5:30
St. Andrews Bay on South Georgia is packed with half a million king penguins. In spring, the chicks are left for days whilst their parents are away collecting food for them. There is a simple arrangement. The chicks must stay exactly where their parents left them to be sure of being found again. But this chick has decided to look around. But it must not stray too far from its meeting place. This parent has returned with food in its crop, but its chick isn't where it left it. It's hard to stay put when there's so much to play with.
Finding it in the crowd of youngsters is not going to be easy. They must recognize each other by their calls. But to hear these in such a noisy colony, they must be within 15 m of each other. St. Andrews Beach is one of the most crowded on the planet and so holding a territory here is a constant battle. This bull elephant seal holds the mating rights to 60 females. For 2 months, he's guarded this stretch of beach. Unable to feed, he's losing 10 kilos a day, and he's exhausted. But other bulls are lying around waiting their chance. Blubber 15 cm thick. his protection against the cold, but not from the impact of a 4 ton opponent.
He holds his ground and forces the intruder back out to sea. Life in the Antarctic is harsh indeed, but all these creatures come here because the Southern Ocean is one of the richest on Earth. The oceans around Southern Asia are also feeling this pressure. These seas feed billions of people around the world. For many fishermen here, their catch is their only source of livelihood. And there is one fish here that they prize above all others. It swims slowly, gently harvesting the plankton. It's almost 20 m long, the largest fish in the world. Like many shark species in Asia, populations have declined by more than half in recent years. But here there is a respect for the seas and their inhabitants.
Whale shark hunting has now been banned across Indonesia's waters. This whale shark plays a different part in the lives of these fishermen. They feed him and the relationship seems to bring joy to both parties. And with this new protection has come something truly remarkable. Whale sharks from far away are seeking out these fishermen. And in these safe waters, there is a chance for their numbers to increase. And maybe one day other shark species will be protected, too.
The people here have made a simple but extraordinary choice. fishing in a way that is sustainable for themselves and the animals. Caring for wildlife is surely our shared responsibility across this vast continent and across the world. It is decisions like these that are key to protecting the planet's most precious diversity. Termites, an important source of protein, He's off to search for something he might prefer. Different levels in the forest contain different foods. And some of the most delicious are in the very highest parts of the canopy, 50 m above the ground.
He's a couple of years old and he's already getting adventurous. His mother could climb right to the top in 10 minutes or so if she wanted to, but she lingers to keep an eye on him. Where the gaps between the branches are too wide for him, his mother lets him use her body as a bridge. And this is his reward. Ripe mangoes, sweet and juicy. He will depend entirely on his mother until he's seven. It's the longest of all childhoods except ours. Here on the coast of Peru, there are so many seabirds fishing in the offshore waters that the cliffs are covered in droppings over a meter thick.
Humboldt penguins regard the soft guano as a good material in which to dig their nest holes. It's the breeding season and more hopeful nesters arrive spotless from swimming in the sea. Time for the residents to get cleaned up and catch some fish for themselves and their chicks. To get to the sea, they cross the remains of an old nesting ground. But the beach is already crowded with sea lions. They too have come ashore to raise their young. To get through such a minefield needs a bold and courageous leader. A dead end.
Now he's in trouble. But now all the sea lions aroused. Getting through them will be tricky. A cleansing bathe in the ocean. Well worth the effort. This is a poison dart frog. Males raise their young in a very special way. A father will place each one of his tadpoles in its own tiny pool of water. This is one. Nice and safe. but he needs to remember where he put each one of them. This one isn't doing so well. His tiny puddle has all but dried out.
The tadpo will die unless its father can find a better place for it. If dads are good for one thing, it's piggyback rides. Fathers are no bigger than a human thumbnail, but this enables them to get to places that others can't. The only problem is that there's no food here. is mom. A female could do something a male cannot. But first, dad must lead his partner to their hungry tadpole. For the next 6 weeks, parents continue their rounds, an extraordinary test of teamwork and memory.
A little red flying fox. Their ancestors flew here, traveling along the chain of volcanic islands that links Asia to Australia. But their huge wings, which stretch from their fingers to their toes, make it difficult for them to walk or take off from the ground. So when they want to rest, they hang upside down in trees. They swoop just low enough to wet their bellies and then back in their roosts they will suck out the water. Survivors from Australia's prehistoric past. These dramas have been taking place for millions of years. Aerial agility versus patience forests are hostile places in which to make your home.
Off the south coast lies by far the biggest of them, Tasmania. one that seldom appears until after dark, Many predators inhabit a territory packed with prey, but here there's nothing like that for them. Each may travel for miles, night after night, prepared to eat anything it can find, dead or alive. The shoreline is a good place to search. There might be some small creatures to catch here or maybe something that the tide has brought in. The carcass of a walabe has been washed ashore.
