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Europe.
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00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:40,680
Home to 850 million people.
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00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:50,800
This is a continent
that has been transformed by humanity.
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00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:57,360
It is a crowded world.
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00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:06,640
But not all of it.
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00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:13,520
There are still precious areas
of wilderness
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00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:18,080
and, living within them,
some very surprising animals.
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Forest once covered 80% of Europe.
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Now only half of it remains.
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A brown bear.
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One of only 1,500 that are left
in Finland's forests.
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00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:35,000
Her cubs have recently emerged
from their nursery den.
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00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:45,480
The long summer days
means there's plenty of time for play.
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00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:08,920
With two boisterous cubs...
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...it pays to rest, whenever you can.
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00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,120
But their mother must be on her guard.
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The cubs have spotted something.
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A large male, looking for a mate.
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The cubs aren't his.
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So he might try to kill them.
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Bear cubs are excellent climbers.
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And now they're beyond his reach,
15 metres up.
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Their mother warns him
to keep his distance.
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But the cubs are coming down too soon.
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She can't take any chances.
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That was a close call.
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00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:11,960
Finland's forests give us a glimpse
of what Europe was once like.
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00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:20,080
A land of endless wilderness,
where large animals roamed far and wide.
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00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:32,280
In the north, the continent extends
beyond the Arctic Circle.
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Here, the skies are illuminated by the
aurora borealis, the northern lights.
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00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:03,600
Trillions of charged particles,
ejected by electric storms on the sun,
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react with the Earth's atmosphere to
create this surreal nocturnal spectacle.
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But by day, this is a barren land.
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The Dovrefjell mountains of Norway.
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One of the last refuges for an animal that
once lived all across northern Europe.
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The musk ox.
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This bull is in his prime.
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He protects the herd
and fathers all the calves.
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His is a greatly sought-after rank...
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...and that means that,
in the mating season,
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he has to deal with rivals.
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And here is one.
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Raking the ground is a warning
to other males to keep away.
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But some ignore it.
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He now has no choice
but to defend his crown.
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The challenger attacks.
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Each male weighs nearly half a tonne.
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These clashes are usually short and
intense, but not this time.
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As his family looks on, neither gives in.
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The bull will need to draw
on all his experience.
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But he's beginning to lose ground.
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00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:13,440
Now he's broadsided.
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If he's defeated,
he will lose all his females.
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With one final effort, the bull pushes
the challenger back up the hill.
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It's over.
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00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:53,960
The old bull successfully defended
his rights as head of the family.
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And the challenger has to return
to a lonely life for another year.
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00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:18,240
One of Europe's last remaining areas
of wilderness lies at its heart.
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00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:25,200
A mountain range spanning
750 miles across eight countries.
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00:11:26,560 --> 00:11:28,000
The Alps.
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00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:41,840
Europe's mountain ranges
may be inhospitable,
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but wildlife has shared this terrain
with people for centuries.
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It's dusk in the mountain villages
of Abruzzo, in central Italy.
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And deep in the surrounding woods,
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thermal imaging cameras reveal
the continent's most elusive predators.
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Wolves.
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Right on the edge of the village.
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00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:47,440
It's midwinter,
and food is hard to come by.
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This pack may not have fed for a week.
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00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:04,440
They can travel many miles in a night,
searching for prey.
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Red deer.
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It's pitch-black.
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Perfect conditions for an ambush.
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00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:43,560
But even so...
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00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:48,000
...the odds are stacked
against the wolves.
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00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:03,680
One wrong footstep, and they have
lost the advantage of surprise.
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The deer scatter
right across the mountainside.
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And to make matters worse,
the hunt is interrupted.
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The deer are now high up the mountain.
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00:14:56,560 --> 00:15:02,880
But the wolves use the road
to travel faster and in silence.
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00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:21,600
They manage to get above the herd.
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Now they make their move.
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The pack needs to single out one animal.
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00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:16,880
A wolf is more nimble in thick woodland,
but a deer can run faster on open ground.
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Once they're close, the pack drive
the deer straight down the mountain.
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00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:33,680
And now it's more likely to stumble.
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In this case, the icy road proves fatal.
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But the commotion has attracted sheepdogs
from the nearby village.
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00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:06,680
They have been bred to protect livestock
by chasing away wolves.
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00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:26,160
With the kill lost to the sheepdogs,
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the wolves will go hungry
for yet another night.
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00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:55,960
Today, much of Europe's wildlife
has to live alongside people.
