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The very centre of Africa.

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And the centre of two million square
miles of dense tropical rain forest.

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At first glance it seems
deserted and eerily still,

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not an easy place to live.

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But, in fact, there is a greater
concentration of animals here,

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than anywhere else in Africa.

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And in this world they must
grab every opportunity.

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Competition is intense and unrelenting.

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Even the forest itself fights its corner
with spines and poisonous sap.

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Here, every living thing
must fight for its space.

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Such beauty.

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But the flower is self-serving, enticing
animals into an unwitting alliance.

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Stingless bees.

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They have to work hard.
The forest flowers make them do so

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by rationing their nectar, forcing
each bee to visit, and so pollinate,

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at least a thousand blooms each day.

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For the bees, it's worth the effort.

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They need the nectar to make honey
which they store in pots.

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It's so precious, they keep it hidden
beneath the bark of a tree.

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But their secret is out.

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Nothing is safe in this forest.

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Chimpanzees love honey.

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She seems oblivious to danger.

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A fall from up here could be fatal.

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But she does need a bigger stick.

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Only a chimp has the ability to
break into a stingless bees' nest,

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as well hidden as this.

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Chimps are extremely intelligent,

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but none is born with
the skill to use a tool.

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Youngsters, like this one,
must learn by watching.

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She uses special tools,
one after another,

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to get all the honey she can,

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and in a few minutes she destroys
what took the bees years to build.

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In the rain forest, nothing is safe.

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Here in the Congo, there can be
as many as 500 trees

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crammed into every acre.

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In the battle for space, some will
rise to over 60 metres high,

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in just a few decades.

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In a valley like this,
there could be close

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on 1,000 different species of tree.

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Up here, the crowns barely touch.

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Each tree seems to respect
its neighbour's space.

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When they germinate
down on the forest floor,

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young trees and plants
are less restrained.

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But every new generation fights it out,

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in battles we can see
by accelerating time.

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They must get light
if they are to survive,

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and they squeeze, crush and even slash
one another in order to reach it.

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Despite the thick canopy above,

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some sunlight does filter through,

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and allows a few low-light specialists
to bloom near the forest floor.

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Down here there are animals too
that seek out the sunlight.

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The forest's largest predator.

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A female rock python.

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Her body is five metres long,
weighs 100 kilos,

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and has 4,000 muscles

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that she uses to crush the
life out of her victims.

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But right now, her need
is not for food.

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It's for warmth.

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She finds a rare patch where a
shaft of sunlight strikes the ground,

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and she begins to bask.

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She's cold-blooded.

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So this is the only way she can raise
the temperature of her body.

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But now she's becoming very warm indeed,
more than 10 degrees hotter than usual.

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At 40 degrees centigrade
she's in danger of killing herself.

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Just in time, she moves off.

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She disappears below ground.

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This is her nest,

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and it's full of giant eggs.

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It's critical for the eggs' development
that they stay above 30 degrees.

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Here in this special filming burrow,

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she gently wraps her super-heated
body around the eggs,

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passing on to them
the warmth of the sun.

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She has done this every day
for three months.

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The repeated heat stress on her body
is so great it could be lethal.

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And at the very least,
it will take three years for her

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to recover from incubating
this one clutch of eggs.

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Her parchment-shelled eggs carry
the pressed imprint of her scales.

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An indication of the strength
of her embrace.

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At last, her efforts are rewarded.

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But the babies can't stay here.

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They must leave their sanctuary
and find food

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in the tangled world above.

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They're over 60 centimetres long,
already big enough to be a threat

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to the smaller inhabitants
of the forest.

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But they are themselves vulnerable.

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Particularly to other snakes.

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But this one is their mother.

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Unusually for snakes,

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her maternal instincts continue
for days after her eggs hatch.

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Even so, the forest
is such a dangerous place,

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that only one in a hundred
of her youngsters

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is likely to reach adulthood.

