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Today, the WHO declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic.

I'm issuing a "stay home, stay safe" executive order.

…directing nearly all of our residents

to quite simply stay at home.

From this evening, I must give a very simple instruction.

You must stay at home.

March 2020. A deadly virus sweeps around the world.

Overnight, our lives are put on pause.

But as we stop…

remarkable things start to change in the natural world.

Clearer air.

Cleaner waters.

And animals starting to flourish in ways we hadn't seen for decades.

Filming from the start of lockdown across five continents…

we've recorded nature's extraordinary response.

From ocean giants communicating in new ways with their young…

And cheetahs transforming the chances of survival for their cubs…

This is the best time for her to be a mother.

To endangered penguins having a record-breaking breeding season.

This is a unique opportunity to peer into the lives and worlds of wildlife

and see what things look like without as much of our interaction.

It's a global experiment of epic proportions.

This is the year Earth changed.

Just hours into lockdown, many of us notice the silence.

With global traffic noise reduced by up to 70%,

there is a new sound to be heard…

birdsong.

These white-crowned sparrows

adapt to the quiet by doing something astonishing.

Living in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge,

their song had been drowned out by cars.

But now, with the traffic here at its lowest levels since the 1950s…

researchers are amazed to hear new notes in the sparrows' mating call.

And there's hope that the birds will have their best breeding season for years.

And it's not just noise level that reduces.

The speed at which air pollution drops around the globe is staggering.

Within days,

Los Angeles experiences its best air quality for 40 years.

Across China, the levels of toxic gases in the atmosphere halve.

And in India, which typically suffers from some of the worst pollution in the world…

just 12 days after lockdown…

…a breathtaking sight appears.

We were sitting on the table having breakfast,

and then my dad came, rushed in.

He said, "Come upstairs. The mountains are visible."

Amateur photographer Anshul

goes to see what all the excitement was about.

People were standing on the rooftops saying,

"Wow. Wow. Mountains. Mountains."

And I pause, and I saw.

With the clear skies, for the first time in a lifetime,

we can see the Himalayas.

Over 200 kilometers away,

the highest mountain range on Earth,

hidden behind smog for 30 years,

is suddenly visible.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

The Himalayas have been right there behind the pollution all along.

Anshul's photograph of this moment went viral around the world.

It's a vivid illustration

that the moment we paused, the Earth was able to breathe again.

Lockdown extends into weeks.

And the travel bans limit our movement still further.

Those holidays that you might have been planning to take, cancel them.

Passenger numbers and passenger bookings are all down.

Air travel has just fallen off a cliff.

It's down roughly 90% worldwide.

April 2020,

and there are 114 million fewer international tourists

than in the same month the previous year.

In Spain, visitor numbers drop from over seven million to zero.

And in Florida, beaches normally packed with holidaymakers on spring break…

are deserted.

Could this be the opportunity for one endangered sea creature

to boost its numbers?

Female sea turtles return every two to three years

to the shores where they themselves hatched

in order to lay their eggs.

Globally, turtle numbers have been in steep decline,

partly because they have been reluctant to visit the ever-busier beaches.

But this year…

is different.

Our cameraman, working with local researchers,

is lucky enough to film here on Juno Beach…

one of the densest nesting sites for loggerhead turtles in the world.

As the breeding season begins…

the female is able to lay her eggs in peace

for the first time in her life.

And over the following weeks,

hundreds more do the same.

It's long been thought that human disturbance

is a major problem for breeding turtles.

But this is the first time that scientists can accurately measure

the scale of the impact.

Each morning, this team of researchers

counted the number of turtle tracks that lead to a nest.

Over the last ten years,

the average nesting success rate for loggerheads

had dropped to just 40%.

Have they been any more successful with the beach to themselves?

When the beaches were closed to humans,

that number jumped all the way up to 61%, which is the highest we've ever seen.

This is a dramatic improvement.

Every extra nest means another hundred or so hatchlings,

each with the potential to become breeding adults themselves.

With these beach closures, these animals were able to do

what they've been doing for millions of years

more successfully than when we have a human presence.

Six thousand kilometers away,

on the west coast of America…

a new quiet beneath the waves offers an opportunity

for ocean giants.

Every year, more than 10,000 humpback whales

migrate from Hawaii…

to these bays in Alaska in order to feed.

Normally, they would have to share these waters

with ships carrying a million visitors a year.

