- 10 hours ago
Explores how various animals go about travelling in and out of cities for the basic needs of food and shelter...
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AnimalsTranscript
00:03Cities, the fastest-growing habitat on the planet, a land of opportunity for animals
00:25of all shapes and sizes.
00:32This unnatural world presents unique challenges, but for those able to adapt and take advantage
00:48of the riches on offer, the urban jungle is quickly becoming the new wild.
01:18The daily routine, wake up, get up, get to work.
01:34Over half a billion people across the world commute into cities every day in search of
01:44their pot of gold.
01:52But they're not alone.
02:01The world's wildlife is following suit.
02:06Be it by land, underground, or by air.
02:15Animals are traveling into the world's cities, seeking their own fortune.
02:30They are becoming wild commuters.
02:44This female African penguin is guarding a nest in the most surprising of places.
02:56A back garden in South Africa's second biggest city.
03:06The African penguin population has crashed, dropping by 80% in the last 50 years due to food shortage,
03:15pollution, and habitat destruction.
03:20But this female, and others like her, have found temporary sanctuary in the city.
03:27The hustle and bustle helps keep predators away.
03:33The female has spent the day guarding the nest while her partner's been away fishing.
03:40Her wait, though, is almost over.
03:42The female.
03:45He has come ashore on the nearby beach.
03:49But now, he must find his way back to her.
03:57He's not alone.
03:59Other penguins have also arrived on a beach.
04:04And are getting a lot of unwanted attention.
04:13Keen to get back to their mates.
04:19The brute, known as a waddle, continue their journey.
04:27Penguins are more used to hopping over boulders than steps.
04:32But the same skills seem to apply.
04:55They stick together for safety.
04:59In the ocean, they're at risk from great white sharks.
05:04But crossing the city, they face something potentially even more dangerous.
05:11Cars.
05:14The penguins have hit rush hour.
05:21The only way back to the nest is on the city's roads and pavements.
05:32Exposed to the hectic streets, they become disoriented.
05:42And the group scatters.
05:48Some shelter in the roadside vegetation.
05:52Others take cover in the drains.
06:00The birds, they will not.
06:00While a few lose their way completely.
06:08The waddle has broken down.
06:14and worst of all they still need to find their partners
06:23African penguins are monogamous
06:27the lifelong bond between the female and the male is unbreakable
06:34and he'll do whatever it takes to find his way back to her
06:40he just needs to bide his time
06:44and as night descends
06:48he makes his move
06:56and along with the rest of the waddle
06:58breaks cover
07:08with eyesight adapted to see in the dark depths of the ocean
07:12they quickly find their way
07:15and regroup
07:20but their black and white aquatic camouflage can work against them
07:33up to 30 penguins die each year on the roads
07:38city living can be dangerous
07:43in a single fishing trip
07:45African penguins can travel up to 60 miles
07:52and in just a few meters the male and the rest of the group
07:55will be back with their partners
08:17after a long day apart
08:19the couple are finally reunited
08:29soon there'll be another mouth to feed
08:31a precious addition to this endangered population
08:41then their commute between city and sea
08:44will become even more important
08:53these African penguins have found that Cape Town
08:56provides a vital element
08:57that's missing from their wild lives
09:03a safe place to nest
09:06whilst also giving them relatively easy access to their fishing grounds
09:13the best of both worlds
09:17which is what all commuters strive for
09:28across the globe
09:29other animals are also finding the city
09:31can offer opportunities
09:33that are harder to come by
09:35in a natural world
09:42and in the barren Negev desert
09:43in the heart of Israel
09:47there's an animal who is focused on just one thing
09:53the need to breed
10:00this young three-year-old male ibex
10:03was left behind
10:04when the rest of his herd
10:06made their daily commute
10:08into the nearest city
10:20ibex are mountain experts
10:25and their specially adapted hooves
10:27and fine sense of balance
10:29enable them to negotiate the urban landscape with ease
10:39they've come to Mitzpah Ramon
10:41for an easy meal
10:47its human residents have irrigated the land
10:52and created a green oasis
10:57this adolescent male ibex
11:00has extra motivation
11:02for his journey today
11:06the breeding season is very short for ibex
11:10each female is only in season for one day a year
11:17so there's no time to waste
11:20if he's to have any chance of mating
11:29Mitzpah Ramon
11:30is a sharp contrast to the serenity
