Patagonia (2022) s01e02 Episode Script

1
I remember as a child being around these huge animals,
that sense of mystery and might.
I think you can hear it.
It's just amazing
that these animals are filling the ocean with their sounds and their song.
They are very simple sounds,
But for me they are super beautiful.
It's summer.
whales are gathering along Patagonia's pacific coast.
Home to the fjordlands, long, deep, flooded valleys
that were carved out by glaciers over millions of years.
These remote, rich waters are a magnet for wildlife
and increasingly for people.
at the ends of the earth is a land of extremes .
Home to spectacular wildlife.
For centuries people and animals have battles for supremacy,
But now enemies are becoming allies.
Together they face new challenges in our rapidly changing world.
You are at the mercy of the elements.
This is the story of what it takes to survive on the edge of the world.
It's the start of another all too brief summer.
Patagonia's 600 glaciers are rapidly melting.
Fresh water cascades off the mountains.
As it pours into the fjords,
It mixes with saltwater stirring up the water columns and drawing up
nutrients from the depths, feeding more and more plankton
which in turn supports an entire food web.
Patagonia's fjords are now bursting with life.
Running for 1,000 miles up the west coast,
This is one of the most extensive fjordland regions on earth
fed by dozens of these fjords
is an incredibly rich feeding ground,
The Corcovado gulf,
and headed straight for it is the largest animal that has ever lived.
A blue whale weighing nearly 200 tons,
He's twice as heavy as the largest dinosaur.
It's been a long swim from warm equatorial waters more than 3000 miles away,
But It's all worth it for the krill.
During the summer,
Billions of these tiny crustaceans swarm the waters to feed on the plankton.
For the next few months
he'll gorge himself on around four tons a day before returning north.
While whales are here for the krill,
Oceanographer Susanna.Bucking is here for the whales.
With 7 migrating to the Corcovado gulf every summer,
There's nowhere else she would rather be
As a child, I developed kind of an obsession, a passion for these large animals,
and as I grew up and understood
how whale populations had been decimated through centuries of commercial whaling,
It just became unbearable not to do something to help.
Susanna has been visiting Patagonia since 2007,
studying whale acoustics use underwater microphones
She's recorded tens of thousands of hours of blue whale song
and has made an extraordinary discovery.
We found out that the blue whales here produce a unique song dialect.
In fact, these are a distinct sub-species of blue whale
one of just five on the planet.
But they are not the only leviathons in the water.
Susanna's data has revealed a shocking and unfortunate coincidence.
The noise made by large ships is in the same frequency band as the songs made by blue whales.
Their songs are drowned out.
It's a big problem. blue whales rely on their calls for communication and courtship
But ships aren't just noisy.
They are deadly.
Summer's peak season for whales and boats.
Over 1,000 vessels pass through these waters every day,
and more and more whales are being hit.
Oh. We've got some whales.
Susanna is determined to protect these magnificent features
and she's hatched an ingenious plan.
Beautiful. what I would like to achieve here
is to implement an acoustic alert system
that will alert ships to the presence of whales
to reduce the risk of ship strikes.
A prototype has already been made by the university of concepcion,
and with the cooperation of shipping companies by 2030,
The hope is to extend these systems all along Patagonia's pacific coast.
An ocean without whales would be devastating for all of us.
If we want? healthy oceans,
then we want whales to be part of those eco-systems.
Susanna's plan will be a game-changer,
But human activities affect whales in many different ways.
and this one has paid the ultimate price.
In Patagonia, summer is all too short.
Wildlife and people have only a few months
to make the most of the ocean's riches
before the weather turns making the waters less hospitable for both.
Right now It's a gold rush.
with so much activity concentrated in such a small area,
There's bound to be trouble.
on the eastern side of the Corcovado gulf,
A team of vets has been called to investigation a suspicious death.
the corpse of a blue whale,
A stark reminder that in these busy waters even the largest animal on the planet is vulnerable.
The doctor and his team are determined to identify the killer.
It may have died of natural causes,
But there's no shortage of over likely suspects, fishing nets, a ship strike, pollution.
The team confirms that the victim is male.
Tragically only 4 years old.
Blue whales can live to be 100.
had he survived, he might have fathered more than 20 calves.
There's no apparent external injury so they go in
after six exhausting hours, Frederique's worst fears are confirmed.
There are signs of internal bleeding and a bruise on its heart.
He died of blunt force trauma to the chest,
and there's only one thing out there that could inflict such damage,
A ship.
In the past week alone, three whales have been reported dead,
and that doesn't include the bodies that have never been found.
But until the shipping traffic is controlled,
Summers in the Corcovado will remain deadly for these magnificent creatures.
while the world's largest marine mammal is running a lethal gauntlet,
Up the coast the world's smallest marine mammal is fighting its own battles.
