All language subtitles for Madagascar.Africas.Galapagos.2019.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

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THIS IS THE
OLDEST ISLAND ON OUR PLANET,

Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

HOME TO STRANGE ANIMALS
WITH INTRIGUING ORIGINS.

WHERE PRIMATES FLY THROUGH THE TREES.

AND DOG-LIKE CREATURES
PROWL LIKE CATS.

ANIMALS FOUND HERE, AND
NOWHERE ELSE ON EARTH,

POSE TANTALIZING CLUES TO
AN EVOLUTIONARY RIDDLE,

BUT THE GREATEST ZOOLOGIST
OF HIS TIME SAILED RIGHT BY.

WHAT WOULD CHARLES DARWIN HAVE SEEN

HAD THE BEAGLE DROPPED
ANCHOR ON THESE SHORES?

WHAT MYSTERIES WOULD HE
UNRAVEL IF HE'D SET FOOT

ON MADAGASCAR.

MAY, 1836.

THE HMS BEAGLE APPROACHES
THE ISLAND OF MADAGASCAR.

ON BOARD IS A 27-YEAR-OLD
BRITISH NATURALIST

NAMED CHARLES DARWIN.

HE'S BEEN ABOARD THE SHIP,

CIRCUMNAVIGATING THE GLOBE,
FOR FOUR-AND-A-HALF YEARS.

EVERY TIME IT LANDS, HE EXPLORES.

HE'S FASCINATED BY THE ANIMALS HE FINDS

AND HE RECORDS HIS
THOUGHTS IN GREAT DETAIL.

HE NOTICES PATTERNS IN NATURE

AND HE BEGINS TO FORM A THEORY.

BUT THE HMS BEAGLE IS A RESEARCH
SHIP WITH ITS OWN AGENDA.

THE CAPTAIN'S MISSION

IS TO SURVEY THE COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA

AND TAKE COORDINATES AROUND THE WORLD.

MAY 9TH, 1836, THE BEAGLE
APPROACHES MADAGASCAR,

CLOSE ENOUGH TO RISE AND FALL
ON THE SWELL ABOVE ITS REEFS,

BUT IT SAILS RIGHT PAST
WITHOUT MAKING LANDFALL,

HEADING INSTEAD FOR MAINLAND AFRICA.

DARWIN MUST HAVE GAZED
AT THIS DENSE JUNGLE,

KNOWING NOTHING OF THE NATURAL
WONDERS HE WAS MISSING.

BUT WHAT IF, INSTEAD,
THE SHIP HAD MOORED HERE?

WHAT IF DARWIN HAD HAD
THE CHANCE TO EXPLORE?

HE WOULD FIND LUSH
RAINFORESTS IN THE EAST.

PRISTINE WETLANDS ALONG THE COASTS.

A LARGE EXPANSE OF
CENTRAL, GRASSLAND PLAINS.

A MOUNTAINOUS SPINE
RISING ABOVE 9,000 FEET.

DRY, SPINY FORESTS IN THE SOUTH AND WEST.

ALL SURROUNDED BY CORAL REEFS.

A DIVERSE EDEN, WHERE EACH ANIMAL

HAS ADAPTED IN UNIQUE AND ASTONISHING WAYS.

THIS IS THE STORY OF THE
MYSTERIOUS CREATURES DARWIN

WOULD HAVE SEEN IF HIS VOYAGE
HAD MADE JUST ONE MORE STOP.

HERE, IN THE DRY, WESTERN FORESTS,

A STRANGE BEAST LURKS
AMONGST 800-YEAR-OLD TREES.

MUSCULAR.

POWERFUL.

BUT WHAT IS IT?

YOUNG CHARLES WOULD STRUGGLE
TO PINPOINT ITS ANCESTRY.

SEMI-RETRACTABLE CLAWS,

LARGE EYE SOCKETS,

AND SHARP TEETH POINT TO THE CAT FAMILY,

BUT A LONG NECK AND DOG-LIKE
FACE SUGGEST OTHERWISE.

