Original subtitles

narrator: at the southwestern tip of africa

lies one of the most spectacular parks on earth.

Surrounded by the vast atlantic ocean

and the growing metropolis of cape town.

It is home to an extraordinary diversity of plants and animals.

Many exist nowhere else.

this is an extreme

and unforgiving environment.

At its core

is one of the world's most iconic mountains.

This is table mountain national park.

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table mountain is one of the natural wonders of the world.

its flat top is formed by a cap of super-hardened sandstone

that has resisted millions of years of erosion.

the mountain is the northernmost extent

of one of africa's most diverse parks.

from here, table mountain national park

extends south along a rugged spine of mountains

to the end of the peninsula at cape point.

85 square miles of incredible diversity.

containing more than 2000 plant species;

90 of which exist nowhere else in the world.

this sanctuary is surrounded on all sides

by ocean

or by humanity,

3000 foot peaks stand with their feet in the sea.

two sharply contrasting worlds

on land

and in the ocean.

cold, dry winds and deep ocean currents

drive upwelling along this coast,

drawing valuable nutrients to the surface.

resulting in rich waters teaming with life.

but on land conditions are very different.

the winds that bring life to the waters below

buffet the mountains desiccating the landscape

and stunting the vegetation.

dry and windswept

just surviving here is a struggle.

just about every plant and animal

is adapted to overcome this harsh world.

orange breasted sunbirds flit between flowers

in a partnership

critical to both species' survival.

where only the toughest species

can eke out a living on the land,

in contrast below the waves in the rich seas life is abundant.

seals play a life and death game of hide and seek

in the offshore forests,

and an unusual colony of african penguins thrives.

all protected

within table mountain's incredible natural sanctuary.

for plants and animals alike,

living here is a story of life on the edge.

it's midsummer and an unlikely family

has come down to the beach near cape point to escape the heat.

chacma baboons, the southernmost primate in africa -

apart from humans.

one of the world's largest monkeys,

males can weigh nearly a hundred pounds.

they are remarkably resourceful and occur across southern africa

in a range of habitats -

from forests and grasslands to savanna and semi-deserts.

for a few days each month

during extreme low tides they come down to the shore

in order to forage among the exposed rocks.

this gives them a valuable survival edge

in an unforgiving park.

they're one of only a few baboon families in the world

whose lifestyle straddles both land and sea.

the cape peninsula is an isolated stretch of land

jutting out into the mighty atlantic ocean.

it is one of the windiest spots in the world;

gales blow roughly 100 days a year.

this makes life on land harsh,

but it brings a bounty to the ocean.

southeasterly winds and deep oceanic currents

bring cold nutrient rich water to the surface

in a process called upwelling.

these nutrients together with sunlight

fuel one of the most productive habitats on the planet.

giant kelp forests

with plants towering over 39 feet thrive.

with plenty of food available,

the only limiting factor is a place to call your own.

space is at a premium

so there is fierce competition for it.

fish such as this red roman are territorial.

males jealously guard their patch -

and to avoid competition they have a trick up their sleeves.

young are all born female.

when the territorial male dies

the largest female changes sex

and takes over his territory.

seven-gill cow sharks also patrol these forests.

a member of one of the planet's most ancient shark lineages,

they hide from predators such as great whites

during the day in the forest.

cape fur seals - another of the great white's favored prey items

also find shelter in the kelp beds.

in the relative safety of this underwater haven

there's plenty of time for mischief.

the relentless winds

that contribute to the upwelling in the ocean

making it one of the most fertile ecosystems

on the planet; also dictate conditions on land -

but in the opposite way.

the vegetation blanketing the park is called "fynbos"

translated as "fine bush";

it gets its name

from the delicate leaves of many of its plants

which help them to conserve water.

fynbos forms part of the incredibly diverse

cape floristic region.

this region is second only to tropical forests

in terms of diversity

although it is only a fraction of the size.

covering 56,000 square miles,

the cape holds more than 9,000 plant species.

almost 70 percent of which live nowhere else.

more plant species than the united kingdom.

fynbos is characterized by four iconic plant types-

ericas, identifiable by their tiny needle-like leaves,

reed-like restios,

large shrubby proteas with showy flowers,

and geophytes with their underground storage organs.

