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Planet Earth is so spectacular,

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it's easy to miss
the smaller things in life.

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But take a closer look...

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and there's a whole undiscovered world.

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A world where tiny heroes...

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and little monsters...

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need incredible superpowers...

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to help them triumph against giant odds.

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The Caribbean.

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It looks like paradise.

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And it seems a pretty nice home
for the Cuban bee hummingbird.

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Not all that much bigger than a bee.

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It's the smallest bird in the world.

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There are all sorts of little castaways

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that have found their way
to these islands.

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Many are the tiniest of their kind
and found nowhere else on Earth.

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Food and space is so limited on islands.

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It's often survival of the smallest.

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But paradise has a darker side.

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When hurricane season hits,

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tiny animals must face
some of the greatest forces on the planet.

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On sunny days, life on a Caribbean island
is buzzing with possibilities.

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A male bee hummingbird.

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Looking for a mate...

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and dressed to impress.

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But this female's busy.

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She's caring for two chicks,

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just hatched from eggs
the size of coffee beans.

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Into a home the size of an espresso cup.

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In four days, they'll double in size
on a diet of insects and nectar.

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Providing all this food is a mammoth task.

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Hummingbirds burn energy
faster than any other animal.

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So she must visit
hundreds of flowers a day.

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She's so tiny, bugs are major competition.

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And while she feeds,
the nest is unprotected.

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Even a single ant is a threat.

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And as more swarm in,
the chicks are in serious danger.

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Just in time.

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She's back to save the day.

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Over time,
Caribbean creatures have evolved,

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shrinking down to make the most
of what little food they can find.

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A thread snake,

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as thin as a strand of spaghetti...

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and half as long.

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He's an ant hunter...

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of sorts.

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Adult ants are too large
to get his tiny jaws around.

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But their larvae go down nicely.

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Many of these miniature marvels
are unique to a single island.

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Just half the length of a matchstick,

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the dwarf gecko is one
of the smallest lizards in the world.

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The perfect size to hunt micro-bugs
down here in the leaf litter.

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But perhaps a little on the small side
when up against a tropical storm.

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Raindrops hit like bombs.

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The mother hummingbird does all she can
to shelter her chicks.

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Others fly for cover.

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But the storm is so overwhelming...

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there's no choice but to abandon her nest.

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On the forest floor,
the runoff becomes a tidal wave.

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But size is a dwarf gecko's superpower.

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So small, so light,
he literally walks on water.

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And stays afloat until the flood recedes.

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With over 15 tropical storms
battering the Caribbean each year,

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paradise can quickly turn into hell.

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The hummingbird's chicks
have been swept away.

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She must start all over again...

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before the next storm hits.

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In the wake of a storm,
vegetation is washed out to sea.

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And with it, creatures are cast adrift.

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Occasionally, a voyager is lucky enough
to reach new shores.

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This is how
many animals colonize new islands.

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Small and hardy,
Anolis lizards make successful stowaways.

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But others arrived here long before her.

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Hutias and iguanas survive
by scavenging on whatever washes up.

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She needs to get off the beach.

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Just a few meters between her and safety.

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It only takes a few brave pioneers
to start a whole new population.

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The storm has delivered a bounty
for beachcombers of all sizes...

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from hutia to sand hoppers.

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But not everyone's on the hunt for food.

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This hermit crab is looking
for a new home.

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Hers is in serious disrepair.

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A new supply of shells has washed up
in the storm.

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But finding the right fit isn't easy.

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She's only the size of a golf ball.

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But hermit crabs can grow
as big as a coconut

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and must keep upgrading their shells
to match.

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With a never-ending demand
for bigger homes,

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hermit crabs
have come up with an ingenious solution.

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When a crab finds a shell
that doesn't fit...

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it signals to others to come and inspect.

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And when the right-sized hermit arrives...

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they form a housing chain.

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Big to small.

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The largest moves first.

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Then each takes the newly vacated property
one size up.

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She's late to the party.

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But there's always one shell left over.

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The smallest.

