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A look at the remote islands which offer sanctuary to some of the planet's rarest creatures, unique wildlife that has evolved in isolation to survive in these fragile habitats....
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AnimalsTranscript
00:10Transcription by ESO. Translation by —
00:11Looking down from two miles above the surface of the Earth,
00:14it's impossible not to be impressed by the sheer grandeur
00:19and surrender and power of the natural world.
00:26Ten years ago, in a television series called Planet Earth,
00:30we revealed many of those wonders.
00:32But today, much has changed.
00:37We can now show life on our planet in entirely new ways.
00:43Bring you closer to animals than ever before.
00:50And reveal new wildlife dramas for the very first time.
00:59But that's not all.
01:01Our planet has changed, too.
01:05Never have those wildernesses been as fragile and as precious as they are today.
01:13At this crucial time for the natural world, we will journey to every corner of the globe
01:21to explore the greatest treasures of our living planet.
01:31and reveal the extreme lengths animals go to to survive.
01:51Finally, we will explore our cities to see how life is adapting to the newest habitat on Earth.
02:00Earth.
02:02This is Planet Earth, too.
02:11This is Planet Earth, too.
02:44There are hundreds of thousands of islands.
02:48each one a world in miniature,
02:52a microcosm of our living planet.
02:57The struggles to survive on these remote lands
03:00reflect the challenges faced by all life on Earth.
03:15The tiny island of Escudo off the coast of Panama.
03:22Home to the pygmy three-toed sloth.
03:29This is a male, and life here suits him well.
03:36Mangroves provide all the leaves he can eat,
03:40and there are no predators to worry him.
03:45Island life may seem idyllic, but it comes at a price.
03:51There are only a few hundred pygmy sloths in existence,
03:56and he needs a mate.
04:03That's an enticing call from a female.
04:11Somewhere out there.
04:16And this, for a sloth, is a quick reaction.
04:43The problem is, there's deep water between them.
04:49So, what should any red-blooded sloth do?
04:57Swim, of course.
04:59A
05:00Let's go.
05:01Let's go.
05:38He does his best to put on a turn of speed.
06:02Let's go.
06:08Even life on a paradise island can have its limitations.
06:18But at least she can't be far away.
06:26The world's entire population of pygmy sloths is isolated on a speck of land no bigger than New York's Central
06:35Park.
06:38The size of an island has a huge influence on the fate of those cast away there.
06:49The island of Komodo in Indonesia.
07:03Home to dragons.
07:23Ten feet long and weighing an impressive 150 pounds.
07:27These are the largest living lizards on the planet.
07:44It's unusual to find large predators on islands.
07:51Yet for four million years the Komodo dragon has dominated here.
08:06It might seem there wouldn't be enough food to support such giants on this relatively small island.
08:14But reptiles being cold-blooded need only about a tenth of the food a carnivorous mammal would.
08:25A single meal will last a dragon a month.
08:32They're so successful that their only serious competition comes from others of their own kind.
08:39And there are some two thousand of them here.
09:05This giant, however, isn't looking for food.
09:09He's looking for a mate.
09:15Female dragons come into season only once a year.
09:29She is receptive.
09:38So far, so good.
09:44But he strayed into someone else's patch.
09:53Another huge male thinks he is the king here.
10:02Space being limited on islands, dragon territories overlap.
10:08And that creates continual conflict.
10:17In dragon society, size is everything.
10:36But if rivals are closely matched, the outcome can be uncertain.
10:42But if rivals are closely matched, the outcome can be uncertain.
10:51They've got the old sledgehammers.
11:02And their serrated teeth are as sharp as state knives.
