- 2 days ago
Full Circle, explores how animals grow, adapt, and complete life cycles over a full annual orbit. The episode showcases young creatures maturing, including a penguin chick growing its coat and young animals navigating hazards....
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AnimalsTranscript
00:06As a new year starts, a new life begins.
00:18After nearly two months of careful incubation,
00:23this king penguin chick is ready to face the world.
00:28A world she'll soon discover keeps changing all the time.
00:43In the far south, the days will soon get shorter.
00:48The weather will worsen.
00:55And this little chick must learn to adapt if she's to survive her first year on Earth.
01:10In 365 days from now, the Earth will have come full circle round the sun.
01:20As we journey through space, around this ball of fire, it fuels extraordinary change.
01:29Creating the seasons that alter the worlds of almost every animal on our planet.
01:41Determining when they move.
01:46Fight.
01:49And when they raise a family.
01:56In this program, we'll see how animals use incredible strategies to cope with their ever-changing world.
02:08As we travel full circle through every season in a year on planet Earth.
02:17We're going to manage.
02:19We are going to build the world bios to a new world,
02:47and we're going to make a new world.
02:52Nowhere in the Northern Hemisphere is winter as extreme or felt more harshly than in the high arctic.
03:11This polar bear mum and cub are seeing the new year in.
03:17In darkness.
03:20A night that will last another 45 days.
03:48At the start of the year, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted almost as far away from the sun as it
03:55can be.
03:57It's cold and dark.
04:03Food is thin on the ground.
04:09And not everyone will survive long enough to see the sun when it eventually rises again.
04:24But even in these darkest months, the sun's presence is still evident.
04:38As solar winds collide with the Earth's magnetic field, they create a light show that's truly out of this world.
04:53The Northern Lights.
05:02This spectacle is hundreds of kilometers above the Earth's surface.
05:12But it's only visible when the sky is at its darkest.
05:23In February, the Northern Hemisphere begins to face towards the sun.
05:36Days start to get longer and warmer.
05:42And winter in these wooded valleys begins to lose its grip.
05:52But until it's gone for good, food for this red squirrel is hard to come by.
06:09Squirrels don't hibernate.
06:13So, to get through winter, he relies on forward planning.
06:19And a very good memory.
06:25In autumn, he buried about 3,000 nuts.
06:31Carefully grouped according to type.
06:35Now, he must remember where he left them.
06:43To help him, his hippocampus, the part of the brain concerned with memory, has expanded.
06:54It's the same part of the brain that's first affected with Alzheimer's.
06:59And researchers are hoping we can learn more about it from studying squirrels.
07:08Whatever he's doing, it's working.
07:15Mostly.
07:26Do you ever get that feeling you're being watched?
07:37In late winter, most squirrels' stashes are empty, so thieves are always on the lookout.
07:48And we'll steal anything they can get their paws on.
07:52Call the camera.
08:02There's a house.
08:06Oh, we'll be right back now.
08:07There's a house.
08:10We'll be right back now.
08:14We'll be right back now.
08:19The other one looks more hungry.
08:21The last one looks more hungry.
08:21How could we make some警?
08:21THE END
08:41Finally, he can finish his breakfast in peace.
08:48In these bitterly cold months, competition for food is at its fiercest.
08:58Nowhere more so than on the east coast of Japan.
09:06Stella's sea eagles are one of the most powerful raptors in the world.
09:13And, with a wingspan of over two meters, one of the largest.
09:22Now that much of the sea is frozen solid,
09:26these big bruisers resort to underhand means to get fish.
09:37The End
09:37The End
09:47Let's go.
10:15Harmony will only be restored when the temperature rises, sea ice melts, and fishing gets easier again.
10:40Our planet is now three months into its annual journey around the sun.
10:50As days in the northern hemisphere continue to get longer and warmer,
10:59in the southern hemisphere, they're getting shorter and colder.
11:19The king penguin chick is now four months old and beginning to spread her wings.