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Just occasionally,
the competition eases.

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A tree suddenly produces fruit.

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It's a magnet for
the creatures of the canopy,

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and they, in turn, as they feed,

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create a bonanza for those
on the ground below.

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A mob of red river hogs.

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They have travelled over two miles
through the thick undergrowth,

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to get to this fall of fruit.

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But in the African forest,
little comes for free.

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This feast is a bribe.

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The hogs will carry the seeds
in their stomachs

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and deposit them far from
the parent tree.

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Night falls.

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But one living community,
which is neither animal nor plant,

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continues its never-ending
work in the darkness.

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This ground is alive with fungi,

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that digest all the litter
discarded by the forest.

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Some rare fungi do so with enzymes
that are luminous.

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The local people call them
"Chimpanzee fire".

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Without the fungi, the dead vegetation
would pile so high

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the living trees would be submerged.

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Dawn.

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And a new day reveals
just how much control

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the jungle has over its own environment.

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The forests of the Congo
are the lungs of Africa.

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As they use the sunlight
to build their tissues,

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so they release oxygen
and water vapour into the air.

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Each hectare of forest produces

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as vapour almost 190,000
litres of water a year.

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So much that it creates
its own weather.

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Clouds blanket the forest,

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driving up the humidity
and temperature.

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A storm is brewing.

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The Congo might be
the richest part of Africa,

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but it's also the most violent.

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Each year, as many as a hundred million
lightning bolts strike the forest.

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That's more than anywhere
else in the world.

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And with the lightning comes the rain.

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Up to 95% of the rain that falls here
is generated by the forest itself.

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With the deluge will come change
to the animals and to the forest.

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It's certainly perfect
weather for frogs.

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The big storm is the cue for the most
important climb of this frog's life.

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It's a male in search of a mate.

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But if he is to find one,
he has to get to the top.

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He needs to keep his wits about him,

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for the rain also brings out hunters.

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Easy does it.

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The top at last,

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but he's late to the party.

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The higher a male sits,
the further his voice will carry.

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So the top slots are worth fighting for.

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And he's won.
He has the top place.

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So now it's time to sing.

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And a white-bellied female responds.

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They join together to mate.

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The loser will have to wait for
the next storm, before he sings again.

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She lays her eggs
on a blade of a long leaf.

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And he, using his back legs,
folds it over,

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and glues its two edges together,
shutting the eggs inside.

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This sealed nest is the safest place
these leaf-folding frogs can find

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to protect their precious brood.

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Within days, the eggs are developing.

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The timing is perfect.

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The rain washes away the glue and
the tadpoles slip out of the leaves

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into the growing puddles below.

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The rainy season reaches its peak
and the ground has been transformed.

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The forest is flooded.

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It's a new world.

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Fish swim in from the swollen streams,
exploiting this newly-created space,

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snapping up the drowning insects.

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This is a butterflyfish.

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A Congo bichir.

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The hunter becomes the hunted.

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The butterflyfish is too quick
and leaps out of danger.

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The floods gradually drain back
into the established waterways

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that run through the forest
like blood vessels.

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These is so much water
flowing through the forest

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that even little rivulets can carve out
the soil around an ancient boulder.

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This is the home of one
forest creature,

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that has lived here in the Congo
for 44 million years.

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Picathartes.

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These birds mate for life,

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and the male reaffirms the bond
by displaying to the female.

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They're building a mud nest on the
underside of the boulder's overhang,

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where it'll be protected from the rain.

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The female takes the lead.

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The male doesn't seem quite so skilful.

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Oh dear.

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Luckily she can put things right.

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Now she's collecting
the soft furnishings.

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He's brought some too,
but he still can't get it right.

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In the end, the female seems satisfied
with the finish and just in time.

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It might look as if he has
been banished into the rain,

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but in fact they're a great team.

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They share the incubation.

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Twelve hours on, twelve hours off,
for the next three weeks.