THOUGH DARWIN MIGHT
NOT HAVE SEEN LEOPARDS,

TIGERS, AND JAGUARS, HE WOULD
KNOW OF THEIR EXISTENCE.

HE WROTE IN HIS JOURNAL,

IN THE CAT TRIBE, MOST OF THE SPECIES

ARE STRIPED OR SPOTTED IN LINES.

BUT THIS CREATURE HAS NO MARKINGS.

IT IS NEITHER DOG NOR CAT.

AND ITS CALL IS MORE LIKE THAT OF A GOOSE.

IT'S A FOSSA.

A PREDATORY ENIGMA, FOUND
NOWHERE ELSE ON EARTH.

THESE SOUNDS LURE THIS
MALE FROM HIS TERRITORY,

INTO UNFAMILIAR GROUND.

IT'S NOVEMBER, THE END OF THE DRY SEASON;

THE ONLY TIME OF YEAR WHEN
FOSSA COME TOGETHER TO MATE.

LIKE ALL OTHER FOSSA MALES WITHIN EARSHOT,

HE'S DRAWN TO THIS FEMALE.

BUT HE HAS GOT HERE FIRST.

HE SENDS A SIGNAL TO
OTHER MALES IN THE AREA,

MARKING THE GROUND WITH SECRETIONS

FROM THE BASE OF HIS TAIL.

FINDING HER WAS THE EASY PART.

NOW, HIS CLIMBING SKILLS
WILL BE PUT TO THE TEST.

HE DOESN'T HAVE LONG.

COMPETITION IS ON THE WAY.

HE MIGHT BE THE FIRST TO ARRIVE.

BUT FEMALE FOSSA ARE RUTHLESS,

CHOOSING ONLY THE FITTEST
AND STRONGEST MALES.

SHE WILL EJECT FROM THE TREE ANY SUITOR

THAT DOESN'T MEET WITH HER APPROVAL.

SHE EYES UP HER POTENTIAL MATE

AND SIGNALS HER ACCEPTANCE.

IT'S A PRECARIOUS PROCESS THAT
CAN LAST FOR SEVERAL HOURS!

ANOTHER MALE ARRIVES.

THIS COULD BE TROUBLE.

THE SECOND MALE IS YOUNGER
AND LESS EXPERIENCED.

AND SHE'S STILL LOCKED
IN COITUS WITH THE FIRST.

A QUEUE FORMS, MALE NUMBER THREE ARRIVES!

HE'S LARGER AND OLDER,

AND MIGHT BE A BETTER CHOICE
THAN HER FIRST SUITOR.

THE MALES MIGHT HAVE TO FIGHT IT OUT.

BUT A BATTLE THIS HIGH ABOVE GROUND

COULD PUT THEM ALL IN HOT WATER!

THERE ARE NOW THREE COMPETING
MALE FOSSAS IN THE TREE.

AND STILL, THE FEMALE REMAINS
LOCKED WITH THE FIRST!

FINALLY, SHE FREES HERSELF

AND ATTACKS THE NEWEST ARRIVAL.

FOSSA FEMALES ARE CLEARLY IN
CHARGE WHEN IT COMES TO MATING.

SHE RETURNS TO HER FIRST SUITOR.

HE'LL BE ONE OF UP TO EIGHT MALES

SHE'LL MATE WITH OVER THE COMING WEEK.

AS MORE ARRIVE, THEY MUST ALL WAIT IN LINE

UNTIL SHE'S READY.

DARWIN HAD TRAVELED
THE WORLD AND YET NEVER

WOULD HAVE SEEN ANYTHING
QUITE LIKE THE FOSSA,

NOR THE ANIMALS IT HUNTED.

THIS LOOKS LIKE A MONKEY, BUT IT ISN'T,

AND THOSE ARE VERY STRANGE TOES.

SPOTTED!

THE ONLY ESCAPE HERE IS UP.

THIS IS AN ISLAND OF CLIMBERS,

BUT THE FOSSA CAN CLIMB TOO.

THE PREY, A LEMUR, ESCAPES TO
THE HIGH, THINNER BRANCHES.

FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS,

THESE TWO ANIMALS HAVE
EVOLVED SIDE-BY-SIDE.

