All language subtitles for BBC.Australia.Earths.Magical.Kingdom.1of3.1080p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org

Cast adrift in the far reaches
of the Southern Hemisphere

lies a continent separated
from all other lands...

..for 45 million years.

Evolving in isolation,

nature has created
a unique world of wonders.

Spiders that dance...

..birds that spread fire.

Where bouncing beats walking and
youngsters are carried in pouches.

It's a world where
animals have had to adapt

to surprisingly diverse landscapes,

and thrive in its vibrant seas...

..even making their homes
amongst the growing concrete jungle.

In this episode, we travel
to Australia's far flung corners...

..to discover how these
contrasting landscapes each create

their own set of challenges.

And find out what it takes
to survive

in Earth's Magical Kingdom.

Australia is a land defined
by its vast, hot outback.

But in the southernmost regions,
desert gives way to snow.

On the country's highest peaks,
the Snowy Mountains,

winter temperatures plummet
to well below zero.

Reaching over 2,000 metres,

this range spends half the year
beneath a blanket of snow.

Only the toughest stay
to see out a winter up here.

This echidna has hibernated on and
off through the coldest months,

emerging at the tail end of winter
very hungry.

But there's no food here
for an insect eater.

To get around this problem,
this solitary mammal,

twice the size of a hedgehog,
has the remarkable ability

to lower his body temperature
to below five degrees Celsius.

Conserving energy, he requires
less food to get by.

It's a lonely march
on an empty stomach,

until the thaw,
when he can feed again.

As the warmer days of spring arrive,

rivers begin to flow
down the mountain.

For the echidna, springtime brings
the promise of food

after the winter's famine.

But one obstacle still stands
in the way of a full belly.

A fast flowing one.

Using his long beak as a snorkel
and large feet as paddles,

he's perfectly capable
of a river crossing.

This adaptable little creature
evolved tens of millions of years

ago and is the most widespread
of all Australia's native animals.

He will now spend
18 hours a day foraging,

using his highly sensitive nose
to hoover up ants and termites

wherever he can find them.

The echidna is a monotreme,

believed to have evolved
from a platypus-like ancestor.

Despite the platypus being furred,
duck-billed and truly aquatic,

the pair still share
some unique characteristics.

They are the world's only
egg-laying and milk-bearing mammals.

But only the platypus
forages underwater,

using electrical receptors
in his bill to find prey.

The platypus is one of Australia's
evolutionary masterpieces...

..a finely tuned hunter
and a living fossil,

whose family existed at the time
of the dinosaurs.

But it's the mammals that came later
in the evolutionary calendar

that now dominate the grasslands
and forests that radiate out

from the base of
the Snowy Mountains.

The marsupials.

Most familiar of them all
is the eastern grey kangaroo.

The weight of a man,
but head and shoulders taller,

this top-ranking male
is displaying his might.

The challenge here isn't
finding food or facing the elements,

it's social harmony.

He scent marks his territory with
sticky secretions from his chest,

leaving no-one in any doubt
that he is in charge of this patch.

He presides over a harem
of nine breeding females,

all with at least one joey.

But despite their posturing,
males are not the driving force

behind this extraordinarily
successful species.

That accolade belongs to the female,
and her uniquely marsupial pouch.

While one joey is starting
to explore the world,

a tiny baby is already developing
in his mother's pouch.

Each joey feeds
on a different teat,

depending on their stage
of development.

High in carbohydrates
for the newborn...

..or high fat for the older joey...

..who is being forced to spend
more time outside the pouch...

..giving his mum and new sibling
a break.

At ten months old,
it's time for the youngster

to watch and learn what it means
to be male in the 'roo world.

Too small to join in,
he must learn by example.

Important techniques include
scratching...

..grappling...

..rapid fire punching...

..head dodges...

..kung fu kicks...

..tail balancing...

..the sneaky headlock...

..and knowing when to admit defeat.

For now, it's safest to practise
on his long-suffering mother.

With the young joey now almost
permanently out of the pouch,

she is ready to fall pregnant again.

A fact not lost on the amorous
dominant male.

He will pursue her relentlessly
for days,

much to her irritation.

