All language subtitles for Seven.Worlds.One.Planet.S01E03.South.America.WEBRip.x264-ION10.en

At the southern tip of South America,

the Andes mountains rise
almost vertically.

Their very height affects
life throughout the continent.

The barren slopes look inhospitable.

But like all parts of South America,
they're actually rich with wildlife.

A family of puma.

They live further south
than any other kind of cat on Earth.

These cubs are only six months old -

entirely dependent on their mother
for food.

She knows how to exploit
this rugged landscape to her advantage.

And she has to do so,

if she is to catch the continent's
most challenging prey.

Guanaco - a relative of the camel.

Two metres tall and over three times
the weight of a puma.

The mother's only hope is to go for
the throat and try to suffocate her prey.

(BLEATS)

Her cubs try to help...

...but they themselves
don't yet have the skills or the weight

to bring down such large prey.

And the mother is now badly injured.

Her wounds are severe
and will take weeks to heal properly.

But without food,
her cubs won't survive for long.

The weather in the Andes
is harsh and unpredictable.

Snow makes the camouflage
on which she relies much less effective.

But she must have food.

The guanaco have left
her normal hunting ground...

...and are now in the territory
of a much larger male puma.

He's just made a kill,
but he isn't about to share it with her.

To hunt here,
she'll need to leave her cubs behind

in the safety of their home territory.

Almost invisible in the shadows,
she's nearly within pouncing distance.

(GUANACO BLEATS)

Another failure.

She's got her speed back.

Now she must hold on.

But she is in the male's territory,
so her prize isn't safe...

...and her hungry cubs
are almost a mile away.

In her weakened state,
she will need all her reserves of energy

to drag it back onto her territory.

Only her determination
to feed her young keeps her going.

Nearly there.

(GROWLS)

This one meal will barely last the whole
family for more than a few days.

Then their mother - somehow - will have
to summon the strength to hunt again.

Life for a hunter in this land
is as hard as it gets.

The Andes themselves were built by forces
deep in the Earth's crust.

In this part of the Pacific,

the ocean floor has been moving eastwards
for millions of years.

Where the sediments meet
the edge of the continent,

they're pushed together
and forced upwards.

This pressure creates fractures
up which molten rock rises

and is then spewed out as ash
and lava from great volcanoes.

Nearly 200 of them stretch in a line
along the length of the continent.

Some erupt with the force
of an atomic bomb every ten seconds.

As the collision continues,
the sea floor is dragged downwards,

creating a deep trench just offshore.

Rich, cold waters rise up from it.

And this upwelling creates
an abundance of life.

Here, on the coast of Peru,

there are so many seabirds fishing
in the offshore waters

that the cliffs are covered
in droppings over a metre thick.

Humboldt penguins regard the soft guano

as a good material in which to dig
their nest holes.

But it's a messy business.

It's the breeding season,
and more hopeful nesters arrive,

spotless from swimming in the sea.

Time for the residents to get cleaned up
and catch some fish

for themselves and their chicks.

To get to the sea, they cross
the remains of an old nesting ground.

Only 100 metres to go.

But the beach is already crowded
with sea lions.

They too have come ashore
to raise their young.

And they don't like being disturbed.

(SEA LION BARKS)

(SEA LION GROWLS)

To get through such a minefield
needs a bold and courageous leader.

(SEA LIONS BARK)

A brave start.

A dead end.

Now he's in trouble.

This is going to need
a bit of crowd surfing.

(SEA LIONS BARK)

But now all the sea lions are roused.

Getting through them will be tricky.

(SEA LION ROARS)

A cleansing bathe in the ocean...

...well worth the effort.

The animals living along the Pacific coast

are cut off from the rest of South America
by the Andes.

They form a gigantic barrier,
stretching over 4,000 miles

from Patagonia in the south
to Venezuela in the north.

This is the world's
longest mountain range.

Many peaks are over four miles high.

They are so tall they catch clouds...

...and so create an environment
unlike any other on the continent.

The cloud forest.

Every high valley here
has its own unique plants and animals.

One of them is the aptly named
Pinocchio lizard.

It was first recorded here 50 years ago
and then lost.

It's only recently been rediscovered.

Up here lives a creature
so rare that it's seldom seen,

even by those scientists
who have come here to study it.

The Andean bear.

