Wildest India (2012–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - Western Ghats: Monsoon Mountains - full transcript

(dramatic music)

- [Voiceover] The Western Ghats

are an ancient mountain range

(dramatic music)

where rainforests burst
with an explosion of life.

(crocodiles hissing)

Rivers nurture wild animals

and provide water to billions of people.

Age-old human cultures

live alongside rare and
dangerous creatures.

(thunder claps)



The rain-drenched peaks
of the Western Ghats

hold the key to life in Southern India.

These are India's Monsoon Mountains.

(dramatic music builds)

(music moves into birds chirping)

(majestic music)

(majestic music builds)

(peacock screams)

(moves into calm music)

(cymbals lightly clanging)

(drums beating)
(birds chirping)

(dramatic music)

The Western Ghats Mountains

stretch 1600 kilometers from Mumbai



all the way to the southern tip of India,

running parallel to India's west coast.

This spine of hills covers
6% of India's landmass,

but provides a home to over 30%

of its plant and animal species.

Deadly snakes,

rare primates,

and supreme predators,

all live in the Western Ghats.

It's one of the most
biodiverse places in the world.

Humans have found a home here, too.

For thousands of years,

man has lived side by side with nature

and benefited from the fertile land.

The secret to this explosion of life

lies in the very mountains themselves.

Huge peaks rise into the
path of monsoon clouds,

triggering rainfall

and producing one of the
wettest climates in India.

Tropical rain forests thrive.

(serene, calming music)

(birds chirping)
(rain drops fall on leaves)

This jungle canopy

is home to one of India's
most elusive animals.

(leaves rustling)

Hidden among the leafy branches,

is the rarest macaque in the world:

the lion-tailed macaque.

Their dark bodies and grey manes

make them difficult to
spot among the shadows.

(rain drops fall on leaves)
(birds chirp)

The thick fur of their manes helps

keep out the worst of the rain.

These primates are jungle specialists.

They spend most of
their time eating fruit,

and there's always food
close at hand in the forest.

These jackfruit are barely ripe,

but that doesn't bother
the hungry macaque.

Its large canines are
strong enough to tear

through the fruit's tough, spiny skin.

(monkeys chattering)

Figs are another jungle staple,

and these are much more accessible

to other creatures in the canopy, too.

The Malabar giant squirrel

uses its long tail as a counter-weight

to help it balance while it feeds.

Malabar squirrels are one of the

largest squirrels in the world.

They can grow to be half a meter long

and weigh up to three kilos.

(light, playful music)

Like their neighbors, the macaques,

giant squirrels spend
time grooming each other.

(light, playful music)

It reinforces bonds

and helps keep parasites at bay.

(light, playful music)

(light, playful music)

But the jungle is full of creatures

with a far less friendly bite.

A leech tests the air,

groping around to find a blood meal.

It will latch onto any passing mammal,

but it's no more than a nuisance
to a lion-tailed macaque.

There are far deadlier
predators in the jungle.

(ominous music)

A king cobra,

the largest venomous snake in the world.

These giant reptiles can grow
to be over five meters long.

They are the true kings of the jungle.

Venturing down to the forest
floor is a risky business.

(drums lightly beating)

(ominous music)

The cobra's eyesight is so sharp,

it can spot prey moving 100 meters away.

But luckily for the lion-tail,

macaque is not on its menu.

King cobras eat only other snakes.

The hump-nosed pit viper
could be in danger.

But it's only 30 centimeters long:

too small to be much of a meal.

A three meter rat snake is more appealing.

Locked onto its target,

the cobra tracks its prey by smell,

but not with its nostrils.

It smells with its tongue.

Chemical scent particles
stick to its tongue

and transfer to receptors
on the roof of its mouth,

known as the Jacobson's organ.

The forks in its tongue work in stereo

enabling the cobra to pinpoint
prey with deadly accuracy.

(snake strikes)

King cobra inject more
venom in a single bite

than any other snake...

Enough to kill an elephant.

But snakes have a built-in
resistance to the poison.

It takes a lot more venom to
kill a snake than a mammal.

