Original subtitles

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ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: HEY THERE, I'M DYLAN DREYER,

AND THIS IS “EARTH ODYSSEY.”

ON TODAY'S SHOW, WE HEAD TO THE HEBRIDES,

AN ISLAND CHAIN OFF THE COAST OF SCOTLAND.

HERE, SEA MAMMALS LIKE THE GREY SEAL TAKE UP

RESIDENCE ON THE DESERTED BEACHES,

WHERE THEY MUST FIGHT FOR THEIR VERY EXISTENCE.

PLUS, WE'LL WITNESS A SHOWDOWN BETWEEN TWO RED

DEER.

FIND OUT WHO WILL BE THE VICTOR AND WHO WILL RUN

FOR THE HILLS, AND LATER, WE'LL UNCOVER THE

MYSTERIES OF AN ANCIENT CIVILIZATION WHO ROAMED

THESE ISLANDS THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: HERE AT RIPLEY'S AQUARIUM OF MYRTLE BEACH,

YOU'LL FIND MANY CREATURES WHO RELY ON OTHER SPECIES

TO SURVIVE AND FLOURISH.

THAT SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP IS ALSO

PRESENT BETWEEN ANIMALS WHO LIVE IN THE SEA AND

THOSE WHO LIVE IN THE SKY, AND NOWHERE IS THIS

COEXISTENCE MORE APPARENT THAN ON A MYSTERIOUS CHAIN

OF ISLANDS IN GREAT BRITAIN CALLED THE

HEBRIDES.

LYING JUST OFF THE WEST COAST OF SCOTLAND,

THE HEBRIDES ARCHIPELAGO IS MADE UP OF MORE THAN

FIVE HUNDRED ISLANDS AND ISLETS.

ISOLATION FROM THE MAINLAND HAS MADE THE

HEBRIDES THE PERFECT BREEDING GROUND FOR

MILLIONS OF CREATURES, EARNING IT THE NAME

EUROPE'S LAST WILDERNESS.

EVER SINCE THEY WERE EXPOSED AT THE END OF THE

ICE AGE, THE HEBRIDES ISLANDS HAVE BEEN A LAND

OF MYSTERY.

EARLY SAILORS RECOUNTED TALES OF MERMAIDS WHO

WOULD CALL OUT FROM COASTAL CAVES...

...LURING SAILORS INTO THE ROCKS AND INTO A WATERY

GRAVE.

ALTHOUGH MERMAIDS ARE THE STUFF OF LEGENDS,

THESE EERIE CALLS CAN STILL BE HEARD TODAY.

[GREY SEAL WHIMPERING]

GREY SEALS TAKE REFUGE IN THESE CAVERNS.

[WHIMPERING CONTINUES]

AND THEY ARE THE MOST VOCAL OF ALL SEAL SPECIES.

HALF OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION OF GREY SEALS

LIVES ALONG THE BRITISH COAST.

THE MONACH ISLES ON THE OUTER HEBRIDES CHAIN HOSTS

ONE OF THE LARGEST GATHERINGS OF GREY SEALS

ON THE PLANET.

EACH WINTER, MORE THAN 35,000

OF THESE SEA MAMMALS ARRIVE ON THE ISLAND'S

ISOLATED SHORES.

ALTHOUGH MOTHERS GIVE BIRTH TO JUST ONE PUP AT A

TIME, AROUND NINE THOUSAND ARE BORN HERE EVERY YEAR.

PUPS NURSE FOR JUST 18 DAYS.

THE MOTHER'S MILK IS SO RICH,

IT CONTAINS AROUND 60 PERCENT FAT.

THIS NUTRIENT-RICH MILK IS ESSENTIAL SINCE THESE

YOUNGSTERS NEED TO PACK ON ABOUT FIVE POUNDS A DAY.

IN AROUND THREE WEEKS' TIME,

THEIR WEIGHT MORE THAN TRIPLES.

ONCE THE PUPS ARE WEANED, THEY'RE ABANDONED BY THEIR

MOTHERS AND LEFT TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES.

WITHOUT THE BURDEN OF A NURSING CHILD,

THE MOTHER IS FREE TO MATE AGAIN.

IN ABOUT TWO WEEKS' TIME, HUNGER WILL DRIVE THESE

ORPHANED PUPS INTO THE OCEAN IN SEARCH OF FOOD.

[SEAL GROWLS]

BULL SEALS PLAY NO PART IN THE RAISING OF THE YOUNG.

THEY HAVE A MORE IMPORTANT MISSION.

THE OLDER MALES MUST BATTLE OVER TERRITORIAL

RIGHTS AND ACCESS TO THE FEMALE SEALS.

