Tiny World (2020) s01e06 Episode Script
Garden
[male narrator]
Planet Earth is so spectacular,
it's easy to miss
the smaller things in life.
But take a closer look
and there's a whole undiscovered world.
A world where tiny heroes
and little monsters
need incredible superpowers
to help them triumph against giant odds.
-[insects chirping]
-[dogs barking in distance]
There's no place like home.
And for a black-bellied field hamster,
it's here
in the heart of the European countryside.
The thing is
[rumbling]
the countryside is changing.
[engine revving]
[blades whirring]
As the machines move in
animals move out.
Most are so small it goes unnoticed.
[birds singing]
The lucky ones end up here.
In our gardens.
A familiar place.
But on a smaller scale,
it's a world of wonders
where little creatures rule.
For these tiny tenants,
the garden has everything.
Cozy beds.
[child babbles]
Private suites.
Even a pool.
It may look like paradise.
But there are dangers everywhere.
Worst of all,
this land is ruled by giants.
So, what does it take
to make this place home?
Spring has arrived.
And with it, a fresh supply of food.
[buzzing]
But where there's food,
there's bound to be trouble.
[cat growls]
[panting]
House cats kill more small mammals
than any other predator.
Luckily, squirrels are agile
in body and mind.
Where there's a will and some nuts
there's a way.
[cat growls]
But the tightrope,
that's not so easy to master.
She'll be back.
Squirrels are persistent.
[wings flapping]
Of course, flying
makes the bird table easier to reach.
Robins start their families
in early spring.
So Dad can collect as much food
as possible for his growing family.
While Mom tends her brood,
Dad's kept very busy
feeding the chicks every five minutes.
Avoiding other birds
is the trickiest part.
Robins are the most aggressive birds
in the garden.
[hisses]
And this is one of the most deadly.
Flying at 50 kilometers per hour,
a sparrow hawk is a small bird specialist.
A failed hunt can also mean a free lunch.
[crunching]
For black ants, just finding food
is a mammoth expedition.
[birds singing]
They must navigate thick jungles
[insects chirping]
and traverse vast deserts.
Back home, there's a colony of 5,000.
And how they feed them
is little short of miraculous.
They've become aphid farmers.
They don't eat them though.
They tickle them
to make them release drops of honeydew
a sweet liquid aphids secrete
when feeding on sap.
But amongst the flock there is a wolf.
Ladybugs are aphid predators.
The ants counterattack with powerful jaws.
And a spray of formic acid.
But there are some aphid killers
even an army of ants can't beat.
They will have to forage elsewhere.
In the wild,
hamsters are very territorial.
But the lure of a lush backyard
brings them closer together.
A male.
She does not want company.
They may look harmless,
but hamsters are vicious fighters.
He's bigger and stronger
but seems to have
more romantic intentions.
The feelings are not mutual.
Maybe some other time.
[child babbling]
As summer progresses,
the focus turns from eating to mating.
[babbling continues]
[child yells]
A female zebra jumping spider.
[child laughing]
She may only be the size
of a grain of rice
but she's voracious.
[child growls]
[laughing]
This male needs to be careful.
She could easily kill him.
He has to prove he's worthy as a mate.
[siren blares]
By dancing.
[dance music playing]
The shuffle.
[music continues]
The wave.
The side step.
They all need to be just right.
[music continues]
He's not the greatest dancer.
But at least he's "staying alive."
Midsummer. And things are heating up.
The male hamster is back.
His perseverance is paying off.
[hamster squeaks]
[birds singing]
[insects buzzing]
The female has put down roots,
making renovations to turn her burrow
into a home.
At this time of year,
the garden is full of little homemakers.
[insect buzzes]
[buzzing continues]
Mason bees need to find safe places
to raise their young.
For a single mother,
a prefab snail shell is more convenient
than building from scratch.
After a thorough inspection
she lays a single egg inside the shell.
There's just one problem.
