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STEPHEN FRY:
'Filmed over three years...

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00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:09,960
'..in more than 60 locations...

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'..making a series like
A Year On Planet Earth

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'would be impossible without
the collaboration of scientists,

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00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:23,960
'conservationists and local people.

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'They work in the world's
most incredible locations.'

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MAN: I get to see the mantas
every day.

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I am living the dream.

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It's completely wild. It looks like
something out of Jurassic Park.

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'Using pioneering technology,

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'they uncover behaviour
never seen before.'

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It's most surreal. I could
see through the eyes of a penguin.

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Oh, there's a hammer!
Look at that.

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MAN: The big hammerhead is trying
to feed on these blacktips.

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Every time I go up,
I still love it.

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'They use unconventional methods.'

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MAN IN CHINESE:

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'But they also bear witness

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'to the pressures of human activity
on the natural world.'

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WOMAN: If the oceans
carry on warming,

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we might not have king penguins
by the end of the century.

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'Even putting their lives
on the line...'

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You have to pretend
as if you are a criminal.

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'..for future generations.'

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MAN: I hope to pass on
whatever knowledge I have

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to generations that come

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because they are
wonderful creatures.

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We should really care about them.

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'Through their work,
they experience first-hand

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'the challenges
of the changing seasons,

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'the highs and lows
of a year on planet Earth.

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'These are their stories.

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'Halfway between South Africa
and the Antarctic,

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'deep in the Southern Ocean,

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'lies one of the most remote islands
on the planet.

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'Marion Island is one of the last
true untouched havens for wildlife.

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'And home
to more than a million penguins.'

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WOMAN: It really is
absolutely breath-taking.

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It's covered with
the most incredible wildlife.

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You can't not be amazed
by this place.

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MAN: The landscape
is very beautiful.

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It's an isolated place

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where there's nobody

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except the scientists
that come to work here.

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'The South African
National Antarctic Programme

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'runs a base with a small field team

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'that studies the impacts
of climate change.'

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MAN: Besides the base,

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there's no real
structural development,

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there's no fences,
there's no walkways.

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It's completely wild.

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'The base has been manned
365 days a year

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'for nearly 40 years.

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'Enabling a study unmatched
anywhere else in the world.

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'But 2020 posed a problem.

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'The global pandemic meant that,
for the first time in decades,

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'fieldwork ground to an abrupt halt.

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'Until hope arrived
from an unexpected direction.

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'Marion Island caught the eye
of the A Year On Planet Earth team.

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'Because of the unique habitat,
the island is protected...

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'..and filming hadn't been
allowed there for 20 years.

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'But the pandemic
presented an opportunity

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'for the perfect partnership.

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'The film crew
chartered an Antarctic vessel,

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'and by offering passage
to key scientists,

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'they were granted
unprecedented filming access

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'to one of the world's
last true wildernesses.

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'Following a gruelling eight days...

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'..through the unforgiving
Southern Ocean...

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'..the team arrives
and gets straight to work.'

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I'm Danielle Keys.

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I am a PhD student
at the Nelson Mandela University.

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I monitor and observe seabirds.

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I absolutely love
being hands-on with animals

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that don't have this internal fear
of humans.

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You can get really close to them
without scaring them off,

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which is incredible.

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'This allows the scientists

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'to take regular health checks
and measurements of the animals

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'on the island.'

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CRIES

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'To assess the impact
of climate change,

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'the team needs to monitor
what the animals are eating,

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'and whether this is changing
over time.'

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My name is Frikkie van der Vyver,
and I'm a field biologist

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with Pretoria University's
marine mammal research programme.

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'Analysing the diet
of a marine mammal

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'used to be daunting task.

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'But these days,
there's a clever solution.

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'For the fur seals of Marion,

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'the answer
is hiding in their whiskers.'

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FRIKKIE: The whole whisker
is a timeline

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of the animal's diet.

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If you think about it,
we are what we eat,

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so everything that a seal,
for example, eats

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gets laid down in its whiskers,

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and scientists can study
a number of years back

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what the seal has been eating

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through doing
analysis on its whisker.

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'Monitoring the diet of Marion's
vast penguin population

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'is done very differently.

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'Penguins spend up to 75%
of their time in the ocean,

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'so, until recently,
much of their lives

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'remained a mystery.

