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(dramatic music)
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Mountains define
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our most spectacular landscapes.
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As they climb, the changing altitude results
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in a mosaic of dramatic habitats,
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teeming with incredible wildlife.
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(birds screeching)
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Often used as political borders,
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these giants even control the weather.
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(thunder rumbling)
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Mountains are crucial to life,
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providing most of the world's fresh water,
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housing unique and often extremely rare plants and animals
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and providing a home to one in 10 people.
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(dramatic music)
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It's no wonder mountains are considered sacred,
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the top of the world, and a gateway to the heavens
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It takes a lot to move mountains,
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but these ancient giants are in constant flux.
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The planet's greatest forces are constantly at work,
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building up and slowly taking down
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our most dramatic skylines.
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(suspenseful music)
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There are two main ways that mountains are born.
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(volcano rumbling)
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Volcanoes literally blow up the earth's surface
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Chucking magma, liquid rock, from the earth's searing core.
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As it cools, it hardens.
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The mounds can be thrown up quickly and violently,
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(volcano rumbling)
(dramatic music)
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or gradually added for eons.
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Some of the most iconic cone-shaped mountains are born
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of the earth's fire.
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Like Ol Doinyo Lengai,
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whose plumes of ash enrich the grasslands of the Serengeti.
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(awe-inspiring music)
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Or Mount Fuji,
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the unmistakable backdrop to Tokyo.
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Many volcanoes around the world are still active,
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including four in Italy.
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Mount Etna is Europe's highest and most active volcano
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that has been both feared and worshiped
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by humans for thousands of years.
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(birds chirping)
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And one of the world's most active volcanoes
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is just a stone's throw away.
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Stromboli.
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(dramatic music)
(volcano rumbling)
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With daily eruptions,
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the molten lava can literally make the sea boil.
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Fish and octopus here play Russian roulette
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with the Earth's fury.
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Molten rocks boil marine life.
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And in the aftermath, they dash in to clear up the spoils
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before the next eruption.
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We often celebrate Everest as the tallest mountain on earth,
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but there is another.
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The tallest peak by far is Mauna Kea
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on the island of Hawaii.
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4,000 meters stands proud above the ocean,
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(dramatic music)
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but it's the tip of the iceberg.
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(waves whooshing)
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This volcano built up from the seabed.
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We can only see the exposed summit, but from top to bottom,
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this biggest of volcanoes is 10,200 meters tall,
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more than 1300 meters taller than Everest
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Everest, of course, is part of the Himalayas,
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the crowning glory of mountains,
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but one with totally different origins.
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The earth's surface is made up of giant tectonic plates,
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vast sections of the earth's crust
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that constantly slide around on their bed of molten lava.
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The movement is constant and barely noticeable,
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but can sometimes have dramatic consequences.
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(suspenseful music)
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When two plates collide,
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they fold and buckle,
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like the bonnet of a car in a head-on collision
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Whole mountain ranges can be thrust into the sky.
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Some of the youngest, most jagged, and dramatic ranges
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have been formed this way.
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(awe-inspiring music)
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The Alps,
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America's Rockies,
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and the magnificent Andes.
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(birds chirping)
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(crow caws)
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Mountains don't only form where plates meet.
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There can also be fault lines,
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rifts and tears within the plate itself,
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where friction has pushed up the Harz Mountains of Germany.
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(dramatic music)
(woman vocalizing)
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The African Rift Valley,
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and California's Sierra Nevada.
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There are also dome mountains
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where magma builds underground, pushing up the land,
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but never actually eroding.
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Like the famous Half Dome in Yosemite.
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(dramatic music)
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Bobcats and coyotes hunt on the valley floor,
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but Half Dome offers safer lookouts for marmots,
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the ultimate rock climbing rodents.
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And pika, mini rabbits that hide out in the rocks.
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And plateaus where plate tectonics have pushed up a plate,
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but without it buckling.
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These areas are high, but fairly flat.
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The biggest of these is the Tibetan Plateau in Central Asia,
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which is four times bigger than the state of Texas
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Animals roam across this vast area,
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undertaking huge animal migrations
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that are just as impressive as on the plains of Africa.
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(falls whooshing)
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In terms of the age of our planet,
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some mountains are babies.
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You can spot these newcomers.
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Their peaks are jagged,
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not yet eroded down by the elements.
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The Tetons in Wyoming are a mere 10 million years old.
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Whereas on the other side of the United States,
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the Appalachian Mountains are ancient
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They may be a billion years old.
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Over millennia, wind and water have eroded them down,
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rounding them off into a series of rolling ranges
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without a jagged peak in sight.
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They have been like this for a long time
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and are blanketed in ancient, old growth forest.
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They are so old that the world they grew up in
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would be unrecognizable to us today.
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(birds chirping)
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They are from a time
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when the earth had just one great landmass, Pangaea.
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(plates rumbling)
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The plates gradually drifted apart,
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creating new oceans in the gaps.
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(dramatic music)
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(waves whooshing)
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And today, parts of the same range of mountains
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as the Appalachians in America remain in Morocco
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(birds screeching)
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and the Highlands of Scotland
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on the other side of the Atlantic.
