[Applause] it's the breeding season and the trees are teeming with [Music] frogs the female is with a male at the tip of a branch perched above the Patty pool she's building a nest by whipping up a giant ball of foam with her back legs She lays hundreds of eggs inside she's attracting the attention of other males each male could still fertilize some of the remaining eggs in the foam they're coming in from all [Applause] directions but the foam makes it hard to get to grips with the [Applause] [Music] [Applause] competition things quickly descend end into
an undignified wrestling match [Music] [Music] this male's work here is done it's time to move on and find other nests but when you're covered in Slippery foam it's hard to leave with [Music] [Music] dignity it's an unusual problem for a tree frog [Music] [Applause] as the days pass the eggs develop in the safety of their foam Nest the temperature rises with the Summer sun and the foam ball dries to form a protective case the tab Pooles inside are still moist and 6° cooler but the little tab Pooles need rain at this time of year warm
air is rising over the Steep honu mountains and clouds are starting to build the tree frogs have timed their nest building perfectly [Applause] after 20 days conditions are just right and the waiting is over the hard foam starts to dissolve and the tab poles drop out straight into the nursery pool of the rice Patty below [Music] [Music] they Feast on the remaining pieces of the nest a final meal before they take their chances in the big wide world their mother has pulled off a remarkable feet of [Music] planning it's when animals leave the forest edge
and move into Farmland that the relationship with humans becomes less benevolent the maacs of the lower forests are as bold as their Mountain cousins and often venture out in search of new opportunities there are all sorts of perils but there are rewards too if you're willing to take some [Applause] risks for over a 100 years people have been growing the finest fruit and vegetables on these warmr soils for these cheeky thieves it's [Music] irresistible growing perfect produce is a Japanese Obsession so the last thing people want is marauding maacs [Music] as the day heats up
the farmers take a break the coast is [Music] clear they have to be cautious if they're spotted they'll be [Music] trouble but every day they Brave the electric fences they know all the weak spots where they can stage their [Music] raids and they Gorge themselves on the fruit of the farmer's [Music] labors they are almost impossible to stop but the farmers are not prepared to give in they bring out their secret weapon specially trained monkey [Music] dogs he the Japanese Sheba enu is one of the world's oldest breeds and people have trained them to protect
their crops against monkeys there's even a Japanese saying that when people are fighting they're like a dog and a monkey but the rewards outweigh the risks they'll be back again tomorrow [Music] it's only the warmth of the kishio current that allows Coral to grow this far north in the Pacific [Music] Ocean the current also brings nutrients from the deep [Music] there's one very small resident who never Strays far from The Reef he's a Blue Streak cleaner ass and he leads a very busy life he eats parasites and dead skin from other fish but he has
to wait for them to come his [Music] way and right now no one is stopping long enough to give him as much as a nibble [Music] but then he spots something worth [Music] chasing a [Music] batfish like a customer at a spa the batfish lies back and waits for attention it opens its gills and the cleaner Rass bustles in to begin the treatment [Music] the batfish even changes color probably to make parasites more [Music] visible someone else has arrived at The Reef the batfish is abandoned there's a visitor from the the open ocean that's worth
dropping everything for a manta ray 2 m long has come back to a favorite stretch of reef [Music] he signals to the manter by flicking his tail and the giant responds by unfurling itself for cleaning the Manta keeps its feeding loes rolled up while it [Music] swims but a thorough clean keeps them parasite free [Music] this enormous fish would never visit Japan if it wasn't for the warmth that bathes the island chain and the helpful Services of this Resort sful little Rass sea snakes at one time these snakes ancestors lived on dry land they must
still visit the surface to breathe but they are beautifully adapted to life at sea hunting for fish around the island reefs they have some of the most toxic venom of any animal so they don't have many predators but as they forage off the coast of one small island their greatest Nemesis is approaching Yoko and setco are hunters and they have a fearsome reputation these two 70-year-olds are on a shopping trip like no other Yoko and setco live on the tiny island of kudaka it's only 4 km across and with limited space on land the locals
look to the sea to provide as the sun sets the lady's prey is approaching [Music] on certain summer nights venomous sea snakes move towards the island and gather in coastal caves looking for shelter and fresh water to [Music] drink but coming ashore on this island is extremely risky it takes some nerve to Wade in with no protective clothing sea snake venom can be 10 times more powerful than a [Applause] rattlesnakes Yoko has been hunting snakes for 40 years it's a skill that's been passed down the generations here for at least 5 centuries good big [Laughter]
[Music] the snakes will be dried in this smok house using a secret process known only by the [Music] hunters then they go into a special soup [Music] the catching and eating of sea snakes is a very old tradition on the island of kadaka where the sea provides more than the [Applause] land she needs to put put food in the mouths of her two young cubs there's a bitter winter coming and if they're not well fed her Cubs won't make it through this is a hard place to be a mum the family is not alone this
peninsula is home to 200 brown bears it's one of the most densely packed populations in the world the salmon Bonanza has attracted others here too [Music] nobody lives permanently in this remote part of Hokkaido but one Hardy group have special permission to stay here for some of the [Music] Year Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island but the harsh conditions mean it's home to only 4% of its people shiroko is one of the loneliest Corners where you have to live close to the wild brown bears can weigh 300 kilos and are not to be messed with
when bears and humans cross paths things can get [Music] dangerous but here something astonishing has happened for the fisherman Bears have become a part of everyday life it takes some nerve but the men live alongside them as equals tough characters side by side both dependent on the summon run the mother bear knows what she's doing survival is in her blood her ancestors came to Hokkaido from Siberia and they walked here 12,000 years ago Hokkaido was joined to the Russian Mainland Siberian animals colonized it before the sea levels Rose turning Hokkaido into an island it's why
the wildlife here is so different from the rest of Japan and so well equipped to face the coming winter the seader have started creeping into the Lush cultivated Fields it's a whole new world these fields are brimming with special sewn grass intended for cattle but this herd always seems to be one step ahead helping themselves to the best grass before it can even be cut every year deer can Munch their way through over 30 million pound worth of crops but some Farmers have developed a Live and Let Live [Applause] [Music] attitude the deer are reaping
the benefits of hokkaido's human landscape in a place like this it pays to be adaptable in the warmth of early summer the Red crowned cranes have moved into the Farmland waterways and they have a new family member they traditionally nest in marshes but most have been [Applause] drained so the cranes are raising their chick in an irrigation Channel all through the summer the chick will be entirely dependent on its parents for food the channel is teaming with insects fish and frogs but the parents can barely keep up with their gangly offsprings appetite the family won't
be able to move on until the chick can fly in the meantime they can't escape from Surprise [Music] visitors the seet deer have managed to wander right into the path of a pair of cranes with a weak old [Music] chick mom and dad work together to Shepherd the chick to safety and then a quick flash of the dagger-like beak to make sure the deer keep their [Applause] distance the parents diligence has paid off their priority now is to feed their chick while times are good for
