All language subtitles for David.Attenboroughs.Global.Adventure.S01E02

♪

Narrator: David Attenborough
has been uncovering stories

about the natural world
for more than 60 years.

♪

His explorations of life
on our planet

have opened our eyes
to the marvels of nature.

♪

It's a wonderful place
to see wildlife.

♪

Narrator: In his mid-80s,
many thought he had retired.

However,
over the next seven years,

he launched a new era
of natural-history filmmaking.

♪

Oh! [Laughs]

Narrator: He revisited iconic
locations across the globe.

I'm here surrounded by one of
nature's greatest wonders.

♪

Narrator: Exploring the natural
world to uncover the secrets

of why animals and plants thrive
in their chosen habitats.

Hello.

Narrator:
This series follows a journey

from that very special time
of global adventures.

♪

To understand the diversity
of life on Earth,

we must travel to the remotest
parts of our planet.

In these extreme locations,

varied habitats
allow certain species to thrive.

♪

They are places of protection
from climate and predators...

where survival is easier.

♪

Australia's Great Barrier Reef
is one of the most unique

natural environments
on the planet,

attracting creatures
in search of sanctuary

from the wilderness
of the open ocean.

♪

Attenborough: The Great Barrier
protects its visitors

in many different ways.

♪

That becomes clear when you look
at the reef from above.

♪

This part of tropical Australia

lies right in the path
of regular seasonal cyclones.

This tangle of limestone walls
acts as a barrier

against the open ocean.

Between it and the land,

the waters are warm and shallow,
an ideal haven for visitors.

♪

A global community of animals
rely on this great wilderness.

♪

And that makes it
one of the most important

and influential habitats
on the planet.

♪

Every year,
the Great Barrier Reef

attracts over a million
migrating animals,

but there are still
large animals

whose movements remain something
of a mystery.

Manta rays are the nomads
of the reef.

They're huge creatures.

They can measure 15 feet --
5 meters across --

and weigh almost 1 1/2 tons.

They come to the reef
to feed on plankton,

but they also use it
as a sanctuary

where they can breed
or get a good clean.

Mantas have traveled
hundreds of miles

up the eastern coast
of Australia to get here.

Many make their way
to the waters

that surround Lady Elliot Island

on the southern end
of the Great Barrier.

For the visiting manta rays,
this is a paradise.

A place where these ocean giants
can get a little pampering.

♪

These are the beauty salons
of the reef.

And they're often run
by a pair of wrasse.

These committed cleaners

regularly tend to a host
of different creatures.

♪

They provide a vital service,

removing the dead skin
and parasites from outside

and even inside
their clients' bodies.

♪

It may seem like
a thankless task,

but the cleaner fish are getting
a good meal out of it.

♪

And of all their clients,

the manta rays
are their star customers.

♪

When business is brisk,
they patiently wait in line.

♪

Like planes
in a holding pattern,

they circle until
an opportunity arrives.

♪

When it's their turn,

the manta rays surrender
themselves completely.

♪

Within seconds, a host of fish
rushed to their side.

Manta rays are rarely
left waiting for long.

Each fish tends

to a very specific part
of the manta's body.

And the cleaning
can last a full hour.

♪

For the most part, the service
is second to none,

but occasionally, the cleaners
can get a little carried away.

A female wrasse
has taken a nibble

out of the manta ray's flesh.

She's broken the rules,
and there's a price to pay.

Her partner chases after her.

It's the cleaner-fish equivalent
of a stern telling off.

♪

Scientists believe males do this
to protect future business.

If the bite is a one-off,
the manta ray will return.

But research has shown that
if it happens too often,

the pair risks
driving regular visitors away.

♪

Fortunately, it seems

her indiscretion
hasn't put their client off.

♪

The manta is back,
and business has resumed.

♪

For the visiting mantas,

the Great Barrier Reef
really is a sanctuary.

Here, this ocean giant
is properly protected.

♪

Narrator: Animals will travel
huge distances across our planet

in search of the perfect
environment to breed

and seek shelter
for their young.

Along the length
of the Great Barrier Reef,

there are 900 isolated islands
to choose from

and a habitat
to suit every visitor.