11:33of the surrounding desert
11:38but with twice the normal amount of testosterone in his blood
11:43he has a one-track mind
11:47and won't be distracted
11:54his arrival seems to have piqued
11:56the interest of the females
12:24he singles out females in season
12:27using a sense organ
12:28in the roof of his mouth
12:41his first advances are not met with much enthusiasm
12:50nor his second
12:54or third
13:00what's more
13:01he is not the only male that's made the trip into town
13:07they're already bigger
13:10stronger
13:13more experienced bucks here
13:21with years more practice
13:23than the art of seduction
13:38this tongue waggle
13:40part of his courtship display
13:46apparently makes him irresistible
13:55though ultimately
13:57the females will be the judge of that
14:04undeterred
14:05the young male keeps trying his luck
14:17his behavior has not gone unnoticed
14:19and won't be tolerated
14:31fully grown male ibex
14:33have the biggest horns of their kind
14:39evolved to pack a mighty punch
14:46half the larger males weight
14:48half the larger males weight
14:54and with substantially smaller horns
15:02the younger male concedes defeat
15:10his attempt to mate
15:11has been foiled
15:13by one of his own
15:16it's an important lesson for him
15:18on his road to maturity
15:33and while the victor lets off some excess steam
15:41the pretender returns to the desert
15:45alone
15:56the next day the young male is back
16:00and this time
16:01he's just concentrating and bulking up
16:06maybe next year he'll be a contender
16:18the urban world is full of food
16:22and while some commuters seek out what we grow and nurture
16:26others are more interested in what we throw away
16:31like many cities this busy ski resort in colorado
16:35is a hotbed of fast food
16:43and as night falls
16:46a group of very hungry animals enter aspen
16:50in search of leftovers
16:55black bears
16:58every evening in autumn
16:59they wander in from the surrounding hills
17:04on the hunt for an easy meal
17:10most aspen residents keep their rubbish secure
17:17but the bears quickly find the bins that have been forgotten
17:24when winter arrives
17:25it will begin a six month hibernation
17:31during which they will eat nothing
17:34so they need to pile on the pounds now
17:40to have any chance of surviving winter
17:42they must eat more than 20,000 calories a day
17:56with a sense of smell a hundred times more sensitive than ours
18:00no wasted food goes undiscovered
18:21come daybreak
18:23the destruction caused by the bears night raids
18:26is clear to see
18:34charlie martin is the aspen police forces wildlife officer
18:38and the first port of call for bear disturbances
18:42bears have done a lot of damage over the years
18:45they like to get into cars
18:47they're pretty clever
18:48and they have learned how to open the door handle on a vehicle
18:56it will rip the door panels off
18:58the interior
18:59it will leave a present usually in there
19:06it's very unpleasant
19:10their criminal streak doesn't end there
19:16in aspen
19:17they're responsible for more house break-ins than human burglars
19:27in fact wherever they can in north america
19:30black bears are using their wild skill set
19:33to turn their dexterous paws to almost anything
19:46in the search for food
19:48no door is left unopened
19:53oh my
19:56come on bear move
19:57oh my god
20:01it can be upsetting for the people involved
20:03but the black bears are simply following their noses
20:09for them
20:10it has been a very successful commute
20:15with the arrival of winter
20:16they're well fed
20:18and ready for hibernation
20:27the bears rely on sheer audacity
20:31but for the majority of commuters
20:33it's about playing by the rules
20:37and working hard to get what they need
20:40from the city
20:43here in england's capital
20:44over three million people commute to work each day
20:53busy people
20:55with busy lives
21:00but there's one very important londoner
21:03who can truly say that she
21:05is the busiest of them all
21:18a queen buff-tailed bumblebee
21:23weighing just half a gram
21:26it's february
21:28and she's emerging from a six-month hibernation
21:33to make the most of what london has to offer
21:36she must raise her own army of inner city commuters
21:43to do so
21:44she will need to find a base
21:51london is not an easy place to find a home
21:54but luckily
21:55there are still a few hidden gems
21:57fit for a queen
22:14tucked away
22:16dry
22:17and well insulated
22:20with plenty of space
22:21for a growing family
22:26this will do nicely
22:39as the rhythm of daily life
22:41continues on london's busy streets
22:47the queen stays at home
22:53laying eggs that hatch into grubs
23:01and then emerge as worker bees
23:09this is the queen's army
23:11and it's tasked with a very important mission
23:14to find food
23:19on the face of it
23:21a seemingly impossible job in the urban world