But now, with every cruise canceled…

it's as much as 25 times quieter underwater.

In this hush, scientists using underwater microphones

record a remarkable change.

Humpbacks are talking to each other more often…

and in new ways.

Well, it was really exciting and actually very moving

to hear these whales having this long vocal exchange.

One vocalizing, and then a mother and calf.

I mean, I'd never heard that before.

You can imagine, if you were trying to communicate with your friends,

and you're in a crowded bar.

It's hard to do, you don't say as much, and when you do, you have to scream.

But if you find yourself a nice, quiet coffee shop

where there isn't much noise,

you can carry on a much more elaborate and productive conversation.

But there's something even more surprising.

Now the whales can communicate across greater distances without interruption.

And some mothers, like this one, leave their calves alone.

An extremely rare sight.

She can now head off to feed,

safe in the knowledge that she can hear her calf if it needs her.

A nursing mother needs to eat as much as possible…

and the best way to do so is to hunt with other adults.

The whales dive down…

blowing a circular wall of bubbles…

corralling the fish into shoals…

before gorging on them in their thousands.

It's one of nature's greatest spectacles.

Reassured by the quiet,

humpback mothers are able to team up in this way more often.

This year, they've got the place to themselves.

They're doing anything they want, wherever they want, whenever they want.

In previous years,

as few as 7% of calves made it to adulthood.

But this season, there's every chance many more will survive.

Hopefully, after a few tough years where whales were not doing so well,

this pandemic has given them a break at a time that they needed it most.

This change in underwater noise levels went far beyond Alaska.

Global shipping traffic drops by 17% in the first three months of lockdown,

improving the lives of animals across the oceans.

Dolphins off New Zealand

triple the range of their communication.

And researchers in Vancouver record a fourfold reduction in ship noise

that allows killer whales to use their sonar

more effectively in hunting their prey.

It's three months into the pandemic.

In the United States, nearly half the labor force is working from home.

And globally, a quarter of businesses are shut.

Bars, restaurants and cafés remain closed.

When all is said and done, the retail business is shut down.

Right now it feels abandoned. Like there's no one around.

Across the world's major cities,

footfall is reduced by more than 90%.

With urban centers almost deserted…

remarkable pictures emerge

of animals taking advantage of city living.

A hippo on a trip to the gas station.

Jackals enjoying the local park.

Even a puma prowling the sidewalk.

But one animal adapts to these abandoned urban spaces

with particular ingenuity.

The city of Nara has been home to a group of sika deer

for at least 1,300 years.

Most of the meadows they relied on for food

had been taken over by buildings.

But these normally shy animals had found a solution.

The deer turned to the 13 million annual visitors to Nara's temples…

and discovered that showing a bit of respect…

would bring tasty rewards.

Rice bran crackers had become a vital part of their diet.

But the pandemic changed that.

Their favorite takeout disappeared overnight.

No people means no crackers.

There's concern that the deer might starve.

But some of the older generation appear to have a plan.

They lead a group out of the temple grounds.

And they seem to know exactly where they're going.

They're heading down a major road…

deep into the concrete jungle of the city.

But where will they find food in this urban sprawl?

After a two-and-a-half kilometer trek…

the group comes to a halt.

This unassuming patch was once part of their grazing grounds.

Remarkably, the older deer

seem to have remembered it as the place where they used to feed.

And it provides everything they need:

fresh grass, leaves and herbs.

Over the following weeks,

they graze across a patchwork of these surviving scraps of land.

And there was another upside to the absence of people.

Scientists have discovered that not only did this new diet make them healthier…

but fewer visitors meant less plastic trash,

which can kill deer.

Even when it seems that animals benefit from our presence…

in many cases, they're actually better off without us.

Four months into lockdown, and wherever we step back,

the space we leave is providing wildlife with new opportunities.

In Argentina…

normally shy capybara

raid the manicured gardens of this well-heeled suburb…

which has been built on their former wetland home.

Nothing seems to stop them enjoying what was originally theirs.

Well…

almost nothing.

The longer our absence continues, the more daring animals become.

And when the safari season in Africa is canceled…

…one deadly hunter rewrites the rule book.

This luxury lodge stands empty.

But it doesn't take long before new guests begin to check in.

Vervet monkeys reserve a spot by the pool.

While impala and nyala antelope

take advantage of the salad bar.

But not far behind…

a fully grown male leopard.

