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BBC Planet Earth III 1of8 Coasts 1080p HDTV x265
BBC Planet Earth III 1of8 Coasts 1080p HDTV x265
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whilst walking these very paths
in the English countryside
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and observing the banks and meadows
near his home,
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Charles Darwin developed
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his ground-breaking ideas
about evolution,
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casting a new light
on the natural world
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and opening our eyes
to its true wonder.
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Since then, we've explored
almost every part of the planet
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and seen nature in its
astounding variety.
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But there's still much to discover.
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In this new series
of Planet Earth...
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..we travel to the most astonishing
wild places...
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..see mysterious creatures...
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..witness spectacular wonders...
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..and reveal breathtaking
animal dramas.
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The natural world
continues to surprise us.
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But since Darwin's time,
it has changed beyond recognition...
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..transformed by a powerful force.
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Us.
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We will see how animals are adapting
in extraordinary ways
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to survive the new challenges
they face.
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At this crucial time in our history,
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we must now look at the world
through a new lens.
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This is Planet Earth III.
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Tasmania, Shipstern's Bluff...
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..where two worlds collide.
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These waves have crossed more than
1,000 miles of open ocean...
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..building in strength.
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It's here that they meet
their explosive end.
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Coasts are dangerous
and dynamic frontiers.
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To succeed here,
life must adapt to constant change.
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South Africa's Robberg Peninsula.
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Thousands of Cape fur seals
gather here to breed.
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This pup was born
into a crowded world.
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But now, at nearly a year old,
he can escape to the water.
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He just has to get there.
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There is no question
as to where this pup belongs.
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In the water, he's fast and agile.
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And he needs to be.
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The rolling surf conceals
life-threatening dangers.
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A great white shark.
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This young pup
has had a very lucky escape.
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Here on Africa's southern coast,
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seals risk their lives
every time they set out to eat.
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Powerful ocean currents
attract huge shoals of fish.
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But in recent years,
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this stretch has attracted increased
numbers of great whites too.
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The great whites are shrewd hunters
and use whatever cover is available.
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This shark won't need to eat
for another few days.
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But he's not alone.
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These usually solitary hunters
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are gathering in
unprecedented numbers.
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A dozen at a time.
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The seals are nimble...
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..but great whites are patient...
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..and have explosive acceleration...
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..hitting top speed with just
five swipes of their tails.
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Cornered...
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..the seals keep close
to the jagged cliffs.
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They are trapped.
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But as the great whites
move in for the kill...
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..the seals do something
astonishing.
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Together...
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..they turn on their enemy.
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As more join, the mob grows...
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..in both number and confidence.
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The tables are turning.
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By sheer force of numbers...
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..these fur seals drive the world's
most notorious predator...
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..back out to sea.
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Here, animals are adapting
to new challenges
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in a rapidly changing world.
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In the Arctic...
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..monumental change
is a regular event.
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Summer.
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Visitors are arriving en masse...
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..attracted by the biggest
seasonal transformation
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on any coast on Earth.
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Over 300 billion tonnes
of ice are melting...
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..releasing nutrient-rich water.
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Extraordinary newcomers
appear from the depths.
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A sea angel.
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No bigger than your little finger.
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It's eaten little for months.
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Its empty stomach glows orange.
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And there are other hungry arrivals.
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A sea butterfly.
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A snail with wings.
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Both angel and butterfly are blind.
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But each monitors minute changes in
the water as they search for a meal.
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This angel has a devilish side.
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Its mouth parts invert
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to form a deadly trap
of tentacles...
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..from which there is
little chance of escape.
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With a stomach full of prey,
this angel has lost its glow...
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..but not its appetite.
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It feasts while it can.
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Both predator and prey
will soon return to the depths...
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..before the ice transforms
this coast once again.
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Namibia...
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..where desert lions
roam across vast territories.
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These desert cats are on
a never-ending search for food.
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And that has brought
these young sisters...
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..here.
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Africa's infamous Skeleton Coast.
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Following years of persecution,
Namibia's lions are now protected...
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..and their range
is expanding again.
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These are the first to be seen
on these shores for 40 years.
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By day, there is little
for them here.
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But at night,
it's a different story.
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Sea birds come here to roost
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in their thousands.
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These hungry sisters have never
seen an opportunity like this.
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But no cats,
certainly no desert cats,
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enjoy getting their paws wet.
