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A hundred years ago

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there were one and a half
billion people on Earth.

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Now, over six billion
crowd our fragile planet.

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But even so, there are still places
barely touched by humanity.

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This series will take to the last wildernesses

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and show you the planet
and its wildlife

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as you have never
seen them before.

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Imagine our world without sun.

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Male Emperor Penguins are facing
the nearest that exists on planet Earth -

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winter in Antarctica.

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It's continuously dark

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and temperatures drop
to minus seventy degrees centigrade.

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The penguins stay
when all other creatures have fled

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because each guards a treasure:

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A single egg rested
on the top of its feet

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and kept warm beneath
the downy bulge of its stomach.

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There is no food
and no water for them,

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00:02:23,944 --> 00:02:26,813
and they will not see
the sun again for four months.

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Surely no greater ordeal
is faced by any animal.

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As the sun departs
from the Antarctic

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it lightens the skies
in the far north.

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It's March

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and light returns
to the high Arctic,

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sweeping away
four months of darkness.

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A polar bear stirs.

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She has been in her den
the whole winter.

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Her emergence marks
the beginning of spring.

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After months of confinement underground

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she toboggans down the slope.

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Perhaps to clean her fur,

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perhaps for sheer joy.

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Her cubs gaze out
of their bright new world

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for the very first time.

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The female calls them,

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but this steep slope is not
the easiest place to take your first steps.

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But they are hungry

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00:04:04,344 --> 00:04:05,646
and eager to reach their mother,

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00:04:05,746 --> 00:04:08,582
who's delayed feeding them
on this special day.

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Now she lures them with the promise of milk,

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the only food the cubs have known
since they were born

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deaf and blind beneath the snow
some two months ago.

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Their mother has not eaten
for five months

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and has lost half her body weight.

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Now she converts the last of her fat
reserves into milk for her cubs.

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The spring sun brings warmth

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but also a problem for the mother.

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It starts to melt the sea ice.

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That is where she hunts for the seal
she needs to feed her cubs.

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00:05:06,740 --> 00:05:09,710
And she must get there
before the ice breaks up.

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For now though
it's still minus thirty degrees

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and the cubs must have
the shelter of the den.

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It's six days since the bears emerged

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and spring is advancing rapidly.

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But even now blizzards
can strike without warning.

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Being so small,

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the cubs are easily chilled and they will
be more comfortable resting in the den.

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But their mother must keep them out and active.

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She's becoming weak from hunger

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and there's no food
on these nursery slopes.

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The sea ice still holds firm,

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but it won't last much longer.

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Day 10,

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and the mother has led
her cubs a mile from the den.

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It's time to put them to the test.

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They've grown enormously in confidence,

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but they don't have
their mother's sense of urgency.

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At last it seems that they're
ready for their journey

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and they're only just in time,

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for a few miles from the coast
the ice is already splitting.

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Now the mother can start hunting
for the seals they must have,

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but she's leading her cubs
into a dangerous new world.

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Nearly half of all cubs die
in their first year out on the ice.

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Summer brings 24 hours of sunlight

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and the thawing shifting landscape.

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Further south the winter snows have
almost cleared from the Arctic tundra.

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Northern Canada's wild frontier.

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Here nature stages
one of her greatest dramas -

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Every year three million caribou
migrate across the Arctic tundra.

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The immensity of the herd can only
be properly appreciated from the air.

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Some herds travel over 2,000 miles
a year in search of fresh pastures.

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This is the longest overland
migration made by any animal.

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They're constantly on the move.

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Newborn calves have to be
up and running the day they are born.

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But the vast herds
do not travel alone.

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Wolves.

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Packs of them, eight to ten strong,
shadow the migration.

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And they are hungry.

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It's the newly born calves
that they are after.

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Running directly at the herd
is a ploy to generate panic.

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The herd breaks up

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and now it's easier
to target an individual.

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In the chaos a calf is
separated from its mother.

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The calf is young,

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but it can outrun the wolf
if only it manages to keep its footing.

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At this stage
the odds are even -

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either the caribou
will make a mistake

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or after a mile
the wolf will give up.

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Midsummer on the tundra

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and the sun does not set.

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At these latitudes
the sun's rays are glancing

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and not enough of their energy reaches the ground

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to enable trees to grow.

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You'll need to travel
500 miles south from here

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before that is possible.

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These stunted shrubs
mark the tree line -

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the beginning of the boreal forest -

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the taiga.

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The needle-shaped leaves
of the conifers are virtually inedible

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so this forest supports
very little animal life.

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It's a silent place

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where the snow is unmarked
by footprints.

