Original subtitles

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NARRATOR: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL, YOU KNOW YOU'RE WATCHING

TELEVISION THAT IS EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: HI EVERYONE, I'M DYLAN DREYER.

COME ALONG AS WE EXPLORE THE MAGNIFICENT IBERIAN COAST.

IT'S TIME FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE WILDLIFE ADVENTURE ON EARTH

ODYSSEY.

COMING UP, WE DIVE INTO AN UNDERSEA PARADISE FILLED WITH

COLORFUL CHARACTERS AND JUMBO TRAVELERS.

THEN, THESE DOTING PARENTS ARE BRINGING UP BABY ON A SECRET

ISLAND.

PLUS, IT'S A MONKEY MYSTERY.

JUST HOW DID THESE WILD PRIMATES END UP LIVING HERE?

AND ONE OF IBERIA'S GREAT HUNTERS MAY NOT BE WHO OR WHAT

YOU THINK.

FANTASTIC ANIMAL STORIES ARE JUST AHEAD HERE ON EARTH

ODYSSEY.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: THE IBERIAN PENINSULA'S 2,000 MILES OF COASTLINE ARE

HOME TO AN ABUNDANCE OF WILDLIFE.

FROM THE HUMBLE INHABITANTS OF KELP FORESTS TO FREE-RANGING

OCEAN GIANTS, WE BEGIN IN THE DAZZLING WATERS OFF PORTUGAL.

THE IBERIAN PENINSULA IS SURROUNDED BY WATER ON ALL SIDES

BUT ONE.

TO THE EAST LIES THE STORIED MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

TO THE WEST, THE ATLANTIC OCEAN AND ITS POWERFUL SURF.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: NOT SURPRISINGLY, THE MILES OF WATERS AROUND THE

PENINSULA ARE FULL OF AMAZING LIFE FORMS.

NEAR PORTUGAL'S CAPITAL LIES ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SHORELINES

ON THE IBERIAN PENINSULA.

CHALK CLIFFS AND GREEN FORESTS MERGE WITH TURQUOISE WATERS.

IT'S AN UNUSUALLY CALM SPOT ON THE TUMULTUOUS ATLANTIC COAST.

KELP AND CORAL REEFS HERE ARE KEY TO SUSTAINING THIS UNUSUALLY

RICH ENVIRONMENT.

THE WATERS HERE ARE NURSERIES FOR MANY SPECIES OF FISH.

AQUATIC STORIES ARE WRITTEN EVERY DAY FROM THE MOMENT OF

BIRTH TO THE LAST MOMENTS OF LIFE.

GREAT SCHOOLS OF FISH CAN BE FOUND HERE ALL YEAR ROUND.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: PLANTS NORMALLY FOUND ON THE WARMER MEDITERRANEAN COASTS

ALSO GROW IN THIS PROTECTED BAY.

A CUTTLEFISH IS ON THE HUNT.

THIS IS AN AMBUSH PREDATOR.

DESPITE THEIR NAME, THE CUTTLEFISH AREN'T FISH.

THEY'RE MOLLUSKS CLOSELY RELATED TO OCTOPUS AND SQUID.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: FOR THIS SPECIES, PATIENCE PAYS OFF.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: THE CUTTLEFISH REMAINS PERFECTLY STILL.

A CLOUD OF SHRIMP IS APPROACHING.

UNSUSPECTING SHRIMP ARE ALL AROUND HIM, AND THEY'RE RIPE FOR

THE PICKING.

THE SHRIMP RELY ON AN OLD STRATEGY, SAFETY IN NUMBERS.

BUT AGAINST SUCH A STEALTHY PREDATOR, THERE IS NOTHING THEY

CAN DO.

IT'S A LUCKY FEAST FOR THE CUTTLEFISH.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: FARTHER OUT TO SEA, AN IMMENSE OCEAN TRAVELER HAS

REACHED THE ATLANTIC COAST.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: FOR MILLENNIA, GREAT OCEANIC CURRENTS HAVE BROUGHT

ALL KINDS OF WANDERERS TO THESE COASTS.