the soils of table mountain national park are sandy

and hold few nutrients and limited water.

where soils are poor growing leaves is costly.

so plants need to deter animals from eating them.

for this they fill their leaves with chemicals called tannins

which make them bitter and indigestible.

although the landscape appears

to be covered with edible vegetation,

most of it is not.

this family of cape mountain zebra

are searching for food on the open plains

north of cape point.

they are the smallest zebra species.

easily distinguished from other zebras

by the fold of skin under their necks - known as a dewlap.

they specialize in living in dry, rocky environments.

they're searching for new grass shoots.

eland, the largest antelope in the world,

also rely on isolated patches of grass

that grow in a few places amongst the unpalatable fynbos.

bontebok are found only in this part of south africa

and can survive on fynbos alone,

but they take full advantage of table mountain's grazing lawns

to boost their diet.

for nearly all land animals

finding food in this barren landscape

is a constant challenge.

the baboon troops often have to make do with what they can find

high on the meager landscape of the peninsula.

but this troop is led by an experienced alpha male

and he knows where to look.

plants with underground storage organs

such as bulbs and tubers - known as geophytes -

are common in the park.

these store water and carbohydrates underground

in order to survive the park's hot dry summers.

but not all geophytes are good eating.

march lilies appear in late summer all over the peninsula.

the bulbs of these beautiful plants are highly toxic -

able to kill a grown man.

being a big-brained primate

gives these baboons an advantage in this tough landscape.

family life is important.

youngsters not only learn from their parents

but spend hours playing.

this builds relations between family members.

subordinates often groom dominant members to gain acceptance,

and females gain protection for their young.

youngsters too always have an eye out for opportunities

to get on top.

one species in the park

that comes out on top more often than not

is the rock hyrax,

known locally as "dassies".

they are found throughout the park on rocky outcrops,

and this family are kings of their castle.

their home is on the iconic flat mountain.

dassies may look suspiciously like guinea pigs,

but they are not rodents at all.

as unlikely as it seems,

dna evidence shows their closest living relatives

are elephants.

agama lizards are also adapted to life here.

like all cold blooded animals

they cannot regulate their own body temperatures

and rely on the sun's heat to warm their bodies.

so they spend large amount of time

lying on exposed sunny surfaces.

this makes them easy targets for birds of prey

such as rock kestrels.

most species are camouflaged to blend in with the rock,

but the black girdled lizard stands out.

it's a dangerous trade off,

the lizard is more visible to predators

but being darker helps it absorb the maximum amount of heat.

dassies too enjoy sunning themselves.

they are one of only a few warm blooded mammals

capable of using the sun's heat

to increase their body temperature

and aid their metabolism.

this also exposes them

to larger predators such as this jackal buzzard.

but dassies are expert rock jumpers.

small stubby toes with hoof-like nails make rock jumping easy.

a special secretion keeps their rubbery feet permanently moist.

they also have a collapsible ribcage -

perfect for squeezing into small rock crevices

to escape danger.

of all their adaptations however,

it is possibly their ability to tackle a variety of food

that gives them the greatest advantage in this park.

a multi-chambered stomach filled with symbiotic bacteria

enables them to eat the otherwise

unpalatable leaves of fynbos.

most of the year,

fynbos tries to keep animals at bay to prevent grazing.

but for some species,

animals are critically important for pollination.

and to attract these animals, plants produce lots of nectar.

growing leaves is expensive

because it requires nutrients that are in short supply

in the soils of table mountain national park.

but while leaves are expensive, producing nectar is cheap.

all it takes is sunlight and a little water.

it's early morning,

the flowers are full of nectar and sunbirds are feasting.

orange-breasted sunbirds exist only in the fynbos.

they play a crucial role in the ecosystem.

flitting from flower to flower feeding on nectar,

they become dusted with pollen.

which they transfer from plant to plant

fertilizing the flowers.

southern double-collared sunbirds

are also drawn by the spoils on offer.

proteas, south africa's iconic national flower,

are shrubby plants

and they attract another larger bird.

cape sugarbirds, so named for their love of nectar.

their tail is long and cumbersome.

but females are attracted by impressive tails;

the longer the tail the better the male's potential as a mate.

sunbirds are also enjoying the sugary spoils.

