美丽非洲-大裂谷英文全文

Seven World,One Planet S01E07七个世界一个星球第七集Africa.非洲No continent on Earth today has such spectacular wildlife.这里拥有世界上最为雄浑壮丽的野生动物奇观。

At its heart lies a vast tropical rainforest.大陆中心是郁郁葱葱的广阔热带雨林。

Over a million square miles of wilderness,much of it still unexplored even now.一片占地200多万平方公里的荒野，大部分是迄今都无人涉足的原始森林。

There are more species of animals and plants in these jungles than anywhere else on the continent.这里野生动植物多样，种类之多超过非洲大陆的其它任何地方。

But even in this land of plenty wildlife now faces major challenges.但即使是在这片富饶之地，野生动物们也面临着许多严峻挑战。

The forests of the Ivory Coast contain over 1,500 species of plant,but some are very difficult to get at even for one of the most intelligent of animals.非洲科特迪瓦的森林资源丰富，共有1500多种植物，但有些很难获得，就连一些最聪明伶俐的动物也只能望洋兴叹。

Chimpanzees.黑猩猩。

The elders in this group know where to find the most nutritious food and how to extract it.这个族群的长者知道从哪里能找到最有营养的食物以及如何提取其中的养分。

Seven World,One Planet S01E07七个世界一个星球第七集Africa.非洲No continent on Earth today has such spectacular wildlife.这里拥有世界上最为雄浑壮丽的野生动物奇观。

At its heart lies a vast tropical rainforest.大陆中心是郁郁葱葱的广阔热带雨林。

Over a million square miles of wilderness,much of it still unexplored even now.一片占地200多万平方公里的荒野，大部分是迄今都无人涉足的原始森林。

There are more species of animals and plants in these jungles than anywhere else on the continent.这里野生动植物多样，种类之多超过非洲大陆的其它任何地方。

But even in this land of plenty wildlife now faces major challenges.但即使是在这片富饶之地，野生动物们也面临着许多严峻挑战。

The forests of the Ivory Coast contain over 1,500 species of plant,but some are very difficult to get at even for one of the most intelligent of animals.非洲科特迪瓦的森林资源丰富，共有1500多种植物，但有些很难获得，就连一些最聪明伶俐的动物也只能望洋兴叹。

Chimpanzees.黑猩猩。

The elders in this group know where to find the most nutritious food and how to extract it.这个族群的长者知道从哪里能找到最有营养的食物以及如何提取其中的养分。