BOTH EQUALLY WELL-ADAPTED
TO THIS FORESTED REALM.

BUT THEY BEAR NO RESEMBLANCE

TO ANYTHING DARWIN WOULD
HAVE SEEN ELSEWHERE.

HE MIGHT WELL HAVE ASKED,

WHERE DID THESE ARBOREAL
CREATURES COME FROM?

THE CLOSEST LANDMASS TO
MADAGASCAR IS AFRICA,

250 MILES ACROSS THE INDIAN OCEAN.

THAT WOULD SURELY HAVE
BEEN HIS FIRST GUESS.

AND HE'D BE RIGHT.

YOUNG CHARLES WOULDN'T
HAVE KNOWN IT AT THE TIME,

BUT MADAGASCAR WAS ONCE
ATTACHED TO AFRICA.

IT WASN'T UNTIL 1912 THAT GEOLOGISTS

PROPOSED THE THEORY OF TODAY'S
CONTINENTS DRIFTING APART

FROM A SINGLE LAND MASS.

180 MILLION YEARS AGO THE
GIANT, SOUTHERN SUPERCONTINENT,

GONDWANALAND, BEGAN TO BREAK APART.

MADAGASCAR SPLIT FROM
AFRICA AND THEN FROM INDIA.

80 MILLION YEARS AGO, IT WAS ON ITS OWN.

MODERN GENETIC STUDIES REVEAL
THAT THE FOSSA'S ANCESTOR,

WHICH IT SHARES WITH THE MONGOOSE,

DID INDEED COME FROM AFRICA,

BUT HERE'S THE CONUNDRUM.

THE FOSSA ONLY COLONIZED MADAGASCAR

LONG AFTER IT SEPARATED FROM AFRICA!

SO HOW DID THIS BURLY LAND MAMMAL GET HERE?

IT COULDN'T SWIM,

AND IT SURELY COULDN'T FLY.

THE MOST POPULAR THEORY TODAY?

RAFTING.

GREAT FLOODS WASHED TREES

AND RAFTS OF VEGETATION OUT TO SEA.

AND, WITH THEM, CASTAWAYS,

CARRIED ON STRONG
CURRENTS TO FARAWAY LANDS.

BACK THEN, OCEAN CIRCULATION FOLLOWED

A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT PATTERN.

FOR ABOUT 30 MILLION YEARS,
POWERFUL CURRENTS FLOWED EAST,

FROM AFRICA TO MADAGASCAR.

PROVIDING THE WINDOW FOR
THIS BIZARRE MIGRATION.

BY THE TIME THE FOSSA'S
ANCESTOR ARRIVED,

IT WAS LATE TO THE PARTY.

NUMEROUS SPECIES HAD
ALREADY MADE THIS CROSSING.

ONE OF THEM, A TINY PRIMATE,
ARRIVING 30 MILLION YEARS

AHEAD OF THE FOSSA!

IT WASN'T A MONKEY BECAUSE
MONKEYS HADN'T EVOLVED YET.

ISOLATED ON THIS ISLAND,
THIS PRIMITIVE PRIMATE

GAVE RISE TO SOMETHING
ELSE COMPLETELY.

LEMURS.

WEIGHING JUST OVER AN OUNCE,
THIS NOCTURNAL MOUSE LEMUR

IS ONE OF THE SMALLEST
PRIMATES IN THE WORLD.

DURING THE HEAT OF THE DAY,
SHE SLOWS HER METABOLISM

IN A STATE OF TORPOR TO
CONSERVE ENERGY AND WATER.

PERHAPS THIS IS HOW HER ANCESTORS

SURVIVED THE OCEAN CROSSING?

NIGHT FALLS.

TEMPERATURES DROP.

SLEEPY BECOMES TENACIOUS.

HER EYES CONTAIN A
LIGHT-REFLECTING LAYER,

WHICH HELPS HER TO SEE IN THE DARK,

WHILE HER SENSITIVE NOSE LEADS HER

TO FLOWERS, LADEN WITH POLLEN.

SHE DEVOURS THE
PROTEIN-PACKED SUPERFOOD,

BUT THAT'S JUST HER STARTER.

