at the heart of Indochina lies one of its wildest countries Thailand home to a diverse array of habitats where remarkable animals have evolved cope with its ever-changing landscape from ancient rainforests to hostile coastlines Thailand has some of the most prolific environments on the planet it's a world of extremes where primordial beasts roam a desert of Darkness Monsters of the deep Loom and apex predators stalk in Lush grasslands where jungle Giants help shape forests and evolutionary tricks that mean Thailand's creatures have become Nature's survivors [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] Thailand is a country with extremes a
land shaped by Wild Forces where animals face tough challenges with one of the most diverse climates in Southeast Asia an array of habitats have grown [Applause] they Foster a remarkable variety of species but to survive has meant adapting and evolving [Music] with nearly 300 mammal species roaming this rich land some creatures have to battle against each other but all have to cope with hostile environments surrounded by four countries and buffered by two Seas Thailand is a Melting Pot for wildlife from across the region and with a range of climates and varied geography it is a
biodiversity hotspot in the South tropical rainforest said to be older than the Amazon Hyde's primeval cave systems [Music] and in the North the last foothills of the Himalayas give way to Highland Plains altitude shows another side to Thailand reaching over a thousand meters the northeastern Hills are a far cry from the sun-soaked beaches [Music] [Applause] [Music] for one animal the crisp morning provides an essential time to feed [Music] a cool dry season is a time for hogtier to stock up in a matter of months temperatures will soar and food will be scarce despite rarely being
found in hilly environments they have adapted to Thailand's cold Upland Plains their success is down to timing capable of producing at least three phones in two years they can coincided with the growth of new fresh shoots with vulnerable young and pregnant females survival here relies on a lot more their powerful sense of smell sight and hearing are essential if they catch a whiff of trouble they'll Bolt and wary they should be top of the food chain and built for a life of Ambush attacks the indo-chinese tiger also thrives here it's thought to be homes with
the largest number of these beasts in the world is evolved perfectly for this habitat his striped markings likely help camouflage turning into a world of confused lines [Music] but hog deer are ever vigilant so possibly his most important asset his surprise only one out of every 10 to 20 attacks results in a Kill so the odds are still stacked against him thank you but the Highland planes make an unpredictable playing field caution is essential for hog deer to survive Thailand's wild arenas [Applause] the patchwork of seasonal forest in Thailand's North is a diverse world where
creatures have also adapted to survive defense for a leaf insect comes from mimicking his background [Music] but not everything is As It Seems [Music] and the giant stick insect also uses this tactic [Music] this harmless herbivore can take life at a more sedate pace foreign to eject any unwanted Travelers [Music] life on the forest floor is a more hostile world where sometimes even the best camouflage isn't enough preying on living insects the Dead Leaf mantis is always on the lookout for a meal thank you but there is trouble on the horizon [Music] wandering into another
mounted patch comes with a risk they are highly territorial [Music] able to strike faster than the blink of the human eye it's a battle of nerve [Applause] cannibalism is common and nothing will go to waste [Music] within minutes scouting ants join him they too are after a piece of the action it's a Race Against Time as food is literally taken from his mouth survival depends on finding food and for the ants it means working together [Music] foreign [Music] the forest floor is an unpredictable arena for plant life too trees constantly compete for light water nutrients
but the Strangler fig avoids such problems by using other trees to give it a head start in life [Music] in their canopy it gathers nutrients from the Sun and rain sending out aerial Roots which engulfed the host and eventually kill it up here every patch is accounted for and the kings of the canopy like to stake their claim La Gibbons do this by calling [Music] they're a tight-knit family and totally committed to each other bringing up their youngster is a full-time job in this high-rise home having successfully woken The Neighbors they need to feed and
so they head for a fruiting tree [Music] like gymnasts they use their body weight to propel themselves [Music] yeah their ability to totally rotate their shoulder joint means swinging holds more sway with no need for a tail to balance on top of branches they swing underneath hand over hand through their canopy Kingdom foreign [Music] fruit makes up at least half their diet so a fig tree is a magnet it's a hub for others too and soon enough an Assamese macaque joins the fruity feast and where there's one there's usually a troop not far behind [Music]
with mornings only a little above freezing their thick fur keeps them snug [Music] yeah living in a large troop has its benefits in this unforgiving Forest they spread out further whilst foraging and have more pairs of eyes to spot potential Danger but it also brings its own political tensions The Mating Season is in full swing and male macaques are constantly looking for new mates foreign world isn't straightforward acquiring a female in a hierarchy can be a risky business if you lower down the pecking order then she's already accounted for [Music] some males it pays to
have allies and they form coalitions to help secure a mate guarded by his wingman a mid-ranking male mates with the top alpha female could be risky if others spot him a worse the alpha male catches him another male tries to interfere so his teammates rally keeping other males in check maintains his position but for youngsters it's about play rather than politics [Music] the hilltop Spa helps cool things down but even this place helps form important bonds and relationships with a large troop they have plenty of Playmates and watchful adults for here they can never relax
