The sun shines over a lush jungle as a layer of mist floats gently over the trees, and animals whooping sounded the forest's chorus.
This is a tropical forest.
A rainforest.
The richest habitat on Earth.
Beams of the sun shine through the trees reaching the forest floor below.
Exactly how species rainforests contain is unknown, but it runs into millions.
And new ones are discovered every week.
In the rainforests of Southeast Asia, a Clouded Leopard patrols through it's territory in search of prey.
There are some, like this Clouded Leopard, we still know virtually nothing about.
Animal cries continued as 1 tree stood well over 100 feet tall.
Although they cover just 7% of the world's land area, jungles play a vital role in the health of the planet.
JUNGLES
In space, a large patch of green rest on Africa's central region.
In the heart of Africa lies the Congo.
The sun shines over the Congo.
It is our planet's youngest rainforest, a mere 18,000 years old, and it's the jungle with more big animals than any other.
Within it's depths, the Wild Kratts wandered through the jungle after recently arrived and finding a clearing for the Tortuga to land.
"I actually can't believe we're here." Martin said. "The Congo is probably the most mysterious of all jungles."
"Mysterious how?" Aviva asked.
"Well, there is this old legend here in the Congo." Chris said. "A tribe spoke of a mysterious creature somewhere in this jungle's depths. Whenever they get exploders, they say the same thing."
"What?" Koki said.
"They say it's a large river creature within the Congo River." Martin said. "Sightings of the villagers say it had a long neck, and a huge body. But this creature, can quickly vanish like a spirit."
"What else is there?" Jimmy asked.
"Well, believe or not... the villagers have drawn images of the creature to the exploders." Chris said. "And they showed the tell-tale shape of a dinosaur."
"A dinosaur?!" Aviva, Koki and Jimmy exclaimed.
"Yeah, a Sauropod dinosaur." Martin said. "The villagers called it the Mokele-Mbembe."
In cryptozoology, the Mokele-Mbembe is a water-dwelling entity that lives in the Congo River Basin, sometimes described as a living creature, sometimes a spirit. An elephant-sized water beast, said to be a long-necked, long-tailed, herbivorous creature that lurks in deep forested swamps and forest-fringed lakes.
There have been expeditions to prove of it's existence for decades, one of the famous most of possible sightings of the creature was captured by camera in a plane of possibly the creature swimming across a lake. Legends also say that the Mokele-Mbembe charges and attacks hippos near it.
But if the rumors are true, it would be like searching for a real dragon.
An expedition for the last living dinosaur.
"Oh, can you imagine rediscovering a long-thought extinct species?" Martin said. "Finding a surviving dinosaur."
"That would be the biggest discovery ever made." Chris said.
"Hold up, how could a dinosaur possibly survive the extinction from that meteor?" Koki said. "No way it could have found enough food to make it through."
"Well, anything's possible." Aviva said. "Some species have been rediscovered. So, it could be possible for a dinosaur to survive if given the right conditions."
"Um... it's not why we're here, is it?" Jimmy asked somewhat nervously.
"Well, that will on our future-to-do list for later on." Chris said. "But the real reason is somewhere close by."
They then continued hiking through the rainforest.
A few minutes later, a black creature was then spotted climbing down the tree nearby. And it wasn't alone.
3 gorillas climbed from the canopy above and got down to the forest floor.
A family of Lowland Gorillas.
"Gorillas." Aviva gasped.
"A whole family of Lowland Gorillas." Chris said.
"Yeah, it's mostly females and their babies." Martin said. "But there's the big boss." He noticed a large gorilla climbing down a tree trunk.
They're led be this Silverback, the dominant male.
"Whoa, look how big he is." Jimmy whispered.
"Yeah, he could be well over 250 pounds." Chris said.
He's as tall as a man, but twice the weight. His family depends on him for survival.
The Silverback soon got to the ground, and keeps watch over the entire family like a guardian.
As their guardian, he must keep a lookout for danger.
The Wild Kratts watched as the Silverback kept a close watch on his family as they forage for food and the youngster play around.
"Wow, he's keeping a very close watch on his family." Koki said.
"Yeah, they're his family, and they look up to him to survival." Martin said. "And he protects them with his life."
A rival male might usurp him and tear his family apart.
But there is one threat beyond his control.
"I find it hard anything could attack him." Aviva said.
"Well, a Leopard will occasionally attack a gorilla family." Martin said. "And a rival male will try to challenge him for his family. But the gorilla's real threat is from poachers."
Resting on the branch of a tree, a gorilla youngster gnaws on a branch.
In the last 20 years, poaching for bushmeat has halved the Congo's gorilla population.
His kind are now critically endangered.
"Poachers have sadly been killing gorillas for bushmeat, and using gorilla hands as ashtrays." Chris sadly said.
"That's so sad." Aviva said.
"Yeah, and their cousins, the Mountain Gorillas were almost virtually extinct." Martin said. "But today they're making a steady comeback. Gorillas are one of our closest relatives, they need our help more than ever."
Then soft grunting was heard from the Silverback, and the whole family was unaware.
"What's happening?" Koki asked.
"I think the Silverback has seen something." Chris said.
The Wild Kratts remained quiet incase the Silverback was aware of them, but also looked around to see what he saw.
And soon, nearby within the undergrowth was the familiar tell-tale head of a forest giant.
A loud huffing sound was heard through the trees as the Wild Kratts turn to it.
It's only a forest elephant, which needn't concern the Silverback.
"Phew. It's just a forest elephant." Chris said.
"Wait. Elephants live here?" Aviva frowned.
"Yeah, these elephants are a little different compare to Thornsley's kind on the grasslands, a subspecies." Martin said. "Forest elephants are a little smaller in size, at 6,000 pounds. Making it easier to get around through the jungle."
"Their ears are a little smaller and more rounder." Chris said. "And their tusks are more straight and point downward. They're only found here in Central and West Africa."
The Silverback watches the bull elephant standing nearby as he made a low trumpeting growl.
"Looks like that's a lone bull." Martin said.
But the elephant has reason to be wary of poachers too.
Slowly, the Forest Elephant bull heads out from hiding in the undergrowth as if he was carefully watching out for poachers.
Their long straight tusks are even more sought after than those of their grassland cousins.
"Um, don't poachers go after elephants as well for their tusks?" Jimmy asked.
"I'm afraid so, yeah." Martin said. "And what's even more sad is that poachers are going after forest elephant tusks more than their grassland cousins further south."
"Meaning that forest elephants might disappear sooner." Chris said. "They too need our help like the gorillas."