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These roosting cormorants
are sitting ducks
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for hunters with good night vision.
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In theory.
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Birds are not a big cat's
usual prey,
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let alone sea birds.
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And these sisters
need to get their eye in.
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Catching flying prey
in the dark is not easy...
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..but these lions
have acquired the knack.
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Coasts can not only provide food...
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..they can also be a sanctuary.
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This female southern right whale
is nearing the end
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of a 5,000 mile journey
across open ocean.
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She's kept a steady course...
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..to a special place
she has known all her life.
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Peninsula Valdes, Argentina.
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In these calm, shallow waters...
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..her behaviour starts to change.
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She rolls and shifts her great body.
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Perhaps she's trying
to get comfortable.
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Other females are close by.
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Some have been coming here
for five decades...
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..seeking the shelter of this bay
at a key time in their lives.
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This whale is here...
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..to give birth.
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A new life begins.
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The calf is totally dependent
on its mother.
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She's producing as much
as 200 litres of milk a day.
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The strength she loses,
the calf gains.
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And it becomes more and more
independent and playful.
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In this nursery bay,
there are plenty of playmates.
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But a mother never lets her calf
stray too far...
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..and will always offer
a welcome embrace.
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The family keeps in constant contact
with whispered calls.
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New research has revealed
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that in shallow coastal waters,
their calls not only fade quickly,
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but are also concealed by the sound
of waves breaking on the shore...
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..so they won't attract
the attention of predators.
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Not so long ago,
these whales faced a graver threat.
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They were hunted to near extinction.
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But 40 years ago,
commercial whaling was banned.
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Today, their population
is 12,000 strong...
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..and this bay now attracts
one of the largest gatherings
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of these whales anywhere on Earth.
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There are over a million miles
of coastline around the world.
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Together, they constitute the
most varied habitat on the planet.
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Here on Canada's west coast,
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some of the most powerful
of all ocean currents
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deliver a constant
supply of nutrients
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to the shores of countless islands.
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And those that live here
take full advantage.
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This is the aptly-named
wandering garter snake.
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He may seem out of place...
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..but he's here to eat.
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The water here is more than
ten degrees colder than the air.
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But that doesn't deter this intrepid
hunter from taking the plunge.
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Under the water,
there is an abundance of food...
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..if he can catch it.
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Snakes are cold-blooded,
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so he can't stay in these
chilly waters for long.
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Back in the sunshine,
he warms his head,
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perhaps sharpening his senses.
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00:30:28,100 --> 00:30:30,140
And then, with a gulp of air...
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..he continues his hunt.
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00:30:41,300 --> 00:30:43,420
It's thought that garter snakes
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can use their forked tongue
underwater as they do in air,
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smelling in stereo...
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..detecting prey wherever it hides.
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He's got something.
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A small fish.
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Now, he has to land it.
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Success.
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For those animals able to cross
the divide between land and sea,
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there are surprising rewards.
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Raja Ampat in Indonesia.
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Here, there's a greater
variety of animals
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than on any other coast on Earth.
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The corals are protected
by mangroves.
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Salt tolerant trees that prop
themselves on curving aerial roots.
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These fish have learned how to
catch prey from high in the trees.
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Archerfish use jets of water
like arrows.
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This pinpoint accuracy...
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..requires some
complex calculations.
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The hunter first estimates
the range of its target...
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..then loads with a precise
amount of water.
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00:33:07,580 --> 00:33:11,580
Aiming, they allow
for the refraction and distortion
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created by the water's
moving surface.
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00:33:18,340 --> 00:33:19,740
And then...
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00:33:20,900 --> 00:33:22,420
..release...
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..an arrow of water.
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They can hit prey
up to two metres above them.
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But they're not born
with this skill.
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They have to learn it.
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And they do that by studying others.
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This youngster is watching
a master at work.
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It's time for the apprentice
to have a go.
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First, he must select a target.
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This seems rather ambitious.
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Missed.
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Others watch to learn
from his mistakes.
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00:34:59,780 --> 00:35:01,140
Or...
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..to steal his prize.
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Enough is enough.
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There is one way
to beat the thieves.
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00:35:54,540 --> 00:35:56,180
The archer himself...
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00:35:57,820 --> 00:35:59,540
..becomes the arrow.
