Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:08,840
There was a time when myths and science were entwined...
2
00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:15,320
..when mermaids and unicorns could mysteriously appear.
3
00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:19,640
Nature was weird.
4
00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,960
When science revealed the truth behind these imaginary creatures,
5
00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:28,200
it found real animals lay behind the legends.
6
00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:33,640
Today science still makes astonishing discoveries,
7
00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:36,640
but nature seems just as weird.
8
00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:42,240
It's just that fact has broken free from fiction.
9
00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:58,840
Many dances are stylised forms of courtship.
10
00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:03,560
Scorpions dance for the same seductive reason,
11
00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:07,520
but a Spanish scorpion must court with care.
12
00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:12,120
As he takes her by the claws, he fends off her sting with his tail.
13
00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:18,680
Rejection now would be fatal.
14
00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:22,920
He keeps up her interest by sweeping her off her feet.
15
00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:40,440
The dance may last for hours, as he tries to put her into a receptive mood.
16
00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:49,920
He seals his proposal with a kiss. It stops him becoming a meal.
17
00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:53,120
Next, he offers a present.
18
00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:05,160
He leaves a package to fertilise her eggs on the tip of a stalk.
19
00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:12,360
He guides her to pick up the gift, leaving just the stalk behind.
20
00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:22,160
This weird journey explores many other strange aspects of nature's ways of breeding.
21
00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:35,280
In courtship, gifts are always appreciated.
22
00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:38,320
The satin bowerbird of Australia
23
00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:40,880
has an eye for the presents his partner adores.
24
00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:46,160
Her favourite colour is blue.
25
00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:54,320
This is not his nest, but a bower,
26
00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:56,440
a place of seduction.
27
00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:04,640
He must keep up his maintenance to impress any females that call.
28
00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:17,320
She visits all the bowers in her neighbourhood
29
00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:21,360
to judge each male on his home decorating skills.
30
00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:31,880
She's hard to impress.
31
00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,720
An experienced male won't accept rejection lightly.
32
00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,760
He just works harder at winning her over.
33
00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,200
The more blue trinkets he accumulates,
34
00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:46,200
the more he turns her eye.
35
00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:50,800
His interest in home decoration is purely biological.
36
00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:55,560
The harder he works, the more he proves his fitness.
37
00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,960
CAR KEY REMOTE CONTROL BLEEPS
38
00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:17,760
He has amassed the bowerbird's equivalent of wealth -
39
00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,200
a proof of his genetic worth.
40
00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,840
And this bird has a lot on show.
41
00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:30,320
STRIDENT SQUAWKING
42
00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:36,760
On this occasion, a ring seems appropriate and seems to be doing the trick.
43
00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,280
STRIDENT SQUAWKING
44
00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,000
We may see human parallels here,
45
00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:01,440
but, biologically, OUR behaviour is stranger.
46
00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:03,880
Where are my keys?
47
00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,760
We are one of the most sexually active of all mammals,
48
00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:12,360
but we're also one of the least fertile.
49
00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:16,840
and few animals have such a long courtship or mate throughout the year.
50
00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:22,680
But by any measure, this marsupial mouse is weird.
51
00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:28,880
Antechinus squeezes its bouts of passion into a few energetic days.
52
00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:38,160
In early spring, the male's only goal is to mate with as many partners as possible.
53
00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:41,440
Each session lasts several hours.
54
00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:45,280
As soon as it ends, he looks for a new partner.
55
00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:52,600
He aims to track down every female in the neighbourhood.
56
00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:58,360
Subtlety is not his forte.
57
00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:16,880
All this activity leaves him little time to eat, drink or sleep
58
00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:21,000
and, in time, the stress starts to wear him down.
59
00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:28,320
Although exhausted, rampant hormones urge him on to yet another encounter.
60
00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:38,480
But he's feeling the strain.
61
00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:41,760
Over the two-week breeding season,
62
00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:44,200
he ages a lifetime.
