All language subtitles for 14917F3959F950DF1EBDDB7ABF54FCF8_eng

Gaffet: First time I saw orca
was quite unexpected.

A quite large group was hunting.

It was this combination
of feeling awe

and at the same time,

a little bit of horror
and shame.

It goes into your heart

and into your mind,
and it doesn't leave you.

Narrator:
At the ends of the Earth

is a land of extremes...

...home to spectacular wildlife.

For centuries,

people and animals
have battled for supremacy.

But now enemies
are becoming allies.

Together they face
new challenges...

...in a rapidly changing world.

You are at the mercy
of the elements.

Narrator:
This is the story

of what it takes to survive...

...on the edge of the world.

The land along Patagonia's
eastern coast is barren.

But the sea is rich with life.

The Andes cut through Patagonia,

blocking moist air
flowing from the Pacific,

creating the eighth-largest
desert in the world.

But off the Atlantic coast,

a cold southern current mixes
with a warmer Brazilian one,

producing the perfect conditions
for marine life.

On land, a wild patchwork
of desolate beaches...

...rocky outcrops,

and towering cliffs

overlook one of
the most important

marine reserves on the planet.

The top predator
patrolling these waters?

Orca.

Also known as killer whales,

the largest members
of the dolphin family.

This pod of 10
is a close-knit group

that will stay together
their entire lives.

The leader of this family
is wise old grandma,

known as Maga.

It's high tide,
and the 40-year-old matriarch

leads her family
towards shore.

Their target?

Unsuspecting seals
and sea lion pups.

But how to get to them
on the beach?

The family has perfected
an ingenious way to hunt here.

First, they swim sideways to
hide their telltale dorsal fins.

The seals have no idea

that these six-ton killers
are so close.

Then the orca
do something extraordinary.

They beach themselves.

It's a remarkable technique.

Beaches are death traps
for whales and dolphins.

It's too easy to get stranded.

But not for this family.

They've learned how to expertly
maneuver back into the sea.

Maga and her pod are one of only
two orca families in the world

known to pull off
this dangerous feat.

Ever since she first
laid eyes on them,

orca expert María Leoní Gaffet

has been fascinated
by these predators.

Gaffet:
I was born here in Patagonia,

quite close to
the Península Valdés.

It was quite a strong experience

to see them for the first time,

especially, you know,
hunting in this manner.

And I guess that's when
they started to exist for me.

Narrator:
María Leoní was determined

to understand their behavior.

She decided to camp out
along this desert coastline

for three months a year
when the orcas hunt the most.

For 20 years she's observed
Maga and her family

and can identify individuals
by their unique markings.

Gaffet:
You take photos of their fins,

of their saddle patches.

The idea is to do observation
of this population

and of their behavior
over long periods of time.

Narrator: María Leoní realized
their hunting technique

was not instinctive,
but learned.

Gaffet:
They start teaching the calves

when they are really tiny.

You know, they start to bring
them to the shore slowly

and safely until eventually
they can do it on their own.

Narrator:
It's an incredible skill

taught by one generation
to the next.

This morning, Maga's
hunting class is in session.

She's working with
her grandchildren

on their stranding technique.

Gaffet:
She's a great teacher.

She's really proficient
and professional.

Narrator:
Today's challenge --

the young calves are to swim
into the shallows,

grabbing clumps of seaweed.

A practice run like this
is critical.

If they master this skill,

they'll never go hungry.

But one wrong move
and they could beach themselves

and die.

Maga leads her class
up to the breakers,

daring them
to grab some seaweed.

And one bold student
goes for it,

launching into the shallows.

Success.

María Leoní has discovered
that it takes four years

for each new generation
to master this behavior...

...allowing this orca pod to
thrive along the desert coast.

While Maga and her family
return to open water,

on land, a real-estate dispute
is about to get bloody.

Narrator: The beaches along
Patagonia's desert coast

at El Pedral
are wild and exposed.

It's not an easy place
to raise a family.

Just ask some of its more
iconic residents...

...Magellanic penguins.

Each spring,
these migratory waddlers

return from their feeding
grounds up north to breed...

...under the watchful eye
of conservationist Popi García.

Garcia: The first time
I heard about

something called a penguin,

it was through my grandmother.

She used to tell me
very, very warm and nice stories

about penguins
when I was a small boy.

Narrator: When Popi finally
saw them, he was captivated.

Garcia:
I was 19, 18 years old.

I came to one of the colonies
here in Patagonia,

and that was an epiphany moment
because I had the feeling

that I had to dedicate my life
to their conservation.

Narrator:
Today the beach is busy.

But it wasn't always like this.

Garcia:
The first time I came,

there were only six pairs
of nests.

This place was a real mess.

There were a lot of reckless
people and careless fishermen

coming here,
throwing garbage everywhere.

We needed to protect this colony
because otherwise

they would leave
and they would never come back.

Narrator: It took several years
of clearing trash

and getting local support
to turn this polluted beach

into a protected area.

