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An EPIC Journey Through The Ganges | BBC Earth
An EPIC Journey Through The Ganges | BBC Earth
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Sous-titres (298)
0:00
But these waterways are not a reliable
0:02
means of getting around.
0:05
The creeks consist partly of sea water,
0:08
so they're under the influence of the
0:09
tides.
0:12
The mangroves' roots anchor the trees
0:14
against the tidal pull.
0:18
It's a constantly changing environment.
0:22
But some animals are adapted to exploit
0:24
it.
0:49
Strange creatures emerge from the
0:51
burrows, where they've sheltered from
0:53
the strong tidal currents.
1:03
Mudskippers are fish with specially
1:05
adapted fins enabling them to walk.
1:13
They feed on detritus left behind by the
1:16
falling waters.
1:29
Fish need water to breathe, so the
1:32
mudskippers carry a constant supply in
1:34
special gill pouches, which they have to
1:36
top up from time to time.
1:44
Mudskippers are not the only animals to
1:46
take advantage of the mudflat buffet.
1:54
Fiddler crabs sift food particles from
1:57
the mud, leaving behind neat balls of
1:59
leftovers.
2:03
The male crabs have one huge claw to
2:05
impress females and see off other males.
2:10
Mud skippers try the same trick with
2:12
their brightly colored fins.
2:15
But sometimes intimidation is not enough
2:17
to scare off rivals.
2:26
Arguments can [music] get very heated.
2:41
But the mud skippers lack the weaponry
2:43
to do each other much damage. [music]
2:46
And besides, disputes can never last
2:49
very long.
2:51
With every rising [music] tide, the mud
2:53
skippers are obliged to return to their
2:54
burrows or being swept away.
2:58
The Sundarbans stretches along the
3:00
coastline of Bangladesh and India.
3:03
It's by far the largest mangrove forest
3:05
on Earth.
3:07
Six times the size of greater London.
3:12
Mangroves with their bizarre aerial
3:14
roots are the only trees that can cope
3:17
with the salty water-logged conditions.
3:20
There are over 30 species of mangrove in
3:23
the Sundarbans and the biggest rely on
3:25
one tiny animal to survive.
3:31
Giant Asian honey bees feed on the
3:34
nectar of the mangrove flowers and in
3:37
the process pollinate them.
3:41
These are the biggest honey bees in the
3:42
world and also the most aggressive.
3:48
They will defend their enormous hive to
3:50
the death against any threat.
3:55
But the precious honey in those hives is
3:57
exactly what the boatmen are after.
4:06
These men have pushed deep into the maze
4:08
of over 400 waterways that crisscross
4:11
the forest.
4:17
They spread out to search, calling to
4:19
keep in touch.
4:37
Many people have been killed by swarms
4:40
of these bees.
4:42
10 m is the closest a man can safely
4:45
approach.
4:48
The threatened bees are primed to
4:50
attack.
4:52
But the honey collectors know the
4:54
in their armor.
5:00
When the bees smell smoke, they
5:02
instinctively behave as if the forest is
5:04
on fire.
5:08
As far as they're concerned, the hive is
5:09
doomed to burn and there's no point in
5:11
trying to protect it.
5:17
With the bees no longer aggressive, the
5:19
men can go about their work.
5:40
A good hive can contain up to 20 kilos
5:42
of honey.
5:50
>> This is liquid gold for these men, but
5:52
even though they are poor, they choose
5:54
not to take the whole hive.
5:57
Wise collectors know that if there is to
5:59
be honey here in years to come, they
6:01
should leave a section of the hive
6:03
behind so the bees don't have to rebuild
6:05
from scratch.
6:08
The honey will fetch a high price, but
6:11
many men pay an even higher price for
6:13
collecting it.
6:16
It's not swarms of bees that make this
6:18
one of the most dangerous jobs in the
6:20
world.
6:24
The trails are crisscrossed with the
6:26
tracks of the forest's most infamous
6:28
residents.
6:38
Tigers roam the Sunderbans, and they
6:41
have a well-earned reputation for
6:43
attacking people.
6:47
Honey collectors are especially at risk
6:49
because tigers rest in the dense
6:51
vegetation where the beehives are also
6:53
found.
6:56
Tigers kill [music] up to 100 people
6:58
every year in this forest.
7:04
Nobody knows why so many people are
7:06
killed here.
7:08
The tigers are hardly ever seen.
7:15
The deserts of western India may seem an
7:18
unpromising start for a river.
7:21
Yet, this is where the Chambal is born.
7:26
Fed by underground springs, the river
7:29
flows through some of India's [music]
7:30
most arid lands before reaching the
7:33
plains.
7:37
Though some people [music] do scratch a
7:38
living here, the Chambal remains a
7:40
wildlife oasis for the natural treasures
7:44
once found right along the Ganges.
7:56
Some migrant birds, such as bar-headed
7:58
geese and brahminy [music] ducks,
8:01
fly all the way across the Himalaya to
8:03
overwinter here in the desert sun.
8:13
Others, like spoonbills, take up
8:16
permanent residence.
8:26
>> [laughter]
8:28
>> Indian skimmers are also seen here all
8:30
year round, fishing the well-stocked
8:33
river.
8:42
This is one of only a few places where
8:45
these graceful birds still patrol the
8:47
waters,
8:48
trawling for fish with their outsized
8:50
lower bill.
9:14
Human influence on the Chambal is
9:16
steadily increasing,
9:17
but today, the river still harks back to
9:20
a time when just a few early settlers
9:23
shared the Ganges with their natural
9:26
neighbors.
9:32
>> [music]
9:32
>> As farming flourished, the people began
9:35
to worship the miraculous life-giving
9:38
powers of the Ganges.
