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(dramatic music)
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Sometimes called the biggest island on Earth,
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Australia is a subcontinent of incredible diversity,
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beauty, danger,
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and downright weirdness.
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From coast to coast, it's a rich tapestry of landscapes,
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and hiding in each,
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the wacky and wonderful iconic creatures
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that make Australia so unique.
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Australia's known for its sun-kissed beaches,
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a tropical paradise for babes in bathing suits,
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but the continent is so much more.
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It's a vast landmass the same size as the United States,
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and yet 90% of its human population
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is gathered along stretches of coast,
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leaving endless tracts of wilderness.
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This hidden Australia
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seems to offer a surprise at every turn.
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It's 4,000 kilometers from coast to coast,
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and made up of a patchwork of contrasting landscapes.
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Tropical rainforest.
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Snow-capped mountains.
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Dry woodland.
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Giant wetlands.
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Tropical reefs.
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And hostile desert.
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The continent also boasts
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the world's most unique and bizarre wildlife commodities.
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Some species are iconic, like the huge red kangaroo,
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or the much-loved teddy bear-like koala.
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But throughout this colossal kingdom, diversity reigns.
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80% of the animals and plants here are unique,
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and found nowhere else on Earth,
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from ancient egg-laying mammals,
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giant birds, and pouched marsupials
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to a plethora of deadly reptiles,
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many of which are downright weird.
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80 million years ago, the world had just one supercontinent.
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(eerie music)
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But Australia broke away, floating off in isolation,
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and allowing evolution to take its own unique path.
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Mammals didn't quite achieve
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the same level of domination here as the rest of the world.
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Australia is ruled by reptiles.
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A typical Aussie, basking in the sun,
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scaly and coldblooded.
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At dawn, his chilly limbs can be a bit sluggish,
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but it doesn't take long to warm up in the desert.
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Time for breakfast, but he's not dining alone.
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Australia boasts 21 of the world's 25 most venomous snakes,
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and this is one of the most deadly.
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(tense music)
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The eastern brown
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is said to be the second most venomous snake,
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responsible for 60% of Australia's fatal snakebites.
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This morning, it wants bearded lizard for breakfast.
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On this continent of monsters,
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it can be hard to spot which is the top predator.
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The hunting snake has become a target
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to an even bigger predator.
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The perentie.
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A slightly smaller cousin of the Komodo dragon,
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2 1/2 meters top to tail,
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with a mouth of razor-sharp teeth and dagger claws,
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and a biological weapon to boot.
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Its mouth contains a venom of its own.
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It's not as deadly as the snake's,
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but with its combined size and arsenal,
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it will try and subdue pretty much any prey.
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The snake must flee for its life.
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It needs cover.
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A burrow.
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But perentie claws are ideal for digging.
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Backed into a corner, the snake goes on the defensive,
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ready to strike.
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A bite to the face could do serious damage.
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The perentie decides it isn't worth the risk,
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and goes in search of easier prey.
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This reptile realm is classic Australia, the Outback.
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(somber guitar music)
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A landscape that inspires dreams of freedom,
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vast horizons, and ancient cultures.
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Outback is the term affectionately used
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for the remote Australian interior,
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the back of beyond.
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6 1/2 million square kilometers
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that show little sign of human settlement.
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At its heart, the Red Center,
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punctuated by Uluru, the spectacular Ayers Rock.
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Though it rises 350 meters above the desert,
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Uluru is the tip of the iceberg.
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It's just the peak of a mountain range
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now buried beneath the sand.
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(peaceful music)
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The surrounding plains offer a classic view of Oz,
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vast, open, hostile, and hot.
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(birds screeching)
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There's very little water.
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Any tiny trickle brings visitors from far and wide
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to quench their thirst.
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(bugs buzzing)
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Red kangaroos and colorful galahs barely bat an eyelid
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when an emu leads its family for a drink.
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(birds chirping)
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This childminder is a single dad.
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With Australia's biggest birds,
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it's always the male that raises the humbug-striped young.
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Water is a precious commodity that the chicks clearly enjoy.