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00:36:20,940 --> 00:36:25,180
Mangroves are unusually
stable coastal environments,
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where an archerfish can focus
on beating the competition.
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But on the exposed coast
of Mexico's Yucatan,
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life is precarious.
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Concentrated by
the tropical sunshine,
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the brine in these shallow lagoons
cannot be tolerated by most animals.
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00:37:10,540 --> 00:37:14,300
And yet, these Caribbean flamingos
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00:37:14,300 --> 00:37:17,580
have flown hundreds of miles
to gather here.
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These hypersaline waters
keep many predators at bay...
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..so it's here they choose to nest.
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There are more than
10,000 pairs here.
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It's the largest breeding colony
in North America.
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Nest mounds keep chicks
clear of the brine
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while they are still
at their most vulnerable.
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00:39:10,060 --> 00:39:12,860
But this generation faces a problem.
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The storms that come each season
are arriving earlier every year.
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00:39:30,460 --> 00:39:33,780
And the colony lies directly
in their path.
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00:39:44,100 --> 00:39:47,700
Rising winds create a storm surge
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that overwhelms
the most exposed nests.
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00:40:14,380 --> 00:40:15,900
And then...
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..it rains.
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The adults do what they can,
bailing out their nests.
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But they can only do so much.
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00:40:56,980 --> 00:41:01,980
The storm passes,
but leaves devastation in its wake.
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00:41:06,740 --> 00:41:09,180
Most nests are submerged.
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00:41:25,580 --> 00:41:28,340
The chicks are soaked and cold...
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00:41:30,060 --> 00:41:31,740
..and will soon perish...
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00:41:33,100 --> 00:41:35,340
..unless they can
get out of the water.
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The adults are unable to help.
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00:41:56,740 --> 00:41:59,180
A chick must save itself.
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00:42:25,740 --> 00:42:30,260
Some years,
no chicks survive in this colony.
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00:42:34,060 --> 00:42:36,740
Our coasts are vulnerable places.
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00:42:38,620 --> 00:42:44,020
Increasingly so, as rising global
temperatures create bigger storms.
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00:42:48,220 --> 00:42:51,380
The biggest are hurricanes.
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00:42:55,380 --> 00:43:00,020
They form over warm tropical water,
building in strength at sea.
256
00:43:04,060 --> 00:43:08,100
But their full force
is unleashed on our coasts...
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00:43:10,980 --> 00:43:15,980
..where 40% of the world's human
population have made their homes.
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In this changing world...
259
00:43:32,900 --> 00:43:35,340
..coasts are on the front line.
260
00:43:51,860 --> 00:43:53,540
Raine Island.
261
00:43:54,820 --> 00:43:57,860
One of the planet's most important
breeding sites
262
00:43:57,860 --> 00:44:01,100
for one particularly
precious species.
263
00:44:14,660 --> 00:44:16,380
The green turtle.
264
00:44:20,940 --> 00:44:23,580
On a few special nights each year,
265
00:44:23,580 --> 00:44:27,780
as many as 20,000 females
come ashore here.
266
00:44:30,540 --> 00:44:32,820
Their instinct to nest is strong...
267
00:44:35,340 --> 00:44:41,060
..and many haul themselves far
inland in search of nesting space.
268
00:44:43,860 --> 00:44:49,300
In a single night, they may lay
as many as two million eggs.
269
00:45:02,060 --> 00:45:03,540
Dawn.
270
00:45:06,620 --> 00:45:09,780
This exhausted female has nested,
271
00:45:09,780 --> 00:45:12,980
but now she faces
a long return journey
272
00:45:12,980 --> 00:45:15,300
through the dunes to the sea.
273
00:45:28,420 --> 00:45:30,300
As the sun rises...
274
00:45:32,660 --> 00:45:35,900
..she's at risk of being
baked alive.
275
00:45:43,740 --> 00:45:47,700
Every inch she travels is gruelling.
276
00:45:56,060 --> 00:46:00,140
And the ebbing tide
has exposed a rocky reef.
277
00:46:05,020 --> 00:46:07,940
It has already claimed many lives.
278
00:46:12,980 --> 00:46:17,220
Other females overcome
by heat and exhaustion.
279
00:46:27,220 --> 00:46:28,940
Her temperature is rising.
280
00:46:29,940 --> 00:46:31,940
She has to keep going.