11:29To adapt to the cold, she has become the proud owner of this fine feather coat,
11:35and is already 50 times her birth weight, thanks to plenty of fish takeaways from her parents.
11:56To keep their not-so-little one fed, mum and dad are falling over backwards with constant trips to the
12:06sea.
12:17As parents, it can sometimes feel like you're doing all the work.
12:32But the chick's months of being waited on are coming to an end.
12:40As the days continue to get shorter this far south, the water is getting colder.
12:52Currents are shifting, and prime feeding areas are moving further away.
13:03Soon, her parents will be gone for months on end, and the chick will be left to fend for herself.
13:19As life in the southern hemisphere gets harder, in the northern hemisphere, it's getting easier.
13:33Spring is in full flow.
13:46Day length is now longer than night, and solar energy reaching the ground has increased.
14:00A splash of rain, and the north transforms into a sea of color.
14:11New growth.
14:15New life.
14:18And new opportunities.
14:28New life.
14:30New life.
14:34On the largest, highest plateau in the world, the locals have never had it so good.
14:46Thanks to the new spring growth, these peakers are having a feast.
14:53And a baby boom.
14:59And peakers aren't the only ones to thrive in spring.
15:05This season is enough to put a very big smile on one hungry resident's face.
15:16The Tibetan fox has the widest gape of any fox.
15:22All the better to eat pika with.
15:32In fact, over 90% of this wily predator's diet is pika.
15:43When she can catch one,
15:48pikas have hundreds of bolt holes
15:51and are quick to warn each other when they spot danger.
16:14Teamwork keeps them one step ahead.
16:30But not everyone's paying attention.
16:40The fox hunts every morning and evening.
16:44Not just for her,
16:46but for her three eight-week-old cubs.
16:57Usually, the father helps to feed his cubs.
17:03But he has disappeared,
17:05leaving mum to bring them up on her own.
17:11Not easy.
17:13But with so much food around and a hard-working mum,
17:18the cubs have a good chance of making it.
17:25Across the northern hemisphere,
17:28this is the time to start a family.
17:33Though one animal is a little slow to get going.
17:42Up here at 2,000 meters,
17:45it can feel more like winter.
17:52But at last,
17:53the sun has pushed the temperature up to five degrees,
17:58making all the difference to one cold-blooded creature.
18:07A common European frog.
18:15He's been hibernating in an underground stream for over six months.
18:20Now, he's desperate to get a mate.
18:25And there, in that pond,
18:28is where the party is.
18:32So, he had better hop to it.
18:39He needs to move in daylight
18:42to make the most of the sun's warmth.
18:46But his muscles are slow to warm up.
18:53Hot-blooded in passion,
18:55cold-blooded in body.
19:01A frustrating combination.
19:17Other males have emerged.
19:25The first to the pond
19:27will have the pick of the females.
19:52that our guy has run out of steam.
20:01The others are pairing up.
20:07Try as he might,
20:08he just can't move.
20:14As the sun's powerful rays beam down,
20:19slowly his body starts to warm again.
20:24The last five meters
20:27takes all he's got.
20:39He may be late.
20:46But things have turned out pretty well, after all.
20:53It's not just his world
20:55that's hotting up.
21:06We are now halfway through our annual orbit.
21:12And the northern hemisphere
21:14is tilting towards the sun.
21:20Summer has begun.
21:27As we enter the hottest season of the year,
21:30life prepares to adapt again
21:33to the changes it brings.
21:49For some, this is a time to feast.
21:54And a chance to store up energy.
21:59As food becomes more abundant.
22:10Nowhere more so
22:12than in southwest China.
22:20Here, the landscape is dominated
22:23by the fastest growing plant on the planet.
22:30bamboo.
22:38In summer, it can grow a staggering one meter a day.
22:48Giving one animal the vital chance it needs
22:52to pile on the pounds.
23:02The giant panda.
23:11In winter, this mum has to eat
23:14poor quality bamboo leaves.
