The Tentacled Forest
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| “The Tentacled Forest” | |||||||
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| The Future Is Wild episode | |||||||
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 13 |
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| Written by | Victoria Coules | ||||||
| Original airdate | – | ||||||
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The Tentacled Forest is the thirteenth and final episode in the documentary series The Future Is Wild. It is set in the northern forest, 200,000,000 years into the future. At this point in the future, there are no mammals, birds, reptiles or amphibians. There are very few fish. The episode focuses on five species:
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- Lichen Trees - a group of species evolved from simple lichens. Some species are small bushes while others are giant tree like creatures.
- Forest Flish - a smaller species of flish with hooks for feet so it can hang upside down on tree branches to rest.
- Megasquid - an eight metre tall squid with rhino-like skin and three metre tentacles which patrols the forest. Its eight boneless legs are packed with muscles that act like bones.
- Squibbon - an arboreal species of squid that swing through trees and have stereoscopic vision. The squibbon could well be the next sapient life on the planet and create new civilization.
- Slithersucker - an arboreal species of giant slime mold. Predatory by nature and reproduces by taking control of huge Megasquids.
This forest is about the only place left on Earth where there is consistent rain and trees can grow. The trees here are lichen trees, descended from simple lichens that today grow on rocks. The forest is populated with a whole manner of creatures that would look out of place in our time. The episode shows how animals that were once aquatic have evolved to conquer the forests. It also suggests that the squibbon could become the next species to develop sapience and become the dominant force on planet Earth, just like humans..
