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At the center of life is DNA.

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When a filament undergoes a modification.

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A mutation occurs and is passed on.

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If you create an advantage,

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the mutation will thrive

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driving evolution,
the vital energy of our mutant planet.

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MUTANT PLANET

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Three lakes in Africa

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where schools of small,
fish called cichlids

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they lead lives of intense drama.

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Overpollution and competition breed violence

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betrayals and traps.

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Therefore, they developed incredible adaptations

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including the best method of
protect offspring among fish

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comparable to that of many mammals.

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Chimpanzees that live in
African lake shores

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are known for their complex societies

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that resemble ours.

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Did little fish

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who developed specialized talents
faster than any other vertebrate

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could be considered as
intelligent and affectionate as primates?

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Everything is possible on this mutant planet.

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THE RIFT VALLEY, AFRICA

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Along the east coast of Africa

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a 6,400 km long scar covers the Earth's crust.

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It is called the Great Rift Valley.

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And over millions of years
three large lakes formed here.

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Lake Victoria

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Lake Tanganyika

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and Lake Malawi.

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East Africa is full
of typical African animals

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where the daily clash between predator and prey

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it generated strong, well-adapted survivors.

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On the banks of the valley's lakes,
live our ancient cousins.

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Highly sociable chimpanzees
that created complex societies,

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status-based

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and kinship ties.

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Like all animals, the main conditions
for your survival are finding food

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and produce and protect future generations.

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But these intelligent primates
developed a culture

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that transcends instincts
survival basics.

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It's late afternoon.

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members of a group of
chimpanzees nap in the heat

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until the alpha male spots something in the trees.

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The alpha fires, followed by
a platoon of males.

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They spread

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cutting off the monkey's escape route,
and begin to close the siege.

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He doesn't have a chance.

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With the exception of humans,
chimpanzees are the highest primates

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who hunt regularly and eat meat.

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Chimpanzees don't need to eat a lot of meat

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because they are mainly herbivores.

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But what drives them to hunt?

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Privacy or sex.

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Chimpanzees have developed a
culture where flesh can buy favors.

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The alpha male distributes the hunt
among their male counterparts

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in exchange for support during
future conflicts for leadership.

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But he also keeps a
little for specific females.

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Primatologists observed that
females receiving meat

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seem to remember the favor and are
more inclined to cross paths with him in the future.

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Beyond this complex society

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the lakes of the Rift Valley
tell another intriguing story

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which contains surprising parallels

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with evolved behavior
of great intelligent primates.

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Under the surface live up to 900
freshwater fish species

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called cichlids.

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They are all relatives

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but present a variety
astonishing array of colors, patterns and shapes.

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They live in communities
populous, like many species.

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But two elements differentiate them.

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Cichlids have adapted to challenges

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evolving faster
than any other vertebrate.

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Furthermore, they demonstrate
incredible social intelligence

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when judging and planning strategies to survive.

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In this big shoal
of super intelligent fish

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there is a lot of drama, conflicts,
deceptions and tricks

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as in any group of chimpanzees.

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Many cichlids are predators

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that employ strategies
sophisticated attack

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comparable to those of hunting chimpanzees.

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This is an ambush predator.

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It buries itself and waits for prey.

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Another killer plays dead,
to attract curious observers.

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He goes so far as to suspend the
movement of its gills.

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But these smart cichlids
they don't let themselves be fooled.

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This hunter has another smart tactic.

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Looking at it like this, the peacock cichlid seems harmless.

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feeding only on
tiny organisms in the sand.

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But this is a fatal error.

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It pretends to swallow tiny organisms
in the sand to get close to the victim.

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This is a masterpiece of deception.

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Next in the hunter's gallery
is the notorious scale eater.

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He developed a way of
feed without destroying the victim.

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The attacker blends into the crowd

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and locates a tasty target.

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It acts as follows

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the scale eater lunges at the victim

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sinking its teeth into its scales.

