Our Living World (2024) s01e03 Episode Script

[wind gusting]
[wind howling]
[Cate Blanchett]
A jagged maze of rock and ice
[foreboding music playing]
where temperatures plunge to 40 below
and brutal blizzards dump 30 feet of snow.
Winter in the Rockies
is not for the faint-hearted.
[wolverine grunting]
But for one creature
[snorts]
it's the challenge he's built for.
Where we see treacherous slopes,
this wolverine sees a playground.
[quirky music playing]
His thick fur sheds snow
like a winter jacket.
His claws dig in like climber's crampons.
[soft grunt]
He plows through
the most punishing winters
with just a carefree shake of his coat.
[bird cawing]
But mountain solitude has its downsides.
[grunting]
There are few other animals around.
And for a hungry meat eater,
that is a challenge.
[suspenseful music playing]
He treks up to 20 miles in a day
searching for a meal above
and below the snow.
[huffing]
But he needs
to keep an eye on the skies too.
[wind gusts]
Because the peaks above
hold a deadly threat.
[wind howling]
After months of heavy snowfall,
the mountain is about to unload.
[loud cracking]
[rumbling]
A deluge of frozen violence.
[suspenseful music playing]
Over three million cubic feet
of snow and ice
thundering down its peaks
at up to 100 miles an hour.
[suspenseful music rising]
[rustling]
[music fading]
For pretty much any creature
caught in its path,
the roaring snow
[rumbling]
is the sound of death itself.
[wolverine snorting]
But for this lucky wolverine,
it's a dinner bell.
He locks into a scent
and sets to work.
[rustling]
An avalanche may be bad news
for an unlucky mountain goat
but it's just what a hungry wolverine
has been counting on.
Disaster for some
is salvation for him.
[rousing music playing]
Because life doesn't just need
our planet's soft side.
It also relies on its rage.
[trilling]
[thunder cracking]
[rumbling]
The most destructive forces on Earth
are the same forces
that bring our planet to life.
Volcanoes are great destroyers.
But they also release
vast amounts of steam.
So much so that our oceans
are now filled with water
once locked in the Earth's interior.
[tranquil music playing]
[hissing]
Their lava cools to create new land.
None more precious than volcanic islands.
These remote archipelagos
churn the ocean's currents,
drawing up nutrient-rich waters
from the deep,
igniting an explosion of life.
[squawking]
Both above
and below the waves.
[rousing music playing]
Volcanic islands form oases of life
in the Big Blue
[music fading]
for those who know where to find them.
This young hammerhead
is on her maiden voyage,
traveling hundreds of miles
from her coastal nursery
out into the vast Pacific.
She might not know where she's heading
but she has a guide.
Her strange snout bristles with receptors
that can detect the magnetic signature
of the volcanic seabed.
[mysterious music playing]
Cooled lava signposts her way
across the ocean.
She only has to follow her nose
and let instinct lead the way.
[rousing music playing]
Cocos Island,
the peaks of an ancient volcano
rising 12,000 feet from the ocean floor.
And to her senses,
it lights up like a magnetic beacon
in the wilderness.
[buzzing]
After a 300-mile journey,
she's earned a pit stop.
So she sets her sights
on one particular Cocos resident.
But the shark isn't browsing the buffet.
She's serving the snacks.
[whimsical music playing]
Her first ocean voyage
has left her riddled with parasites.
Clouds of butterfly fish pick them off
and clean up her infected scars.
Their nibbles are like a mini massage,
keeping her calm
while they feed and help her heal.
And it's a timely service
because this volcanic wonderland
isn't just a shark spa.
[tranquil music playing]
Other travelers have been drawn
to this special meeting place
forming a circling school hundreds strong.
[rousing music playing]
Scientists suspect that this gathering
is like the hammerhead summer ball
where they relax
socialize
and if they're lucky, find a mate.
As this debutante joins the dance
it could be the start of a new journey
towards motherhood.
A journey made possible
by underwater volcanic trails
millions of years in the making.
[birds cawing]
Our oceans are still home
to some of the planet's
most violent natural phenomena.
The sun's energy
burns most fiercely in the tropics
where much of its heat
is absorbed by the ocean.
