Original subtitles

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ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: I M DYLAN DREYER, JOIN ME ON AN ADVENTURE

THROUGH TIME AND ACROSS THE GLOBE AS WE EXPLORE

THE WONDERS AND MYSTERIES OF TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS.

DYLAN: WE LL DISCOVER A COLLECTION OF AMAZING

CREATURES THAT CLIMB, FLY AND SLITHER THEIR WAY

THROUGH THE DEEP FOREST.

WE LL MEET SCIENTISTS AT THE FRONT LINES OF

RAINFOREST CONSERVATION AND JOIN THEM ON A

MIDNIGHT TOUR OF THE JUNGLE.

AND WE LL VENTURE TO THE TOPS OF THE WORLD S

TALLEST TREES USING ROPES, CRANES AND ONE TRULY

AMAZING TECHNIQUE.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: TROPICAL RAINFORESTS TYPICALLY

RECEIVE MORE THAN 10 FEET OF RAIN EVERY YEAR.

RAINFORESTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR NEARLY 30

PERCENT OF ALL THE OXYGEN ON OUR PLANET AND IT S

THOUGHT AS MANY AS 75 PERCENT OF ALL SPECIES ON

EARTH LIVE THERE.

THE IMPORTANCE OF RAINFORESTS TO THE HEALTH

OF OUR WORLD CANNOT BE OVERSTATED.

BUT TO FULLY APPRECIATE THEM WE NEED TO DO SOME

TIME TRAVELING.

LET S BEGIN 400 MILLION YEARS AGO.

FERNS, SOME OF THE MOST PRIMITIVE PLANTS, AND

FUNGUS, SOME OF THE MOST PRIMITIVE ORGANISMS, COVER

ALMOST ALL THE LAND.

PRIMITIVE ANIMALS HAVE MOVED OUT OF THE OCEANS

AND ARE BEGINNING TO FILL THE EARTH.

LET S MOVE FORWARD 100 MILLION YEARS.

THE REIGN OF FERNS IS ENDING AND TREES ARE

TAKING OVER WITH COUNTLESS DIFFERENT LEAVES, TRUNKS

AND SPREADING BRANCHES.

WE VE BURST UPON A NEW FANTASTIC ERA.

TROPICAL RAINFORESTS HAVE BEGUN.

DYLAN: NOW LET S TRAVEL TO 60 MILLION YEARS AGO...

... THE DINOSAURS HAVE COME AND GONE BUT THE INSECTS

STILL THRIVE.

DYLAN: THE FOREST IS A TANGLED WEAVE OF PLANTS COMPETING

FOR NUTRIENTS AND LIGHT.

DYLAN: MULTITUDES OF NEW LIFEFORMS ARE EMERGING.

FUNGI, PLANTS AND TREES SUPPORT AN INCREASINGLY

COMPLEX WORLD OF BUGS AND OTHERS SEARCHING FOR FOOD.

DYLAN: IN THE MORNING MOIST AND SUN-WARMED AIR STARTS

RISING; A PRELUDE TO THE MIDDAY CLOUDS...

... AND IN THE AFTERNOON THE RAIN DESCENDS AS TROPICAL

RAINFORESTS AROUND THE PLANET LIVE UP TO THEIR

HOT AND HUMID NAME.

DYLAN: COMING OUT TO TASTE THE AIR, THE FOREST CREATURES

OF THE NIGHT ARE JUST AS VARIED AND NUMEROUS AS

THOSE OF THE DAY.

DYLAN: THE RAINFORESTS OF THE WORLD ARE CLUSTERED IN A

BAND AROUND THE EARTH S EQUATOR.

HERE THERE ARE NO SEASONAL EXTREMES, JUST AN ENDLESS

SERIES OF 12-HOUR NIGHTS AND 12-HOUR DAYS.

SIMPLY LIGHT AND DARKNESS, RAIN AND SUNSHINE.

WEEK BY WEEK, MONTH BY MONTH, YEAR BY HUNDRED

MILLIONTH YEAR.

WITH THIS CONTINUOUS CYCLE THE TREES OF THE

RAINFOREST GROW BIG AND STRONG.

TREES ARE THE LARGEST LIVING THINGS ON LAND AND

THEY ARE CRITICAL TO LIFE AROUND THE PLANET.

