Original subtitles

[NARRATOR] Meet Lola, the sea lion pup.

For this youngster growing up wild,

is one giant adventure.

To thrive on Argentina's wild coast,

Lola must learn the ways of land,

and the sea.

How to handle the tides...

[Sea lions barking]

...and the fights.

She has her mother to teach her.

But her greatest test

will be learning to dodge hungry neighbours.

Across South America,

baby animals are taking their first steps

and tackling their first challenges.

Their generations are the future of their species.

They are...

the New Kids In The Wild.

[Seagull squawks]

[Growling]

[NARRATOR] This is Maria.

She's an adult Southern sea lion.

[Growling]

She's landed on the beach,

carrying precious cargo.

It's a very special shoreline.

Midway down the coast of Argentina,

Peninsula Valdes juts out into the South Atlantic Ocean.

At the top, is Punta Norte, Maria's Beach.

The peninsula, has around 400 kilometres of coastline,

and is home to over 30,000 Southern sea lions.

Now, in summer, Maria's joining

over a thousand who choose Punta Norte Beach

to give birth and breed.

[Sealions grunting]

[Grunts]

Lots of huge males are lined up along the shore,

each surrounded by his group, or harem of females.

Maria spots a top male that looks able to keep her safe

and protect her unborn pup.

This is Ramiro.

He weighs over 300 kilograms

and looks strong enough for the job.

[Ramiro grunting]

Maria joins his harem.

[Ramiro growling]

Rubbing necks helps them to get to know

each other's face and smell.

[Growling]

Ramiro probably isn't the father of her unborn pup,

but his aim is to keep Maria safe in his harem,

until he mates with her.

Indirectly, that's good for her pup.

Giving birth in a big colony like Punta Norte

means Maria is safer from outside predators.

But predators aren't the only threat.

The other males nearby are all poised to steal females

if they get the chance.

Ramiro must be bigger, stronger, and wiser

than his neighbours.

Maria needs the best protection,

for her and her pup.

[Seagull squawks]

[♪]

Two days later,

and morning brings the dawn of a new life.

[Maria growling]

Maria was born on this beach.

And now, a new generation is on the way.

Her pup arrives.

[Grunting]

She's able to see, and weighs a hefty, 12 kilos.

[Grunts]

Little Lola.

Immediately, she calls out.

[Growls]

[Maria growling]

Her mum calls back,

and they begin to sniff each other.

[Both sniffing]

It's a great start.

Soon, there will be around a thousand pups on this beach.

It's vital she and Maria can recognize each other quickly

by their unique smells and calls.

[Lola barks]

In the coming days,

the pair will most surely get separated.

[Maria growling]

This is not a peaceful nursery.

[Sea lions roaring]

Lola has been born in a battleground.

Like Ramiro, the big males want as many females as possible

in their harems.

[Roaring]

They will all grab and steal more

whenever they get the chance.

[Both sea lions roaring]

Every top male has to protect his harem night and day.

They won't leave their females, not even to eat.

[Roaring]

[Both roaring]

In the mayhem,

pups are caught in the crossfire.

They often get separated from their mums.

[Ramiro grunting]

Sometimes, worse.

[Barking]

It's all very intimidating to a newborn pup.

In Ramiro's harem,

one of the other females has just given birth.

Lots of males are close by...

[Roaring]

...some looking for their first female.

One sees his chance.

He tries to steal the new mum.

[Ramiro growling]

Ramiro fights, and wins her back.

Next door, others are cashing in on the chaos.

This male has slunk in from the sea.

[Roaring]

He grabs another new mum

and swings her away from her protector.

Other males try to keep him away from their harems.

[Males roaring]

The female tries to fight him, too.

[Roaring]

But he's won her, for now.

[Growling]

In the mayhem,

the helpless newborn is left calling for its mum.

[Pup growling]

For Maria and Lola...

it's a close call.

They need to watch their backs

and hope Ramiro doesn't drop his guard.

[Seagull squawks]

As an uneasy peace falls,

the gulls start tidying up.

[Bleating]

Lola is getting used to her mum's smell,

and call,

and is nursing.

Maria's milk is packed with fat to help her create

the layer of blubber Lola needs underneath her skin.

It will keep her warm,

especially when she starts swimming.

The more she drinks, the fatter, warmer, and stronger she'll get.

[Maria grunting]

[Lola growling]

Further along the shoreline, huge elephant seals

are frolicking in the surf.

[Seals grunting]

The peninsula is a vital breeding ground

for these giants, too.

Males can weigh over 3,000 kilograms,

and females can reach an impressive 900.

