Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATHCING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: JOIN ME, DYLAN DRYER, ON A JOURNEY

THROUGH ANCIENT HISTORY, BREATHTAKING SIGHTS AND

OUR PLANET'S GREATEST MYSTERIES.

WE'LL EXPLORE THE AWESOME GRASS PLAINS OF THE

SERENGETI AND DISCOVER ALASKAN WILDLIFE LIKE

NEVER BEFORE.

COME FACE-TO-FACE WITH A COLLECTION OF AMAZING

ANIMALS FOUND IN THE DRY DESERT OUTBACK.

AND FIND OUT WHAT LIFE IS LIKE FOR VILLAGERS WHO

LIVE ALONGSIDE ONE MILLION RED CRABS.

DYLAN: NO PLACE ON EARTH IS QUITE LIKE THE

SERENGETI PLAINS OF EASTERN AFRICA.

WILD, BEAUTIFUL, DEADLY.

HOME TO ELEPHANTS, LIONS, CHEETAHS, MONKEYS AND

COUNTLESS OTHER SPECIES.

IT IS THE LAST REFUGE FOR THE GREATEST CONCENTRATION

OF MIGRATING MAMMALS REMAINING ON THE PLANET.

OUR JOURNEY BEGINS WHEN THE GRASS IS TALL AND

PLENTIFUL, THE GREAT HERDS ARE STRONG, AND PREDATORS

ARE LURKING EVERYWHERE.

[DRUMS ANIMAL SOUNDS]

DYLAN: ALONG WITH THE GREAT NILE RIVER AND THE

OKAVANGO DELTA THE SERENGETI PLAINS ARE ONE

OF THE SEVEN NATURAL WONDERS OF AFRICA.

LIFE STREAMS ACROSS THIS ANCIENT LAND AS IF IT WERE

SUSPENDED IN TIME.

HERE THE GREAT HERDS RUN FREE ACROSS A LANDSCAPE AS

MASSIVE AS IT IS BREATHTAKING; SPANNING AN

AREA APPROXIMATELY 12,000 SQUARE MILES IN NORTHERN

TANZANIA.

DYLAN: IT'S LATE MAY ON THE SERENGETI AND DROUGHT

APPROACHES.

THE WILDEBEEST HERDS MIGRATE TOWARD THE NORTH

AND WEST, DRAWN BY THE ANCIENT PROMISE OF WATER

AND GRASS.

THEY'RE ACCOMPANIED BY ZEBRAS AND GAZELLES AND

FLOW THROUGH THE LANDSCAPE LIKE A LIVING RIVER.

THE GREAT MIGRATION HAS BEGUN.

DYLAN: THE EPIC JOURNEY TAKES PLACE WITHIN THE TWO EAST

AFRICAN NATIONS OF TANZANIA AND KENYA.

THE WILDEBEEST HERDS MIGRATE NORTH TOWARD THE

MAASAI MARA GAME RESERVE IN KENYA.

THERE THEY RANGE FOR MONTHS UNTIL THE RAINS

RESUME, AND THE HERDS RETURN AGAIN TO THE

SOUTHERN PLAINS.

THE MIGRATION RUNS A DEADLY GAUNTLET OF MORE

THAN 500 MILES.

EARLY IN THE MIGRATION NORTHWARD HERDS MOVE

THROUGH THE REGION OF ANCIENT GRANITE

OUTCROPPINGS CALLED KOPJES; SMALL ROCKY HILLS

ALONG THE PLAINS THAT PROVIDE VIEWS OF THE

SURROUNDING TERRITORY.

THEY'RE THE MAIN VANTAGE POINTS FOR WAITING

PREDATORS.

DYLAN: ALONG WITH LIONS, CHEETAHS ARE THE PREMIERE

CARNIVORES OF THE SERENGETI.

ALTHOUGH THEY ARE EXCELLENT HUNTERS, LIFE

HERE IS HARD.