1The Ethiopian highlands.2The roof of Africa.330 million years ago,4this was a vast high-altitude plateau the size of Spain.5Since then, the elementshave carved the landscape6into Africa's equivalentof the Grand Canyon.7Millions of years of erosion8have created isolated islandsof alpine terrain9supporting strangeand unique creaturesfound nowhere else on earth.10MONKEYS CHIRP11The gelada baboonneeds a head for heights,12where a single slipwould mean certain death.13Geladas are exclusiveto this chilly plateau,14kept warm by a long fur coat.15They are the highest-dwelling primates on the planet,16ranging up to 4,500 metres.17BABOON GRUNTS18But what's really surprisingis their sheer numbers.19Geladas are the most sociable monkeys on earth.20Like the game herds of the Serengeti, they are vegetarians.21In these high pastures, they takethe place of grazing antelopes. 22But geladas aren't the only peculiar creatures up here on the roofof Africa.23This is a giant mole rat...24SQUEAKS25..a specialised grass-eater that'sunique to the Ethiopian highlands.26The mole rat lives underground,27emerging at dawn and duskto snatch mouthfuls of grass,28which it drags back to its burrowto munch at leisure.29MOLE RAT SQUEAKS30There's every reason to be cautious.31This foxy-looking Ethiopian wolf32preys almost exclusivelyon giant mole rats.33MOLE RAT SQUEAKS, WOLF GROWLS 34Despite the wolf's best efforts,mole rats are incredibly common.35It's estimated there may bemore than 15,000 of them36in each square mile of grassland.37Yet despite their high numbers,mole rats and geladas never meet.38So, how can that be?39The answer is this.40Dividing geladas on one sidefrom mole rats on the other,41the Great Rift Valleyruns through Ethiopia,42slicing the roof of Africa in two.43But it doesn't stop there.44Extending 3,000 miles further south, 45the Great Rift shapes and defines the entire landscape of East Africa, 46creating intense hot spotsof evolution.47All along the Rift Valley,soaring above the hot, dusty plains, 48isolated mountain peaks harbour unique wildlife communities.49A kaleidoscope of strangeand remarkable creatures.50As well as extraordinary wildlife, 51there's something else that's special about these mountains.52They all share a common origin53that is key to understandinghow the rift was formed...54..and why it has hadsuch a far-reaching impacton this part of Africa.55The first clue lies here,56at the very northern marginof the Great Rift Valley.57Ethiopia's Danakil Depression.58This is Erta Ale,59Africa's most active volcano.60It contains the world's only permanent lava lake.61Like a window intothe fiery heart of the earth,62Erta Ale provides a terrifying glimpse of the inner workingsof our planet.63A cauldron of molten rock beneath our feet.64In geological terms, Erta Ale's volcano is still in its infancy.65But 1,000 miles to the south,66another Rift Valley volcanohas been growing for at leasta million years.67Rising to the eastof the Great Rift Valley,68snow-capped Kilimanjarotowers nearly four miles high.69It's Africa's loftiest peak70and the tallestfree-standing volcano on earth.71Kilimanjaro and Erta Ale are just two links in a long chain of volcanoes72that runs the length of the Great Rift.73In fact, all the mountainsalong the rift are volcanic,74born deep beneath the earth's surface.75Scientists believethat a plume of superhot lava76has been rising upbeneath the crust of East Africa77for millions of years.78The thick crust above the plumehas been lifted more than a mile high,79causing cracks to appeararound its margins.80The Eastern and Western Rift Valleys mark the fractured edges81of the uplifted East African Plateau, 82with further branchesextending outwards.83And wherever molten rockhas seeped through from below,84huge volcanoes have grown up.85It's estimated thatover the last 30 million years,86the rift's volcanoes have poured out enough molten rock87to bury an area the size of Walesto a depth of 15 miles.88Mount Kenya's 5,200-metre-high summit is an eroded lava plug,89suggesting it was once even taller.90Below the summit,91a belt of strange and uniquealpine plants clings to the slopes.92Even on the equator,mountain weather is unpredictable.93Just a few miles away,94lions and zebra are swelteringunder a blazing African sun,95yet here, on Mount Kenya,a sudden squall can bring snow,96creating a winter wonderland.97This extreme climateposes a real challenge98to the mountain's wild inhabitants.99Highland rock hyraxes are foundonly on Mount Kenya.100High mountain hyraxes have evolvedto cope with the cold.101They are much largerthan lowland hyraxes102and have exceptionally dense fur,103which allows them to maintaintheir core temperature104 in freezing mountain conditions. 105HYRAXES CALL106When the sun reappears,the hyraxes save energy by sunbathing.107Giant alpine plants insulate their delicate buds from frost damage 108by wrapping them ina protective duvet of leaves,109which unfurl one by oneas the temperature rises.110The giant ostrich plume lobelia has evolved a peculiar life cycle. 111After several years of growth,it sprouts a huge flower spike,112containing hundreds of tiny flowers swathed in a mass of furry insulation.113Up here, over two and a half miles above sea level,114insect pollinators are scarce,115so the lobelia has developedan alternative partnership.116BIRD CHIRPS117The plant attracts high-flying sunbirdswith a rich supply of nectar.118The sunbirds use the lobeliaas a fuelling depot,119a social meeting point120and a sunbathing perch.121In return, the lobelias get pollinatedand set seed.122Further down the mountain,at around 3,000 metres,123lives perhaps Mount Kenya'sstrangest resident -124the side-striped chameleon.125This cold-blooded reptileis uniquely adapted for mountain life,126far above the altitudewhere reptiles normally survive. 127As dawn breaks,it creeps onto an exposed perch, 128where it lines up its bodyat right angles to the rising sun. 129Then, flushing its skinwith dark pigment,130it soaks up the rays like a solar panel.131It takes only minutes to raise its temperature 30 degrees Celsius. 