[seagulls squawking]
But these warming seas
have a release valve.
[thunder rumbling]
Transferring their energy into the sky,
they vent their excess heat
by feeding
the most devastating storms on Earth.
[foreboding music playing]
Hurricanes.
This growing monster
will transform the lives
of all those caught in its path.
- [kids shouting]
- [dog barking]
In a Miami park,
one of America's
most fiercely territorial creatures
[squeaking]
is marking his turf.
[screeching softly]
[quirky music playing]
Anole lizard.
Tough guy.
His push-ups show off his strength,
warning his rivals to keep off his tree.
So he gets more food and more females.
But not everyone is getting the message.
[intriguing music playing]
An intruder
with his eye on the tough guy's tree.
Has he got the moves to muscle in?
[squeaking]
Not bad.
The tough guy
needs to show him who's boss.
Behold.
The ultimate lizard power move.
[tense music playing]
But two can play at that game.
There's only one way to settle this.
[tense music continues]
[hissing]
But while they do battle
the mega storm is closing in.
[thunder rumbles]
[hinges creaking]
[squeaking]
[thunderclap]
They bolt for the treetops
to escape the inevitable flood.
- [chimes ringing]
- [thunder rumbling]
As the storm makes landfall
[rumbles]
anole lizards cling to high branches.
Lose their grip,
and they lose everything.
[strong wind gusting]
The tough guy's future
hangs by a fingernail.
[rousing music playing]
And his rival is struggling too.
[grim music playing]
The champ has kept his grip
and his territory.
[rousing music playing]
In this battle
only the strongest survive.
But it's a fragile victory.
[tranquil music playing]
Today, man-made climate change
is making hurricanes stronger
and more frequent.
[siren blaring]
Faced with this growing rage,
these lizards' bodies are changing.
Remarkably, over just a few generations,
they've evolved larger toe pads
to help them keep a stronger grip.
[skittering]
Where a warming climate will leave
these creatures, we don't yet know.
But we do know that it is pushing
our weather to even greater extremes.
[water burbling]
While some places drown, others scorch.
Growing deserts are changing the face
of entire continents.
All life must adapt
or die.
[grim music playing]
West Africa, south of the Sahara Desert.
The wet season has grown erratic
and unpredictable.
Daytime highs of 110 degrees
transform this thorny scrub
into an open-air oven.
[crackling]
Wildfires rip through the landscape
leaving blackened skeletons in their wake.
But one group won't give up
on their old home.
This baby is growing fast.
So she's always hungry.
And if anyone can find food
in this wilderness,
it's her clever family.
There's a knack to extracting the seeds
from a woolly kapok fruit
even if they are a little dry.
[fly buzzing]
To survive here,
she must use that big brain of hers.
She learns by example.
A promising student
but still working on the basics.
Knowledge and skills
passed down through generations
have helped these survivors cling on
even in this desiccated landscape.
But the one thing they can't do without
is safe drinking water.
And the most important lesson
is where to find it.
[birds cawing in distance]
The riverbed is bone dry.
[tense music playing]
[birds chirping]
[tense music continues]
[birdsong]
They may know
where the best fruit still grows,
but even her family
can't magic water out of the ground.
[monkeys screeching]
But grandma has roamed
these plains for 40 dry seasons.
If anyone can lead them
out of this, it's her.
[rousing music playing]
And the family falls in behind.
Their home is drying out.
[crackling]
Habitat loss and poaching
have seen this species decline by 80%
in the last 30 years.
Today, survivors need to be smarter
and more adaptable than ever.
[rousing music continues]
Grandma leads the troop to a water hole
that hasn't failed her yet.
But even this reliable oasis
has dried to a stagnant pool.
The water is undrinkable.
[cicadas chirping]
Grandma digs a hole
near the edge of the pool.
It starts to fill.
Water filtered clean by the sand.
The family joins in.
[rousing music playing]
Grandma's wisdom has saved them.
And baby has learned
another crucial lesson for her future.
[rousing music continues]
As this part of Africa dries out
it has consequences for life far beyond.
Even on the other side of the planet.
