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00:03This is The Americas, an extraordinary journey across Earth's great supercontinent.
00:12The widest variety of life on the planet.
00:17The untold story of our home.
00:25Tonight on The Americas.
00:33Patagonia.
00:40Patagonia is an untamed wilderness at the far south of the world.
00:50From ancient mystical forests and sky-high ice worlds.
01:00To the bountiful coast.
01:05This is a world of both rugged beauty and dramatic change.
01:16Here, all life must do battle.
01:30At the very end of the supercontinent.
01:38Patagonia straddles both Chile in the west and Argentina to the east.
01:45Its most southerly point lies only 600 miles from Antarctica.
01:51A place where three great oceans collide.
01:59Here, the island of Los Estados.
02:02Patagonia straddles is a vital refuge for the world's most devoted parents, rockhopper penguins.
02:23Every spring, over a quarter of a million come ashore.
02:28All hoping to raise a family.
02:38Couples pair for life and return to the same nest year after year.
02:48They take turns caring for their chicks.
02:53And today, dad is on duty.
03:02His chick is just a few days old.
03:06And it's hungry.
03:11But there is no food here.
03:17The chick must wait for mom to return with a meal.
03:28And she is on her way.
03:41But getting ashore means risking her life.
03:54On this jagged coast, there is no easy landing.
04:08The chick must go on to the left.
04:08No, if so.
04:11Okay.
04:12To be the atleting 1985.
04:13Mm-hmm.
04:23Come on.
04:24Where are you,æ—©?
04:35Looks like she made it.
04:44A sea lion.
04:47A penguin predator.
04:54Oh no.
05:32There is no match for a mother's determination.
05:39To get home, however, there's still a mountain to climb.
05:45Literally.
05:49And with a belly full of krill,
05:52well, it's slow going.
06:06One wrong step and it's back to square line.
06:16But mom's not called a rock hopper penguin for nothing.
06:25Strong claws and a sharp beak are put to good use.
06:37Now, she just needs to find her partner.
06:45One somewhere amongst hundreds of thousands of penguins.
06:58Her partner's unique call
07:04helps guide her to him.
07:26Reunited.
07:34And at last, it's dinnertime.
07:45Only the courageous can raise a family down here.
07:56And tomorrow, they must do it all again.
08:12From Cape Horn, Patagonia's towering rocky backbone
08:16runs north for over a thousand miles.
08:28The weather is ferocious and unpredictable.
08:35Yet, the symbol of Patagonia's mountains
08:38calls this place home.
08:47In Patagonia's mountains, it can seem
08:50like all four seasons in one day.
09:00Life here is as hard as it gets.
09:09This is a female puma, known as Pataka.
09:19She's an experienced hunter.
09:25But since the sudden arrival of snow,
09:29it's been difficult for her to make a kill.
09:46Aguanaco could feed her for a week, but to succeed, she will need to get close.
10:05And in the snow, she's lost her camouflage.
10:18So she must use whatever cover she can find.
10:52But in this deep snow, she is no match for the Guanaco.
11:08She'll go hungry today, and so will her cubs.
11:35At just four months old, they are entirely dependent on mom.
11:48They need a change in their fortunes.
11:54And in these mountains, change is never far away.
12:07Within days, the snow disappears.
12:18Now, Pataka has her camouflage back.
12:32And her speed, she must get a firm grip on the neck.
12:45If she gets it wrong, a single kick could be favored.
13:14It's now been a week since Pataka and her cubs last ate.
13:26On the wind.
13:31A scent.
13:39A carcass.
13:41Atlass breve.
13:43But it belongs to someone else.
13:52Conflict with another puma could be deadly.
14:00Pataka is taking a huge risk.
14:21But this is no stranger, it's Pitaka's older sister with her two larger
14:38cubs.
14:40And she seems happy to share.
14:48Pumas have long been considered solitary, but rarely seen encounters like these reveal
14:55that they are far more social than we once thought.
15:02Pitaka's cubs aren't sure what to make of their cousins just yet.
15:08But there is a lesson to be learned here.
15:15A family that shares can provide a lifeline in Patagonia's hostile mountains.