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In due course, there are mouths to feed,
and now the male must prove his worth.

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Worms are a good start
and he's doing well.

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But the chicks are insatiable.

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Fortunately, other things
are on the menu.

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00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:24,080
He might be a poor nest builder,

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but he is redeeming himself now.

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Domestic bliss!

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00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:41,720
Rocky overhangs are the only place
where picathartes will build their nest.

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So they owe their home to the stream,

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that revealed the flank
of the giant boulder.

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This stream
and countless others like it

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merge to form the great rivers

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of Central Africa.

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00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:02,560

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More than 450 billion litres
of rainwater,

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travelling down thousands of rivers,

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are heading west.

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The waters pick up speed

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00:30:26,120 --> 00:30:29,080
as the rivers spill over the edge
of the central plateau

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and create giant cascades
of white water.

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The Kongou forces its way
through the wildest,

220
00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:06,600
most untouched forest
in the whole of Africa.

221
00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:53,760
The Congo River system
drains an area the size of India,

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00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:57,520
carrying the waters westwards
towards the Atlantic.

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But before it reaches the coast,

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the rivers broaden,

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forcing back the forest.

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And here, for the first time,
there is space.

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Wide, flat and safe.

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00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:18,240

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00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:23,240
These stretches of sand
attract visitors from the coast.

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Skimmers, searching
for somewhere safe to settle.

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00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:29,920

232
00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:44,200
The lower mandible of their beaks
is greatly elongated.

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They slice it through the surface
of the water at 10 metres a second.

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If and when it hits a tiny fish,
it'll snap shut.

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00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:08,680
But why come up river
to these open sand flats?

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This is the answer.

237
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But this nursery
will not exist for long.

238
00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:34,280
Four weeks from now
it'll be under 10 metres of water.

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00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:38,520
If by then these chicks can't fly,

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they will drown.


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00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:48,120
The problem for young skimmers
is that when they hatch

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the lower part of their
beaks is the same size as the upper.

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While they wait for it to grow,
they do their best

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to learn the skimming technique.

245
00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:52,280

246
00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:09,560
Open spaces may be safe,

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but they give no protection
against the driving rain.

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00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:32,800
These storms are a warning
that the skimmers must soon leave.

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The river is already rising.

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00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:53,560
This year, the chicks get away in time.

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00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:19,640
It's not just water that has the power
to clear a way through the forest.

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00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:24,600
There are animals
that could do that too.

253
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They have created a network of pathways

254
00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:32,320
that criss-cross the lowland forest

255
00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:35,800
and run for thousands of miles
in all directions.

256
00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:03,640
These path-makers
are surprisingly stealthy.

257
00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:09,200
But as night falls, there's a chance
of catching a glimpse of them.

258
00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:22,600

259
00:37:26,240 --> 00:37:27,800

260
00:37:28,240 --> 00:37:31,440
Forest elephants
are very social creatures,

261
00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:35,760
but in dense jungle it's hard for them
to find one another.

262
00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:44,480
These elephants are lucky.

263
00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:50,480
Here in the Congo,
there is one special place

264
00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:52,840
where they can meet and mingle.

265
00:37:55,160 --> 00:37:58,640
A place that the elephants
have created for themselves.

266
00:38:03,080 --> 00:38:04,600
And this is it.

267
00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:09,560

268
00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:21,640
Dzanga Bai,

269
00:38:21,880 --> 00:38:24,960
the legendary "village of elephants".

270
00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:43,360
As well as being a place

271
00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:45,680
where they can enjoy
one another's company,

272
00:38:45,760 --> 00:38:49,200
this great clearing
satisfies another craving.

273
00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:52,080
For salts.

274
00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:00,400

275
00:39:02,240 --> 00:39:04,600
The salts lie deep under the mud.

276
00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:07,560
So the elephants
have got to mine for them,

277
00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:11,480
which they do with high pressure
water jets from their trunks.

