Tolcidas, Alyssa Mae R.

24 February 2017
NASC 10 G Reaction
Paper

Planet Earth: Jungles

Growing up, I remember how The Jungle Book has always been one of the most remarkable tales
my mother used to tell me about. I recall how amazed I was in knowing the different kinds of animals that
live in the jungle, but it was only now that I got to appreciate the real wonders of the jungle when I
watched an hour-long episode in Planet Earth entitled Jungles, a part of David Attenborough's natural
history series.
Watching the said instalment of Planet Earth enabled me to view the jungle in a whole new
perspective. I learned how jungles are inhabited not only by animals but also other species ranging from
plants to insects to fungi. I was also impressed by how the film was carefully and pleasantly documented,
showing the inner depths of the jungle and the creatures that thrive where light barely spreads.
It is a known fact that jungles cover roughly three per cent of our planet, yet are home to a
staggering 50 per cent of the world's species. Even though jungles prove to be the most productive
environments on earth, I learned that it is also the most competitive. Animals and other species always
struggle for survival and Im glad to have witnessed the amazing strategies its inhabitants adopt in order
to survive.
Some of the most remarkable parts in the episode for me include the elephants trying to survive
by supplementing their diet with minerals mined in water filled depressions, which are found in forest
clearings. I got really fascinated as I watched the elephants drill down with their trunks and blow away
the top layer of silt to get to the choicest bits.
Another scene was taken in the Ngogo forest in Uganda which shows how a large chimpanzee
group defends its territory from neighboring chimp groups. On one patrol, a youngster from a rival group
is brutally killed and feasted upon.
However, I got to learn an effective jungle strategy which is to specialize. The red crab spider
spends its entire life on a small, water filled pitcher plant. It feeds partly on mosquito larvae, which it
catches by swimming to the bottom of the pitcher. The video also showed the alien-like group of parasitic
fungi called cordyceps. Cordyceps infiltrates an insect host, feeds on it, and then bursts out of its body just
like what happened to the fire ants which ate the fungi.
These are just among the many scenes that caught my attention while watching the whole
episode. I think what the instalment tries to portray came across clearly and effectively to their audience,
especially to people like me. For a moment I felt like an explorer who is actually there on the field,
quietly observing how plants, animals and others species flourish and adapt to their environment.
Truly, the importance of jungles and forests cannot be underestimated. Not only animals, plants,
and other creatures benefit from them, but also us, people, who depend on them for survival from the air
we breathe to the resources we use. This is why we have to take action and do even the simplest of things
that can help to ensure the sustainability of our jungles in the upcoming generations.