But rival males
are a constant threat.

This time, it's no play fight.

Maintaining his status
as the dominant male is so taxing,

he may only hold on to his position
for a year.

In a large society, achieving social
harmony is always a challenge.

But the fact that it is
a large society

demonstrates that kangaroos
are doing well.

There are now millions of them.

They are among the few
native animals to benefit

from the increase
in agricultural grazing land

and the decline of Australia's
natural apex predators.

Australia's top carnivore,
the Tasmanian tiger,

was hunted to extinction
in the early 1900s.

And the grand hunter from the skies,

Australia's own eagle, has come
perilously close to the same fate.

Australia's wedge-tailed eagle
is one of the world's largest.

For years, it was mercilessly
persecuted.

Inaccurately portrayed
as a prolific killer of lambs.

With a bounty on its head,

up to 30,000 eagles
were killed each year.

Eagles are now protected,

and most farmers accept that they
are no threat to their livestock.

They are now affectionately
known as wedges,

and their calls echo
once more across farmland.

Australia's biggest bird of prey
has a chance of a comeback.

Thanks, in part, to a devastating
legacy of European settlers.

Fluffy eagle fodder.

Brought here 150 years ago,
and now in plague proportions.

The wedge-tailed eagle is a stunning
avian predator.

With a two-metre wingspan,

the wedge-tail can soar
to heights of 2,000 metres

and carry half her 5kg body weight
in her huge talons.

Her eagle eyes
pick up something curious.

An eastern long-necked tortoise.

Despite his almost-impenetrable
shell,

he's not taking any chances.

She's sure that rock was moving.

Baffling!

The eagle resumes her search
for an easier target.

This time, a more familiar one.

In some parts of Australia, rabbits
make up 90% of the eagle's diet.

The tortoise, zero.

And eagles are now
the farmer's friend.

Helping to keep
the rabbit populations down.

By helping to solve one of man's
self-inflicted problems,

wedge-tailed eagles
have earned their survival.

But there's one species
that offers us nothing more

than its charming existence.

And its plight is far less visible.

100 miles southeast of Perth

lie the Dryandra Woodlands.

Covering just over 100 square miles,

they are tiny
by Australia's standards,

but they are critically important.

This stand of wandoo eucalyptus

is one of the last strongholds

of an enchanting creature that once
roamed the entire continent.

As the morning sun hits the carpet
of wild flowers

and insects begin
massing on the forest floor,

a small marsupial
is making its first move.

The shy and secretive numbat.

The closest living relative
to the extinct Tasmanian tiger

is on a termite hunt.

She needs 20,000 termites
to fill her belly.

Back in her den
are four rapidly-growing pups

that she has fed through the night.

The young are eight months old

and starting to become curious
about life beyond the burrow.

One is bolder than the rest.

She's begun to explore
the tree stump fortress

protecting the burrow exit.

Her siblings follow,

trembling as the cool morning air
hits their fur.

Each day, the leader inches closer
to the fortress walls.

Now, she has her first glimpse
of the world beyond.

Every new sound is startling,

heralding a potential threat.

They are wise to be cautious.

Numbats once ranged widely
across Australia.

Today, there are fewer than
the famous endangered snow leopard

or giant panda.

They need something that is now
in short supply.

Undisturbed woodland,

with plenty of logs
filled with termites.

The adult female
uses her worm-like tongue

to extract tasty morsels
from hard-to-reach crevices.

Each day, she'll swallow
10% of her own body weight.

Her young are getting braver,
and revelling in the sun.

Their rounded snouts,
suited to milk-feeding,

are becoming more elongated
by the day.

Within a month, they, too,
will be reliant on termites.

So the job of working out
what is food and what is not

is the lesson of the day.

Except for one of them.

The intrepid explorer wants
to discover

what lies beyond the wall...

..while her siblings stay
cautiously close to the burrow.

She'll keep wandering further
from the burrow

until, one day, she leaves her
mother's territory for good,

perhaps crossing paths with
other young numbats,

also emerging from hollows
in this forest.

Together, they carry the survival
of their entire species

on their shoulders.