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'But thanks
to a pioneering new project,

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'the team has developed a way

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'to follow Marion's
four different penguin species

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'far out at sea.'

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DANIELLE KEYS:
By putting cameras on their backs,

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we can see what they do
out in the open ocean.

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We will put more than one device
on them.

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We will put a camera on their backs,
as well as a GPS device.

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It doesn't hurt their feathers,

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and the devices are small enough
to not impact how they swim.

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We get a bird's-eye view

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of what they actually see
in the ocean.

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'The footage reveals behaviour

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'never seen before.

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'Gentoo penguins
wrestle over the largest squid

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'every observed in their diet.

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'While the cameras
give us an intimate view,

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'GPS data shows exactly where
the penguins go on feeding trips.

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'King penguin parents

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'sometimes leave their chicks
for months to find food.

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'And the data reveals

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'they are undertaking a journey
of epic proportions.'

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DANIELLE KEYS:
We found that these birds

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are travelling
hundreds of kilometres south,

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all the way
to the South Antarctic polar front,

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and they're foraging there

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in this incredibly nutrient-rich
environment.

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'But the studies are also revealing

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'an accelerating crisis.'

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DANIELLE KEYS:
As our oceans are warming,

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this current
is moving further south,

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which means that these penguins
need to forage a whole lot further

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in order to catch their prey.

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So their chicks are left
on the beaches a lot longer,

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and often their parents
don't come back

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with enough food for them.

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If this carries on,

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if the oceans carry on warming
the way that they are,

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there's a good chance
that we might not have king penguins

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by the end of the century.

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'The scientists' observations
over the past 40 years

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'provide hard evidence

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'that climate change
is having an impact,

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'and they show the importance
of studying and protecting

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'this unique, pristine environment.

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'During these opening
weeks of the year,

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'the sun's most direct rays

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'fall on the southern half
of the planet.

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'In the Northern Hemisphere,
it's winter.

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'Those that can have fled the cold
to follow the sun south.'

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'The arrival of one such migrant

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'is eagerly anticipated
in Southern Florida.'

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MAN: My favourite time of year
in South Florida

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has to be the winter.
That's when the sharks are here.

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In the fall,
as water temperatures start to drop,

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these sharks will start moving south

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to stay within
their preferred water temperature.

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My name is Stephen Kajiura.
I'm a professor

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in the Department
of Biological Sciences

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at Florida Atlantic University.

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Ever since I was a little kid,
like, four or five years old,

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I thought sharks were really cool.
I remember going to the library

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and getting out
as many shark books as I could.

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And I was just fascinated.

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I wanted to study sharks.

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'Stephen's childhood obsession

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'led him
into a career in marine biology,

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'specialising in the migration
of blacktip sharks.'

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STEPHEN K: When I first
flew along the beach

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and saw thousands of sharks
in the shallows,

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I was astounded. I had no idea that
there were that many sharks here,

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that close to the beach.

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I realised we need to study
this a bit more.

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There's a big school.

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That's well over a thousand sharks
right there.

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That's what we typically get
this time of year.

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We get these large aggregations
of these sharks coming down here.

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Look at 'em all.

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That's a really good-sized school.

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'This aerial perspective

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'also reveals incredible behaviour

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'that would go unnoticed
down on the water.'

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STEPHEN K: These sharks
will funnel in

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right up against the beach.

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They don't wanna be
in the deep water,

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where the big predators are.

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Oh, there's a hammer!
Look at that.

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There's a hammer, right there.

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Larger sharks,
like big, great hammerheads,

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are trying to feed on
these blacktips.

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A hammerhead
will come in from deeper water

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and start to chase them.

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And what's interesting
is these blacktips are small enough

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that they're able to dart in,
right up against the beach,

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into the shallow waters.

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The big hammerhead is unable
to follow into the shallow water,

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so it has to peel off
and go back into deep water again.

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Looking at them from the plane
is great,

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but nothing beats actually
being right beside the animal

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and actually bringing one up
beside the boat.

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'It offers Stephen and his team

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'the opportunity
to track the sharks.'

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STEPHEN K: This is
our prime field season.

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We've only got literally a few weeks
while the sharks are here.

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We have a lot of work to do
in a short window.

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And toss the float.

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All right.

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00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:46,960
Let's see what we can catch.

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So, we're going
to tag one of the sharks

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with a satellite tag on the fin.
And what that allows us to do

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is look at the movement
of these sharks

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as they're moving
up and down the coast.