281
00:46:57,020 --> 00:47:02,780
As many as 2,000 female turtles
may die here each year.
282
00:47:24,700 --> 00:47:27,220
But the coast is always changing.
283
00:47:37,060 --> 00:47:39,980
And the turning tide
284
00:47:39,980 --> 00:47:41,900
may yet save her.
285
00:48:10,620 --> 00:48:15,620
Half of all the green turtles
in the Pacific come here to nest,
286
00:48:15,620 --> 00:48:19,220
as they have done
for at least 1,000 years.
287
00:48:28,140 --> 00:48:30,340
But for how much longer?
288
00:48:36,340 --> 00:48:41,340
If sea levels rise as predicted,
within the next 30 years,
289
00:48:41,340 --> 00:48:45,620
Raine Island will disappear
beneath the waves.
290
00:48:53,620 --> 00:48:57,380
Coasts are dynamic,
dangerous frontiers...
291
00:48:59,660 --> 00:49:04,020
..and they are changing faster
than ever before in human history.
292
00:49:07,580 --> 00:49:10,140
Life is remarkably resilient...
293
00:49:11,580 --> 00:49:14,100
..and adapts to new challenges.
294
00:49:16,940 --> 00:49:21,420
But there is a limit
on how fast it can do so.
295
00:49:42,620 --> 00:49:44,420
As far as I know,
296
00:49:44,420 --> 00:49:49,420
I was one of the first people to
film on Raine Island, back in 1957.
297
00:49:52,100 --> 00:49:54,300
YOUNGER DAVID: After a fortnight
of travelling north,
298
00:49:54,300 --> 00:49:56,620
we at last sighted Raine Island.
299
00:49:57,900 --> 00:50:02,980
From the sea, it looked no more than
a low sandbank covered in scrub.
300
00:50:02,980 --> 00:50:05,660
But as we rowed ashore,
301
00:50:05,660 --> 00:50:09,700
we were deafened by the cries
of thousands of sea birds
302
00:50:09,700 --> 00:50:12,580
which hung above the island
like a black cloud.
303
00:50:15,980 --> 00:50:20,740
I was 31 and it was here
that I first met a green turtle.
304
00:50:22,380 --> 00:50:24,940
The turtles come up to lay at night,
305
00:50:24,940 --> 00:50:28,980
and after a night spent laying
maybe over 100 eggs,
306
00:50:28,980 --> 00:50:33,100
she's very weary and very anxious
to get back to the sea.
307
00:50:36,620 --> 00:50:38,580
Nearly 70 years later,
308
00:50:38,580 --> 00:50:41,900
the Planet Earth III team
are welcomed by people
309
00:50:41,900 --> 00:50:46,060
whose connection to the island goes
back very much further than mine.
310
00:50:46,060 --> 00:50:47,820
Welcome to Raine!
311
00:50:47,820 --> 00:50:49,940
The Wuthathi and Meriam people
312
00:50:49,940 --> 00:50:52,860
have been coming here
for several thousand years.
313
00:50:54,660 --> 00:50:57,020
Raine Island's a beautiful
and special place.
314
00:50:57,020 --> 00:50:59,540
Like, there's nowhere
else on the planet
315
00:50:59,540 --> 00:51:01,900
where you come and see
this much turtles.
316
00:51:01,900 --> 00:51:03,780
It's a wonder to see.
317
00:51:07,500 --> 00:51:10,780
Since I was there, it's been
discovered that Raine Island
318
00:51:10,780 --> 00:51:14,860
attracts more nesting green turtles
than anywhere else on the planet.
319
00:51:21,020 --> 00:51:22,780
There's so many, isn't there?
320
00:51:22,780 --> 00:51:25,660
As soon as you're up, you're like,
"Oh, there are a lot."
321
00:51:25,660 --> 00:51:28,460
And the crew soon meet
some other residents too.
322
00:51:29,740 --> 00:51:31,700
This is behind
the behind the scenes!
323
00:51:36,660 --> 00:51:38,020
See you, mate!
324
00:51:41,540 --> 00:51:43,540
The team are here to record
325
00:51:43,540 --> 00:51:46,500
the mother turtles'
perilous journeys back to the sea.
326
00:51:48,540 --> 00:51:50,340
Oh, God.
327
00:51:52,740 --> 00:51:55,260
Trapped turtles can often
free themselves
328
00:51:55,260 --> 00:51:57,500
with the help of the rising tide.