♪

Attenborough:
This is Heron Island...

and every year,
it attracts thousands of birds

seeking somewhere safe to nest.

♪

[Birds chirping]

♪

The warm waters
of the Barrier Reef

are full of fish --

full of food,
as far as birds are concerned,

so there are immense numbers
of seabirds

throughout the year on the reef.

But the moment comes in the year

when, in fact,
a bird has to lay,

and to do that,
it has to go onto land.

And the number of sites
where they can build a nest

are very limited,

so they will put up
with a great deal of crowding

and even with intruders
like myself

without deserting their nest.

♪

Hello.

Noddies are
very protective parents.

Very little deters them
from their chick-rearing duties.

♪

Over 1 1/2 million birds

come to the Great Barrier
islands every year to breed.

♪

To see
one of the most intriguing,

we'll have to wait
until after dark.

♪

The first indication that this
secretive character has arrived

is its rather unusual song.

[Birds cooing]

The old sailors used to call it
the ghost bird

because of
its extraordinary call,

more properly known
as a wedge-tailed shearwater.

[Birds cooing]

The birds' haunting calls guide
me to their breeding grounds.

[Cooing continues]

These are true seafaring birds.

Out at sea when they're feeding,
they are very expert at flying

just above the surface or indeed
swimming on the surface,

catching their fish,
but when they come into land,

well, they have to come in
in the dark for a start.

And their landing is
sometimes not very expert.

♪

Night-vision cameras
probably give us

better pictures of their landing
ground than they seem to have.

♪

These birds have traveled

an extraordinary 4,000 miles
to get here.

♪

After spending months
feeding at sea,

they've had to come to land
in order to breed.

♪

Once paired,
they're devoted couples,

and both male and female
share the tasks of parenthood.

♪

Even though
there are trees here,

the shearwaters prefer to make
their nests underground.

[Birds cooing]

At the bottom of the nest hole,

their 3-week-old chick
is waiting for its next meal.

♪

Being a shearwater parent
is a demanding job.

♪

Their young
requires constant feeding.

♪

Its demands compel the adults
to continually fly out to sea

and come back again
with more food.

And their takeoffs are often

just as clumsy
as their landings.

♪

Fortunately for their nestlings,

there's no shortage of fish
in the summer months.

♪

In the waters
just beyond Heron Island,

there's a rich, swirling current
known as the Capricorn Eddy.

♪

As it spins clockwise,

it pulls up cool waters
from below,

which bring rich nutrients
to the surface.

♪

That fuels the growth

of huge blooms of tiny
marine creatures, plankton,

the foundation
of the entire marine food web.

So this part of the reef
is particularly rich with fish,

vital food for the hungry young.

By choosing Heron Island
as a nesting ground,

the birds can give
their nestlings

the best possible start in life.

♪

Corals are not new
to the planet.

They've been around for
at least 500 million years.

♪

The new reefs provided homes
for thousands of animals...

and very quickly,

a whole new community
began to establish itself.

♪

Today, the Great Barrier Reef
has one of the most

diverse communities
of animals on the planet...

and it's the story of these
remarkable reef residents

that I want to investigate next.

♪

This is Lizard Island.

It's one of the 600
continental islands

scattered across
the Great Barrier Reef...

♪

...and its shallow lagoon

is known for
its exceptional biodiversity.

Here, for the past few decades,

there has been
a research station

where scientists can study
continuously and in detail

the full complexity
of the community of animals

that makes up the reef.

♪

Thanks to their research,

we now know that coral reefs
rival rainforests

in the vast numbers
of species they support.

♪

The first question is

where does all
that diversity come from?

Lizard Island reefs owe their
richness to the special plants

that in places
fringe the shores.

They link land and sea,

and they're vital
to the coral-reef community.

They're mangroves.

Taking shelter amongst the roots

are thousands of juvenile fish
of all shapes and sizes.

Many of these little fish
look harmless enough,

but when they go up,
they will become

some of the most
ferocious predators on the reef.

Indeed, the existence
of these mangrove nurseries

is one of the reasons why
the fish populations of the reef

are among the most varied
and richest in the world.