63
00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:49,040
Rundown and tired, he is literally on his last legs.
64
00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,760
All the males are soon gone, leaving the females
65
00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:58,920
to bring up the babies.
66
00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:01,560
His sacrifice makes genetic sense.
67
00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:07,120
More offspring will survive if he isn't there to compete for food.
68
00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:11,000
BIRDSONG
69
00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:18,720
Male mice may cause their own demise, but in the meadows of Southern France,
70
00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:23,360
it's the female that's the deadlier of the species.
71
00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:31,400
The femme fatale in question is the European preying mantis.
72
00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:36,800
The smaller male courts his partner carefully.
73
00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:41,240
She can literally make a meal of any male.
74
00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:47,120
But he has to mate to pass on his genes.
75
00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:59,160
In this gruesome embrace, her love bite is the last thing he knows.
76
00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:08,840
But even this trauma doesn't seem to unnerve him.
77
00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:13,840
He continues to mate as though nothing has happened.
78
00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:21,840
Losing his head over a female helps nourish his future offspring.
79
00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:29,280
Astonishingly, decapitation improves his performance.
80
00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:33,520
A tiny brain in his rear keeps him active.
81
00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:46,160
This macabre coupling can last a day.
82
00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:55,360
Even then, the discarded carcass doesn't give up readily.
83
00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:04,600
In the oceans, courtship is even more complicated.
84
00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:09,640
It's a world of sexual confusion and gender-bending.
85
00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:16,760
One of the commonest reef fish are anthias.
86
00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:22,680
They gather in shoals many-hundreds strong.
87
00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:32,360
Oddly, most of them are female.
88
00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:40,160
They can be identified by their violet eyebrow line and orange colour.
89
00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:45,400
The few males are purple with a plume-like fin on their back.
90
00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:59,520
Should the male be removed, something strange happens.
91
00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:06,560
The leading lady takes over his role - literally!
92
00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:12,320
Her sexuality is flexible.
93
00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:16,680
She can perform a quick sex change to take his place.
94
00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:25,680
Not only does her colour and appearance change, she becomes he by developing male sex organs.
95
00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:36,440
It takes less than a week for this lady to become a fully-functioning gent.
96
00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:48,120
Gender-bending is also a speciality of sea hares.
97
00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:53,960
Like other sea slugs, sea hares are bisexual.
98
00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:59,320
Their hindquarters are female and their head ends are male.
99
00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:04,200
Sexual orientation depends on which ends meet first.
100
00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:08,160
When several sea hares get together,
101
00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:11,200
they often form a mating chain.
102
00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,040
The front slug has to be female.
103
00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:19,880
Those in the middle mate both ways and the last slug is always male.
104
00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:25,520
If the leader joins the end of the chain, a bisexual reel forms.
105
00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:32,160
Birth inevitably follows mating.
106
00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:36,600
For some, bubbles hold the secret of childcare.
107
00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:40,680
These Thai men
108
00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:44,440
are experts on breeding Siamese fighting fish.
109
00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:53,000
Traditionally, bets are placed on contests between prize specimens.
110
00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:57,800
Such fights occur naturally in nearby lakes and rivers.
111
00:11:57,800 --> 00:11:59,880
In either place,
112
00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:07,720
the winner gains the female and a chance to show a more tender side to his nature.
113
00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:13,560
An egg-like marking on her belly shows she's ready to breed -
114
00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:18,000
a come-on for the male to start courtship.
115
00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:24,120
He does something reminiscent of a child's game.
116
00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:27,520
He blows bubbles.
117
00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:37,680
He stops his bubbles popping by coating them with saliva.
118
00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:54,960
Soon a cluster of glistening baubles starts to accumulate.
119
00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:59,600
These will form a bubble nest for the care of his young.
120
00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,840
Then his aggression returns.
121
00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:21,400
But only to put her in the mood to accept his embrace.
122
00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:35,160
His quickly siphons up the fertilised eggs.