15:28Mountains that have been carved by a colossal force.
15:34Glaciers.
15:37Monsters on the move.
15:59This is San Rafael, and for a glacier, this one moves fast.
16:13It travels more than 60 feet a day.
16:20Millions of tons of ice break away.
16:28Some slabs are the size of a skyscraper.
16:42Glaciers are so powerful, they can cut through solid rock.
16:50And they've sliced Patagonia's coast into over 40,000 islands.
16:59Creating isolated lost worlds.
17:13home to the weird and the wonderful patagonia's west coast is cloaked in ancient forests
17:39it's a strange legacy of the jurassic
17:51and there are certainly strange creatures here found nowhere else on earth
18:04perhaps the most bizarre
18:08is the chilean stag beetle
18:14these aren't antlers they are in fact giant jaws
18:22the bigger they are the greater his chances of winning a mate
18:32but first he has to find one
18:37microscopic hairs can detect the scent of a female
18:41and it seems there is one all the way up here
18:50three two one
18:53we have liftoff
19:05these beetles are known as flying deer you can see why
19:14and it's hard to gain any altitude
19:25looks like he's got to do it
19:28the hard way
19:32it's a hundred feet to the top
19:36the equivalent of your eye trying to scale the empire state building
19:41twice over
19:58finally there she is
20:05but he's not the only one attracted by her scent
20:15a rival
20:18it's time to put these jaws into action
20:31and it seems his opponent has the upper hand
20:34a rival got it in the bag
20:47not yet
21:05we have a winner
21:08but it could be short-lived
21:13a female is a magnet for dozens of males
21:22time to get back into the ring
21:31time to get back into the ring
21:32it's win or go home
21:59after all that
22:01he just has to summon up the energy
22:04to reach her
22:20mating complete
22:22she now needs to lay her eggs on the forest floor
22:27and he can help her get there
22:40turns out these jaws aren't just for fighting
22:51it's just for fighting
22:52journeying east
22:54mountains strip the clouds of moisture
23:04creating a stark arid part
23:11this is the patagonian step
23:17and it's home
23:18to living
23:19to living
23:26the patagonian step
23:28stretches 260 000 square miles
23:34nearly the size of texas
23:38there is so little shelter from the elements
23:41that many here seek sanctuary underground
23:44uh
23:54but some are way too big for that
24:09A Darwin's Rhea, South America's answer to the ostrich.
24:18Three feet tall, it's one of the largest birds in the world.
24:26And this super-sized male is father to a super-sized family.
24:38Most birds share parenting duties, but with Rhea's, things are different.
24:48After laying the eggs, the females leave.
24:54So, it's up to dad to raise the family, alone.
25:03And he's not the only one out here.
25:07All across the plains, dedicated dads are on duty, around the clock.
25:20For 40 days and 40 nights, they barely move.
25:44By late spring, dad's efforts have been rewarded.
25:57Fourteen healthy chicks.
26:06Now, the real work begins.
26:11It will be six months before his chicks are independent.
26:16And they have a lot to learn, like what's good to eat, and how to keep well-groomed.
26:36But the most important lesson is to stick together.
26:41Out here, it's easy to get lost.
26:54And keen-eyed hogs would soon grab a lone chick.
27:09This neighbor has only three chicks left.
27:22And for our dad, it's a warning.
27:29Keep your family close.
27:53What is that?
28:05It's a distress call from a chick, but not one of his.
28:38Male rias have such strong paternal instinct that if they find any lost chick, they will adopt it.
28:46Male rias have such strong paternal instinct that if they find any lost chick, they will adopt it.
28:51And if they find any lost chick, they will adopt it.
28:52And when you already have 14, well, what's another one?
29:07And when you already have 14, well, what's another one?
29:10Summer in the Patagonian Steppe brings ferocious westerly winds.
29:24Gusts of over 70 miles per hour scour the land, triggering events so large, they can be seen from space.
29:40Dust storms, they rage for hundreds of miles, until they reach Patagonia's Atlantic coast.
29:55Millions of tons of iron-rich dust are swept into the ocean, flooding it with nutrients.
