Original subtitles

(dramatic music)

Sometimes called the biggest island on Earth,

Australia is a subcontinent of incredible diversity,

beauty, danger,

and downright weirdness.

From coast to coast, it's a rich tapestry of landscapes,

and hiding in each,

the wacky and wonderful iconic creatures

that make Australia so unique.

Australia's known for its sun-kissed beaches,

a tropical paradise for babes in bathing suits,

but the continent is so much more.

It's a vast landmass the same size as the United States,

and yet 90% of its human population

is gathered along stretches of coast,

leaving endless tracts of wilderness.

This hidden Australia

seems to offer a surprise at every turn.

It's 4,000 kilometers from coast to coast,

and made up of a patchwork of contrasting landscapes.

Tropical rainforest.

Snow-capped mountains.

Dry woodland.

Giant wetlands.

Tropical reefs.

And hostile desert.

The continent also boasts

the world's most unique and bizarre wildlife commodities.

Some species are iconic, like the huge red kangaroo,

or the much-loved teddy bear-like koala.

But throughout this colossal kingdom, diversity reigns.

80% of the animals and plants here are unique,

and found nowhere else on Earth,

from ancient egg-laying mammals,

giant birds, and pouched marsupials

to a plethora of deadly reptiles,

many of which are downright weird.

80 million years ago, the world had just one supercontinent.

(eerie music)

But Australia broke away, floating off in isolation,

and allowing evolution to take its own unique path.

Mammals didn't quite achieve

the same level of domination here as the rest of the world.

Australia is ruled by reptiles.

A typical Aussie, basking in the sun,

scaly and coldblooded.

At dawn, his chilly limbs can be a bit sluggish,

but it doesn't take long to warm up in the desert.

Time for breakfast, but he's not dining alone.

Australia boasts 21 of the world's 25 most venomous snakes,

and this is one of the most deadly.

(tense music)

The eastern brown

is said to be the second most venomous snake,

responsible for 60% of Australia's fatal snakebites.

This morning, it wants bearded lizard for breakfast.

On this continent of monsters,

it can be hard to spot which is the top predator.

The hunting snake has become a target

to an even bigger predator.

The perentie.

A slightly smaller cousin of the Komodo dragon,

2 1/2 meters top to tail,

with a mouth of razor-sharp teeth and dagger claws,

and a biological weapon to boot.

Its mouth contains a venom of its own.

It's not as deadly as the snake's,

but with its combined size and arsenal,

it will try and subdue pretty much any prey.

The snake must flee for its life.

It needs cover.

A burrow.

But perentie claws are ideal for digging.

Backed into a corner, the snake goes on the defensive,

ready to strike.

A bite to the face could do serious damage.

The perentie decides it isn't worth the risk,

and goes in search of easier prey.

This reptile realm is classic Australia, the Outback.

(somber guitar music)

A landscape that inspires dreams of freedom,

vast horizons, and ancient cultures.

Outback is the term affectionately used

for the remote Australian interior,

the back of beyond.

6 1/2 million square kilometers

that show little sign of human settlement.

At its heart, the Red Center,

punctuated by Uluru, the spectacular Ayers Rock.

Though it rises 350 meters above the desert,

Uluru is the tip of the iceberg.

It's just the peak of a mountain range

now buried beneath the sand.

(peaceful music)

The surrounding plains offer a classic view of Oz,

vast, open, hostile, and hot.

(birds screeching)

There's very little water.

Any tiny trickle brings visitors from far and wide

to quench their thirst.

(bugs buzzing)

Red kangaroos and colorful galahs barely bat an eyelid

when an emu leads its family for a drink.

(birds chirping)

This childminder is a single dad.

With Australia's biggest birds,

it's always the male that raises the humbug-striped young.

Water is a precious commodity that the chicks clearly enjoy.

(birds chirping)

Much of the desert

gets less than 50 centimeters of rain a year,

(thunder booms)

but when it does come, landscapes can be transformed.

Pools of water stage natural spectacles,

such as the gathering of 100,000 budgies.

(dramatic music) (birds chirping)

Usually the colorful little parrots

are spread throughout the desert in small groups.

But somehow, all seem to sense rainfall and flock together.

Any mass of life attracts predators.

The whirling masses swirl like shoals of fish,

and for the same reason, to confuse predators,

their best chance of safely getting a drink.

(tense music)

But aerial experts are hot on their tails.

Black kites and whistling falcons take aim.