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(awe-inspiring music)
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(stag roars)
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Mountains are found on every continent on earth,
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literally from pole to pole.
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(peaceful music)
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They cover 22% of the earth's surface.
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A quarter of terrestrial animal
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and plant species live in mountains.
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And an incredible 85% of all amphibians, mammals, and birds.
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The location of mountains around the world gives
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them unique plant and animal communities
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and distinctive zones.
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(wind whooshing)
(melancholy music)
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At the extremities of the planet,
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the highest latitudes, no trees can grow.
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These are the polar zones,
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where the average annual temperature
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at the base of the mountains is below zero,
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let alone at the top.
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Only ice age specialists,
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like the shaggy muskox, can thrive here.
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These are some of the harshest places on the planet.
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(wind whooshing)
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(melancholy music)
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Summers are short, a tiny window for plants to grow,
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and there is hardly any rainfall.
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The tundra-covered slopes
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can only support hardy dwarf shrubs
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and a carpet of lichens and mosses.
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Compared to other parts of the world,
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their biodiversity is low.
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But the soggy landscape, once bathed with summer sun,
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is a rich breeding ground for insects.
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(birds chirping)
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Enough to attract migratory birds to dash in from the south
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and use the summer's bounty to raise their young.
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(playful music)
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(birds screeching)
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These little auks are especially mountain dependent.
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They will only nest on the loose scree slopes,
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picking little gaps under boulders to lay their eggs in
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that should be out of reach of Arctic foxes.
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(birds screeching)
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And rely on the precarious scree
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to keep the heaviest of predators,
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polar bears, away.
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(suspenseful music)
(birds screeching)
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They spend the winter out on the open ocean,
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but are early visitors,
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dashing in as the snow clears to breed,
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choosing to congregate in the hundreds of thousands.
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They look like tiny penguins, but with one key difference,
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the gift of flight.
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(awe-inspiring music)
(birds screeching)
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Many of the world's great mountains are just outside
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of the polar zone and are classified as boreal.
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Rising from the vast pine forest known as taiga,
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these giants cover 5% of the earth's surface.
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They can appear bleak,
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with strong seasons and harsh winters.
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(eerie music)
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There's not much rain.
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Most of the water falls as snow.
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The pines are tough with narrow needles
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that help conserve water and a natural antifreeze
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in their sap.
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But even they struggle at altitude.
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(wind whooshes)
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As the mountains climb, the pine forests thin out
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and are replaced by dwarf shrubs
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and heath land with heathers.
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Low to the ground,
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these tough little plants are less battered by storms.
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(wings whooshing)
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Beyond that, the mountain landscape becomes the alpine zone.
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(peaceful music)
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Small and hardy frost-resistant sedges and rushes
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are about all that can cope with the cold.
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At altitude, the air is thinner.
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There is less air pressure.
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Thin air is less able to collect and retain heat
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so the mountaintops are not only more exposed
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to the elements, but air is cooler too.
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(birds chirping)
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The boreal mountains appear both sides of the equator
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in the higher altitudes.
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(llamas groaning)
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Like here, the southern reaches of the Andes.
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This vast chain of mountains are the longest
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to straddle a continent,
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stretching down almost the entire western side
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of South America, some 7,000 kilometers long
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and with the second tallest peaks after the Himalayas.
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(awe-inspiring music)
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To live in this alpine environment,
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animals have multiple adaptations.
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Guanacos, the wild llamas, of the Andes,
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are related to camels and like camels,
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they are experts in conserving water,
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which is essential during winters at altitude
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when all of the water can be locked away in snow and ice.
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But living up to 4,000 meters above sea level,
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they also need adaptations to the thin air.
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They have extra red blood cells
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and their hemoglobin has a stronger affinity to oxygen,
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extracting more from the air
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where oxygen levels are at least 20% lower
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than at sea level.
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Still, even guanaco have their upper limits.
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(ominous music)
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The peaks of the tallest boreal mountains go beyond
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the reaches of plants.
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The rough, rocky surfaces, frozen most of the year
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and blasted with ice, are some of the toughest places
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on earth and little life can survive.
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Because of their location in high altitudes,
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causing fierce winters,
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boreal mountains are places
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where few humans have managed to settle.
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(wind whooshing)
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One exception is in the mountains of Northern Siberia,
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where reindeer have enabled people to live nomadic lives,
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traveling through the mountains as the reindeer migrate,
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but retreating to the lower country before winter sets in.
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00:20:48,312 --> 00:20:50,240
(bell rings)
268
00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:53,860
At first, they would have followed wild reindeer,
269
00:20:53,860 --> 00:20:56,593
but the hardy deer were gradually domesticated.
270
00:21:02,940 --> 00:21:05,123
They still roam and feed themselves,
271
00:21:07,540 --> 00:21:10,490
but the herders keep them safe from predators
272
00:21:10,490 --> 00:21:13,380
and in return, get all the food, leather,
273
00:21:13,380 --> 00:21:16,300
and other materials they need from the animals.
