All language subtitles for z02

Off the south coast
of Australia

lies an ocean fortress...

...cut off by wild seas 10,000
years ago.

An enchanted refuge where some
of the mainland's wildlife have

made a last stand.

[Birds chirping in distance]

A world apart,
it's moulded both its residence

and its visitors,
and made them its own.

[Squawking]

A place full of the amazing,
the endearing,

the endangered,
and the dangerous.

Battles rage on land,
in the trees, on the beaches,

and under the waves.

Life here marches
and kicks to the beat

of its own drum.

[Birds chirping in distance]

This is life
on a spectacular living arc.

[Squawking]

Kangaroo Island.

[♪]

[♪]

It's autumn,
and the dry summer heat

has given way to mellow,
cooling breezes.

A welcome relief to the island's
Australian sea lions.

Wedged between rocky ramparts
with its own surf beach,

and rich hunting
and fishing grounds just beyond

the breakers,

this is Seal Bay.

As close as you get for paradise
for a seal.

But it's not just a seaside
resort for sunbathing

and fine dining...

[Barking]

It's an important breeding destination

for about 1,000 Australian
sea lions,

one of the most endangered
pinnipeds in the world.

[Barking]

But even here, life isn't always
as idyllic as it seems.

Sea lions aren't big on romance
and breeding can be a brutal

and dangerous affair,
especially if you happen to be

a young and lonely male
sea lion.

Towering between him
and the possibility

of mating is the beach master,

a 300-kilogram
testosterone-fuelled beach bully

who wants all the females
to himself.

[Barking]

But the call to reproduce
is strong.

Body surfing nonchalantly
in the shallows,

the young male keeps a sharp eye
out for any windows

of opportunity.

[♪]

[Barking]

And there she is,
a lone female up in the dunes,

and the beach master
is snoozing.

The young male slips out
of the surf as surreptitiously

as he can,
holding his 180-kilo bulk.

But the beach master is a light sleeper.

[Grunting]

He has to be with juvenile
delinquents about.

[Grunting]

Honking disapproval, he dashes
the young male's hopes.

[Grunting]

The youngster will just have
to bide his time.

The tail end
of autumn sees the start

of the rainy season.

Kangaroo Island
is at the convergence

of seasonal ocean currents that
create cool wet winters

and hot dry summers.

Over aeons,
these rains have seeped into

the soft porous limestone
bedrock and dissolve the rock

to form massive subterranean caves,

caves that hold secrets
to the island's past.

Over hundreds of thousands
of years,

the Kelly Hill Caves have been
pitfall traps to unwary animals

that have fallen to their deaths.

The bones
of ancient long-extinct species

speak to a time when strange
large marsupial predators

hungrily roamed this landscape.

The Australian coastline today
is the result

of great sea level changes over millennia.

Once, Kangaroo Island was part
of the continent.

When the last Ice Age ended,
sea levels rose almost 120

metres and predators
were cut off

from the newly-formed island.

Kangaroo Island has since
remained virtually free

of large predators,
a situation prey species have

taken advantage of
in fascinating ways.

These are some
of the most iconic

and beloved beneficiaries
of the island's safe haven.

[Birds chirping in distance]

No ordinary hoppers,

they are Kangaroo Island kangaroos,

a subspecies of western grey
roos that evolved

in isolation
since the island

was separated from the mainland.

[Birds chirping in distance]

[♪]

With no predators,
they have become shorter,

slower, furrier, chubbier,

[Birds chirping in distance]

and apparently lazier.

Kangaroos are marsupials,
a group of mammals that

have been wildly successful
in the isolation of Australia.

Their defining characteristic
of course, the famous pouch.

[Birds chirping in distance]

On Kangaroo Island,
joeys have little to fear inside

or outside the pouch.

[Birds chirping in distance]

The adults have no one to fear
but each other.

[Birds chirping in distance]

The autumn rains
are a perfect time

for males to establish their
pecking order.

[Birds chirping in distance]

Rains stimulate grass growth
and triggers breeding activity.

[Birds chirping in distance]

Young males spar with each other
constantly play fighting.

They're not strong enough
yet to do any real damage.

[Birds chirping in distance]

But the fully-grown males called
"boomers" fight in earnest.

[Birds chirping in distance]

There are breeding rights
at stake.

[♪]

With sharp claws, they scotch
and gouge.

More dangerous is the kick
from their powerful hind legs.

They rock back supporting
their entire body weight

on their tails and aim violent
blows to the belly.