The appearance during the day of this usually nocturnal hunter

is a real surprise.

Not least for our film crew.

Just stand still, guys.

I've had some intimidating moments in my life, but that is at the top of it.

Across Africa,

leopards have lost over 60% of their territory to people,

making hunting ever more challenging.

But here, with no guests around,

this leopard sees an opportunity

and makes a remarkable switch in his behavior.

He starts hunting during the day.

It may take a few attempts…

but it's not long…

before his new strategy…

pays off.

Leopard numbers in Africa

have dropped by over 30% in the last 25 years.

But by taking full advantage of this new all-you-can-eat lockdown buffet,

this leopard is thriving.

This pretty much has become his lodge. His private kingdom.

It's six months since the pandemic began.

By September, over 40 countries still have restrictions in place…

limiting the activities of over 3 billion people.

Large gatherings,

including live sporting events, concerts and festivals,

will not be able to return until we have a reliable treatment like a vaccine.

Whilst we adjust to our new normal,

nature's rejuvenation continues.

In India, the river Ganges

shows an 80% increase in its oxygen levels.

And on Africa's Atlantic coast,

the water cleanliness rating leaps from poor to excellent.

And our lighter tread has now been continuing for long enough

for a whole new generation of animals to benefit.

Here on the South African coast,

some proud new parents are on their morning commute.

African jackass penguins.

They have set up home right alongside us.

During the breeding season,

every morning they head out to sea to go fishing.

Their chicks are very demanding.

They need to eat around 15% of their body weight every day.

Luckily, jackass penguins are highly effective hunters…

able to dive to depths of 80 meters

to feast on shoals of fish and crustaceans.

But delivering the catch to their hungry chicks is a problem.

In previous years, these beaches were packed with people.

And by the time the penguins were ready to return from fishing…

they would find their path blocked.

So many of them waited offshore until sunset…

when the crowds headed home.

But this year, the beach is deserted.

The penguins abandon their old routine

and now head home after just a few hours at sea

with a bellyful of fish for their chicks.

And with plenty of daylight still in hand, they can go out to sea once more.

These chicks are now being fed twice or even three times a day.

They're not only healthier and growing more rapidly,

but more families like this one are successfully rearing twins.

And there's more good news.

Over the next few weeks,

some parents go on to successfully raise a second clutch of chicks,

the first time this has been seen here in over a decade.

For years, we've assumed that penguins and people here

were getting along just fine.

But in reality, we were making their life difficult.

And given that penguin numbers in South Africa

have dropped by almost 70% over the last 30 years…

they need all the help we can give them.

It's not just the young of city-dwelling animals that are thriving.

By now, the effects of this year's restrictions

are even being felt in the world's wildest places.

Transforming one big cat's ability to protect its young.

Cheetah.

The fastest sprinter on Earth.

But they have a weakness.

Their slight build means they lack the strength of rival predators…

like lions and hyenas.

They will happily steal a cheetah's meal

and won't hesitate to kill a cub.

Cheetahs try to keep a low profile.

But with two cubs to feed,

this mother needs to make a kill every two or three days.

While she hunts,

her six-month-old cubs stay hidden in the long grass.

But as soon as she's made her kill, she faces a dilemma.

She is hundreds of meters away from them,

with a carcass too large to drag back.

And if she leaves it, she will risk it being stolen by scavengers.

Her solution is to use a soft chirruping call…

to tell her cubs to join her.

She must be careful.

If she calls too loudly or too often,

she will alert her enemies to her defenseless cubs.

And it's at this very moment

that cheetah here have found it hardest to be heard.

In the years before lockdown,

seeing a cheetah hunt was the top of the wish list

for the Maasai Mara's tourists.

But the crowds that surrounded the mother after her kill posed a problem.

There's a lot of commotion. Vehicles driving up and down.

Guides talking on radio, people talking to each other.

The hubbub drowned the calls

of mother cheetahs calling to their cubs.

All that noise

masks the natural cues that cheetahs rely on to survive.

Forced to keep on calling, they risked attracting rivals.

But this year…

this mother is experiencing almost no human disruption.

After just a few calls across the empty savanna…

her cubs hear her…

and join their mother.

We find that mothers make fewer calls.

One or two times, and cubs respond immediately.

Without people around,

researchers are already seeing cheetah cubs doing better.

In pre-COVID times, you'll find one out of three cubs will survive.