So a snake-eating king cobra
delivers a massive dose.

One bite is all it takes.

In a matter of minutes,

the cobra's venom shuts down
the rat snake's nervous system.

Proteins in the poison
start digesting the prey

before the cobra's even
finished swallowing.

(dramatic music)

Danger is everywhere in the Indian jungle.

Even the smallest animals can be deadly.

A swarm of ants overwhelms a spider

hundreds of times their size.

A second spider intervenes.

But this is no rescue mission.

Spiders think nothing of making
a meal of their own kind.

The ants overpower it, almost immediately.

It's lucky to escape with its life.

Staying out of sight is
the best way to stay alive.

A draco lizard is perfectly camouflaged

to blend in with tree bark.

(soft music)
(birds chirping)

Keeping still,

he all but disappears.

But today this draco wants to be noticed.

He's looking for a mate.

A bright flap of skin, called a dewlap,

advertises his presence to females.

But he's attracted the
wrong kind of attention.

(birds chirping)

(mysterious music)

A vine snake.

Horizontal pupils

give the vine snake
acute, binocular vision.

(birds chirping)

It can judge distance
with pinpoint accuracy.

This is one of the thinnest
snakes in the world.

It's body is just two centimeters wide,

but it's two meters long.

Its mouth stretches right
to the back of its head

and opens so wide that it
can swallow prey whole.

(light, lively music)

The slender serpent moves slowly,

mimicking a creeper swaying in the breeze,

a perfect disguise

in a world of plants.

(light, lively music)

But the draco senses danger

and plays its trump card.

Flexing its ribcage spreads
out a membrane of skin

to make a simple, but effective wing.

(lizard wooshes through the air)

(birds chirping)
(frog croaking)

More than half of India's
238 species of amphibian

live in the rain forests
of the Western Ghats.

Many have found nowhere else on Earth.

With primitive lungs,

amphibians supplement their air intake

by absorbing oxygen through their skin.

The purple or pig-nosed frog

was only identified by scientists in 2003.

It spends 50 weeks of the
year buried underground.

The purple frog is unique in India.

It's closest relatives
live 3,000 kilometers away

in the Seychelles.

(frogs croaking)
(water splashing)

Pig-nosed frogs are living fossils

and proof of the Western
Ghats ancient origins.

They're a throwback

to a time when India and
Africa were connected.

150 million years ago,

the supercontinent, Gondwana,

began to split apart

and the triangular landmass
that is now modern India

broke away.

This Indian plate drifted northwards

over a volcanic hotspot.

Boiling magma pushed up
into the Earth's crust

and heated the land.

(boiling magma gurgles)

The edge of the Indian
Plateau morphed and faulted

into a crumpled line of mountains.

By the time India bumped
into mainland Asia

and began pushing up the Himalayas,

the Western Ghats were long established

and already home to a wealth of wildlife.

(birds chirping)

It's early summer,

the height of the breeding
season for king cobras.

This male is looking for a mate.

(birds chirping)
(leaves on the ground rustle)

But the snake he's found is not a female.

It's a rival male.

(tense music)

This patch of forest isn't
big enough for both of them.

It's a serpentine stand-off.

They growl a warning at each other;

a low frequency hiss.

(snakes hissing)

Air is sucked into their elongated lungs

and squeezed out through the mouth,

as each snake constricts its body.

(snakes hissing)

Neither is willing to back down.

The only option is to fight.

(snake hisses)

This is a battle of strength,

not weaponry.

The huge snakes are immune
to each other's venom.

(ominous music)

Each weights up to nine kilograms

and uses all its might and muscle

to try and grapple the
other to the ground.

(tense, ominous music)

(tense, ominous music)

(tense, ominous music)

Finally, the stronger snake triumphs.

The loser slinks off
to find new territory.

(birds chirping)

Tensions are running high
above the forest floor, too.

Up in the canopy

a nilgiri langur asserts
his alpha male status.

As soon as younger males
start to show an interest

in his harem of females,

the dominant male chases
them out of the troop.

He's taking no chances

and won't tolerate any competition.

(birds singing)

It's the end of summer.

