Original subtitles

The

They are hunting for one of the most endangered animals on the planet,

a black rhino, an animal poached for its horn.

But they aren't going to harm her. Dume Svein and his team

are on a rescue mission. I don't think I will ever stop

fighting for rhino, it's just not possible. They're

setting up a new breeding colony in a safe haven.

This female is going to be at the very centre of it.

She weighs over a tonne and there's only one way to get her out.

When I watch it fly off, it's very emotional.

It's a beautiful feeling.

She is sedated and safe. And in less than half an hour,

she'll be back on the ground and starting a new life in a

project that could save her entire species, thanks to Dume and his remarkable team.

We started making the very first Planet Earth series just

over 20 years ago. Since then, our camera teams have filmed

all over the world and visited some of its wildest and most remote corners.

But the truth is that most of the animals we filmed over

these last two decades are now rarer than they were. And the

places where they live are in greater danger of destruction.

But I've seen another change in those years, a hopeful

change. A new generation of remarkable people are stepping

up to save wildlife. They're overcoming huge obstacles,

travelling to dangerous places and sometimes even risking

their lives. To me, they are true heroes. This is the story

of some of them.

Hidden in the heart of the Andes is the Centro Hambatu Research Centre.

It's protecting members of what is, perhaps surprisingly,

the most endangered group of animals in the world.

Folks. These individuals are the very last of their particular species.

They're brought here not only for protection, but, more

importantly, to increase their numbers. And the person to

find them, Jaime Culebras. I was seven the first time that

I saw a frog and it just changed my life. And ever since his

childhood, he's been exploring the remotest places and

searching for the rarest frogs. This is a leaf frog.

It's just amazing. It's impossible to not fall in love with an animal like this, no?

But there is one frog here that is very special.

His name? Sad Santiago. This is Sad Santiago. And he's sad

because he's alone. He's one of the last members of his

species and he needs a female. Known as the Morona Santiago

Harlequin Frog, he may be the rarest frog in the world.

While the other frogs here are doing their best to increase

their populations, Santiago has sat alone for four long

years. Maybe it's not the most beautiful frog, but he

deserves love. Santiago has now grown old. And if Jaime

can't find a female for him soon, the whole species could become extinct.

The last place where one of these frogs was seen was

high up on a mountain in the cloud forest of Ecuador.

There's only one way to get there.

Joining him is fellow frog hunter Darwin and

Jaime's partner and frog scientist Francesca.

This is one of the wettest places on earth and right now

it's actually the wet season, the rainy season, so it rains

even more. Soaking wet and teeming with bugs, it's a perfect

place for frogs. Most frogs come out of hiding at night.

This place is extremely wonderful, but you

have to be careful where you put your hands.

Being with him is unusual, it's not your regular relationship.

Oh, he's obsessed, he's really obsessed. Streams like this

should be full of frogs of many different species, but they

search all night and find nothing.

It's a silent forest, it's sad.

The sound of frogs is slowly disappearing from our world.

The only place many frog species can now be found is in a museum.

A key reason is the spread of a fungus called chytrid that

can grow on the moist skins of frogs, eventually killing

them. 90 species are thought to have become extinct as

a consequence, and almost 600 more are now critically

endangered.

Before chytrid, I'm pretty sure that you could walk through

the stream and see everywhere many, many, many frogs on the

rocks calling.

I wish I had been born before the frog disease.

Night after night, they search the stream.

At last, there is a discovery. The sound is a... And I

don't know exactly where, but it's there more or less.

We have it. A glass frog. A really beautiful glass frog.

Glass frogs are becoming increasingly rare, and one day they

too could disappear. But it's not what they're looking for.

The fact is that countless species go extinct unnoticed.

All Jaime can do is to continue his search for a mate for Santiago.

But it is there.

That I found a female.