THEY COME HERE FOR THE PROMISE OF FOOD.

IN WARMER MONTHS AND WITH THE INCREASING WATER TEMPERATURES,

KRILL AND SQUID ARE PLENTIFUL.

IN FACT, THERE'S ENOUGH FOOD HERE FOR THE LARGEST AMONG THE

ANIMAL KINGDOM...

...WHALES.

THE IBERIAN WATERS WORK AS A HIGHWAY FOR SEVERAL SPECIES OF

WHALES, INCLUDING SPERM WHALES AND BLUE WHALES.

AFTER FEEDING HERE, THEY'LL CONTINUE THEIR LONG-DISTANCE

JOURNEY THROUGH THE WORLD'S OCEANS AND HOPEFULLY RETURN.

COMING UP, THESE CLEVER GULLS HAVE FOUND THE PERFECT HIDEAWAY

FOR THEIR ADORABLE CHICKS.

PLUS, THE ONLY MONKEYS IN EUROPE ARE ALL IN FOR SIGHTSEEING IN

THIS HISTORIC CITY.

AND DON'T LOOK NOW, BUT AN AMBUSH PREDATOR IS LYING IN

WAIT.

WE GET A 360-DEGREE POINT OF VIEW WHEN EARTH ODYSSEY COMES

RIGHT BACK.

NARRATOR: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: ISLANDS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO MARINE CREATURES

AS NATURAL REFUGES.

IN SPAIN, WE CAN FIND ONE OF THESE HAVENS.

IT'S A SMALL CHAIN OF THREE ISLANDS ON THE ATLANTIC COAST.

ISLANDS ARE A FAVORITE HABITAT FOR SEABIRDS.

THEIR ISOLATION USUALLY MEANS THAT THERE ARE NO TERRESTRIAL

PREDATORS.

WHICH IS WHY THE BIGGEST YELLOW-LEGGED GULL COLONY ON THE

PLANET IS HERE.

[MUSIC, GULL SQUAWKING]

DYLAN: AROUND 20,000 COUPLES COME TO THE ISLAND EVERY YEAR

TO GIVE BIRTH TO THE NEXT GENERATION.

[MUSIC AND SQUAWKING CONTINUES]

DYLAN: THIS IS A TYPICAL FAMILY.

A COUPLE WITH THREE LITTLE CHICKS.

THESE CHICKS ARE STILL VERY YOUNG AND THEY STILL DEPEND

ENTIRELY ON THEIR PARENTS TO SURVIVE.

THE PARENTS WILL TAKE CARE OF THEM FOR AS LONG AS THEY CAN

BEFORE FLYING AWAY TO OTHER PARTS OF THE COAST ONCE AGAIN.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: ON THE SIBERIAN COAST, LARGE STRETCHES OF WILDERNESS

REMAIN RELATIVELY UNTOUCHED.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: ALL KINDS OF OCEAN DWELLERS AND DISTANT TRAVELERS

COME TOGETHER HERE.

FROM THE SMALLEST AND MOST FRAGILE ORGANISMS TO THOSE THAT

PATROL THE COAST.

EACH HAS ITS OWN ROLE ON THIS GREAT ECOSYSTEM.

WITH AN EVER-CHANGING LANDSCAPE, ALL THE CREATURES THAT LIVE HERE

MUST ADAPT IN ORDER TO SURVIVE.

EUROPE'S LAST STRETCH OF LAND BEFORE THE GREAT ATLANTIC OCEAN

IS A PLACE WHERE WILDLIFE STILL THRIVES WITH ALL ITS MIGHT AND

WONDER.

[GULL SQUAWKING]

SINCE ANCIENT TIMES, PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DRAWN TO THE SEA.

THE CALL OF THE OCEAN IS TOO STRONG TO IGNORE.

IT CAN BE BOTH IRRESISTIBLE AND FRIGHTENING.