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(birds chirping)
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Much of the desert
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gets less than 50 centimeters of rain a year,
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(thunder booms)
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but when it does come, landscapes can be transformed.
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Pools of water stage natural spectacles,
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such as the gathering of 100,000 budgies.
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(dramatic music)
(birds chirping)
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Usually the colorful little parrots
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are spread throughout the desert in small groups.
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But somehow, all seem to sense rainfall and flock together.
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Any mass of life attracts predators.
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The whirling masses swirl like shoals of fish,
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and for the same reason, to confuse predators,
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their best chance of safely getting a drink.
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(tense music)
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But aerial experts are hot on their tails.
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Black kites and whistling falcons take aim.
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And fire,
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launching themselves talons first into the moving flock.
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They don't hit every time,
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but persistence pays off.
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A few of the budgies are injured by the predators,
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or even just hurt by the sheer numbers
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of their flockmates crashing into them.
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But nothing goes to waste.
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This is the easy meal the huge perentie was looking for.
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To him, it's a mere snack.
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But to scavenging ants,
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the bird's body is a mountain of food.
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They dismantle it and ship it back to their nest,
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one jawful at a time.
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(gentle music)
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These tiny citizens of the Outback
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have a unique food larder.
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They are honeypot ants.
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Some of the workers from the colony
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are born to the role of food storage.
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The other ants feed them,
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and the nutrients are stored as a rich honey
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in their engorged abdomens.
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(dramatic music)
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When food is scarce, the colony can come to the larder,
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stroke the honeypots' antennae for permission to eat,
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and then sip at regurgitated honey.
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Having a subterranean home
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protects the colony from the elements,
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and from most predators.
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But not this one.
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(playful music)
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Uniquely Aussie, there's nothing else on Earth
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quite like the echidna.
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Looking like a cross between a hedgehog and an anteater,
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it's a creature that's barely changed
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since the time of the dinosaurs.
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Mammals evolved from reptiles, and like their ancestors,
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the early forms still laid eggs,
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a trait only found in two mammals today,
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both of which live in Australia.
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Also like a reptile,
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the echidna has a very low body temperature.
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It's performance-enhanced by the warm weather,
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but it's fast and agile enough
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to wreak havoc on the homes of ants and termites.
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Digging with its muscular shoulders and stout claws,
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its long, sensitive beak
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houses a nearly 20-centimeter tongue
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that laps up its tiny, but numerous, prey.
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It can consume 20 grams of bugs a minute
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with 100 flicks of its tongue.
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Ants are one of the few abundant food resources
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in the heart of Australia,
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one of the most challenging environments on Earth,
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(peaceful music)
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but a far cry from the home of the echidna's one cousin.
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The northeast of Australia seems a world apart.
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More than 3 1/2 million hectares of tropical rainforest.
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In quiet pools and streams, one of the most famous,
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and yet shy and elusive creatures lives.
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The platypus.
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It's such a bizarre little creature
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that scientists thought the first specimens were fakes,
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ducks' beaks glued onto stuffed beavers.
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But the platypus is real.
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Like the echidna, it represents one of the earliest branches
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of the mammal family tree.
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Today the two oddities are the only mammals
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to lay eggs and have beaks.
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And as if it couldn't get any weirder,
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this male platypus has venomous spines on its back legs
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that pack enough punch to kill a dog.
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(birds calling)
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The spurs allow males to fight for territory
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and breeding rights.
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This one's territory is teeming with aquatic creatures,
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worms, crayfish, and other goodies,
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and he hunts them using electroreception, like a shark.
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His beak has 40,000 electroreceptors,
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paws that can detect the tiny pulses of life.
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So even though his eyes are closed in folds of skin,
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he can sense his way.
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But he needs to be careful.
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(tense music)
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A monster stalks Australia's waterways.
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The largest predator in any freshwater system,
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and the biggest reptile on Earth,
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the saltwater crocodile.
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It's a long distance traveler that can cross land,
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and even oceans, to find new habitat.
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And with the strongest bite force on the planet,
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it can eat just about anything.
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Fortunately, the speedy platypus
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can sneak away to its burrow.
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The odd little animal is safe for now.
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(lively music)
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There's no doubt about it, Australia's wildlife is weird.