Ah. Woohoo. Sorry. Oof. Ah. It's a female. Look, the size

is bigger than the males. Wow. I feel so happy. The first

female. She could be the cornerstone of a new breeding

program. Santiago will be very, very, very, very, very

happy. Because she's really beautiful. In my hand I have

hope. I have the savior of these species for breeding

programs and for people to reproduce it. I don't

know, it's like I just have hope in my hand.

There are over 7,000 species of frogs in the world. And you

may well ask, does it really matter if a few go extinct?

Well, just look at this tiny species of poison arrow frog.

Scientists discovered a chemical on its skin 200 times stronger than morphine.

Now they are studying how it works to create powerful new painkillers.

But the natural world is not just one vast mention chest.

It's far more than that. It is our life support system. The

fabric that holds our world together. Remove a part of it,

a species or a habitat, and there's no knowing what could

happen.

A prime example is the forest elephant. They play a

crucial role in maintaining the rainforests of Africa.

Dispersing seeds and making clearings that are then used by many other animals.

We filmed these images in 2004 for the first Planet Earth series.

Nine years later, poachers came here and killed 26 elephants for their ivory.

Including four of the calves.

Since that first series, the number of forest

elephants across Africa has dropped by two thirds.

But stopping the slaughter is a risky business.

Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa. Part of

the global network in the illegal ivory trade.

A stranger has flown in from Vietnam. A hub for the import of ivory.

Elephants are my favourite animal on Earth. Seeing how

they're being killed, that just really upset me. And I just

want to do something, anything I can. Her name, Chang

Nguyen. Her speciality, infiltrating the illegal wildlife

trade by posing as a victim. I have to change my character a

bit because normally I'm very chatty and I like to smile, I

like to talk to people. But I have to be cold and I have to be mean.

When you're going in, you're dealing with criminals, you're

telling lies, you have to pretend to be someone else. If by

accident you blow the cover, it's possible that I'd be killed.

Chang is working with a network of conservationists

called EECO. Her contact here is Rens Ilken.

What is particular with this new trade in West Africa is, as

you can see, a lot of the tusks are from baby elephants. So

they're really down to the last elephants. Last week, seven

people were killed. Seven rangers were killed, so clearly

it's not just about the ivory trade, but a lot of people,

rangers, that are being killed as well. It's war. And

they're even going for the baby elephants. Now Chang is set

her task. So I want you to meet the godfather of ivory. We

already arrested him four years ago when he had 400 kgs of

ivory, which he was supplying to the Vietnamese community

linked to the Vietnamese mafia. As he has been arrested

before, he might be very cautious, it might be dangerous.

She prepares her disguise as a businesswoman, but under her

jacket, hidden recording equipment. Eagles undercover agents

have been following the godfather for years.

Now is the moment to catch him.

This is your first meeting. You're just going to discuss

and get to know each other. See, they have the products.

Exactly. I'm going in, and I need to sit facing away from

the door, because I don't want people to see me with him. We

will be close by, and nothing will go wrong.

Good luck.

She meets the godfather at a local cafe.

The secret cameras capture the story. Nice to meet you. I

heard a lot about you. I'm looking for an opportunity to

start working and doing business over here. So you need

someone to help you do your business. So they want to know

exactly what you need from us. From you? Yes.

I heard that you have some interesting products

that I want, right? As what? As elephant ivory.

But the godfather denies having any ivory for sale. Ivory

elephant, I don't think so, because here we are only working

wood. So we can get it here, but now, now, for the time being, it's not possible.

Perhaps there's no ivory.

Or maybe he doesn't trust Chang. It's a serious setback.

But there are other traders out there. Perhaps

her presence in town will draw them in.

Every day that passes, more elephants are killed.

For Chang, this work is very personal.

When I was 23, I got the phone call. The doctor told me that I had a bowel cancer.

The first thing that popped up in my mind was, I'm so young,

how can I get cancer? Once you have cancer, you don't know

how long you're going to live for. And if I want to do

anything, then I should just do it now. And that's when I

said, OK, I'm just going to do undercover, because I don't

know when I'm going to die, I might as well do something

really meaningful.