23:20But now, she can eat as many nutritious shoots
23:24as she can manage.
23:32As her diet changes,
23:34so too do her gut bacteria,
23:37helping her lay down fat
23:39for leaner months ahead.
23:45While she tucks in,
23:47her 11-month-old cub
23:49takes the chance to explore.
23:57Apart from when they're little,
23:59all giant pandas live alone.
24:06The cub will be independent
24:08in just five months.
24:11And is starting to test how it feels.
24:21Although shoots are higher quality than leaves,
24:25mum still needs to eat up to half her body weight a day
24:29to get enough nutrients.
24:35Her cub, on the other hand,
24:36isn't yet weaned.
24:41And although he's old enough to eat solid food,
24:44for him it's take it or leave it.
24:53Her meal could stretch on for 14 hours.
25:01But on a diet of mum's fat rich milk,
25:05he can afford to take it easy.
25:22Mum has four months to fatten up before winter.
25:26for winter.
25:40But some things in life are even more important than bamboo.
25:57This is the pair's last summer together.
26:06Soon, this little bear must learn to live on his own.
26:16Until then, mum will do all she can to help him stand on his own four feet.
26:34summer here is the wettest time of year.
26:40Over 70 centimetres of rain can fall in a single month.
26:47While in the south, in Australia's Northern Territory,
26:52there is serious drought.
26:58Out here, bushfires can spread 25 kilometres each day.
27:07Months without rain and dry grasslands are like a tinderbox.
27:14It only takes a tiny spark to set these flammable plants alight.
27:21Add wind and the woodland is ablaze.
27:32Those that can flee for their lives.
27:36Those that can flee for their lives.
27:41But not everyone has the nerve.
27:45Or the know-how.
27:51These hooded parrot chicks are one month old.
28:00They're getting ready to fledge.
28:02But they've left it too late.
28:07As well as the flames, deadly firehawks are on the prowl.
28:14Looking for creatures flushed out by the fire.
28:26The chicks have missed their chance.
28:36The firehawks are on the prowl.
28:48Bushfires kill billions of animals every year.
28:59Which is why the chicks' parents have planned ahead.
29:13The home they've chosen, this termite mound made of sand and clay, is fireproof.
29:29And this scorched ground is in fact what the chicks need to tempt them out.
29:40The grasses have dropped their seeds.
29:44Just in time for the parrot's first meal out as a family.
29:53In less than a week, the chicks will leave home.
29:58And the parents will be empty nesters until they breed again next year.
30:09The winds that gave fuel to these fires are the southeasterly trade winds.
30:16Vast currents of air that are carried west as the earth rotates.
30:21And pulled north towards the heat of the sun.
30:27As they sweep over the Indian Ocean, they change the direction of the currents beneath.
30:35Creating conditions for the sea's most important food source to thrive.
30:44Plankton, microscopic plants and animals.
30:49The staple food of almost every marine ecosystem.
31:00The miniature plants produce over half of the oxygen that we breathe.
31:18On this coral reef, they feed fish.
31:23From the smallest...
31:29...to the largest.
31:46Reef manta rays with a four-meter wingspan make a seasonal migration around these atoms following the plankton.
32:17Flaming one behind the other, they catch plankton from the slipstream of the manta in front.
32:26And as the leader turns, they form what's known as a feeding cyclone,
32:34channelling the tiny plants and animals into their supersized mouths.
32:47These gentle giants need a constant flow of water to breathe.
32:56So, with their wing-like fins, these birds of the sea are always on the move,
33:05returning to this bay year after year in numbers up to 5,000 strong
33:12for the biggest manta-feeding aggregation in the world.
33:24While the mantas are free to follow their food,
33:29in the same ocean 6,000 kilometers south,
33:34the king penguin chick is close to starving.
33:56It's been four months since her parents left to find food,
34:01and she hasn't eaten in all that time.
34:16Most parents have returned with bellies full of fish.
34:25But hers have yet to make an appearance.
