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[Paul Rudd]
Planet Earth is so spectacular,

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it's easy to miss
the smaller things in life.

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But take a closer look...

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and there's a whole undiscovered world.

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A world where tiny heroes...

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and little monsters...

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need incredible superpowers...

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to help them triumph against giant odds.

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Australia is a land
full of fantastical creatures.

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Not just kangaroos and koalas.

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Down under, the bush teems
with strange little animals

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who've mastered life...

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in this sun-scorched world.

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A palm-sized sugar glider

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finds all the food and shelter she needs
amongst the gum trees.

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And so do her neighbors.

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But even at the best of times,
there are challenges.

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And when summer hits,
and the sun grows stronger...

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only those who can take the heat

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will go the distance.

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Living on the driest inhabited continent
does have some benefits.

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A lot of sunshine forces the gum trees
to produce a lot of sugar.

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In spring, it makes a big part of
a little sugar glider's diet.

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Right now, life is pretty straightforward.

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Cruising between gum trees
in search of the next sweet stop.

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In just one leap, she can glide
the length of two tennis courts.

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The sugar also attracts rainbow lorikeets.

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Hundreds of them.

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[lorikeets screeching]

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There's more than enough food to go round.

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So during the heat of the day,
she leaves them to it...

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and rests up somewhere more peaceful.

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Her new baby,
just two weeks out of the pouch.

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He's only the length of a thumb.

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And completely reliant on his mother.

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But by midsummer,
he'll need to fend for himself...

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in a far more challenging world.

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[lorikeets chirping]

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For now, life is so good here,

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the lorikeets have decided to settle down.

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[chirping]

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But finding a nest isn't easy.

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There are no woodpeckers in Australia
to make holes in trees.

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So safe hiding places are hot property.

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A monstrous, cold-blooded killer.

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Lace monitors can weigh
as much as a toddler,

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and they eat almost anything.

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Just a fraction of the weight,

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a frilled lizard would make easy prey
for this giant.

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He needs a tree to hide in.

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But they're all occupied.

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Frilled lizards
can be aggressively territorial.

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Head bobbing is a warning.

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But the newcomer has nowhere else to go.

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To avoid injury,
these lizards fight with frills.

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The brighter, the better.

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But when closely matched...

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it gets physical.

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The intruder isn't looking so strong.

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Defeated and running scared,

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the resident sends him packing.

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Seen off by the dominant male,

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this will have to do for now.

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But soon, he will need a much safer place.

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Tougher times lie ahead.

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The ants are already busy stockpiling.

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But foraging can be dangerous.

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The outback is full of strange beasts.

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[leaves rustling]

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Armed with huge claws...

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spines, and a long, sticky tongue.

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An echidna.

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Perhaps not that scary looking.

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But to an ant, he's deadly.

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He can eat 60,000 of them in ten minutes.

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Feeding in the trees
can be more time-consuming.

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Gum leaves are so full of toxins,

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koalas are one of the few mammals
that can eat them.

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But they take so much energy to digest...

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koalas spend 15 hours a day sleeping.

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Even their waking hours
are a bit of a daze.

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This is not a dream.

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This thing is real.

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It's a mad hatterpillar.

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Balancing all of its previously shed
head skins on top of its current head.

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Curious, but a lifesaver.

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Assassin bugs kill their victims
with venom that liquefies their insides.

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But with its crazy disguise,

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the mad hatterpillar
keeps ahead of its enemies.

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Little creatures are much better
adapted to digest gum leaves.

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A prickly stick insect
even looks like them.

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A clever camouflage
so she can eat without being eaten.

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She spends each day
consuming her own body weight in leaves.

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There's no time for parenting.

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Instead, she outsources it.

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Disguised as tasty seeds,

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her eggs are carried off
by unwitting ants.

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But only the top of the egg is edible.

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The rest will be discarded in the nest.

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And there it will stay...

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safe underground until it hatches...

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many months from now.

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[birds chirping]

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The sun is getting stronger.

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[lorikeets screeching]

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The sugar glider's neighbors
are getting noisier.

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[screeching continues]

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But it's not the usual squawking.

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It's an alarm call.

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[birds screeching]

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Energized by the sun,

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the lace monitor
becomes a formidable hunter.

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A forked tongue
tastes for prey wherever it hides.

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With powerful hooked claws,
these monster lizards even climb trees.

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The little glider
is almost too big to carry.

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Soon, he'll have to navigate this world
on his own.

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A world that gets more precarious
by the day.

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[insects buzzing]

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By early summer,
the outback is already fiercely hot.

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There's little shelter from the sun...

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and little water to drink.

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A thorny devil,
only the length of a pencil,

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has a very impressive way
of staying hydrated.

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It's no quick fix,
but it's worth the wait.

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When it finally finds standing water,
it just stands in it.

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Tiny gaps between its spines
draw water upwards.

