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Four and a half billion years old.

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An astonishing planet.

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We know it's changing -

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faster now than at any other time
in human history.

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But do we understand exactly
what the future holds?

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Over the next seven years,
this ambitious series will chart

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the health of six of our planet's
most vulnerable habitats

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through a time of great change
for our natural world.

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From Iceland's frozen wilderness...

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..to the rainforests of Cambodia.

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These habitats have been chosen

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because they're changing
at breakneck speed.

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In seven years' time,
life here could be very different.

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I'm one of six presenters
who will witness first hand

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the scale of
the transformations ahead.

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We're going to be following the
scientists and local communities,

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each working hard to find solutions
and to make a difference.

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And we'll follow animals
learning to adapt

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over these next seven
critical years.

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I'm in California,
on the front line of climate change,

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to find out how wildlife
and people are being impacted.

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I'm standing on a glacier
in Iceland.

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Witnessing the devastating effect
of global warming.

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This is Kenya.

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Now, it's supposed to be
the wet season,

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but it's as dry as a bone.

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I'm in Brazil to find out how
deforestation is threatening

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the largest tropical wetland
anywhere on Earth.

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I'm in Cambodia.

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Home to one of the fastest growing
economies on the planet.

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Uncovering the hidden cost
of economic development.

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I'm here in the Maldives,
in the Indian Ocean,

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which is a place in immediate
and present danger

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from the effects of climate change.

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Together, we hope
to better understand the future

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for our changing planet.

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Nestled in the heart of
the Indian Ocean,

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the Maldives is far more than just
white sands and palm trees.

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Beneath the waves...

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..lies a world of wonder.

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Nowhere is life in the ocean
more complex, or colourful,

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than our coral reefs.

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And this is one the greatest coral
reef systems on the planet.

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The coral reefs here
are a biodiversity hot spot

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and one of the natural wonders
of our world.

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But there's trouble in paradise.

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Change here in the Indian Ocean
is not just something far off

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in the future. It's something
that's already happening.

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Ocean warming is killing coral reefs
at an astonishing rate.

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We've already lost half
of our reefs.

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And without action,
it's predicted that over 70%

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of the world's remaining reefs
will be damaged by ocean warming

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and acidification by
the end of this decade.

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With the Indian Ocean heating
quicker than anywhere else

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in the tropics, the reefs
surrounding the Maldives

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are set to see some of
the most dramatic changes.

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We're here to find out what effects
that will have on the wildlife

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that relies on the reef.

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Animals come to reefs for
a range of reasons,

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one of which is food.

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The more varied the food offering,
the more varied the visitors.

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For scientists here in the Maldives,
one of the clearest markers

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of a thriving reef is the presence
of these - manta rays.

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These reefs support
the greatest concentration

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of reef mantas on Earth,

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making it the ideal place
to study these giants.

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This boat is a floating base camp
for the Manta Trust.

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They're at the cutting edge of
manta ray science and conservation.

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Right here in the Maldives is
their most important study site.

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This international team of
marine biologists will be studying

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changes in the Maldives'
manta population.

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Niv Froman is a project leader.

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Manta rays heavily rely
on coral reefs.

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Coral reefs is where food
is produced.

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Because manta rays rely heavily
on what the reef generates,

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they can be used as an indicator
of how healthy the reef is.

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Despite being one of the bigger
animals in the ocean,

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they feed on one of the smallest -
plankton.

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Billions of tiny plants and animals,
including baby corals,

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that form the base of
the ocean food chain.

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Plankton is abundant
because of coral reefs -

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that generates that productivity
that the mantas rely on.

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Researcher Hannah Moloney
is investigating the impact

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rising sea temperatures will have
on the mantas' food supply

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in the coming years.

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So, you've created a PhD topic
that involves you

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swimming alongside mantas
all day, every day. Tough break!

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What is it you're hoping
to find out?

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What evidence are you hoping
to gather from this study?

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Even the smallest amount of
sea level temperature rise

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is predicted to have more
than 50% of a decline

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in zoo plankton biomass in
tropical regions worldwide.

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And with these changes in
the smallest animals in the ocean,

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it's going to have an impact
on manta rays here in Maldives.

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So, we're going to swim
beside the manta rays

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and actually collect some of
the food that they're feeding on.

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Manta rays are solitary animals.

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However, they can be seen
feeding with friends,

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and this is a strategy to be able
to get the most amount of plankton

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in the shortest amount of time.

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So, basically, lazy feeding.

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It's like picking apples
from a tree compared to

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going to a buffet dinner.

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To understand how changes in their
food supply affect the mantas,

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first we need to work out how much
plankton they're eating and where.

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And a remote inlet,
called Hanifaru Bay,

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just happens to be
their favourite dining spot.

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When you look out to the blue, you
can see the dark shape of wing tips

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carving the surface
from the mantas beneath.

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Right here, right now is probably
the best place on the planet

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for a wildlife encounter that has
to be seen to be believed.

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Weighing as much as a buffalo,

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these graceful giants eat around
five kilos of plankton a day,

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carefully funnelling it through
their paddle-like head fins.

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Although they look like
flying carpets,

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they're actually one of
the smartest fish in the sea.

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Their large brains enable them
to create mental maps

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of the reefs around the Maldives

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and hold long term memories of
the best feeding spots.

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Oh...

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There is nothing quite like
diving with manta rays.

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It is a deeply emotional experience,

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something that really hits you
in the heart.

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But these iconic ocean animals -
like whales and dolphins

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and sharks and mantas -

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they're incredibly important
to ocean ecosystems,

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and they can tell us so much
about their health.

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Initial analysis reveals
the plankton here

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is exceptionally rich in nutrients.

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Over the next seven years,
Hannah will be able to show

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exactly how the quantity and quality
changes as temperatures rise.

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The more we understand about
where the mantas are feeding,

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what they're feeding on,
how they're feeding,

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the more we'll be able to protect
these gentle giants into the future.

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The manta population here
is currently stable,

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but as their food supply declines
over the coming years,

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Niv predicts it'll have a big impact
on the next generation.

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He's already noticed the
reproductive rate of these mantas

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is a third of that of populations
in Hawaii and Mozambique.

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To help ensure they keep breeding,

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he's become something of
a manta gynaecologist.

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That is some fancy looking kit, Niv.
What is all this?

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We're using this equipment
to take ultrasound examinations
of manta rays.

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Mantas have very slow growth rates.

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Here in the Maldives, actually,
they only reproduce once every five

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to seven years, and gestation
lasts 12 and a half months.

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You don't have to take
many mantas out to have

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a big impact on the population.

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Absolutely, and that's why
issues like climate change

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can really drive the species
quickly to extinction.

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Understanding how well
the populations are doing,

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how often they are reproducing,

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we can then determine how well
our reefs are, also.

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Do you have a business card
saying "Manta midwife"?

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If not... I don't, but I probably
should get one made.

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You definitely should!

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Once in the water, we head to
a popular manta cleaning station

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and cross our fingers.

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Here one comes.

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We have a manta!

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Look at that.

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Niv's heading in
with the ultrasound.

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I think he's got it.

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That is insane.

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I can't believe I've just seen
a manta midwife in action!

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I think that may just be the coolest
bit of science I've ever seen.

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While he processes our images,

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Niv shows me a future addition
to the reef.

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Niv, when I first heard that
you were going to try

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and scan a moving manta,
I have to admit,

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I was sceptical, but you nailed it.

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So, what you are seeing here
is a baby manta,

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and it will come very clear
in a moment.

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Right there.

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That's the baby. It's a pretty
big baby, actually. Wow!

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So, this marvellous, magical manta
is an expectant mum.

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It is. She is, yes.

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That is just fantastic.

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This is the most visual proof
you could ever need

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of how important these seas
are to the mantas, right?

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Absolutely. One pregnancy term
is a huge investment.

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So, it requires a lot of energy,
requires a lot of food.

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And that's why with climate change -
and the reduction in nutrients

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and plankton availability -
the animals will be weaker

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and will not have enough energy
to invest in reproduction.

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They might decide to skip
a reproductive year

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until food is abundant enough.

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So, understanding what factors
affect their ability to reproduce

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might allow us to then mitigate
those negative effects.

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So that's why the work you're
doing here is so important.

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This is the most important time
of their entire life cycle,

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and they're relying on these reefs.

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Lose the reefs, and they have
a very uncertain future.

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Exactly.

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Niv has confirmed that the manta
we scanned is pregnant.

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Such great news for this
manta population.

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These pregnant females tell us
the reefs here are still producing

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enough food to sustain mothers
and their growing pups.

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But if plankton concentrations
halve, as predicted,

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mantas in the Maldives could be
in serious trouble.

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We'll be keeping up with Niv and the
team to see what the future holds

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for these giants
over the next seven years.

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This is the land that
doesn't stay still.

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Spewing geysers.

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Active volcanoes.

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Thundering waterfalls.

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And creeping ice giants.

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Iceland is forever shape-shifting,
moving.

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Icelandic culture is so connected
to the glacial ice

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that each of the 269 glaciers
has a name,

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each one a character
in the landscape.

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Iceland's largest ice cap is an
astonishing 1,000 metres thick

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in places and entombs 8%
of the country in ice.

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But the changes unfolding here
are clear to see.

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I'm standing on a glacier
in Iceland,

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where in 2019 they held
a very poignant funeral.

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They were mourning the loss,

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the melting away of a glacier
due to climate change.

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But it won't be the last,

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because all of these iconic glaciers
are disappearing.

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Sitting on the edge of the Arctic,
where temperatures are rising

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almost three times faster
than the rest of the world,

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Iceland is also suffering from
increasing ice melt.

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Snaevarr Gudmundsson has been
a glaciologist for 30 years.

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He's been studying this particular
glacier, Breidamerkurjokull,

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for the last 15, tracking how
quickly it's vanishing.

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I've come to look at a glacier.

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The only glacier I can see is some
considerable distance over there.

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Well, I just wanted to show you
where the glacier was in 1937.

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Here? Yeah.

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And we know it because

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the local people put a plate here

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and stamped the distance
to the glacier terminus...

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Yeah. ..for several years.

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But what terrifies me is that
we are standing here now in 2021,

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and the glacier is...?

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4km away.

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At beginning of the 20th century,
this glacier was only retreating

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about 10-50 metres per year,

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but now it's retreating
about 250 metres.

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OK, so, this is 1937.

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00:16:42,700 --> 00:16:46,300
If we head off in this direction, we
might find some other markers. Yes.

243
00:16:51,660 --> 00:16:54,860
Snaevarr's markers can help us
track how this glacier

244
00:16:54,860 --> 00:16:57,500
is disappearing from the landscape.

245
00:16:59,980 --> 00:17:03,780
But to really see the inner workings
of a melting glacier,

246
00:17:03,780 --> 00:17:06,020
I'm heading inside it.

247
00:17:08,540 --> 00:17:11,740
Haukur Ingi Einarsson is my guide.

248
00:17:11,740 --> 00:17:15,660
He's been taking people into ice
caves for the past seven years.

249
00:17:23,020 --> 00:17:24,220
Wow!

250
00:17:41,580 --> 00:17:46,820
The ice caves, they are constantly
disappearing and reforming.

251
00:17:46,820 --> 00:17:50,780
So, it's when the meltwater runs
underneath the glacier,

252
00:17:50,780 --> 00:17:53,980
it carves out a path for itself,
the river.

253
00:17:56,220 --> 00:18:00,500
Ice cave formation is
a natural seasonal phenomenon,

254
00:18:00,500 --> 00:18:05,340
but as melt rates increase,
more water flows through them,

255
00:18:05,340 --> 00:18:08,940
and they become less stable.

256
00:18:08,940 --> 00:18:13,860
I'm watching an enormous quantity
of water that's melting

257
00:18:13,860 --> 00:18:16,540
and gushing out from under
this glacier.

258
00:18:16,540 --> 00:18:20,260
And the truth is, that next year,
this cave won't be here.

259
00:18:20,260 --> 00:18:23,260
I wouldn't be surprised if
we were standing in front

260
00:18:23,260 --> 00:18:27,420
of the entrance after maybe
eight or nine months.

261
00:18:27,420 --> 00:18:32,780
That makes you realise how quickly
this glacier is retreating.

262
00:18:32,780 --> 00:18:36,860
On average, Breidamerkurjokull loses

263
00:18:36,860 --> 00:18:41,740
over seven million litres
of water every minute -

264
00:18:41,740 --> 00:18:48,020
and that's just one glacier in
one small part of the Arctic.

265
00:18:48,020 --> 00:18:51,180
We read a lot about
the impacts of climate,

266
00:18:51,180 --> 00:18:54,300
but it's only when you stand here
dripping wet,

267
00:18:54,300 --> 00:18:57,420
listening to that cascading water,

268
00:18:57,420 --> 00:19:01,620
that it really hits home how urgent
the issue is.

269
00:19:01,620 --> 00:19:05,700
I guess people come and they want
to experience beautiful nature.

270
00:19:05,700 --> 00:19:10,020
But seeing this is a great
opportunity to tell people

271
00:19:10,020 --> 00:19:13,740
that they can still change their
behaviour and affect the future

272
00:19:13,740 --> 00:19:17,060
by acting differently and making
different choices.

273
00:19:32,300 --> 00:19:35,620
It's one of the most magical places
that I've ever been.

274
00:19:35,620 --> 00:19:38,220
This glacier is disintegrating,

275
00:19:38,220 --> 00:19:41,860
it's melting before my,
and your, very eyes.

276
00:19:49,980 --> 00:19:53,420
What's left behind is
a poignant reminder -

277
00:19:53,420 --> 00:19:57,260
a very, very big one -

278
00:19:57,260 --> 00:20:00,100
otherwise known as Jokulsarlon.

279
00:20:01,780 --> 00:20:08,100
This is all glacial meltwater from
the glacier we were just inside.

280
00:20:08,100 --> 00:20:11,340
It stretches for eight kilometres

281
00:20:11,340 --> 00:20:15,100
and is the deepest lake
in all of Iceland.

282
00:20:15,100 --> 00:20:18,820
100 years ago, it didn't exist.

283
00:20:20,460 --> 00:20:23,740
Breidamerkurjokull is now
one of Iceland's fastest

284
00:20:23,740 --> 00:20:27,420
retreating glaciers,
and over the next seven years,

285
00:20:27,420 --> 00:20:32,180
it could lose at least
another mile of ice.

286
00:20:34,060 --> 00:20:38,500
But what does all of this melting
ice mean on a global scale?

287
00:20:40,140 --> 00:20:42,820
Our poles - the Arctic
and the Antarctic -

288
00:20:42,820 --> 00:20:46,460
act as the sort of air conditioning
units for our planet.

289
00:20:46,460 --> 00:20:50,540
They keep the rest of the planet
relatively cool.

290
00:20:50,540 --> 00:20:53,580
But with all of that melting ice,
they're not working

291
00:20:53,580 --> 00:20:57,780
as efficiently as they were
just 100 years ago.

292
00:21:00,740 --> 00:21:04,500
North of Iceland, sea ice has
covered the Arctic Ocean

293
00:21:04,500 --> 00:21:07,460
for 2.5 million years.

294
00:21:07,460 --> 00:21:11,620
This ice sheet expands and
contracts with the seasons.

295
00:21:11,620 --> 00:21:17,940
In winter, it reaches down to within
just 125 miles of Iceland's coast.

296
00:21:17,940 --> 00:21:21,620
And in summer, it retreats
northward again.