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'First, the sharks are caught

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'and carefully manoeuvred
alongside the boat.'

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00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:21,960
STEPHEN K: When you've got a shark
on the line,

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you need to work it up quickly.

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And once you have the shark secured,

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then we're able to get this animal
processed and released

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00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:32,960
as quickly as possible.

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Dart tag, have you got the number
on it? It's, um... 406856.

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Any time that fin
breaks the surface of the water,

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that satellite tag sends a signal

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and gives us
a latitude and longitude,

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so we're able
to follow its movement.

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And that tag will last
for probably a year or so,

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and then it will eventually
fall out of the fin.

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'By the end of winter,

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'as spring warms the water
further north,

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'the sharks start to leave
Southern Florida.

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00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:24,960
'But for Stephen,
his work has only just begun.'

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00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:28,960
STEPHEN K: To me,
one of the most interesting aspects

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00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:31,800
of this whole project
is getting on the computer

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and looking at the data,
seeing what we've learned.

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These sharks are going
much farther north now

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than they ever have historically.

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All the way up to Long Island,
New York.

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And I think this is
largely attributed to the fact

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that the oceans are warming

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and the sharks are encountering
their preferred water temperatures

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at higher and higher latitudes.

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And so, as oceans continue to warm,

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these sharks are probably gonna
keep shifting their distribution

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further and further north

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and going places
they never were previously.

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Conversely, in the winter,

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00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:03,960
they're not coming
quite as far south.

251
00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:06,960
Why swim all the way
down to South Florida

252
00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:09,960
if the water's just fine
off Central Florida somewhere?

253
00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:13,960
When I started
the aerial survey project,

254
00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:18,960
it was not uncommon to see in excess
of 10,000 sharks on a single flight.

255
00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:21,960
And now, I'm lucky to break
a thousand.

256
00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:25,960
And that's a dramatic change
in no more than a decade.

257
00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:28,960
That is powerful data
to be able to share with the public,

258
00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:32,800
to show a real, tangible effect
of global climate change

259
00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:33,960
on a top-level marine predator.

260
00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:38,160
It's scary,
because there's a dramatic shift

261
00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:41,960
in a short period of time.
But I'm comforted by the fact that

262
00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:46,960
sharks, as a whole, have survived
all five mass extinctions

263
00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:48,960
on this planet,
and they're still here.

264
00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:49,960
And so I'm quite confident

265
00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,960
that the sharks
are gonna continue to be here.

266
00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:54,960
They can adapt.
They're gonna do just fine,

267
00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:56,960
and they'll be here
long after the humans go away.

268
00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:10,960
'The warmth which draws
the sharks north, back up the coast,

269
00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:15,960
'is now felt right across
the Northern Hemisphere.

270
00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:19,960
'Winter finally gives way to spring.

271
00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:24,960
'A time of growth.

272
00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:35,960
'And new life.

273
00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:42,960
'For many,
the hardest working months

274
00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:44,960
'of their lives lie ahead.

275
00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:49,960
'And some
will go to extraordinary lengths

276
00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:51,960
'to raise the next generation.

277
00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:08,960
'This female leatherback turtle

278
00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:13,960
'reaches the end of a journey
of more than 5,000km

279
00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:15,000
'from Eastern Canada.

280
00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:23,960
'Her destination
is a remote fishing village

281
00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:25,960
'in the Caribbean.

282
00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:31,960
'Using the Earth's magnetic field
to guide her,

283
00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:36,960
'she returns to the very same beach
where she was born

284
00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:39,960
'nearly two decades ago.'

285
00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:42,960
MAN: Wherever they were born,

286
00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:45,960
they come back to the same beach
to lay eggs.

287
00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,960
After so long,
I think that is amazing.

288
00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:51,960
My name is Deon McEachnie

289
00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:54,160
I am a fisherman,

290
00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:58,960
and I work as a tour guide,
touring people on the beach,

291
00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:01,960
and also as a patrol
to help protect leatherback turtles

292
00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:03,640
that nest on the beach.

293
00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:10,960
'In peak nesting season,
there are more turtles on the beach

294
00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:12,960
'than people in the village.

295
00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:16,960
'But until recently,

296
00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:19,960
'turtles have been under threat
from the community.'

297
00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:29,960
DEON: I grew up in Grande Riviere.
I've spent my entire life here.

