All language subtitles for Islands.of.Wonder.S01E03.WEBRip.x264-ION10

-In the heart
of the Pacific Ocean,

sits the most remote
island chain on Earth.

Hawaii.

Born of fire...

this is a land of extremes.

From volcanic flows of lava...

and soaring peaks...

to tiny strips of sand.

Reaching these isolated shores
is extraordinarily difficult.

And only the toughest
have made it.

But for the intrepid travelers
that manage to arrive here,

against all the odds,

the rewards are plenty.

With an abundance of opportunity

found nowhere else
for thousands of miles.

Across the globe,

islands, isolated by vast seas,

are home to remarkable
animal castaways...

...and extraordinary
human cultures.

These islands of wonder
cradle precious life

found nowhere else
on planet Earth.

-In Hawaii's
warm, tropical shallows

rests a baby humpback whale...

just two weeks old.

Her mother swam 2,500 miles
all the way from Alaska

to give birth here...

Because Hawaii is the best place
in the world to raise her baby.

Its extreme isolation
keeps her hidden from predators.

And surrounded by
the deepest ocean in the world,

these shallows offer
the only warm water around.

The newborn calf has yet to
carry much insulating blubber

and feels the cold.

The Hawaiian islands also offer
a protective barrier,

sheltering her
from the winds and currents

of the open ocean...

...allowing her to rest...

and put every ounce of milk
and all her energy into growing.

And like these humpbacks,

for those that can reach
these remote tropical shores,

Hawaii provides a sanctuary

and extraordinary opportunities
for new life.

The 50th state in the U.S.

can be found in the middle
of the Pacific Ocean.

Hawaii is made up of a chain
of over 100 islands,

stretching across 1,000 miles.

Starting at the bottom of the
chain is the largest island.

And traveling northwest,
they get progressively smaller

until they're little more
than a strip of sand.

The huge variety of habitats
on the different islands

offers a wide range
of opportunities for life.

But to take advantage,
pioneering animals

must cross thousands of miles
of open ocean to get here.

How these islands came to be

and just how life
has managed to take advantage

of all that Hawaii has to offer
is a remarkable story...

...which begins
beneath the waves...

...at the very bottom
of the Pacific Ocean.

Hawaii sits above
a volcanic hotspot, like this,

on the sea floor.

Liquid rock heated
to 2,000 degrees

spews from the Earth's core.

As the rock cools,
it solidifies,

creating new land.

Over hundreds
of thousands of years,

an underwater mountain
gradually grows in size.

Eventually, its peak
breaks the sea surface...

...and an island is born.

As long as an island's volcanoes
remain active,

spewing more lava,
it continues to grow in size...

...expanding by as much
as 900 acres a year...

...and creating
precious new land.

But the islands
don't keep growing forever.

Because all of Hawaii's islands
are actually moving...

slowly inching away
from the volcanic hotspot

that created them.

Hawaii sits on
a massive tectonic plate

which is carrying
all the islands northwest.

As they form, each island
moves off the hotspot,

and another is made behind it --
like a conveyor belt.

This process
has built a chain of islands,

each one newer than the last.

Over time,
islands change radically.

The different ages
of Hawaii's islands

explain their different shapes,
sizes, and habitats...

...and how they can offer
so many opportunities for life.

The newest of all
is known as Hawaii Island,

or The Big Island.

It began forming
a million years ago,

and for now it's still
on the volcanic hotspot.

The Big Island has the tallest
peaks in all of Hawaii.

The highest is Mauna Kea,

which is sacred
to native Hawaiians.

Measured from the seabed,

it stands 1,000 feet taller
than Mount Everest.

Up here, totally isolated
from the rest of the world,

it's as far away as possible
from man-made light pollution...

...and one of the best places on
Earth for studying the universe.

These laser-guided telescopes
are the largest in the world...

...and have already discovered
over 100 new planets.

But scientists have gone
one step further,

bringing space
back down to Earth.

The freezing heights
and barren rock here

make it the closest thing

to the extreme conditions
found on Mars.

It couldn't be further from
the island paradise down below,

but it's the ideal
training ground

for astronauts preparing
to live in space.

For missions lasting
between four months and a year,

participants must live
in total isolation...

...while carrying out
research operations.

Making a life
on these desolate lava fields

may seem as improbable
as colonizing another planet.

But this new land
offers a huge opportunity.

Any creatures that can survive
amongst the rubble

will have the place
to themselves.

And one hardy pioneer
has found a way to capitalize.

The wekiu bug...

meaning "summit" in Hawaiian.

To find enough food to survive,

it's resorted
to living off the dead.