for too long [Music] the forest is also home to a Silent Assassin [Music] the king cobra is a predator of many habitats across Thailand packs enough Venom to kill a fully grown Asian elephant foreign [Music] [Music] he searches for prey [Music] despite this Forest Hunter only having a taste for other reptiles the macaques can't take chances when vigilance pays off [Music] living in groups macaques carve out their survival but further south in Thailand it's like another world with even more at stake [Music] Thailand's landscape transforms into an ancient world as the country heads South around
5 million years ago sea levels fluctuated and formed a geographical bottleneck the Isthmus of KRA at its narrowest point it's merely 40 kilometers across [Music] and mountain peaks dominate the skyline to this region these cast Limestone Mounds reach nearly a thousand meters in places and once formed part of a reef spanning from Borneo to Southern China thank you the tropical climate has also given rise to a rainforest believed to be the oldest on Earth [Music] as one of the wettest areas in Thailand waterways have carved out habitats where only the most specialized creatures can survive
[Music] foreign [Music] Caverns with organ-like structures marked the gateway to another world it offers a daytime Sanctuary for roosting baths [Music] but it also brings in their predators cave racer snake is hunting she has a taste for these flying mammals finding a suitable ledge she lies in weight ready to pick them off during their nightly Exodus primordial monsters also roam this desert of Darkness and have taken adaptation to extremes without light eyesight is almost obsolete so the whip spider is the perfect predator for the dark possessing only six legs the fourth pair have evolved into
whips that sweep his environment equipped with thousands of sensory organs they can detect the slightest movement as he searches for his prey a cave cricket he too is searching for food but it's a dangerous game when your Nemesis is hunting you down nervously probing his way is like a game of cat and mouse [Music] but he stumbled into a cricket chorale [Music] [Music] these primordial Predators surround the crickets move in for the kill senses have to be finely tuned to survive here and in the surrounding ancient rainforest they are equally critical the clouded leopard is
a skillful but secretive predator she has an arsenal of senses able to see six times better than humans at night she's also armed with extremely accurate 3D Vision that helps gauge distance of prey in the canopy hearing and smell are just as important for her and she's constantly alert to the sounds of the jungle [Music] but this master of the Shadows isn't hunting she has other priorities scent marking it's an ideal form of communication for these largely solitary cats marking her territory she also leaves a signal to any potential mate for the mail patrolling his
patch and leaving his Mark is also essential not only is it precious hunting ground more than half of his territory overlaps with female ranges [Music] rubbing up against branches helps secrete sent from glands in his face and using this technique he may find a mate survival doesn't just come from being an efficient Hunter breeding is also critical and the clouded leopard senses are vital [Music] but with numbers dwindling in the wild how they select each other isn't clear these elusive cats still hide many secrets like the clouded leopard the diversity of the floor and fauna
in the area is yet to be fully understood [Music] but one thing is for sure jungle Giants stamp their mark on it [Music] thank you known as Mega Herby boys Asian elephants certainly have a mega appetite feeding on more than 60 species of plants in some places they are the Gardeners of this Forest their healthy appetite means they disperse seeds from many plants foreign [Music] but they aren't careful cultivators they are extreme landscapes [Music] stripping leaves and felling trees they are habitat Shapers pruning as they roam and allowing plants to grow back stronger and thicker
than before most sunlight accesses the ground and grasses grow creating new homes for other animals and plants [Music] using power and strength they transform their habitat and help sustain ecosystems [Music] foreign but it's not just in the landscape where these jungle Giants have made their mark [Music] [Music] elephants have also had an impact on ancient cultures [Music] ayatoya was a stronghold of the Siamese Kingdom [Music] the elephant's Buddhist significance cemented their place in both ceremonies and Temple architecture [Music] but their great strengths longevity and ability to learn also made them valuable beasts of Burden lying
in the heart of this region ayatoya connected east and west as a center of economics and trade defending it was strategically critical for the empire their size and power were harnessed to wage war on opponents and elephants became the tanks of this time [Music] Thailand's Treetops are also home to another habitat shaper [Music] a colony of fruit bats are beginning to wake [Music] [Music] despite the racket some still manage to find time for a lion these nocturnal fruit Raiders make their mark on Thailand's forests by dispersing up to sixty thousand seeds from their food each
night clinging to their high-rise home their days are spent resting before a night of feasting but it's easier said than done here and noisy neighbors lead to heated dispute with all this hot air it means they have to find ways to keep their cool Wing flapping and body licking help regulate their temperature [Music] as the sun begins to set they appear to refocus their energies on the night of feeding [Music] thank you taking flight to spread more seeds and pollinate Thailand's forests [Music] whilst some help to shape Thailand's habitats for others the habitat has shaped
them these Botanical amphibians are among the most productive and biologically complex ecosystems on Earth mangroves are constantly in a state of flux as the tide changes they and the wildlife have had to adapt submerged twice a day in deadly salt water most plants would die they filter out as much as 90 of this salt and by growing vertical roots taking needed oxygen from the atmosphere sediment the nutrients from Upstream collects and their trunks and branches serve as Nature's Own cedopheds defense is the name of the game if you're a mud crab living here spotting trouble