Only a few thousand remain.

They eat mostly leaves and fruit,

often clambering up
to the very top of the canopy to do so.

He's looking for a type
of miniature avocado...

...30 metres up.

The only fruit remaining here
is out on the thinnest branches -

too thin to support the weight of a bear.

A more experienced bear
has turned up and wants a go.

(GROWLS)

Time for young ones to watch
and learn how to do it.

The trick is to bite the branch
just enough...

...to make it swing down
and bring the fruit within reach.

Whoops!

Now there's a race to be
first on the ground to claim it.

The moisture needed
to create a cloud forest

only occurs above a certain altitude...

...so each peak may now have
its own species.

In Venezuela,
there are similar small worlds,

created not by rain, but by rock.

A great layer of sandstone
once covered this entire area,

but rivers cut through it.

As the valleys widened,
the tablelands became first huge plateaus,

then isolated flat-topped mountains...

...and, eventually, towers and spires.

On the tops of the bigger ones, animals
and plants have now become so different

that they can be counted as new species.

There is no higher waterfall
in the world...

...than this one.

Angel Falls - almost a kilometre
from top to bottom.

The vertical cliffs surrounding
many of these mountains

have kept them largely free
from human exploitation.

No such barriers have protected
the lowlands...

...but a few patches of forest
still remain.

One in Colombia is the home
of one of the world's rarest monkeys.

Cotton-topped tamarins.

They're critically endangered.

Only a few hundred families remain.

They live largely on fruit

and are particularly fond of tree sap.

This is packed with sugars,
so it also attracts insects.

But tamarins like them too -

a little bit of protein
to add to their diet.

There used to be over 50,000 species
of insect to choose from...

...but as the forest
has shrunk around them,

it's becoming more difficult
to find the right ones.

(CATTLE MOO)

South America is changing.

Over 95% of Colombia's lowland forest
has now been cleared.

(SHOUTING)

Farming has taken the biggest share.

This patch of forest is now isolated.

The few tamarin families here

are now cut off
from the rest of their species...

...and beyond their boundary
lies an alien world.

(CATTLE MOO)

Today, more than 2,000 species of animal
in South America are under threat.

All across the continent,

forest is being steadily cut down
and replaced by farms.

Images from space
reveal the scale of the destruction.

Throughout South America as a whole,

an area of forest the size of a football
pitch is being lost every five seconds.

Of all the forests at risk,

perhaps the most precious
lies in the very heart of the continent.

The Amazon rainforest -

the largest on Earth.

(ANIMALS AND BIRDS CHIRP AND CALL)

Over two million species of plants
and animals now live here -

more than is found on any other
of the Earth's seven continents.

Food is so abundant that some male birds,
instead of helping with nest duties,

try to mate with as many females
as possible.

This is a male manakin
showing off to a female.

He does so by dancing...

...and he has a team
of subordinate males to help him.

By supporting him now, they may
themselves eventually become leaders

and get a chance to mate.

The team is assembled
and the performance begins.

She takes a closer look.

The top male signals the end
with a final flourish.

(MANAKIN CHIRPS)

What's the verdict?

Not good enough.

Unbelievable!

So it's back to practising.

Each animal species in this crowded
environment has to have its own way

of creating a niche for itself.

This is a poison dart frog.

Males raise their young
in a very special way.

A father will place each one of his
tadpoles in its own tiny pool of water.

This is one.

Nice and safe.

He might have up to five other tadpoles.

But he needs to remember
where he put each one of them.

This one isn't doing so well.

His tiny puddle has all but dried out.

The tadpole will die unless its father
can find a better place for it.

If dads are good for one thing,
it's piggyback rides.

Fathers are no bigger
than a human thumbnail,

but this enables them
to get to places that others can't.

This could be perfect.

The only problem
is that there's no food here.

Fathers need help.

(CROAKS)

Somewhere in this forest...

...is...

...mum.

A female could do something
a male cannot.

But first, dad must lead his partner
to their hungry tadpole...

...and mother deals with the problem.

She lays a single unfertilised egg.

And her tadpole gets a much-needed meal.

For the next six weeks,
parents continue their rounds -

an extraordinary test of teamwork
and memory.

Warmed by the tropical sun, the Amazon's
trees release so much moisture

from the surface of their leaves
that they create their own clouds.

