All language subtitles for Planet.Earth.III.S01E07.Human.2160p.UHD.Blu-ray.Remux.HDR.HEVC.TrueHD.7.1.Atmos-CiNEPHiLES_ENG_Subtitles02

Sauraha, Nepal.

This rhino is not lost.

He is on his way to find food.

To get it, he must travel
through a new and alien world.

This rhino in his lifetime

has seen more changes than any
of his previous generations.

Across the globe,

animals of all kinds
are now contending

with one newly dominant species...

...us.

Like so many wild creatures,
he's had to learn

how to live in the human world.

Some animals

have changed their behaviour

to make the most
out of living amongst us.

These long-tailed macaques
live in Bali.

They have developed new interests,

brought by human visitors.

Every morning,
the troop heads for a building

in the centre of their territory.

Uluwatu Temple.

Tourists come here every day -
in crowds.

So the temple grounds
are full of opportunities...

...if you know where to look.

There is a constant supply of hats...

...and sunglasses.

And if you've mastered
the element of surprise...

...it's easy to get them.

But this harvest is not for eating.

It's for bargaining.

Seems like a fair trade.

But there are greater rewards
to be had

for those who know how to get them.

And this old male
appears to be doing...

...very well.

He and the other elders in this troop

have both experience and knowledge.

They've been working the temple
for over ten years,

and now concentrate
on the big stuff...

...things that human beings
just can't do without.

No-one wants to walk home
with just one shoe.

And these old boys can't wait

to get their hands on the latest tech.

They've worked out
that we simply can't survive

without our phones...

...or our wallets.

The older males understand

something the youngsters
have yet to learn...

...the art of the deal.

A banana?

How dare you!

A bar of chocolate?

That's better.

The real skill is in the negotiations.

The macaques are playing us
at our own game.

They demand...

...whatever they want.

Humanity has spread
to every corner of the globe.

We have become a force of nature.

We have altered
80% of the land's surface.

Eight billion people
now live on this planet...

...and we are changing
the world around us

at such speed...

...that for animals,
the challenge is to keep up.

New York City.

Ants.

This particular species
is thought to have arrived here

with the first European settlers.

They are now known as pavement ants

because they live almost exclusively

in our towns and cities.

And they're thriving
because of junk food.

And here on Broadway Avenue,

there's a lot of it.

This is what every pavement ant
desires.

And to get it...

...the ants use
the city's thousands of miles

of underground tunnels.

This scout is closing in
on its target.

But the animals with which
they share the pavement

are 40 million times their weight...

...so it's best
to stay in the cracks.

Jackpot!

A meat mountain.

This is too big a job

for just one ant.

This worker is female,

as they are in all ant colonies,

and she leaves a trail of
pheromones to mark a path.

She communicates
with every sister she meets

as she returns to the nest...

...and news on the street
spreads fast.

This ultra-processed meat

is very different
from their original food.

But their digestive system
is the key to their success.

It's able to keep up
with the way humans

constantly change their diet.

Nowadays, the vast majority
of what they eat

comes from human food.

On Broadway alone,

pavement ants eat the equivalent

of a staggering 60,000 hot dogs
every year.

The calories in a single hot dog

could fuel the growth

of the entire ant colony
for a month...

...if only they can get it
back to the nest.

But this slow work
makes them vulnerable.

They aren't the only ones
partial to fast food.

It's a race to get their prize home.

There may be losses...

...but the colony as a whole
will now thrive.

In fact, pavement ants
are so successful here

that they outnumber
human New Yorkers 1,000 to 1.

But success in the human world
can be harder to achieve

if your reputation precedes you.

Here in India,

this cobra is heading directly
for a village.

It has detected the scent of prey.

Nearly two metres long,

it has enough venom in a single bite

to kill ten people.

Snake bites are responsible

for nearly 60,000 deaths a year

in India alone.

They travel so silently

that their presence
is often undetected.

And when they are hunting...

...there is no place
they won't go.

A toad.

Each tip of its forked tongue

collects chemical signals
from the prey

and helps to reveal its position.

But up close...

...the snake relies on movement

to precisely locate its prey.

The toad must pick its moment
to escape.

Every time it touches the ground...

...the toad leaves behind
a scent.

It can hide...

...but the trail
will lead the snake to it.

These cobras don't just hunt here.