23:25but like most cities
23:26hidden away behind london's concrete walls
23:29office blocks and homes
23:30there's a treasure trove of food
23:45gardens
23:47gardens
23:54london has over three million of them
23:59they make up nearly a quarter of the city
24:07many bursting with flowers
24:08full of sugar rich nectar
24:11just what the bumblebees need
24:14and all the workers have to do now
24:17is find them
24:38bumblebees can travel as far as seven miles a day
24:40looking for food
24:43that's the equivalent
24:44of a human circumnavigating the globe ten times
24:47just to get to the shops and back
24:51if they don't manage to feed every 40 minutes
24:53they risk starvation
24:57the key to the bumblebee success
24:59lies in their ability to navigate the urban world
25:04like london's legendary cab drivers
25:06they use landmarks to build up a mental map of their surroundings
25:13and using the sun to get their bearings
25:16they can easily find their way to the best flower spots
25:23and the most direct routes to and from them
25:36the industrious army worked day in day out
25:42and with a worker bee able to carry its own body weight
25:45in nectar and pollen back to the nest
25:54the colony goes from strength to strength
26:05in just three months
26:06the queen and her tireless workers
26:09have harvested everything they need from london's gardens
26:18with the bountiful food available
26:22and the extraordinary ability to find their way around
26:27bumblebees
26:27who have lost much of their wild habitat
26:31are now thriving in urban areas
26:44navigation lies at the heart of every successful commute
26:51and there is one animal
26:52above all others
26:54that truly has it mastered
27:00even in one of the most complex cities in the world
27:10in morocco
27:11fez
27:13an epicenter of trade
27:15is a maze of nearly identical alleys
27:25where gps cannot penetrate
27:36for many travelers it's easy to get lost here
27:39but there is one animal who can navigate this labyrinth of ease
27:49pigeons
27:52among the best urban navigators in the animal kingdom
27:59their brain processes visual information three times faster than a human can
28:11these highly intelligent birds can also orientate themselves using their sense of smell
28:23detecting slight chemical changes in the wind from hundreds of miles away
28:37and with an internal sat nav system tuned to the earth's magnetic field
28:47they're able to fly for thousands of miles with pinpoint accuracy
29:04these navigational superpowers enable this group of pigeons here in fez to pick out
29:10one very specific rooftop
29:13as a place to rest their wings and feed
29:19here they know that they'll be safe
29:27it's a house owned by a deal bendahley
29:30a pigeon fancier since he was a young boy
29:58a deal looks after the pigeons that land on these roofs seven days a week
30:0452 weeks a year.
30:08He hasn't taken a holiday in 12 years.
30:19But this is not a one-way relationship.
30:23This is Fez, after all.
30:26A place built on trade.
30:30The pigeons must pay their way.
30:34And Adil has a very specific trade in mind.
30:50He knows that there is something that pigeons produce here in Fez
30:53that is deemed a precious commodity.
31:04A key ingredient to the city's age-old leather tanning industry.
31:13The ammonia in the droppings softens the leather
31:16and gives the tannery a truly characteristic smell.
31:36This technique has been used here for over a thousand years.
31:52The supple leather it produces
31:54is the reason that merchants persist
31:57in finding their way through Fez's maze of streets.
32:07And also the reason why its inhabitants
32:10have developed such a strong bond
32:12with these urban navigators.
32:24But not all inner-city commuters
32:27boast such a positive relationship with humans.
32:33Some that are feared rather than loved
32:36have been forced underground.
32:42With over five million people trying to get to work every day,
32:45rush hour in Thailand's capital is notoriously bad.
32:49Some people here lose on average a month every year to community.
33:06And as the daily grind in Bangkok continues above ground,
33:12a wild commuter shunned from society has to make its journey
33:20in the shadows.
33:23Driven beneath the streets by its bad reputation,
33:26born out of folktales passed down from generation to generation.
33:35born out of folktales passed down from generation to generation.
34:00born out of folktales passed down from generation to generation.
34:13Although attitudes have begun to change,
34:17the creature maintains a low profile.
34:28The sewers are the perfect place to hide.
34:59The sewers are the perfect place to hide.
35:01The sewers are the perfect place to hide.
35:50The sewers are the perfect place to hide.
36:24The sewers are the perfect place to hide.
36:47The sewers are the perfect place to hide.
37:23The sewers are the perfect place to hide.