274
00:21:20,380 --> 00:21:22,140
People got a much stronger foothold
275
00:21:22,140 --> 00:21:23,623
in the temperate mountains.
276
00:21:24,646 --> 00:21:25,900
(peaceful music)
277
00:21:25,900 --> 00:21:29,363
These ranges, like the American Rocky Mountains,
278
00:21:31,020 --> 00:21:36,020
the Alps, Caucuses, Siberia's Southern Altai,
279
00:21:37,460 --> 00:21:40,600
the Himalayas, and the Japanese Alps
280
00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:42,163
are all strongly seasonal.
281
00:21:45,490 --> 00:21:48,140
The European Alps are perhaps the most famous
282
00:21:48,140 --> 00:21:50,350
and most populated,
283
00:21:50,350 --> 00:21:53,250
with people flocking to the region for thousands of years.
284
00:21:55,990 --> 00:22:00,750
The highest and most expansive of truly European mountains,
285
00:22:00,750 --> 00:22:03,520
they run over 1000 kilometers
286
00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:05,050
and form natural boundaries
287
00:22:05,050 --> 00:22:07,093
between eight different countries.
288
00:22:12,100 --> 00:22:15,270
In places, they are rugged and remote,
289
00:22:15,270 --> 00:22:18,500
and therefore teem with mountain specialists
290
00:22:18,500 --> 00:22:20,563
like the chamois and ibex.
291
00:22:25,540 --> 00:22:28,540
These mountains still have very harsh winters,
292
00:22:28,540 --> 00:22:31,000
but warmer and more productive summers
293
00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:33,022
and more reliable rain.
294
00:22:33,022 --> 00:22:35,772
(rain whooshing)
295
00:22:36,890 --> 00:22:39,150
Because of the strong seasons.
296
00:22:39,150 --> 00:22:41,530
The trees are often deciduous.
297
00:22:41,530 --> 00:22:44,733
Their leaves bloom in summer to exploit the sun,
298
00:22:46,810 --> 00:22:50,400
but to save energy and avoid frost damage,
299
00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:52,460
they are shed for winter,
300
00:22:52,460 --> 00:22:55,504
the trees shutting down to weather the cold.
301
00:22:55,504 --> 00:22:58,254
(peaceful music)
302
00:23:00,660 --> 00:23:04,713
Because of the frosty winter, many animals do the same.
303
00:23:06,740 --> 00:23:09,240
(eerie music)
304
00:23:15,670 --> 00:23:17,670
Australia is not a place
305
00:23:17,670 --> 00:23:21,000
where many people imagine snow-capped peaks,
306
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:24,013
but the Australian Alps have cold winters,
307
00:23:27,210 --> 00:23:29,053
too cold for most mammals.
308
00:23:41,291 --> 00:23:44,291
(crickets chirring)
309
00:23:45,540 --> 00:23:48,633
But the mountain pygmy possum is unique.
310
00:23:50,610 --> 00:23:54,090
It is the only hibernating marsupial in the world,
311
00:23:54,090 --> 00:23:56,243
enabling it to weather the cold.
312
00:24:01,150 --> 00:24:05,260
It spends the summer and brief autumn fattening itself up
313
00:24:05,260 --> 00:24:08,383
on a calorie-rich diet of insects and seeds.
314
00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:14,563
It can double in body weight, which is just as well.
315
00:24:16,380 --> 00:24:19,383
It may have to stay in hibernation for seven months.
316
00:24:20,308 --> 00:24:23,308
(suspenseful music)
317
00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,203
To do so, like other hibernators,
318
00:24:30,100 --> 00:24:33,473
the possum shuts down its body into a state of torpor,
319
00:24:34,350 --> 00:24:37,763
with its metabolism running at 5% normal levels.
320
00:24:40,740 --> 00:24:41,830
It means their breathing
321
00:24:41,830 --> 00:24:44,063
and heart rate are similarly reduced.
322
00:24:46,519 --> 00:24:48,810
(wind whooshing)
323
00:24:48,810 --> 00:24:52,930
There's an assumption that hibernators sleep through winter,
324
00:24:52,930 --> 00:24:54,820
but this is different.
325
00:24:54,820 --> 00:24:57,463
It's a state of suspended animation.
326
00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:05,730
In fact, a lot of hibernators wake up during winter,
327
00:25:05,730 --> 00:25:08,960
have a stretch, and then need to take an actual nap
328
00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:10,913
before going back into torpor.
329
00:25:14,020 --> 00:25:16,943
It means they can colonize the cold mountain slopes.
330
00:25:18,469 --> 00:25:20,470
(birds chirping)
331
00:25:20,470 --> 00:25:21,943
Though winters are tough,
332
00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:26,820
summers on the alpine slopes reveal
333
00:25:26,820 --> 00:25:29,003
a surprising diversity of flowers,
334
00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,805
making the most of the high levels of ultraviolet.
