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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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Life here follows
a daily rhythm,

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millions of years in the making.

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

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

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

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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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Dipterocarps are the tallest
tropical trees on Earth,

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powered by competition
for the mighty sun.

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

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But warming up has a downside.

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He's a sitting target.

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Paradise tree snakes
like to eat Draco lizards.

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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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But not for the Draco.

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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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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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Its roots travel downward
more than 150 feet...

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...a journey
that may take years.

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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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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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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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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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Making the most
of this food source

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is a crucial lesson
for any young orangutan.

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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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The sun is beginning
to overwhelm.

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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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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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They retreat to their nests
to wait out the heat.

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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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Despite the conditions,

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one female
is still up and about.

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She seems interested
in the male.

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Orangutans are
largely solitary animals.

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And encounters like this one
are rare.

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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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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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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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It's an easy meal
for a hungry ant,

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but those who visit
risk their lives.

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There's enough grip to hang on,
but only just.

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It takes one direct hit.

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There's no escape.

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The ant will slowly dissolve.

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Gracilis turn downpours
into an advantage,

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but others are at their best
when the rains subside.

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Sun bears sit out the heaviest
of a rain forest deluge.

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When the cooler
afternoon hours arrive,

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they are at their most active.

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This female works hard
to find her favorite insects.

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It takes all her strength to rip
open a fallen dipterocarp.

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But there are
rich rewards inside.

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The afternoon rains
lower the temperature,

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giving sun bears
a chance to feed.

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For others, all this water
presents a unique challenge.

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As streams swell
across the rain forest,

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a miniature world
springs to life.

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In the late afternoon,
male rock frogs begin to gather.

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They are here
to compete for a mate.

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The trouble is, being this tiny

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makes it hard to be heard
above a waterfall...

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...so rock frogs vary
the duration, pitch, and volume

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of their calls.

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A decent effort, but this much
noise requires drastic action.

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By varying their calls
and waving to each other,

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they have a unique solution

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to life as a tiny frog
in a noisy world.

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The males are here
hoping to attract a mate...

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...though her arrival
can push things over the edge.

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Despite a sophisticated
means of communication,

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it quickly descends
into a wrestling match.

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00:28:31,675 --> 00:28:35,085
Species here have come up
with all sorts of solutions

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to deal with the regular rains.

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It's part
of an ancient daily pattern,

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driven by the tropical sun.

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00:28:58,806 --> 00:29:00,386
Over millions of years,

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its energy has created
a realm like no other,

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00:29:05,226 --> 00:29:09,776
all because it rules with
such extraordinary consistency.

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00:29:22,657 --> 00:29:26,007
The islands stretch
from Australia to Asia,

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along the equator.

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00:29:29,768 --> 00:29:32,558
Day length changes very little.

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00:29:37,465 --> 00:29:39,395
Some of these forests experience

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the least seasonal change
of any habitat on Earth,

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00:29:44,299 --> 00:29:46,959
which poses a unique problem.

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00:29:50,305 --> 00:29:54,475
The trees have no predictable
cues to time their breeding.

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00:30:00,281 --> 00:30:05,011
Instead, they have to rely
on infrequent droughts.

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00:30:14,191 --> 00:30:17,641
It could be every few years
or once a decade,

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00:30:17,677 --> 00:30:21,467
but drought triggers the trees
to reproduce.

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00:30:26,272 --> 00:30:28,762
The dipterocarps
lead the charge,

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00:30:28,792 --> 00:30:33,352
each tree dropping
thousands of winged seeds.

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00:30:54,231 --> 00:30:57,171
And ready to sweep the ground
clean of seeds

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are these forest denizens.

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00:31:16,598 --> 00:31:20,878
Bearded pigs love the seeds
of the dipterocarp trees.

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00:31:22,984 --> 00:31:27,264
During the glut, most seeds
are eaten or destroyed.

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00:31:27,299 --> 00:31:31,409
But by dropping so many at once,
the giant trees ensure

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00:31:31,441 --> 00:31:36,101
that at least some escape
the pigs' hungry jaws.