Over the past 200 years,
habitat loss

and predation by invasive species

has led to numbats disappearing
from 99% of their previous range.

There are now fewer than 1,000
left in the wild.

Where Australia's ancient ecosystems
are left intact,

animals thrive.

In Far Northern Queensland,

a remnant of the world's
oldest rainforest

runs like a green ribbon
along the coast.

Older even than the Amazon,

Australia's fertile tropics
date back 180 million years.

Their year-round heat and humidity
provide the perfect condition

for all manner of species to thrive.

But that doesn't mean life is easy.

Competition for the spoils
is the challenge here...

..even on the forest floor.

Dark and damp...

..only 2% of sunlight
finds its way here.

Yet these conditions are perfect
for thousands of species of fungi.

As they battle to dominate
every surface,

they create a mystical display
of mycological magic.

They break down wood
and fallen leaves,

returning nutrients
to the soil...

..while slime moulds
hunt down the fungi

and turn them into nutrients too.

It's a live fast, die young
existence on this forest floor.

Fungi are the unsung heroes
of the rainforest.

They're true recycling pioneers.

Feeding the hungry forest
for millions of years,

they've helped it become one of
the Earth's evolutionary hot spots.

It's in these rainforests

that Australia's mammals
first emerged

and then spread far and wide
across the continent's grasslands.

But there is one kangaroo

that has never left
its rainforest home.

A shy creature, rarely seen
on the forest floor...

..because its home is high
in the gallery.

A tree kangaroo.

This young male has evolved for life
in the trees,

with large, strong arms,
big, curved claws,

and a tail as long as his body.

But even 20m up, he's still
clearly a kangaroo...

..if a little less agile than most.

At almost two years old,
he's only recently left his mother

to find his own territory.

Unlike his ground-dwelling cousins,
he will live a solitary life,

only seeking a female
when it's time to mate.

But he's finding it hard
to make the break.

He can hear his mother
in a nearby tree

and crosses the canopy to reach her.

But it's not a warm welcome.

She doesn't want him near,
and moves away.

Her tough love makes sense.

At eight months, her youngest joey
has started to leave the pouch

and is exploring her highwire
world.

She's wobbly enough.

Teenage sibling might
topple her altogether.

With his mother fully occupied,

he'll have to accept
he's now an adult

and it's time to go it alone.

And space is something that is
in short supply in the rainforest,

where almost half of Australia's
colourful bird species

are competing to raise
the next generation.

They use forest treasures
to build elaborate nests.

The sunbird uses bark and seeds...

..while the fawn-breasted bowerbird
creates an eye-catching structure

with leaves to charm his mate.

This female eclectus parrot

has laid her eggs in
a much sought-after tree hollow.

Her green mate will deliver
food to her

so she can stay on guard duty.

High and dry, the hollow is safe
from flooding and predators.

It's the perfect spot
for her precious clutch.

It should be a textbook incubation.

COCKATOOS SCREECH

But the neighbours nobody wants

are looking to move
into this leafy suburb.

The sulphur-crested cockatoo.

COCKATOO SCREECHES

Loud, assertive and ready to lay,

this pair want the hollow
for themselves.

But the eclectus that is lucky
to raise even one clutch a year

isn't easily intimidated.

As the day heats up,

temperatures inside the nest
reach more than 30 degrees Celsius.

And with their own body heat raising
the temperature further,

it soon becomes too hot
for her eggs.

She has no option but to leave
to let things cool.

It's a big gamble.

If the cockatoos get inside,

they will smash the eggs
to make room for their own.

It looks as though all is lost.

The eclectus will lose her chance
to raise chicks this year.

BIRDS SCREECH

But not here and not today.

Victory belongs to the eclectus.

Such are the challenges
of raising the next generation

in the competitive environment
of the rainforest.

But it's not just about
having a place to raise a family.

It's also about being heard
above the din.

Songbirds originated in Australian
rainforests 24 million years ago.

And some of nature's great vocalists
are still to be found here.

BIRDS CALL

But there's one species
that has developed

a way of communicating

that is far in advance
of anything witnessed elsewhere

in the avian world.