Tasmanian devils can eat 40% of their body weight in one session. And they have hugely powerful jaws. They tackle everything, even bones. Back at the den, there are other hungry mouths. two youngsters are 6 months old. They still rely on their mother's milk, but they're feeling peckish. There must be something solid they could find for themselves while they're waiting for a drink. Their mother will protect and feed these youngsters for another 3 months.
Their survival is important to her, but also for us because these are one of the last devil families in the world. Tasmanian devils are now endangered, found in only a few places such as this remote island off the coast of Tasmania. one of only 1,500 that are left in Finland's forests. cubs have recently emerged from their nursery den. The long summer days means there's plenty of time for play. with two boisterous cubs. It pays to rest whenever you can, Their cubs are excellent climbers. And now they're beyond his reach, 15 m up. Their mother warns him to keep his distance, Finland's forests give us a glimpse of what Europe was once like.
A land of endless wilderness where large animals roamed far and wide. and forced to live on the fringes of the troop. As outcasts, their only comfort is each other. He's been snatched. stolen by a higher ranking female. She is childless and she wants a baby of her own. He's only a few meters away, but if his mother approaches, the rest of the troop could well attack her. The kidnapper has never raised a baby before. So, this one is in danger. They're headed towards a cable car tower. The young mother can't let them out of her sight.
They're 30 m up. If she tries to grab her baby and fails, he could fall to his death. The kidnapper refuses to surrender him. There's one last thing a mother can try. And to do it, she needs to recruit another macac. Now the mother begins to groom her companions in full view of the kidnapper. All monkeys love to be groomed, even by a lowranking female. It's the basis for peace in Macak society. Eventually, the urge to join in is just too strong. and the youngster can climb back into his mother's arms.
The great American deserts cover over 2 million square kilometers. roasted by the sun and blasted by the wind, the rocks disintegrate and mountains, particle by particle, are reduced to sand. These pillars are all that remain of a plateau where dinosaurs once roamed. In summer, as in all deserts, the enemy is heat, and it returns every day. At 700 in the morning, the temperature is already 25° C. The clock is ticking for one unusual descendant of the dinosaurs. a road runner found only in the deserts of North America.
Built for a life on the ground, he can run at over 30 kilometers an hour. But the prey he seeks are one step ahead. The Roadrunner's challenge is picking the right target. Aila monster too big. Even the smallest lizards will soon head for cover. A centipede. Slim pickings for the morning's work. Hunting should get easier and prey will stay out longer once the summer's peak begins to fade. A mother black bear is looking for something suitable for her cubs.
This is their first ever trip to the seaside. Big crabs can give a nasty nip, so it's best to start off with smaller ones. During spring, 3/4 of the bear's food comes from the beach. an adult male. He is double her size and they're in his territory. The cubs know that call. It's time to head for safety. Bears have poor eyesight, but their sense of smell is acute, and the male has detected intruders.
He knows exactly which tree they are in. If the cubs stay up there, they'll be safe. But they're losing precious feeding time. For now, he's content to leave his scent mark. For the cubs, lunch today will have to be a takeaway. and within minutes, feeding time is over for another day. Somewhere along this seemingly barren stretch of sand, there is food in great quantity. Wonderful. Adult seals are large and strong, The youngsters are closely guarded by their mothers. A hyena, however, knows to be patient.
Sooner or later, seal mothers must return to the ocean to cool off. A single scene pup could feed a hyena and her family for days. But finding food is only half the battle. If a hyena loses her kill, she'll have nothing with which to feed her cubs. The jackals won't follow her very far from the coast. It's too hot for them in the desert interior. Only by making these long journeys can brown hyenas manage to survive in the middle of the Namib, Here food is more plentiful, but it's hidden. She can collect food that others can't reach. A keen sense of smell enables her to detect the presence of ants and termites in their nests beneath the sand.
Her sticky tongue, some 30 cm long, enables her to collect them from deep underground. The drier it gets, the deeper the termites live. Many are way beyond the reach of even a panklin, It's the world's largest burrowing animal. The shovel-like claws and powerful legs enable it to dig down to depths of 5 or 6 m. A full grown arvark needs to eat about 50,000 termites every day. Termites are highly nutritious and full of moisture and they can be collected here year round. but the fact that this one is foraging in daylight is a sign that food is scarce.
Recent droughts in the Kalahari have led to low termite numbers and as a consequence, Arvarks here are close to starvation. Changes in the world's climate are affecting many of Africa's animals. It's predicted that in the next century, Southern Africa will warm twice as much as the global average. The future will be bleak for those that cannot adapt fast enough.