335
00:25:33,805 --> 00:25:36,388
(bright music)
336
00:25:49,230 --> 00:25:51,460
Above the reach of plants,
337
00:25:51,460 --> 00:25:55,233
the mountain slopes become known as the aeolian zone.
338
00:25:55,233 --> 00:25:56,680
(wind whooshing)
339
00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:58,793
Only microbes and algae grow here,
340
00:25:59,850 --> 00:26:02,143
feeding a small invertebrate community.
341
00:26:04,431 --> 00:26:07,181
(peaceful music)
342
00:26:08,790 --> 00:26:11,090
Since prehistoric times,
343
00:26:11,090 --> 00:26:13,620
people have used the temperate mountains,
344
00:26:13,620 --> 00:26:15,043
especially in Eurasia.
345
00:26:18,068 --> 00:26:21,200
(sheep bleating)
346
00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:26,200
Ranges like the Pyrenees, Carpathians, Caucuses, and Alps.
347
00:26:32,270 --> 00:26:34,780
To cope with the strong seasonality,
348
00:26:34,780 --> 00:26:38,150
a practice known as transhumance developed
349
00:26:38,150 --> 00:26:39,873
and continues to this day,
350
00:26:41,130 --> 00:26:43,170
with farmers moving with their livestock
351
00:26:43,170 --> 00:26:45,270
into the high country during summer
352
00:26:45,270 --> 00:26:46,883
to exploit the rich grazing,
353
00:26:48,171 --> 00:26:50,090
(cows mooing)
354
00:26:50,090 --> 00:26:51,820
and retreating to small holdings
355
00:26:51,820 --> 00:26:53,913
at lower elevations during winter.
356
00:26:58,220 --> 00:27:00,950
But it was in the mountains of the subtropics,
357
00:27:00,950 --> 00:27:04,480
closer to the equator, that humans really found their ways
358
00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:06,193
to exploit mountain life.
359
00:27:10,510 --> 00:27:13,980
The climatic conditions are termed Mediterranean,
360
00:27:13,980 --> 00:27:15,460
though are not restricted
361
00:27:15,460 --> 00:27:18,320
to the Mediterranean ranges of Europe.
362
00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:21,070
(peaceful music)
363
00:27:23,100 --> 00:27:24,970
The snowy mountains of Australia
364
00:27:33,210 --> 00:27:37,193
and America's Sierra Nevada both fall into this category.
365
00:27:45,702 --> 00:27:48,285
(birds cawing)
366
00:27:50,020 --> 00:27:53,830
For eons, the native peoples of both ranges used
367
00:27:53,830 --> 00:27:56,610
the natural plants and animals of the mountains
368
00:27:56,610 --> 00:27:58,138
in a sustainable way.
369
00:27:58,138 --> 00:28:00,888
(peaceful music)
370
00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:06,173
Making the most of the cold wet winters with plenty of rain.
371
00:28:09,420 --> 00:28:10,793
And the hot dry summers.
372
00:28:22,540 --> 00:28:26,010
Like all mountains, they have their unique zones,
373
00:28:26,010 --> 00:28:27,710
characterized by different plants.
374
00:28:33,890 --> 00:28:37,520
Above the deciduous trees, there are alpine zones,
375
00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:40,993
scrubs, and a unique habitat adapted to the heat.
376
00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:48,150
This vegetation, found across the world
377
00:28:48,150 --> 00:28:50,690
where Mediterranean climates occur,
378
00:28:50,690 --> 00:28:53,373
are known as sclerophyllous forests.
379
00:28:56,950 --> 00:28:59,910
Plants with tough, leathery, woody leaves,
380
00:28:59,910 --> 00:29:03,223
like the characteristic evergreen oaks of Southern Spain.
381
00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:08,500
But while the indigenous people of North America
382
00:29:08,500 --> 00:29:11,380
and Australia worked with nature,
383
00:29:11,380 --> 00:29:14,409
Europeans had different ideas.
384
00:29:14,409 --> 00:29:17,159
(peaceful music)
385
00:29:20,380 --> 00:29:22,160
The mountains of the Mediterranean
386
00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:24,323
were changed forever by farming.
387
00:29:31,170 --> 00:29:33,630
People removed mountain species,
388
00:29:33,630 --> 00:29:35,750
planting what they wanted to grow
389
00:29:35,750 --> 00:29:37,623
and introducing domestic animals.
390
00:29:46,260 --> 00:29:47,800
For hundreds of years,
391
00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:51,030
small rural communities have nestled in the foothills
392
00:29:51,030 --> 00:29:54,253
and today are considered charming, rustic idylls.
393
00:29:57,040 --> 00:29:59,770
Places where people live out simple lives,
394
00:29:59,770 --> 00:30:01,503
making their living from the land.
395
00:30:03,670 --> 00:30:05,980
The reality today is
396
00:30:05,980 --> 00:30:09,000
that these traditional methods can't compete
397
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:10,770
with the industrial farming
398
00:30:10,770 --> 00:30:12,683
and don't return much of a profit.