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Even the birds are batty.
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(bird squawks)
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In the trees overhead,
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a riflebird performs an elaborate dance
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to try and attract a mate.
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(birds chirping)
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Another feathered Casanova
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tries to sing its way to a female's heart.
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(bird sings)
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(beak clicks)
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The superb lyrebird first clears his stage,
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then unfurls his dramatic costume.
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(bird chirping)
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Let the performance begin.
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(bird chirping)
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He's a master mimic, copying and remixing the calls
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of all other inhabitants of the forest.
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(bird chirping)
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Lyrebirds have even been known to mimic chainsaws,
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camera shutters, and trucks.
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(bird beeps)
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He seems to be doing his best "Star Wars" impression.
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(bird chirping)
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The richness of plant species provides well
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for Australia's amazing bird diversity.
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(peaceful music)
(birds chirping)
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Of more than 800 species, half are only found here.
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Many are tempted out when trees produce their fruit.
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Among them, a dinosaur.
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Or at least, once of their descendants.
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All birds are living dinosaurs,
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but few represent their ancestry more than cassowaries.
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The huge birds have given up flight,
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and patrol the forest floor,
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often considered the most dangerous birds,
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because of Velociraptor-like claws on their feet
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that can be unleashed on any threat.
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Cassowaries seem to be attracted
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to the same colors in each other as in their favorite foods,
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though who knows whom mimics who?
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And it's not just surfers who enjoy Australia's beaches.
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(waves crashing)
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Fortunately for the beachcombing cassowaries,
268
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the rainforest stretches right down to the sand
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on much of the northeastern coast.
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(somber music)
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20% of Australia is forested,
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but most isn't rainforest.
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It's dry eucalyptus, the famous gum tree.
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There are 700 different kinds of eucalyptus.
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All of them are fast-growing,
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and with adaptations to cope with fierce fires
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that often rip through the bush.
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But the most famous property of the iconic Aussie
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is its scent.
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The fragrance comes from a chemical called cineole,
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an extraordinary oil in the leaves that has antibacterial,
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antiseptic, and antifungal properties,
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something known by Aboriginal people,
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who have used it in medicine for thousands of years.
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But the rest of the world has been quick to follow.
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The plant contains this wonder drug in self-defense.
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00:29:32,020 --> 00:29:34,500
High levels of cineole are toxic,
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making them a good insect repellent for the trees.
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Almost nothing can eat them,
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apart from the most loved of all Australians, koalas.
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00:29:51,020 --> 00:29:53,070
From a distance, they're cute and cuddly,
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00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:58,593
but up close, armed with sharp and powerful claws.
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00:30:02,260 --> 00:30:04,660
And they need them to clamber around the canopy.
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00:30:14,380 --> 00:30:17,480
They don't just have one opposable thumb on each hand,
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but two, ideal for gripping branches and pulling in leaves.
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(majestic music)
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00:30:28,970 --> 00:30:33,700
They're able to deal with the eucalyptus thanks to a caecum,
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part of the gut, that's uniquely elongated.
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00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:45,113
There's two meters of it curled up in a koala's belly.
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It's full of bacteria that breaks down the cineole
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00:30:49,530 --> 00:30:50,953
and detoxes their diet.
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00:30:55,100 --> 00:30:56,973
They munch through a kilo a day,
303
00:30:58,090 --> 00:31:02,090
but can still only extract about 25% of the nutrients
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00:31:02,090 --> 00:31:03,453
in the fibrous leaves.
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00:31:10,070 --> 00:31:12,070
To make up for a poor diet,
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00:31:12,070 --> 00:31:15,296
they save energy by sleeping
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(playful music)
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for up to 18 hours a day.
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00:31:36,870 --> 00:31:38,710
This little one's just getting to grips
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with his life in the trees.
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Like most Australian mammals, he's a marsupial,
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00:31:55,230 --> 00:31:57,690
and so spent the first six months of his life
313
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in his mother's pouch.
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00:32:01,100 --> 00:32:03,470
For the next six months,
315
00:32:03,470 --> 00:32:05,040
he'll hitch a ride on her back
316
00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:06,540
while he's learning the ropes.
