- 2 days ago
Summer can be extreme. In The Rockies, summers are short. Pika must harvest flowers to eat before the snow returns. For Marion Island's king penguin chicks, life has frozen still.
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AnimalsTranscript
00:05The Sun, 93 million miles away, but powerful enough to blast our planet with the energy of 5 million nuclear
00:19bombs every day.
00:23As we journey around it, it fuels extraordinary change.
00:36And transforms the lives of all it shines upon.
00:59Now, as we enter our summer, we begin to feel its full force.
01:06By June, we're already halfway through the annual orbit, and the North Pole is basking in 24-hour sunlight, while
01:16the South is frozen in 24-hour darkness.
01:20But things aren't as simple as hot and cold.
01:29Over the next three months, while some race to make the most of the time of plenty,
01:42others will be pushed to the very limits of survival.
01:49And as our planet gets ever hotter, the Sun can forge hell on Earth.
01:59Filmed in more than 60 locations around the globe, this series reveals a year on Earth as never seen before.
02:11And it's from June to August, when the world is at its most extreme, that many animals face their greatest
02:25challenges yet.
02:55The Sun?
02:56The Sun is not only the architect of the seasons, it's also the fundamental fuel for almost all of life.
03:06And to tap into the Sun's bounty, life will go to extraordinary lengths, and indeed, heights.
03:29These sequoias, or giant redwoods, are the most massive trees on Earth, and can reach up to 80 metres tall.
03:40Or they can weigh more than 20 blue whales, which is almost more than me.
03:48At that height, there's no competition for the Sun night.
03:56And in June, they're absorbing more energy than at any other time of year.
04:04A similar story is playing out across the Northern Hemisphere.
04:12Where the Sun blazes directly overhead, it triggers phenomenal growth.
04:30These aren't trees, but the world's tallest grass.
04:50It can grow up to three feet a day during summer.
05:02So this is a pretty good time to be an animal who eats almost nothing else.
05:23This cub wants to play hide-and-seek, but Mum's busy, making the most of the seasonal feast.
05:40Pandas give birth in summer, to coincide with the boom in bamboo.
05:51This cub is one of only 2,000 giant pandas in the world.
05:58Now 11 months old, he's become more of a toddler.
06:05And such a handful that Mum's only too happy to let him go off on his own.
06:18The urge to explore is only natural.
06:27But if it all gets a little too daunting, he can always escape to higher ground.
06:57We may not think of pandas as tree-dwelling creatures, but it's believed their black-and-white coats provide camouflage
07:06against the dark branches and bright mountain skies.
07:13Meanwhile, Mum's still eating.
07:18Bamboo is so un-nutritious, she consumes around half her body weight of the stuff every day.
07:30Pandas have evolved a unique thumb-like lump on their wrist to better grip Bamboo.
07:40She spends 14 hours munching away.
07:48Few things in life are more boring than waiting for Mum.
07:56Might as well get comfortable.
08:03This could take a while.
08:09Summer here is long.
08:11And the bamboo will keep growing until winter.
08:21But further north, the productive season only lasts a matter of weeks.
08:32And animals must make hay, whilst the sun shines.
08:57This is a pika, a relative of the rabbit.
09:05By June, her home in Canada's rocky mountains has just come into bloom.
09:13But at 2,000 metres, the growing season is extremely brief.
09:21Even now, there's still snow on the slopes.
09:28Pika's don't hibernate.
09:30So, if she's going to have anything to eat during the long winter,
09:35she'd better start storing now.
09:46She makes up to 200 journeys between here and the meadow each day.
10:01But not everyone's been quite so industrious.
10:08This pika's hay pile is woefully sparse.
10:16But there are shortcuts if you're prepared to cheat.
10:30He has to pick his moment.
10:38Wait till the coast is clear.
10:42Then steal from his neighbour's stash.
10:55Thieving saves time and energy.
11:03But what goes around, comes around.
11:13A ground squirrel is also trying to cash in on the spoils of summer.
11:18And the master thief's growing hay pile has not gone unnoticed.
11:28So, while the pika's out pilfering, the squirrel helps himself.
11:39How dare he!
11:42How dare he!
11:56No honour among thieves.
12:06During summer, water in the northern hemisphere heats up and evaporates.
12:20Directly beneath the sun's path, evaporation is so intense,
12:25it forms a band of rain around the globe.
12:30For the last six months, this band has followed the sun northwards.
12:35And in Africa, a legendary gathering of animals is hot on its heels.
12:55This three-month-old zebra foal has spent all of her short life on the move.
13:02And she's not alone.
13:04There's a reason this is known as the Great Migration.
13:19Each June, over a million wildebeest and zebra follow the seasonal rains north from the Serengeti in Tanzania
13:29to the Maasai Mara in Kenya.
13:36They ravage the plains like a giant plague of locusts.
13:45The grass can't grow fast enough to sustain such numbers.
13:50So, the herds keep moving.
13:56It's the largest land migration of animals anywhere on Earth.
