1 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:23,300 Our planet may be home 2 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:27,200 to 30 million different kinds of animals and plants. 3 00:00:27,210 --> 00:00:31,610 Each individual locked in its own life-long fight for survival. 4 00:00:33,110 --> 00:00:37,210 Everywhere you look, on land or in the ocean, there are extraordinary 5 00:00:37,310 --> 00:00:41,510 examples of the lengths living things go to to stay alive. 6 00:00:45,810 --> 00:00:48,010 This is the coast of Florida. 7 00:00:50,110 --> 00:00:52,710 Here, strange scars on the sea bed 8 00:00:52,810 --> 00:00:56,210 hint at one animal's remarkable strategy. 9 00:01:01,510 --> 00:01:03,610 These are bottlenose dolphins, 10 00:01:04,010 --> 00:01:06,610 one of the most intelligent animals on Earth. 11 00:01:07,910 --> 00:01:13,010 Their prey is very elusive, fast-swimming fish. 12 00:01:13,110 --> 00:01:18,110 But the dolphins have invented a completely new way of hunting. 13 00:01:21,410 --> 00:01:26,410 By beating its tail down hard, this dolphin stirs up the shallow silt. 14 00:01:33,310 --> 00:01:36,010 And by swimming in a tight circle 15 00:01:36,410 --> 00:01:40,110 it creates a ring of mushrooming mud around a shoal of fish. 16 00:01:59,820 --> 00:02:04,020 The contracting ring traps the fish just like a net. 17 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:07,020 Panicked, the fish jump to escape. 18 00:02:08,820 --> 00:02:11,820 Right into the open mouths of the waiting dolphins. 19 00:02:24,620 --> 00:02:27,920 Again and again, the lead dolphin creates a circle, 20 00:02:28,020 --> 00:02:30,820 before they all line up with perfect timing. 21 00:02:57,930 --> 00:03:05,030 These dolphins are the only ones known to have developed this hunting behaviour and it gives them an edge. 22 00:03:09,430 --> 00:03:14,130 This sort of advantage may mean the difference between life and death 23 00:03:14,230 --> 00:03:16,230 in the survival of the fittest. 24 00:03:21,930 --> 00:03:26,230 This series reveals the most spectacular and extraordinary 25 00:03:26,230 --> 00:03:31,030 strategies that animals and plants have developed to stay alive. 26 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:10,340 For every creature, every day is full of challenges, 27 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:15,540 all of which must be overcome, somehow, in order to survive. 28 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:31,040 Kenya, famous for its big cats. 29 00:04:31,140 --> 00:04:32,940 The supreme hunters. 30 00:04:44,940 --> 00:04:49,240 Cheetahs specialise in hunting at speed. 31 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,940 Though fast, they are fragile creatures, 32 00:04:52,940 --> 00:04:55,840 built to sprint after small prey. 33 00:04:55,840 --> 00:04:58,240 They don't have the strength or weight of a lion 34 00:04:58,240 --> 00:04:59,740 to bring down larger animals. 35 00:05:03,140 --> 00:05:04,940 This male is different. 36 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:09,340 He doesn't hunt alone. He's learnt that there is strength in numbers. 37 00:05:23,350 --> 00:05:28,250 But here there are not just two, but three cheetahs. 38 00:05:28,250 --> 00:05:30,250 A band of brothers. 39 00:05:37,050 --> 00:05:41,050 They have changed their tactics and, by doing so, 40 00:05:41,050 --> 00:05:43,950 have taken their prey by surprise. 41 00:05:44,050 --> 00:05:47,150 They have learnt that working together 42 00:05:47,250 --> 00:05:49,650 they can bring down large prey. 43 00:05:54,250 --> 00:05:55,750 An ostrich. 44 00:05:55,850 --> 00:06:00,050 A bird that towers over a cheetah and is more than twice as heavy. 45 00:06:01,650 --> 00:06:06,450 It can't fly to escape danger, but it can lash out with a deadly kick. 46 00:06:08,150 --> 00:06:12,050 A female, unaware as yet, of any danger. 47 00:06:18,050 --> 00:06:21,550 Even with three of them this is still highly risky. 48 00:06:21,650 --> 00:06:26,850 If one gets injured the other two couldn't hope to tackle such large prey. 49 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:39,460 On the other hand, if they get it right, the rewards 50 00:06:39,460 --> 00:06:40,760 are huge. 51 00:06:48,660 --> 00:06:52,660 The male has spotted one of the brothers, but only one. 52 00:06:52,660 --> 00:06:54,260 It's not too worried. 53 00:07:07,260 --> 00:07:09,260 Then suddenly there are three! 54 00:07:20,860 --> 00:07:23,460 The female is slower to realise the danger 55 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:25,560 and the cheetahs switch targets. 