Planet Earth – Jungles

Next Friday’s Ecofilm at Sadhana Forest, screening May 27th as usual at 7 p.m., will be Planet Earth – Jungles.

Genre: Documentary, Nature. Produced by: British Broadcasting Corporation, 2006, 50 Minutes, English.

Jungles and tropical rainforests occupy only 3% of the land on earth yet are home to over half of the world’s species. New Guinea is inhabited by many kinds of birds of paradise, which avoid conflict with each other by living in different parts of the island. Within the thick forest canopy, sunlight is prized, and the death of a tree begins a race by saplings to fill the vacant space. As many as 44 types of bird and monkey have been observed picking from a single fig tree. The sounds of the jungle throughout the day are explored, from the early morning calls of apes and orangutan to the nocturnal noise of courting tree frogs. In the Congo, traveling forest elephants are shown at a clearing to feed on clay minerals within the mud. Finally, chimpanzees are one of the few jungle animals able to travel both on the forest floor and in the canopy to search for food. In Uganda, members of a 150-strong community of these primates invade a neighboring area in order to gain control of it.