THE TREES ARE ALSO PART OF THE VARIETY OF MANY

THOUSAND DIFFERENT FLOWERING PLANTS THAT FEED

MILLIONS OF ANIMALS.

DYLAN: BUT WHY SO MANY SHAPES AND COLORS?

HOW DID THEY ARRIVE AT SUCH COMPLEXITY?

EVERY COMPLICATED ORGANISM HAS ITS ORIGIN IN

SOMETHING SIMPLER.

EVERY FORM OF LIFE HAS ANCESTORS THAT WERE AMONG

THE EARLIEST ON EARTH.

EVERY INDIVIDUAL IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FROM

ITS PARENTS.

AND OCCASIONALLY THOSE VARIATIONS PROVIDE A

SLIGHT ADVANTAGE FOR SURVIVAL.

UNDER EVOLUTIONARY PRESSURE, THOSE WITH AN

ADVANTAGE TEND TO THRIVE WHILE OTHERS DO NOT.

AND AFTER MILLIONS OF GENERATIONS TINY CHANGES

LEAD TO BIG DIFFERENCES.

ALL OF EVOLUTION WORKS THIS WAY.

DYLAN: LET S TRAVEL TO 20 MILLION YEARS AGO.

THE NUMBER AND VARIETY OF SPECIES IS INCREASING

RAPIDLY AND FILLING EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY IN THE

FOREST.

THE FORESTS THEMSELVES ARE INCREASING TOO.

PLACES LIKE BORNEO, THAILAND, INDIA,

MADAGASCAR, THE AMAZON; THEY ARE ALL COVERED BY

LUSCIOUS FORESTS.

THE FOREST TREES GROW TO HUNDREDS OF FEET TALL.

LESS THAN 2 PERCENT OF THE BRIGHT SUNLIGHT HITTING

THE TOPS OF THESE TREES FINDS ITS WAY TO THE

FOREST FLOOR.

EVERY CREATURE IS SHAPED BY THIS UNIQUE VERTICAL

ECOSYSTEM.

THINK OF TROPICAL RAINFORESTS LIKE THE

LAYERS OF A CAKE; THERE S THE TOP LAYER OR CANOPY OF

TREES; THE MIDDLE LAYER OR UNDERSTORY FULL OF TRUNKS,

VINES AND PLANTS; AND THE FOREST FLOOR AT THE

BOTTOM.

COUNTLESS CREATURES HAVE ADAPTED TO EVERY ONE OF

THESE UNIQUE HABITATS AND ALL LIVE ON TOP OF EACH

OTHER AND WE VE ONLY JUST BEGUN EXPLORING THEM.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE LL DISCOVER ONE SPECIAL

SPECIES THAT HAS LEARNED TO GROW ITS OWN FOOD.

AND MEET A COLLECTION OF JUNGLE PRIMATES THAT MIGHT

REMIND US OF SOME OF OUR FRIENDS.

DON T GO AWAY, THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO JOURNEY, I M DYLAN DREYER.

EVEN TODAY THE GOVERNMENT OF BRAZIL BELIEVES THAT

THERE ARE MORE THAN 60 DIFFERENT UNCONTACTED

TRIBES LIVING IN THE AMAZON RAINFOREST.

THE DEEP JUNGLES OF NEW GUINEA MAY BE HOME TO MORE

THAN 40 UNCONTACTED TRIBAL GROUPS AND MANY MORE IN

THE JUNGLES OF CENTRAL AFRICA.

RAINFORESTS ARE TRULY MYSTERIOUS AND ANCIENT

PLACES, STILL UNTOUCHED BY THE MODERN WORLD.

SURPRISES LURK AROUND EVERY TREE.

DYLAN: 30 MILLION YEARS AGO THE DESCENDANTS OF

DINOSAURS HAVE FULLY EVOLVED INTO BIRDS OF ALL

SHAPES AND SIZES.

BIRDS WERE SPREADING THROUGHOUT THE EARTH,

FEEDING OFF THE MANY FRUITS AND FLOWERS OF THE

WORLD S LUSH FORESTS.