56 00:07:51,470 --> 00:07:57,370 It takes the combined effort and weight of all three brothers to bring down this powerful bird. 57 00:07:57,470 --> 00:08:00,970 Even now the ostrich could land a fatal kick. 58 00:08:08,970 --> 00:08:11,070 So far, the brothers are winning. 59 00:08:11,170 --> 00:08:14,270 Ostriches have yet to find a way to foil such tactics. 60 00:08:17,870 --> 00:08:22,570 Other animals have also evolved surprising tactics to outmanoeuvre 61 00:08:22,670 --> 00:08:27,470 the enemy, not with brute strength but with extraordinary weapons. 62 00:08:28,570 --> 00:08:30,470 Madagascar. 63 00:08:31,970 --> 00:08:36,070 A strange world where nothing is quite as it seems. 64 00:08:45,270 --> 00:08:50,870 To hunt here requires stealth and subterfuge. 65 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:56,180 And living within the trees is a master of ambush. 66 00:08:56,180 --> 00:08:57,880 A preying mantis. 67 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,080 Well camouflaged and lightning quick, 68 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:05,080 these insects are highly efficient predators. 69 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:25,980 But even they are outgunned. 70 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:35,680 A chameleon. 71 00:09:35,680 --> 00:09:42,580 Its camouflage is exceptional because it can change its skin colour to match its surroundings. 72 00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:54,080 Its eyes move independently to spot prey. 73 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:02,380 It creeps towards to its victim, until just in range. 74 00:10:07,290 --> 00:10:10,390 Then it unleashes a super weapon. 75 00:10:10,390 --> 00:10:15,490 Its tongue shoots out at 15 metres per second. 76 00:10:19,090 --> 00:10:24,290 And not only hits, but grasps its target. 77 00:10:39,790 --> 00:10:42,690 But few hunters are always successful. 78 00:10:42,690 --> 00:10:46,490 For them a hunt is just one meal. 79 00:10:45,790 --> 00:10:48,290 For prey, the stakes are higher. 80 00:10:48,390 --> 00:10:50,890 It's life...or death. 81 00:11:03,590 --> 00:11:11,490 As Antarctica moves from spring into summer, the inlets and bays, once choked with ice, become free. 82 00:11:16,100 --> 00:11:18,200 And animals move in to feed. 83 00:11:27,900 --> 00:11:30,400 These are crabeater seals. 84 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:37,400 They don't actually eat crabs, but krill, small shrimps that swarm in their billions in these waters. 85 00:11:51,100 --> 00:11:54,900 Resting on a large ice floe, these crabeaters are safe. 86 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:10,700 But as soon as they enter the water, they are on their guard, 87 00:12:10,700 --> 00:12:12,500 for good reason. 88 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:17,600 Killer whales. 89 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:26,000 Here in Antarctica, many killer whales prey only on fish. 90 00:12:26,110 --> 00:12:31,310 But these whales are different, they specialise in hunting seals. 91 00:12:44,310 --> 00:12:50,910 This seal swimming to open water is unaware of the danger heading his way. 92 00:12:53,510 --> 00:12:55,310 Until now. 93 00:13:00,110 --> 00:13:06,710 He's in real trouble. There is no escape unless he can hide behind this small piece of floating ice. 94 00:13:29,610 --> 00:13:32,110 But he's been spotted and surrounded. 95 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:48,120 Now agility is his only chance. 96 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:52,320 He dodges for his life, staying as close as he can to the iceberg. 97 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:05,120 He's tiring. 98 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,620 And the whales tighten the circle, going for the kill. 99 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:40,620 But hunters don't always get their own way. 100 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:47,520 In the end, the seal's determination and skill, using 101 00:14:47,630 --> 00:14:51,330 the ice for protection, kept him just out of reach. 102 00:14:55,530 --> 00:14:57,930 And the whales move on. 103 00:15:02,330 --> 00:15:04,630 Recently it's been observed that killer whales 104 00:15:04,630 --> 00:15:08,330 are much more successful when hunting other types of seal. 105 00:15:08,330 --> 00:15:12,730 Crabeaters like this put up too much of a fight. 106 00:15:26,830 --> 00:15:32,230 For creatures living in the open ocean there is nowhere to hide from predators. 