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The most adaptable can be found
in our towns and cities.
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Gibraltar, right on the southern tip
of the continent.
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Home to Europe's only monkeys.
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Barbary macaques.
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00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:45,200
Four family troops live here.
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00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:05,560
In macaque society,
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there is a strict hierarchy,
and status within it is inherited.
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00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:18,840
This female has just given birth
to her first baby.
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She is at the bottom of the pecking order.
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So her son is, too.
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They're bullied constantly...
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00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,760
...and forced to live
on the fringes of the troop.
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00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:07,440
As outcasts,
their only comfort is each other.
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He's been snatched,
stolen by a higher-ranking female.
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00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:33,320
She is childless,
and she wants a baby of her own.
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00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:38,840
He's only a few metres away...
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...but if his mother approaches,
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the rest of the troop
could well attack her.
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The kidnapper
has never raised a baby before,
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so this one is in danger.
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00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:12,880
They're headed
towards a cable car tower.
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The young mother can't let them
out of her sight.
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They're 30 metres up.
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If she tries to grab her baby and fails,
he could fall to his death.
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The kidnapper refuses
to surrender him.
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00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:27,000
There's one last thing a mother can try,
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00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:31,280
and to do it
she needs to recruit another macaque.
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00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:54,360
Now the mother begins to groom her
companion in full view of the kidnapper.
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00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:03,320
All monkeys love to be groomed,
even by a low-ranking female.
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00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:07,920
It's the basis for peace
in macaque society.
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00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:28,040
Eventually, the urge to join in
is just too strong.
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00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:36,760
The kidnap is over.
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00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:44,160
And the youngster can climb
back into his mother's arms.
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00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:07,280
There are pockets of wilderness
even in Europe's cities.
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Green oases among the urban sprawl.
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00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:22,880
Vienna, in Austria, has over 2,000 parks,
gardens and cemeteries.
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00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:38,120
And down in the undergrowth,
a rather unusual resident.
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A European hamster.
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00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:04,920
Wild hamsters are found in grasslands
throughout central Europe.
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Here, in the city,
they're doing extremely well.
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This male is on a mission to find food,
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and he's set his sights
on one thing in particular.
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Fresh flowers.
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00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:33,800
To survive the winter,
hamsters must fatten up.
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00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:38,040
So there's no time to waste.
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The only problem - these flowers
are in someone else's patch.
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Graveside bouquets are worth fighting for.
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00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:43,720
The winner gets to keep the territory
and all the food within it.
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The loser has to beat a hasty retreat.
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00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:13,400
But the lure of fresh petals
is just too much.
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Plan B.
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Stealth mode.
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00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:31,200
The coast looks clear.
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00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:38,080
But best not take any chances.
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The trick is to get in and out
before you're caught.
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00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:07,760
And now... dessert.
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00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:16,320
Candle wax -
it's full of oil and high in calories.
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00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:39,360
A hamster's cheeks can hold
a quarter of its body weight.
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Just one more mouthful.
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Dear.
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Big cheeks and narrow bottlenecks -
how very embarrassing.
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Mission accomplished.
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00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:39,680
Europe's landscape
has changed dramatically,
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but its temperate climate
is still good for wildlife.
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00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:49,080
The continent has warm summers...
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...and mild winters.
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These conditions are a consequence
of its position on the globe...
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00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:08,240
...and the influence of the Gulf Stream.
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This current of warm water
in the Atlantic Ocean heats the air
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that then flows over the land.
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00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:36,720
And every year, Europe's unique climate
helpstrigger an extraordinary natural event.
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The Tisza River, in Hungary.
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For a few days in June,
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when day length
and water temperature are just right...
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...the largest of all mayflies emerge.
168
00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:07,040
After three years of feeding
and growing on the riverbed,
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the males appear first.
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00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:24,280
With new wings, they can fly to the river
bank and there undergo a final moult.
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00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:51,120
Now sexually mature,
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they have just one purpose in life -
to find a female.
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Each male has only three hours to live.
174
00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:15,520
And now the females begin to emerge
on the surface of the river.
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00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:23,600
The males scour the water surface,
searching for them...
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...each desperate to be the one
that fertilises her eggs.
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Every female is pounced on
as soon as she appears.
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00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:54,440
With only minutes left
for each male to live,
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00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:57,360
the competition becomes
increasingly urgent.
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00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:08,280
And all too soon, the males' time is up.
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All of them die.
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But the females' journey
has only just begun.
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Now that they've mated,
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they start to fly upstream
and continue for as much as three miles.