Currently, Chang is in remission.

Three days later, there's a breakthrough.

A video sent by a trader.

I can see that this video has about 14, 15 ivory. They are

big tusks, they are also small tusks as well. It obviously

comes from baby elephants. The bait has been given to Chang,

The bait has been taken. Chang and the Eagle team must act

fast.

She goes to meet the new targets.

First job, gain their trust.

Cheers! Cheers! We have a hotel room, let us go there. You

know, we need to wait, how much the items are, and then we

just give the money, he go his way, I go my way. Eventually,

Chang persuades the traders to move to a hotel room nearby

to weigh the ivory and make the transaction.

Close it all, close it all.

Ivory is sold at a kilo. That is just over 20. 20.2?

A whole elephant family was killed for this haul.

It's worth over 5,000 pounds. Here, that is a year's salary.

What the traders don't realize is that the police

are in the room above, waiting for a text from Chang.

Let's go.

Who is that? Service? Yes. Who is that? The reception. Okay.

Do you go open the door? Put it back in.

Police! Move, move, move!

Move, move, move! Wait, wait, wait! Move! Wait!

Don't know, don't know, don't know! What's going on? Don't

know! What's going on? For her own safety, she has to keep

her cover story and behave as a criminal. It's a dog!

Which means she must also be arrested. What's going on?

A link in

the global supply chain broken.

Okay.

Chang is whisked away whilst the traders are taken to

the police station. None the wiser about her involvement.

Over the next year, Eagle catch 140 more traffickers

in the fight against the global wildlife trade.

But for Chang, this is her last operation. It's why we can

show her face. I have been doing undercover work and sting

operation for quite a while and it can be really stressful.

It's not safe for her to stay a minute longer than necessary.

Chang's final task is to vanish from Abidjan. Forever.

Across the world, the numbers of wild animals are falling

alarmingly. In just two decades, since we started making the

first Planet Earth series, the abundance of wildlife around

the globe has dropped on average by over 30%. We are facing

a disaster, a catastrophe. Scientists say that we're on

the edge of a mass extinction. It's being caused by human

activity, so humans also have the power to stop it.

It takes many qualities to save even one species.

Determination.

Courage.

And passion.

And often, there's another ingredient that's needed. The ability to think big.

In Vienna, Katharina Huchler is just starting a new job. The

pay is terrible. The hours are long. And there are no days

off. She is about to become a foster mother. Hi.

Hi. Good morning. Hi. And these are her new babies.

28 of one of the world's rarest birds. The northern bald

ibis. You really quickly fall in love with them. They were

hunted to extinction in Europe over 400 years ago. These

chicks were born in a zoo. Katharina's task is to teach them

to become wild, free birds.

To do that, she must convince them that she's their mother.

It's a process called imprinting. While it's happening, the

chicks must never see or hear any other human except Helena,

who is an ibis foster mum for the second time. They must

always wear identical yellow clothes and repeat the same

noises again and again. We mimic the sounds the adults make.

It's like...

But I'm not good yet at doing it. Goodnight, Jane. They're

here when the chicks fall asleep. Sleep well. And the first

thing they see when they awake. Good morning, wildies. Let's

have something to eat, shall we? Yes. They are a bit like

every human baby. They just need their food bit by bit by

bit all day long. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Oh, no. We did it

all wrong. It's really like changing the nappies of babies.

28 mouths to feed and bottoms to wipe. And all the time

talking to the birds. Come, come, wildies, come, come.

Feeling really tired. Yeah, I'd really like to sleep a

little bit more. As the weeks pass, the bond grows. And

then it is time for the next stage in becoming wild birds.

They move to a field in the Austrian Alps.

They've now grown their adult flight feathers. But there's

still chicks on the inside. So the imprinting must continue.

With this hand gesture we do, we imitate the bill of an

adult ibis and we combine it with the greeting sound. So

this is...

All this imprinting is for a very important reason.

