All language subtitles for Equator 5 Paradox Of The Andes 2005 1080p

The sun...

giver of light and life,
shines most powerfully at the Equator.

Here, it powers an extraordinarily
rich zone of life.

Brilliant and bizarre species
from three continents...

three oceans.

More than a line on a map...

Equator is a
powerful force of nature.

There's a place at the equator

where unexpected creatures
live side-by-side in a cold desert.

Ice age survivors meet
tropical plants and animals,

on the flanks
of active volcanoes...

in a country whose Spanish name
Ecuador means equator.

The Andes of South America are

one of the most unusual
places at the equator...

Every day here is
a battle between sun and ice...

hot...

and cold.

The paradox of the Andes is that

the closer they are
to the sun, the colder it becomes.

The highest slopes are an alpine
desert the Quichua Indians

call the paramo,
the “inhospitable lands”...

Hummingbirds and camels are

unlikely neighbours
in a cold stony desert.

Vicunas are high altitude specialists.

They're resilient...

able to live in a world which
is unpredictable and ever-changing.

Being at the equator there are
no seasons, no annual cycle of change.

Instead, there's a strong
daily rhythm of hot and cold.

In a single day, this extraordinary
bird must survive temperatures

that can vary from below freezing,
to scorching hot.

The tiny Ecuadorian hillstar
is 2 hummingbird...

one that's forsaken
lush tropical forests

to live in one of the harshest places
at the Equator.

Every day in the hillstar's
Andean home,

a conflict rages,

between cold created by towering
mountains and the heat of the sun.

And this is just one
challenge among many -

in Ecuador even the land
is unpredictable and changeable.

More than 25 million years ago,

an enormous tectonic upheaval began

along the western edge
of South America,

where the Nazca Plate collides
with the South American Plate.

This great geological
collision continues,

rumpling the continent
up like a blanket,

at just one centimetre a year...

slowly building the Andes,
the longest mountain range on earth.

At the Equator, active volcanoes

are potent reminders of the power
of mountain building.

As the Nazca Plate is sucked
under the South American Plate,

intense heat and pressure
cause the rock to melt...

When the pressure of molten magma
can no longer be contained,

it explodes to the surface...

as an immense volcanic eruption.

These are among the most
active volcanoes in the world.

On the high slopes of a
six thousand metre peak,

the morning sun dries the wet coat
of 2 newborn vicuna.

It's warm now,

but last night temperatures dropped
to minus six degrees celsius -

if the baby vicuna had been born then,
he would have frozen to death.

But he's blessed with wool

hat's among the finest and
warmest in the world...

and female vicunas always
give birth during the day,

to give their offspring
the best chance of survival.

Just two hours old, the young male
is already keeping up with his mother.

The dominant male
watches over his big herd

of females and this year's young.

He's alert for danger.

The presence of the newborn
has attracted a young hawk,

hoping to scavenge afterbirth.

Vicunas have few predators -

their biggest challenge comes
from the mountains.

The newborn's herd mates will
recognise his distinctive smell

for the rest of his life,

even after he's forced out of the herd
by his father,

in a few months time.

In the featureless paramo,
scent is an important landmark.

The vicunas use dung piles
as sign posts...

they leave calling cards
for other herds

which share the sparse feeding grounds.

Despite daily temperatures

that may vary by more
than thirty degrees,

fine wool keeps
the vicunas warm.

And like vicuna wool,

the hairy coat of this plant
also traps heat.

It's so effective, it can be more than
seven degrees warmer

inside the plant than outside.

This is a brutal place,

and plants seek warmth
where they can find it.

They stay low to the dry ground,
or seek shelter next to rocks.

The high paramo plants'
ability to endure cold

was honed a long time ago,

during the great ice ages.

More than twenty times over
the last 2.5 million years

the paramos have been
pushed down into the lowlands,

by freezing temperatures
and growing glaciers.

Then as temperatures rose
and lowland forests expanded,

the paramos retreated back
to their mountain top strongholds.

The last ice age ended about
10,000 years ago,

but the tops of these volcanoes
at the Equator

are still locked
in ice and glaciers, year-round.

Even during the day,
it's minus five on the summit...

yet 2,000m below
it's ten degrees warmer.

The lower flanks of the volcano
are a completely different world.