317
00:32:09,575 --> 00:32:12,860
(gentle music)
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00:32:12,860 --> 00:32:15,503
Though not many animals can eat the eucalyptus,
319
00:32:16,590 --> 00:32:19,863
the tall trees are shelter to a huge variety of creatures.
320
00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:27,383
One of Australia's most loved birds nests in the understory.
321
00:32:30,210 --> 00:32:31,893
Superb fairy wrens.
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00:32:37,980 --> 00:32:39,890
They live in social bands,
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00:32:39,890 --> 00:32:42,833
with a breeding pair and a few other female helpers.
324
00:32:46,650 --> 00:32:48,930
And although they pair for life,
325
00:32:48,930 --> 00:32:50,630
they also have lovers on the side.
326
00:32:52,610 --> 00:32:54,240
It makes it hard for the fathers
327
00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:56,890
to keep track of which eggs are theirs,
328
00:32:56,890 --> 00:32:58,763
so several might help raise a brood.
329
00:33:00,425 --> 00:33:03,175
(birds chirping)
330
00:33:10,910 --> 00:33:13,630
They sing to the eggs and chicks
331
00:33:13,630 --> 00:33:15,830
to help the young to recognize their parents
332
00:33:15,830 --> 00:33:16,703
from the get-go.
333
00:33:23,610 --> 00:33:25,750
For two weeks, the multiple parents,
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00:33:25,750 --> 00:33:27,690
be they blood relatives or not,
335
00:33:27,690 --> 00:33:29,143
ferry food to the young.
336
00:33:34,580 --> 00:33:36,900
But the activity is risky.
337
00:33:36,900 --> 00:33:39,837
It can draw attention to the nest.
338
00:33:39,837 --> 00:33:43,240
(bird squawking)
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00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:46,320
Eucalyptus trees also make perfect perches
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00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:47,993
for predatory kookaburras.
341
00:33:50,750 --> 00:33:52,800
The biggest of all kingfishers,
342
00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:54,990
the sharp-eyed hunters will launch an attack
343
00:33:54,990 --> 00:33:56,620
on any small animals
344
00:33:56,620 --> 00:34:00,397
that will succumb to their powerful, spear-like beaks.
345
00:34:00,397 --> 00:34:02,897
(tense music)
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00:34:40,210 --> 00:34:43,723
Fortunately, these ones are fixated on other prey.
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00:34:45,330 --> 00:34:47,943
Insects hide in the bark of the eucalyptus,
348
00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:51,370
and the branches make great lookouts
349
00:34:51,370 --> 00:34:55,663
to peer into streams for yabbies, local crayfish,
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00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:59,600
allowing the kookaburras to show off their inner kingfisher.
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00:36:23,029 --> 00:36:25,612
(bird calling)
352
00:36:36,649 --> 00:36:39,316
(wind whistles)
353
00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:51,383
The areas around eucalyptus are known simply as the bush.
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00:36:52,490 --> 00:36:55,070
Basically, anything that's dry,
355
00:36:55,070 --> 00:36:56,783
but not dry enough to be desert.
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00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:02,253
Bush teems with wildlife, but you wouldn't know it.
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00:37:03,144 --> 00:37:05,894
(birds chirping)
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00:37:07,100 --> 00:37:09,510
With the sun bearing down by day,
359
00:37:09,510 --> 00:37:12,503
most wildlife only emerges during the cool of night.
360
00:37:15,160 --> 00:37:17,983
Eucalyptus trees attract many nightly visitors.
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00:37:20,100 --> 00:37:22,240
Huge fruit bats are attracted
362
00:37:22,240 --> 00:37:24,381
to the tree's petalless flowers.
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00:37:24,381 --> 00:37:27,298
(insects chirping)
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00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:39,320
They are joined by a feathertail glider,
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00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:40,870
one of the smallest marsupials.
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00:37:53,980 --> 00:37:56,602
Sugar gliders swoop in.
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00:37:56,602 --> 00:37:59,102
(eerie music)
368
00:38:18,620 --> 00:38:20,750
Yellow-bellied gliders and feathertails
369
00:38:20,750 --> 00:38:21,900
have beaten them to it.
