Jungle

VHS cover

*Jungle* is the fifth episode of the first season of Eyewitness. The topic of the episode is about the tropical rainforest, moving up through the different levels of this habitat from the jungle waterways to the emergent zone. The episode aired on 5th September 1994.

Jungle is based on a book title that was first published in 1994, and has been republished in 1997, 2003, 2009 and 2012.

In 1994, Jungle was a winner of the Parent’s Choice Award.

## Episode

### Introductory sequence

Water is shown running down a leaf in slow-motion, the droplets are shown falling and then can be seen falling into the water tank of a bromeliad plant; in the background are the sounds of howling indris.

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Jungle.

The rainforest is home to the greatest biodiversity on Earth, with over fifty percent of the world’s plant and animal species living in this habitat that only covers a sixth of its surface. The concentration of life is only possible because of the multi-layered habitats, comprising the flooded forest, forest floor, understory, middle story, canopy and emergent zone.

Humans have long used and been fascinated by rainforests. One in four purchases from our local chemist come from jungle plants. The greatest rainforest civilisation, the Mayans, believed that the world tree or Wacah Chan connected underworld, earth and heaven. A tree of life is rooted in many creation myths, including Christianity and Buddhism. Just as in religion, the rainforest has a lot to offer the modern world. But our fascination with rainforests is not new, with the Kew Gardens in London building the Palm House in the 19th century to accommodate plants brought back by scientists and explorers.

The episode’s hero, a squirrel monkey, is introduced. They come from the South American rainforest, one of the wettest places on Earth. The temperature remains consistently warm year-round. With constant heat and moisture, the rainforest is constantly recycling water with up to two-thirds of the world’s fresh water recycled in the Amazon rainforest alone.

As well as a weather machine, the rainforest is a window into the dim past. The climate has remained unchanged since the late Cretaceous, serving as a nursery for 60 million years of uninterrupted evolution. Some jungle palms originated at this time, while the chicks of the hoatzin have clawed wings, like the earliest birds. Jungles were once more widespread, but a cooling climate pushed them back around the equator. The rainforest is a highly organised environment with millions of examples of co-evolution, such as those between hummingbirds and the flowering plants that they pollinate.

Rainforests are highly biodiverse – with huge numbers of trees, birds, fish and insects compared to much larger temperate regions. So much animal life could not exist without abundant food, with over 3,000 different kinds of fruit.

The banana was the first rainforest fruit discovered by outsiders, in 1882. Earlier, Columbus remarked on the sight of the rainforest when he first landed on Haiti in 1492. Europeans travelled to the Southeast Asian islands to search for spices. During the 18th and 19th centuries, scientists began to explore the rainforest. In 1770, an English chemist discovered rubber. Latex, the source of natural rubber, is the white sap of the Hevea tree used as defence against bark-eating animals. Mayans and Aztecs used a rubber ball in a game similar to modern basketball, although the losers in these games were often sacrificed to the gods.

Waders would be the footwear of choice in the Amazonian flooded forest, which is home to at least 5,000 fish species and is the first of the rainforest’s multiple habitat levels. The South American flooded forest is home to the tambaqui fish, sloths, which are surprisingly strong swimmers, and river dolphins, believed in myth to be able to turn into humans and seduce mortal women.

The rainforest’s ground floor is a twilight zone, where only 1 to 2% of light reaches. The notion of the impenetrable jungle came from the dense vegetation growing along the riverbanks where explorers entered the forest. Assuming the entire rainforest was like this, they named it after the Sanskrit word for thick vegetation, jangala. The Rafflesia plant of Southeast Asia is parasitic so has no leaves, but it does have the world's biggest flower. Many popular houseplants come from the rainforest. The periwinkle was once used as necklaces for condemned prisoners and has an alkaloid that treats leukemia. Many others plants have curative value, while chimps also use medicinal herbs. For invertebrates, the rainforest provides an endless supply of green matter for food, with fungi and bacteria also helping to accelerate decomposition. For many animals, like the sifaka, the forest floor is an alien place. The animals of the forest floor tend to be the largest, such as the tiger and gorilla. While squirrel monkeys may visit the ground, they mainly live in large troops in the trees.