And these, over the course of a year,
release up to six metres of rain.

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

The water flows through the saturated
forest along a thousand streams.

They eventually unite to form
the largest river of them all.

The Amazon carries more water

than the world's next seven biggest rivers
combined.

Some sections of its banks
are particularly sought-after.

Scarlet macaws travel over 50 miles
to visit them.

Macaw couples bond for life
and may stick together for over 40 years.

Pairs return to favourite trees,
ones they've known for decades.

Parents provide their chicks
with fruits and seeds,

but they're far from the ocean
and their diet lacks salt.

Without it, the chicks' brains
and bones will not develop properly.

So someone has to go and fetch it.

Many other creatures are looking
for the same thing...

...a clay lick.

The earth here may be 40 times
richer in valuable minerals

than anywhere else
in the surrounding forest.

Over a dozen species of parrot
jostle for space.

There's a strict order...

(PARROTS SQUAWK)

...in who feeds first.

Everyone is in a rush
to fill up and get airborne.

Parents have to carry over 5kg of clay
to the nest

before their chicks are ready to leave.

Once fledged, these young will follow
their parents for up to a year,

learning where to find the salts.

Many of the great riches of South America
lie far beyond the Amazon basin.

Over 1,000 miles
to the south of the Amazon,

there's one creek
unlike any other on the continent.

Here at Bonito, freshwater springs
bubble up from deep underground.

Filtered through limestone,
they create crystal-clear pools...

...and in them live some remarkable fish.

Piraputanga.

The water is so clear that they're able to
see what is going on above its surface.

Brown capuchins are up there,
looking for a meal.

The piraputanga watch them
attentively.

Wherever the monkeys go
along the banks, the fish follow.

The monkeys are on
their daily search for ripe fruit,

and the fish cannot by themselves know
where that might be.

But here it is.

And fortunately, the monkeys
aren't the neatest of feeders.

Every scrap is fought over.

One monkey has the job
of keeping an eye out for danger.

Anacondas are the largest of all snakes.

They grow to over 200kg.

And they usually
stalk their prey from the water...

...but it's not fish that they're after.

If the monkeys stray too close
to the water, they will be in danger.

(MONKEY SQUEAKS)

The scout gives a warning call.

That might have to be the end
of the monkey's meal for today.

But now the piraputanga
know where the fruit is.

And there's still plenty left on the tree.

In the monkeys' absence,
they go for it themselves.

Success or failure
is just a matter of millimetres.

With a split-second adjustment,
the fish bends in midair

and collects the prize.

The piraputanga's extraordinary
feeding technique

relies on these waters remaining clear.

But today, the future of South America's
rivers has become uncertain.

As the human population has grown,
people have become more and more reliant

on its rivers for one of the essentials
of modern life.

Power.

Two-thirds of South America's energy
now comes from hydroelectricity.

No other region on Earth
is so dependent upon it.

But the way these dams are managed
can cause problems farther downriver.

These are the Iguazu Falls.

If the dams upriver suddenly release
their excess, Iguazu can double in size.

And that can cause major problems
for animals that live here.

These are great dusky swifts.

They fly alarmingly close
to the thundering torrent...

...and then vanish.

Miraculously, they're able to fly
right through the curtain of water.

(CHICK CHEEPS)

And they do so because they've built
their nests behind the thundering curtain.

Their enemies - falcons,
like this caracara - can't follow them.

So the swift chicks are safe.

But now humans have created
new problems for the swifts.

Just as some of the chicks
are starting to fly,

the spill over the dams
is released in full force.

As the torrent grows,
parents give up on the last perches.

(CHICKS CHEEP)

Now the chicks are alone.

But they don't yet have
their parents' waterproof feathers.

Every year, the sudden surges of water
sweep some to their death.

The chicks have never seen the world
beyond the falling waters.

Unless they can find a way through,
they will not survive.

Amazingly, driven by blind instinct,

chicks do manage
to power their way through.

These remarkable birds have colonised
a niche in which few can survive.

Yet their future,
and that of all wildlife in South America,

will depend on us striking a balance
between the needs of humans and animals,

on the richest and most diverse continent
on Earth.

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: To film one
of South America's most elusive predators,

the Seven Worlds team would travel
to the far south of the continent.