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He turns his body to tear them off
and walks away with his mouth full.

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Scales are very nutritious.

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And there's always a meal within reach.

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Cichlid versus cichlid

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it's the daily routine in the lakes of the Rift Valley.

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But at night, a predator
much greater lurking.

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Cichlids sleep at night,

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with your eyes open, because
they don't have eyelids.

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While they sleep, despite the
eyes open, they are defenseless.

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A giant catfish, known as
kampango attacks sleeping cichlids.

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The whiskers on this female's chin, called
of barbels are full of taste buds.

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So, she can taste it before biting it.

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At night, the sleeping cichlids
they have no chance.

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But as the sun rises

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the roles are reversed, and the predators
nightlife find themselves surrounded.

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The couple of kampangos spend the whole day
protecting your nest with vulnerable chicks

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of opportunistic cichlids lurking around

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with the aim of robbing the nest,
in case parents are distracted.

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They can be fearsome predators at night

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but kampangos are extraordinary parents

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who will spend three months guarding their offspring

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until they grow enough
to fend for themselves.

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On the banks of the valley lakes,

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the group of chimpanzees is at war.

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They fight for territory

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and for more food.

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With more food, it becomes bigger
the chances of attracting females.

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When chimpanzees
attack, they fight to the death.

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The winner gets the territory.

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Like primates,

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cichlids and catfish live constantly
in an evolutionary arms race

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developing new tactics
to surpass each other,

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and ensure the survival of offspring,
and consequently, its species.

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The evolution of cichlids,
which aims to protect young people

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is the main theme of the story
of the lakes of the Rift Valley.

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A universal behavior
in highly developed species

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It's the meticulous process
to take care of the youngest.

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In the first few months,

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the chimpanzee mother carries
your puppy next to your body

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without allowing any
another chimpanzee touches it.

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She will take care of each
baby for up to seven years.

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And since it only creates
every five or six years

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each baby is a huge investment.

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Extreme care for puppies is not
it is uncommon among primates and other mammals.

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But, among the fish?

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Although cichlids
These are not ordinary fish.

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The story of how cichlids
have become a unique species

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coincides with the birth of
first of the great lakes.

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For millions of years in East Africa

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thermal activity deep within the Earth
stretched and fractured tectonic plates

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generating a major failure.

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10 million years ago,
rivers began to flow into this fault

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and a lake appeared.

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It was Lake Tanganyika.

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Small fish similar to
Perch swam in African rivers.

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And some species ended
ending up in Lake Tanganyika

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where they started their journey
incredible way to become good parents.

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The colonizing cichlids

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had a primitive method of reproduction,

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common to many fish in rivers and seas.

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Females lay eggs at the bottom
and abandoned them in the hands of fate.

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But this fate soon forced
the cichlids changing their approach.

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Predators like eels
and other hungry cichlids

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they were always on the lookout.

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So your parents developed
a defense strategy.

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They tried hard to protect their eggs.

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But despite all your
effort there were still losses.

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This pile of snail shells
It is, believe it or not, the next step in evolution.

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This is a castle, built by a male callipterus
also called shell castle cichlid.

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That's how he acts.

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Males spend hours
looking for suitable shells

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at a distance of up to
ten meters from their castles.

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Usually they steal them
from a neighbor, who protests.

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But the bigger the fish, the bigger its
chances of stealing a shell and taking it away.

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Each shell becomes a room
for one of your females

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where will they lay their eggs
and will raise the young safely.

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Sounds like a happy ending.

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But there is a cruel caveat to this strategy.

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Sometimes callipterus steal
shells with females inside

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But when they put them in their pile

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instead of welcoming your
new residents, he begins to evict them.

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The female refuses to leave because she is protecting
their young, which are also in the shell.

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But no male protects
eggs from another male.

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He wants a new female for
create your own descendants.

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He throws sand to try
suffocate her in her own home

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until, finally, she leaves the shell.