298
00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:31,480
We used to poach turtles.

299
00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:36,960
My grandparents, my parents,
we ate leatherback turtles,

300
00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:38,640
we ate turtle eggs.

301
00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:40,960
I mean, I feel sorry about it
that you actually did that,

302
00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:42,960
but, I mean, you didn't know better.

303
00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:46,960
It was just a normal custom
that the villagers used to do.

304
00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:50,960
'But these days,
it's unlikely to be poachers

305
00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:52,960
'walking the beaches at night.

306
00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:56,800
'Following an alarming decrease

307
00:19:56,800 --> 00:19:58,960
'in the global population
of leatherbacks,

308
00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:02,480
'the hunting and consumption
of turtles was banned,

309
00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:05,960
'and the villagers set up
a conservation initiative.

310
00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:13,960
'The Grande Riviere
Nature Tour Guide Association

311
00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:17,960
'monitors the turtles,
and also runs night patrols.'

312
00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:22,960
DEON: As soon as
the protection started

313
00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:25,480
and people
began to patrol the beach,

314
00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:28,640
the killing of leatherback turtles
actually stopped.

315
00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:31,960
The community did change.

316
00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:35,640
They are more educated now about it,
and they understand,

317
00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:38,160
you know, the purpose
and how important it is.

318
00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:44,960
'As well as helping
with night patrols,

319
00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:49,960
'Deon runs educational tours
during the daytime.'

320
00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:51,960
Right now,
she's finished laying the eggs.

321
00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:55,000
She's doing a process
we call camouflaging.

322
00:20:55,000 --> 00:21:00,960
Camouflaging means she trying to
hide exactly where she lay the eggs.

323
00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:03,800
If you look at
the front-left flipper,

324
00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:06,960
you will see that there is a cut
on the flipper.

325
00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:09,960
Most likely,
that will be from a machete.

326
00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:12,960
Most likely,
she's been caught in a fishing net.

327
00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:15,960
The fisherman tried to, you know,
chop the turtle

328
00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:18,960
to get the turtle away from the net.

329
00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:23,960
'Whilst leatherbacks are now
well-protected on the beaches,

330
00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:27,960
'out in the ocean,
it's a very different story.'

331
00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:37,960
'Many families rely on fishing
for their livelihood.

332
00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:42,960
'As the sun sets,
fishermen head out to sea.

333
00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:50,960
'They use large vertical panels
of netting suspended in the water,

334
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:52,960
'called gill nets.

335
00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:56,480
'As well as catching fish,

336
00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,960
'the gill nets
often entangle other wildlife,

337
00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:01,960
'including turtles.

338
00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:06,480
'As a fisherman himself,

339
00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:10,960
'Deon uses his knowledge
to engage with the locals.'

340
00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:15,960
How many boats, other than you,
do you see out there in the night?

341
00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:18,960
There's, like, 12 of us.
Could be probably more.

342
00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,480
How many turtles
do you believe would actually die

343
00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:23,960
because of being entangled
in the net?

344
00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:26,960
It would be probably 40.

345
00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:29,960
OK, so that's an average of,
let me say,

346
00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:30,960
between 30 to 40 turtles

347
00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:33,960
that will die per night
because of gill net fishing.

348
00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:35,960
- Yeah.
- OK.

349
00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:37,960
You wouldn't always kill them.

350
00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:39,960
You wouldn't always, like...

351
00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,960
If we was fishing them,
we wouldn't kill them.

352
00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:44,960
It depends on the net.

353
00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:46,960
Sometimes,
the net can be brand-new.

354
00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:48,320
And if the net is new,

355
00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:50,960
they have to cut up the net
to free the turtle.

356
00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:53,960
And they don't want their net
to be destroyed.

357
00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:55,000
Destroyed, yeah.

358
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,960
I mean, all you can do
is try to talk to fishermen.

359
00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:00,960
But out there, in the night,

360
00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:03,800
it's gonna be totally up to them

361
00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:05,960
if they will take your advice
or not.

362
00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:11,960
'Scientists and NGOs

363
00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:14,960
'are exploring
alternative fishing methods

364
00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:18,800
'that will help keep turtles
safe in these waters.

365
00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:23,320
'Deon hangs up his own gill nets

366
00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:25,960
'for the entire turtle
nesting season,

367
00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:29,800
'and remains committed to winning
over the hearts and minds

368
00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:30,960
'of the community.'