They live here.

They have found a home where
the Hindu villagers revere them

and consider them to be demigods.

Remarkably, scientists believe
that this tolerance

has led to a change
in the snakes' behaviour.

They move more slowly

and are less likely
to strike if disturbed.

One of the most feared animals
on the planet

has found a place
where they are accepted

and can coexist with human beings.

But for many animals
living in the human world,

it pays to keep a low profile.

Here in Melbourne, Australia,

one creature has perfected
the art of camouflage.

A frogmouth chick.

Its father helps to hide it
during the day.

They are nocturnal birds,

and as day turns to night,

its parents come out of the shadows

to reap the rewards of urban living.

The city lights create

excellent conditions for hunting.

Every night in the city

is as bright
as when there is a full moon.

So city frog mouths often...

...have their mouths full.

He's growing fast, and today
he just won't sit still.

And now

he has revealed his presence.

The first rule
of frogmouth behaviour is

don't move in the day.

But this is the one time
in a frogmouth's life

when the urge to fly
simply cannot be suppressed.

But he's not ready
to leave home just yet.

Come night-time...

...he's hungry again.

He is wide awake...

...and wants to take off
where he left off.

But he's getting unwanted attention,

and this time his parent
is not nearby to protect him.

Humans bring pets,

and cats in Australia
kill a million birds a day.

His first proper flight.

But unless he can find
a safe place to roost,

he is still in peril.

Made it.

But if he is to survive
in the city, like the adults,

he'll have to learn how to blend in.

Some animals are so bold

that they don't even try to hide.

To see a large predator in the
built-up world is a rare sight.

And here in Lake Tahoe,
in North America,

these black bears
are particularly big...

...and they're heading
right to the centre of town.

Winter is approaching,

and these bears need to put on
as much weight as possible

before the snow arrives.

This is a great place to gorge.

It's now bear country.

Why struggle for a meal...

...when you can cross
the street...

...for a takeaway?

There's so much food here

that some of the bears are 50% heavier

than their country cousins.

But why stop here?

Some bears just want to dine in.

A lucky few are able to get an
easy meal from the human world.

But when we venture
to the natural world

in search of food...

...the harvest
is on a different scale.

In just four decades,

fishing reduced
fish populations by half...

...and created great problems
for the ocean predators

that once had such food to themselves.

Off the coast of Vancouver Island,

humpback whales inhabit waters

where herring have been overfished.

Humpbacks, however, are
renowned for their ingenuity.

12 years ago, an adult male
called Conger

adopted a totally new way of feeding.

When the density of fish
in the water is low,

and birds are diving to catch them...

...the humpback
opens its mouth

and creates a space that
the fish mistake for shelter.

The fish swim in...

...and the trap is closed.

Conger was the first humpback
whale to be seen doing this.

Now 30 whales in the area
use this same technique.

The population of humpbacks
here is growing,

and you might think that this would

reduce fish stocks even more,

but something surprising
is thought to be happening.

These tiny phytoplankton
are the basis of the food chain

and need a vital ingredient to grow.

Iron.

Whale faeces are rich in iron...

...and great whales produce it
in enormous quantities...

...so the phytoplankton
flourishes,

and herring feed on it.

Whale faeces, in fact,

are helping to restore
the whole ecosystem.

The herring attract seabirds,

diving birds attack them from beneath,

and gulls and shearwaters
dive on them from above.

Even bald eagles
benefit from this rich feast.

Astonishingly, even though
Conger and all the other whales

are feasting on fish,

their role in fertilising
the ocean is so influential

that herring numbers here are
actually predicted to increase.

And the role they play in
rejuvenating the environment...

...is having an even greater
impact on the human world.

The flourishing plankton
also collects carbon

from the atmosphere,
just as trees do...

...so much so
that each great whale

has the same impact
as a forest of 30,000 trees.

Our great whales were once hunted...

...and if they return
to their pre-whaling numbers,

it's estimated that this
would be equivalent to planting

over 30 billion trees.

Whales are now being recognised
as benefiting humanity.

But for most large animals,

competition with humans
brings conflict.

This six-tonne African
bull elephant is in his prime.

To stand the best chance
of winning fights for females,

he needs to be big.

He can smell
highly nutritious food is near.

But crossing the boundary to reach it

is a dangerous journey.