The palm cockatoo, or palmy,

is known for its superior
intelligence and longevity.

It has a brain to body weight ratio
comparable to a dolphin

or a great ape,

and it can live for over 50 years.

Like its parrot relatives,
it, too, nests in tree hollows.

This proud pair work in shifts,
with one parent always on guard.

They mate for life,

and like all successful marriages,

that means good communication
is the key.

The pair greet each other
with a kiss

as they swap guarding
and foraging duties.

The hard fruits of
the nonda plum tree

are too tough for most birds.

But the palmy has one of the largest
and strongest beaks

in the bird world - so large,
it never quite closes.

As the female returns
to the nest, her belly full,

she offers a distinct knock
to say, "It's me."

KNOCKING SOUND

But her mate works harder still
to message his partner...

..communicating in a way
no other bird,

indeed, no other wild animal,
is able.

The male palmy has an ability
long-thought exclusively human.

He fashions a drumstick...

..and deliberately beats out
a rhythm.

Each male has his own individual
drumming style.

Why he does it is unclear.

Perhaps it's a show of strength
to ward off competitors,

or a message to his partner
that she need look no further -

he and his nest are best.

Rainforests thrive because
of their stable climate.

The opposite is true of
the Northern Monsoon Region

that covers almost a quarter
of the continent.

Here, the land seesaws
between two extremes...

..the floods of the summer's
wet season...

..and the raging fires that can burn
for months through parched winters.

It is these extremes

that have helped sculpt
some dramatic landscapes.

Savannas sweep across more than
1.5 million square kilometres...

..intersected by permanent
tidal rivers...

..the hunting ground
of the saltwater crocodile.

This male, known locally
as Casanova, has been top cock

on this river for decades.

He has 60 teeth,
measures over 4m long

and weighs almost three quarters
of a tonne.

Now in his late fifties,

he might be considered an old croc.

But that hasn't stopped him
learning a new trick.

Casanova has adapted to the presence
of humans in an unexpected way.

He has learned to associate

the rumble of a boat engine,
filled with delicious tourists,

with dinner.

Life jackets, yeah?

They're situated just up there.

I'm not even going to show you
how to put one on.

Does anyone know why?

Crocodiles are attracted
to bright colours, OK?

And splashing. So, um...

And there's about 5,000 crocodiles
in this river.

If you end up in the water,

you won't have time
to drown anyway. Yeah?

So number one,
avoid going in the water.

But if we do,
life jackets are useless.

It's fair to say Casanova makes
quite a splash with the tourists,

who come to see him put his natural
hunting abilities to use.

A wave-like thrust,

created by hundreds of muscles
working in tandem,

push against the water.

He finishes the leap with a snap
of his jaws,

exerting the strongest
down force of any animal.

..lizards, snakes, birds
and mammals...

She's ready to go now.
Look at this.

No mucking around.
Here we go, here we go.

JAWS SNAP LOUDLY

To avoid a crocodile attack
is very easy.

You stay back 6m
from the water's edge

and you never enter the water.

Those two simple things -
never get attacked by a crocodile.

Although that is a very complex
thing to comprehend

for some people.

On this river,
crocs have a seemingly easy life,

but it's not entirely
without its challenges.

Despite being Australia's
apex predator,

crocodiles are relentlessly
hunted...

..by the March fly.

At just 2cm long,

it's thousands of times smaller
than its prey.

It seeks out weak spots
in the croc's armour,

and bores its scissor-like proboscis
into the soft skin below.

An anticoagulant in the fly's saliva
prevents the blood from clotting.

And the fly then
sucks up the blood

with its fleshy mouthparts...

..filling to bursting point
on its victim's rich, cold blood.

The delicate three-layered eyelid

is particularly vulnerable
to attack.

Nostrils are targeted too.

Each bite is a painful irritant,
and there are plenty of them.

From this perspective,

the menacing croc is reduced
to an involuntary blood donor,

although it does have one
pest-control strategy.

Mud.

Not only a barrier to flies,

but also a salve to soothe
irritating bites...

..at least for a moment.

In the end, the flies always
find a weak point.

