♪♪ ♪♪ -Once upon a time, deep within the heart of India, stories were told of a secret jungle and those who lived within its tangled thickness.

♪♪ There was the king of predators -- in our language, Shere Khan, Lord Tiger.

All the jungle was in fear of him... except for the big tusker we called Hathi and all the elephants who roam where they wish, when they wish.

The jungle was full of life... [ Roaring ] ...and lurking death.

The best lookouts were the monkey folk, the Bandar-log, quick to sound an alarm for all to hear... except the Ancient One.

♪♪ Beyond the forest lived the free people, the wolves.

[ Howling ] Wild and fast, they need the open spaces... ♪♪ ...while Baloo, the sloth bear, prefers to be alone, often in the open sunlight of the stone country.

♪♪ And not just the big cats.

There were smaller and deadly hunters -- the dhole, the red dogs.

[ Dhole barking ] When they're on the hunt, even I keep clear of them.

And those old stories tell also of Mowgli, the man cub, adopted by the she-wolf.

But it was never quite like that.

Those were old stories.

These are the real stories of that old book -- "The Real Jungle Book."

♪♪ Some call me Bagheera, the panther.

I'm a leopard whose spots are covered by the black of my coat.

I'm a ghost, only visible when I rest up in the branches.

From here, I watch the world as it cycles through the days and the seasons of the years as they pass beneath me.

♪♪ I make no sound.

but I'm always watching.

There's nothing I miss.

♪♪ Those old stories tell of a jungle where an unwritten law maintained a balance and order between us -- the oldest law of all, the Law of the Jungle.

♪♪ It was a code of survival that regulated all our lives.

♪♪ A code only Shere Khan chose to ignore.

♪♪ The man cub, Mowgli, was a part of that law... but I always kept my eye on him, for I knew the ways of men... and Shere Khan was always watching.

♪♪ That jungle gave us everything -- food and water, shelter and protection.

They have always been my home, but we never lived in just one jungle.

In reality, there are separate kingdoms.

Fringing my jungle is the backwater country, grass plains with lakes filled by the rains and the rivers... ♪♪ ...home to Hathi and the elephants.

♪♪ To the north of my jungle are ancient hills covered with stone and rock -- the home of Baloo... and the monkey folk.

And then the open grasslands, the realm of Akela and the wolves.

And their strength is the pack.

Each moves within a territory it knows well.

The grasslands support a wealth of life -- chinkara and blackbuck, favored prey of the wolves... ...eagles... and weaverbirds, who collect the grasses to stitch into elegant nests.

♪♪ In those old stories, it was Akela, the lone wolf, who'd led the pack and presided over the council meetings, but the pack structure isn't like that.

Each pack is led by a dominant male and female.

Every evening, the members gather to reinforce their bond, for the strength of every pack is the wolf.

[ Wolves howling ] ♪♪ As the light fades, they move out to hunt.

Grasslands have always been the kingdom of the wolves, never the tangled and confined jungle.

♪♪ This is the tigers' kingdom.

They live alone.

Both males and females leave a distinctive scent on their boundaries to warn off others, or sometimes...to attract.

[ Birds chirping ] She is ready to mate.

♪♪ And now he knows.

♪♪ ♪♪ Patiently she waits.

♪♪ Her invitation has been posted.

Enticingly, she lures him closer... ♪♪ ...and closer still.

♪♪ Almost coquettishly, she extends the invitation that he can't resist.

♪♪ [ Tigers chuff ] ♪♪ ♪♪ It's seldom two tigers are seen together, but he'll stay with her for days, mating frequently so he knows the cubs will be his.

[ Tigers snarling ] ♪♪ Then they go their separate paths... that often cross with those of Hathi, the wise old tusker.

[ Birds chirping ] For him, the forest holds no obstacles.

For much of the year, the old bulls live alone.

[ Elephant rumbles ] They're big and vegetarian and spend most of their day just eating.

Myna birds hitch a lift through the forest... ...or snatch a tick from a restless sambar.

The old bulls may be wise... but it's the females who have the knowledge.

Each herd is led by a matriarch, guiding her sisters and aunts, daughters and sons along pathways used for generations.

[ Elephant rumbles ] Babies are protected by all the family members... ♪♪ ...and the matriarch knows precisely where to find another essential part of elephant life -- water.