And fire,

launching themselves talons first into the moving flock.

They don't hit every time,

but persistence pays off.

A few of the budgies are injured by the predators,

or even just hurt by the sheer numbers

of their flockmates crashing into them.

But nothing goes to waste.

This is the easy meal the huge perentie was looking for.

To him, it's a mere snack.

But to scavenging ants,

the bird's body is a mountain of food.

They dismantle it and ship it back to their nest,

one jawful at a time.

(gentle music)

These tiny citizens of the Outback

have a unique food larder.

They are honeypot ants.

Some of the workers from the colony

are born to the role of food storage.

The other ants feed them,

and the nutrients are stored as a rich honey

in their engorged abdomens.

(dramatic music)

When food is scarce, the colony can come to the larder,

stroke the honeypots' antennae for permission to eat,

and then sip at regurgitated honey.

Having a subterranean home

protects the colony from the elements,

and from most predators.

But not this one.

(playful music)

Uniquely Aussie, there's nothing else on Earth

quite like the echidna.

Looking like a cross between a hedgehog and an anteater,

it's a creature that's barely changed

since the time of the dinosaurs.

Mammals evolved from reptiles, and like their ancestors,

the early forms still laid eggs,

a trait only found in two mammals today,

both of which live in Australia.

Also like a reptile,

the echidna has a very low body temperature.

It's performance-enhanced by the warm weather,

but it's fast and agile enough

to wreak havoc on the homes of ants and termites.

Digging with its muscular shoulders and stout claws,

its long, sensitive beak

houses a nearly 20-centimeter tongue

that laps up its tiny, but numerous, prey.

It can consume 20 grams of bugs a minute

with 100 flicks of its tongue.

Ants are one of the few abundant food resources

in the heart of Australia,

one of the most challenging environments on Earth,

(peaceful music)

but a far cry from the home of the echidna's one cousin.

The northeast of Australia seems a world apart.

More than 3 1/2 million hectares of tropical rainforest.

In quiet pools and streams, one of the most famous,

and yet shy and elusive creatures lives.

The platypus.

It's such a bizarre little creature

that scientists thought the first specimens were fakes,

ducks' beaks glued onto stuffed beavers.

But the platypus is real.

Like the echidna, it represents one of the earliest branches

of the mammal family tree.

Today the two oddities are the only mammals

to lay eggs and have beaks.

And as if it couldn't get any weirder,

this male platypus has venomous spines on its back legs

that pack enough punch to kill a dog.

(birds calling)

The spurs allow males to fight for territory

and breeding rights.

This one's territory is teeming with aquatic creatures,

worms, crayfish, and other goodies,

and he hunts them using electroreception, like a shark.

His beak has 40,000 electroreceptors,

paws that can detect the tiny pulses of life.

So even though his eyes are closed in folds of skin,

he can sense his way.

But he needs to be careful.

(tense music)

A monster stalks Australia's waterways.

The largest predator in any freshwater system,

and the biggest reptile on Earth,

the saltwater crocodile.

It's a long distance traveler that can cross land,

and even oceans, to find new habitat.

And with the strongest bite force on the planet,

it can eat just about anything.

Fortunately, the speedy platypus

can sneak away to its burrow.

The odd little animal is safe for now.

(lively music)

There's no doubt about it, Australia's wildlife is weird.

Even the birds are batty.

(bird squawks)

In the trees overhead,

a riflebird performs an elaborate dance

to try and attract a mate.

(birds chirping)

Another feathered Casanova

tries to sing its way to a female's heart.

(bird sings)

(beak clicks)

The superb lyrebird first clears his stage,

then unfurls his dramatic costume.

(bird chirping)

Let the performance begin.

(bird chirping)

He's a master mimic, copying and remixing the calls

of all other inhabitants of the forest.

(bird chirping)

Lyrebirds have even been known to mimic chainsaws,

camera shutters, and trucks.

(bird beeps)

He seems to be doing his best "Star Wars" impression.

(bird chirping)

The richness of plant species provides well

for Australia's amazing bird diversity.

(peaceful music) (birds chirping)

Of more than 800 species, half are only found here.

Many are tempted out when trees produce their fruit.

Among them, a dinosaur.

Or at least, once of their descendants.

All birds are living dinosaurs,

but few represent their ancestry more than cassowaries.

The huge birds have given up flight,

and patrol the forest floor,

often considered the most dangerous birds,

because of Velociraptor-like claws on their feet

that can be unleashed on any threat.

