[Paul Rudd] Planet Earth is so spectacular,
it's easy to miss the smaller things in life.
But take a closer look...
and there's a whole undiscovered world.
A world where tiny heroes...
and little monsters...
need incredible superpowers...
to help them triumph against giant odds.
The jungles of Latin America,
home to more little lives
than anywhere else on Earth.
[birds chirping]
Down in the leaf litter, a new one is just beginning.
This strawberry dart frog is carrying her tadpole on her back.
It's about the size of a grain of rice.
The jungle underworld is far too dangerous for her baby.
[snake hisses]
She needs to find a safe place for it to grow.
Way up there, in the branches of this 40-meter jungle skyscraper.
For a frog the size of a grape...
this is her Mount Everest.
Sticky feet give her grip.
But one slip could be fatal.
She's got plenty of company in the trees.
From root...
...to tip.
There may be 5,000 different kinds of little creatures
living in a single tree.
[birds chirping]
[buzzing]
Finally, up in the canopy, where the sun shines.
A bromeliad plant makes the perfect penthouse pool
for her tadpole to grow in.
But with so many little animals competing for food and space,
life in the jungle is precarious.
Only a true specialist can survive.
Meet the smallest monkey in the world...
[marmoset squeaking]
The pygmy marmoset.
An adult will fit in the palm of your hand.
Being so tiny makes it hard to know who's friend, foe or food.
[squeaking]
But at least they can tap into a food source
right beneath their feet.
With sharp teeth, they gouge away the bark
to create miniature wells that fill up with delicious sugary sap.
On a big tree, there may be over 1,000 of them.
Easily enough for a growing family.
Good thing. There are new additions to the troop.
Each the size of a Ping-Pong ball.
Marmosets nearly always give birth to twins.
Both parents share babysitting duties, and even the older siblings pitch in...
when they're not fighting.
[squeaking]
Cooperation is a way of life for these pocket-sized primates.
So is hanging around in the middle of the tree.
It's too dangerous below...
[howler monkeys howling]
and way too crowded above.
Sixty times the size of a marmoset, howler monkeys dominate up here.
The canopy is where 80% of all life in the jungle is found.
On the forest floor, life is more of a struggle.
[sniffing]
Hardly any sunlight reaches down here, so not much can grow.
This pint-sized agouti relies on what falls from above.
[thunder rumbling]
[rain pattering]
Rain is the lifeblood of the jungle.
Up to three meters falls each year.
Every drop has a huge impact on tiny lives.
Showers keep the tadpole pool topped up.
But there can be too much of a good thing.
Water soaked up by the plants and bark adds enormous weight to ancient trees.
Torrential rains wash away thin soil.
[thunder rumbles]
Giant trees endure centuries of drenching storms...
until one day...
[tree creaks]
[tree cracking]
When a tree this size falls...
it leaves a big hole in jungle life.
[insects chirping]
The strawberry dart frog has survived.
But her tadpole is exposed.
And a fire-bellied ground snake can sense it.
There's nothing the mother can do...
but start again.
[birds chirping]
A disaster for some is a windfall for others.
[crunches]
Leaf-cutter ants no longer have to climb.
The leaves are many times their size.
But each ant can carry ten times their own weight.
And a colony of eight million can strip a tree like this
in a matter of days.
The fallen giant attracts all sorts of other tiny leaf eaters too.
Unfortunately, marmosets don't eat leaves.
And losing a major sap tree is a huge setback.
[squeaking]
But these little gremlins do have a surprisingly predatory side.
[marmoset squeaks]
Their spring-loaded legs can launch them up to three meters.
Curved claws grip like mini grappling hooks.
[chews, crunches]
And those bark-chomping teeth are just as effective on insects.
Hunting among tangles of fallen branches comes easily to these miniature monkeys.
[squeaks]
They'll eat pretty much anything they can grab.
But not all is what it seems.
An amazing display of mimicry.
This caterpillar's impression of a deadly snake is so convincing
it's scary.
After hundreds of years in shadow,
suddenly the forest floor is bathed in sunlight.
Seeds that have laid dormant start small but aim high.
This is now a race for light.
[rustling]
Climbers and vines are quick off the mark...
smothering any saplings as they fight for their place in the sun.
Soon the fallen giant is carpeted in new growth.
And the gap is transformed into a lush glade.
