All language subtitles for (scene-rls.net) 03 Wildest Places Antarctica

(light music)

- [Narrator] Antarctica.

A vast icy desert.

In terms of rainfall, it's
the driest place on Earth.

(dramatic music)

And yet, the Antarctic
holds more than two thirds

of the planet's freshwater.

With plunging temperatures
and powerful winds,

our southernmost landmass
is an unrelenting habitat.

But life persists and thrives.

Once part of a connected
southern supercontinent,

Antarctica is now isolated
by a current so powerful

it creates undersea highways back

to each and every continent

where extraordinary lifeforms answer

the call of the seasons.

On icy islands and on
a land frozen by time.

This is the Wildest Antarctic.

(light music)

Our southernmost continent
is so inhospitable

and remote it only felt
humankind's first touch

less than two centuries ago.

It's barely fathomable that
this permanently frozen landmass

was once covered in lush rainforest.

The animals that roamed
it knew no boundary

between the southern continents of today.

At one time they were all connected.

It was long assumed the continents

had been fixed in position
since the beginning of time.

But in the last century, findings
have convinced scientists

that one enormous single
landmass once existed.

As it fractured roughly
250 million years ago,

the southern supercontinent of Gondwana

had modern Antarctica at its core.

100 million years later, great tensions

in the Earth's crust
rendered it further apart.

The landmasses we recognize
as today's continents

broke away and rode atop tectonic plates

across the southern hemisphere.

Africa and South America, Madagascar,

India, Australia, and New Zealand.

Antarctica inched further
and further from the Equator

until its present position
where the South Pole

anchors its center.

Clues to these ancient connections between

the southern continents remained today.

Fossils on Antarctic beaches match

those in African forests.

Layers of rock link mountain ranges

from Australia to the Andes.

Some animals share
prehistoric common ancestors.

Others migrated across
connected pathways long ago

and evolved in their only special ways

to their changing environments.

(water splashing)

Some species have become global travelers.

And, like humans, develop a unique culture

in every southern pocket they inhabit.

As mariners ventured
across the world's oceans,

its southernmost areas were
the last to be explored.

South Georgia Island rises
from the south Atlantic Ocean.

It's about 200 kilometers long.

When Captain Cooke
explored the area in 1775,

he mistakenly believed he
was on Antarctica itself

rather than thousands of kilometers away.

Algae and moss spores
sampled from the island

suggest it once was part
of the Antarctic continent.

The island's peaks are
covered in permanent ice,

but it slopes away to plains and beaches

of dark bare rock and
sparse green vegetation.

It was a base for whaling
stations in the early 1900s,

but it is now a haven for
sea mammals and birds.

(light music)

One of the perennial species
here is king penguins.

Kings are the second largest
penguin after the emperor

at nearly a meter tall

and share their vivid yellow markings.

They have densely-packed
waterproof feathers

over a layer of warm down.

Webbed feet designed for ocean paddling

are tipped with long claws
to move about on uneven land.

This quartet is slowly making
its way back to the colony.

(dramatic music)
(birds chirping)

Which is a breathtaking sight in itself.

The king penguin colonies on South Georgia

are simply immense.

There are several hundred thousand

breeding pairs here year round.

Saint Andrews Bay on the island south

may well be the world's largest colony.

It's at peak congestion from
September through to April

for a staggered breeding schedule.

That means the kings will arrive

from their winter fishing season in waves.

(light music)

At the bay's shoreline, the
transition from streamline

swimmer to awkward land
walker is rarely more evident.

(birds chirping)

Because they do spend winters at sea,

adult king penguins have larger flippers

than their Antarctic emperor cousins.

And less fat.

The emperors hatch their
eggs on the frozen continent

at winter's peak around July,

but kings wait for the
island's summer warmth

and ascend to the pebble
beaches in December.

Like emperors, they don't build nests.

The kings balance a single
large egg on their feet

and cover it with a roll
of fat to keep it warm.

(birds squawking)

Kings won't mate for life,
but are serially monogamous.

The parent couple partner up for the time

it takes to rear a single chick.

However, this is quite
an investment of time

as penguins go.

It takes some 16 months
to raise a king chick

from egg to being fully fledged.