Up here at 13,000 feet
above sea level,

temperatures can plummet
well below freezing.

Other insects blown in
on the wind quickly die.

But the wekiu's blood
acts like antifreeze,

protecting it from the cold.

Using piercing mouth parts,

it punctures
its victim's exoskeleton

and sucks out its juices.

The wekiu may have originally
come from South America.

So how did it cross thousands of
miles of open ocean to get here?

The same way
as its food arrives --

blown in on the wind.

Strong winds carry spores...

seeds...

and lightweight creatures
high into the jet stream.

The odds of being carried
across the Pacific

and then dropped precisely
onto the only dots of land

are miniscule.

Yet, over millions of years,
seed by seed,

slowly but surely...

life arrived.

30 miles away is the next island
along the chain.

Maui.

Made almost a million years
before The Big Island...

...Maui, too, was once
barren lava fields...

...but is now brimming
with life.

The journey to get here
is so difficult

that only the smaller creatures
were light enough

to be carried all this way.

And while the wind transports
life to the landof Hawaii,

it also brings life
to its surrounding waters.

Huge waves batter the coastline.

Created by strong winds
out at sea

and unimpeded by land
for thousands of miles,

waves continually grow.

Once they reach the shallows
of the island,

the waves rise up into giants
and break.

Maui is home to some of
the biggest surf on Earth.

Up to 70 feet high.

And these monsters allow life
to flourish beneath the waves.

By mixing the layers of water,

the pounding waves
help stir up nutrients,

feeding microscopic creatures
called plankton.

Compared to the sterile waters
of the surrounding open ocean,

Hawaii's shallows are around
80% richer in plankton.

And bigger creatures
are able to take advantage.

Like manta rays.

With wingspans stretching
over 15 feet,

these rays can migrate
vast distances,

which is how
they first discovered Hawaii.

Totally toothless, they use rows
of tiny plates in their mouths

to sift plankton
out of the water.

When they hit
a rich patch of food,

they somersault in loops
to maximize their catch.

They may even chain-feed...

...following each other
in a train

so any food missed by the first
is scooped up by the followers.

These waters are so bountiful,
they support one of the largest

resident populations
of manta rays on the planet.

And with 9 million vacationers
flocking to Hawaii every year,

life for the manta rays
has gotten even better.

Divers take to the water
in their hundreds

to see these graceful giants.

The divers' lights
attract plankton,

concentrating the mantas' food
for them.

They've even come to
associate divers with dinner.

Isolated in open ocean,
life must come a long way

to capitalize
on all that Hawaii has to offer.

But once here,
with no competition,

new species began to evolve

to take advantage
of every opportunity.

A single flock carried
on a violent storm

became 50 new species
of honeycreeper.

And from just one pregnant
fruit fly

came over 1,000 new species.

Because all of these flies
evolved here on Hawaii,

they're found
nowhere else on earth.

And each one has its very own
courtship ritual.

Like this male silvestris

which wiggles its rear to create
vibrations through the ground.

But the female's not impressed
and sends him packing.

Another, the clavisetae fly,

fans pheromones
from his raised abdomen...

sticking out his tongue
for added appeal.

And one species, cyrtoloma,

has grown 30 times bigger
than the average fruit fly.

For these giants, it's a battle
of strength to get the girl.

As new creatures evolved,
some became monsters.

The caterpillar of
the Eupithecia moth.

Like most caterpillars,
its ancestor ate plants.

But with so many insects
and so few predators here,

this caterpillar
seized the opportunity

to feast on a meatier diet.

It developed
especially sharp claws.

So few escape a grisly death.

The island of Maui may be
a lush, tropical paradise,

but it's shrinking.

Its now dormant volcanoes
no longer build new land.

Instead, extreme weather
wears away its peaks.

Maui contains some of
the wettest places on Earth.

Eight feet of rain
can fall in a single month.

Rainfall and waterfalls
erode the soft volcanic rock.

But across all the islands,

this process has also
created new rivers...

...providing yet more
opportunities for life here.

Young Hawaiian gobies
leave the sea behind

to take advantage
of these upland rivers.

But to get to
the pristine rivers above,

these tiny fish
face enormous hurdles.

Above, there are fewer predators
and little competition for food.

So this plucky little fish

begins her seemingly
impossible ascent.

Just days ago,
her body transformed.

Her mouth moved
90 degrees downwards

so she could use it
like a suction cup.

She alternates between her mouth

and another sucker made
from her fins on her underside,

slowly pulling
her inch-long body upwards.

And she's not alone.

The odds are stacked
against them.

Around 99% perish
long before the top.