369
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,960
DEON: She's heading
back into the water now.

370
00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:40,960
And most likely, she'll be back here
in about ten to 15 days' time...

371
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:45,960
..where she's gonna deposit
another 80 to 100 eggs.

372
00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,960
'Deon's daughter
often joins him on his tours.'

373
00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:52,960
See, she's gonna now swim.
Watch her swim.

374
00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:54,960
Watch, watch, watch. What speed!

375
00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:57,480
What speed, what speed! Yay!

376
00:23:57,480 --> 00:23:59,960
Ooh, see her over there?

377
00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:04,960
DEON: I hope to pass on
whatever knowledge I have

378
00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:06,960
to generations that come,

379
00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:08,960
because they are
wonderful creatures.

380
00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:12,960
To come so far
and to do what they do,

381
00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:15,960
you know,
there's so much to learn from them.

382
00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:18,960
We should really care about them.

383
00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:20,960
Ooh!

384
00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:23,960
She gone... far away.

385
00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:29,800
'After nesting,
leatherbacks return to the sea

386
00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:32,800
'to make the long journey
to their feeding grounds

387
00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:33,960
'in the north.

388
00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:42,960
'As our planet continues
on its journey around the sun,

389
00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:46,960
'its heat intensifies
over the Northern Hemisphere

390
00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:50,960
'and the equatorial rain belt
is drawn north.'

391
00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:54,960
THUNDER RUMBLES

392
00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:09,960
'The summer months
see some of the highest rainfall

393
00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:11,000
'across the globe.

394
00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:18,960
'All around the world,

395
00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:21,480
'animals follow
this movement of water...

396
00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:27,160
'..in search of fresh food.'

397
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:31,960
TWEETING

398
00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:51,960
'This seasonal shift of weather
also changes ocean currents.

399
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,960
'In summer,
a blizzard of nutritious plankton

400
00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:08,960
'flows towards the Maldives.'

401
00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:12,960
MAN: In the wet season,
the winds are usually stronger

402
00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:15,320
and we get a lot more rain.

403
00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:17,960
There is what we call
the manta weather.

404
00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:26,960
'Enormous reef mantas

405
00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:30,960
'gather here in their hundreds
to feed on the plankton.'

406
00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:34,960
My name is Yaniu.

407
00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:38,960
I work with the Manta Trust
as a research and education officer.

408
00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:40,960
The best part of my job

409
00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:45,000
is that I get to see the mantas
almost every day.

410
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:46,960
I am living the dream.

411
00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:02,960
'Yaniu was born
and brought up on these islands.

412
00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:05,960
'But throughout his childhood,
he had no idea

413
00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:09,960
'of the incredible spectacle
just offshore.'

414
00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:18,640
YANIU: I learned swimming
and snorkelling

415
00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:19,960
when I was really young.

416
00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:27,960
I was really interested
in the natural world,

417
00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:31,960
but I didn't see a manta ray
until I was 18.

418
00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:39,960
When I first saw the mantas,

419
00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:43,960
I was swimming with 200 mantas.

420
00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:50,960
I was so excited.

421
00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:55,960
And at the same time,
I was not really believing

422
00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:57,160
it's happening for real.

423
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:01,960
From then, I wanted to learn more
about these creatures

424
00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:04,960
and why they show up here.

425
00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:15,160
'The unique geography
of the funnel-shaped bay

426
00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:17,960
'traps huge amounts of plankton.

427
00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:24,960
'And the mantas know exactly where
to come year after year.

428
00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:29,960
'This annual feeding event

429
00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,960
'allows Yaniu to gather data
on the population.

430
00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:40,960
'Every summer, he spends his days
taking photographs of the manta rays

431
00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:45,000
'for one of the biggest
photo ID projects ever undertaken.

432
00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:52,960
'15 years of data have been gathered
by the Manta Trust.'

433
00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:57,800
YANIU: Every individual manta

434
00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:00,960
have their unique spot patterns
on their belly,

435
00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:03,320
which we can use to identify them.

436
00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:07,960
The same way we can use
our fingerprints to identify us.

437
00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:12,960
'The photographs are also used

438
00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:15,960
'to track individual mantas'
movements.'

439
00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:20,960
YANIU: We can identify
almost any manta

440
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:22,960
that is seen in the Maldives.

