Original subtitles

(DRAMATIC THEME MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: Enter a world

-just beyond your perception. -(CLICKING)

A world of extraordinary animals

with hidden powers and super senses.

-If you think you know nature... -(BELLOWING)

...think again.

(THEME MUSIC ENDS)

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: In this unpredictable world...

-animals will do whatever it takes... -(WINGS FLUTTERING)

...to keep their families safe.

But with great parenting

comes great responsibility.

(THUDS)

(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: This male African jacana has been left holding the babies.

-(WATER SLOSHING) -(SQUAWKING)

BENEDICT: For four weeks, he's cared for his eggs alone.

And since they hatched two days ago,

-he's taken them under his wing. -(CHITTERING)

BENEDICT: Jacana chicks hatch out as matchbox-sized mini-mes of the adults.

(CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: And they're surprisingly independent.

(THUDS)

BENEDICT: Just like Dad's,

their huge splayed toes spread their weight

over a large surface area,

so they can almost walk on water.

(FLY BUZZING)

BENEDICT: They venture deep into the lily field...

(FLY BUZZING)

...feeding on flies.

Dad treads a delicate line between allowing his chicks

the freedom they need to grow,

and keeping them safe.

(FLY BUZZING)

(WATER SLOSHING)

BENEDICT: They may be self-sufficient,

but they're naïve to danger.

(BIRDS SQUAWKING)

BENEDICT: Only one in four will reach adulthood.

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: With polarized eyesight, African fish eagles see through glare

reflecting off water and zero in on movement.

(CHITTERS)

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: When Jacanas sense a threat, they usually scoop up their young

and head for cover.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: But his chicks are scattered too far.

-So he sends out a secret alarm call... -(TWEETING)

...triggering an incredible anti-predator instinct.

(TWEETING CONTINUES)

BENEDICT: The chicks freeze.

(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)

(BIRD CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: All Dad can do is hope they keep as still as possible.

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)

(TWEETING)

(SCREECHING)

BENEDICT: Once danger's passed, he runs to pick them up.

(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)

(CHIRPING)

(THUDS)

BENEDICT: But one of his chicks is still missing,

still frozen.

Holes in her beak act like a snorkel, helping her breathe.

But because she's under water, she can't hear her dad's call.

(CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: The more he searches, the more attention it attracts.

(WATER SLOSHES)

BENEDICT: Crocodiles detect vibrations with their acutely sensitive skin.

-Those huge feet... -(SQUAWKING)

...come at a price.

(BIRD CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: Finally, Dad's call is close enough to be heard,

and the chick moves towards it.

(CHIRPING)

(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)

(TWEETING)

BENEDICT: At last,

all back together,

-tucked in with Dad. -(TWEETING)

BENEDICT: When animals take on the challenge of raising young,

it takes phenomenal skills to keep the family growing strong.

(FLY BUZZING)

-(SERENE MUSIC PLAYING) -(BIRD SQUAWKING)

(CHIRPING)

-(MUSIC CONCLUDES) -(WATER SLOSHING)

(MILD-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: Mothers will go to extraordinary lengths to ensure

the best start in life for their young.

This giant Amazon river turtle is searching for the perfect beach

to lay her eggs.

Problem is, they only exist for two months at the end

of the dry season...

hidden down a complex maze of waterways.

(VOCALIZING)

BENEDICT: And the river is too murky to find her way.

But this mom is determined,

tapping into an incredible hidden network.

(TURTLE CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: She navigates towards the faint calls of other turtles.

They get louder,

and multiply.

(TURTLES CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: From an area of 1500 square miles,

turtle mothers are gathering.

(TURTLES CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: Forty thousand of them.

(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)

(CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: Somehow, along with the other females,

she needs to ensure her eggs hatch

with the onset of the rains.

(WIND HOWLING)

BENEDICT: Lay too early,

and her young won't be able to dig themselves out

of the hot, dry sand.