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In the Arctic winter

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snow forms a continuous blanket
across the land.

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But as spring creeps up
from the south

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the taiga is unveiled.

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This vast forest circling the globe

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contains a third
of all the trees on Earth

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and produces so much oxygen

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it changes the composition
of the atmosphere.

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As we travel south

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so the sun's influence
grows stronger

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and at 50 degrees of latitude
a radical transformation begins.

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Summers here are long enough for
broadleaf trees to replace conifers.

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Broadleaves are much easier
to eat and digest

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so now animals can collect
their share of the energy

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that has come from the sun.

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It's summer

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and these forests
are bustling with life.

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But the good times
will not last.

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Broad leaves must be shed in winter
for their damage by frost.

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As they disappear,

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so the land becomes barren
with little for animals to eat.

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The inhabitants must migrate,

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hibernate,

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or face months of near starvation.

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The Amur leopard -

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the rarest cat in the world.

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Here, in the deciduous forests of eastern Russia

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the winter makes hunting
very difficult.

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Pray animals are scarce,

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and there's no concealing vegetation.

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The cub is a year old
and still dependent on its mother.

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Deer are frequent casualties
of the harsh winter

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and these leopards are not above
scavenging from a corpse.

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African leopards could
never survive here,

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but the Russian cats have thick fur
to shield them from the cold.

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There are only forty
Amur leopards left in the wild

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and that number is falling.

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Like so many creatures,

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the cats have been pushed
to the very edge of extinction

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by hunting and the destruction
of their habitat.

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The Amur leopard symbolizes
the fragility of our natural heritage.

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The future of an entire species
hangs on survival

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of a tiny number of mothers
like this one.

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All animals, rare or common,

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ultimately depend
for their energy on the sun.

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In Japan the arrival
of the cherry blossom

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announces the beginning of spring.

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The sun's energy brings
color to the landscape.

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The earth, as it makes its annual
journey around the sun,

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spins on a tilted axis.

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And it's this tilt
that creates the seasons.

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The advance of the seasons
brings constant change.

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As the sun's influence diminishes in the north,

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so the deciduous forests of America
begin to shut down

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losing their leaves in preparation
for the dark cold months ahead.

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One season hands over to another.

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Some organisms thrive on decay,

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but most must make special
preparations for winter

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and a life with little sun.

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Whole populations of animals

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are now forced to travel great distances
in pursuit of food and warmth.

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300,000 Baikal teal gather
to escape from the Siberian winter

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by migrating south to Korea -

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the world's entire population
in a single flock.

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But there are parts of the world
that have no seasons.

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In the tropics the sun's rays
strike the earth head on

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and their strength is
more or less constant all year round.

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That is why the jungle
grows so vigorously

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and supports so much life.

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This forest covers only 3 percent
of the planet's surface,

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but it contains more than 50 percent
of all its plants and animals.

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The canopy is particularly rich.

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There are monkeys, birds

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and millions of species of insects,

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exactly how many we have no idea.

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The character of the forest
changes as we descend,

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becoming ever darker and damper,

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favoring different kinds
of animals and plants.

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Less than 2 percent
of the sunlight reaches the floor,

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but even here there is
extraordinary variety.

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In the great island of New Guinea

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there are 42 different species
of birds of paradise,

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each more bizarre than the last.

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This forest is so rich

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that nourishing food can be gathered very quickly.

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00:19:20,227 --> 00:19:22,629
That leaves the male
six-plumed bird of paradise

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with time to concentrate
on other matters

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00:19:24,898 --> 00:19:27,568
like tidying up his display area.

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00:19:35,275 --> 00:19:37,811
Everything must be spick and span.

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00:19:44,318 --> 00:19:45,619
All is ready.

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00:20:02,569 --> 00:20:03,670
Very impressive,

205
00:20:03,871 --> 00:20:05,572
but no one is watching.

206
00:20:07,241 --> 00:20:10,978
The superb bird of paradise
calls to attract a female.

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00:20:12,913 --> 00:20:14,915
And he has more luck.

208
00:20:15,549 --> 00:20:19,019
But what does he have to do
to really impress her?

209
00:20:39,807 --> 00:20:42,276
She retires to consider her verdict.

210
00:20:47,614 --> 00:20:49,483
It's hard not to feel deflated

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00:20:49,583 --> 00:20:51,919
when even your best
isn't good enough.

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00:21:08,535 --> 00:21:13,140
The sun influences life in the oceans
just as it does on land.