278
00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:16,120

279
00:39:27,720 --> 00:39:29,600

280
00:39:31,560 --> 00:39:34,560
The precious salts
and the chance to socialise

281
00:39:34,720 --> 00:39:37,320
bring in elephants from far and wide.

282
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:45,320
If an elephant is in the mood to mate,
this is the place to be.

283
00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:48,120

284
00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:51,480
This young bull is in a state of musth,

285
00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:53,520
a kind of sexual fury.

286
00:39:53,800 --> 00:40:00,840

287
00:39:59,400 --> 00:40:00,830

288
00:40:11,560 --> 00:40:16,120
He is so pumped up by hormones
and the excitements of the crowd

289
00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:19,320
that he seems to have
taken leave of his senses.

290
00:40:31,720 --> 00:40:41,200

291
00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:41,190

292
00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:46,120
But will throwing his weight about
impress the females?

293
00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:47,640

294
00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:52,280
The cows only become fertile
once every two years.

295
00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:56,760
So opportunities to encounter one
at the right time are not common.

296
00:40:57,920 --> 00:41:01,680
This could well be the first chance
this young male has had.

297
00:41:03,120 --> 00:41:05,440
He's lucky.

298
00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:09,800
And there are no older bulls around
to put him in his place.

299
00:41:20,720 --> 00:41:24,480
Just for a moment,
he is king of the Bai.

300
00:41:34,640 --> 00:41:36,040

301
00:41:54,400 --> 00:41:58,280
But his rule doesn't last for long.

302
00:41:58,720 --> 00:42:00,880
Enter another lusty bull.

303
00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:05,560
And a much bigger one.

304
00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:07,320

305
00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:18,760
But the young bull
is still charged up with testosterone.

306
00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:22,800
Bold or foolish, he's going into battle.

307
00:43:19,920 --> 00:43:22,120
He never really had a chance.

308
00:43:23,720 --> 00:43:28,320

309
00:43:26,920 --> 00:43:28,320

310
00:43:37,960 --> 00:43:40,640
Dzanga Bai is a huge clearing,

311
00:43:40,720 --> 00:43:45,160
but it's still just a speck
in this vast expanse of green.

312
00:43:47,960 --> 00:43:51,480
Elephants might fell trees
and carve pathways,

313
00:43:51,960 --> 00:43:55,760
but nothing natural
can hold back this forest forever.

314
00:43:58,440 --> 00:44:00,880
Nothing but the Atlantic Ocean.

315
00:44:20,520 --> 00:44:23,880
Loango beach, on Africa's west coast,

316
00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:26,240
one of the last truly wild places

317
00:44:26,320 --> 00:44:28,920
where the Congo jungle meets the sea.

318
00:44:41,040 --> 00:44:45,160
Here the forest gives way
to sand, surf,

319
00:44:45,640 --> 00:44:47,400
and fresh sea air.

320
00:44:51,440 --> 00:44:54,040
The cool breezes and warm sunlight

321
00:44:54,480 --> 00:44:57,240
entice creatures out of the dark forest.

322
00:44:58,040 --> 00:44:59,280

323
00:44:59,760 --> 00:45:02,480
Forest buffalo appear first.

324
00:45:21,280 --> 00:45:24,680
And here in the surf, there are hippos.

325
00:45:25,840 --> 00:45:27,240

326
00:45:34,480 --> 00:45:36,640
Spray blows in from the sea,

327
00:45:37,040 --> 00:45:38,960
making the grass salty.

328
00:45:53,560 --> 00:45:56,400
So, here elephants can get
their tasty salt

329
00:45:56,760 --> 00:45:59,000
without having to dig for it.

330
00:46:01,640 --> 00:46:05,400
This mother with her tiny baby
can feel the sun on her back.

331
00:46:06,280 --> 00:46:08,720
Here it's safe for her little one.

332
00:46:10,360 --> 00:46:12,600
They are free to eat in peace.