Elephant seals can't walk,

so they heave their bodies around on land.

It's a slow and cumbersome process.

Sea lions though, can walk on their flippers.

And adults can reach quite a speed.

[Ramiro roaring]

[Pups calling out]

Just a few days later, Lola is practicing.

Slowly.

Her long flippers are built for swimming,

but they can bend and twist, to walk.

[Bleating]

It's really hard work, though.

Especially on the pebbles.

But mastering this skill

will give her more chance of getting out of trouble

when the next fight erupts.

[Pups grunting]

A sleep would be good right now.

But it sounds like there's trouble brewing.

[Roaring]

Another series of fights have broken out on the beach.

[Both roaring]

In the melee, Ramiro is busy

fending off a neighbour on his left.

While his back is turned,

his right-hand neighbour cashes in.

He grabs Maria for his harem.

[Growling]

[Lola calling out]

If she tries to flee, he might grab her again,

and she could get hurt.

Lola is left stranded.

She won't survive long on her own.

Instinct tells her she must find her mum, somehow.

There's a maze of other mums to negotiate.

All fiercely protective of their pups,

and their prized milk.

But then...

[Maria calling out]

...she hears a familiar call.

[Lola barking]

She's found her.

They have a new protector,

and he seems quicker on his flippers than Ramiro.

But though it's peaceful now,

on this beach, that never lasts for long.

[♪]

[Grunts]

[Seagull squawks]

[♪]

[Maria grunting]

It's a big morning for Lola.

She's over a week old,

and already, she's much stronger.

Her walking is bolder.

And thanks to all that rich milk,

she's putting on weight.

But while Lola has been nursing for days,

Maria hasn't eaten at all.

[Seagull squawking]

She hunts for her food in the sea.

So today, she needs to go and forage,

out in the ocean.

Lola hasn't been on her own before.

The beach is more dangerous

without her mother to defend her.

Her mum could be gone for days.

It's a long time to be alone in a battleground.

But actually, Lola won't be on her own.

Sea lions have a sort of day care.

With lots of pups born at the same time,

other mums need to go hunting, too.

So today, Lola joins the colony kindergarten.

It's a busy place

full of complaining, wriggling pups.

[Bleating]

There's no nursery staff as such,

but other mums tolerate pups nearby,

so long as they don't get too close.

It's a big first without Maria.

But at least Lola has new friends to snuggle with.

Maybe growing up on this beach isn't so bad after all.

In fact, Lola's home

is an ideal spot for a new sea lion.

It's on the edge of a huge, dry plateau.

A windswept desert with no trees...

but lots of tough plants.

There's steep cliffs, around 100 metres high.

Rocky pools and channels fringe the shore.

It's home to so much wildlife,

it's a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Offshore, around 24 orcas visit this coastline...

along with rare Southern Right whales.

On the beaches,

just like sea lions,

penguins come back to the same beach

every year to breed.

[Penguins squawking]

These are Magellanic penguins.

Unlike the sea lions,

they mate for life.

And when the pair meet again,

after months apart at sea,

there's a gently rapturous reunion.

When the chicks arrive,

Mum and Dad share the parenting, too.

They're a small, tight-knit family

with doting parents.

It's a stark contrast to Lola's life,

just along the beach.

Out at sea,

Maria is fishing.

She's a fabulous diver,

and scours the seabed, hunting for octopus and squid.

Her eyes are adapted to see in low light,

which is really useful,

as her average dive is around 45 metres deep.

Her body is so evolved for diving,

she only needs to come up for air every 20 minutes.

And her long front flippers,

provide superb speed in the water.

She needs to catch a load of squid and fish

to make that rich milk for her daughter.

On the beach,

Lola has had enough of waiting.

[Bleating]

It's been three days.

She's hungry,

and there's so much trouble to avoid.

[Growling]

Other mums are as grumpy as usual.

[Both grunting]

And all the males, young and old,

fight at a moment's notice.

[♪]

She has to steer clear of so many big sea lions.

It's tough being a pup.

[Growling]

Lola sees mums are coming home.

She calls...

but none are Maria.

[Calling out]

And then...

[Roaring]

...she hears the unique reply she's been waiting for.

[Calling out]

Mum is back.

After three days hunting at sea,

there's lots of milk to fill a growing, hungry tummy.

Another morning at Punta Norte...

The sun is just pushing through.

Everyone is resting on the beach.

[Lola moaning]

Thanks to her mother's milk, Lola's packing on more weight.

Her growing layer of blubber is helpful in the cold.

But on a sunny day, it's easy to get too hot.

[Moaning]

[♪]

By watching her mum,

Lola has a new trick.

