- 2 days ago
The episode follows two tiny animals on high-stakes missions to find mates and ensure the survival of their species.
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AnimalsTranscript
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00:11All around the planet,
00:13billions of animals are on the move.
00:20Making incredible journeys.
00:24The most amazing of these
00:26are the smallest.
00:32This series uses the latest camera technology
00:36to follow six tiny animals
00:39on the biggest adventures of their lives.
00:43As they travel through extraordinary landscapes.
00:56Where every little step counts.
01:17The greatest adventures are the smallest.
01:48Kerindy Forest, Madagascar.
01:59This tiny chameleon is a few minutes old.
02:06Half the size of a matchstick.
02:10She has spent seven months underground.
02:14Developing inside her egg.
02:18And now, her own eggs are already growing inside her.
02:31She's starting a journey to find a male.
02:39These chameleons only live for a matter of months.
02:48her instincts drive her to climb.
02:59Built for the ascent, her feet can swivel.
03:11Helping her cling to cracks.
03:18She heaves her way upwards.
03:23The climb is 150 times her body length.
03:28Like a human scaling the Empire State Building.
03:3716 feet up, she's in a very different world.
03:47A dense network of branches
03:50that give shade and create aerial highways.
04:11She's hungry.
04:15She has never eaten before.
04:17But she knows food when she sees it.
04:23Flies.
04:25They have split-second reflexes.
04:30But she's born with the skills of an assassin.
04:35Her eyes search almost 360 degrees.
04:41A target.
04:45Both eyes lock on with binocular vision.
04:50And she fires her lightning-fast tongue.
05:04It's twice the length of her body.
05:06And as sticky as honey.
05:09And as sticky as honey.
05:20She catches up to a hundred flies a day.
05:26In just two weeks, she's doubled in size.
05:39The fading light and decreasing accuracy is her cue to get some sleep.
06:07Being light on her feet.
06:08She can reach places where most predators can't.
06:16The thinnest branches are the safest.
06:24Her pincer-like feet clamp onto the branch.
06:33It's like sleeping on a tightrope.
06:54It's like sleeping on a tightrope.
06:57her and国
07:04severation. It's
07:05light enough to reach her. Deep in
07:12slumber, the chameleon is at her most vulnerable.
07:23The snake's approach causes tiny vibrations along the branch that the chameleon can sense
07:30even when asleep.
07:39And when the snake is too close, they wake her up.
07:51All she can do is let go.
08:10Her radical move is a deliberate escape strategy.
08:21But it has put her right back on the dangerous forest floor in the middle of the night.
08:376,000 miles away, the Cairngorms of Scotland.
08:47Home to one of Britain's shyest animals.
08:55A water vole.
09:00This female is three months old and small enough to fit in the palm of a human hand.
09:11She is busy preparing her small territory by digging burrows, ready to raise a family.
09:26She must eat two-thirds of her body weight every day to stay in prime condition.
09:35There's just a few weeks left to mate and raise pups, before the first signs of winter.
09:45To attract a suitor, she strategically leaves droppings around her territory.
10:02Today, she's got some attention.
10:07A vole's worst nightmare.
10:16An invasive American mink.
10:26It's ultrasonic hearing can detect the slightest squeak.
10:35To a water vole, its odor is a trigger.
10:40To run.
10:49Just one mink could wipe out every vole in this glen.
10:54In just a few weeks.
11:05She's lost her riverbank home.
11:24She must now travel into the unknown.
11:27To find a new territory in which to have her first pups.
11:45Two miles into the glen.
11:50She's alone.
11:52Homeless.
11:54And exhausted.
12:04She needs a place to rest.
12:10A burrow.
12:13She could make it her new home.
12:29It's occupied.
12:34A pregnant water vole.
12:37This is her burrow.
12:39And she will fight to the death to defend it.
12:51Being less experienced, the best option is to flee.
13:13But the path ahead.
13:16Is blocked.
13:30Back in Madagascar.
13:32With her biological clock rapidly ticking away.
13:36The chameleon is searching for a way back up into the trees.
13:40And what the heck about these?
13:46It's a trick.
13:47That's what the hell is.
13:53It's a trick.
13:58It's a trick.
14:06It's a trick.
14:09I'm in the light.
14:10I'm in the light.
14:10The cat is the way back.
14:16She's unaware of the predators that lurk in the dark.