132Once warmed, it changesto normal daytime colour.133The male chameleonis fiercely territorial.134If another male has the nerveto set foot on his bush,135there's bound to be a fight.136CHAMELEONS HISS137A sneaky bite clinches the bout (138)..and the loser slinks offto nurse his bruises.139Further up the mountain,140the hyraxes have also completed their morning sunbathe.141HYRAXES SQUEAK142Though it looks likea short-eared rabbit,143the hyrax has some peculiar features 144 which suggest a much stranger kinship.145The layout of its toes is practically identical to those of an elephant.146Its teeth and bones are also similar, though scaled down a little.147The life of a baby hyrax looks cosy. 148But sunbathing out in the open makes thema tempting target for predators.149HYRAX SQUEAKS150An augur buzzard.151BUZZARD CRIES152SQUEAKS15340 miles west of Mount Kenya,154the Aberdares Mountains are the legacy of an older volcano155that's been severely eroded,but still towers over 2½ miles high. 156In the frosty alpine grassland,a rare predator is on the prowl.157At lower altitudes,servals have a spotted coat,158but up here, many of them are black. 159Some scientists believe160that a dark coat may help the catsto absorb heat on cold, bright days. 161In the cool mountain conditions, giant heathers form a dense carpet - 162food for Africa's highest-resident elephants...163..including one of the biggest tuskers in the world.164Unlike most herbivores, elephants can process almost any plant they find, 165including tough heather bushes. 166ELEPHANTS GROWL167A century ago, elephants migrated freely between the Aberdaresand Mount Kenya.168But as the human populationhas increased locally,169the herd has become marooned in its upland enclave with nowhere to go. 170In these mountain forests,171one of Africa's rarest antelopes,the mountain bongo,172is making a last stand.173Bongos are extremely shy and secretive,174staying in dense, shady forest during daylight hours.175Human pressures have now reduced their numbers to around 100176within the Aberdares National Park. 177And these have been bred for release into the wild.178The Aberdares lie along the eastern escarpment of the Kenyan Rift Valley,179which here is up to 100 miles across. 180Right in the centre of this landscape sits a remarkable volcano,181virtually untouchedby the outside world.182SHEEP BLEAT183Mount Suswa is hometo Masai pastoralists,184who graze their herdson the flat crater floor.185But Suswa is no ordinary volcano. 186At its centre,steep cliffs plunge 500 metres187into a ring-shapedRift Valley in miniature.188Around 100 familiesfrom the Red Trees Masai community 189share the resourcesof Suswa's grassy crater.190Cattle are at the centre of Masailife - the measureof a family's wealth.191With a six-month dry season192and no permanent streams or lakes anywhere inside the crater,193keeping a supply of drinking wateris a constant challenge.194But the Masai have found an ingenious solution to the problem.195A system of metal pipes condenses steam from volcanic vents.196ANIMATED CHATTER, LAUGHTER 197At the centre of the crater,198Mount Suswa's unique circular moat 199encloses a lava plateautwo miles across -200a miniature lost worldprotected by a ring of cliffs.201It's thought that Suswa's volcanolast erupted202just a couple of hundred years ago, 203and parts of the 'lost world'are still smouldering.204The Masai consider thiswild, tangled jungle a sacred place, 205where no hunting or grazing is allowed.206When Suswa's volcano last erupted (207)..this moat was a cauldronof molten rock.208The liquid lava has sincecooled and solidified,209but along the moat's rim, the volcano still hides a dark secret.210This sunlit boulder pile was formed 211when the rock collapsedabove an underground cavern,212opening a windowinto the volcano's main artery,213where molten lava once flowed unseen beneath the skin of the mountain.214Once the volcano stopped erupting and the lava drained away,215it left behind a vast networkof empty passages,216some big enough to drive a bus through.217Cave explorers have mappedover six miles of massive tunnels218beneath this single lava flow.219But humans weren't the first creaturesto discover this hidden world.220As dusk creeps up the flanksof Mount Suswa,221a troop of baboonsis gathering for the night.222BABOONS CHATTER223Most baboons roost in the treetops 224to avoid night-prowlingleopards or lions.225But these baboons are heading downwards. 226Their destinationis an underground chamber227known locally asthe 'baboons' parliament'.228As they enter the underworld,229the baboons cross with batson their way out.230Filming them hererequires an infra-red camera231and lights invisible to the baboons. 232The walls of the baboon parliament have been worn glassy-smooth 233by the hands and feetof generations of baboons.234Rockclimbing in the darkon polished holds235could be considered a hazardous sport,236but presumably,these baboons find it less scary 237than sleeping outside with the leopards.238The baboons' final destination239is a series of small ledgeshigh up on the cave wall.240Safe beyond the reach of predators and protected by a roof of solid rock,241the cave dormitory stays warm and dry,242even at the height of the rainy season.243As the last light fades from the sky, the bat exodus intensifies.244This is the world's largest colony of giant mastiff bats.245It's made up entirely of females who have just given birth.246Their pups - thousands of them - can't fly yet247and are completely dependenton their mothers.248But the mother batsmust leave their cave to feed.249Packed tightly together for warmth, 250the deserted pups are leftin a wriggling, squeaking creche. 