All language subtitles for Animal Genius

[gasps].

[Liz Bonnin] I can't
believe what I'm seeing.

Look at you.

Good morning.

Welcome to the world.

These tiny little meerkat pups

are just three weeks old.

They're emerging into the
world for the very first time

and like many animals
all around the world,

their survival
relies on teamwork.

[squeaking]

I'm Liz Bonnin.

As a wildlife biologist,
I spent the last 15 years

exploring the natural world.

Now, I'm delving even deeper
to discover the secrets behind

the most extraordinary
animal behaviors.

All around the world,
animals work together in

astonishing ways to survive.

Look at these guys, all
together, in synchrony.

It's just amazing.

Nature is far more ingenious

than we could ever
have imagined.

I'm in South Africa's
Kalahari desert

where science is
shedding new light

on the extraordinary
social lives of meerkats.

To keep everyone safe out
here, the whole family,

up to 50 individuals,
need to act as one

and for that,
communication is key.

[squeaking]

Do you hear those calls?

Those little peeps.

They're not even opening
their mouths to make them.

They're sunning calls.

It's thought that they have
a calming effect and that

they're used to maintain
and strengthen social bonds.

[squeaking]

They're actually quite
well mannered because

they take it in turns.

So, one meerkat will hold off
making their call until

the previous one has finished.

Away from the burrow,
communication becomes

even more important.

It can mean the difference
between life and death.

Meerkats are on the menu
for many predators

from eagles to jackals

and they're most vulnerable
when digging for food.

Meerkats are omnivores,
but mostly,

they will eat all
sorts of insects.

To dig them out, they're
often found with their faces

deep in the sand and with
just their tails sticking out.

It's a very effective foraging
strategy, but it can be a

precarious one when you can't
see what's going on around you.

So, while most of the gang dig,

a few individuals take
turns to keep watch.

They're known as sentinels
and at just one foot tall,

they go to great lengths
to get a better view.

Oh. Oh.

Okay. Okay.

So, this little individual has
just taken up sentinel duty

and they do seek out the
highest vantage point,

which on this occasion, is me.

And what this sentinel
will now do is

[laughs]

constantly scan
the horizon and the skies

to make sure the rest
of the group is safe.

It's quite a big
responsibility on

this little fella's shoulders.

[laughs]

It's the sentinel's job
to warn the family

of any potential threats

and they do it in
extraordinary detail.

[squeaking]

A single or double squeak
means the coast is clear,

carry on digging.

[squeaking]

Triple squeaks say, "No sign
of danger, but I'm getting a

bad feeling about this."

[squeaking]

Escalating to what's
known as the wheek call.

Something's wrong.
Be on alert.

This sophisticated
communication gets even more

remarkable when
danger is spotted.

If they encounter
a cape cobra,

they use a recruitment call

mobilizing the gang
to mob the snake

[growling]

[hissing]

and it doesn't end there.

Meerkats have a whole roster
of alarm calls for different

types of predators
and circumstances.

Professor Marta Manser has
spent decades deciphering the

meerkat's complex language
to unravel its secrets.

-If you watch them
and you listen,

they are talking to each
other all the time.

What are these
different call types?

Meaning, what's the function
of them, and that has kept me

busy now for almost 30 years.

[Liz Bonnin] Marta designed
a series of intriguing

experiments to determine
what each call means.

-We are going to play
back alarm calls and

see how they cope,
response to this.

-Exciting. Can I help you?
-Absolutely.

[Liz Bonnin] First, we're
playing a recording of a

ground predator alarm.

The call made if a
jackal is spotted.

It's a specific call that
should result in an obvious

response from the gang.

[squeaking]

Look at them.
Look at them all.

[Marta Manser]
They are coming.

[Liz Bonnin] Wow.
That is amazing.

The meerkats immediately
stand up on their hind legs

to locate the threat.

[Marta Manser] They
all gathered together.

If there is a ground predator
around, they would like to see

where the predator is and
then they make a decision,

should we move away or
what should we do?

-They very quickly cottoned
on there wasn't a threat

and back to foraging.