This marine otter mom has a busy day air head.
She has two very hungry, very demanding pups.
In Patagonia, these furry playful creatures are Joan As Jungogal.
This rocky mountain provides mom with plenty of nooks and crannies to set up a den
and keep these mischievous pups out of harm's way.
Mom spends the long days catching crabs, fish,
and anything else she can find to fill their growing bellies.
even in summer, the waters here are cold.
Lucky for her in terms of hairs per square inch,
Otters have the thickest fur of any animal.
But she's not the only predator here, something eles is working
Chile's pacific coast, a hard working marine otter mom
A chungungo is make the most of the calm mid-summer seas, and she's not alone.
But our mom has nothing to fear.
Malinka is collecting as many sea urchins as he can to feed his family
and sell at the local market.
Fishermen like Malinka feels very differently about their fellow hunters.
Until just a few decades ago, the chungungo (otters) were seen as pests,
Their fur a valuable twice and they were hunted almost to extinction,
But 15 years ago, realizing they were about to lose these remarkable creatures forever,
Malinka's fishing community had a change of heart.
Today the locals and chungungo (otters) happily share this shoreline.
Sometimes the fishermen even toss them an extra snack.
making our hardworking mom's life a little bit easier.
But these docks just aren't the only perfect place for these otters to feast.
For the pups they are an underwater playground.
Exploring is all part of growing up.
In a couple of months they will have to fend for themselves.
Now the chungungo (otter) and the fishermen are bonding over a new threat to their way of life,
huge commercial fishing boats
with plenty of food on their doorstep, these chungungo (otter) really venture far from their docks.
They are lucky. some have to travel quite a bit further to get their fill.
This is Chiloe island , an idyllic island popular with tourists.
But during the summer its beaches are overcrowded for a different reason.
Each year tens of thousands of migratory birds come here
To take in what for many would be its most unappealing feature, the mud.
The swampy shallows are loaded with worms, clams, crabs
and all sorts of wiggly, nutritious goodies.
At low tide It's an all you can eat buffet
among the divers is a little bird with huge ambitions.
Soon these Hudsonian godwings will undergo a stunning transformation.
their digestive organs will shrink and their wing muscles will grow--
ready for an epic annual migration.
A 5,000-mile flight non-stop to Texas.
No sleeping, no eating, no drinking.
They are the ultimate long haul flyers.
In just a few weeks they will be on their way.
But, first, they must fatten up by almost 40%.
They are so focused on finding food they don't see it term whereby.
It's summer on Chiloe island
and for Hudsonian godwits the surge is on.
They are gorging themselves for a 5,000-mile non-stop flight to Texas.
They don't realize they are being watched.
An ingenious trap has been set,
and the birds are settling right in front of it.
The people springing this trap aren't hunting for food,
They are hungry for knowledge.
The team is from the univesidad of Chile led by Huan Navera.
They come here every summer to study this astonishing bird.
The team measures and records the bird's weight and size.
The godwits are released unharmed and go right back to packing on the pounds.
It's only been a minor interruption to their preparations.
These days the godwits have far more serious problems.
There are some on the island who have found a way to live in balance with nature.
For centuries, people here have made a living from the shoreline.
With almost 40 years of experience of,Kristine is an expert at what she does,
harvesting seaweed and shellfish.
just like the birds,
Her work day is governed by the rhythm of the tides.
It's easy work for the birds,
But for Kristina It's backbreaking.
Tina's seaweed is sent all over the world,
used to make medicines and cosmetics.
She has to work hard now
to make the most of the warm weather and the long days.
All summer long, the shores of Chiloe island are filled with birds
and people taking advantage of its bounty.
But 100 miles to the south it couldn't be more different.
This is a group of inaccessible islands and a natural sanctuary
barely touched by humans.
Home to one of Patagonia's most elusive animals.
The chilean dolphin.
Found only along this coastline, very little is known about this species.
This is one of the few times
They have ever been filmed.
Their distinctive round fins and white bellies make them easy to recognize.
At just 5 feet long, They are one of the smallest dolphin species in the world
A calf around 2 months old.
For the first year of her life,
She will follow mom everywhere,
Learning by example.
Like all dolphins, They are very social.
They hunt, play and rest together.
But two have separated from the pod.
Late summer is the height of the breeding season,
and those two want a little privacy.
While these rare native creatures hide away,
They have no idea that further to the north is a horde ..
Summertime in the fjords of Patagonia is drawing to a close,
But for some the living is still easy.
Gangs of young male southern sea lions are make the most of the last warm days.
They may look lazy on land, But under the waves there's a party going on.
These sea lions can hold their breath for up to 20 minutes
and swim at 20 miles per hour
helpful talents for catching fish and impressing your buddies.