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00:31:36,135 --> 00:31:38,095
All animals
have to take advantage

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of these predictable times
of plenty.

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00:31:44,350 --> 00:31:46,630
And it's not
just the dipterocarps.

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00:31:46,663 --> 00:31:51,463
Many trees here bear fruit
only every few years.

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00:31:53,325 --> 00:31:54,975
Orangutans aren't limited

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to scooping a meal
off the forest floor.

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00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:02,510
They're equipped
to go straight to the source.

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00:32:21,249 --> 00:32:22,909
In the years spent with mom,

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00:32:22,941 --> 00:32:25,631
a youngster learns
where to find fruit

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00:32:25,667 --> 00:32:28,807
before setting out on his own.

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00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:41,860
It's a unique paradox
of some of these rain forests

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that despite
the abundance of life,

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there are long spells
when fruit is scarce.

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00:32:51,831 --> 00:32:53,761
Mother knows only too well

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00:32:53,799 --> 00:32:57,629
that she can't rely
on fruit alone to get by.

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00:33:04,603 --> 00:33:10,403
Hidden in the treetops
is a rich supply of ants.

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00:33:10,436 --> 00:33:13,846
You just need to know
where to find them.

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00:33:16,995 --> 00:33:18,545
To thrive in these forests

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00:33:18,582 --> 00:33:22,902
is all about learning
what to eat, where, and when.

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00:33:35,082 --> 00:33:39,052
Today's lessons
will soon be over.

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00:33:59,071 --> 00:34:03,141
The subjects of the sun must
prepare for the coming night...

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00:34:07,114 --> 00:34:09,774
...for there is
another realm here.

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00:34:12,774 --> 00:34:16,054
It's one where creatures
hide away from the sun's power

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00:34:16,088 --> 00:34:19,638
and have evolved
to live shrouded in darkness.

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00:34:26,823 --> 00:34:30,693
The transition is marked
by an extraordinary sound.

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00:34:34,658 --> 00:34:38,728
Right on cue, the call
of the 6 o'clock cicada.

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00:34:55,990 --> 00:34:59,860
Night here is
a shadowing sanctuary of freaks.

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Fungi glow with a soft light

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00:35:06,034 --> 00:35:10,634
to lure insects
that will disperse their spores.

248
00:35:18,806 --> 00:35:21,596
With just the light of the moon
to see by,

249
00:35:21,636 --> 00:35:26,776
one denizen of the darkness
undergoes a bizarre change...

250
00:35:28,505 --> 00:35:30,435
Deinopsis.

251
00:35:37,549 --> 00:35:41,419
Her two large eyes
are truly astonishing.

252
00:35:45,522 --> 00:35:51,602
Right now they're changing.

253
00:35:51,632 --> 00:35:53,912
Cells inside them build to form

254
00:35:53,944 --> 00:35:56,744
an extremely
light-sensitive membrane,

255
00:35:56,775 --> 00:36:00,295
essential to the way she hunts.

256
00:36:13,032 --> 00:36:18,382
Her web is unlike any other,

257
00:36:18,417 --> 00:36:22,347
a Velcro-like net
built to snare passing prey.

258
00:36:33,743 --> 00:36:37,263
Preparations complete,
she waits.

259
00:37:05,568 --> 00:37:08,118
She binds her quarry in silk

260
00:37:08,156 --> 00:37:11,186
before slowly
sucking the life from it.

261
00:37:19,720 --> 00:37:21,310
When dawn returns,

262
00:37:21,342 --> 00:37:25,902
the membrane inside her eyes
will be re-absorbed,

263
00:37:25,933 --> 00:37:31,393
a feat she repeats night
after night after night.

264
00:37:33,975 --> 00:37:36,385
Deinopsis isn't the only creature

265
00:37:36,426 --> 00:37:41,566
whose bizarre eyes allow it to
thrive in this world of shadows.

