Original subtitles

Meet Star

a female Steller sea lion.

At five years old, she's in her prime.

But there's something in life she's yet to experience

becoming a mom.

Over the course of the next year, that's all about to change.

In this incredible journey, witness the miracle of new life

as it grows.

And see a unique relationship develop between mother and baby.

Star's pup, Luna...

Will arrive in a time of turbulence,

and face unimaginable dangers.

She must quickly rise to the challenge

of Growing Up Animal.

It's spring, and the North Pacific Ocean

off the coast of British Columbia is bursting with life.

After a long and difficult winter,

Star is making the most of the good times.

But it's not all fun and games

she's on a mission.

She's been travelling for days to return here

her birthplace.

Triangle Island.

This wild and unforgiving outcrop

surrounded by treacherous waters,

may appear inhospitable.

But for Star,

this is the perfect place to start a family.

And she's not the only one who thinks so.

Five thousand other Steller sea lions had the same idea.

They're all here for one very special reason.

More pups are born on this island

than anywhere else in the world.

It's a seasonal baby boom.

Just like us humans,

Steller sea lion moms give their all to rear the next generation.

Star has quite the journey ahead of her.

But first, she needs a mate.

Luckily, Triangle Island is also the place to find love.

With hundreds of males vying for her attention...

Star wants to find the perfect suitor.

The most successful bull will have the best patch of beach.

With access to water,

and shelter.

At last Star's eyes settle on the one.

Brutus.

- Over 2000 pounds of muscle and blubber.

A fine specimen.

All Star needs to do is get his attention...

And she knows just the trick.

First, she plays hard to get.

Then she entices Brutus to a game of chase.

That's got him interested.

Now time for a love bite or two.

It may look rough,

but that's sea lion courtship for you,

and the big guy seems to like it.

The pair has made its match.

With any luck, Star's journey to motherhood has begun.

But that's the last she'll see of Brutus. He'll play no role in raising a pup.

It's all up to her now.

Within days, something miraculous has begun.

Inside Star's body, a cluster of cells have formed.

Called a blastocyst, it holds the potential of new life.

But it's in a kind of suspended animation, known as embryonic diapause.

Delaying Star's pregnancy from starting now

means her pup will miss the tough winter

and be born next summer, when food is most plentiful.

How Star fares over the coming months could determine whether the cells implant.

She must fatten up and ensure she's in top condition.

The cold waters around Triangle Island are some of the richest in the world

alive with the most weird and wonderful creatures.

In the summer months, herring gather in their millions.

They feast on blooms of plankton, drawn to the surface by the sun.

This is an opportunity Star can't afford to miss.

By hunting as part of a group, she might stand a better chance.

Working together, they corral the fish into tighter and tighter balls.

A Herring school can reach several miles in length

and contain nearly 50,000 tons of fish.

Enough to keep the entire sea lion colony fed for over a month.

It's been a successful hunt.

But Star must eat 50 pounds of fish a day to survive.

She needs to stay in good shape for her pregnancy to continue.

As fall arrives, storms batter this exposed island

and food becomes much harder to come by.

It's time for Star to move on.

By December

she's made it 600 miles north to Alaska.

Here, temperatures drop below freezing.

But these inland channels are far more sheltered than the coast.

And most importantly, there's food.

Herring see out the winter here, too.

Despite this, Star must spend more time hunting than ever before.

Each trip is vital, now that she's growing a new life.

Hidden inside Star's womb, something magical is happening.

Eleven weeks ago, that tiny cluster of cells implanted and began to grow.

This is Luna.

While her face and flippers are still forming

inside her torso, tiny lungs are developing,

and a heart is already working away.

The umbilical cord that joins Luna to Star

delivers essential nutrients that are keeping her alive.

But with five months of growing to do, she still has a long way to go.

It's going to be a challenging winter for Star.

The pressure is on. She must go hunt again.

When spring finally arrives,

daylight hours stretch from eight to 15.

Energy from the sun brings the seas around Triangle Island back to life.

And sea lions are returning from far and wide in preparation to give birth.

But Star is nowhere to be seen.

Just a few weeks away from becoming a mom,

she is enjoying her last taste of freedom.

She's managed to eat just enough to keep Luna's development on track.

