All language subtitles for Wild Europe Episode 4 A New Millenium

21 st century europe...

...730 million people...

a relentless force of change.

Man and nature must find
new ways to coexist.

In europe's cities,
people and animals crowd together.

The changes that have made
europe what it is today...

have been ever accelerating.

400 generations had
to pass to take

europe from stone age farming
to industrial agriculture.

Yet just 100 generations laid the
densest road network in the world.

And it has taken only 10 generations
to fell more forest

than all their ancestors combined.

But these are nothing compared
to the changes taking us

in to the 21 st century.

New technology...

new invaders...

new efforts to bring back
lost wildlife...

and new wilderness...
helping natives to return.

Since it's birth billions
of years ago,

europe has been
in a constant state of change...

...it's wildest fringes
are timeless reminders

of the fundamental forces
still at work today...

and which will ultimately shape the
future of this unique continent.

Rome - where europe's taste
for city life began.

Two thousand years ago, this was the
sole metropolis on the continent.

Today, three out of four europeans
are city dwellers...

...not all of them are human.

For every million people in italy
there's over half a million cars...

...and here in rome, nearly
as many motorbikes...

even in the middle of winter, there's
plenty of basking to be done...

but at this time of year it's
not without risk...

romans have learned
to be wary of clouds...

huge numbers of winter tourists are
flying in from the north...

rome's ancient soothsayers used
to read the future

of the empire from the flight
patterns of these birds.

But today, when swarms
of starlings darken the sky,

you don't need to be psychic to
divine imminent disaster.

Starling droppings are
extremely corrosive...

eating fabric, paints,
metal and stone...

and they're as slippery as soap.

Three million birds
come here each winter.

For one reason only...

the city is literally a "hotspot"...

significantly warmer than the
surrounding countryside.

Cities burn lots of fuel.

Their buildings absorb sunlight and
smog helps to retain the warmth.

Each evening, as the
starlings descend on rome,

they rain down tons of
foul smelling droppings.

But the empire strikes back.

Volunteers set out
to defend the city.

These new legions come armed with
searchlights and loudhailers...

blasting out starling distress calls.

The message is loud and clear...
but will it be heeded?

Starlings are not the only birds
that have adapted

well to the urban environment.

Vienna...
at it's heart saint stephen's...

...one of europe's
finest cathedrals.

Massive, yet intricate,
it has caught the attention

of many a visitor over the
past 500 years...

...including kestrels.

The gothic architecture mirrors the
limestone crags of the nearby alps.

Kestrels like pigeons
are drawn

to cities because they're
natural cliff dwellers,

seeking shelter in high
and inaccessible places.

Bats also find sanctuary here...

...but a night hunter
haunts these belfries...

...the stone marten.

It's not after bats...
but pigeon eggs.

From the roof of vienna's cathedral
to charles bridge in old prague,

hundreds of thousands of
stone martens patrol europe's

city streets -
unseen and unsuspected.

Even people can find
themselves victims.

Martens can't resist cars.

Beneath the bonnet there's a
cosy den... and plenty to chew on...

in just one night in munich,
west germany,

a single stone marten damaged 100 cars.

Martens are wily creatures...

but you'll certainly know
if one has paid you a visit.

On the bright side, stone martens can
increase personal fitness...

and even the use of public transport.

But on the down side...

are the steadily rising premiums
for car insurance.

Daybreak in northern spain.

The medieval town of
alfaro is anything but sleepy...

european white storks are natural
tree dwellers,

but with a shortage of big, old trees,
they resorted to boulders.

And with over crowding of these,
they were forced to think again.

Now some 140 stork families reside
on alfaro's cathedral alone.

But they're not here
just for the real estate...

on their doorstep, there's an
endless supply of food...

europe produces over 2 billion tons
of household waste per year...

plenty of opportunity
for scavengers...

griffon vultures are only too
keen to join the feast.

Rubbish dumps offer more
than just food.

For urban red foxes they also
provide valuable den sites.

Estimates suggest some 10,000
red foxes may live in london alone.

These highly adaptable
scavengers are now

establishing themselves in cities
right across the continent.

And they're not the only ones.

Budapest.
Spanning the river danube,

hungary's capital is a city
flanked by woodland...