These are migratory birds. In autumn, they must fly south to

their warm feeding grounds in Italy. And that is a problem.

They know that they need to go somewhere, but they don't

know in which direction and how far. So they need to learn

the route from their parents. Their human mothers must

show them the way. And that requires a little ingenuity.

This is where the imprinting is put to the test.

Will the birds follow them? Even in a micro light.

Getting too close is dangerous for both birds and humans.

They're all in front. Oh, oh, oh, oh. The lines are

in line. Now another line on the left. All good.

After a wobbly start, at last they settle in. It's beautiful.

The imprinting has worked.

Our birds did very well today.

But their biggest challenge is still to come.

The Zillertal Alps.

A great wall of rock and ice.

It's going to be the most important flight of their young

lives. It will take them to the very edge of exhaustion. A

lot of young birds die during their first migration. They

are still so inexperienced. There's also danger for the

foster mothers and the pilots. They have to be very careful.

If there is a problem with the micro lights, there is no

safe place to land.

To gain enough height to fly over these mountains,

they must find columns of rising air called thermals.

A skill these birds would normally learn by following their natural mothers.

It takes expert piloting to find the thermals.

Once within one, it's turbulent and unpredictable.

With every turn, the mothers must make sure all 28 birds are following.

All 28 birds here. All 28 birds here.

At last, they make it over the highest ridge.

From now on, it should be easy flying. It's about time.

What we are trying to do apart from saving the Ivies is trying to give hope to people.

you can bring back one species. You can also do it with others.

The species once left for dead, now has a future.

And they head for their safe winter home in a protected nature reserve.

But as we have seen throughout this series, many species

are losing the wild habitats they need to survive.

It's the biggest cause of extinction.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Amazon rainforest.

Our planet Earth crews have filmed here many times over the last two decades.

And in that time, over 16,000 million trees have been felled.

To safeguard the countless species that live here, the

forest itself must be protected. And there's a force rising

up to do just that.

Alessandra Corap is one of the leaders of the Munduruku.

They have been the guardians of this part of the Amazon for thousands of years.

I love this forest.

It's the market, it's the pharmacy, but the forest doesn't

only serve the people of Munduruku. It serves the planet.

When she was a child, this part of the Amazon

forest stretched unbroken for hundreds of miles.

Now it's being carved up for mining, for timber, but most of all, for agriculture.

This is the front line in the battle for the Amazon, and it is a deadly one.

In the last decade, more than 300 people have been

murdered in Brazil, defending the environment.

When it protects a forest, our lives are at stake. I could

be killed at any moment. They tried to kill me twice. They

tried to kill other leaders, burnt alive, inside the house.

The Munduruku, like many others, many indigenous groups live

in isolated communities, vulnerable to attack from miners,

farmers and lockers.

The Amazon's future is decided 2,000 miles away.

Here, in the parliament of Brazil, new laws are being

debated to allow the exploitation of their traditional

tribal land.

But Alessandra has a plan. To unite with other tribes

and organise a protest so big that it cannot be ignored.

In Brazil, we have a lot of enemies.

And those who wear palitó, they are creating war, creating

laws. In the past, it was with the arrows. We fought for our

territory. Not anymore.

It's a three-day journey to the capital city.

Trucks rumble to and from the fields.

Land that used to be rainforest. They're carrying thousands of tons of soya beans.

It's shipped from the heart of the world to the heart of

the Amazon across the world. Not to feed humans, but to feed

livestock.

Eventually, Alessandra makes it to Brasilia. News

of the protest has spread all over the country.

200 groups have united in a huge camp.

From the north-east of Brazil, Ixucuru. From

the southern edge of the Amazon, the Carajá.

For ten days, they protest against the proposed laws.

Alessandra and the other leaders have created the

biggest protest by indigenous people ever held in Brazil.

Later, one of the proposed laws was passed. One of the laws was withdrawn.

A small but significant victory in

Alessandra's fight for Brazil's wild places.