In sheltered places the low paramo
is a rich shrubland...

Elsewhere it's lush grassland,
home to a remarkable ice age survivor.

This is a rare encounter
with a most elusive animal...

a spectacled bear may roam
more than 20 km in a day,

through the vast wilderness
of the low paramo.

This young female is
looking for food,

for plants and fruits -

but for now she must search elsewhere.

From the other side of the valley,

an Andean condor
watches the bear's progress.

The condor is
an icon of the Andes...

and this rugged valley
is a perfect home for a nesting pair.

The pair takes it in turn
to incubate their single egg.

After more than 50 days
the egg is close to hatching.

The female signals to her mate
that she's about to leave the nest.

The egg will chill
rapidly if it's left alone

for more than a few minutes...

the male must soon
take over incubation duties.

The equatorial sun
is the condors' ally.

Its heat creates thermals of rising
warm air for them to glide on.

Their highly visible presence
is a warning to other condors,

to stay away from
their breeding territory.

Condors are long-lived,
and only breed every second year.

Once this egg hatches
it'll be more than a year

before the youngster
is independent of its parents.

With wings spanning
more than 3m,

condors are the largest land birds
in the world.

Far below them the world's
smallest birds, the hummingbirds,

are the low paramo's
most active residents.

The sparkling violet-ear is a tiny,
agile acrobat,

who beats his wings nearly
20 times a second.

Because the sun nurtures
year-round flowers here at the equator,

hummingbirds have an active,
sugar-fuelled lifestyle.

This hyperactive bird
weighs just a few grams.

He must drink nearly his own bodyweight
of energy-rich nectar each day.

After feeding the
violet-ear rests,

waiting for the flowers to
recharge their nectar.

The paramo shrubland waits to be
recharged with moisture,

that comes from the two great
weather systems that meet at the Andes.

Warm moist air rising from the Amazon,

collides with damp air
from the Pacific.

As the warm air rises
up the volcanoes slopes,

it cools and condenses into cloud.

The plants of the low paramo
trap the damp cloud,

and drip-feed it to the ground.

The lower slopes of the volcanoes
are a living sponge.

This well-watered valley is
home to a female spectacled bear.

She has a cub that's
nearly a year old.

Spectacled bears are named for
the markings on their faces -

each bear has a mask
as unique as a fingerprint.

The male cub will soon be independent,
but for now he's his mother's pupil.

Each day, as they search for food,

they move between the low paramo
and the cloud forest.

At 3,500m altitude

the temperature averages
a benign eight degrees...

it's warm enough
for trees to grow.

Warmed by the sun
and moistened by mist,

the cloud forest is one of the
richest habitats on earth.

The forest offers a damp home to an
incredible array of plants and animals.

In Ecuador, spectacled
bears live alongside

18,000 different kinds of plants.

There's such fierce competition
for space among the plants,

that more than 20% of them
perch on branches like birds.

Among the perching plants are
an incredible diversity of bromeliads.

Their tightly-fitting leaves trap water

and create miniature frog-ponds,
high above the ground.

After many years perching,

most bromeliads flower just
once in their life.

On a single spectacular spike,

tiny flowers open,
one after the other...

a glowing puffleg knows he'll find
nectar here for many weeks.

The many bromeliads feed
many hummingbirds -

more than a hundred and
thirty species in Ecuador alone.

A rainbow star-frontlet feeds
from an unusual bromeliad,

whose flowers sprout
on slender stems.

Scientists have only
recently recognised

that the tropical Andes
are the world's

most outstanding biodiversity hotspot.

These forests are exceptionally
rich in plant and animal life,

because they're both on the slopes
of the Andes, and at the Equator.

The cloud forest provides
a year-round supply of flowers

and fruit for nearly
1,600 species of birds.

Golden-plumed parakeets are amongst

the highest altitude
parrots in the world.

A pair have a nest high
in 2 tall dead tree...

a location also
favoured by bromeliads.

Spectacled bears are also
known as Oso Achupayero,

the bromeliad eating bears.

But most bromeliads grow high up,
to catch as much sun as possible...

so that's where the female heads.

In the paradoxical world
of the equatorial Andes,

it's no surprise to
find an ice age bear

feeding on tropical
plants, high in a tree.

Bromeliads are plentiful
and available all year-round...

they're a sensible choice
for bears that eat in bulk.