The gorillas close by watch him as he walks off, and the Wild Kratts saw he seems to be following a pathway as wide as a single elephant.
He follows paths made by generations of elephants before him, searching for food.
"What's the path he's following?" Aviva asked softly.
"Looks like a path leading to food somewhere." Chris said. "The path is likely made by other elephants that come and go here in the area."
The elephant heads off, and soon the gorillas seem to be on the move as well as the Silverback leads them.
Like the elephant, the Silverback's family will travel several miles a day, looking for fruits and seeds.
The Wild Kratts quietly followed the Silverback's family as they soon got to an area with some fruit.
They and the elephants are the gardeners of this jungle.
The seed dispersers.
The Wild Kratts watched as the gorillas feed.
And many of the trees here owe their existence to these large animals.
A young gorilla walks by near the Wild Kratts just 20 yards from them.
Here, all path eventually lead to Mbeli, Bai.
Nearby, a large marsh clearing sits within the forest.
Open areas like this are a unique feature of the Congo's jungles, and there are more than a hundred dotted throughout the forest. Known as bais, these clearings attract many of the jungle's inhabitants.
A lone bull forest elephant has recently arrived at the bai as the water splashed as walks.
Close by, a Sitatunga was feeding on the water plants with a few water birds near it.
The elephant turns to the Sitatunga and brays a trumpet at the Sitatunga as it runs off.
Elsewhere in the bai, a younger elephant was drinking as the Silverback emerges from the trees and steps into the water.
The Silverback cautiously leads the way, but his family are close behind.
The Silverback then moves through the water, and close by, the Wild Kratts came out from the trees and saw the bai.
"Whoa, this must be Mbeli Bai." Chris said.
Mebli Bai is a 13 hectare swampy forest clearing in the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo with minimum levels of disturbance, where "bais" like this are believed to offer important nutritional benefits to many species.
In the trees, one of the Silverback's females slowly moves through the forest towards the bai. And is followed by the other gorillas.
At the bai, 1 gorilla was upright as it walked through the water, and soon got to shallower water to move on all 4s. And close by, a mother walks through the reeds with her infant standing on her back.
The gorillas have come here to feed on aquatic plants rich in salt, a mineral in short supply inside the forest, but crucial to their survival.
Among the water plants, a mother with twins on her back feeds on the water plants, and as well as the Silverback who was close by.
The Wild Kratts got into the water as Chris and Martin had just activated into Elephant Power, but had the smaller rounder ears and downward tusks of the forest elephant.
And they watched as the gorillas feed, and the bull elephant who was close by also feeding.
"Hmm." Martin scans the water plants with his CreaturePod. "Looks like the plants are rich in salt. Very important to a lot of creatures."
"Yeah, and even the water is mineral-rich as well." Chris said. "And the elephants come here for the same reason too."
Close by, an elephant lifts it's head out from the water. And close by, 2 other elephants were in the water as one sprays water out from it's trunk.
Elephants mine salts from the mud using their trunks.
Or just drink the mineral-enriched water.
Elsewhere in the bai, a single elephant has an area of water to itself as it drank the mineral-enrich water.
Close by, some of the gorillas traveled across the bai.
Elsewhere in the bai, other gorillas in the area had arrived to feed
The Silverback's family are not the only gorillas here. Nearly 200 gorillas also use this bai, as well as 530 elephants, a measure of Mebli's importance.
The Wild Kratts watched as they saw other gorillas feed in different parts of the bai, and also saw a small herd of elephants arriving with some youngsters. They even saw the head of a calf possibly less than a year old underneath a pre-teen elephant likely 11 or 12 years ago.
For the elephants, the bais have another vial role.
Most of their lives are spent roaming the vast forested interior on their own, so it's only here they get a chance to meet others.
The Wild Kratts watched the amazing sight of the forest elephants as 2 youngsters play with each other.
Nearby, the bull elephant walks across the bai as the Silverback was feeding in the background near him.
Unlike most of the Congo's other bais, Mbeli is well protected, making it a refugee from poaching.
In the water, a mother gorilla was upright walking with her infant clinging onto her.
It's only when they leave that the danger returns.
"This place is so beautiful." Aviva said.
"Yeah, Mbeli is very well protected from poachers." Martin said. "Making it a safe place for gorillas and elephants to come here without fear."
3 elephants stood in the water as they continue mining for salt.
And as the Congo's main seed dispersers, the loss of it's megafauna could have a far-reaching impact on the future of our planet's 2nd-largest rainforest.
A layer of clouds floats through a jungle covered mountain peak.
Jungles may look the same, but each is home to a unique cast of characters.
A layer of mist rests over the jungles of New Guinea.
New Guinea is the world's largest jungle-covered island, and more than half of its plants and animals are found nowhere else on Earth.
A layer of smoke spews from the crater of Mount Ulawun, one of it's volcanoes.
Its turbulent geological past has shaped this vast island into a dramatic landscape of mountains and valleys.
Water washed down through a river between 2 mountains.
and the river washes downriver between a gorge through the mountain terrain.
A process that isolated 1 species from another. Separated in this way, New Guinea's animals have become truly bizarre.
In the forests, Chris, Martin and Aviva explored the surrounding area by the Tortuga, and came across a 12-wired Bird of Paradise on a branch doing a display dance.
"Cool, a 12-wired Bird of Paradise." Chris said.
"12-wired?" Aviva frowned.
"Yeah, see those wire-like feathers he has?" Martin said. "That's how they get their name, only males have them."
The male 12-wired Bird of Paradise is the only bird in the world that has tail ornaments like this, used to tickle the face of a prospective mate.
They watched as the bird did his display, which is a twirl around the branch, and with neck feathers raised up. and soon, a female leaped onto the branch as the male tickles her face with his tail ornaments.
From one crow-like ancestor, birds of paradise have evolved into 40 different kinds.
"It's amazing how from a crow-like ancestor, it evolved eventually into every bird of paradise we see today." Chris said. "And each of them have their own dance."
Every corner of this island has its own version.
Later, they soon came across another species called the Black Sicklebill.
"Whoa! Meet the Black Sicklebill of New Guinea's highlands..." Martin said.
The Sicklebill then held his wings front of him, forming a hood of feathers that look similar to a cobra hood. And then he makes a croaking sound, and has a blue spot on his neck.
...able to morph into some very un-birdlike shapes.
They watched as the Sicklebill turns sideways, and gaps his beak open showing a yellow color.
And soon, a female appeared and lands on the side of the branch. And then went up to him, as the male lightly croaks.
