- 2 months ago
The Australian outback is covered in pale spots, the work of wombats, a clearing in the endless green canopy of the Congo rainforest has been created by an incredible elephant gathering, and the twists and turns of the Amazon make a home for rehabilitated manatees.....
强调地球表面由自然与人类活动形成的独特“图案”
强调地球表面由自然与人类活动形成的独特“图案”
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AnimalsTranscript
00:04From high in space, we can see the familiar shapes of countries and continents.
00:19But now, satellite images allow us to look closer.
00:30Revealing our planet as a patchwork of extraordinary landscapes.
00:41Created by natural forces.
00:52By animals.
01:00And by us.
01:05These patterns give an insight into the health of our planet.
01:13Behind every line and every pattern, there's a story.
01:34It's a story.
01:35It's a story.
01:39Around the world, tropical coastlines are fringed with coral reefs.
01:50At first glance, their shapes seem random.
02:02But a closer look reveals a pattern.
02:10Pale discs surrounding patches of dark coral.
02:16Using satellite images, scientists have now found these shapes on coral reefs across the globe.
02:33Understanding how they are formed offers a new insight into the health of our oceans.
02:45The animals that call them home.
02:58And the animals that call them home.
03:02For fish that live on coral reefs...
03:05...there are different strategies for finding food.
03:12Some stay close to the reef, feeding from the coral itself.
03:25Others venture out to the surrounding seabed.
03:32But feeding in the open can be dangerous.
03:43Predators, like coral groupers, and sharks patrol the reef perimeter.
03:56So small fish only feed as far from the coral as is absolutely necessary.
04:07Staying within easy reach of safety.
04:20Over time, the seabed around each patch of coral is stripped of food, creating rings of bare
04:32sand that scientists call grazing halos.
04:42They are a sign that both predator and prey populations are healthy.
04:50But where this pattern disappears, it may be a sign that predator numbers are falling.
04:59These halos now allow scientists to monitor the reef's delicate balance from space.
05:14Satellite cameras can now look down on every part of our planet, allowing us to explore Earth's
05:21most remote habitats.
05:28The Congo jungle in Central Africa.
05:34This forest is home to thousands of animal species.
05:39But from space, it appears as little more than a blanket of green.
05:53Except that is, if we look down over one remote corner.
06:03Satellite images reveal a strange shape.
06:12With dozens of trails leading in from the surrounding forest.
06:20This shape was created by the Congo's mightiest residents.
06:37They spend most of their lives hidden in the thick jungle.
06:45But travel hundreds of kilometers to gather here.
06:50Forest elephants.
07:07Locals call this place Zangabai.
07:14The village of elephants.
07:39Forest elephants.
07:40Forest elephants spend most of their lives in small family groups.
07:44Forest elephants.
07:47But here, up to 150 individuals are drawn together every day.
07:59Their diet of tough leaves and jungle fruit is lacking in vital minerals.
08:08So generations of elephants have come to this one spot in the forest.
08:18Where deposits of sodium, potassium and calcium lie just below the surface.
08:28Using their tusks to dig at the soil.
08:31And their trunks to blow into the water.
08:39These elephants have excavated a network of boreholes.
08:46Allowing them to extract these minerals from underground.
09:03Over hundreds of years, the constant digging and movement of elephants has caused this clearing to grow.
09:16It's now more than 500 meters long.
09:21And clearly visible from space.
09:36For a young forest elephant, a first visit to the bai is full of new experiences.
09:49While the adults drink effortlessly, she's still getting to grips with her trunk.
10:09Infants are raised by their mothers for up to four years.
10:17And learning how to drink from these wells is one of life's vital lessons.
10:29For a calf who spends most of her time with her mother, this is a rare opportunity to socialize.
10:40For a calf who spends most of her time with her mother, this is one of the most important things.
10:50Relationships formed at this young age can last a lifetime.
11:03But while they play, mothers...
11:08...must keep a close watch.