Monsoon clouds have been
building over the Arabian Sea,

sucking up moisture from the ocean.

Now they sweep towards land,

pulled in by the low-pressure void

of India's hot, dry interior.

(thunder cracks)

They slam straight into the Western Ghats.

The tallest peak is Anamudi,
the "elephant's head."

It reaches 2,695 meters

and is the highest point in
India outside the Himalayas.

Rain-filled clouds are
forced up the steep slopes

where they cool and condense.

(birds sing)

(thunder rumbles)

On the Western Ghats exposed peaks,

nilghiri tahr brave the
relentless mist of rain.

Also known as cloud goats,

they're well-adapted to wet weather.

Water runs off their course,
short hair like a rain coat,

keeping their skin warm and dry.

(serene music)

One of India's most ancient
tribes also make their home

in the high plateau of the Western Ghats.

The Toda people are peaceful pastoralists:

buffalo herders with a
reverence for the natural world.

The domed roofs of their houses

mirror the rolling
hills of their homeland.

Low doorways are designed
to keep out wild animals.

(metal rattling)
(liquid agitating)

Milk is the main source of
protein for the Toda people,

and butter was traditionally
used as currency.

But buffalo are far more than a commodity.

They are sacred.

The Toda believe that
the goddess Teikirshy

created buffalo first among animals

and then created the Toda
man to care for them.

The only time a buffalo is ever killed

is when a man dies.

It's believed that the buffalo spirit

will keep a man company on
his journey to the afterlife.

The Toda believe that the next
world is much like this one,

but has a harder surface.

Instead of wearing down the land,

wandering souls wear down their own legs.

When they have no limbs left,

they are reborn as Toda people or buffalo.

The Toda believe their people have

lived in the Western Ghats
since the birth of human kind.

Today there are fewer than 1400 left,

clinging to their traditional way of life.

(wind blows)

The Western Ghats are
known locally as Sahyadris,

"the benevolent mountains."

The peaks are a natural barrier

to the monsoon weather system

and intercept the rains.

(thunder rolling)

The sodden forests on the western slopes

release water they put back into the air,

where it condenses and
falls again as rain.

(rain falling)

This double deluge makes
these tropical jungles

some of the wettest places in India.

Some areas receive 10 meters
of rainfall every year.

The rain forests teem with life.

But the Benevolent Mountains sustain life

hundreds of kilometers away, too.

The coastal plains of Kerala,

sandwiched between the Arabian
Sea and the Western Ghats,

are some of the richest land in India.

(water flowing)

Runoff from the hills
washes down to the coast,

and rivers and streams are
laden with fertile sediment.

Fruit seeds sprout where they fall.

Kerala's backwaters are
a labyrinth of channels.

Rivers replace roads.

The west coast of India

is where ancient man first
set foot on the subcontinent.

And here, he stayed.

Every non-African person in the world

can trace their roots back
to the first of humankind

who settled in this land of plenty.

Today the beaches are
still crawling with life.

(surf crashes upon the shoreline)

Armies of ghost crabs
emerge at twilight to feed.

(surf crashing)

The tastiest morsels
are found on wet sand,

but getting to them,

means running a gauntlet of breaking surf.

(surf crashing upon shore)

(soft, lively music)

(surf crashing upon shore)

A beetle is packed with
protein and worth the effort,

but crabs aren't the only hunters here.

It pays to keep one eye on the sky.

A young brahminy kite
scours the shore for food.

The crabs' shells are almost translucent,

so they can be hard to
spot against the sand.

(wind instrument softly playing)

But to a kite with laser sharp eyesight,

ghost crabs are easy targets.

(waves crash)

(rain falling on water)

Thanks to the Western Ghats,

the rain forests and coastal plains

get more than their fair
share of rain each year.

But on the eastern side of the mountains,

it's a very different story.

The Deccan Plateau is
a vast expansive basalt

that comprises the main
part of Southern India.

The Western Ghats mountain
range blocks monsoon clouds

and forces them to release
rain on their western side.

East of the mountains,

the woodlands and plains
of the plateau receive

just a tenth of this rainfall.

