Conservationists have declared along the way i will be hanging a five year trial to re introduce beavers to the river otter in devon out with these guys. Climbing jagged peaks. A success, and it turns out its good news for the environment too. The animals were hunted easily one of the most beautiful to extinction in the uk hundreds of years ago. And one of the most difficult hikes the beavers play a part i have done. In protecting communities and getting a taste of one from floods because the way of the worlds most they build their nests can slow down remote food festivals. Rivers after heavy rains. Jon kay has more. Sucking. Beavers are back. Laughs. Hunted to extinction 500 years ago, i have to work on my snail sucking technique. This mother, her kittens and up yes, i love sarawak so much. To 50 more are now thriving here in east devon. And heres the evidence. Weve got a poplar tree here thats been felled probably over the last couple of days. Everything very unique in sarawak. We have 26 ethnic groups in sarawak. Professor Richard Brazier has been sarawak mean surrender studying the impact of beavers. He says they may be known as furry vandals but the dams they build to you in malay. At night here are actually a good thing, preventing flooding by slowing down the flow of water my trip starts here in sarawaks biggest city, kuching. In winter and then retaining water and does the word kuching mean, during summer droughts. Overall, you would it means something special, right . Say they are useful . Yes, kuching is mean cat, in english, called cat. They are very, very useful, like the city of cats . And they do a job that we cant yes, cat city. Were starting here afford to do. In the state capital, were actually not as well adapted kuching, and were travelling all the way up as beavers to doing it. Here to the kelabit highlands. They are natural water its going to be a journey. Resource managers. This has been a 5 year trial to see on my first stop, im going to meet one of the states if beavers can live successfully in england alongside other most iconic residents. And here he is. Wildlife and humans. A similar scheme in scotland has already led to them getting protected status, and now the review the orangutan. So much soul in their eyes. In devon has shown they can improve Water Quality and help other animals to thrive. But some farmers see the damage caused by large beaver populations in north america and worry things 97 of their dna is could get out of control in the uk. 00 02 39,715 2147483051 38 04,572 and sometimes its been up sort 2147483051 38 04,572 4294966103 13 29,430 of almost as far as here. Shared with humans. That where they get the name orangutan means man of the forest. Orangutans are native to only two islands in south east asia. Some live on sumatra, but the vast majority live here in borneo. I have come to the semenggoh nature reserve where the rangers are preparing for the morning feed. It looks like they eat quite well because there is a whole buffet here, and it seems like every day there is a different meal plan. So today is saturday, so they will have 21 kg bananas, and then sweet potatoes, chicken eggs and pineapples. Oh, its heavy. Maybe 15 kilos. So emel, tell me what is special about semenggoh nature reserve . Ok, so Semenggoh Wildlife Centre actually started off as a rehabitation centre, so we were established back in 1975, so its more than a0 years ago. The reserve took orangutans that had been rescued from captivity or suffered from habitat loss, and taught them how to live wild in the surrounding forest. Since then, the Rehabilitation Programme has been moved elsewhere, but the forest is still home to 33 orangutans, and tourists have a chance to glimpse those tempted back by a free meal. Its very different to a zoo, then, theres no orangutans in cages here. Yeah, totally different to a zoo. Two 7 in the basket. Yes. Our ranger, he will. Ok, so thank you very much. Yeah. Enjoy. He will bring the food to the main feeding area. When the tourists arrive, a ranger heads to the feeding platform to call the apes. Calling. So, welcome to our centre. Coming here is no guarantee you must see the orangutan. If you happen to see one, consider yourself very lucky already. In the rainy season between november and march there is an abundance of food in the forest, so the orangutans often dont need this extra food. But lucky for us, we dont have to wait long for a sighting. This is edwin, one of the biggest males in the park. And like the ranger said, this is not a zoo. The orangutans can come from any direction at any time, so you have to be careful, especially around the big males like edwin here. While these orangutans are used to people, they re still unpredictable, so tourists are kept at a safe distance. Edwin is 23 years old, born in 1996, and he was the first male offspring born in semenggoh. Now fully grown, edwin is competing to become the reserves sole dominant male. Only one orangutan dares to approach him on the platform. Seduku, rescued from captivity in the 1970s, and one of the first to be rehabilitated here. Are they a thing . Yeah, in a way. We call her the great old lady, because shes the oldest female, age 48 years old. And she is doing still very well. She is a8, he is 23. That is quite a big age difference there, right . Yes, but love doesnt see age as a problem, though. Well, feeding time is over, and theres edwin. Im a bit nervous to see him so close. Hes massive, so much hair. If you saw that from behind you