IT TAKES ABOUT TEN YEARS FOR THE OLDER MALES TO

BECOME LARGE AND STRONG ENOUGH TO STAKE THEIR

CLAIM.

SOMETIMES AN INTIMIDATING SNARL CAN WARD OFF A

POTENTIAL RIVAL.

[SEAL GROWLS]

BUT THESE TWO WARRIORS APPEAR TO HAVE MET THEIR

MATCH.

FIGHTS BETWEEN BULL SEALS CAN GET DOWN AND DIRTY,

OFTEN LEADING TO A SITUATION WHERE ONLY ONE

WALKS, OR SCOOTS, AWAY.

THIS MALE REALIZES HE'S NO MATCH AND EVENTUALLY BACKS

DOWN.

THE WATERS OFF THE HEBRIDES ARE TEEMING WITH

COUNTLESS VARIETIES OF FISH.

SO, IT'S NO SURPRISE THAT GREY SEALS HAVE TO SHARE

THIS FOOD SOURCE WITH SOME OF THE LARGEST SEA

CREATURES ON THE PLANET.

MINKE WHALES WEIGH UP TO 15 TONS AND CAN MEASURE UP

TO 30 FEET IN LENGTH.

THESE MAMMOTH ANIMALS LUNGE AT THEIR PREY FROM

BENEATH THE SURFACE, SWALLOWING LARGE VOLUMES

OF FISH IN A SINGLE GULP.

THE WHALES GENERALLY LIVE SOLITARY LIVES,

BUT THEY SOMETIMES GATHER IN GROUPS OF TEN OR MORE

WHEN FEEDING.

BUT MINKE WHALES AREN'T THE ONLY ONES LINING UP

FOR THIS BUFFET.

24 SPECIES OF WHALES, DOLPHINS,

AND PORPOISES PATROL THESE WATERS,

INCLUDING BRITAIN'S LARGEST FISH.

MEET THE BASKING SHARK.

THIS SLACK-JAWED CREATURE CAN REACH UP TO 22 FEET IN

LENGTH AND HAS A DORSAL FIN UP TO FOUR-AND-A-HALF

FEET HIGH.

THEY'RE DRAWN TO THE HEBRIDES PLANKTON-RICH

WATERS, WHERE THEY REMAIN CLOSE TO THE SURFACE TO

FEED.

THESE MASSIVE SHARKS FILTER AROUND A

MILLION-AND-A-HALF LITERS OF WATER EVERY HOUR,

TRAPPING THE TINY PLANKTON IN THEIR ODD-LOOKING

GILLS.

ANOTHER MIGHTY BEAST IS ALSO FIGHTING FOR FOOD AND

SURVIVAL.

COMING UP, JOIN US AS WE WITNESS AN EPIC SHOWDOWN

BETWEEN TWO RED DEER STAGS.

WHO WILL CLAIM VICTORY, AND WHO WILL BACK DOWN?

ALL THIS AND MORE OF THE WILD HEBRIDES WHEN WE

RETURN.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: THIS EPISODE OF “EARTH ODYSSEY WITH DYLAN

DREYER” IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY RIPLEY'S AQUARIUMS.

DYLAN: THE HEBRIDES ISLANDS IS HOST TO

CREATURES BOTH GREAT AND SMALL.

IT'S A PLACE WHERE BIRDS, SEA LIFE,

AND LAND ANIMALS ALL COEXIST.

THE ISLAND OF RUM IS IN THE HEART OF INNER

HEBRIDES.

THOUGH IT'S MADE UP OF TALL PEAKS AND ROLLING

HILLS, IT WAS ONCE A PREHISTORIC VOLCANO ACTIVE

AROUND 25 MILLION YEARS AGO.

TODAY, IT'S HOME TO THE RED DEER,

THE THIRD LARGEST DEER IN THE WORLD.

AROUND NINE HUNDRED OF THEM ROAM THIS REMOTE

ISLAND.

[DEER GROANING]

THE POPULATION HAS REMAINED RELATIVELY STABLE

DUE TO BEING ISOLATED FROM MAINLAND PREDATORS.

WHILE THE RED DEER DON'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT BEING

BOTHERED BY OUTSIDE FOES, THERE'S PLENTY OF CONFLICT

WITHIN THE HERDS THEMSELVES.

MATURE MALES WEIGH AROUND 450 POUNDS AND STAND

ALMOST FIVE FEET TALL AT THE SHOULDERS,

AND COMPETITION FOR FEMALES MEANS ONLY THE

STRONGEST WILL WIN THE PRIZE.