-Exactly.

[Liz Bonnin] But is there a
different response when they

hear an aerial predator alarm
call, if an eagle is spotted?

-Let's play, then.

[squeaking]

-Bolting, bolting, bolting.

[squeaking]

They all came out of nowhere
and bolted into that bolt hole.

The meerkats clearly
recognized this different call,

telling them to rush
to the nearest bolt hole,

an underground shelter providing
safety from aerial attacks.

-They have a absolutely
amazing spacial memory.

In their territory, they
probably have 1,000,

even up to 2,000 bolt holes
depending on the territory size

and they know exactly
where the closest is.

-That is extraordinary.

Really amazing to see
how quickly they move.

Thanks to Marta's fascinating
research, we now know that

Meerkats have over
30 different calls.

It's an ingenious language
that helps this tight-knit team

to keep everyone safe

including the very newest
additions to the family.

[squeaking]

Social animals team up for all
sorts of different reasons.

Across sub-Saharan Africa,

one species of
insect works together

in a way so
sophisticated,

it was once thought to
be unique to humans.

[Liz Bonnin] The Matabele ant.

This intrepid female is
part of a 2,000 strong colony.

She's a scout.

Her job is to find food
for her huge family

and she's on the
hunt for termites.

With oversized jaws,
termites are no easy meal.

She can't take them on alone,

but help is on the way.

It's an all-female army

following a chemical trail
left by the scout.

When the troops reach a
critical mass, they charge.

The ants need to deliver
their powerful sting,

while avoiding the
termites deadly jaws.

These miniature battles
can last up to 20 minutes.

Today, the ants
outnumber their opposition.

Victorious, they carry
termites back to the nest to

feed the rest of the colony,

but these clashes
take their toll.

You might think injured ants
would be left for dead,

but amazingly, the colony
comes to the rescue.

Like combat medics,

they carry their patients up
to 150 feet back to the nest.

As if that wasn't
impressive enough,

what takes place inside the nest

is even more astonishing.

Filmed in extraordinary detail,

it's recently been discovered

that the ants perform
first aid on their wounded.

They delicately hold the injured
limbs with their mouth parts

and apply antimicrobial
proteins to the wounds.

Incredibly, injured ants
are 13 times more likely

to survive if they receive
this meticulous medical care.

Ants are the only animals
beside humans known to

carry out first
aid on each other.

Teamwork at its best.

But, believe it or not,
some animals work together

before they're even born.

I'm on Mexico's Pacific coast
where the latest science is

revealing the secret behind

teamwork taking place
beneath my feet.

About six weeks ago,

a whopping 100,000 female
olive ridley turtles

hauled themselves ashore
on this magnificent beach

to lay their eggs and
over the next few days,

all those eggs are going
to start to hatch and the

baby turtles will
head for the sea.

This hatchling is only just
emerging into the sunlight.

She's one of about 100 that
all hatched in the same nest

deep beneath the sand.

Just two inches long,

it's taken each of them
about three days to

dig their way to the surface.

Look at just how perfect
they are and already,

there's a little trail being
blazed towards the sea.

One of the most extraordinary
things about this is that they

all hatch at the same time

and then they all emerge out
of the nest in unison,

in synchrony and it is just the

most thrilling
thing to witness.

The first hatchling starts an
80 foot scramble to the shore

and she has to be quick,

running the gauntlet past
hundreds of hungry birds.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

Not all her nest
mates will make it,

[squawking]

but by scurrying down
all at the same time,

they overwhelm the birds
with sheer numbers.

It's a survival strategy
known as predator swamping,

allowing the vast majority
to make it to the ocean.

That's our lead turtle.

It's made it to the sea

and then all the
others are not far behind.

By hatching in synchrony,
there's safety in numbers,

but how do they coordinate
this mass emergence?

Turtle expert, Doctor
Gabriel Jorgewich-Cohen

believes it comes down to
vocalizations going on

inside the nest before the
turtles have even hatched.

Of all the species on the
planet, we don't necessarily

think of turtles as animals
who make sounds, do we?