329
00:51:58,780 --> 00:52:01,980
Nearly. Just a bit more to
the right there. Yeah, there.
330
00:52:01,980 --> 00:52:06,060
But in this case, Keron
makes the decision to intervene.
331
00:52:07,260 --> 00:52:10,100
Ready? One, two, three.
332
00:52:10,100 --> 00:52:12,700
Yeah, any time we're here
we'll walk the beach.
333
00:52:12,700 --> 00:52:16,340
Any turtles that have no chance
of making it back to the ocean,
334
00:52:16,340 --> 00:52:21,420
if we can save them, we save them,
because every turtle is precious.
335
00:52:21,420 --> 00:52:23,660
At the time of my first visit,
336
00:52:23,660 --> 00:52:26,900
little was known to outsiders
about Raine Island.
337
00:52:26,900 --> 00:52:29,140
But for the last few decades,
338
00:52:29,140 --> 00:52:33,180
scientists have been working with
the Wuthathi and Meriam people
339
00:52:33,180 --> 00:52:36,100
to understand more
about this special place.
340
00:52:37,180 --> 00:52:40,500
Scientists have been coming to Raine
Island since about the mid '70s
341
00:52:40,500 --> 00:52:42,920
and over that time
they've been monitoring
342
00:52:42,920 --> 00:52:44,860
the nesting population here.
343
00:52:46,460 --> 00:52:48,460
This work involves long hours...
344
00:52:50,500 --> 00:52:52,340
98.7.
345
00:52:52,340 --> 00:52:54,860
..and a certain degree of patience.
346
00:52:56,900 --> 00:52:58,620
Oh!
347
00:52:58,620 --> 00:52:59,740
SHE LAUGHS
348
00:53:03,620 --> 00:53:07,140
We're going to be wearing half of
Raine Island by the end of tonight!
349
00:53:09,900 --> 00:53:13,340
Helping the year's first hatchlings
is a little easier.
350
00:53:14,780 --> 00:53:16,740
So we'll take these ones
down to the water's edge
351
00:53:16,740 --> 00:53:18,940
and so hopefully we'll see
these turtles back here,
352
00:53:18,940 --> 00:53:20,620
laying eggs in 30 years' time.
353
00:53:21,940 --> 00:53:24,540
With the help of this
dedicated team,
354
00:53:24,540 --> 00:53:28,140
Raine Island's turtles might
seem to have a good future.
355
00:53:33,060 --> 00:53:36,180
But research is revealing
a hidden threat.
356
00:53:40,900 --> 00:53:43,620
The direct effects
of climate change.
357
00:53:47,860 --> 00:53:51,380
Do you want to hold this against
the flat part of the data-logger?
358
00:53:51,380 --> 00:53:53,540
A developing turtle's sex
359
00:53:53,540 --> 00:53:56,460
is determined by the temperature
of its nest.
360
00:53:57,940 --> 00:54:01,380
Higher temperatures
produce female hatchlings.
361
00:54:03,300 --> 00:54:07,780
The temperature of the sand on Raine
Island is now at a record high.
362
00:54:09,140 --> 00:54:13,700
So 99% of the turtles
that hatch here are female.
363
00:54:15,220 --> 00:54:18,500
More alarmingly, we now know
this has been case
364
00:54:18,500 --> 00:54:21,020
for at least the last 20 years.
365
00:54:22,140 --> 00:54:23,820
You do the maths.
366
00:54:23,820 --> 00:54:28,220
All females, no males.
What's going to happen?
367
00:54:28,220 --> 00:54:30,380
There's going to be
a population crash
368
00:54:30,380 --> 00:54:31,980
and there'll be no more turtle.
369
00:54:35,460 --> 00:54:38,620
Work is under way to find solutions.
370
00:54:38,620 --> 00:54:40,740
But that's not their only problem.
371
00:54:42,380 --> 00:54:46,860
Not only are temperatures rising,
sea levels are too.
372
00:54:48,460 --> 00:54:51,100
Increasingly, high tides on Raine
373
00:54:51,100 --> 00:54:54,180
are flooding many of the nests
from below...
374
00:54:56,380 --> 00:54:59,980
..drowning the developing turtles
before they hatch.
375
00:55:01,780 --> 00:55:03,260
It's really upsetting.