FROM A LITTER OF FOUR, ONLY THIS LONE CHEETAH CUB

HAS SURVIVED.

TO NOURISH IT THE MOTHER MUST KILL ALMOST DAILY,

BUT SHE HAS NOT EATEN FOR TWO DAYS.

MOST OF THE HERDS HAVE PASSED, BUT A FEW

STRAGGLING GAZELLES APPEAR.

FROM THIS DISTANCE THERE IS NO CONTEST.

THE CHEETAH IS THE FASTEST LAND ANIMAL ON EARTH,

ACHIEVING SHORT BURSTS OF SPEED UP TO 70 MILES PER

HOUR.

THERE IS NEITHER MALICE NOR REMORSE ON THE

SERENGETI; A HUNTER KILLS TO EAT AND TO FEED ITS

YOUNG, NOTHING MORE.

THIS LITTLE CUB WILL SURVIVE A FEW MORE DAYS

THANKS TO THE YOUNG GAZELLE WHOSE LIFE ENDED

TOO SOON.

[NIGHT SOUNDS]

DYLAN: WILDEBEEST HERDS SOMETIMES PUSH ON THROUGH

THE NIGHT DESPITE A RISK OF ATTACK UNDER COVER OF

DARKNESS.

DYLAN: DRAWN BY LIGHTENING, DISTANT THUNDER OR THE

SMELL OF RAIN, THEY MAY TRAVEL 50 MILES BEFORE

DAWN.

DROUGHT HAS PARCHED THE PLAINS TINDER DRY.

NOW THEIR ENEMIES ARE THIRST, HUNGER AND

EXHAUSTION AND AS EVER, PREDATORS.

DYLAN:THE HUNTER HAS ONLY TO PICK THE MOMENT.

DYLAN: FINALLY AFTER MONTHS OF MIGRATION, THE FORWARD

RANKS SURGE INTO THE RICH PASTURES OF THE MAASAI

MARA IN KENYA.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ANIMALS DWELL HERE.

OTHERS COME IN MIGRATIONS OF THE SKY.

FLAMINGOS FROM NAMIBIA, STORKS FROM AS FAR AWAY AS

EUROPE AND ASIA.

ZEBRAS CLUSTER TOGETHER IN A TANGLE OF STRIPES HOPING

TO CONFUSE PREDATORS.

THESE HORSES OF AFRICA APPEAR DOCILE BUT THEY

HAVE NEVER BEEN DOMESTICATED.

FOR A BABOON TROOP MUCH OF THE DAY PASSES ATTENDING

TO YOUNG, GROOMING AND SOCIALIZING.

THESE ANIMALS ARE MEMBERS OF THE PRIMATE FAMILY.

THEY'RE CALLED OLD WORLD MONKEYS, AND ALTHOUGH THEY

ARE SMALL AND HAVE TAILS THEY SHARE A DISTANT

ANCESTOR WITH ANOTHER PRIMATE SPECIES; HUMANS.

DYLAN: THESE ANCIENT LANDS ARE THE CRADLE OF HUMANITY.

THIS RIBBON OF EARTH CUTTING THROUGH THE

EASTERN SERENGETI PLAINS IS OLDUVAI GORGE, HOME TO

ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES ON

EARTH.

WITHIN ITS LAYERED WALLS LIE THE HUMAN FOSSIL

RECORD SPANNING ALMOST 2 MILLION YEARS.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL EXPLORE ALASKA'S

COASTLINE.

AND LATER, AUSTRALIA IS VAST, ANCIENT AND

WEATHERED.

WE'LL MEET THE CRITTERS FIGHTING TO STAY ALIVE.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

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

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

DYLAN: OUR ALASKAN JOURNEY ACTUALLY BEGINS

18,000 YEARS AGO.

BACK THEN THE EARTH LOOKED VERY DIFFERENT.

OUR PLANET WAS LOCKED IN ICE AT THE HEIGHT OF THE

LAST GREAT ICE AGE.

FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS ICE AND SNOW

COMPACTED INTO MASSIVE GLACIERS THAT CARVED

MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS, RIVERS AND EVENTUALLY CREATED THE

WORLD WE KNOW TODAY.

DYLAN: WITH EARTH'S WATER COLLECTED IN ICE AROUND

THE POLES, OCEAN LEVELS PLUMMETED MORE THAN 300

FEET.

THE EXPOSED SEA FLOOR NEARLY JOINED AUSTRALIA TO

SOUTHEAST ASIA.

THE ISLANDS OF JAPAN BECAME PART OF MAINLAND

ASIA.

AND ACROSS NORTH AMERICA ICEFIELDS AND GLACIERS

ENVELOPED ALL OF CANADA AND THE NORTHERNMOST

UNITED STATES.

DYLAN: AS THE ICE AGE SPREAD ALASKA EMERGED

AS A CROSSROADS BETWEEN TWO CONTINENTS.

OFF ITS BERING SEA COASTLINE THE RETREATING

OCEAN EXPOSED A GREAT LAND BRIDGE 1,000 MILES WIDE

CONNECTING ALASKA AND ASIA.

ALONG THIS CORRIDOR A RIVER OF LIVING CREATURES

WOULD FLOW AND THE AMERICAS AS WE KNOW THEM

WERE BORN.

DYLAN: ALASKA MIGHT SEEM LIKE A PLACE TOO HOSTILE

FOR LIVING THINGS, BUT EACH YEAR AFTER THE LONG WINTER

ALASKA ERUPTS WITH LIFE.

DYLAN: HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF BIRDS FLOCK HERE

FROM AS FAR AWAY AS ANTARCTICA TO BREED ON

ALASKA'S PROTECTED CLIFFS AND COVES, AND TO FEED ON ITS

RICH SEAS.

DYLAN: FOR ONE BRIEF SEASON OF SUMMER LIFE FLOURISHES.

♪ ADVENTUROUS MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: GRASSES EMERGE FUELED BY UP TO 24 HOURS

OF SUNLIGHT.

ANIMALS HURRY TO STORE UP NUTRIENTS BEFORE WINTER

RETURNS.

FAMISHED FROM HIBERNATION, THE MIGHTY BROWN BEAR IS

CONTENT TO GRAZE IN SPRING AND SHARES THE MEADOW WITH

CARIBOU TOO FAST TO BE CAUGHT.

[BEARS GROWLING]

DYLAN: AS BELLIES FILL PLAY AND MATING BEGIN.

DYLAN: THESE BEARS WILL REMAIN A COUPLE FOR ONLY A DAY OR

TWO, SHARING A ROUGH AFFECTION.

BEAR HUGS WILL LEAD TO A NEW CUB BORN IN A

HIBERNATION DEN DURING WINTER.

DYLAN: HUMPBACK WHALES SWIM NEARLY 4,000 MILES,

ALL THE WAY FROM HAWAII, TO ENJOY ALASKA'S ABUNDANCE.

DYLAN: HUMPBACKS FAST FOR 8 MONTHS IN THE RELATIVELY

SPARSE WATERS OF THE TROPICS AROUND HAWAII

WHERE THEY BREED AND GIVE BIRTH.

TO CAPTURE THE IMMENSE QUANTITIES OF THE FOOD

THEY NEED SOME HUMPBACKS HAVE DEVISED AN

EXTRAORDINARY TECHNIQUE.

DIVING IN UNISON, THEY SURROUND A SCHOOL OF

HERRING, WHILE ONE OR MORE SINGS A RITUAL FEEDING

SONG.

SIMULTANEOUSLY A WHALE BLOWS A CIRCULAR NET OF

BUBBLES AROUND THE FISH.

THEN AS THE TRAP IS COMPLETED THE ENTIRE GROUP

ROCKETS UPWARD THROUGH THE BUBBLE NET...

