Original subtitles

[tense music]

[thunder rumbling]

NARRATOR: The story of life on Earth...

[loud roar]

...has been marked by a series

of catastrophic extinction events.

Natural disasters which have threatened to wipe out

many of the creatures that call our planet home.

But after every brush with death life has come back...

even stronger.

One such catastrophe took place 232 million years ago.

After a million years of monsoons

our planet was a lush home teeming with life.

But the rain stopped.

And all living things had to battle for survival

against extreme climate change.

[thunder rumbling]

[dramatic music]

But out of the chaos, evolved the most successful

dynasty of animals the Earth has ever seen.

[squeaks softly]

-The Dinosaurs. -[loud roar]

[theme song]

[rain pattering]

NARRATOR: Heavy rain has been pummelling the land

for over a million years.

In some places up to 50 feet can fall in a year.

The abundance of water has created a world rich in life.

Dinosaurs do not yet dominate these lands.

Instead, more ancient types of reptiles stalk

these dark, dense forests.

It is the perfect wet home for these bizarre creatures.

Still, like most periods in our planet’s history,

the males find something to fight about...

-[strong thudding] -[loud roars]

Two enormous Ischigualastia in a battle for dominance.

[dramatic music]

The females protecting the herd’s nesting ground

recognize the danger of their precious eggs.

The males are deaf to their warning clacks.

[Ischigualastia calling]

[strong thudding]

As the nest is breached,

the delicate eggs are scattered across the forest floor.

[celestial music]

-[strong thudding] -[loud roars]

[baby Ischigualastia cries]

-[thudding] -[loud roars]

What a time to hatch!

A little female, no bigger than a rabbit.

Within two years she will be an adult and as big as a bison.

But that won’t help her right now.

[dramatic music]

Most of the hatchlings are safe with the females

across the grove.

[Ischigualastia calling]

This little new born will be all right

if she can get there...

without getting trampled.

[growling]

[baby Ischigualastia calling]

Other hatchlings attempt to follow her.

[baby Ischigualastia calling]

Incredibly, she’s made it.

[emotional music]

As quickly as they started,

the males give up and lose interest in the fight.

The herd relaxes.

Ischigualastia are the largest herbivores on the planet,

early, distant relatives of mammals.

They raise their young in communal nurseries,

All run by young females.

The little one will learn everything she needs to survive

from these babysitters.

She will grow in a forest not like the ones we know today.

[thunder rumbling]

NARRATOR: 232 million years ago,

all the land on Earth is combined

into one supercontinent called Pangaea.

Volcanic activity has been pumping out Carbon Dioxide,

this heats the atmosphere and warms the oceans

which feeds megamonsoons.

It is the wettest time in Earth’s history.

Rivers flood, lakes overflow

and vast estuaries cover millions of square miles.

The rain has also produced an explosion in plant life.

It is a time of plenty for our little hatchling’s herd

but surprisingly these huge herbivores are fussy eaters.

They prefer to eat only one kind of plant

called Dicroidium.

[Dicroidium roaring]

In these days Dicroidium is becoming

harder and harder to find.

So, her first lesson, as a baby Ischgualastia,

is learning to spot the right plant.

Her second lesson,

never to wander too far from the herd.

[predator squeaks]

And that is because this forest is full of predators.

[tense music]

[leaves rustling]

NARRATOR: 232 million years ago

and the continent of Pangea has been swept with megamonsoons

for the last million years.

In its damp coastal woods,

a newly hatched Ischigualastia has wandered off from her herd

and found herself alone.

She’s about to learn a cruel lesson about this forest.

Panphagia, one of the earliest dinosaurs.

She has razor sharp teeth

and is a skilled hunter.

[tense music]

[leaves rustling]

[dramatic music]

[Ischigualastia cries]

Our young one is too big to kill quickly,

so the Panphagia must tire her out.

[Ischigualastia cries]

The herd’s babysitters cannot hear her cries for help.

But this little one is a fighter.

[Panphagia squeaks loudly]

[Ischigualastia growling]

At last, the cavalry arrive.

Another lesson if she wants to survive in this forest.

She’ll need to know how to call for help.

[calming music]

A week later, the rain is easing off.

And our youngster is safe with the babysitters

who take care of her.

Her wounds are healing

and for the first time in her short life,

she sees something extraordinary in the sky...

the sun.

[majestic music]

A remarkable first week of life.

The end of the rains is usually followed by a short dry-season,

but this year nothing is usual.

NARRATOR: 232 million years ago

the volcanoes that have been driving the massive monsoons

are falling silent,

and Pangaea is hit by extreme climate change.

No more reliable, long, wet-seasons for our creatures.

For the first time in a million years,

there is a risk of drought.