THIS STAG HAS SEPARATED FROM THE REST OF THE MALES

AND IS LOOKING FOR SOME FEMALE COMPANIONSHIP.

HE'S MANAGED TO ATTRACT THE ATTENTION OF A SMALL

GROUP OF DOES.

[DEER GROANING]

BUT HE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE UNDER CONSIDERATION.

[DEER GROANING]

RIVAL BUCKS CHALLENGE THEIR OPPONENT BY WALKING

PARALLEL TO HIM AND LETTING OUT AN

INTIMIDATING ROAR.

[DEER GROANING]

ONCE THE TWO HAVE SIZED EACH OTHER UP,

THE BATTLE BEGINS.

THESE INTENSE BOUTS OF SPARRING ARE VIOLENT,

BUT WITH BREEDING RIGHTS AT STAKE,

THESE MALES ARE WILLING TO TAKE THE RISK.

THE INDIVIDUAL CLASHES ARE USUALLY OVER IN A MATTER

OF MINUTES, BUT WILL CONTINUE ON THROUGHOUT THE

FOUR-WEEK MATING SEASON.

THE WEAKER BUCK MAKES THE SMART DECISION TO RETREAT

AND FIGHT ANOTHER DAY,

BUT DEER AREN'T THE ONLY

HOOVED ANIMALS ROAMING THE ISLAND GRASSLANDS.

TO THE FAR WEST OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES SITS ONE OF

THE MOST HOSTILE AND ISOLATED ISLANDS IN THIS

ARCHIPELAGO, ST. KILDA.

HERE YOU WILL FIND ONE OF THE MOST PRIMITIVE HERDS

OF ANIMALS, THE SOAY SHEEP.

THESE GRAZING MAMMALS HAVE CALLED THESE ISLANDS HOME

FOR MORE THAN FOUR THOUSAND YEARS.

WHILE THEY'RE SMALLER THAN DOMESTIC SHEEP,

THEY'RE ALSO HEARTIER AND MORE AGILE,

AND UNLIKE THEIR LIGHT-COLORED RELATIVES,

SOAY SHEEP SHED THEIR COATS NATURALLY,

SO THEY DON'T REQUIRE SHEARING.

THEIR EXTRAORDINARILY LONG REIGN ON THE ISLANDS IS

DUE IN PART TO THE FACT THAT THEY DON'T HERD

TOGETHER LIKE ORDINARY SHEEP.

WHENEVER A THREAT APPEARS, MEMBERS OF THE GROUP

SCATTER IN ALL DIRECTIONS, MAKING THEIR CAPTURE

DIFFICULT FOR PREDATORS.

AROUND TWO THOUSAND SOAY SHEEP ROAM ST. KILDA

TODAY, BUT HOW DID THESE ANIMALS END UP ON THESE

ISLANDS?

IT TURNS OUT THEY WERE BROUGHT HERE THOUSANDS OF

YEARS AGO DURING THE BRONZE AGE BY MAN HIMSELF.

UP NEXT, FIND OUT WHY FISH ARE NO MATCH FOR THESE

AVIAN HUNTERS WHO CAN TURN THEMSELVES INTO PRECISION

TORPEDOES WHEN “EARTH ODYSSEY” RETURNS.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: ON EVERY “EARTH ODYSSEY,

WE FIND A DIVERSE GROUP OF WILDLIFE ALL WITH

UNIQUE TRAITS THAT SERVE THEM IN THE WILD.

WELL, YOU'RE ABOUT TO MEET ANOTHER ANIMAL WITH A

SPECIAL TALENT FOR SURVIVING AND THRIVING.

TAKE A LOOK.

THE VAST SEA LIFE IN THE OCEAN SURROUNDING THE

HEBRIDES PROVIDES A BOUNTY OF FOOD FOR THE AQUATIC

BIRDS WHO SOAR IN THE SKIES ABOVE THE CRASHING

WAVES.

BUT FEW CAN COMPETE WITH THE MASTER DIVER OF THEM ALL.

NORTHERN GANNETS HAVE A WINGSPAN OF AROUND SIX

FEET ACROSS, MAKING THEM GRACEFUL FLYERS AND

SKILLFUL HUNTERS.

UNLIKE MOST BIRDS, THEY HAVE FORWARD-FACING EYES,

GIVING THEM RAZOR SHARP DEPTH PERCEPTION.

THIS ALLOWS THEM TO ACCURATELY ESTIMATE HOW

CLOSE THE FISH ARE TO THE SURFACE OF THE WATER.