BUT ANOTHER TYPE OF ANIMAL HAS BEGUN TO RIVAL THE

BIRDS DOMINANCE OVER EARTH.

DYLAN: THE AGE OF MAMMALS HAS ARRIVED.

DYLAN: MOST MAMMALS SHARE A FEW COMMON FEATURES;

THEY HAVE A CENTRAL SPINE, HAIR OR FUR, ARE

WARM-BLOODED, AND PRODUCE MILK TO THEIR BABIES.

BUT THE ONLY MAMMALS THAT CAN FLY ARE BATS, WHICH BY

ECO-LOCATION ACTUALLY SEE WITH SOUND.

DYLAN: THE MONKEYS, APES AND OTHER AGILE PRIMATES

HAVE EVOLVED, DIVERSIFIED, ADAPTED.

EATING ALMOST EVERYTHING THEY CAN, THEY TRAVEL

SWIFTLY THROUGH THE UPPER BRANCHES.

DYLAN: THE LEMURS, SOME OF THE EARLIEST

PRIMATES, LOOK AROUND THE TWILIGHT WORLD WITH

LARGE AND GHOSTLY EYES.

DYLAN: IN THE RAINFOREST THE NEEDS OF FOOD AND

SPACE LEADS TO COMPLICATED PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR.

LEAFCUTTER ANTS ACTUALLY HARVEST LEAVES AND FEED

THEM TO CERTAIN TYPES OF FUNGUS.

DYLAN: AS THE FUNGUS BREAKS DOWN THE CHEWED LEAVES,

THE LEAVES ARE CONVERTED BACK TO FOOD FOR THE ANTS.

SUCH INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS ARE FRAIL

AND ONE CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT THE OTHER.

DYLAN: SYMBIOTIC HARMONY LIKE THIS IS FOUND

ACROSS THE FOREST.

WHILE ONE SPECIES MAY RELY ON OTHERS FOR SURVIVAL,

ALL OF THEM RELY UPON THE TREES.

DYLAN: AS HUMANS STANDING ON THE GROUND WE OFTEN

ONLY SEE THE WORLD THAT S AT OUR FEET.

WE NEED TO LOOK AROUND, ABOVE OUR HEADS.

NALINI NADKARNI IS AN INDIAN-AMERICAN ECOLOGIST

WHO PIONEERED THE STUDY OF COSTA-RICAN RAINFOREST

CANOPIES.

NALINI: I VE BEEN STUDYING THIS SMALL GROUP OF TREES

FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS.

YET EACH TIME I COME UP I M JUST AMAZED TO FIND

SPECIES OF PLANTS THAT I VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.

THERE ARE OVER 28,000 SPECIES OF PLANTS THAT

ACTUALLY LIVE OUT THEIR ENTIRE LIVES UP HERE IN

THE TREETOPS.

I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THIS INCREDIBLY ABUNDANT GROUP

OF PLANTS IS DOING IN THE FOREST.

WHAT WOULD THE FOREST BE LIKE IF THESE PLANTS

WEREN T HERE?...

... AS A KID I WAS ALWAYS UP IN THE TREES AND I KNOW MY

MOTHER, WHO S TERRIBLY AFRAID OF HEIGHTS, STILL

SHAKES HER HEAD IN WONDER WHEN SHE REALIZES WHAT HER

DAUGHTER DOES FOR A LIVING...

... THE RESULTS OF MY OWN RESEARCH HAS SURPRISED ME.

THIS FEELING THAT I MIGHT DISCOVER SOMETHING

ENTIRELY NEW UP HERE IS A MAJOR MOTIVATION FOR THE

SCIENCE THAT I DO.

DYLAN: WITHIN THE LAST 200 YEARS, LESS TIME THAN SOME

OF THE TREES IN THE RAINFOREST HAVE BEEN

ALIVE, OUR TOOLS AND SOCIETIES HAVE

DRAMATICALLY CHANGED...

... AND OUR USE OF TREES HAS RAPIDLY INCREASED.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, MILLIONS OF YEARS OF

EVOLUTION AND HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF GROWTH CAN BE

BROUGHT DOWN IN JUST A FEW MINUTES.

ARE THE SHORT-TERM NEEDS OF OUR MODERN WORLD WORTH

THE LONG-TERM RESULTS?