297
00:21:21,620 --> 00:21:25,660
But with current global warming,
some scientists predict

298
00:21:25,660 --> 00:21:29,900
that in as little as 13 years,
the Arctic Ocean could see

299
00:21:29,900 --> 00:21:33,540
its first ice-free summer.

300
00:21:33,540 --> 00:21:36,620
Less ice means more boats.

301
00:21:38,020 --> 00:21:41,100
The race is on to exploit these
newly-accessible waters

302
00:21:41,100 --> 00:21:43,140
for global trade.

303
00:21:43,140 --> 00:21:46,540
An oceanic superhighway
is opening up.

304
00:21:49,420 --> 00:21:51,820
On the north coast of the island,

305
00:21:51,820 --> 00:21:55,540
I'm meeting some bold young
scientists on a mission

306
00:21:55,540 --> 00:21:59,460
to uncover the impacts of
these new shipping lanes

307
00:21:59,460 --> 00:22:03,420
on Iceland's migrating
humpback whales.

308
00:22:03,420 --> 00:22:06,100
I love a bit of whale watching -
very exciting animals,

309
00:22:06,100 --> 00:22:08,220
and you never know what
you're going to see.

310
00:22:08,220 --> 00:22:10,340
But today is even better,

311
00:22:10,340 --> 00:22:14,180
because this is whale watching
with a very real mission.

312
00:22:22,940 --> 00:22:26,140
Humpback whales are
incredible creatures.

313
00:22:27,820 --> 00:22:32,460
In spring, the mothers guide their
young calves across 5,000 miles

314
00:22:32,460 --> 00:22:37,700
of ocean, from the Caribbean to the
nutrient-rich waters off Iceland,

315
00:22:37,700 --> 00:22:41,100
just south of the Arctic sea ice.

316
00:22:41,100 --> 00:22:44,260
It's a difficult
and dangerous journey.

317
00:22:44,260 --> 00:22:48,340
Often, mother and calf swim
with their flippers touching,

318
00:22:48,340 --> 00:22:52,380
likely a sign of affection
and reassurance.

319
00:22:52,380 --> 00:22:56,860
But that commute is about
to get a whole lot tougher,

320
00:22:56,860 --> 00:23:01,140
as oceanic traffic in the Arctic
is set to explode,

321
00:23:01,140 --> 00:23:05,860
bringing with it
a raft of new dangers.

322
00:23:05,860 --> 00:23:09,420
Marine scientists Tom Grove
and Alyssa Stoller

323
00:23:09,420 --> 00:23:12,660
founded Whale Wise in 2018 -

324
00:23:12,660 --> 00:23:16,540
a small research group
with big ambition.

325
00:23:16,540 --> 00:23:18,860
Oh! Look at that for a view!

326
00:23:20,500 --> 00:23:22,460
Oh...

327
00:23:22,460 --> 00:23:26,020
White beaked dolphin,
four metres away.

328
00:23:28,740 --> 00:23:33,780
As the sea ice melts further north,
it could become an important gateway

329
00:23:33,780 --> 00:23:36,420
to the whole of the Arctic region.

330
00:23:37,700 --> 00:23:41,140
With the sea ice melting,
then we're going to get

331
00:23:41,140 --> 00:23:43,620
this sort of... Polar Silk Road
is what they call it.

332
00:23:43,620 --> 00:23:47,380
So, large vessel traffic making its
way from Europe and North America,

333
00:23:47,380 --> 00:23:50,060
across the Arctic, and then
down into the Pacific.

334
00:23:50,060 --> 00:23:52,740
And the reverse -
people coming from, I guess,

335
00:23:52,740 --> 00:23:55,580
the Far East over the top
to Europe. Yeah.

336
00:23:55,580 --> 00:23:58,500
So, obviously those large vessels -
which are much quicker,

337
00:23:58,500 --> 00:24:01,020
much louder, and will become
much more numerous -

338
00:24:01,020 --> 00:24:05,420
could disrupt the communication and
the feeding behaviour of whales,

339
00:24:05,420 --> 00:24:09,060
which can impact them on
a population scale.

340
00:24:11,620 --> 00:24:13,820
As shipping traffic increases,

341
00:24:13,820 --> 00:24:18,460
coastal development along its routes
will quickly follow to serve it.

342
00:24:18,460 --> 00:24:21,180
In the north-east of Iceland,
they're planning to build

343
00:24:21,180 --> 00:24:25,780
a large port in a very small,
remote fjord, called Finnafjordur.

344
00:24:25,780 --> 00:24:28,220
Is there any evidence to
suggest that there are

345
00:24:28,220 --> 00:24:29,700
any whales in that area?

346
00:24:29,700 --> 00:24:32,540
There have been a couple of surveys
by the government that just

347
00:24:32,540 --> 00:24:36,140
passed through that found hundreds
of humpback whales there.

348
00:24:38,260 --> 00:24:41,860
Prompted by this information,
in August 2021,

349
00:24:41,860 --> 00:24:45,940
the team decided to use underwater
microphones to listen in

350
00:24:45,940 --> 00:24:48,980
to what was happening
beneath the waves.

351
00:24:48,980 --> 00:24:52,860
So, we've deployed a hydrophone
at this location so we can listen

352
00:24:52,860 --> 00:24:56,300
to the sounds of the whales -
to understand what whales are there,

353
00:24:56,300 --> 00:24:59,940
what they're doing, why they
might be even in this region,

354
00:24:59,940 --> 00:25:02,340
whether it's for feeding or
for some other activities -

355
00:25:02,340 --> 00:25:04,700
across an entire year.

356
00:25:04,700 --> 00:25:07,660
Tom and Alyssa aren't claiming
they can stop the creation

357
00:25:07,660 --> 00:25:11,540
of the Polar Silk Road or
prevent a port from being built.

358
00:25:11,540 --> 00:25:13,340
They are realistic.

359
00:25:13,340 --> 00:25:15,580
They want data.

360
00:25:15,580 --> 00:25:19,460
We can start to collect baseline
data about their migrations.

361
00:25:19,460 --> 00:25:23,300
Because if we can find a pattern,
we can say, "OK, you can have

362
00:25:23,300 --> 00:25:27,500
"your shipping routes, but maybe
don't go in this exact area."

363
00:25:27,500 --> 00:25:30,020
If you can map out where
the humpback whales are,

364
00:25:30,020 --> 00:25:33,060
and then if you can know that
humpback whales are responding

365
00:25:33,060 --> 00:25:36,620
to vessel traffic negatively,
then you've got quite strong impetus

366
00:25:36,620 --> 00:25:38,620
to re-route shipping traffic.

367
00:25:43,100 --> 00:25:46,260
But how do you find out
if a humpback whale finds

368
00:25:46,260 --> 00:25:48,620
heavy traffic stress-inducing?

369
00:25:50,220 --> 00:25:52,380
You blow its nose.

370
00:25:53,540 --> 00:25:57,660
Easier said than done -
but after three years of practising,

371
00:25:57,660 --> 00:26:00,900
Tom and the team have perfected
their method.

372
00:26:00,900 --> 00:26:03,060
We're collecting behavioural data,

373
00:26:03,060 --> 00:26:06,660
and we're also collecting blow
samples from several different areas

374
00:26:06,660 --> 00:26:09,420
around Iceland with varying
vessel traffic.

375
00:26:09,420 --> 00:26:12,380
And in each of these blow samples,
we can measure the concentration

376
00:26:12,380 --> 00:26:15,100
of stress-related hormones,
such as cortisol,

377
00:26:15,100 --> 00:26:17,500
as a proxy for physiological stress.

378
00:26:18,620 --> 00:26:23,260
If they can show a link between boat
encounters and increased stress,

379
00:26:23,260 --> 00:26:25,980
at a local level in Iceland,

380
00:26:25,980 --> 00:26:28,940
they can use this data to help
protect the whales

381
00:26:28,940 --> 00:26:33,900
against increased shipping traffic
across the wider Arctic.

382
00:26:42,900 --> 00:26:45,100
Ooh, ho, ho, ho!

383
00:26:45,100 --> 00:26:46,580
Superb!

384
00:26:55,660 --> 00:26:58,380
Who'd have thought that we'd be
out chasing whales

385
00:26:58,380 --> 00:27:00,420
to collect their snot?
If I'd have told my parents

386
00:27:00,420 --> 00:27:04,660
that I was going to be doing that,
when I was a teenager,

387
00:27:04,660 --> 00:27:07,300
well, they would have said,
"Get a proper job," to start with.

388
00:27:07,300 --> 00:27:08,740
Release!

389
00:27:15,740 --> 00:27:17,700
Oh! Hello.

390
00:27:24,420 --> 00:27:26,220
OK, I might have got one.

391
00:27:32,100 --> 00:27:34,140
Whoo! Is there a sample? Yeah.

392
00:27:34,140 --> 00:27:36,420
She's totally covered! Oh, wow!

393
00:27:36,420 --> 00:27:38,980
Well, that was some top flying
and some top catching.

394
00:27:38,980 --> 00:27:42,180
But hold on, I need to see if
there's been some top snotting.

395
00:27:42,180 --> 00:27:43,900
Yes.

396
00:27:43,900 --> 00:27:46,500
That looks like
a really good sample.

397
00:27:46,500 --> 00:27:48,180
OK, so what happens to these now?

398
00:27:48,180 --> 00:27:50,980
We're going to take all of our
samples to the clinical research

399
00:27:50,980 --> 00:27:53,220
facility and process
the samples there.

400
00:27:53,220 --> 00:27:55,940
The one thing that's really
striking with your study

401
00:27:55,940 --> 00:27:58,260
is that you couldn't have
done it ten years ago.

402
00:27:58,260 --> 00:28:01,700
You wouldn't have had a drone,
the capacity to analyse all of this.

403
00:28:01,700 --> 00:28:05,140
Yeah. Very lucky in a way
to be around now,

404
00:28:05,140 --> 00:28:06,580
but whales are under threat.

405
00:28:08,140 --> 00:28:11,660
We don't understand most of their
lives, and I find that crazy.

406
00:28:11,660 --> 00:28:15,220
And the idea of kind of just
living my life without trying

407
00:28:15,220 --> 00:28:18,940
to help them in some way
is just fairly unthinkable.

408
00:28:18,940 --> 00:28:24,100
Over the next seven years, Tom and
Alyssa's research could be crucial

409
00:28:24,100 --> 00:28:26,580
for the future of these humpbacks.

410
00:28:28,260 --> 00:28:32,020
We'll be back to follow their
results and to reveal how

411
00:28:32,020 --> 00:28:37,700
the whales are coping as the seas
here begin to fill with boats.

412
00:28:39,660 --> 00:28:40,740
Ooh!

413
00:28:43,540 --> 00:28:46,420
What about that?
In the fading light of day,

414
00:28:46,420 --> 00:28:49,300
a parting shot from a humpback.

415
00:28:49,300 --> 00:28:52,140
Keeping all of its snot to itself
on this occasion.

416
00:28:52,140 --> 00:28:55,180
But I've got to confess,
although it was more than

417
00:28:55,180 --> 00:28:58,900
half a lifetime ago,
I remember all of that energy,

418
00:28:58,900 --> 00:29:04,020
all of that ambition, all of that
drive that Tom and Alyssa have.

419
00:29:04,020 --> 00:29:06,620
What they're doing - using this
innovative technology

420
00:29:06,620 --> 00:29:09,420
and their imagination,
working together with lots

421
00:29:09,420 --> 00:29:12,260
of other scientists - is allowing
us to better understand

422
00:29:12,260 --> 00:29:14,700
these creatures and how they live,

423
00:29:14,700 --> 00:29:18,460
so that we can adapt our behaviour
so both they and we

424
00:29:18,460 --> 00:29:21,580
can live together more harmoniously.

425
00:29:21,580 --> 00:29:25,860
But the most impressive thing that
I've seen today is action.

426
00:29:25,860 --> 00:29:28,460
They're actually doing something.

427
00:29:28,460 --> 00:29:30,460
Top work.

428
00:29:50,820 --> 00:29:52,860
When you think of Cambodia,

429
00:29:52,860 --> 00:29:56,660
wildlife probably isn't the first
thing that comes to mind.

430
00:29:56,660 --> 00:29:59,740
But this is a zoological
treasure trove.

431
00:30:00,940 --> 00:30:04,540
The Amazon of Asia.

432
00:30:04,540 --> 00:30:08,660
Home to iconic giants...

433
00:30:08,660 --> 00:30:12,140
..ancient oddities...

434
00:30:12,140 --> 00:30:14,700
..and everything in between.

435
00:30:16,460 --> 00:30:21,460
Years of isolation due to civil war
have left forests here pristine,

436
00:30:21,460 --> 00:30:25,700
unexplored and brimming
with biodiversity.

437
00:30:25,700 --> 00:30:29,300
With many species still
unknown to science,

438
00:30:29,300 --> 00:30:33,580
we're only beginning
to unravel its mysteries.

439
00:30:33,580 --> 00:30:36,220
But things are changing.

440
00:30:50,700 --> 00:30:53,180
For nearly two decades,
Cambodia has been home

441
00:30:53,180 --> 00:30:56,460
to one of the fastest growing
economies on the planet.

442
00:30:56,460 --> 00:30:59,980
Everywhere you look,
money is changing hands.

443
00:30:59,980 --> 00:31:05,340
This rapid economic growth has
lifted millions out of poverty.

444
00:31:05,340 --> 00:31:09,060
All that growth, all that
development, it's great,

445
00:31:09,060 --> 00:31:15,340
but behind closed doors a much more
sinister trade is thriving...

446
00:31:15,340 --> 00:31:17,580
..the trade in endangered wildlife.

447
00:31:24,900 --> 00:31:30,660
Valued at up to £17 billion a year,
endangered wildlife trafficking

448
00:31:30,660 --> 00:31:35,980
is now the fourth largest
illegal trade in the world.

449
00:31:35,980 --> 00:31:40,100
The economic boom has resulted in
more people with more money

450
00:31:40,100 --> 00:31:43,780
to spend on rare animal delicacies
and traditional medicines

451
00:31:43,780 --> 00:31:47,580
that were preciously out
of their reach.

452
00:31:47,580 --> 00:31:50,860
As demand soars, one mammal
is paying the price

453
00:31:50,860 --> 00:31:55,300
more than any other - pangolins.

454
00:31:55,300 --> 00:32:00,060
These scaly anteaters are the most
trafficked mammal on the planet,

455
00:32:00,060 --> 00:32:03,340
with an estimated one million
taken from Asia and Africa

456
00:32:03,340 --> 00:32:06,100
in the last decade.

457
00:32:06,100 --> 00:32:09,740
At this rate, some experts predict
pangolins will be extinct

458
00:32:09,740 --> 00:32:13,300
in Cambodia before we even
finish this series.

459
00:32:15,260 --> 00:32:18,700
I want to find out what can be done
to save these charismatic

460
00:32:18,700 --> 00:32:21,940
little creatures and the wealth
of other animals

461
00:32:21,940 --> 00:32:24,100
being targeted by traffickers.

462
00:32:25,620 --> 00:32:30,260
Demand for endangered animals comes
primarily from China and Vietnam.

463
00:32:30,260 --> 00:32:34,300
But I'm interested in supply,
and that's why I'm in Cambodia.

464
00:32:34,300 --> 00:32:38,220
See, in a remote southern part of
this country is one of the most

465
00:32:38,220 --> 00:32:41,740
prized wildlife hunting grounds
in all of Asia.