THIS IS A TUMULTUOUS COAST.

GENERATIONS OF PEOPLE LIVING HERE HAVE SURVIVED BY RESPECTING

ITS SEASONS AND ITS VAST RESOURCES.

THIS MAN HAS BEEN WAITING FOR THE RIGHT MOMENT.

HE TAKES HIS TIME TO READ THE OCEAN, TO SENSE THE POWER OF THE

WAVES.

HE HAS TO BE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS SECURED AND IN

PLACE.

LOCALS HERE HARVEST A SMALL STATIONARY CRUSTACEAN THAT GROWS

WHERE THE WAVES HIT THE ROCKS WITH ALL THE OCEAN'S POWER.

GOOSE BARNACLES.

IT'S A DANGEROUS JOB.

A SMALL MISTAKE CAN BE COSTLY.

BUT GOOSE BARNACLES ARE A HIGHLY PRIZED SEAFOOD ON THIS

NORTHWESTERN COAST, SO THIS FISHERMAN IS WILLING TO BRAVE

THE SLIPPERY ROCKS.

OVERFISHING AND POLLUTION HAVE UPENDED FISHING COMMUNITIES AND

THREATENED MARINE RESOURCES IN SOME AREAS.

NOW, MORE SUSTAINABLE WAYS OF HARVESTING FROM THE SEA ARE

BEING PUT INTO PRACTICE TO PROTECT THIS MAGNIFICENT COAST.

COMING UP, WE CAN TAKE OUR EYES OFF THESE BABY MONKEYS, HOW

THEIR MOMS MANAGE THEIR PLAY.

AND WHEN THE SUN IS SHINING, THIS NATURAL BORN PREDATOR CAN'T

AFFORD TO BE LAZY.

MORE NON-STOP ANIMAL ADVENTURES WHEN EARTH ODYSSEY COMES RIGHT

BACK.

NARRATOR: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: SOME FANTASTIC UNDERSEA CREATURES LIVE ALONG THE IBERIAN

COAST, BUT ONE EQUALLY FASCINATING LAND ANIMAL HAS

FOUND A WELCOMING WATERFRONT HOME THERE TOO.

MEET A PRIMATE WITH A PENCHANT FOR HANGING OUT IN POPULAR

PLACES.

THE TERRITORY OF GIBRALTAR, KNOWN FOR THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR,

MARKS THE PASSAGE FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN TO THE

MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: IT'S ALSO THE HOME OF THE GIBRALTAR MONKEYS, THE ONLY

PRIMATE POPULATION ON THE EUROPEAN CONTINENT.

SOME OF THESE UNIQUE WILD MONKEYS ARE PERFECTLY ADAPTED TO

LIVING IN TOWN WITH HUMANS.

IN FACT, THEY ARE A MAJOR TOURIST ATTRACTION.

THEY WANDER FREELY THROUGH THE TOURIST SPACES AS IF THEY WERE

PEOPLE.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: THEIR ORIGIN IN EUROPE WAS CONSIDERED A BIT OF A

MYSTERY.

BUT THEY ARE ACTUALLY BARBARY MACAQUES, MOST LIKELY INTRODUCED

DURING THE MUSLIM OCCUPATION OF SPAIN.

THESE MONKEYS LIVE IN GROUPS WITH AN IMPORTANT SOCIAL ORDER.

EACH MEMBER HAS ITS OWN POSITION AND STATUS.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: IT'S A DEEPLY STRUCTURED SOCIETY AND GOOD MANNERS MUST

BE LEARNED FROM A TENDER AGE.

[PLAYFUL MUSIC]

DYLAN: ALL THIS PLAYING IS CRUCIAL FOR THE YOUNG MACAQUE'S

DEVELOPMENT.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: GROOMING ACTIVITIES HELP THE MACAQUES NOT ONLY TO STAY

HEALTHY, BUT ALSO TO CREATE AND STRENGTHEN THE BONDS BETWEEN

THEM.