370
00:38:25,790 --> 00:38:29,093
All use their sharp teeth to tap into the tree bark.
371
00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:39,723
The gum tree's gum, its sap, makes an energy-rich drink.
372
00:38:47,220 --> 00:38:49,160
After a heavy night on the town,
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the partygoers retreat as the first rays of sun appear.
374
00:38:53,189 --> 00:38:55,689
(tense music)
375
00:38:57,660 --> 00:38:59,263
The bush will quickly heat up.
376
00:39:03,380 --> 00:39:06,053
Fruit bats assemble in vast roosts.
377
00:39:08,420 --> 00:39:11,250
Sometimes branches collapse because of the sheer weight
378
00:39:11,250 --> 00:39:13,386
of bats clambering for a good perch.
379
00:39:13,386 --> 00:39:15,640
(bats screeching)
380
00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:18,560
By night, they were eating fruit and nectar,
381
00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:20,340
making them some of the most important
382
00:39:20,340 --> 00:39:21,693
creatures in the forest.
383
00:39:23,310 --> 00:39:26,530
The nectar munching moves pollen from plant to plant,
384
00:39:26,530 --> 00:39:30,360
fertilizing, and as they fly between trees,
385
00:39:30,360 --> 00:39:33,500
they poop out seeds from the fruit they've consumed,
386
00:39:33,500 --> 00:39:36,663
helping the trees to spread their offspring far and wide.
387
00:39:37,800 --> 00:39:39,740
They also produce a lot of dung
388
00:39:39,740 --> 00:39:41,823
that fertilizes the ground beneath.
389
00:39:43,200 --> 00:39:46,713
But having finished their nocturnal duties, they hang.
390
00:39:48,890 --> 00:39:52,163
A time to socialize, squabble,
391
00:39:53,860 --> 00:39:55,843
and groom their delicate wings.
392
00:39:56,818 --> 00:39:59,651
(bats screeching)
393
00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:03,683
Some of the females have babies clinging to their chests.
394
00:40:04,730 --> 00:40:07,760
For nearly a month, they'll carry their babies with them
395
00:40:07,760 --> 00:40:09,053
as they travel and feed.
396
00:40:10,220 --> 00:40:13,210
But for now, they're wrapped in a leathery blanket,
397
00:40:13,210 --> 00:40:14,893
ready for a daytime snooze.
398
00:40:20,410 --> 00:40:22,673
There are leftovers from the midnight feast.
399
00:40:26,450 --> 00:40:28,323
Sapsuckers, like noisy miners,
400
00:40:32,521 --> 00:40:33,421
rainbow lorikeets,
401
00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:40,010
and even butterflies take advantage
402
00:40:40,010 --> 00:40:43,993
of the gliders' handiwork for a sugar-rich breakfast.
403
00:40:46,350 --> 00:40:48,533
Eucalyptus dominates the bush.
404
00:40:49,621 --> 00:40:52,204
(gentle music)
405
00:40:53,770 --> 00:40:56,633
The dry scrubland seems to stretch forever,
406
00:40:59,220 --> 00:41:02,643
its flatness offering huge horizons and open skies,
407
00:41:06,630 --> 00:41:08,513
unless it's punctuated by rock.
408
00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:13,253
The Flinders Ranges are South Australia's biggest mountains,
409
00:41:14,670 --> 00:41:19,587
stretching over 400 kilometers, cutting the bush in two.
410
00:41:39,410 --> 00:41:42,810
Standing more than 1,000 meters at their tallest,
411
00:41:42,810 --> 00:41:44,810
the ancient rocks radically change
412
00:41:44,810 --> 00:41:46,763
the characteristic flat skylines.
413
00:41:49,030 --> 00:41:51,910
The Earth here has been buckled and folded in itself
414
00:41:51,910 --> 00:41:54,403
repeatedly in the distant past.
415
00:41:55,410 --> 00:41:59,040
At one time, the peaks would've been much grander,
416
00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:04,040
but 540 million years of erosion have weathered them down.