(serene mysterious music)

Forests here are very different

from the damp, dark jungles.

The trees have broad leaves,

which soak up as much
sunlight as possible,

but are dropped in the dry
season to conserve moisture.

Chital deer browse on the
nutrient-packed leaves.

And where there are herbivores,

there are hunters.

Tigers.

These big cats usually hunt at night.

But with extra mouths to feed,

this mother must try and seize
every opportunity she can.

(ominous music)

(chital squeals)

But she's not always successful.

Only one in 20 tiger hunts ends in a kill.

There's a much smaller, but more efficient

predator at large here.

Indian wild dogs, or
dhole, are pack animals.

They live in tight-knit
groups, led by an alpha pair,

and are organized in a
strict social hierarchy.

Every dog in the pack knows its place.

Unlike tigers, the dogs don't
use stealth as a strategy.

Their tactic, is teamwork.

Dholes whistle to keep
in contact during a hunt.

Each individual has an
important role to play.

They work like a well-oiled machine.

(menacing music)

The chital's tail flashes white

to warn others of danger.

But it also helps the dogs to
keep track of their quarry.

(menacing music)

(dhole growling)

Working together,

dhole can bring down prey
10 times their own size.

The whole pack feed on the kill together.

And it pays to eat quickly.

An adult can swallow four kilos of meat,

almost a quarter of its own body weight,

in under an hour.

(dhole growling and whistling)

Even the tigress gets a meal at last.

She may have failed to make her own kill,

but she's wily enough to take advantage

of a rival's success.

Tigers are a universal symbol
of the power of nature,

and they're revered throughout India.

But few go to such lengths

to express their admiration for tigers

as the Karuba people of the Western Ghats.

(soft tribal drums beat in the distance)

Every September, during
the Dussehra Festival,

folk dancers from the Karuba tribe

let their inner animal run wild

and dance the Hulivesa, the "Tiger Dance."

(distant tribal drums beat)

(tribal music)

The dance's moves mimic the
big cat's stealth and power.

(tribal music)

Lemons, held in their mouths,

symbolize the animal's
deadly grip on its prey.

These men have been dancing the Hulivesa

since they were children.

Taught by their fathers and grandfathers.

(tribal music)

They grew up in a village
in the Western Ghats,

close to the forest and
surrounded by nature.

The Tiger Dance is a
way for them to express

their deep connection to wildlife.

(tribal music)

Travelling around villages
to perform their dance

brings spectators from far and wide.

(tribal music)

It takes many hours to paint
and decorate their bodies.

But the patterns will last several days.

(tribal music)

The men earn tips for their acrobatics.

But the dance has a deeper meaning.

The Hulivesha is a
celebration of the wild world

and a reminder of man's
dependence on nature.

The Western Ghats keep rain
away from the Deccan Plateau,

but the mountains still
play a crucial role

in supplying it with water.

The mountains harvest rain,

channeling it down the hillsides

and feeding it to streams and rivers.

The uplift caused when the
Western Ghats mountains

were formed means that all
Southern India's major rivers

flow west to east across
the Deccan Plateau.

(water flowing)

They include some of the country's

most spectacular waterfalls.

(water flowing)

And they're a lifeline to
the whole of Southern India.

(water flowing)

They supply water to nearly a
quarter of a billion people.

One such river, The Cauvery,
is considered sacred.

It's known as the "Ganges of the South"

and worshiped all along its length.

An entire temple has been built in the

hills around the river's source.

(distant chanting)

(water splashing)

People come from all over Southern India

to bathe in this holy water.

(water splashing)

The same family of
priests has been presiding

over these rituals for nine generations.

(chanting)

(birds chirping)

(water rippling)

The river is a lifeline for animals, too.

It provides sanctuary for
dozens of bird species.

A male egret performs an
elaborate courtship display.

(serene, dance-like music)

Special wispy feathers on his back

are designed to catch a female's eye.

(serene, dance-like music)

It works.

(serene, dance-like music)

(leaves rustling)

(serene, dance-like music)

(leaves rustle)

But the female changes her
mind at the last minute.

