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Planet Earth DVD Episode Guide - Episode 8 - Jungles

Episode 8 of the Planet Earth DVD series takes the viewer deep into the jungles and rainforests. Jungles and rainforests occupy only 3% of the Earth’s land but are home to over half of the world’s species. In New Guinea, almost 40 different birds of paradise avoid conflict by living on different parts of the island. The elaborate courtship displays of the birds of paradise are shown.

At the top of the dense forest canopy, sunlight is in high demand. With each death of a tree a race by sapplings is triggered to fill the vacant space. For jungle creatures, figs are a popular food. As many as 44 different types of birds and monkeys have been observed feeding in a single fig tree.

Planet Earth explores the sounds of the jungle that are heard throughout the day, from the early morning calls of orangutans to the nocturnal cacophony of courting tree frogs. The Planet Earth DVD series illustrates the importance of fungi to the rainforest by showing them fruiting. Footage of a parasite called cordyceps is included.

The symbiotic relationship between carnivorous pitcher plants and red crab spiders is discussed. In the Congo, roaming forest elephants are show reaching a clearing to feed on essential clay minerals within the mud. Chipanzees are one of the few jungle animals that are able to move through both the forest floor and the canopy in search of food. In Uganda, members of a 150-string community of primates mount an attack into a neighboring territory in order to gain control of it.

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