Each male bird of paradise has a unique display for attracting mates, and none are more extraordinary than the one that takes place on this stage.
30 minutes later, the 3 soon came across a familiar looking clearing.
"Thinking what I'm thinking?" Chris asked.
"Oh, yeah." Martin said.
They soon saw a familiar kind of bird of paradise grabbing a flower and tossed away a leaf, seeing it was a Western Parotia.
"A Parotia." Aviva gasped.
"Yeah, a Western Parotia." Martin said. "A cousin to the Lawe's Parotia like Hip-Hop."
For the owner, a Western Parotia, there's work to be done first.
They watched as the parotia cleans up his lek.
Every morning, he clears his court of the night's fallen debris.
The parotia clears leaves, bits of roots and sticks and just about anything.
It's a vital chore if he wants to attract a mate.
He even breaks off a piece of root off from the ground.
Females only visit the tidiest courts, so 1 rouge leaf might ruin his chances.
Then a leaf falls towards the ground as the parotia watches it, and it soon lands on the ground.
The parotia squawks and went over to the leaf, and tossed it away.
They soon saw that the lek was completely spotless.
Perfect.
"Wow, that's what I call spotless." Aviva said.
"Yeah, parotia sure know how to clean." Chris said.
His obsessive housework pays off, and a female drops in for a closer look.
The female lands on a branch, and the male turns to her.
Now is his chance to really impress, but it won't be easy.
The female parotia then flew to another branch just above the male.
Females are very fussy, and she'll expect his carefully choreographed routine to be faultless.
He opens with a bow.
Chris, Martin and Aviva watched as the male parotia bows like someone on a stage as they knew he was about to start.
Next, his blue eye must flash yellow.
They then watched as the parotia turns his head, and his eye flashed yellow. And then he forms the famous skirt of feathers with his wings and did a headshake.
So far, so good.
He has all the moves.
They watched as he moves sideways on the branch.
Fancy footwork.
The female watches him dance.
The whirling dervish.
The female parotia watches as he bows again, and flashed his eye yellow. And continues his headshake ruffling his head feathers.
The head plume shuffle, with spin.
The 3 watched the male dancing and saw the female had her head feathers standing and her wings quivered.
Her erect head feathers and quivering wings are a very encouraging sign.
They then watched as the male froze momentarily, and then he started a head-bob move.
His sidestep and head bob look good from any angle, but his crowding glory can only be appreciated from her perspective.
They watched then the parotia stood as they knew he was about to do something.
Wait for it.
Then suddenly, the male parotia showed a flash of his throat feathers.
There it is. A flash of his iridescent throat patch.
They watched as the parotia continues his courtship and flashed his throat feathers again, and the 3 can tell the female is really excited.
Her excitement grows.
They watched as the male parotia continues his dance and it looks he has won her approval.
His performance has been a triumph, and he wins her approval.
And then, the male parotia flies onto the branch with her, and they soon flew off.
Animal cries echoed through the rainforest.
New Guinea's isolation has created a unique variety of animals, but the age of a forest has an even greater impact on the diversity of life it contains.
The setting sun cast over the jungles of Borneo.
The jungles of Borneo, in Southeast Asia, have grown here for nearly 130 million years, making them the oldest on Earth.
On a mountain ridge, a number of towers of limestone stood above the trees.
This limestone mountaintop in Borneo's highlands was originally formed under the sea. Time and rain has slowly shaped this jungle fortress into these 130 foot, 40-meter towers.
The great age of this island's jungle is best illustrated by one of the oldest predators on Earth.
A shadow casted over a leaf shined by sunlight showed something long and crawling over it. The shadow also showed antenna, but it wasn't a centipede.
As it was something of a far more ancient creature.
The Wild Kratts peaked over a log, and saw what was one of the oldest creatures on the planet.
A Velvet Worm.
"Amazing." Chris said. "A Velvet Worm."
"Velvet Worm?" Aviva frowned.
"Yeah, these guys actually do feel like velvet." Martin said.
Martin then gently laid his hand out in front of the Velvet Worm, allowing it to crawl on him. And Aviva, Koki and Jimmy gently petted it and saw that it does feel like velvet.
"Wow, it actually does feel like velvet." Koki said.
"Told ya." Martin said.
He then sets the Velvet Worm gently down as it crawls off.
Completely at home on the humid forest floor.
"These guys come in different colors." Chris said. "Dark bluish, some purple and even red."
"And these guys are also living fossils." Martin added. "Fossils showed of them being around for over 500 million years."
They've been here since the age of the dinosaurs, and have remained virtually unchanged.
They watched as the Velvet Worm crawls through the leaf litter, and ahead of it a leaf stirred.
It detects its insect prey through vibration and touch.
Under the leaf, a cockroach was busy cleaning itself.
The Velvet Worm piers it's head over the log as it climbs.
But with no turn of speed, how does it capture these fleet-footed critters?
"Hey, it has it's sights on a cockroach." Martin said.
"How will it catch it?" Koki asked.
"Yeah, it looks all slow and sluggish." Jimmy said.
"Watch, it'll show us in just a moment." Chris said.
"What is it?" Aviva asked.
"It's a hunting trick." Martin said.
The answer is stranger than fiction.
The Velvet Worm sighted the cockroach on the leaf litter, and it's antenna thwang free from a leaf.
Then suddenly, like something from a science-fiction movie, the Velvet Worm squeezes jets of a glue-like substance from 2 nozzles. And they land on the cockroach trapping it.
Glue guns.
"Whoa!" The Wild Kratts said in unison.
"The Velvet Worm actually has 2 nozzles that are his own built-in glue guns." Chris said. "And they fire trapping their prey."
"That's incredible." Aviva said.
"Cool." Jimmy said.
"Amazing." Martin said. "So the Velvet Worm has been using glue guns, long before humans even invented glue or glue guns."
The sticky slime hardens on impact, trapping the luckless insect.
Soon, the Velvet Worm begins to crawl over to it's dinner.
The Velvet Worm will inject the cockroach with digestive saliva, and then suck out its insides.
The Velvet Worm crawls by the cockroach, ready to inject it with digestive saliva and eat it.
"Okay, the Velvet Worm is definitely worth making a Power Suit 1 day." Aviva said.
Sunlight shines over the leaf litter of the forest floor.
The high humidity of the forest floor isn't just good for Velvet Worms.
A time-lapse shows small termites crawling as a fungi ball cracks open. It soon opens up as a red fungus sprouts out.
It's perfect for fungi, too.
Soon more of the fungus grows.
And Borneo's ancient jungles are rich in species.