THE FRAGRANT AROMA DRAWS
IN HER SECOND COURSE.

SHE'S A GATHERER, BUT SHE'S ALSO A HUNTER.

AND THE DARKNESS MAKES IT EASY FOR HER.

WHEN THE LEMURS' ANCESTRAL CASTAWAYS

ARRIVED ON THESE SHORES,
THERE WERE NO LARGE PREDATORS

TO THREATEN THEM AND NO OTHER PRIMATES

COMPETING FOR LIFE IN THE TREES.

THIS WAS LEMUR PARADISE,
WAITING TO BE COLONIZED.

THESE NEW PRIMATES QUICKLY
EXPLORED EVERY CORNER

OF THE ISLAND, FILLING EACH
NEW HABITAT THEY CAME ACROSS.

ON THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS,

DARWIN HAD NOTED VARIATION
IN 13 SPECIES OF FINCHES.

THEY HELPED INSPIRE HIS THEORY

OF EVOLUTION AND NATURAL SELECTION,

BUT LEMUR ADAPTATION
MAY HAVE BLOWN HIS MIND!

FROM THOSE FEW, EARLY PIONEERS,

MORE THAN 100 SPECIES OF LEMUR EVOLVED.

THAT'S MORE THAN A THIRD
OF ALL PRIMATE SPECIES

ON THE PLANET, FOUND
ONLY HERE, ON MADAGASCAR.

SOME HAVE TEETH ADAPTED TO
CRUSH AND CONSUME SEEDS,

WHILE OTHERS EAT ONLY THE FRUIT OR LEAVES.

SOME SLEEP HIGH UP IN THE CANOPY,

WHILE OTHERS SHELTER INSIDE TREE HOLLOWS.

IF YOUNG CHARLES HAD WANDERED

INTO THE NORTH-EASTERN
FORESTS OF MADAGASCAR,

HE'D HAVE HEARD THESE HAUNTING CALLS.

THEY COME FROM THE LARGEST
LEMUR ON THE ISLAND.

THIS IS AN INDRI.

IT USES LONG LEGS TO BOUNCE
SIDEWAYS THROUGH THE TREES,

ABLE TO LAUNCH ITSELF UP TO 30 FEET.

IT SEEMS TO ALMOST FLY.

NEITHER MONKEY NOR APE,
LEMURS' EVOLUTIONARY LINE

SPLIT OFF FROM OTHER PRIMATES
65 MILLION YEARS AGO.

SOME ANCIENT, PRIMATE TRAITS
DARWIN WOULD HAVE RECOGNIZED.

A LARGE, UPRIGHT BODY,

LACK OF A PREHENSILE TAIL,

DEFINED FINGERS,

AND NAILS INSTEAD OF CLAWS.

INDRIS LIVE IN SMALL, FAMILY GROUPS,

A MONOGAMOUS PAIR AND THEIR OFFSPRING.

THE YOUNGSTER IS JUST A FEW MONTHS OLD.

HE'D BETTER HOLD ON!

HE'S STARTING TO TAKE HIS FIRST STEPS,

BUT IT'LL BE ANOTHER YEAR BEFORE HE'S ABLE

TO FLY THROUGH THE
CANOPY LIKE HIS MOTHER.

EACH DAY, THE FAMILY SEARCHES
FOR THE FRESHEST FRUITS

AND FLOWERS, USING THEIR
HIGHLY-TUNED SENSE OF SMELL.

THEY EAT MORE THAN 70
DIFFERENT PLANT SPECIES,

ONLY FOUND IN THESE
NORTH-EASTERN FORESTS.

AT TWO-AND-A-HALF-FEET TALL,

INDRIS ARE THE LARGEST
LEMURS ON MADAGASCAR TODAY,

BUT THEY'RE TINY COMPARED
TO THEIR ANCESTORS

THAT ONCE LIVED HERE.

ARCHAEOINDRIS.

A GIANT LEMUR WEIGHING
UP TO 440 POUNDS.

AS MUCH AS AN ADULT, MALE GORILLA!