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Under the gaze of the king of the castle

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the female desperately searches
their little puppies.

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But he attacks again

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forcing the female to
abandon your home and family.

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Without protection, your babies become
victims of a feeding frenzy.

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This seems tragic
waste of life.

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But callipterus knows that a
shell already worn by a fertile female

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are more likely to be
chosen by one of his females.

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The king of shells is very similar
to the alpha male chimpanzee.

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Its greatest success is
fertilization of many females.

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The alpha male ignores the cubs,

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he does not participate in the creation of offspring.

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he prefers to spend time
picking parasites off their companions.

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But exceptional parental care can
be seen in the largest of all cichlids.

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The kuhe cichlids, measuring 60 centimeters

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find a partner
in the first year of life.

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During breeding season,
the female uses the traditional method.

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She lays up to 20 thousand eggs on a stone.

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After a few days, the fry
free from gelatinous eggs

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still with the yolk sac, which
will feed in the next few hours.

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The couple watches over their offspring
close, in the first days.

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But gangs of predators
cunning cichlids lurk

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ready to attack.

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All the parents have to do is turn their backs for a second

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for the gang to attack.

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Motivated by desperation o kuhe
developed a unique strategy.

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It transports your entire family
in the mouth to a safer location.

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When smart cichlids
discover the new sanctuary

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the devoted kuhe transports his offspring once again.

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And again,

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in the critical period after hatching.

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Scientists believe that this
technique illustrates the initial stage

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the most impressive strategy.

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If we look closely, this female
cichlid has its mouth full

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of young cichlids.

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With egg thieves and chicks
hidden behind every rock

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oral incubation prevents
let your offspring be eaten.

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It works as follows

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a female lays her eggs.

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Their partner fertilizes them.

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And without wasting time, she sucks
eggs into the mouth

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frustrating the predators around her.

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In the safety of your mouth,
the eggs develop

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hatch

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and the puppies grow.

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Hatching around thirty young cichlids

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the female starves for more than a month.

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Until then, she avoids suffocating them,
turning them around in your mouth

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bathing them constantly
with oxygen-rich water.

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Depending on the species

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females can hatch
thirty to one hundred puppies at a time.

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After a week, your family is
ready to venture abroad.

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But as always gangs
of predators spot the offspring.

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The male scares them away.

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And the cubs run from
return to the safety of home.

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This strategy
ingenious maternal care

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that promotes these fish
discreet to stars of evolution

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began in Lake Tanganyika.

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But an exceptional family of
cichlids would take it even further.

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Soon they would find themselves swimming
in a new body of fresh water

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where the speed of evolution would surpass
that of any other habitat on the planet.

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8 million years ago

247
00:23:43,724 --> 00:23:47,625
tectonic activity under
the savannah of East Africa

248
00:23:48,127 --> 00:23:51,991
remained strong, opening another
deep crack in the Earth's crust.

249
00:23:54,610 --> 00:23:57,175
Then Lake Tanganyika overflowed

250
00:23:57,736 --> 00:24:00,610
creating a new river system to the south

251
00:24:00,610 --> 00:24:03,468
that began to fill this gap.

252
00:24:04,075 --> 00:24:08,199
And about 4 million years ago,
another deep lake formed.

253
00:24:08,947 --> 00:24:10,845
Lake Malawi.

254
00:24:14,889 --> 00:24:17,638
Some fish overflowed
with Lake Tanganyika

255
00:24:18,199 --> 00:24:20,859
and were carried away by the rivers
towards the new lake.

256
00:24:22,141 --> 00:24:26,918
But only one species of cichlid
survived the 100-mile journey.

257
00:24:32,870 --> 00:24:36,518
It was an oral incubator of the
group of haplochromids

258
00:24:36,948 --> 00:24:40,657
according to the scientist
evolutionary, professor Tom Kocher.

