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Our most extraordinary forests stand on the shoulders of giants. In these exposed worlds where the air is thin and the conditions hostile only the strongest and most resilient can make a mountain home. From extreme altitude monkeys battling for a winter stash to canopies that catch the clouds. A love song that sustains a forest and fire-loving trees. Together they build a kingdom in the clouds. Take a journey through our planet's kaleidoscope of forest realms. to the tropical jungles that hug our equator. to the ocean depths.
Marvel at the magic and drama that unfolds as we reveal the secrets of the enchanted forests. Amongst the snowy peaks of southwest China a high-altitude forest kingdom is raided for its secret source of winter food. An icy grip takes hold in some of the country's last native forests. In ancient lore these mountains were considered sacred.
A gateway between heaven and earth. In this extreme habitat only gods can thrive. Golden gods. These snub-nosed monkeys with their gold fleece blue face and curious nose inspired the Chinese legend of the Monkey King. And this is their kingdom. Their unique appearance is the secret to their survival. Their thick fleece keeps them insulated at minus 30° C. And an almost non-existent nose helps avoid frostbite. They even have inbuilt fluffy gloves. [bell] These monkeys live at an altitude of up to 4,000 m higher than any other non-human primate. In the depths of winter meals of fruit or soft leaves are long gone.
Most other species have fled down the mountain to find food and escape the freeze. But not the monkeys. The females and their babies are led by this male. The head of the family. This Monkey King knows the forest has a secret stash of food on offer. And he must lead his family to it. The trees here help filter the air making it clean and pure. The perfect conditions for one reliable food source. Lichen.
A mix of both fungi and algae growing on tall well-established trees. And luckily for these monkeys it grows all year round. It's hardly fulfilling but every bite is precious. An intruder with his own family to feed. On a lone scouting mission in search of lichen. Long ago it was thought that the Monkey King could transform each of his golden hairs into a clone of himself to create an army. If he loses this battle he will be forced to surrender his territory The king has held on to his prize lichen patch.
At night temperatures drop and it's time to huddle. The little ones are cocooned in furry sleep clusters. A cozy cradle. The family's survival in these high-altitude worlds depends on a deep knowledge of the forest. To find its hidden stash of food. And with a determined Monkey King to defend it this family will make it through another winter. To survive the extremes of a mountain world animals need endurance As do the trees. The forest hides a secret strength and ingenious adaptations.
Higher up the mountain the trees' precious resources diminish. The broad leaves soon bow out to the evergreen stalwarts. Exposed to the elements the trees here need to use every tool they have to survive. Thick bark shields from the freezing temperatures. And a conical shape helps shed heavy snow. Branches that flex in the wind can withstand the most extreme weather. Further up the mountain ground water is locked as ice.
Waxy leaves seal in every last drop of moisture reflecting radiation from the sun as it bombards the mountain slopes. And then there is a point where even the toughest trees cannot survive. The timberline marks the frontier where life is pushed beyond its limits. Further down the mountain, one lone forest guardian uses ancient wisdom passed down through generations to keep the balance of yin and yang in his forest home. For eons, his ancestors have lived in these Chinese forests. And now, this fire cat, as they're known, is the guardian of his very own 2 and 1/2 km squared patch.
It can be hard to throw off a fluffy tail blanket on a chilly morning. But this panda has a very important job to do. First things first, forest patrol. As he checks his territory boundaries, he marks out an invisible cordon using scent glands between his footpads. This aromatic trail is packed with information about its owner, letting the other forest residents know whose territory they dare enter. And in return, he can use his own keen sense of smell to keep track of what's been going on inside his patch. A clouded leopard passed through here yesterday. A lady fire cat slept here last week, but alas, she has not returned.
Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world, growing up to a meter a day. Kept unchecked, it would soon smother the forest. Like the giant panda, he also eats bamboo. But he prefers the very tips of the leaves to the fibrous stalks. He eats a lot, around 10,000 leaves a day. Little does he know, every single bite is crucial to preserving his forest. Red pandas need a unique mixture of tall canopy trees as a refuge from predators Slow and steady, he maintains the harmony between the bamboo and the tall trees.
But his world is changing. Despite his daily efforts, his forest range is shrinking. He is confined to a section of mountain currently perfectly suited to his needs. But as human activity increases, the bamboo and tall trees he depends on are disappearing. As he can only eat bamboo, he is unable to adapt to any future changes to his forest. But with space and protection, this forest guardian will be able to care for what he has left. In just a few special places on Earth, a tropical rainforest combines with high altitude, The real alchemy lies in its ability to conjure water out of thin air. These trees are the hosts to unique lodges, With almost 100% humidity, everything these plants need can be extracted from the air around them.