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Somehow, a crab just knows
when it's found the right home.

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Finally, a proper shelter.

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She'll need it.

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This time of year,
bad weather is never far away.

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Further inland, rivers are still raging
from the last storm...

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carrying rainwater out to sea.

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But some are heading the other way.

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Tri-tri gobies travel upstream
to find the best place to breed.

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To avoid the competition,
some males go to extraordinary lengths.

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He's smaller than a teaspoon,

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but using his fins as suction cups
and his mouth to grip,

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he can conquer rapids.

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This, however...

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could be more challenging.

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Gobies can scale waterfalls
350 meters high.

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Almost as high as
the Empire State Building.

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The ascent will take days.

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Many attempt the climb...

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but less than 1 in 100 survive.

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It pays to take it steady.

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Success.

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And a chance to breed.

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Sending a new generation back downstream.

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The humidity of storm season
triggers an explosion of life.

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A Jamaican montane crab
is only the size of a sugar cube.

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It doesn't need to be in water to survive.

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But a mother still needs it to breed.

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There's rainwater
trapped in tiny rock pools,

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but it's too risky
to raise a family out here.

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She has just the solution.

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Using specialized hairs,
she draws a film of water onto her shell.

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Now she just needs a place to keep it.

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An empty snail shell
the size of a matchbox.

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Perfect to hold a few drops.

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And secure enough for a new family.

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Twenty little crablets,

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each no bigger than a grain of sand.

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For the next three months,

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she'll keep them fed, watered,
and protected

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in their little snail shell home.

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As storm season progresses,
there's so much moisture in the air,

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coqui frogs can breed
out of water entirely.

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The miracle of life
begins as a single cell.

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Their devoted father watches over them.

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Only the size of a strawberry,

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but ready to defend his brood
against any threat.

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A hungry snail...

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twice his size.

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He can't move his eggs.

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There's no escape.

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He fights back...

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but the snail is relentless.

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This fearless father still has
two more weeks of guard duty

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before his eggs finally hatch.

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The female hummingbird
is looking for a new mate.

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Such a small male could be hard to find.

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If he wasn't so desperate to be noticed.

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He'll have to work hard
if he's gonna win her over.

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A tiny dancer.

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Finally, persistence pays off.

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Soon to be a mother again,
she needs to build a new nest.

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Spiderwebs make the ideal glue
to stick it all together.

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She begins by weaving the foundations.

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And in just a few days,

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her nest will be ready to cradle
a new clutch of precious eggs.

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But out at sea...
something big is brewing.

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As ocean temperatures rise
through the year,

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they fuel ever more powerful
tropical storms.

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Caribbean anoles are surprisingly
well-adapted

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to endure such extreme weather.

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Extra-large footpads help them hang on

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in winds of 200 kilometers per hour.

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But this storm is still building.

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This is Hurricane Dorian.

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A storm the size of Kansas.

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When the world's most powerful
weather events strike...

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small creatures are at their mercy.

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Winds increase to 300 kilometers per hour.

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A direct hit brings utter devastation.

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Every year,
the Caribbean is ravaged by hurricanes.

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But of the thousands of islands,
only a few bear the full brunt.

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Who survives is down to luck...

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and size.

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Tiny animals often have the best chance
of sheltering from the storm

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and recovering quickly.

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In the middle of storm season,
come rain or shine,

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hermit crabs head back to the beach.

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The new moon
triggers their mass migration.

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Over three days and nights,
thousands gather.

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All female, all carrying eggs.

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The moment they touch water...

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the eggs hatch.

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Millions of microscopic larvae
swept out to sea.

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They'll ride on the currents
as they grow...

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until it's time to come ashore

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and colonize new lands.

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It's the tiniest animals
that make the most

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of the limited opportunities
on Caribbean islands.

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The coqui froglets are now fully formed...

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and ready to emerge.

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Their father's devotion

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has given them the chance
to make their own way

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in this big wide world.

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And this mother's resilience
has earned her a fresh start.

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A new generation of tiny miracles...

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found nowhere else...

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but on these treasured islands.