107 00:15:32,230 --> 00:15:34,930 But there is safety in numbers. 108 00:16:00,540 --> 00:16:04,640 One fish, however, has evolved a different escape tactic. 109 00:16:08,540 --> 00:16:12,540 To leave the water completely, take to the air and fly! 110 00:16:18,940 --> 00:16:23,140 After a huge effort to get airborne, flying fish 111 00:16:23,540 --> 00:16:26,940 can glide 200 metres or so, to escape the predators chasing them. 112 00:17:12,350 --> 00:17:17,350 Not all animals are hunters, many are vegetarians. 113 00:17:17,450 --> 00:17:22,450 But the battle between animals and plants can also be intense. 114 00:17:25,550 --> 00:17:28,350 Boa Vista, central Brazil. 115 00:17:31,150 --> 00:17:35,150 This valley is peppered with strangely pitted rocks. 116 00:17:45,050 --> 00:17:54,650 These are not natural formations but the legacy of a long struggle between one animal and one plant. 117 00:17:56,550 --> 00:18:01,650 Brown-tufted capuchins, highly intelligent monkeys. 118 00:18:01,650 --> 00:18:05,150 They spend their nights in the safety of caves, 119 00:18:05,150 --> 00:18:07,750 emerging each morning to find food. 120 00:18:13,950 --> 00:18:17,050 Down in the valley is a particular favourite. 121 00:18:17,150 --> 00:18:19,150 A nut palm. 122 00:18:19,250 --> 00:18:24,850 The palms produce huge seeds, but they have very strong shells 123 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:28,360 that protect them against attack from hungry animals. 124 00:18:35,660 --> 00:18:39,960 For the capuchins this is a war of attrition. 125 00:18:43,460 --> 00:18:48,260 They check which seed is the ripest, and the battle commences. 126 00:18:54,460 --> 00:19:00,560 The first job is to tear the tough fibrous husk from the nut. 127 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:08,160 He doesn't try to crack the nut straight away, 128 00:19:08,260 --> 00:19:10,260 but drops it to the ground. 129 00:19:10,360 --> 00:19:16,160 He's learnt that a nut should be given a week or so drying in the sun. 130 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:18,660 These are ones he prepared earlier. 131 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:20,960 He taps them to see if they're ready. 132 00:19:33,470 --> 00:19:37,270 This huge flat rock is his anvil. 133 00:19:49,470 --> 00:19:51,170 And this is a hammer. 134 00:19:52,470 --> 00:19:57,370 It's made of a different and much harder rock than the anvil. 135 00:20:00,170 --> 00:20:03,270 Now something extraordinary happens. 136 00:20:15,970 --> 00:20:20,770 The capuchins' use of these stone tools requires an exceptional level 137 00:20:20,770 --> 00:20:24,170 of intelligence, planning and dexterity. 138 00:20:37,770 --> 00:20:43,370 The nut finally cracks and exposes a rich, oily kernel. 139 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:55,280 Youngsters watch and imitate the adults, just as human toddlers do. 140 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:57,480 If they are to become independent, 141 00:20:57,580 --> 00:21:00,080 they must learn to crack their own nuts. 142 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:11,580 But the learning process is long, with many frustrations. 143 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:18,780 They learn early on that to do a job properly, 144 00:21:18,780 --> 00:21:21,280 you need the right tool. 145 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:34,180 It can take eight years for a capuchin to master this art 146 00:21:34,180 --> 00:21:37,980 and overcome the palm's formidable defences. 147 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:53,780 But some plants have turned the tables and feed on animals. 148 00:21:58,590 --> 00:22:03,490 This is a highly sophisticated trap. The bait, 149 00:22:03,590 --> 00:22:08,390 sugary nectar around the rim of the disc. 150 00:22:08,390 --> 00:22:16,190 The triggers, fine hairs, two of which have to be touched within 20 seconds of each other. 151 00:22:24,490 --> 00:22:30,390 The victim, a fly which finds the colour and nectar irresistible. 152 00:22:39,190 --> 00:22:40,190 One. 153 00:22:52,790 --> 00:22:53,790 Two. 154 00:23:01,590 --> 00:23:07,890 When triggered, the trap snaps shut so fast that the fly is imprisoned. 155 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:21,300 The Venus flytrap now slowly digests its victim. 156 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:40,800 Life's challenges are more than just finding food. 157 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:46,200 In every animal's life there comes a time when its mind turns to breeding. 