Bromeliads are also rich...

the female targets the tender heart,

where the sugars and
proteins are concentrated.

Spectacled bears are South America's
only species of bear,

and the best climbers
in all the bear world.

The cub is determined
to join his mother,

but although he has the will...

he does not yet have the skill.

Spectacled bears are
dedicated plant eaters,

ironic as they're descended
from the largest land carnivores

that the world has ever known.

Their ancestors were
the short-faced bears,

that thrived in North America
during the ice ages.

Spectacled bears are the short-face
bears only living descendants...

they're ice age relics,
perfectly adapted to the cold.

High above the struggling cub,

his mother leaves a trail
of destruction as she feeds...

pushing over the
bromeliad's frog ponds,

and showering the forest
with cloud water.

The cub is a fast learner -
on his second climbing attempt,

he makes much better progress.

In Ecuador's Andes,

a journey from sea level to
the summit of a 6,000m volcano,

is like travelling from the
equator to the north pole.

The higher you go, the colder...

and more challenging it becomes.

It means that this high
altitude cloud forest

is similar to brown
bear habitat in places

much further north such as Canada...

but there's one big difference.

Canada's bears must cope with
an enormous variation in temperature

between summer and winter,

but here at the Equator
there are no seasons...

food is always available,
and animals live here all year round.

There are no long bitter winters,
so bears don't hibernate...

and birds don't migrate.

But they all face a daily challenge,
of weather which is changeable...

unpredictable.

The sun wins a late morning
skirmish with the cloud,

which subsides into the valley.

In just a few minutes the seasons
change from spring to summer.

Many creatures have found opportunity
in this unpredictable world.

This is a puya,
a remarkable bromeliad

that's moved out of the forest up
into the low paramo.

Some hardy hummingbirds
have moved, too.

The tropical puya
has become a giant.

It now lives on the ground,
instead of perching in a tree.

Its five metre-tall flower spikes
are enough to feed two hummingbirds...

but hummingbirds are very
territorial about their food,

and don't like sharing.

The puya has evolved a hairy coat
to keep its flowers warm...

and fierce spikes
for protection.

Puyas are well-adapted
to the low paramo...

but that's as far
as they can go.

Only the hardiest creatures survive
on the volcano's higher slopes.

Vicunas are one of the few animals

resilient enough to
endure the high paramo.

Today they're baking
in a summer heat wave...

the temperature has
soared into the twenties.

But it could change,
quickly.

This is a place
of extremes...

in minutes it could be
close to zero.

Up here, most plants hug
the ground for warmth...

but chuquiraga bushes
stand defiantly

a metre or more above the ground.

They flaunt bright
flowers year-round,

to seduce an
unexpected pollinator.

I's the highest altitude hummingbird
in the world...the hillstar.

The bright pollen on this
female's head shows she's found

a good supply of chuquiraga flowers.

The tiny hillstar
has two chicks.

This resilient solo mother
has built a thick,

well-insulated nest to protect them
during her frequent absences.

It's a good thing...

the equatorial sun
disappears behind clouds

and the heat wave vanishes.

The high paramo is
plunged into a misty autumn.

The weather is changeable,

but one thing remains a constant
challenge up here - the air is thin.

At 4,500m each breath contains
only half the oxygen

it does at sea level.

But despite the low oxygen levels,

vicunas can sprint at nearly
50km/h.

And when a male chases
other males away from his herd,

what begins as a sprint can
turn into a marathon.

How do vicunas sustain this effort
when the air contains so little oxygen?

A vicuna can use all
the oxygen available

in every breath of this thin air.

Its blood contains red cells
that are very small,

able to quickly absorb oxygen...

and has twice as many red cells
as human blood.

The blood is also very thin...

and easily and rapidly pumped
by its big heart

to hard-working muscles.

Physiologically, vicunas
are better adapted

to altitude than any other mammal...

and hillstars are better adapted
to life here than any other bird.

But high altitude throws
another challenge at the hillstar.

The air up here is half
as dense as air at sea level...

it's harder to fly.

So, unlike hummingbirds lower down
the volcanoes that hover as they feed,

the hillstar perches,
to conserve energy.

Vicunas face constant challenges
from each other...

but rivalry is key
to their survival.