259
00:24:42,450 --> 00:24:46,216
It was probably a single
species that invaded the lake.

260
00:24:47,296 --> 00:24:51,358
Migration from Tanganyika to Malawi
it wasn't as fast during the flood.

261
00:24:52,174 --> 00:24:55,683
It was a long trip,
along many kilometers of rivers.

262
00:24:57,654 --> 00:25:00,620
How long will the migration take?
took is a mystery.

263
00:25:01,432 --> 00:25:05,325
But haplochromids must
have reproduced along the way.

264
00:25:06,157 --> 00:25:10,026
And oral incubation would have guaranteed
the survival of descendants.

265
00:25:13,699 --> 00:25:17,250
What happened next in Lake Malawi

266
00:25:17,713 --> 00:25:21,433
is unprecedented in the history of the planet.

267
00:25:22,186 --> 00:25:24,428
In just over a million years,

268
00:25:24,995 --> 00:25:31,308
the original cichlid population
multiplied from one to many different branches

269
00:25:32,412 --> 00:25:36,217
resulting in more
of 500 different species.

270
00:25:37,193 --> 00:25:42,603
Chimpanzees and humans emerged from
a common ancestor in a similar process.

271
00:25:44,276 --> 00:25:48,803
Today, we share about 98%
of our DNA with chimpanzees.

272
00:25:50,838 --> 00:25:54,813
We are closer to
chimpanzees than gorillas.

273
00:25:57,928 --> 00:26:01,744
This group offers a window
to our distant past

274
00:26:02,006 --> 00:26:06,072
showing the evolution of the varied
range of human interactions

275
00:26:06,090 --> 00:26:08,834
and the origins of our
sophisticated use of tools.

276
00:26:09,443 --> 00:26:12,352
But our primate ancestor needed
of more than 10 million years of mutations

277
00:26:12,664 --> 00:26:16,161
to give rise to three major
primates and modern humans.

278
00:26:17,232 --> 00:26:21,231
Compare with the speed and
variety of cichlid evolution.

279
00:26:21,409 --> 00:26:25,104
Primate speciation has also been
accelerated when ancient primates

280
00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:26,979
They exchanged forests for savannas.

281
00:26:27,676 --> 00:26:31,821
physically separating
of our common ancestor.

282
00:26:35,980 --> 00:26:39,839
In Lake Malawi, cichlids do not
they have a way to escape from their neighbors.

283
00:26:40,420 --> 00:26:44,221
However, new species
may emerge within a few centuries.

284
00:26:44,309 --> 00:26:47,330
At least ten times faster.

285
00:26:50,361 --> 00:26:54,443
This is the most
rapid ever seen in vertebrates,

286
00:26:54,591 --> 00:26:59,245
and is a model for the study
of evolutionary processes.

287
00:27:01,198 --> 00:27:06,078
Best of all, this
is still ongoing in Lake Malawi

288
00:27:06,447 --> 00:27:09,977
at high speed, even today.

289
00:27:10,861 --> 00:27:14,600
The reason why these cichlids began to suffer
mutations and evolve ten times faster

290
00:27:14,648 --> 00:27:16,992
than our primate ancestor

291
00:27:17,579 --> 00:27:20,539
It's a story of survival
in the most adverse conditions.

292
00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:27,970
Lakes depend on winds and storms
so that minerals from the bottom rise to the surface

293
00:27:29,774 --> 00:27:33,745
acting as a fertilizer for
plankton and other organisms.

294
00:27:37,135 --> 00:27:40,184
With Lake Malawi getting
deeper and deeper,

295
00:27:45,012 --> 00:27:49,558
a competition arose
intense due to the available food.

296
00:27:51,901 --> 00:27:55,974
One of the families
began to sift the bottom

297
00:27:56,001 --> 00:27:58,340
adapting to
suck pieces of sand,

298
00:27:58,419 --> 00:28:02,546
filter tiny organisms
nutritious and eliminate the rest.