11:20Male forest elephants are also drawn here.
11:25This gathering is the ideal place to find a fertile female.
11:35To display their size and strength, bull elephants charge around the clearing.
11:54And if more than one male appears, tensions run high.
12:21Young forest elephants have been killed here by charging males.
12:27Music
12:40Music
12:41Mother retreats to the safety of the forest.
12:45Music
12:49Her baby should be able to return to this clearing throughout its lifetime.
12:59But these elephants face an uncertain future.
13:08In the last 20 years, more than half of all the forest elephants in the world have been
13:14killed by poachers for their ivory.
13:21The cameras in space may be able to help.
13:28Scientists can now use satellite images to identify other clearings used by forest elephants,
13:37protecting them from poachers, and preserving these unique gatherings.
13:58But you don't need to be as big as an elephant to make a mark visible from space.
14:07In South Australia, the outback is speckled with mysterious light patches.
14:17Interlinked with narrow trails.
14:25The work of an unlikely architect.
14:36He's a southern, hairy-nosed wombat.
14:46A marsupial only found in this part of Australia.
14:57Exposing the thinner fur of his belly helps to keep him cool as he waits for the midday heat
15:02to pass.
15:12Then, there's work to be done.
15:22It's springtime.
15:24And with each passing day, temperatures are steadily rising.
15:31In just a few weeks, it could be close to 50 degrees Celsius.
15:41Wrapped in a thick fur coat, this heat could be deadly.
15:51But the wombat has a solution.
15:57With sharp claws and short, powerful limbs, he's built for digging.
16:21It's 15 degrees cooler below ground.
16:25A hiding place from the worst of the summer sun.
16:33But high temperatures aren't the only threat wombats face.
16:37Habitat loss and the impact of invasive species caused wombat numbers to plummet in the early
16:4520th century.
16:49But now, using satellite images to locate their burrows, scientists can see they're bouncing back.
17:03With around 1 million southern hairy-nosed wombats now living in this corner of Australia.
17:23In South America, vast areas are covered with lush, green, tropical forest.
17:34But on the coast of northeast Brazil, the forest is interrupted by a very different landscape.
17:53Vegetation is being swallowed up by sand.
18:02Washed up by the ocean and blown inland over thousands of years.
18:11A field of sand dunes covering more than 800 square kilometers.
18:21The Lensois Marahenses.
18:28The surface of the scorched sand can reach 80 degrees Celsius.
18:37To survive here, you have to be made of tough stuff.
18:47A Penninga Turtle.
18:51She's left the surrounding forest behind.
18:55And is making her way into the heart of this desert.
19:07Walking for days beneath the burning sun.
19:22Each step on the soft sand sapping away her precious energy.
19:33Without food and water, she won't survive for long.
19:43But she's made this journey for a reason.
19:54It's the wet season.
20:06And in these dunes, the rain changes everything.
20:27Only from space can we see the scale of the transformation.
20:35Once a year, rainwater floods the desert.
20:48Forming thousands of freshwater lagoons.
21:05Beneath the sand, a layer of solid rock stops rainwater escaping.
21:18Creating a landscape like nowhere else on Earth.
21:30And that's just what she came for.
21:47As the lagoons grow, fish make their way into the pools from surrounding rivers.
21:59They'll keep her fed for weeks.
22:09But this water won't last forever.
22:14In the tropical sun, these lagoons will soon evaporate.
22:29Dozens of desert species now race to make the most of the life-giving water.
22:39Even after the sun has set.
22:57A tiny, four-eyed frog.
23:02He's been lying dormant in the cool sand.
23:09But the rains have triggered the breeding season.
23:16And there are thousands just like him.
23:24In other parts of the world, frogs migrate for kilometers to reach their breeding pools.
23:31But here, the water has come to them.
23:41Around the lagoons, grasses have sprung up, creating sheltered spots for breeding.
23:56And it's not only four-eyed frogs who come here.