The understory extends from ground level to nine metres. Here, water can gather in bromeliad plants that can hold up to nine litres of liquid and be home to frogs, insects, spiders and even crabs. Chimpanzees climb up here in the evenings to build nests of leaves. The understory is also home to low-level climbers such as tarsiers, aye-ayes, lorises, bushbabies and jaguars. The Mayans and Aztecs worshipped the jaguar, and the Aztecs also believed the fruit of the cocoa tree, source of chocolate, was the food of the gods. Small moths live in sloth fur, but more common dances of interdependence in the jungle are pollination by animals such as hummingbirds and seed dispersal carried out by birds, bats and other animals. Fruit bats do a good job of feeding on figs and carrying the seeds far and wide, but the tree has to produce a laxative in its fruit to stop the seeds being damaged by the stomach acid of the bat. Strangler figs overrun host trees and seal them inside a living coffin of the fig's roots.

The rainforest’s middle story extends from nine to twenty-five metres and is mostly a travel zone. Lianas are common here, supporting themselves on the trees to scramble up into the canopy. The most famous traveller of the jungle’s middle story, Tarzan, swung from dead lianas not connected to the ground. Gibbons are even more masterful at swinging through the trees, while other animals such as woolly monkeys use a prehensile tail to help them climb. Many animals in the middle story use gliding to get around, including sugar gliders and even a flying tree snake.

If there is anywhere that can be called a jungle, it is the upper story or canopy. It catches ninety-nine percent of the light and accounts for ninety percent of the forest’s photosynthesis. It releases huge quantities of water into the air, inhales millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide and exhales oxygen. The canopy also shields the forest floor from the damaging rains. This largely unexplored area is home to thousands of animals and plants yet to be discovered, most of which will go their whole lives without touching the ground. Decaying plants accumulate on branches and form soil, which allows the growth of epiphytes, including carnivorous pitcher plants and two-thirds of the world’s 35,000 orchid species. The orchids provide a hunting ground for one of the estimated one hundred thousand insect species of the canopy, the orchid mantis. The canopy is also home to many animals that use loud calls in order to communicate, such as the howler monkey, siamang and sicklebill.

Above the canopy is the emergent zone, the rainforest’s windswept penthouse. The crowns of the tallest trees, like the Tualang trees of Malaysia, stand out here. The emergent zone can be a dangerous place for a bird to fly, as the skies are patrolled by aerial hunters like the African crowned eagle.

The Mayan belief in a world tree is myth. The rainforest being an endless source of plenty, never to be diminished, is also myth. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the rainforest has been diminished by half and at current rates of destruction will be gone altogether by the middle of the twenty-first century. The episode closes with a writing that says “The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its life activity. It offers protection to all beings, giving shade even to the axe-man who destroys it” – the author was Buddha, who found enlightenment under a fig tree.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* South American squirrel monkey, *Saimiri sciureus*
* White’s tree frog, *Ranoidea caerulea*
* Tiger, *Panthera tigris*
* Leaf-cutting ant, *Atta cephalotes*
* Urchin beetle, *Prionotheca coronata*
* Scarlet macaw, *Ara macao*
* Blue poison-dart frog, *Dendrobates tinctorius "azureus"*
* Bolivian squirrel monkey, *Saimiri boliviensis boliviensis*