399
00:30:13,649 --> 00:30:18,649
(peaceful music)
(birds chirping)
400
00:30:18,864 --> 00:30:21,340
They are not financially viable,
401
00:30:21,340 --> 00:30:24,480
and increasingly young people are leaving the mountains
402
00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:27,566
to seek better career opportunities in cities.
403
00:30:27,566 --> 00:30:30,066
(cows mooing)
404
00:30:32,410 --> 00:30:34,960
As the small communities are deserted.
405
00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:37,613
Wildlife has the chance to creep back in.
406
00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:44,560
And with a bit more space,
407
00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:47,550
even the top predators, like wolves and bears,
408
00:30:47,550 --> 00:30:49,430
are becoming a more common sight
409
00:30:49,430 --> 00:30:51,473
on Mediterranean mountain ranges.
410
00:30:54,601 --> 00:30:57,434
(water whooshing)
411
00:31:02,250 --> 00:31:04,353
There is one other mountain type,
412
00:31:05,420 --> 00:31:08,063
those found closest to the equator,
413
00:31:09,170 --> 00:31:11,613
tropical and subtropical mountains.
414
00:31:11,613 --> 00:31:14,780
(awe-inspiring music)
415
00:31:16,860 --> 00:31:21,573
Cloaked in lush forest, they straddle regions like Kenya,
416
00:31:24,580 --> 00:31:27,737
the Democratic Republic of Congo, even Hawaii.
417
00:31:33,850 --> 00:31:36,850
Often rising from a carpet of jungle,
418
00:31:36,850 --> 00:31:39,163
the mountain slopes have their own forest.
419
00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:47,900
Montane forests are much colder
420
00:31:47,900 --> 00:31:49,853
than the jungle lower down the slopes.
421
00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:54,070
With moisture condensing on the cold air,
422
00:31:54,070 --> 00:31:55,983
they are usually shrouded in mist.
423
00:31:57,290 --> 00:31:58,960
For this reason,
424
00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:02,429
they're more famously known as cloud forest.
425
00:32:02,429 --> 00:32:05,179
(mystical music)
426
00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:11,593
The only seasons here are wet and dry,
427
00:32:13,500 --> 00:32:15,340
though it's sometimes said they go
428
00:32:15,340 --> 00:32:16,853
through the seasons every day.
429
00:32:18,250 --> 00:32:21,070
Because it can be warm and humid during the day
430
00:32:21,070 --> 00:32:24,033
and bitterly cold at night because of the elevation.
431
00:32:28,090 --> 00:32:32,160
The trees rarely attain the height of rainforest species,
432
00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:34,133
peaking at around 20 meters,
433
00:32:35,150 --> 00:32:37,660
and they are less densely packed,
434
00:32:37,660 --> 00:32:40,050
allowing light to penetrate,
435
00:32:40,050 --> 00:32:43,878
fueling a rich understory of herbs and ferns.
436
00:32:43,878 --> 00:32:48,878
(peaceful music)
(birds chirping)
437
00:32:49,764 --> 00:32:53,880
Orchids, lichens, and mosses use the trees branches
438
00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:55,530
to bring them closer to the light
439
00:33:01,590 --> 00:33:05,120
In Asia, the laurels and Quercus oaks
440
00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:06,653
are interrupted by color.
441
00:33:09,540 --> 00:33:10,760
The family now familiar
442
00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:13,803
as garden ornamentals, rhododendrons.
443
00:33:21,745 --> 00:33:24,030
At above 4,000 meters,
444
00:33:24,030 --> 00:33:27,190
even the tropical and subtropical cloud forest
445
00:33:27,190 --> 00:33:28,773
gets nightly frosts,
446
00:33:30,250 --> 00:33:32,263
making it a challenge for animals.
447
00:33:33,940 --> 00:33:37,780
There is less diversity than lower down the slopes,
448
00:33:37,780 --> 00:33:39,543
but the creatures here are special.
449
00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:46,710
Birds like monal pheasants use bright colors
450
00:33:46,710 --> 00:33:49,523
to stand out in the dense, dark undergrowth.
451
00:33:55,430 --> 00:33:59,300
The red panda, a unique cat-sized creature,
452
00:33:59,300 --> 00:34:01,650
not at all related to giant pandas,
453
00:34:01,650 --> 00:34:04,390
has dense fur with a wooly undercoat
454
00:34:04,390 --> 00:34:06,043
to help it cope with the cold.
455
00:34:09,100 --> 00:34:10,900
Even its paws are furry.
456
00:34:10,900 --> 00:34:13,650
(birds chirping)
457
00:34:22,300 --> 00:34:24,840
The long bushy tail makes a great blanket
458
00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:26,163
during cold nights.
459
00:34:30,630 --> 00:34:34,550
They eat a lot of bamboo, a low-calorie diet,
460
00:34:34,550 --> 00:34:37,870
so have a slow metabolism and plod around gently
461
00:34:37,870 --> 00:34:38,893
to save energy.
462
00:34:42,490 --> 00:34:44,820
If it gets particularly cold,
463
00:34:44,820 --> 00:34:48,080
they can even lower their metabolic rate more,
464
00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:49,923
becoming temporarily dormant.