299
00:28:04,433 --> 00:28:06,370
Another group, called the utaka

300
00:28:06,735 --> 00:28:10,228
developed to collect
an invisible plankton, in the water.

301
00:28:14,355 --> 00:28:18,308
Meanwhile, the sunlight that
crossed the surface of the lake

302
00:28:19,516 --> 00:28:23,509
allowed algae to grow in
rocks 10 meters deep.

303
00:28:23,980 --> 00:28:28,747
Providing food to another group
of specialists, called mbuna.

304
00:28:33,096 --> 00:28:36,557
And its adaptations to
share nutritious seaweed

305
00:28:36,938 --> 00:28:39,978
illustrate the power of
evolution in Lake Malawi.

306
00:28:40,575 --> 00:28:43,696
Despite competition for food

307
00:28:43,767 --> 00:28:47,837
two species of mbuna can feed
side by side in the same wad of algae.

308
00:28:51,642 --> 00:28:55,092
One species feeds on
position perpendicular to the rock

309
00:28:55,561 --> 00:28:59,923
opening the jaw 180 degrees to
maximize the contact of your lips.

310
00:29:05,616 --> 00:29:09,768
Your teeth are short
and arranged in several rows

311
00:29:11,921 --> 00:29:16,750
ideal for scraping cells
microscopic views of the algae branches.

312
00:29:20,421 --> 00:29:23,080
He doesn't eat the branches.

313
00:29:23,292 --> 00:29:27,174
That's why the owner of
rock allows him to use it.

314
00:29:27,298 --> 00:29:31,203
In contrast, the teeth of the
owner of the rock grow in rows

315
00:29:31,505 --> 00:29:34,458
and they are made to shred.

316
00:29:35,952 --> 00:29:38,863
It feeds at a 30 degree angle

317
00:29:39,407 --> 00:29:42,782
chewing the branches
seaweed, like a grazing cow.

318
00:29:47,396 --> 00:29:52,944
So, the cichlids eating
algae divided into 400 varieties

319
00:29:54,007 --> 00:29:56,374
between scrapers, cutters,

320
00:29:56,474 --> 00:29:58,464
chewers and pluckers.

321
00:29:58,618 --> 00:30:02,903
All from different species that only
could reproduce with their peers.

322
00:30:05,994 --> 00:30:10,430
But competition for food doesn't explain
the entire variety of cichlid species.

323
00:30:10,935 --> 00:30:15,267
Another strong influence drives
evolution in Lake Malawi.

324
00:30:18,463 --> 00:30:20,679
And this vital force is

325
00:30:21,586 --> 00:30:23,401
the sex.

326
00:30:26,641 --> 00:30:28,718
In chimpanzee society,

327
00:30:29,056 --> 00:30:32,489
hierarchy dictates that males
dominate the courting process

328
00:30:32,743 --> 00:30:35,008
and mating.

329
00:30:44,790 --> 00:30:48,547
How females invest so much
time taking care of the puppies

330
00:30:49,070 --> 00:30:53,591
Logic says they should be very demanding
when choosing the parents of their offspring.

331
00:30:59,637 --> 00:31:02,403
But the females
interbreed with several males

332
00:31:02,734 --> 00:31:04,391
during their reproductive cycles,

333
00:31:04,937 --> 00:31:09,635
although they favor those who
they brought them meat from the hunts.

334
00:31:19,111 --> 00:31:22,347
This strategy encourages a
war between sperm

335
00:31:22,808 --> 00:31:26,611
in which the best quality genes
fertilize the greatest number of females.

336
00:31:28,019 --> 00:31:32,018
And like aggressive males
They don't know who their children are

337
00:31:32,464 --> 00:31:35,597
they are less likely to hurt them.

338
00:31:41,909 --> 00:31:47,908
In contrast, the sex lives of cichlids
revolves around the choice of females.