On a log, flower-like fungi grew turning pinkish to a brownish color.
A thin coat of yellow fungus spreads across a log.
By decomposing the dead, the slime molds and fungi recycle scarce nutrients.
Mushrooms grew on a log as a spider made itself at home among them. And eventually the mushrooms turn black.
On another log, dozens of mushrooms grew and eventually turn black and died.
The sun shines over the top of the rainforest.
Time has made Borneo's jungles extraordinary rich and diverse. Here, in just a few hectares of forest, there may be more kinds of plants than in the whole of Europe, including some of the most specialized on Earth.
Within the forest, the type of plant grows forming strange shapes on their tips.
Over several weeks, these growing tips inflate to form jugs or pitchers.
One pitcher plant nearly finishes growing.
There are 39 kinds of pitcher plant in Borneo, and most are found here.
Eventually, the pitcher plants opened lids at their top.
To get the nutrients they need to survive, pitcher plants rely on animals, often in surprising ways.
The Wild Kratts waited by a small patch of pitcher plants, they were some of the main food source for an elusive creature. And eventually, their patience has paid off.
"Hey, there it is." Chris said.
Appearing from the undergrowth, came a small mammal that nearly resembles a squirrel.
This is the Mountain Treeshrew, an animal found only in Borneo.
"Wow, a Mountain Treeshrew." Martin said amazed. "You can only find them here in Borneo."
They watched as the treeshrew leaps onto a pitcher plant and soon started licking around the lid.
"What's he doing?" Aviva asked.
"He's licking the sugary substance on the plant's lid." Chris said. "For him, it's food."
"But they also eat insects, maybe lizards, fruit and seeds." Martin added.
Every morning, the treeshrew visits his neighborhood pitchers. It depends on the sugary solution that exudes from hairs on the pitcher's lid.
They watched as the treeshrew continues licking the lid until he licks it clean.
When he's licked this lid dry, he'll move to another.
The treeshrew then leaps onto another pitcher plant, and eventually licks the lid dry again.
And then another.
The treeshrew continues licking on the 3rd lid.
Eventually, watching the treeshrew licking the sugary substance has gotten the group hungry. So they decided to take a lunch break as they headed back to the Tortuga.
And the treeshrew continues lapping up on the lids.
Eventually, all that sugar can have only 1 result.
The treeshrew continues licking the lids, and he froze as he stood over the pitcher. And then a splat was heard.
Above the treetops, a layer of mist gathers of an approaching storm. And thunder was heard.
The treeshrew then leaps off the pitcher plant to find shelter.
In return for the free food, the treeshrew leaves a gift.
The treeshrew soon got back to his burrow.
While the pitcher plant had 2 pellets.
Fertilizer for the plant.
All that's needed is an afternoon shower to flush the shrew poo into the pitcher's bowl.
Soon, it started to rain as eventually the raindrops washed the pellets into the pitcher.
Without these added nitrates, the plant couldn't survive. And the quest for nutrients has led some pitchers down a sinister path.
After the storm, the Wild Kratts were back out as they eventually found 1 pitcher called a Gracilis pitcher with ants on it.
A Gracilis pitcher plant attracts ants to the underside of its lid with drops of nectar.
They watched as 1 ant was upside-down on the lid feeding on the nectar.
"So, what's the deal with this pitcher?" Jimmy asked.
"This is a Gracilis pitcher, ants are attracting to it's nectar on the lid." Martin said.
But what do the ants give in return?
Then some droplets of water on the branches above them from the storm came down, and some landed on the pitcher's lid as the ant struggled to hold on.
It's a story that also depends on rain.
The droplets continues hitting the lid.
The force of the raindrops make it impossible for the ants to hold on.
The Wild Kratts then saw the 2 ants bounced, and 1 falls into the pitcher, and lands in the liquid from inside.
It's the plant world's only springboard trap.
This pitcher plant feeds on ant bodies.
They watched as a few more ants fell into the pitcher plant. Though 1 ant, was lucky.
"So, this plant actually feeds on ants?" Koki said.
"Yeah, it's like the plant version of a springboard trap." Chris said.
"Weird." Aviva said.
All pitcher plants depend on animals for survival, and one has even gone into business with a bat.
Later at night, Chris, Martin and Aviva were out night exploring as they soon saw a bat flew by. And watched it flew up to a narrow pitcher plant.
"Yeah, a Woolly Bat." Chris said.
The Woolly Bat finds Hemsleyana pitchers because the plant's broad back wall reflects the bat's ultrasound.
They watched as the Woolly Bat flew up to the pitcher, and hovers for a moment and soon lands on the plant lid.
The tube-like pitchers are the perfect roosting site.
They watched as the bat crawls into pitcher.
"The pitcher's not gonna him, is it?" Aviva asked.
"No!" Chris said. "That only happens with insects, the Hemsleyana makes a roost site for the bat."
"And a safe place to avoid predators." Martin added. "Uh... expect maybe a snake could reach him inside."
The pitcher provides secure accommodation and the plant is enriched by its guest's deposit.
Inside the pitcher, the bat rests safely inside the plant.
Relationships like these have taken millions of years to evolve, but many could be gone in a decade.
In space, a time-lapse showed Borneo once mostly covered in forest, but half a century later over 50% of it's jungle is gone due to deforestation.
In the last 50 years, Borneo has lost over half of its jungle.
And it's even worse on the neighboring islands of the Philippines.
On the Philippine Islands, they hardly had any green left as the deforestation was even worse.
Here, 90% of the primary rainforest has gone.
Soaring over one of the last patches of remaining rainforest in the Philippines, Asia's largest eagle flew over the trees.
The Philippines Eagle.
What's left is the last refuge for the world's rarest bird of prey.
The mighty Philippines Eagle.
The eagle soars over the forest, and close by in one of the many trees was a nest with a youngster as it caws off.
With just 400 pairs remaining, a chick on a nest is a very scarce sight.
The eagle youngster continues calling out, and in one of the trees just 200 feet away, the Wild Kratts watched through their binoculars. And they soon saw the adult eagle soaring by which was the youngster's mother.
Scientists have tracked the mother since she was a year old. Now aged 10, this is her first chick.
They watched as the mother lands by the nest, and starts feeding her youngster with the remains of a monkey hand. And even from their tree-hideout they could see the mother helping out as the youngster feeds.
"Okay, I can see why they're sometimes called monkey-eating eagles." Koki said.
"Tell me about it." Martin said recollecting from being chased by a father eagle in a Tarsier Power Suit during the Back in Creature Time adventure.