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

BENEDICT: Lay too late,

and the rising water will drown her eggs.

Recently discovered, these turtles have a remarkable ability

-for predicting the future. -(GRUNTS)

BENEDICT: Using collective intelligence, they can judge the ideal time to lay.

With eight different calls, they discuss humidity, temperature,

and water level,

until they come to a consensus.

The time is now.

(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)

(GRUNTING)

BENEDICT: She uses guidance from others to choose her spot,

right here in the center of the beach.

By nesting together,

they give four million baby turtles

the best chance of survival in two months' time.

As the eggs incubate in the sand,

up above, the rains finally arrive.

(RAIN PATTERING)

BENEDICT: Just like his mother...

-(GRUNTING) -...this newborn turtle is talking.

And he's not alone.

Thousands of nests across the beach take part in the conversation.

(CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: Together, they decide on the perfect time to emerge.

(CHIRPS)

(CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: The moist sand is easy to dig,

but he emerges into a dangerous world.

(BIRD SCREECHING)

(GRUNTS)

BENEDICT: Some will never make it to the river.

(PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: But the mothers' incredible teamwork

has ensured that these little turtles

have safety in numbers.

-(CHIRPING) -BENEDICT: Hiding in the crowd,

keeping in communication...

(CHIRPING)

...those at the front encouraging others onwards.

(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)

(SQUEAKS)

BENEDICT: And just like his mother before him,

with the guidance of the group,

he's made it.

(WATER SLOSHES)

BENEDICT: Now, he must swim to safety.

And incredibly, he has someone to help show the way.

-(WATER SLOSHES) -(CHIRPS)

BENEDICT: Mom is still here.

In fact, all the turtle mothers have been waiting.

(TURTLES CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: When they hear their young, they call to them,

guiding them to deeper water.

(CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: This recent discovery is the first example of turtle parents

helping their offspring after they've hatched....

(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: For many animals,

super-powered parenting starts long before birth.

(FETAL HEARTBEAT)

BENEDICT: Inside a womb, an extraordinary life is beginning.

Four months old, less than one ounce.

Before birth, this African elephant must increase his weight 6,000 times.

Just as well, someone else will be doing the heavy lifting.

(GROANS)

BENEDICT: An elephant mother faces the greatest gestation of any mammal.

(SCREECHES)

BENEDICT: She must carry her baby for almost two years...

-(GROANS) -...keeping him growing...

through extreme seasons...

(WIND WHIRRING)

...and safe from many deadly enemies.

-(HISSING) -(GROWLING)

BENEDICT: But she won't have to do it alone.

-Her herd is her lifeline... -(TRUMPETS)

(GROANS)

...and his too.

(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: Now twelve months in the womb,

ears and hearing are still developing.

-But already he's listening... -(LOW PURR)

...with his feet.

(BELLOWS)

BENEDICT: Special cells in his toes and heels pick up the vibrations

of the herd communicating.

(GROANS)

BENEDICT: He's learning to recognize Mom...

-(SNORTS) -...and his huge extended family.

(GROANS, TRUMPETS)

BENEDICT: Through communication and cooperation,

elephants form powerful relationships

and social networks that will be essential to his survival.

(TRUMPETING)

BENEDICT: But making sense of life within the herd

-requires incredible intelligence. -(GROANS)

-(FETAL HEARTBEAT) -BENEDICT: And even at 20 months,

he still needs more time to develop

the biggest brain of any terrestrial animal.

So, she prolongs her pregnancy for another two months

by maintaining the flow of hormones to her womb...

(HEART BEATING)

(ELEPHANT GROANS)

-...until finally... -(HEART BEATS FASTER)

...he's ready for the outside world.

(ELEPHANT BELLOWS)

(SQUEALS)

BENEDICT: Her newborn baby's eyes are not yet fully functioning.

(ELEPHANT GROANS)

BENEDICT: But Mom's low frequency calls are reassuringly familiar.