[crickets chirping]
As deserts grow,
they can pump ever more dust and sand
into the atmosphere
where high-altitude winds
carry it into weather systems
that spread across the globe.
Towards the poles,
it settles on glaciers and ice caps.
Dulling their sheen,
absorbing more solar radiation
and warming up their icy surroundings.
[sniffs]
[low growl]
The world's largest land predator
has spent a hungry summer foraging
along the shoreline.
[tranquil music playing]
Now the season is changing.
He checks out the sea ice.
[huffs]
He can only reach
the seals he'd rather prey on
when it freezes hard enough
to support him.
But this autumn is warm.
And the sea ice is late.
[birds cawing]
And he's not the only one hungry
for the chance to hunt.
Hundreds of polar bears
gather on Canada's northern shores
to wait for the freeze-up.
[low growls]
For a curious adolescent,
it's an irresistible chance
to test his strength.
[both growl]
[snarls, growls]
Either of these
thousand-pound heavyweights
could land a fatal blow
[growling]
if they were fighting for real.
[roars, growls]
[roars]
[low growls]
Sparring kills some time,
but he's still hungry.
[low growling]
There's only one place left
where he might find something to eat.
He turns his back on the sea
and heads the other way.
Inland.
Towards the forest.
[crow cawing]
[croaks]
Who knows what he might find here?
[tense music playing]
- [huffs]
- [wolf howling]
Wolves.
Pack hunters.
[whines, whimpers]
They rule the northern forests.
[moaning]
[howling]
[whining]
Patrolling their
thousand-square mile territory every day
in search of food and intruders.
[suspenseful music playing]
[barking]
[suspenseful music continues]
[growling]
Wolves and polar bears
do not usually cross paths.
[wolf growling]
But today, encounters are on the rise.
- [polar bear chuffing]
- [wolf growls, whines]
A lone wolf is no match for a bear.
But the pack is closing in.
[ominous music playing]
[both growling]
[chuffing]
Who's top dog now?
Are you a meal
[wolves growling]
or a mortal threat?
[polar bear roaring]
[snarling]
[polar bear growling]
[polar bear roars]
[wolf whines, howls]
There's easier pickings
to be had elsewhere.
[wolves howling]
By standing his ground,
this intrepid bear wins the day.
[huffs]
[exhales, growls]
[throaty rumbling]
Forced to spend more time
away from the sea ice,
polar bears must figure out
their place in a strange new world.
[moans]
His gamble in wolf territory
has paid off this time.
[whimpering]
An abandoned moose carcass.
Enough food to keep him going
until the sea freezes again.
[moaning]
But not all creatures have the skills
to keep up with their fast-changing world.
Climate change is creating
ever more extreme conditions,
breaking fundamental connections
in the webs of life.
And it's causing havoc
in ways that you'd least expect.
[bird screeching]
[birds cawing]
Deep in the heart
of the Sierra Nevada Forest
this pine tree is under siege.
[buzzing]
Its foe,
a western pine beetle.
[chirping]
This tiny assassin searches
for a weakness
to drill in and lay her eggs.
[intriguing music playing]
If she succeeds, her hungry larvae
will destroy the tree from the inside.
But this isn't just a tree.
It's a battle-ready fortress.
Behind its barricades
flow hidden supply lines.
A hundred gallons of rain water pump
from its roots to its crown every day.
[intriguing music continues]
And this water powers
another line of defense.
Resin.
It flows to the breach.
And repels the invader.
She's programmed to keep drilling,
and a bit of liquid won't stop her.
But the tree's resin
has another trick.
As it dries,
it hardens.
Stopping even the most determined beetles
in their tracks.
[ominous music playing]
But the pines can't always mount
such a powerful defense.
A changing climate
is seeing Pacific weather patterns
shift to the north.
Storms that once rained
on these Californian forests
now hit the Canadian coast.
[birds chirping]
In recent years, these trees received
just two-thirds of the usual rainfall.
[beetle buzzing]
And without enough water
to keep their resin flowing
[droning]
the balance of power
has tipped in the beetles' favor.
They breach the defenses
and their larvae
tunnel through the trees' supply lines
cutting off the water it needs to survive.
It's the tree's last stand.
In a silent scream
the forest is dying.