♪

The mangroves are not
only nurseries.

They're playgrounds.

The aim of the game here

is to survive
the most vulnerable stage

of any animal's life --
being a juvenile.

♪

Baby turtles...

♪

...rays...

and even sharks
take refuge here.

These juvenile blacktips
are just a few weeks old

and only 1/6 of the size
they will be

when they make it out
onto the reef as adults.

For the first year
of their lives,

the mangroves play a vital role
in keeping them safe.

As infants, they're vulnerable
to predation from larger sharks.

But the tangle of mangrove roots
keeps the big predators out

and stops them making meals
of the youngsters.

♪

When the young are ready,

they will eventually leave
this sheltered world behind

and make their way to the reef
beyond the mangrove roots.

♪

The next challenge will be
to find their place

in one of the most crowded
ecosystems on the planet.

♪

Narrator:
All over the world,

there are creatures which adapt
to their surroundings

to make a home
that keeps them safe.

♪

In the ancient rainforests
of Borneo,

there's an animal that
has created its perfect habitat.

♪

It's achieved this by developing
a remarkable ability.

♪

Attenborough: The creatures
I'm looking for find their food

not by sight or smell,
but by using a very different

and highly advanced
guidance system.

One way to find them is
to search for their ideal home,

a place like that deep,
black cave beneath me.

♪

This is Gomantong.

♪

The cave is a vast network
of underground tunnels

and cathedral-sized caverns.

♪

It was carved out by streams
of water over millions of years.

♪

And now it's home to
a remarkable community

of cave-dwelling specialists.

High on the rocky
cave ceiling above me,

hidden in the darkness,
there are vast numbers of bats.

You can get some idea
of how many there must be

because of this huge dune
behind me

that's formed
of their droppings.

Some people think
there are a million bats

up here in this cave.

[Bats chattering]

It's impossible to see them
in the gloom...

but special night-vision cameras
can reveal them...

densely packed crowds
hanging from the ceiling.

[Chattering continues]

Their tiny eyes are adapted
to low light,

but they cannot penetrate
the blackness.

Millions of years ago, however,
these bats evolved

an extraordinary guidance system
known as echolocation or sonar.

♪

A bat produces extremely high-
pitched sounds in its throat

and then projects them forward.

They bounce off the walls
as echoes

and are detected by the bats'
huge ears.

♪

These are in constant movement
and enable the bat

to map its surroundings
with remarkable precision.

♪

Every evening, as dusk arrives,

the bats leave the safety
of their secluded home to hunt.

♪

And now the bats are beginning
to use that echolocation skill

to fly out from their roosts
in the depths of the cave,

coming close to the ceiling

and then whizzing out through
this little entrance here.

♪

They don't collide
with the roof.

They don't collide
with one another

or even with me,
all through that echolocation.

There they go.

♪

But this is just a trickle.

The main exodus
is taking place up a chimney

that's deeper in the cave.

I'm being hauled up
200 feet into the funnel,

which serves as
one of the cave's main exits

to watch close-up
the way the bats achieve

their millions-strong
mass departure.

♪

At the top,
there is a gaping hole.

♪

And now the bats
are preparing to leave.

They've assembled in
a relatively small chamber

close to the exit
and are flying round and round

in a great swirling crowd,
waiting for daylight to fade.

♪

And now off they go.

♪

Outside, danger awaits...

hunters belonging to that
other great group of animals

with which they share
the skies, birds.

♪

Hawks, eagles, and kites.

♪

They are why the bats
were reluctant to leave

and why they now do so
in one continuous torrent.

There is safety in numbers.

♪

But some will pay the price.

♪

The vast majority, of course,

make it out
over the forest canopy,

and there, they can use

that skill of echolocation
to find food.

♪

Narrator:
All species are most vulnerable

in the early stages of life,

and making it through
to adulthood

is the biggest challenge of all.

♪

So animals must find inventive
ways of protecting themselves

if they're to survive.

♪

One ingenious creature
can be found here

in the jungles of Borneo.

♪

Attenborough: Butterflies.

They hatch from eggs
as little worms with legs.