...making jogging something
of an adventure sport.

During the rutting season,

wild boar can give you a good run
for your money.

The woodlands around budapest,
berlin and vienna are full of them.

The increased protection
of wild boar in central,

eastern and southern
europe has allowed numbers to soar.

Many of these normally secretive
forest dwellers

have now lost their fear of man:
They're overrunning villages,

city suburbs and farmland.

Farmers of ten find there's
been an early harvest...

...and that their fields
have even been ploughed.

Over millennia
of agricultural growth,

some wild animals have found
ways to exploit

the intensively groomed landscape.

All of this was once
impenetrable forest.

Europe's moderate climate...

and rich geological past...

make it the most fertile
continent on earth.

6 million square kilometers
of prime fields and pastures.

From the rice fields of italy
to the tulip fields of holland -

europe's agriculture
is big business.

Each year 3 billion
tulips are harvested

in holland and sent
all around the world.

The continent produces around
250 billion euros worth of crops.

Where does all this
leave wild nature?

In the days of traditional farming,
hares were a frequent sight;

but heavy use of chemicals and
radical landscaping drove

them from the fields.

But now there's a greater awareness
of the needs of wildlife...

hares are making a healthy
comeback across much

of europe's farmland...

but they've still got to
watch their backs.

For roe deer some fields make
important fawning grounds.

But thousands fall
victim to agricultural

machinery during the summer harvest...

pink footed geese use the farms

of western europe
as valuable stopovers.

Here they refuel during
their long journey

to europe's remotest corners...

the untamed north...

...an arctic wilderness...

...stretching from scandinavia
to the pole.

It's one of the world's most
inhospitable climates,

only the hardiest can live
here all year round.

But come summer,
under the midnight sun,

the skies are alive with visitors.

Europe's remote northwest
fringes are peppered

with islands and bathed
by the gulf stream.

These ice free waters are among
the most productive in the world.

But it's not just
europe's highest latitudes

that have remained
beyond our easy reach.

The alps...
a wilderness towering

over the very heart
of the continent.

Europe's tallest and most
extensive mountain range.

The alps are flanked
by sprawling forest...

...but europe's most prolific
woodlands are found further east...

...here... among the carpathians
and balkans.

Traditional farming persists,
more in harmony with nature...

for centuries little has changed...

in europe's wild east,
farmers and herdsmen

have always lived peacefully
alongside big predators.

In the west, these same animals
were feared and persecuted.

These forests are
now crucial reservoirs

for animals that have vanished
from much of the rest of europe.

Slovakia and romania are home to
the greatest numbers of bears,

wolves and lynx on the continent.

For half a century this thriving
eastern forest was largely

cut off from the remaining pockets
of woodland in western europe.

From the baltic to the black sea,

europe was split in two...

the dividing line 3,000
kilometres long.

The iron curtain was a border of death,
inhumane and unnatural...

...secured with mines, booby traps,
electric fences,

watchtowers,
attack dogs and thousands

of military troops and border police,
with the order to kill.

Day and night, guards watched for
any movement along the border.

Inside the fence was a
five kilometre wide strip of land...

for decades, a no go zone...

when the iron curtain
eventually came down,

the fence was demolished,
minefields were cleared...

and watchtowers levelled.

Today, only a few traces
of the curtain still linger -

like the odd patrol track.

But what does remain is a green
corridor across the continent.

And here, wild nature is quick to
reclaim abandoned buildings...

and derelict military bases...

creating a new kind of wilderness.

For the first time in a century,
wolves are back in germany.

They have made their
own way from the east.

A former soviet military
base not far from

berlin is now a refuge
for returning wildlife.

The old border of death...
has become a new corridor of life.

Along it's length,
countries have united

to help create a string
of new national parks.

There are few places
on the continent

where nature now has
such free reign...

and already wildlife
is on the move.

Lynx thrive in the vast
woodlands of poland and slovakia,

but for the past century
they've been on the brink

of extinction in western europe.

Now, europe's big cats
are slowly making a comeback.

The wild backcountry
of former yugoslavia

has always boasted a
healthy population of brown bears.

Some have already made their
way back to the west,

reaching as far as the alps.

But even with the help of new
green corridors,

they - and many others
face serious obstacles.