Undeterred, he starts his dance again

in an attempt to win her favor and mate.

Storks and pelicans already have young.

Hoards of hungry chicks wait noisily

for their hard-working
parents to bring back food.

Their legs aren't strong enough

for them to stand upright yet

and they're vulnerable
on the slippery rocks.

The Cauvery also hides
some river monsters.

(water rippling)

A pair of eyes,

peeping above the water,
give one predator away.

(water rippling)

Mugger crocodiles can grow to be

four and a half meters long.

Moving through the shallows
stirs up tiny fish.

A heron takes advantage of
the feeding opportunity,

but it's taking a risk.

A mugger can snatch a
meal from the riverbank

in the blink of an eye.

(water rippling)

Fortunately, this crocodile
doesn't seem hungry.

Crocodiles are cold-blooded.

They rely on the elements

to maintain their body temperature

and spend plenty of
time basking in the sun.

Under each bony scale, is
a cluster of blood vessels

that absorb heat, like tiny solar panels.

Muggers can't sweat, but
if they get too warm,

they release heat through their mouths.

These are social animals

with a strict dominance hierarchy.

(crocodiles growl)

Males fight for supremacy over territory,

and battles can sometimes be brutal.

(water thrashing)

(menacing music)

(birds chirping)

(insects chattering)
(birds chirping)

(birds chirping)

Two of India's giants
thrive in the Western Ghats,

thanks to the river systems
that originate in the mountains.

Gaur are the biggest species
of wild cattle on the planet.

Adults can stand over two
meters at the shoulder

and brandish horns that
can be a meter long.

They're one of the worlds
largest land animals

and can weigh over a ton.

Only tigers are capable of
preying on these giant cows,

but gaur have been known to fight back

and kill tigers in self-defense.

The only animal here to
outstrip gaur in size

are elephants.

The Western Ghats are home to
the largest wild population

of Asian elephants in the world.

This female is the
matriarch of her family.

She's the oldest

and leads a herd of her sisters,
daughters, and their young.

Elephants live in very close-knit groups.

This two month old calf is taught

everything he needs to know by his family.

A mud bath is fun,

but it also helps protect an elephant's

skin from insect bites
and acts like sunscreen.

Adult elephants need to eat

over 130 kilos of vegetation every day.

They roam great distances

in a never ending search for food.

The matriarch's knowledge of pathways,

water sources, and grazing opportunities

has been passed down to
her through generations

and, in turn, she too passes it on.

During the drier months,

rivers recede and expose
fresh green banks of grass.

The shoots are full of nutrients.

And elephants gather from far and wide

to picnic on these lawns.

(serene music)

A mouthful of mud may not seem appetizing,

but it supplements an
elephant's mineral intake.

Elephants roam all over the Western Ghats,

but their wanderings
bring them dangerously

close to another inhabitant.

Man benefits from the
incredible productivity

of the rain-soaked western slopes.

Spices, such as black pepper and cardamom,

are cultivated in huge quantities here,

fueling India's historic spice trade.

And the fertile hills
provide the ideal climate

for one particular type of chamellia:

tea.

The slopes are a patchwork of plantations.

A century ago,

unbroken forests stretched
for 150,000 square kilometers

across the Western Ghats.

Today, scattered fragments
make up less than 13,000.

(distant thunder claps)

The regions high rainfall means

tea fields need never be irrigated.

(rain falling)

And the sloping landscape

keeps their roots from
getting waterlogged.

It's perfect tea country.

But estates disrupt ancient
animal migration routes,

and elephants have no choice
but to cross the plantations.

They don't eat the tea,

but sometimes they do
cause damage to villages.

As many as 400 people are killed

by elephants in India every year

Gaur also visit tea plantations.

In this organic tea field,
where no herbicides are used,

Gaur provide a very useful service.

They graze on weeds that
grow between the rows of tea,

keeping the plantation clear.

Gaur and elephant venture
out of the forest,

but lion-tailed macaques
never cross cultivated areas.

Small groups are isolated

in the remaining patches of forest.

This baby is the newest
addition to a macaque family

led by a dominant male.