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00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:18,040
At the height of the hatch,
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there may be as many
as ten million insects on the wing.
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Exhausted,
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the females now collapse
and rain down onto the water's surface.
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00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:51,000
And as they hit it,
each releases thousands of eggs.
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00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:09,840
As the eggs slowly sink,
they drift downstream,
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00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:13,000
so that by the time
each reaches the riverbed,
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it will be in exactly the same spot
that its parents emerged.
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00:35:23,240 --> 00:35:27,160
Just hours
after the first mayflies appeared,
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00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:31,640
this great eruption of life is over.
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00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:42,200
Europe's extensive waterways
are a haven for wildlife.
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00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:50,080
One of the richest of its wetlands lies
on the edge of the Black Sea, in Romania.
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The delta of the Danube River.
198
00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:03,520
Migrating birds are drawn here from as
far away as central Africa and Asia.
199
00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:18,000
Great white pelicans.
200
00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:29,440
Every summer, three quarters of the
world's population flock to the delta.
201
00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:39,880
They've flown thousands of miles
to get here,
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00:36:39,920 --> 00:36:44,480
and they will spend the summer
feasting on the delta's riches.
203
00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:12,840
To find the best fishing,
204
00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:14,520
they take to the air.
205
00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:39,680
From half a mile up, they search
the entire delta, 200 miles across.
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00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:56,920
They can't see individual fish
from this height,
207
00:37:56,960 --> 00:38:01,480
so instead they look for others below
that have already done so.
208
00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:07,560
Cormorants.
209
00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:16,480
They are diving deep to reach the biggest
shoals, flushing them to the surface.
210
00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:27,480
A couple of pelicans land...
211
00:38:30,360 --> 00:38:32,960
...and others soon home in on them.
212
00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:55,040
The pelicans don't join the feast
directly.
213
00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:01,760
They mug the diners.
214
00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:25,120
This brutal tactic enables each pelican
to catch many more fish,
215
00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:29,720
more quickly than it would do
if it worked by itself.
216
00:39:54,480 --> 00:39:57,880
Once the shoals of fish
have been plundered and dispersed,
217
00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:00,160
the cormorants make their escape.
218
00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:09,000
And the pelican pirates fly off
in search of their next meal.
219
00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:21,280
Water has shaped Europe's landscape
in another way.
220
00:40:27,040 --> 00:40:31,760
There is a vast wilderness lying
within the rocks of the continent.
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00:40:38,840 --> 00:40:39,960
Caves.
222
00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:53,160
Over 12,000 have been discovered
in Slovenia's Karst region alone.
223
00:40:54,600 --> 00:40:58,720
Each has been eroded by water
over millions of years...
224
00:41:00,360 --> 00:41:04,560
...and shaped drip... by drip.
225
00:41:11,720 --> 00:41:15,480
The largest cavern is over 15 miles long,
226
00:41:15,520 --> 00:41:18,480
and there are certainly many more
still to be discovered.
227
00:41:31,720 --> 00:41:37,640
Down here live some of the most
specialised animals on the planet.
228
00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:47,520
New species of them are discovered
in Europe's caves every year.
229
00:41:55,320 --> 00:41:59,440
This is a world
that still holds many secrets.
230
00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:09,320
In the deepest pools
231
00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:14,640
lurk animals that were once believed
to be baby dragons.
232
00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:39,160
They have feathery gills
which enable them to breathe underwater,
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00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:40,640
as well as on land.
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00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:47,040
They are olms.
235
00:42:53,800 --> 00:42:56,680
They're completely blind,
236
00:42:56,720 --> 00:43:00,320
but sensory pits around the mouth
enable them to detect
237
00:43:00,360 --> 00:43:04,480
the faint electrical currents
emitted by their prey.
238
00:43:06,680 --> 00:43:10,640
Food of any kind down here
is hard to come by.
239
00:43:12,320 --> 00:43:19,280
But an olm can go without a meal for
a decade and live for a century.
240
00:43:28,560 --> 00:43:33,160
The olms' world has remained
virtually unchanged for millennia.
241
00:43:35,880 --> 00:43:41,080
Above, however,
Europe has altered beyond recognition.
242
00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:52,200
Its landscape has been transformed
by humans.
243
00:43:54,200 --> 00:43:59,960
Protected wilderness now covers
less than 4% of its surface.
244
00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:08,080
The disappearance of wilderness has had
catastrophic consequences for wildlife.