441
00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:24,960
And when we can't identify it,

442
00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:28,640
we usually count it
as a new individual

443
00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:30,960
that can go into our database.

444
00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:34,960
'The results surprised everyone.

445
00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:39,960
'They have identified
more than 5,000 individual mantas

446
00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:41,480
'visiting the Maldives.

447
00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:48,160
'Over ten times the size
of any other known population.

448
00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:52,800
'Making it the manta capital
of the world.

449
00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:59,960
'But news of a gathering
on this scale travels fast.'

450
00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:11,960
YANIU: In Maldives,
the economy depends on the tourism.

451
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:15,960
The manta tourism
is a big part of this.

452
00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:24,640
With the increase in the tourism,
we also have other impacts.

453
00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:27,160
There will be more boat traffic,
more pollution,

454
00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:28,960
more people here.

455
00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:36,960
'Despite this, Yaniu understands

456
00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:39,640
'the importance of tourism
to his work.'

457
00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:44,960
YANIU: The tourism
and tourism establishments

458
00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:47,960
have funded us
for our researchers to be here

459
00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:50,960
and to go out
to where the mantas are.

460
00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:56,960
So the tourism also have ups,

461
00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:58,960
and, at the same time, downs

462
00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:01,800
for the environment
and for the researchers.

463
00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:07,960
'It's a delicate balance,

464
00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:12,960
'and one the Manta Trust
are working hard to get right.'

465
00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:15,960
YANIU: I hope to see a future

466
00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:18,960
where the mantas
and the other marine organisms

467
00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:20,000
are in no threat,

468
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,960
and they are safe
from the human impact.

469
00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:29,960
They are one of
the most exotic creatures

470
00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:30,960
in the sea world.

471
00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:34,960
I love them all.

472
00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:48,800
'Summer trade winds

473
00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:51,960
'pick up evaporated water
from the Indian Ocean...

474
00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:56,960
'..and carry it north.

475
00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:08,480
'The warm air meets the Himalayas,
where it condenses.

476
00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:13,960
'Clouds build

477
00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:16,960
'for the biggest weather event
of the year.'

478
00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:19,000
THUNDER RUMBLES

479
00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:25,960
'The South Asian monsoon.

480
00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:40,960
'In China,
the mix of monsoon showers

481
00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:42,160
'and warm sunshine

482
00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:47,320
'provides the perfect conditions
for bamboo to grow.

483
00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:14,480
'These tender new leaves and shoots

484
00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:18,960
'provide one forest dweller
with the resource she needs

485
00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:20,960
'to raise her youngster.'

486
00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:30,000
MAN IN CHINESE:

487
00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:41,320
'Pandas have long been

488
00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:44,960
'the global symbol
of endangered species.

489
00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:50,960
'In the 1980s, there were fewer
than 1,000 pandas in the wild.

490
00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:53,960
'But their fortunes
are slowly changing,

491
00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:57,960
'thanks, in part,
to 40 years of dedication

492
00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:01,480
'of one extraordinary man.'

493
00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:03,640
IN CHINESE:

494
00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:33,960
'When Zhang
first joined the panda team,

495
00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:36,960
'the focus
was on building panda numbers

496
00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:39,640
'by breeding them in captivity.

497
00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:42,960
'But it nearly always resulted
in failure.'

498
00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:46,160
ZHANG IN CHINESE:

499
00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:56,960
HIGH-PITCHED BARKING

500
00:34:59,960 --> 00:35:01,960
'Zhang decided that the key

501
00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:05,960
'to tackling
the panda's notoriously low libido

502
00:35:05,960 --> 00:35:08,960
'was to improve
their overall happiness,

503
00:35:08,960 --> 00:35:14,960
'which meant caring for them 24-7
and building strong bonds.

504
00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:17,960
'His unconventional methods

505
00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:21,960
'soon started to improve
their rate of conception.

506
00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:26,320
'Now the challenge
was to keep the new-born cubs alive.

507
00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:29,960
'But success didn't come easily.'

508
00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:31,960
IN CHINESE:

509
00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:52,640
'Gradually,
through better understanding

510
00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:55,960
'and improvements to their diet
and immunity,

511
00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:59,960
'the survival rate of cubs
was transformed.'

512
00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:08,800
ZHANG IN CHINESE:

513
00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:19,960
'This incredible success

514
00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:25,960
'brought Zhang worldwide acclaim
as the father of pandas.