339
00:31:48,474 --> 00:31:51,910
In Lake Malawi, females of each species
developed a series of demanding criteria

340
00:31:52,518 --> 00:31:55,599
for the qualities that
want in a partner.

341
00:32:01,862 --> 00:32:06,861
This little female goes through a
construction site that belongs to a male.

342
00:32:08,962 --> 00:32:13,377
To impress potential mates, males
build piles of sand to be used as nests

343
00:32:13,707 --> 00:32:16,629
for the female's eggs.

344
00:32:19,178 --> 00:32:23,680
The hills are raised side by side,
in a specific area

345
00:32:24,118 --> 00:32:28,202
where females gather
to check out the works.

346
00:32:31,511 --> 00:32:34,619
This male digs at
around a small rock

347
00:32:35,065 --> 00:32:39,865
piling sand to create a ramp
in his attempt to attract a partner.

348
00:32:41,462 --> 00:32:44,729
But it's impossible to know
which project will be the winner.

349
00:32:49,439 --> 00:32:51,441
When a female appears

350
00:32:51,941 --> 00:32:55,758
males also dance
to reinforce your seduction.

351
00:33:03,362 --> 00:33:06,819
Demanding females
go from hill to hill

352
00:33:07,395 --> 00:33:12,765
evaluating the dancers and their
works before making a choice.

353
00:33:18,501 --> 00:33:21,883
This female prefers a hill,
with a steep slope.

354
00:33:23,265 --> 00:33:26,735
Others prefer cones
lower and circular.

355
00:33:27,517 --> 00:33:30,203
It is the power of the females of
make sophisticated choices

356
00:33:30,488 --> 00:33:34,031
which sets the stage for
rapid evolutionary change.

357
00:33:40,689 --> 00:33:45,064
A new species can
arise when certain females

358
00:33:45,330 --> 00:33:48,630
they only breed with males that build
mounds with a specific shape.

359
00:33:49,124 --> 00:33:52,990
Like this one, built
on top of a rock.

360
00:33:55,578 --> 00:33:58,251
Therefore, a division arises

361
00:33:58,819 --> 00:34:01,457
with some females preferring
the hills with the new format,

362
00:34:01,874 --> 00:34:04,608
while others prefer the more traditional.

363
00:34:06,484 --> 00:34:09,953
Females begin to ignore certain males

364
00:34:10,205 --> 00:34:13,323
and they end up stopping reproducing

365
00:34:13,531 --> 00:34:16,501
becoming two distinct species.

366
00:34:19,204 --> 00:34:21,931
From now on,
this female will only breed

367
00:34:21,941 --> 00:34:24,796
with males erecting sloping mounds.

368
00:34:25,780 --> 00:34:29,485
And their female descendants
they will probably do the same.

369
00:34:35,754 --> 00:34:38,432
It's late December on Lake Malawi.

370
00:34:38,870 --> 00:34:40,706
The rainy season begins.

371
00:34:41,161 --> 00:34:44,243
At dusk, a storm approaches.

372
00:34:47,567 --> 00:34:50,995
The dedicated couple of
kampangos guard a new nest

373
00:34:51,412 --> 00:34:53,455
full of hungry fry.

374
00:35:01,042 --> 00:35:05,744
The puppies are around 15 centimeters long
long without counting the mustaches,

375
00:35:06,630 --> 00:35:12,364
But predatory cichlids guarantee
that any fugitive is condemned.

376
00:35:16,755 --> 00:35:18,846
But young catfish need to eat.

377
00:35:19,550 --> 00:35:22,999
Your exemplary parents solved this problem

378
00:35:23,043 --> 00:35:26,378
with a fantastic evolutionary trick.

379
00:35:28,988 --> 00:35:32,213
The female returns from her hunt.

380
00:35:34,829 --> 00:35:40,324
Immediately, its offspring rush to
her, and focuses under her belly, poking her.