11:17each tries to topple his opponent
11:43defeated only the most powerful dragons win the right to mate
11:57the limited food and space on the small islands can often lead to intense competition
12:04but some islands are immense more like miniature continents
12:12and these provide opportunities for life to experiment and evolve
12:22madagascar is one of the biggest islands and also one of the oldest having split away from africa
12:29over 120 million years ago
12:43with time and isolation its animals have adapted to take advantage of every available niche
12:55the island now has some 250 000 different species most found nowhere else on earth
13:16these are not monkeys but lemurs
13:25from a single ancestor about a hundred different types have evolved
13:34the largest the injury seldom comes down from the branches
13:46the much smaller ringtails wander in troops across the forest floor searching for fruit
13:53and tiny bamboo lemurs eat nothing except bamboo
14:05with few competitors lemurs have been free to colonize almost every environment on the island
14:14even the most extreme
14:24this baby shifaka has a hard life ahead of it
14:33he's been born in the most arid and hostile corner of madagascar's vast landscape
14:42if he is to survive here he has much to learn
14:52the spiny forest is like a desert
14:55the spiny forest is like a desert
14:56it rarely rains so water and food is very hard to find
15:09moving from tree to tree is a perilous business
15:14here nearly all the plants are covered with ferocious spines
15:20his mother searches the treetops for the youngest leaves
15:26they provide the only food and water to sustain the family
15:36at three months old the youngster is starting to explore
15:46all too soon he will have to fend for himself up here
15:55but it's altogether easier to stay on mother's back
16:07if he can master the strange ways of this forest
16:11he will have a little corner of madagascar to himself
16:21island life encourages animals to do things differently
16:25and on some islands that is essential
16:44there are islands still forming today
16:47built by volcanoes
16:52some erupt explosively
17:02others pour out rivers of molten rock
17:06lava
17:13in the last 50 years 10 new volcanic islands have been formed
17:19in the last 50 years
17:45newly created and often remote
17:47they're hard for colonists to reach
17:53even those that do find these are tough places to survive
18:03this is fernandina one of the galapagos islands in the pacific
18:10young and still volcanically active it's a desolate place
18:29the surrounding sea however is particularly rich with life
18:37and the frontier between these two very different worlds is the home of one of the strangest of reptiles
18:50seagoing iguanas
18:54they are vegetarians but since there's little food for them on the land marine iguanas graze on the sea floor
19:06a big male like this one can dive to 30 meters and hold its breath for half an hour
19:11up
19:23so
19:25so
19:37There are more than 7,000 individuals on Fernandina alone.
19:50And by bringing nutrients from the sea to the land,
19:53the iguanas help other animals to survive here, too.
20:00Crabs feed on dead skin on the iguana's back
20:03and, in turn, provide a welcome exfoliation service.
20:15While smaller lizards prey on the flies that pester the colony.
20:41But not all the relationships on this island are so harmonious.
20:46But not all the relationships on this island are so harmonious.
20:53Marine iguanas lay their eggs in sand.
20:58In June, when the hatchlings emerge, they're vulnerable.
21:06They must join the adults at the edge of the sea,
21:09but the journey will be a dangerous one.
21:16They must be the plumber of their hands.
21:19They must be the same as an unknown to the passengers.
21:26They must be the same as an unknown.
21:37Race up, Snakes.
21:38I don't know.
22:08The snakes missed their chance.
22:18But more babies are hatching.
22:26And now the snakes are on the alert.
22:30This is the best feeding opportunity they will get all year.
22:50On flat ground, a baby iguana can outrun a racer snake.
22:56But others are waiting in ambush.
23:26The Hatch-lings
23:27has its first glimpse of a dangerous world.
24:07To be continued...
24:28A snake's eyes aren't very good,
24:31but they can detect movement.
24:35So if the hatchling keeps its nerve,
24:38it may just avoid detection.
25:02The next chapter is an S.A.C.O.S.
25:09The other side is the way to the other side.
25:11The next chapter is a S.A.C.O.S.
25:21The next chapter is a S.A.C.O.S.
25:25I don't know.
25:54I don't know.
25:59I don't know.
26:02I don't know.
26:12A near-miraculous escape.
26:20The lucky survivors could begin learning the unique way of life demanded by this hostile
26:27island.
26:36Although marine iguanas are expert swimmers, they can't cross open oceans.
26:50But even the stormiest waters are no barrier for birds.