251In all this confusion,252a baby bat has lost its gripand fallen to the cave floor.253The tunnel is alive withcreepy creatures of all kinds.254Many are partial tothe flesh of a baby bat.255As dawn breaks over the volcano, the baboons leave theirsleeping-cave.256After a hard night's insect-catching in the skies above the Rift V alley, 257the bats return home to roost.258Somehow,in the chaos of fluttering adults 259and thousands of squeaking babies, 260each mum must track down her own infantto give it its morning feed.261She does this262firstly by remembering whereshe parked her baby the night before,263then, as she gets closer, by recognisingits voice and unique scent.264 Like all mammals, baby batsdepend on their mothers' milk.265Her little wriggling pupis frantic for its morning feed.266While bats and baboons seek sanctuary 267in the protective environmentof Mount Suswa's lava caves,268a very different kind of creature269has chosen what must bethe Rift Valley's most exposed habitat.270The sheer 500-metre-high cliffsof Mount Ololokwe271are constantly buffeted by strong windsrising from the valley below.272This precarious location273is home to Kenya's largestnesting colony274of Ruppell's griffon vultures.275Vultures thrive in the rift276because the steep valley wallscreate updraughts,277which they can use to get airborne. 278Gliding effortlesslyfrom one thermal to the next,279a vulture can cover 200 miles in a day,280soaring seven miles highwith scarcely a wing flap.281From their lofty lookoutabove the African plains,282nothing escapes their notice.283Out in the Serengeti grassland,the game herds are on the move.284This is what the vultureshave been waiting for.285GROWLS286ZEBRA BARKS287ZEBRA YELPS288Vultures have a clear pecking order. 289SCREECHES290The heavy-billed lappet-faced vultures arebest equipped to open up a carcass, 291so they get the greatest respect. 292Once they're finished, thewhite-backedand griffon vultures pile in293and squabble over the spoils.294WILDEBEEST LOW295The Serengeti is hometo the world's greatest game herds. 296Most of it lies onthe East African Plateau,297perched around a mile above sea level,298the result of uplift by the same lava plume that created the Rift Valley.299But it has another,even more intimate connection 300with the rift's fiery origins.301The Serengeti bordersTanzania's most active volcano - 302Ol Doinyo Lengai.303In 2007,304Ol Doinyo Lengai produceda spectacular eruptionthat lasted almost a year...305..throwing out thousands of tons of ash...306..which fell on the surrounding savanna.307As volcanic ash breaks down,308it creates a dense, fertile soil309which is hardfor tree roots to penetrate310but is perfect for grass.311The great grass plainsof the Serengeti can supportover a million wildebeest312only because of the fertilityof the vast volcanic ash deposits 313on which they grow.314South of the Serengeti,in southern Tanzania,315the Rift Valley's easternand western branches converge. 316Close to their meeting point lies one of the Great Rift's best-kept secrets -317the alpine grasslandof the Kitulo Plateau,318known locally as 'God's Garden'. 319It provides the stage320for one of Africa's most spectacular floral displays.321The Kitulo meadows are serviced by some unusual insect pollinators. 322This is a monkey beetle,a hairy-coated living fossil.323During the ice ages,when Africa was much cooler,324monkey beetles were widespread, 325but now they survive only in a few high-altitude meadow lands.326CHIRPS327The spectacular-plumedmountain marsh widowbird328is another local specialty.329On the slopes of the Kitulo Plateau, 330a line of protea sugar bushes marks the transition betweenmeadow and forest.331Their blooms produce a feastof pollen and nectar,332but for the monkey beetles,it's a dangerous prize.333Once in place, the Tempel's chameleon,334an insect hunterpeculiar to this corner of Tanzania, 335hardly needs to move.336Chameleons are unique among reptiles 337in having the abilityto swivel their eyes independently. 338When they line them up,339the stereo image allows themto launch their sticky tongue340exactly the right distanceto nail their victim341every time.342Below the line of sugar bushes, where the chameleons stalk their prey,343a belt of dense jungle clingsto rain-drenched mountain slopes. 344INSECTS CHIRP345The cool, humid climatefosters ancient tree ferns346and towering hardwood trees. 347Isolated from other mountain forests 348by the converging armsof the Great Rift Valley,349Mount Rungwe's forestsare home to unique creatures.350The area has recently becomethe focus for scientific research351and new species are being discovered all the time...352..even up in the treetops.353This is a kipunji,354first discovered in 2005and never filmed before.355In looks and behaviour, the new monkeyresembles a mangabey.356But its DNA is similar to a baboon's. 357For now, the evolutionary originsof the charismatic kipunji358remain shrouded in mystery.359Kipunjis are particularly fond ofthis sticky orange cucumber fruit, 360which sprouts from vinesin the treetops.361They're known to feed onover 100 different plants362and play a crucial rolein dispersing their seeds.363But even while scientists beginto uncover their secret lives,364kipunjis are teeteringon the verge of extinction.365KIPUNJIS CALL366LAUGHTER, CONVERSATION 367As the isolated forestsaround Mount Rungwe368are cleared for farming and firewood...369..the kipunjis' unique forest habitat is shrinking.370With a mere 1,000 individuals remaining in the wild,371they are alreadythe rarest monkeys in Africa.372There may be little time leftto study them.373Fortunately, kipunjis do have friends,374and a project is now under wayto safeguard a part of their forest home375and involve local peoplein their protection.376North-west of the kipunjis' mountain home,377a branch of the Great Rift curves betweenTanzania and the Congo.378The valley floor containsvast deepwater lakes,379while to the west liesa series of volcanic mountains380up to three miles high.381And the most spectacular are here, 382in the Virungas National Park.383The Virungas volcanoes are home to Africa's largest and rarest great ape...384GORILLA GRUNTS385..the mountain gorilla.386Mountain gorillas evolved from lowland gorillas,387which colonised the Virungasless than half a million years ago, 388soon after these volcanoes formed. 