### Stock footage

* Red-tailed boa, *Boa constrictor*
* Hoatzin, *Opisthocomus hoazin*
* Sword-billed hummingbird, *Ensifera ensifera*
* White-tipped sicklebill, *Eutoxeres aquila*
* Black pacu, *Colossoma macropomum*
* Silver dollar, *Metynnis sp*.
* Brown-throated three-toed sloth, *Bradypus variegatus*
* Pink river dolphin, *Inia geoffrensis*
* Chimpanzee, *Pan troglodytes*
* Leaf-cutting ant, *Atta cephalotes*
* Sweat bee, *Trigona hypogea*
* Verreaux’s sifaka, *Propithecus verreauxi*
* Tiger, *Panthera tigris*
* Mountain gorilla, *Gorilla beringei beringei*
* Green-and-black poison-dart frog, *Dendrobates auratus*
* Sulawesi tarsier, *Tarsius spectrum*
* Aye-aye, *Daubentonia madagascariensis*
* Sunda slow loris, *Nycticebus coucang*
* Jaguar, *Panthera onca*
* Sloth moth, *Cryptoses sp*.
* Hermit hummingbird, *Phaethornithinae sp*.
* Paradise tanager, *Tangara chilensis*
* Common marmoset, *Callithrix jacchus*
* Spot-billed toucanet, *Selenidera maculirostris*
* Amazon parrot, *Amazona sp*.
* Grey-headed flying fox, *Pteropus poliocephalus*
* Lar gibbon, *Hylobates lar*
* Red howler monkey, *Alouatta seniculus*
* Sugar glider, *Petaurus breviceps*
* Golden tree snake, *Chrysopelea ornata*
* Indri, *Indri indri*
* Wallace’s standardwing, *Semioptera wallacii*
* Bush cricket, *Tettigoniidae sp*.
* Emperor gum moth, *Opodiphthera eucalypti*
* Greater bird-of-paradise, *Paradisaea apoda*
* Mantled guereza, *Colobus guereza*
* South American squirrel monkey, *Saimiri sciureus*
* Malaysian orchid mantis, *Hymenopus coronatus*
* Blue tiger butterfly, *Tirumala limniace*
* Atlas moth, *Attacus atlas*
* Brown sicklebill, *Epimachus meyeri*
* Siamang, *Symphalangus syndactylus*
* African crowned eagle, *Stephanoaetus coronatus*

## Stock footage sources

Africa Screams (1949) – Black-and-white gorilla movie

Life on Earth: Life in the Trees (1979) – Marmoset eating fruit, red howler monkey, leaping sifaka, aye-aye, slow loris, tarsier, lar gibbon, squirrel monkeys

Flight of the Condor: Down the Amazon (1982) – Paradise tanager, spot-billed toucanet, sweat bees

The Living Planet: Jungle (1984) - Golden tree snake

Natural World:

* Kinabalu, Summit of Borneo (1985) – Pitcher plants feeding
* Spirits of the Forest (1987) – Indri and sifaka
* Amazon: The Flooded Forest (1989) – Flooded forest, pink river dolphins
* New Guinea, An Island Apart: Other Worlds (1992) - Atlas moth, brown sicklebill, orchids and canopy scenes

The Nature of Australia (1988) – Strangler fig, bush cricket, sugar glider

The Great Rift: Footprints in the Valley (1989) – Mantled guereza

The Trials of Life

* Hunting and Escaping (1990) – Orchid mantis
* Courting (1990) - Wallace's standardwing

LifeSense: Seeds of Life (1991) - Leaf-cutting ant time-lapse

Wildlife on One

* The Transformers (1991) - Green-and-black poison-dart frog
* Flying Foresters (1992) - Grey-headed flying fox

## Credits

* Director - Perry Miller
* Graphics Designer - Alisa Robbins
* Writer - Brian Meehl
* Camera - Michael Anderson
	+ Assistant - Andy Shillabeer
* Set Design - Ben Scott
* Design Assistant - Kit Edwardes
* Production Manager - Peter Thornton
* Production Assistant - Jon Cox
* Production Secretaries - Cathy Wilkin and Caroline Elston
* Unit Manager - Grant Dean
* Researcher - Johanna Gibbon
* Picture Researcher - Martin Willis
* Graphic Design - 4:2:2 Videographics
* Editors
	+ Offline - Chris Godden
	+ Online - Sharon Stiles
* Dubbing Editor - Julie Mitchell
* Dubbing Mixer - Andrew Wilson
* Music - Guy Michelmore
* Executive Producer - Michael Bright,
* Special thanks to:
	+ Burstow Wildlife Sanctuary
	+ Appletise PLC
	+ Duckworth, Fin, Grubb, Waters

## Making this programme

The making-of programme begins with the construction of a rainforest within the studio. After costing and planning, the entire set takes just two days to put together. The set involves tropical plants flown in from around the world and nets to help keep the squirrel monkeys secure and safe while on-set. The squirrel monkeys were provided by a primate sanctuary in Sussex, and were mainly hand-reared pets that had been surrendered to the sanctuary when their owners found them too much to handle. They were instantly at home in the rainforest set. Some monkeys were shot against a blue background, which could then be changed in the computer to a background of choice. A contoured blue background was built that perfectly matched the shape of a small Wacah Chan model. By shrinking the monkey in the computer, the impressive scale of the Incan tree of life could be shown.