DON T GO AWAY, THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: OVER ONE-QUARTER OF ALL MEDICINES EVER

DISCOVERED COME FROM THE RAINFORESTS OF THE WORLD.

INCREDIBLY AN UNKNOWN NUMBER OF POSSIBLE CURES

ARE STILL HIDING IN RAINFORESTS RIGHT NOW.

AS RAINFORESTS DISAPPEAR DUE TO LOGGING AND

ENCROACHING CITIES, THOSE LIFE-SAVING MEDICINES

DISAPPEAR TOO.

DYLAN: THIS MIGHTY TREE HAS BEEN GROWING HERE FOR

HUNDREDS OF YEARS.

BUT IT ONLY TAKES A FEW MINUTES TO CUT IT DOWN.

DYLAN: TODAY HUMANS HAVE BROUGHT THE BIGGEST CHANGE

THE TROPICAL RAINFORESTS AROUND THE WORLD HAVE

EVER SEEN.

30 YEARS AGO WE BEGAN TO REALIZE THE FULL IMPACT

THAT CLIMATE CHANGE AND HABITAT LOSS IS HAVING ON

OUR PRECIOUS RAINFORESTS.

BOB: I M BOB CANE.

COMING UP ON THE INTERNATIONAL HOUR WE LL

EXAMINE NEW ECOLOGICAL REPORTS ON TROPICAL

RAINFORESTS.

THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF RAINFORESTS ARE DESTROYED

WORLDWIDE

DYLAN: EVERY DAY AS THESE GIANTS OF THE

FOREST FALL, SPECIES WHICH NO HUMAN HAS EVER SEEN ARE

DRIVEN TO EXTINCTION.

DYLAN: OUR MOST URGENT CHALLENGE IS TO UNDERSTAND

THE RAPID CHANGES WE HAVE BROUGHT UPON OUR PLANET

AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO STOP THEM.

DYLAN: THE TROPICAL RAINFORESTS OF THE

WORLD HAVE SHRUNK DRAMATICALLY.

DYLAN: ONLY THE MOST REMOTE CORNERS REMAIN UNTOUCHED,

AVAILABLE FOR STUDY.

BOTANISTS, BIOLOGISTS, CHEMISTS, ENTOMOLOGISTS

AND ALL WHO WISH TO ANALYZE THE FOREST

ECOSYSTEM WILL SOMETIMES TRAVEL SEVERAL THOUSAND

MILES TO REACH A TINY AIRSTRIP AND A RESEARCH

SITE THAT S LARGELY UNDISTURBED.

♪ MUSIC ♪

[NIGHT SOUNDS]

MAN: I M ALWAYS STAGGERED BY HOW MUCH THERE IS TO

SEE AND HEAR INSIDE THE FOREST.

LOOK DOWN HERE.

DOING RESEARCH IS CHALLENGING IN THESE

PLACES...

... THE TROPICAL FORESTS ALL AROUND THE EARTH COVER

LESS THAN 7 PERCENT OF THE LAND SURFACE.

WE VE ONLY JUST IN THE LAST 50 TO 100 YEARS BEGUN

TO UNDERSTAND THE BIOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE

PLACE.

WE RE LEARNING FROM ONGOING RESEARCH THAT MORE

THAN 90 PERCENT OF THE WORLD S SPECIES; THE ANTS,

BIRDS, MAMMALS, PLANTS, BUGS OF ALL KINDS; LIVE IN

THE TROPICS.

IT S THE VERY BIOLOGY OF OUR PLANET.

EVERYTHING WE LOOK AT HAS SOME ASPECT HERE THAT IS

QUITE UNKNOWN.

THE MORE TIME I SPEND IN THE RAINFOREST, THE MORE

CAREFULLY I LOOK, THE MORE I SEE.

DYLAN: TIME ROLLS ON IN THE RAINFOREST.

BY HOUR, BY DAY, BY YEAR AND MILLENNIA.

INDIVIDUAL TREES MAY LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS OR MORE

AND THEN WILL FALL OR DIE.

TERMITES QUICKLY GO TO WORK AND SOON THE FOREST

FLOOR RECLAIMS WHAT IT S SUPPLIED AS EVERYTHING

RECYCLES THROUGH THE SYSTEM.