389They responded to the challengeof high-altitude living390by becoming larger and furrierthan their lowland cousins,391enabling them to cope with the permanentlycold, miserable weather.392A combination of fertile volcanicsoil andtwo metres of annual rainfall393encourages a profusion of plantson the mountain slopes...394..ideal fodderfor giant vegetarian apes.395In response to their fibrous diet,396the gorillas have developedextra-large chewing teeth397and extra-powerful jaw muscles398anchored to a prominent ridge of bone on the crown of their head.399Gorilla society is well ordered,400with each band of femalesand their young401protected by a huge silver-backed male.402GORILLA GRUNTS403With few natural enemies preparedto brave the wrath of a silverback, 404young gorillas can playto their hearts' content.405The unique characteristics406that separate mountain gorillasfrom their lowland cousins407evolved as a result of their isolation408on just a handful of volcanoes along the Great Rift.409It makes them vulnerable, especially to poaching -410though, fortunately,they have many human allies411fighting to ensure their survival. 412Mountain gorillas are, without doubt, 413one of the Great Rift'smost remarkable creatures,414their evolution uniquely shapedby the volcanic terrainin which they live.415That terrain has itself been moulded and shaped by the fiery rocks beneath,416creating a complexof valleys and volcanoes417spanning the length of East Africa. 418For those animals and plants419which were able to adaptto the changing conditions,420the Great Rift has promoteda remarkable burst of evolution.421In this turbulent landscape,422volcanic fire has proved to beless a destroyer,423but more a creator of new life.424And that is what is so specialabout Africa's Great Rift.425One of the Great Rift team'smost difficult assignments426took them deep into Mount Suswa's volcanic crater,427home to a troop of very unusual baboons.428Instead of spending the nightin trees, they have takento sleeping down caves.429Cameraman Justin Maguireis here to film them.430Masai elder Jeremiah ole Taninwill be Justin's guide.431He hopes that the baboons will attract visitors to Mount Suswa,432generating income for his community. 433JUSTIN: Wow. That's pretty impressive.434Yeah. Fantastic cave.435So, this is where the baboonscome and sleep, is it?436Yeah. It is where they spendduring the night.437'With the baboonsout foraging for the day,438'Justin has a chanceto recce the cave.439'Jeremiah warns thatwhen they return at dusk,440'they will be waryand easily spooked,441'and baboons can be dangerous.442'Justin will have to be on guard.'443So, how many baboons use this cave? Over 100.444100 baboons? That's incredible.And I'm going to be in therewith them?445So it's going to make101 baboons? Oh, yeah.JEREMIAH LAUGHS446You think they'll befrightened of me? Yeah, yeah.447I'm hoping I can be a bit likea baboon and they'll be relaxedwith me.448'Justin's problem is that if he triesto climb down here at night,449'he'll wake any baboonssleeping close to the entrance.450'Luckily,Jeremiah has a cunning plan.'451MASAI MEN SING, WHOOP452The Masai know of a concealed entrance453which should give Justinthe chance to sneak in unseen.454MEN SING IN MASAI455Before venturing down at night,456he decides to gofor a daylight run-through.457That is one bendy ladder. Yeah.458OK. Here goes. Freak!459To film in such a tricky situation, Justin has an experienced teamwith him.'460OK. I'm sending your bag down, OK? 461Phil Chapman is the director,but he is also an experienced caver. 462Once inside, it becomes apparent 463that getting both them and the equipment through the cave464is not going to be as easyas they first thought.465It looks tiny, Jeremiah. Yeah.466 Can we really get through there? Yeah, yeah.467I can hear bats.Are there bats in there?468I do like these things.469OK.470That's quite good. That's finefor them to crawl through.471Oh, watch your head.Very sharp stalactites.472'Inside, the team find thousands of bats preparing for a night's hunting. 473'Not only do the batsproduce tons of droppings,474'they also share the cavewith less welcome inhabitants.' 475Oooh, look.Look at these millions of fleas. 476No, they are. I can feel them crawling up my trouser leg.477That is quite amazing.478I'm absolutely covered in fleas. Look at my leg.479'Finally, they reach the baboons' sleeping chamber,480'and Jeremiah was right.481'The signs of baboonsare everywhere.'482As you can just see,all the rocks are smooth.483Very smooth. Shiny.484Just feel it.Yeah, that's incredibly smooth. 485Very smooth and shiny. Yeah.486It's just because of rubbingof their bottom...the baboons...487Right. So, these have got...488They're smooth because of...489the baboons' bottoms have rubbedon these for many years?490Yeah, yeah. They've been rubbed...I can see baboon poo on the top.491Oh, yeah. See? OK.492'Knowing that baboons are here in numbers is great news for filming,493'but poses Justin with another problem.494'Baboons could be extremely dangerous in the confined space of the cave,495'so Justin needs some way to scare them off if they come too close.'496The BBC, in their thoughtfulness, have provided me with a rape alarm, 497in case I have troublewith any of the baboons.498There are some big males,aren't there?499Oh, yeah. I'm hopingI'm not going to have to...500ALARM SOUNDS501ALARM STOPSAh.502ALL LAUGH503I'm hoping I'm not going to getto the stage they're attacking me.504Oh, yes.505'Not only will the teamhave to build a hide,506'they also have to rig upspecial lights producing infra-red,507'which the baboons can't see. 508'But it's close to sunset,and the baboons are alreadyon their way.'509We don't have enough time.That's the big problem.510No, seriously, we're very closeto not being able to light this.511We're going to have to start now. 512If the baboons return earlyand find the team,513they may desert the cave, scuppering any chance of filming. 514It's 5.50, and the sunwill be setting pretty soon.515We've run out of timeand we don't want to be here whilst the baboons return.516Phil, I think you guysshould really go. OK.517Plug that one in.I'll plug that one in, yeah.518'With the lights rigged,519'the team leave to allow the baboons to settle in for the night.'520We've just got down intothe cave now. Um, it's night.521It's one thing walking throughthe cave with all the guys,522another walking through it at night with 60 baboons,523which I am a little bitnervous about.524JUSTIN GRUNTS525'Justin is in total darkness,526'filming himself in infra-red light, 527'which neither he。