All it takes is a single spark.
[lightning cracks]
[thunder rumbling]
A million acres burning at 2,000 degrees
for months on end.
[crackling]
In some places more than 80%
of the dead trees fueling these fires
is ponderosa pine killed by beetles.
But even as burning forests paint
the San Francisco skies orange
[siren wailing]
the trees have a glimmer of hope.
[rustling]
They're starting a slow exodus
northwards to safety.
Some at a rate of a mile
every three years.
Pine trees now grow in latitudes
once too cold for them to survive.
As the tree line moves north
it opens up opportunities
for others to follow
which could have
surprising consequences for us all.
[beaver huffs]
This pair of intrepid beavers
are following the march of the trees,
pioneering further north
than any other beaver before them.
[quirky music playing]
[beaver grunts]
As far as the Alaskan tundra.
[whines]
And this new neighborhood now provides
everything they need to get busy.
[playful music playing]
They must build
their brand-new lodge and dam.
By tooth
and by paw.
In just a few short months,
these meadows will be locked
in the frozen grip of an Arctic winter.
[grunts]
To survive this far north,
their dam needs careful construction.
Hold back too much water,
and it could drown their lodge.
Too little, and their pond
will freeze solid, trapping them inside.
It's a delicate balance
of precision engineering
and furious gnawing.
And only the elements
will decide if they've got it right.
[wind howling]
Winter.
Has their lodge prevailed?
Or have they built their own icy tomb?
[ice crackling]
[snow crackling]
[huffing]
[grumbling]
[sniffs]
[tranquil music playing]
They've pulled it off.
A perfectly crafted home.
Fit for a new frontier.
Only when spring arrives do we see
that their dam has had another effect.
Our beavers have
turned their pond into a lake.
It absorbs the spring sun,
heating up the frozen ground beneath.
As the soil thaws, more streams flow
and more trees can take root.
A gold rush of building material
for more beavers moving up from the south.
Turning this virgin land
into a bustling frontier community.
[quirky music playing]
But this budding utopia
isn't everything it seems.
Alaska's frozen bog land
holds a dark secret.
As it thaws
[cracking]
it releases methane.
A greenhouse gas with the power
to tip our climate out of balance.
[burbling]
It traps up to 80 times more heat
in our atmosphere than carbon dioxide,
speeding up the thawing
of underground ice.
Which can release still more methane
in a vicious cycle
of ever-increasing temperatures.
Ninety percent of this excess heat
feeds back into our oceans
[seagulls squawking]
fueling more hurricanes,
and in some places,
something far more insidious.
The legs of an abandoned oil rig
provide the perfect anchor point
for this tiny polyp.
From its prime location
it scopes out new spots
to deposit a clone.
[grim music playing]
In a warming ocean,
it doesn't take long for a single polyp
to create a clone army.
But that is just the first step
in their relentless expansion.
After a few short weeks,
the clones start to transform.
Losing their tentacles and remodeling
their bodies into tiny towers.
[suspenseful music playing]
Each clone becomes a production line.
[suspenseful music rising]
A conveyor belt of babies.
A warm and overfished ocean
has fewer predators.
So these babies
can survive in record numbers.
[grim music playing]
They grow to adulthood
in just a few weeks.
Becoming jellyfish.
Without a shell or a skeleton,
they can endure
even as a changing climate
makes our oceans ever more acidic.
The planet's ultimate survivors.
[intriguing music playing]
And these simple gelatinous creatures
will eventually produce more polyps,
each with the power to create
its own army of clones, millions strong.
[rousing music playing]
Our changing oceans
are now bearing witness
to what some scientists call
"the rise of slime."
Oceans of jelly.
[squeaking]
Legions of rodents.
Swarms of insects.
[rustling]
All warnings that nature's network
is at breaking point.
[foreboding music playing]
We are all starting
to feel the knock-on effects.
But there are still ways to nurse
our sick planet back to health.
[rousing music playing]
We share our home
with extraordinary species
whose struggles to feed their families
save their children,
and protect their homes
can help nature's network to recover.
[spouting]
Our living world's most powerful healers.
They hold our future in their hands.
[music fading]
[closing theme music playing]