(birds squawking)

A rapid growth spurts soon after hatching

sees them quickly reach
half the size of an adult

within six weeks.

Their thick, brown downy
coats make the young chicks

seem even larger.

They're known as oakums.

Named by 19th century sailors after

the brown fiber used to repair boat leaks.

Incredibly, parents and young
can recognize each other

even in colonies this large.

They develop a unique language.

Calls and vocalizations to
help seek each other out.

(light dramatic music)

Nearby another bird overlooks
the bay's king colony.

Brown skuas are found across

the southern hemisphere's
continental tips.

South Africa, Australia, New
Zealand, and South America.

These large sea birds
breed in the summer months.

Nesting in grassy tussocks
or moss-strewn beaches

overlooking penguin colonies.

Skuas will hatch two chicks each season.

Like the young penguins,
the skua hatchlings

need to be fed.

(light dramatic music)

The brown skuas have
timed their egg laying

to match the kings'.

These hunters are ferociously predatory.

Skuas will attack unguarded eggs,

steal food from penguin chicks
brought in by their parents,

and even pair up to
take down penguin chicks

that stray too far from their parents.

(birds squawking)

However, when the oakums
are about a month old,

the parents have to leave
them for periods on their own.

They, too, must eat.

(birds squawking)

They head back to the sea
for fishing expeditions.

Meltwater streams pouring
down from glaciers

and mountains above offer an
easy shortcut to the beach.

Rapid riding into the
bay is an acquired skill.

The fast flowing water hits rocks

and drills deeply into riverbed holes.

Oakums practice from time to time,

but stick to the shallow edges.

Their down coverings
are easily waterlogged.

(light music)

Further upstream where the summer

sun warms river bend ponds,

the chicks can bask in the rising heat.

Overlooking seals and fur
seals wallowing in the mud.

The oakum creches of this
island are far more mixed

with chicks of varying ages
than other penguin rookeries.

That's due to the staggered
starts of the breeding season.

And because these chicks
need to stay on land

for a full year before their
adult plumage grows in.

They'll take on a patchwork appearance

while the shaggy brown
down is slowly replaced

by the sleek, dense
feathers of an adult king.

(light music)

The motley coat means
these chicks have survived

their first winter on the island.

In the years ahead, they'll
spend most of their time

offshore fishing until
it's their turn to parent.

Winters will then mean they
join the supervising roster

of Saint Andrews Bay.

Guiding the new generation
through their oakum year.

(whooshing)

Australia was the final continent

to break away from Antarctica.

The southern island of Tazmania clung on

until 30 million years ago.

When the ocean pushed a path through,

it allowed the circumpolar current

to finally encircle Antarctica

which prevented it from swapping climate

with other land masses and
secured its frozen status.

In Australia's south, it
left a large curved bay

more than a thousand kilometers across

called the Great Australian Bight.

Today, the Australian Bight now joins

a massive semiarid plain
which abruptly ends

at the coastline in a line of cliffs

60 to 100 meters high.

Extending into the bite is Eyre Peninsula.

A triangular landmass with
a large gulf to the east

and a mountain range
overlooking it from the north.

Each summer and autumn upwellings occur

around Eyre Peninsula.

This is where the cold Antarctic water

meets the warm Australian water,

bringing with it vast plums
of animal-based zoo plankton.

(light music)

It's the ideal feeding
ground for cephalopods.

A group of saltwater
creatures that include squid,

octopus, and cuttlefish.

The Maori octopus is found in
the cold waters of New Zealand

across to Australia's southern bight.

With an arm span of three meters,

it's the south's largest.

Around Eyre Peninsula, the Maori octopus

is a benthic species.

Benthic refers to the sea floor.

Unlike their reef
counterparts which clamor

over coral heads, these
cold water octopuses

store kept and seaweed beds for lobsters,

crabs, and scallops.

They will also eat other octopuses,

but will almost certainly stay
clear of one of the smallest.

The blue ringed octopus is
just a few centimeters long,

but is one of the most
lethal animals in the water.

Most prefer tropical reefs,

but this southern species is only found

along this coastline.

It has a highly toxic bite
which the small octopus injects

after issuing a warning by
pulsing vivid blue rings.