333
00:46:15,280 --> 00:46:19,840
The bulls have all the room they need,
so there is less risk of a fight.

334
00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:22,360

335
00:46:34,040 --> 00:46:37,160
Everyone, from gorillas to forest hogs,

336
00:46:37,640 --> 00:46:40,120
ventures out to relax on the beach.

337
00:46:41,040 --> 00:46:42,360

338
00:47:16,840 --> 00:47:20,040
But the forest creatures
can't stay out here forever.

339
00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:26,160
Despite everything,

340
00:47:26,240 --> 00:47:30,160
the intense competition,
the threats, the darkness,

341
00:47:30,640 --> 00:47:32,560
they need their forest,

342
00:47:32,760 --> 00:47:35,760
just as their forest needs them.

343
00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:40,000

344
00:48:04,880 --> 00:48:06,560
The Congo rainforest,

345
00:48:06,640 --> 00:48:09,520
a four-day journey
to the heart of Africa.

346
00:48:12,760 --> 00:48:15,320
Once the plane leaves,
you're on your own.

347
00:48:17,760 --> 00:48:21,920
This expedition planned to film
two of the Congo's best-kept secrets.

348
00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:23,440
But to even find them

349
00:48:23,520 --> 00:48:26,480
the crew would have to work
very hard indeed.

350
00:48:27,920 --> 00:48:29,560
You might as well be
on a different planet

351
00:48:29,640 --> 00:48:32,440
coming to a place like this.
Planet Congo.

352
00:48:36,120 --> 00:48:37,680
Mysterious.

353
00:48:39,320 --> 00:48:40,520
Difficult.

354
00:48:40,960 --> 00:48:42,240
Complex.

355
00:48:43,680 --> 00:48:45,080
Challenging.

356
00:48:47,400 --> 00:48:50,200
You know, everything's
trying to bite you.

357
00:48:51,080 --> 00:48:53,160
Suck your blood.

358
00:48:55,400 --> 00:48:59,320
It's like being tickled by a million
feathers at the same time.

359
00:49:00,680 --> 00:49:01,680

360
00:49:08,160 --> 00:49:09,800
The insects might be torture,

361
00:49:09,880 --> 00:49:12,520
but that's the least of their worries.

362
00:49:14,920 --> 00:49:16,960
The only way to get
deep into the jungle

363
00:49:17,040 --> 00:49:19,080
is to follow these trails.

364
00:49:20,120 --> 00:49:23,240
Trails made by dangerous
forest elephants.

365
00:49:24,760 --> 00:49:27,320
Well, the first thing you need
to know about the forest elephants

366
00:49:27,640 --> 00:49:29,880
is you don't want to meet one.

367
00:49:31,320 --> 00:49:33,360
'Cause running away can elicit a charge

368
00:49:33,440 --> 00:49:36,440
and it could be exactly
the wrong thing to do.

369
00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:39,240
Our team are completely dependent

370
00:49:39,320 --> 00:49:41,760
on their B'aka guides for safety.

371
00:49:45,560 --> 00:49:49,840
It's moved off now.
It's gone? Yes

372
00:49:52,120 --> 00:49:53,960
But it's these same forest elephants

373
00:49:54,040 --> 00:49:55,840
that James has come to film

374
00:49:55,920 --> 00:49:57,720
and just to make the challenge harder

375
00:49:57,800 --> 00:50:00,280
he's here to film them in the dark.

376
00:50:03,160 --> 00:50:06,120
Nobody knows exactly what
they get up to at night.

377
00:50:06,200 --> 00:50:09,000
They haven't been filmed
like this before.

378
00:50:09,800 --> 00:50:11,600

379
00:50:12,240 --> 00:50:15,600
I couldn't rig this place
if the B'aka weren't here.

380
00:50:15,760 --> 00:50:17,720
Watching my back, really.