158 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:51,200 One creature's approach is mind-boggling. 159 00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:57,000 Malaysia. 160 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:16,200 This strange insect has been lying dormant on the forest floor. 161 00:24:45,810 --> 00:24:54,110 Once safe in the trees, these males hide among the leaves and begin an extraordinary transformation. 162 00:24:55,010 --> 00:24:59,910 One that will make the difference between fathering offspring or not. 163 00:25:03,110 --> 00:25:08,610 He begins by gulping in air bubbles, forcing them up into his head. 164 00:25:10,410 --> 00:25:14,610 He then pumps the bubbles into the stalks supporting his eyes, 165 00:25:14,610 --> 00:25:16,610 just like blowing up a balloon. 166 00:25:23,810 --> 00:25:27,610 And this is what earns these creatures their name, 167 00:25:27,710 --> 00:25:29,610 the stalk-eyed fly. 168 00:25:45,220 --> 00:25:50,320 A few final adjustments to straighten out any remaining creases 169 00:25:50,420 --> 00:25:52,420 and he's ready for action. 170 00:25:57,420 --> 00:26:02,820 They may look unwieldy, but eyes on stalks improve not only his ability 171 00:26:02,820 --> 00:26:07,820 to spot predators, but they are key when it comes to winning females. 172 00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:25,120 In the evening both males and females gather and the males begin to size one another up, eyeball to eyeball. 173 00:26:25,220 --> 00:26:31,220 Having the widest eye span puts you at the top of the pecking order. 174 00:26:33,220 --> 00:26:37,620 The eye stalks are not weapons, they're measuring sticks, 175 00:26:37,620 --> 00:26:42,620 used to gauge how big, and so how strong, a male is. 176 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:46,720 But there's trouble if two top males have exactly the same eye width. 177 00:26:46,730 --> 00:26:51,130 Then the contest descends into a brawl. 178 00:27:02,230 --> 00:27:05,030 Defeated. 179 00:27:05,030 --> 00:27:10,430 The winner. He now has the right to mate with all the females nearby. 180 00:27:17,230 --> 00:27:24,230 The rather gentlemanly way stalk-eyed flies settle their differences over females is not the only way. 181 00:27:24,330 --> 00:27:26,330 Some animals are much more violent. 182 00:27:26,430 --> 00:27:30,430 It's the dry season in Zambia. 183 00:27:31,430 --> 00:27:40,430 The lagoons are either baked dry, or the mud is so thick animals get stuck, with fatal consequences. 184 00:27:42,430 --> 00:27:49,730 This male hippo has been living in one small lagoon, but as it dries, it's turning into a death trap. 185 00:27:51,830 --> 00:27:56,430 Understandably, the females that once shared it with him have all left. 186 00:27:59,040 --> 00:28:04,040 Even if he wants to, he can't stay much longer. 187 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:08,140 He needs water to keep cool and females to mate with. 188 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:15,240 And this is where they all are. 189 00:28:15,340 --> 00:28:20,440 Almost all the hippos in the area are in what is left of the Luangwa River, 190 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:24,540 because it's the last place where there's still deep water. 191 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:31,140 This bend is controlled by an all-powerful male. 192 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:35,340 Since the drought many more females have joined his herd. 193 00:28:44,940 --> 00:28:49,640 They are happy to live cheek by jowl, but any male who comes here 194 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:53,740 in the hope of mating must first defeat the overlord. 195 00:29:03,340 --> 00:29:10,240 The wandering male arrives and has a decision to make - submit or fight. 196 00:30:20,660 --> 00:30:23,460 Victory for the overlord. 197 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:30,460 His domination of his channel in the river remains and with it mating rights with the females. 198 00:30:37,660 --> 00:30:41,560 The loser is alive, but is an outcast. 199 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:47,460 He retreats to another part of the river where it's so shallow that no females will follow. 200 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:54,460 His chance to father offspring is over for now. 201 00:30:59,660 --> 00:31:05,360 For some animals the challenges of breeding are not about fighting but about courtship. 