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00:21:50,811 --> 00:21:53,780
Its richest parts are those
where waves and currents

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00:21:53,881 --> 00:21:56,450
bring fertilizing nutrients
to surface waters

215
00:21:56,550 --> 00:21:58,152
that are bathed in sunlight.

216
00:21:58,352 --> 00:22:01,922
The seas off the Cape in South Africa
have this magic recipe

217
00:22:02,022 --> 00:22:03,957
and are hugely productive.

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00:22:07,027 --> 00:22:08,695
Summer is the time of plenty

219
00:22:08,795 --> 00:22:11,765
and it's now that the seals
start to breed.

220
00:22:31,552 --> 00:22:35,355
The strike of a great white shark
lasts a mere second.

221
00:22:35,455 --> 00:22:38,559
Slowing it down forty times
reveals the technique

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00:22:38,659 --> 00:22:41,595
and immense strength
of this massive predator.

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00:23:12,226 --> 00:23:13,894
If surprise fails,

224
00:23:13,994 --> 00:23:15,696
there will be a chase.

225
00:23:23,904 --> 00:23:26,473
The shark is faster
on a straight course

226
00:23:26,573 --> 00:23:29,176
but it can't turn
as sharply as the seal,

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00:23:31,345 --> 00:23:33,280
its agility versus power.

228
00:24:17,791 --> 00:24:19,726
Once the seals have finished breeding

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00:24:19,827 --> 00:24:21,728
the giant sharks will move on.

230
00:24:23,797 --> 00:24:25,032
It's now becoming clear

231
00:24:25,132 --> 00:24:28,302
that great whites migrate
thousands of miles across the oceans

232
00:24:28,402 --> 00:24:32,072
to harvest seasonal abundances
in different seas.

233
00:24:53,627 --> 00:24:56,396
The sun, beating down
on tropical waters,

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00:24:56,497 --> 00:24:58,765
powers the weather systems
of the globe.

235
00:24:58,999 --> 00:25:01,268
Moisture evaporates
from the warming ocean

236
00:25:01,368 --> 00:25:04,004
and rises to create
great storms.

237
00:25:20,854 --> 00:25:22,856
The winds generated out at sea

238
00:25:22,956 --> 00:25:25,692
sweep inland across the continents.

239
00:25:35,235 --> 00:25:36,937
As they travel across the Sahara

240
00:25:37,037 --> 00:25:39,773
they create the biggest
of all sand storms

241
00:25:39,873 --> 00:25:41,675
blowing sand halfway
round the world

242
00:25:41,775 --> 00:25:44,311
to fertilize the Amazon jungle.

243
00:25:48,282 --> 00:25:50,884
Winds blowing across the Indian Ocean

244
00:25:51,018 --> 00:25:54,788
collect moisture and sweep northwards
towards the Himalayas.

245
00:25:55,622 --> 00:25:58,292
As the air rises,
so it cools.

246
00:26:01,895 --> 00:26:03,063
The water it carries

247
00:26:03,163 --> 00:26:04,865
condenses into clouds

248
00:26:05,032 --> 00:26:08,702
and then falls as the life giving
rains of the monsoon.

249
00:26:13,073 --> 00:26:15,742
So air currents
powered by the sun

250
00:26:15,843 --> 00:26:18,812
carry wet air to the middle of continents.

251
00:26:34,361 --> 00:26:35,462
Without water

252
00:26:35,596 --> 00:26:36,930
there can be no life,

253
00:26:37,030 --> 00:26:40,701
but its distribution
over the land is far from even.

254
00:26:46,106 --> 00:26:49,276
Deserts cover one third
of the land's surface

255
00:26:49,476 --> 00:26:51,712
and they're growing bigger
every year.

256
00:27:00,187 --> 00:27:03,524
This is the Kalahari Desert
in Southern Africa.

257
00:27:04,024 --> 00:27:05,492
It's the dry season

258
00:27:05,592 --> 00:27:07,895
and thousands of elephants
have started to travel

259
00:27:07,995 --> 00:27:10,130
in desperate search for water.

260
00:27:18,372 --> 00:27:22,943
All across Southern Africa animals
are journeying for the same reason.

261
00:27:25,412 --> 00:27:27,381
Buffalo join the great trek.

262
00:27:27,548 --> 00:27:30,317
Nowhere else on Earth
are so many animals on the move

263
00:27:30,384 --> 00:27:32,653
with the same urgent purpose.

264
00:27:35,989 --> 00:27:39,359
They're all heading
for the swamps of the Okavango,

265
00:27:39,426 --> 00:27:41,495
a vast inland delta.

266
00:27:42,563 --> 00:27:44,331
At the moment it is dry,

267
00:27:44,665 --> 00:27:46,366
but water is coming.