wouldnt know what it was. Sadly, despite conservation efforts, orangutans face an uncertain future. Over a 16 year period, the numbers in borneo fell by more than 100,000. A decline blamed on hunting and deforestation. It is now estimated that there are just over 100,000 orangutans left on the island. And so the facility here, how does it help . By having a centre like semenggoh, people get a sense of seeing the wild orangutan, and not disturb the orangutan in their natural habitat. And i guess the more people come here, the more they learn, and that also helps as well . Definitely, the feeling, the excitement of seeing wild orangutan, bring you closer to conservation efforts, and to be able to share it with people out there, it really means something. Next up i am crossing the state to reach Gunung Mulu National park, sarawa ks largest piece of protected rainforest. This place is teeming with wildlife over 4,000 species of plants, 20,000 species of invertebrates, that means thousands of different kinds of spiders, beetles and butterflies, but no orangutans, though, not here. Mulu is also home to groups of penan, one of the last remaining hunter and gatherer tribes in southeast asia. A lot of their traditional tribal land has been lost to deforestation, so the vast majority now stay in settlements like this one. Plucks instrument laughs i didnt expect you to do that. Plucks instrument laughs ok, with the nose. Laughs so these are flutes, right . Whistles blowpipe . You make these . Can you show me . Ah, i see, so you drill it by hand, so many times. Speaks own language that would be countless hours. Like that . Oh, yes, there we go. Mike corey, blowpipe maker. Blowpipes are the penans traditional hunting weapon. They are loaded with darts, tipped with strong poison extracted from the bark of the local tajem tree. And youd use one of these big ones . Wow, its, look, im about six feet tall, that would be 1. 8 metres. Ok, so were here like this. And that one goes in the back. Armed and dangerous. You first. Safety off. Sharp shooter hopefully theres some beginners luck. I hit the target . laughs further inside the park there is a truly unique landscape. Below ground there are some of the Worlds Largest caves, formed from limestone and shaped by millions of years of ground and rainwater. This process also created a bizarre collection of stone spires above the ground. Theyre called the pinnacles, and i have come all the way up river to base camp 5 to see them. At almost 50 metres tall, the pinnacles are an imposing spectacle. But to get there, sightseers face a three day round trip and a long, brutal trek through the rainforest. So the guides have some rules in place to make sure tourists are up to it. The first 60 minutes, so this is considered as a check in point. If you make it more than 60 minutes, you are considered a slow climber. We you are sorry, we have to say you are not qualified. So if i dont make the first checkpoint in 60 minutes, you turn me around and say sorry, you are going back home . Yeah, this is the rule here. Ok, we are just about to head to bed for the big hike tomorrow, this is bed tonight actually, underneath this mosquito net, this is a bee, by the way, that just flew away. This is coming with me tomorrow. Person shh. There are some people sleeping, ijust got shushed. Im a little bit nervous for the hike tomorrow, its supposed to be quite hard. A lot of very, very steep inclines, so im going to get a full eight hours tonight. Ill see you in the morning and we will see if we can make it to the top. Caution, a high degree of physical fitness is required past this point. Eight hours round trip. Lead the way. Lets go. I havejust 60 minutes to make it to the mini pinnacles, the first checkpoint. You werentjoking. What was that . How is it . Steep. The checkpoint is less than 1km up the slope, but the humidity makes it feel a lot further. Panting weve only just started and im already exhausted. And were here, the pinnacles not quite, right . Mini pinnacle. That is. Thats not a joke. Having reached the checkpoint within the time limit, its another kilometre before i reach the most treacherous stage. This is the first ladder, mike. 0k. Right, larry, helmets on, right . Whos first . After you. After me . Ok, one down, 70 more to go. Beautiful limestone cliffs are sharp but at least lots of places to grab onto. It looks like its rained down there. Think its going to rain . Yeah, it will be heavy rain. 500 metres to go, 100 metres to go. Hope we get there before the rain. What ladders this . Last ladder. The last ladder . This looks like the summit. Isnt it . The summit, yes. We are here, guys. Oh, wow, yeah. And there are so many of them. This is beautiful. Yep just daggersjutting out of the forest canopy. Really is spectacular, right . Yep. The final stop in myjourney across sarawak is bario, in the kelapit highlands, home to one of the worlds most remote food festivals. Its not exactly a smooth road its like being a greased up piece of popcorn in the back seat but its a lot of fun. Im quite an adventurous eater, i will try everything. Once at least once. If its not so good, only once. But often when you come to these places will find some pretty far out food and im hoping well find some very interesting stuff. Bumped around and a little bruised from the journey, i get there to find the festival in full swing. Were catching the eye of a lot of locals, because theres not that many foreigners, surprise surprise, in this part of the world. I dont know half of the foods here today and that is quite exciting for me. A local farmer called dayang offers to show me around. Would you like to try our dure. I dont know what dure is. One of the local exotic vegetable found here in bario. It is a plant that lives in the jungle . Yes. I can eat that all day. Thats delicious but its got, like, i was thinking it would taste like spinach, but it doesnt taste like spinach at all. 0k. It has like a heartier than spinach would. Would you like to try the akep . Yeah, we can try akep. So akep looks like to be boiled snails. Yeah, found in the paddy field here. It smells like boiled snails too. This is how we do it. This lives in the jungle, you suck it out . There you are. Just like that. You bit it first . Its stuck on my teeth. And you suck it . 