417
00:42:04,340 --> 00:42:08,620
The complicated geology has thrown up bizarre structures,
418
00:42:08,620 --> 00:42:12,260
and none weirder than Wilpena Pound.
419
00:42:12,260 --> 00:42:14,800
It looks like an ancient volcano,
420
00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:16,150
but there was no lava here.
421
00:42:17,180 --> 00:42:20,480
The crater was formed by folding of the Earth's surface,
422
00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:22,713
two mountain ranges pushed together.
423
00:42:33,550 --> 00:42:36,410
On top of the high country, there are no trees,
424
00:42:36,410 --> 00:42:37,833
just barren scree.
425
00:42:42,450 --> 00:42:45,400
In the Australian Alps at New South Wales,
426
00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:46,860
there is just enough to support
427
00:42:46,860 --> 00:42:49,006
this unusual little Australian fella.
428
00:42:49,006 --> 00:42:52,180
(frogs croaking)
(playful music)
429
00:42:52,180 --> 00:42:53,543
The corroboree frog.
430
00:42:54,990 --> 00:42:59,220
Its bold humbug outfit is to warn potential predators
431
00:42:59,220 --> 00:43:00,423
that it's poisonous.
432
00:43:03,660 --> 00:43:05,420
Other poisonous amphibians
433
00:43:05,420 --> 00:43:07,583
get their tasty cocktail from their food,
434
00:43:08,775 --> 00:43:10,625
but the corroboree generates its own.
435
00:43:12,030 --> 00:43:15,513
This one has its eye on a spotted mountain grasshopper,
436
00:43:18,550 --> 00:43:20,700
though up here, any bug is a welcome sight.
437
00:43:24,460 --> 00:43:27,480
The little frogs are very fussy about where they live,
438
00:43:27,480 --> 00:43:30,953
needing just the right amount of water, moss, and grasses.
439
00:43:32,870 --> 00:43:35,710
They are one of the rarest creatures on Earth,
440
00:43:35,710 --> 00:43:38,233
with just 200 survivors clinging on.
441
00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:42,153
Still, they are tough.
442
00:43:46,060 --> 00:43:48,443
They endure the winters of the Australian Alps.
443
00:43:51,570 --> 00:43:55,730
These mountains, which extend 2,000 meters into the sky,
444
00:43:55,730 --> 00:43:57,903
see surprisingly cold winters.
445
00:43:59,870 --> 00:44:02,310
The Alps are part of the 3,000-kilometer
446
00:44:02,310 --> 00:44:05,543
Great Dividing Range that splits Eastern Australia.
447
00:44:07,700 --> 00:44:11,163
Mount Kosciuszko is Australia's highest peak.
448
00:44:12,970 --> 00:44:16,680
Australia is often perceived as sun-lover's paradise,
449
00:44:16,680 --> 00:44:18,720
but the mountains here get more snow
450
00:44:18,720 --> 00:44:19,983
than the Alps of Europe.
451
00:44:21,540 --> 00:44:24,861
It's not the obvious place to see a wombat.
452
00:44:24,861 --> 00:44:27,528
(playful music)
453
00:44:30,041 --> 00:44:34,124
But the classic Australian marsupial soldiers on.
454
00:44:58,643 --> 00:45:00,380
Rocks are perhaps some of Australia's
455
00:45:00,380 --> 00:45:02,133
most dramatic hidden treasures.
456
00:45:04,270 --> 00:45:06,670
Some have stood the test of time,
457
00:45:06,670 --> 00:45:08,743
while others show erosion in action.
458
00:45:10,473 --> 00:45:12,973
(light music)
459
00:45:18,155 --> 00:45:22,822
The Pinnacles stand in the deserts of Western Australia.
460
00:45:25,230 --> 00:45:27,920
An army of three-meter sandstone towers
461
00:45:27,920 --> 00:45:29,603
seem to stand to attention.
462
00:45:33,290 --> 00:45:35,920
They are composed of crushed seashells
463
00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:38,620
blown inland to form huge sand dunes
464
00:45:38,620 --> 00:45:40,323
that were fossilized over time.