245
00:44:14,120 --> 00:44:18,600
One fifth of Europe's animals
are now under threat.
246
00:44:26,320 --> 00:44:29,560
Some teeter right on the brink
of extinction.
247
00:44:33,960 --> 00:44:36,080
The Iberian lynx.
248
00:44:39,440 --> 00:44:42,600
One of the world's most endangered cats.
249
00:44:46,360 --> 00:44:53,560
In less than two decades, the lynx
population decreased by nearly 90%.
250
00:44:57,240 --> 00:45:02,880
At one point,
there were fewer than 100 individuals.
251
00:45:18,160 --> 00:45:20,360
Today, their last stronghold
252
00:45:20,400 --> 00:45:25,600
is in the mountains of
the Sierra de Andujar, in southern Spain.
253
00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:33,480
Here, a natural park was created
to help protect the lynx.
254
00:45:39,320 --> 00:45:42,840
Only 25 miles across, it is small.
255
00:45:46,360 --> 00:45:50,240
But for this male, it's just enough.
256
00:46:04,480 --> 00:46:06,560
He's lived here all his life.
257
00:46:09,480 --> 00:46:16,200
At ten years old, he's reached
a remarkable age for a wild lynx.
258
00:46:24,160 --> 00:46:28,680
Once persecuted, he's now protected.
259
00:46:41,520 --> 00:46:46,840
For this old male,
and Europe's entire lynx population,
260
00:46:46,880 --> 00:46:50,520
this could be the beginning
of a new chapter.
261
00:46:59,200 --> 00:47:01,000
In this year alone,
262
00:47:01,040 --> 00:47:09,480
nearly 200 kittens have been born,
and the population has risen to over 700.
263
00:47:15,480 --> 00:47:18,480
But the fate of the Iberian lynx,
264
00:47:18,520 --> 00:47:24,080
and indeed of all Europe's wildlife,
is far from certain.
265
00:47:26,240 --> 00:47:30,040
The continent has now been so changed
by humanity
266
00:47:30,080 --> 00:47:34,440
that many of its animal species
are under threat.
267
00:47:37,800 --> 00:47:42,520
Only by protecting
the few wildernesses that remain
268
00:47:42,560 --> 00:47:51,520
and creating new wild spaces can we ensure
a future for Europe's precious wildlife.
269
00:48:01,600 --> 00:48:03,600
_____
270
00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:13,720
Europe's predators are rare and elusive...
271
00:48:16,560 --> 00:48:20,800
...and none more so
than the Iberian lynx...
272
00:48:22,440 --> 00:48:24,080
...and the grey wolf.
273
00:48:25,840 --> 00:48:28,440
Just finding them can be difficult...
274
00:48:28,480 --> 00:48:31,480
It's completely pitch-black now.
275
00:48:34,360 --> 00:48:35,960
...let alone filming them.
276
00:48:36,000 --> 00:48:41,280
We are packing up the kit... again,
cos it's raining... again.
277
00:48:42,760 --> 00:48:46,000
Two crews set off
to different countries...
278
00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:51,120
...armed with different technology,
279
00:48:51,160 --> 00:48:54,960
but united by a single mission.
280
00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:03,880
One team travelled to the heart
of the Apennine Mountains in Italy,
281
00:49:03,920 --> 00:49:06,960
where wolf sightings had been reported.
282
00:49:15,200 --> 00:49:18,200
Using the latest thermal camera,
283
00:49:18,240 --> 00:49:21,840
the team will be able to film the wolves
in the darkness,
284
00:49:21,880 --> 00:49:23,640
when they're most active.
285
00:49:26,560 --> 00:49:31,680
This is quite a beast of a camera,
but it can see way into the distance.
286
00:49:31,720 --> 00:49:36,680
So if anything warm-blooded appears
on the landscape, I'll see it for sure.
287
00:49:37,920 --> 00:49:40,800
We just need
that little stroke of luck now.
288
00:49:42,200 --> 00:49:44,880
But luck is not on their side.
289
00:49:48,840 --> 00:49:51,680
Hold on to your horses,
290
00:49:51,720 --> 00:49:54,920
it's blowing an absolute hoolie out there.
291
00:49:54,960 --> 00:49:59,080
I think this hide is just going to
literally blow off the mountain.
292
00:50:01,280 --> 00:50:05,560
In Spain, the lynx team
are taking a different approach.
293
00:50:07,920 --> 00:50:12,000
Camera traps, and lots of them.