It can take days
of hard climbing

before finally reaching the top.

There, the lucky few can grow up
free from predators

and with food aplenty.

The main islands of Hawaii

are surrounded
by extensive sheltered waters.

Nestled between Maui

and its neighboring islands
of Molokai and Lanai

is a shallow channel,
the most protected in Hawaii.

It's the perfect winter getaway

for the biggest gathering
of ocean giants on Earth.

After a summer
feeding in Alaska,

10,000 humpback whales
leave the freezing waters behind

and migrate 2,500 miles south
to get here.

It's one of the longest
migrations of any mammal.

And they do it not just to give
birth, but also to find a mate.

The males fill the water
with their love songs.

In a show of strength,

they breach 50 feet
out of the sea.

All in an attempt
to win over a female.

But to help her
choose her partner,

she calls for a competition.

Slapping her fin, she invites
the males to chase her.

And they quickly rise
to the challenge.

The winner will be the one
that manages to stay

at the head of the pack,

closest to the female
at the front.

This is known as a heat run,

and it's the biggest
courtship race in the world.

The males know
allthe dirty tactics.

One blows a screen of bubbles,

trying to disorient
his competitors.

Others head-butt, ram,
and slash with their tails.

These 40-ton giants
can seriously injure each other

in their fight to get to
the female at the front.

After two hours of chasing,

the lead male
has proven his worth.

Pairing off, she leads him away
to finally mate.

Although no one's sure how these
humpbacks ever found Hawaii,

for those that make it here,
these remote tropical islands

offer extraordinary
opportunities for new life.

And around 1,000 years ago,

another pioneer
discovered these islands --

a key moment in history
which changed Hawaii forever.

The ancestors of the Polynesians
were an ancient seafaring nation

that island-hopped their way
from South East Asia

across the Pacific to get here.

Reaching these uncharted
remote shores

was such a remarkable feat

that it's still celebrated
today.

Each year, in honor
of their pioneering ancestors,

Hawaii hosts one of the world's
biggest canoe races.

It's known as
the The Na Wahine O Ke Kai --

Women of the Sea.

Before the race begins,

the teams gather
for an opening prayer.

-Many of those taking part
descend from those

heroic Polynesian voyagers.

Like Mahealani Botelho.

-Paddling affords me
to connect to my ancestors,

to my kupuna, to my family.

Initially our ancestors used it
as a way of traveling,

to seek home and shelter.

And, you know, now in these days
we use it for racing.

-The teams must paddle
across 42 miles

of grueling open ocean...

between the island of Molokai

and the next island
along the chain, Oahu.

To make their voyages
of thousands of miles,

the Polynesian ancestors
used dugout canoes

joined by a platform,
powered by paddle and sail...

...in journeys lasting months.

Today's race may be shorter,
but it's so intense

that exhausted paddlers
must switch over.

Like any relay,
timing is crucial,

and for Mahealani, it's
a spiritual part of the race.

-You go through
the whole gamut of emotion,

and there's something magical
that happens there

because I think you just have to
surrender yourself to the ocean.

Navigating
without visual landmarks

takes remarkable skill.

The ancestral Polynesians
could detect distant islands

from wave reflections
in the swell...

...just one of the cues
that may have helped them

discover Hawaii
in the first place.

With land in sight,

the rival red team is
drawing in on Mahealani's team.

The finish line is on the shores

of Oahu's capital city,
Honolulu.

And after almost six hours
of paddling,

it's Mahealani's team
that claims victory.

-Whoo-hoo!

-It's a magical
bonding experience

of women from young to old,

and, you know, you're honoring
the people that came before us,

and you're honoring the people
that will come after us,

and ultimately
honoring ourselves.

-We don't know where
the original settlers landed...

but they quickly colonized
all the large main islands,

taking advantage
of the abundant rainfall

and rich volcanic soil
that has developed over time.

As successive waves of people
arrived,

they slowly transformed
parts of Hawaii

into the buzzing modern
metropolises they are today.

But the greatest change
humans brought

were all the new plants
and animals that came with them.

A trend that has continued
to modern times.

In 1972, a pet shop
imported several dozen

Jackson's chameleons
from East Africa.

But they escaped.

Slowly but surely...

...they found their way
out of the suburbs

and up into Oahu's forests.

And that's when
the trouble began.

Horned males
joined the escapee females.

Free from predators
and with an abundance of food,

their numbers exploded.

They began eating their way
through the unique collection

of species
that evolved on Hawaii...

who had never seen a predator
like this before.

Invasive species
like these chameleons

have contributed
to the extinction

of over 500 native species.