but they unwittingly cheat the protea out of its nectar.

being small they can't reach

into the depths of the plant from above, like the sugarbirds,

and are not dusted with pollen.

this is bad news for the plant.

their only reliable pollinators are sugarbirds.

while more than 400 species of fynbos plants

rely on birds to enable them to produce seeds,

these are not the only pollinators.

cape honeybees love nectar

and rely heavily on flowers to get it.

bees also play a vital pollinating role

in the fynbos ecosystem.

their proboscis is an airtight, straw-like tube

that sucks up nectar.

an electrostatic charge

on the fine hairs that cover their body and legs

helps them collect pollen.

of all pollinators in the park

perhaps the most unusual is the striped field mouse.

around the world pollination by rodents is extremely rare,

but mice are attracted to proteas

because the flowers produce large volumes of nectar.

in the fynbos more than 35 plant species

depend on this rare relationship.

living in a windy place can be a hindrance

but some plants have come to depend on it.

restios, another major plant group of the fynbos

are wind pollinated.

they don't have beautiful showy flowers

because they don't need to attract pollinators

with fancy petals or tasty nectar.

their pollinator is indiscriminate

but everywhere.

wind pollination is not as precise as animal pollination

but it's still highly effective in this wind-driven ecosystem.

wind not only helps to renew life on land,

it also brings nutrients to the ocean surface,

enabling sea life to flourish.

table mountain national park

is home to a rare marine character -

the african penguin.

it's breeding season in the boulders beach colony

on the eastern shores of the park.

this is one of only three mainland breeding colonies

in africa.

ordinarily, african penguins prefer to breed

on offshore islands -

but humans destroyed their traditional homes

by stripping guano off these islands for fertilizer

in the early 1900s.

with no guano

the breeding penguins had nowhere to dig their burrows

and shelter their chicks.

in addition, commercial fishing

has stripped the oceans of food for penguins.

historically

there were an estimated two million breeding pairs

in southern africa,

today fewer than 25 000 survive.

the species is hanging on by the finest of threads.

and the boulders beach penguins

are at the forefront of the struggle.

it is one of the only colonies growing in number.

not only is the breeding colony protected,

the surrounding waters of false bay

are also closed to commercial fishing;

meaning food is plentiful.

penguins are not the only flightless bird

benefitting from the sanctuary of the park.

it's midsummer - the driest time of the year.

this is the hottest day that cape point has experienced

in a hundred years,

a sweltering 109 degrees fahrenheit.

fynbos offers little shade and birds do not have the ability

to sweat in order to cool down.

this ostrich is feeling the heat.

so he's opening his mouth and rapidly moving air

over a capillary filled pouch in his throat

in order to cool his blood.

this is called "gular fluttering" -

similar to panting dogs.

he also spreads his wings,

allowing the wind to fan the thin skin beneath

reduces his core temperature.

the bontebok are also taking strain in the exposed landscape.

males are highly territorial

and even in the heat their priority is to assert dominance.

there are places in the park where the desiccating winds

actually benefit plants and animals.

on the summit the south-easterly wind has formed a cloud

known to locals as the mountain's "table cloth".

the lower slopes are parched,

but this thick cloud brings some relief

to the park's higher elevations.

water condensing out of the air

is just enough to refresh the last trickling streams.

these are home to an orchid called the red disa.

disas can tolerate hot summer temperatures,

but they need moisture and humidity.

and so can only survive in these permanent streams.

cape rivers are best known for their dark water.

the bitter tannins fynbos plants use to deter herbivores

leech into the rivers,

creating a tea-like color.

even here, in this moist environment,

life is tough.

sundews are carnivorous plants

that can survive in these nutrient-poor soils.

the droplets on their leaves are sweet secretions.

insects are trapped by this sticky substance

and the plant uses enzymes to digest them

and absorb the nutrients.

the permanent streams allow green pockets of life

to survive on an unforgiving mountain.

afromontane forest covers just 4 percent of the park,

and is a refuge for a number of unusual species.

perhaps the most precious of all

is the table mountain ghost frog -

one of the rarest amphibians on the planet.

the entire world's population

lives in just 6 ravines

on the eastern side of the mountain.

it is seldom seen,

living a secretive existence in these perennial streams.