-The other females in the herd... -(SQUEALS)

...soothe him with gentle rumbles...

(RUMBLING)

...and show their excitement by secreting pheromones

from their temporal glands.

(SQUEALS)

(RUMBLING, TRUMPETING)

BENEDICT: But there's little time for celebration.

The scent of birth travels quickly on the morning air.

-(GROANS) -(ROARS)

BENEDICT: As other females remove the after-birth

and throw mud to disguise the smell,

(GROANS)

(TRUMPETS)

BENEDICT: Mom encourages him to stand with the promise of milk.

(SCREECHES)

(GROANS)

(TRUMPETING, RUMBLING)

BENEDICT: But before he drinks, they must move.

(PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: There are lion prides here that specialize

in hunting vulnerable elephants.

But in an increasingly warming world,

a newborn's greatest threat is dehydration.

(GROANS)

(TRUMPETS)

BENEDICT: The rain never came this year.

It will take the combined force of family to find water during drought,

and amazing parenting skills to help him survive the journey.

Not all animal parents stay around to protect their young.

Instead, they use supernatural powers to keep their babies safe

when they are gone.

In the Ecuadorian Cloud Forest, a thumbnail-sized little devil frog

has been busy finding pools for each of her five tadpoles.

Just one more to go.

She secretes a special liquid so her tadpole can swim on her back.

(MILD-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: Then she tracks down standing water

with her incredible sense of smell.

But it's all the way... up there.

Bromeliad plants grow on branches in the canopy.

There's no soil to absorb water up here, so they trap their own.

The perfect nursery pool,

but one epic climb for a tiny frog.

(WATER LAPS)

BENEDICT: She drops off her tadpole in its new home.

But there's nothing for her up here.

She must return to feed on the forest floor,

leaving her young exposed

to the predators that hunt around bromeliad pools.

(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: But Mom has a plan.

Back in the leaf litter,

she gorges on tiny, poisonous ants.

(HISSING)

BENEDICT: They have little nutritional value,

but this ingenious frog

can assimilate ant toxins into a much more potent compound...

making her skin fatal to the touch.

She's cloaked herself in a chemical shield.

Now she needs to pass her poison power to her young.

In each pool,

she lays a single, unfertilized egg,

laced with neurotoxins.

As the tadpoles eat,

poison releases from the egg

and floods the nursery pool.

Wandering spiders detect their prey by tasting with their legs.

But this water is too toxic to enter.

For two months, this helicopter mom continues

to drop off poisoned eggs to her tadpoles,

ensuring that as they grow,

they transform into poisonous little devils,

just like Mom.

When raising young is a more long-term investment,

-it takes even more exceptional parenting. -(PURRS)

(SCREECHES)

BENEDICT: Six cubs is a lot, especially for a first-time mother.

(SCREECHES)

BENEDICT: But this cheetah descends from a bloodline of supermoms,

-famous for raising large litters. -(WHINES)

BENEDICT: Fending for such a large family on the African savanna

calls for a very particular set of skills.

She must hunt almost every day.

To find enough prey, she taps into a hidden sensory world.

Impala.

They leave scent trails with their hooves

to keep their herd together,

which means she can track them down

-with her acute sense of smell. -(SNIFFING)

BENEDICT: But there are those that follow her family in the same way.

Larger predators will seek out and kill cheetah cubs.

So to stop her family being traced, this mother does something remarkable.

(URINE TRICKLING)

BENEDICT: By neutralizing the sulfur compounds in her diet,

she removes the scent from her urine,

making her almost impossible to follow.

Six cubs are a handicap for a stealth predator.

But her advantage is her ability to hunt during the heat of the day.

Most other predators have to rest now,

so this is the safest time to leave her cubs,

and head out alone.

(CHEETAH SCREECHES)

BENEDICT: In thick bush,

her spotted coat blends with the dappled light,

allowing her to close in on a target.

