Rhythm

Sebastian is not afraid to admit that he lacks natural rhythm.
But Rutendo thinks he’s too hard on himself – perhaps the world
is just out of sync with him. Besides, every living thing is
built upon natural rhythms, from our response to night and day,
to the beating of our hearts.


Kristina Bolinder leads us on an exploration of a plant with a
very unusual habit: it only flowers under the light of the full
moon. The reason why connects a century of lunar records with the
latest in botanical research.


Deep in the Budongo Forest in Uganda, a team of researchers has
been following a group of chimps for several years, and learning
that they each have their own signature rhythm, expressed through
drumming on the base of trees. What’s more, they can choose when
to reveal their identities through their drumming, and when to
keep them hidden.


Frozen Planet II Producer Rachel Scott tells us about the rhythm
of life in the Arctic, from the devastating effects of climate
change, to a beautiful and unexpected


sequence featuring polar bears dancing on ice.


We close with the friendly tap-tapping sounds of the Great
Spotted Woodpecker – who reveals much within its rhythm.


Credits:


The BBC Earth podcast is presented by Sebastian Echeverri and
Rutendo Shackleton.


This episode was produced by Rachel Byrne and Geoff Marsh.


The researcher was Seb Masters.


The Production Manager was Catherine Stringer and the Production
Co-ordinator was Gemma Wootton.


Podcast Theme Music was composed by Axel Kacoutié, with mixing
and additional sound design by Peregrine Andrews.


The Associate Producer is Cristen Caine and the Executive
Producer is Deborah Dudgeon.


Special thanks to:


Kristina Bolinder for sharing her discovery that connected plants
to the lunar cycle.


Vesta Eluteri, Viola Komedova, Catherine Hobaiter and Mugisha
Stephen for the feature on chimpanzee drumming.


Rachel Scott from the BBC Natural History Unit.


Chris Hails of wildechoes.org for providing the woodpecker
soundscape.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.