515
00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:33,800
'But his ambitions
didn't stop there.'

516
00:36:33,800 --> 00:36:34,960
IN CHINESE:

517
00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:41,960
'Growing up
with lots of human interaction

518
00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:46,960
'didn't help prepare the cubs
for life in the forest.

519
00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:55,960
'So, Papa Panda and his team
invented a unique approach.'

520
00:36:57,960 --> 00:36:59,960
ZHANG IN CHINESE:

521
00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:07,960
'For two years,
keepers help raise the pandas

522
00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:11,960
'until they're ready to be released
into the wild.

523
00:38:18,960 --> 00:38:20,960
'Getting to this moment

524
00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:22,960
'has taken decades of hard work.

525
00:38:22,960 --> 00:38:27,960
'But for Zhang, it has come
at a great personal cost.'

526
00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:31,960
ZHANG IN CHINESE:

527
00:39:08,960 --> 00:39:11,960
'The incredible dedication of Zhang,

528
00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:15,960
'and the centre's scientists,
keepers and rangers

529
00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:19,960
'has given hope for
the long-term future of the species.

530
00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:26,960
'After 30 years,
panda numbers have almost doubled

531
00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:29,960
'with nearly 2,000
living in the wild.

532
00:39:32,960 --> 00:39:35,960
'As summer draws to a close,

533
00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:37,960
'the north begins to cool,

534
00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:41,960
'dramatically transforming
an entire landscape.

535
00:39:55,960 --> 00:39:59,960
'The sun's most direct rays
track south,

536
00:39:59,960 --> 00:40:02,960
'drawing with them
the tropical rains.

537
00:40:07,640 --> 00:40:10,960
'But on the parched plains
of Zimbabwe,

538
00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:13,480
'the skies are still cloudless...

539
00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:17,960
'..and it hasn't rained here
for many months.

540
00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:22,640
'Now is the toughest time

541
00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:26,960
'for Hwange National Park's
most famous residents.

542
00:40:28,960 --> 00:40:33,960
'Elephants concentrate around
the few remaining water holes.

543
00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:38,960
'Providing an opportunity
for predators.

544
00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:48,960
'But lions aren't the only ones
taking advantage.'

545
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:55,960
GRUNTING

546
00:40:55,960 --> 00:40:58,160
MAN: During the dry season,

547
00:40:58,160 --> 00:41:01,960
it is easy to poach animals.

548
00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:05,960
Instead of hunting for the animals,

549
00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:08,960
the poacher can just go
to the water hole,

550
00:41:08,960 --> 00:41:10,960
wait for the animals,

551
00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:12,960
shoot them to get ivory.

552
00:41:14,800 --> 00:41:15,960
GUNSHOT

553
00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:18,960
My name is Amos Gwema.

554
00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:23,480
I am the Principal Investigation
and Intelligence Officer

555
00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:25,960
for Zimbabwe Parks
and Wildlife Management Authority.

556
00:41:25,960 --> 00:41:30,800
My aim is to protect the elephant
in Hwange.

557
00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:36,960
'Amos and his team

558
00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:39,960
'look after 35,000 elephants.

559
00:41:41,960 --> 00:41:47,960
'To do this, they must cover
more than 14,500 square kilometres,

560
00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:51,960
'nearly twice the size
of Yellowstone National Park,

561
00:41:51,960 --> 00:41:55,640
'and yet they have
fewer than 50 rangers...

562
00:41:56,960 --> 00:41:58,960
'..only one vehicle,

563
00:41:58,960 --> 00:42:02,960
'and they're up against
a formidable foe.'

564
00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:09,960
AMOS: The poachers
use rifles, AK-47,

565
00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:13,960
and even cyanide to poison
the elephant for their tusk.

566
00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:26,960
In 2013,
over 200 elephants were poisoned.

567
00:42:33,480 --> 00:42:35,480
Imagine a crime site

568
00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:38,960
where you discover
over 60 elephant carcasses.

569
00:42:40,960 --> 00:42:42,960
That was the most sorrowful...

570
00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:47,960
..and painful experience
of my career.

571
00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:51,960
I nearly cried.

572
00:42:54,960 --> 00:42:56,960
It was a dark year.

573
00:43:00,960 --> 00:43:03,960
'In an area as vast as Hwange,

574
00:43:03,960 --> 00:43:07,960
'keeping track of the poachers
is a near-impossible task.