381
00:50:17,840 --> 00:50:20,400
James needs to operate
the remote cameras

382
00:50:20,480 --> 00:50:23,320
from somewhere
out of the elephants' reach.

383
00:50:24,160 --> 00:50:25,520

384
00:50:28,880 --> 00:50:31,720
A tree platform
seems like the best option.

385
00:50:34,280 --> 00:50:36,520
It's not high enough.
Uh huh.

386
00:50:37,120 --> 00:50:39,800
Apparently, they have
very big elephants round here.

387
00:50:39,880 --> 00:50:43,680
They want us to put it a bit higher,
so I think I'll do what they say.

388
00:50:45,480 --> 00:50:49,760
But no one wants to stay out at night
and help James with the filming.

389
00:50:51,600 --> 00:50:59,280
Usually B'aka stay up in the
trees only if they are very lost.

390
00:50:56,840 --> 00:50:59,270
Very dangerous!

391
00:50:59,760 --> 00:51:02,360
So James will be alone until morning.

392
00:51:02,920 --> 00:51:05,320
If anything goes wrong,
he's on his own.

393
00:51:05,400 --> 00:51:07,920
If they really wanted to,
they could push these trees over.

394
00:51:08,000 --> 00:51:10,880
I can't imagine
that's going to be an issue.

395
00:51:13,280 --> 00:51:15,160
As James settled down for the night,

396
00:51:15,240 --> 00:51:18,680
he's got no idea of the trouble
that's coming his way.

397
00:51:19,520 --> 00:51:21,200

398
00:51:27,800 --> 00:51:28,920
What's going on?

399
00:51:29,000 --> 00:51:33,000
Twenty miles away Mark MacEwan
is also up in the middle of the night.

400
00:51:33,440 --> 00:51:36,760
The animal he's after
is proving impossible to find.

401
00:51:37,760 --> 00:51:38,800
Oh!

402
00:51:39,960 --> 00:51:41,400
So, we get up in the darkness

403
00:51:41,480 --> 00:51:44,240
and we walk through the jungle at night,

404
00:51:44,760 --> 00:51:47,480
hoping to hear the sound
of cracking branches

405
00:51:47,560 --> 00:51:49,960
or leaves moving up in the trees.

406
00:51:50,600 --> 00:51:53,560
That means chimpanzees
are stirring in the treetops

407
00:51:53,640 --> 00:51:56,840
and Mark is here to
film chimps hunting for honey.

408
00:51:59,200 --> 00:52:01,640
There's one chimp in particular
he needs to find,

409
00:52:01,720 --> 00:52:04,200
a teenager with a very sweet tooth,

410
00:52:04,280 --> 00:52:08,400
known to go further in the pursuit
of the bees' nest than any other.

411
00:52:13,040 --> 00:52:15,520
I've spent six days

412
00:52:15,600 --> 00:52:19,800
walking probably the equivalent
of a half marathon every day

413
00:52:20,280 --> 00:52:24,360
in 100 percent humidity
and about 95 degrees in the shade.

414
00:52:25,960 --> 00:52:28,440
And we just can't find our chimpanzee.

415
00:52:28,520 --> 00:52:30,000

416
00:52:32,000 --> 00:52:33,560
Time is ticking away

417
00:52:33,640 --> 00:52:36,440
and Mark is running out of filming days.

418
00:52:42,240 --> 00:52:43,960
At the moment I just need some good luck.

419
00:52:44,040 --> 00:52:46,600
We've come an awfully long way
to get this sequence.

420
00:52:46,680 --> 00:52:49,200
We've got probably 10 to 12 days left.

421
00:52:51,160 --> 00:52:52,800
But it's hard work
at the moment.

422
00:52:53,800 --> 00:52:55,960
All Mark can do is persevere

423
00:52:56,040 --> 00:52:57,840
and hope for a break.

424
00:53:03,440 --> 00:53:06,320
But not all the forest creatures
are so shy.

