All language subtitles for human.planet.s01e05.hdtv.xvid-kidkodak10

Only one creature has carved a life
for itself in every habitat on Earth.

That creature is us.

All over the world we still use our
ingenuity to survive in the wild places,

far from the city lights,
face to face with raw nature.

This is the Human Planet.

Mountains are among
the most brutal environments on Earth.

Weather here can shift
from tropical to arctic in just hours.

And the higher you climb,
the tougher it gets...

...until even oxygen is stripped away.

But millions of people
live in the mountains...

...either seeking refuge from conflict

or exploiting resources
found nowhere else.

And to survive they have had to adapt

in the most surprising and ingenious ways.

These are their stories.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(MEWING WHOOP)

(GELADA BARKS)

(SQUEALS)

(WIND HOWLS AND GUSTS)

The Altai mountains in Mongolia
are among the most remote on Earth.

And for the people
who live in this barren landscape,

hunting is nearly impossible.

Unless you have help.

Sailau Jadik and his son Berik
are Kazakhs.

And today they're in search
of the ultimate hunting partner.

A golden eagle.

(TRANSLATED FROM KAZAKH)

These young birds
are almost ready to leave the nest.

If 16-year-old Berik can collect one,
he will take his first step

towards becoming a Kazakh hunter
like his father.

(CHICKS CHEEP)

It's a big first step.

(EAGLE CHICKS CHEEP)

Ever since the Kazakhs fled
into these mountains nearly 200 years ago,

they have been stealing baby eagles.

Eagles have eyes many times
more powerful than a human's

and can spot prey
two kilometres away.

If Berik can teach this eagle
to hunt for him,

he will join the few hundred Kazakhs left
who can still do this.

Berik calls his new eagle Balapan.

If he gets it right,
Balapan will become his hunting partner.

But training her will take five months.

It's five months later, and time
for Berik and a fully grown Balapan

to go on their first hunt together.

They're after a Mongolian fox,

an animal so elusive, only an eagle
stands a chance of catching it.

But for Balapan to catch the fox, Berik
first has to take her to high ground.

Here she'll have the perfect vantage point
to spot the slightest movement.

(BALAPAN CALLS)

Berik now hopes that Balapan's
hunting instinct will take over.

(SAILAU SHOUTS)

(WHOOPING)

(MEWING WHOOP)

(FOX GROWLS)

Balapan has failed.

For Berik, this is worrying.

Does she have the killer instinct?

Traditionally, Kazakh hunters
pair up with their eagles for seven years

before setting them free,

but Berik now has his doubts.

(BALAPAN CALLS)

As day breaks,
father and son return to the mountains.

If Balapan can't catch a fox,

Berik may have to let her go
and find another eagle to train.

(SHOUTING)

(MEWING WHOOP)

Balapan has caught the fox,
just as she was trained to.

She's now locked
in a fight to the death.

(HORSE WHINNIES)

Sailau kills the fox as quickly as he can.

According to Kazakh tradition,
Balapan gets the fox's lungs.

The fox's thick coat
will be used for winter clothing.

Berik has proved himself
to be a successful Kazakh hunter.

As long as they have lived
in the Altai Mountains,

Kazakhs have relied on eagles.

However, not all mountain people
get help from wild animals.

On the edge of Africa's Great Rift Valley,

geological upheaval has created
Ethiopia's Simien mountains.

Here, giant cliffs form a natural fortress

where for centuries people
have sought refuge from conflicts below.

Getabit village is one of a hundred
perched in a landscape so vertical

that the residents can only grow
their crops on tiny strips of land

along the edges of cliffs.

(VILLAGERS SING)

But 700-foot precipices
are the least of their worries.

Today their annual harvest is under way,

and their grain is under attack
from a ravenous enemy.

(SHRIEKING)

These are gelada monkeys
and they love stealing the farmers'grain.

Troops of up to 600 prowl the cliffs
surrounding Getabit village,

led by males with fangs
larger than a lion's.

They are cunning thieves.

To defend their crops against the monkeys,

the cliff farmers depend on their
children, such as 1 2-year-old Dereje.