[Birds chirping in distance]

A well-end kick can be fatal.

[Birds chirping in distance]

[♪]

The winner will have all the
females in the mob to himself.

[Birds chirping in distance]

Nearby, dropping she-oak trees
seem to be

raining shredded seeds.

[Birds chirping in distance]

This natural confetti celebrates
one of the great stories

of the living arc that is
Kangaroo Island.

[Birds squawking in distance]

The source of the raining seeds

is a South-Australian glossy
black cockatoo.

[Birds squawking and chirping
in distance]

This little island
is the only place in the world

where the subspecies
of the bird exists.

[Birds squawking in distance]

They're picky eaters surviving solely

on the equally are drooping
she-oak.

The she-oak disappeared
from South Australia where it

was clear-cut to make way
for farming

and expanding urban areas,
and with it went the glossy

black cockatoo.

[Birds squawking in distance]

This is now the last remaining
home for both bird and tree.

The cockatoo spends hours
twisting the seeds

from the branches.

[Birds squawking in distance]

[Birds chirping in distance]

Curiously like all parrots,
they're almost all lefties,

standing on their right leg
and manipulating the seeds

with their left.

[Birds squawking and chirping
in distance]

There may as few as 100
of these glorious birds left

and the subspecies is considered
critically endangered.

[Squawks]

[♪]

The females lay only one egg per
breeding season,

which is tightly synchronized
with the seasonal fruiting

of the drooping she-oak.

[Birds squawking in distance]

With such a low reproductive rate,

their population recovery will
be a slow

and precarious journey.

[Birds squawking in distance]

Some animals on Kangaroo Island
have no such problems.

This unlikely-looking creature
is extremely adaptable

and thrives in a variety
of habitats across the island.

It's the strange and endearing
Kangaroo Island echidna.

Like the glossy black cockatoo
here on the arc,

it become a subspecies
of the mainland variety.

Its protective spines are
actually specialized hairs.

[Birds chirping in distance]

The echidna is not your average mammal.

It belongs to an extremely small
and incredibly ancient lineage

of mammals called "monotremes".

[Insect chirping in distance]

Usually solitary,
this female is about to find

herself quite popular.

[Birds chirping in distance]

The shorter days
and cooler temperatures

of autumn have brought her into oestrous,

and now her dance card is full.

[Birds chirping in distance]

Trains of up to 10 males frequently

fall in behind a receptive female.

[Birds chirping in distance]

Their long noses entranced by
the pheromones wafting behind

her as she waddles along.

[Birds chirping in distance]

But she's not too picky.

She may mate with all of them.

[Birds chirping in distance]

Echidna trains can last
for up to six weeks

and the mating period can lumber
from late autumn

into the winter months.

Back at Seal Bay,
testosterone fuels more chaos

for the females.

One weary female emerges
from the surf.

[Grunting]

Only to find herself squarely
on the young male's radar.

[Barking]

And the beach master is nowhere
in sight.

[Grunting]

She wants no part of him.

She is already pregnant
and won't come into oestrous

again till immediately after
she pups.

[Grunting]

[Growling]

The inexperienced male doesn't
know any better.

Aggressively, he cuts her off
from the harem

and chases her up the dunes.

[Barking]

[Growling]

[Grunting]

And he's not the only randy
juvenile around.

[Barking and growling]

She could be
in serious danger with these

awkward violent teenagers bent
on mating.

[Grunting]

Fortunately, they get caught up
in their own testosterone drama

and she makes a getaway.

[Grunting]

Now that she's eating for two,
she needs to feed

as often as possible.

She slips into the sea, headed
for rich feeding grounds

where there's an
all-you-can-eat buffet.

But to get there,
she'll have to make sure

she doesn't land
on someone else's dinner plate.

[♪]

Off the coast lurks one
of the most fearsome predators

on the planet.

The great white sharks
of Kangaroo Island are among

the largest in the world
with unconfirmed

reports of some up to
7 metres long.

They're here
for the bountiful menu

of marine mammals.

[Bleating]

Kangaroo Island
and the surrounding are supports

the largest populations
of both Australian sea lions

and fur seals.

[Birds chirping in distance]

It's not just the big hungry
adult sharks that mammals have

to contend with.

There's also an influx
of younger sharks

this time of year.

Juveniles return here
in autumn, after their communal

gathering in the warmer waters
in the north.

[♪]

And they know where the seal's
feeding grounds are.