But her final approach...

must be on open ground.

(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: So, once again, she turns the heat to her advantage.

Side-facing eyes give impalas a wide field of view,

but their depth perception is poor.

The heat haze acts like a cloak of invisibility.

allowing her to hide in plain sight,

to move closer, and closer,

until she's ready to strike...

(SCREECHING)

(INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: Zero to 60 in under three seconds.

(SCREECHING)

(GRUNTS)

BENEDICT: At last, a family-sized meal.

Still, she has to make her cubs eat fast.

She knows time is tight.

As soon as flesh is exposed, blood mixes with oxygen,

creating a scent that carries far on the wind.

(LION GROWLS)

BENEDICT: But she has an uncanny ability to see trouble coming,

and keep one step ahead.

(CUB GROANS)

BENEDICT: Bellies full, the whole family's safe.

Finally, mom should get some well-deserved rest.

But not too much.

In just over a year, she has to ready these cubs for independence.

Parents have their work cut out, preparing their young...

-(HORNS HONKING) -...to fly the nest.

-(MILD-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYING) -(HORNS HONKING)

BENEDICT: Chicago's urban jungle may not seem

like a great place to bring up the kids,

unless you're a super-powered parent.

For a peregrine, the Windy City has a lot going for it.

An invisible network of air currents flowing around Downtown Chicago,

that this mother turns to her advantage.

When the sun heats the tarmac and concrete,

it creates powerful thermals

that help her soar half a mile above the skyline,

ready... to dive.

(INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: Two hundred and fifty miles per hour.

And if her prey dodges behind buildings,

she uses fast-flowing air channeling between blocks like a jet stream,

increasing her horizontal speed...

(HORNS HONKING)

...gaining the element of surprise.

(SCREECHES)

BENEDICT: Making a killing in the city, she raises more young

than her rural peregrine cousins.

(CHICKS CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: Over the past five weeks, she's kept three chicks growing strong...

(SCREECHING)

...providing all they needed to survive.

With a little help from superdad.

Together, they share the babysitting and the hunting.

Now, the chicks are fledging.

And in only eight weeks,

they must be ready to survive in the city on their own.

(TWEETING)

BENEDICT: Getting them up to speed will be the greatest parenting challenge yet.

So when Dad goes to grab lunch for the family,

(SCREECHING)

BENEDICT: Mom begins schooling her chicks

in extreme urban flying.

Learning to hunt above the city requires unique skills.

Mum needs to show them how to use these complex thermal currents

as aerial superhighways.

(TWEETING)

BENEDICT: So she demonstrates...

again.

And again.

(TWEETING)

BENEDICT: And again.

The chicks practice balancing on the thermals,

until finally,

they're ready...

to take to the air.

(SERENE MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: Now they've found their wings,

it's time to move on to more advanced aerobatics.

(ADVENTUROUS MUSIC PLAYING)

(SCREECHING)

BENEDICT: Dad's returned with an incentive

to take the lesson to the next level.

Releasing prey helps teach his chicks how to use gravity

and change their body shape to cut through the air

and gain speed.

Now Mom ups the ante with the food pass,

an essential step in developing the agility to tackle fast-flying prey.

No other birds devote so much time to teaching their young.

(CHIRPING)

BENEDICT: But with high investment comes high reward.

(TWEETING)

BENEDICT: In just a month's time, a new generation of super hunters

will be ready for the big, bad city.

(WATER SLOSHING)

BENEDICT: On this coral reef,

there's one tiny animal that never lets its offspring leave.

A sea sponge makes a living castle for a queen snapping shrimp...

and her 300-strong colony.

Each shrimp is no bigger than a grain of rice.

And she has potent powers to keep them under her control.

She emits a chemical cocktail

that suppresses her daughters' ability to reproduce,

turning them into dutiful workers.

They toil relentlessly, cleaning the sponge

and maintaining passageways.