Cassowaries seem to be attracted

to the same colors in each other as in their favorite foods,

though who knows whom mimics who?

And it's not just surfers who enjoy Australia's beaches.

(waves crashing)

Fortunately for the beachcombing cassowaries,

the rainforest stretches right down to the sand

on much of the northeastern coast.

(somber music)

20% of Australia is forested,

but most isn't rainforest.

It's dry eucalyptus, the famous gum tree.

There are 700 different kinds of eucalyptus.

All of them are fast-growing,

and with adaptations to cope with fierce fires

that often rip through the bush.

But the most famous property of the iconic Aussie

is its scent.

The fragrance comes from a chemical called cineole,

an extraordinary oil in the leaves that has antibacterial,

antiseptic, and antifungal properties,

something known by Aboriginal people,

who have used it in medicine for thousands of years.

But the rest of the world has been quick to follow.

The plant contains this wonder drug in self-defense.

High levels of cineole are toxic,

making them a good insect repellent for the trees.

Almost nothing can eat them,

apart from the most loved of all Australians, koalas.

From a distance, they're cute and cuddly,

but up close, armed with sharp and powerful claws.

And they need them to clamber around the canopy.

They don't just have one opposable thumb on each hand,

but two, ideal for gripping branches and pulling in leaves.

(majestic music)

They're able to deal with the eucalyptus thanks to a caecum,

part of the gut, that's uniquely elongated.

There's two meters of it curled up in a koala's belly.

It's full of bacteria that breaks down the cineole

and detoxes their diet.

They munch through a kilo a day,

but can still only extract about 25% of the nutrients

in the fibrous leaves.

To make up for a poor diet,

they save energy by sleeping

(playful music)

for up to 18 hours a day.

This little one's just getting to grips

with his life in the trees.

Like most Australian mammals, he's a marsupial,

and so spent the first six months of his life

in his mother's pouch.

For the next six months,

he'll hitch a ride on her back

while he's learning the ropes.

(gentle music)

Though not many animals can eat the eucalyptus,

the tall trees are shelter to a huge variety of creatures.

One of Australia's most loved birds nests in the understory.

Superb fairy wrens.

They live in social bands,

with a breeding pair and a few other female helpers.

And although they pair for life,

they also have lovers on the side.

It makes it hard for the fathers

to keep track of which eggs are theirs,

so several might help raise a brood.

(birds chirping)

They sing to the eggs and chicks

to help the young to recognize their parents

from the get-go.

For two weeks, the multiple parents,

be they blood relatives or not,

ferry food to the young.

But the activity is risky.

It can draw attention to the nest.

(bird squawking)

Eucalyptus trees also make perfect perches

for predatory kookaburras.

The biggest of all kingfishers,

the sharp-eyed hunters will launch an attack

on any small animals

that will succumb to their powerful, spear-like beaks.

(tense music)

Fortunately, these ones are fixated on other prey.

Insects hide in the bark of the eucalyptus,

and the branches make great lookouts

to peer into streams for yabbies, local crayfish,

allowing the kookaburras to show off their inner kingfisher.

(bird calling)

(wind whistles)

The areas around eucalyptus are known simply as the bush.

Basically, anything that's dry,

but not dry enough to be desert.

Bush teems with wildlife, but you wouldn't know it.

(birds chirping)

With the sun bearing down by day,

most wildlife only emerges during the cool of night.

Eucalyptus trees attract many nightly visitors.

Huge fruit bats are attracted

to the tree's petalless flowers.

(insects chirping)

They are joined by a feathertail glider,

one of the smallest marsupials.

Sugar gliders swoop in.

(eerie music)

Yellow-bellied gliders and feathertails

have beaten them to it.

All use their sharp teeth to tap into the tree bark.

The gum tree's gum, its sap, makes an energy-rich drink.

After a heavy night on the town,

the partygoers retreat as the first rays of sun appear.

(tense music)

The bush will quickly heat up.

Fruit bats assemble in vast roosts.

Sometimes branches collapse because of the sheer weight

of bats clambering for a good perch.

(bats screeching)

By night, they were eating fruit and nectar,

making them some of the most important

creatures in the forest.

The nectar munching moves pollen from plant to plant,

fertilizing, and as they fly between trees,

they poop out seeds from the fruit they've consumed,

helping the trees to spread their offspring far and wide.

They also produce a lot of dung

that fertilizes the ground beneath.