14:25Her brown, mottled skin helps her to blend into the leaf litter.
14:53Could this tiny twig lead her up?
15:10No, it's a stick insect.
15:29As she travels, her cover disappears.
15:52She's on a dirt track, cut through the forest by humans.
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16:28Drawn towards a tree trunk, she hauls herself upwards with every ounce of energy she has left.
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16:53Finally, she can get back to sleep.
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17:13Dawn reveals a harsh reality.
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17:41There's nothing.
17:50It's a long way back.
18:30Finally, in the safety of a tree, but she's facing another problem.
18:42Being shaken off is the last thing she needs.
18:52Red-fronted lemurs.
19:07Feeding on the fruit in this neem tree, they've created a sticky mess.
19:15A magnet for flies.
19:20A chance to get her energy back before she continues her journey to find a mate.
19:37Far away in Scotland, the vole's search for a new home has taken her three miles into the glen.
19:48Ahead of her lies water.
19:57She spent her entire life around streams.
20:05But with poor eyesight, she is misjudged how far it is to the other side.
20:17This lock is vast.
20:32In the cold waters beneath her, monsters lurk.
20:42Giant pike, four times her size, could swallow her whole.
20:56If she doesn't drown first, she's never swum more than a few feet from land before.
21:13The farther she swims from shore, the more likely she will be detected.
21:25Once a pike senses ripples, most prey don't stand a chance.
21:51But this waterfall has made it to the other side.
22:11For now, she's safe.
22:21Running water.
22:25It's the sound of home.
22:29It's the sound of home.
22:58If she follows it,
22:59she might find the habitat that she's looking for.
23:17The higher she climbs, the rockier it becomes.
23:36Six hundred feet up, there's trouble.
23:58A golden eagle, thirty times bigger than a water vole.
24:14With vision five times more powerful than a human's, it could spot a vole from more than
24:20a mile away.
24:36It could be.
24:40It could be.
24:40It could be.
24:43It could be.
24:46It could be.
24:49It could be.
24:50It could be.
24:53It could be.
24:55It could be.
24:55It could be.
24:56It could be.
25:05It could be.
25:08It could be.
25:33It could be.
25:40It could be.
25:48It could be.
25:48It could be.
26:23It could be.
26:27It could be.
26:31It could be.
26:49It could be.
26:55It could be.
26:58It could be.
27:00It could be.
27:06It could be.
27:08It could be.
27:08It could be.
27:08It could be.
27:25It could be.
27:28Now she needs to find a male to fertilize them.
27:42She needs to secure an area to show off her colors.
27:50But every female of her species is on the same biological clock.
28:02All vying for the attention of a male.
28:14Already she has competition.
28:37Females can't risk damage to their delicate eggs.
28:44They rarely make contact.
28:53Instead, they rely on elaborate warning displays.
29:01She attacks from below.
29:15Having forced her rival away, she has claimed this area as her own.
29:40She can now dazzle her colors.
29:44She is more popular than the sun.
29:44They don't want to be with her.
29:53They must be shooting.
29:53They're looking for her cuando.
30:13She's attracted a male.
30:27There are two.
30:32They must prove their worth.
30:41They are twice her size, and built for combat.
30:49The bigger the nose horn, the more attractive the male.
30:56And the taller the head crest, the more powerful the bite.
31:05These two gladiators are evenly matched.
31:10She monitors every movement from a safe distance.
31:18The most dominant male will pass on the strongest genes.
31:38They must fight it out to win her favor.
31:51Unlike females, they don't hold back.
32:06This could be the last battle of their lives, before they die.
32:34It will only end when one backs down.
32:46And falls.
33:02She allows the victor to approach.
33:32After mating.
33:34They will never see each other again.
33:43With her eggs fertilized, there is only one more stage of her journey to complete.
33:53To find a safe place to lay them, before her life comes to an end.
34:08The water vole is now five miles from her old riverbank home.
34:24Her search has taken her to altitude.
34:34She's in alien territory, but keeps climbing.
34:58The water vole is now five miles from her.
35:15The
35:15She's over 2,000 feet up.
35:24Before her lies a new frontier.
35:35With the threat of the eagle, she must move on quickly.
36:03She's lost a lot of weight, and is depleted of minerals.
36:15She'll need more than just grass to get her strength back.
36:30Red deer.
36:47They may provide just what she needs.