[♪]

These sharks are actually
warm-blooded, equipped to hunt

in the chilliest of waters,

Their fast-contracting white
muscle can propel them at speeds

up to 50 kilometres per hour
in an instant.

And with 300 teeth, every inch
of them is built for the strike

and a kill.

[♪]

But sea lions aren't without
their won defences.

The pregnant female has highly
light-sensitive eyes that enable

her to see
in poor visibility under water.

She's also more agile than
a great white.

She frequently huddles with
other sea lions in the water,

so a multiple set of eyes can be
on the lookout for predators.

She keeps a low profile looking
out for sharks and waiting

for the right moment to bolt
for the feeding grounds.

In deeper water,
sea lions have an ingenious

method to counter the shark's
deadly ways.

Sharks almost always ambush
their prey from below,

shooting out
of the depths at high speed.

So while she's at the surface,
she swims with her head tipped,

so that one eye is looking up
and one is always scanning

for an attack from below.

This way she can flip around to
make sure she's not in front

of the business end of a shark,
but instead trailing behind it.

[♪]

After a quick feed on cuttlefish
and octopus,

she heads back to the beach.

As autumn comes to an end,
it seems as though romance is

in the air everywhere.

[Birds chirping in distance]

The plentiful pastures
on the island's grassy norms

bring another rare species to
the island for the winter.

[Squawking]

Cape Barren geese pair for life
and return here

each year to breed.

[Birds chirping in distance]

These geese originally inhabited
only isolated islands further

east, but their numbers
were falling.

They were introduced to Kangaroo Island

in the 1930s to safeguard
the species.

[Birds chirping in distance]

Those that were subsequently
born here,

then returned here to breed
as do their chicks.

[Birds chirping in distance]

Today, there are over 200 here
with migrants

from other islands arriving

regularly each breeding season
of their own accord.

Their recovery has been such a
success that the colony is now

one of the healthiest in world

[Birds chirping in distance]

This couple has arrived early

and found some prime real estate.

[Birds chirping in distance]

As grazers,
they lay claim to the richest

patches of open grassland
and defend their chosen

territory vigorously.

[Squawking]

[♪]

When the business
of courting is done,

she lays her clutch
in a nest that he's built

and lined with his own down feathers.

While she does all
the incubating,

he'll be her bodyguard
for the next 35 days.

[♪]

These hooded plover eggs seem
to be

in a much more precarious position,

exposed to sudden winds that
batter the coastal sand dunes

and predatory gulls.

The plovers live life sandwiched
between the dunes

and the Southern Ocean as they
scour the shoreline

for molluscs, insects,
and crustaceans.

The survival
of their eggs depends

on a clever deception by their parents.

When an inquisitive hungry gull
arrives on the scene,

the plovers quickly create
a diversion.

They move down the beach
and huddle as though

they're on a nest.

The diversion tactic draws the
seagull away from the edge

of the dunes and away
from their real nest.

[Squawking]

It seems to be working.

[Squawking]

But there's a greater threat
looming on the horizon.

The weather.

On Kangaroo Island winter is
marked by the arrival

of cold winds
of the vast Southern Ocean.

[Birds chirping in distance]

[Squawking]

Four weeks after they've laid
their eggs,

the Cape Barren geese
have a family.

[♪]

[Squawking]
On the sanctuary of the island,
this pair has successfully

raised four out
of their five chicks,

a fat greater survival rate than
they could achieve elsewhere.

[Squawking in distance]

The couple shares
parental duties,

keeping a close eye
on their precious charges.

[Squawking in distance]

Since the day after hatching,
the chicks have been grazing

alongside their parents,
rapidly putting on weight.

[Squawking]

But it will be another month
before they get their flight

feathers and can head back to
the mainland with their parents.

[Squawking in distance]

Although, Kangaroo Island
is an ideal arc

for threatened animals,

it can fall victim to its own successes.

[Birds chirping in distance]

Even an adorable icon can become
a problem.

[Birds chirping in distance]

In 1920,
when koala numbers were

plummeting on the mainland,
18 koalas were introduced to

Kangaroo Island.

Today, there are thousands
of them grazing

in the island's eucalypt forests.

[Distant cawing]

Eucalypts are actually evergreens

producing leaves year round.

But since the leaves don't
provide much nutrition or fuel,

the koalas have to eat, and eat,
and eat.

[Birds chirping in distance]

Koalas can be impressively
strong and agile,

allowing them to move freely
throughout the forest.