♪♪ Sometimes just for fun, who doesn't enjoy splashing around on a hot day?

♪♪ To drink and find a fleeting refuge from the relentless heat?

♪♪ North of my forest is the stone country, over two billion years in the making... home to my greatest ally from those old stories -- Baloo, the sloth bear.

♪♪ Like me, he was teacher and mentor to Mowgli, and lives up to his reputation of enjoying nothing more than to laze in the sun.

♪♪ But when confronted, a bear often fights, so it's best to stay clear... especially a mother with twins only weeks old.

♪♪ Caves give her relief from the sun and the solitude she prefers, while her two ructious cubs, playing and squabbling and brawling with endless energy, have made her tired and short tempered, not helped by a day in the hot sun.

♪♪ She scratches to see if there could be a few more ants, a favorite meal.

♪♪ Then, like any tired and grumpy mother, she tries to get her twins to settle.

♪♪ ♪♪ One down.

Now for the other.

♪♪ Parental persuasion is required.

♪♪ And peace at last -- for a few brief, precious moments.

♪♪ ♪♪ Outside, a ruddy mongoose and others endure the heat radiating from the ancient rocks.

[ Animals chittering ] Too soon and her rest is over.

♪♪ Her long, shaggy coat offers insulation from the sun and also helps her cubs with their first and most valuable lesson of their lives -- cling on.

♪♪ As she shambles through the rocks, it's easy for a cub to lose its grip... ...and to struggle back up.

Sloth bears are the only bears to carry their cubs.

♪♪ She eats mostly termites and ants and can sniff them out even underground.

With her long snout, she sucks them up like a vacuum cleaner while her cubs just hang on and learn.

♪♪ Just like Baloo, she loves honey, but the nests on these rock walls are too much of a challenge.

♪♪ The stone country is a deeply fragmented landscape, and the high spots belong to the monkey folk, the Bandar-log.

♪♪ Where they live, chaos reigns.

♪♪ ♪♪ They've never had a single ruler.

Alliances are cemented by constant grooming.

♪♪ In the old stories, the Bandar-log were outside the law, always leaping and jumping, always above everyone else.

Little has changed from those old days.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ They defy gravity, somehow avoiding injury that would leave them dead.

♪♪ The pillars of rock resemble the ruined city where once it was said the monkey folk lived.

♪♪ Daily lives are controlled by groups of closely related females and their offspring, often with a single dominant male.

♪♪ Constant petty squabbling can lead to violent disagreement.

♪♪ Just when this verbal squabble looks to turn vicious, passions die.

Langur life returns to its chaotic normal... ♪♪ ...and a temporary truce is negotiated.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Eyes are everywhere, and one young female sees what she craves.

♪♪ An unattached baby is kidnapped... ♪♪ ...cradled... [ Baby langur cries ] ♪♪ ...and restrained.

♪♪ Just like the old stories, when Mowgli was taken up into the branches and carried away.

♪♪ But this too ends well.

♪♪ In only a matter of weeks, the bear cubs have grown and, like all youngsters, want their independence.

But they'll never stray too far.

♪♪ She has a special treat for them.

Sometimes she'll regurgitate half-digested fruits and honey, a sweet delicacy called bear bread.

♪♪ Today it's a liquid, but the cubs can't get enough, though one seems to want it all.

♪♪ Then off again.

♪♪ While her own cubs have their own mind on where they want to go... ♪♪ ...Mom's always on the lookout... ♪♪ ...always offering security.

♪♪ Lesson one is mastered.

Now it's all about adventure.

No matter how confident, a sudden movement creates panic.

♪♪ Quickly forgotten by another fight over absolutely nothing.

If the cubs survive, she won't give birth again for at least three years.

♪♪ Each is a huge investment for the future... that sees only more heat and no rain.

♪♪ As the hot season progresses, in the wolf pack the dynamics are changing.

Young males are forced out.

♪♪ ♪♪ Patrolling their territory, the pack spot a distant wolf -- a young male.

With sharp eyesight, they recognize an intruder.

♪♪ The pack are tense and on edge.

♪♪ The dominant male is the first to react.

♪♪ [ Wolf yelps, whines ] ♪♪ The lone male shows submission, pleading to join.

But the pack members will have none of it.

Their strength is unity.