is no problem but meeting a fellow crab can be cannibalism is their biggest cause of death his suit of armor isn't just for defense it also prevents him from drying out keeping his gills moist it enables him to breathe whilst in water and on the land [Music] thank you but equally matched it's a battle not worth fighting after all surviving in one of Thailand's most changeable environments brings many challenges of its own [Music] sheltered root systems act as nurseries for fish but this also provides an opportunity for an aerial predator brahmany kite king of these
Skies and an opportunist he surveys the water from mangrove hunting perches in search of a meal but it's on the wing where he really comes into his own [Music] dropping from the sky you tries his love [Music] location s [Music] [Applause] [Music] but even for elite aerial Commandos fish are sometimes just too fast the people of Indochina have also faced similar challenges the fine balance between climate geography and Wildlife has created complex habitats local people have become part of this relationship and the mangrove provides an essential source of food for them foreign this has led
to an almost symbiotic partnership with the brahmani kite lacking the kite's vision and speed he lays his net where these birds have been spotted The Mangrove acts as an anchor as he sets his trap [Music] slowly drifting the net and circles fish thank you nothing will go to waste here kites are not only commanders of the sky they are also masters of opportunity [Music] foreign [Music] but news spreads fast on the wing and these normally solitary Birds flock in their hundreds thank you [Music] Wing eye coordination has never been more important as they hurdle towards
each other [Music] spotting others drop from the sky foreign [Music] they know it's a Race Against Time before this free meal sinks and becomes reclaimed by The Mangrove that helped nurture it [Music] these Mangrove Waters have proved a rich source of food but are also directly linked to the diversity of the Seas and in some parts of the world there are as many as 25 times more fish on reefs close to Mangrove areas [Music] [Music] Thailand's Coastal waters are bordered by a range of extreme habitats rocky shores barricaded dyllic islands that pepper the sea but
Paradise hides some of the most challenging environments this island is home to a troop of inventive Castaways [Music] [Music] long-tailed macaques forage for their survival but not being too picky they will eat what is available an adaptability that is crucial on a small island but the troop aren't the only Castaways here a monitor lizard also roams and this carnivore is always looking for a quick bite [Music] foreign to the shore may be a safer bet and provide another opportunity for the troop to feed [Music] primed and ready they sit waiting [Music] but to Feast here
they've had to learn to read the tides for out there are precious Parcels of protein [Music] fed by two oceans the Pacific and Indian Thailand's War to support a tenth of the world's marine fish [Music] the Andaman sea and Gulf of Thailand buffer the country and coral reefs form the basis of complex ecosystems covering an area 24 times the size of Manhattan they are refuges in the ocean's desert and able to support up to 4 000 individual species these waters are also perfect for microscopic organisms called plankton which form a staple food for many fish
[Music] of all shapes and sizes and that includes the world's biggest fish and monster of the deep [Music] the whale shark [Music] migrating through the oceans where they go and come from is still unclear but here they make the most of Plankton blooms escorted by remora fish that clean them who ring up any parasites with mouths over a meter wide these sharks could devour most fish but it's the smallest creatures that they feed on tens of thousands of Plankton are ingested in one gulp oh Bait fish a schooling for protection as yellowfin tuna attacked safety
in numbers is usually a good defense out here emerging From Below the whale shark heads straight for them it's not just plenty [Music] like those on land the creatures here must make the most of any opportunity to survive [Music] [Applause] and as the tides shift so must he to search for more food [Music] back on land the tide recedes and reveals another opportunity this time for Island Castaways [Music] to conquer the challenges of their habitat these long-tailed macaques have had to use evolutionary intelligence along this Rocky Coastline by succulent shellfish for them to harvest [Music]
but everything here comes heavily armored [Music] strong Jaws try to prize open some of the mollusks others have decided slamming clams against rocks is the only option [Music] but these techniques are slow and with the tide changing time is certainly against them to make the most of this hearty meal a new strategy is called for [Music] foreign [Music] tools [Music] collected from the shore these long-tailed macaques have learned to use Stones as we would hammers or axis The Troop forage individually tirelessly chipping away throughout the rock pools the low tide exposes oysters but the difficulty
here is also prizing them away depending on the type of mollusk he appears to actually select the best Stone from his palate for oysters longer pointed Stones provide accurate and targeted pressure for clams a flatter heavier stone is needed pound the shell [Music] thank you [Music] this extraordinary Behavior has only ever been witnessed in a handful of primates these macaques literally carve out their success in Thailand's armored coastline [Music] where the natural world is left to forge its survival it extraordinary adaptations behavior and evolutionary tricks occur the fine balance between life and death played out
in Thailand's diverse habitats from the far north stream South climate and geography creates ancient rainforest s cool Highland Plains [Music] an ever-changing coastlines harboring iconic predators and inventive scavengers these worlds bring constant challenges those who adapt reap the rewards and have become nature survivors [Music] [Applause] [Music] thank you