202 00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:16,060 Among birds, displays, songs and rituals can reach extraordinary levels of complexity and beauty. 203 00:31:23,060 --> 00:31:27,460 During spring, on the freshwater lakes of Oregon, 204 00:31:27,460 --> 00:31:30,060 grebes join together to renew their partnership. 205 00:31:45,270 --> 00:31:48,870 The ceremony starts with a series of graceful duets, 206 00:31:49,270 --> 00:31:52,570 in which one partner echoes the actions of the other. 207 00:31:59,270 --> 00:32:02,370 But the real test comes now. 208 00:32:02,470 --> 00:32:06,270 Only the strongest and the most faithful 209 00:32:06,670 --> 00:32:10,570 are prepared to join together for the final exultant dance. 210 00:33:04,180 --> 00:33:09,580 Those animals which have young now face a whole new set of challenges, 211 00:33:09,580 --> 00:33:12,480 to protect and nurture their offspring. 212 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:21,980 In the cold waters of the northern Pacific Ocean, there lives a giant. 213 00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:32,680 A giant Pacific octopus at over four metres long. 214 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:41,280 She is hunting, not for prey, but for a den. 215 00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:43,180 Somewhere to settle down and hide. 216 00:33:53,690 --> 00:33:57,490 Her den has to be just right. 217 00:33:57,590 --> 00:34:01,690 She's going to live here for the rest of her life. 218 00:34:04,790 --> 00:34:07,090 She's carrying fertilised eggs, 219 00:34:07,090 --> 00:34:11,190 and now, happy and settled, she lays them. 220 00:34:13,290 --> 00:34:15,590 100,000 of them. 221 00:34:21,690 --> 00:34:27,290 Over the next six months she carefully tends her precious brood. 222 00:34:30,190 --> 00:34:32,590 She caresses them with her arms 223 00:34:32,590 --> 00:34:37,390 to keep them free of algae and properly supplied with oxygen. 224 00:34:39,490 --> 00:34:43,490 This is her first and only brood. 225 00:34:43,590 --> 00:34:46,790 And so she takes great care of them. 226 00:34:46,790 --> 00:34:51,290 While she's guarding her eggs she doesn't leave the den. 227 00:34:51,290 --> 00:34:53,090 Not once. 228 00:34:53,090 --> 00:34:54,790 Unable to feed, 229 00:34:54,890 --> 00:34:56,590 she is starving. 230 00:34:56,690 --> 00:35:03,390 Her last act of devotion is to blow water over the eggs to help them hatch. 231 00:35:21,500 --> 00:35:24,300 Young, fully-developed octopus pop out. 232 00:35:29,100 --> 00:35:35,100 Though only a few will survive to adulthood, she's given them the best chance she can. 233 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:42,500 After her long and lonely vigil, 234 00:35:42,500 --> 00:35:44,600 she is dead. 235 00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:49,800 Surely this sacrifice must make her one of nature's most devoted mothers. 236 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:06,100 Here, 30 metres beneath the Costa Rican forest canopy, another dedicated mother 237 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:10,500 ensures that her young also have the best possible start in life. 238 00:36:16,810 --> 00:36:24,610 This tiny strawberry poison arrow frog, only the size of a finger nail, is guarding her fertilised eggs. 239 00:36:27,710 --> 00:36:32,510 Whilst the eggs and tadpoles are developing, she and her mate keep 240 00:36:32,510 --> 00:36:36,710 watch, making sure that they are safe from predators. 241 00:36:36,710 --> 00:36:40,010 But they can't stay here for ever. 242 00:36:40,110 --> 00:36:43,110 The leaf litter is drying out and tadpoles need water. 243 00:36:43,210 --> 00:36:46,710 She must do something, and fast. 244 00:36:54,410 --> 00:36:59,410 She needs to move them and so encourages one tadpole to climb on her back. 245 00:37:00,210 --> 00:37:02,810 She now begins an epic journey. 246 00:37:03,810 --> 00:37:07,110 But it's not to a pond, as you might expect, 247 00:37:07,110 --> 00:37:10,510 she is looking for something very particular. 248 00:37:10,610 --> 00:37:19,710 Her journey takes her across the forest floor to the foot of a tall tree and then she starts to climb. 249 00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:37,520 For such a little frog it is a marathon ascent, 250 00:37:37,620 --> 00:37:43,520 like a human mother climbing the Empire State Building with a child on her back. 251 00:37:46,820 --> 00:37:51,520 She's looking for a plant, a bromeliad, growing on the tree. 252 00:37:56,720 --> 00:38:04,620 It holds a pool of water at its centre, the perfect nursery pool for a developing tadpole. 