Road accidents account
for about half

of the all the animal
fatalities on the continent...

most of them on the
smaller country lanes.

With 5 million kilometres of tarmac,

europe's roads could wrap around
the equator a hundred times.

There are 110 million cars in europe.

On some carriageways tens of
thousands streak by every day.

Roads like these are
totally impassable.

With more and more roads
under construction,

what chance do animals have?

What's happening here-

and elsewhere across the continent
is actually a glimmer of hope.

A green bridge... 200m wide...
and spanning the motorway.

It's carefully planted
with shrubs and trees...

and positioned to re open
an old migration route.

And there's another means
of access across

the continent from east to west...
waterways.

They've always been important
corridors for wildlife.

Thousands of trees are being felled
along these backwaters of the danube.

The loggers... beavers.

After endless persecution they'd
all but disappeared

from central and western europe
by the end of the 19th century.

But since their re introduction
near vienna just a decade ago,

they're busily reclaiming their
old territory...

these sheltered wetlands along the
former iron curtain are ideal...

and beaver numbers are rising fast.

It's one of europe's most
successful homecomings.

Now, thanks to reintroduction
programmes in several countries,

the population across the continent
has recovered to over 250,000.

So few western europeans have ever
seen a truly pristine riverscape...

only 2% of all the waterways on the
continent are still natural.

And this is a river delta
in it's natural state...

the danube... meandering
it's way through ukraine,

bulgaria and romania...
a vast expanse of wetland.

The lower danube is now the only place
on the continent where -

far from being a disaster-
annual flooding is welcomed.

The flood plains sustain a wealth
of aquatic life...

some 80 kinds of fish
and as many molluscs.

This, in turn, support one
of the richest congregations

of bird life on the continent...

nearly three hundred
different species...

for dalmatian and white pelicans,

the world's largest reed beds
are crucial breeding grounds.

But wildlife does not have this
special river all to it'self.

This is the same river in the west-

cut off from it's natural floodplains.

Both the danube and the rhine rivers
have been radically straightened,

deepened and narrowed,
dyked and dammed.

As road networks are overloaded,

traffic turns to these rivers
as alternative highways.

200,000 vessels a year cross
the dutch german border,

making the rhine the world's
busiest waterway.

By the mid twentieth century,

industrial waste and domestic sewage
polluted germany's biggest river.

A chemical disaster in the
sixties was the coup de grace:

It killed off the last fish.

Until the nineteen twenties,

the rhine supported
commercial fishing

all the way from the
north sea to the alps.

Most prized of all was salmon,

but today the old tales of monster
catches sound like fishermen's yarns.

In recent years the tide has turned.

Rather than forcing the river to
accommodate big ships...

they're being replaced
by smaller vessels...

strict anti pollution
laws are now in force;

rivers and lakes right
across western

europe are significantly cleaner
than they were 50 years ago.

While some wildlife is returning
to the rhine by it's own accord,

the atlantic salmon
hasn't found it easy.

It needs a helping hand.

Each summer, for almost
twenty years, millions

of specially bred youngsters
have been released

into the tributaries of the river.

If just one in ten thousand of
these little fish survives,

it's counted a success.

Young salmon face all sorts
of hazards along the way...

both natural and man made.

Just a handful of adults
make it back

to germany each year from
their feeding grounds

far out in the north atlantic.

They're given an official welcome
by the press and politicians.

Some of these re introduced salmon
are now spawning,

raising the hope
that this busy river will

one day
return to it's former glory.

Each year, more and more
visitors come to cologne,

to attend the river rhine
festival.

They now have good reason
to celebrate.

Like the rhine, only a decade ago,
the river

elbe was poisoned and dead.
Here, too, a clean up is underway...

and wildlife is returning.

But with the return of life
have come surprises.

The fishermen are netting more
than just fish.

It's eels they're after...
and it's a good haul...

but their catch is being plundered

by a stranger to europe's waterways.

Mitten crabs.

These voracious invaders pose a
serious threat to resident wildlife.

Mitten crabs are not native to europe.

So how did they get here?

Europe's big coastal ports - dover,

hamburg, rotterdam,
bilbao, folkestone

are all gateways for intercontinental
shipping and trade.

A single port like this might deal
with 3 million containers a year.