"Yeah." Chris said slightly shuddering. "We also became snacks. But Philippine Eagles also go after pigs, deer, and even small tapirs."
Jimmy nervously gulped at the thought.
"That young eagle sure has a long way to go to catch that kind of prey." Aviva said watching the chick through her binoculars.
It's 4 months old, already nearly 3 feet tall, and increasingly confident.
Although Mother still likes to give a helping hand.
The mother eagles grabs the hand in her beak, and soon gives it to her chick. And the chick tossed the hand into it's mouth until eventually it swallows it whole.
The chick is very demanding.
Later, the chick calls out, and eventually the father eagle came back with a whole monkey this time.
She expects regular food drops, but, like a toddler having a tantrum, she doesn't want any help at mealtimes.
They watched as the father eagle caws out, and the youngster seems to be paying hardly any attention to him.
Already, she's the same size as her father and too big to argue with.
The young eagle then moves off and got onto a branch.
"This young eagle's almost acting like an independent teenager." Chris said.
"A little harsh one as well." Aviva said.
The young eagle then turns back to her father after hearing a sound near him.
But if his youngster is to take her next steps, he knows it's time for some tough love.
From now on, visits will be less frequent.
Soon, the father eagle flies off as the youngster starts feeding.
Over the next few days, they watched from their tree roost as the eagle parents came by every now and then with snacks for their youngster. But they aren't visiting as much.
And they even saw one parent dropped a bat into the nest.
The parents drop by with an occasional food parcel, but a small fruit bat isn't much to get excited about.
"Looks like a fruit bat." Chris said. "That's only a snack for her."
"Talk about tough love." Koki said.
"But she can't still in that nest forever." Aviva said. "She's gotta get out sometime eventually."
The days continue going by, and the Wild Kratts were keeping watch on the youngster as her parents were nowhere to be seen.
It's confusing when your parents don't visit as frequently as they once did.
Another day has pass, and the Wild Kratts were still up in their tree roost as the watched the teenage eagle caws as she called out for her parents.
Every day, she calls, but no one is paying attention.
She's hungry, and all that's left are scraps.
At her nest, the young eagle feeds on the leftover scraps.
At their tree roost, the Wild Kratts watched her as they knew she was getting very hungry.
"Gee, it's been days since her parents were last here." Jimmy said and took a bite out of a pepperoni pizza.
"I know, she must be very hungry by now." Aviva said holding a sandwich as her lunch.
"Huh. Who knew eagles can be very demanding and persuasive." Koki said watching the eagle through her binoculars. "Especially as parents."
Back at the nest, the young eagle seems to had enough of this child's play nonsense. As she knows if she doesn't finding food for herself, she would eventually starve.
It's time to become a proper eagle.
She then started flapping her wings to beat the chest muscles for flight.
"Guys, looks at this!" Chris quickly said. "She's trying to fly"
"What?!" The others exclaimed quickly joining next to him.
They looked through their binoculars as they watched her flapping her wings.
Flapping strengthens flight muscles in 6 foot, 2-meter wings.
Wings that will be used to carry off her hefty prey.
In the distance tree, a long furry tail slithers through the green branches, and the eagle watches a macaque monkey in the branches.
Though that skill is still some time off.
The teenage eagle stood by the base of a tree branch, and begins to move across it.
So far, she's never ventured beyond the security of her nest.
And with good reason.
The Wild Kratts watched as she carefully moves across the branch.
There's a 229 foot, 70-meter drop to the forest floor.
The eagle looks down, as well as the Wild Kratts as they saw the 22-story drop between them and the forest floor.
"DAH!" Jimmy yelped and backed away hugging a branch.
The eagle as well slightly slipped on the branch.
A fall would be fatal.
Slowly, the young eagle begins to move further out on the branch.
It's a nervous moment, but she must persevere. Right now, she's all toes and talons.
The Wild Kratts watched as the eagle moves across the branch and slipped a little, but manages to keep a footing. And they keep watching her as she slowly builds confidence.
Sudden gusts of wind are not helpful when balancing over a death-defying drop, and the daily downpours don't make it any easier.
Soon, it started raining as the eagle stood on the branch getting drenched.
And the Wild Kratts could tell she was unpleased.
Over the next few days, they watched the eagle getting more flight in her wings.
Every day, she gets a little stronger and more confidant.
Then, the day comes when confidence finally matches know-how.
The Wild Kratts watched the eagle from their tree roost, and it looks that the eagle is started to get her flight wings. As she got airborne and flaps her wings as she was in the air for a few moments before landing on the branch. And she flew onto another part of the branch.
"This could be it." Chris said.
Now is the moment to reach for the sky.
The young eagle then flaps her wings, and flies through the air and lands on the branch of a nearby tree.
Her first ever flight from her nest tree.
"She did it!" Martin cheered.
The young eagle stood on the branch staring at her forest home.
It'll be nearly a year before she's fully independent. Then, her survival will depend on finding a territory with large stretches of unspoilt jungle.
The eagle then flew back to her nest.
"Well, looks like she's on the road to becoming an adult Philippines Eagle." Chris said.
"Yeah, and with 400 of these eagles left, every eagle counts of making a full recovery." Martin said.
"Yeah, the eagle's are slowly losing their forest home due to deforestation." Koki said. "Every eagle is precious."
"Let's hope there's still a future for them." Aviva said.
Then a branch cracking was heard.
"What was that?" Jimmy frowned.
Then Chris and Martin saw the branch they were on was an old one, and started to break under them.
"Uh-oh!" Chris said.
Then the branch broke off as they fell and the 2 brothers yelled as they fell as Aviva, Koki and Jimmy watched vanished into the canopy. And then heard multiple grunting and cringed as the brothers hit several branches braking their fall, and then finally they hit the forest floor as they cringed.
"Ooh." Aviva cringed.
"That'll leave a mark." Jimmy said.
"Oh, I'm hurt." Martin groaned in pain. "I am very much hurt."
In the Philippines' fragment forest, there's too little prey for a supersized eagle.
But there is 1 jungle whose size it still legendary.
In space, the Earth spins as South America was in view, along with it's largest rainforest and 2nd longest river.
The Amazon.
The Amazon Basin is over 3,000 kilometers across and home to half of our planet's remaining rainforest.
The sun shines over the treetops of the Amazon Rainforest.
But there are challenges for those living in the Amazon's deep interior.
The sounds of birds hooting and and chirping echoed through the Amazon.
Among the trees, a long furry black tail was wrapped around the branch, and long arms hang down as the owner of them climbs revealed to be a spider monkey.