Tensions are rising
in the bachelor herd,

among the outcasts, who've been unable
to claim a group of females.

A pair begin to squabble...

and their mood proves contagious.

Fights begin to break out in the herd,
as males pair off and square off.

All these males aspire
to lead a herd...

but fewer than 20% of them
will ever succeed.

To gain leadership they'll have
to fight the dominant male,

and frequent practise is the best way
to refine their fighting skills.

The sparring partners
bite and kick,

and attempt to bring
their opponent to his knees.

Size...strength...skill...

all factors which will
determine the winner.

One fight turns
into a grudge match.

Fighting is usually less physical,
more psychological...

But today, the duelling duo
can't resist a complete brawl.

The duo is well matched
in size and stamina...

and the result is a draw.

Vicunas not only face challenges
from each other...

they face a direct challenge
from the sun.

The Equator receives
much more solar radiation

than any other part of the world.

The sun is at a direct angle
to the equator,

so its rays travel a shorter distance
through the earth's atmosphere...

and are less likely to bounce back off
ozone and other molecules.

Levels of damaging ultraviolet are
a thousand times higher

at the equator than at the poles.

Animals and plants up here
are protected

from radiation by hairy coats...

and frequent thick mists.

The little hillstar is a
tenacious survivor.

These chuquiraga bushes offer him
security in an ever-changing world,

where there can be
four seasons in a day...

and sometimes in an hour.

The mist engulfing the high paramo
is caused by warm air

rising up the flanks of the volcanoes.

Lower down, it has
created intense thermals...

As the sharp-eyed condor soars
on thermals,

one of the strangest...
and rarest...

paramo inhabitants arrives
in the valley.

The size of a small cow,

the mountain tapir is the
largest animal in the Andes.

The unlikely looking tapir has
even more unlikely distant relatives...

horses and rhinoceroses.

Like the bears,
the tapirs are ice age survivors...

they live in remote,
rugged areas.

Mountain tapirs are
the bulldozers of the paramo...

they create trails that
other animals, such as bears,

use as highways through
the thick vegetation.

In this changeable world,
being big is a good thing.

Bulk is useful, for pushing through
dense scrub, and for keeping warm.

Tapirs are mostly solitary,
and they have enormous feeding ranges.

Because they're so rare,
and range so far,

it's unusual to see
two animals so close to each other.

Very little is known
about these shy giants.

These two seem content to get on
with fulltime task of eating the leaves

and fruits of many different
kinds of plants.

There are three species of tapir
in South America,

but the mountain tapir is
the only one that's gone high...

to find opportunity in a place
with few competitors or predators.

The mountain, or woolly tapir,
has evolved a coat

that's black to absorb
as much heat as possible

from the sun,

and thick for warmth.

It's well prepared
for the biggest challenge

for all life in the equatorial Andes -
surviving the long night.

Like the tapir,

the spectacled bear family has
spent most of the day eating.

It's late afternoon,
and the cub is exhausted...

soon his mother will lead him
to a safe resting place.

The young bear has only a limited time
to enjoy himself up in the treetops.

He's already the same size
as his mother...

1.5m long, and weighing 60k.

When he's fully grown
he'll be much larger -

a male spectacled bear in his prime
may weigh up to 180k.

He'll be far too big to climb
these high branches.

To survive here,

the bears rely on their climbing skills

and the rich bromeliad
offerings of the cloud forest.

Down in the valley,

the tapir's strategy
is to have an eclectic palate,

to eat a little of everything.

They never linger too long
in one place,

and spread seeds as they travel
long distances through the paramo.

As evening approaches
and temperatures drop,

the thermals lose their power.

The condors are forced to come in
to roost on their nesting cliff.

They'll incubate their egg
through the long cold night.

The condors have more than a year of
parenting ahead of them.

Hummingbird motherhood,
on the other hand is fleeting...

and intense.

It took the female hillstar less than
three weeks to incubate her eggs,

and in another three weeks or
so her brood of two

will have left the nest completely.

She gives her babies
their last feed of the day,

and tucks everyone in...

they must all stay warm
if they're to survive the night.

This snug nest is home only
while she raises a family.

Nearby, a young female with no
chicks faces her usual lonely night.

She'll survive 12 hours
without feeding,

by putting herself in torpor,
using as little energy as possible.