THEY WERE AMONG THE LARGEST PRIMATES EVER

TO HAVE WALKED THE EARTH.

THE FIRST HUMANS TO
SET FOOT ON MADAGASCAR,

ABOUT 2,000 YEARS AGO,

WOULD HAVE SEEN THEM WALKING

AND EVEN SWINGING ON LOW BRANCHES,

BUT ABOUT 1,000 YEARS
LATER, THEY WENT EXTINCT.

IF, IN 1836, DARWIN HAD
REACHED THE INTERIOR,

HE WOULD HAVE NOTICED RICH RAINFOREST

GIVING WAY TO WETLANDS

LINED WITH GIANT BAMBOO.

HERE, HE WOULD FIND

THE MOST HIGHLY-SPECIALIZED
LEMUR OF ALL.

A CREATURE ABLE TO EAT
SOMETHING POISONOUS.

THIS IS THE GREATER BAMBOO LEMUR.

DARWIN WOULD HAVE SEEN
THEM ACROSS MADAGASCAR,

BUT TODAY, THERE ARE FEWER
THAN 500 INDIVIDUALS LEFT.

UNTIL RECENTLY, THE SPECIES

WAS THOUGHT TO BE ALMOST EXTINCT,

SAVE FOR ONE LOCATION IN THE SOUTHEAST.

THEN, THIS GROUP WAS
DISCOVERED 250 MILES NORTH,

IN AN AREA WHERE THEY HADN'T BEEN SEEN

FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY.

ALONG WITH THE GIANT AND
RED PANDAS, THESE ARE AMONG

THE FEW MAMMALS IN THE
WORLD THAT CAN EAT BAMBOO.

JUST A FEW OUNCES OF THIS PLANT

CONTAINS ENOUGH CYANIDE
TO KILL A HUMAN,

BUT IT IS ALL THEY EAT.

AN ENZYME IN THEIR STOMACH

ENABLES THEM TO
NEUTRALIZE THE CYANIDE.

SHARP TEETH HELP THEM TO
BITE THROUGH THE HARD,

PITHY EXTERIOR TO ACCESS
THE SOFT FLESH INSIDE.

THESE ADAPTATIONS ALLOW THIS LEMUR

TO THRIVE ON A PLANT THAT
NO OTHER LEMUR CAN EXPLOIT,

BUT YEAR-BY-YEAR, MADAGASCAR'S
DRY SEASON IS GETTING LONGER,

REDUCING THE FRESH, GREEN SHOOTS
THE BAMBOO LEMUR RELIES ON.

IF THESE LEMURS ARE TO SURVIVE,

THEY MUST ADAPT TO A NEW SOURCE OF FOOD.

BUT CAN THEY MAKE THE TRANSITION IN TIME?

SOME 20 MILLION YEARS AFTER
LEMURS ARRIVED ON THESE SHORES,

YET ANOTHER CASTAWAY MADE
ITS WAY ACROSS FROM AFRICA.

BY THEN, THE TREETOPS
WERE DOMINATED BY LEMURS.

BUT BELOW THE CANOPY WAS A
DARK WORLD FOR THE TAKING.

THE SHADOWS OF MADAGASCAR'S
EASTERN FORESTS,

IS WHERE ITS DESCENDANTS
STILL LURK TODAY!

THIS STRANGE CREATURE WOULD HAVE

SURELY CONFUSED THE YOUNG CHARLES DARWIN.

IT LOOKS LIKE A SHREW WITH ITS LONG SNOUT

OR IT COULD BE MISTAKEN FOR A
HEDGEHOG WITH ITS SPINY COAT,

BUT IT'S NEITHER.

IT'S A LOWLAND STREAKED TENREC.

ONE OF AROUND 30 TENREC SPECIES

THAT ARE FOUND ONLY ON MADAGASCAR.

SURPRISINGLY, THE TENRECS'
ANCESTOR IN AFRICA

ALSO GAVE RISE TO ELEPHANTS,
AARDVARKS AND MANATEES.

HERE ON MADAGASCAR, JUST LIKE THE LEMURS,

TENRECS DIVERSIFIED TO FILL
ALMOST EVERY AVAILABLE NICHE.