But not all her subjects are born equal.

Others develop into soldier shrimps

with outsized claws and an instinct to defend.

Sea stars are sponge predators,

always trying to eat the shrimp out of house and home.

Though it's around a thousand times their size,

the shrimp unite against the enemy.

(INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: But with all soldiers guarding out front,

a greater threat sneaks in the back.

A polychaete worm,

perfectly shaped to infiltrate the heart of the colony.

But they don't eat sponges.

Those jaws are for slicing shrimp.

The workers are powerless to fight back.

-But with alarm clicks... -(CLICKING)

...they call for backup.

(CLICKING)

BENEDICT: The soldiers arrive, and deploy their ultimate weapon.

They snap their claws so fast, it vaporizes water,

creating a bubble.

When the pressure of the ocean makes the bubble implode,

water inside super-heats to 7,000 degrees,

pushing out a powerful shockwave.

It stuns the worm...

-(SNAPS) -...into a full retreat.

But not before damage is done.

The queen is dead.

As soon as her influence is removed, there is a race for power.

(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: Free from their mother's chemical control,

these workers begin to transform.

And the winner is the first to mature

and to begin exerting influence over her siblings.

The bloodline lives on.

Families are most powerful when they stick together.

But that's not always an option.

(SNORTS)

BENEDICT: The quest for water is getting so desperate,

it's splitting this family apart.

Elephants can cover 20 miles a day,

but some are struggling to keep up.

(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: For each step an adult takes,

a calf must take six.

The herd had to keep moving,

but a mother won't abandon her baby.

In 100-degree heat,

they're exhausted...

(GROANS)

...close to dehydration,

close to death.

Exposing cool soil is the only way to give her calf relief.

It buys her a little time...

for her to summon her greatest superpower.

(SNORTS)

BENEDICT: Leaning forward,

she shifts her weight to align her head with her legs,

and spreads her front feet so they are fully engaged with the ground.

Then she does something extraordinary.

She feels for her family.

Three miles away...

(GROANING)

...using their trunks to lower the frequency of their calls,

the herd sends vibrations through the ground.

Sensitive cells in the mother's feet pick up the sound

and channel it through her skeleton towards her ear.

By shifting position, she deciphers the direction of the message

-and what it means. -(LOW GROANS)

The family is urging them on.

Her baby can't take much more,

but Mom is determined.

She knows her family is calling for good reason.

(GROANING)

BENEDICT: Using the same ability to detect distant vibrations,

they've heard something phenomenal.

(THUNDERCLAPS)

BENEDICT: Thunderstorms also produce low-frequency infrasound.

It's thought elephants can sense them from more than 100 miles away.

Keeping all ears to the ground,

the herd heads straight to the source.

(LOW GROANS)

BENEDICT: They're hungry, and weak.

But the promise of life-sustaining water drives them on.

(ELEPHANT GROANING)

-BENEDICT: Until finally... -(TRUMPETS)

(GROANING)

-(TRUMPETS) -...it's within reach.

As the message of hope spreads far and wide,

more elephants gather...

-(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING) -(GROANS)

...until the whole extended family is reunited...

almost.

(TRUMPETS)

BENEDICT: The baby is still struggling.

But Mom never left his side,

and now they're so close, they can smell it.

(HOPEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)

(SNORTS)

BENEDICT: When family sticks together,

communicating, collaborating...

-and combining as one... -(BELLOWING)

...everyone, no matter how small, has the very best chance of survival.

(ROARS)

BENEDICT: Continuing your bloodline is life's ultimate mission.

(MILD-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYING)

BENEDICT: It takes every superpower possible

to protect and provide for the family...

(BIRD TWEETING)

...and secure the future

-for a new generation... -(CHIRPING)

-(CHIRPING) -...of amazing animals.

(GRUNTS)

If you think you know nature...

(PURRS)

...think again.

(DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING)

(MUSIC ENDS)