34:34In response to fasting, her metabolism and growth rate have slowed.
34:43Beneath all that fluff, she's lost 70% of her body weight
34:49and is now just four kilograms.
34:58King penguin chicks can survive without food longer than any other bird.
35:07But each year, half starve to death, waiting for their parents to return.
35:33But her mum and dad aren't going to let that happen.
35:41They arrive in the nick of time.
36:03With her parents' help, this chick has made it to eight months.
36:11The time it's taken for our planet to journey two-thirds of its way round the sun.
36:22By the time it's gone full circle, this chick must be ready to go it alone.
36:43As we enter the final leg of our journey, in the north the sun's rays become less intense.
36:55Temperatures fall, and this triggers a season of spectacular change.
37:10Autumn.
37:17And it's not only the leaves that are changing colour.
37:23In north-east India, heads are turning.
37:38Because the one and only male in this group of golden langers has never looked so good.
37:50For most of the year, he's creamy white in colour.
37:54But in the breeding season, his coat turns a stunning gold, making him irresistible to the troops' six females.
38:10These shy langers are becoming increasingly endangered.
38:17As their habitat has fragmented, their numbers have halved in the last 30 years.
38:29There are only six and a half thousand left in the world.
38:40But this male is doing his best to get those numbers rising.
38:53And he's not the only one feeling hot-blooded right now.
39:04As temperatures continue to fall, in northern Norway, this alpha male muskox prepares to breed.
39:17He's responsible for all the youngsters and females in his harem.
39:24And autumn is when it's hardest to defend them.
39:44To prepare for the hardship of winter to come,
39:48these 400 kilogram herbivores have grown an extra layer of insulation
39:55beneath their long, shaggy outer coats.
39:59One of the warmest natural fibres in the world.
40:09But for the alpha male, there's a much more pressing problem than the cold.
40:22Lone males that come here to steal his harem.
40:33It's the alpha's job to fight them off.
40:39He sidesteps to make himself look bigger.
40:45But his rival is an equal match.
40:51And is not backing down.
41:06Running head-on towards each other at 50 kilometers an hour
41:11is like driving towards an oncoming car.
41:24If the alpha's defeated, he'll lose all his females.
41:31Ten centimeter skulls and horns protect them from fatal brain injury.
41:54The challenger is finally chased off.
42:00Leaving the alpha free to mate with all the females in his harem.
42:08And is not the only one that has been.
42:09For this season, at least.
42:10For this season, at least.
42:15It's now almost 12 months since our journey round the sun began.
42:24But before the earth comes full circle, the penguin chick has one final challenge to overcome.
42:37It's time for her to leave home.
42:43She's now sporting a fully waterproof adult coat.
42:50Having gone through that awkward teenage stage and shed her fluffy down.
43:05She must now swap the safety of her island home for the big blue beyond.
43:18But her path to adulthood is full of killer whales.
43:39Up ahead, less cautious penguins take the plunge.
43:50And their commotion distracts the predators.
43:58It's her chance.
44:08It's her chance.
44:10She's almost through the danger zone.
44:19But she's been spotted.
44:23These six-ton killers are faster.
44:35But only in a straight line.
44:44The penguin may be young.
44:52But she's already agile enough to get away.
44:59Not bad for her first ever swim.
45:08For the next three years, this ocean will be her home.
45:16Until she returns to this exact same spot to raise a family of her own.
45:30Our planet has now completed its 940 million kilometer orbit around the sun.
45:40And the penguin has completed her first year of life.
45:46But the journey doesn't end here.
45:51As one year draws to a close, the next is already beginning.
46:00Across the globe, life will continue to be shaped by the sun's influence.
46:10It drives seasonal changes, nurtures incredible diversity, and unites us all.
46:23As we journey together through another year on planet Earth.
46:29For more information from Galactic funded come from from the world.
46:31The way you will add...
46:46The way you will add to the loved ones to the world...
47:04Transcription by CastingWords