27:04Gale-force winds and cold temperatures make the sub-antarctic islands off New Zealand particularly unwelcoming
27:12in winter.
27:26But when the brief summer comes, temperatures rise and winds slacken.
27:47It's now that visitors arrive.
27:53All here to breed before winter returns.
27:59There's the snares' penguins.
28:09Shear waters come too.
28:14This is an excellent place for them to dig their nesting burrows, for no predators have managed
28:20to get here.
28:27Soon, the island is crowded with birds.
28:32Every one of them eager to make the most of the short breeding season.
28:39But not everyone has a partner.
28:49A male buller's albatross waits for his mate.
28:55Each year, they spend six months apart, traveling the ocean.
29:05They reunite here to breed.
29:10But this year, she's late.
29:17No, that's not her.
29:23The other birds come and go.
29:35The clock is ticking.
29:38If she doesn't appear soon, it will be too late for them to breed successfully.
29:46Every morning, the shearwaters fly off to collect food for their young.
30:08Everybody else seems to be getting on with it.
30:23The shearwaters' return marks another lost day.
30:30There are three million birds on the island, but only one matters to him.
30:42could this be her?
30:50At last.
31:06At first, he's a little coy.
31:23But not for long.
31:32They greet each other with the special dance they've perfected over many years.
31:48There is much to do if they're to raise a chick before winter returns.
31:58But when you've been apart for six months, some things can't be rushed.
32:22Islands in warm tropical waters don't experience seasonal extremes.
32:31The Seychelles, lying off the coast of East Africa, provide a sanctuary for seabirds all
32:37the year round.
32:54Fairy terns are permanent residents.
32:58They take a fairly relaxed view about what constitutes a nest.
33:04A bare branch is quite enough.
33:16Climbing onto it to incubate has to be done with care.
33:29Once a year, the noddes arrive.
33:33They do make nests, and Pythonia trees provide their young with a rather less precarious start
33:40in life.
33:47Nesting on this island looks idyllic.
33:51But behind the beauty, there's a sinister side.
33:59The Seychelles' foody makes quick work of an unattended egg.
34:20She knows something's not quite right, but her drive to incubate is strong.
34:40The noddes, too, have a problem.
34:46As their chicks grow, so the Pythonia tree develops seeds that are sticky and equipped with hooks.
34:59By the time the young noddes leave, they carry these hitchhiking seeds away to other islands.
35:12But sometimes the Pythonia trees are too successful.
35:21If a fledgling, testing out its wings, drops to the ground, it can get covered with the seeds.
35:37Entangled and weighed down, if it can't free itself, the youngster will starve.
35:56The Pythonia may have failed to disperse these seeds, but it will soon have fertilizer for its roots.
36:12This is why some people call the Pythonia the bird-catcher tree.
36:18Pythonia the bird-catcher tree.
36:19By the way, the bird-catcher tree.
36:25By the way, the bird-catcher tree.
36:51The fairy tern laid another egg and now she has a tiny chick to feed.
37:03This chick is lucky.
37:08By the time it fledges, the Pisonia seeds will have dispersed
37:12and the danger they brought will be gone.
37:25It's the most idyllic looking of islands presents challenges for the animals living there.
37:32But the greatest threat they face is change.
37:53Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.
37:57For millions of years, this remote speck of land has been ruled by crabs.
38:09Their ancestors came from the sea, but most have now adopted a land-based existence.
38:25Given there are so many of them, they get along relatively harmoniously.
38:32They're the gardeners and caretakers of a tiny crab utopia.
38:41Once a year, they must all return to the sea to breed,
38:45and the march of the red crabs is one of the greatest natural spectacles on Earth.
39:02There are 50 million of them.
39:12It's an event that has brought the island worldwide fame.
39:27It's an event that has brought the island worldwide fame.
39:39An invader has occupied this island.
39:45Yellow crazy ants.
39:48They escaped from visiting ships, and with no predators to control them,
39:53they have now created vast super-colonies in the forest.