123
00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:43,000
Then spits them into the bubbles.
124
00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:51,720
This bubble-wrapping protects them from predators or infection.
125
00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:02,840
Two days later, the fry hatch and start to feed from their egg sacks.
126
00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,840
The fighting fish keeps up his vigil.
127
00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:18,320
Stray fry are caught and returned to the care of the bubble nest.
128
00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:25,040
Caring for young by bubble-wrapping them is popular in nature.
129
00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:32,960
The preying mantis lathers up a foam of microscopic bubbles to cocoon HER offspring.
130
00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:41,760
The foam hardens into a protective case that cossets her young.
131
00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:51,320
CHILDREN SHOUT
132
00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:59,960
Foam-nesting frogs also get into a lather tending their young.
133
00:14:59,960 --> 00:15:05,680
The mother secretes a fluid that the pair whip up into a foam similar to egg white.
134
00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:09,520
She lays her fertilised eggs inside.
135
00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:12,160
The outer wall of bubbles hardens like meringue
136
00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:15,760
and protects the eggs from predators, bacteria and the weather.
137
00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,000
Three days later,
138
00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:22,360
the first of several hundred tadpoles emerge.
139
00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:27,480
While some bubble-wrap their young, others literally splash out
140
00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:30,240
on childcare.
141
00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:36,720
In the Amazon, splash tetras stage a leaping contest.
142
00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:51,520
These strange fish out of water lay their eggs on leaves.
143
00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:56,320
The males leap to inspect suitable sites.
144
00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:02,240
They prefer protected leaves with a surface that's easy to stick to.
145
00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:06,320
The leap requires perfect posture.
146
00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:11,080
The fish must align itself
147
00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:15,120
so it grips the leaf by surface tension as it lands.
148
00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:28,520
The male guards his chosen leaf until a female arrives.
149
00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:36,880
They line up under the leaf and perform the ultimate act of synchronised swimming.
150
00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:52,680
As a cue, the female nudges the male with her head,
151
00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:57,680
then a flick of their tails propels them in perfect unison.
152
00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:07,080
They are so synchronised,
153
00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:10,520
to the human eye they appear as one.
154
00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:31,000
The eggs are laid. The male's work has just begun - he must keep them wet until they hatch.
155
00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:42,120
The splash tetra must have the most labour-intensive childcare of any fish.
156
00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:50,960
But his eggs are safer from predators on leaves, rather than in the river.
157
00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:55,200
After two days of hard splashing, the fry emerge.
158
00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:12,320
The Surinam toad's version of parenting is even more eccentric.
159
00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,840
Her young literally get under her skin.
160
00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:26,480
They develop from eggs to tadpoles in a wad of skin on her back
161
00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:29,640
and emerge as fully-formed toadlets.
162
00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:46,520
Most toads lay hundreds of eggs and only a few survive.
163
00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:52,040
Using skincare ensures that all the Surinam's offspring become baby toads.
164
00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:03,600
Once free, they fend for themselves.
165
00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:08,880
For some, parental care is the father's responsibility.
166
00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:12,320
The African bullfrog is one such doting parent.
167
00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:20,800
Tadpoles develop in shallow pools where he acts as their lifeguard.
168
00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:24,840
But water is siphoned up by many thirsty creatures.
169
00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:41,600
Faced with towering competition, the bullfrog retreats,
170
00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:45,840
but as the water levels drop, he still remembers his offspring.
171
00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:52,160
The sun also causes the precious water to vanish.
172
00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:02,480
Soon the mud will be concrete-hard.
173
00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,720
His poor tadpoles are left high and dry.
174
00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:21,640
They call to their father for help.
175
00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:25,600
He reacts by digging an escape route.
176
00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:38,720
It's a race against time.
177
00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:51,120
He paddles away to soften the rock-hard earth as he digs a canal.
178
00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:03,600
Their pleas for help urge him on.
179
00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:18,360
Breakthrough happens in the nick of time.