14:12Little legs have got to keep up.
14:17Her mother knows she is safest in the centre of the herd.
14:30Each year, hundreds of thousands will die on migration.
14:36Each year, hundreds of thousands will die on migration.
14:53The young foal has only a 50% chance of surviving.
14:58Her first year.
15:04By June, the tropical rain band is at its most northerly.
15:09And now, southern Africa is baking under cloudless skies.
15:18As the dry season intensifies,
15:22life is defined by an ever more desperate search for water.
15:35At six months old, this elephant calf is approaching its toughest test yet.
15:46They need to drink every two days.
15:48But it may not rain here for another four months.
15:57The matriarch leads them deeper into the desert.
16:08She's built a mental map of the landscape.
16:13And she knows it holds a secret.
16:24Right in the middle of one of the largest deserts on Earth,
16:29lies a true wonder of the world.
16:35The Okavango Delta.
16:40Rather than flow to the sea,
16:42the Okavango River carries rain from distant mountains
16:46into this parched land.
16:51And transforms it into a vast wetland paradise.
17:14It's a lifeline for all sorts of animals
17:17at a time when they need it most.
17:22These waters allow 18,000 elephants to survive here,
17:28in the heart of the desert.
17:50They're not going to be able to survive.
17:52They're not going to be able to survive.
17:57Snorkeling is turning out to be more difficult than advertised.
18:09Learning to swim together will help the cousins bond.
18:16They could be playmates for another ten years.
18:20Until adulthood.
18:24If they both make it that far.
18:31For now, at least,
18:33the delta provides a welcome break from hardship.
18:42June the 21st is the summer solstice.
18:52For the plants and animals of the Northern Hemisphere,
18:57the longest day of the year brings light, warmth, and growth.
19:15But in the Southern Hemisphere, this day marks midwinter.
19:35In the Southern Ocean, isolated on this tiny island, tens of thousands of king penguin chicks are enduring their darkest
19:49days.
20:02It's been two months since this chick's parents left to find food.
20:09In all that time, she hasn't eaten a thing.
20:18All she can do is wait for their return.
20:24This seasonal famine leaves her development frozen in time, which is why king penguin chicks take up to 13 months
20:35to fledge.
20:36Longer than any other bird.
20:39On the other side.
20:40On legible only
21:08Their bellies bulging with fish.
21:19Ready to share with their starving offspring.
21:34The chick searches for her parents among the new arrivals.
21:53She can pick out their individual call amongst hundreds of thousands of others.
22:07But still, nothing.
22:13Each winter, half of king penguin chicks starve to death, waiting for their parents.
22:22She won't survive much longer.
22:36Closer to the equator, winter months in the southern hemisphere are not so much about extreme cold as extreme drought.
22:57North Australia is experiencing a particularly punishing dry season.
23:19This male hooded parrot is not only one of the most colorful birds of the outback, he's also one of
23:28the smartest.
23:35He and his partner have found the perfect place to keep cool.
23:43A termite mound.
23:47Built up to eight meters tall and expertly designed to keep the heat out and the moisture in.
24:04The chicks are almost ready to fly the nest.
24:11Just a few more meals of grass seeds and they'll be off.
24:16Let's look into the water.
24:22I'll for you later.
24:29I'm not expected to get a little confused.
24:30But there's something troubling on the wind.
24:34I really want to hear the wind, but what are you doing?
24:46I'm not sure if they're on the other side.
24:46I'm not sure if you're in the same room.
24:50The tinder-dry grassland is dangerously vulnerable to bushfires.
25:03Many of the plants contain flammable oils, which supersize the inferno.
25:27Bushfires can reach more than 1,000 degrees Celsius, destroying everything in their path.
25:37The parents fly away while there's still time.
25:42The chicks have one last chance to follow.
25:50But now, it's too late.
25:55The winds carry something equally deadly.
26:02Firehawks.
26:05They follow bushfires, picking off animals as they flee.
26:18There's no escape.
26:29Australia is ravaged by more bushfires than anywhere else in the world.
26:37And as our planet warms, they're increasing in frequency and ferocity.
26:47Fires can claim over a billion animals in a single year.
26:57But these clever parrots have an advantage.
27:09Termite mounds are fireproof.
27:22And this scene of desolation is all the chicks need to tempt them out.
27:34The scorched grasses have dropped their seeds.
27:42Far from a disaster, bushfires are an essential part of the parrots' survival.
27:55The winds that fanned these flames are the trade winds.
28:04Huge air currents carried west by the rotation of the earth.
28:09As they rush over the Indian Ocean, their impact is even felt beneath the waves.
28:23The Maldives is dotted with small coral reef islands.
28:27Home to thousands of different species.
28:39And this particular patch is perfect for travelers looking for a bit of a pampering.
28:48It's a cleaning station.
28:54Where creatures come to have dead skin and parasites removed by cleaner fish.
29:08A new member of the service crew has arrived.
29:14He looks much like all the others.