(water bubbling)

(light music)

The striped pajama squid is

also a benthic peninsula resident.

It's named for its bands,
but is misnamed as a squid.

This tiny cephalopod is
actually a cuttlefish.

It also relies on a toxic defense system.

A poisonous slime it
exudes through its skin.

Potentially fatal species aside,

cephalopods are the
base diet for sea lions,

(light music)

and Australia's south is
home to its very own subset.

Sea lions are a part
of the pinniped family.

Latin for fin footed.

Pinnipeds are a marine mammal group

that includes seals,
walruses, and sea lions.

Sea lions are eared seals.

They have small, visible exterior ears,

unlike seals which have ear holes.

And while the largest seals
have strong hind flippers

that make them speedier swimmers,

they aren't as adept on land.

Sea lions have hind
flippers that rotate forward

and strong front flippers.

It means they can walk about on all fours

and reach higher ground
above the shoreline.

Seals are thought to have evolved from

an ancient weasel-like ancestor.

Whereas sea lions descended
from a bear-like ancestor,

one shared with canines such as dogs.

Sea lions are also much noisier.

(walrus barking)

You can often hear the
barking from a colony

before seeing it.

The entire population is
less than 12,000 individuals.

They live in colonies,
and each one is thought

to be genetically unique.

The females practice philopatry,

which means they will only
return to the very same place

they were born to breed and birth.

And they teach their
female pups to do the same.

85% of Australian sea lions

do so along the southern coastline.

Each colony has its own schedule
for breeding and birthing.

The females may only have

a single pup every couple of years.

They spend a long time raising them based

around their family colony area.

Teaching the young ones to hunt and swim.

(water splashing)

In Australia's south,

the sea lions are also benthic feeders.

In other parts of the world,

they'll hunt in the middle
of the water column.

But here they forage for animals
taking cover in the sand.

They've adapted to fill a niche.

There are a number of
other mid-water hunters

like fur seals around Eyre Peninsula.

As benthic feeders, there
is less competition.

Sea lions can be ferocious hunters.

They're undaunted by the size
of a large Maori octopus.

Sea lion waste has a level of a bacteria

that metabolizes iron and phosphorous.

These are vital nutrients
for phytoplankton;

the small plant organisms that form

the base of the food chain.

(water trickling)
(light music)

So, while a sea lion is
toward the top of the chain,

it's contributing to the bottoms tiers.

Ensuring an availability of prey.

Each Australian sea lion colony

typically has less than
25 pups each season.

Nearly a third of these pups
won't survive past weaning.

(water bubbling)
(light dramatic music)

Around the Eyre Peninsula,
one of the biggest threats

from the water is these.

Great white sharks.

Attracted seasonally by the
cold currents and upwellings,

great whites have an
exceptional sense of smell.

They can detect a sea lion colony

from three kilometers away.

Though many of these
great whites will travel

further north from time to time,

the Great Australian Bight
appears to be a home range.

They'll keep returning to the
same southern hotspots here,

where these sea lion
colonies are most active.

(light dramatic music)

As the massive supercontinent of Gondwana

began to break up, the
landmass of New Zealand

drifted north from Antarctica.

Its island status became complete
some 20 million years ago.

Australia and New Zealand are separated

by just over 2,000 kilometers of ocean.

Vestiges of Gondwanaland
can be found today

in New Zealand rock fossils dated at more

than 500 million years old.

Now two islands, the nation
sits on the southern outskirts

of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

A large horseshoe-shaped
area of geological hotspots

that encircles the Pacific Ocean.

(water splashing)

New Zealand straddles two tectonic plates

constantly grinding up against each other.

(wind rustling)
(birds chirping)

The result is a number
of active volcanoes,

earthquakes, and seismic activity.

Thermal areas of hot
springs and geysers of mud.

(bubbling)

There are more than 360
glaciers in the Southern Alps.

Areas where snow remains year round

and compacts into large masses of ice.

(birds chirping)

Vast tracks of mixed evergreen forest

line mountain ranges that
segue into alpine regions

of minus 10 degrees.

Some of the species here
hint of the former connection

to our southernmost continent.

Sharing similarities with
Antarctic plant fossils.