[ Wolves snarling ] ♪♪ [ Wolf yelps ] ♪♪ [ Wolves barking ] [ Wolf yelps, whines ] This was his only chance.

♪♪ Unlike those old stories of Akela, in the real " Jungle Book," a lone wolf has only a slim chance of survival.

♪♪ ♪♪ Mowgli was fortunate.

His friends looked out for him.

In my branches, I fear nothing.

[ Birds chirping ] Up here, I'm safe.

And he has other things on his mind.

[ Tiger growls softly ] Sharp-eyed langurs are the forest lookouts.

Spotted deer are blind to color but alert for sudden movement or noise.

[ Langur chirps ] They're relaxed, as they know the langurs will warn of danger.

Orange and black in a green jungle should make a tiger stand out.

But to a colorblind deer, once he moves into the grass, he is invisible.

It's a trick of light and shade.

[ Insects chirping ] Spotted deer are part of the tiger's favorite diet... and they know it.

♪♪ So far, so good.

♪♪ Each step is carefully judged... ♪♪ ...alert for the slightest movement or sound.

Stealth is his final weapon.

♪♪ Just one more step.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ It is the Law of the Jungle -- the dance between predator and prey.

Most hunts end like this.

♪♪ Every time he must judge when to abandon the chase to conserve energy for the next time.

[ Elephant rumbles ] Even he knows when the rest is over.

What a tusker wants, he takes.

[ Elephant rumbles ] Another from behind the bushes gives no doubt of his intentions.

[ Elephant trumpets ] ♪♪ He retreats back into the forest, where he is king.

♪♪ Even Shere Khan will try to avoid these forest dwellers -- the dhole, the red dogs.

♪♪ They look and play like dogs.

They are dogs, but wild and free, skillful, deadly hunters.

[ Dhole yelps ] When the red dogs are around, I stay out of reach.

My cousins too.

Leopards, tigers, dhole -- we all compete for the same forest territory.

With the dogs gone, one takes his chances.

But for now, I'll stay where it's cooler.

♪♪ The summer heat is becoming unbearable in the backwater country.

♪♪ The remaining water draws in elephant families from far away.

It's a chance for adults to feed on the grasses that remain.

Safe amongst the feet, the baby watches the technique, an adept use of trunk and foot.

But the trunk is a complex organ and can take a year to learn how to use.

♪♪ There are far more immediate matters for now.

It's the first time in a year the families are together.

For these two, it's the first time in their lives they have played with another of the same age... ♪♪ ...so they make the most of it.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ The adults just keep on eating, trying to ignore their calves.

♪♪ Young males play fight for the time when they will have to live alone.

♪♪ ,Enough for one day.

the families return to the safety of the jungle.

♪♪ The days are still getting hotter.

Without rain for months, water is becoming the focus for all the forest... Mowgli... as well as for his nemesis, Shere Khan... never far away.

♪♪ In the middle of the day, we all seek shade to try and cool off.

Even the slightest breeze can help.

Shere Khan was born with a limp.

It was his mother who called him "the lame one."

♪♪ Hunting natural prey was always going to be a challenge.

With an injured paw, stalking is next to impossible.

♪♪ Hunger drives him.

♪♪ The wound stops him.

♪♪ The alarm calls are almost mocking in their disdain.

[ Langurs calling ] ♪♪ All he can do is lick his wound and hope it will speed the healing.

But scents that waft on the air are tantalizing... for Kaa.

♪♪ Patiently... silently... invisible... ♪♪ ...she slides closer... ♪♪ ...and closer.

♪♪ [ Langur calling ] ♪♪ There is no escape.

The python's jaws are locked, fangs embedded.

♪♪ Without venom, the python must coil her body to constrict and kill.

But the fawn is strong, and Kaa could lose her grip.

[ Fawn crying ] ♪♪ The mother gives the fawn the will to try again... but it's a stalemate.

One can't move and the other dare not in case the hold is broken.

♪♪ One final hopeless lunge for life... ♪♪ ...and against all odds, freedom.

I'm tempted... ♪♪ ...but beneath me, the red dogs are moving... ♪♪ ...and they're hungry.

♪♪ Sambar.

♪♪ ♪♪ Unlike smaller deer, sambar fight back.

The red dogs are intelligent.

Two clans briefly unite.

Some keep the herd at a safe distance... while the others isolate the mother and her fawn.