ON THE GROUND, IN THE
TREES, AND EVEN IN WATER.

THESE BABIES ARE
JUST THREE-WEEKS-OLD,

BUT MOM'S HAD ENOUGH OF FEEDING THEM.

IT'S TIME TO GET THEM OUT OF THE NEST.

THEIR EYESIGHT IS POOR,

SO THEY RELY ON SMELL
AND HEARING TO FIND FOOD.

THEIR SPINES WILL PROTECT
THEM AGAINST PREDATORS,

BUT THEY ALSO DOUBLE-UP
AS A COMMUNICATION DEVICE.

BY RUBBING THEM TOGETHER,
THEY CREATE VIBRATIONS,

WHICH THEY USE TO ALERT EACH
OTHER OF POTENTIAL DANGER.

A WIRELESS SECURITY NETWORK!

THE YOUNGSTERS WILL STAY WITH MOTHER

FOR ANOTHER FEW WEEKS AND
THEN THEY'RE ON THEIR OWN.

THE FAMILY OF FIVE SETS
ABOUT FINDING FOOD,

BUT A THUNDERSTORM
INTERRUPTS THEIR FORAGING.

THESE CENTRAL-EASTERN FORESTS

ARE DOUSED OFTEN WITH TROPICAL RAIN.

AS SCARY AS IT MIGHT SEEM,

THE DOWNPOUR COULD BE VERY HELPFUL.

THE FOREST FLOOR COMES ALIVE
WITH THEIR FAVORITE FOOD.

EARTH WORMS.

IT'S A TENREC FAMILY FEAST,

AND THE KIDS HAVE
SHOCKING TABLE MANNERS!

WORMS WILL BE HARD TO COME BY
IN THE DRIER, WINTER MONTHS.

THE YOUNGSTERS NEED TO MAKE THE MOST

OF THE PLENTIFUL SUPPLY WHILE THEY CAN.

IF MADAGASCAR'S TENRECS,
LEMURS, AND THE FOSSA

ALL CAME FROM AFRICA,

WHERE ARE THE LIONS,
GIRAFFES, AND ANTELOPES?

DARWIN WOULD HAVE NOTED AN ABSENCE

OF THESE TYPICAL AFRICAN MAMMALS,

BUT IF HE'D STOPPED HERE IN 1836,

HE MIGHT HAVE RECOGNIZED ONE.

THE HIPPO.

THERE ARE NONE ON THE ISLAND TODAY,

BUT THREE DISTINCT SPECIES
ONCE LIVED IN MADAGASCAR.

THE LAST OF WHICH WERE SEEN
LITTLE MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO.

IT'S 250 MILES ACROSS
THE MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL

AND HIPPOS CANNOT SWIM.

THEY'RE SEMI-AQUATIC;

ONLY ABLE TO WALK ALONG THE
BOTTOM OF A RIVER OR LAKE.

SO, HOW DID THEY CROSS
THE OCEAN FROM AFRICA?

PERHAPS WATER LEVELS WERE MUCH LOWER THEN,

EXPOSING A LAND BRIDGE
ACROSS THE CHANNEL?

A QUESTION THAT IS YET TO BE ANSWERED.

THE ISLAND'S HIPPOS WERE SMALL,

STANDING ONLY
TWO-AND-A-HALF-FEET TALL,

BUT THEIR ANCESTORS WERE
CONSIDERABLY BIGGER.

FARTHER BACK IN THE ISLAND'S HISTORY,

MADAGASCAR WAS RULED BY GIANTS.

GORILLA-SIZED ARCHAEOINDRIS
SWUNG FROM THE TREES.

A GIANT FOSSA, MORE THAN
THREE TIMES THE SIZE

OF THOSE TODAY, PATROLLED THE FORESTS.

AN ELEPHANT BIRD, CALLED VOROMBE
TITAN, STOOD 10-FEET-TALL,

WEIGHED ALMOST A TON AND
LAID 12-INCH-LONG EGGS,

BUT NONE OF THESE GIANTS WERE
ALIVE WHEN DARWIN SAILED BY.