this frog has just metamorphosed from a tadpole.

he still has a lot of growing to reach his adult size

of 2 inches.

ghost frogs are perfectly adapted to this habitat.

flattened bodies allow them to crawl between narrow crevices.

webbed feet make them excellent swimmers.

sticky discs on their toes help them cling to rock faces

and their mottled green and brown appearance

is ideal camouflage.

the tadpoles are also adapted to life in fast flowing streams.

their huge mouth acts as a strong sucker,

allowing them to hang onto rocks while slowly feeding on algae.

tadpoles take a whole year to develop to adulthood.

the ghost frog is a specialist

and is unable to traverse large distances

between suitable habitats -

and therefore exists nowhere else.

further downstream a curious character also finds refuge -

a cape dwarf chameleon,

native to the southwestern corner of south africa.

unlike ghost frogs, table mountain's extreme specialist,

the secret of this chameleon's success is its adaptability -

it can survive everywhere

from fynbos and forest to urban gardens.

large individuals such as this one

can grow up to 7 inches in length.

chameleons are important predators.

with gripping feet and a prehensile tail,

they are adapted to life in the trees.

their eyes work independently

allowing them to scan different directions at the same time.

even expert hunters can sometimes miss the shot.

it's this grasshopper's lucky day.

but persistence pays.

afromontane forests are tucked away in moist ravines

protected from the dangers of increasingly

hot and dry conditions on the exposed slopes.

by the end of summer

table mountain national park is a tinderbox.

one stray spark is all that it takes to ignite the mountain.

once alight

runaway fires rapidly destroy everything in their path.

animals not able to escape are consumed by the flames,

but fire has always been a natural part of this landscape

and it plays a pivotal role in the fynbos ecosystem.

in only a matter of days new growth starts to appear.

protea bushes in particular are fire adapted.

some protect themselves with thick bark

and then re-sprout once the fire has passed.

others are stimulated by the flames to release their seeds.

smoke, heat or charred wood

also triggers the growth of seeds and bulbs

buried in the ground.

ironically the burnt landscape is perfect for new seedlings.

with the dominant adult plants gone,

there is no competition for space or water.

and the nutrients once stored in living vegetation

now lie as highly fertile ash on the ground.

like a phoenix rising from the ashes,

fynbos is reborn after each fire.

table mountain national park's rugged 62 mile coastline

is a sharp divide

between fynbos struggling under the onslaught of summer

and cold waters full of life.

in order to survive on table mountain,

every species needs to be able to tip the scales in their favor

and none are better at seizing new opportunities

than the mountain's baboon troops.

by the end of the hot season kelp beds are bloated with life.

older plants become dislodged

by swells rising out of the southern ocean.

washing ashore

it's a valuable resource.

beach hoppers,

crustaceans distantly related to lobsters and crabs,

have specially adapted gills allowing them to breathe air.

they are effective scavengers,

removing tons of washed up kelp in a matter of days.

the cape point troop of chacma baboons

are also making the most of the smorgasbord on the shore.

they have learned that there is a feast to be had

if you know where to look.

when conditions are right

they come down from their mountainside home

for an early morning seafood buffet.

spring low tide is best.

when rocks are exposed far down the beach,

covered in mussels and limpets.

this is one of the only places in the world

where baboons are known to do this.

shellfish are an incredible source of protein.

these baboons spend only about 5 percent of their time

feasting at the shore,

but the nutrition they gain is invaluable.

it is thought that this same protein source

also helped fuel human development

hundreds of thousands of years ago.

there is evidence that some of our earliest ancestors

ate large amounts of seafood along these shores

fueling the growth of a bigger brain.

just like the earliest human ancestors,

baboons have adapted to make the most of the opportunities

provided by this challenging landscape,

gaining a valuable survival edge on this unforgiving peninsula.

table mountain national park is a land of contrasts,

driven by fire and wind.

it is harsh on land.

despite this

a number of plants and animals thrive -

forming partnerships critical for their survival.

a wealth of species that are found nowhere else.

the surrounding oceans teem with life,

fed by nutrient rich waters upwelled from the deep.

there is plenty of food for a multitude of plants and animals.

this is an island of diversity and wonder

hemmed in by humanity

and surrounded by ocean.

table mountain national park

is a place like no other.

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