All language subtitles for The.Wild.Andes.S01E02.Extreme.Survival.1080p.WEB.h264-CAFFEiNE_track3_eng

♪ ♪

Narrator: The
central andes mountains.

Thirteen thousand
feet above sea level.

In this barren land

Live some of the hardiest
animals on the planet...

... Surrounded
by caustic lagoons.

Up here water is
precious. It gives life....

... But also takes it away.

This is a land without mercy.

A land burned by the
sun and starved of oxygen.

And yet, despite the
odds, there is life here.

A life... Of extremes.

[♪ theme music ♪]

♪ ♪

Narrator: Running the
full length of south america,

The andes are the
world's longest mountain chain.

Halfway down, high peaks wall
in a 600-mile wide plateau:

The altiplano.

It is the highest plateau
outside of the himalayas.

For most of the
year the rivers run dry.

This lack of water
and the cold thin air

Make it an incredibly
difficult place to live.

♪ ♪

Vicuña have just
the right adaptations,

Including an
unusually large heart and lungs

To cope with the scant oxygen.

Females live in groups
dominated by a single male.

As the day warms up,

One of the females looks for
a secluded spot to give birth.

The adult male keeps watch.

The fawn calls out, even
before it is completely born...

... Cementing the
bond with its mother.

As the newborn
wrestles with gravity,

Mom gives it some
gentle encouragement.

The fawn's wet fur
and the biting wind

Are not a good combination.

To avoid getting too cold,

It must get on its
feet and start moving...

... As soon as possible.

The fawn weighs just nine pounds

And has a lot of leg to control.

Eventually it grows more stable.

At 20 minutes old it's
just about steady enough

For its first drink of milk.

Vicuña are
extremely social animals.

It's time to meet
the rest of the herd...

... Just as soon as it
can manage those legs.

Vicuña identify each
other by sense of smell,

So there's sniffing all round.

The whole herd comes
to greet the new arrival.

Although the fawn has
met its first challenge

Of simply getting up and moving,
it's still very vulnerable,

And will be for
the next few hours...

Especially while it's
still so unsteady on its feet.

By giving birth in the morning,

Vicuña ensure that their young

Have a chance to dry out
before night closes in...

... Bringing with
it the bitterest cold

Of these high andean peaks.

♪ ♪

The andes run 4,000 miles down

The entire western
edge of south america.

The widest part of the chain

Is where the high
plateau or altiplano lies --

Surrounded by tall mountains.

Here, high-altitude lakes are
formed by glacier melt and rain,

Unable to drain away.

But there are
also white salt lakes,

Like the salar de uyuni...

... And at the
southernmost tip of bolivia,

The laguna colorada.

A lake like
nowhere else on earth.

As the intense solar
radiation evaporates the water,

Mineral salts are left behind.

The lake's vivid color is
caused by microscopic algae

That thrive in
its caustic waters.

The algae lure
thousands of flamingos.

Three different species
come here to feed and breed:

The james's flamingo...

The andean flamingo...

And the chilean flamingo.

Each species has a
slightly different strategy

For finding food.

But they all use their
beaks to sieve algae --

And other microorganisms
-- from the water.

One of the algae
produces a reddish pigment

That not only
turns the water pink

But also anything
that eats the algae...

Including the brine shrimp...

And the flamingos themselves.

♪ ♪

At the beginning of the
dry season, male and female

James's flamingos
begin their courtship dance.

The display normally
takes place around noon

And may last for
a couple of hours.

The more experienced the birds,

The more elaborate and
synchronized the dance.

In high summer,
the laguna colorada

Evaporates
quicker than it fills...

Leaving a fringe
of crystalline salt.

But just northeast of here

Lies a lake that has
dried up completely.

The salar de uyuni, in
bolivia, is a former lakebed,

Now deeply encrusted
with lithium-rich salts.

It's the largest expanse of salt
flats in the world -- by far.

Its islands lie in a
sea of snow-white salt.

And yet, within this dry arid
landscape, life still prevails.

A giant hummingbird --
the largest of its kind,

But still not quite
an ounce in weight.

It lives on cacti
that may be centuries old

And produce nectar that acts
as high-grade aviation fuel.

Living at eleven and
a half thousand feet,

The giant hummingbird has
adapted to the thinner air.

In contrast to
other hummingbirds,

Its wings are broader,

And, instead of
hovering at flowers...

... It comes in to land.

♪ ♪

While the cacti are flowering,

The giant hummingbird
has all it needs to survive.

In the dry season,

Few clouds make it into
these central highlands.

The nights are remarkably
clear and bitterly cold.

A far cry from
the heat of the day.