24:04Seven different species of frogs and toads are all hoping to breed.
24:21It's a struggle to make yourself heard about the noise.
24:34Eventually, the four-eyed frogs find each other.
24:43Each pair may produce more than a thousand eggs.
24:52An explosion of new life.
24:58And just in time...
25:12When the rains ease, the lagoons begin to disappear.
25:21And sand reclaims this corner of Brazil.
25:34Around the world, the forces of nature create mysterious and intriguing patterns visible only from space.
25:48Star-like shapes in the Sahara Desert are sand dunes whipped up by the wind.
26:00In West Africa, a ring of concentric circles.
26:06From the heavens to the earth is filled in by the heavens, the earth forms the earth.
26:08Flamingienne forces
26:09The sun is radium, the earth.
26:10The earth's crust.
26:15And in Iran's salt desert, these abstract swirls are the remains of an ancient ocean.
26:25Sculpted by the wind over millions of years.
26:39In the Amazon rainforest, hundreds of rivers wind through the jungle.
26:55Alongside them are strange arcs and horseshoe shapes.
27:09Satellite images taken over 30 years reveal how these patterns are formed.
27:24As the water forges a path through the jungle, bends in the river, are cut off and left behind.
27:45Creating isolated oxbow lakes.
27:53Like El Dorado Lake in northern Peru.
28:01A special place for wildlife and for local people.
28:24Elvira is nine years old.
28:31She and her friends live in a small village close to the Oxbow Lake.
28:39They're fascinated by animals.
28:45And their favorite is perhaps the most elusive.
28:49The Amazonian manatee.
28:55Manatees spend their lives hidden in the murky water of jungle rivers.
29:07Surfacing only briefly to take a breath.
29:11Or to feed on floating plants.
29:19In many parts of the Amazon, manatees are hunted for their meat.
29:24And their numbers are declining.
29:33Elvira has never laid eyes on a manatee.
29:48But that's all about to change.
30:00The Oxbow Lake has all the benefits of a river.
30:08But its isolated waters are still and safe.
30:21Perfect for manatees in need of a second chance.
30:52For Elvira, it's a great place.
30:55It's an opportunity to finally come face-to-face with her favorite animal.
31:01It has a little beard.
31:05I feel like I would be playing a manatee.
31:08If it's really.
31:12This manatee is one of a lucky few.
31:20They were rescued from illegal captivity and rehabilitated by an international team of experts.
31:29They're now fit and well enough to be released.
31:39Radio tags will allow their progress to be monitored.
31:47As they start their new life.
31:50In the safety.
31:51Of the Oxbow Lake.
31:58Ciao!
32:00Wanna be?
32:05I hope you find many friends.
32:08And that I'm happy.
32:16The twists and turns that lead to Oxbow Lakes.
32:21Are typical of slow jungle rivers.
32:24Meandering over flat ground.
32:38But across the globe.
32:40Each river.
32:41Has its own unique character.
32:44Has its own unique character.
32:50In Egypt.
32:52The river Nile.
32:54Brings life.
32:55To the desert.
32:57Creating a ribbon of green.
33:08At the base of the Himalaya.
33:11The Brahmaputra river.
33:13Pulls in water from hundreds of streams.
33:16Pouring out of the mountains.
33:19Creating a complex channel.
33:22Ten kilometers wide.
33:28In the USA.
33:30The movement of Utah's Green River.
33:33Has carved out deep canyons.
33:37Over millions of years.
33:45In eastern China.
33:48Five major rivers.
33:50Converge.
33:54To form a body of fresh water.
33:56So huge.
33:57That the only way to see it.
33:59In its entirety.
34:01Is from space.
34:07Poyang Lake.
34:13This is no ordinary lake.
34:15This is no ordinary lake.
34:20Each year.
34:21When the dry season arrives.
34:25It begins to shrink.
34:33Within three months.
34:35It almost totally.
34:38Disappears.
34:45Leaving behind.
