All language subtitles for Planet.Earth.III.S01E01.Coasts.2160p.UHD.Blu-ray.Remux.HDR.HEVC.TrueHD.7.1.Atmos-CiNEPHiLES_ENG_Subtitles02

Almost 200 years ago,

whilst walking these very paths
in the English countryside

and observing the banks
and meadows near his home,

Charles Darwin developed
his ground-breaking ideas

about evolution,

casting a new light
on the natural world

and opening our eyes
to its true wonder.

Since then, we've explored
almost every part of the planet

and seen nature
in its astounding variety.

But there's still much to discover.

In this new series of Planet Earth,

we travel to the most
astonishing wild places...

...see mysterious creatures...

...witness
spectacular wonders...

...and reveal
breathtaking animal dramas.

(SNARLS)

The natural world
continues to surprise us.

But since Darwin's time, it has
changed beyond recognition...

...transformed
by a powerful force - us.

We will see how animals are
adapting in extraordinary ways

to survive the new challenges
they face.

At this crucial time in our history,

we must now look at the world

through a new lens.

This is Planet Earth III.

Tasmania,

Shipstern's Bluff,

where two worlds collide.

These waves have crossed

more than a thousand miles
of open ocean...

...building in strength.

It's here that they meet
their explosive end.

Coasts are dangerous
and dynamic frontiers.

To succeed here, life must
adapt to constant change.

South Africa's Robberg Peninsula.

Thousands of Cape fur seals
gather here to breed.

(SEALS BARKING)

This pup was born
into a crowded world.

But now, at nearly a year old,

he can escape to the water.

He just has to get there.

(SNARLS)

(GRUNTS)

There is no question
as to where this pup belongs.

In the water, he's fast and agile...

...and he needs to be.

The rolling surf conceals
life-threatening dangers.

(SEAL YELPS)

A great white shark.

This young pup has had
a very lucky escape.

(SEALS BARKING)

Here on Africa's southern coast,

seals risk their lives every time

they set out to eat.

Powerful ocean currents
attract huge shoals of fish.

But in recent years,

this stretch has attracted
increased numbers

of great whites, too.

The great whites are shrewd hunters

and use whatever cover is available.

(SEALS BARKING)

This shark won't need to eat
for another few days.

But he's not alone.

These usually solitary hunters

are gathering
in unprecedented numbers...

...a dozen at a time.

The seals are nimble...

...but great whites
are patient...

...and have
explosive acceleration...

...hitting top speed with just
five swipes of their tails.

Cornered, the seals keep close
to the jagged cliffs.

They're trapped.

But as the great whites
move in for the kill...

...the seals do something
astonishing.

Together, they turn on their enemy.

As more join, the mob grows...

...in both number
and confidence.

The tables are turning.

By sheer force of numbers,

these fur seals drive

the world's most notorious predator...

...back out to sea.

Here, animals are adapting
to new challenges

in a rapidly changing world.

In the Arctic,

monumental change is a regular event.

(BLOWS)

Summer. Visitors are arriving
en masse...

...attracted by the biggest
seasonal transformation

on any coast on Earth.

Over 300 billion tons
of ice are melting...

...releasing
nutrient-rich water.

Extraordinary newcomers
appear from the depths.

A sea angel...

...no bigger
than your little finger.

It's eaten little for months.

Its empty stomach glows orange.

And there are other hungry arrivals.

A sea butterfly...

...a snail with wings.

Both angel and butterfly are blind...

...but each monitors
minute changes in the water

as they search for a meal.

This angel has a devilish side.

Its mouthparts invert...

...to form a deadly trap
of tentacles...

...from which there is
little chance of escape.

With a stomach full of prey,

this angel has lost its glow...

...but not its appetite.

It feasts while it can.

Both predator and prey

will soon return to the depths...

...before the ice transforms
this coast once again.

(WIND GUSTS)

Namibia,

where desert lions
roam across vast territories.