294
00:50:12,040 --> 00:50:14,600
So we've got one camera here,
295
00:50:14,640 --> 00:50:18,228
one camera hidden in the olive groves here
and one camera,
296
00:50:18,244 --> 00:50:23,040
which you might just be able to see,
hidden in the olive groves there.
297
00:50:25,760 --> 00:50:30,000
The crew rigs remote cameras
wherever the lynx are known to roam...
298
00:50:34,120 --> 00:50:38,160
...including
some surprisingly busy locations.
299
00:50:39,880 --> 00:50:42,120
We've been told
that they use these underpasses
300
00:50:42,160 --> 00:50:44,320
to get underneath this massive motorway,
301
00:50:44,360 --> 00:50:47,440
so we're going to work out
where to put our cameras
302
00:50:47,480 --> 00:50:51,320
and hopefully capture them moving
around this urban environment.
303
00:50:51,360 --> 00:50:53,520
To record enough footage,
304
00:50:53,560 --> 00:50:58,680
the cameras will need to be left
in the field for six months.
305
00:50:58,720 --> 00:51:03,840
With the last one set,
the long wait begins.
306
00:51:08,200 --> 00:51:11,440
In the mountains of Italy,
307
00:51:11,480 --> 00:51:13,840
the weather has improved,
308
00:51:13,880 --> 00:51:15,400
but that is all.
309
00:51:16,680 --> 00:51:19,240
So we're about halfway
through the shoot now,
310
00:51:19,280 --> 00:51:21,080
and we don't know where the wolves are.
311
00:51:21,120 --> 00:51:24,560
I'm pretty gutted.
312
00:51:24,600 --> 00:51:26,880
Going to have to just stay here
through the night, scanning
313
00:51:26,920 --> 00:51:32,440
with the thermal camera and hoping that
some wolves appear on the landscape.
314
00:51:32,480 --> 00:51:34,600
It's really difficult
when nothing's happening.
315
00:51:38,880 --> 00:51:43,480
But finally, a promising lead
in an unexpected location.
316
00:51:46,320 --> 00:51:49,480
We got a report last night
that there was a wolf kill on the road,
317
00:51:49,520 --> 00:51:54,480
so, you know, we've been going into
the wilderness to try and find wolves,
318
00:51:54,520 --> 00:51:57,840
when actually they've just been
on our doorstep in the village.
319
00:51:59,280 --> 00:52:03,120
The wolf must have chased the deer
from there, and it tried to jump.
320
00:52:03,160 --> 00:52:05,840
But it... it got stuck here
because of all the... all the fur.
321
00:52:05,880 --> 00:52:10,160
You see, also there is some
also some some wolf fur here.
322
00:52:10,200 --> 00:52:14,560
I mean, it's the best signs of wolf
activity we've seen since we've been here.
323
00:52:14,600 --> 00:52:17,880
I just wouldn't have thought
it would have been in the village
324
00:52:17,920 --> 00:52:21,400
when there's so many miles
of wilderness, the mountains.
325
00:52:22,480 --> 00:52:24,160
Yeah, we're changing strategy.
326
00:52:24,200 --> 00:52:29,720
Um, I've moved the camera teams to a car
park above the village where we're staying,
327
00:52:29,760 --> 00:52:33,320
which... I can't even quite believe
I'm saying that, but,
328
00:52:33,360 --> 00:52:35,040
hopefully it will pay off.
329
00:52:37,880 --> 00:52:43,200
Time to move the operation
to the edge of the village.
330
00:52:51,120 --> 00:52:54,480
We're just a stone's throw
from that village full of people.
331
00:52:54,520 --> 00:52:57,400
I can... I can hear a wolf howling
just over there,
332
00:52:57,440 --> 00:52:58,680
so I'm hurrying to set the camera up,
333
00:52:58,720 --> 00:53:01,480
cos I'm pretty sure we're going to see
some wolves quite soon.
334
00:53:07,240 --> 00:53:15,680
We have got nine European wild wolves
howling down there in the valley.
335
00:53:15,720 --> 00:53:17,520
Unbelievable.
336
00:53:19,440 --> 00:53:23,080
Who'd have thought that you'd have
that many wolves so close to the road?
337
00:53:23,120 --> 00:53:24,720
There's cars passing just beneath me.
338
00:53:26,400 --> 00:53:28,440
It's just beautiful.
339
00:53:30,560 --> 00:53:36,120
For the lynx team in Spain,
things are taking a turn for the worse.