However, its prolonged
isolation means almost

9/10 of New Zealand
mountian forest species

are found nowhere else on earth.

(light music)

Another clue to its
ancient land connections

remains in its fauna.

This reptile, not seen
elsewhere on the planet,

for 60 million years.

The tuatara is the sole
survivor of an order of reptiles

that thrived alongside dinosaurs.

Unlike most other coldblooded reptiles,

the tuatara regulates its own body heat

to allow it to survive
temperatures just above freezing.

Parrots have also learned
to adapt to the cold here.

The kea is the world's
only mountain parrot.

It lives in the southern alpines.

At around a kilogram in weight,

its New Zealand's largest endemic bird

with a gift of flight.

(branches rustling)

This parrot, the kakapo, is
twice as large but cannot fly.

Like the kiwi, weka, and
many other New Zealand birds,

his pectoral muscles lost
the ability long ago.

It's a pattern that is
played out on a number

of large islands isolated
by seas around the world.

Where there are very few
land-based mammal predators,

many bird species lose the need to fly.

(light music)

Some have learned to compromise.

Floating on water uses
less energy than flight.

Inland, on the south island's Oreti River,

thousands of black billed gulls descend

on the banks at winter's end.

These gulls are here to nest,

and they do so right on the
pathways of the dry riverbeds.

Now only found on this island,

the birds are thought to
have arrived from Australia

some 250,000 years ago.

Today, they're distinguished
from their relatives

by their dark beaks and are
thought to be less noisy.

(birds squawking)

Though, in nesting season,

it appears to be a less valid claim.

These colonies can swell
into the tens of thousands.

The black billed gulls fish
from the nearby estuary

and catch insects from surrounding fields

to bring back to their young.

The chicks have a small window of time

to grow and strengthen.

The nests must be abandoned by February

before the heavy rainfall sets
in, swells the riverbanks,

and floods the nesting areas
with torrents of water.

(water splashing)
(light music)

Across New Zealand's south island,

other new arrivals have just been born

on the rock walls of Otago Peninsula.

New Zealand fur seals.

Like sea lions, this is an eared seal.

The eared seals share many similarities.

Both prefer rocky shoreline
to raise their young,

and have highly developed front flippers

to maneuver well across rocks.

However, fur seals have
longer hind flippers

to help them balance while grooming.

They need to maintain
their luxurious coats.

The fur is much thicker.

It keeps them warm rather
than the thick inner layer

of blubber in other seals.

(seals barking)

Fur seal pups also have
noticeable differences;

ears that stick straight
out, and much larger eyes.

Female fur seals spend much
of their life pregnant.

Within a week of giving birth,

they mate and conceive once again.

Creating a new life, whilst
nursing another, is demanding.

The females must keep
heading to sea to feed.

As a mother leaves, she
communicates with her pup.

(squawking)

They are practicing for her return.

These vocalizations are
a unique identity code.

In a large colony like Otago Peninsula,

it won't be easy for this mother

to spot her pup when she returns.

(water splashing)

Her first fishing
expeditions after birthing

will be less than an hour.

Then stretch out to days
as the pup gets older.

(light music)

For the pups, the time left alone ashore

while their mother hunts is important.

They explore the seaweed-lined
walls of Otago's peninsula,

slowly building up their
muscles and learning

to use their rotating front
flippers for rock climbing.

These are the smallest of all seals,

which will eventually afford
them a degree of dexterity

to climb to their breeding colonies.

Even at this early age of
just a couple of weeks,

the pups pair up and begin sparring.

The playful jousting, nipping at necks,

is practice for the years ahead.

The adult males will exert
their dominance over the herd

with forceful neck bites.

Playtime is over the instant
they hear their mother's call.

(barking)

The pups responds with the vocalization

they have rehearsed.

(barking)

(light music)

The female also sniffs the
pup as soon as it nears.

Fur seals have highly
developed smell receptors,

and she uses them to confirm
the pup is, indeed, her own.

They also have impressive memories.

As the young seal grows,
its vocalizations change

in pitch and length with
new additions to the sounds.

Studies indicate that while the mothers

learn each new variation,
they also retain memory

of the older calls as well.

These fur seal pups
will spend several weeks

on this New Zealand rock wall

until it's time to graduate
sea wood to ocean lessons.