♪♪ The dogs are cautious, as a kick could easily maim or kill.

♪♪ They go for the head, but she fights back ferociously.

♪♪ A dog sees a chance.

♪♪ Foiled.

♪♪ She stands her ground, but the dogs know what they have to do.

[ Dhole whines, barks ] Separated, it's over.

♪♪ This looks cruel and vicious, but the red dogs are small and cannot kill swiftly.

They too must live.

In the jungle, i is always the survival of the strongest, that unwritten law.

♪♪ ♪♪ Maternal instinct is strong... ♪♪ ...but finally, even she has to accept this hunt is done.

♪♪ At the Council Rock, the evening cools just a little.

♪♪ On the grasslands, the June heat is stifling.

With no shade, the land cries out for water.

♪♪ Rising, overheated air is the first hint that change will come.

A morning mist teases with a promise still weeks away.

♪♪ Much of the forest is devoid of cover.

A one-tusked bull is reduced to eating anything that has a little nutrition.

[ Elephant rumbles ] ♪♪ Water is becoming a scarce necessity for all the forest, but the forest offers little relief.

♪♪ ♪♪ The stone country is a furnace.

♪♪ [ Insects chirping ] Only one bear cub has survived, the other taken by a leopard.

Either it's the rising heat or just superstition... but some say when the peacock displays, the rains are not far off.

The dazzle of this dance is for nothing... ...but I hope the rains come soon.

A bone-dry forest makes it even harder to be silent.

[ Rustling ] Daily the backwaters are evaporating, but there are still some shallow pools where an elephant can cool off.

But in the forest, water is almost gone.

[ Birds chirping ] The old stories tell that, in the heat, as water levels sank and the Peace Rock became exposed, a water truce would be called -- hunting and killing were forbidden.

But those were the old stories.

These few holes that contain muddy and warm water draw in all the forest life... -[ Langur calls ] -...and the hunted know they're at great risk... [ Birds chirping ] ...every single muscle taut and ready for that first desperate leap.

Lord Tiger is hot and thirsty, not hungry.

[ Birds continue chirping ] Now he has the tepid dirty water to himself.

But not for long.

[ Elephant rumbles ] [ Elephant trumpets ] [ Elephant rumbles ] There never was any truce, but there is a pecking order.

And then...change.

[ Thunder booming ] Clouds sweep in from the Arabian Sea, rise over the heated land, condense and cool... ...and torrential rain, the giver of life.

[ Rain pattering, thunder rumbles ] ♪♪ For all of us, the rains bring relief from the searing heat.

♪♪ ♪♪ Some seek shelter in the forest.

Others just enjoy in the open.

♪♪ The land soaks in the rain, and life in the backwater country rebounds.

♪♪ A young tigress in the open causes no panic.

♪♪ The red dogs are up and about and happy to play with an elephant family on the move.

♪♪ [ Elephant trumpets ] But one tusker takes it personally... [ Elephant trumpets ] ...while the dogs just seem to enjoy the game.

♪♪ Then it's game over.

♪♪ The play turns deadly.

♪♪ Out of the forest, the dhole use a different strategy.

Now it's speed and stamina.

The red dogs have plenty of both.

♪♪ They run at the herd looking for weakness -- a spotted deer that is slower or becomes separated.

♪♪ And weakness spotted.

♪♪ The red dogs split.

Some chased the herd, while others focus on the loners.

♪♪ Missed!

First one... and then the second leap and swim for their lives.

♪♪ The dogs are strong swimmers, but the other pack members have killed.

[ Birds chirping ] Out in the open, any activity is very visible, so the dogs eat fast in case a larger predator arrives.

This kill is spotted by scavengers.

The vultures fly in.

There is a hierarchy amongst the birds, and with that sorted, it turns into a free-for-all.

When they're finished, there'll be nothing left.

Gorged, the red dogs relax.

It's been a good day.

♪♪ With the rains, the forest is renewed.

And just like the man cub, Mowgli, who I once protected, Shere Khan, too, was once small and helpless... [ Tiger cub mewing ] ...mewing in distress when he was separated from his mother.

♪♪ [ Mewing continues ] ♪♪ She is everything to her cubs -- defender, provider and teacher in the ways and the laws of the jungle.

♪♪ Timid and cautious, they stay with their mother for two years.

After that, they are on their own.

