All language subtitles for Growing.Up.Animal.S01E02.WEBRip.x264-ION10

Meet Star

a female Steller sea lion.

At five years old,
she's in her prime.

But there's something in
life she's yet to experience

becoming a mom.

Over the course of the next
year, that's all about to change.

In this incredible journey,
witness the miracle of new life

as it grows.

And see a unique relationship
develop between mother and baby.

Star's pup, Luna...

Will arrive
in a time of turbulence,

and face unimaginable dangers.

She must quickly
rise to the challenge

of Growing Up Animal.

It's spring, and the
North Pacific Ocean

off the coast of British
Columbia is bursting with life.

After a long and
difficult winter,

Star is making the
most of the good times.

But it's not all fun and games

she's on a mission.

She's been travelling
for days to return here

her birthplace.

Triangle Island.

This wild and
unforgiving outcrop

surrounded by
treacherous waters,

may appear inhospitable.

But for Star,

this is the perfect
place to start a family.

And she's not
the only one who thinks so.

Five thousand other
Steller sea lions had the same idea.

They're all here for
one very special reason.

More pups
are born on this island

than anywhere else in the world.

It's a
seasonal baby boom.

Just like us humans,

Steller sea lion moms give their
all to rear the next generation.

Star has quite
the journey ahead of her.

But first, she needs a mate.

Luckily, Triangle Island is
also the place to find love.

With hundreds of
males vying for her attention...

Star wants to
find the perfect suitor.

The most successful bull
will have the best patch of beach.

With access to water,

and shelter.

At last Star's eyes
settle on the one.

Brutus.

- Over 2000 pounds of muscle and blubber.

A fine specimen.

All Star needs to do
is get his attention...

And she
knows just the trick.

First, she
plays hard to get.

Then she entices
Brutus to a game of chase.

That's got him interested.

Now time for
a love bite or two.

It may look rough,

but that's sea lion
courtship for you,

and the big guy
seems to like it.

The pair
has made its match.

With any luck, Star's journey
to motherhood has begun.

But that's the last she'll see of Brutus.
He'll play no role in raising a pup.

It's
all up to her now.

Within days,
something miraculous has begun.

Inside Star's body,
a cluster of cells have formed.

Called a blastocyst, it holds
the potential of new life.

But it's in a kind of suspended
animation, known as embryonic diapause.

Delaying Star's pregnancy
from starting now

means her pup will
miss the tough winter

and be born next summer,
when food is most plentiful.

How Star fares over the coming months
could determine whether the cells implant.

She must fatten up and ensure
she's in top condition.

The cold waters around Triangle Island
are some of the richest in the world

alive with the most weird
and wonderful creatures.

In the summer months, herring
gather in their millions.

They feast on blooms of plankton,
drawn to the surface by the sun.

This is an opportunity
Star can't afford to miss.

By hunting as part of a group,
she might stand a better chance.

Working together, they corral the
fish into tighter and tighter balls.

A Herring school can reach
several miles in length

and contain nearly
50,000 tons of fish.

Enough to keep the entire sea
lion colony fed for over a month.

It's been a successful hunt.

But Star must eat 50 pounds
of fish a day to survive.

She needs to stay in good shape
for her pregnancy to continue.

As fall arrives, storms
batter this exposed island

and food becomes much
harder to come by.

It's time for Star to move on.

By December

she's made it 600
miles north to Alaska.

Here, temperatures
drop below freezing.

But these inland channels are far
more sheltered than the coast.

And most importantly,
there's food.

Herring see out the
winter here, too.

Despite this, Star must spend more
time hunting than ever before.

Each trip is vital, now that
she's growing a new life.

Hidden inside Star's womb,
something magical is happening.

Eleven weeks ago, that tiny cluster
of cells implanted and began to grow.

This is Luna.

While her face and
flippers are still forming

inside her torso, tiny
lungs are developing,

and a heart is
already working away.

The umbilical cord
that joins Luna to Star

delivers essential nutrients
that are keeping her alive.

But with five months of growing to
do, she still has a long way to go.

It's going to be a
challenging winter for Star.

The pressure is on.
She must go hunt again.

When spring
finally arrives,

daylight hours stretch
from eight to 15.

Energy from the sun brings the seas
around Triangle Island back to life.

And sea lions are returning from far
and wide in preparation to give birth.

But Star is nowhere to be seen.

Just a few weeks away
from becoming a mom,

she is enjoying her
last taste of freedom.