He must wait
for the cover of darkness.

These Kenyan farmers are
preparing for the night ahead.

They have had to guard
their crops every night

for the last two months.

With only two days until harvest,

this is a critical time.

In a single night,

a bull elephant
can destroy the entire crops

produced by ten farmers.

But he's taking a huge risk.

He's twice the height of a man...

...and he won't back down
easily.

This human-wildlife conflict
happens night after night.

And each year, it takes the lives

of up to 200 elephants
and 20 people in Kenya alone.

This stand-off is potentially lethal.

The farmers have had to call for help

from a team
of highly experienced rangers.

Although they're armed,

their task is to drive
the elephant out of the field

without harming it.

But the bull is determined...

...to hold ground.

The rangers will have to get closer...

...on foot.

The rangers have to resort...

...to firecrackers.

The bull is driven from this field...

...and retreats
deep into the bush.

Fortunately for this bull,

the battle
has been resolved peacefully.

And efforts like these

are seeing fewer elephants killed,

and their population in Kenya
is starting to rise again.

But conflict with wildlife

is now occurring
on a far greater scale

as a consequence

of the way we are changing
the world's climate.

Some arid regions

are now experiencing
unusually high rainfall.

And that is good for growing crops

here in northeastern Africa.

But it's also the perfect conditions

for one particular insect.

Desert locusts.

They're normally solitary creatures,

but emerging from the sand
in great numbers

triggers a dramatic physical change.

They turn a vivid yellow

and become highly social.

Together,
they are an unstoppable army.

On foot, they can cover a mile a day.

But they can only go so far
in this way.

They need to find height.

Up here,

they begin their final transformation.

Normally,
it takes an individual insect

at least a month
to become a winged adult...

...but in their social form,
their development speeds up.

Now all they need
is for their wings to harden.

Once airborne,

they can travel 60 miles in a day.

Swarms merge and they become a plague.

This one contains
billions of individuals,

and eats as much in a day

as the entire population of Germany.

Today in northeastern Africa,

as a consequence of climate change...

...devastating surges
of locusts

are becoming more frequent.

Two worlds...

...are colliding.

Unintentionally,

humanity has created
exactly the conditions

that cause this species
to explode in numbers.

But another group of animals has seen

an even more dramatic rise

as a consequence of our actions.

We have increased the numbers
of a few species

almost astronomically.

By weight,

70% of the world's birds
are now chickens

or other domesticated fowl.

We rear 70 billion farm animals
each year...

...and every one of them
needs feeding.

Producing the food

for such numbers
of domesticated animals

is having a profound impact
on the natural world.

The Amazon rainforest -

twice the size of India.

It's so rich,

it contains one in every ten
species on the planet.

And it's home to this sloth
and her ten-month-old baby.

He was born into an environment

virtually untouched by humanity.

But now human beings
are claiming even this space.

Year after year, we clear
over two million hectares

of the Amazon forest -

an area the size of Wales.

And we use nearly all of it

to make more space for cattle...

...and to grow soya
to feed our livestock.

Today, habitat destruction
is the biggest problem

we have created for wildlife
around the world.

This porcupine
has survived the fire...

...and is being rescued.

It's being relocated
to pristine forests.

This will be its new home.

Only a fortunate few animals

are being given such a second chance.

A healthy natural world is
not only vital for wildlife...

...but for our own
very existence.

Somehow we must find ways
to redress the balance.

Currently, the vast majority
of agricultural land,

more than 75%,

is used to raise livestock,

and this is very inefficient.

There are solutions.

One is considering what we eat.

If we shift away
from eating meat and dairy

and move towards a plant-based diet,

then the sun's energy goes
directly into growing our food.

And because
that's so much more efficient,

we could still produce
enough to feed us,

but do so using a quarter of the land.

This could free up an area
the size of the United States,

China, the European Union
and Australia combined...

...space that could then
be given back to nature.

And human innovations may be able

to do even more for wildlife.

High-tech farms
now grow plants vertically,

yielding up to 350 times the
food grown in the same area.

This is one of many solutions
we already have.

And others are surely on the horizon.

To find ways
to protect all life on Earth

means reimagining how we live
on this planet in the future.

Human ingenuity,

our extraordinary ability
to find solutions,

gives me hope that we can.

It will be the major challenge

for this generation and the next.