40:02When migrating red crabs march into their territory, the ants attack.
40:09Squirting acid into the crabs' eyes and mouths.
40:22The crabs have no defense.
40:28Blinded and confused, they're doomed.
40:44Humans brought these ant-invaders here,
40:47and now humans are having to control them.
40:54Isolated communities may evolve for millions of years in relative peace.
41:00But when new challenges arrive, they can struggle to cope.
41:07Of all the species that have become extinct in recent years,
41:12around 80% have been islanders.
41:19Our impact on the Earth is greater today than ever before.
41:25Yet some islands are so remote that few humans have even set foot on them.
41:34Zawodovsky Island is one.
41:40It lies in the great Southern Ocean.
41:42It's not only surrounded by the stormiest of seas, it is itself an active volcano.
41:51It's the last place on Earth you'd choose to live.
42:04Unless you're a chinstrap penguin.
42:09There's plenty of food in these waters, but to exploit it, the penguins have to risk their lives.
42:17THE END
42:18THE END
43:04Life here is dangerous in the extreme.
43:25But there are some benefits from living on a volcano.
43:31Its warmth melts the snow early in the year.
43:34And by January, the Antarctic's midsummer, the island is covered in chicks.
43:46Parents take turns at guarding them until they're large enough to be left alone.
43:56This mother's chicks are hungry, but she has no food left to give them.
44:02Their survival depends on their father returning with their next meal.
44:11But some don't make it.
44:27Skuas harass the colony, hoping to snatch a chick.
44:39She can't risk leaving them.
44:46Everything will be fine as long as their father comes back soon.
45:19He's been fishing 50 miles offshore, but now he's not far away.
45:27For him, however, and for all the other parents here, the worst of the journey is still to come.
46:00KEN-GEDERAL
46:05Tiny claws help him to get whatever grip he can on the rough lava.
46:37For these commuters, it's rush hour. Some have had a really bad day.
46:48The father now has a two-mile walk to the nest, and a stomach loaded with food doesn't help.
47:02This is the largest penguin colony in the world.
47:13But as he makes the same journey every other day, he should be able to do it with his eyes
47:19closed.
47:28It's true that there can be safety in numbers, but numbers can also be something of a problem when you're
47:35trying to find your own nest.
47:42The mother is still waiting.
47:46Her chicks are now desperate.
47:54In the midst of all this deafening chorus, he can recognize her particular cry.
48:01In the midst of all this deafening chorus, he can recognize her particular cry.
48:19At last.
48:36Both chicks will get a meal.
48:45With a head bob of acknowledgement, their mother now leaves.
48:50It's her turn to do the feeding run.
48:59This formidable commute is the price these penguins pay for sanctuary.
49:12A strange vision of paradise to us, perhaps, but for one and a half million penguins, this island has it
49:21all.
49:32The islands may seem remote and insignificant, but they're home to some of the most precious wildlife on Earth.
50:03The expedition to film on the island of Saputovsky was the most intrepid shoot of the series.
50:09To ensure its success, the team have called in Antarctic expert Jérôme Poncet,
50:16one of the few people to have set foot on the island.
50:21This whole region of Antarctica is rarely visited.
50:29And this is the planet's roughest ocean.
50:41After seven long days and nights at sea, they get their first glimpse of the final destination.
50:47It's actually quite surreal after a whole year, trying to put the expedition together.
50:51And then today we wake up and there's the volcano, that's Sabadovsky.
50:56The explorers who discovered this place spoke of the stench of sulphurous gases,
51:03precious waters and astonishing numbers of penguins.
51:11It seems not much has changed.
51:15Jérôme's been around the whole place and there literally is only one safe area to get on
51:20and he's telling us it's that rock face over there.
51:25The team must take everything they need to survive.
51:29They are the penguins.
51:33Though the boat will stay nearby, they will need to be self-sufficient.
51:38But that means taking a tonne of equipment up this cliff.
51:43Just get that lots of help.
51:45Many flippers make light work.
51:49They work all day getting the gear ashore.