466
00:32:43,860 --> 00:32:46,100
The Cardamom rainforest.

467
00:32:47,740 --> 00:32:50,420
Nearly two million hectares
of pristine,

468
00:32:50,420 --> 00:32:52,820
wildlife-filled wilderness.

469
00:32:59,940 --> 00:33:04,300
Javan rhino have already been
poached to extinction here

470
00:33:04,300 --> 00:33:07,260
for the supposed medicinal value
of their horn,

471
00:33:07,260 --> 00:33:11,100
along with tigers, prized for
the alleged healing properties

472
00:33:11,100 --> 00:33:13,940
of their bones, whiskers and paws.

473
00:33:15,460 --> 00:33:18,820
I'm about to see the full scale
of what the Cardamom wildlife

474
00:33:18,820 --> 00:33:21,260
is up against.

475
00:33:21,260 --> 00:33:24,500
My driver, Sung, says that there's
something I should see here.

476
00:33:31,420 --> 00:33:33,660
Oh, my God.

477
00:33:38,260 --> 00:33:42,380
There are over 4,500 chainsaws,
home-made guns,

478
00:33:42,380 --> 00:33:45,660
and 22,000 snares here.

479
00:33:45,660 --> 00:33:48,260
All of them seized
off poachers and loggers

480
00:33:48,260 --> 00:33:50,580
in the surrounding Cardamom forests.

481
00:33:51,740 --> 00:33:53,860
This is how extinctions happen.

482
00:33:55,180 --> 00:33:58,620
And this is how we're in
the situation we're in right now.

483
00:33:58,620 --> 00:34:02,780
But one group of people have
decided enough is enough.

484
00:34:06,820 --> 00:34:10,020
The Wildlife Alliance.

485
00:34:10,020 --> 00:34:14,260
These armed rangers are fighting
back against illegal hunting here -

486
00:34:14,260 --> 00:34:17,100
by water, land and air.

487
00:34:22,020 --> 00:34:26,540
So far, the rangers have recovered
over 300,000 snares,

488
00:34:26,540 --> 00:34:31,140
made 876 arrests, and
eliminated elephant poaching

489
00:34:31,140 --> 00:34:34,380
from nearly two million hectares
of forest.

490
00:34:37,580 --> 00:34:40,780
And that's just one part
of their work.

491
00:34:43,580 --> 00:34:46,580
Nick Marx leads
the Wildlife Alliance's rescue

492
00:34:46,580 --> 00:34:49,780
and rehabilitation team,
who dedicate their lives to giving

493
00:34:49,780 --> 00:34:52,260
trafficked animals
their freedom back.

494
00:34:57,780 --> 00:35:01,020
I arrive just in time to meet
a very special guest

495
00:35:01,020 --> 00:35:04,380
heading out for her daily walk
in the forest.

496
00:35:06,060 --> 00:35:07,380
Little one.

497
00:35:10,620 --> 00:35:12,300
A sun bear.

498
00:35:13,580 --> 00:35:15,780
We call her Kolab, which means rose.

499
00:35:17,260 --> 00:35:19,700
She's been hand raised from
a tiny baby.

500
00:35:19,700 --> 00:35:22,340
As a result,
she's not frightened of people.

501
00:35:22,340 --> 00:35:26,900
So, as she grows up, we must
kind of wean her away from people.

502
00:35:26,900 --> 00:35:29,980
She mustn't see people as friends
or playthings.

503
00:35:29,980 --> 00:35:33,460
Frankly, the most dangerous thing
for her from now on will be humans.

504
00:35:34,940 --> 00:35:37,740
Sun bears are prized targets
for poaching -

505
00:35:37,740 --> 00:35:40,220
their meat is a symbol
of social status.

506
00:35:40,220 --> 00:35:44,060
And as people's spending power
increases, demand is spiralling.

507
00:35:57,580 --> 00:36:02,180
Thankfully, this curious little bear
faces a brighter future.

508
00:36:02,180 --> 00:36:05,580
It'll be at least another year
before Kolab is independent enough

509
00:36:05,580 --> 00:36:08,060
to be released back into the wild.

510
00:36:09,820 --> 00:36:13,820
But Wildlife Alliance aren't just
bringing back individual animals

511
00:36:13,820 --> 00:36:17,580
into the forests -
they're bringing back species.

512
00:36:20,020 --> 00:36:22,260
Perhaps I shouldn't be
saying this, but...

513
00:36:22,260 --> 00:36:25,700
Tigers are now locally extinct
in Cambodia, and we do have

514
00:36:25,700 --> 00:36:27,740
a little idea about maybe
bringing them back.

515
00:36:27,740 --> 00:36:29,380
That would be really amazing.

516
00:36:29,380 --> 00:36:32,220
I guess it would be
a pivotal moment.

517
00:36:32,220 --> 00:36:35,260
With support from the Cambodian
government, Wildlife Alliance

518
00:36:35,260 --> 00:36:39,020
hope to reintroduce tigers
before the end of the decade.

519
00:36:39,020 --> 00:36:42,220
If so, we'll definitely be back
to witness this momentous event.

520
00:36:42,220 --> 00:36:44,460
In the meantime,
one of the residents here

521
00:36:44,460 --> 00:36:46,620
is ready to taste freedom...

522
00:36:46,620 --> 00:36:48,940
Oh, my God...!

523
00:36:48,940 --> 00:36:50,300
Yes!

524
00:36:50,300 --> 00:36:51,940
..a pangolin.

525
00:36:51,940 --> 00:36:53,940
You are beautiful.

526
00:36:53,940 --> 00:36:56,740
Can you just hold him here?
Course I can.

527
00:36:59,780 --> 00:37:03,300
He was donated to us by
a gentleman who found him

528
00:37:03,300 --> 00:37:05,500
walking around in the streets
of Phnom Penh,

529
00:37:05,500 --> 00:37:08,380
which is unusual habitat
for a pangolin.

530
00:37:08,380 --> 00:37:11,620
This guy was probably
an unwilling dinner guest

531
00:37:11,620 --> 00:37:15,860
at somebody's lavish party,
and he got lucky and he escaped.

532
00:37:16,940 --> 00:37:20,540
We're attaching this radio tag
so that we can track the pangolin

533
00:37:20,540 --> 00:37:22,580
and see what his movements are,

534
00:37:22,580 --> 00:37:26,500
and just make sure that he goes
safely back into the wild.

535
00:37:26,500 --> 00:37:29,260
They're nocturnal, so don't want
to release him now. Yep.

536
00:37:29,260 --> 00:37:30,940
We'll release him after dark,

537
00:37:30,940 --> 00:37:32,740
after we've given him
a nice plate of ants.

538
00:37:32,740 --> 00:37:35,460
Aw, one of the luckiest pangolins
out there!

539
00:37:38,500 --> 00:37:41,580
Under cover of darkness,
and armed with ants,

540
00:37:41,580 --> 00:37:45,940
we headed out to bid our
scaly friend farewell.

541
00:37:47,780 --> 00:37:51,300
So what we're going to do is,
we're going to try and get him down

542
00:37:51,300 --> 00:37:54,700
with the smell of the ants, and
we'll put the ants beside the door,

543
00:37:54,700 --> 00:37:57,700
and then encourage him
to make his exit.

544
00:37:57,700 --> 00:37:58,940
Oh...!

545
00:38:02,900 --> 00:38:04,580
This is amazing.

546
00:38:04,580 --> 00:38:06,460
So, perhaps he's ready to go.

547
00:38:18,180 --> 00:38:20,260
My heart...

548
00:38:20,260 --> 00:38:21,740
He's just mopping it up.

549
00:38:28,220 --> 00:38:30,820
It's good for it to be
when they want to go,

550
00:38:30,820 --> 00:38:33,260
rather than when we decide to
throw them away. Yeah.

551
00:38:33,260 --> 00:38:34,900
So, it's the moment of truth.

552
00:38:40,340 --> 00:38:41,940
WHISPERING: Oh, my gosh!

553
00:38:44,460 --> 00:38:46,180
Nick... There he goes.

554
00:38:46,180 --> 00:38:47,540
Bless him!

555
00:38:51,140 --> 00:38:53,820
What we're hoping is that there
will be a greater awareness

556
00:38:53,820 --> 00:38:58,460
for wildlife, that local people
and government will respect

557
00:38:58,460 --> 00:39:03,780
and become more greatly interested
in conserving Cambodian wildlife.

558
00:39:05,580 --> 00:39:09,020
With all of them, they're like...
our children going away.

559
00:39:09,020 --> 00:39:11,060
Ah, well, congratulations.

560
00:39:11,060 --> 00:39:12,820
Thank you.
You're his guardian angel.

561
00:39:12,820 --> 00:39:15,220
Oh... All of you here at
Wildlife Alliance.

562
00:39:20,820 --> 00:39:24,500
When I think about biodiversity loss
and all of the endangered

563
00:39:24,500 --> 00:39:27,740
and critically endangered
species out there...

564
00:39:27,740 --> 00:39:30,300
If we let people like
Wildlife Alliance,

565
00:39:30,300 --> 00:39:33,180
and others, do their work...

566
00:39:33,180 --> 00:39:36,060
I don't know,
I'm kind of optimistic.

567
00:39:37,900 --> 00:39:40,700
With Wildlife Alliance
fighting their corner,

568
00:39:40,700 --> 00:39:45,020
the Cardamom forests have a chance
of recovering and thriving.

569
00:39:51,020 --> 00:39:54,500
But the ricochet of the ongoing
economic development

570
00:39:54,500 --> 00:39:58,380
reaches beyond just these jungles.

571
00:39:58,380 --> 00:40:01,860
I'm heading to see how it's pushed
one of Southeast Asia's

572
00:40:01,860 --> 00:40:06,260
most important wetlands
to the brink of collapse.

573
00:40:06,260 --> 00:40:08,540
The Tonle Sap lake.

574
00:40:11,780 --> 00:40:14,220
Home to fishing cats,

575
00:40:14,220 --> 00:40:16,260
crocodiles,

576
00:40:16,260 --> 00:40:19,580
and the largest waterbird population
in Southeast Asia.

577
00:40:21,140 --> 00:40:25,100
It is the most productive freshwater
ecosystem on Earth,

578
00:40:25,100 --> 00:40:28,260
thanks to a unique annual event.

579
00:40:31,260 --> 00:40:35,940
Usually, the Tonle Sap lake
drains into the Mekong

580
00:40:35,940 --> 00:40:37,980
via the Tonle Sap river.

581
00:40:37,980 --> 00:40:41,420
But once a year
during the monsoon season

582
00:40:41,420 --> 00:40:44,860
the Mekong swells to such an extent

583
00:40:44,860 --> 00:40:48,580
that it forces the Tonle Sap river
into reverse,

584
00:40:48,580 --> 00:40:51,820
pouring water back into
the Tonle Sap lake.

585
00:40:53,860 --> 00:40:56,980
This seasonal pulse from
the Mekong expands the lake

586
00:40:56,980 --> 00:41:00,140
to five times its normal size.

587
00:41:01,380 --> 00:41:05,940
Along with all this water
come fish, lots of them.

588
00:41:07,300 --> 00:41:10,700
The annual migration of fish in
and out of the Tonle Sap lake

589
00:41:10,700 --> 00:41:13,740
is actually one of the biggest
animal migrations on Earth.

590
00:41:13,740 --> 00:41:16,660
And where you get fish,
you get fishermen.

591
00:41:19,660 --> 00:41:23,700
It turns out that more fish
are caught in that lake

592
00:41:23,700 --> 00:41:27,940
than are caught in all the rivers
and lakes of North America combined.

593
00:41:33,860 --> 00:41:37,780
One of the million fishermen
who depend on this fish bonanza

594
00:41:37,780 --> 00:41:40,900
for their livelihood is Mr Leur.

595
00:41:40,900 --> 00:41:42,940
Suostei, Leur. Ah, suostei.

596
00:41:47,340 --> 00:41:51,220
He's head of the village of Mechrey,
a floating community

597
00:41:51,220 --> 00:41:54,940
that has lived entirely on water
for generations.

598
00:41:57,540 --> 00:42:00,580
Everything here revolves
round fishing.

599
00:42:00,580 --> 00:42:03,700
But recently, the fish
and the water in the lake

600
00:42:03,700 --> 00:42:05,500
have started to disappear.

601
00:42:26,700 --> 00:42:30,060
This meagre catch jars with
the lake's historic reputation

602
00:42:30,060 --> 00:42:32,420
for catfish the weight
of grizzly bears

603
00:42:32,420 --> 00:42:35,260
and eight-foot stingrays.

604
00:42:35,260 --> 00:42:37,500
Was it a particular year
that you noticed

605
00:42:37,500 --> 00:42:39,500
that things changed on the lake?

606
00:42:51,260 --> 00:42:54,420
The drop in fish stocks has
coincided with a dramatic fall

607
00:42:54,420 --> 00:42:57,140
in the flood pulse from the Mekong -

608
00:42:57,140 --> 00:43:02,020
largely due to a growing number
of hydroelectric dams upstream.

609
00:43:03,260 --> 00:43:05,980
While the cheap clean electricity
they create is powering

610
00:43:05,980 --> 00:43:09,500
economic development and improving
the quality of life

611
00:43:09,500 --> 00:43:12,380
for people across Southeast Asia...

612
00:43:12,380 --> 00:43:15,260
..the dams have helped reduce
the annual flood pulse

613
00:43:15,260 --> 00:43:19,500
to the Tonle Sap lake by nearly 60%.

614
00:43:19,500 --> 00:43:22,940
If the current trend continues,
by the end of the decade,

615
00:43:22,940 --> 00:43:26,220
this event that helps support
nearly five million people

616
00:43:26,220 --> 00:43:29,420
may cease entirely some years.

617
00:43:36,220 --> 00:43:40,060
Despite the growing threat,
everywhere on the Tonle Sap lake

618
00:43:40,060 --> 00:43:43,100
there were signs of resourcefulness
and resilience.

619
00:43:48,060 --> 00:43:51,100
Nowhere more so than at Mr Leur's.

620
00:43:54,980 --> 00:43:56,380
Thank you.

621
00:44:00,100 --> 00:44:04,020
Leur now has a floating
vegetable garden...

622
00:44:04,020 --> 00:44:07,380
..crocodile farm supplying
the leather industry...

623
00:44:11,300 --> 00:44:14,300
..and a fish farm -
all attached to his house.

624
00:44:15,540 --> 00:44:17,860
He even hunts rats to give
the family a source

625
00:44:17,860 --> 00:44:19,700
of supplementary protein.

626
00:44:21,540 --> 00:44:25,300
Thankfully, rat wasn't
on the menu today.

627
00:44:25,300 --> 00:44:27,900
No, today it was snake.

628
00:44:27,900 --> 00:44:29,980
It's still wriggling about.

629
00:44:29,980 --> 00:44:32,620
And Mrs Leur needed a hand
in the kitchen.

630
00:44:36,900 --> 00:44:38,900
What does it taste like?

631
00:44:46,980 --> 00:44:49,220
Why does everything taste
like chicken?

632
00:44:51,220 --> 00:44:53,940
Most people wouldn't really think
about eating snake,

633
00:44:53,940 --> 00:44:56,460
but it is a really good source
of protein.

634
00:45:00,580 --> 00:45:02,060
This bit I've done before.

635
00:45:09,980 --> 00:45:11,180
Thank you.

