Nilgiris: A Shared Wilderness (2024)

[bunniefuu]

[birds chirping]

[chanting in foreign language]

[narrator] Some people

believe that it is a call

that can shake a mountain.

[hornbills calling]

This pair of great hornbills

are particularly excited.

Hidden from sight, high up in

a tree, something is stirring.

Their little secret.

She takes in her first

view of the world.

A world that her parents

have successfully learned to

navigate in order to survive in

this ever-changing new wild.

It is perhaps not perfect, but

is the reality in a country

of over 1.4 billion people,

where boundaries

are often blurred,

sometimes leading to conflict.

A land of sacred peaks

and secret creatures,

lost in the mists of

time somewhere between

folklore and magic.



[temple bell ringing]

A land of thundering waterfalls,

deep gorges and ancient rocks,

all shaped by tectonic forces,

wind and water for over

two and a half billion years.

But even greater is

the force of change

brought in by human pressures,

only in the past two centuries.

This is the story

of the Nilgiris,

India's first biosphere reserve.

These islands in the sky

still hold many secrets.



[calling]



[lightning crashes]



Like the mountains

themselves, shrouded in mist,

the story of the origin

of the name Neela Giri is

still shrouded in mystery.



While others believe

the name originates

from the mountains being

carpeted by flowers

of the Neelakurinji.

Whatever may be the origin of

the name, there is no doubt that

the many folds of these

rugged mountains

still hold many mysteries.

Many of the plants

and animals here are found

nowhere else on the planet.

[bird chirps]

Like the Nilgiri Chilappan, a

species of laughing thrush

that has evolved in isolation

here for over 5 million years

and is inseparable from

the Sky Island home.

The highest part of the

Nilgiris is a land of extremes.

The mountain monarch here

in this precipitous terrain

is the Nilgiri Tahr.

Living in small herds,

these sturdy mountain goats

make their home in the

high elevation grasslands

and steep rocky cliffs,

inaccessible to predators.

[chirping]

Also known as the cloud

goat, this sure-footed

ungulate is the only one of

its kind found naturally

occurring in the tropics.

They roam their vast

grassland kingdom,

browsing on a variety of plants.

The grasslands appear monotypic.

In this sea of grass, these

pockets of dense jungle

are known as sholas.

These small wooded groves

are like a sponge,

with trees laden

with thick moss.

During the monsoon, they soak

up moisture and slowly release

it through the year,

ensuring a perennial supply

of fresh water.

These little streams join

together to form rivers that

cut through this landscape.

The waters that flow off

the northern side of the

mountains fall over 250 feet

and carve a chasm nearly

a thousand feet in depth,

creating The Moyar.

In Tamil, it means 'the

river that disappears'.

And in the summer transforms

into a green ribbon of life.

An oasis in a

rain-parched landscape.

From space, the Moyar can be

seen as a 22-kilometre-long scar

on the north side of

the Nilgiri Massif.

The Western Ghat mountain

range runs 1,600

kilometres north to south

along the west coast

of peninsular India.

The Nilgiri Massif runs west

to east and forms a bridge,

a critical link to

the Eastern Ghats.

Its unique location

combined with its unique

nature and culture

has made it India's

first biosphere reserve.

Established in 1986,

the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve,

covering an area

of 5,500 square kilometres,

is part of UNESCO's Man

and Biosphere Programme,

aimed at using research to

explore the relationship

between humans and

the environment.

This mosaic of grassland

and shola is important,

not only for its

ability to store water,

but it is also an

ancient storehouse of

numerous little secrets.

Species found here exist

nowhere else on the planet.



[bird singing]

Some are so seldom

seen that most people

don't even know they exist.



[narrator]

The Nilgiri Marten.

In this rare footage, this

mongoose-sized carnivore

is feeding on a giant squirrel.

This grassland kingdom is

home not just for the Tahr

but also other ungulates.

Gaur the largest

bovine in the world.

And Sambhar, the largest

of India's deer.

Grazing in the open

leaves them exposed.

Small herds graze in the

open, unaware that they

are being watched.

[bird chirping]



She gives chase.



It's too late.