Popi's efforts paid off.

And the penguins returned.

Garcia:
The colony grew from those

six original pairs of penguins

to over 3,000 pairs now,

so that was a home run.

Narrator: Popi now lives nearby
with his wife, Laura.

During breeding season they
regularly monitor the penguins.

Garcia:
When you work with them

and you visit them
very frequently,

you get to know them better.

And one of the favorite penguins
in this colony

is called Clarita.

Narrator: She is one of
the original few

that restarted the colony.

Garcia: We know that
she's about 16 years old.

She was able to raise 14 chicks,

and the last two chicks
are hatching right now.

Narrator: Popi weighs
and measures Clarita's newborns

to make sure
they're in good health.

Garcia:
Clarita, for me, represents

the hope for this planet.

Whatever we do in terms
of conservation

is really worthwhile,

because this colony
is showing us

that a small action that
we decided to do a long time ago

is having a big impact.

Narrator: The penguins are doing
so well here

they're running
out of nest sites,

leading to a real-estate crunch.

This male has decided to move in
on another family's burrow.

The resident female
watches on concerned.

She calls for her partner.

His guttural squawks
are a show of dominance.

But the intruder
isn't taking the hint.

The two square off,
beak to beak.

The resident on the left
gets in some good jabs.

Finally, bloodied and battered,

the home invader
is sent packing.

Next time,
maybe he'll think twice about

moving into
someone else's burrow.

Thirty miles to the north,
on Península Valdés,

another colony's numbers
are not doing so well.

The small settlement
of Playa Larralde

has a population
of about 200 people

and shrinking.

Those that remain make
a hard living from the ocean.

One of them is Lucas del Río.

Narrator: Lucas forages for
shellfish on the sea floor.

He doesn't use expensive
scuba gear.

Instead, air is pumped
from a compressor...

...through a rubber hose,

directly into his mouth.

Sixty-five feet
below the surface,

he painstakingly collects
mussels and scallops.

It's a good harvest.

Lucas can gather up to 60 pounds
in just a few minutes.

But over his shoulder, there's
another creature lurking.

Narrator: The beaches along
Patagonia's Península Valdés

offer little
in the way of sustenance,

but its rich waters
teem with life.

Below the surface,

diver Lucas del Río
is collecting mussels.

And he has company...

...42 tons of it.

There's never a dull moment when
you're working alongside giants.

Lucas takes his haul back
to dry land,

avoiding whales as he goes.

This bay is home
to hundreds of them.

It's one of the largest
nurseries on the planet

for southern right whales.

Their name is a reminder
of a darker past

when these slow-moving whales
were considered

the right ones to hunt.

They were driven
to the brink of extinction.

By the end of the whaling era
in the 1960s,

less than 1,000
were left worldwide.

Researcher Mariano Coscarella
has been monitoring

their population for decades.

Mariano is now dedicated
to protecting these whales.

Taking skin samples
is a key way to monitor them.

But getting one isn't easy.

His crossbow fires
a special dart

designed to collect
a small amount of skin.

He needs to time his shot perfectly.

This single sample will provide
Mariano with a wealth of data --

the whale's genetics, age,
and exposure to pollution,

information crucial
to both understanding

more about the species
and helping its survival.

The southern right whales
have bounced back,

but their healthy population has
attracted unwanted attention.

A mother and her calf
are being tailed

by a family of killers --

orca.

Mom heads for the safety
of the shallows.

But the orca pod quickly
catches up with them.

The young orca
is given the chance

to hone its hunting skills.

The right whale mom twists
and turns,

putting herself between her baby
and the attackers.

In desperation, she wedges
her calf on the sea floor,

protecting its soft underbelly.

Her defensive maneuver works.

The orca call off the attack.

The calf is exhausted...

...and comes in
for a much-needed feed.

He can drink up to 150 gallons
of milk a day.

He'll rely on mom for food and
protection for at least a year.

But the right whales aren't
the only species

making a comeback here.

This corridor from Bahía Creek
to Bahía San Blas

is a haven
for several of the ocean's

most misunderstood animals --

sharks.

Blue sharks hunt
along this coast.

Their 5,700-mile journey
around the Atlantic

is one of the longest
of any marine animal.

But there's another dangerous
predator in these waters.

Narrator: Ramiro Cambareri is
one of the most skilled

shark hunters in Patagonia.

Narrator: He's fished these
waters since he was a boy.

Leopard fish is used
to bait the hook.

Its scent will lure in
any sharks in the area.

Each line is attached
to a float on the surface.

It's now a waiting game.

Something has taken the bait.

A sevengill shark.

They normally cruise
close to the sea floor.

However, this one was tempted
by Ramiro's bait.

But this shark
has nothing to fear.

Ramiro's no longer
in the shark-killing business.

He's now working to save them.

Sharks have been pushed
to the brink of extinction

by overhunting.

Ramiro didn't want to continue
being a part of the problem,

And so teamed up
with Juan Martín Cuevas

from the Wildlife Conservation
Society Argentina.