NARRATOR: The last hidden world,China.For centuries, travellers to China have told tales of magical landscapes and surprising creatures.Chinese civilisation is the world's oldestand today, its largest,with well over a billion people.It's home to more than 50 distinct ethnic groupsand a wide range of traditional lifestyles,often in close partnership with nature.We know that China faces immense social and environmental problems. But there is great beauty here, too.China is home to the world's highest mountains,vast deserts ranging from searing hotto mind-numbing cold.Steaming forests harbouring rare creatures.Grassy plains beneath vast horizons.And rich tropical seas.Now for the first time ever,we can explore the whole of this great country,meet some of the surprising and exotic creatures that live hereand consider the relationship of the people and wildlife of Chinato the remarkable landscape in which they live.<i>This is Wild China.</i>Our exploration of China begins in the warm, subtropical south. On the Li River, fishermen and birds perch on bamboo rafts,a partnership that goes back more than a thousand years.This scenery is known throughout the world,a recurring motif in Chinese paintings.And a major tourist attraction.The south of China is a vast area,eight times larger than the UK.It's a landscape of hills but also of water.(THUNDER RUMBLING)It rains here for up to 250 days a year,and standing water is everywhere.(THUNDER RUMBLING)In the floodplain of the Yangtze River,black-tailed godwits probe the mud in search of worms.But isn't just wildlife that thrives in this environment.The swampy ground provides ideal conditionsfor a remarkable member of the grass family.Rice.The Chinese have been cultivating rice for at least 8,000 years.It has transformed the landscape.Late winter in southern Yunnan is a busy time for local farmersas they prepare the age-old paddy fields ready for the coming spring. These hill slopes of the Yuanyang County plunge nearly 2,000 metres to the floor of the Red River valley.Each contains literally thousands of stacked terracescarved out by hand using basic digging tools.Yunnan's rice terraces are among the oldest human structures in China. Still ploughed, as they always have been,by domesticated water buffaloes,whose ancestors originated in these very valleys.This man-made landscapeis one of the most amazing engineering featsof pre-industrial China.It seems as if every square inch of landhas been pressed into cultivation.As evening approaches, an age-old ritual unfolds.It's the mating seasonand male paddy frogs are competing for the attention of the females. But it doesn't always pay to draw too much attention to yourself.The Chinese pond heron is a pitiless predator.(SQUAWKS)Even in the middle of a ploughed paddy field,nature is red in beak and claw.This may look like a slaughterbut as each heron can swallow only one frog at a time,the vast majority will escape to croak another day. Terraced paddies like those of the Yuanyang Countyare found across much of southern China.This whole vast landscape is dominated by rice cultivation. In hilly Guizhou Province,the Miao minority have developed a remarkable rice culture. With every inch of fertile land given over to rice cultivation, the Miao build their wooden houseson the steepest and least productive hillsides.In Chinese rural life, everything has a use.Dried in the sun, manure from the cow shedswill be used as cooking fuel.(WOMEN CHATTERING IN CHINESE)It's midday, and the Song familyare tucking into a lunch of rice and vegetables. (SPEAKING IN CHINESE)Oblivious to the domestic chit-chat,Granddad Gu Yong Xiu has serious matters on his mind.Spring is the start of the rice growing season.The success of the crop will determine how well the family will eat next year,so planting at the right time is critical.The ideal date depends on what the weather will do this year,never easy to predict.But there is some surprising help at hand.On the ceiling of the Songs' living room, a pair of red-rumped swallows,newly arrived from their winter migration,is busy fixing up last year's nest.In China, animals are valued as much for their symbolic meaningas for any good they may do.Miao people believe that swallow pairs remain faithful for life,so their presence is a favour and a blessing,bringing happiness to a marriage and good luck to a home.Like most Miao dwellings, the Songs' living room windowslook out over the paddy fields.From early spring, one of these windows is always left opento let the swallows come and go freely.Each year, granddad Gu notes the exact day the swallows return.Miao people believe the birds' arrival predicts the timing of the seasonahead.This year, they were late.So Gu and the other community elders have agreedthat rice planting should be delayed accordingly.As the Miao prepare their fields for planting,the swallows collect mud to repair their nestsand chase after insects across the newly ploughed paddies.Finally, after weeks of preparation,the ordained time for planting has arrived.But first the seedlings must be uprooted from the nursery bedsand bundled up ready to be transported to their new paddyhigher up the hillside.All the Songs' neighbours have turned out to help with the transplanting.It's how the community has always worked.When the time comes, the Songs will return the favour.While the farmers are busy in the fields,the swallows fly back and forth with material for their nest.Many hands make light work.Planting the new paddy takes little more than an hour.Job done, the villagers can relax,at least until tomorrow.But for the nesting swallows, the work of raising a family has only just begun.In the newly planted fields, little egrets hunt for food.The rice paddies harbour tadpoles, fish and insectsand the egrets have chicks to feed.This colony in Chongqing Province was established in 1996, when a few dozen birds built nests in the bamboo grove behind Yang Guang village.Believing they were a sign of luck,local people initially protected the egrets and the colony grew. But their attitude changed when the head of the village fell ill. They blamed the birds and were all set to destroy their nests, when the local government stepped in to protect them. Bendy bamboo may not be the safest nesting place,but at least this youngster won't end up as someone's dinner. These chicks have just had an eel delivered by their mum, quite a challenge for little beaks.(CHIRPING)Providing their colonies are protected,wading birds like egrets are among the few wild creatures which benefit directly from intensive rice cultivation. Growing rice needs lots of water.But even in the rainy south,there are landscapes where water is surprisingly scarce.This vast area of southwest China,the size of France and Spain combined,is famous for its clusters of conical hills,like giant upturned egg cartons, separated by dry empty valleys. This is the karst, a limestone terrainwhich has become the defining image of southern China.Karst landscapes are often studded with rocky outcrops, forcing local farmers to cultivate tiny fields.The people who live here are among the poorest in China.In neighbouring Yunnan Province,limestone rocks have taken over entirely.This is the famous Stone Forest,the product of countless years of erosion,producing a maze of deep gullies and sharp-edged pinnacles. Limestone has the strange property that it dissolves in rainwater. Over many thousands of years water has corroded its way deep into the heart of the bedrock itself.This natural wonder is a famous tourist spot,receiving close to two million visitors each year.The Chinese are fond of curiously-shaped rocksand many have been given fanciful names.No prizes for guessing what this one is called!But there's more to this landscape than meets the eye.China has literally thousands of mysterious cavernsconcealed beneath the visible landscape of the karst.Much of this hidden world has never been seen by human eyesand is only just now being explored.