(IN TRANSLATION)

(DEREJE WHOOPS)

Because the area is next to
a national park, the gelada are protected.

As night approaches,
the geladas stop raiding.

But Dereje's crops are ripe for harvest,
and he knows that tomorrow

the monkeys will attack
even more aggressively than before.

So, with his two sisters and brother,
he camps by his fields.

At night, temperatures
plummet below freezing.

While the thick-furred geladas
have adapted to the cold,

the humans
must huddle together for warmth.

At dawn, the geladas attack.

(GELADAS WHOOP)

(DEREJE SHOUTS)

The first strike comes from a few large
males, who target Dereje's haystacks.

He drives them off,

but the geladas are cunning -
these males were only a decoy.

Out of sight
at the other end of Dereje's fields,

the main army launches the real attack.

A big troop like this
can strip a field in minutes.

(MAN CONTINUES TO SHOUT WARNING)

(DEREJE SHOUTS)

If Dereje doesn't hurry,

the food his family needs
to get through the winter will be gone.

(GELADAS SHRIEK)

(GELADAS SHRIEK AND BARK)

Dereje's done it.
He's seen off the gelada.

Finally, his crops are harvested.

(SINGING)

Dereje lives in the Simiens

because his ancestors
sought refuge here centuries ago.

But in some parts of the world,
people settle in mountains

because this environment
has something they desperately want.

(LOW RUMBLING EXPLOSIONS)

Mountains are born
when continental plates collide.

This massive upheaval often exposes
a wealth of valuable minerals.

Nowhere more so than here in Indonesia,

home to more active volcanic mountains
than any nation on Earth.

Here, people risk their lives

for a mineral vital
to several important industries.

Sulphur.

Hartomo and Sulaiman are sulphur miners.

Today they're going where few others dare.

Into the heart of an active volcano.

(IN TRANSLATION)

This is Ijen crater, one of the most
poisonous places on Earth.

At its centre, a lake filled with
two-and-a-half million tonnes of acid.

And out of the depths of the mountain
pour toxic gases

that have claimed the lives
of 7 4 miners in the past 40 years.

(SPEAKS IN LOCAL DIALECT)

The hydrogen sulphide
that these men must breathe in

is 40 times the safe level.

Over time, it destroys their lungs.

(COUGHING)

Once they have enough sulphur,

Hartomo and Sulaiman have to carry it

200 metres straight up to the crater rim.

Each man hefts 90 kilos,

nearly one-and-a-half times
their own body weight.

This work exacts a heavy price
on the miners'bodies.

Sulaiman and Hartomo
are paid five dollars per load.

The lives of miners have always been hard.

But it's not just miners
who have it tough.

For some mountain dwellers,
just finding food can be a challenge.

In the South Pacific lies the world's
second largest island, New Guinea.

This is one of the most biologically rich
mountain landscapes on Earth.

With plenty of water,
and thousands of protected valleys,

these mountains brim with life.

Yet hunting for food, and in particular
meat, is surprisingly difficult.

Marcus, Andrew and George are hunters

from the Yangoru Boiken tribe.

They and their families haven't eaten
any fresh meat for two weeks.

But today they plan to solve the problem.

They hope to trap giant fruit bats.

(IN TRANSLATION)

But to catch a giant bat
requires a giant bat trap.

So these men are doing something radical.

They're changing the shape
of the landscape itself.

Along this ridge,
the men create a 70-foot wide doorway.

A shortcut through the mountains
to the fruit trees beyond

and a perfect place to ambush the bats.

Like spiders,
the men spin a gigantic web.

In the dark, this 1 30-foot high net
cannot be detected by the bats.

Only two things now remain.

Add the bat alert signal...

(BATS CHIRP AND SQUEAK)

...and pray the bats fly into their trap.

(MEN CHATTER QUIETLY IN LOCAL DIALECT)

Catching bats requires patience.

In the past,
Marcus has spent weeks on the mountain

and come home empty-handed.

But if he does manage to catch
even a few, the effort will be worthwhile.

(IN TRANSLATION)

(BAT SQUEALS)

It's a good start,
but with all the mouths to feed at home,

they're going to need more than one bat.

