All language subtitles for Mysterious Planet Series 1 Part 1 Islands of the Dragon King 1080p

[music playing]

DAVID SCHWIMMER:
In a tropical sea

halfway between
Asia and Australia,

is a mysterious
world of islands.

Sounds nice, right?

A paradise, but
with a difference.

There are monsters here.

[hiss]

And not just your
run-of-the-mill monster--

a Komodo dragon, over 10 feet
long, excluding the drool.

A dragon king, I'm
pretty sure, but I'm not

picking up that tail to look.

And that's not all.

This is just one
island in the land

of the strange, each island home
to more extraordinary life--

aww.

But why do dragons
exist only here?

And how did these islands
come to be so different?

To answer these questions is to
take the first steps on an epic

journey, a journey
through space and time,

revealing the forces
that shape life

and uncovering the
mysteries of the wild.

Hi, I'm David Schwimmer.

Don't touch Komodo dragons.

This is "Mysterious Planet:
Islands of the Dragon King."

That's what I just said.

The island of Komodo
is famous as the place

where dragons really do exist.

And it's the place where
I once lost my luggage.

But why here?

[chirping]

A Komodo dragon
searching for a meal.

It's the dry
season, and water is

confined to just a few pools.

[flies buzzing]

Water buffalo come to
the pools to cool off.

Komodo dragons come
here for water buffalo.

This is what's known as
a Komodo singles bar.

Well, hello there.

The buffalo is three times
the size of the dragon.

But the dragon has a
secret weapon, confidence

and a venomous bite, a lethal
potion that causes sudden shock

and inhibits the
clotting of blood,

like too many gin and tonics.

One bite, and the buffalo's
fate will be sealed.

Yeah, got him, got him.

[hiss]

That's the-- OK.

That's more than one bite.

That's-- oh, it's a party.

But all is not as it seems.

Though the dragon has been
killing this way for millennia,

buffalo are not
its natural prey.

Buffalo were brought to Komodo
just a few hundred years ago

by people.

So what was this natural
born killer designed to kill?

Hopefully, not actors.

Well, certain actors.

The answer is hidden
in the dragon's past

and is a clue to
solving the mystery

of how it came to be here.

Other islands hide
further mysteries.

Komodo is just one in a
sea of thousands of islands

here in the heart of Indonesia.

And they are all extraordinary.

Right in the middle is
Sulawesi, like a giant letter

K, covered in impenetrable
forest, tipped with volcanoes.

Home to more unique life.

A crested macaque, a monkey
native to just this island

that has found ways to survive.

I peel my gourds the same
way, except I use more foot.

It's resourceful, like
any island castaway,

but it has other, more
surprising characteristics.

Crested macaques live
in some of the largest

groups of any monkey.

And they all have
the same punk hairdo,

because they all love product,
and uniquely expressive faces.

Group sizes can
reach as much as 100,

so getting on with each
other has become a priority.

And that is where
the faces come in.

They have an expression
for every occasion.

Hey, don't mess.

I'm strong.

But I'm friendly too.

I'm really friendly.

Hey, let's play.

Hey, stay back.

I'm not in the mood.

Did you touch the thermostat?

All these faces
diffuse social tension

and have helped make
these monkeys some

of the most peaceful on Earth.

Then again, there's not that
much to fight about here.

They got lucky on
Sulawesi, which might be

the title of a Steely Dan song.

Crested macaques eat
all kinds of food,

but fruit is their favorite.

And there's an
abundance of it here,

so long as you can reach it.

But luckily, they're monkeys,
and they can climb and stuff.

On the slopes of
Sulawesi's volcanoes

nurtured by its volcanic
soils, this forest

is rich with some of
the highest densities

of fruit trees found anywhere.

It's this super abundance
of food that makes living

in such large troupes possible.

But there's something else going
on, something more mysterious.

On islands to the west
of here, the trees are

alive with the song of gibbons.

Orangutans crash
through the canopy.

Here, though, there are none.

It's great for the
macaques, as they

had the fruit to
themselves, but they

are all alone, like
monkey pioneers

in a land that time forgot.

Beautiful, peaceful,
but strange.

As the sun sets on
Sulawesi's forest,

things are about to
get even stranger.

And nothing gets weirder
than Sulawesi after dark.