(birds chirping)

Much of the landscape of New Zealand,

and the rest of the
Gondwana supercontinent,

was still covered by lush rainforest

as it came under great strain
during the Jurassic period.

(light music)

An initial rift around
180 million years ago

saw Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica

drift eastward way from
Africa and South America.

Eventually, these last two
landmasses completely divided

and became separated
by the Atlantic Ocean.

South America's western
coastline still bears

the scars of this rift in the form

of the immense mountain
range of the Andes.

These mountains still hold the remains

of the ancient continental links.

The discovery of common layers of rocks

found here and in certain mountain systems

on southern continents,
including Antarctica,

first spurred theories of Gondwanaland's

existence a century ago.

The Andes extends right
into South America's

southernmost tip.

There, it breaks into
an island chain region

called Tierra del Fuego,
which ends at Cape Horn.

The seas around Cape Horn have long held

a notorious reputation with mariners.

The Pacific Ocean collides
with the much saltier Atlantic.

Equatorial currents traveling south

meet the cold Antarctic
circumpolar current,

squeezing through Drake Passage.

Above the Antarctic circling
current, the roaring 40s.

Furious fast trade winds
at 40 degrees latitude

that force surface water
to whip up enormous waves.

It's a harsh environment
to sustain life forms.

But in Tierra del Fuego,
evolution's pathway

hasn't just come from
the cold polar region.

Species designed for much hotter climates

have found their way to
America's southernmost tip.

(waves crashing)

On Cape Horn beaches,
leatherback sea turtles

come ashore to nest.

(light music)

Leatherbacks are the largest
living turtle on the planet.

They can grow nearly two meters in length

and reach extraordinary
weights of 900 kilograms.

Sea turtles are usually found
in more tropical climates.

As a reptile, they depend
on warm surroundings

to regulate their internal body heat.

But leatherbacks have
a unique blood system

and vascular structure that
keeps their blood warm.

It means they can survive icy waters

where they don't have to compete for food

and space with other turtle species.

(birds chirping)

(light music)

Overlooking Tierra del Fuego's beaches

are the perpetually wet mountains

of one of the world's
greatest ranges; the Andes.

Here, a wild form of llama, the guanaco,

has descended from the arid
Atacama Desert of Northern Chile

to live in the elevated
Alps of the ranges south.

Guanacos are closely related to camels.

They share long eyelashes to protect

their eyes from sandstorms.

Here, the lashes keep
out the driving snow.

Both animals also have padded toes

to help them negotiate
rocky mountain trails.

Guanacos are covered
in a thick wooly coat,

and in the front and rear flanks,

are patches that essentially
act as thermal windows.

These are thin areas of
wool that can regulate

their body temperature.

Depending on which way the animal sits

in relation to the wind direction,

these patches can help warm
up, or cool down, their blood.

(wind whistling)

(light music)

Vultures are also more typically
associated with deserts.

But here, on the America's southern tip,

one has adapted to take advantage

of the notorious roaring 40s winds.

The Andean condor is very
heavy for a flying bird.

It can weigh up to 15
kilograms; larger than a coyote.

To lift such a heavy mass,

condors have developed
an enormous wingspan

nearly three meters across.

However, they still need
a little further help

to sustain long distance flight.

At Tierra del Fuego,
the condors have founded

thermal air currents.

Soaring into the powerful air currents

allows the large bird to
cruise with minimal energy.

In this way, it can coast without the need

to constantly use pectoral
muscles for wing flapping.

These thermal currents are strongest

in areas where high
altitude mountain ranges

come into contact with oceanic breezes.

And along the South American tip,

nearly 9,000 kilometers of
the Andes Mountain ranges,

meets one of the world's
strongest trade winds.

It's a merger of geography shaped

by continental shift eons ago.

(whooshing)

Antarctica's freeze over began with

its separation from Africa more
than 300 million years ago.

With its final riff from Australia,

it became an icy forest.

And for the last 15 million years,

a frozen desert under
a thick sheet of ice.

Each winter, Antarctica's
ice kingdom swells in size

as the very sea around it also freezes.

