All language subtitles for Impossible.Animals.S01E03.WEBRip.x264-ION10

Sometimes in life,
to make it to the top,

you need to bend the rules.

To survive in this competitive
world,

many animals push the boundaries of
possibility to the limit.

They seem to test the very fabric
of reality.

Compared to us, they can see
sharper,

stretch their bodies further

and perform feats that are just
out of this world.

Rainforests, deserts, coasts,

three hostile landscapes

each forging their own distinct mix
of mavericks.

By capturing their lives
in spectacular detail,

we reveal the secrets
that allow these animals

to achieve the impossible.

Coasts are the most dynamic
landscapes on Earth.

They are a gateway between the land
and sea where two worlds collide.

And for any animal brave enough to
live here,

life is a constant battle.

From the ocean depths...

..to jagged cliffs,

animals must contend with extreme
conditions.

Powerful tides up to 16 metres high,

winds that speed at over 200kph...

..and violent waves that can impact
with a force of 20 tonnes.

In this chaotic world,

many animals survive by sticking
either to the land or to the sea.

But a few have found a way to
thrive in both.

There's one Antarctic species that's
got this down to a fine art.

The emperor penguin.

With a sleek, streamlined shape,

underwater, these birds are in
their element.

But every year they have to come up
onto the ice to breed.

Problem is, these birds actually
weigh 40kg.

That's the same as a baby hippo.

Despite their size, this flightless
bird has found a way to get
airborne.

And the secret lies deep
beneath their feathers.

Before returning to the colony,

emperor penguins will often take
a pitstop at the surface

to fluff themselves up.

But what they're actually doing is
trapping air within their feathers.

That right there is their
impossible trick.

Straight after fluffing,
it's time to dive,

and as they descend, they clamp
those feathers shut really tightly,

trapping the pockets of air beneath
them.

By the time they are 20 metres down,

the water pressure is three times
what it was on the surface.

All of this trapped air is ready
to go off like a champagne cork.

As the penguins ascend, the air
streams through their feathers.

It creates a lubricating layer
around their bodies

which helps reduce drag and
supercharges their swim.

On a jet-powered stream of bubbles,

the emperors break through the
surface at almost 30kph,

four times their normal swimming
speed.

But while these emperor penguins
have a slick trick to get out of
the water,

their cousins have a far more
treacherous transition to contend
with.

The rockhoppers of Patagonia
have quite the coastal commute.

Here, the problem isn't just getting
out of the water,

it's landing safely too.

So, these birds need a smart way to
ensure a safe touchdown.

Their ground-breaking strategy is to
stay, well, small.

Now, I know this might not sound
like the most ingenious
adaptation,

but when you consider Newton's
second law of motion,

it all starts to fit into place.

Assuming the speed the penguins are
hurled against the rocks stays the
same,

then size really matters,

because the smaller you are, the
less force or energy you hit the
rocks with,

and less energy means
less chance of being hurt.

As one of the smallest penguins in
the world,

standing at just 50cm
and weighing only 3kg,

the rockhopper has some serious
bounce.

Now, making this perilous journey
from land to sea and back again

is hard enough, but just to up the
ante,

imagine attempting this leap of
faith with other dangers in the mix.

Now is the time to bring
your A-game.

Seal Island.

A coastal sanctuary
for over 60,000 Cape fur seals.

To find food, they have to leave
the safety of the land...

..and they know that just off-shore,
something ominous lies in wait.

The great white shark.

With explosive speeds of 40kph

and one of the biggest bite forces
on the planet...

..this apex predator...
prepares for an ambush.

To make matters worse for the seals,

these sharks come turbo-charged.

Most fish are cold-blooded, but
great whites are one of only five
species of shark

that are warm-blooded, and they
achieve this by constantly swimming.

This process of using their muscles
non-stop generates enough heat

to keep their core a warm 26 degrees
Celsius,

and having warmer muscles helps them
unleash that explosive burst of
speed.

In fact, great whites can power
from a depth of 13 metres

to the surface
in under three seconds.

It's the secret behind that classic
smash-and-grab.

The seals don't stand a chance.

Or do they?

In the water, the fur seals
have some moves of their own.

Using their front flippers for power
and their hind flippers as a rudder,

they can reach speeds of 30kph...

..change direction
in just over a metre...

..and on top of all that,
they have one daring tactic.

They might be just one third of
the size of the mighty great white,

but these are brave seals

and they face their fears head-on.

Getting within metres of those
lethal jaws,

they risk their lives to chase
the deadly predator away.

These courageous seals will live
to see another day...

..in this unpredictable
coastal world.

If making the leap between land
and sea wasn't tough enough,

then imagine having to find food
on the coast.

That requires a whole new set
of tricks and skills.