As night falls on Sulawesi's
mysterious forest,

something is stirring
inside an old strangler

fig tree, something besides my
feelings of being terrified.

A spectral tarsier,
gremlin of the night--

or gremlin or any other time
of day, if you think about it.

By day, it huddles up with its
family inside the old tree,

like we all do.

Now they are just waking up.

Aww, cute.

These tarsiers are tiny,
less than 4 ounces.

They would fit in the
palm of your hand.

But their eyes are huge.

Each eye is bigger
than its brain,

leaving no room for the eyes
to move in their sockets.

So when the tarsier
wants to look around,

it swivels its head up to
180 degrees like an owl.

Don't try that at home.

It hurts.

The huge eyes are
so sensitive they

can see night like we see day.

They can see moonlight in color.

And although their eyes
may see everything,

their tiny brains will
never understand irony.

But don't be misled by
their cutesy appearance.

These little gremlins
are the world's only

entirely carnivorous primate--

great.

Beware, all bugs of
the Sulawesi night.

This bloodthirsty
family is at large.

Powerful legs propel them
into the forest, 40 times

their body length
in a single jump.

Guided by owl eyes, leaping
with frog-like legs,

gripping with alien fingers,
thinking with tiny brains.

And when the prey
tries to hide, they

lock on with ultrasensitive
ears, like a bat.

They are the perfect hunting
machine, like a mini furry

shark of the jungle.

But the tarsier is not
the only predator here.

A Sulawesi python, the
biggest python on Earth.

Time to call in the family
before they become the victim.

But tarsiers have one more
trick up their sleeve.

It's recently been discovered
that many of their calls

are ultrasonic.

One theory is that it
acts as a secret alert,

warning each other of danger but
too high for predators to hear,

so they don't give
their position away.

The world's biggest
python moves on.

The world's most carnivorous
primate returns to the safety

of the family tree.

Enough excitement for one night.

Aww, and now they
read "Goodnight Moon."

They're just so
cuddly and vicious.

Venture further into
the forest and encounter

more mysterious life.

The babirusa-- not as cuddly.

A pig with tusks that grow
right through its upper jaw,

sometimes even
piercing its own head,

taking piercing to
a whole new level.

Another creature
unique to Sulawesi.

But quite a mouthful,
even for a python.

Without the tusks, he
might give it a try.

And these streams are
scorching hot, heated

from beneath by volcanic power.

From the hot earth,
zombie life emerges.

[thumping]

OK, what is-- what's happening?

The-- what?

What is that?

OK, that's an eye.

That's an eye.

What the heck?

Oh.

Oh.

Hello.

A bird.

A baby malleefowl.

Its mother abandoned
it as an egg

to incubate in the
thermal ground,

causing many years
of future therapy.

It's just hatched, and
already it's in danger.

Thanks a lot, mom.

Yeah, that's a snake.

But the zombie chick
is born flight ready.

Whew, just in time.

This forest is strange, stranger
perhaps than any on Earth.

But why?

It's another mystery
lost in the past,

like the story of
the Komodo dragon.

On the island of Komodo, the
story of the dragon's past

has been hidden by
the arrival of people.

[children shouting]

To find out what came before,
we need to travel back in time.

In just a few hundred
years, the dragon's world

has changed completely.

I, too, know what it's
like to be in a new world

but locked into an iconic role.

With people came
not only buffalo,

but villages with
chickens and goats,

all potentially on
the dragon's menu.

Occasionally, humans
have been eaten too.

I'm not blaming a dragon
for being a dragon,

but that's not cool.

But this is all very
new to the dragon.

It is an ancient creature.

And no one taught it soccer.

When its ancestors first stalked
the waterholes of Komodo,

they were looking for
a very different prey.

Before people, before buffalo,
are stranger creatures.

Some are giants.

A stork the size of a man.

Others are relatively tiny.

Pygmy stegodons, ancient dwarf
elephants, which are, in fact,

smaller than the storks.

Back then, herds of them
roamed these islands.

And they are the
dragon's favorite prey.

Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.

[elephant trumpets]

I call trunk.

It's clear from the story of
the dragon, what we see today

is only a snapshot in time.

Turn back time--

Cher-- and we start to get a
glimpse of the bigger picture.