425
00:53:07,240 --> 00:53:08,480
Perched high in his tree,

426
00:53:08,560 --> 00:53:12,480
James Aldred is waiting patiently
for the elephants to come in.

427
00:53:15,320 --> 00:53:17,080

428
00:53:18,440 --> 00:53:20,720
At last the elephants are here.

429
00:53:20,840 --> 00:53:23,160
But they're behaving strangely.

430
00:53:23,920 --> 00:53:25,720

431
00:53:30,880 --> 00:53:33,800
He knows something's not quite right.

432
00:53:33,880 --> 00:53:35,160

433
00:53:35,240 --> 00:53:38,000
The elephants seem agitated.

434
00:53:39,040 --> 00:53:40,840

435
00:53:41,320 --> 00:53:42,920

436
00:53:44,880 --> 00:53:47,640
They just want to get rid of you.

437
00:53:48,080 --> 00:53:51,600
One begins to thump the tree with its head.

438
00:53:53,320 --> 00:53:56,320
James has no option
but to weather the attack.

439
00:53:58,320 --> 00:53:59,680

440
00:54:00,280 --> 00:54:01,360
Let's lean forward

441
00:54:01,440 --> 00:54:05,200
and keep head-butting,
keep head-butting, keep head-butting.

442
00:54:06,920 --> 00:54:07,960

443
00:54:08,040 --> 00:54:10,840
Suddenly the cameras cut out.

444
00:54:11,760 --> 00:54:14,440
And James is left in complete darkness.

445
00:54:18,400 --> 00:54:20,480
After three weeks searching,

446
00:54:20,680 --> 00:54:23,200
Mark has lost
nearly two stone in weight

447
00:54:23,280 --> 00:54:25,200
but he hasn't given up.

448
00:54:26,200 --> 00:54:29,520
He can't afford to put down
his camera for a second.

449
00:54:31,080 --> 00:54:33,920
Suddenly, the guide
spots the honey hunter.

450
00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:35,320
This is it.

451
00:54:53,160 --> 00:54:56,320
- Where is she?
- She's inside the tree.

452
00:55:01,320 --> 00:55:04,960
Just for some honey,
she's risking her life. It's amazing.

453
00:55:25,080 --> 00:55:26,440
Well, I think,
I just couldn't stop smiling

454
00:55:26,520 --> 00:55:30,800
for several days after filming that.
The relief was just unbelievable.

455
00:55:39,960 --> 00:55:43,920
Back at the camera platform,
James has had a long night.

456
00:55:46,320 --> 00:55:47,520
For over four hours

457
00:55:47,600 --> 00:55:50,720
the elephant tried to shake him
out of the tree.

458
00:55:54,480 --> 00:55:57,200
Got down this morning
when the B'aka came to collect me.

459
00:55:57,280 --> 00:56:00,560
Went to look at the camera
and he'd pulled it out of the tree

460
00:56:00,640 --> 00:56:03,320
and he'd chewed
through the power cable.

461
00:56:03,560 --> 00:56:06,120
He must have gotten a bit of a shock.
I mean only 12 volts.

462
00:56:06,200 --> 00:56:09,200
But serves him right, quite honestly.

463
00:56:10,080 --> 00:56:14,000
But at least we got a shot of him
before he trashed the camera.

464
00:56:14,640 --> 00:56:16,760
Silver lining.

465
00:56:18,640 --> 00:56:20,480
Despite this bumpy start,

466
00:56:20,600 --> 00:56:22,840
the elephants soon got used to James

467
00:56:22,960 --> 00:56:25,520
and James got used to the elephants.

468
00:56:27,560 --> 00:56:29,960
Filming here
was never going to be easy.

469
00:56:30,040 --> 00:56:33,680
But we were soon able to reveal
the night life of forest elephants

470
00:56:33,760 --> 00:56:35,440
like never before.

471
00:56:47,440 --> 00:56:48,920