-You would be amazed.

They make a lot of
different sounds.

-Do they?

-Some species make up
to 30 different sounds.

-Wow. That's incredible.

-Yes, it is.
It's more than many birds.

[Liz Bonnin] At this
conservation center,

turtle eggs are incubated away
from predators and poachers

who take advantage of
their abundance.

With nests carefully protected,

this nursery is the
perfect place for Gabriel

to set up his experiment.

[Gabriel Jorgewich-Cohen] So,
we are gonna take a look at

this nest here, see if
you can listen to anything.

[Liz Bonnin] We are carefully
burying highly sensitive

microphones in the nest.

If the unhatched turtles
start making sounds

inside their eggs...

-This is yours.

[Liz Bonnin] ...we'll hear them
in more detail than ever before.

Now, all we have
to do is wait.

Further north in Mexico,

another extraordinary
act of teamwork

has only just been discovered.

[Liz Bonnin] The rivers of
Mexico's Baños del Azufre

conceal a deadly secret.

Volcanic springs make these
waters toxic to all but the

hardiest species of fish.

Meet the sulphur mollies.

They're found
nowhere else on Earth.

With so little oxygen in the
water, these fish are forced

to spend most of their
lives at the surface

so they can breathe.

Easy pickings for predators,

or so you might think.

A male kingfisher,
specialist dive bomber.

With 300 fish per square foot,
surely, he can't miss.

But mollies have a dazzling
way of working together

to fend off aerial threats.

A shimmering wave
appears wherever he flies.

It makes locking
on to a single fish

extremely difficult.

But how do they create
this mesmerizing display?

For the first time, super
slow motion cameras reveal

the secret to the
mollies teamwork.

Individually, each
fish flicks its tail

to create a single splash,

then the next and the next.

They can react within just
five milliseconds of their

nearest neighbor,

together, creating
a sparkling ripple

on the water's surface.

You could call it the
original Mexican wave.

It's a superbly effective way
of putting off the most

determined of birds.

This brilliant teamwork helps
to keep the entire shoal safe

in these deadly waters.

Back on the Pacific Coast,

something is stirring
inside the turtle nest.

Did you hear that?

-Yeah. That's it.

[chirping]

That's it.

-I'm getting emotional.

-This one sounds a
bit like a dolphin

don't you think?

Yeah.

-There was also a
beep, like a tweet.

-Uh-huh.

-Like, almost like a tweet.

-Yeah. Yeah.
That's it.

[chirping]

-That's bonkers.

-Exactly.

-And to think that this is a,

it's an embryo inside a shell.

[chirping]

Making little noises to
its nest mates-- nest mates.

-One of the ideas is that
they are using these sounds

to synchronize hatch.

So, all of them come out
of the, the egg together.

-So, it's a bit of
a rallying call.

-That's the idea, yeah.

[Liz Bonnin] But there's
something even more surprising

going on inside the eggs.

The speed at which turtle
embryos develop is determined

by their position in the nest.

Eggs near the surface and in
the center are warmer than

those at the bottom,
so they develop faster.

It's thought that these are
the first turtles to call

and when the embryos growing
more slowly hear these sounds,

their heart rate and
metabolism increase,

speeding up their development.

This allows them to catch up
with their nest mates,

so that they are all ready
to hatch at the same time.

Animals working together
before they're even born

is truly astonishing,

but for me, the most
brilliant act of teamwork

is when nature and
people work together.

I'm heading back to the
shoreline of the specially

protected beach to join a
team of conservationists

releasing hatchlings from
the turtle nursery.

We need to let the hatchlings
make the final scramble

to the sea themselves.

It's thought this allows
them to align their internal

compasses with the
Earth's magnetic field.

In 13 years' time, the females
will use this to navigate

back to this very beach to
lay eggs of their own.

I'm rooting for them with
every cell in my body

to succeed because, honestly,

it is not easy for
turtle hatchlings.

I have been blown away by what
this species is capable of.

The teamwork that's involved,

the coordination, the synchrony.

I am genuinely awe-struck.