THE ENERGY CONTAINED WITHIN THE FABRIC OF TREES

IS NEVER LOST OR WASTED.

DON T GO AWAY, THE JOURNEY CONTINUES NEXT.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: THERE S ONE REALLY BIG CHALLENGE FOR

SCIENTISTS WHO WANT TO STUDY THE VAST ECOSYSTEM

LOCATED AT THE TOP OF A RAINFOREST.

HOW ON EARTH DO YOU GET UP THERE?

WELL THE SOLUTION IS SOMETHING YOU JUST HAVE TO

SEE TO BELIEVE.

DYLAN: TREES IN SOME TROPICAL RAINFORESTS AROUND THE

WORLD CAN CLIMB HUNDREDS OF FEET INTO THE SKY.

COUNTLESS ANIMALS AND MICRO-ECOSYSTEMS SURVIVE

ALL ALONG THE WAY; FROM THE ROOTS BELOW UP THE

MIGHTY TRUNK TO THE LAST HIGHEST LEAF.

DYLAN: WE HUMANS, NO MATTER HOW AGILE WE THINK WE ARE,

ARE SIMPLY NOT EQUIPPED TO REACH THE TOPMOST

PART OF A RAINFOREST AND THE MYSTERIOUS SURFACE

OF THE FOREST CANOPY...

... BUT AN INGENIOUS TEAM OF AIRBORNE SCIENTISTS HAVE

FOUND A NOVEL WAY OF GETTING AROUND THIS

PROBLEM.

MAN: AH, IT IS REALLY WONDERFUL BEING HERE.

FLOATING ON A MOVING OCEAN OF GREEN IS LIKE BEING AT

SEA EXCEPT FOR THE SOUNDS; MONKEYS, INSECTS, BIRDS,

FROGS.

UP HERE WHERE THERE IS SO MUCH SUNLIGHT YOU CAN FEEL

THE IMPACT OF THE WHOLE FOREST CONTAINING MILLIONS

AND MILLIONS OF DIFFERENT SPECIES.

MAN: SOMETIMES THE TRANSPIRATION FROM ALL THE

LEAVES OF THE FOREST MAKE IT SEEM AS IF IT IS

RAINING UP INSTEAD OF DOWN.

EVERYTHING IS INCREDIBLY WET.

WE RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IT, ALL PROBABLY

HAVEN T BEGUN.

DYLAN: WE BEGAN THIS JOURNEY WITH A TRIP BACK

THROUGH TIME 400 MILLION YEARS AGO.

IT S TAKEN ALL THOSE YEARS TO BUILD THE TROPICAL

RAINFORESTS FROM THE FIRST FERNS TO TREES HUNDREDS OF

FEET HIGH.

NOW LET S IMAGINE THE NEAR FUTURE.

WHAT DO WE THINK THE RAINFORESTS WILL LOOK

LIKE?

HOW DO WE WANT THEM TO LOOK?

DYLAN: TIME AND EVOLUTION HAVE GIVEN US SOMETHING

UNIQUE AND PRECIOUS.

WE HAVE A CONSCIENCE.

WE CAN LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES, PEER INTO THE

FUTURE AND THE PAST, UNDERSTAND OUR WORLD AND

OUR PLACE WITHIN IT.

WE CAN SEE THE CONSEQUENCES OF

OUR ACTIONS.

WE CAN LEARN WHY SPECIES GO EXTINCT.

THE FUTURE IS A TIME THAT WE CAN CHANGE AND THE

EARTH IS OURS TO PROTECT.

DYLAN: BIOLOGISTS SIMPLY DON T KNOW HOW MANY SPECIES LIVE

IN THE RAINFORESTS OF THE WORLD BUT THEY ESTIMATE

MORE THAN 50,000 SPECIES GO EXTINCT EACH AND EVERY

YEAR FROM DEFORESTATION.

THE AMAZING CREATURES OF THE RAINFORESTS AND THE

UNKNOWN WONDERS YET TO BE DISCOVERED DESERVE BETTER.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP THEM SURVIVE?

I HOPE YOU VE ENJOYED TODAY S ADVENTURE.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ MUSIC ♪