36:50They may provide just what she needs.
36:58An old stag's antler, packed with minerals.
37:09A hundred times more calcium than milk.
37:14She's not the first bull to have taken a bite here.
37:17A few nibbles is all she needs.
37:34And then, an adder.
37:38The UK's only venomous snake.
37:51Being cold-blooded, it's basking in the sun to warm up.
38:01A bite from an adult could kill.
38:07But luckily for the water vole, this one isn't yet fully grown.
38:14Neither vole nor snake is a threat to the other.
38:28Finally reaching the valley floor, she has entered prime water vole habitat.
38:50And there's a burrow.
38:55She is wary.
39:12There is something here.
39:23It's just a harmless toad taking shelter.
39:32With no sign of a resident water vole, she's found a new home.
39:43If she can find a mate, she will still have time to raise a family.
39:51With darkness falling, she can rest.
40:10Back in her forests, the chameleon is five months old.
40:16And has reached old age.
40:28Nearing the end of her journey, she must find the perfect spot to lay her eggs.
40:41She has no time to waste on an approaching male.
40:54He's too late.
41:05He's too late.
41:08Puffing up her body.
41:09Puffing up her body.
41:09And expanding her skin cells, she turns from green to black.
41:29A clear signal to back off.
41:45Instinct drives her towards the forest floor.
42:09Now a beacon of color, she stands out amongst the leaf litter.
42:23And is slower, weighed down by eight eggs, a third of her body weight.
42:36She needs to head away from the tree roots, to a place where she can dig.
42:47And with just the right amount of sunlight, to incubate her eggs.
43:00With every step, she could be spotted.
43:14A giant hognose snake, over six feet long.
43:26Her only defense is to rock gently, to try to look like a leaf in the breeze.
44:05A giant hognose snake, over six feet long.
44:07This snake, is an egg eater.
44:20The chameleon needs to wait for the coast to be clear, before she can start laying.
44:33She's found the perfect spot.
44:48Her whole short life, has been about getting to this moment.
45:04And her time, has almost run out.
45:18With her last ounce of energy, she covers her eggs.
45:31Her life's journey, is now complete.
46:01Her life's journey, is now complete.
46:03In her last moments, her skin erupts with color.
46:14As if uttering, her last words.
46:21Her life's journey, is now complete.
46:24Her life's journey, is now complete.
46:36Her life's journey, is now complete.
46:48Her life's journey, is now complete.
46:48She is not the only one, to have made such an incredible journey.
46:58Every chameleon of her species, is now complete.
47:01Everyone comes to the dead, who is yet another person with their head.
47:31eggs buried beneath the soil of Karendi Forest.
47:40Time capsules evolve to survive the deadly dry season until they hatch en masse when
47:51the wetter weather returns in seven months' time.
48:07Having found perfect habitat, the water vole is scent marking the boundaries of her new
48:14territory.
48:25But she needs to mate within the next few days to ensure any pups survive the winter.
48:37300 feet from the burrow, she sniffs a distinctive odor, a latrine.
48:56There's a well-trodden path, and the chopped up leftovers of a meal.
49:09Here we go.
49:18Here we go.
49:19Here we go.
49:38Here we go.
49:39Here we go.
49:46Here we go.
49:47Here we go.
49:47Here we go.
49:52A male.
50:05The voles here have lighter colored fur, a sign that they have different ancestors.
50:24But attractiveness has little to do with fur color. The most important thing to her is his fitness. Crucial if
50:39her offspring are to inherit genes essential for survival in the highlands.
50:54A game of chase is a good test of his stamina.
51:12She leads him to her new burrow.
51:21Her journey is complete.
51:27She's found a mate and a new life eight miles from where she was born.
51:40Three weeks later and a new journey begins.
51:58Motherhood.
51:58Motherhood.
51:59Motherhood.
51:59Motherhood.
52:00Motherhood.
52:05Motherhood.
52:06Motherhood.
52:09Motherhood.
52:13Motherhood.
52:16Motherhood.
52:19Motherhood.
52:21Motherhood.
52:22Motherhood.
52:23Motherhood.
52:23Motherhood.
52:25Motherhood.
52:26Motherhood.
52:26Motherhood.
52:26Motherhood.
52:27Motherhood.
52:27Motherhood.
52:29Motherhood.
52:30Motherhood.
52:30Motherhood.
52:30Motherhood.
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