Episode 3 | Forests

In Sumatra, elephant populations are rapidly decreasing. Their decline is primarily a result of deforestation, leaving only 29% of the island still habitable for elephants, leaving them in isolated patches close to humans. The relationship is tense and all — out war between human and elephant is becoming a regular occurrence, often ending in the loss of lives to both.

The relationship between a mahout and their elephant is very personal. Often they know the elephant from when they were babies and have to train them and care for their everyday needs such as feeding and washing. In their job as elephant carers and trainers and will always put the elephant before themselves – it is more important that the elephants are fed than the mahouts are fed!

Jordan Wilson, a man from Heiltsuk descent, reveals the traditional methods of harvesting herring eggs, using hemlock branches. The Heiltsuk sustainable herring fishery has used this traditional process, passed down from ancestors for generations to maximize the yield of herring eggs at spawning time.

Over the course of the spring and summer, two of the most common trees in the northern forests of the planet, ‘breathe’ out oxygen into the atmosphere and ‘breathe’ in carbon dioxide. This clip shows the pulse of life in action as these plants bud.

Satellite footage from NASA has revealed how the planet breathes in annual pulses in time with the seasons. And surprisingly the breathing isn’t driven by the tropical forests as would be expected; it’s the great northern forests that are the real lungs. Video courtesy of NASA, graphic ©NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Journey deep into the great forests of Earth for a new way of looking at these wild places and the animals that live there. Dr. M. Sanjayan travels to Sumatra and finds frightening elephant battles are exploding on the edge of the forest.

Journey deep into the great forests of Earth for a new way of looking at these wild places and the animals that live there. Sanjayan travels into an uncharted area of the Amazon that scientists believe is the most bio-diverse place on Earth. Premieres February 11 at 10/9c. Check local listings.