For now, she will go hungry.

A story of predator and

prey that has unfolded here

for thousands of years.

But over the last two

centuries, these mountains have

been transformed.

An ever-growing human population

with an ever-hungry appetite

for land and consumption

has drastically altered

this landscape.

80% of the Nilgiri Massif

was converted to human

use of various forms.

[calling]

It's difficult to believe

that all this transformation

took place only within

the last 200 years.

In the mid-1800s.

But it was the Opium Wars

in China that triggered a

desperate search for alternative

tea-supplying landscapes

that led to tea plantations

being developed in India.

First in Assam, and

then in the Nilgiris.

This combined with the

construction of the

Nilgiri Mountain Railway,

popularly known as the

Toy Train, changed the

face of the hills.

With that, Ooty became the

busy, bustling heart of

a fast-growing township.

[train whistles]

A combination of

tourism and trade.







A stone's throw away from the

hustle and bustle of the market

is another world.

An idyllic year-round garden.

Busy with bees.

In this garden, it's not just

the roses that have spines.

Meet the Horsfield's

Spiny Lizard,

also known as the Nilgiri Salea,

with a tail nearly

two and a half times

its body length.

It is a species found

nowhere else in the world.

Once at home in high elevation

bushes around grasslands,

they've had to adapt to

their changing environment

and now live

incognito in gardens,

performing the role

of insect control.

Sudden movements trigger a

Salea's hunting instinct.

But a sudden movement also

triggers a fly's instinct

to flee.

[narrator] To catch a fly, one

needs to be a fly on the wall.

In this case, a branch.

She has her eyes on the prize.

A fly, too distracted to

notice the camouflaged lizard.

Being within striking

distance is critical.

Any sudden movement or loss of

focus and the fly will be gone.



With quick reflexes

and an uncanny ability

to conceal herself,

this Salea has managed

to capture a meal,

even in the heart of this town.





As towns go to sleep, the

hills reveal their wild side.

In this era of

lights and cameras,

every action is captured.

Security cameras

reveal the vibrant,

nocturnal urban

wildlife of the hills.









[glass breaks]





[glass shatters]



[animal grunting]

Dawn reveals the newest

habitat of the hills.

Neatly manicured rows of

tea, a vast sea of green.

The whole cast of

The Jungle Book are here.

From elephants, to cheeky

monkeys, mongoose,

to sloth bears, and even the

enigmatic black panther.

But in order to adapt

to this new wilderness,

they've had to play

by some new rules.

Rule number one,

don't eat the tea.

Luckily, the herbivores haven't

developed a taste for tea,

and hardly ever

graze on tea leaves.

They much prefer the lush

growth of grass under the tea.

Rule number two.

Get to know your neighbors.

There's also a sloth bear

family learning their way

around this tea garden.

And where there's prey,

there are predators lurking.

Rule number three.

See, but don't be seen.

The master of camouflage

in this wilderness of tea

is the leopard.

The most adaptable

of all the big cats,

the leopards have learned

the rules of the game well.

She's not watching the Sambar.





[screeches]

[narrator] Dogs are a big part

of the diet of these leopards.

With challenging

waste management,

open garbage dumps

attract macaques,

dogs,

and wild pigs.

A ready source of food

for waiting leopards.

This leopardess

has her paws full.

Her litter of four includes

two melanistic cubs.

But how they turn black, and

if in fact a black leopard

is a product of its habitat,

has long been a source

of discussion amongst

evolutionary biologists.



The black panther and leopard

are all the same species,

sometimes erroneously

considered different.

Melanism is a very rare mutation

that occurs when an individual

expresses the recessive gene.



With the tea pickers

gone for the day,

they can now come out of hiding.



The rocks in the tea garden

are a favourite play area.

Play is an essential

part of growing up.

It strengthens

bonds between them

and develops their abilities

to camouflage and ambush,

skills necessary to make

them the ultimate predators.



On the northern and eastern

sides of the Nilgiris,

things are very different.



It's the dry side, the

rain shadow region.

Clouds flow past, but

the mountains have

drained all the moisture.



At the start of the dry season,

gooseberries are a delicacy,

but for the Chital, reaching

them is impossible.