636
00:45:17,460 --> 00:45:18,940
Let's do this.

637
00:45:21,540 --> 00:45:23,340
MRS LEUR LAUGHS

638
00:45:27,620 --> 00:45:29,460
You're telling me this. I'm trying.

639
00:45:31,300 --> 00:45:32,660
It doesn't taste like chicken.

640
00:45:32,660 --> 00:45:34,340
THEY LAUGH

641
00:45:36,180 --> 00:45:38,820
It is hard to imagine what
the next seven years hold

642
00:45:38,820 --> 00:45:40,860
for Mr Leur and his family,

643
00:45:40,860 --> 00:45:43,820
but he seems determined to
find a way forward.

644
00:46:16,060 --> 00:46:20,860
These communities,
this is the only way of life

645
00:46:20,860 --> 00:46:25,420
they've ever known for generations
and generations.

646
00:46:25,420 --> 00:46:30,180
The existential threat
hanging over them is so real.

647
00:46:30,180 --> 00:46:34,660
And yet, Leur, he's inventive,
and he's still got hope and spirit.

648
00:46:36,180 --> 00:46:38,140
It's just incredible to see that.

649
00:46:38,140 --> 00:46:40,780
And you just think, if you
were going to be facing

650
00:46:40,780 --> 00:46:44,620
such a huge threat to your whole
way of life, wouldn't you want

651
00:46:44,620 --> 00:46:48,500
to be facing it under the leadership
of somebody like Leur?

652
00:46:53,580 --> 00:46:56,420
The damaging impact of
economic development

653
00:46:56,420 --> 00:46:58,700
on our rivers is nothing new.

654
00:46:58,700 --> 00:47:01,900
River communities around the world
are facing similar challenges

655
00:47:01,900 --> 00:47:03,740
from upstream dams.

656
00:47:05,780 --> 00:47:09,340
But with some experts predicting
the entire river system

657
00:47:09,340 --> 00:47:12,580
could collapse in the next
three to five years,

658
00:47:12,580 --> 00:47:15,740
the Mekong is at breaking point.

659
00:47:15,740 --> 00:47:20,540
But there is a glimmer of hope for
this bellwether of a waterway.

660
00:47:20,540 --> 00:47:23,940
An international team of
scientists and policy makers,

661
00:47:23,940 --> 00:47:27,300
like Bradley Murg, are working
to save the Mekong

662
00:47:27,300 --> 00:47:29,900
using data from space.

663
00:47:31,380 --> 00:47:34,820
Brad, I've got to ask,
is there any hope for the Mekong?

664
00:47:34,820 --> 00:47:36,780
If you'd asked me
a couple of years ago,

665
00:47:36,780 --> 00:47:38,460
I would have been
much more pessimistic.

666
00:47:38,460 --> 00:47:42,140
But seeing this new data source,
seeing this new Mekong Dam Monitor,

667
00:47:42,140 --> 00:47:45,620
this is a completely different
world of understanding

668
00:47:45,620 --> 00:47:47,780
the Mekong than we've ever
had in the past.

669
00:47:49,740 --> 00:47:52,740
Using imagery from satellites
orbiting the Mekong,

670
00:47:52,740 --> 00:47:56,260
along with sensors on the ground,
the Mekong Dam Monitor

671
00:47:56,260 --> 00:48:00,700
gives a near real-time view
of the river's flow.

672
00:48:00,700 --> 00:48:04,460
Mapped over time, it reveals
with irrefutable clarity

673
00:48:04,460 --> 00:48:08,380
which dams in which countries
are responsible for altering

674
00:48:08,380 --> 00:48:12,820
the flow downstream to places
like the Tonle Sap.

675
00:48:12,820 --> 00:48:16,420
The hope is that with
that new data as a focal point

676
00:48:16,420 --> 00:48:18,500
for collaboration and coordination,

677
00:48:18,500 --> 00:48:21,100
there's really no more possibility
to hide any more.

678
00:48:21,100 --> 00:48:24,020
But what we want to see, really,
is concrete policy change.

679
00:48:28,580 --> 00:48:32,300
It's so clear that the answer
to the Mekong disaster

680
00:48:32,300 --> 00:48:35,140
doesn't lie with Cambodia alone.

681
00:48:35,140 --> 00:48:38,380
It needs all six countries
that the Mekong flows through

682
00:48:38,380 --> 00:48:41,220
to come together and find
a political solution -

683
00:48:41,220 --> 00:48:44,500
and that is a massive challenge.

684
00:48:44,500 --> 00:48:47,140
Because essentially,
what you're saying is,

685
00:48:47,140 --> 00:48:51,100
it's all together,
or it's just not going to work.

686
00:48:51,100 --> 00:48:54,860
In 2020, the Cambodian government
abandoned plans for new

687
00:48:54,860 --> 00:48:59,140
hydropower development on
the Mekong for the next ten years.

688
00:48:59,140 --> 00:49:01,180
And all the Mekong countries
are expanding

689
00:49:01,180 --> 00:49:03,580
their solar power projects.

690
00:49:03,580 --> 00:49:07,300
But the next few years will be
make or break for the river,

691
00:49:07,300 --> 00:49:10,060
and the Tonle Sap as we know it -

692
00:49:10,060 --> 00:49:12,900
and we'll be documenting
every step.

693
00:49:37,340 --> 00:49:40,780
When they said come to the Maldives,
this was not what I had in mind.

694
00:49:42,140 --> 00:49:47,020
But at the centre of the Maldives
is this place, Male, the capital.

695
00:49:47,020 --> 00:49:49,940
On a 6km island, more than
a quarter of a million people -

696
00:49:49,940 --> 00:49:53,980
making it one of the most densely
populated places on the planet.

697
00:49:56,540 --> 00:49:59,780
The growth and development here
has been remarkable.

698
00:49:59,780 --> 00:50:03,340
But unbeknownst to most residents,
the future of their country

699
00:50:03,340 --> 00:50:08,340
is intimately entwined with
the future of their coral reefs.

700
00:50:15,660 --> 00:50:18,140
Coral is everything here -

701
00:50:18,140 --> 00:50:20,340
it's vital to the economy,

702
00:50:20,340 --> 00:50:23,820
it is a home and a habitat for fish,

703
00:50:23,820 --> 00:50:27,700
it forms the very bedrock that
these islands are built on -

704
00:50:27,700 --> 00:50:31,540
and ever more important in this
changing Indian Ocean,

705
00:50:31,540 --> 00:50:35,380
it is the best natural barrier
and protection that these islands

706
00:50:35,380 --> 00:50:37,740
and their people could ever have.

707
00:50:42,260 --> 00:50:46,460
Corals are soft, squishy animals,
but the hard external skeleton

708
00:50:46,460 --> 00:50:51,500
many of them produce as they grow
acts as a 3,500 square mile

709
00:50:51,500 --> 00:50:55,900
living shield around the islands
of the Maldives.

710
00:50:55,900 --> 00:50:59,340
Protecting the communities,
schools and skyscrapers

711
00:50:59,340 --> 00:51:01,740
built on the back of the coral

712
00:51:01,740 --> 00:51:04,180
from 97% of the force of storms,

713
00:51:04,180 --> 00:51:06,540
flooding and wave erosion.

714
00:51:08,460 --> 00:51:11,500
The question is,
for how much longer?

715
00:51:14,220 --> 00:51:17,380
Our tropical coral reefs
are at crisis point.

716
00:51:17,380 --> 00:51:22,340
Even small rises in sea temperature
can cause them to get stressed

717
00:51:22,340 --> 00:51:26,620
and to die in widespread and
catastrophic bleaching events.

718
00:51:28,820 --> 00:51:31,780
Corals are home to microscopic
algae that give them

719
00:51:31,780 --> 00:51:33,700
their vibrant colours.

720
00:51:33,700 --> 00:51:37,380
In return, the algae supply
vital nutrients to the coral.

721
00:51:37,380 --> 00:51:40,860
But when they get too hot,
corals expel the algae,

722
00:51:40,860 --> 00:51:43,220
in what scientists call bleaching.

723
00:51:45,380 --> 00:51:48,620
If the waters stay warm,
the algae don't return,

724
00:51:48,620 --> 00:51:50,940
and the coral dies.

725
00:51:50,940 --> 00:51:53,340
And when the coral dies,
the structure of the reef

726
00:51:53,340 --> 00:51:56,460
begins to collapse...

727
00:51:56,460 --> 00:52:00,660
..exposing coastal communities
to the full force of the ocean.

728
00:52:02,140 --> 00:52:05,380
Without its coral shield to
protect it from storm surge

729
00:52:05,380 --> 00:52:08,420
and rising sea levels,
80% of these islands

730
00:52:08,420 --> 00:52:11,460
could be uninhabitable
within 30 years.

731
00:52:14,940 --> 00:52:16,980
But around the world,
biologists and researchers,

732
00:52:16,980 --> 00:52:20,300
like Ali Shareef,
are working to halt this trend

733
00:52:20,300 --> 00:52:23,140
and bring our coral reefs
back from the brink.

734
00:52:25,140 --> 00:52:27,300
Ali, hi. Hi.
How are you doing?

735
00:52:27,300 --> 00:52:29,380
Very good. How are you?
Yeah, excellent.

736
00:52:32,020 --> 00:52:34,300
So, we have had two bleaching events
in the Maldives.

737
00:52:34,300 --> 00:52:37,900
One in 1998, which killed off
about 80% of the corals

738
00:52:37,900 --> 00:52:41,540
and took about a decade to recover.

739
00:52:41,540 --> 00:52:45,780
And then again in 2016,
coral here bleached and died.

740
00:52:53,620 --> 00:52:57,140
The ultimate goal is to breed corals
with greater resilience

741
00:52:57,140 --> 00:52:58,420
to temperature change.

742
00:53:00,100 --> 00:53:02,660
But before they can start
rearing corals,

743
00:53:02,660 --> 00:53:05,740
Ali needs to pinpoint
when they reproduce.

744
00:53:08,740 --> 00:53:12,060
Corals release their spawn
at the same time every year

745
00:53:12,060 --> 00:53:15,260
under the cover of darkness
and close to the full moon.

746
00:53:22,740 --> 00:53:25,460
When they've found a coral
that is ready to spawn,

747
00:53:25,460 --> 00:53:27,860
then comes the fun part.

748
00:53:27,860 --> 00:53:32,100
They'll cover it in a bag, which
is kind of like a coral condom.

749
00:53:32,100 --> 00:53:35,180
It will collect all those
reproductive cells,

750
00:53:35,180 --> 00:53:38,300
which can then be developed safely
away from predators,

751
00:53:38,300 --> 00:53:41,460
and then reintroduced back
into the wild.

752
00:53:41,460 --> 00:53:45,340
It's a great way of increasing
the success of coral

753
00:53:45,340 --> 00:53:48,540
and helping it to succeed.

754
00:53:51,740 --> 00:53:53,980
There's still a lot to figure out.

755
00:53:53,980 --> 00:53:56,820
But I'm excited to see if Ali
and the team do manage

756
00:53:56,820 --> 00:53:59,540
to successfully breed corals
capable of surviving

757
00:53:59,540 --> 00:54:01,780
in the warming waters.

758
00:54:01,780 --> 00:54:04,820
Their hard work could be
what saves the Maldives

759
00:54:04,820 --> 00:54:06,620
for future generations.

760
00:54:10,060 --> 00:54:12,740
Despite the fact their country
is built on coral,

761
00:54:12,740 --> 00:54:15,620
most Maldivians are unaware
of how closely entwined

762
00:54:15,620 --> 00:54:18,780
their lives are with these
tiny animals.

763
00:54:21,060 --> 00:54:24,540
Shaha Hashim runs a reef
conservation project

764
00:54:24,540 --> 00:54:28,380
focusing not on tiny coral,
but on tiny people.

765
00:54:34,860 --> 00:54:38,020
So, today we are going to
take kids snorkelling,

766
00:54:38,020 --> 00:54:40,780
and it's going to be the
first time for most of them

767
00:54:40,780 --> 00:54:44,020
to really experience
underwater life.

768
00:54:44,020 --> 00:54:47,380
You'd think living on an island,
with the sea right there,

769
00:54:47,380 --> 00:54:50,940
that all the kids here would spend
their whole lives in the sea.

770
00:54:50,940 --> 00:54:54,780
Yes. But unfortunately,
most Maldivian kids these days

771
00:54:54,780 --> 00:54:56,620
don't know how to swim.

772
00:54:57,900 --> 00:55:01,100
The rapid urbanisation of
the Maldives has left

773
00:55:01,100 --> 00:55:05,180
40% of the population without
ready access to a beachfront,

774
00:55:05,180 --> 00:55:10,260
and resulted in a generation of kids
with less connection to the ocean.

775
00:55:10,260 --> 00:55:13,340
So, this will be the first time
you go in the sea? Yes.

776
00:55:13,340 --> 00:55:14,540
Are you excited? Yes.

777
00:55:14,540 --> 00:55:16,100
That's so cool.

778
00:55:16,100 --> 00:55:19,180
I'm very, very excited that I get to
see it with you for the first time.

779
00:55:19,180 --> 00:55:20,380
Me, too!

780
00:55:31,580 --> 00:55:35,780
You can sense that they're nervous,
but excited.

781
00:55:35,780 --> 00:55:38,540
It's kind of a really
profound moment.

782
00:55:49,660 --> 00:55:51,220
I seen fishes. Fishes!

783
00:55:51,220 --> 00:55:53,860
Cucumber fish! Cucumber fish?

784
00:55:53,860 --> 00:55:55,700
Wow. That's a new one on me.

785
00:55:59,020 --> 00:56:02,860
It's always really uplifting and
heart-warming being with kids

786
00:56:02,860 --> 00:56:05,020
when they're experiencing something
new in the outdoors

787
00:56:05,020 --> 00:56:06,700
for the very first time,

788
00:56:06,700 --> 00:56:09,540
but particularly something
like this.

789
00:56:09,540 --> 00:56:13,020
This could be the next wave of
Maldivian conservationists

790
00:56:13,020 --> 00:56:15,020
and marine biologists.

791
00:56:15,020 --> 00:56:17,300
Even if it isn't, just knowing
that this could be the start

792
00:56:17,300 --> 00:56:20,540
of a love affair with the sea
for them is pretty special.

793
00:56:26,380 --> 00:56:29,660
Over the next seven years,
so much could change

794
00:56:29,660 --> 00:56:32,700
for these coral reefs
and the wildlife they hold.

795
00:56:35,340 --> 00:56:37,540
These Indian Ocean seas
are changing faster than

796
00:56:37,540 --> 00:56:39,460
just about anywhere else on Earth,

797
00:56:39,460 --> 00:56:42,660
and it's a race for our scientist
friends to keep up.

798
00:56:42,660 --> 00:56:44,900
As we come back in years to come,
we're going to see that change

799
00:56:44,900 --> 00:56:46,700
in real time.

800
00:56:46,700 --> 00:56:49,620
And all the efforts to try
and protect these seas

801
00:56:49,620 --> 00:56:52,420
are so critical,
because the treasures here

802
00:56:52,420 --> 00:56:55,020
are more precious now
than they've ever been.

803
00:56:59,300 --> 00:57:00,940
Next time...

804
00:57:00,940 --> 00:57:05,300
We visit three more extraordinary
but vulnerable habitats.

805
00:57:05,300 --> 00:57:07,420
Liz follows how
innovative techniques

806
00:57:07,420 --> 00:57:09,620
are helping to preserve
California's wildlife.