9:46
The seeds of a new religion was sown.
9:50
People revered the natural forces and
9:52
crops upon which they depended.
9:56
And one plant was considered more
9:59
important than all the others.
10:04
Rice.
10:06
Perfectly adapted to grow in the Ganges
10:08
flood cycle,
10:10
it's been the staple food for 7,000
10:12
years.
10:15
Today, paddy fields dominate the
10:18
landscape, and so much rice is grown
10:20
here that the area has become known
10:22
[music] as the rice bowl of India.
10:28
>> [music]
10:31
>> The rise of farming didn't only change
10:33
the landscape, [music]
10:35
it also offered a home to new creatures.
10:41
>> [applause]
10:42
>> The people of the Ganges have long kept
10:44
all sorts of domestic animals and put
10:46
them to use in ingenious ways.
10:52
Duck herding is an ancient and lucrative
10:54
occupation.
10:58
So many ducks lay a lot of eggs,
11:01
and the herders are also paid to graze
11:03
their flocks on the paddy fields.
11:06
>> [applause]
11:08
>> As the ducks feed, they clear the weeds
11:10
from the inundated fields, and their
11:13
droppings add extra dollops of organic
11:15
fertilizer.
11:21
Yet, it isn't just domestic animals that
11:23
are welcome on the cultivated land.
11:25
The wetlands around the paddy fields
11:28
make an ideal home for all sorts of wild
11:30
birds.
11:33
And one visitor to these fields is
11:36
honored as a bearer of good fortune.
11:44
Standing as high as a man, the Sarus
11:47
crane is the tallest flying bird in the
11:50
world.
11:55
These magnificent birds pair for life
11:58
and their faithful nature has [laughter]
12:00
led them to be venerated as symbols of
12:02
marital bliss.
12:08
To help strengthen their partnerships,
12:11
the cranes perform elegant courtship
12:13
dances.
13:24
Although some animals thrived [music] in
13:25
the changing landscape, many were not so
13:28
well adapted to survive the rise of
13:30
agriculture, and not all made such
13:33
amenable neighbors.
13:34
>> world is the growing presence of Ganga,
13:37
the river goddess.
13:43
With each passing day, the spring
13:45
meltwater surges [music] down towards
13:48
the plains.
13:55
In the lower reaches of the mountain
13:57
rivers, Himalayan mahseer are gathering.
14:06
The world's largest carp, these powerful
14:09
fish cruise the rivers with the seasons,
14:12
migrating between spawning grounds in
14:14
mountain torrents and these more placid
14:17
lowland waters.
14:21
But today, these are perilous journeys
14:23
as poaching takes a heavy toll on their
14:26
numbers.
14:31
One of the few sanctuaries now left to
14:32
them are the ceremonial steps or ghats
14:36
at riverside temples.
14:41
Here, they grow huge on handouts from
14:44
priests and worshipers.
14:54
The largest might be a meter [music]
14:55
long and weigh over 50 kilos.
15:08
But in these increasingly crowded
15:10
valleys, they have to share these sacred
15:12
waters as the tributaries of the Ganges
15:15
are having ever greater demands placed
15:17
upon them.
15:23
Villagers use every stream pouring down
15:26
from the mountains to irrigate tier upon
15:29
tier of terraces carved into the
15:32
precipitous slopes.
15:37
Winter sown crops like barley and millet
15:40
quickly ripen in the strong sun.
15:44
And come May, it's not just the
15:46
villagers reaping the benefits.
15:58
Even as the crops are being cut,
16:00
troops of macaques are waiting in the
16:03
wings ready to mop up any overlooked
16:05
ears and seeds.
16:17
Despite appearances, time is of the
16:19
essence.
16:23
Almost as soon as the crop has been
16:25
gathered, these tiny fields are plowed,
16:28
then flooded and planted with rice to be
16:30
harvested in the autumn.
16:39
This intensive farming is only possible
16:42
because of the huge quantities of
16:43
meltwater flooding down from the peaks.
16:49
This predictable and plentiful supply of
16:51
water, the rivers that meet here are
16:53
known only by their local names, the
16:56
Alaknanda and the Bhagirathi.
17:00
But downstream from this promontory, the
17:02
larger river is officially called the
17:05
Ganga for the first time.
17:09
The river may have reached the gentler
17:11
foothills, but there's life in her yet.
17:51
>> This region is known as the Shivalik
17:53
Hills.
17:56
These are the ancient remnants of
17:58
mountains much older than the Himalaya.
18:02
Rock the powerful Ganges has been
18:04
wearing down for millions of years.
18:12
Now the river's character begins to
18:14
change.
18:17
The rapids become separated by
18:19
increasingly longer stretches of deeper,
18:22
more placid water.
18:27
The first large towns begin to appear on
18:30
her banks.
18:34
The 120-m
18:36
long Lakshman Jhula footbridge spans the
18:39
Ganges at the town of Rishikesh.
18:49
Every day thousands pass back and forth
18:52
going about their daily business.
18:57
Although not everyone uses the more
18:59
conventional route.
19:15
>> The chaos of the bridge is ripe for
19:17
exploitation
19:19
and the resident macaques know just how
19:21
to work it to their advantage.
19:28
They miss little
19:31
and there's nothing subtle about their
19:33
tactics.
19:45
If begging doesn't work, direct action
19:48
usually does.
19:58
They may not have the same protection of
20:00
more sacred animals,
20:02
but Hinduism has a fundamental respect
20:04
for all life and so they are tolerated.
20:08
Their antics just an accepted, if
20:10
annoying, part of everyday life around
20:12
the town.
20:29
The Rishikesh macaques span two worlds
20:32
with one foot in the Shivalik forests
20:34
and the other in the urban jungle.