Twenty-eight weeks in and Luna has changed so much!

A downy hair called Lanugo now covers over 50 percent of her body.

When she's born, this coat will keep her warm while she builds up some blubber.

With her flippers now almost fully formed, she wriggles around in the womb.

These movements build up the muscles she'll need

to take her first swim when she's just a few weeks old.

For a sea lion, flippers are the tools of their trade.

Star pulls herself forward by bringing her fore flippers together

in a powerful sweeping motion.

Then tucking them tightly against her body,

she forms a torpedo-like shape to easily glide through the water.

And while an Olympic medalist swims at nearly six miles an hour,

an adult Steller like Star can reach speeds of nearly seventeen.

But in these murky waters,

speed alone is not enough to catch her fast-moving prey.

She relies on another attribute her baby already has

whiskers.

Luna's have been growing rapidly.

When she's fully grown, they'll reach almost 12 inches,

the longest of any animal.

Like a straw in a cup, each whisker can move freely,

letting the sea lion feel any fish swimming nearby.

Luna is just weeks away from using her whiskers to explore her new home.

Now almost 130 pounds heavier, Star can sense her time is nearly up.

She needs to make her way back to land.

By late May, Triangle Island is buzzing with sea lions.

Star needs to find just the right spot.

One she can return to each summer.

It may not be the calmest place to give birth...

Cheek to cheek with all the other moms, there's barely a moment's peace.

But for Star it's just right,

sheltered and a safe distance away from the water's edge.

She has timed it perfectly.

By 34 weeks, Luna is running out of space.

She's ready to meet the world.

By releasing hormones into Star's blood stream,

she puts the process in motion.

Within three days of arriving on the island

there are signs Star's baby is coming.

At last...

Luna is here.

Star's first pup is born safe and well

weighing just over 35 pounds.

A gentle touch of noses

begins the bonding process

that will keep them side by side for the next few weeks.

But foremost on Luna's mind is her first meal.

Star instinctively shows her where to suckle.

Her milk is five times richer than human milk,

and will help Luna rapidly lay down a layer of blubber.

At just three hours old, and with a little help from Mom...

Luna is finding her feet.

Rotating her hind flippers underneath her,

and using her front flippers to support her weight,

she can start to get around.

But despite her newfound freedom, she's still utterly dependent on Star.

And when all the moms around look so similar,

it's easy for our curious pup to get confused.

Being able to pick Star out from the crowd will be key to her survival.

So, Star

begins to roar at Luna.

She repeats it regularly to help her memorize the call.

Each mom has their own unique sound, a special call...

Like a name.

In such a noisy rookery,

there's another sense Luna can use to find her mom.

Scent.

All that cuddling, nose rubbing and affection

helps Luna remember exactly what Mom smells like.

The combination of sound and scent

are as unique to a sea lion as our faces are to us.

Luna will stay by her mom's side for the next ten days.

By which point, she'll be able to pick Star out

from a crowded beach of over a hundred sea lions.

At just a week old, Luna already has a taste for adventure.

And there's something that will play a big part in her life,

she just can't wait to meet.

The ocean.

Luna thinks she's ready.

After all, a sea lion needs to get to know the sea.

Star isn't so sure.

Her pup has no sense of danger.

But there's no holding Luna back.

She makes a run for the shallows...

And her flippers touch water for the very first time.

At just seven days old, Luna takes a dip into the Pacific Ocean.

But while their sheltered cove

may look perfect for a pup's first taste of water

it's not without its dangers.

And Star knows it.

Conditions here can change in an instant.

Luna isn't yet strong enough to swim

or to haul herself back on land if seas get too rough.

But a swell is building up.

Star makes her way back to the beach.

And Luna tries to follow.

But already the water is too deep.

Rescued by Mom, she's safe.

Luna is just at the start of a very long journey

learning how to master the ocean.

It could take a year before she is a fully-fledged swimmer...

And independent enough to hunt alone.

For the first ten days of her life,

Luna has been nurtured by Star around the clock

giving her the best possible start.

Their bond has grown as strong as any mother and child.

But Star hasn't eaten in nearly two weeks.

She's survived on nothing but sips of sea water.

And now she's hungry.

She needs to hunt,

and that means leaving Luna for the first time.