268
00:27:48,068 --> 00:27:52,105
The travelers are hampered
by dangerous dust storms.

269
00:27:54,908 --> 00:27:58,612
Females and calves can easily get
separated from the main herd.

270
00:28:11,825 --> 00:28:15,762
For this pair sanctuary lies
in the patch of woodland a few miles ahead.

271
00:28:15,896 --> 00:28:17,998
They can't rest
until they reach it.

272
00:28:31,044 --> 00:28:33,947
The main has already
got there safely.

273
00:28:38,085 --> 00:28:41,455
Finally, the stragglers
emerge from the dust.

274
00:28:45,092 --> 00:28:48,929
The exhausted calf is
still blinded by sand.

275
00:28:50,931 --> 00:28:53,901
Its mother does
everything possible to help it.

276
00:29:04,378 --> 00:29:06,547
The storm is now subsiding,

277
00:29:06,847 --> 00:29:09,349
but not all the elephants
have been so lucky.

278
00:29:09,817 --> 00:29:12,052
One youngster has got lost.

279
00:29:13,453 --> 00:29:15,088
Thirsty and exhausted,

280
00:29:15,155 --> 00:29:17,224
it follows the tracks
of its mother,

281
00:29:17,524 --> 00:29:20,461
but sadly
in the wrong direction.

282
00:29:39,847 --> 00:29:42,182
At the peak of the dry season
in the Kalahari

283
00:29:42,316 --> 00:29:44,718
water arrives in the Okavango.

284
00:29:44,785 --> 00:29:48,055
It fell as rain a thousand miles away
in the highlands of Angola

285
00:29:48,121 --> 00:29:50,991
and has taken nearly
five months to reach here.

286
00:29:56,063 --> 00:29:59,600
The water drives out insects
from the parched ground,

287
00:29:59,700 --> 00:30:01,602
which are snapped up by plovers.

288
00:30:04,471 --> 00:30:06,173
Catfish, traveling with the flood,

289
00:30:06,273 --> 00:30:09,343
collect any drowning creatures
the birds have missed.

290
00:30:18,051 --> 00:30:21,655
It's a seasonal feast
for animals of all kinds.

291
00:30:30,898 --> 00:30:33,667
Birds are the first
to arrive in any numbers -

292
00:30:33,767 --> 00:30:35,269
wattled cranes,

293
00:30:36,203 --> 00:30:38,305
then black storks.

294
00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:42,376
Behind the birds come buffalo.

295
00:30:42,476 --> 00:30:46,013
After weeks of marching
their trek is coming to an end.

296
00:31:01,195 --> 00:31:03,363
As the water sweeps into the Okavango

297
00:31:03,464 --> 00:31:08,802
a vast area of the Kalahari
is transformed into a fertile paradise.

298
00:31:11,271 --> 00:31:16,710
Nowhere on our planet is the life giving
power of water so clearly demonstrated.

299
00:31:19,947 --> 00:31:22,549
The Okavango becomes
criss-crossed with trails

300
00:31:22,649 --> 00:31:24,585
as animals move into its heart.

301
00:31:24,985 --> 00:31:27,287
The new arrivals open up
paths like arteries

302
00:31:27,354 --> 00:31:29,022
along which water flows,

303
00:31:29,089 --> 00:31:30,991
extending the reach of the flood.

304
00:31:47,274 --> 00:31:49,843
This is an Africa rarely seen -

305
00:31:50,410 --> 00:31:52,312
a lush water world.

306
00:32:06,627 --> 00:32:08,929
Some creatures are completely
at home here.

307
00:32:09,029 --> 00:32:10,597
These are lechwe -

308
00:32:10,697 --> 00:32:12,933
antelope with hooves that splay widely,

309
00:32:13,033 --> 00:32:15,803
enabling them to move
its speed through the water.

310
00:32:16,470 --> 00:32:19,373
For others the change
is far less welcome.

311
00:32:24,444 --> 00:32:27,648
Baboons are somewhat
apprehensive bathers.

312
00:32:53,574 --> 00:32:58,445
The water brings a season
of plenty for all animals.

313
00:33:09,590 --> 00:33:11,058
Hunting dogs.

314
00:33:27,107 --> 00:33:30,144
These are now among
the rarest of Africa's mammals,

315
00:33:30,244 --> 00:33:33,614
but then nonetheless
the continent's most efficient predators.

316
00:33:35,349 --> 00:33:37,684
Their secret is teamwork.

317
00:33:40,721 --> 00:33:43,123
Impala are their favorite prey.