Months pass,

the rains should have returned by now.

An adult Ischigualastia needs to consume more than

300 pounds of vegetation every day.

Our hungry herd is now having to venture further and further

to find their Dicroidium.

This quest for food is tough on little legs.

The older adults know a place

they are sure to find their plants,

but they arrive to find someone else has gotten there first.

A group of Rhynchosaurs.

They eat the Dicroidium plant too, right down to the roots.

And are not in a sharing mood.

[Rhynchosaurs squeaks]

The rival herbivores may be small

but they’ve got a big attitude.

Our little hatchling has had enough of these guys

and so has the rest of the herd.

Okay, it’s time to go.

But the Rhynchosaurs have stripped this grove bare.

So our Ischigualastia’s search must continue.

[driving music]

The herd’s home forest

normally supports thousands of these lumbering herbivores.

But this year,

because the volcanoes have fallen silent,

the rains have stopped.

So swamps are disappearing,

trees are dying and the lakes are shrinking.

This once flooded landscape is drying out at an alarming rate.

Our herd must leave their territory

to find food and water.

After days of trekking there is finally a small lake ahead.

The only water for miles.

As they stop for a precious drink,

it is clear the drought has already claimed many of them.

Our curious youngster has survived and once again

she is off exploring on her own.

[tense music]

This time the risk is greater.

The predators are much larger here.

Saurosuchus an Ischigualastia killer.

[Saurosuchus growling]

[soft pensive music]

The coastal plains of Pangea have been hit hard by a drought.

Animals, unused to hardship,

have been forced to migrate in search of water.

They are being stalked by a Saurosuchus

an apex predator 20 feet long.

[dramatic music]

It is a reptile, distantly related to crocodiles

and quite capable of bringing down an adult Ischigualastia.

[growling]

Our brave little female now knows to call for help.

[Ischigualastia calling]

Hopefully it’s not too late.

[Ischigualastia baby calling]

[Ischigualastia growling]

[dramatic tense music]

She survives once again, and has found her voice.

This will help her and the herd stay safe in the future.

[majestic music]

They must continue on in search of their favourite plant.

There is one last place.

Beneath dry riverbeds, some water still exists,

just enough for Dicroidium plants to grow.

This will sustain them for now.

But their decision to follow the riverbeds

will lead the herd further and further away from their home

and into dangerous territory.

As they go, the vegetation is changing.

Conifers and woody shrubs replace the soft ferns

they are used to.

They can’t eat any of this new vegetation.

Without the Dicroidium they will starve.

The devastating drought is relentless.

Months become years and still no rain.

Caught in the grip of this natural disaster,

the Ischigualastia herd trudge into the unknown

in their search of the plants that keep them alive.

Following the parched riverbeds,

they are now hundreds of miles from their forest home.

Devastatingly, only half the herd have survived

They are slowly starving to death.

Two years have passed since our young female hatched

in the wet coastal forests

and she has grown to become a key member of the herd.

She is their only babysitter.

[hatchlings grunting]

This year, there are far fewer hatchlings than normal,

so she is carrying a great responsibility.

Finally the herd‘s keen sense of smell leads them

to a small pool of water hidden in a cool cave.

A sweet relief.

But our herd is not alone.

Saurosuchus.

The cave is a trap.

[Saurosuchus roaring]

NARRATOR: The rains have now failed two years running.

Only half the herd remains and the survivors are emaciated.

They have found a source of water deep in a cave,

but the local predators know this place well.

[snorting and rattling]

Alarm calls ripple through the herd.

[Ischigualastia rattling]

They panic.

Some of them make a break for it.

Our heroine remains inside, guarding her hatchlings.

[Saurosuchus roaring]

[Ischigualastia crying]

Babysitters sometimes sacrifice themselves

for their hatchlings.

Our young female, however has held back.

And managed to protect the herd‘s youngest for now.

As the Ischigualastia continue their search for food,

the riverbed they follow gets narrower and narrower.

Their dependence on one kind of plant has become a curse.

[hatchlings crying]

And that is not the babysitter‘s only problem.

In the nearby bushes

are creatures she remembers all too well.

Panphagia.

But today they‘ve changed their menu. Now they graze on leaves.

Unlike the Ischigualastia,

these little dinosaurs will eat pretty much anything.

[thunder rumbling]

For the first time in two years,

the monsoon has returned.

The rains will bring the biggest threat

our herd has ever faced.

[thunder roaring]

Sticking to the river valley,

the Ischigualastia herd are enjoying a rare feast

of their precious Dicroidium plants.

A moment of rest in a long, agonizing journey.

Finally, a chance for our hatchlings to play.

[hatchlings squeaking]

[thunder rumbling]

In the mountains, after two years of punishing drought,

the monsoon rains start to fall.