Flipper lifting.

Her flippers are long and slender,

with blood vessels close to the surface.

When she lifts them into the breeze,

or pushes them into the wet pebbles,

her body loses heat, really quickly.

Everyone does it.

It's really cool.

[Distant growling]

It's getting quieter at Punta Norte these days.

[Pup growling]

The big males are leaving the beach.

Now they've mated with their females,

they're off to hunt and eat

for the first time in about two months.

For Lola and the other pups,

it's the start of a new and very special time.

With mostly mums, pups, and young adults on the beach,

everyone can relax.

There's more space to play and to learn

and more time for both.

Lola has many lessons ahead to become a savvy sea lion.

Punta Norte is the perfect place

to start a crucial one.

Swimming.

The steep beach is fringed with rocks...

creating loads of sea lion paddling pools.

[♪]

Unlike a lot of marine mammals who swim well from birth,

Lola needs her mum and aunties to teach her.

[Sea lions barking]

At four weeks old now, she's strong enough to learn.

Lola's nose closes naturally when she's in the sea...

but she can't breathe underwater.

So she learns to come up for air.

She's starting to get the hang of it...

until she opens her mouth

and gets a load of sea water and sand.

When the tide drops further,

it gets even more fun.

[♪]

Extra pools appear.

The whole area is one great pup playground.

It's a big reason why Lola's mum and probably grandma

were born at Punta Norte.

It's such a safe swimming place,

mums can leave pups to explore alone.

[♪]

She finds pool after pool.

[Barks]

She plays bitey-face games with her friend Sophia,

practicing how to defend herself and catch things with her teeth.

And she has such fun swimming,

she doesn't notice

that most of the others have already gone back.

It's a long way back to the beach

when the tide is out.

[Grunting and growling]

Other pups are heading for a snooze with creche mates.

They choose the most direct route.

The middle is the safest place to be,

and the favourite.

But Lola's mum is waiting on the beach,

and that's the best place of all.

[Lola growling]

It's a very different day at Punta Norte.

The tide is in,

and the wind is whipping up the waves.

Maria is hungry.

She heads off for a few days' feeding.

Lola doesn't want to be left behind this time.

After swimming in the rock pools,

her confidence is high.

She sets off to follow Maria.

Her mum dips under the next wave.

[Lola moans]

And Lola feels the full force of the Southern Atlantic.

This huge sea is way out of her league.

[Growling]

She hurries back to her friends.

[Roars]

[♪]

As Peninsula Valdes is a protected area,

pleasure boats and fishing activities

are restricted.

[Roars]

[Distant roaring]

It means Maria can find food close to the shore,

ideal for a mum with a hungry daughter on the beach.

Her hearing is superb,

and her sensitive whiskers pick up vibrations in the water.

So even when visibility is poor, she can still find fish to hunt.

Bigger prey, she'll often shake to rip it apart.

Small anchovies like these, she swallows whole.

Hunting well takes months of practice.

Maria will be alongside her daughter for almost a year,

teaching the skills she needs.

[♪]

Back on the beach,

Lola's day has gotten much better.

There's so many things to discover and play with.

[Lola moaning]

She practices shaking seaweed prey,

and feels new textures with her whiskers.

She tests out what might be good to eat,

what smells bad,

and how her flippers work.

It's all very intriguing.

[Growling]

There's lots of bitey-face games on the beach today.

As she plays, Lola's jaws are getting stronger and faster.

It means she'll catch more fish in the future,

and one day, be able to defend her own pup.

It's even possible to play with three,

if you're really quick.

As the wind picks up, the sea gets rougher.

Maria is back from hunting, and wants to sleep.

But Lola has spotted something, and it needs investigating.

[Growling and moaning]

It's unusual.

Lola's not met a penguin before.

[Lola growling]

She spots a youngster, too.

[Distant moaning]

She tests it out with her teeth.

[Moaning]

But he doesn't flap like seaweed.

It seems quite cross...

and doesn't like bitey games.

She tries again,

but he doesn't join in.

Hmph. He's no fun.

The tide is on its way out,

so soon, better games are on offer.

The rock pool playground is open,

Maria takes Lola down to hone her swimming skills.

Some friends have come along, too.

[♪]

Sophia, is the best rock pool buddy.

Together, they play great games.

Dipping under the water to avoid a bite.

Swimming further in a game of sea-lion-tag.

It's really easy to float.

But diving down is trickier.

To practice swimming in deeper water,

Maria takes her closer to the sea.

[Maria roaring]

Maria calls, trying to keep Lola close...

and to warn off other mums coming back from hunting.

They're making the long, rocky trek to the beach.