575
00:43:07,960 --> 00:43:10,960
'But with his limited resources,

576
00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:15,960
'Amos has had to find a way
to crack the problem.'

577
00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:18,960
AMOS: What we usually do
to track down poachers

578
00:43:18,960 --> 00:43:22,000
is we get intelligence
from the community.

579
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:25,960
They are the ones
who know who the poachers are.

580
00:43:26,960 --> 00:43:28,960
'To gather evidence,

581
00:43:28,960 --> 00:43:34,480
'Amos then goes undercover
as a potential buyer of ivory

582
00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:36,160
'and contacts the poacher.'

583
00:43:36,160 --> 00:43:39,000
PHONE RINGS

584
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:41,800
AMOS: We start communicating...

585
00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:42,960
Hello?

586
00:43:42,960 --> 00:43:45,320
..develop a trust in each other.

587
00:43:46,960 --> 00:43:49,640
You have to pretend
as if you are a criminal

588
00:43:49,640 --> 00:43:51,960
because they are also intelligent.

589
00:43:51,960 --> 00:43:53,960
They will attempt to find out

590
00:43:53,960 --> 00:43:56,960
whether you are
a serious buyer or not.

591
00:43:58,960 --> 00:44:03,160
Then we will agree
on when to do the transaction.

592
00:44:03,160 --> 00:44:06,960
'Once he's built up trust,
he lays his trap.'

593
00:44:06,960 --> 00:44:09,960
AMOS: We will team up
with the police.

594
00:44:09,960 --> 00:44:12,960
The moment the poacher
brings the ivory...

595
00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:15,960
..he or she will be arrested.

596
00:44:24,960 --> 00:44:28,480
I've facilitated arrests

597
00:44:28,480 --> 00:44:30,960
of over 350 poachers

598
00:44:30,960 --> 00:44:32,960
since 2007.

599
00:44:32,960 --> 00:44:37,960
And I have got
a 95% conviction rate.

600
00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:42,960
'Amos and his committed team
of rangers

601
00:44:42,960 --> 00:44:45,960
'take huge risks
in carrying out this work.'

602
00:44:46,960 --> 00:44:49,160
AMOS: Anti-poaching
is a dangerous job.

603
00:44:49,160 --> 00:44:53,320
There are some rangers who have been
shot dead by the poachers.

604
00:44:55,960 --> 00:44:58,960
'But the results are extraordinary.

605
00:44:58,960 --> 00:45:02,000
'The number of elephants
killed by poachers

606
00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:05,960
'declined from 260 in 2013

607
00:45:05,960 --> 00:45:08,960
'to none in 2020.

608
00:45:08,960 --> 00:45:11,960
'And now, there have been
two successive years

609
00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:14,640
'with no poaching at all.

610
00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:17,960
'By using his network of informants,

611
00:45:17,960 --> 00:45:21,960
'Amos has revolutionised
the way poaching activity

612
00:45:21,960 --> 00:45:23,960
'can be controlled.

613
00:45:23,960 --> 00:45:29,640
'In this area, at least,
elephants are safe for now.'

614
00:45:29,640 --> 00:45:32,640
AMOS: We don't own this wildlife.

615
00:45:32,640 --> 00:45:36,960
We owe it to our children,
our grandchildren

616
00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:38,960
to look after those elephants.

617
00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:43,960
If we love them,
we should keep those animals

618
00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:47,000
for them to enjoy also
in their lifetime.

619
00:45:49,960 --> 00:45:52,960
'Amos puts his life on the line

620
00:45:52,960 --> 00:45:55,960
'for the benefit
of future generations.

621
00:45:57,960 --> 00:45:59,960
'Across the planet...

622
00:46:00,960 --> 00:46:03,960
'..extraordinary teams
of scientists,

623
00:46:03,960 --> 00:46:06,960
'conservationists and local people

624
00:46:06,960 --> 00:46:09,800
'dedicate their lives

625
00:46:09,800 --> 00:46:12,960
'to understanding
and protecting wildlife.

626
00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:17,960
'Thanks to these passionate
custodians of planet Earth,

627
00:46:17,960 --> 00:46:22,480
'there is some hope for the animals

628
00:46:22,480 --> 00:46:25,960
'that share our precious home.'

629
00:46:35,960 --> 00:46:38,320
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