Starlings love snails.
This could be an unfortunate case
of mistaken identity.
A close call.
If her baby is to survive in this garden,
she'll need to work on her home security.
It won't emerge for another year.
And she won't live long enough
to protect it.
So she's searching for building materials.
Amazingly, she carries sticks
20 times her size
to cover her nursery.
Piece by piece,
the shell is transformed
into a fortress.
Although she won't be there
to protect her baby,
she's given it the best possible start.
[woman chatters]
As humans prepare for bed,
the garden comes alive
with a new cast of creatures.
Some make perilous journeys
just to get there.
A midwife toad on a dangerous mission.
His partner has entrusted him
with their precious eggs.
She's wrapped them around his legs
so he doesn't drop them.
They're ready to hatch,
so he needs to get them to water, fast.
And he'll risk his life to do it.
He's able to home in on
the faintest scent of the garden pond.
But he's not there yet.
Hedgehogs will eat toads.
[sniffing]
But this one is craving something else.
[chatters]
A marvel of the night.
A leopard slug.
On hot, humid evenings,
they emerge for one of nature's
most extraordinary spectacles.
[heartbeat thumping]
Following the trail of another slug,
it climbs.
[heartbeat continues]
And when the two meet
they dance.
Then, releasing their hold on the branch,
they descend on a strand of slime.
Well out of harm's way
they begin to mate.
All over the garden,
new lives are beginning.
The midwife toad has finally
found the pond.
The same one he was born in.
With natural pools now so scarce,
garden ponds are a lifeline
for tiny animals.
A new chapter is also beginning
for the hamster.
The switch to garden life
has clearly paid off.
She's mother to seven little pups.
Their eyes will be closed
for the first two weeks.
In that time, the babies double in size.
To keep up, Mom needs to stay well fed.
Nursing so many pups takes its toll.
Luckily, the gardener's efforts
are bearing fruit.
But each time she ventures out,
she risks her life.
Best to make as few runs as possible.
And do what hamsters do best.
There's space for three meals'
worth of food in those cheeks.
But her mouth only opens so wide.
By midsummer, the garden is growing fast.
And so are the tiny animals that eat it.
Just hatched,
a puss moth larva is small enough
to crawl through the eye of a needle.
But this is one hungry caterpillar.
In just three weeks, it grows
and grows
to a thousand times its original size.
It's now, when the garden is in overdrive,
that humans try to regain control.
But nature has a way of fighting back.
[grunts]
A squirt of formic acid
usually does the trick.
Many small creatures use
chemical weapons for defense.
But humans have weapons
of mass destruction.
For the ants still out on foraging duty
[engine starts]
[rumbling]
it's carnage.
-[birds chirping]
-[lawn mower whirring]
[whirring fades]
Despite heavy casualties,
these ants won't abandon their wounded.
They'll carry them
all the way back to the colony.
It won't be easy to find their way home.
And now the grass is short,
they've got no cover.
Starlings like ants even more than snails.
This time, using formic acid backfires.
The starling actually encourages it.
It helps condition feathers
and protects against parasites.
But preening on the open lawn
is dangerous.
A lucky break for the ants.
There is just one last obstacle to cross
before they reach home.
[child babbles]
With scorching sun.
Shifting sands.
And deadly ant lions.
They dig traps and flick sand
to stop their victims escaping.
One brave ant risks her own life
for her fallen comrade.
This time, there's no saving her.
But thanks to the ants' selfless nature,
most of them make it home.
Now four weeks old,
the hamster pups are growing restless.
It's time to explore the garden.
Their mom has made sure
they're starting off in a good place.
A little green oasis
in an ever-changing world.
It may not be perfect.
But it's home.
All too often, we think of the animals
that share our gardens as pests.
But stop and take a closer look.
And you'll see a community
of little wonders
trying to make a home in our world.
It's easy to forget
what it's like to be small.
But with a helping hand
[chicks chirping]
[child babbles]
Even the tiny
can achieve great things.