(MAN SPEAKING CHINESE)For a growing band of intrepid young Chinese explorers,caves represent the ultimate adventure.Exploring a cave is like taking a journey through time.Ajourney which endless raindrops will have followed over countless centuries.Fed by countless drips and trickles,the subterranean river carves ever deeper into the rock.The cave river's course is channelled by the beds of limestone.A weakness in the rock can allow the riverto increase its gradient and flow-rate,providing a real challenge for the cave explorers.The downward rush is halted when the water table is reached.Here the slow-flowing river carves tunnels with a more rounded profile. (MEN CHATTERING)This tranquil world is home to specialised cave fishes,like the eyeless golden barb.China may have more unique kinds of cave-evolved fishesthan anywhere else on earth.Above the water table,ancient caverns abandoned by the river slowly fill upwith stalactites and stalagmites.Stalactites form as trickling water deposits tiny quantities of rockover hundreds or thousands of years.Stalagmites grow up where lime-laden drips hit the cave floor.Oi!Whoo-hoo!So far, only a fraction of China's caves have been thoroughly prospectedand cavers are constantly discovering new subterranean marvels, many of which are subsequently developed into commercial show caves.Finally escaping the darkness,the cave river and its human explorers emerge in a valleyfar from where their journey began.For now, the adventure is over.Rivers which issue from cavesare the key to survival in the karst country.This vertical gorge in Guizhou Provinceis a focal point for the region's wildlife.This is one of the world's rarest primates,Fran鏾is' langur.In China they survive in just two southern provinces,Guizhou and Guangxi, always in rugged limestone terrains.Like most monkeys, they are social creaturesand spend a great deal of time grooming each other.Langurs are essentially vegetarianwith a diet of buds, fruits and tender young leaves.Babies are born with ginger fur,which gradually turns black from the tail end.Young infants have a vice-like grip, used to cling on to mum for dear life.As they get older, they get bolder and take more risks.Those that survive spend a lot of time travelling.The experienced adults know exactly where to find seasonal foodsin different parts of their range.In such steep terrain, travel involves a high level of climbing skill. These monkeys are spectacularly good rock climbersfrom the time they learn to walk.In langur society, females rule the roostand take the lead when the family is on the move.One section of cliff oozes a trickle of mineral-rich waterwhich the monkeys seem to find irresistible.These days there are few predators in the Mayanghe Reservewhich might pose a risk to a baby monkey.But in past centuries, this area of south Chinawas home to leopards, pythons and even tigers.To survive dangerous night prowlers, the langurs went underground, using their rock-climbing skills to seek shelter in inaccessible caverns. Filmed in near darkness using a night vision camera,the troop clambers along familiar ledgesworn smooth by generations before them.During cold winter weather, the monkeys venture deeper underground where the air stays comparatively warm.At last, journey's end.A cosy niche beyond the reach of even the most enterprising predator. But it's not just monkeys that find shelter in caves.These children are off to school.In rural China that may mean a long trek each morning,passing through a cave or two on the way.But not all pupils have to walk to school.These children are boarders.(LAUGHING)As the day pupils near journey's end,the boarders are still making breakfast.In the schoolyard, someone seems to have switched the lights off. But this is no ordinary playground, and no ordinary school.It's housed inside a cave!A natural vault of rock keeps out the rainso there's no need for a roof on the classroom.Zhongdong cave school is made up of six classes,with a total of 200 children.As well as the school, the cave houses 18 families,together with their livestock.(COW MOOING)These could be the only cave-dwelling cows on earth.(PIG SQUEALS)With schoolwork over, it's playtime at last.In southern China, caves aren't just used for shelter,they can be a source of revenue for the community.People have been visiting this cave for generations.The cave floor is covered in guano,so plentiful that 10 minutes' work can fill these farmer's baskets.It's used as a valuable source of fertilizer.A clue to the source of the guano can be heard above the noise of the river.The sound originates high up in the roof of the cave.The entrance is full of swifts.They're very sociable birds.More than 200,000 of them share this cavein southern Guizhou Province, the biggest swift colony in China. These days, Chinese house swifts mostly nest in the roofs of buildings, but rock crevices like these were their original home,long before houses were invented.Though the swifts depend on the cave for shelter,they never stray further than the limits of daylight,as their eyes can't see in the dark.However, deep inside the cavern,other creatures are better equipped for subterranean life.A colony of bats is just waking up,using ultrasonic squeaks to orientate themselves in the darkness.Night is the time to go hunting.Rickett's mouse-eared bat is the only bat in Asiawhich specialises in catching fishes,tracking them down from the sound reflection of rippleson the water surface.This extraordinary behaviourwas only discovered in the last couple of years,and has never been filmed before.If catching fish in the dark is impressive,imagine eating a slippery minnow with no hands while hanging upside down.Dawn over the karst hills of Guilin.These remarkable hills owe their peculiar shapesto the mildly acid waters of the Li River,whose meandering course over eons of timehas corroded away their bases until only the rocky cores remain.The Li is one of the cleanest rivers in China,a favourite spot for fishermen with their trained cormorants. (SPEAKING IN CHINESE)The men, all called Huang, come from the same village.Now in their 70s and 80s, they've been fishermen all their lives. Before they release the birds, they tie a noose loosely around the neck to stop them swallowing any fish they may catch. (SPLASHING)Chanting and dancing,the Huangs encourage their birds to take the plunge.Underwater, the cormorant's hunting instinct kicks in,turning them into fish-seeking missiles.(CHANTING)Working together, a good cormorant teamcan catch a couple of dozen decent-sized fish in a morning. (FISHERMEN EXCLAIMING)The birds return to the raft with their fishbecause they've been trained to do so.From the time it first hatched, each of these cormorants has been reared to a life of obedience to its master.The birds are, in effect, slaves.But they're not stupid.It's said that cormorants can keep a tally of the fish they catch,at least up to seven.So unless they get a reward now and then they simply withdraw their labour.The fishermen, of course, keep the best fish for themselves.The cormorants get the leftover tiddlers.With its collar removed, the bird at last can swallow its prize.Best of all, one it isn't meant to have!(FISHERMAN SHOUTING)These days, competition from modern fishing techniquesmeans the Huangs can't make a livingfrom traditional cormorant fishing alone.And this 1,300-year-old traditionis now practised mostly to entertain tourists.But on Caohai Lake in nearby Guizhou Province,an even more unusual fishing industry is alive and well.Geng Zhong Sheng is on his way to set out his nets for the night. Geng's net is a strange tubular contraption with a closed-off end.More than a hundred fishermen make their living from the lake.Its mineral-rich waters are highly productive,and there are nets everywhere.The next morning, Geng returns with his son to collect his catch. (SPEAKING CHINESE)At first sight, it looks disappointing.Tiny fishes, lots of shrimps, and some wriggling bugs.Geng doesn't seem too downhearted.The larger fish are kept alive,the only way they'll stay fresh in the heat.Surprisingly, some of the bugs are also singled out for special treatment. They're the young stage of dragonflies,predators that feed on worms and tadpoles.Nowhere else in the world are dragonfly nymphs harvested like this.Back home, Geng spreads his catch on the roof to dry.This being China, nothing edible will be wasted.There's a saying in the far south,"We will eat anything with legs except a table,"and anything with wings except a plane."Within a few hours, the dried insects are ready to be bagged upand taken to market.It's the dragonfly nymphs that fetch the best price.Fortunately, Caohai's dragonflies are abundant and fast-breeding.So Geng and his fellow fishermenhave so far had little impact on their numbers.But not all wildlife is so resilient.