Attempts are now being made
to recapture the chameleons --

part of a larger effort to
save Hawaii's native wildlife...

...even in the most
unlikely places.

In Hawaii's busiest city,
Honolulu,

a fluffy white tern
just a few days old.

With no nest to protect him,

he must cling carefully
to his street perch...

while he waits for his parents

to deliver regular supplies
of squid and small fish.

These birds were revered
by the ancient Polynesians.

They knew that if they saw

a white tern
with a bill full of fish,

it was a sure sign
that land was nearby.

And yet it's likely
the arrival of humans

wiped them out
from the main islands.

But now the terns
are making a comeback.

In the last 60 years,
their numbers have risen

from a single pair
to over 2,000 birds.

Busy roads may help
keep predators away.

And trees planted
within the city

provide safety
and prime nesting habitat.

In six weeks' time, this chick
will take to the air...

...joining the island's now
thriving white tern population.

For one species, the changes
people have made to Hawaii

have brought
new opportunities...

and plenty of food.

The Pacific golden plover.

They migrate an epic 3,00 miles

to get here from Alaska
every winter.

Because this is the perfect
place for them to fatten up

and double their body weight.

Short grass is full
of their favorite insects

like cockroaches,
caterpillars, and earwigs,

which they locate by sight.

And here the grass is carefully
maintained year-round...

...because this is
a military cemetery.

The National Memorial Cemetery
of the Pacific.

The final resting place

for thousands
of U.S. service personnel.

It sits inside
an extinct volcano

known as the Punchbowl Crater.

A visual reminder of how
these islands were made...

and just how much they've
changed since people arrived.

But on a far greater time scale,

Hawaii has always been changing.

From their birth and through
their gradual decline,

there comes a time
when these islands finally die.

Journeying northwest,

Hawaii's islands become
progressively older and smaller.

Over tens of millions of years,

island that were once
lush, towering peaks

have been eroded to little more
than a patch of sand.

Even now, while the land
is lost above water,

new opportunities open up
for those beneath the waves.

These sinking islands,
bathed in warm tropical seas,

provide the perfect platform
for coral reefs to thrive.

They've become a magnet
for ocean drifters

like these green turtles...

who travel here for a service

that's not available
in the open ocean...

...a thorough clean
by reef fish

to remove algae
from their shells.

The fish get a good meal...

and the turtle
can swim more easily.

Like on land,
many new species have evolved.

On some of these reefs,

every single fish
is unique to Hawaii.

The Hawaiian monk seal

is another species
found nowhere else.

After being hunted
to the edge of extinction,

it's now one of the rarest seals
on Earth, with just 1,500 left.

Today their numbers
are stable...

thanks mainly to the creation
of one of the largest

marine conservation areas
in the world...

...which stretches from
the last of the main islands

all the way to the end
of the Hawaiian chain.

There lies Midway Atoll.

At 30 million years old,

it's one of the oldest
of all the islands.

Today all that's left of
its once towering volcanic peak

are 2 square miles of sand.

But it's still highly prized
real estate.

Once fiercely fought over

in World War II's
Battle of Midway...

...today it hosts three million
nesting seabirds...

...including the biggest colony

of Laysan albatross
in the world.

Among the thousands,

one 4-month-old chick
is getting desperate.

Like the other chicks
around him,

he's still flightless
and entirely dependent

on his parents for food.

But his mother is the oldest
known living bird in the wild --

an astonishing 67 years old.

He hasn't seen her
for over a week.

She may be thousands of miles
away searching for food.

In the searing tropical sun,

he desperately pants
to cool down...

...and can only watch

while other parents return
to feed their chicks.

But after two long weeks
of waiting...

...the world's oldest known bird
finally appears.

Identified as "Z333"
on her leg band...

she's more affectionately known
as "Wisdom."

And to her chick, she's
instantly recognizable as Mom.

In her extraordinary lifetime,

Wisdom has flown
around 3 million miles

to successfully raise
37 chicks.

Now she's surrounded
by three generations

of her extended family,

but this exceptional
great-grandmother

has no time to rest...

...only staying for ten minutes

before leaving
to search for more food.

The chick may have one of
the most experienced mothers

in the world,
but his future is uncertain.

The natural process
that sees Hawaii's islands

slowly sink back into the ocean

is accelerating
with rising sea levels.

By the end of this century,
due to climate change,

many low-lying islands
like Midway Atoll

are predicted to disappear...

and with them
their unique wildlife.

But as some of Hawaii's islands
are reclaimed by the sea,

others are rising up
under the depths,

ready to form new land...

...and create
even more opportunity

for any brave creatures

that can reach
these distant shores

and make Hawaii their home.