Luna's never been alone before.

It's hard to know what to do.

Her calls go unanswered.

Her mom could be gone for days.

So, our curious little pup decides to explore.

But a rookery can be a dangerous place.

Hmm. Best steer clear of the big guys.

Maybe these other moms will help?

They all look a bit like Star.

But they don't smell quite the same.

And they don't sound like her either.

Luna is too trusting and fails to read the warning signs.

Other moms don't tolerate strange pups coming close.

It might seem cruel,

but this aggressive behavior stops other pups

from stealing their precious milk

and protects the survival of their own baby.

Shocked and bruised but otherwise unharmed, Luna escapes.

It's an important lesson learned.

She needs to find some friends her own size.

Fortunately, Luna is not the only pup with a mom out hunting.

One by one, they group together...

Forming a kind of pup nursery.

There's comfort in numbers.

With some friends in tow, Luna starts to feel safe.

Time for some fun.

Stellers are social creatures.

And just like us, play will help Luna develop her social skills.

By play fighting with other pups, she'll learn how to communicate...

She'll learn when to stand up for herself...

And when to back down.

Perhaps the most important lesson for a feisty pup like Luna.

And with her newfound bravery,

she takes the opportunity to have a splash in the rock pools.

All this activity will build up her muscles.

Getting her ready for her first swim.

It's been a long and tiring day.

As the light begins to fade,

Luna settles down for her first night without Star.

She may not realize it, but today our spirited young sea lion

has made some great leaps towards independence.

After almost two days without her mom,

Luna is starting to settle into nursery life.

She hasn't eaten since Star left,

but Steller pups are well adjusted to periods of fasting.

And there are plenty of distractions.

She's even started to practice her hunting skills.

Albeit with kelp instead of fish, for now.

Then something catches Luna's attention.

It sounds familiar.

She'd recognize that call anywhere.

Star has returned from hunting.

And Luna couldn't be more pleased to see her mom.

By early August, Luna is thriving.

She's now eight weeks old, and she's acquired a new skill.

Swimming.

She spends her days exploring her new underwater world.

This is what she was built for.

Short, shallow dives is all Luna can manage now.

But one day, she'll dive to depths of nearly 1300 feet,

as deep as the Empire State Building is tall.

And while her large eyes equip her with excellent underwater vision,

she still hasn't figured out how to fish.

For now, these sheltered waters are purely her playground.

But even this close to shore, pups can be extremely vulnerable.

Orca, a whole pod, with their own young to feed.

They know this time of year brings easy pickings.

Luna is oblivious to the danger.

Working as a team

the Orca start to circle.

They do little to hide their presence.

Sending panic through the rookery.

Luna realizes something is wrong.

She has to make it back to the safety of the rocks.

She's made it.

But the Orca must feed their young... and won't give up.

With only adult sea lions in sight, they look for a straggler.

The Orca initiate stealth mode.

Diving underwater

the hunters stop communicating.

They need to find a sea lion swimming unaware.

Star and some other moms are on their way back from a hunt.

The Orca claim their prey.

Back on the rookery, Luna cries out for her mom.

There's no answer.

She's all alone,

and frightened.

Then she hears something.

That familiar call.

Star is safe.

But one of the other pups isn't so lucky.

His mom won't be coming home.

As the days and weeks pass, winter draws ever closer.

Soon Star and Luna will need to leave Triangle Island

and head to their winter foraging grounds.

But it will be a long journey,

especially for Luna, who has never left the safety of the shallows.

Star's time to get Luna ready for life in the ocean is running out.

She needs to get her swimming in deeper water now.

At first Luna seems hesitant.

But with a little persuasion from Mom, they both head away from the shore.

With Star right by her side

she's confidently swimming by herself in no time.

Although her stroke might need a little practice...

Luna is doing brilliantly.

She's nearly ready to take on the long journey with her mom.

By September, there's a chill in the air,

and the rookery is starting to clear.

The tiny pup who arrived here just three months ago

is now a big and brave bundle of enthusiasm.

For a first-time mom, Star's done a great job.

Together, they embark on what will be Luna's longest swim yet.

But one day, she will return to Triangle Island to raise her own pup.

Continuing the tradition that has lasted for generations.