Of course,
a little thin-skinned,

fat-filled sausage is a tempting
morsel for any bird or reptile,

so caterpillars have to have
ways of defending themselves.

This one,
which is the caterpillar

of a lovely
swallowtail butterfly,

has disguised itself
as a bird dropping,

and if that doesn't deceive
a bird and a bird goes for it,

it has another form of defense.

♪

[Sniffs]

It's emitted a [Sniffs] rather
unpleasant smell, as well.

[Sniffs] Mm.

♪

In the struggle to survive long
enough to become winged adults,

caterpillars have developed

other equally ingenious forms
of defense.

♪

Concealed within these
fluffy strands are short,

stinging spikes.

And this one is armed
with long spines,

which have
really painful stings.

Not only that,
it has these bite warning colors

to tell any potential predator

that they'll be in trouble
if they attack.

♪

This caterpillar may appear
to be dangerous,

but it is, in fact, a fraud.

The spines don't sting at all.

It's relying on its disguise
to make a potential predator

think twice and leave it alone.

♪

Or you can simply hide.

These little tents
have been made

by the caterpillars
of a skipper butterfly.

Each caterpillar has started
by making a circular cut

in the edge of the leaf,
but it's left

one segment uncovered
so it can act as a hinge.

Then it pulls over
the whole segment

and hides beneath to munch away
at the tissues of the leaf,

and if I just pull it up...

...there's a caterpillar.

♪

Caterpillars that survive
this hazardous stage

can now build their wings
and turn into adults.

They undergo a truly
radical transformation.

♪

A caterpillar first surrounds
himself with a protective shell

to act as a sort of
changing room,

within which it dismantles

and then completely reconstructs
its body.

After around 10 days,
it emerges as a butterfly.

Now fluid pumps along veins
in the wings

to stretch them out
to their full size...

and then it is ready to fly.

♪

The combined front
and hind wings of a butterfly

not only constitute
very effective flying mechanism,

they can also carry messages.

In fact, they carry some of
the loveliest advertisements

of the whole
of the animal kingdom,

like, for example,

this beautiful golden
birdwing butterfly from Borneo.

♪

The butterfly's huge wings
provide a spacious canvas

on which to display
fantastically elaborate designs.

So how are these
flying advertisements created?

♪

The secret lies in
the microscopic structure

of the wing surface.

♪

These overlapping scales
lined up like tiles on the roof

have evolved from bristles
that were once tiny sensors.

♪

Some contain
tiny packets of pigment

that give the wings color.

♪

Others have a complex structure
which splits the light

so that when viewed
from a particular angle,

it reflects
a brilliant iridescence.

♪

There are over 18,000 species
of butterfly around the world,

and each has wings with
their own distinctive design.

These ravishing colors
and delectable patterns,

of course,
enable a male butterfly

and a female butterfly

to know whether or not
they belong to the same species,

and a mature adult ready to mate

can identify a suitable partner
from surprising distances.

♪

When a male and female
eventually meet,

they flutter around each other
in a ritual dance.

♪

Each is checking out
the flying skills

and wing patterns of the other.

♪

If both pass the test,
they mate.

♪

Narrator:
Millions of years ago,

plants colonized
the surface of the Earth...

♪

...taking hold of the land
to pave the way

for the many creatures
we see today.

♪

An astonishing example
of these plant pioneers

can be seen
on the islands of the Galápagos.

♪

Attenborough:
This is a place of wonders...

♪

...Galápagos...

♪

...islands born of fire...

♪

...with inhabitants
that have transformed

our understanding
of the whole of life on Earth.

♪

This is Santa Cruz, in the
center of the archipelago.

♪

It has the ability to create
its own weather.

♪

It slopes are covered
by a mantle of green.

Humid oceanic winds
blowing across the Pacific

hit this mountain of lava
and are so forced upwards.

That caused them

so that they can no longer
hold their load of moisture,

and it condenses
as mist and rain.

And that allows
plants to thrive.

♪

This might seem to be a forest
of giant trees

supporting a rich population
of animals of all kinds...

♪

...but this being Galápagos,
this forest is different.