Planet Earth is so spectacular,
it's easy to miss
the smaller things in life.
But take a closer look
and there's a whole undiscovered world.
A world where tiny heroes
and little monsters
need incredible superpowers
to help them triumph against giant odds.
-[insects chirping]
-[dogs barking in distance]
There's no place like home.
And for a black-bellied field hamster,
it's here
in the heart of the European countryside.
The thing is
[rumbling]
the countryside is changing.
[engine revving]
[blades whirring]
As the machines move in
animals move out.
Most are so small it goes unnoticed.
[birds singing]
The lucky ones end up here.
In our gardens.
A familiar place.
But on a smaller scale,
it's a world of wonders
where little creatures rule.
For these tiny tenants,
the garden has everything.
Cozy beds.
[child babbles]
Private suites.
Even a pool.
It may look like paradise.
But there are dangers everywhere.
Worst of all,
this land is ruled by giants.
So, what does it take
to make this place home?
Spring has arrived.
And with it, a fresh supply of food.
[buzzing]
But where there's food,
there's bound to be trouble.
[cat growls]
[panting]
House cats kill more small mammals
than any other predator.
Luckily, squirrels are agile
in body and mind.
Where there's a will and some nuts
there's a way.
[cat growls]
But the tightrope,
that's not so easy to master.
She'll be back.
Squirrels are persistent.
[wings flapping]
Of course, flying
makes the bird table easier to reach.
Robins start their families
in early spring.
So Dad can collect as much food
as possible for his growing family.
While Mom tends her brood,
Dad's kept very busy
feeding the chicks every five minutes.
Avoiding other birds
is the trickiest part.
Robins are the most aggressive birds
in the garden.
[hisses]
And this is one of the most deadly.
Flying at 50 kilometers per hour,
a sparrow hawk is a small bird specialist.
A failed hunt can also mean a free lunch.
[crunching]
For black ants, just finding food
is a mammoth expedition.
[birds singing]
They must navigate thick jungles
[insects chirping]
and traverse vast deserts.
Back home, there's a colony of 5,000.
And how they feed them
is little short of miraculous.
They've become aphid farmers.
They don't eat them though.
They tickle them
to make them release drops of honeydew
a sweet liquid aphids secrete
when feeding on sap.
But amongst the flock there is a wolf.
Ladybugs are aphid predators.
The ants counterattack with powerful jaws.
And a spray of formic acid.
But there are some aphid killers
even an army of ants can't beat.
They will have to forage elsewhere.
In the wild,
hamsters are very territorial.
But the lure of a lush backyard
brings them closer together.
A male.
She does not want company.
They may look harmless,
but hamsters are vicious fighters.
He's bigger and stronger
but seems to have
more romantic intentions.
The feelings are not mutual.
Maybe some other time.
[child babbling]
As summer progresses,
the focus turns from eating to mating.
[babbling continues]
[child yells]
A female zebra jumping spider.
[child laughing]
She may only be the size
of a grain of rice
but she's voracious.
[child growls]
[laughing]
This male needs to be careful.
She could easily kill him.
He has to prove he's worthy as a mate.
[siren blares]
By dancing.
[dance music playing]
The shuffle.
[music continues]
The wave.
The side step.
They all need to be just right.
[music continues]
He's not the greatest dancer.
But at least he's "staying alive."
Midsummer. And things are heating up.
The male hamster is back.
His perseverance is paying off.
[hamster squeaks]
[birds singing]
[insects buzzing]
The female has put down roots,
making renovations to turn her burrow
into a home.
At this time of year,
the garden is full of little homemakers.
[insect buzzes]
[buzzing continues]
Mason bees need to find safe places
to raise their young.
For a single mother,
a prefab snail shell is more convenient
than building from scratch.
After a thorough inspection
she lays a single egg inside the shell.
There's just one problem.
Starlings love snails.