34:47Huge areas.
34:48Of nutrient rich mud.
34:58And hundreds.
35:00Of shallow fresh water pools.
35:13This transformation.
35:15Is the queue.
35:17For one of the greatest migrations.
35:20On our planet.
35:28Half a million birds.
35:29Flock here.
35:31From all across Asia.
35:39But none.
35:40Have traveled further.
35:42Than the critically endangered.
35:44Siberian cranes.
35:47This is the end of a month long journey.
35:50From northern Russia.
35:52Almost 5,000 kilometers away.
36:06They've come.
36:07For a unique.
36:08Feeding opportunity.
36:17The falling water.
36:19Has revealed.
36:20The nutritious.
36:20Roots.
36:21Of aquatic plants.
36:26The cranes.
36:27The cranes.
36:28Gorge themselves.
36:29After their long journey.
36:32And they aren't.
36:33Interested.
36:34In sharing.
36:40Among the many families.
36:43Are two parents.
36:44With their five month old offspring.
36:53He successfully completed.
36:55His first migration.
36:58But 5,000 kilometers.
37:01Is a long way to fly.
37:03On young wings.
37:08He begs for food.
37:14But his mother.
37:17Ignores him.
37:21It's every bird for themself.
37:30And from space.
37:32It's clear to see why.
37:34As the dry season progresses.
37:37The pools shrink.
37:40Increasing competition.
37:42For the best feeding spots.
37:48A rival.
37:50Has strayed.
37:51Onto the family's patch.
37:56This.
37:58Cannot go unchallenged.
38:00The seed.
38:01The.
38:02The.
38:05The.
38:11The.
38:11Father squares up.
38:12To the intruder.
38:19Neither is willing to back down.
38:35Their claws are razor-sharp, 15-centimetre-long beaks become weapons.
39:26The intruder
39:29is seen off.
39:44But the youngster still hasn't been able to get a meal.
39:51There's only one thing for it.
40:00He finally works out how to feed for himself.
40:07The whole family can now fuel up for the return journey to Siberia.
40:20After four months, the rivers that flow into Poyang begin to rise again.
40:32And the cranes start the long flight home.
40:38An epic journey, triggered by a remarkable transformation.
40:56The coming and going of water makes for some of the most beautiful landscapes on Earth.
41:11Rivers, arriving at the coast, deposit vast quantities of sediment.
41:22Creating deltas that reach out into the ocean.
41:30In northern Russia, the Lena River forks into thousands of separate channels.
41:41And in the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River delta spans 10,000 square kilometers.
41:55But the largest delta in the world lies in the Bay of Bengal.
42:02This maze of waterways is the Sundarbans.
42:08Twice a day, it's transformed by the tide.
42:15Blue to brown as the tide falls, exposing the mud below.
42:34Silt from river water is trapped by mangrove roots, creating a habitat like no other.
42:46A home for timid cheetle deer, troops of macaques, elusive Bengal
42:57tigers and over three million people.
43:10Boban and his son, Hridhoi, live in the north of the Sundarbans.
43:31Boban is a fisherman.
43:34He's teaching his son the family trade.
43:42But they won't be fishing with lions or poles.
43:49Instead, they'll be using 10 smooth-coated otters.
44:01The people here have been fishing together with otters since the sixth century.
44:07Wild otter populations are declining in the Sundarbans.
44:12This specially bred captive population could be crucial for the survival of the species.
44:21And they're extremely precious to their owners.
44:37But they can only fish at very precise times of the day.
44:42They have to wait for the tide.
44:50While it's high, thousands of tiny inlets criss-cross through the mangrove forest.
45:01Water dominates the landscape, giving fish plenty of places to hide.
45:09But from space, we can watch the tide turn.
45:18Water is replaced with mud.
45:27And at the very lowest tide, fish are forced into the few remaining stretches of water.
45:36And the otters get to work.
45:53Their sensitive whiskers detect the movement of fish.