♪♪ Females will often stay close to their mother's territory.

♪♪ Males must leave.

[ Tigers snarling, roaring ] ♪♪ Space in the jungle is limited, and the law is harsh.

Brother must fight brother for the right to remain in a territory that can only ever provide for one.

♪♪ And the winner takes it all.

♪♪ ♪♪ As the season cycles once again, water is again plentiful and some are leaving for the year.

Matriarchs lead their families home along routes they have learned through constant use, and that knowledge is stored in their ancestral memory.

An elephant never forgets.

♪♪ Just at the start of her life, the calf will face many obstacles as she grows.

This crossing is only the first.

♪♪ Females stay with their family for life.

The males will eventually be forced to leave and, like Hathi, be solitary.

♪♪ This time she makes it.

♪♪ In her lifetime, the calf should make this journey many times.

♪♪ She should.

The forest and the world outside have changed forever.

Forced to find new territories, even the king of predators is now having to live with the constant noise and smells of an urbanized landscape.

Their nights will never be truly dark again.

Even the seasons are changing.

Nothing is the same as once was written in those old stories.

♪♪ Wolves have always lived on the edges of the human world.

Year by year, villages grow.

More and more people arrive.

Season by season, agriculture encroaches on the wolves' domain.

♪♪ This new world has brought changes that cannot be ignored by anyone.

♪♪ On a January evening, the wolf pack once again set out to hunt with a new urgency... ♪♪ ...cubs.

♪♪ They were born a few weeks back to the dominant male and female.

♪♪ ♪♪ This season, there are four.

Like any puppy, all they think about is play.

♪♪ Games of rough-and-tumble and "I'm the king of the castle," games that all help to train them for their adult lives.

♪♪ But always with an eye out for the pack members returning.

♪♪ Then thoughts of play turn to hunger.

♪♪ Their body language prompts the adults to regurgitate the partly digested meat.

♪♪ Very few wolves remain in modern India, perhaps only 3,000.

Each cub is precious if the pack and the wolf is to survive.

♪♪ In the grasslands, suitable den sites can be hard to find.

This one is dug close to a village.

♪♪ Even after hunting, the she-wolf is alert, keeping an eye on her den... ♪♪ ...and her cubs.

♪♪ -[ Dogs barking ] -Danger.

She warns her cubs.

[ Wolf howls ] ♪♪ Like an enraged demon, she takes the lead.

A mother's instinct to protect is one of nature's strongest forces.

♪♪ But her cubs haven't stayed in the den -- back to their games on the ridge, unaware they're now in great danger.

[ Wolves howl ] The village dogs are tracking their scent and will easily kill... ♪♪ [ Wolf howls ] ♪♪ ...so the wolves react in the only way they know.

Attack is the best form of defense.

♪♪ [ Snarling, barking ] ♪♪ One dog is chased off, but the other two move in to help and are met with a combined ferocity of the leaders of the pack.

♪♪ ♪♪ [ Barking, dog yelps ] Faced with this aggression, the village dogs retreat... for now.

Victorious, the pack members return.

-[ Cub howling ] -In the confusion, the cubs have scattered.

-[ Wolves howling ] -The pack members call to them, for the danger is still very real.

♪♪ [ Howling continues ] ♪♪ Tensions are high.

The pack is ready for the worst.

♪♪ And one by one, the cubs return.

♪♪ [ Cubs whining ] The strength of the wolf is the pack.

♪♪ The she-wolf faces new threats.

There are dangers in the modern world that she cannot protect against.

And Mowgli finally left the Council Rock, the wolves, and his friends in the jungle, to return to his own people.

♪♪ Yet those stories from the distant past still linger.

In the stone country, the Bandar-log still live in chaos... and the descendants of Baloo teach their cubs those ancient laws of survival.

Peacocks still dance.

In modern India, there is some truth to the stories.

After the monsoon rains, there is still an abundance of life.

♪♪ New generations will continue their lives into the future, adapting to a modern and changed India.

♪♪ And those who live within the remaining pockets of forest still obey that ancient unwritten Law of the Jungle -- the laws of survival that govern us all.

♪♪ Shere Khan, Lord Tiger, will still reign over his kingdom... ♪♪ ...and I...

I will stay, watching the world change beneath me and know that the Law of the Jungle is indeed as old and as true as the sky.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