As the hours roll on,
their trap continues to catch bats.

In the course of the night,
the men catch a total of 1 5 bats.

They cook two now and save the rest.

Their haul will provide their families
with enough protein for two weeks.

Every part of the bat is edible,
down to the leather on the wings.

For Andrew, Marcus and George,

knowing every inch
of their mountain habitat

enables them to feed their families.

But in colder climes,
knowing every inch of your mountain

can mean the difference
between life and death.

In the Swiss Alps,
ten metres of snow can fall in a year.

And for millions of skiers,
this is a brilliant reason to come here.

But heavy snowfalls
can also pose a deadly threat.

Avalanches.

(ROARING RUMBLE)

Travelling faster than a bullet train,

a major avalanche
annihilates everything in its path.

In any given winter,

there can be 30,000 avalanches
in the Swiss Alps alone.

Ski patrolman Martin Mathys
is an avalanche spotter.

And today he has a big problem.

In his hometown of Grindelwald,
there has been a massive snowfall.

The risk of avalanche is now extreme.

(MARTIN IN TRANSLATION)

Towering 1,000 metres above Grindelwald

is the notorious Black Horn ridge.

Packed with snow,
it's a disaster waiting to happen.

So Martin must set off
a controlled avalanche now

before any more snow falls.

To set off a controlled avalanche,
you need dynamite, plenty of it.

Martin is taking 50 kilos,
enough to blow up several city blocks.

Martin reaches the summit of
the Black Horn ridge, and sets a charge.

(MARTIN DROWNED OUT BY HELICOPTER)

(EXPLOSION)

He triggers a mini avalanche,
shifting over ten tonnes of snow.

But it's not enough.
He needs to go again.

(EXPLOSION)

(LOW RUMBLING)

This time, Martin succeeds.

This is the avalanche he needs
to make the mountain safe.

High in the Alps,
mountain people have learnt

to control the threat of avalanches
with modern technology.

But there are mountains where
the forces of nature cannot be tamed.

The Himalaya
is the highest mountain range on Earth.

The world's tallest hundred mountains
are all here.

And within these peaks
live 70 million people...

...many at altitudes
that pose a threat to the human body.

In the Doramba region of Nepal,
the residents face an insidious threat.

Dangerously high levels of harmful
UVrays pierce the thin mountain air

and burn people's eyes.

And here in the village of Balau,

65-year-old Teteeni
has paid a heavy price.

She's blind.

(TETEENI IN TRANSLATION)

Teteeni is determined not to let blindness
interfere with her life,

but simple tasks, such as fetching water,
now take longer

and can be treacherous.

Her blindness is caused by cataracts,

a fogging of her lenses
exacerbated by the intense mountain sun.

But isolated here in the Himalaya

Teteeni has no access
to medical treatment.

Fortunately, an answer to her prayers
may be just around the corner.

From Kathmandu,

Dr Sanduk Ruit has pioneered
a method of eye surgery

that he brings to the remote corners
of the Himalaya.

His mobile clinic
brings hope to thousands.

And today,
Teteeni is setting off to join them.

She has arranged
for the only transportation

available to her in these mountains.

A friend has offered to carry her
ten kilometres to the Doramba clinic.

(MURMUR OF BACKGROUND CHATTER)

While Dr Ruit's success rate is high,
there is still a strong chance

that Teteeni's eyes
are too far gone to be saved.

He makes no promises.

Doramba's schoolhouse
is now an improvised operating theatre.

It takes Dr Ruit just half an hour
to remove Teteeni's fogged lenses.

He then replaces them

with a synthetic lens
he manufactures himself.

In the West,
this operation could cost $8,000.

But, funded by charity, Dr Ruit doesn't
charge his patients a single rupee.

With surgery now complete,
Teteeni can only wait.

Just 24 hours after her operation,
Teteeni joins hundreds of patients

waiting to have their bandages removed,
hopefully with her sight restored.

For Teteeni, this is the moment of truth.

(SINGING)

For the first time in three years,
Teteeni can see.

In the Himalayan foothills,

modern medicine is helping prolong
the lives of the people who live here.