807
00:57:09,620 --> 00:57:11,900
Oh! It's right there!

808
00:57:11,900 --> 00:57:14,740
Ade joins a community
dedicated to saving

809
00:57:14,740 --> 00:57:17,460
Kenya's great elephant herds.

810
00:57:17,460 --> 00:57:21,060
And in Brazil,
Gordon finds out how eco-tourism

811
00:57:21,060 --> 00:57:24,900
could safeguard the future of
its most iconic predator.

812
00:57:24,900 --> 00:57:27,820
This is a dream come true.

813
00:58:07,300 --> 00:58:09,780
Four and a half billion years old.

814
00:58:09,780 --> 00:58:11,580
An astonishing planet.

815
00:58:17,540 --> 00:58:19,340
We know it's changing,

816
00:58:19,340 --> 00:58:22,140
faster now than at any other
time in human history.

817
00:58:28,700 --> 00:58:32,940
But do we understand exactly what
the future holds?

818
00:58:37,540 --> 00:58:41,140
Over the next seven years,
this ambitious series will chart

819
00:58:41,140 --> 00:58:44,540
the health of six of our planet's
most vulnerable habitats

820
00:58:44,540 --> 00:58:47,540
through a time of great change
for our natural world.

821
00:58:50,380 --> 00:58:53,020
From Iceland's frozen wilderness

822
00:58:53,020 --> 00:58:55,500
to the rain forests of Cambodia,

823
00:58:55,500 --> 00:58:57,420
these habitats have been chosen

824
00:58:57,420 --> 00:59:00,180
because they're changing at
breakneck speed.

825
00:59:00,180 --> 00:59:04,020
In seven years' time,
life here could be very different.

826
00:59:05,660 --> 00:59:08,500
I'm one of six presenters who
will witness first-hand

827
00:59:08,500 --> 00:59:11,180
the scale of the
transformations ahead.

828
00:59:11,180 --> 00:59:13,340
We're going to be following
the scientists

829
00:59:13,340 --> 00:59:15,780
and local communities,
each working hard

830
00:59:15,780 --> 00:59:18,460
to find solutions
and to make a difference.

831
00:59:19,580 --> 00:59:22,540
And we'll follow the animals
learning to adapt

832
00:59:22,540 --> 00:59:25,740
over these next seven
critical years.

833
00:59:25,740 --> 00:59:28,940
I'm in California, on the
front line of climate change,

834
00:59:28,940 --> 00:59:32,620
to find out how wildlife
and people are being impacted.

835
00:59:35,500 --> 00:59:39,180
I'm standing on
a glacier in Iceland...

836
00:59:39,180 --> 00:59:43,140
..witnessing the devastating effect
of global warming.

837
00:59:44,460 --> 00:59:46,260
This is Kenya.

838
00:59:46,260 --> 00:59:49,700
Now, it's supposed to be the wet
season, but it's as dry as a bone.

839
00:59:51,740 --> 00:59:57,460
I'm in Brazil to find out how
deforestation is threatening

840
00:59:57,460 --> 01:00:00,380
the largest tropical wetland
anywhere on Earth.

841
01:00:02,180 --> 01:00:05,340
I'm in Cambodia, home to
one of the fastest-growing

842
01:00:05,340 --> 01:00:07,380
economies on the planet.

843
01:00:07,380 --> 01:00:10,260
Uncovering the hidden cost
of economic development.

844
01:00:13,900 --> 01:00:16,540
I'm here in the Maldives in
the Indian Ocean,

845
01:00:16,540 --> 01:00:19,140
which is a place in immediate
and present danger

846
01:00:19,140 --> 01:00:21,180
from the effects of climate change.

847
01:00:23,020 --> 01:00:27,300
Together, we hope
to better understand the future

848
01:00:27,300 --> 01:00:29,460
for Our Changing Planet.

849
01:00:50,060 --> 01:00:53,900
Step away from the cities
of North America's west coast

850
01:00:53,900 --> 01:00:58,180
and you soon discover
the rugged side of California.

851
01:01:02,460 --> 01:01:06,540
Nowhere more stunning than its
wild Pacific coastline,

852
01:01:06,540 --> 01:01:11,780
stretching over 3,000 miles
and abundant with marine life.

853
01:01:14,100 --> 01:01:17,660
From sea otters to humpbacks,

854
01:01:17,660 --> 01:01:22,100
it's home to some of the most
important wildlife on the planet.

855
01:01:28,060 --> 01:01:31,300
This is the Pacific coast
of California,

856
01:01:31,300 --> 01:01:33,740
home to a complex marine ecosystem,

857
01:01:33,740 --> 01:01:36,540
playing a crucial role in keeping
our planet healthy.

858
01:01:40,540 --> 01:01:45,620
The nutrient-rich waters here are
among the most productive on Earth,

859
01:01:45,620 --> 01:01:48,740
supporting over 1,000
different species.

860
01:01:50,180 --> 01:01:54,580
But this habitat
is changing - and fast.

861
01:01:54,580 --> 01:01:57,500
California's seas are warming.

862
01:01:57,500 --> 01:02:01,900
In 2018, the state recorded its
highest sea surface temperature

863
01:02:01,900 --> 01:02:03,420
since records began.

864
01:02:04,580 --> 01:02:09,460
And these warmer waters have seen
the arrival of new visitors

865
01:02:09,460 --> 01:02:11,260
in unprecedented numbers.

866
01:02:19,540 --> 01:02:23,700
The great white shark has got to be
one of the most fascinating

867
01:02:23,700 --> 01:02:26,500
and awe-inspiring predators
on the planet.

868
01:02:29,900 --> 01:02:34,460
And now, here in California, there
are more of them than ever before.

869
01:02:34,460 --> 01:02:37,100
So the challenge for scientists is
to find out what effect

870
01:02:37,100 --> 01:02:38,580
this might have on ecosystems,

871
01:02:38,580 --> 01:02:41,340
as well as any potential
encounters with humans.

872
01:02:43,060 --> 01:02:45,940
Most of the new arrivals
are juveniles,

873
01:02:45,940 --> 01:02:48,660
that historically prefer
the warmer climes

874
01:02:48,660 --> 01:02:51,260
of southern California and Mexico.

875
01:02:51,260 --> 01:02:55,980
But scientists suspect ocean warming
is opening up new habitats

876
01:02:55,980 --> 01:02:57,820
further north.

877
01:02:57,820 --> 01:03:02,300
The juvenile sharks have already
moved nearly 400 miles up this coast

878
01:03:02,300 --> 01:03:04,740
in the last decade.

879
01:03:04,740 --> 01:03:07,780
Over the next seven years,
this could increase,

880
01:03:07,780 --> 01:03:12,020
bringing them into more
and more new environments.

881
01:03:12,020 --> 01:03:14,260
So for scientists like Chris Lowe,

882
01:03:14,260 --> 01:03:17,220
studying this keystone
species is vital.

883
01:03:19,380 --> 01:03:22,180
This is basically a nursery.

884
01:03:22,180 --> 01:03:24,780
What's changed is numbers.

885
01:03:24,780 --> 01:03:27,220
We are seeing far more sharks.

886
01:03:27,220 --> 01:03:30,380
So the question is - why?

887
01:03:31,500 --> 01:03:33,340
We're just looking at California,

888
01:03:33,340 --> 01:03:36,380
but I have colleagues in Mexico who
are studying shark nurseries there,

889
01:03:36,380 --> 01:03:38,220
and they're seeing changes as well.

890
01:03:38,220 --> 01:03:41,060
So what we're starting
to see right now,

891
01:03:41,060 --> 01:03:45,140
we can't tell - is that just the
effects of a population increase?

892
01:03:45,140 --> 01:03:47,780
Or is that climate change?
Or is that both?

893
01:03:52,340 --> 01:03:56,620
I filmed with Chris seven years ago
when juvenile white sharks

894
01:03:56,620 --> 01:03:59,140
first started showing up
in northern California.

895
01:04:01,060 --> 01:04:05,420
It soon becomes clear just how
many are now coming to these shores.

896
01:04:06,660 --> 01:04:07,700
SHE GASPS

897
01:04:07,700 --> 01:04:09,900
Oh, my God, it's right there!

898
01:04:09,900 --> 01:04:11,500
Oh, that was amazing.

899
01:04:11,500 --> 01:04:13,180
I properly saw it.

900
01:04:13,180 --> 01:04:15,620
That wasn't just a shadow,
that was, like, a shark.

901
01:04:19,620 --> 01:04:24,100
Is it unusual to find a seven-
to eight-footer this close to shore?

902
01:04:24,100 --> 01:04:25,580
Absolutely not.

903
01:04:25,580 --> 01:04:28,300
And they're still juveniles until
they're what length?

904
01:04:28,300 --> 01:04:32,860
Until probably ten feet for males,
12 to 14 feet for females?

905
01:04:36,180 --> 01:04:40,780
Rising water temperatures are seeing
white shark nurseries appearing

906
01:04:40,780 --> 01:04:42,740
as far north as Monterey Bay.

907
01:04:43,860 --> 01:04:45,700
And in the next decade,

908
01:04:45,700 --> 01:04:49,740
Chris predicts juvenile sharks
could be found as far as Alaska.

909
01:04:50,940 --> 01:04:52,580
Here in Santa Barbara,

910
01:04:52,580 --> 01:04:56,020
you might have found one or two
sharks ten years ago.

911
01:04:56,020 --> 01:04:59,620
Now there are nearly 30
in this bay alone.

912
01:05:00,980 --> 01:05:04,340
The fact they're tolerating each
other in such close quarters

913
01:05:04,340 --> 01:05:07,620
suggests a bountiful food supply.

914
01:05:07,620 --> 01:05:12,260
With each shark consuming up
to 18 kilos of prey at a time,

915
01:05:12,260 --> 01:05:14,740
the big unknown is the impact
they're having

916
01:05:14,740 --> 01:05:16,140
on the local wildlife.

917
01:05:18,780 --> 01:05:21,460
There's an ecosystem here that's
established itself.

918
01:05:21,460 --> 01:05:24,860
And now sharks are coming in
and they're staying longer.

919
01:05:24,860 --> 01:05:28,660
What does that mean for all the
other creatures in this ecosystem?

920
01:05:28,660 --> 01:05:30,940
They're going to have impacts on
prey populations,

921
01:05:30,940 --> 01:05:32,580
they're going to eat things down.

922
01:05:32,580 --> 01:05:35,340
Now maybe the worms come back
in huge numbers

923
01:05:35,340 --> 01:05:39,100
because there are no stingrays
to eat the worms or the clams.

924
01:05:39,100 --> 01:05:42,660
So we don't know what the cascading
effects of that will be.

925
01:05:44,580 --> 01:05:46,860
If Chris can work out the impact

926
01:05:46,860 --> 01:05:49,860
the sharks are having on
this ecosystem,

927
01:05:49,860 --> 01:05:53,220
he and his fellow conservationists
will gain crucial knowledge

928
01:05:53,220 --> 01:05:56,980
that could help to keep the
ecosystem more balanced.

929
01:05:56,980 --> 01:06:01,420
Using a combinations of drones,
underwater cameras,

930
01:06:01,420 --> 01:06:04,460
satellite tags and remote sensors,

931
01:06:04,460 --> 01:06:08,660
Chris is gathering information on
individual sharks to build a picture

932
01:06:08,660 --> 01:06:12,220
of their movements and what they're
eating, when and where.

933
01:06:13,820 --> 01:06:17,500
So we use acoustic transmitters
to help us track individuals

934
01:06:17,500 --> 01:06:18,900
and figure out where they go,

935
01:06:18,900 --> 01:06:21,820
and they give us the temperature
and the depth of the water that

936
01:06:21,820 --> 01:06:23,780
the shark is moving through.

937
01:06:23,780 --> 01:06:25,820
So it has a unique ID code.

938
01:06:25,820 --> 01:06:28,060
And what's picking up
the signal from this?

939
01:06:28,060 --> 01:06:30,700
Our acoustic receivers that
are on the seafloor

940
01:06:30,700 --> 01:06:32,940
that are always listening.

941
01:06:32,940 --> 01:06:36,780
Now we just need to find
an unidentified shark to tag.

942
01:06:39,740 --> 01:06:42,260
All right, guys,
go in nice and easy.

943
01:06:42,260 --> 01:06:43,660
It's right behind you, guys.

944
01:06:45,940 --> 01:06:48,140
As soon as they know you're on them,

945
01:06:48,140 --> 01:06:51,340
they'll kind of speed off and the
first place you look is behind you.

946
01:06:51,340 --> 01:06:53,620
OK. Double back. OK. Yeah.

947
01:06:56,620 --> 01:06:59,100
It looks about a seven-foot shark.

948
01:06:59,100 --> 01:07:00,660
He's dropping down on it now.

949
01:07:04,460 --> 01:07:05,900
Oh, my God, there it is.

950
01:07:05,900 --> 01:07:08,060
Yeah, yeah, there it is.

951
01:07:08,060 --> 01:07:09,460
LAUGHING: There it is!

952
01:07:15,140 --> 01:07:17,980
Keep coming up.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

953
01:07:17,980 --> 01:07:19,820
Slow down, slow down, slow down.

954
01:07:22,660 --> 01:07:23,940
Got it.

955
01:07:29,180 --> 01:07:32,460
The transmitters that we put in
their body cavities last ten years.

956
01:07:32,460 --> 01:07:35,380
Ten years. I mean, the amount of
data you're going to get

957
01:07:35,380 --> 01:07:39,260
about their movement and their
environment is just fantastic.

958
01:07:39,260 --> 01:07:42,060
So catching them gives us
so much more information.

959
01:07:42,060 --> 01:07:43,260
So it's worth the effort?

960
01:07:43,260 --> 01:07:44,580
It is.

961
01:07:48,300 --> 01:07:52,260
Scientists and residents along this
coastline are concerned

962
01:07:52,260 --> 01:07:55,620
about how the sharks might affect
this environment - for good reason.

963
01:07:59,460 --> 01:08:01,700
Unexpectedly, in 2014,

964
01:08:01,700 --> 01:08:05,380
a vital predatory sea star that had
lived in these waters

965
01:08:05,380 --> 01:08:09,340
for centuries suddenly
and without warning began to die.

966
01:08:11,020 --> 01:08:13,860
The repercussions were catastrophic,

967
01:08:13,860 --> 01:08:15,980
as sea stars consume vast quantities

968
01:08:15,980 --> 01:08:18,100
of kelp-eating sea urchins.

969
01:08:19,540 --> 01:08:21,900
Without sea stars to control them,

970
01:08:21,900 --> 01:08:24,660
sea urchin numbers increased 60-fold

971
01:08:24,660 --> 01:08:27,660
and in the past seven years have
eaten their way

972
01:08:27,660 --> 01:08:32,220
through more than 95% of
California's precious kelp forest.

973
01:08:34,180 --> 01:08:38,100
Local fishermen and conservationists
are responding to the problem,

974
01:08:38,100 --> 01:08:42,100
removing as many of
the urchins as they can by hand.

975
01:08:42,100 --> 01:08:45,820
But in the next seven years,
the battle to keep the population

976
01:08:45,820 --> 01:08:49,220
in check will become even harder
if they can't find a way

977
01:08:49,220 --> 01:08:54,180
to re-introduce a key species to
rebalance this delicate ecosystem.

978
01:08:55,700 --> 01:08:58,380
What happened to
the kelp here shows how removing

979
01:08:58,380 --> 01:09:02,860
a predator can cause an ecosystem
to collapse within just a few years.