There are deeper
forces at work here,

shaping life not just
on Komodo, but all

across these mysterious islands.

In a forest clearing
on Sulawesi,

another bizarre creature is
about to make an appearance.

Wait for it, wait for it.

Come on, guys.

A malleefowl, parent
of the zombie chick.

Mallees don't sit on their eggs.

They bury them, using
the natural heat

of the ground for incubation.

They do use volcanically heated
soils, but in a few places

there are sandy clearings in
the forest where the ground

is warmed directly by the sun.

But digging is not
easy in this soft sand.

If only she had some help.

Oh, hi, honey.

About time.

A male, her partner.

Better late than never.

Mallees pair for life.

He always helps
with the digging.

And she needs help.

Whoa.

Clearings like this are rare, so
mallees come from far and wide.

There can be up to 100
pairs here, each pair

with an egg to deposit.

If our couple is not
careful, the neighbors

will fill up the nest hole
as fast as they can dig it.

We've all had
neighbors like that.

You know who you are.

Quickly, she lays, while the
male deals with crowd control.

Hey, yo, yo, back up, buddy.

Hit the sand, pal.

Lady with egg coming through.

Outta here.

Nice.

Take a break.

Whew.

Job done.

It's all up to the zombie
chick now, which is

a lot of pressure on the kid.

For two months, the egg lays
buried, 'till one starry night,

the cycle repeats.

[cracking]

Come on, buddy.

But as the zombie chick
emerges from the ground,

this unusual behavior
echoes the story of its past

and gives us a clue as to why
life on Sulawesi is so strange.

Again, we need to
go back in time.

But first, pee break.

On the island of Sulawesi
live strange creatures

found nowhere else on Earth.

But why?

Roughly every 100,000
years the earth

goes through a major Ice Age.

As more and more water gets
locked up in ice at the poles,

global sea levels fall.

Now the unique position
of this world of islands

comes into play.

As land bridges form, Australia
and Asia start to join up.

And ta-da!

In these islands, the
animals and plants of the two

continents mix.

The malleefowl's
ancestors originally

come from Australia, where their
cousins still bury eggs today.

Other creatures come from the
opposite direction, from Asia.

But as sea levels rise again,
this strange mix of life

gets stranded on these islands,
like when your friend left you

at a party before Uber
existed, and evolves

to become even stranger.

Over time, it happens
again and again,

creating more unique life,
especially right in the middle,

in Sulawesi.

But the journey to
get here is not easy.

Only a select few
colonizers make it across.

And that explains why one
of the biggest carnivores

here is just 4 ounces
and why macaques get

these forests to themselves.

But changing sea levels are
not the only factor that

shapes life in these islands.

On the other side of
Sulawesi is the island

of Halmahera, home to
another unique animal

and another mystery.

This is Wallace's standardwing,
a bird-of-paradise, a male.

It's named after naturalist
Alfred Russel Wallace, who

first described it
and first started

to wonder about the origin
of the strange creatures

of these islands.

Also known as bird with
the thingy hanging off it.

It's dawn.

And every day
starts the same way.

He's preparing himself
to impress a female.

Perhaps today will
be his lucky day.

It's a numbers game, am I right?

It's time for his routine.

Here we go.

The forest is still dark, so he
starts with some parachuting,

showing off his beautiful
streamers against the sky.

Check out the streamers, ladies.

Hopefully, somewhere
there's a female watching.

We have so much in common.

He's in luck.

Here she is.

Now for phase two of
his charm offensive.

Oh, yeah, here-- here we go.

Here it is.

Wave the streamers
alluringly at her.

Yeah, baby.

Oh, yeah, there--
she'll love this.

There it is.

Work it.

Work it.

And as the sunlight
begins to filter

through the forest canopy,
a flash of iridescent color,

irresistible for sure.

But she's just not interested.

Are you crazy?

Look at these streamers.

Ugh, oh well.

There's always tomorrow.

If only she knew what
unlikely events brought

them here in the first place.

Like the strange
creatures of Sulawesi,

Wallace's standardwing
originally

came from somewhere else.

Its ancestors lived on
Halmahera's giant neighbor

to the east, the
island of New Guinea,

where most birds-of-paradise
are found today.

But the standardwing's
journey is one

of the most remarkable of all.

[explosions]

This extraordinary
land of islands

was formed by some of the most
violent forces on the planet.