For now this gang is happy hanging out,
But in about a year, the males will be ready to breed,
and they will fight each other for females.
Size is everything. fully grown, They can weigh over 1,000 pounds
All this playing is an excellent way to bulk up and size up the competition.
This group has left the rocks for a manmade resting spot with good reason.
The buoys mark the edge of a fish farm.
As fall draws near,
These underwater pens are packed with hundreds of thousands of fully grown salmon,
and there are often escapees.
Salmon farming arrived in Chile in the 1980s.
The sheltered fjordlands are the perfect temperature for raising the valuable fish
Today there are more than 1,500 farms like this one,
Providing over 70,000 jobs and $5 billion worth of exports.
It's a huge boost to Chile's economy.
But this rapid growth comes at a price.
The farms are taking over traditional fishing territories.
It's feared that their way of life will disappear.
He's been fishing these waters all his adult life.
It isn't just the fishermen that are taking a hit.
It's the environment, too.
To control disease among the captive fish,
Hundreds of tons of antibiotics are poured into the pens.
This may keep the salmon healthy,
But it contaminates the surrounding waters.
also the cages sometimes break,
and while that provides sea lions with an easy meal,
Atlantic salmon are an invasive species.
They prey on native wildlife,
Disrupting the food chain and threatening the balance of the ecosystem.
For Sergio It's clear what needs to be done.
Though outbreaks of disease need to be prevented,
The government has introduced incentives to reduce the use of antibiotics,
and the companies are showing interest.
Meanwhile, the fishermen work hard to keep their catch sustainable.
This time of year It's motorcrafts,
But they only keep the adults protecting future catches.
The surrounding environment benefits, too.
As scavengers, crabs keep the waters clean,
and they provide a tasty meal for any animal with the right tools.
Dexterous paws and sharp teeth are one such winning combination,
But sometimes a big beak will do the job.
Patagonia's rich waters support a fantastic diversity of marine life,
Including a little known creature that may help us
Understand one of the biggest threats to our oceans.
It's early fall in the fjordlands of Patagonia.
The air is getting colder and the nights longer.
To the east of the gulf is the fjord.
25 miles long and more than 1,500 feet deep.
The wildlife-rich hot spot with hidden treasures just below the surface
that very few know about and even fewer have seen
Patagonia is very special
because there are secrets hidden there
That as a marine biologist is really the dream to unravel
For me It's the most beautiful place on earth.
In this remote fjord,
Brandy Hauserman has made an extraordinary discovery.
Cold water corals. unlike tropical corals, which need sunlight,
These depend solely on plankton for survival.
Ecosystems like this are usually found as deep as 8,000 feet.
Only accessible by deep water submersibles.
This is one of the only places on earth where these corals can be found in shallow waters.
Giving Vreni a rare opportunity to get a good long look at them.
They're worth the attention.
Greenhouse gases are not just warming the world.
They're also increasing the acidity of our oceans.
Here in the fjord, the waters are naturally acidic.
They are a great case study for ocean acidification
Because authorities say oceans in the world will be like the fjord here.
And it gives us lots of opportunities of research.
If we can figure out how these corals cope with the conditions here,
It might help us to protect marine life in other parts of our rapidly changing world.
But these creatures are in danger for a familiar threat.
When I arrived, there were three small salmon farms,
and the fjord was near pristine.
Nowadays there are more than 20 farms,
and they are much, much bigger than before.
Contamination from fish farms has led to bigger and more frequent algae blooms.
and after dying off, the decomposing blooms suck oxygen from the water.
leaving less for marine life.
Boat traffic has also increased here.
There's more trash, more lost fishing lines and nets.
Vreni has seen half of the corals die along the fjord's shoreline.
There are species that we hardly see anymore that disappeared.
The whole system could destabilize and collapse.
Vreni is determined to fight for the corals.
She's going to use her research to convince the government
that there is something worth saving here
and that these areas deserve to be protected.
For Vreni, It's a lifetime of dedication and passion that she hopes to pass on.
I've discovered a new sea anemones.
Av named a couple after my kids.
For me It's really important,
They feel responsible to take care of what's living there
and to preserve it for future generations.
Bring the beauty of the marine life to people because once They've seen it,
They can start caring for it and help to protect it.
In Patagonia's fjords, summer is over.
Migratory visitors are heading for their winter homes.
While the locals hunker down for the tough months ahead.
This wild coastline has given animals a place to feed, breed, and take shelter.
and people the chance to reap, study,
and enjoy the natural wonders of Patagonia's fjords.
Next on "Patagonia: life on the edge of the world"
In the mountains, condors own the skies.
While pumas reign below.
But their world is changing fast
to survive