Black Spider Monkeys, with eyes on a salt lick.
Below, the monkey watches a salt lick where the sediment contains salt.
Being so far from the sea, salt is in short supply here, so a visit to a lick is essential.
The monkey wasn't alone, and a few other monkeys were with it as well.
Chris in Pygmy Marmoset Power was watching from a nearby tree, as well as Martin and Aviva in Emperor Tamarin Power.
"Looks like the spider monkeys are getting ready to head down to the salt lick." Chris said.
But first, they must be sure there are no predators lurking below.
Chris and Martin clearly know that predators might know this salt lick as well as the monkeys, so they looked around. But so far, the only creature seen below was an Agouti: a type of rodent that looks like a Guinea Pig on steroids.
A harmless Agouti is a good sign.
The Agouti then crawls into a small cave by the salt lick.
Reluctantly, one of the monkeys begins to climb down to the salt lick.
This is the only time a spider monkey ever sets foot on the ground.
The cautious spider monkey looks around to be sure the coast was clear, and soon starts licking the salt with it's head in the cave.
And if you have your head in a hole, best to have a lookout.
The monkey peaks out, and close by another spider monkey was keeping watch. And soon, the monkey continues to lick the salt.
Monkeys can't survive without these minerals, and predators know it.
Then a rustle was heard nearby.
"What was that?" Aviva asked.
The 2 monkeys heard as well.
One of the monkeys then chitters an alarm call.
A warning from the lookout.
The 2 monkeys quickly head back up to the safety of the trees.
And nearby, spots were seen through the undergrowth as well as a blinking eye. And up in the trees, the monkeys looked around.
It's not a false alarm.
Movement was soon seen, and a familiar big cat appeared into view as it walks by.
A Jaguar.
"Whoa, a Jaguar." Chris said. "The ultimate stealth machine here in the Amazon."
Rarely seen, but the Amazon's top predator.
"You said they hunt monkeys, right?" Aviva said.
"Yeah, Jaguars will hunt anything they catch." Martin said. "They're even been known to sometimes tackle Green Anacondas."
Eventually, the Black Spider Monkeys manage to summon the bravery to climb back down. And one of them was a mother with her baby clinging on to her.
With the Jaguar gone, the monkeys return, but it's a risk.
Nobody knows when the predator will be back.
Eventually, Chris, Martin and Aviva came down as well.
Soon, a pair of Spix's Guans poked their heads from behind the branches.
Its not just the spider monkeys for whom fear must give way to need.
Soon, the Guans got to the salt lick and start pecking at the clay.
In the Amazon, salt licks are as vital as an oasis in a desert.
Soon, a Southern Amazon Red Squirrel arrive and gathered salt as well.
But then a snap of a stick was heard.
"Is the Jaguar back?" Aviva wondered.
"I don't know." Martin said unsure.
Noises could be friend or foe, so every visitor must remain poised for flight.
Close by, an Amazonian Brown Brocket was on alert as well. One of the Black Spider Monkeys in a tree branch looked around, and soon more rustling was heard. Then one of the Guans caws out an alarm as everyone quickly fled the salt lick.
Then suddenly, the Agouti from earlier came out from the cave.
It's a false alarm. Just the harmless Agouti again.
Elsewhere in the Amazon, a tree frog crawls across a branch.
In the Amazon, every animal group has more species than anywhere else.
And that includes frogs.
Elsewhere among the green vegetation, a type of glass frog rests on a leaf.
There are thought to be over a thousand different kinds of them here, and new ones are still being discovered.
On a branch, a poison dart frog with red and blue coloration sat on the branch. And in a mushroom, a poison dart frog with bright green coloration and black spots rests in it.
Hidden in the ferns, a frog with a dark with yellow striping rests.
A tree frog clings to a branch as it rains.
Frogs are an indicator of a healthy forest, but its most important residents are the jungle's smallest inhabitants.
Among the ferns, a leaf was seen and appears to be moving on it's own.
A type of horned beetle was cleaning itself as a moving leaf passes by.
Soon, more leaves were on the move as they were revealed to be Leafcutter Ants, and they crawled by another kind of insect.
There are thought to be over 2 million kinds of insects in the Amazon.
The army of Leafcutter Ants hiked through the forest floor in 2 directions, 1 to the tree, and the other to the nest.
These are the most numerous.
The Leafcutter Ants of 3 kinds worked as they were on the move.
A colony of Leafcutter Ants can run into the millions.
The ants continue to trek across the forest floor, and Chris, Martin and Aviva were among them with Leafcutter Ant Power.
Each colony is a superorganism with a collective function... to gather leaves and carry them back to their underground nests.
A time-lapse shows the ants moving quickly across the log. And more ants heading down a tree, and followed a path made by other ants before them. And hundreds more head down into their underground nest.
Within the territory of a Leafcutter colony, as much as a fifth of all new plant growth will be harvested by the ants.
Up in the trees, a soldier ant is cutting a piece of leaf with his sharp mandibles.
Slicing through leaves with specialized mandibles, they produce high frequency vibrations which stiffens the leaf, making it easier to cut.
The ants continue cutting the leaf pieces, and some fell straight down to the forest floor.
Working together, they can strip a tree bare in 24 hours.
1 ant lands on the forest floor with the leaf piece, and with several others.
"Wow, these guys are really free falling with those leaves." Aviva said.
"Yeah, a human at a fall like that wouldn't last long." Chris said.
"Almost looks fun." Martin said.
The trick is holding on to your leaf as you fall.
Martin then crawls up to a branch above them, and starts cutting a piece with his ant mandibles.
"Uh, Martin... what are you doing?" Aviva asked.
"I wanna try it myself." Martin said.
"Martin, I am telling you, this is not a good idea." Chris.
"Oh, stop complaining." Martin said nearly finishing cutting the leaf. "It'll be a breeze- WHOA!" The leaf piece broke off as he fell with it.
"WAH!" Chris and Aviva exclaimed
Martin then crashed into them, and then they off the side of the tree trunk yelling as a few ants turn and watched them fall. And then a heavy thud was heard with a green, blue and purple flash as some ants turned their heads briefly as if they cringed from the impact.
At the forest floor by the base of the trees, the 3 were in a dogpile now deactivated as they groaned in pain.
"I... gotta... start being at my station more often." Aviva said holding a finger up. "In moments like these."
Her head then lands on the ground as well as her hand.
Soon, more Leafcutter Ants dropped down with pieces of leaves.
Easier said than done.
1 soldier ant lands on the forest floor, but has lost the leaf piece on the way down.