980
01:09:04,660 --> 01:09:07,700
But what happens when you add
a top predator?

981
01:09:09,340 --> 01:09:11,780
We'll soon find out.

982
01:09:11,780 --> 01:09:15,620
And this time, it's not just the
wildlife that could be affected.

983
01:09:18,420 --> 01:09:21,420
Is there anything in their movements
and their behaviours

984
01:09:21,420 --> 01:09:24,020
that you've seen in the six years
since I last met you

985
01:09:24,020 --> 01:09:25,340
that concerns you?

986
01:09:25,340 --> 01:09:27,980
How they interact with people
and, more importantly,

987
01:09:27,980 --> 01:09:29,620
how people interact with them.

988
01:09:32,140 --> 01:09:34,060
This stretch of coast is home

989
01:09:34,060 --> 01:09:37,180
to some of the busiest
beaches on the planet.

990
01:09:37,180 --> 01:09:40,380
But most people are unaware
they're sharing the water

991
01:09:40,380 --> 01:09:42,860
with hundreds of young great whites.

992
01:09:44,660 --> 01:09:48,780
So far Chris's research shows they
have no interest in humans.

993
01:09:48,780 --> 01:09:52,500
But he's started to notice some
rarely seen behaviours.

994
01:09:52,500 --> 01:09:55,220
One of which,
we had front-row seats for.

995
01:09:56,540 --> 01:09:58,660
THEY GASP

996
01:09:58,660 --> 01:10:00,540
Oh, my God!

997
01:10:00,540 --> 01:10:03,700
It just breached. Holy crap.
Beautiful!

998
01:10:03,700 --> 01:10:05,180
Did you see that?

999
01:10:05,180 --> 01:10:08,260
It just jumped right out
of the water. Oh, my God!

1000
01:10:08,260 --> 01:10:10,660
We just saw a great white
shark breach.

1001
01:10:10,660 --> 01:10:12,820
That was so cool.

1002
01:10:14,300 --> 01:10:16,780
That's the closest we've
ever had one breach next to us.

1003
01:10:16,780 --> 01:10:18,260
You're welcome.

1004
01:10:18,260 --> 01:10:20,100
Shark whisperer.
Mm, that was awesome.

1005
01:10:20,100 --> 01:10:21,540
That was incredible.

1006
01:10:25,580 --> 01:10:27,900
How rare is what we just
saw, Chris?

1007
01:10:27,900 --> 01:10:29,180
HE CHUCKLES

1008
01:10:29,180 --> 01:10:31,380
You know what it's like to
win the lottery?

1009
01:10:31,380 --> 01:10:34,100
You just won the lottery.
That behaviour is amazing.

1010
01:10:34,100 --> 01:10:37,740
Adults may breach when they're
chasing food that breaks the water,

1011
01:10:37,740 --> 01:10:39,940
and that's part
of their ambush behaviour.

1012
01:10:39,940 --> 01:10:43,100
But these young ones,
they're eating things on the bottom.

1013
01:10:43,100 --> 01:10:45,020
So why do that?

1014
01:10:45,020 --> 01:10:47,460
It could be, you know,
the parasites that are on them

1015
01:10:47,460 --> 01:10:50,140
create these itches and launching
themselves out of the water

1016
01:10:50,140 --> 01:10:52,740
and slamming on their backs might
dislodge some of those.

1017
01:10:52,740 --> 01:10:54,580
The other thing is,
maybe they're playing.

1018
01:10:54,580 --> 01:10:56,420
That's how animals learn, right?

1019
01:10:57,820 --> 01:10:59,660
If they are playing,

1020
01:10:59,660 --> 01:11:02,220
this breaching behaviour could get
them into trouble in

1021
01:11:02,220 --> 01:11:03,900
the coming years.

1022
01:11:03,900 --> 01:11:05,740
Over the course of the series,

1023
01:11:05,740 --> 01:11:10,380
some of the juveniles Chris has
tagged will become adolescents.

1024
01:11:10,380 --> 01:11:12,380
As they approach adulthood,

1025
01:11:12,380 --> 01:11:15,740
great whites transition from hunting
fish on the seabed

1026
01:11:15,740 --> 01:11:18,860
to hunting marine mammals at
the surface.

1027
01:11:18,860 --> 01:11:23,420
Mastering the ambush attack from
below takes years of practice

1028
01:11:23,420 --> 01:11:26,860
and it's usually during this
experimental stage

1029
01:11:26,860 --> 01:11:29,060
that sharks mistakenly bite humans.

1030
01:11:34,260 --> 01:11:37,340
If we can teach people more about
what we're learning

1031
01:11:37,340 --> 01:11:39,860
about these sharks,
they won't fear them the same way

1032
01:11:39,860 --> 01:11:42,060
and when an accident does occur,
and they will,

1033
01:11:42,060 --> 01:11:44,540
the public won't go, "Oh, my God,

1034
01:11:44,540 --> 01:11:47,740
"there's too many sharks,
we've got to get rid of them."

1035
01:11:47,740 --> 01:11:49,820
Understanding the behaviours

1036
01:11:49,820 --> 01:11:53,260
of these young sharks has never
been more important -

1037
01:11:53,260 --> 01:11:58,460
for their future and the future of
this entire ecosystem.

1038
01:11:58,460 --> 01:12:00,900
The oceans are warming
because of climate change

1039
01:12:00,900 --> 01:12:04,820
and this place is changing at
a pace that is unprecedented.

1040
01:12:04,820 --> 01:12:08,300
And, so, there will be major
ecological shifts going on here

1041
01:12:08,300 --> 01:12:10,500
that will affect
the entire food web,

1042
01:12:10,500 --> 01:12:12,980
and that includes the great whites.

1043
01:12:12,980 --> 01:12:16,220
So the work that Chris and his team
are carrying out here

1044
01:12:16,220 --> 01:12:19,580
over the next few years is going
to be absolutely crucial.

1045
01:12:21,380 --> 01:12:23,740
Over the next seven years,
we'll be checking in

1046
01:12:23,740 --> 01:12:27,140
with Chris as he explores
the impacts the great whites are

1047
01:12:27,140 --> 01:12:29,100
having on coastal wildlife,

1048
01:12:29,100 --> 01:12:32,580
working to find solutions
to the challenges they present.

1049
01:12:45,140 --> 01:12:48,300
In the heart of East Africa
lies Kenya.

1050
01:12:49,940 --> 01:12:52,540
It's a place I love
and have returned to

1051
01:12:52,540 --> 01:12:53,780
time and time again.

1052
01:12:58,860 --> 01:13:01,500
Dramatic wildlife
spectacles play out across

1053
01:13:01,500 --> 01:13:03,740
its endless grassland plains...

1054
01:13:08,340 --> 01:13:10,220
..and over its great lakes.

1055
01:13:12,740 --> 01:13:16,980
And, of course, it is home to huge
herds of one of Africa's most loved

1056
01:13:16,980 --> 01:13:21,780
and iconic species - elephants.

1057
01:13:21,780 --> 01:13:24,020
LOW BRAYING

1058
01:13:26,500 --> 01:13:28,060
But things are changing,

1059
01:13:28,060 --> 01:13:31,340
as Kenya endures one of the
worst droughts on record.

1060
01:13:33,580 --> 01:13:37,820
Every decade, the average
temperature has been rising,

1061
01:13:37,820 --> 01:13:40,220
and rainfall more unreliable,

1062
01:13:40,220 --> 01:13:43,380
putting everything in this
landscape under pressure.

1063
01:13:44,980 --> 01:13:46,660
If the rains don't arrive

1064
01:13:46,660 --> 01:13:49,300
at the end of the
dry season in October,

1065
01:13:49,300 --> 01:13:53,100
every day becomes
a matter of life and death.

1066
01:13:58,500 --> 01:14:02,300
This is Kenya in December 2021.

1067
01:14:02,300 --> 01:14:04,660
Now, it's supposed to be
the wet season,

1068
01:14:04,660 --> 01:14:06,500
but it's as dry as a bone.

1069
01:14:06,500 --> 01:14:09,580
The rains still haven't
arrived yet.

1070
01:14:09,580 --> 01:14:12,380
And they are now over two
months late.

1071
01:14:19,100 --> 01:14:20,820
I am in Tsavo,

1072
01:14:20,820 --> 01:14:25,020
home to the single largest
population of elephants in Kenya.

1073
01:14:25,020 --> 01:14:29,500
40% of Kenya's entire
elephant population live here.

1074
01:14:34,860 --> 01:14:36,820
African elephants have roamed

1075
01:14:36,820 --> 01:14:38,700
and shaped this landscape

1076
01:14:38,700 --> 01:14:42,060
for over one
and a half million years.

1077
01:14:42,060 --> 01:14:45,740
Without them, this ecosystem
wouldn't exist as it is.

1078
01:14:47,260 --> 01:14:52,460
But some experts fear they could be
gone in less than 30.

1079
01:14:52,460 --> 01:14:57,420
In 2018, I was tracking elephants
on the front line of poaching.

1080
01:14:57,420 --> 01:15:01,580
All over Africa, poaching has
been a constant threat,

1081
01:15:01,580 --> 01:15:05,020
but in the last decade, local
anti-poaching organisations

1082
01:15:05,020 --> 01:15:07,380
here in Tsavo have been successful

1083
01:15:07,380 --> 01:15:10,140
in bringing elephant
deaths down by 70%.

1084
01:15:11,500 --> 01:15:14,340
Unfortunately, there's an even
bigger threat

1085
01:15:14,340 --> 01:15:16,500
facing our largest land animal.

1086
01:15:16,500 --> 01:15:19,260
And sometimes it can feel like
it's impossible

1087
01:15:19,260 --> 01:15:22,700
to control - because it's invisible.

1088
01:15:22,700 --> 01:15:27,420
The land here, as far as
I can see, tells us so much about

1089
01:15:27,420 --> 01:15:29,380
the cruel reality of climate change.

1090
01:15:30,980 --> 01:15:34,060
It actually looks
a lot worse than I expected.

1091
01:15:40,340 --> 01:15:43,580
Over the next seven years,
unpredictable rains,

1092
01:15:43,580 --> 01:15:45,620
extended dry seasons

1093
01:15:45,620 --> 01:15:49,100
and severe droughts will likely
become the norm in Kenya.

1094
01:15:50,700 --> 01:15:54,140
Parts of the country may
become uninhabitable

1095
01:15:54,140 --> 01:15:56,340
to both people and wildlife.

1096
01:15:57,780 --> 01:16:01,500
So what does this mean
for our largest land animal

1097
01:16:01,500 --> 01:16:04,140
as its home dries out?

1098
01:16:04,140 --> 01:16:09,100
Adult elephants
need to drink 225 litres of water

1099
01:16:09,100 --> 01:16:14,300
and find up to 300kg
of food every day.

1100
01:16:14,300 --> 01:16:18,220
For mothers nursing young,
the need is even greater.

1101
01:16:21,340 --> 01:16:24,020
Now the elephants stick close
to their watering points,

1102
01:16:24,020 --> 01:16:26,940
where they eat all
the available greenery,

1103
01:16:26,940 --> 01:16:30,140
but once that's gone,
they're in trouble.

1104
01:16:30,140 --> 01:16:33,740
The mothers then have
a tough decision to make.

1105
01:16:33,740 --> 01:16:35,820
Do they stay with the water?

1106
01:16:35,820 --> 01:16:39,060
Or do they travel distances
of over 30 miles a day

1107
01:16:39,060 --> 01:16:40,420
searching for food?

1108
01:16:45,180 --> 01:16:47,580
I met up with Ilkiro Letaloi,

1109
01:16:47,580 --> 01:16:50,460
a highly knowledgeable guide
who's been monitoring

1110
01:16:50,460 --> 01:16:55,060
and protecting elephants in
Kenya for over 20 years.

1111
01:16:55,060 --> 01:16:58,580
He's witnessed first-hand
how tough it is for the mothers

1112
01:16:58,580 --> 01:17:01,860
and their babies when the rains
don't arrive on time.

1113
01:17:03,580 --> 01:17:06,140
How different is the landscape
once it's rained?

1114
01:17:06,140 --> 01:17:08,180
Does it change dramatically?

1115
01:17:08,180 --> 01:17:10,740
Very dramatically.
You can see this vegetation.

1116
01:17:10,740 --> 01:17:13,860
Most of the trees are
like dead trees.

1117
01:17:13,860 --> 01:17:16,460
But we had a shower,
just a little shower.

1118
01:17:16,460 --> 01:17:19,820
And you can see it germinate
very quickly.

1119
01:17:29,300 --> 01:17:31,060
So, this is a family?

1120
01:17:31,060 --> 01:17:32,660
It is a family unit.

1121
01:17:32,660 --> 01:17:34,500
ELEPHANTS TRUMPET

1122
01:17:34,500 --> 01:17:37,140
Have things become tougher
for these elephants?

1123
01:17:37,140 --> 01:17:39,620
It has been tough during
this dry season.

1124
01:17:39,620 --> 01:17:42,380
You can see their bones.

1125
01:17:42,380 --> 01:17:44,260
It's just because of the drought.

1126
01:17:44,260 --> 01:17:45,980
So they're malnourished?

1127
01:17:45,980 --> 01:17:48,300
Yeah. They don't get much food.

1128
01:17:49,780 --> 01:17:51,580
ELEPHANTS TRUMPET

1129
01:17:51,580 --> 01:17:55,420
Now that we don't get rain,
it will be very, very bad.

1130
01:17:55,420 --> 01:17:57,860
We will lose a lot of elephants.

1131
01:17:57,860 --> 01:18:01,340
For the babies, it will be very
tough because they become

1132
01:18:01,340 --> 01:18:04,940
weaker and weaker and they will not
be very strong to keep up

1133
01:18:04,940 --> 01:18:07,780
with the family units when they're
moving long distances

1134
01:18:07,780 --> 01:18:09,220
to look for forage. Mm.

1135
01:18:10,860 --> 01:18:14,300
This season, we rescued a lot
of young elephants.

1136
01:18:25,100 --> 01:18:28,020
Letaloi is part of
a network of experts,

1137
01:18:28,020 --> 01:18:33,940
carers and guides who work for
the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust -

1138
01:18:33,940 --> 01:18:36,060
the longest-running elephant rescue

1139
01:18:36,060 --> 01:18:39,100
and rehabilitation programme
in the world.

1140
01:18:41,420 --> 01:18:46,340
In 2021, they rescued 13 baby
elephants from Tsavo

1141
01:18:46,340 --> 01:18:48,180
because of the drought.

1142
01:18:50,700 --> 01:18:54,300
One of them was Taabu,
who was found all alone,

1143
01:18:54,300 --> 01:18:56,500
picking at scorched grass.

1144
01:19:00,020 --> 01:19:02,980
He was flown 180 miles north-west to

1145
01:19:02,980 --> 01:19:06,380
the Sheldricks'
elephant nursery in Nairobi,

1146
01:19:06,380 --> 01:19:10,780
where he's now receiving 24-hour
care from human parents.

1147
01:19:13,820 --> 01:19:17,740
Keeper Julius has devoted
the last 15 years of his life

1148
01:19:17,740 --> 01:19:21,460
to the baby elephants,
even sleeping in their stables

1149
01:19:21,460 --> 01:19:24,340
to provide comfort and reassurance.

1150
01:19:26,220 --> 01:19:29,060
Oh, wow. Wow.