Lungurs take a bite and

throw the rest of the

fruit to the ground.

A welcome morsel

for waiting Chital.

Chital and Lungur have

learned to share their space

and resources to protect

each other from predators.

Chital are the most abundant

deer species here and are

a favorite meal for leopards

and other carnivores.



Wild dogs, known as dhole,

are efficient top predators.

They rarely hunt alone.

Their strength is

in their numbers.

[bird chirping]

Blackbuck, with speeds of

over 80 kilometers per hour,

may be too fast for Dhole.

They'll have to focus

their attention

on their slower

neighbors, Chital.

When Dhole go out on a hunt,

the forest goes quiet.



The moment they see the

Dhole, the Chital flee with

their tails in the air,

not giving away their

presence with a call.

Perhaps it's a strategy to

avoid getting singled out.

Unlike felines that

are ambush predators,

dhole rely on chasing

their prey down.

The bigger the pack,

the swifter the k*ll.

A wild dog is a hyper-carnivore,

consuming up to

340 kilos of meat a year,

nearly a kilo a day.

These dogs need to consume

not only for themselves.

Back at the den, this pack has

eight hungry mouths to feed.





The pups have had

a full day of play

in the safety of their den.

[growling]

Once the adults return,

it's time for food.

[whimpering]



Eating regurgitated meat

also allows the pups

to get started on a meat diet.



Dhole have more teats

than any other canid,

an advantage when having

to nurse large litters.

By the time they

are six weeks old,

they'll switch to an

entirely meat diet.

There's nothing better

than a little siesta

after a full meal.

There's something

brewing in the distance.

[thunder and lighting crashing]

[wind blowing]

The monsoon is the

region's heartbeat.

[water splashing]



In India, the monsoon is

a season of many faces.

It comes as a boon and a curse.

It can be a creator

and a destroyer.

[wood cracking]

But whatever it is, life

without the monsoon

is next to impossible.



Within a few weeks, the

landscape is transformed.





In the plains below, the deluge

is a relief to the residents.

[croaking]

Across the Western

Ghats, the monsoon rains

rejuvenate over 250 species

of amphibians, of which over

90% are found nowhere

else on the planet.

Malabar gliding frogs descend

from the canopy and gather

around pools of water

created by the monsoon rain.

This is their one time

to mate in a year

and things get frantic fast.

Normally this happens under

the cover of darkness,

but in the monsoon, with

heavy rains and reduced light,

mating can happen

even during daytime.



Once a male latches

onto a female,

special glue in the

thumbs makes him hold on

and fertilization of the

eggs happens outside.



As the eggs are fertilized,

they get put into a protective

foam nest that will not only

keep the eggs moist,

but also protect them

from predators.

In the next few weeks, the

eggs develop into tadpoles.



And with the help of a little

rain, they flow into the

safety and security of the

pool of fresh water below.

In the water, the tadpoles feed

on algae and vegetable matter

growing on rocks

and dead branches.

They rest under leaves,

but as air breathers,

they need to come up to the

surface to grab a mouthful.

All this movement

attracts the attention

of a little dragon.

In the dark, shadowy world

at the bottom of the pond,

another creature is

awaiting transformation.

It's a creature

with a superpower.



With compound eyes and

near 360-degree vision,

it's difficult to hide

from their sight.



An ambush predator,

this little dragon

has one of the fastest

strike forces in nature.

Able to extend its razor sharp

lower jaw in a split second,

it can capture tadpoles,

mosquito larvae

and other aquatic

invertebrates with precision.

This is a voracious predator.

The more food, the faster

its transformation.

Within a few weeks, the

little dragon emerges from

the water for its final act.

To shape-shift.

It swallows in air to

extend its abdomen.

And pumps fluids to extend

its paper-thin wings.

In a miraculous transformation,

the little nymph turns into

a dragon that can fly.

This particular dragonfly

is known as the

globe skimmer or

wandering glider.

It has the longest distance

insect migration in the world.

An individual globe skimmer

can cover a distance of

6,000 kilometers

in its lifetime.