[Birds chirping in distance]

No eucalypt tree is safe
from these voracious creatures,

and on Kangaroo Island
that's a problem.

[Birds chirping in distance]

Without predators to keep them
in check,

the koalas are slowly eating themselves

out of house and home.

The constant grazing gives
the eucalypt forest

little chance to recover.

Wildlife managers are now
working to manage the

populations through a process
of sterilization

and relocating animals to
eucalypt forests

on the mainland where their
numbers have continued to fall.

Back in the water,
reproductive urges are luring

fantastic creatures
form the deep.

In winter, giant cuttlefish
leave the deeper waters

of their preferred feeding grounds

and migrate to the island's
sheltered shallow bays to breed.

This is the largest species
of cuttlefish in the world.

Males can grow 1 metre long

and weigh more than
10 kilograms.

Cousins to squids and octopus,
they're shape-shifters

and masters of camouflage.

Specialized organs
in their skin change colour

and texture.

The body and arms almost
magically assume

postures that make them indistinguishable

from the algae around them.

Males gather in arenas to
challenge each other

in battles for dominance
and perform dazzling fan dances

for the females.

These are not always well received.

[♪]

Once a large male has found
a willing female,

he shadows her smaller body
waiting until she's ready.

Until then he'll have to spend
a lot of time

repelling rivals trying
to steal her away.

Sometimes when the male
is locked in battle

with another large male,

a smaller male will disguise
himself as a female

and try to sneak up
on the object of their desire

and quickly mate with her.

This male is having none of it
and chases the sneaker male off.

[♪]

If a female is agreeable,
the male approaches her

face-to-face grasping each other
with their arms.

The male then uses a specialized
tentacle to deposit a small

sperm sac near
a sperm-storage organ

next to the female's mouth.

But the chaos in conflict
of breeding takes its toll

and for many, the fan dance
is their last dance.

By the end of winter,
when all the females have

deposited their fertilized eggs
on the reef,

much of the adult
population dies.

[Birds squawking in distance]

[♪]

Little penguins make their way
up the beach after a day spent

foraging at sea.

[Squawking]

They're also known as "fairy
penguins".

At only 30 centimetres tall
and 11⁄2 kilos,

they're vulnerable to dogs
and feral cats found

in other places
and their numbers are

diminishing throughout Southern Australia.

Even here,
on the relative safety

of the island,
the little penguins

seem to be disappearing.

No one understands exactly why,
but you wouldn't know it

from the deafening sound
of their colonies.

[Squawking]

They're monogamous
and dedicated parents during

their breeding season.

Clearly, this chick has been
well looked-after.

The pudgy little thing is losing
its downy coat

and will soon leave the nest.

[Squawking in distance]

As dawn approaches,
the parents all set off together

to find food,
heading out to fishing grounds

where they'll eat around 25%
of their own body weight

in fish and squid.

It's the start of spring.

Nearly half
of the island's annual rainfall

has fallen
in the last three winter months

and the island's inhabitants are
enjoying a time of plenty.

Spring is the cue
for another underwater

inhabitant to start breeding.

In the calm waters
of a kelp-covered reef,

a fascinating and cryptic
creature makes its home.

Nearly invisible and looking
for love, a leafy sea dragon,

a close relative
of the seahorse

hides in plain sight.

[♪]

With alga-like protrusions all
along his body,

he seems like just another
floating piece of seaweed.

[♪]

The way the leafy sea dragon
swims, reinforces this illusion.

[♪]

His seaweed-like protrusions are
of little use to propel him

through the water.

Instead, two small transparent
fan-like fins

waft him gently along with
the current in search

of a female.

[♪]

He's not just a master
of camouflage,

he's also a devoted dad.

When he does find a mate,
he'll carry the eggs

on his tail throughout their incubation.

[♪]

The sheltered bay
on the north coast of the island

will provide protection

and a stable water temperature
for his young.

Strong southerly winds drive
cold deep waters to the surface

and the sea temperature here
will remain cool right through

the early spring months.

Kangaroo Island is awash with
currents and upwellings.

It has a varied coastline,
both sheltered and exposed,

which ensures rich pickings
of one sort

or another all year round.

[Birds chirping in distance]

For fish-eating raptors like ospreys,

these are perfect conditions to
raise a family.

[Birds chirping in distance]

This pair has constructed an
impressive nest,

but they are only responsible
for the top storey.

[Birds chirping in distance]

Its foundation were laid by
their ancestors.