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All the way to its mouth.

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An extraordinary trick

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that allows this little devil
to endure soaring temperatures.

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The gum tree forest
provides a bit more shelter.

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But even here,

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tiny creatures are racing
to complete their lives.

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A male glittering peacock spider
searching for a mate.

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Easier said than done.

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These spiders are smaller than a lentil.

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Another male has already found a female,
but he still needs to win her over.

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Female peacock spiders are very picky.

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[dance music playing]

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How the male looks and moves
must be just right.

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[music ends]

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Get it wrong...

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and get rejected.

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There are over 80 different kinds
of peacock spiders,

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each with their own unique display...

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Specially choreographed to the tastes
of the female of that species.

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A male will dance
like his life depends on it

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when courting a predatory female.

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But the glittering male
is still searching.

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Waving his legs,
he tests the air for female pheromones.

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There she is.

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Time to strut his stuff.

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[tango music playing]

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He's found his groove...

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and she seems to be feeling it.

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This butt wiggle is a sign
that she's already mated.

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[music ends]

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Well, that was a waste of time.

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And time is running out.

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In just a few weeks,

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the little glider will have to
make his own way in this strange world...

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and know where to find food.

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At this time of year,

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the gum leaves
are covered in strange dots.

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Psyllid bugs use their sugary sap

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to build shelters
no bigger than a grain of rice.

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These tiny candy homes
look like works of art.

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And taste good too.

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But now, even the early mornings
are too hot to be out and about.

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As temperatures soar to 50 degrees,
gum leaves wither and fall.

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But they're so full of toxic chemicals,
they decompose very slowly.

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Deep leaf litter provides cover
for sly predators.

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A Burton's legless lizard
preys exclusively on other reptiles.

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Most run for their lives.

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Not the golden-tailed gecko.

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Being small and camouflaged
gives him some protection...

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but not from the sun.

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He needs shade.

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And only the length of a credit card,
he'll slot in perfectly just there.

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Legless lizards' eyesight is attuned
to the slightest movement.

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When this little lizard feels threatened,
it goes on the offensive.

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A goo-slinging gecko.

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The liquid is harmless,
but so sticky and smelly,

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it's enough to repel
even the deadliest hunter.

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Slowly but surely...

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he takes shelter.

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With the summer heat comes summer storms.

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-[thunder rumbling]
-It's so hot,

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the first drops of rain evaporate
before they even hit the ground.

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But when lightning strikes,
all the dry leaves ignite.

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And their volatile chemicals
fuel the flames.

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[thunderclap]

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Small animals struggle
to outrun the fast-moving wildfire.

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The echidna's only escape is underground.

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He could be digging his own grave.

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Flames are getting higher,

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but the little glider is now too big
to be carried.

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Mom's only option...

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is to save herself.

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The little glider is on his own.

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As insects flee, predators move in.

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Kites flock to the flames in huge numbers.

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00:24:59,166 --> 00:25:03,456
These so-called firehawks are here
to feed off the panic.

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The little glider is surrounded.

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His first flight might be his last.

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When bushfires eventually die out...

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they leave the land devastated.

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But not totally lifeless.

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Echidnas can lower their body temperatures
enough to survive the fires raging above.

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The young sugar glider also made it.

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00:27:34,905 --> 00:27:38,615
Now he must survive
in a world reduced to ashes.

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00:27:44,706 --> 00:27:50,626
Charred insects will see him through
until life returns to the forest.

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00:27:54,550 --> 00:27:56,590
And life does return.

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00:27:59,721 --> 00:28:02,181
Gum trees are incredibly resilient,

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and mineral-rich ash enriches the soil.

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00:28:09,982 --> 00:28:11,782
[bird screeches]

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Add a little water...

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00:28:15,904 --> 00:28:18,284
and the forest is reborn.

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[chirping]

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00:28:36,091 --> 00:28:39,511
Before long,
the bush is getting back to normal.

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New lives emerge.

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Familiar animals return.

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00:28:56,820 --> 00:29:00,240
And once again,
the gum trees provide sanctuary

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for all sorts of weird
and wonderful little creatures.

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00:29:10,709 --> 00:29:15,009
Over millennia, they have adapted to
the annual cycle of fire.

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00:29:17,925 --> 00:29:22,175
But as bush fires become bigger,
hotter and more frequent,

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00:29:23,013 --> 00:29:26,103
Australia's tiny creatures will struggle
to survive.

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00:29:35,067 --> 00:29:38,277
For now,
the young sugar glider is ready...

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to rise to the extreme challenges
of life in the outback.

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00:29:52,584 --> 00:29:54,804
And he won't be totally alone.

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00:29:56,964 --> 00:29:59,684
Even the most
independent little sugar gliders...

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00:30:01,468 --> 00:30:03,968
still like to snuggle up
with a few friends.

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00:30:07,349 --> 00:30:10,439
[chirping]