The crocodile has had
to change very little

since the time of the dinosaurs,

but it isn't perfect.

With legs this short,
there's always going to be an itch

that just can't be scratched.

While the croc fights daily battles
with its flies...

..other creatures of
Australia's Monsoon Region

face the challenges
presented by changes of season.

Birds migrate,

moving with the dramatic pulses
of the wet and dry.

Other creatures, unable to flee
inhospitable seasons,

must remain and face the elements.

On the flood plains of Maningrida,
the monsoon will soon arrive.

This region is home

to one of the most remote
communities in Australia.

The children here enjoy
a playground of epic proportions

and they have discovered
an extraordinary web of life

beneath their feet.

In just one small area,

they've helped scientists identify
an astonishing 46 new spiders,

including one tarantula.

Like most spiders, they have
eight eyes and eight legs.

But what sets these tarantulas apart
is their dashing red coat.

Almost every metre of this
flood plain has a spider burrow...

..forming a megacluster
of ambush hunters.

This female has settled down to wait
for the perfect dinner guest.

She's spun a series of silk trip
wires around her burrow entrance.

And she'll strike only when success
is guaranteed.

This longheaded hopper is lucky.

Once in the tarantula's
eight-legged grasp,

there's no chance of escape.

She injects toxic venom
into the grasshopper

with her one-inch fangs,

dealing the unfortunate victim
a final, paralysing blow.

THUNDER RUMBLES

Rumbles outside suggest her world
is about to be drenched.

The monsoon has arrived.

As pressure builds, electric charges
begin to spark and fire.

Each thunderstorm releases
an atomic bomb's worth of energy.

THUNDER CRASHES LOUDLY

A flood makes its way
towards the plain.

For a creature that lives
underground,

this could spell disaster.

But she's no ordinary tarantula.

She won't flee her burrow.

This spider is evolved
to cope with flood.

She has her own silvery
life support system.

Her hairy coat traps air bubbles,

providing the perfect
backup air supply

as she breathes through holes
in her abdomen.

Like a cosmonaut in space,

she has created
her own atmosphere.

Her discovery is so recent,

she has no official name.

She's simply referred to
as the "diving tarantula",

a truly unique
Australian phenomenon.

Nobody knows what her underwater
endurance limit might be,

but the monsoon floods
may last for four months.

Scientists estimate there are
25,000 diving tarantulas

on this one flood plain.

When the wet season ends,
the floodwater recedes,

leaving a vivid and
replenished survivor.

It will soon be the dry season's
turn to repaint the landscape.

Months will pass without rain.

The land will be parched.

But for some, this challenge also
presents an opportunity.

Traditional burning of
the grasslands by Indigenous people

has occurred for thousands
of years.

It triggers germination and prevents
uncontrollable wildfires

later in the season.

The dry grass ignites quickly

and the flames move on,
leaving the trees intact.

The rising smoke has not
gone unnoticed.

A black kite has been drawn in.

The rangers have prepared
an easy meal...

..an exodus of creatures
fleeing the flames.

Out in the open, they are
a prime target for aerial attack.

But the pleasure of solitary dining
will be short-lived.

The smoke signal has spread
far and wide

and the black kite
is soon joined by others.

Hundreds of them.

and talons clash over the spoils
below.

Soon, the insect supply
will be exhausted.

But these kites have a clever way
of obtaining more.

They've developed a technique

that has become immortalized
in local folklore.

This has led them to being called
the firebird, or "karrkkanj".

TRANSLATION:

These ingenious pyromaniacs

have been seen creating new fronts
during bushfires,

expanding their hunting area

and flushing out fresh prey.

Apart from humans,

they are the only animal known
to harness fire

for personal gain.

Despite being one of the world's
most common raptors,

it's only here in Australia
that black kites play with fire.

Like its landscape, Australia's
wildlife is dramatic and magical.

We've seen how animals survive
here...

..through intelligence...

..unique evolution...

..and adaptability.

Some are thriving...

..while others are on the brink
of extinction.

Each individual faces
its own set of challenges.

But it is the challenge
of the modern world

that is proving to be
the biggest test yet.