Narrator:
For the last five years,

Ramiro has worked with Juan

catching sharks
off the desert coast...

...like this rare tope shark,

which is critically endangered.

Then they insert
an acoustic tag.

It transmits a radio signal,
which can be picked up

by a network
of underwater receivers.

These trackers help the team

to protect the sharks
from other hunters

and teach them
about their migration patterns.

They check if the tracker
is working.

The signal is loud and clear.

Back on land,

thousands of elephant seals
have come ashore

on the beaches
of Península Valdés.

These massive seals spend
more than 80% of the year

feeding out at sea.

When they come back to land,

they've got one thing
on their mind...

...breeding.

This patch is the domain
on one huge male.

He's master of this beach

and has a harem
of two dozen females.

He wants to mate
with all of them.

But a young hotshot is trying
to sneak in on the action.

The beachmaster keeps
a watchful eye.

This new male is taking
a big risk,

but it might be his only chance
to breed this year.

The beachmaster has seen enough.

Time to show this young
pretender who's boss.

Narrator: The beach on
the Península Valdés coast

is about to become the scene
of a heavyweight clash.

Two 5,000-pound contenders
are going head to head.

The prize?

The chance to breed
with two dozen females.

They jab at each other's necks
with their canine teeth...

...followed up with
a two-and-a-half-ton body slam.

This fight is going
the distance.

But in the end,
the rookie backs down.

The big male remains
the master of the beach,

for now, at least.

When the breeding season
is over,

the seals are hungry and return
to the open ocean to feed.

They swim east,
heading hundreds of miles

off the Patagonian coast
to their hunting grounds,

where there is an abundance of
one of their favorite foods --

squid,

an otherworldly creature
that spends daylight hours

hiding at depths
of more than 2,500 feet.

At night, millions of them
rise from the deep

looking for food...

...guided by the light
of the moon...

...or so they think.

It's actually the light
of a 420-foot fishing vessel.

And it's not alone.

Around 150 ships work
these waters.

Each one has
100 powerful lights...

...luring the squid
up to the surface...

...where they're snagged
by a long line of hooks.

Desperately trying
to wriggle free,

the squid squirt jets of water.

But it's no use.

Everyday this fleet can catch
7,500 tons of squid

to be sold in Europe and Asia.

It's a brutally efficient operation.

But these underwater creatures
do have some protection.

The Argentine Coast Guard
is here in force.

Narrator:
Captain Jose Rafael Quinteros

is in charge
of this Coast Guard destroyer.

His mission is to make sure
the fishing fleet

doesn't stray
into Patagonia's waters.

Behind the border,

marine life is protected
from this super fleet.

The crew of the destroyer has
their work cut out for them...

...because this industrial-scale
fishing is relentless.

Large support ships
come to meet the fleet,

taking the squid away,
refueling, and resupplying.

The fishing boats rarely
return to port

and can spend years at sea.

The Coast Guard destroyer is not
alone inside the protected zone.

Nearby are two
endangered ocean giants --

a pair of sei whales.

And closer to shore,

Hundreds of dusky dolphins.

But it's not just Patagonia's
waters that are busy.

The skies above these cliffs

are some of the region's
most crowded airspace.

Narrator: At the northern tip of
Patagonia's desert coast

is El Cóndor.

Here, the Atlantic Ocean
has been carving

the sandstone coastline
for millennia.

These crumbling cliffs are now
the last refuge of a bird

that used to be found
all over South America...

...the burrowing parrot.

After wintering up north,

pairs return to the same nest
every spring.

It makes, sense given how hard
they've worked

to dig out these homes.

Some stretch back
10 feet into the cliff.

Mauricio Failla is leading
the charge to understand

and conserve the parrots'
last stronghold.

Narrator: Mauricio first
encountered these parrots

while traveling around Patagonia
20 years ago.

He was smitten,
and he's been here ever since.

Mauricio routinely monitors
and counts the nests.

Inside most of these nests
are hungry chicks.

Today it's this mom's turn
to head out on the food run.

The native vegetation
she depends on

is disappearing as fast
as the Amazon rainforest.

To stand any chance
of feeding her family,

she must fly three hours inland
to find seeds and berries.

But the long trip isn't
the only thing

our mom needs to worry about.

As she returns,

she must deal with
the neighbor from hell...

...the fastest animal
in the world --

a peregrine falcon.

Swooping in
at over 200 miles per hour,

it terrorizes the colony.

Our mom waits for her moment.

One parrot doesn't make it.

But our mom gets home safely.

Above Mauricio,
the skies are full of parrots.

And future generations
of these iconic birds

will continue
to return here to nest.

At first, this desert coast
may seem a barren place.

But its rich waters offer life

to a vast number
of incredible animals.

And the continued protection
of these threatened creatures

is now more important than ever.

Next on "Patagonia:
Life on the Edge of the World,"

as summer arrives,

animals are gathering
in Patagonia's fjords.

But these remote, rich waters
are in high demand.