Lola is having too much fun to listen to Maria.

One mum is scratching in the rock pools.

They get too close to the scratcher.

[Barking]

The scratcher sneaks up from behind

to tell Lola off.

[Barks]

Maria defends her daughter,

and barks a warning to keep away.

[Barking]

It's a big lesson.

[Growls]

The next time Maria calls like that,

Lola knows to pay more attention.

Two months on at Punta Norte...

[Sea lions barking]

...and now, all the pups are enjoying deep water.

[♪]

It's great fun to swim out with the swell

and surf back in.

[Moaning]

Lola is at the water's edge,

but not for long.

She's learned to duck under the waves,

dodging the full force.

And play chase, twisting, turning, and doubling back.

It's an important game.

The better Lola gets at swimming,

the more fish she'll catch.

Some of the older pups are heading off with their mums

to other beaches on the peninsula.

That means swimming in open sea,

and covering longer distances.

Larger pups are strong enough to travel.

Far-off waters might be treacherous,

but there are still dangers close to home.

The rocks that are visible at low tide

form a barrier between the beach and the open sea.

They create a stretch of protective shallows

until the huge tide gets high.

Between the rocks,

there are also deep channels leading in from the sea.

These waterways provide routes for bigger creatures

to access the beach easily, and for longer.

They're called attack channels.

For good reason.

[♪]

These orcas eat fish, squid, and sometimes even whales.

In open water, adult sea lions dodge and dive so quickly,

orcas can struggle to catch them.

This year's pups have yet to master the skills.

They are an orca's favourite.

But these predators

don't need to wait for pups to leave the beach.

[♪]

Punta Norte orcas are thought to be

one of two groups in the world

who have learned to hunt sea lion pups

by waiting for a high tide...

and using the attack channel

to launch themselves onto the beach.

They will try to grab a pup,

then wriggle back off the pebbles.

Get it wrong, and they're stranded.

But these skills have been handed down

through the generations.

They're very successful.

This morning, the tide is in,

the rock pools are deep underwater.

[Moaning]

Maria and Lola are resting on the beach.

Some juvenile sea lions are playing in the swell.

Lola wants to join them, but her mum isn't keen.

Maria has spotted fins.

It's a pod of three, a mother and two daughters.

In today's weather, the orcas have a problem.

To catch the pups,

they listen for them playing in the shallows.

In this swell, sound can be drowned out by the waves.

Instead, the trio start to cruise along the beach,

hoping to catch a pup in the surf.

The youngsters haven't spotted the fins.

In open water, they're too quick and agile

for orcas to catch.

But in the surf, these killers can arrive with no warning.

One youngster finds itself just meters from a fin.

[♪]

Another meets them head-on in the surf.

But the orcas can't turn sharply enough to make the grab.

That was a narrow escape.

The orcas do a last pass, and head off.

They may not have been successful today,

but they'll be back.

Lola sees why her mum kept her on the beach.

Fins aren't friendly.

[♪]

It's a great morning for games at Punta Norte.

The big swell has brought in a new piece of driftwood.

And Lola's playing Queen of the Castle.

She's older and bigger than her male friend.

But he's more aggressive...

and bites really hard.

This bolshie male seems to be starting young.

By late morning, the wind has dropped.

The tide is high...

[Barking]

...and the sea is calm.

Most of the colony is snoozing, while Maria is away fishing.

Lola is down on the beach, playing chase in the tiny waves.

She's so busy having fun...

she doesn't spot the fins...

[Roaring]

...or hear adults calling.

In this quiet sea, the orcas can easily pinpoint a pup.

Lola zooms along the tide line.

She races as fast as she can,

and overtakes her playmate.

She hears something new in the water.

But she can't see over the waves.

There's no time to react.

The orca has caught the other pup,

turning and carrying its prey out to sea.

Lola is alive, by pure luck.

Fins really can come from nowhere.

[Growls]

She knows that now.

She hurries back along the dry beach

to reach the others.

The lesson was terrifying...

but living through it

has upped her odds of survival.

She understands orcas now,

and she'll be far more savvy when she takes to the open sea.

[Growling]

Punta Norte is a challenging beach.

[Growls]

But it creates elite sea lions.

Lola will definitely be one of them.

[♪]

It's been a dramatic first four months for Lola.

Born into a battleground,

she survived fights and separation.

She's learned about big waves,

small pools,

and how much fun it is to swim.

And she knows what danger looks like.

Soon she'll venture into the sea with Mum,

learning to hunt, becoming stronger and more agile.

One day, she'll be a mum herself,

teaching her own pups

how to be a savvy Southern sea lion.