381
00:35:40,918 --> 00:35:44,816
And almost like a lactating mammal

382
00:35:45,587 --> 00:35:50,595
she produces unfertilized eggs to
feed them and prevent them from dying of hunger.

383
00:35:58,820 --> 00:36:04,178
Kampangos are the only fish in the world
planet that have developed this ability.

384
00:36:08,020 --> 00:36:10,552
It ensures the survival of the puppies

385
00:36:11,310 --> 00:36:15,221
amidst the chaos of life among cichlids.

386
00:36:23,249 --> 00:36:25,702
In the lakes of the Rift Valley,
oral incubation

387
00:36:26,458 --> 00:36:30,846
led predators to take
extreme attitudes, and developed tactics

388
00:36:30,907 --> 00:36:34,114
to bypass the mouth's defenses.

389
00:36:37,502 --> 00:36:40,779
Oral incubation seems foolproof.

390
00:36:40,992 --> 00:36:45,758
But in this lake full of mutants,
there is a sinister twist.

391
00:36:52,671 --> 00:36:56,648
The female horei cichlid protects
Carefully fill your mouth with eggs.

392
00:36:58,545 --> 00:37:00,327
But if we look carefully

393
00:37:01,048 --> 00:37:05,568
it seems that your
defenses have already been penetrated.

394
00:37:05,783 --> 00:37:08,203
She is transporting
smaller yellow eggs

395
00:37:08,502 --> 00:37:11,624
that belong to another fish.

396
00:37:15,310 --> 00:37:18,444
While your eggs
they continue to develop

397
00:37:19,048 --> 00:37:22,727
smaller eggs begin to hatch

398
00:37:23,799 --> 00:37:26,625
giving rise to invaders.

399
00:37:27,593 --> 00:37:30,016
Catfish fry.

400
00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:36,016
After absorbing your calves

401
00:37:36,454 --> 00:37:40,181
young catfish start
devouring cichlid eggs.

402
00:37:44,124 --> 00:37:46,125
It's a macabre feast

403
00:37:46,625 --> 00:37:50,637
that begins the journey of these
relentless predators.

404
00:37:54,938 --> 00:37:59,344
This behavior in which a mother
unsuspecting raises children of another species

405
00:37:59,454 --> 00:38:03,752
is known among birds,
especially cuckoos.

406
00:38:07,549 --> 00:38:11,955
But the horei female suffers
an especially cruel fate.

407
00:38:14,171 --> 00:38:16,457
When she releases her cubs

408
00:38:19,724 --> 00:38:23,094
all your babies are gone.

409
00:38:24,581 --> 00:38:28,626
The female catfish laid
your eggs next to hers

410
00:38:28,913 --> 00:38:32,249
and induced her to create a
family of fierce parasites

411
00:38:32,318 --> 00:38:34,935
who ate all
your precious offspring.

412
00:38:36,398 --> 00:38:40,868
But cichlids have
one last diabolical tactic

413
00:38:41,119 --> 00:38:44,698
in their ancient evolutionary struggle
with kampango catfish

414
00:38:45,090 --> 00:38:49,141
which confirms your status as the
smartest fish on the planet.

415
00:38:59,572 --> 00:39:02,856
High above Lake Malawi,
two months of rain

416
00:39:03,181 --> 00:39:06,529
culminate in a spectacular
swarm of sand flies.

417
00:39:14,483 --> 00:39:18,298
Millions of tiny larvae
developed in the lake

418
00:39:18,655 --> 00:39:21,775
and now, crowds of adults
take off to mate

419
00:39:22,432 --> 00:39:25,541
in vast clouds of 180 meters

420
00:39:26,043 --> 00:39:29,354
offering a banquet
to flocks of birds.

421
00:39:45,781 --> 00:39:49,743
When mating eggs
en masse fall into the lake

422
00:39:50,039 --> 00:39:54,723
young kampangos leave
the nest for the first time

423
00:39:54,795 --> 00:39:57,188
to devour the larvae
mosquito newborns

424
00:39:57,839 --> 00:40:01,421
detecting prey with
his long, sensitive mustaches.