A nest this size would have been
used by several generations

of ospreys.

And with a lifespan
of around 10 years,

that means this nest has been constructed

over several decades.

[Birds chirping in distance]

Its continued use is a testament
to what the island's waters

can provide,
season after season.

[Birds chirping in distance]

At Seal Bay, breeding season
is in full swing.

[Barking]

Unlike all other seals
and sea lions,

the Australian sea lion has an
18-month breeding cycle.

So the Seal Bay mums have both newborns

and last season's
18-month-old pups.

Each sea lion colony breeds
at a different time

to its neighbouring colonies.

[Barking]

This asynchronous breeding means
that there are always females to

mate with somewhere.

[Squawking]

This male has been
island-hopping in search

of a receptive mate.

His timing has to be spot
on as females only come into

oestrous for a few days after
giving birth.

[Grunting]

And he doesn't always have the
young mothers to himself.

[Barking and grunting]

The beach master will guard
the pregnant females

due to give birth,

blocking their path
to the ocean.

[Birds chirping in distance]

During this critical period,
he doesn't dare leave the

fertile females to feed himself
at sea.

He will gradually lose weight
and strength.

[Grunting]

Milk production is
energy-demanding

and females need to make more
regular fishing trips

to nourish their young.

This increases the risk
of shark attack.

[Sea lions barking in distance]

Horrific wounds testify to the
dangers sea lions face

simply to feed

and mothers
are particularly vulnerable.

[Barking]

This mother, having given birth
four weeks ago,

carefully keeps herself
and her baby out of the fray

and up in the dunes.

But she can't protect him
from one thing,

her need to feed,

sometimes leaving him
for five days at a time.

Without a backward glance,
she slips into the surf

intent on finding enough fish
and octopus

to keep herself healthy

and lactating the rich fatty
milk he'll need to grow.

He's packing
on weight at the rate

of 100 grams per day.

Tucked into the dunes away
from chaos on the beach,

he should be safe enough.

But his mother is far less secure.

She'll have to run the gauntlet
sharks both going out to

and coming back
from the feeding grounds.

Many mothers don't make it
and third pups soon starve.

This 18-month-old pup
from last season,

still suckling,
is desperately searching

for its mother and is in need
of a feed.

[Bleating]

In its desperation,
it seeks out other lactating

mothers on the beach.

[Barking and bleating]

With their own young to feed,
he's rejected repeatedly.

Having lost
so much weight already,

it's likely his mother fell
victim to the sharks

many days ago.

All this pup can do is wait.

Spring prompts new leaf growth
in the eucalypt forests.

[Grunting]
And an outbreak of violence

among the densely-crowded
koalas.

[Grunting]

The females are going into heat
and the males viciously fight

for the opportunity to mate.

[Grunting]

The winner claims his prize.

[Grunting]
Tender seduction is the last
thing on his mind.

Luckily for the females,
they only need to mate

once a season.

That's more than enough
on the living arc

of Kangaroo Island.

[Grunting]

Abundant food and a lack
of predators mean the koalas

have bred like rabbits.

They're now such a plentiful
fixture that birds,

like this white-necked
honey eater, use their fur

for a ready supply
of nesting material.

The eucalypt forests are overburdened.

But recent wildlife surveys are
a source of hope.

Their sterilization
and relocation programs

seem to be working.

Koala numbers are down
and the forests are showing

signs of recovery.

[Birds chirping in distance]

Unlike the destructive koalas,
the island's echidnas are busy

if oblivious caretakers
of the arc's ecology.

[Birds chirping in distance]

As the forage,
they constantly excavate the

leaf litter
and rip up rioting logs.

[Birds chirping in distance]

Their foraging inadvertently
helps condition the soil,

spreading nutrients,
helping moisture

and air to penetrate,
promoting the healthy growth

of plants on the island.

[Birds chirping in distance]

[♪]

After his successful autumn mating,

the female echidna holds up
in a log.

[Birds chirping in distance]

An unusual birth is eminent.

[Birds chirping in distance]

As a monotreme,
she displays some distinctly

reptilian features:

A lower body temperature
and a very unmammal-like way

of giving birth.

[Birds chirping in distance]

Remarkably,
she produces a leathery egg,

out of which wriggles a tiny
newborn called a "puggle".

It crawls around inside her
pouch until it finds

her milk patch.

With no nipples,
the mother simply sweats milk

for her puggle to lap up.

Milk production is demanding
and the female needs to eat.