465
00:34:53,780 --> 00:34:56,600
The tropical and subtropical montane forest
466
00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:59,230
is also rich in primates.
467
00:34:59,230 --> 00:35:01,980
(playful music)
468
00:35:05,060 --> 00:35:08,753
Rubbing shoulders with the red pandas are gray langurs.
469
00:35:13,930 --> 00:35:15,533
And Assam macaques.
470
00:35:25,350 --> 00:35:30,080
And in the montane forests of Africa, our closest cousins,
471
00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:31,803
chimpanzees and gorillas.
472
00:35:45,210 --> 00:35:47,630
Humans too, have long exploited the riches
473
00:35:47,630 --> 00:35:50,152
of tropical mountain slopes.
474
00:35:50,152 --> 00:35:53,235
(machinery rumbling)
475
00:35:54,180 --> 00:35:58,420
And increasingly convert the forests to plantations of crops
476
00:35:58,420 --> 00:36:00,023
like bananas and coffee.
477
00:36:11,390 --> 00:36:12,910
Above the forests,
478
00:36:12,910 --> 00:36:16,160
even tropical mountains have an alpine zone,
479
00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:17,663
montane grassland.
480
00:36:20,830 --> 00:36:23,640
Some of which have been created by humans,
481
00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:25,463
burning and grazing the landscape.
482
00:36:29,300 --> 00:36:31,680
But others have been created naturally
483
00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:35,033
by mountain slopes too harsh for trees to colonize.
484
00:36:39,420 --> 00:36:42,720
Unique species have learned to exploit this high country
485
00:36:42,720 --> 00:36:45,593
like the gelada a baboon-like monkey.
486
00:36:48,780 --> 00:36:52,690
Without trees, the colonists sleep on cliff faces
487
00:36:52,690 --> 00:36:54,864
to stay out of reach of predators.
488
00:36:54,864 --> 00:36:57,947
(monkeys chattering)
489
00:36:58,801 --> 00:37:03,801
(peaceful music)
(birds chirping)
490
00:37:14,720 --> 00:37:17,782
And by day, spread out to graze.
491
00:37:17,782 --> 00:37:21,115
(bright cheerful music)
492
00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:42,670
There's no doubt
493
00:37:42,670 --> 00:37:45,920
that mountains are spectacular, unmissable features
494
00:37:45,920 --> 00:37:49,723
of our landscapes, giants that keep us in awe.
495
00:37:49,723 --> 00:37:52,473
(peaceful music)
496
00:37:54,470 --> 00:37:57,853
But they do a lot more than just improve the skyline.
497
00:37:58,690 --> 00:38:02,473
Mountains are a vital part of a functioning planet.
498
00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:07,243
Mountains can even change the weather.
499
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:11,480
Moisture from the Pacific Ocean gathers
500
00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:13,333
towards the shores of California.
501
00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:19,240
But as the clouds climb the elevations of the Sierra Nevada,
502
00:38:19,240 --> 00:38:23,210
they cool and can no longer hold onto the moisture,
503
00:38:23,210 --> 00:38:25,063
so it falls as rain.
504
00:38:26,688 --> 00:38:31,688
(rain whooshing)
(bright music)
505
00:38:38,510 --> 00:38:42,823
So the westward side of the range is blanketed in forest.
506
00:38:44,584 --> 00:38:46,260
(bees buzzing)
507
00:38:46,260 --> 00:38:49,660
In fact, the biggest trees on the planet,
508
00:38:49,660 --> 00:38:52,870
the giant sequoias, only live here,
509
00:38:52,870 --> 00:38:55,210
thriving in the warm, wet landscape
510
00:38:55,210 --> 00:38:57,436
the mountains have helped provide.
511
00:38:57,436 --> 00:39:00,186
(peaceful music)
512
00:39:08,810 --> 00:39:10,480
But this process means
513
00:39:10,480 --> 00:39:13,880
that the marine moisture doesn't make it further inland
514
00:39:13,880 --> 00:39:14,830
than the mountains.
515
00:39:20,218 --> 00:39:23,480
Air that passes over to the other side is dry
516
00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:25,660
and as it flows over the land,
517
00:39:25,660 --> 00:39:27,733
it actually sucks up moisture.
518
00:39:30,983 --> 00:39:34,150
(awe-inspiring music)
519
00:39:36,100 --> 00:39:39,610
On the eastern side of the mountains is hostile desert
520
00:39:42,930 --> 00:39:46,090
It's a phenomenon known as rain shadow
521
00:39:46,090 --> 00:39:49,067
and is repeated by mountains across the world.
522
00:39:57,007 --> 00:40:00,090
The eastern coast of Australia is buckled
523
00:40:00,090 --> 00:40:02,516
by endless ranges of mountains.
524
00:40:02,516 --> 00:40:05,266
(peaceful music)
525
00:40:08,270 --> 00:40:10,370
Between the peaks and the coast,
526
00:40:10,370 --> 00:40:12,913
Eastern Australia is lush and green,
527
00:40:15,180 --> 00:40:18,403
eucalyptus forests, rich in wildlife,
528
00:40:23,110 --> 00:40:25,990
giving way closer to the tropics
529
00:40:25,990 --> 00:40:28,103
to dense and ancient rainforest.