This extreme
daily temperature shift

Is yet another challenge

For the animals
trying to survive here.

Within a couple of
weeks, the infant vicuña

Has fluffed up enough to weather
these bitterly cold nights.

♪ ♪

Ice crystals dust
the vicuñas' backs...

But their fleece is
more effective than cashmere

At keeping out the cold.

It also protects them
from the extreme levels

Of ultraviolet light
found at this altitude.

The elements aren't the
only threats to youngsters.

When the herd moves
from its sleeping grounds,

Down to the grassier
river valleys below...

Eyes are watching.

The dominant male
stays on high alert.

Preferring the cover of night...

The puma goes in
search of easier prey.

♪ ♪

Come dawn, the
flamingos are dancing on ice.

Along with their beaks,
they have another secret weapon

In their fight for survival.

Flamingos have evolved a
remarkable system of blood flow.

Warmth passes
from their arteries

To the veins in their
legs, preventing frostbite.

With three
seasons in a single day,

Life on the altiplano
can be unpredictable.

Something's not right...

...With the new vicuña infant.

It shouldn't be alone.

Somehow, it's become
separated from the herd.

The mother
searches everywhere...

... Listening
for a familiar cry.

Her baby
desperately needs its milk...

But it's heading
in the wrong direction.

Ahead of it
lies the salt flats,

And possible
death by dehydration.

♪ ♪

The mother is on
the right course.

But the fawn is
heading further away.

Finally, she sees it.

♪ ♪

Soon, it's suckling once more.

Salt pans are a haunting
memory of long-lost lakes.

But remnants of the
altiplano's ancient water world

Can still be found...

... At lake titicaca.

Here, glacier
melt and rain collect

To form the largest
lake in south america.

And at more than twelve
and a half thousand feet

Above sea level --

The highest large
lake in the world.

With little oxygen in
the air or the water,

The lake's inhabitants

Need very special
adaptations to survive.

The loose baggy skin of
the titicaca water frog

Increases its surface area,

Allowing it to extract
more oxygen from the water.

This giant
one-and-a-half-foot-long frog

Never leaves the water,
and never breathes the air.

It gets all the oxygen it needs
entirely through its skin.

If oxygen levels drop,
the frog performs pushups.

This increases water flow
over its thin baggy skin,

And boosts the amount
of oxygen it absorbs.

It's the perfect
collection of adaptations

For an aquatic
life at high altitude.

♪ ♪

This extraordinary land was
forged by volcanic forces...

And is still warmed by magma

Boiling beneath
the earth's surface.

The sulphurous springs at sol
de mañana in southwest bolivia

Are 16,000 feet above sea level.

Although the
landscape looks ancient,

It's one of the
youngest and most dynamic

Parts of the earth's crust.

Boiling mud pools are a window
into the hellish world below.

The altiplano sits above

A partially
molten magmatic soup --

The force behind many
of the volcanic eruptions

That have shaped this land --

And many of the
eruptions still to come.

In these difficult
conditions only the most

Exceptional animals can
survive, let alone thrive.

The chilean flamingos
have paired up and made nests

From the mineral-rich mud

Around the margins
of the laguna colorada.

Families cluster together,
perhaps as a communal defense

Against predators such
as puma and the culpeo fox.

There'll be no
escaping the neighbors

For the next few weeks.

Each couple produces a single
egg that rests on a mound

About a foot across
and four inches high...

Just in case the
water level rises.

♪ ♪

Some animals might
never get to breed.

A herd of young male vicuña
wanders a barren no-man's land,

Excluded by dominant
males but not yet old enough --

Or strong enough -- to
defend harems of their own.

♪ ♪

The rocks around are
veined with precious minerals,

But blades of grass
are much harder to find.

There is almost
nothing to eat here...

Unless you're after vicuña.

A culpeo fox is
scavenging for his next meal.

The vicuña are
blissfully unaware.

It seems it's in luck.

♪ ♪

A mother and fawn.

But this is no fresh kill.

Unfortunately for the fox,

The carcasses have
been here a while,

And the best bits
have already been taken.

The remains are
as dry as the land.

The fox is forced
to carry on its way.

Moving down the western
slopes of the central andes,

To the foothills...

... The land turns to desert...

... And becomes one of
the driest places on earth.

Rain showers can be years apart,

So cacti need
long-term water storage.

Animals too have adapted

To get through times
of punishing drought.

A marsupial called the elegant
fat-tailed mouse opossum

Stores fat in its tail
and draws on it as needed.

It can even shrink
its internal organs

To save energy
when food is scarce.

Hunting at night avoids
the crippling heat of the day.

But the red
scorpion also works nights.

Its sting is not the most toxic,

But it's
inflammatory and very painful.