46:04And they flush them towards the nets.
46:13Young otters swim freely.
46:16They're supposed to be learning from the adults.
46:19But it's easy to get distracted.
46:22One is one of the queens.
46:25Can it take the ship or even get them?
46:28No.
46:49The otters bring in up to twice as many fish as using nets alone.
47:02And they take their cut.
47:09Ten otters can eat eight kilos of fish every day.
47:19But it's getting harder for fishermen here to make a living.
47:25Large-scale fishing and pollution from growing industry are decimating the fish stocks in
47:32the Sundarbans.
47:37From over 200, this is now just one of eight boats keeping this ancient skill alive.
47:52The tide turns and the fishermen follow the water home.
48:05Humans have always found ways to survive alongside our planet's natural landscapes.
48:18But around 10,000 years ago, we began to create patterns of our very own.
48:29Alongside nature's chaotic curves, more ordered shapes appeared.
48:42Designed with great precision to help us feed ourselves.
48:54At first, farming could only take place alongside natural water sources.
49:03But now, even in the driest desert, crops are being grown.
49:14And one shape has come to dominate.
49:22By using rotating sprinklers, farmers can water a circular field more easily than any other
49:37shape.
49:40In the American Midwest, these irrigation circles stretch for hundreds of kilometers.
49:52Intensive farming like this can force out wildlife.
49:58But no matter how tightly circles are packed together, there'll always be gaps left between them.
50:11In Missouri, farmers are encouraged to keep these spaces wild, creating pockets of habitat for animals, like the bobwhite quail.
50:29On the edge of this circle, just enough space has been left for quail to raise their chicks.
50:43With hungry new mouths to feed, families are always on the move in search of food.
50:56Young chicks are inquisitive, keen to explore their new world.
51:05But in the thick undergrowth, parents can find it difficult to keep an eye on all of them.
51:25And there are others here, looking for a meal.
51:33Kestrels have their own young to feed.
51:59Mothers know the best thing to do is hunker down and stay still.
52:11But a lone chick's instinct is to keep running.
52:32She's inside the circle of crops.
52:39An alien world.
52:49Row upon row of soybeans, arranged in a circle almost a kilometer wide.
53:01There's nothing to eat, and in the height of summer, nothing to drink.
53:10Dry conditions are bad for the crops, too.
53:16But here in Missouri, they have a solution for that.
53:25Millions of gallons of water, pumped from deep underground, and piped along a rotating arm 300 meters long.
53:44A life saver for the crops, but potentially deadly for a quail chick.
53:55Go to that space!
53:58We're going to be able to dig.
53:58Duplicate your milk.
53:59Do it!
54:21Never mind!
54:36Life beside industrial farming comes with dangers.
54:46But each small patch of wild habitat can be an important oasis for animals.
55:06There are now 125,000 circular fields in the USA.
55:14Who knows what dramas may be unfolding in the spaces left between them.
55:27Human agriculture now covers more than one third of the Earth's land surface.
55:42Add to that the space taken up by our homes and our industries and humanity's impact can
55:49now be seen on more than half of the planet's land.
55:58For millions of years, natural forces have shaped Earth's surface.
56:06But now, it is undoubtedly us who will decide what our home will look like in the future.
56:22Next time, the view from space reveals our blue planet as a kaleidoscope of incredible colors.
56:36Vast turquoise swirls in the ocean trigger the planet's biggest feeding frenzy.
56:45Billions of flowers turn a Chinese landscape bright yellow.
56:51And a lake in East Africa is transformed by the pink of thousands of flamingos.
57:01Each color has its own remarkable secrets to reveal.
57:11Montks of the skyi Gudakoül europé outro in the ocean θungen,
57:202018-2021, 2018-200431, 2017-2021, 2019-2021, 2019-2019-2021, 2020-2020, 2018-2021, 2019-2021, 2018-2021, 2020
57:21-2021, 2018-2021, 2018-2021, 2018-2021.