ONCE LOCKED IN ON THEIR TARGET,

THEY FOLD BACK THEIR WINGS AND MAKE THEIR PLUMMETING

DIVE.

GANNETS HIT THE WATER AT MORE THAN 60 MILES AN HOUR

TO CAPTURE THEIR PREY.

AT THE MOMENT OF IMPACT, THEY STRETCH THEIR BODIES

INTO A STREAMLINED TORPEDO-LIKE SHAPE.

POCKETS OF AIR CELLS BETWEEN THEIR SKIN AND

MUSCLES HELP CUSHION THE BLOW.

WITH THIS KIND OF PREDATORY FINESSE,

IT'S NO WONDER WHY THESE BIRDS HAVE SURVIVED HERE

FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

COMING UP, WE'LL UNCOVER HOW ISLAND SEABIRDS LED TO

THE FORMATION OF AN ANCIENT IRON AGE

CIVILIZATION.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: IT IS BELIEVED THAT HUMAN KIND FIRST ARRIVED

ON ST. KILDA SOMETIME DURING THE BRONZE AGE MORE

THAN FIVE THOUSAND YEARS AGO.

ANCIENT HERDERS MIGRATED HERE WITH THE PRIMITIVE

RELATIVES OF MODERN-DAY SHEEP,

BUT EARLY HUMANS ALSO RELIED ON ANOTHER ANIMAL

FOR THEIR SURVIVAL.

THE CLIFFS OF ST. KILDA ARE HOME TO SOME OF THE

LARGEST POPULATION OF SEABIRDS IN THE WORLD,

INCLUDING PUFFINS, FULMARS,

AND GANNETS.

THIS VAST SUPPLY OF SEABIRDS BECAME A MAIN

STAPLE FOR THESE ANCIENT PEOPLE.

RESIDENTS ATE AN AVERAGE OF 115 PUFFINS A YEAR.

WHILE THE FOOD SOURCE WAS PLENTIFUL DURING THE

WARMER MONTHS OF THE YEAR, IT WAS ALSO SEASONAL.

AT THE END OF THE SUMMER, THE ISLAND CLIFFS BECAME

BARE AS BIRDS MIGRATED TOWARD TEMPERATE CLIMATES.

THIS MILLENNIUM'S OLD CIVILIZATION CAME TO AN

ABRUPT END IN 1930.

FOLLOWING FOOD SHORTAGE AND DISEASE,

THE LAST 36 RESIDENTS WERE EVACUATED TO THE MAINLAND.

BUT THESE TWO-THOUSAND-YEAR-OLD IRON

AGE DWELLINGS STILL STAND AS A TESTAMENT TO MAN'S

PREHISTORIC PRESENCE ON THE ISLAND.

THE ISLANDS OF LEWIS AND HARRIS ON THE OUTER

HEBRIDES PROVIDES EVEN MORE EVIDENCE OF EARLY MAN

INHABITING THE REGION.

THESE SIX-THOUSAND-YEAR-OLD PEAT

BOGS USED TO BE WOODLAND AREAS UNTIL NEOLITHIC

HERDERS LEVELED THEM TO ALLOW THEIR DEER TO GRAZE.

TODAY, THE ISLAND REMAINS VIRTUALLY TREELESS.

AND THE STANDING STONES OF CALLANISH GIVE US EVEN

MORE CLUES TO THIS ANCIENT WORLD.

THESE TOWERING MONUMENTS WERE ERECTED AROUND FOUR

THOUSAND YEARS AGO, LONG BEFORE ROME WAS EVEN HEARD OF.

13 STONES AVERAGING ABOUT 13 FEET TALL FORM A CIRCLE

ABOUT 42 FEET ACROSS.

A NUMBER OF MYTHS SURROUND THE ORIGINS OF THIS

MONUMENT.

SOME LEGENDS SAY THAT GIANTS WHO ONCE LIVED HERE

WERE TURNED INTO STONE AS PUNISHMENT FOR REFUSING TO

CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY.

OTHERS TELL OF A GHOSTLY FIGURE WHO IS SAID TO WALK

THROUGH THE CIRCLE AT THE START OF THE MIDSUMMER

SOLSTICE.

ANOTHER THEORY POINTS TO CALLANISH BEING AN ANCIENT

BURIAL SITE, BUT THE TRUE PURPOSE OF THE STRUCTURE

REMAINS A MYSTERY TO THIS VERY DAY.

HEY, THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON THIS SPECTACULAR

JOURNEY THROUGH THE GREATEST PLACES ON EARTH.

WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME FOR ANOTHER “EARTH ODYSSEY.”

[MUSIC]