Coasts are highly productive,
nutrient-rich areas

abundant with life.

But for animals that live there,

working out how to get all your
calories can seem like an impossible
challenge.

Yet there's one family of animals
who are smashing it.

Primates.

In amongst the impenetrable
mangroves of the Costa Rican
coastline...

..white-faced capuchins hunt for
a seafood feast.

They've come to this particular
spot,

aware that the receding tide
will soon reveal buried treasure.

All it takes is a little patience.

Clams.

A rich protein source.

But only if you can get to the prize
hidden inside.

OK, so they're not the most
refined table manners,

but this monkey has a brain
the weight of a blueberry muffin

and smashing clams like this is
actually an ingenious skill.

It releases the muscle which
keeps the shell tightly closed.

And once it opens, dexterous fingers
do the rest.

A tasty treat for those
smart enough to find them.

Intelligence is an important
characteristic seen in all monkeys,

and one species of macaque uses
this cognitive ability

to take food-finding
to the next level.

On the tropical shores of
Thailand...

long-tailed macaques
also wait patiently

for the tide to reveal what's on the
menu.

Oysters.

Much like clams, this energy-rich
food source...

comes encased in armour plating.

Only, this time, the shells are much
tougher

AND they're stuck to the rocks
like superglue.

So these sea monkeys need to use
all their smarts

to get to the goodness.

And astonishingly, they've
discovered how to use stones
as tools.

It might look like brute force,

but this fine dining is more complex
than it seems.

Scientists discovered that
these macaques don't just select
any old rock.

They actually take their time
to find the perfect tool.

It all comes down to size, shape
and weight.

OK, let's take something like
oysters.

To get them open, you need a small
chisel-shaped stone,

whereas larger items on the menu,
like crabs,

need something far less refined.

A big heavy hammer stone
will do just fine.

These monkeys have literally
developed their own cutlery.

And if this supreme show of
intelligence isn't enough,

scientists now believe that some
primates actually have their own
Stone Age.

Artefacts unearthed in Brazil
suggest rocks have been used

by some primates
for over 3,000 years.

It's the very first long-term
example of any species other than
humans

using tools to access food.

Despite the changeable nature
of their coastal home,

these clever monkeys have found
plenty of food at their fingertips,

which means plenty of time to enjoy
the beach life too.

On the coast, accessing food is
always a challenge.

But when your home is a tidal
estuary on the cold shores of
Alaska,

it pays to double down
on every opportunity.

And for grizzly bears...

in order to survive their winter
hibernation,

they need to bulk up with every
morsel they can find.

Fortunately, each summer,

this coastline delivers
a huge fish feast.

Thousands of salmon return
from the ocean to spawn.

Just like the monkeys, grizzlies
use the low tide to their advantage.

In the shallow water, there's less
space for the fish to swim away.

So the bears have a better chance
at a successful catch.

They can eat up to 30 salmon a day.

Quickly they start to pile on
those precious pounds...

And I mean REALLY pile on.

A bear's average calorie consumption
goes from around 8,000

to over 20,000 in just one day.

Now, if any one of us were to almost
triple our intake of calories
every day,

we'd know about it pretty quickly.

Forget about the love handles,

we'd become morbidly obese

and probably wind up
developing diabetes.

But gorging like this is exactly
what bears do every single year.

It's known as hyperphagia

and it's their way of storing excess
energy as fat

in preparation for hibernation.

But what's truly incredible is that
bears are immune to all those
negative effects

that would seriously damage our
human bodies.

It's down to some highly specialised
genetics

without which hyperphagia would
quite literally be impossible to
achieve.

They can effectively switch on and
switch off specific genes

at specific times of the year,

controlling vital bodily functions
and processes

so they can stay alive
whilst gorging themselves senseless.

By the end of the summer, each bear
will have gained, on average,

a staggering 180kg...

..making these Alaskan grizzlies
the heaviest in North America.

But climate change is now affecting
the regularity of the salmon run

and the numbers of fish arriving
each summer are falling fast.

These bears will need to up
all their skills

if they're to survive hibernation

and master this unforgiving
environment.

To find food on the coast, animals
have to be at the top of their game.

But to beat the competition

can be a much tougher battle.

Our planet is home to over
one and a half million kilometres
of coastline,

so you might think there'd be enough
beach to go around.

But you'd be wrong,

because many miles of shoreline are
inhospitable.

Plus, ocean currents focus nutrients
into a few teeming hotspots,

which means top real-estate
is in short supply.

For animals,
this is worth fighting for.

On the beaches of Argentina, if male
elephant seals are to find a mate,

they need to secure
the best territory.

To do this, they have one rather,
well, fat strategy.

They use their size to make
their presence felt.

The chubbiest of them all
is the beach master.