1151
01:19:30,700 --> 01:19:34,580
He's called Taabu. Taabu? Yes.

1152
01:19:34,580 --> 01:19:38,020
A drought victim rescued from
Tsavo recently.

1153
01:19:39,340 --> 01:19:40,620
Drought victim? Yep.

1154
01:19:40,620 --> 01:19:41,900
How old is he?

1155
01:19:41,900 --> 01:19:44,940
Slightly above a year old.
A year old.

1156
01:19:44,940 --> 01:19:46,220
Wow.

1157
01:19:46,220 --> 01:19:49,220
Let me see if I can... Taabu.
Is it OK to come closer?

1158
01:19:49,220 --> 01:19:50,700
Just come closer. Yeah?

1159
01:19:50,700 --> 01:19:53,460
Taabu. Taabu.

1160
01:19:53,460 --> 01:19:56,500
They have been orphaned through
different reasons.

1161
01:19:56,500 --> 01:20:00,940
One of it is natural
reasons such as, like, drought.

1162
01:20:00,940 --> 01:20:05,620
Some of them are here because of
human-related reasons. Mm.

1163
01:20:05,620 --> 01:20:08,380
Poaching, human-wildlife conflict.

1164
01:20:10,100 --> 01:20:11,940
Come and say good morning.

1165
01:20:11,940 --> 01:20:14,380
Say hi to him, Taabu.

1166
01:20:14,380 --> 01:20:16,980
I know, I'd be nervous as well.

1167
01:20:16,980 --> 01:20:18,180
We'll come out.

1168
01:20:18,180 --> 01:20:19,460
Let's roll down.

1169
01:20:19,460 --> 01:20:21,500
Give him some space in the morning.
Here.

1170
01:20:27,740 --> 01:20:29,740
Hey, you.

1171
01:20:29,740 --> 01:20:31,620
They're off! Yep.

1172
01:20:31,620 --> 01:20:33,900
ELEPHANTS RUMBLE

1173
01:20:33,900 --> 01:20:37,100
So all of these elephants are
carrying some sort of trauma?

1174
01:20:37,100 --> 01:20:40,180
That is right.
Some are very, very stressed.

1175
01:20:40,180 --> 01:20:42,820
Some don't make it -
just because of the stress.

1176
01:20:46,500 --> 01:20:49,420
The drought victims that are
lucky enough to make it here

1177
01:20:49,420 --> 01:20:52,380
are often extremely emaciated.

1178
01:20:52,380 --> 01:20:55,900
Their care and feeding schedule
must be carefully managed

1179
01:20:55,900 --> 01:20:58,460
to get them back to full health.

1180
01:20:58,460 --> 01:21:01,300
And they almost always become
the greediest

1181
01:21:01,300 --> 01:21:04,300
and naughtiest orphans at
the nursery.

1182
01:21:04,300 --> 01:21:05,860
There we go, there's another one.

1183
01:21:05,860 --> 01:21:07,620
Come on. Come on, baby.

1184
01:21:07,620 --> 01:21:09,260
This one's really small.

1185
01:21:12,020 --> 01:21:13,300
ELEPHANT GRUNTS

1186
01:21:13,300 --> 01:21:15,700
Playful and cheeky at the
same time. Oh, my days!

1187
01:21:15,700 --> 01:21:17,940
Look at that behind me!
No, those two are fine.

1188
01:21:17,940 --> 01:21:19,940
They're just saying hello.
Hello. Yeah.

1189
01:21:19,940 --> 01:21:21,620
Hey, you. Come on, come on.

1190
01:21:21,620 --> 01:21:24,340
No, that's my chair. Yes. Ha-ha!

1191
01:21:24,340 --> 01:21:26,380
Checking me out properly.

1192
01:21:26,380 --> 01:21:27,900
She likes you.

1193
01:21:27,900 --> 01:21:31,020
Hello. I'm getting
a morning kiss from an elephant.

1194
01:21:33,220 --> 01:21:37,620
Sometimes, when they are very
excited, you hear them trembling.

1195
01:21:37,620 --> 01:21:40,140
Whoa-ho, ho! I want you to behave.

1196
01:21:40,140 --> 01:21:43,860
This is the little cheeky
and playful at the same time.

1197
01:21:43,860 --> 01:21:45,540
His name is Bondeni.

1198
01:21:45,540 --> 01:21:47,780
He just gave me
a little barge from behind.

1199
01:21:54,140 --> 01:21:56,740
Making sure the babies get
the right nutrition

1200
01:21:56,740 --> 01:21:59,180
is a round-the-clock job
for their keepers.

1201
01:22:01,860 --> 01:22:06,100
They feed every three hours
and each drink 20 litres a day

1202
01:22:06,100 --> 01:22:10,020
of a specially developed formula
to emulate their mother's milk.

1203
01:22:11,460 --> 01:22:14,220
Elephants are very intelligent

1204
01:22:14,220 --> 01:22:18,700
and develop strong family bonds,
which are particularly tight between

1205
01:22:18,700 --> 01:22:23,420
mothers and young, so it's not just
practical care these orphans need.

1206
01:22:24,580 --> 01:22:29,300
The dedicated team also provide
a secure and loving environment

1207
01:22:29,300 --> 01:22:32,500
to support the infants through
the loss of their mothers

1208
01:22:32,500 --> 01:22:34,300
and the trauma they've suffered.

1209
01:22:36,100 --> 01:22:39,540
Taabu and his new family spend
their days in the forest

1210
01:22:39,540 --> 01:22:43,260
with their keepers, who guide them
as they play and explore.

1211
01:22:43,260 --> 01:22:45,100
TRUMPETING

1212
01:22:45,100 --> 01:22:49,900
Their presence in the ecosystem is
vital as they are what's known

1213
01:22:49,900 --> 01:22:51,540
as a keystone species.

1214
01:22:53,020 --> 01:22:57,260
As adults, these elephants will
help plants spread their seeds

1215
01:22:57,260 --> 01:23:00,300
over long distances
through their dung.

1216
01:23:01,540 --> 01:23:04,820
They will also create
new habitats for other species

1217
01:23:04,820 --> 01:23:07,540
by shaping the
environment around them.

1218
01:23:12,020 --> 01:23:15,740
Elephant plays a very big role
in the wilderness.

1219
01:23:17,860 --> 01:23:20,820
They feed on the seeds
and they will transplant them

1220
01:23:20,820 --> 01:23:22,060
to a different place.

1221
01:23:22,060 --> 01:23:24,100
You know, even if there's water,

1222
01:23:24,100 --> 01:23:26,740
like a couple of depth down in
the ground,

1223
01:23:26,740 --> 01:23:29,780
they will be able
to dig this water out.

1224
01:23:29,780 --> 01:23:33,860
So other animals will be browsing or
grazing beside the elephants.

1225
01:23:33,860 --> 01:23:37,300
So you're saying without them...
Many animals...

1226
01:23:37,300 --> 01:23:39,500
..this would fall apart? Yeah.

1227
01:23:40,820 --> 01:23:43,140
They belong in this home.

1228
01:23:43,140 --> 01:23:45,780
This is a home for all
of us - wild animals,

1229
01:23:45,780 --> 01:23:49,060
we human beings, we all belong here.

1230
01:23:49,060 --> 01:23:50,500
They have a right.

1231
01:23:50,500 --> 01:23:52,380
They have a right, as we do.

1232
01:23:52,380 --> 01:23:54,140
SOFT WHISTLES IN SUCCESSION

1233
01:24:09,900 --> 01:24:14,660
Across Kenya, over 21 million people
making a living as farmers

1234
01:24:14,660 --> 01:24:20,100
are also struggling for survival as
they endure the ongoing drought.

1235
01:24:21,180 --> 01:24:25,620
The lack of rains means failing
crops and little access to water.

1236
01:24:29,740 --> 01:24:33,860
Communities living in these arid
regions are quite literally

1237
01:24:33,860 --> 01:24:37,700
surviving on a knife edge because
they're having to deal with

1238
01:24:37,700 --> 01:24:40,620
more and more unpredictable
weather conditions.

1239
01:24:40,620 --> 01:24:43,500
They are living and dealing
with the effects

1240
01:24:43,500 --> 01:24:45,460
of climate change every day.

1241
01:24:48,940 --> 01:24:50,500
Not far from here,

1242
01:24:50,500 --> 01:24:53,260
there's an ingeniously
simple solution.

1243
01:24:53,260 --> 01:24:56,340
It's a community-led model
which stores water

1244
01:24:56,340 --> 01:25:00,980
in this seemingly barren landscape
all throughout the dry season,

1245
01:25:00,980 --> 01:25:04,860
turning this parched soil into
a life-giving oasis.

1246
01:25:09,740 --> 01:25:13,820
It could prove to be life-saving,
not only for people,

1247
01:25:13,820 --> 01:25:16,180
but for Kenya's struggling
wildlife, too.

1248
01:25:19,500 --> 01:25:22,740
It works on the principle
of building a dam

1249
01:25:22,740 --> 01:25:26,540
across dried-up river beds and then
waiting for the rains to arrive.

1250
01:25:27,860 --> 01:25:31,900
Every year, the levels
of water are going down.

1251
01:25:31,900 --> 01:25:35,380
The rivers, which were flowing,
are reducing

1252
01:25:35,380 --> 01:25:37,900
and that means there is a
challenge of water

1253
01:25:37,900 --> 01:25:39,780
within those areas.

1254
01:25:39,780 --> 01:25:42,380
And the best solution
we are able to see

1255
01:25:42,380 --> 01:25:44,860
within that area is the sand dams.

1256
01:25:51,340 --> 01:25:54,420
The idea of sand dams is not new.

1257
01:25:54,420 --> 01:25:58,980
There is evidence
of their use during Roman times.

1258
01:25:58,980 --> 01:26:01,940
Worsening drought conditions
have driven communities

1259
01:26:01,940 --> 01:26:05,580
to revive this forgotten
water harvesting technique.

1260
01:26:09,220 --> 01:26:12,500
A sand dam is a concrete wall
built across

1261
01:26:12,500 --> 01:26:16,660
a seasonal river during the dry
season when no water is flowing.

1262
01:26:18,340 --> 01:26:21,580
In the rainy season, silt and sand
get washed into the river

1263
01:26:21,580 --> 01:26:24,300
and build up behind the wall.

1264
01:26:24,300 --> 01:26:26,860
The sand and silt act
a bit like a sponge,

1265
01:26:26,860 --> 01:26:28,860
soaking up and storing water

1266
01:26:28,860 --> 01:26:32,140
that would otherwise evaporate
behind any normal dam.

1267
01:26:33,780 --> 01:26:35,620
Once the sand is saturated,

1268
01:26:35,620 --> 01:26:39,540
the river continues to flow over
the dam and downstream.

1269
01:26:39,540 --> 01:26:43,340
Communities can then pump out
the naturally filtered water

1270
01:26:43,340 --> 01:26:47,020
during the dry season when the
river has dried up again.

1271
01:26:47,020 --> 01:26:49,540
The community will provide the sand,

1272
01:26:49,540 --> 01:26:53,700
the rocks and labour for
the construction of the dam.

1273
01:26:55,940 --> 01:26:57,900
After just two years,

1274
01:26:57,900 --> 01:27:01,460
a sand dam has the potential
to bring fresh water

1275
01:27:01,460 --> 01:27:07,420
to up to 2,500 homes, as well as
irrigation for growing crops.

1276
01:27:08,980 --> 01:27:12,340
Eventually, it can transform
the surrounding area

1277
01:27:12,340 --> 01:27:16,660
into a lush oasis,
a miracle for the local people.

1278
01:27:18,340 --> 01:27:23,180
So in 2011, we came here to see
the site where the community wanted

1279
01:27:23,180 --> 01:27:27,340
to do a dam and this place
was totally dry.

1280
01:27:29,220 --> 01:27:32,300
Nine years later,
water is flowing in the dam.

1281
01:27:35,380 --> 01:27:38,620
It's the end of
the dry period in Kenya,

1282
01:27:38,620 --> 01:27:43,220
which we have gone for more than
nine months without rains here.

1283
01:27:43,220 --> 01:27:46,780
But this river has enough water
and is still flowing.

1284
01:27:49,020 --> 01:27:52,820
This innovative solution is
also destined to bring

1285
01:27:52,820 --> 01:27:57,580
life-saving water to the wildlife of
the Tsavo Conservation Area,

1286
01:27:57,580 --> 01:28:02,580
with the construction of 25 sand
dams over the next five years.

1287
01:28:05,020 --> 01:28:09,100
These will be critical in sustaining
whole communities of animals

1288
01:28:09,100 --> 01:28:12,220
during the expanding dry seasons
here in Kenya.

1289
01:28:18,220 --> 01:28:21,020
Meanwhile, at the nursery,

1290
01:28:21,020 --> 01:28:23,220
the baby herd is enjoying

1291
01:28:23,220 --> 01:28:25,260
the first tentative drops of rain.

1292
01:28:29,100 --> 01:28:33,860
I really hope this marks the start
of the much-needed wet season.

1293
01:28:37,740 --> 01:28:40,900
Ha! Ah, no, that's my hair!

1294
01:28:40,900 --> 01:28:42,740
HE CHUCKLES

1295
01:28:42,740 --> 01:28:45,020
That's my dreads,
you can't take them.

1296
01:28:49,100 --> 01:28:51,740
Today's been really,
really beautiful,

1297
01:28:51,740 --> 01:28:53,780
I've loved it.

1298
01:28:53,780 --> 01:28:57,860
At one stage, I felt like
I was part of the herd.

1299
01:28:57,860 --> 01:28:59,780
ELEPHANTS BARK

1300
01:28:59,780 --> 01:29:02,260
And if it wasn't
for places like this

1301
01:29:02,260 --> 01:29:04,340
and the work of the staff here,

1302
01:29:04,340 --> 01:29:09,220
we could easily lose this beautiful
animal from our planet forever.

1303
01:29:12,260 --> 01:29:15,420
Severe droughts are likely
to persist in Kenya.

1304
01:29:18,060 --> 01:29:20,340
But what gives me hope
is the passion

1305
01:29:20,340 --> 01:29:23,020
of the people here on the ground,

1306
01:29:23,020 --> 01:29:25,420
caring for the next generation
of elephants

1307
01:29:25,420 --> 01:29:28,140
and coming up with ingenious
solutions to harvest water

1308
01:29:28,140 --> 01:29:32,620
when it rains, so they have a chance
of surviving when it doesn't.

1309
01:29:35,180 --> 01:29:36,700
Over the next seven years,

1310
01:29:36,700 --> 01:29:39,860
we'll be back to join Taabu
and his fellow orphans

1311
01:29:39,860 --> 01:29:41,500
as they continue on their journey,

1312
01:29:41,500 --> 01:29:44,660
hopefully, one day,
back into the wild.

1313
01:30:06,100 --> 01:30:10,740
I'm in Brazil to find out how
deforestation in the Amazon

1314
01:30:10,740 --> 01:30:16,060
is threatening the largest tropical
wetland on the planet,

1315
01:30:16,060 --> 01:30:19,860
and to find out how placing
a price tag on jaguars

1316
01:30:19,860 --> 01:30:21,980
can actually help protect them.

1317
01:30:28,700 --> 01:30:31,300
Covering almost half
of South America,

1318
01:30:31,300 --> 01:30:35,300
Brazil is the most biodiverse
country in the world.