IT TOOK JUST FIVE WEEKS

OBSERVING LIFE ON THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

TO INSPIRE DARWIN TO WRITE
THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES.

WHAT INSIGHTS WOULD HE HAVE HAD

IF HE'D STOPPED ON THESE SHORES?

HE MISSED OUT ON THIS SPECTACULAR DIVERSITY

OF NEW LIFE FORMS AND
STRANGE ANIMAL BEHAVIORS,

YET HIS WRITINGS APPLY
TO MADAGASCAR PERFECTLY.

FROM SO SIMPLE A BEGINNING,
ENDLESS FORMS MOST BEAUTIFUL

AND MOST WONDERFUL HAVE
BEEN, AND ARE BEING, EVOLVED.

SURVIVAL HERE MEANS BLENDING IN.

EVEN WITH HIS ATTENTION TO DETAIL,

HE MIGHT NOT HAVE SEEN THIS ANIMAL.

THE LEAF-TAILED GECKO.

EVEN THE FAMILIAR HERE IS UNFAMILIAR.

THESE ARE CHAMELEONS.

THERE ARE MORE THAN 160 SPECIES GLOBALLY,

ALMOST HALF OF WHICH LIVE
ONLY HERE IN MADAGASCAR.

FROM THE SMALLEST, THE
INCH-LONG BROOKESIA.

TO THE LARGEST, THE SIZE OF A SMALL CAT;

THE PARSON'S CHAMELEON.

IT GROWS UP TO 27 INCHES
FROM NOSE TO TAIL TIP.

IT CAN SPOT PREY UP TO 30 FEET AWAY,

BUT REACHING IT CAN BE SLOW GOING.

ITS SKIN IS MADE UP OF
MILLIONS OF CHROMATOPHORES,

LIGHT-REFLECTING CELLS THAT
HELP IT TO MOVE UNNOTICED.

ONCE THE PREY IS IN
RANGE, THERE'S NO ESCAPE.

ITS TONGUE, WHICH IS TWICE ITS BODY LENGTH,

CAN ACCELERATE AT THE EQUIVALENT

OF ZERO TO 60 MILES PER
HOUR IN 10 MILLISECONDS.

TODAY, THERE IS STILL MUCH
TO DISCOVER ON MADAGASCAR.

IN THE LAST 20 YEARS,

MORE THAN 600 NEW
SPECIES HAVE BEEN FOUND.

THE MOST ELUSIVE CREATURE ON THE ISLAND

IS AN ANIMAL THAT WAS THOUGHT
TO BE EXTINCT FOR TWO DECADES,

ONLY RE-DISCOVERED IN 1957.

IF DARWIN HAD STAYED A
NIGHT IN THIS FOREST,

IT WOULD HAVE STARTLED HIM FOR SURE!

THIS IS AN AYE-AYE.

IT LEAPS LIKE A LEMUR.

HAS THE LONG, BUSHY TAIL OF A FOX.

AND GNARLED, SPIDERY CLAWS.

RODENT-LIKE INCISORS,

EYES THAT SEEM TO LOOK
RIGHT THROUGH YOU.

GIANT, FLOPPY EARS TO
AMPLIFY THE SMALLEST SOUNDS

AND A LONG, MIDDLE FINGER
WITH A SINISTER HOOK.

THE AYE-AYE SCOURS THE
DARK FOREST FOR FOOD.

THE ELONGATED FINGER TAPS AT THE BARK.

VIBRATIONS GIVE AWAY EMPTY SPACES

WHERE GRUBS AND OTHER PREY HIDE.

THE LONG, HOOKED DIGIT
LEAVES THE DEFENSELESS LARVAE

WITH NO ESCAPE.

SHARP INCISORS DRILL THROUGH BARK

WITH MECHANICAL EFFICIENCY.

THE AYE-AYE HAS EVOLVED
TO FILL THE NICHE

OCCUPIED ELSEWHERE BY WOODPECKERS,

BUT ITS PRECISE PLACE
IN THE EVOLUTIONARY TREE

REMAINS A MYSTERY.