... SWALLOWING FISH AND KRILL IN THEIR GAPING MOUTHS.

DYLAN: EACH SPECIES FINDS A WAY TO SURVIVE.

HUMPBACKS HAVE LEARNED TO INVENT AND MORE

IMPORTANTLY TO COOPERATE.

COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL EXPLORE THE GREAT STRUGGLE

FOR SURVIVAL IN THE DRY DESERT OUTBACK.

AND LATER, ONE OF THE MOST BIZARRE MIGRATIONS IN

NATURE OCCURS ON TINY CHRISTMAS ISLAND.

THESE ARE CREATURES YOU'LL NEVER FORGET.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

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

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

DYLAN: AUSTRALIA IS THE DRIEST INHABITED CONTINENT

ON EARTH AND ALMOST EQUAL IN SIZE TO THE CONTINENTAL

UNITED STATES.

IT'S SURROUNDED BY THREE OCEANS MAKING IT THE

WORLD'S LARGEST ISLAND.

MILLIONS OF YEARS OF ISOLATION HAVE PRODUCED

ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE ECOSYSTEMS IN THE WORLD

AND WILDLIFE YOU NEED TO SEE TO BELIEVE.

♪ ADVENTUROUS MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: AUSTRALIA IS VAST, ANCIENT AND WEATHERED.

IT HAS BEEN ISOLATED FROM ALL OTHER LAND ON EARTH

FOR 40 MILLION YEARS.

TRAVELING OVER AUSTRALIA'S 3 MILLION SQUARE MILES IS

LIKE CROSSING AN OCEAN OF DRY LAND.

IT'S A PRIMEVAL LANDSCAPE RICH IN RESOURCEFUL LIFE

FORMS FOUND NOWHERE ELSE.

HERE SOME OF THE EARTH'S OLDEST ROCKS HOLD FOSSILS

FROM THE DAWN OF LIFE.

IN ITS HEARTLAND ARE MOUNTAIN RANGES THAT ONCE

RIVALED EVEREST, AND REMNANTS OF A ONCE VAST

INLAND SEA.

THE KANGAROO STARTED ITS JOURNEY AS A MARSUPIAL

POSSUM, THE SIZE OF A MOUSE.

MARSUPIALS ARE MAMMALS THAT CARRY THEIR

DEVELOPING YOUNG IN A POUCH ON THE OUTSIDE OF

THEIR BODIES.

WHEN FOOD IS PLENTIFUL THE MALES ARE ACTIVE AND

COURTSHIP DISPUTES ARE TRADITIONALLY SETTLED WITH

A ROUND OR TWO OF KICKBOXING.

MOTHERS AND BABIES SENSIBLY KEEP OUT OF THE

WAY.

ON MOST CONTINENTS ANIMALS BREED IN RESPONSE TO THE

SEASONS.

IN AUSTRALIA IT'S THE AVAILABILITY OF FOOD THAT

PROMPTS THE KANGAROO TO REPRODUCE.

TO CAPITALIZE ON GOOD TIMES THE MOTHER CAN

SUPPORT A PRODUCTION LINE; ONE JOEY IN THE POUCH, ONE

AT FOOT, AND ANOTHER IN THE WOMB AS AN EMBRYO.

ALONG WITH KANGAROOS THE KOALA IS ANOTHER ICONIC

MARSUPIAL OF AUSTRALIA.

WHEN BABIES ARE BIG ENOUGH TO LEAVE THE POUCH THEY

RIDE MOTHER'S BACK.

LIKE THE KANGAROO, THE KOALA EVOLVED IN THE MOIST

RAINFOREST.

AS THE FOREST DRIED IT ADAPTED TO LIVE ON THE

LEAVES OF THE EUCALYPTUS TREE.

WHEN THEY'RE NOT EATING KOALAS ARE RESTING ABOUT

20 HOURS A DAY.

SOME MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY, HOWEVER, ARE

ACTIVE AT ANY HOUR.