But, as you climb higher
in these mountains,

it's how to deal with death
that poses a problem.

At over 4,000 metres,

Dho Tarap is one of
the highest communities on Earth.

(BELLS TOLL)

Buddhists live here
in almost complete isolation.

And when someone dies at this altitude,

dealing with the corpse
is a real challenge.

Last night
there was a death in the village.

70-year-old Nombe-la passed away,

and now his family are preparing his body
for a Buddhist funeral.

The man in charge of this funeral
is Holy Lama Namgyal.

(HE INTONES IN LOCAL DIALECT)

(LAMA NAMGYAL'S NARRATION
IN TRANSLATION)

Lama Namgyal
needs to hold the funeral soon

because Nombe-la's corpse could attract
predators and spread disease.

But when you live at the roof
of the world, your options are limited.

Buddhists don't bury their dead.

And at this altitude no trees grow,
so there is no wood for a cremation.

The solution is a sacred ritual
older than Buddhism itself.

A sky burial.

To conduct the sky burial ritual,

Lama Namgyal
needs the help of a specialist.

(BHARMAY FURBA INTONES)

Bharmay Furba is the undertaker.

As a non-Buddhist, he is the only one

who is allowed to carry out
this most difficult task.

- (THEY CHANT)
- (BELLS RING)

(RHYTHMIC PERCUSSIVE BEATS)

The funeral procession heads
an hour-and-a-half up into the mountains

to a sacred ledge
where sky burials have been performed

for over 1,000 years.

Here, they will rendezvous

with the most efficient scavengers
in these mountains.

Vultures.

For millennia,

Buddhists in these mountains
have relied on the griffon vulture

and the lammergeier
to help them dispose of their dead.

These birds swiftly consume a corpse
before it can spread disease.

Buddhists see this as a sacred act,

an offering that will sustain the life
of another being.

For them, Nombe-la's corpse
is now an empty vessel.

His soul has already migrated
to another realm.

Nombe-la's sons pay their final respects
to their father.

But they don't wish to be present
for what is about to take place.

Because, in order for the vultures
to consume Nombe-la's corpse quickly,

Bharmay must make it easier for them.

(RHYTHMIC BEATS AND BELLS RING)

(HORN PLAYS)

Nombe-la's corpse has now gone
and cannot spread disease.

To survive in the mountains,
you have to understand them.

Mountain habitats can be brutal

but if you use
your ingenuity, determination,

resourcefulness and courage

it is possible to make a life here
at the roof of the world.

When the Human Planet mountains team
filmed the Mongolian eagle hunters,

their search for a fox was like
finding a needle in a haystack.

Keeping up with the hunters
also proved near impossible

in the vast Mongolian landscape.

The team are here
to film Sailau and his son Berik

hunting with their eagle, Balapan.

Cameraman Keith Partridge last met Berik
in June with his newborn chick.

It's now November and bitterly cold -
an ideal time for hunting,

when wolves, foxes and rabbits
all have thick winter coats.

Unlike the wildlife,

the old Russian trucks
are not well adapted to the cold

so the drivers devise a novel solution.

Keith opts for a different ride.

KEITH: The fact is

that I haven't even ridden a donkey
across Blackpool beach.

And we've now got to go up there

on one of these.

Does my horse have a name?

They don't have names?

The Mongolians have more than 300 words

just to describe the horse colours.

Wow!

You know that to make it go,
you slightly kick and you should say,

- ''Shu!''
- OK, shall we follow Agii?

Thank you.

That's it. Shu!

Shu!

Shu!

Eventually Keith finds the gears
and off he goes.

After three hours, the trucks catch up,

and Keith's only too happy
to leave his horse behind.

(BALAPAN CHEEPS)

What does he think?

Except my nose? (CHUCKLES)

Is it too big?

There you go, no frostbite!

Keith heads off
to test a small ''eagle-cam';

for which Sailau has made a harness.

There are cameras out there that
might give us a better picture quality

but they're much bigger

so we're playing this trade-off game
all the time

between practicalities and quality.

Anyway, we'll see how it goes.

Sailau's eagle seems to fly quite happily
with the eagle-cam on her back.