Their aim was to capture
footage of wild pumas hunting.

But what the team encountered
was the struggle of a mother

desperate to feed her family.

Chile's Torres del Paine covers
nearly 1,000 square miles.

Cameraman John Shier has been coming
here for eight years,

but even he has never witnessed
a successful puma hunt.

With so much ground to cover,

the crew use the latest
technology to scout from the air.

Bertie is setting up the drone
cos it helps find the cats

and get a unique perspective

on exactly where they are in this habitat.

But expert tracker Roberto Donoso
has 15 years' experience here

and he relies on help
from a surprising local.

No-one can spot a puma
as well as a guanaco.

(BLEATS)

John is first to pick up the clues.

- Hey, cat...
- Cat, yeah.

Cat. We've got a cat, OK.

You can see guanaco
on the other side, alarm calling.

(BLEATS)

That cat is just sat on the ridge,

and the full moon has just risen
right behind it.

It's almost cheesy.

Our very first puma.

Once John starts to get his eye in,

he realises he's being watched
by more than one cat.

It's crazy. So we're sitting here,
we've got this young male

just over the ridge,
so we've got that cat.

While you're sitting here,

you hear other guanaco
alarming other spots

and you realise that there's just cats
roaming all round the landscape.

Over the coming days,
John sees more puma than ever before.

The situation is
like nothing the crew expected.

For a long time, we used to say

that trying to spot puma was so unusual
and so rare,

but the real, remarkable thing
is actually we're seeing cats every day.

And to think that there's this many
puma around is just... It's incredible.

After decades of persecution by humans,

puma are now protected in southern Chile
and making a comeback.

But to stand any chance
of seeing them hunt,

the crew would need to find
just the right cat.

Three weeks in,
John has spotted something promising.

He alerts the crew.

JOHN OVER RADIO: It was just up here
to my right, about 100 yards from me.

- So he's to the right.
- But closer to John.

Ah, got him. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Wow, that's four, all right.

Looks like a pride of lions.

DAVID: A mother with three cubs,
and Roberto knows exactly who she is.

Her name is Sarmiento.

Her struggle to feed her family
is now the crew's main focus.

The challenge is to keep up.

A mother on the search for food
will roam vast distances.

Seven miles they've walked.
Haven't stopped walking.

For the crew, this means dragging
heavy equipment over difficult terrain.

So we've been following the cat so much

that there's now a hole
in the bottom of my shoe.

Unpredictable weather makes it
even harder.

Five weeks in and John finally thinks
Sarmiento might have some luck.

JOHN: So it's more of a hope,

but I think that she's going to get
one of these guanaco today.

There's been a big herd
that's streaming into this valley,

and for the last two hours, she's just
been watching them, like laser focus.

Fingers crossed, today's the day.

(EXHALES)

She fought so hard,
the guanaco fought really hard.

In the end, she didn't get it,
but it's amazing

how she has to fight to get a meal
to survive.

DAVID: Trying to take down an animal
as large as a guanaco

has left Sarmiento badly injured.

OVER RADIO: There's a lone guanaco,
just up to the right.

DAVID: Every failed attempt,
she gets weaker...

Yeah, there you go. It was close,
but, yeah, she got thrown off pretty good.

...but a hungry mother
doesn't give up easily.

There's a group of guanacos down here,

so we're trying to get
in a good position to launch the drone.

- Can you see it?
- Yeah, got it.

She's coming back.

The crew will only have seconds
to get into position.

50, 50 metres. 50.

OVER RADIO: OK. 20, 20 metres. It's going.

20 metres.

OVER RADIO: It's going, it's going!
It's running, it's running!

DAVID: Witnessing this life-and-death
battle is difficult.

But at last,
John sees Sarmiento provide for her cubs.

I feel greatly relieved. It's been
30 days, 100 miles of walking with her,

and we've finally got her doing it.

During the chase, I was thinking,
"This time, please, please get it down."

There's been three chases
where it got away.

Her cubs have got food now.
She had to fight for it.

Conservation efforts here have given
these secretive cats a rare safe haven,

enabling the team to capture
a filming first...

...and tell the remarkable story
of a fearless mother

at the far edge of South America.

Next time...

...a continent marooned

during the time of the dinosaurs,

where the castaways...

...are like nothing else on Earth.

Australia.