[bird hums]
But this is no Eden.
Hummingbirds are as light as a sheet of paper.
What they lack in size, they make up for in aggression.
[knives slashing]
Some have daggerlike bills and even teeth.
All for fighting over flowers.
[bird hums]
Hummingbirds have to refuel every few minutes.
With feathered tongues, they lap up nectar 20 times a second.
And they need to be quick.
The competition is relentless.
But it doesn't have to be like this.
The crescent-shaped flowers of the heliconia
are impossible for most hummingbirds to feed from.
But the green hermit has a long, curved bill.
It allows it to feed on the nectar in peace.
Well, almost.
Tinier than a pinhead,
these flower mites have nearly drunk this heliconia dry.
To reach the next flower, they need to hitch a lift.
For their size, they're almost as fast as a cheetah.
Racing up the hummingbird's beak...
to stow away in its nostrils...
ready to be airlifted on to the next flower.
[wings flapping]
As the glade is overgrown,
the forest floor falls into darkness once more.
Fungi thrive in these damp conditions...
rotting away the remains of fallen trees.
Finding fresh food here is much harder.
[sniffing]
A Brazil nut pod is too tough for most animals.
But not an agouti.
What she can't eat now, she'll bury for later.
She's nervous by nature.
And for good reason.
A margay is only slightly bigger than a house cat...
but a lot deadlier.
[growls]
The dark forest floor conceals many predators.
And on a smaller scale, they are even more sinister.
On 40 little legs,
this finger-length velvet worm stalks in silence.
Its hunting tactics are the stuff of science fiction.
Vibration sensors on its body track its victim's movement.
It must creep closer...
to use its secret weapon...
Web-slingers.
The sticky strands harden in seconds.
There's no escape.
Tiny creatures must be on guard at all times.
The female strawberry dart frog has just laid a new clutch of eggs.
But it's the male's job to keep them safe.
Bright red color is a warning to predators.
His skin secretes a deadly toxin.
Just one problem...
Fire-bellied snakes are immune.
They are also highly sensitive to any movement.
Keep perfectly still...
and he might just survive.
But he can't hide from everything.
[frog croaking]
A rival male.
[frogs croaking]
He's after this territory.
[croaking continues]
If he claims it, he'll eat the eggs.
This little dad has everything to fight for.
Both no heavier than a sugar cube, they're evenly matched.
They can keep this up for over half an hour.
The little frog is beginning to tire.
But Dad comes out on top.
His rival's seen off, at least for now.
It's still two more weeks of guard duty before his eggs hatch.
[frog croaking]
[buzzing]
As the forest matures, more intricate relationships develop.
[bee buzzes]
This orchid bee is on an extraordinary mission.
He's flown over 40 kilometers to get here.
And he's not alone.
All of them males, and all after one thing.
Not pollen.
Perfume.
This orchid produces a fragrance
that will make him irresistible to female bees.
So he collects as much as he can.
But if he's not careful...
he'll drown in it.
There's only one way out.
It's a tight squeeze.
And the orchid won't let him leave without a parting gift.
A pollen package stuck to his back.
The little bee's mission for a mate continues,
but the orchid's work is done.
For the pygmy marmosets, life seems to be returning to normal.
Insects are harder to come by these days.
Not a problem.
They've been busy digging new sap wells in new trees.
Their noisy neighbors are back too.
[howler monkeys howling]
Making a racket, hogging the food...
and creating a mess.
When nature calls,
it falls on the little guys to sort it out.
This tiny superhero keeps things clean in the canopy.
A beetle, only the size of a dime.
But no job is too big.
From 20 meters up...
he just holds on tight.
And here comes the rest of the cleanup crew.
The dung balls are rolled away to be buried.
Food for their young.
And fertilizer for the forest.
The jungle is a complex world full of amazing little animals.
All with their own unique role to play.
And these tiny primates have found their place too.
Their crowded little patch of forest is ever-changing.
But for now, life is sweet.
And down below...
One Brazil nut the agouti left behind...
Slowly growing in the shadows.
Playing the long game.
From small beginnings, giants emerge.
The jungle might look like an endless sea of green...
but each and every tree is home to a universe of little wonders.
A strawberry dart frog
looking to find a safe place for her tiny tadpole.
She better get moving...
to raise the next generation.
It's a long journey...
all the way up.