180
00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:31,400
He leads his offspring to safety.
181
00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:43,560
The bullfrog is one of the world's most devoted fathers,
182
00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:45,920
but he has competition.
183
00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:50,320
The Siberian dwarf hamster
184
00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:55,560
must win the prize for being nature's new man.
185
00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:59,600
The male acts as midwife during his partner's labour.
186
00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:16,800
Male midwifery is unique among mammals and - even in humans - it's a recent development.
187
00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:24,480
Biologically, human birthing behaviour is strange.
188
00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:31,480
Only humans have such painful extended labour. Few animals have such helpless young.
189
00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:35,920
Human males traditionally stay away at the birth.
190
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:41,040
However, the hamster's mate is her constant birth companion.
191
00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:47,360
Russian hospitals follow tradition, excluding fathers from the birth.
192
00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:52,360
But the hamster's partner shows a feminine care and concern.
193
00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:55,400
He cleans each newborn baby in turn.
194
00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:59,840
His human counterpart can only wait in the sidelines.
195
00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:13,040
At birth, the hamster even cuts the umbilical cord with his teeth.
196
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:15,280
BABY CRIES
197
00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:28,560
Traditionally, women continue to help once the birth is over.
198
00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:35,360
Again, the male hamster takes on this caring role.
199
00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:40,200
He retrieves any youngsters that wriggle from the nest.
200
00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:55,920
In many countries, human fathers are now encouraged to attend the birth,
201
00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:59,760
but in Russia, old traditions die hard.
202
00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:05,840
The hamster may be the only mammal that naturally acts like a new man.
203
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:11,280
But there's a catch - he soon reveals a less sensitive side.
204
00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:15,160
His partner can only mate over the next three hours.
205
00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:20,400
Helping at the birth stops him missing the moment.
206
00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:33,680
But the dwarf hamster has a rival for his new-age credentials.
207
00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:46,840
Sea horses are the only animals in which the male
208
00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:49,600
actually becomes pregnant.
209
00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:55,680
He carries his partner's eggs in a brood pouch on his stomach.
210
00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:58,920
The pouch lining acts like a placenta
211
00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:02,440
and nourishes the developing young.
212
00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:08,080
When the times comes to give birth, he even suffers contractions.
213
00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:18,680
They become more violent as the birth approaches.
214
00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:34,920
He gives birth to around 100 young.
215
00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:41,920
Each is a miniature replica of their father.
216
00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:55,400
Sea horses are the only animals
217
00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:59,040
whose males experience the birth process.
218
00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:05,040
His young grip the nearest thing they can find - even each other.
219
00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:19,280
He may be the spitting image of his father, but from now on, he's on his own.
220
00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:21,600
For sea horses,
221
00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:25,120
parental care stops at birth.
222
00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:29,760
Extended childcare is most common in mammals.
223
00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:35,800
The Asian musk shrew has perhaps the oddest way of keeping her young in line.
224
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:43,200
Moving a large family between nests is a big responsibility.
225
00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:53,720
To avoid getting lost, each youngster bites the fur by its neighbour's tail and hangs on.
226
00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:01,200
To the young, it's a game of follow-my-leader.
227
00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:05,240
Wherever their mother goes, they keep in step.
228
00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:17,800
But if the mother becomes separated from her brood,
229
00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:21,680
the youngster grab any moving thing that passes.
230
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:34,360
Their persistence and strength of grasp is phenomenal.
231
00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:39,960
As long as the train keeps moving,
232
00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:42,320
they'll hold on tight...
233
00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:49,120
..even in the air.
234
00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:04,480
Stop the train and they let go.
235
00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:09,840
When the mother returns, order is restored to her chaotic brood.
236
00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:17,280
She guides her daisy chain to safety.
237
00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:21,400
Such care may seem odd, but in a world
238
00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:24,920
of bizarre breeding, we are stranger.
239
00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:28,760
No other animal tends its young for as long as us.
21054
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.