Borneo: Earth's Tropical Islands
Sendung · 2020
In the heart of South East Asia, lies the tropical island of Borneo. Twice the size of the British Isles, it is the third largest island on earth and home to possibly the greatest diversity of life of any island. – from flying lizards sun bears to orang-utans. Its huge variety of habitats, from bustling coral reefs and ancient jungles to towering mountains, have given rise to over 60,000 species of plants and animals – many found nowhere else on Earth. Borneo's shoreline is fringed by a tangle of mangroves and flooded forests, home to an extraordinary creature – the proboscis monkey. Their unique pot-bellies allow them to survive on the nutrient-poor leaves, but even so, they must continually search for the freshest shoots. This means the whole family must cross one of many rivers that cut through the forest – patrolled by giant crocodiles. It's a drama rarely seen. The Island of Borneo is surrounded by some of the richest coral reefs in the world – a single reef can support more species of coral than the entire Caribbean Sea! This remarkable abundance attracted seafaring nomads, the Bajau Laut, 'People of the sea'. Over generations their bodies have transformed, making them the ultimate human divers – but they are having to adapt to the modern world – using ingenuity to turn plastic waste that washes up on the beach, to their advantage. Heading inland are ancient forests, home to giants – the Dipterocarps. Towering up to 100 meters high, they are the tallest rainforest trees in the world. A single tree can hold a thousand different species and this intense competition has driven many animals to evolve in wondrous ways – on this island reptiles can fly. At night, this competition in the jungle intensifies as many of Borneo's one hundred and eighty species of frog call for a mate. The bigger the frog, the louder the call: a problem for one of the smallest frogs on the island. In this never-before filmed sequence a male tree-hole frog, barely larger than a thumbnail, has come up with an ingenious solution to being heard above the noise. Compared to the abundance of life in the treetops, the forest floor is an impoverished world. With little to eat, many of Borneo's terrestrial mammals are smaller than on the mainland – including the exceedingly rare Bornean Sun Bear. At just over a meter long, it is the smallest bear in the world. To survive, they have developed a surprising skill – they are expert climbers, able to climb higher than any other bear, to feed on honey and fruits high up in the canopy. For those confined to the forest floor, more ingenious methods are required. The Penan are indigenous hunters that have lived in Borneo's forests for over 4000 years. They use a remarkable sign language, known as Oroo', to communicate through the jungle. A long stick is adorned with intricately folded vegetation and shaped bark, to tell a complex story. In the heart of the island, looming above the rainforest, lies another of Borneo's diverse habitats –
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