## Home media releases

As well as being released on VHS, Jungle was also released as part of the DVD release in the USA, as one of the twelve episodes released on a free DVD with the Daily Mirror newspaper and was one of eight episodes released on interactive DVD - the interactive DVD is titled Rainforest rather than Jungle.

The programme on the DVD includes fifteen hotspots (represented by a squirrel monkey with rows of physalis appearing behind it).

1. The water cycle (from Weather) - Linked to rainforest water recycling
2. Hummingbird adaptations (from Survival) - Linked to co-evolution of hummingbirds and flowers
3. Discovery of the mountain gorilla (from Monster) - Linked to scientific exploration of rainforest
4. South American catfishes (from Fish) - Linked to fish diversity in the Amazon
5. Hatchetfish and arowana (from Fish) - Linked to tambaqui fish
6. Social behaviour of chimps (from Ape) - Linked to chimps using medicinal herbs
7. Natural weaponry of cats (from Cat) - Linked to tiger
8. Gorilla feeding and social behaviour (from Ape) - Linked to gorilla feeding habits
9. Poison-arrow frogs (from Survival and Monster) - Linked to bromeliads
10. Young chimps and silver leaf monkeys (from Ape) - Linked to nesting chimps
11. Aye-aye (from Ape) - Linked to understory nocturnal primates
12. Jaguar and its eyesight (from Cat and Sight) - Linked to jaguar
13. Gibbons (from Ape) - Linked to middle story swingers
14. Internal structure of snakes (from Reptile) - Linked to flying tree snake
15. Diversity of lemurs (from Ape) - Linked to montage of canopy animals

The interactive DVD also includes a ten-question quiz:

1. Which hummingbird weighs less than a wedding ring? Correct answer: Hermit
2. What was the first rainforest fruit discovered by Westerners in 1882? Correct answer: Banana
3. What is the name of the world’s largest flower? Correct answer: Rafflesia
4. Which part of the rainforest do our most popular houseplants come from? Correct answer: Understory
5. Which food do gorillas not eat? Correct answer: Meat
6. What is the name of the second-largest jungle cat? Correct answer: Jaguar
7. Which is the slowest-moving land animal? Correct answer: Sloth
8. How many species of fish have already been discovered in the Amazon? Correct answer: 5,000
9. What is the average yearly temperature of a tropical rainforest? Correct answer: 27 degrees Celsius
10. What is the average yearly rainfall of a tropical rainforest? Correct answer: 200 centimetres

Jungle America-release DVD coverEyewitness Jungle Daily Mirror DVD coverEyewitness Rainforest interactive DVD coverEyewitness Rainforest interactive DVD alternative cover

**Writing staff**: Anne MacLeod • Ben Southwell • Ben Steiner • Brian Meehl • David Hanson • David Stafford • David Helton • George Bloom • Lynette Singer • Mike Tomlinson • Paul Thomas • Stan Cullimore
**Directors**: Gavin Maxwell • Justine Kershaw • David Hutt • Andrew Jackson • Justin Hardy • Ludo Graham • Jerry Foulkes • Derek Hall • Sanjida O'Connell • Caius Julyan • Bonni Cohen • Leanne Pooley • Edwina Vardey • Alexandra Beazley • Sam Hodgkin • Karen Walsh • Jack Weber • Richard Simkin • Alex Hearle • Brian Cummins • Ben Southwell
**Composers**: Guy Michelmore (season one) • Guy Dagul (seasons two and three)

**Season One**: Cat • Fish • Horse • Dog • **Jungle** • Bird • Amphibian • Insect • Shark • Elephant • Reptile • Dinosaur • Skeleton
**Season Two**: Desert • Tree • Ape • Mammal • Butterfly and Moth • Volcano • Rock and Mineral • Seashore • Pond and River • Weather • Arctic and Antarctic • Prehistoric Life • Shell
**Season Three**: Flight • Bear • Sight • Island • Survival • Mountain • Monster • Human Machine - Plant • Ocean • Planets • Life • Natural Disasters