266
00:37:45,918 --> 00:37:48,338
The tangled roots
of the strangler fig

267
00:37:48,369 --> 00:37:52,929
are home
to a carnivorous hunter.

268
00:37:59,932 --> 00:38:02,422
Each of the tarsier's
sensitive eyes

269
00:38:02,452 --> 00:38:06,942
is the same size and weight
as its brain,

270
00:38:06,974 --> 00:38:10,124
so large, they can't move.

271
00:38:15,707 --> 00:38:20,817
But the tarsier can rotate
its head 180 degrees.

272
00:38:29,376 --> 00:38:33,306
And its huge ears
can move independently.

273
00:38:42,561 --> 00:38:44,531
The tarsier is built to detect

274
00:38:44,563 --> 00:38:47,913
the smallest movement
in the dark.

275
00:39:16,388 --> 00:39:18,388
Higher up
in this world of shadows,

276
00:39:18,425 --> 00:39:22,975
an even more bizarre creature
inhabits the rain forest canopy.

277
00:39:32,991 --> 00:39:35,821
Like the paradise tree snake
and Draco,

278
00:39:35,856 --> 00:39:40,306
the colugo's life is dictated
by the giant trees.

279
00:39:44,968 --> 00:39:47,588
To avoid climbing
up and down their trunks,

280
00:39:47,626 --> 00:39:50,176
it glides across the forest.

281
00:40:01,813 --> 00:40:05,513
The underside of
its gliding membrane has no fur,

282
00:40:05,541 --> 00:40:07,441
which reduces drag.

283
00:40:26,354 --> 00:40:29,774
A cloak stretching
from the shoulders to the tail,

284
00:40:29,806 --> 00:40:32,116
even between its fingertips...

285
00:40:36,123 --> 00:40:39,683
...makes it as large
as physically possible.

286
00:40:49,136 --> 00:40:53,486
Gliding from tree to tree
saves a lot of time.

287
00:41:01,010 --> 00:41:04,570
Colugos search out
young leaves and flowers.

288
00:41:15,162 --> 00:41:19,342
A freakish cast inhabits
this world without sunlight,

289
00:41:19,373 --> 00:41:25,283
each with their own
extraordinary adaptations.

290
00:41:25,310 --> 00:41:28,900
But they, too,
abide by the sun's rule.

291
00:41:34,975 --> 00:41:39,595
As dawn approaches,
they retreat to the shadows.

292
00:41:41,982 --> 00:41:46,192
The colugo depends on
its mottled fur for camouflage.

293
00:41:53,165 --> 00:41:56,545
A distant call
proclaims the coming day.

294
00:42:05,108 --> 00:42:06,938
And as it does at the same time

295
00:42:06,972 --> 00:42:09,732
every morning
here in the tropics,

296
00:42:09,768 --> 00:42:15,738
the sun returns to rule
over the ancient rain forests.

297
00:42:38,038 --> 00:42:40,558
The islands
between Australia and Asia

298
00:42:40,592 --> 00:42:44,392
are among the biologically
richest on Earth.

299
00:42:48,427 --> 00:42:51,147
Erupting volcanoes
drive the evolution

300
00:42:51,189 --> 00:42:54,299
of the beautiful
and the bizarre.

301
00:43:01,337 --> 00:43:04,167
Along the shores and in the sea,

302
00:43:04,202 --> 00:43:08,212
the moon holds sway
over a mysterious world.

303
00:43:18,285 --> 00:43:21,245
And in its forests,
the sun's daily rule

304
00:43:21,288 --> 00:43:24,668
sustains an astonishing
profusion of life.

305
00:43:38,305 --> 00:43:43,895
Nature's most powerful forces...
the earth, sun, and moon...

306
00:43:43,931 --> 00:43:47,521
make this a place like no other.

307
00:43:59,360 --> 00:44:03,330
Forged over millions of years,
these ancient islands

308
00:44:03,364 --> 00:44:07,274
are home to some of
the greatest assemblage of life

309
00:44:07,299 --> 00:44:08,749
on the planet.