29:17But don't be fooled by his cheeky grin.
29:28This brilliant mimic is a false cleaner fish.
29:39Rather than clean, he bites chunks out of fins and flesh.
29:48But once bitten, twice shy.
29:53He must wait till some new, unsuspecting victims pass by.
30:02Each summer, the arrival of the trade winds causes the currents beneath the water to change direction.
30:18Plankton arrives on the reef like a blizzard.
30:22And something gigantic is right behind it.
30:28It's fantastic.
30:33Plankton arrives on the reef like a blizzard.
30:36And something gigantic is right behind it.
30:40A reef manta ray, with a four-metre wingspan.
30:52And it's not the only one here.
30:59By swimming in formation, they catch plankton from the slipstream of the manta in front.
31:13As the leader turns, they follow, creating what's known as a feeding cyclone.
31:29The downside of swimming through this soup is that it's also home to drifting parasites.
31:38Lucky there's a cleaning station nearby.
31:46For the trickster, this new arrival is a huge opportunity.
31:56He'd be wise not to bite too hard.
32:02Mantas remember good cleaning stations.
32:05So, if he doesn't push his luck, he'll have regular giant clients for the rest of the summer.
32:22But old habits die hard.
32:34As the trade winds continue overhead, they pick up evaporated water from the Indian Ocean.
32:47And carry it north.
32:55Eventually, the moisture-laden winds hit the Himalayas.
33:04With their path blocked, the clouds build, creating the biggest weather event of the year.
33:15The South Asian monsoon.
33:21It stretches for 5,000 miles.
33:26Drenching everything in its path.
33:35In southwest China, the summer deluge can dump almost a metre of rain in a single month.
33:48The same as the UK gets in an entire year.
33:58A toddler climbing in the rain.
34:05What could possibly go wrong?
34:21Now over a year old, his confidence is growing.
34:27But he still has a lot to learn.
34:32Like what to eat.
34:37Or what to wear.
34:47And how to scratch those hard-to-reach places.
35:04But today's most important lesson?
35:09Getting down can be harder than climbing up.
35:21Thankfully, Mum's still there.
35:24For moral support.
35:33But she won't always be by his side.
35:38So the last summer days spent together are all the more special.
35:49As the sun sets, up above, a heavenly light show begins.
36:06The annual Perseid meteor shower.
36:17Of course.
36:17Tiny fragments of debris burn up as they enter our atmosphere.
36:24Where if it's probably a fair bit of a fortune in our atmosphere.
36:32Later.
36:34Just genauso can answer this.
36:37And you can see as many as a hundred shooting stars.
36:43You'll have noxo half.
36:45As long as you have an hour to spare.
36:49Some have more pressing matters.
36:57For these migrating wildebeest and zebra,
37:01this is the beginning of the hardest day of their year.
37:12Many won't survive to see the sun set.
37:19The zebra mother and foe have endured months on the moon.
37:27But now, a huge obstacle lies ahead.
37:43The Mara River.
37:49This is a day the crocodiles have been waiting for.
37:56Some may not have eaten since the last migration, a year ago.
38:03Mum's been here before.
38:06Best to hang back.
38:09Let the wildebeest make the first move.
38:18Each August, the great migration of wildebeest and zebra face a terrifying obstacle.
38:25The crocodile infested Mara River.
38:59Point on a democracy.
39:00Despite the risks everyone must cross.
39:26Crocodiles aren't the only danger.
39:33The Mara River has a deceptive current.
39:39Too much for short, tired legs.
39:49The wildebeest mother tries to help, but the flow is so strong, it's hopeless.
40:15She has no choice but to abandon her calf and save herself.
40:45It's now or never for the zebras.
41:07Staying close to mum is the safest way, but the foal's lagging behind.
41:24Her mother reaches the bank, but she can't find a way out.
41:57She can't find a way out.
42:19Life in the Great Migration is a lottery.
42:26These are the winners.
42:31And this is their prize.
42:36As the rain belt returns south, it brings fresh grazing for weary travelers.
42:44The foal has put the most challenging time of its life behind it.
42:56Further south, some are still struggling.
43:10It's been 150 days since the penguin chick last ate.
43:17She's lost 70% of her body weight and is too weak to go on.
43:27And then there's one later rival.
43:48It's time to pick up a penguin.
44:17When it's your first meal in five months...
44:21Regurgitated fish slips down a treat.
44:32In a few months, she'll follow the call of the ocean...
44:36and discover a world where penguins can fly.
44:47As our journey around the sun enters a new phase...
44:51There will be a shift in fortunes across the globe.
44:58Some will see a brighter tomorrow.
45:07While others will have to face their darkest fears.
45:18Since the June solstice, the sun has slowly been creeping lower in the sky...
45:24until in a few short weeks, and for the first time in six months...
45:28it will illuminate the southern hemisphere more than the northern.
45:32The whole planet is building up for a season of intense change.
45:37In autumn, life has to be ready for anything.
46:05After a
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