37:48The sewers are the perfect place to hide.
37:57Meanwhile, inside the zoo restaurant, friends Garn and Ju help out in the kitchen.
38:07Their main chore is taking out the rubbish.
38:17And they've got an ingenious solution to recycle their food waste.
38:33The sewers are the perfect place to hide.
38:51It makes working in a restaurant much more enjoyable.
39:03Normally, water monitors are shy and secretive.
39:07An encounter like this is unusual.
39:14The water monitors have found their piece of paradise in Bangkok.
39:25A place where they are welcomed.
39:31And they return to the sewers with full stomachs.
39:56The sewers are the perfect place to hide.
40:02The sewers are the perfect place to hide.
40:05It's a place locked in the depths of winter.
40:10At this time of year, Calgary is a refuge to over 10,000 mallards.
40:16Sheltering from the blistering cold.
40:22The heat generated by people and industry has kept the local waterways open and the ducks warm.
40:32But what's lacking is enough food.
40:44Each day, the ducks head out of town.
40:51To find something to eat.
41:06In the surrounding countryside, temperatures plummet to minus 30.
41:15Flying here burns 12 times more energy than resting.
41:21Draining their reserves.
41:39They land on a farm to feed on the spilt grain beneath the snow.
41:49This forgotten food is a lifesaver.
41:58The hungry ducks waste no time.
42:02They are being watched.
42:14It's a risk they take every day.
42:16But they have no choice.
42:18If they stayed in Calgary, they'd starve to death.
42:26The ducks are safe as long as they stay together and hold the line.
42:35But exhausted from the journey, some can't keep their eyes open.
42:46It has not gone unnoticed.
42:55A prairie falcon won't turn down an opportunity like this.
43:21Spooked by the attack, the ducks make a break for home.
43:31This is what most of the predators have been waiting for.
43:40Way down with their crops full of food, the ducks are much slower.
43:47The deer falcons and bald eagles begin their aerial bombardment.
43:52That is why the tiger uses a terror on.
44:11Death is the enemy at theroad.
44:14Escaping from the grip of one can lead straight into the talons of another.
44:29going it alone is a gamble
44:32but no duck will be safe
44:34until it reaches the shelter of Calgary
44:50six times the duck's size and able to fly at 100 miles per hour
44:55the bald eagle is a formidable hunter
45:18it's a miraculous escape
45:30the large majority of the flock make it back to their sanctuary in the city
45:41but tomorrow they'll have to run the gauntlet
45:45all over again
45:52across the world people have welcomed wild commuters
45:59and many like the ducks have become familiar friends
46:06but as the urban world grows
46:08we are coming into contact with more unexpected animals
46:12and making unlikely alliances
46:23here in St. Lucia, South Africa
46:26an agreement has been struck with the most surprising animal of all
46:34one of the biggest and most dangerous on the continent
46:42after dark
46:43when the streets begin to empty
46:47the beasts arrive
47:06the night time commuters
47:08are hippos
47:28with limited street lighting
47:30the best way to see what they're up to
47:33is with a thermal camera
47:42each night they travel in from the nearby river
47:51they're after just one thing
47:57grass
47:59a hippo can eat up to 50 kilograms in a single sitting
48:11they can only pull it out with their lips
48:14so they prefer short grass
48:16which is easier for them to get hold of
48:23St. Lucia's roadside verges and manicured lawns
48:27offer the perfect grazing
48:29especially for the young and old
48:31who can't travel far
48:34so whole families head into town to dine out
48:45which means each night
48:47St. Lucia's residents share their front lawns with multiple one-ton animals
49:04having an animal this deadly
49:05this close
49:06must be hard to tolerate
49:10but miraculously
49:11there has been little conflict
49:19rather than force the hippos to change their behavior
49:24the people of St. Lucia have changed theirs
49:33they've learnt to give the hippos the respect and space they need during their night time raids
49:46and today both sides are reaping the rewards
49:50the town has flourished
49:52as tourists take advantage of this unique situation
50:00and the hippos able to feast in peace leave with full stomachs
50:21the urban world has created opportunities that are too good to ignore for some of the world's wildlife
50:31many animals have been displaced from their natural habitat
50:35and are now using their wild skill set in the city
50:38to help fulfill their needs
50:44it may just be the beginning
50:47the new and very modern migration
50:57commuting into cities can be a risky business for the world's wildlife
51:06but during filming the crew witnessed the work of some extraordinary people
51:12who help protect these animals