And it's still being
shaped by them.

As continents collide,
unimaginable forces

are unleashed.

And just over 100 million
years ago, a brand new island

is being born.

Schwimmerville-- I mean,
the island of Halmahera.

But not as we know it today.

Sulfurous, lifeless, like
me after Taco Tuesday.

And thousands of miles
on the other side

of what we now
know as New Guinea.

But the Earth's crust
beneath the ocean

here is continually on the move.

New islands don't
stand still for long.

And Halmahera is no exception.

As it sails off, it starts
to cool and turn green.

Wow, beautiful.

But most important
is what happens next.

After a 15 million
year journey, suddenly

it collides with New Guinea.

I mean, there was probably
some anticipation, right?

They were probably out
there-- did it collide yet?

Did it collide yet?

Anyone?

In geological terms,
the collision is brief--

a hit and run.

But it is just
long enough to pick

up a tiny stowaway, the ancestor
of Wallace's standardwing.

As the island continues
its journey west,

the stowaway bird evolves
to become the unique species

we see today.

But its origins date
back to that one moment

when two islands collide, and
a bird-of-paradise sails across

the ocean on an island boat.

Over the ages,
nature's forces have

been the architect of great
change across these islands.

But there is another
mystery here,

a more puzzling phenomenon.

And a clue to that comes
from the island of Flores,

just next to Komodo.

In 2003, in a remote
cave on Flores,

a remarkable discovery
comes to light.

A skull, ancient and tiny--

a child, perhaps?

But it has fully
formed adult teeth.

As an almost complete
skeleton emerges,

it becomes clear that this
is not a human at all,

but a completely new species--

Smurf?

A human-like creature,
just three feet tall,

that somehow made it to these
islands thousands of years

before us, probably
in very small boats.

A discovery that completely
changes our understanding

of life in these islands.

On the Indonesian
island of Flores,

a startling new discovery--

the skull of a tiny human-like
creature, a brand new species.

Meet Homo floresiensis,
better known as the Hobbit.

I'm not kidding.

50,000 years ago, this
cave is their home.

And honestly, it
could use an update.

We know from evidence
found with the skull

that they most likely used stone
tools to hunt pygmy stegodons,

those dwarf elephants.

They might have even raced them.

There is evidence of
other creatures too--

Komodo dragons, waiting
for an opportunity.

But then something happens.

At the back of the
cave, traces of charcoal

suggest that all
of a sudden someone

starts making fires here.

And it isn't hobbits or elves.

Humans have arrived.

But what's really fascinating
is that at the exact same time,

hobbits vanish.

And that's not all.

It's also the last
record of giant storks

and pygmy stegodons.

And shortly after that,
Komodo dragons disappear too.

Something triggers
an unprecedented wave

of extinction here.

And it looks like the
most likely cause is us.

Well, not me.

I have an alibi.

I think it's that
guy with the glasses.

Did this hobbit
meet early humans?

Was our species the
cause of its downfall

and the end of its world?

And why are they
standing like that?

Only it would know for sure.

But if the arrival of humans
did have such a profound effect

here, it puts a whole
new spin on the story

of the strange creatures
of these islands,

and one in particular.

For a long time, it was thought
that Komodo dragons were unique

to Komodo, that they
evolved like so much

of the strange life
here as the result

of being isolated on an island.

But dragons are different.

Travel back in time,
and we find a history

intimately linked with our own.

Now the final piece of the
puzzle is coming into place.

Just recently, fossils
of Komodo dragons

were unearthed over 2,000 miles
away in the Australian Outback,

and in the other
direction as far as Java.

Thankfully, this
map is not to scale.

Once, the dragon's kingdom
stretched the length

and breadth of these
islands, from Australia

to Komodo and beyond.

It's looking like
the real reason

the dragon is found
only here is because it

disappeared everywhere else.

And the cause of that
disappearance, most likely,

is us.

But how did it get here
in the first place?

Dragons are excellent swimmers--

like I needed that
for my nightmares.

And we now know that the
females can actually reproduce

without the need for males.

Just one individual can
populate a new island.

So in the end, it turns
out that the dragons are

the ultimate island colonizers.

And the real dragon king
is, in fact, a dragon queen.

Right on, ladies.

Right on.