30:09And fueling life on an astonishing scale.
30:16And fueling life on an astonishing scale.
30:29Patagonia's rich seas attract giants.
30:39Weighing over four tons, these are the largest seals on Earth.
30:52Fully grown bulls are the size of a pickup truck.
30:58But it's their colossal trunk-like nose that has earned them their name.
31:05Elephant seals.
31:1360,000 gather on the remote shores of Peninsula Valdez to breed.
31:26But only the most dominant bulls have the right to mate.
31:42Meet the undefeated heavyweight champion, the beach master.
31:56For two months, he's guarded his harem from rivals.
32:01And not surprisingly, he's exhausted.
32:06Got it.
32:08Got it.
32:12But he can never really rest.
32:18A contender is trying his luck with one of the females.
32:32The beach master sounds a warning.
32:38His huge nose amplifies the sound to 130 decibels.
32:49It's as loud as a jackhammer.
32:55But it's not enough to deter his opponents.
33:01Time for this beach master to throw his weight around.
33:31Both bulls stand ten feet tall.
33:33Both bulls stand ten feet tall.
33:35And are armed with razor sharp teeth.
33:38And are armed with razor sharp teeth.
33:45The beach master is paying the price for enduring months of fighting.
34:02He's flagging.
34:04He's flagging.
34:06Defeat would mean losing everything.
34:10He's flagging.
34:11He's flagging.
34:26One final push.
34:38Forces his opponent back out to sea.
34:42The beach.
34:48The beach.
34:49The beach.
34:49The beach.
34:53The beach.
34:55on the way.
35:03Patagonia's Atlantic coast draws the ocean's
35:08smartest predator.
35:11Orca.
35:19Here, they have learned to do something
35:22hardly ever seen.
35:34To hunt seals on dry land.
35:40Along this coast, this orca
35:43is one of only 16
35:45known to hunt this way.
35:50Scientists have named her
35:51Jasmine.
36:10She is the matriarch
36:12responsible for
36:14a family of growing adolescents,
36:15and now, a grandchild as well.
36:25The teenagers need to start earning their keep.
36:34But Patagonia's exposed coast
36:38is no place for a beginner.
36:46Luckily, Jasmine knows the perfect training ground.
36:57Caleta Valdez.
36:59A lagoon protected from the open ocean
37:02by vast sandbanks.
37:07Here, the water is calm.
37:19And there is plenty
37:21of prey.
37:22young elephant seals.
37:38The orca students
37:40might be eager
37:41to get started.
37:44to get started.
37:45But no one is quite sure
37:46what to do.
37:56They need to learn the trick.
37:59They need to learn the trick.
37:59How to actually reach the seals.
38:04So that is today's
38:06first lesson.
38:11Under Jasmine's supervision,
38:13the students launch themselves
38:15onto shore.
38:23Each time, edging a little higher.
38:32But,
38:33you get it wrong,
38:34and you can end up stuck.
38:41Jasmine knows
38:43just what to do.
38:45And, comes to the rescue.
38:56Next,
38:58target practice.
39:14Now,
39:15to try the real thing.
39:30Close.
39:39Not close enough.
39:46There is just one more skill
39:49to master.
39:54How to conceal that
39:56giant dorsal fin.
39:59And learn the art
40:01of disappearing.
40:07Turning on her side,
40:10Jasmine demonstrates
40:11just how.
40:28Every hunt
40:29needs an element
40:31of surprise.
40:59The youngsters will still need
41:01plenty of time.
41:01more practice.
41:06But, Jasmine is passing
41:09her knowledge
41:09onto the next generation.
41:18And for now,
41:20it's time to celebrate.
41:25for all life in Patagonia,
41:28conquering the elements
41:30can unlock the riches
41:32of this bountiful land.
41:37The last great wilderness
41:41in the Americas.
41:55The last one.
41:57I knew the last one,
41:59and it's time to do it.
41:59The last one,
42:00is not a man.
42:00I knew the last one,
42:01but it was a boy.
42:01The last one will be
42:29Transcription by CastingWords
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