Encouraged by the first test,
they use a heavier high-definition camera.

This will be amazing if this works.

We don't even know
if the bird will take the weight.

We might have overloaded the plane,
so to speak.

The eagle flies beautifully.
Keith and the team head back to base,

joining director Nic Brown
to view the results.

It's a very tense moment.

The locals join in for a bird's-eye view.

They've never seen their eagles
quite like this before.

- The hood's off!
- Hood's off.

Off we go. Whoa!

- How small, my God. Really wild!
- Look at his head!

Wow, look at that banking round
with the head.

Wow! That's pretty wicked, isn't it.

The next day,

the crew follow Berik and his young eagle
on their first fox hunt.

The hunters shadow sweepers -

men who flush the foxes
out into the open.

The team must constantly move
from peak to peak

to give the eagles the best chance
of seeing a fox.

Sailau thinks that the fox
might be hiding

over these small mounds
just behind these telegraph lines.

He would like to go to one of those hills
and wait there.

It seems to make sense
that we've got to head there.

Well, you'd better be fast, mate,
cos he's just gone.

There he goes.

(LAUGHING)

After packing up quickly,
the film crew race after the hunters.

But as soon as Keith starts filming,
the plans seem to change yet again.

Sailau's now moved off again
so, er, time to go.

We've only been here for two minutes.

This set the pattern of the day.

As Sailau and Berik
move from peak to peak,

so do the team, constantly playing
catch-up in the thin high-altitude air.

Finally, near exhaustion,
they face a new problem.

Where is Sailau?

They call the director.

Nic, Nic. This is Keith,
do you read? Over.

NIC: Hi, yeah, how are you?

We're on our third mountain range
of the day so far and still no luck, over.

Which mountain range
are you on now? Over.

ZUBIN: If only we knew!

Behind us are the really big peaks
with no snow on.

The terrain here is pretty wild, actually,

and if anything's
going to be lurking about,

I think I'd want to hide
around here somewhere.

ZUBIN: Something's in front
of that telegraph pole. Is that a dog?

KEITH: Let's get the lens on it.

It's not a wolf, it's a cow!

I never said it was a wolf,
I said it was moving.

That is very true!

Do I get the sense that delirium

is beginning to set in
on the third mountain range of the day?

Would you like some chocolate bars?

Agii, every day, just at the point
where we are about to faint...

You bust your teeth on them!

I could ask you, Agii, if you could
keep them somewhere slightly warmer!

They set off yet again.

Keith and the team are beginning to wonder
if they'll ever film a hunt.

But then, good news.

We have seen a fox.

It scarpered really fast
down that snowy slope.

The guys are over there at the moment,

trying to see where it's hunkered down.

Once they're out on the snow,

you can see them pretty easily cos it's
a little black dot, scarpering like hell.

But, um, apart from that,
you see this place.

It's utterly vast. It's like trying
to find a needle in a haystack.

Suddenly there's a call from the valley
and the hunt is on.

Everybody clear the front of frame,
please.

Now!

(BERIK MAKES MEWING WHOOPS)

KEITH: I think the fox
has made a hasty escape.

Both Balapan and the crew
have learned a lot on their first hunt.

Still...the team
have yet to film a successful hunt.

After several frustrating days,
the pressure to deliver is intense.

We're fast running out of time, really.
It hasn't been looking very good.

Just when the crew
are resigned to failure, a call is heard.

Keith knows this is his and Balapan's
big chance to succeed.

(MEWING WHOOP)

The bird got it! My word.

KEITH: When all those whoops go off,

things just go from nought to a million
miles an hour in two or three seconds.

Your heart races
when you are doing this sort of stuff,

and you just have to respond
in a kind of a positive way.

You know,just try and stay totally
focused on what you are here to do.

When that adrenaline kicks in,
it's easy to get distracted,

but you have to just think,

''Right, now is the time
I've got to up my game,

''really knuckle down and focus in
on getting the shot and making it work.''

And also trying to build
some form of relationship

with the people
that you are working with as well.

So that they trust us

and welcome us into what's
quite an intimate part of their lives.