[Birds chirping in distance]

She spends 18 hours a day
searching for food.

[Birds chirping in distance]

For 45 days,
the puggle will remain

in her pouch growing quickly.

Then she'll stash her baby
in a nursery burrow,

returning every five days to
suckle it.

By the end of spring,
she'll simply stop returning

and this puggle will be
on its own, hiding in the burrow

from the island's larger reptiles.

The Rosenberg's goanna is a
species of monitor lizard,

a throwback to the age
of the dinosaurs.

These monitors,
Kangaroo Island's largest native

predators, can grow to 11⁄2 metres
and weigh over 3 kilograms.

This female goanna has a
remarkable albeit one-sided

relationship with the island's
termites.

[Birds chirping in distance]

At the end of last summer,
she excavated into this termite

mount and deposited 13 eggs.

The industrialist termites then
went to work,

sealing up the damage
inadvertently creating a prefect

goanna nursery.

For eight months,
her eggs incubated

in ideal humidity
and temperature

within the protected mount safe
from predators

and the winter rains.

When daytime spring temperatures outside,

reach the temperatures inside
the mount,

the young begin to hatch.

They have a ready supply
of food,

the poor termites who have
unwittingly been their hosts

for this whole time.

Once they're around
four months old,

the youngsters scratch their way
out of the mount.

[Birds chirping in distance]

They bask in the sun before
setting off on their own

to forage on insects
and spiders.

It's a dangerous business.

They're face intense predation
from birds and only 1

in 12 will make it through the
first year of their life.

[Distant cawing]

Even so,
Kangaroo Island is an arc

for these creatures, too.

The species has nearly
disappeared from the mainland

and the island is their last stronghold.

On the beach,
other youngsters are making

their spring debut.

The hooded plovers have
remarkable managed not only to

survive the winter,
but also to protect their eggs

from predation.

They now have two healthy chicks.

But they aren't out
of danger yet.

The chicks are incredibly
vulnerable to gulls and birds

of prey,
and need constant supervision.

At least, here on the beach,
they're safe from perhaps one

of the greatest threats
on the island, fire.

As summer approaches,
hot dry winds whip in

from the mainland deserts
and the eucalypts drop their

leaves, creating a build up
of dry leaf litter.

[Birds chirping in distance]

In the canopy,
tall mallee trees hold

on to their drying leaves,
making the situation worse.

From top to bottom,
the forest becomes a tinderbox.

[Crackling]

Every few years, lightning
or a carelessly-thrown

strikes this tinder.

[Crackling]

Fed by constant winds off
the ocean,

massive bushfires sweep through
the forests...

...leaping
from tree to tree with

breathtaking speed,
driving before it the

inhabitants of the living arc.

[Crackling]

Sometimes hundreds
of square kilometres burn.

[Crackling]

The echidna can't
tap around the flames.

So she quickly burrows into
the ground,

her keratin spine shielding her
from the heat above.

The eucalypts may be highly flammable,

but they're fire-adapted
and recover quickly.

Some even depend on fire
for their seeds to germinate.

The ash bed that blankets the
forest when the flames burn out,

makes ideal compost.

When the echidna senses the
all-clear, she surfaces

and resumes her foraging as
though nothing had happened.

[♪]

As she tills the new ground,
she helps speed the recovery

of the forest.

[♪]

Down at the beach,
the lonely pup has been spared

from the fires of the interior,
but is stalked by a greater

danger, hunger.

He's been waiting
for his mother to return

from the sea for almost a week.

[Pup bleating]

Chances are she's fallen victim

to one of the great whites
patrolling the island.

[Calling]

Finally,
the pup hears a familiar sound.

[Bleats] [Sea lion calling]

[Bleats]

It's his mother.

Mum and pup identify each other
first by sound.

[Calling]

Then confirm their identity
by scent.

This mum may not breed again
for another 18 months,

but instead she will devout her
time to nurse

and protect her pup.

Australian sea lions
are the most devoted mothers

of any species of seal.

And on Kangaroo Island,
they have found a sanctuary.

Here, on this remarkable island,

cut off from a rapidly-changing
world,

rare and endangered creatures
have found a place

to make a last stand

and native wildlife thrives unmolested

by the threats
of the modern world.

The ancient battles
of survival remain to drive off

rivals, to find a mate, to bear
and raise young,

and to escape the worst that
nature can throw at them.

But here,
where time stands still,

nature can catch a breath
and her creatures can thrive

on the living arc that is Kangaroo Island.