She will stay with the troop all her life,

fitting into the hierarchy
as she gets older.

But this young male

will eventually break away from his family

and join a bachelor group.

He's already showing
signs of independence.

(playful music)

The little male investigates every

nook and cranny looking for things to eat.

(light, playful music)

(light, playful music)

As well as fruit and seeds,

insects, birds eggs, and lizards

are all on a macaque's menu.

They'll even eat young squirrels,

if they find an unguarded nest.

This older macaque has found a good meal.

He quickly and quietly gathers
as much food as possible

before a more dominant troop
member claims the supply.

His extendable cheek pouches

can hold as much as his stomach.

Up in the canopy,

he can finish his meal in peace,

But his future is uncertain.

The balance between man and animals

is becoming increasingly fragile.

As India gallops forward
into the 21st century,

and its population edges over 1.2 billion,

it's getting harder to
make space for wildlife.

The crops and spices harvested

on the slopes of the Western Ghats

are exported all over the world.

From Kerala's backwaters,

they're sent out across the Indian Ocean.

The birthplace of the monsoon rains

that plays such a vital role
in the mountains' biodiversity,

"the benevolent mountains",
have plenty to give.

But man could be taking too much.

Lion-tailed macaques only live here

in the rain forests of the Western Ghats.

They're one of the most
endangered primates in the world.

Less than 1% of their
original habitat survives.

(sombre music)

It's only in the last century

that the Western Ghats
have been exploited by man.

People have been living in
harmony with nature here

for 12,000 years.

Surrounded by such biodiversity,

they see themselves as
part of the natural world.

(birds chirp)

But sharing space with some forest animals

can be risky.

This family have had to
evacuate their house.

There's an unwanted guest

making itself at home in their kitchen:

a king cobra.

But help is on the way.

Gowri Shankar is a local snake handler

who works to keep king cobras and people

safe from each other.

(indistinct talking)

(sombre music)

In many parts of Asia,

fear of deadly snakes means
they're often killed on sight.

(indistinct talking)

Gowri and his colleague Prashanth,

plan to take this one alive.

(ominious music)

Here in the Western Ghats,

most people are remarkably tolerant

of living alongside
such a daunting reptile.

Many believe king cobras
control the thunder and rain,

something they see plenty of.

They are revered as
goddesses of fertility.

Harming them is taboo.

But extracting a four meter
cobra from its hiding place

under the eaves is no easy task.

Although they don't attack humans as prey,

a king cobra can be a
dangerous houseguest.

(indistinct talking)

One bite packs enough
poison to kill 20 men.

(ominous music)

It's out of the house, but
that's only half the battle.

Cobras like to hide in dark corners,

and Gowri hopes this one will

slink into the sack he's prepared,

but it's proving to be uncooperative.

(cobra hissing)

The snake's reactions are lightening fast,

and it has a strike
distance of two meters.

Gowri is well within range.

(ominous music)

A change of tactic

finally gets the mighty
snake under control.

Gowri and Prashanth rescue an average of

22 king cobras from situations
like this every year.

The snake is taken a safe
distance away from the village

and released back to the forest.

(insects chatter)
(birds chirp)

(water ripples)

King cobras are an icon
of the Western Ghats,

surviving in an ancient ecosystem

and protected by the reverence of man.

The Western Ghats are one of the world's

most remarkable biodiversity hotspots.

Intercepting monsoon clouds

and harvesting rainfall,

the mountains have a profound effect

on the climate of Southern India.

They're home to wild creatures,

from flying lizards and deadly snakes

to endangered primates
and formidable hunters.

Humans have lived alongside
animals here for millenia,

but the 20th century has taken it's toll

on this ancient ecosystem.

Much of its forest has been destroyed

to make room for crop cultivation,

and many species are now
staring extinction in the face.

But the spirit of the
Hulivesha Tiger Dance

runs deep in the indigenous
people of the Western Ghats,

and they do make room for wild animals.

There is plenty for everyone here

as long as man can
continues to find his niche

without destroying that of others.

(majestic music)

(insects chatter)
(birds call)

(majestic music)