(MONKS CHANTING)This Buddhist temple near Shanghai has an extraordinary story attached to it.<i>In May 2007, a Wild China camera team</i>filmed this peculiar Swinhoe's turtle in the temple's fish pond. According to the monks, the turtle had been given to the temple during the Ming dynasty, over 400 years ago.It was thought to be the oldest animal on earth.Soft-shelled turtles are considered a gourmet delicacy by many Chinese,and when it was filmed,this was one of just three Swinhoe's turtles left alive in China,the rest of its kind having been rounded up and eaten.Sadly, just a few weeks after filming,this ancient creature died.The remaining individuals of its species are currently kept in separate zoosand Swinhoe's turtle is now reckoned extinct in the wild.In fact, most of the 25 types of freshwater turtles in Chinaare now vanishingly rare.The answer to extinction is protection.And there is now a growing network of nature reservesthroughout southern China.Of these, the Tianzi Mountain Reserve at Zhangjiajie is perhapsthe most visited by Chinese nature lovers,who come to marvel at the gravity-defying landscapeof soaring sandstone pinnacles.Winding between Zhangjiajie's peaks, crystal clear mountain streams are home to what is perhaps China's strangest creature.This bizarre animal is a type of newt,the Chinese giant salamander.In China it is known as the baby fishbecause when distressed it makes a sound like a crying infant.It grows up to a metre and a half long,making it the world's largest amphibian.Under natural conditions, a giant salamander may live for decades. But like so many Chinese animals, it is considered delicious to eat. Despite being classed as a protected species,giant salamanders are still illegally sold for foodand the baby fish is now rare and endangered in the wild. Fortunately, in a few areas like Zhangjiajie,giant salamanders still survive under strict official protection.The rivers of Zhangjiajie flow north east into the Yangtze floodplain, known as The Land of Fish and Rice.On an island in a lake in Anhui Province,a dragon is stirring.This is the ancestral home of China's largest and rarest reptile,a creature of mystery and legend.Dragon eggs are greatly prized.These babies need to hatch out quick!It would seem someone is on their trail.For a helpless baby reptile,imprisoned in a leathery membrane inside a chalky shell,the process of hatching is a titanic struggle.And time is running out.(CHIRPING)It's taken two hoursfor the little dragon to get its head out of the egg.It needs to gather its strength now,for one final, massive push.Free at last,the baby Chinese alligators instinctively head upwardstowards the surface of the nest and the waiting outside world. (CHATTERING)But the visitors are not what they seem.(BOTH SPEAKING CHINESE)She Shizhen and her son live nearby.She has been caring for her local alligators for over 20 years,so she had a fair idea when the eggs were likely to hatch.Back home, she's built a pond surrounded by netting to keep out predators,where her charges will spend the next six monthsuntil they're big enough to fend for themselves.For the past 20 years,small-scale conservation projects like thisare all that have kept China's 150 wild alligators from extinction.Just south of the alligator country,dawn breaks over a very different landscape.The 1,800-metre-high granite peaks of the Huangshan or Yellow Mountain.To the Chinese, Huangshan's pines epitomisethe strength and resilience of nature.Some of these trees are thought to be over 1,000 years old.Below the granite peaks,steep forested valleys shelter surprising inhabitants.Huangshan macaques, rare descendants of the Tibetan macaques of western China,are unique to these mountain valleyswhere they enjoy strict official protection.(SCREECHING)After a morning spent in the treetops,the troop is heading for the shade of the valley.A chance for the grown-ups to escape the heatand maybe pick up a lunch snack from the stream.As in most monkey societies,social contact involves a lot of grooming.Grooming is all very well for grown-ups,but young macaques have energy to burn.(SCREECHING)Like so much monkey business,what starts off as a bit of playful rough-and-tumble,soon begins to get out of hand.The alpha male has seen it all before.He's not in the least bothered.But someone, or something, is watching,with a less than friendly interest.The Chinese moccasin is an ambush predator with a deadly bite. This is one of China's largest and most feared venomous snakes.But the monkeys have lived alongside these dangerous serpentsfor thousands of years.(MONKEYS SCREECHING)They use this specific alarm call to warn each otherwhenever a snake is spotted.Once its cover is blown, the viper poses no threat to the monkeys, now safe in the treetops.And life soon returns to normal.By late summer, the rice fields of southern China have turned to gold. The time has come to bring in the harvest.Nowadays, modern high-yield strainsare grown throughout much of the rice lands,boosted by chemical fertilizers and reaped by combine harvesters. This is the great rice bowl of China,producing a quarter of the world's rice.Insects, stirred up by the noisy machines,are snapped up by gangs of red-rumped swallows,including this year's youngsters,who will have fledged several weeks ago.This could be their last good feast before they head south for the winter. Mechanized farming works bestin the flat-bottomed valleys of the lowlands.To the south, in the terraced hills of Zhejiang Province,an older and simpler lifestyle persists.It's 7:00 in the morningand Longxian's most successful businessman is off to work.In the golden terraces surrounding the villagethe ears of rice are plump and ripe for harvesting.But today, rice isn't uppermost in Mr Yang's mind.He has bigger fish to fry.Further up the valley, the harvest has already begun.Yang's fields are ripe, too, but they haven't been drained yet.That's because for him, rice is not the main crop.The baskets he's carried up the hillside give a clue to Yang's business.But before he starts work,he needs to let some water out of the system.As the water level drops, the mystery is revealed.Golden carp.Longxian villagers discovered the benefits of transferringwild caught carp into their paddy fields long ago.The tradition has been going on here for at least 700 years.As the water level in the paddy drops, bamboo gates stop the fish escaping.The beauty of this farming methodis that it delivers two crops from the same field at the same time.Fish and rice.Smart ecology like this is what enables Chinato be largely self-sufficient in food, even today.Back in the village, Yang has his own smokehousewhere he preserves his fish ready for market.Longxian carp have unusually soft scales and a very delicate flavour, perhaps as a result of the local water.Meanwhile, outside the smokehouse,there's something fishy going on.(PEOPLE CHATTERING)To mark the harvest, the village is staging a party.Children from Longxian schoolhave spent weeks preparing for their big moment.Everyone from the community is here to support them.The rice growing cycle is complete.By November, northern China is becoming distinctly chilly.But the south is still relatively warm and welcoming.Across the vast expanse of Poyang Lake, the birds are gathering. Tundra swans are long-distance migrants from northern Siberia. To the Chinese, they symbolise the essence of natural beauty. The Poyang Lake Nature Reserve offers winter refugeto more than a quarter of a million birdsfrom more than 100 species,creating one of southern China's finest wildlife experiences. The last birds to arrive at Poyangare those which have made the longest journey to get here,all the way from the Arctic coast of Siberia.The Siberian crane, known in China as the white crane,is seen as a symbol of good luck.Each year, almost the entire world populationof these critically endangered birdsmake a 9,000-kilometre roundtripto spend the winter at Poyang.Like the white cranes, many of south China's unique animals face pressure from exploitation and competition with people over space and resources.But if China is living proof of anything,it is that wildlife is surprisingly resilient.Given the right help,even the rarest creatures can return from the brink.If we show the will, nature will find the way.。