253 00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:10,520 In slides her youngster. 254 00:38:17,420 --> 00:38:20,620 But this is only one of six tadpoles. 255 00:38:20,720 --> 00:38:24,020 She must rush back down to rescue the others. 256 00:38:29,220 --> 00:38:34,420 One by one she collects them and carries each to its own bromeliad. 257 00:38:57,430 --> 00:39:00,130 But there is another problem. 258 00:39:00,130 --> 00:39:02,530 The little pools contain no food. 259 00:39:06,330 --> 00:39:08,530 So she has to provide it. 260 00:39:08,630 --> 00:39:14,130 She lays an unfertilised egg in each pool for her tadpoles to eat. 261 00:39:20,030 --> 00:39:23,730 And then she leaves. 262 00:39:28,830 --> 00:39:32,130 But one egg won't sustain a growing tadpole for long, 263 00:39:32,230 --> 00:39:36,330 so she has to return every few days with another egg. 264 00:39:43,330 --> 00:39:48,330 Over the next two weeks she can climb almost half a mile tending her young. 265 00:39:50,030 --> 00:39:53,730 An astonishing feat for such a tiny creature. 266 00:40:02,540 --> 00:40:05,140 While she's busy delivering eggs, 267 00:40:05,140 --> 00:40:09,440 the tadpole grows legs and its tail begins to disappear. 268 00:40:11,740 --> 00:40:15,640 And then one day it leaves its bromeliad nursery for ever 269 00:40:15,740 --> 00:40:18,740 and climbs out into the forest. 270 00:40:23,740 --> 00:40:27,240 Whilst its mother has a well-deserved rest. 271 00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:34,440 Birds are also diligent parents. 272 00:40:34,540 --> 00:40:39,840 Over their lifetime they invest huge effort in just a few young. 273 00:40:44,140 --> 00:40:47,640 But there is only so much a parent can do. 274 00:40:51,040 --> 00:40:57,040 All along the Antarctic peninsula both male and female chinstrap penguins have been commuting 275 00:40:57,140 --> 00:41:00,940 daily from the open ocean to collect food for their chicks. 276 00:41:09,650 --> 00:41:14,750 Mouthfuls of krill, caught many miles away at sea, are regurgitated. 277 00:41:23,950 --> 00:41:27,450 But one day the chicks wait in vain for food. 278 00:41:27,450 --> 00:41:29,750 Their parents do not return. 279 00:41:31,750 --> 00:41:34,650 The chicks now face life on their own. 280 00:41:34,650 --> 00:41:38,350 This is the toughest time in an animal's life 281 00:41:38,350 --> 00:41:41,450 and some are not going to make it. 282 00:41:47,350 --> 00:41:52,750 Over the next few days, driven by hunger, the chicks make their way down to the shore. 283 00:41:54,850 --> 00:41:58,650 Instinct tells them they have to head out to sea. 284 00:42:01,750 --> 00:42:05,950 Built to withstand the cold, they have already accumulated 285 00:42:05,950 --> 00:42:10,650 a layer of fat, and their outer feathers act as a waterproof shield. 286 00:42:12,150 --> 00:42:15,250 But they still have to learn to swim. 287 00:42:38,560 --> 00:42:41,160 The polar sea is challenging enough 288 00:42:41,160 --> 00:42:43,560 but with a change in the wind, 289 00:42:43,660 --> 00:42:47,160 a slick of broken ice has choked the bay. 290 00:42:51,760 --> 00:42:55,560 For any penguin this ice presents a real problem. 291 00:42:57,760 --> 00:43:00,560 But for the chicks it's a disaster. 292 00:43:05,560 --> 00:43:09,960 They must get through this barrier to the open water, if they are to feed. 293 00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:19,060 One, perhaps hungrier or braver than the rest, 294 00:43:19,160 --> 00:43:24,360 leads the way and tries skittering over the top, while the others watch. 295 00:43:26,770 --> 00:43:31,170 The ice is hard to swim through, and progress is painfully slow. 296 00:43:53,870 --> 00:43:55,370 A leopard seal. 297 00:44:01,870 --> 00:44:05,870 This chick never had the chance to learn how to avoid the seal. 298 00:44:05,970 --> 00:44:08,170 Its end is inevitable. 299 00:44:33,270 --> 00:44:39,570 The leopard seal efficiently flays the chick, tearing off a small piece with each throw. 300 00:44:43,380 --> 00:44:46,180 Others take their chance. 301 00:45:25,580 --> 00:45:29,580 But the leopard seal is now ready for its next victim. 302 00:45:47,380 --> 00:45:52,080 It's a lottery, and the lucky chicks make it out to open water. 303 00:45:56,690 --> 00:46:03,390 There is still an element of chance in life which an individual can do little about. 