51:54But the fact that there are so many penguins on the island doesn't make it easy.
52:00The hardest thing for us has been finding a pathway through where there's absolutely penguins everywhere you look.
52:13Finally, it's time to make camp.
52:20They choose a sheltered place that won't disturb the locals.
52:26But since most of the penguins won't have seen a human being before, they seem keen to pop over and
52:32visit.
52:33Hello.
52:35Noisy neighbours.
52:38The team set off to start documenting the daily lives of the penguins.
52:42And what they find is astonishing.
52:45As soon as you walk over that ridge, you sort of get a tingly feeling because I've never seen that
52:51many animals in one spot.
52:54It's just mind-blowing.
52:57It's like the Glastonbury Festival.
53:00The whole landscape is full of little black and white penguins waddling around.
53:09This is penguin paradise and that's what we're trying to show.
53:17A promising start.
53:20But here, fortunes can change quickly.
53:28Summertime.
53:32Every season within 10 minutes.
53:38As the snow melts, it creates an unforeseen problem.
53:44We purposely chose this campsite because it was a place where the penguins didn't seem to go.
53:49I think we've realised why the penguins don't nest here.
53:52It's because of the spray and because of the runoff.
53:55So, we are literally in a bit of a bog.
53:59And it's not just mud.
54:03A couple of these guys, as they wander down to do a spot of fishing, they tend to use my
54:08tent as a little poop spot.
54:11You kind of get used to it at night, just hearing a constant splat on top of the tent.
54:17But, as you can see, all of the kit, I'm afraid that's getting splat on as well.
54:23And when the wind changes, it brings a noxious reminder that they're camping on an active volcano.
54:32It's the first time we've smelt sulphur, which is welcome relief from smelling penguins.
54:37The wind is smoking away.
54:41And I think if they start running for the sea, we're going to be calling Jerome pretty quickly the boat.
54:46The wind is smoking away.
54:47The wind is smoking away.
54:49Each day filming on Zawodowsky seems to present a new challenge.
54:58Next, a huge storm hits the island.
55:04Only now do the team realise just how tough life can be for the penguins.
55:13It's hard not to be moved by the effort they go to to feed their chicks.
55:20These huge waves are coming in.
55:22The penguins are surfing here.
55:24They're getting battered on these big boulders.
55:26And now again, you just get a penguin that gets catapulted 15 metres in the air.
55:31It's totally ludicrous.
55:34And really, I think there are quite a few penguins getting killed in it.
55:43The beach in the afternoon was just the scene of death and destruction.
55:49It was absolute carnage.
55:53It was kind of heartbreaking.
55:55I mean, they're trying so hard to get up the beach with broken legs and bleeding and very, you know,
56:02sobering really.
56:06After witnessing the struggles the penguins must endure, the team now face the same problem.
56:13Getting off the island.
56:16With another storm coming in, they decide to take their chance.
56:22Jerome has seconds to get in and out between the waves.
56:27Or the Zodiac could tip, leaving them all stranded.
56:33Boo, that's the first fox off the island.
56:40What took a day to get ashore must be off in minutes.
56:44And the swell is getting bigger.
56:48Their window of opportunity is closing.
56:52Hey, look at the swell now, watch out, watch out.
57:01The equipment's off, but now the team has to follow.
57:09So she's just leaving us now, isn't she?
57:11That's the producer, she's gone.
57:13We have to swim now.
57:16They're gone.
57:19Luckily, it didn't come to that.
57:26Safely aboard, they leave with an unforgettable experience of how hard life is on an island at the edge of
57:35the world.
57:39Next time, we ascend into the planet's highest peaks to discover a spectacular but hostile world where only the toughest
57:50animals can endure.
57:53This is life on the roof of the world.
57:57Mountains.
58:07And that's at the same time next Sunday here on BBC One Wales.
58:12Next tonight, fighting fire with fire.
58:15Trouble at Trenwith in the sensational series finale of Poldark.
58:20F
58:21What?
58:30Dist inch brick
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