425
00:40:06,358 --> 00:40:10,698
The kampango catfish of Lake Malawi link
their reproductive cycle to this seasonal event

426
00:40:10,805 --> 00:40:15,388
to ensure a start
nutritious life for your offspring.

427
00:40:19,327 --> 00:40:22,323
But some species
from its cichlid rivals

428
00:40:22,781 --> 00:40:26,987
developed one last stratagem
that they use to take advantage.

429
00:40:35,483 --> 00:40:38,062
In this kampango nest

430
00:40:38,547 --> 00:40:42,327
one-month-old baby catfish,
are surrounded by unlikely and unwanted guests.

431
00:40:44,718 --> 00:40:47,038
Young cichlids.

432
00:40:49,093 --> 00:40:52,842
They must have been
protected in his mother's mouth.

433
00:40:53,272 --> 00:40:55,582
Why are they here?

434
00:40:58,687 --> 00:41:02,594
A few days earlier a cichlid
female with mouth full of puppies

435
00:41:03,014 --> 00:41:07,616
chose this nest as
being suitable, and freed his offspring.

436
00:41:14,694 --> 00:41:17,186
Contrary to all
instincts to return home

437
00:41:17,622 --> 00:41:21,647
young cichlids
invade the enemy's nest.

438
00:41:22,062 --> 00:41:25,389
In an astonishing truce
between ancient enemies

439
00:41:25,827 --> 00:41:28,875
the kampango couple
does not eat intruders.

440
00:41:34,039 --> 00:41:35,958
They ignore them

441
00:41:36,380 --> 00:41:40,461
Why are puppies so small?
that they are not worth eating.

442
00:41:41,538 --> 00:41:45,850
And because, probably, the
chaos generated by the extra puppies

443
00:41:46,247 --> 00:41:50,149
can save some of the fry
kampango of predators.

444
00:41:56,371 --> 00:42:00,760
For the female cichlid her young
They benefit from extra protection

445
00:42:01,226 --> 00:42:04,693
and with the leftover food from the kampangos

446
00:42:04,929 --> 00:42:08,990
in this evolutionary agreement between
two intelligent opponents.

447
00:42:13,633 --> 00:42:17,005
On the banks of the lakes
of the Rift Valley in Africa

448
00:42:17,317 --> 00:42:23,149
our chimpanzee cousins offer a
unique glimpse into our own evolutionary past.

449
00:42:23,484 --> 00:42:28,461
With its vast repertoire of
behaviors, so familiar to us.

450
00:42:39,750 --> 00:42:46,360
Compare sophisticated primates with
small fish may seem like overkill.

451
00:42:46,851 --> 00:42:49,740
But cichlids are no ordinary fish.

452
00:42:53,250 --> 00:42:58,478
Every aspect of their lives has been improved
to perfection through the process of evolution.

453
00:42:59,571 --> 00:43:01,954
New teeth for new foods.

454
00:43:06,393 --> 00:43:08,550
Ingenious solutions
for building nests.

455
00:43:10,939 --> 00:43:14,849
And a devilish talent
to deceive your enemies.

456
00:43:16,609 --> 00:43:20,661
But in the end, it's yours
complex social intelligence

457
00:43:21,197 --> 00:43:25,962
and the devotion of females
and males to their families

458
00:43:26,459 --> 00:43:30,539
that offers a new
perspective to the lives of all primates.

459
00:43:31,072 --> 00:43:35,188
In the midst of the chaos that is
life in the lakes of the Rift Valley

460
00:43:35,689 --> 00:43:39,549
the small and intelligent cichlid fish
They are the survivors par excellence

461
00:43:39,985 --> 00:43:43,703
on this mutant planet.

462
00:43:44,908 --> 00:43:48,998
Subtitled by: Pedro Dantas