But having finished their nocturnal duties, they hang.

A time to socialize, squabble,

and groom their delicate wings.

(bats screeching)

Some of the females have babies clinging to their chests.

For nearly a month, they'll carry their babies with them

as they travel and feed.

But for now, they're wrapped in a leathery blanket,

ready for a daytime snooze.

There are leftovers from the midnight feast.

Sapsuckers, like noisy miners,

rainbow lorikeets,

and even butterflies take advantage

of the gliders' handiwork for a sugar-rich breakfast.

Eucalyptus dominates the bush.

(gentle music)

The dry scrubland seems to stretch forever,

its flatness offering huge horizons and open skies,

unless it's punctuated by rock.

The Flinders Ranges are South Australia's biggest mountains,

stretching over 400 kilometers, cutting the bush in two.

Standing more than 1,000 meters at their tallest,

the ancient rocks radically change

the characteristic flat skylines.

The Earth here has been buckled and folded in itself

repeatedly in the distant past.

At one time, the peaks would've been much grander,

but 540 million years of erosion have weathered them down.

The complicated geology has thrown up bizarre structures,

and none weirder than Wilpena Pound.

It looks like an ancient volcano,

but there was no lava here.

The crater was formed by folding of the Earth's surface,

two mountain ranges pushed together.

On top of the high country, there are no trees,

just barren scree.

In the Australian Alps at New South Wales,

there is just enough to support

this unusual little Australian fella.

(frogs croaking) (playful music)

The corroboree frog.

Its bold humbug outfit is to warn potential predators

that it's poisonous.

Other poisonous amphibians

get their tasty cocktail from their food,

but the corroboree generates its own.

This one has its eye on a spotted mountain grasshopper,

though up here, any bug is a welcome sight.

The little frogs are very fussy about where they live,

needing just the right amount of water, moss, and grasses.

They are one of the rarest creatures on Earth,

with just 200 survivors clinging on.

Still, they are tough.

They endure the winters of the Australian Alps.

These mountains, which extend 2,000 meters into the sky,

see surprisingly cold winters.

The Alps are part of the 3,000-kilometer

Great Dividing Range that splits Eastern Australia.

Mount Kosciuszko is Australia's highest peak.

Australia is often perceived as sun-lover's paradise,

but the mountains here get more snow

than the Alps of Europe.

It's not the obvious place to see a wombat.

(playful music)

But the classic Australian marsupial soldiers on.

Rocks are perhaps some of Australia's

most dramatic hidden treasures.

Some have stood the test of time,

while others show erosion in action.

(light music)

The Pinnacles stand in the deserts of Western Australia.

An army of three-meter sandstone towers

seem to stand to attention.

They are composed of crushed seashells

blown inland to form huge sand dunes

that were fossilized over time.

The damage caused by plant roots digging in,

and the weathering impact of rain,

has gradually eaten away around the pillars,

lowering the ground and leaving them standing proud.

Now they make tree substitutes

for galahs looking for somewhere to nest.

(tense music) (birds chirping)

(light music)

The Pinnacle pillars dwarf in significance

next to Australia's Twelve Apostles.

(somber music)

Pelicans get the best bird's-eye view.

The towering limestone cliffs of the South Coast

are constantly battered by the force of the Southern Ocean.

This is the sculptor

who has carved out the 50-meter pillars.

The biblical name used to fit,

because of the 12 figures towering above the waves.

One by one, the sea is claiming them.

Only seven remain.

Australia has 34,000 kilometers of coast,

the sixth longest coastline on Earth.

The Indian Ocean slides along the Western shores.

To the east, it's the warm South Pacific

that nurtures the famous Great Barrier Reef.

The largest coral reef system

stretches more than 2,000 kilometers along the coast.

But the pelicans make the southern shore their home.

Here the seas can be rough,

with storms from Antarctica riding the South Ocean

against the coast.

But those same cold seas bring nutrients

that cause the waters to teem with fish.

And once they've found a sheltered estuary,

the pelicans hunt,

working together in a pack to drive fish

into one another's expandable beaks.

Between the diverse coastlines

stretches one of Earth's most extraordinary continents,

its hidden treasures calling us to explore.

From unique rocks, to ancient rainforests,

to dinosaurs and dancing birds,

lethal reptiles and deadly deserts,

(dramatic music)

to some of the weirdest mammals on Earth.

To experience hidden Australia, you have to go bush.

Its natural treasures will have you hopping with joy.

(birds squawking)