But in order to accomplish

such an extraordinary feat,

there's one thing the

globe skimmer will need.

Fuel.

They couldn't have

timed their arrival better,

as there's a feast to be had.

Across the Western Ghats,

there are nearly 40 different

species of figs, each with

its own fruiting cycle.

A single fig tree can have

fruit ready for picking over

the course of a few weeks.

It's a seasonal bonanza

and the fig with its

sweet, delectable fruit attracts

not just the mammals, but also

a who's who of the bird world.

Fairy bluebirds, barbots,

bulbuls, green pigeons, mynahs,

lorokeets, and the largest of

them all, the great hornbill.

With a five-foot wingspan

and an appetite to match,

the hornbill is a

voracious fruit eater.

[narrator] Known as the

tree planter of the forest,

hornbills feed on

a variety of fruit

and help propagate figs

across their range.

But there's another creature

that figs need to be

really thankful for.



The tiny fig wasps that

play a crucial role

in pollinating the

giant fig tree.



In a complex ancient

relationship

spanning millions of

years, each species of

fig tree has co-evolved

with a particular

species of fig wasp.

One cannot survive

without the other.

Today, the hornbills

seem to be in no mood

to feed on the figs.

They have some crunchy

protein on their mind.

As the sun rises, dragonflies

appear on the scene.

Not a few, but a few

hundred thousand of them.

Here to catch the millions of

fig wasps emerging nonstop.

[wings fluttering]

But dragonflies with their

lightning fast maneuvers

are too much for the

awkward hornbills.

But it won't stop

them from trying.



Got one.

Well, almost.

Persistence pays off and the

hornbills mix their fruit diet

with some highly earned protein.

[birds chirping]

The hornbills must feed

well, as very soon they

will begin nesting.

In one of the most

unique nesting habits,

a young hornbill is

imprisoned for its own safety

inside a nest hollow.

Both parents engage in

feeding the growing chick.

[screeching]

[screeching gets more frantic]

[screeching continues]

As the chick grows, the

food too begins to change.

From soft figs and other

fruit to crunchy cicadas

and even other fledglings.

Over the course of two months,

the parents care for the young.

And now, nearly 70 days

after the chick hatched,

she's ready to fledge.

[hornbill squawks]

The male hornbill entices

the chick to come out

by not feeding her.

[hornbill squawks]

Now it's mom's turn.

She sits just barely

out of reach,

encouraging her little

secret to come outside.

But it's hard to do when

you've been growing

to nearly the size of the adult,

cramped inside a tree hollow.

[squawking continues]

The young fledgling

seems to be stuck.



But with a little

bit of struggle

and a little bit of coaxing,

the chick finally emerges.

Hornbill fledglings are

able to fly the first

day outside the nest,

but in this case our

hornbill has crashed onto a

pile of dense vegetation.

Flying lessons begin

almost immediately.

Incentivised by some good food.

This unique strategy in

Hornbills has been very

successful over the ages.

But today, with the

loss of primary forests

and the paucity of large sized

trees with nesting hollows,

this strategy now

makes them vulnerable.

But somehow, like many of the

species across the Nilgiris,

they've learned to adapt

to this new wilderness.

A shared wilderness.



And for now, their mighty

call continues to reverberate

across the mountains.

[hornbill calling]

Like the tiny fig wasp,

inseparable from the

mighty ficus tree,

connected to the hornbill,

the gardener of the forest.

We too are a part of this

delicate, intricately

interconnected world.

A natural world full

of beauty and magic.

These mountains are an ancient

storehouse of stories.

[calling]

A source of sacred rivers.

And home to the guardians

of our climate.

For the past few

centuries, humans have

dominated this landscape.



Bringing in rapid

change to this small

but vital biosphere reserve.

Can we help preserve

this unique habitat?

The only home to so

many endemic species.

Creatively trying to adapt

to live alongside us.

The fate of this fragile

ecosystem lies on us.

[elephant trumpeting]

Although everything is not

perfect, it is precious.

The Nilgiris, India's

Blue Mountains,

continue to hold many

secrets within her folds.

Wherein lies a story

of hope, of beauty,

fragility, and

intertwined futures.