The destruction of habitats is currently the biggest threat

to the survival of animal species. But there is an even

greater disaster on the horizon. Our climate is changing.

Seasons have become unpredictable and more extreme. Our

planet is getting hotter.

Scientists predict that if the global temperature rises

by over two degrees, it is likely to become the number one

cause of extinction.

To halt climate change, perhaps politicians need to become heroes too.

Mohamed Nasheed is a politician, the former president of the

Maldives. The doctors said that they took 16 ball bearings

from all parts of my body. I was unconscious for two days.

Over his political career, he has been tortured, imprisoned

and recently survived an assassination attempt. But during

that time, he's also fought relentlessly against climate

change.

In Glasgow, on the eve of climate conference COP26, he is addressing a rally.

So we come to COP26 to find out whether we still have a

future. If we cannot have a legally binding agreement not to

push global temperatures above 1.5 degrees, my country will

be gone as will all the world's coral reefs and most of the

rainforests. Is all this devastation really worth it It's so

that we can continue to burn coal and fossil fuel for a few

more years. I have spent a lifetime fighting for my country

and with more determination than ever because I know my time

on earth might be cut short. Mohamed Nasheed's passion for

the natural world began the first time he saw a coral reef.

My earliest memory is with the ocean and the reef. We were

the first generation to actually see the reef. Masks and

goggles came to the Maldives in the late 60s, early 70s.

Once we started seeing the reef as a living creature, we

were just dumbfounded.

But Nasheed's beloved coral is now the habitat

that is most threatened by climate change.

The critical tipping point is a 1.5 degree temperature

rise. Beyond that, most reefs will die, leaving nothing but

rubble.

When you think of a bigger picture, then your own life is not so important.

It's what you want to get done which is important.

Nasheed's aim is to persuade politicians to cut the use of

coal and other fossil fuels. He repeats this plea at every

climate conference. You need to be able to convince people,

try to educate people. We are in trouble. We will not

survive if the planet is heated above 1.5 degrees. We must

act now. At first, journalists are reporting on some eye

-catching promises made by heads of state. 18 countries

have committed themselves to a plan to stop using coal-fired

power plants. It is an election issue now. That is why world

leaders have joined the rhetoric. The next stage? Turning

promises into solid plans. And Nasheed is busy working

behind the scenes. If they don't agree, we will ring their

ministers, their presidents, and get them online. I think

that's what we're trying to do. So let's do this. How are

you, Prime Minister? OK, I can hear you, but I can hear the

Prime Minister much clearer. All countries need to agree to

the final text. And some won't. People who want to continue

fossil fuel, I think, are the bad guys. And people who want

to change, I feel, are the good guys. Thank you, thank you

so much. After 14 days, this COP closes, with some progress,

but also with big compromises. An agreement was finally

reached this evening after a key section on the future use

of coal was at the last moment watered down. Without urgent

new commitments, the target of 1.5 degrees will be missed.

It is disastrous. If you picture this, if you kind of fathom it,

the coral will bleach and they will die. And when they are

dead, the fish and the marine life that lives there cease to

exist.

You would have thought that your normal Prime Minister and

President would have a better grip on understanding things

and not just go on and on and on about protecting their way of life.

So it's frustrating to see politicians who doesn't seem to understand it.

With current policies, 99% of coral reefs could be

gone in under 30 years. Other habitats will follow.

You can't lose hope. You cannot give up. I did

not stop. Nasheed believes there is a solution.

The more environment becomes an election issue, there will

be more action on climate. Every time you vote, in every

election, please take the planet.

The challenge of saving species can't be left to a few

heroic individuals working against the odds. It's those in

positions of great power who can make the most difference.

So ultimately, it is they who must take the most

responsibility. Perhaps one of our roles is to hold them to

account. Time is running out for many species, but I truly

believe that if the right decisions are made now, at this

critical moment, there could still be a bright future for

all life on our wonderful planet Earth.

Whistle

Whistle

Whistle

Whistle