(LION GROWLS)

These desert cats are on
a never-ending search for food.

And that has brought
these young sisters...

...here...

...Africa's infamous
Skeleton Coast.

Following years of persecution,

Namibia's lions are now protected,

and their range

is expanding again.

These are the first to be seen

on these shores for 40 years.

By day, there is little for them here.

(GROWLS SOFTLY)

But at night, it's a different story.

(BIRDS CALL)

Sea birds come here to roost
in their thousands.

These hungry sisters have never
seen an opportunity like this.

But no cats, certainly no desert cats,

enjoy getting their paws wet.

These roosting cormorants
are sitting ducks

for hunters with good night vision...

(BIRDS SQUAWK)

...in theory.

Birds are not a big cat's usual prey,

let alone sea birds...

...and these sisters
need to get their eye in.

(CHICK CHIRPS)

Catching flying prey
in the dark is not easy...

...but these lions
have acquired the knack.

Coasts can not only provide food...

...they can also be
a sanctuary.

(WHALE GRUNTS)

(CLICKING)

This female southern
right whale is nearing the end

of a 5,000-mile journey
across open ocean.

She's kept a steady course...

...to a special place
she has known all her life...

...Peninsula Valdés, Argentina.

In these calm, shallow waters,

her behaviour starts to change.

She rolls and shifts her great body.

Perhaps she's trying
to get comfortable.

(GRUNTS)

(GRUNTS)

(GRUNTS)

Other females are close by.

Some have been coming here
for five decades...

...seeking the shelter
of this bay

at a key time in their lives.

(GRUNTING)

This whale is here

to give birth.

(BLOWS)

A new life begins.

The calf is totally dependent
on its mother.

She's producing as much
as 200 litres of milk a day.

The strength she loses,

the calf gains...

...and it becomes more and more
independent and playful.

In this nursery bay,

there are plenty of playmates.

But a mother never
lets her calf stray too far...

...and will always offer
a welcome embrace.

(CALLS GENTLY)

The family keeps in constant
contact with whispered calls.

New research has revealed
that in shallow coastal waters

their calls not only fade quickly,

but are also concealed

by the sound of waves
breaking on the shore...

(WAVES LAP)

(WHALE CALLS GENTLY)

...so they won't attract
the attention of predators.

Not so long ago, these whales
faced a graver threat.

They were hunted to near extinction.

But 40 years ago,

commercial whaling was banned.

Today, their population
is 12,000 strong,

and this bay now attracts
one of the largest gatherings

of these whales anywhere on Earth.

There are over a million miles
of coastline around the world.

Together, they constitute

the most varied habitat on the planet.

Here, on Canada's west coast,

some of the most powerful
of all ocean currents

deliver a constant supply of nutrients

to the shores of countless islands.

(BIRDSONG)

And those that live here

take full advantage.

This is the aptly named
wandering garter snake.

(HISSES)

(HISSES)

He may seem out of place,

but he's here to eat.

The water here is more
than ten degrees colder

than the air.

But that doesn't deter
this intrepid hunter

from taking the plunge.

Under the water, there is
an abundance of food...

...if you can catch it.

Snakes are cold-blooded,

so he can't stay in
these chilly waters for long.

Back in the sunshine,
he warms his head,

perhaps sharpening his senses.

And then, with a gulp of air...

...he continues his hunt.

It's thought that garter snakes

can use their forked tongue
underwater,

as they do in air, smelling in stereo,

detecting prey wherever it hides.

He's got something.

A small fish.

Now he has to land it.

Success.

For those animals
able to cross the divide

between land and sea,
there are surprising rewards.

Raja Ampat in Indonesia.

Here, there's a greater variety
of animals

than on any other coast on Earth.

The corals are protected by mangroves,

salt-tolerant trees

that prop themselves
on curving aerial roots.

These fish have learned
how to catch prey

from high in the trees.