Weighing a phenomenal 4,000 kilos,

he's heavier than an SUV.

To become a beach master,

male elephant seals need to eat
a whopping 30,000kgs of food

every single year.

To reach this enormous target,
they spend up to 90% of their lives

out on the ocean,
hunting for food,

and they do this at
incredible depths,

over 2,000 metres beneath
the surface of the waves.

Down there, it's a mind-numbing
two degrees Celsius

and this is where being big has
another surprise advantage.

The bigger you are,
the slower you lose heat.

It's a property of thermal dynamics
called thermal inertia.

It helps them to hunt at these
depths for longer periods of time,

which in turn means these
beach masters get bigger and bigger
and bigger.

Being a heavyweight allows the beach
master to take charge

of the best territory

and a harem of over 50 females.

But there are always contenders
who want to steal his spot.

To stay on top, this big beast has
one final unbeatable advantage.

He really knows how to throw his
weight around.

Rising up on front flippers, the
beach master stands an impressive
two and a half metres tall

and bears down with a force
of two tonnes.

Thanks to his superior size,

the smaller rival doesn't stand
a chance.

He wins the beach...

..AND the ladies.

Competing for the best bays and
beaches is a constant battle.

But that pressure can be even
more extreme on islands.

Cut off from the mainland,
resources are in short supply.

So how do you survive when
you're packed in really tight

next to your biggest rivals?

On just five isolated islands
in Indonesia

lives the world's largest lizard...

The Komodo dragon.

They are big - three metres big.

But the trouble is, they all are.

Every dragon's challenge is to get
to food before the competition.

First up, they can detect chemicals
in the air,

sensing their prey from over
4,000 metres away.

Next, their eyesight is fine-tuned
to detect movement.

They can spot their target from
a distance of 300 metres.

And finally, a nasty habit

of tearing and disembowelling
their victims.

Oh, and their dinner option
is water buffalo.

But at three times the weight of
a dragon,

what can these lizards do
to put themselves ahead of the rest?

Well, it comes down to their bite...

..because these dragons
not only have razor-sharp teeth,

they're also venomous.

Their jaws have highly specialised
venom glands that produce toxins.

These prevent blood from clotting
and cause a slow and painful death.

But the Komodo's bite
gets even stranger.

Unlike many other venomous reptiles
like rattlesnakes, for example,

Komodos don't have groves inside
their teeth,

so they don't actually inject
their venom.

It just kinda oozes out.

So scientists believe these
dragons have combined tactics

to kill their prey.

A traumatic bite, a mouth awash with
venom, and patience.

The Komodo dragon really is
the ultimate cold-blooded killer.

In the days following a bite,

the venom slowly causes their prey
to bleed out.

And then...everyone joins the feast.

You see, the dragon's way to beat
the competition is to join them.

Eating over 80% of their body weight
in just one sitting,

it seems portion control isn't
a concept Komodos are familiar with.

And this is where their competitive
streak takes a sinister twist.

OK, get this. They'll even eat
each other.

Cannibalism, a bit of a taboo
for you and me,

but for these dragons

it's simply a matter of
life and death.

In fact, other dragons make up about
a tenth of their diet.

So if resources become limited,

cannibalism is actually a smart
adaptation to island life.

I guess getting rid of your annoying
neighbours isn't so impossible
after all.

So, with a bizarre array of
adaptations

and a few socially awkward ones too,

the Komodo dragon dominates
island life.

But if size isn't your strong suit,

sometimes you need to be a little
bit sneaky.

Southern Africa, the remote beaches
of the Namib Desert...

..also known as the Skeleton Coast.

Not the most inspiring place name

for those looking to survive
in this landscape.

Despite that, there are predators
that eke out a living here.

A hungry black-backed jackal...

and this seal colony surely
offers up easy pickings.

Well, not quite.

Jackals may be hunters, but they're
smaller than a sheepdog

and certainly won't pick on a seal
over ten times their weight...

..let alone risk a mother's wrath
to go for a pup.

Their strategy is wile and cunning.

You see, there's another predator
roaming this coastline...

The brown hyena.

At twice the size and four times
the weight of a jackal...

..they CAN take down a seal.

The jackal needs a game plan.

They've caught onto the fact that
hyenas often fall asleep
after a meal.

But this light-footed thief...
must be very careful.

It needs to be fast food...
for this devious dog.

Time for a quick getaway.

Beach warfare, whether it's for food
or to win a mate,

is a constant battle.

But for many animals, the ultimate
coastal trial

is to raise a family safely
in this dangerous environment.

OK, by now it's pretty clear

that life on the coast
is kind of rough.

But what happens when you throw in
the very small challenge

of trying to raise a family here?

Even the most experienced parents
would struggle to child-proof this.

