way she hunts.

321
00:36:00,351 --> 00:36:13,019
♪

322
00:36:13,053 --> 00:36:18,404
Her web is unlike any other,

323
00:36:18,438 --> 00:36:22,373
a Velcro-like net
built to snare passing prey.

324
00:36:22,408 --> 00:36:33,729
♪

325
00:36:33,764 --> 00:36:37,285
Preparations complete,
she waits.

326
00:36:37,319 --> 00:37:05,554
♪

327
00:37:05,589 --> 00:37:08,143
She binds her quarry in silk

328
00:37:08,177 --> 00:37:11,215
before slowly
sucking the life from it.

329
00:37:19,741 --> 00:37:21,329
When dawn returns,

330
00:37:21,363 --> 00:37:25,919
the membrane inside her eyes
will be re-absorbed,

331
00:37:25,954 --> 00:37:31,408
a feat she repeats night
after night after night.

332
00:37:33,996 --> 00:37:36,413
Deinopsis isn't the only creature

333
00:37:36,447 --> 00:37:41,590
whose bizarre eyes allow it to
thrive in this world of shadows.

334
00:37:45,939 --> 00:37:48,356
The tangled roots
of the strangler fig

335
00:37:48,390 --> 00:37:52,946
are home
to a carnivorous hunter.

336
00:37:52,981 --> 00:37:59,919
♪

337
00:37:59,953 --> 00:38:02,439
Each of the tarsier's
sensitive eyes

338
00:38:02,473 --> 00:38:06,960
is the same size and weight
as its brain,

339
00:38:06,995 --> 00:38:10,136
so large, they can't move.

340
00:38:10,170 --> 00:38:15,693
♪

341
00:38:15,728 --> 00:38:20,836
But the tarsier can rotate
its head 180 degrees.

342
00:38:20,871 --> 00:38:29,362
♪

343
00:38:29,397 --> 00:38:33,332
And its huge ears
can move independently.

344
00:38:33,366 --> 00:38:42,548
♪

345
00:38:42,582 --> 00:38:44,550
The tarsier is built to detect

346
00:38:44,584 --> 00:38:47,932
the smallest movement
in the dark.

347
00:38:47,967 --> 00:39:16,375
♪

348
00:39:16,409 --> 00:39:18,411
Higher up
in this world of shadows,

349
00:39:18,446 --> 00:39:23,002
an even more bizarre creature
inhabits the rain forest canopy.

350
00:39:23,036 --> 00:39:32,977
♪

351
00:39:33,012 --> 00:39:35,842
Like the paradise tree snake
and Draco,

352
00:39:35,877 --> 00:39:40,329
the colugo's life is dictated
by the giant trees.

353
00:39:44,989 --> 00:39:47,613
To avoid climbing
up and down their trunks,

354
00:39:47,647 --> 00:39:50,201
it glides across the forest.

355
00:39:50,236 --> 00:40:01,799
♪

356
00:40:01,834 --> 00:40:05,527
The underside of
its gliding membrane has no fur,

357
00:40:05,562 --> 00:40:07,460
which reduces drag.

358
00:40:07,495 --> 00:40:26,341
♪

359
00:40:26,375 --> 00:40:29,793
A cloak stretching
from the shoulders to the tail,

360
00:40:29,827 --> 00:40:32,140
even between its fingertips...

361
00:40:36,144 --> 00:40:39,699
...makes it as large
as physically possible.

362
00:40:39,734 --> 00:40:49,122
♪

363
00:40:49,157 --> 00:40:53,506
Gliding from tree to tree
saves a lot of time.

364
00:41:01,031 --> 00:41:04,586
Colugos search out
young leaves and flowers.

365
00:41:15,183 --> 00:41:19,359
A freakish cast inhabits
this world without sunlight,

366
00:41:19,394 --> 00:41:25,296
each with their own
extraordinary adaptations.

367
00:41:25,331 --> 00:41:28,921
But they, too,
abide by the sun's rule.

368
00:41:34,996 --> 00:41:39,621
As dawn approaches,
they retreat to the shadows.

369
00:41:42,003 --> 00:41:46,214
The colugo depends on
its mottled fur for camouflage.

370
00:41:46,248 --> 00:41:53,152
[gibbon singing]

371
00:41:53,186 --> 00:41:56,569
A distant call
proclaims the coming day.

372
00:41:56,604 --> 00:42:05,095
[gibbon singing]

373
00:42:05,129 --> 00:42:06,959
And as it does at the same time

374
00:42:06,993 --> 00:42:09,755
every morning
here in the tropics,

375
00:42:09,789 --> 00:42:15,761
the sun returns to rule
over the ancient rain forests.

376
00:42:15,795 --> 00:42:38,024
[singing]

377
00:42:38,059 --> 00:42:40,579
The islands
between Australia and Asia

378
00:42:40,613 --> 00:42:44,410
are among the biologically
richest on Earth.

379
00:42:48,448 --> 00:42:51,175
Erupting volcanoes
drive the evolution

380
00:42:51,210 --> 00:42:54,316
of the beautiful
and the bizarre.

381
00:42:54,351 --> 00:43:01,323
♪

382
00:43:01,358 --> 00:43:04,188
Along the shores and in the sea,

383
00:43:04,223 --> 00:43:08,227
the moon holds sway
over a mysterious world.

384
00:43:08,261 --> 00:43:18,271
♪

385
00:43:18,306 --> 00:43:21,274
And in its forests,
the sun's daily rule

386
00:43:21,309 --> 00:43:24,692
sustains an astonishing
profusion of life.

387
00:43:24,726 --> 00:43:38,291
♪

388
00:43:38,326 --> 00:43:43,918
Nature's most powerful forces...
the earth, sun, and moon...

389
00:43:43,952 --> 00:43:47,542
make this a place like no other.

390
00:43:47,576 --> 00:43:59,347
♪

391
00:43:59,381 --> 00:44:03,351
Forged over millions of years,
these ancient islands

392
00:44:03,385 --> 00:44:07,286
are home to some of
the greatest assemblage of life

393
00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:08,770
on the planet.