The hillstar's heart rate is now a
twentieth of its normal speed.

Her body temperature's dropped
from thirty six degrees to six.

The equatorial
sun departs quickly...

a mini ice age
is about to begin.

Down in the low paramo
a stream flows strongly.

It never freezes,

even though the temperature
has dropped to minus six.

This is the nocturnal hunting ground
of an extraordinary creature...

The fishing mouse is a small,
fierce predator,

with an unusual lifestyle.

She'll spend much of the night

searching the stream
for aquatic insects or fish.

Like the bear and the tapir,

the fishing mouse is
an ice age survivor,

designed to withstand cold.

Her solid body holds heat,
and her fur is thick, warm...

and waterproof.

Also known as a water mouse,
the fishing mouse is now very rare.

It was once more widespread,
but by the end of the ice ages

it had become a relic,
found in just a few streams.

Eyesight and smell are of little use
in this night-time world...

she uses long tactile whiskers
to detect prey.

For a successful catch she relies
on fast reflexes, strong hands...

and some luck.

This species is extremely well
adapted to this lifestyle.

None of the small number of
other rodents that also hunt in

and around the streams of the paramo
are such good swimmers and divers.

And only this species survives
in the highest streams,

at altitudes of up to 4,000m.

Like a hummingbird,

the fishing mouse is
small and hyperactive -

she needs big meals, often.

The little mouse has a big appetite,
and one fish is never enough.

But she must hurry -

12 hours of darkness
are drawing to a close.

Dawn on the high paramo.

It's minus six...

and has been for hours.

Everything's frozen...

except, surprisingly, the plants.

The plants of the tropical Andes

have a remarkable way of staying
metabolically active all the time.

Even though the sap is well below zero,
it's still liquid...

because it's super-cooled.

It doesn't freeze into ice that would
damage delicate cell walls.

This strategy only works here,

because temperatures never sink
below minus six degrees.

If the nights were any longer...

and colder...

a super-cooled plant would
risk snap freezing.

The coming of the sun
ends the mini ice age,

but its morning kiss can
be a plant's kiss of death.

With the first sun on its leaves
a plant begins to transpire.

Its sap begins flowing...
but then it slows.

The ground is still frozen...

roots can't suck up any water.

Just when things should
be getting easier,

the plant faces physiological drought.

But within an hour the earth
will have thawed

and the plant will
be able to drink again.

Overnight, the hillstar's temperature
and heart rate dropped dramatically.

Now she comes back to life,
warmed by the sun.

It's not long before she's off
to find her first quick sugar fix.

The sun begins to breathe
warmth back into the paramo.

In just a few short hours
it'll be the height of summer.

Hummingbirds are creatures
of sun and heat,

that thrive here in the
mountains at the Equator.

Because there are no seasons,

there are year-round flowers
they can rely on for energy-rich food.

A Tyrian metal-tail, slightly low

on energy after the
long winter's night,

takes the easy option -

why hover when there's a handy
leaf to take some of your weight.

Luckily for these tiny birds,
winter only lasts for one night -

not for months on end as in most
other mountainous parts of the world.

The condors must stay on
the cliffs for an hour or two yet.

They can't fly until the ground has
warmed and the thermals have developed.

There's always a battle here,

between equatorial
heat and mountain cold.

Every day the creatures of the paramo

and the cloud forest
face the challenges

of four seasons.

The tropical puya is armed,
and prepared for winter...

but its defences are not enough to
deter a male spectacled bear looking

for a bear-sized meal.

Animals and plants have taken

different evolutionary
paths to reach here.

Some, like the bears,
are survivors from the ice ages.

Others, like the puya, are tropical
species on a mountain top adventure.

Spectacled bears have short jaws
and massive muscles,

inherited from their ice age ancestors.

These give them power to crush
and grind the tough stem of the puya.

A lifetime of growing - destroyed
in a second, eaten in minutes.

This encounter between a tropical
plant and an ice age bear

could only happen
here in the paradoxical world

of Ecuador's Andes.

Unexpected plants and animals
have found new opportunities

on these volcanoes at the Equator.

They've evolved ways of
coping with the challenges

that living at altitude brings.

Persistence...
perseverance...a thick coat...

all help creatures survive
the daily battles,

between the immense power
and heat of the equatorial sun,

and the cold of the Andes.