That's over 300 every single hour,

day and night, arriving from every
part of the globe.

Although measures are taken
to keep out pests,

the overwhelming volume of goods
makes it nigh on impossible.

Every year, 150 new alien species
make it ashore.

Most will not survive.

Others find a small niche.
But some become massive invaders.

Mitten crabs first arrived from
asia decades ago.

Ironically,
it was the cleaning up

of europe's rivers that allowed
them to advance inland...

and wreak havoc.

But as invaders go, the mitten crab
is not the most destructive.

The killer that could cut
a swathe through

europe does not arrive
in spectacular swarms.

Finding one is like looking for a
needle in a haystack.

It may be hidden in any
wood product from east asia.

It's a deadly monster...

...the asian longhorn beetle.

Most wood parasites specialize
in certain trees.

Their populations only explode
under rare conditions.

But the larvae of the asian longhorn
beetle can feed on any wood.

If they escape into the
wild and reproduce freely,

europe's forests might
look like this.

A graveyard in swansea, wales.

British cemeteries often look wild...
but this one is different.

For years, the local
authority has battled

against an overwhelming onslaught.

It's a struggle against
a seven headed hydra.

Japanese knotweed,
imported from asia long ago

to grace europe's gardens,
has jumped the fence.

It's poisonous roots can
reach 3 metres down...

and it's powerful shoots will
outgrow any native competitor.

Even if all the trees are killed
off by alien beetles,

at least the countryside
will still be green

thanks to alien plants.

If ever there is a
lack of greenery in europe...

it's probably man made.

Just consider this landscape...

it looks like
some future fantasy...

but this is europe today.

The mar de plastico,
the sea of plastic in almeria,

southeastern spain.

It's visible from the moon.

Below the surface:
Optimum growing conditions.

Computers regulate the water
and nutrients... the temperature,

humidity and the carbon dioxide.

400 truckloads of peppers,

cucumbers and tomatoes are
packed every day of the year.

Climate control has turned

spain's poorest region into
one of europe's richest.

But all this depends on one thing...
...the sun.

Life on our planet is driven
by energy sent in from space,

from 155 million kilometres away.

The amount of energy the earth
receives from the sun is unimaginable,

but you can get a glimpse
of it here in spain,

at europe's first solar
power station.

In a ballet of perfect synchrony,

200 mirrors concentrate their
reflections on a single receiver.

The operating temperature here
reaches 1000 degrees celsius.

Even a slight variation in solar
power reaching

the earth can radically change
our living conditions.

Across the continent,
we can already see this happening.

Europe is heating up -
with dramatic consequences.

In recent years,
alpine resorts have had

to take matters
into their own hands.

Tens of thousands of snow
cannons bombard the slopes.

Without them, the huge tourist
industry would already be in meltdown.

Chillingly, from now on,

the most dramatic transformations
on this continent

will be driven by climate change.

When glaciers melt, sea levels rise.

And as oceans warm up, they expand,
drowning coastlines.

The thames barrier was built to save
london from exceptional tides.

Already the barrier
is proving too low.

It's not certain how much longer
the sea can be kept at bay...

a rise of a metre per century
is entirely possible.

At the next millennium,
london might still look like this...

but not when the tide comes in.

If global warming persists,

england's capital
would be completely swamped.

But then the pattern
of the past two million years

has been a seesaw
of cold and warm periods,

with the gulf stream
changing it's course.

And that could put an
entirely different spin on things.

London... and berlin.

Both stand where the
last ice sheets ended.

During the next ice age,

life might only be
possible under glass...

at the peak of the
last glacial period,

everything north of
berlin was a white, windy waste.

This would be nothing new-

it's happened countless
times before...

equally possible... paris might
become a tropical forest again...

or be swallowed by desert sands...

there's no reason to think that
climate change will ever end...

nor will any of the more
fundamental forces

that have shaped
the continent come to rest.

250 million years from now,

europe is destined
to merge with africa...

forming a new super continent.

But for now, this is a continent
of living treasures...

...abundant, but not infinite...

...to be shared by humans
and wild nature.

Europe's treasures:

...it's teeming cities...

...it's pleasant farmland...

...and it's raw wilderness...

they're all worth keeping.

They're all worth sharing.

They all combine to make
this continent unique.