But best not to return to the nest empty-handed.
Eventually, the ant found pink flower and crawls off with it.
Above them, more Leafcutters continue their job.
A Leafcutter colony is like a mega-herbivore, not dissimilar to an elephant in the Congo, and their impact on the ecosystem is just as important.
After recovery, the 3 watched the army of ants make their way through the forest floor.
The ants follow scent trails back to the nest, dodging unexpecting obstacles.
They watched a centipede crawls through the army of ants, as well as a snail slowly moving as the ants move by.
But to increase efficiency, the ants keep their paths clear of debris.
The 3 eventually followed the ants back to their nest, and saw dozens or more crawling in and out with leaves, and one with a flower.
Underground, is where most of the ant action is.
A Leafcutter nest can be up to 26 feet deep and have thousands of interconnected chambers.
The ants crawled through the tunnels, and the ones with leaves took them to their fungus farm.
The workers carry the freshly harvested leaves to special rooms for processing.
In a chamber, some ants were busy processing the leaves with the fungus.
The leaves are not food, but used to create gardens of fungus, which they feed to their larvae.
The success of the colony depends on keeping their gardens disease-free. So, the ants have teamed up with bacteria to help control pathogens, which would destroy their precious fungi. Scientists now believe these bacteria could provide new solutions to human diseases.
The ants continue on their underground work of the fungus farm.
But as successful as these ants are, the rainforest's diversity depends on no one species gaining the upper hand.
After leaving the Leafcutter colony, they wandered through the forest to see what else they could find as animal hoots were heard through the forest.
Here, ants don't have it all their own way.
They soon found 1 lone tree on the side of a tree, but saw there was something unusual about it.
This one is behaving oddly.
"What's wrong with him?" Aviva asked.
"I don't know." Martin said. "It's like he's going crazy or something."
They then watched as the ant crawled up the tree trunk.
It seems compelled to climb upwards, and is already several meters above the forest floor. Something has taken control of its movements, like a puppeteer pulling at the strings of a marionette.
Barely in their view, Chris, Martin and Aviva watched as the ant crawls onto a leaf.
There's just 1 final act, for which the ant has no choice.
The ant then bites down hard on the leaf with it's mandibles.
It must find a place to bite down, tethering it to the vegetation.
"What's he doing?" Aviva asked.
"I don't know." Chris said completely confused.
The ant keeps a firm grip on the leaf with it's mandibles.
They watched as it's legs kept twitching.
With the ant in its death grip, a parasitic fungus, Cordyceps, erupts from its body.
Then suddenly, the trio saw the ant turning white with a fungus.
"What is that?" Chris inquired and scans the ant.
Soon, they saw a holographic screen showed the ant holding onto the leaf and covered by the fungus.
"Whoa, it's Cordyceps." Martin said.
"Cordyceps?" Aviva frowned. "What's that?"
"It's a type of parasitic fungus." Martin explained.
They watched as the fungus continues growing on the ant.
Finally, the fruiting body of the fungus bursts from its head.
Eventually, a purple fruiting body of the fungus erupts from the ant's head as it grows. The trio were so bewildered that it like a scene out of science fiction, and soon a bulb grows on it.
From this bulbous container, spores will be cast into the air currents, where they will claim more ant victims.
Eventually, the any body was all brown as it rots.
But it's not just ants.
Many others are infected by the Cordyceps fungus.
In other parts of the rainforest, many more insect victims were claimed by the fungus. One was a wasp clinging to a plant stem, a cicada on a branch, and many more.
The more numerous a species is, the more likely it is to fall victim to the killer fungus.
On the forest floor, a beetle has also became a victim to the fungus.
Checks and balances like these means no one species can ever dominate, so protecting the jungle's incredible diversity.
More insect victims lay where the fungus has claimed them.
The sunlight beams seek through the treetops reaching the forest depths.
But today, the diversity of the world's rainforest is falling in an alarming rate, and that is because of us.
Somewhere in Southeast Asia, a grove of oil palm trees stood where a section of rainforest once was.
We have now replaced up to 27 million hectares of virgin jungle with a single species of tree.
The oil palm trees stood in the thousands where jungle area once stood.
This is oil palm, one of the world's most productive crops. But these monocultures support only a fraction of the diversity found in primary rainforests, and it is pushing many animals to extinction.
Water droplets land in a puddle of water, and a dragonfly rests on a branch.
In the swamp forests of northern Sumatra, in Indonesia, time is running out for one of our closest ancestors.
The water reflections shows an orange shape moving through the treetops high above.
The Orangutan.
An Orangutan swings on a tree trying to reach a branch of another, which is how they get around in the treetops rather than heading down and climbing back up again.
Close by, a baby Orangutan watches as 1 day it will be using this move.
A baby Orangutan takes more than 10 years to become independent.
Everything must be learned from its mother. Like how to bridge the gaps between trees.
The Orangutan was soon able to grab the branch, and swings across.
The Wild Kratts watched particular Orangutan mother and her baby as the brothers were in Orangutan Power.
Survival depends on each Orang understanding its patch of forest perfectly.
The Wild Kratts watched the pair move through the branches.
Watching scientists have named this pair Ellie and Eden. Ellie is 18 years old, and Eden, her first baby, is 3.
They watched as Ellie holds on to Eden's hand as he holds a branch.
Right now, he needs a little bit of encouragement.
Ellie then helps Eden across the branch to her, and they watched as they feed on some plant stems.
Like all Orangutans, Ellie has a mental map of her surroundings, including the location of every fruiting tree.
Ellie reaches out and plucks some fruit from a branch, and they started eating.
Eden needs to learn this, too, but for now, he must watch everything his mother does, learning not just what's edible but also how to eat it.
The Wild Kratts watched as Ellie and Eden feed, but in a weird way as if they were after the certain parts of the fruit.
"It's weird how they eat like that." Aviva said.
"Yeah, but it's a mother teaches her baby of what and how to eat fruit." Martin said.
Every day is a new lesson for Eden.
Soon, they watched Ellie and Eden by an old section of tree with an ant nest is, and Ellie removes some wood to get at them.
Here, ants are a big part of their diet, and there's a knack to gathering them.
They then watched as Ellie used her lips to grab any ants on her arm.
"It's like she's using her arm to get the ants." Jimmy said. "Weird."
"Yeah, but an important life skill." Chris said.
Once tangled in Ellie's fur, they're easy to pick off.
For little Eden, it's all about watching and learning.
Then a rustle was heard as they looked up and saw another Orangutan child.