So, they never need to touch the ground. Every nook or cranny can be filled, creating hanging gardens in the canopy. In return, these plants provide pockets of shelter, creating tiny ecosystems in the canopy. Home to many creatures found nowhere else on the planet. By overcoming the need to be anchored to the ground, these plants have found their perfect spot up here in this enigmatic world within the clouds. Epiphytes aren't the only plants rooted in unconventional places. The trees of northern Madagascar have formed an alliance with a barefoot brigade, What began as a limestone plateau 150 million years ago With bare rock and no soil, this is an
unlikely place for a forest to grow. And yet, there are trees. But they didn't grow here by chance. They were planted. These rock formations are called tsingy, meaning where one cannot walk barefoot. True for most, but not for all. For these crowned lemurs, navigating the tsingy is a way of life. They tiptoe across the spines with padded hands and feet, undeterred by the needle-like points and perilous drops. Despite its rugged appearance, the lemurs come to this special place to forage from the fruiting trees that make the rocks their home. As they move around at Tsingy, they deposit seeds in the nooks, where they germinate and begin to grow.
Over many years, their roots erode the limestone, breaking through the rocks and into caves below, eventually finding a hidden treasure. But, a tree needs more than just water to grow. Without soil, it needs another source of nutrients. Thousands of bats that roost in the caves leave piles of their droppings, known as guano, a fertilizing gift for the trees. As the rocks become weaker, the cave ceilings collapse, bringing the final ingredient, a kiss of sunlight, Generations later, the forest the lemurs helped plant now sustains them. As long as these groundbreaking trees keep producing fruit, the crowned lemurs will continue planting a forest within the rocks.
Every tree needs help to spread its seeds. Some use the natural elements to send their offspring to conquer new lands. Others jettison their cargo into the world. But, in a mountain forest, many of the plant species here rely on wildlife to do the job for them. And to attract the best seed dispersers, the trees have to sweeten the deal. So, they package their seeds within a tasty fruit. Like brightly colored beacons, they stand out amongst the foliage. And its succulent flesh keeps customers coming back for more.
Some seeds are designed to pass through the gut unharmed, while others even need digestive fluids to kick-start their germination. And as these creatures traverse the forest, they eventually deposit the seeds in a ready-made package of fertilizer. For a tree that is anchored to one spot, it is a clever and necessary way to give their progeny the best possible start in life, as far away from their parent as possible. But, on the side of a mountain where nourishment is scarce, it takes a huge amount of effort for the tree to produce a fruit. So, the forest here must go to extra lengths to provide the perfect home for their seed spreaders. In one mountain forest, the trees work together, pulling out all the stops to create the
ideal backdrop for a love story that will secure their future. In the mountains of Lao, lies a Goldilocks realm, where there is just the right amount of soil, rain, sunlight, and nutrients for these trees to fruit. But, up here, the fruit is smaller than it would be at sea level. So, the forest needs to find a way to keep its resident dispersers happy. The trees here have created a perfect world for them in the canopy. What might just look like a branch is a perfect bed.
And these aren't just treetops, they are a playground for energetic youngsters learning the ropes. but their preferred way of moving about is far more impressive. With arms longer than their legs and double-jointed shoulders, the gibbon is the true king of the swingers. The trees grow their fruit right at the end of the branches to soak up every ray of sunshine. So, they need expert contortionists to reach them. Gibbons are the most effective seed dispersers for their body size to keep the forest healthy and even expanding, the trees need as many gibbons as the troop can provide. And so, the trees set the stage for the finale, a rather public display of affection.
Every day around noon, this couple moves to adjacent trees as if in celebration of the forest that constantly provides for them, the gibbons' songs also strengthen their bond. As long as the trees produce plenty of food, A mountain forest that uses every ounce of energy to produce their miniature fruit wants the highest success rate for their seeds possible. It's a tale of evolution at its finest. The gibbons have discovered ways to exploit the trees, and in turn, they have found the best ways to serve them, spreading more fruit.
They are ensuring a lasting legacy for both the forest and their family. But there is one set of trees that really knows how to overcomplicate a relationship. In the Soutpansberg Mountains of South Africa, this yellowwood tree is at home in cooler climates. It is a conifer, a group of ancient seed-bearing trees that evolved before flowers became the popular way to pollinate. Instead, yellowwoods produce male and female cones found on separate trees, making pollination a somewhat tricky affair. This tree is all female. And growing in her shadow is a smaller male yellowwood, crucially positioned upwind. This male tree, cones packed with pollen, has been waiting for the perfect moment to release and reach a female.
Once every few years, she produces a fleshy cone now waiting for a delivery of pollen. Only meters apart, yet there is nothing guaranteed about this process. The wind's direction and temperature need to be just right for the pollen to reach them. Their chances of success are left blowing in the wind. But here on the mountain, it's windier than on the plains below, giving the pollen a helping hand. And incredibly, it works. A year later, the female cones have turned into fruit, each holding its own seed. With the help of the birds and samango monkeys, the seeds are liberated.
This haphazard technique has worked for thousands of years and for many tree types, so they must be doing something right. When surrounded by some of the most impressive trees in the world, one species is forced to raise a stink in order to get noticed. This is the land of titans. In the cool and temperate rainforests of Australia, lives the mountain ash. In this place, where there is plenty of sunlight and water, these trees have grown into giants.