530
00:40:30,880 --> 00:40:34,570
The combination of ocean atmosphere, warm climate,
531
00:40:34,570 --> 00:40:37,763
and the mountain rains created this paradise,
532
00:40:41,610 --> 00:40:44,710
but the rain shadow on the other side of the mountains
533
00:40:45,839 --> 00:40:48,560
(awe-inspiring music)
534
00:40:48,560 --> 00:40:50,223
is the Australian Outback.
535
00:40:54,640 --> 00:40:57,070
Because of their size and challenging
536
00:40:57,070 --> 00:40:59,470
and changeable conditions,
537
00:40:59,470 --> 00:41:02,933
mountains also influence evolution.
538
00:41:04,930 --> 00:41:07,090
They create physical barriers,
539
00:41:07,090 --> 00:41:10,050
stopping the spread of animals and plants
540
00:41:10,050 --> 00:41:12,950
and creating isolated ecosystems
541
00:41:12,950 --> 00:41:15,708
where unique species can evolve.
542
00:41:15,708 --> 00:41:18,458
(birds chirping)
543
00:41:32,840 --> 00:41:35,610
And because they trap rain and snow,
544
00:41:35,610 --> 00:41:38,673
they are the birthplace of all of the world's great rivers.
545
00:41:44,695 --> 00:41:47,528
(water whooshing)
546
00:41:56,670 --> 00:42:00,770
Rain runoff and the melting of snow and ice fuel
547
00:42:00,770 --> 00:42:02,810
the torrents that bring moisture
548
00:42:02,810 --> 00:42:05,353
and nutrients across all land masses.
549
00:42:09,260 --> 00:42:12,640
It's an essential component of life,
550
00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:17,226
and not just to animals and plants, but to people too.
551
00:42:17,226 --> 00:42:22,226
(peaceful music)
(water whooshing)
552
00:42:27,240 --> 00:42:31,610
Every day, water from mountains directly provides water
553
00:42:31,610 --> 00:42:33,893
for half of all humanity.
554
00:42:41,150 --> 00:42:43,533
Mountains are vital to us.
555
00:42:45,150 --> 00:42:47,950
20% of the crop species now eaten
556
00:42:47,950 --> 00:42:51,290
by 80% of the world's humans originated
557
00:42:51,290 --> 00:42:55,330
from wild species like potatoes, sorghum,
558
00:42:55,330 --> 00:42:59,220
tomatoes, apples, maize, and barley
559
00:42:59,220 --> 00:43:00,823
that came from mountains.
560
00:43:05,541 --> 00:43:07,090
(goats bleating)
561
00:43:07,090 --> 00:43:11,393
Mountains even house 15% of the world's human population.
562
00:43:12,370 --> 00:43:15,333
Over 915 million of us.
563
00:43:18,890 --> 00:43:21,510
It's hardly surprising that throughout the world,
564
00:43:21,510 --> 00:43:25,248
mountains are revered, considered sacred.
565
00:43:25,248 --> 00:43:27,998
(peaceful music)
566
00:43:30,800 --> 00:43:32,900
Often considered the homes of the deities,
567
00:43:33,870 --> 00:43:38,407
like the mountains of Tibet, Japan, China,
568
00:43:42,610 --> 00:43:44,533
Sinai, and Greece.
569
00:43:47,030 --> 00:43:50,600
In Australia, they are the forms of the creators
570
00:43:50,600 --> 00:43:52,403
who have laid down on the ground.
571
00:43:56,300 --> 00:43:59,230
Throughout the world, they have long been shrouded
572
00:43:59,230 --> 00:44:00,723
in myths and legends.
573
00:44:04,320 --> 00:44:06,043
A source of spirituality.
574
00:44:12,830 --> 00:44:17,830
And today, many of us seek them out for recreation,
575
00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:21,260
knowing that their scale and fresh mountain air
576
00:44:21,260 --> 00:44:24,773
can lift our spirits and are good for our souls.
577
00:44:29,990 --> 00:44:34,080
But although they seem like immovable, timeless giants,
578
00:44:34,080 --> 00:44:37,667
mountain habitats are surprisingly fragile.
579
00:44:37,667 --> 00:44:40,584
(melancholy music)
580
00:44:43,540 --> 00:44:48,180
Challenging climates, thin air, and poor loose soil
581
00:44:48,180 --> 00:44:50,233
make it hard for life to survive.
582
00:44:54,180 --> 00:44:58,740
Their remoteness and inaccessibility has protected mountains
583
00:44:58,740 --> 00:45:00,333
for most of human history.
584
00:45:03,060 --> 00:45:06,350
But now people move ever more into them
585
00:45:06,350 --> 00:45:09,300
for recreation, to live,
586
00:45:09,300 --> 00:45:12,363
and to exploit resources like timber.