376
00:55:03,260 --> 00:55:06,220
You'll dig down to check
to see success,
377
00:55:06,220 --> 00:55:08,580
and you get down to the nests
378
00:55:08,580 --> 00:55:10,780
and you're just pulling up
dead eggs.
379
00:55:12,500 --> 00:55:17,100
To try to stop this happening, they
have devised a heavy-duty solution.
380
00:55:21,820 --> 00:55:25,060
These machines have been
shipped hundreds of miles
381
00:55:25,060 --> 00:55:28,540
from the Australian mainland
to re-shape the beach.
382
00:55:31,340 --> 00:55:33,700
They have already shifted sand
383
00:55:33,700 --> 00:55:37,060
that would fill 16 Olympic-sized
swimming pools
384
00:55:37,060 --> 00:55:40,060
and doubled the number
of safe nesting sites.
385
00:55:42,620 --> 00:55:47,020
The hope is that this will ensure
that over five million more eggs
386
00:55:47,020 --> 00:55:49,060
will hatch in the next decade.
387
00:55:52,420 --> 00:55:57,660
But from then on, the future of
Raine Island looks very uncertain.
388
00:55:58,980 --> 00:56:02,180
At this stage, we think
that we have to about 2050
389
00:56:02,180 --> 00:56:05,220
until we start seeing massive
impacts of sea level rise.
390
00:56:06,220 --> 00:56:10,620
It's crazy to think that,
you know, the work that we do here,
391
00:56:10,620 --> 00:56:12,700
someone might not be doing this
in 30 years' time
392
00:56:12,700 --> 00:56:14,300
cos there's no island to do it on.
393
00:56:18,100 --> 00:56:23,420
What sort of world is it going to be
for my children and their children?
394
00:56:23,420 --> 00:56:25,260
Is there going to be anything for...
395
00:56:26,620 --> 00:56:28,260
..for them? Or is it...
396
00:56:29,660 --> 00:56:31,180
..all in vain?
397
00:56:36,340 --> 00:56:40,100
We'll always be here fighting
for Raine Island, for the turtles.
398
00:56:40,100 --> 00:56:43,940
But we can't do it alone and
we need government and big business
399
00:56:43,940 --> 00:56:47,900
to wake up and see what they're
doing to the planet and get real.
400
00:56:54,180 --> 00:56:57,380
This little fellow
is newly hatched from an egg
401
00:56:57,380 --> 00:56:59,660
which had been laid
a month or so earlier
402
00:56:59,660 --> 00:57:02,580
and he too is very anxious
to get down to the sea.
403
00:57:06,820 --> 00:57:09,500
Having at last successfully
reached the water,
404
00:57:09,500 --> 00:57:13,260
he's still got a great number of
hazards to face before he grows up.
405
00:57:15,620 --> 00:57:17,540
Little did I know then
406
00:57:17,540 --> 00:57:20,580
what hazards that little turtle
would have to face
407
00:57:20,580 --> 00:57:24,100
or the extraordinary lengths
to which people would go
408
00:57:24,100 --> 00:57:26,380
to protect it and its island.
409
00:57:27,980 --> 00:57:33,180
In the 66 years since my visit,
Raine Island has remained
410
00:57:33,180 --> 00:57:36,540
the most important green turtle
nesting site on the planet.
411
00:57:37,580 --> 00:57:41,340
The question is,
can it last another lifetime?
412
00:57:46,340 --> 00:57:47,820
Next time...
413
00:57:49,180 --> 00:57:52,020
..an extraordinary journey
through the ocean.
414
00:57:54,260 --> 00:57:57,340
The last unexplored
frontier on our planet...
415
00:58:01,380 --> 00:58:02,980
..where life has evolved...
416
00:58:04,340 --> 00:58:06,740
..in the most surprising ways.
417
00:58:12,140 --> 00:58:15,820
Habitat Explorer brings animals
and their habitats to life.
418
00:58:15,820 --> 00:58:19,380
Explore this free interactive
and make origami animals.
419
00:58:19,380 --> 00:58:23,340
Go to bbc.co.uk/planetearth3
420
00:58:23,340 --> 00:58:25,620
and follow the links
to the Open University.
421
00:58:25,620 --> 00:58:27,860
Or to order a free printed version,
422
00:58:27,860 --> 00:58:31,100
visit the website
or call the numbers on the screen.