She's managed to eat just enough to
keep Luna's development on track.

Twenty-eight weeks in and
Luna has changed so much!

A downy hair called Lanugo now
covers over 50 percent of her body.

When she's born, this coat will keep her
warm while she builds up some blubber.

With her flippers now almost fully
formed, she wriggles around in the womb.

These movements build
up the muscles she'll need

to take her first swim when
she's just a few weeks old.

For a sea lion, flippers are
the tools of their trade.

Star pulls herself forward by
bringing her fore flippers together

in a powerful sweeping motion.

Then tucking them
tightly against her body,

she forms a torpedo-like shape to
easily glide through the water.

And while an Olympic medalist
swims at nearly six miles an hour,

an adult Steller like Star can
reach speeds of nearly seventeen.

But in these murky waters,

speed alone is not enough to
catch her fast-moving prey.

She relies on another
attribute her baby already has

whiskers.

Luna's have been
growing rapidly.

When she's fully grown,
they'll reach almost 12 inches,

the longest of any animal.

Like a straw in a cup, each
whisker can move freely,

letting the sea lion feel
any fish swimming nearby.

Luna is just weeks away from using
her whiskers to explore her new home.

Now almost 130 pounds heavier, Star
can sense her time is nearly up.

She needs to make
her way back to land.

By late May, Triangle
Island is buzzing with sea lions.

Star needs to
find just the right spot.

One she can
return to each summer.

It may not be the
calmest place to give birth...

Cheek to cheek with all the other
moms, there's barely a moment's peace.

But for Star it's just right,

sheltered and a safe distance
away from the water's edge.

She has timed it perfectly.

By 34 weeks, Luna is
running out of space.

She's ready to meet the world.

By releasing hormones
into Star's blood stream,

she puts the process in motion.

Within three days of
arriving on the island

there are signs
Star's baby is coming.

At last...

Luna is here.

Star's first pup is
born safe and well

weighing just over 35 pounds.

A gentle touch of noses

begins the bonding process

that will keep them side by
side for the next few weeks.

But foremost on Luna's
mind is her first meal.

Star instinctively
shows her where to suckle.

Her milk is five times
richer than human milk,

and will help Luna rapidly
lay down a layer of blubber.

At just three hours old, and
with a little help from Mom...

Luna is finding her feet.

Rotating her hind
flippers underneath her,

and using her front flippers
to support her weight,

she can start to get around.

But despite her newfound freedom,
she's still utterly dependent on Star.

And when all the moms
around look so similar,

it's easy for our curious
pup to get confused.

Being able to pick Star out from the
crowd will be key to her survival.

So, Star

begins to roar at Luna.

She repeats it regularly to
help her memorize the call.

Each mom has their own
unique sound, a special call...

Like a name.

In such
a noisy rookery,

there's another sense Luna
can use to find her mom.

Scent.

All that cuddling, nose
rubbing and affection

helps Luna remember exactly
what Mom smells like.

The combination
of sound and scent

are as unique to a sea lion
as our faces are to us.

Luna will stay by her
mom's side for the next ten days.

By which point, she'll
be able to pick Star out

from a crowded beach of
over a hundred sea lions.

At just a week old, Luna already
has a taste for adventure.

And there's something that will
play a big part in her life,

she just can't wait to meet.

The ocean.

Luna thinks she's ready.

After all, a sea lion needs
to get to know the sea.

Star isn't so sure.

Her pup has no sense of danger.

But there's no
holding Luna back.

She makes a run
for the shallows...

And her flippers touch water
for the very first time.

At just seven days old, Luna
takes a dip into the Pacific Ocean.

But while
their sheltered cove

may look perfect for a
pup's first taste of water

it's not without its dangers.

And Star knows it.

Conditions here can
change in an instant.

Luna isn't yet
strong enough to swim

or to haul herself back on
land if seas get too rough.

But a swell is building up.

Star makes her
way back to the beach.

And Luna tries to follow.

But already
the water is too deep.

Rescued
by Mom, she's safe.

Luna is just at the start
of a very long journey

learning how to
master the ocean.

It could take a year before she
is a fully-fledged swimmer...

And independent
enough to hunt alone.

For the first ten
days of her life,

Luna has been nurtured
by Star around the clock

giving her the best
possible start.

Their bond has grown as
strong as any mother and child.

But Star hasn't eaten
in nearly two weeks.

She's survived on nothing
but sips of sea water.

And now she's hungry.