587
00:45:15,820 --> 00:45:19,550
Today, many mountain landscapes are degraded
588
00:45:19,550 --> 00:45:20,623
and under threat.
589
00:45:21,900 --> 00:45:25,483
70% of mountain land is used for grazing.
590
00:45:27,090 --> 00:45:29,560
Highland farming practices have been going on
591
00:45:29,560 --> 00:45:32,550
for so long that in many regions.
592
00:45:32,550 --> 00:45:35,623
they have altered environments and now define them.
593
00:45:38,493 --> 00:45:41,243
(sheep bleating)
594
00:45:42,650 --> 00:45:45,790
People use different livestock in different areas,
595
00:45:45,790 --> 00:45:49,200
and over hundreds of years have carefully bred animals
596
00:45:49,200 --> 00:45:52,473
with the best genes to thrive in the tough conditions.
597
00:45:54,380 --> 00:45:58,450
To small communities, the animals provide meat, milk,
598
00:45:58,450 --> 00:46:03,450
and other products, but also produce dung
599
00:46:04,050 --> 00:46:06,623
that can enrich the poor mountain soils.
600
00:46:08,530 --> 00:46:11,480
In recent years, the drive for profit
601
00:46:11,480 --> 00:46:14,550
has pushed farming into less sustainable models
602
00:46:14,550 --> 00:46:17,053
that can destroy the delicate landscapes.
603
00:46:18,930 --> 00:46:22,380
Commercial mining, logging, and poaching
604
00:46:22,380 --> 00:46:24,243
are reducing biodiversity.
605
00:46:26,615 --> 00:46:30,157
Mountainscapes are being threatened by over-exploitation.
606
00:46:32,170 --> 00:46:34,920
The damaged landscapes are even more fragile
607
00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:37,810
than the ones before, increasing the chance
608
00:46:37,810 --> 00:46:41,940
of natural disasters like landslides and flooding.
609
00:46:41,940 --> 00:46:44,857
(melancholy music)
610
00:46:48,210 --> 00:46:51,733
Traditional mountain communities are often very poor.
611
00:46:53,890 --> 00:46:57,153
They are often forced to abandon the failing landscapes.
612
00:46:59,670 --> 00:47:04,333
When they go, unique culture and ancient knowledge is lost.
613
00:47:09,260 --> 00:47:12,233
Mountains are under threat from our direct action.
614
00:47:15,080 --> 00:47:18,230
But there's another impact from our huge population
615
00:47:18,230 --> 00:47:22,723
whose consequences we are only just beginning to understand.
616
00:47:23,870 --> 00:47:27,560
Mountains and the plant and animal communities
617
00:47:27,560 --> 00:47:30,163
are very sensitive to climate change.
618
00:47:31,480 --> 00:47:35,160
Mountains are sometimes dubbed the third pole,
619
00:47:35,160 --> 00:47:37,783
because after the Arctic and Antarctic,
620
00:47:38,740 --> 00:47:41,860
they hold most of the world's snow and ice,
621
00:47:41,860 --> 00:47:44,403
a huge reserve of fresh water.
622
00:47:48,450 --> 00:47:51,700
Much of it has been stored for tens of thousands of years
623
00:47:51,700 --> 00:47:52,700
in massive glaciers.
624
00:47:53,652 --> 00:47:56,402
(wind whooshing)
625
00:47:57,840 --> 00:48:01,333
The giants are spectacular, food for the soul,
626
00:48:02,200 --> 00:48:04,543
but they are far more important than that.
627
00:48:06,580 --> 00:48:10,370
They are reservoirs, water storage tanks,
628
00:48:10,370 --> 00:48:14,100
that very slowly and gently release just the right amount
629
00:48:14,100 --> 00:48:17,193
of water to feed streams and rivers,
630
00:48:18,630 --> 00:48:22,463
providing much of the vital fresh water to the world.
631
00:48:22,463 --> 00:48:24,280
(water whooshing)
632
00:48:24,280 --> 00:48:28,530
The increase in average global temperatures is ravaging
633
00:48:28,530 --> 00:48:30,103
these ancient giants.
634
00:48:31,830 --> 00:48:36,130
They are shrinking fast, and taking away the water supply
635
00:48:36,130 --> 00:48:37,483
to millions of people.
636
00:48:39,840 --> 00:48:43,770
We need to seriously change the way we interact
637
00:48:43,770 --> 00:48:44,820
with our environment.
638
00:48:48,220 --> 00:48:50,210
Mountains have been held in reverence
639
00:48:50,210 --> 00:48:51,643
throughout human history.
640
00:48:53,940 --> 00:48:58,403
They are our deities and a source of endless inspiration,
641
00:49:00,090 --> 00:49:02,273
our gateway to the heavens.
642
00:49:05,210 --> 00:49:06,550
Surely if there's anything
643
00:49:06,550 --> 00:49:09,283
that deserves our respect and protection,
644
00:49:10,640 --> 00:49:14,392
it's these defining magnificent giants.
645
00:49:14,392 --> 00:49:17,559
(awe-inspiring music)
49017
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