304 00:46:27,390 --> 00:46:30,390 In the end, overcoming life's challenges, 305 00:46:30,490 --> 00:46:34,690 whether finding enough to eat or outwitting your predators, 306 00:46:34,790 --> 00:46:39,190 is only significant if life's final challenge can be met. 307 00:46:46,790 --> 00:46:54,690 From a tiny frog dedicating weeks to her few cherished tadpoles, to an orang-utan who spends 308 00:46:54,690 --> 00:46:57,090 eight years bringing up her baby, 309 00:46:57,190 --> 00:47:01,590 individual animals strive to reach this one ultimate goal, 310 00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:08,200 to pass on their genes and to ensure the survival of the next generation. 311 00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:13,800 Ultimately, in nature, 312 00:47:13,800 --> 00:47:17,400 that is what life is all about. 313 00:48:02,400 --> 00:48:06,300 During the three years it took to film Life, our camera crews 314 00:48:06,300 --> 00:48:11,700 visited every continent on Earth, but the most challenging was Antarctica. 315 00:48:15,310 --> 00:48:17,610 Here filming was only possible 316 00:48:17,610 --> 00:48:23,010 with the help of an extraordinary range of people and organisations. 317 00:48:23,010 --> 00:48:27,010 An Air Force jet delivering supplies to McMurdo research station 318 00:48:27,410 --> 00:48:32,810 ferried one of our crews to the Ross Ice Shelf. 319 00:48:39,510 --> 00:48:43,210 And on the other side of the continent a team sailed for five days 320 00:48:43,310 --> 00:48:47,410 across the Drake Passage to reach the Antarctic peninsular. 321 00:48:49,610 --> 00:48:53,110 Once there, a small crew was put ashore on Deception Island 322 00:48:53,210 --> 00:48:57,410 to spend a month camping on the edge of a penguin colony. 323 00:48:59,210 --> 00:49:03,310 Two people and 200,000 penguins. 324 00:49:10,110 --> 00:49:12,410 Another team joined scientists 325 00:49:12,410 --> 00:49:14,810 drilling through the ice 326 00:49:14,810 --> 00:49:17,610 to explore the beautiful and bizarre world below. 327 00:49:37,620 --> 00:49:42,620 But the hardiest and most ambitious shoot involved four film crews, 328 00:49:42,620 --> 00:49:47,020 a celebrated French yachtsman and the Ministry of Defence. 329 00:49:50,620 --> 00:49:53,620 The teams had a two-month window 330 00:49:53,720 --> 00:49:58,520 to film Antarctica's two top predators in action. 331 00:49:58,620 --> 00:50:01,820 We knew that one could be found prowling the coast of 332 00:50:01,820 --> 00:50:07,720 Rosenthal Island, waiting for young penguins to take their first plunge. 333 00:50:07,720 --> 00:50:11,120 And the man to take us there was Jerome Poncet. 334 00:50:11,220 --> 00:50:18,320 He skippered the first yacht to sail south of the Antarctic Circle and has been back every year for the past 35. 335 00:50:18,420 --> 00:50:21,320 He knows Antarctic sailing like no-one else. 336 00:50:22,520 --> 00:50:26,420 His yacht, the Golden Fleece, is not an ice breaker, 337 00:50:26,420 --> 00:50:30,420 but Jerome has his own unique way of getting through. 338 00:50:32,020 --> 00:50:34,420 He shunts one floe against another 339 00:50:34,420 --> 00:50:37,520 to clear a way through like playing marbles. 340 00:50:37,630 --> 00:50:40,830 Jerome, once he gets his teeth into, 341 00:50:40,830 --> 00:50:43,930 into a situation he doesn't like to let it go. 342 00:50:44,030 --> 00:50:46,830 So, maybe we'll be here for a few hours yet. 343 00:50:46,830 --> 00:50:50,830 Jerome is determined to get through this channel. 344 00:50:50,830 --> 00:50:53,230 We talk about hundred, hundreds of tonnes, 345 00:50:53,330 --> 00:50:57,630 maybe 1,000, 250,000 tonnes or more. 346 00:50:59,230 --> 00:51:01,730 It's a pooling of water, you have to push. 347 00:51:04,630 --> 00:51:07,830 Some marbles are just too big. 348 00:51:12,430 --> 00:51:16,830 For now, Jerome is foiled and has to moor for the night. 349 00:51:16,930 --> 00:51:21,030 For him, tying up to 100,000 tonnes of ice 350 00:51:21,430 --> 00:51:24,430 is just another day at the office. 351 00:51:31,830 --> 00:51:36,630 Progress is slow, but they need to get to Rosenthal before the penguins leave. 352 00:51:38,830 --> 00:51:42,330 They make it through and the penguins are still there. 353 00:51:44,630 --> 00:51:49,030 Chinstrap penguin chicks fledge at a particular time of year. 354 00:51:49,440 --> 00:51:53,140 The crew knew this would draw leopard seals like a magnet. 355 00:51:54,740 --> 00:51:58,340 Leopard seals are giants among their kind, they have teeth 356 00:51:58,340 --> 00:52:03,640 bigger than a lion and a mouth that can open nearly 180 degrees. 357 00:52:03,640 --> 00:52:05,640 How close can Doug get? 358 00:52:10,940 --> 00:52:13,840 With this seal, very. 359 00:52:30,440 --> 00:52:33,540 He loses interest in his reflection 360 00:52:33,540 --> 00:52:36,640 and goes back to eating penguins. 