But currently we are coming across

more cubs that are more than three months old,

which makes us optimistic

that this time around we are going to have more cubs surviving,

which means more cheetahs.

With only around 7,000 adult cheetahs left in Africa…

every cub is precious.

While the year continues to be challenging for us…

…more and more endangered animals

are enjoying a boost to their chances of survival.

With less disturbance during 2020,

mountain gorillas here

gave birth to twice the usual number of babies.

On England's south coast,

rare spiny seahorses appear in numbers not seen for at least ten years

as their seagrass home recovers from damage caused by visiting boats.

And in Kenya, no rhinos were killed for their horns

for the first time since 1999.

It's a whole year since the start of lockdown.

A year in which many of us have found comfort in the natural world.

A year in which that world has changed in extraordinary ways.

Annual global emissions of carbon dioxide

have fallen by over 6%,

the largest drop ever measured.

And there have been striking changes beneath the Earth's surface too.

With the vibrations from travel and industry halved,

it's been the quietest period underground in recorded history.

But the impact of this lockdown won't last forever.

What inspiration can we take from this moment

to find ways to better coexist with nature?

In India, some are already seizing the chance

to live more harmoniously

alongside some very powerful yet endangered animals.

A fully grown Asian elephant

needs to eat 150 kilos of food every day.

But with only 5% of their natural habitat remaining,

and with much of their forest home replaced by farmland,

elephants here often raid crops to survive.

In response, the farmers try to defend their fields.

But they still regularly lose over half of the rice harvest on which they depend.

We would spend the entire night

chasing them away into the forest.

But they'd come back

and we'd have to do it all over again.

And it's not just farms that are at risk.

Elephants also search for food in villages

and have ended up trampling people.

Across the country,

around 400 humans and a hundred elephants

are killed in these conflicts every year.

But one community is trying a new approach

to solving the problem.

City workers who've returned home because of lockdown

can provide the extra hands needed

for a project spearheaded by a local conservation trust.

We got a great opportunity during lockdown

to do plantation for wild elephants.

Along the forest edge, they plant a buffer zone

of fast-growing wild rice and grasses for the elephants to eat.

The entire community of more than 500 people came to help.

Over just a few months,

they transform almost 400 acres, 1.6 square kilometers, of their land.

And now, instead of driving the elephants away

they're holding a ceremony to welcome them.

The crops are ready for harvest.

But will the elephants eat the grasses that have been planted for them…

or will they raid the farmers' fields?

As the people return home…

something stirs at the edge of the forest.

One by one, the elephants emerge from the cover of the trees.

Mothers.

Calves.

A whole extended family of 26 hungry elephants.

But how far will they come?

Staying close to the edge of the forest…

they choose to feast only on the crops planted for them.

Before, we used to chase them away.

But now, things have changed.

It feels good… makes us happy.

As the harvest season progresses,

the elephants never stray onto the farmers' fields

nor do they enter the village.

If we love elephants

then elephants love us too.

A buffer zone of plants

is providing a long-term solution

to an age-old conflict.

And it's one which neighboring villages

are already talking with the local conservation trust about adopting.

Looking back over the past year,

one that has been so difficult for many of us,

what can we learn to secure the future of the natural world

and our own?

We have to think of how we shall coexist.

Awaken us to the fact that we can share our spaces with wildlife.

Not taking it for granted

that we're going to do the same things when we go back.

The astonishing speed and variety of nature's response

has shown that even modest changes to our lives

can make a vital difference to wildlife around the world.

There could be some small shutdowns every single summer.

Nightly beach closures. It doesn't have to be during the day.

Very small alterations that people can do

to make sure that humans and wildlife are both successful together.

We know that if we ask vessels to go slower,

and we maybe group vessel traffic, they can actually have a smaller footprint

and protect the underwater soundscape and the whales.

We are making recommendations to the park authorities

that are aimed at promoting good conduct among tourists and tour guides

that will ensure the survival of these animals.

This extraordinary year, the year Earth changed,

has not only shown us that we can help wildlife to flourish,

but if we choose to do so,

we can also transform the health of the planet for all.

I know it's high time now

that we should contribute in every small way we can to reduce the pollution.

And far from being separate from the natural world…

we've discovered that our lives are interconnected

in deep and surprising ways.

If we are to thrive in the future,

now is the crucial moment

to find ways to share our planet…

with all the life on Earth.