0k. Once. There we go. How do you find it . The taste must be fantastic . I wouldnt use that word, but its not bad, its very chewy. This is classic traditional kelabit food, sourced from the surrounding area. Welcome to bario. Dayang takes me to herfarm, where she grows one very important ingredient. Its cool, cause each plant has one pineapple . Yes, but it will take about one year to ripen. But this one looks ripe. This yellow one. Look at the colour, its golden yellow. How do we. How do we pick one . You can just pluck it. Im going to have puncture wounds after this but its ok. Yes. That was easy. Yes, because its golden, ripe pineapple, its very sweet. Look at this, my first pineapple. Back at the festival, locally grown pineapples have been made into jams, juices and even pineapple cider. Down the hatch its a little chunky, how many do you have to drink to have a really good day . Im not sure. Shall we find out . Im joking since it started in 2006, the festival has celebrated both the cuisine and the culture of the highlands. Up top there are some bags with soda pop, cookies, the point is to climb up to the top, grab your prize and climb down. Its my turn. Ok, you can go. Give him a big clap so. Slowly from the bottom. Freestyle . Come on as the games continue, my form doesnt really improve. It was by a feather that we lost. Applause a game that im not bad at, i think its my height advantage. Everyone gets a shot or. . Hang on, lets watch. Thats way farther than mine. I guess you might think that coming so far away, you wouldnt be able to make friends, or that it might be a strange tourist experience. But i always find its some of the best ones, when you come to these places, theres not many foreign tourists, so people are so accepting and grateful that you are here, and will share everything with you. Hello there. Day two of 2020 brought some rain and some of it heavy. In fa ct, some rain and some of it heavy. In fact, in the highlands of scotland we had a0 millimetres of rain by close of play on thursday. You can see how relentless it was, with warm weather fronts sweeping across the borders to be replaced by another but as those frontal systems sweep steadily south and east as we speak, it means today it will introduce some thing a little colder behind but fingers crossed hopefully a little more sunshine. Those fronts still yet to clear from the south east corner, but as you can see behind it, it opens the doorfor this colder arctic flow and so that means its going to be a chilly start into scotland and Northern Ireland with low single figures in sheltered rural spots, contrast that with further south under the cloud and still the rain. That has yet to clear. It will during the morning and by lunchtime, hopefully give you sunnier skies and for all of us. Still windy in the far north of, gales into the Northern Ireland perhaps but that will dry in showers and some turning increasingly windy for the tops of Higher Ground with the cooler feel for all by the afternoon, 6 nine the high. Into the weekend, much of in and wales will remain under the influence of high pressure. Toppling across that high pressure. Toppling across that high is weather fronts and that will affect really just the far north west of scotland and maybe Northern Ireland for a time, so here there will be outbreaks of light rain and more cloud along west facing coast. Sheltered eastern areas should see brightness and a dry story for the start of the weekend with those temperatures again around 7 10. Almost a case of again around 7 10. Almost a case of a repeat performance as we move into the second half of the weekend. Sunday will start to see more of a south westerly flow, so a little less cold across the country. Again, still the risk of some rain into the far north west but elsewhere, it will be largely dry, there will be some sunshine and highs of 9 11. Dont get too used to it, however, by the time most of us go back to a regular routine for the new week next week, it does look as though its going to turn increasingly wet and windy. So if youre back to work all of to school, keep that umbrella close to hand because it looks like there will be some rain moving across the country for all of us on monday and also tuesday. Take care. This is bbc news. Welcome if youre watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. Im simon pusey. Our top stories the United States kills the commander of irans special operations quds force with an airstrike. The pentagon says general soleimani was developing plans to attack american diplomats in iraq and throughout the region. General soleimani was irans main strategist on iraq and masterminded all Iranian Military interventions in the region