She needs to hunt,

and that means leaving
Luna for the first time.

Luna's never
been alone before.

It's hard to know what to do.

Her calls
go unanswered.

Her mom could be gone for days.

So, our curious little
pup decides to explore.

But a rookery can be
a dangerous place.

Hmm. Best steer
clear of the big guys.

Maybe these
other moms will help?

They all look a bit like Star.

But they don't smell
quite the same.

And they don't sound
like her either.

Luna is too trusting and fails
to read the warning signs.

Other moms don't
tolerate strange pups coming close.

It might seem cruel,

but this aggressive
behavior stops other pups

from stealing
their precious milk

and protects the survival
of their own baby.

Shocked and bruised but
otherwise unharmed, Luna escapes.

It's an important
lesson learned.

She needs to find some
friends her own size.

Fortunately, Luna is not
the only pup with a mom out hunting.

One by one,
they group together...

Forming a
kind of pup nursery.

There's comfort in numbers.

With some friends in tow,
Luna starts to feel safe.

Time for some fun.

Stellers are social creatures.

And just like us, play will help
Luna develop her social skills.

By play fighting with other pups,
she'll learn how to communicate...

She'll learn when
to stand up for herself...

And when to back down.

Perhaps the most important lesson
for a feisty pup like Luna.

And with her newfound bravery,

she takes the opportunity to
have a splash in the rock pools.

All this activity will
build up her muscles.

Getting her ready
for her first swim.

It's been a long and tiring day.

As the light begins to fade,

Luna settles down for her
first night without Star.

She may not realize it, but
today our spirited young sea lion

has made some great leaps
towards independence.

After almost
two days without her mom,

Luna is starting to
settle into nursery life.

She hasn't
eaten since Star left,

but Steller pups are well
adjusted to periods of fasting.

And there are plenty
of distractions.

She's even started to
practice her hunting skills.

Albeit with kelp instead
of fish, for now.

Then something
catches Luna's attention.

It sounds familiar.

She'd recognize
that call anywhere.

Star has
returned from hunting.

And Luna couldn't be more
pleased to see her mom.

By early August,
Luna is thriving.

She's now eight weeks old, and
she's acquired a new skill.

Swimming.

She spends her days exploring
her new underwater world.

This is what she was built for.

Short, shallow dives is
all Luna can manage now.

But one day, she'll dive to
depths of nearly 1300 feet,

as deep as the Empire
State Building is tall.

And while her large eyes equip her
with excellent underwater vision,

she still hasn't
figured out how to fish.

For now, these sheltered waters
are purely her playground.

But even this close to shore,
pups can be extremely vulnerable.

Orca, a whole pod,
with their own young to feed.

They know this time of
year brings easy pickings.

Luna is
oblivious to the danger.

Working as a team

the Orca start to circle.

They do little
to hide their presence.

Sending panic
through the rookery.

Luna realizes
something is wrong.

She has to make it back to
the safety of the rocks.

She's made it.

But the Orca must feed their
young... and won't give up.

With only adult sea lions in
sight, they look for a straggler.

The Orca
initiate stealth mode.

Diving underwater

the hunters stop communicating.

They need to find a sea
lion swimming unaware.

Star and some other moms are
on their way back from a hunt.

The Orca claim their prey.

Back on the rookery,
Luna cries out for her mom.

There's no answer.

She's all alone,

and frightened.

Then she
hears something.

That familiar call.

Star is safe.

But one of the
other pups isn't so lucky.

His mom
won't be coming home.

As the days and weeks
pass, winter draws ever closer.

Soon Star and Luna will need
to leave Triangle Island

and head to their
winter foraging grounds.

But it will be a long journey,

especially for Luna, who has never
left the safety of the shallows.

Star's time to get Luna ready for
life in the ocean is running out.

She needs to get her
swimming in deeper water now.

At first
Luna seems hesitant.

But with a little persuasion from Mom,
they both head away from the shore.

With Star right by her side

she's confidently swimming
by herself in no time.

Although her stroke might
need a little practice...

Luna is doing brilliantly.

She's nearly ready to take on
the long journey with her mom.

By September, there's
a chill in the air,

and the rookery is
starting to clear.

The tiny pup who arrived
here just three months ago

is now a big and brave
bundle of enthusiasm.

For a first-time mom,
Star's done a great job.

Together, they embark on what
will be Luna's longest swim yet.

But one day, she will return to
Triangle Island to raise her own pup.

Continuing the tradition that
has lasted for generations.