These plants are not true trees.

♪

Fate placed these islands
in a unique spot on this planet.

They lie plumb on the equator,

with its yearlong warmth
and sunshine,

but perhaps more importantly,

they also lie at the crossroads
between two competing winds.

The southeast trade winds
blow up from South America,

and the Northeast trades
come down from the Caribbean

and Central America.

These two winds

are the lifeblood
of the Galápagos.

They carried
the earliest settlers

to the emerging
volcanic islands.

♪

Seeds falling from trees
in South and Central America

were blown across
hundreds of miles of ocean.

Most were lost at sea.

Of those few
that reached the islands,

many fell on sterile
baking-hot rocks,

but just a few were luckier.

This extraordinary species
is related to dandelions,

and it's found a way to grow

where there is
neither soil nor rain.

A wind-blown seed arrives and
drops in a crevice in the lava.

Moisture collects
and causes it to germinate.

With its tiny leaves, it manages
to collect more moisture

and the infinitesimal quantities
of nutrients

that moisture from the skies
might contain.

Some of these leaves may
look dead, and indeed they are.

The plant is deliberately
shedding them.

It's ensuring that nothing
it produces is wasted.

It's creating its own soil...

and eventually,
after 80 to 100 years,

it produced this -- scalesia,

which seems to grow
straight out of naked rock.

♪

Without competition
from other trees,

scalesia grew big.

This, you could say,
is a forest of giant dandelions.

There's no groundwater
in these thin volcanic soils,

but the scalesia trees
are tall enough

to collect moisture from the
skies from clouds and from mist.

And that is sufficient
to sustain

a whole community
of plants and animals.

♪

It's become the house
for a community

that could not exist
without it...

because scalesia performs
a conjuring trick

that gives life
to the rest of the forest.

♪

High in the canopy,
mist condenses on the spindly,

criss-cross branches.

♪

Water trickles down
heir wooded trunks.

♪

Ferns shoot themselves
in the damp moss

that clings to their bark.

♪

The moisture creates conditions
where spiders

and other small creatures
can live.

♪

And on the forest floor,
pools appear.

♪

Here, dragonflies thrive,

and once again,
they belong to a species

that occurs
nowhere else but here.

♪

Narrator: As islands mature,
their habitats change.

♪

Landscapes weather.

Rocks erode and beaches emerge.

On the island of Española,

the ocean has carved out
a sandy coastline.

♪

Attenborough:
This is a natural bathing beach

for Galápagos sea lions.

They are just one of
the very few mammal species

that are unique
to the Galápagos...

♪

...and the beach
of an aging island

provides them with
an excellent nursery.

♪

Here, sea lion pups can suckle
in complete safety.

♪

Though they can be
a little irritating.

♪

And in a protected cove
close by the beach,

parents can teach
their youngsters to swim.

♪

After a swimming lesson,

the beach is a perfect place
to relax.

♪

Sea lions seem to have
an idyllic life,

but there is
just one irritant...

flies.

[Flies buzzing]

On younger islands
with rocky coastlines,

sea lions have help
to keep the flies at bay...

lava lizards.

♪

But on the sandy beaches
of Española,

the lava lizards
are nowhere to be seen.

They prefer the nearby rocks,
which are warmer.

♪

So here, the sea lions must deal

with the fly problem
by themselves.

♪

Little lizards like this

are found
throughout the archipelago.

Each island
has its own distinct species...

...and they differ not so much
in the way they look

as the way they behave.

This is a lava lizard.

There are lots of them
on the rocks around here

and in the breeding season,
which is now.

The males are competing
with one another,

both for territory
and for females.

And the way they do so
is with press-ups.

Watch.

[Chuckles]

Actually, this is a model
that is used by scientists

to investigate the way

in which these lizards
communicate with one another.

Let's see how he gets on.

And there's a response.

These press-ups vary,

both in the number
and the intensity,

the speed at which they do it...

and how high
they bob their heads.

The interesting thing is that
the responses vary

from species to species.

In other words, each species has
its own language of gestures.

♪

There are slight
physical differences

between the species of lava
lizard on different islands.