All this water should be a long-awaited gift,

but the ground is rock hard.

Unable to soak into the earth,

the water rushes into empty river valleys

causing violent flash floods.

[dramatic music]

Two miles downstream,

our herd in the river bed are right in its path.

Some of the older adults sense danger

and make for higher ground.

Following their lead,

our heroic babysitter tries to get the hatchlings

up the river-bank.

But she is running out of time

NARRATOR: The Ischigualastia herd are feeding

at the bottom of a river canyon

Our young babysitter senses danger approaching

and she frantically tries to get the hatchlings

out of the riverbed.

Most of our herd are unaware

that thousands of tons of flood water

are heading their way.

The flash flood is not their only problem.

The Saurosuchus are back.

[dramatic music]

[animals crying]

In an instant,

both predator and prey are swept away.

[hatchlings crying]

But our little hatchlings have made it out alive.

Our heroine is a born fighter,

and today she has ensured the future of her herd.

Surviving, however, will only get harder.

Severe climate chaos causes mass fluctuations in vegetation.

Fussy eaters like Ischigualastia struggle to hang on.

Thousands of years pass

and the climate becomes wildly unstable.

Landscapes transform from rainy forests to deserts,

and then back again.

Half of all species do not make it.

The only ones who will survive this chaos,

are the ones who can adapt.

[wind howling]

When the climate finally stabilises

the world is a much drier place.

Life on Earth has adapted to the harsh new conditions.

Many of the older types of reptiles have disappeared,

and one group has now taken over.

The dinosaurs.

[soft roar]

The secrete to their success is not only their size

but their ability to survive on much less water.

Meanwhile, distant relatives of the Ischigualastia are here too,

and they are thriving in the undergrowth.

Chaliminia...

is a new primitive type of mammal.

Mammals are so small that they too can survive

on very little water.

[Chaliminia chitters]

This mother has 34 freshly hatched babies.

She cannot afford to leave them alone for a minute,

so it is dad’s job to go fetch dinner.

He’s right to be wary...

but his family will die if he fails.

[cricket chirping]

Success!

He’s been so focused on the chase, however,

that the hunter has now become the hunted.

[tense music]

The hatchlings of a Zupaysaurus...

a predatory dinosaur.

[Zupaysaurus squawks]

And our new dad is in their nest.

[instrumental soft music]

NARRATOR: It is 15 million years

after the era of megamonsoons and this is a drier world.

One group of animals that have appeared for the first time

are the mammals, this one’s called Chaliminia

and he has left his underground nest to catch crickets.

Unfortunately, he has accidentally ended up

in a dinosaur nest and these are predators.

He must get back to his hungry babies.

-[Zupaysaurus squawks] -[dramatic music]

He still has the cricket...

but he’s surrounded.

[Zupaysaurus squawks]

And now...

their mom is here.

[sniffles]

This is not looking good for our new dad.

[dinosaur growling]

Then suddenly...

a miracle.

A herd of Lessemsaurus.

And they want her gone.

Now she must defend her little ones.

[loud roar]

[Zupaysaurus squawks]

This is our Chaliminia’s chance.

Home at last.

His death-defying dinner run won her a nice-sized cricket.

Unfortunately, he’s got to get out there

and do it 19 more times.

She needs twenty every day.

At a time when water is so precious,

mammals have claimed their domain in the undergrowth.

But above ground and for the next 160 million years,

dinosaurs will dominate the Earth.

[peaceful music]

Today the only dinosaurs left are the birds,

[bird chirps]

and Earth is a very different place.

But one rule still holds,

all living things,

whether plant or animal, need water to survive.

And rainfall is what determines the patterns

of life across the globe.

[thunder rumbling]

Where there is a lot life thrives.

Where there is none, life struggles.

One animal seems to have escaped this rule, though...

Humans.

[inspiring music]

Using technology, we no longer seem

to be dependent on where it rains.

By diverting water to anywhere it’s needed,

or tapping into deep underground reservoirs,

we have built cities in places where we would

otherwise never be able to survive.

And grown crops beyond the limits of

what should be possible.

But the one constant on Earth is change.

And as rainfall patterns across the planet

are altered by climate change.

We are discovering that

many of these great innovations can’t cope.

We still need it to rain somewhere,

to fill our reservoirs and canals.

And Earth still decides where it rains.

Maybe we haven’t travelled that far.

♪ I see trees of green ♪

♪ Red roses too ♪

♪ I watch them bloom ♪

♪ For me and you ♪

♪ And I think to myself ♪

♪ What a wonderful world ♪

♪ Yes, I think to myself ♪

♪ What a wonderful world ♪

♪♪♪