361 00:52:47,740 --> 00:52:49,640 That was very exciting. 362 00:52:49,640 --> 00:52:52,440 He was a super seal, 363 00:52:52,440 --> 00:52:55,440 super seal, gave me lots of action nice and close, 364 00:52:55,540 --> 00:52:59,840 but I must admit you do have to feel sorry for the penguin, 365 00:52:59,140 --> 00:53:00,940 just doesn't stand a chance. 366 00:53:01,050 --> 00:53:03,950 The team knew where to find leopard seals, 367 00:53:04,050 --> 00:53:06,450 but finding the other top predator 368 00:53:06,550 --> 00:53:09,450 was going to be another matter entirely. 369 00:53:10,950 --> 00:53:14,550 Very little is known about Antarctic killer whales. 370 00:53:14,650 --> 00:53:16,950 Time to bring in reinforcements. 371 00:53:19,250 --> 00:53:22,450 HMS Endurance, 372 00:53:22,850 --> 00:53:26,250 the Royal Navy's ice patrol ship. 373 00:53:29,850 --> 00:53:35,650 She surveys Antarctic waters and the crew see changes every year. 374 00:53:35,750 --> 00:53:42,650 The latest chart of this area, we are now six miles inside an ice shelf, which just goes to show 375 00:53:42,650 --> 00:53:48,950 how much retreation of this ice shelf has occurred over the past five or six years. 376 00:53:49,950 --> 00:53:52,050 Would you get complications...? 377 00:53:52,050 --> 00:53:55,950 Series producer Martha Holmes and cameraman David Baillie 378 00:53:56,050 --> 00:54:00,850 were on board to find and film the killer whales from the air. 379 00:54:00,150 --> 00:54:04,450 Endurance carries two Lynx helicopters used to assist 380 00:54:04,450 --> 00:54:08,250 the British Antarctic Survey and the Hydrographic Office. 381 00:54:08,250 --> 00:54:09,250 On this trip, 382 00:54:09,350 --> 00:54:14,350 some time on one of the helicopters is assigned to the Life team. 383 00:54:23,160 --> 00:54:29,560 No-one has succeeded in filming killer whales hunting off the Antarctic peninsular before. 384 00:54:29,660 --> 00:54:34,260 Our two teams have just a few days when they can film together. 385 00:54:42,260 --> 00:54:45,460 At water level the Golden Fleece has exciting news. 386 00:54:45,860 --> 00:54:49,460 They've found killer whales which look as though they could be hunting. 387 00:54:49,860 --> 00:54:55,260 And Navy 435, Navy 435, this is Golden Fleece, Golden Fleece over. 388 00:54:58,560 --> 00:55:01,560 {y:i}Copy that. We're on our way. 389 00:55:01,660 --> 00:55:04,860 Guys, really windy, we'll be... 390 00:55:04,860 --> 00:55:09,260 pretty lucky to stay with them through this. But we can try though. 391 00:55:19,060 --> 00:55:24,460 435, this is Golden Fleece, we have lost sight of the orca. 392 00:55:27,270 --> 00:55:31,170 The white.'Yeah, OK, they're in direct line with that iceberg now, 393 00:55:31,270 --> 00:55:34,670 {y:i}between us and the iceberg {y:i}about 100 metres this side of it. 394 00:55:34,670 --> 00:55:37,570 {y:i}Visual. Yeah, visual. 395 00:55:37,670 --> 00:55:43,670 From the air, the helicopter team can follow the killer whales more easily than the boat team. 396 00:55:43,670 --> 00:55:47,470 435, this is Golden Fleece, full copy. Out. 397 00:55:51,470 --> 00:55:57,770 By working together the helicopter and yacht are able to keep track of the whales in the rough sea. 398 00:55:57,770 --> 00:56:02,070 {y:i}There's four now actually {y:i}yes, four, and four I can see. 399 00:56:02,070 --> 00:56:06,370 A change in the weather gives a chance to film at last. 400 00:56:07,370 --> 00:56:11,170 They've gone further up this way, if we follow them that's good. 401 00:56:14,870 --> 00:56:16,870 But will they hunt? 402 00:56:16,970 --> 00:56:18,770 OK, here they come through. 403 00:56:20,670 --> 00:56:23,870 Oops, yeah, they 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, it's a good 12 huh, easy. 404 00:56:27,870 --> 00:56:32,870 Doug has spotted a crabeater seal near some ice, buthave the killer whales seen it? 405 00:56:34,980 --> 00:56:37,980 No, just keep loosening the square screen. 406 00:56:52,180 --> 00:56:53,180 They have. 407 00:56:55,080 --> 00:56:56,680 Some good action. 408 00:56:58,680 --> 00:57:00,180 Can you go closer? 409 00:57:22,080 --> 00:57:24,480 It's over, that's it, they've got him. 410 00:57:27,280 --> 00:57:29,480 It's still there. 411 00:57:32,680 --> 00:57:37,680 For a wildlife cameraman there are always surprises. 412 00:57:40,280 --> 00:57:45,080 It has taken two months, but they've succeeded thanks to extraordinary 413 00:57:45,080 --> 00:57:49,980 collaboration from an entire ship's company to a lone skipper. 414 00:57:50,090 --> 00:57:56,490 Collaborations like this would be the foundation of the whole three years of filming across the world.