318
00:33:44,024 --> 00:33:45,025
They start to hunt

319
00:33:45,125 --> 00:33:46,827
and the pack splits up.

320
00:33:47,561 --> 00:33:50,998
An aerial viewpoint gives
a new insight into their strategy.

321
00:33:51,832 --> 00:33:53,400
As the dogs approach their prey

322
00:33:53,500 --> 00:33:57,104
they peel off to take up separate
positions around their target.

323
00:34:06,747 --> 00:34:09,750
They seem to form
a cordon around the impala.

324
00:34:16,890 --> 00:34:18,659
Moving in total silence

325
00:34:18,759 --> 00:34:20,461
they take up their positions.

326
00:34:24,064 --> 00:34:26,967
Those ears can detect
the slightest rustle.

327
00:34:44,351 --> 00:34:45,853
The hunt is on.

328
00:34:48,989 --> 00:34:51,959
Three dogs close in
on one impala.

329
00:34:59,032 --> 00:34:59,800
Missed.

330
00:35:03,337 --> 00:35:07,007
The lead dog drives the impala
towards the hidden flankers.

331
00:35:15,115 --> 00:35:16,283
Anticipating their line

332
00:35:16,350 --> 00:35:17,751
the leader cuts the corner

333
00:35:17,818 --> 00:35:20,287
and joins a flanker
for the final assault.

334
00:35:22,122 --> 00:35:23,357
It's all or nothing.

335
00:35:23,423 --> 00:35:24,591
One on one.

336
00:35:28,061 --> 00:35:29,229
The dog has stamina,

337
00:35:29,329 --> 00:35:31,265
the impala has speed.

338
00:35:42,342 --> 00:35:44,978
Leaping into the lake
is an act of desperation -

339
00:35:45,078 --> 00:35:46,747
impala can barely swim.

340
00:35:49,817 --> 00:35:52,486
The dogs know their prey
must come out or drown -

341
00:35:52,553 --> 00:35:54,721
now it's a waiting game.

342
00:36:01,195 --> 00:36:03,163
The rest of the pack are calling.

343
00:36:04,264 --> 00:36:05,933
They've made a kill
in the forest

344
00:36:06,033 --> 00:36:08,969
and this is an invitation
to join in the meal.

345
00:36:11,972 --> 00:36:13,907
The impala is in luck.

346
00:36:20,314 --> 00:36:24,518
A pack this size kills once a day
and everything is shared.

347
00:36:32,092 --> 00:36:34,695
And this impala is reprieved.

348
00:36:41,535 --> 00:36:44,872
The elephants are nearing
the end of their long journey.

349
00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:50,177
After weeks of marching
they're desperately tired.

350
00:36:56,316 --> 00:36:58,018
The matriarch can smell water

351
00:36:58,085 --> 00:37:01,021
and encourages the herd
to make one last effort.

352
00:37:09,463 --> 00:37:10,731
The youngsters are exhausted

353
00:37:10,798 --> 00:37:12,733
but their mothers have made
this journey before

354
00:37:12,800 --> 00:37:14,835
and they know
that they're close to water.

355
00:37:28,782 --> 00:37:32,453
After many hundreds
of miles they've arrived.

356
00:38:29,042 --> 00:38:33,914
The lives of these elephants are dominated
by the annual rhythm of wet and dry,

357
00:38:33,981 --> 00:38:37,050
a seasonal cycle
created by the sun.

358
00:39:01,742 --> 00:39:03,243
At the southern end of the earth,

359
00:39:03,310 --> 00:39:05,445
after four months of total darkness,

360
00:39:05,512 --> 00:39:08,982
the sun once more
rises over Antarctica.

361
00:39:20,194 --> 00:39:23,997
Now at last the Emperor penguins
abandon their huddle.

362
00:39:24,064 --> 00:39:26,467
The males are still carrying
the precious eggs

363
00:39:26,533 --> 00:39:29,570
that they've cherished
throughout the Antarctic winter.

364
00:39:35,809 --> 00:39:39,079
With the returning sun
the eggs hatch.

365
00:39:40,047 --> 00:39:42,382
Other birds have
not even arrived.

366
00:39:42,449 --> 00:39:45,652
But the Emperors
by enduring the long black winter

367
00:39:45,719 --> 00:39:48,722
have given their chicks
a head start.

368
00:39:56,063 --> 00:40:02,236
These youngsters are now ready and eager
to make the most of the brief Antarctic summer.

369
00:40:09,409 --> 00:40:12,713
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Written & synchr. By m06166

370
00:40:13,305 --> 00:41:13,308
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