SEEN LOCALLY AS A HARBINGER OF DEATH,

FEW ANIMALS HAVE
INSPIRED AS MANY MYTHS.

NOT EVEN THE GALAPAGOS
HAS AN ANSWER TO THIS!

THE EMERGENCE OF
HIGHLY-SPECIALIZED CREATURES

LIKE THE AYE-AYE IS A RESULT
OF MADAGASCAR'S LONG ISOLATION.

THE ISLAND IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S

GREATEST EVOLUTIONARY LABORATORIES.

AND NOT JUST FOR ANIMALS.

MORE THAN 8,000 SPECIES OF PLANTS HERE

ARE FOUND NOWHERE ELSE ON EARTH.

FOR ALL THE WONDERS OF THE NATURAL WORLD

THAT CHARLES DARWIN MISSED,

HE DID ONCE HOLD A PIECE
OF MADAGASCAR IN HIS HAND.

IN 1862, LONG AFTER DARWIN RETURNED

FROM HIS LIFE-CHANGING VOYAGE,

HE WAS SENT SOME UNUSUAL ORCHIDS

FROM A FAMOUS BRITISH GROWER.

ONE OF THEM WAS FROM MADAGASCAR.

ON STUDYING IT, DARWIN NOTICED
ITS 12-INCH-LONG NECTARY.

HE PREDICTED THAT
THERE MUST BE AN ANIMAL

ON THE ISLAND WITH A
12-INCH-LONG TONGUE.

HOW ELSE COULD THIS FLOWER BE POLLINATED?

THEN, IN 1903, SOME 20
YEARS AFTER DARWIN'S DEATH,

A MOTH WAS DISCOVERED IN MADAGASCAR

WITH A TONGUE 12 INCHES LONG.

CHARLES DARWIN WAS A MAN AHEAD OF HIS TIME.

HE HAD PREDICTED AN ANIMAL'S EXISTENCE

DECADES BEFORE IT WAS DISCOVERED.

THE MOTH BECAME KNOWN AS THE PREDICTED ONE.

MADAGASCAR IS TRULY AN ISLAND OF MARVELS.

THE CULMINATION OF MILLIONS
OF YEARS OF ISOLATION.

PIONEERED BY CASTAWAYS
THAT ARRIVED HERE

AND THE DIVERSE HABITATS
THEY ADAPTED TO,

BUT HAD HE STOPPED, DARWIN WOULD HAVE SEEN

JUST A FRACTION OF THE
SPECIES THAT ONCE LIVED HERE.

SOMETHING HAPPENED 2,000
YEARS AGO THAT CHANGED

THE COURSE OF THE ISLAND'S
EVOLUTION FOREVER.

THE ARRIVAL OF A
DEVASTATING SUPER-PREDATOR.

MAN.

SINCE HUMANS ARRIVED,

MORE THAN 90% OF THE ORIGINAL
FOREST HAS BEEN LOST.

NOW, WILL COME THE TRUE TEST
FOR MADAGASCAR'S RESIDENTS

AND FOR DARWIN'S ADAGE.

IT IS NOT THE STRONGEST OF
THE SPECIES THAT SURVIVES,

NOR THE MOST INTELLIGENT
THAT SURVIVES.

IT IS THE ONE THAT IS THE
MOST ADAPTABLE TO CHANGE.

THE ANIMALS SEEN HERE TODAY

ARE THE ISLAND'S SUCCESS STORIES;

THE WINNERS OF WHAT DARWIN
CALLED NATURAL SELECTION.

MANY OTHERS HAVE BEEN LOST ALONG THE WAY,

BUT TODAY'S HABITAT-CHANGE

OUTPACES ANIMALS' ABILITY TO ADAPT.

IF EVOLUTION CAN'T KEEP UP,
THIS INCREDIBLE DIVERSITY

COULD BE GONE IN A GEOLOGICAL HEARTBEAT.

WHAT WILL THE NEXT
CHAPTER HOLD IN THE STORY

OF THIS EXTRAORDINARY ISLAND?

WHAT CREATURES WILL SURVIVE ON MADAGASCAR?