Archerfish use jets of water
like arrows.

This pinpoint accuracy

requires some complex calculations.

The hunter first estimates
the range of its target...

...then loads with
a precise amount of water.

(GULPS)

Aiming, they allow for
the refraction and distortion

created by the water's moving surface.

And then...

...release...

...an arrow of water.

They can hit prey

up to two metres above them.

But they're not born with this skill.

They have to learn it.

And they do that by studying others.

This youngster is watching
a master at work.

It's time for the apprentice
to have a go.

First, he must select a target.

This seems rather ambitious.

Missed.

Others watch to learn
from his mistakes...

...or...

...to steal his prize.

Enough is enough.

There is one way to beat the thieves.

The archer himself

becomes the arrow.

Mangroves are unusually
stable coastal environments,

where an archerfish can focus
on beating the competition.

But on the exposed coast
of Mexico's Yucatán,

life is precarious.

Concentrated by the tropical sunshine,

the brine in these shallow lagoons

cannot be tolerated by most animals.

And yet these Caribbean flamingos

have flown hundreds of miles
to gather here.

(FLAMINGOS SQUAWK)

These hypersaline waters
keep many predators at bay...

...so it's here
they choose to nest.

There are more than 10,000 pairs here.

It's the largest breeding
colony in North America.

(FLAMINGOS SQUAWKING)

Nest mounds keep chicks
clear of the brine

while they're still
at their most vulnerable.

(CHIRPS)

(CHIRPS)

(CHIRPS)

(CHIRPING)

But this generation faces a problem.

(CHIRPS)

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

The storms that come each season

are arriving earlier every year...

...and the colony
lies directly in their path.

(WIND GUSTS)

Rising winds create a storm surge

that overwhelms
the most exposed nests.

(SQUAWKING)

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

And then... it rains.

The adults do what they can,
bailing out their nests.

But they can only do so much.

The storm passes... but leaves
devastation in its wake.

Most nests are submerged.

(CHIRPS)

The chicks are soaked and cold...

...and will soon perish

unless they can get out of the water.

(CHIRPING)

The adults are unable to help.

A chick must save itself.

(WATER SPLASHES)

(CHIRPING)

Some years,

no chicks survive in this colony.

Our coasts are vulnerable places,

increasingly so
as rising global temperatures

create bigger storms.

(RUMBLING)

The biggest are hurricanes.

They form over warm tropical water,

building in strength at sea.

But their full force
is unleashed on our coasts...

...where 40%
of the world's human population

have made their homes.

In this changing world...

...coasts are
on the front line.

Raine Island,

one of the planet's
most important breeding sites

for one particularly precious species.

The green turtle.

On a few special nights each year,

as many as 20,000 females
come ashore here.

Their instinct to nest is strong...

...and many haul themselves
far inland

in search of nesting space.

In a single night,

they may lay as many
as two million eggs.

(HUFFS)

(BIRDS SQUAWK)

Dawn.

This exhausted female has nested,

but now she faces
a long return journey

through the dunes to the sea.

(HUFFS)

(HUFFS)

As the sun rises...

...she is at risk
of being baked alive.

Every inch she travels is gruelling.

And the ebbing tide
has exposed a rocky reef.

It has already claimed many lives...

...other females overcome
by heat and exhaustion.

Her temperature is rising.

She has to keep going.

(GRUNTS)

As many as 2,000 female turtles

may die here each year.

(GRUNTING)

But the coast is always changing.

And the turning tide may yet save her.

Half of all the green turtles
in the Pacific

come here to nest,

as they have done
for at least 1,000 years.

But for how much longer?

If sea levels rise as predicted,

within the next 30 years

Raine Island will disappear
beneath the waves.

Coasts are dynamic,
dangerous frontiers.

And they are changing faster
than ever before

in human history.

Life is remarkably resilient

and adapts to new challenges.

But there is a limit

on how fast it can do so.