One of these animals is walking
towards a nasty surprise.

But which is
predator and which is prey?

Narrator: By the
light of the moon,

The opossum and
the scorpion close in.

The sharp-toothed hunter
disarms its venomous prey.

The elegant
fat-tailed mouse opossum

Gets a much-needed meal...

And -- thanks to
that elegant fat tail --

It can save some for later.

♪ ♪

On the altiplano, night-frosts
and relentless winds

Have carved hard rock
into dramatic sculptures...

... Creating ideal homes...

... For viscacha.

These rock-hoppers
look like rabbits,

But they're more
closely related to guinea pigs.

Crevices in the shattered rock
offer shelter -- and escape.

Only extreme
survivors, like viscacha,

Can make a living from
such sparse vegetation.

To squeeze that bit more
from their low-protein diet,

They eat their own
feces, absorbing any nutrients

That were missed
the first time round.

Not having to graze so
much enables the viscacha

To conserve energy
in the midday sun...

... And to sleep.

But not too deeply...

Agile young viscacha

Are a favorite food
of the rare andean cat.

And this one has
another mouth to feed.

♪ ♪

It's a bad day
for the viscacha...

... But a good day for
these highly endangered cats,

Of whom there may be as
few as 1,500 left in the wild.

♪ ♪

When the rainy season finally
arrives in the altiplano,

So too does the grass.

The baby vicuña is now

Perfectly
insulated against the wet,

But it'll be a while until
it's fully weaned onto grass.

[thunder]

Here, the rainy
season lives up to its name.

Surrounded by
mountains and with no outflow,

The level of the
laguna colorada keeps rising.

The rain also floods the
vast salar de uyuni salt flats.

[thunder]

♪ ♪

Just inches deep in water,

The salar de uyuni becomes
a mirror to the heavens.

Higher up, the rainclouds
meet a wall of cold air.

♪ ♪

Undeterred by the
new blanket of snow,

The vicuña herd
makes the daily migration

From its higher,
safer sleeping grounds

To these lower grazing areas...

... Though their
normal camouflage is blown.

At six weeks old, the youngster

Has done well to
survive this far.

But it's not out of trouble yet.

Up to 30 percent
of vicuña babies

Are taken by puma or fox
within their first four months.

But the ever-watchful
puma's lost its cover too.

Without the element of surprise
it can't keep pace with vicuña,

Who can sprint
from a standing start.

So, the herd can relax a bit.

♪ ♪

But the stormy
weather has been catastrophic

For some of the flamingos.

Nests lie flooded and abandoned.

Other flamingos
have been luckier.

♪ ♪

Eggs resting that bit
higher above the cold water

Have already hatched.

For the first two
months of their life,

Chicks need their parents.

But they'll start
exploring after just one week.

Some strike out more
adventurously than others.

But it's easy for a hatchling
to stray too far from home.

It's not long before one
of the parents realizes

That its chick is missing.

It listens out...

Parents and chicks can
recognize each others' calls.

Even so, at this tender
age, it's a long way home.

Until its
filter-feeding beak matures,

The hatchling
can't eat solid food.

Instead, it
relies on crop milk --

A secretion produced in glands

Along the
parents' digestive tracts.

The fact that both parents
can produce this fatty milk

Is a distinct
advantage for flamingo chicks,

Though the heavy rains mean

There will definitely be
fewer of them this year.

♪ ♪

Storms pass, but
their effect lingers on.

On the lower
foothills of the central andes,

Once-dry land begins to bloom.

Long-dormant seeds
wake, and germinate.

A bounty like this
doesn't happen every year,

So animals are
quick to exploit it.

It's a brief flourish,

But it's enough for the flowers

To pollinate and
disperse their seeds.

Higher up in the altiplano,
the streams still flow.

It's a time of
plenty for the vicuña.

With lots of food to go round,

The youngsters can relax

And enjoy the intensely
social side of vicuña life.

But, within
months, the dominant male

Will force the
adolescents out of the group.

♪ ♪

In preparation,
the young vicuña

Are slowly
building their strength.

Their heart muscles are
already packed with capillaries

For channeling the
little oxygen there is up here.

Of course, the best way to
build strength... Is to play.

As they grow, they will develop
their acceleration and agility,

And attain a top speed
of around 30 miles an hour.

For now, they're
just having fun.

Countless generations of vicuña

Have established their
place on the vast altiplano.

Like all the animals here,

They live surrounded
by huge active volcanoes,

Rarified air, and
poor salty ground.

In the extreme conditions
of the high central andes,

To survive at all is a
triumph against the odds.

Proof that life can flourish...

... Even in the most
inhospitable of places.