But there's one unflappable little
bird that defies the odds

raising their family right in the
danger zone.

The puffin.

Every spring, puffin pairs meet on
the coastal clifftops
of Northern Europe.

It's been eight months since
they were together,

so these soulmates bond over
a burrow and lay a single egg.

Once hatched, their chick is
non-stop with the demands.

It'll need to eat over 2,000 fish
before it can fledge.

To keep their puffling satisfied,

these parents must go fishing...

up to 28 times a day.

It's hard work and the changing
climate is adding to the pressure.

Rising sea temperatures mean
the fish they rely on

can be much further away,

so these parents are often exhausted
by the time they return to land.

And that's only the start of
their problems.

The greater black-backed gull
is here to steal their food

and will even kill their chicks.

To get their haul back to the
burrow,

the puffin parents must time
their approach to perfection.

Over the next six weeks,

these parents will put their lives
on the line hundreds of times,

all for the sake of their
single chick.

By pulling together,
puffin parents overcome the odds

to raise pufflings year after year.

It takes real teamwork.

But if you're a single parent on the
coast, you have to work extra hard

or have some ingenious skills
to keep your head above water.

On the western seaboard of
North America,

there's one mum and baby that have
a particularly tough time.

Sea otters.

They spend nearly every moment of
their life just off-shore,

but out here, sea temperatures can
drop to as low as just one degree.

Problem is, neither mum or her pup
have insulating blubber

to keep them warm.

Luckily, they have a heart-racing
alternative.

Sea otters have a cool strategy for
keeping warm

because they have souped up
their metabolic rate.

Now, burning calories keeps them
warm.

But there's also a downside to this.

Adults have to eat a quarter of
their body weight every single day,

and that's just to stay alive.

So imagine needing to eat that much
whilst also looking after a baby.

Oh, and added to that, you've
got the very minor issue

that your baby can't swim.

So, I think it's fair to say that
sea otter mums face the ultimate
childcare conundrum.

To make matters worse, Mum's energy
needs go up by a fifth

in the weeks after her baby's born.

If she stops eating to tend to
her pup,

she'll quickly become exhausted,
risking death.

So the otters have evolved
an outstanding adaptation

to help them both survive.

The reason sea otters look so cute
and fluffy is because,

well, they ARE!

Their bodies are covered with an
incredible 100,000 hairs

per square centimetre,

making it the densest fur of any
animal on the planet.

But more than that, each individual
hair is covered in microscopic
geometric barbs.

This isn't some kind of new
hair craze.

These barbs are key to helping
the fur mat together

and keeps both mum and baby alive.

Mum otters spend lots of time
fluffing up and grooming their baby.

The aim is to trap a layer of air
within the matted fur,

creating a type of giant
inflatable onesie.

Her pup now floats on the surface...

..allowing mum just enough time
to find food.

Left alone bobbing around
like a cork,

her pup is vulnerable to predation.

But it's a compromise
this mother has to make

and it gives them both the best
possible chance of survival.

It's all well and good growing up

when you have doting parents
to look after you,

but surely the toughest coastal
challenge of them all...

..is surviving as a newborn
all on your own.

On the tropical beaches
of Costa Rica,

baby olive ridley turtles must defy
staggering odds to survive.

They have to get to the sea
all on their own.

But their nests are 30 metres
up the beach.

A long way for little flippers.

And that's not all.

Each hatchling makes a dash for it,

a 15-minute sprint for survival.

For vultures, tiny turtles are
an easy meal.

Only 7% will make it to adulthood.

But these turtles have a strategy
that's impossible to beat.

You see,
they might not have parents,

but that doesn't mean
they're alone.

There are over a million hatchlings
on this beach...

..and that means safety in numbers.

Predators simply can't catch them
all.

But it's how the hatchlings
coordinate their mass emergence

that's beyond belief.

Each turtle nest is entombed
in thick wet sand.

To reach the surface, their only
chance is to dig as one.

As hatching day approaches,

some species detect the heartbeats
and movements of their siblings,

which encourages them to ramp up
their own metabolism.

So they're all primed to break free
at the same moment.

As the first ones crack their shell,
it's like a starting pistol.

Hundreds of tiny flippers
start a four-day dig to freedom.

By working together like this,
they can move mountains.

Well, mountains of sand, at least.

With numbers, timing and teamwork,

these incredible hatchlings
have found a way to survive...

..in the dynamic and turbulent world
of the coast.

Raising babies is every bit as hard
and unforgiving

as finding food and fighting for
your rights.

But if you're prepared
to break some rules,

you stand a pretty good chance
of staying alive.

You need to be big, opportunistic
and resilient,

and if you can't be those,
then be smart, ingenious

or a little bit sneaky.

And like these incredible
coastal animals,

you might just make the impossible
possible.

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