465
00:45:42,620 --> 00:45:45,680
The damage caused by plant roots digging in,
466
00:45:45,680 --> 00:45:47,770
and the weathering impact of rain,
467
00:45:47,770 --> 00:45:50,530
has gradually eaten away around the pillars,
468
00:45:50,530 --> 00:45:53,843
lowering the ground and leaving them standing proud.
469
00:45:57,380 --> 00:45:59,700
Now they make tree substitutes
470
00:45:59,700 --> 00:46:02,500
for galahs looking for somewhere to nest.
471
00:46:02,500 --> 00:46:07,500
(tense music)
(birds chirping)
472
00:46:22,459 --> 00:46:24,959
(light music)
473
00:46:29,650 --> 00:46:32,890
The Pinnacle pillars dwarf in significance
474
00:46:32,890 --> 00:46:35,626
next to Australia's Twelve Apostles.
475
00:46:35,626 --> 00:46:38,209
(somber music)
476
00:46:40,970 --> 00:46:43,463
Pelicans get the best bird's-eye view.
477
00:46:45,130 --> 00:46:48,160
The towering limestone cliffs of the South Coast
478
00:46:48,160 --> 00:46:51,203
are constantly battered by the force of the Southern Ocean.
479
00:46:52,330 --> 00:46:54,200
This is the sculptor
480
00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:56,483
who has carved out the 50-meter pillars.
481
00:46:57,960 --> 00:47:00,150
The biblical name used to fit,
482
00:47:00,150 --> 00:47:02,803
because of the 12 figures towering above the waves.
483
00:47:04,060 --> 00:47:07,390
One by one, the sea is claiming them.
484
00:47:07,390 --> 00:47:08,703
Only seven remain.
485
00:47:13,040 --> 00:47:16,653
Australia has 34,000 kilometers of coast,
486
00:47:18,250 --> 00:47:20,863
the sixth longest coastline on Earth.
487
00:47:23,860 --> 00:47:26,793
The Indian Ocean slides along the Western shores.
488
00:47:29,510 --> 00:47:32,300
To the east, it's the warm South Pacific
489
00:47:32,300 --> 00:47:34,673
that nurtures the famous Great Barrier Reef.
490
00:47:38,610 --> 00:47:40,440
The largest coral reef system
491
00:47:40,440 --> 00:47:43,653
stretches more than 2,000 kilometers along the coast.
492
00:47:54,530 --> 00:47:57,403
But the pelicans make the southern shore their home.
493
00:48:00,550 --> 00:48:02,410
Here the seas can be rough,
494
00:48:02,410 --> 00:48:05,280
with storms from Antarctica riding the South Ocean
495
00:48:05,280 --> 00:48:06,243
against the coast.
496
00:48:07,270 --> 00:48:10,030
But those same cold seas bring nutrients
497
00:48:10,030 --> 00:48:12,303
that cause the waters to teem with fish.
498
00:48:21,905 --> 00:48:24,150
And once they've found a sheltered estuary,
499
00:48:24,150 --> 00:48:25,363
the pelicans hunt,
500
00:48:28,050 --> 00:48:30,120
working together in a pack to drive fish
501
00:48:30,120 --> 00:48:32,343
into one another's expandable beaks.
502
00:48:39,870 --> 00:48:41,860
Between the diverse coastlines
503
00:48:41,860 --> 00:48:45,283
stretches one of Earth's most extraordinary continents,
504
00:48:46,670 --> 00:48:49,193
its hidden treasures calling us to explore.
505
00:48:50,460 --> 00:48:54,463
From unique rocks, to ancient rainforests,
506
00:48:55,360 --> 00:48:58,523
to dinosaurs and dancing birds,
507
00:49:00,800 --> 00:49:04,904
lethal reptiles and deadly deserts,
508
00:49:04,904 --> 00:49:07,640
(dramatic music)
509
00:49:07,640 --> 00:49:09,723
to some of the weirdest mammals on Earth.
510
00:49:10,970 --> 00:49:15,970
To experience hidden Australia, you have to go bush.
511
00:49:16,090 --> 00:49:19,713
Its natural treasures will have you hopping with joy.
512
00:49:21,005 --> 00:49:23,838
(birds squawking)
39043
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