This could be an unfortunate case
of mistaken identity.
A close call.
If her baby is to survive in this garden,
she'll need to work on her home security.
It won't emerge for another year.
And she won't live long enough
to protect it.
So she's searching for building materials.
Amazingly, she carries sticks
20 times her size
to cover her nursery.
Piece by piece,
the shell is transformed
into a fortress.
Although she won't be there
to protect her baby,
she's given it the best possible start.
[woman chatters]
As humans prepare for bed,
the garden comes alive
with a new cast of creatures.
Some make perilous journeys
just to get there.
A midwife toad on a dangerous mission.
His partner has entrusted him
with their precious eggs.
She's wrapped them around his legs
so he doesn't drop them.
They're ready to hatch,
so he needs to get them to water, fast.
And he'll risk his life to do it.
He's able to home in on
the faintest scent of the garden pond.
But he's not there yet.
Hedgehogs will eat toads.
[sniffing]
But this one is craving something else.
[chatters]
A marvel of the night.
A leopard slug.
On hot, humid evenings,
they emerge for one of nature's
most extraordinary spectacles.
[heartbeat thumping]
Following the trail of another slug,
it climbs.
[heartbeat continues]
And when the two meet
they dance.
Then, releasing their hold on the branch,
they descend on a strand of slime.
Well out of harm's way
they begin to mate.
All over the garden,
new lives are beginning.
The midwife toad has finally
found the pond.
The same one he was born in.
With natural pools now so scarce,
garden ponds are a lifeline
for tiny animals.
A new chapter is also beginning
for the hamster.
The switch to garden life
has clearly paid off.
She's mother to seven little pups.
Their eyes will be closed
for the first two weeks.
In that time, the babies double in size.
To keep up, Mom needs to stay well fed.
Nursing so many pups takes its toll.
Luckily, the gardener's efforts
are bearing fruit.
But each time she ventures out,
she risks her life.
Best to make as few runs as possible.
And do what hamsters do best.
There's space for three meals'
worth of food in those cheeks.
But her mouth only opens so wide.
By midsummer, the garden is growing fast.
And so are the tiny animals that eat it.
Just hatched,
a puss moth larva is small enough
to crawl through the eye of a needle.
But this is one hungry caterpillar.
In just three weeks, it grows
and grows
to a thousand times its original size.
It's now, when the garden is in overdrive,
that humans try to regain control.
But nature has a way of fighting back.
[grunts]
A squirt of formic acid
usually does the trick.
Many small creatures use
chemical weapons for defense.
But humans have weapons
of mass destruction.
For the ants still out on foraging duty
[engine starts]
[rumbling]
it's carnage.
-[birds chirping]
-[lawn mower whirring]
[whirring fades]
Despite heavy casualties,
these ants won't abandon their wounded.
They'll carry them
all the way back to the colony.
It won't be easy to find their way home.
And now the grass is short,
they've got no cover.
Starlings like ants even more than snails.
This time, using formic acid backfires.
The starling actually encourages it.
It helps condition feathers
and protects against parasites.
But preening on the open lawn
is dangerous.
A lucky break for the ants.
There is just one last obstacle to cross
before they reach home.
[child babbles]
With scorching sun.
Shifting sands.
And deadly ant lions.
They dig traps and flick sand
to stop their victims escaping.
One brave ant risks her own life
for her fallen comrade.
This time, there's no saving her.
But thanks to the ants' selfless nature,
most of them make it home.
Now four weeks old,
the hamster pups are growing restless.
It's time to explore the garden.
Their mom has made sure
they're starting off in a good place.
A little green oasis
in an ever-changing world.
It may not be perfect.
But it's home.
All too often, we think of the animals
that share our gardens as pests.
But stop and take a closer look.
And you'll see a community
of little wonders
trying to make a home in our world.
It's easy to forget
what it's like to be small.
But with a helping hand
[chicks chirping]
[child babbles]
Even the tiny
can achieve great things.