340
00:53:38,200 --> 00:53:42,560
We've just come down to discover
our camera traps are not weatherproof.
341
00:53:42,600 --> 00:53:45,800
All the electronics and the circuit boards
are starting to act up,
342
00:53:45,840 --> 00:53:49,880
so we're having to rip everything out
and we'll have to see what's going on.
343
00:53:53,320 --> 00:53:54,800
The weather's been so bad,
344
00:53:54,840 --> 00:53:57,120
there's so much rain coming down
from the mountain.
345
00:54:03,520 --> 00:54:09,080
The only option is to bring
all the cameras back to base.
346
00:54:09,120 --> 00:54:14,440
I'm hooking it up, drying it out, finding
out where water's getting in and sealing it.
347
00:54:14,480 --> 00:54:19,520
With ten camera traps to fix,
the crew work around the clock
348
00:54:19,560 --> 00:54:23,040
until the last one is ready.
349
00:54:23,080 --> 00:54:25,880
It looks like we're good to go.
350
00:54:27,320 --> 00:54:32,520
But the team can't re-rig the cameras
while it's still raining.
351
00:54:34,480 --> 00:54:38,520
And the weather shows no sign
of improving.
352
00:54:39,640 --> 00:54:42,925
We really want to find these
lynx, but without
353
00:54:42,941 --> 00:54:46,295
without a couple of dry
days to set the kit up,
354
00:54:46,320 --> 00:54:48,760
we're... we're up against it now.
355
00:54:51,840 --> 00:54:54,520
All we can do is wait, I guess.
356
00:55:01,240 --> 00:55:06,360
Eventually, the rains pass
and the crew set up the camera traps.
357
00:55:06,400 --> 00:55:07,800
This is the last one.
358
00:55:07,840 --> 00:55:11,000
I'm going to close it up, and then
we're going to leave it for a month.
359
00:55:11,040 --> 00:55:14,840
It feels really fitting to be ending
on a really lovely sunny day
360
00:55:14,880 --> 00:55:16,960
with everything working perfectly.
361
00:55:17,000 --> 00:55:20,560
So I'm feeling quite confident
and positive.
362
00:55:20,600 --> 00:55:23,760
Hopefully,
this will get us some lynx shots.
363
00:55:28,520 --> 00:55:32,680
In Italy, the thermal camera
is allowing the team
364
00:55:32,720 --> 00:55:38,040
to reveal, for the first time,
the secret lives of Europe's wolves.
365
00:55:40,240 --> 00:55:45,800
And it appears that they live much closer
to home than anyone thought.
366
00:55:45,840 --> 00:55:48,920
They're just so close to the road.
367
00:55:48,960 --> 00:55:52,760
You've got the village up in the
background, and I can see the houses.
368
00:55:52,800 --> 00:55:57,560
There's people sleeping all around,
and yet they're so confident,
369
00:55:57,600 --> 00:56:02,160
so confident, they're undisturbed by,
all the humanity that's around them.
370
00:56:06,560 --> 00:56:10,760
It's just amazing to me
that they know how to stay out of sight
371
00:56:10,800 --> 00:56:13,240
but be so close to humanity.
372
00:56:14,360 --> 00:56:16,640
They just have this night shift.
373
00:56:16,680 --> 00:56:18,400
And then they just meld away
into the shadows.
374
00:56:20,880 --> 00:56:25,760
And it's not just the wolf team
making surprising discoveries.
375
00:56:27,200 --> 00:56:32,600
Camera trap footage reveals
how confident the Iberian lynx is,
376
00:56:32,640 --> 00:56:34,520
living alongside people.
377
00:56:37,480 --> 00:56:42,480
And towards the end of the trip,
the team have a memorable encounter.
378
00:56:42,520 --> 00:56:47,080
We've just woken up from staying in the
house, and we've had a visitor overnight.
379
00:56:48,640 --> 00:56:55,160
To see a wild lynx up this close
is, yeah, completely amazing.
380
00:56:55,200 --> 00:56:58,880
It was a surprising revelation
for both teams
381
00:56:58,920 --> 00:57:04,080
to find the continent's most elusive
predators living right alongside us.
382
00:57:11,360 --> 00:57:12,640
Next time...
383
00:57:13,880 --> 00:57:16,160
...a land of constant change...
384
00:57:18,000 --> 00:57:22,840
...where pioneering animals
make the most of every opportunity.
385
00:57:27,880 --> 00:57:30,120
North America.
386
00:57:35,480 --> 00:57:37,480
______
33091
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