The summer retreating of ice
leaves broken, unstable sheets

and many South Poler animals now live out

a large part of their lifecycles

in this terrain of two worlds;
terrestrial and marine.

(light music)

Weddell seals are the most southern

breeding mammal on Earth.

A true seal, meaning they are earless

and don't have developed
forelimbs to walk on land.

Weddells prefer to wriggle
onto drifting pack ice.

They rarely migrate,
spending winter under the ice

chewing breathing holes
through the floating platforms

with canine-like teeth.

As the sheet ice melts
in the warming months,

it breaks up into ice
flows kilometers across.

These flows breakdown
again into ice cakes.

The name given to small
sheets just meters wide.

Weddells scramble aboard
the drifting platforms,

taking refuge out of the water

from one of their few predators.

(light dramatic music)
(water splashing)

Orcas.

They, too, rarely migrate
unless it's to follow

polar pathways to richer feeding grounds.

Orcas live in tightly-knit family groups.

Each pod develops a unique
culture of communication,

diet, and hunting techniques handed down

through the generations.

A female leader determines
where their pod goes

to hunt each season.

Some will voyage to distant beaches.

Others remain around
the Antarctic continent.

Here, the orcas have honed

a very particular hunting technique.

If they spot an ice cake adrift,

the orcas will begin to spy hop.

They orient their massive
bodies vertically.

Despite weighing several
thousand kilograms,

with powerful kicks of their tail fluke,

the orcas can propel their
heads well above the waterline.

This way, they can see if there's

a potential prey target on board.

(light dramatic music)
(water splashing)

But the orcas are doing more
than just looking above.

With each spy hop, the
orcas aren't only sizing

up the target, but the
ice cake the seal is upon.

Each head bob allows a mental calculation.

How big is the ice sheet?

What shape is it?

Where is the seal balanced
in relation to it?

As more pod members close in,

the ice cake platform becomes

less stable for a resting seal.

An orca takes one last look at the seal

on the remaining piece of
ice for a final estimate

before the pod launches
its first wave of attack.

(water splashing)

(dramatic music)

In the deep Antarctic,
the orcas have learned

to hunt using waves.

In a small group side-by-side,

they charge at the ice sheet with speed

before diving sharply.

(water bubbling)

The group's combined
movement creates a wave

and pushes it with full force at the ice.

(water splashing)
(dramatic music)

The seal's flippers are
equipped with sharp claws.

It tries desperately to hang on

and knows it has precious seconds to claw

its way back to the center
after a wave has passed.

(water splashing)

But each charge is a new
calculation for the orca pack.

And each new wave surges larger
and with deadly accuracy.

It's just a matter of
time for the ice sheet,

or the seal, is worn down.

(water bubbling)

(dramatic music)

The lone weddell seal
finally loses its grip.

Now in the orcas' domain,

the seal is in for the fight of its life.

It frantically tries
to see where the attack

from below will come from.

The orcas move in, still waiting to get

a final measure before striking.

In an instant, both
animals turn and sprint.

Just as the seal reaches
the lip of the ice

to once again scramble above,
the orca grabs it from below.

But its tooth gripped
on a flipper isn't firm.

The seal momentarily escapes.

It takes refuge in a submerged ice hole

bleeding from the attack.

Hemmed in by ice on one
side and orcas on the other,

the weddell frantically
looks for an escape route.

As the pod turns away to build
speed for a final attack,

the seal seizes its brief chance.

(water splashing)

The weddell scrambles
aboard a small ice cake.

Battered and exhausted,
it has somehow survived

an attack from all sides
from an entire orca pod.

Orcas are a global species

but have learned to adapt
their hunting technique

to the region they live in.

Chasing fur seals up beaches of Argentina.

Surrounding baby humpbacks
migrating off Australia.

And targeting great white sharks drawn

to South Africa's southern cape
for the winter sardine run.

They now touch upon each of the continents

Antarctica itself once did.

Seemingly, at Earth's very end,

this frozen land was
once a thriving epicenter

of flora and fauna.

Fossils remain and spores
persist within the ice itself.

On land and in the surrounding water,

life forms have adapted to
the cold anew and thrived.

And they continue to find ways back

to the southern continents that

were all once connected as one.

(light dramatic music)

(whooshing)