51:21some of North America's black bears are not making life easy for themselves
51:31in Lake Tahoe
51:33they are giving up the commuting lifestyle and moving in
51:37under people's homes
51:47this is creating conflict with the residents
51:542G Silch works for an organization called the Bear League
52:00if there's a squatter under your house
52:03they're the people to call
52:05so as I come on scene
52:06and I've kind of assessed the whole neighborhood
52:10I find out where the crawl space entrance is
52:14sometimes I can't see more than a foot in front of me
52:18that's an unnerving feeling
52:21these enclosed spaces are a perfect substitute for the bears wild dens
52:28but they offer 2G little chance of an easy escape
52:4010,000 miles away in Cape Town
52:43other wildlife experts face a different aggressive commuter
52:57this is the penguin patrol
53:00their job is to stop endangered African penguins
53:03nesting in places that would expose their chicks
53:06to the dangers of the city
53:19sometimes they're too late
53:20and the pair have laid an egg
53:25whilst the adults are carefully returned to the beach
53:28in the hope that they will find a more suitable place to nest
53:36the precious eggs are taken in
53:39to be hand reared at a specialist seabird rescue center
53:50this is the 20th egg we've received this season
53:58last year was a pretty crazy season for us
54:01we had 2 days where we received 40 eggs
54:04it was just absolute mayhem
54:06so your incubators are just chock-a-block full of eggs
54:08and then they just start hatching
54:14once the eggs start hatching obviously
54:16it starts filling up in our chick room
54:18and we can have up to 40 chicks
54:20we're crying and having to feed them
54:22so it does get crazy up here
54:26each chick must be monitored for 16 hours a day
54:31they are hand fed
54:33and even given their own teddy bear for company
54:41when the chicks have grown to over one and a half kilograms
54:44they're moved to the rehab center
54:48they're now eating up to 10 whole fish a day
54:51with the center feeding them up to 800 kilos of fish a week
55:03African penguins are one of the fastest declining
55:06of the world's 17 penguin species
55:09scientists believe that climate change
55:11and the shortage of fish
55:13are two of the main reasons behind the decline
55:17it requires a huge amount of dedication
55:19to try and stem the tide
55:23after three months
55:24the chicks join older birds ready for release
55:29there's one last swim
55:30a medical check-up
55:32and a final meal
55:34now they are ready to return to the wild
55:40the center has raised and released over 7,000 chicks
55:43in recent years
55:49an astonishing 10% of the current wild population
56:04back in Aspen 2G has located the bear
56:09there
56:09it's now a case of safely moving it on
56:13the quickest and in the long term
56:15the kindest way to push the bear out
56:18is with loud noises
56:25once we get them out
56:26our goal is to use aversion techniques
56:30to deter them from wanting to come back
56:33we'll fire off a couple
56:34two or three paintball rounds
56:36in its rump
56:36to just let it know
56:38it doesn't belong here
56:47black bears have an extremely long and good memory
56:54especially when it comes to things that are painful to them
56:57it's an excellent return
56:59come on, come on now
57:01come on now
57:05come on now
57:05come on now
57:07they're made to feel uncomfortable
57:08and made to feel a little bit of non-lethal pain
57:11hey now, hey
57:12they remember, ooh, I had a bad experience there
57:15I don't want to be back there
57:19people think it's mean, but it's not
57:21what we're doing is we're keeping those bears alive
57:23the less interaction black bears can have with humans
57:26the better chance those bears have in surviving
57:32anything I can do to help humans coexist
57:35without having to kill bears for no reason
57:38I'm willing to do
57:40it takes some heroic individuals
57:43to help wildlife find their place in this new habitat
57:48but with people like 2G
57:52and the army of penguin protectors looking out for them
57:56there is hope that we can successfully co-exist
58:00with these wild commuters
58:11next time
58:13there's conflict in the city
58:17as animals are pushed out of land that was once theirs
58:21to the edge of city life
58:23and find themselves fighting for their rightful place
58:27in the newest habitat on earth
58:31these are the wild outcasts
58:41so it is nature's new wild concludes at the same time next week
58:45and if you're in the animal group
58:47Gordon Buchanan becomes mum to rescue animals
58:49grizzly bear cubs and me
58:51available on iPlayer
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59:00Tuesday at nine
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59:04on the other side, we need to know
59:05quite a bit of a deep loss
59:06on the other side of the day
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