Growing up to a meter a year, they are the tallest flowering tree in the world. At nearly 100 m tall, these attention-grabbers have a tendency to leave smaller trees in the shadows. So some trees have had to come up with a different strategy to get noticed. Banksia trees are tiny compared to the mountain ash. And even with their show of flowers, they struggle to attract the best pollinators. But as the sun sets and the giants sleep, the banksia tree switches tactics. Time to lure in the pollinating big guns.
so it's after dark that the family come out to forage. The possum's huge eyes help them spot insects in the dark. But this possum wants to skip dinner and go straight to dessert. Their love of sugary treats is what the banksia tree is banking on. At night, the banksia goes into overdrive, flooding its flowers with a higher concentration of nectar. And the aroma of this extra sweet midnight snack draws the possum in. Just out of reach, but the sugar gliders have found an ingenious way to navigate. They parachute up to 45 m using a fluffy wingsuit, helping them reach the furthest branches. But he's been beaten to it by another sweet-toothed possum.
With their pointed snouts and long tongues, it appears both blossom and possum may have coevolved to meet each other's needs. More banksia pollen gets spread at these nocturnal forays than any other time of day. These tiny night-foraging marsupials and their love of sugary treats are helping to maintain the diversity of this ancient forest. While animals and trees can work together to help build a forest, the domination of one type of poisonous tree meant that an entire species had to lose its mind to survive.
The Great Dividing Range is the mountain home to the most prolific tree in Australia, the eucalyptus, the perfect spot for another iconic Australian resident. The koala and eucalyptus coevolved over hundreds of thousands of years. These trees contain everything the koalas need, shelter, safety, and food. They even offer a cooling trunk to hug in the hottest weather. In fact, they want to stop the koala from eating their leaves by trying to kill them.
These leaves are toxic. Just a tablespoon of eucalyptus can kill a human. But koalas eat up to a kilo of eucalyptus leaves every day. Living in the mountains dominated by this one species of tree, the koala has had to physically adapt in order to survive and foil the eucalyptus plan. They have evolved special liver enzymes and gut bacteria to digest the toxins. But all this has taken its toll on their body and brain. With a complex digestive system to run, compromises had to be made.
This poor diet made the koala sleepy, conserving energy by dozing for up to 20 hours a day. Over time, their brains have literally shrunk, leaving them with the lowest body mass to brain ratio of any animal. He is all gut feelings over brains. So when an intruder enters his territory, there is only one way he can think of to deal with it. But with energy levels quickly depleting, neither has the stomach for a long fight. The koala's shrinking brain is not a case of evolution working backwards. Quite the opposite. It shows an animal efficiently adapting to the forest. And in a relationship that is literally toxic, a tough gut is more important than a sharp mind.
A forest can cloak a mountain in swaths of green. But that is not the only color in its palette. This ancient mountain range in Southeast Australia is 10 times older than the Grand Canyon and is populated almost entirely by eucalyptus trees. But life under the relentless southern sun is tough. Hard, leathery foliage filled with oil keeps the leaves from drying out. catching the sunlight and tinting the air blue, giving the famous Blue Mountains their name. Eucalyptus oil can paint the air, but its real purpose is part of a radical strategy for success, eliminating their competition.
All it takes is a spark. The oil in the leaves is flammable. And by timing leaf drops with the fire season, the trees add more tinder to the furnace. Strips of bark invites the fire into the canopy. Carried by the wind, the embers can ignite more fires up to 40 km away. Open crowns generate updraft, driving the inferno further,
until everything green is gone. But for some, this baptism of fire brings life. With the ground now clear, the banksia's seed pod, sealed with resin, melts, releasing seeds into a fertile bed of ash. The eucalyptus trunks, protected from the fire, now regenerate with a surge of new growth. With most of their competitors reduced to ash, they can once again ensure their rule. It will take time for the forest to recuperate and restore itself to its former glory. Emerging from his underground shelter, this echidna slept as the inferno raged above him.
Now, the soil is cool enough. He has awoken from his state to start work as part of the forest regeneration team. As he looks for food, he tills the ground, spreading nutrient-rich ash, burying newly released seeds, and shifting burnt leaves. In the aftermath, he and his fellow spiny anteaters go about their business, helping kick-start the recovery of the forest. This fire warden is more in the fire prevention line of work. The superb lyrebird is best known for her impressive mimicry skills, impersonating anything from a kookaburra With feet like garden rakes, she sifts through the leaf litter looking for food.
Shredding leaves and clearing the ground, she speeds up the decomposition process and creates natural firebreaks. The lyrebird reduces the amount of dead leaves that act as fuel by a massive 25% each year. Fire is part of the eucalyptus master plan for gaining the upper hand. But Australia's climate is becoming hotter and drier. And the wildfires more frequent and intense. This fragile ecosystem needs time to recover between the burns, so the trees and their inhabitants can continue to thrive.
Life at the top of the world is extreme. But with a toolkit of adaptations, a touch of magic, and a little help from some friends, forests and the animals that call them home can conquer the mountains.