WHEN MOVING FROM TREE TO TREE THEY NORMALLY DESCEND

BACKWARDS.

CONSEQUENTLY TREE-TOP TRAFFIC JAMS CAN SOMETIMES

LEAVE ONE OUT ON A LIMB.

DYLAN: THESE TINY HOPPING MICE SURVIVE BECAUSE THEY

RARELY NEED TO DRINK.

MOST OF THE WATER THEY REQUIRE IS CONTAINED IN

THE SEEDS THEY EAT.

IN THE HEAT OF THE DAY THEY HUDDLE TOGETHER IN

DEEP BURROWS CREATING A HUMID ATMOSPHERE THAT

HELPS TO CONSERVE MOISTURE.

DYLAN: THE PLATYPUS SUCKLES ITS YOUNG LIKE A MAMMAL, YET

LAYS EGGS LIKE A LIZARD.

IT HUNTS UNDERWATER WITH ITS EYES SHUT, USING

ELECTRONIC SENSORS IN ITS BILL.

THE FIRST EUROPEANS TO SEE IT WERE DUMBFOUNDED.

TO THEM IT WAS A LIVING CONTRADICTION, IF NOT A

PRACTICAL JOKE.

TODAY IT EXISTS NOWHERE ELSE ON EARTH.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

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

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

DYLAN: A WORD OF WARNING, THIS NEXT STORY WILL

PROBABLY GIVE YOU GOOSEBUMPS.

DYLAN: CHRISTMAS ISLAND IS ONLY A LITTLE MORE THAN 50

SQUARE MILES, WITH A POPULATION UNDER 3,000 PEOPLE.

BUT THERE'S ANOTHER CREATURE LIVING HERE, AND

THEY NUMBER IN THE MILLIONS; THE RED CRAB.

EACH YEAR AS THE MONSOONS ARRIVE THE RAIN AND LUNAR

CYCLES COMBINE TO BEGIN THE BREEDING SEASON.

THESE LITTLE MONSTERS MAKE AN ANNUAL MARCH FROM THEIR

WOODLAND HOMES DOWN TO THE SEA TO MATE AND SPAWN.

DYLAN: UNFORTUNATELY MANY OF THE HUMAN INHABITANTS

OF CHRISTMAS ISLAND BUILD THEIR COMMUNITY SMACK IN

THE MIDDLE OF THE RED CRAB MIGRATION ROUTE.

DYLAN: THE CRABS ARE HARMLESS BUT THE ISLANDERS

HAVE DEVELOPED A STRAINED RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR

FELLOW RESIDENTS OVER THE YEARS.

[GIRL SCREAMING]

[SCHOOL NOISES]

DYLAN: AFTER A JOURNEY OF UP TO 3 WEEKS MALES REACH

THE SHORE FIRST.

WHEN THE FEMALE ARRIVE A FEW DAYS LATER THEY

PROMPTLY TAKE BATHS TO REPLENISH MOISTURE LOST ON

THE JOURNEY, AND PERHAPS TO RINSE AWAY THE GRIME OF

TRAVEL AND ENHANCE THEIR FEMININE ALLURE.

AFTER MATING, MALES DEPART BACK TO THE FOREST.

FINALLY DURING HIGH TIDE OF THE LAST QUARTER MOON

FEMALES CARRY THEIR EGGS TO THE WATER'S EDGE AND

FLING THEM INTO THE OUTGOING TIDE.

THE EGGS DEVELOP INTO YOUNG CRABS THAT SPEND 3

WEEKS OUT AT SEA.

SOON THE NEXT GENERATION WILL RETURN TO THE SHORE

AND WANDER BACK TO THE FOREST TO JOIN THEIR

PARENTS.

DYLAN: I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR JOURNEY WITH THESE

MAGNIFICENT CREATURES.

AND UNTIL NEXT TIME, SAFE TRAVELS.