Eden's cousin, Louis, is more experienced. 4 years older than Eden, he can move through the branches with ease.
They then watched as Louis moves through the branches like pro climber.
It's taken a few years to master, and it's clearly a skill he feels is worth showing off.
They then watched Louis playing around as he stood on a branch, and pulls on the top of an old tree. And Ellie watched as if she was smirking.
Louis continues pulling the tree as the Wild Kratts continue help but laugh at his enthusiasm.
"He is such a show-off." Koki laughed.
"Man, it's incredible how Orangutan babies are strong like these." Martin said.
Conquering the treetops is just stage 1 in an Orangutan's education. To survive, Louis must learn more.
Much more.
Nearby, Louis' mother was busy breaking off a piece of bark off an old tree.
His mother, Lisa, has found an old rotten tree trunk with lots of trees.
The Wild Kratts watched Lisa as she feeds on the ants hidden in the bark.
But this anting opportunity requires more know-how.
To get them, Lisa must break sections off.
The Wild Kratts watched Lisa as she breaks a large section off and feeds on the ants as Louis who was watching.
At his age, Louis must do more than watch.
He must copy.
Chris and Martin then went over to them, as Louis started to pull on the end of the tree trunk to break a piece of wood off. He soon breaks a big section off as he holds on to it with his feet.
Not a bad effort.
Chris and Martin watched as Louis picks off the ants as they know he still has a long way to go of learning.
"Here, Louis, like this." Martin said.
Louis then watches Martin as pretends to be eating the ants, and soon Louis begins to copy him as feeds on his own ants. And this wasn't the first time Chris and Martin taught an Orangutan baby, years ago, before the Wild Kratts Team was put together, the Kratts Brothers visited an orphanage for Orangutan youngsters who lost their mothers. And they helped teach them basic survival skills like eating grubs, and plant stems, and even how to use tools.
But even at the age of 7, he's yet to master the art of ant capture.
Louie sits at the top of a tree trunk holding a piece of bark over him.
Louis has much to learn.
Later, the Wild Kratts met up with a large male Orangutan.
Plato, on the other hand, graduated a long time ago. 30 years old, and nearly 220 pounds, 100 kilograms, he is king of this jungle. His cheek flanges are a sign of power, something for Louis to aspire to.
They watched as Pluto moves through the branches.
Pluto is constantly on the lookout for food, and he's just spotted a promising opportunity.
Nearby, a tree was covered in wasps.
These wasps mean 1 thing to him.
Tasty grubs.
"He's not really gonna get at that nest, is he?" Koki said.
"There must be hundreds of stinging wasps around him." Jimmy said.
"Well, maybe Pluto has 1 way to get them." Martin said.
Pluto held to a tree near the wasp nest, and he reaches his right arm out and smashes the surrounding plants and quickly grabs any grubs in reach.
To get at them, he favors a smash-and-grab technique.
They watch Pluto continuing his smash-and-gran technique to get at the grubs.
His think fur protects him from most of the angry wasps, but the rewards are worth risking a few stings.
Nearly, Louis watches from a sting-free distance.
Louis keeps his distance.
Pluto continues his meal on wasp grubs.
He would need to be a lot bigger and hairier before he could do battle with wasps.
Eventually, Pluto had his fill on the grubs, and moves off.
But here, there's 1 trick that can take half a lifetime to get to grips with.
At the hole of a tree, a stick was placed in it and was jostled around as Lisa was using a stick to snatch ants. A similar technique that Chimpanzees use to get termites in Africa.
Louis' mother, Lisa, has learned how to make tools from sticks, to winkle out insects.
"Wow, tool use." Chris said. "This easily shows how smart Orangutans are. Chimpanzees use this same technique to get termites."
"Yeah, Orangutans are so much like us." Martin said. "That's why the Malay word for Orangutan means "person of the forest"."
"Wow, it's like the Orangutan has so much to teach us like with Huge-O." Aviva said. "Like I said before, animals can take you anywhere in science. Who knows what else we have yet to discover."
"Yeah, it's a huge reason why we have to protect them from becoming extinct." Martin said. "And the rainforests of the world are just as important, giving out so much of the Oxygen we breath. And with what the villains tried to do last year with the Amazon, who knows what could've happen as a result to the whole world."
The Orangutan living here are the only ones in the world to have discovered this skill.
Louis must try and learn it too, but it may be another 8 years before he's as good as his mother.
This long education has made Orangutans particularly vulnerable to changes talking place in their forest.
Lisa continues using her stick to gather ants.
It's now estimated that we lose 100 Orangutans every week from human activity.
Louis and Lisa rest in the branch of a tree as the future for their kind could be lost if something isn't done soon.
Louis and Eden's generation could be the last wild Orangutan.
Pluto moves aside a branch as he looks at the distance.
When Pluto was their age, his jungle home stretched to the horizon.
A large patch of oil palm trees border a rainforest that is slowly dying.
Not anymore.
In the last 4 decades, the pristine lowland jungle that Orangutans depend on has declined by a staggering 75%. Across the world, we are losing tropical forest at the rate of nearly 15 million hectares every year, and with it, the planet's treasure trove of diversity.
Jungles store and capture more Carbon than any other habitat on land. They cool our planet, provide food and medicines.
We lose them at our peril.
Please visit ourplanet .com to discover what we need to do now to protect our jungles.
Author's Note:
I still remember of how I first heard of the Mokele-Mbembe, on this series Monster Quest of a strange creature in the Congo. I sometimes wonder if the creature is a Sauropod, it could be a Jobaria or something like it.
And it really is sad of poachers killing gorillas for ashtrays, and in 1988 film, Gorillas in the Mist, I've seen how relentless and cruel they'll be just to do it. And with forest elephant tusks being sought more than the grassland elephants, they could be closer to extinction than 1 would think.
And the forest version of the Elephant Power Suit in my take would smaller rounder ears, and tusks more straight and downward.
And I don't know if it's the black feathers or something, but strangely a dancing male Parotia kinda looks CGI.
And a Velvet Worm is a really cool creature. It would make a great episode, and a cool Power Suit.
And the mention of Chris and Martin teaching baby Orangutans was something I saw in Wild Kratts episode A Huge Orange Problem.
Just recently, I've heard that ancient trees could help with reconstruction on famous Notre Dame. But heard today that could take 15 to 20 years unfortunately.
And if you're fans with the Irwin Family, I've just heard the Bindi Irwin and Chandler Powell had just had their baby girl on March 25th. The little wildlife warrior is named Grace Warrior Irwin Powell.
Best wishes to the Irwins.