♪

But now, because they have
developed different gestures,

they can't interbreed,
even if they meet.

They're separated
by a language barrier.

♪

Narrator:
Millions of years

before humans
inhabited the Earth,

strange creatures dominated.

♪

But it was the skies

that were populated by
the most successful animals...

the pterosaurs.

[Pterosaurs cawing]

Today, along our coastlines,
there are still traces

of how these
extraordinary animals survived.

♪

Attenborough: Birds today
are the masters of the skies,

but they were not
the first creatures to fly.

[Cawing]

This prehistoric creature
is called Tapejaridae.

It had a simply enormous
head crest.

Swans and geese today
sometimes lift their wings

to catch gusts of air,

a behavior called
goose swinging.

So perhaps Tapejaridae
did something similar.

But big head crests had
a much more likely function.

There are clues
of what that might be

in animals alive today...

like this colony of gannets
on Bass Rock

off the coast of Scotland.

♪

Pterosaurs doubtless would have
lived in great groups

around the ancient coastlines,

and living in tightly packed
communities then, as now,

must have led
to all kinds of dramas,

just as it does in communities
like this one.

[Birds chirping]

Gannets nesting
close to one another

squabble with their neighbors
over food and territory.

[Chirping continues]

Pterosaurs doubtless
also competed with one another

for the attentions
of the opposite sex.

♪

[Chattering]

♪

Perhaps Tapejaridae
used its huge head crest

in displays to its mate
during the breeding season...

♪

...and indulged
in the same sort of

strutting performances
that so many birds do today.

♪

[Birds chirping]

After their courtship,

pterosaurs, just like birds,
laid eggs.

This fossilized egg,

which is about the same size
as one of these gannet eggs,

is actually
the egg of a pterosaur,

and although it's squashed flat,
it's marvelously preserved

so you can see details
of the bone inside.

The head, as you'd expect
with a bird head,

is quite well-formed.

It's among
this mass of bones here.

But whereas a bird's wings
would hardly be formed

at this stage,
here, the pterosaur wings

have got
these well-formed bones in them,

and that leads us to
one extraordinary conclusion --

a pterosaur chick
when it hatched

was almost immediately
able to fly.

♪

The bones
of the pterosaur embryo

reveal another
extraordinary fact.

They develop in a way
quite different from birds...

and what is more,
they continue to do so

even after
the young have hatched.

This led to some species
becoming gigantic.

♪

This was Quetzalcoatlus.

It lived 70 million years ago,
during the Cretaceous period.

♪

But how can this giant
get off the ground?

♪

A modern glider is about
the same size

as that giant pterosaur.

It, too,
has long, slender wings,

and it, too, is extremely light.

This flying machine
is so lightweight,

it doesn't even need an engine.

All it requires is a tow
to get it into the air.

♪

This is the nearest I will ever
get to experiencing

the magic of Quetzalcoatlus
in flight.

♪

With its giant wingspan,

this was the largest animal
ever to fly.

♪

Quetzalcoatlus kept its
wing beats to a minimum.

♪

It was a living glider.

♪

We are controlling our flight
using at least in part our tail.

However,
whereas powered airplanes

have tails and birds have tails,

Pterosaurs like Quetzalcoatlus
didn't have a tail,

so steering must have been
much more difficult

and would have required
very considerable brain power.

But there was, people think,
a payoff to that

because without a tail, Quetzalcoatlus

was even more maneuverable
than we are in this.

♪

Quetzalcoatlus doubtless used
many of the techniques

employed by human glider pilots.

[Caws]

To maintain our height,
we need to find a thermal.

That's those columns of warm air

that rise from patches
of the landscape

that heat well in the sun,
like patches of rock.

You can tell where they are
because white, fluffy clouds

form at the top of them,
and there's one over there.

And we're going to have to
get to it

if we're going to maintain
our height.

♪

It's been estimated
that by exploiting thermals,

Quetzalcoatlus could travel some
10,000 miles in a single flight,

and that is almost
half the circumference

of the entire planet.

♪

It might even be that
like some eagles today,

these flying giants undertook

long migratory journeys
every year.

♪