SURPRISINGLY, THIS ADAPTABLE GIBRALTAR MONKEY POPULATION HAS

BEEN INCREASING IN RECENT DECADES, EVEN IN THE MOST

UNLIKELY OF PLACES.

COMING UP, THERE'S SOMETHING UNCANNY ABOUT A CHAMELEON, HOW

THIS REMARKABLE REPTILE USES ITS SUPERPOWERS TO SURVIVE.

MORE TALES FROM THE IBERIAN PENINSULA WHEN EARTH ODYSSEY

RETURNS.

NARRATOR: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: IT'S SUMMER.

THE TYPICAL SONG OF THE CICADAS CAN BE HEARD EVERYWHERE.

[CICADAS BUZZING]

DYLAN: THE MALES ARE SINGING.

THEY'RE SEEKING FEMALE ATTENTION.

[BUZZING CONTINUES]

DYLAN: BUT THEY ALSO ATTRACT THE WRONG KIND OF ATTENTION.

A CHAMELEON, ONE OF IBERIA'S GREATEST HUNTERS.

[MUSIC, CICADAS BUZZING]

DYLAN: PERFECTLY ADAPTED TO LIFE IN THE TREES, THEY DISAPPEAR

WITHIN THE FOLIAGE.

[MUSIC AND BUZZING CONTINUES]

DYLAN: THE CHAMELEON HAS AN EXTRAORDINARY SET OF HUNTING

EQUIPMENT.

THE ABILITY TO CHANGE COLOR, 360-DEGREE VISION, GRIPPING

FOUR-TOED CLAWS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, ITS POWERFUL

PROJECTILE TONGUE.

SUMMER IS THE PERFECT SEASON FOR A CHAMELEON.

THIS ABUNDANCE OF FOOD IS EXACTLY WHAT IT NEEDS.

WHEN HE SEES A POTENTIAL PREY, HE SNEAKS UP WITH VERY SLOW

MOVEMENTS AND THEN WAITS FOR THE PERFECT MOMENT.

THE CHAMELEON FIRES HIS TONGUE AS IF IT WERE A MISSILE AT HIGH

SPEED.

AS LONG AS THERE ARE FOOD OPPORTUNITIES, HE'LL CONTINUE TO

HUNT.

AS SOON AS THE TEMPERATURE STARTS TO DROP, HE HAS TO

HIBERNATE, SO EVERY CHANCE IN THE WARM WEATHER IS IMPORTANT.

HE MUST GATHER ENOUGH ENERGY RESERVES FOR HIS LONG WINTER IN

HIBERNATION.

THE SOUTHERN IBERIAN COAST IS THE ULTIMATE STRONGHOLD FOR THE

COMMON CHAMELEON IN EUROPE.

SOME SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT IBERIAN CHAMELEON POPULATIONS

RESULT FROM HUMAN INTRODUCTIONS DURING THE 19TH CENTURY.

HOWEVER, RECENT GENETIC STUDIES REVEAL A MUCH OLDER ORIGIN AND

SUGGEST THESE ANIMALS WERE IN FACT INTRODUCED AT TWO DIFFERENT

MOMENTS IN TIME.

NO MATTER WHEN THEY ARRIVED HERE, THESE FASCINATING REPTILES

ARE OFTEN REGARDED AS SYMBOLS OF TRANSFORMATION, THANKS TO THEIR

REMARKABLE COLOR-CHANGING ABILITY HERE IN THEIR

MEDITERRANEAN HOME.

THANKS FOR WATCHING TODAY AS WE EXPLORE THIS UNIQUE PENINSULA, A

TRUE TRANSITION ZONE BETWEEN EUROPE AND AFRICA.

I'M DYLAN DREYER.

I HOPE YOU'LL TUNE IN NEXT TIME TO MEET MORE UNFORGETTABLE

ANIMALS RIGHT HERE ON EARTH ODYSSEY.

[MUSIC]