1319
01:30:40,780 --> 01:30:42,860
It's not surprising,

1320
01:30:42,860 --> 01:30:45,900
when you consider it's home to
around 60% of our planet's

1321
01:30:45,900 --> 01:30:47,300
most famous rainforest.

1322
01:30:49,540 --> 01:30:53,420
And one of its most
important wetlands -

1323
01:30:53,420 --> 01:30:54,820
the Pantanal.

1324
01:30:57,900 --> 01:31:00,500
Less than 500 miles apart,

1325
01:31:00,500 --> 01:31:04,140
these vitally important ecosystems
are intrinsically linked,

1326
01:31:04,140 --> 01:31:06,380
and both are under pressure.

1327
01:31:08,060 --> 01:31:11,460
Deforestation in the Amazon is
having dramatic effects on

1328
01:31:11,460 --> 01:31:13,500
the Pantanal's weather systems.

1329
01:31:14,940 --> 01:31:17,620
And this unprecedented change
is threatening

1330
01:31:17,620 --> 01:31:21,020
the stronghold of Brazil's
apex predator.

1331
01:31:23,500 --> 01:31:27,940
The Pantanal is one huge,
very beautiful swamp.

1332
01:31:29,980 --> 01:31:34,500
And it's home to one of the highest
densities of jaguars on Earth.

1333
01:31:34,500 --> 01:31:36,380
But over the last 50 years,

1334
01:31:36,380 --> 01:31:40,180
it's seen an increasing number
of cattle ranchers move in.

1335
01:31:40,180 --> 01:31:42,540
CATTLE BRAY

1336
01:31:53,500 --> 01:31:56,220
Roberto Klabin is one
of many landowners working

1337
01:31:56,220 --> 01:31:59,260
with traditional ranchers in
the Pantanal.

1338
01:31:59,260 --> 01:32:02,700
And he has noticed
the ecosystem is changing.

1339
01:32:03,900 --> 01:32:06,540
The Pantanal is unique.

1340
01:32:06,540 --> 01:32:09,820
It's affected by rains that come
from the Amazon.

1341
01:32:09,820 --> 01:32:14,060
The rains, the floods,
they bring nutrients to the soil.

1342
01:32:14,060 --> 01:32:16,860
It's what gives life
to this place here.

1343
01:32:18,940 --> 01:32:22,060
But we have been noticing that rains
have been diminishing

1344
01:32:22,060 --> 01:32:25,780
in the Pantanal for the last years
and this is something that

1345
01:32:25,780 --> 01:32:30,900
we have never experienced - such
droughts as we are experiencing now.

1346
01:32:34,780 --> 01:32:38,140
The Amazon is the rainmaker
of South America.

1347
01:32:39,940 --> 01:32:42,740
Altogether, the trees
of the Amazon release

1348
01:32:42,740 --> 01:32:45,500
as much as 20 billion
metric tonnes of water

1349
01:32:45,500 --> 01:32:48,140
into the atmosphere
every single day.

1350
01:32:49,620 --> 01:32:52,820
But deforestation has inadvertently
removed billions of tonnes

1351
01:32:52,820 --> 01:32:55,900
of water vapour from the atmosphere,

1352
01:32:55,900 --> 01:33:00,100
contributing to a 40% drop in
rainfall in the Pantanal.

1353
01:33:01,980 --> 01:33:05,060
We are now worried about what's
going on in the Amazon

1354
01:33:05,060 --> 01:33:07,420
because it controls everything here.

1355
01:33:07,420 --> 01:33:09,820
So if we have a change in the rains,

1356
01:33:09,820 --> 01:33:12,540
the Pantanal will disappear as
we know it. Mm-hm. Yeah.

1357
01:33:14,380 --> 01:33:19,020
Since the 1990s, the
Brazilian Pantanal has lost

1358
01:33:19,020 --> 01:33:21,860
74% of its surface water.

1359
01:33:21,860 --> 01:33:24,900
And the prediction is,
that within 20 years,

1360
01:33:24,900 --> 01:33:28,180
large parts of it may have morphed
into arid savannah.

1361
01:33:30,900 --> 01:33:33,260
Less rain, we have more fires.

1362
01:33:33,260 --> 01:33:36,500
You can see the results
of recent fires here.

1363
01:33:37,620 --> 01:33:42,380
In 2020, wildfires
destroyed 30% of the Pantanal

1364
01:33:42,380 --> 01:33:46,940
and are estimated to have killed in
excess of 17 million animals.

1365
01:33:48,460 --> 01:33:50,940
More than a quarter of the
Pantanal's jaguars

1366
01:33:50,940 --> 01:33:55,020
have been directly impacted
by these recent fires -

1367
01:33:55,020 --> 01:33:57,620
through habitat loss and
food shortages,

1368
01:33:57,620 --> 01:33:59,820
as well as injury and death.

1369
01:34:01,500 --> 01:34:05,780
Experts estimate that more than
3,000 jaguars live here,

1370
01:34:05,780 --> 01:34:10,180
a precious population that is under
pressure and in decline.

1371
01:34:12,900 --> 01:34:17,140
How do we adapt to
a place that is drier, hotter?

1372
01:34:17,140 --> 01:34:19,340
How do we keep the wildlife here?

1373
01:34:23,260 --> 01:34:26,900
Whilst Roberto can't single-handedly
stop deforestation,

1374
01:34:26,900 --> 01:34:29,900
he has joined forces with
a team of researchers

1375
01:34:29,900 --> 01:34:32,580
and come up with a plan to safeguard

1376
01:34:32,580 --> 01:34:36,420
the future of the jaguars against
another threat -

1377
01:34:36,420 --> 01:34:39,180
persecution from cattle ranchers.

1378
01:34:42,260 --> 01:34:46,980
I had the idea of developing
wildlife observation tourism

1379
01:34:46,980 --> 01:34:48,860
inside this ranch.

1380
01:34:48,860 --> 01:34:51,860
You can accommodate
wildlife observation

1381
01:34:51,860 --> 01:34:53,740
and you can accommodate cattle.

1382
01:34:53,740 --> 01:34:55,740
There is space for everybody here.

1383
01:34:56,980 --> 01:34:59,780
Your vision is more
about coexistence?

1384
01:34:59,780 --> 01:35:01,180
Yes, of course.

1385
01:35:07,020 --> 01:35:11,460
Central to the project is passionate
biologist Lili Rampim,

1386
01:35:11,460 --> 01:35:15,660
who's been studying the jaguars here
for almost ten years.

1387
01:35:15,660 --> 01:35:18,940
It's her team's mission
to make this the best place

1388
01:35:18,940 --> 01:35:22,340
in the world to see
these elusive big cats.

1389
01:35:23,940 --> 01:35:25,820
In this area for the past decade,

1390
01:35:25,820 --> 01:35:30,740
people have been forging
a new relationship with the jaguar,

1391
01:35:30,740 --> 01:35:36,140
encouraging South America's biggest
cat to emerge from the shadows.

1392
01:35:40,540 --> 01:35:44,860
So, what was a little ten-year-old
Lilian dreaming about

1393
01:35:44,860 --> 01:35:46,580
doing with her life?

1394
01:35:47,580 --> 01:35:50,060
Animals. I just think about animals.

1395
01:35:50,060 --> 01:35:52,020
I just talk about animals.

1396
01:35:52,020 --> 01:35:55,820
I was... I was a very
annoying child.

1397
01:35:57,260 --> 01:35:58,700
Lili and the team use using

1398
01:35:58,700 --> 01:36:02,140
a combination of camera traps
and radio collars to track

1399
01:36:02,140 --> 01:36:04,820
and get closer to the jaguars here.

1400
01:36:06,980 --> 01:36:09,100
We can see their natural behaviour.

1401
01:36:09,100 --> 01:36:11,100
I thought I knew about
jaguars' behaviour

1402
01:36:11,100 --> 01:36:14,340
and the thing is, I didn't know,
and I still don't.

1403
01:36:14,340 --> 01:36:15,980
I keep learning every day.

1404
01:36:18,820 --> 01:36:23,980
People can come here and almost
guarantee that they can see a jaguar

1405
01:36:23,980 --> 01:36:26,340
in the way that
if you went to South Africa,

1406
01:36:26,340 --> 01:36:29,180
you could guarantee that you're
going to see a lion or a leopard.

1407
01:36:29,180 --> 01:36:31,540
So we never guarantee 100%.

1408
01:36:31,540 --> 01:36:37,500
But 98.5% of the guests this
year saw at least one jaguar.

1409
01:36:43,820 --> 01:36:46,780
Vultures there. Vultures in the
trees and vultures overhead.

1410
01:36:46,780 --> 01:36:49,940
Yeah, probably, we'll have
a carcass right here.

1411
01:36:49,940 --> 01:36:51,820
Anyone there, Mr Jaguar?

1412
01:37:02,540 --> 01:37:06,060
You can see that bite mark there.
See, the ear was eaten already.

1413
01:37:06,060 --> 01:37:08,580
Oh, my God, so it's actually got
the whole skull in its mouth.

1414
01:37:08,580 --> 01:37:10,620
The whole skull. That would've
been a quick death.

1415
01:37:10,620 --> 01:37:12,220
For sure, for sure.

1416
01:37:14,260 --> 01:37:20,100
Jaguars kill up to 225 cows
a year just on this one ranch.

1417
01:37:20,100 --> 01:37:25,260
Across the Pantanal, they have
become the enemy of cattle ranchers.

1418
01:37:25,260 --> 01:37:29,100
But Lili and her team are working
to change these attitudes.

1419
01:37:29,100 --> 01:37:31,900
So, in the past,
if somebody found a cow or a calf

1420
01:37:31,900 --> 01:37:35,740
that had been killed by
a jaguar, what would ranchers do?

1421
01:37:35,740 --> 01:37:39,180
They will kill the jaguar because
every time that a jaguar

1422
01:37:39,180 --> 01:37:41,460
predates a cow,
somebody is losing money. Mm-hm.

1423
01:37:41,460 --> 01:37:43,940
So we show that through ecotourism,

1424
01:37:43,940 --> 01:37:46,780
jaguars are much more valuable
alive than dead.

1425
01:37:46,780 --> 01:37:50,660
The value of a cow, when you compare
that to the value

1426
01:37:50,660 --> 01:37:53,860
of a foreign tourist coming in
and spending hundreds,

1427
01:37:53,860 --> 01:37:56,220
thousands of dollars from that one,

1428
01:37:56,220 --> 01:37:58,780
say, that one jaguar in
its lifetime,

1429
01:37:58,780 --> 01:38:01,300
how much revenue can come
from that?

1430
01:38:01,300 --> 01:38:04,860
It's nine seats in one
vehicle, so you do the maths.

1431
01:38:04,860 --> 01:38:06,980
You can tell them that they
can't kill jaguars

1432
01:38:06,980 --> 01:38:08,500
because they're important,

1433
01:38:08,500 --> 01:38:10,660
because they're in the top of
the food chain, they...

1434
01:38:10,660 --> 01:38:12,780
It'll be just, "Blah, blah, blah."

1435
01:38:12,780 --> 01:38:16,580
But once you are proving that,
OK, by killing a cat,

1436
01:38:16,580 --> 01:38:19,660
you are losing money,
they are changing their concept.

1437
01:38:19,660 --> 01:38:20,860
Mm-hm.

1438
01:38:24,580 --> 01:38:27,420
It's taken time, but the ranchers
here are beginning to see

1439
01:38:27,420 --> 01:38:30,620
the benefits that ecotourism
can bring to their families

1440
01:38:30,620 --> 01:38:32,700
through jobs and income.

1441
01:38:32,700 --> 01:38:35,140
They are coming round to
the idea of working

1442
01:38:35,140 --> 01:38:39,580
and living alongside
South America's apex predator.

1443
01:38:39,580 --> 01:38:43,220
How have you seen
the relationship between people

1444
01:38:43,220 --> 01:38:46,780
and jaguars change over the years?

1445
01:38:46,780 --> 01:38:49,100
IN PORTUGUESE:

1446
01:39:09,820 --> 01:39:13,500
In other parts of the Pantanal, are
jaguars still being persecuted?

1447
01:39:29,860 --> 01:39:35,460
I lived in Brazil for two years and
only ever saw a glimpse of a jaguar.

1448
01:39:35,460 --> 01:39:38,740
I'm hoping with Lili,
I'll have more luck.

1449
01:39:38,740 --> 01:39:41,140
She's picked up a signal from
a radio collar

1450
01:39:41,140 --> 01:39:43,580
on one of the dominant
males in this region.

1451
01:39:45,620 --> 01:39:50,220
So he's in this direction here,
right. Let's try to find him.

1452
01:39:57,660 --> 01:39:59,580
So this jaguar's called Tupa?

1453
01:39:59,580 --> 01:40:02,460
Tupa. Tupa. Yeah, he is huge.

1454
01:40:04,300 --> 01:40:06,700
We've known him since 2016.

1455
01:40:06,700 --> 01:40:10,580
Already grown up and extremely
confident. Really?

1456
01:40:10,580 --> 01:40:12,540
Even with the help of a collar,

1457
01:40:12,540 --> 01:40:16,620
it can still be difficult to find
wild animals that are free to roam.

1458
01:40:17,700 --> 01:40:20,580
Cats is like us,
they got their different moods,

1459
01:40:20,580 --> 01:40:22,980
so sometimes he just
don't care about us,

1460
01:40:22,980 --> 01:40:24,500
sometimes he look at us like,

1461
01:40:24,500 --> 01:40:26,420
"OK, I don't want to talk
with you today."

1462
01:40:26,420 --> 01:40:28,220
And the thing is, we respect, so,

1463
01:40:28,220 --> 01:40:30,940
that's the importance
of reading their natural behaviour.

1464
01:40:30,940 --> 01:40:32,220
Onde esta?

1465
01:40:32,220 --> 01:40:34,980
Oh, yeah, there it is. Right there,
right there, right there.

1466
01:40:34,980 --> 01:40:36,180
Oh, my goodness, look.

1467
01:40:40,580 --> 01:40:42,860
I do not believe that.
LILI CHUCKLES

1468
01:40:45,460 --> 01:40:48,260
Oh, my God, that is so exciting.

1469
01:40:51,580 --> 01:40:53,020
He is huge, isn't he?

1470
01:40:53,020 --> 01:40:54,260
He's huge.

1471
01:40:54,260 --> 01:40:56,340
Last time that we captured him
to put the collar,

1472
01:40:56,340 --> 01:40:59,620
he weighed about 123kg,

1473
01:40:59,620 --> 01:41:02,140
so it's a heavy cat. Wow.

1474
01:41:05,900 --> 01:41:08,940
This is a dream come true.

1475
01:41:11,140 --> 01:41:13,700
I would have been happy with
a glimpse of a jaguar,

1476
01:41:13,700 --> 01:41:16,820
but to have such a magnificent

1477
01:41:16,820 --> 01:41:20,580
specimen to walk so close to us is,

1478
01:41:20,580 --> 01:41:23,060
yeah, is mind-blowing.

1479
01:41:23,060 --> 01:41:24,860
JAGUAR RUMBLES

1480
01:41:27,180 --> 01:41:29,900
I've had such a short amount
of time here

1481
01:41:29,900 --> 01:41:32,740
and to see one of
the biggest cats in the world

1482
01:41:32,740 --> 01:41:34,300
in front of us... Cool, right?

1483
01:41:34,300 --> 01:41:37,500
And the best thing about it is he's
completely relaxed. Relaxed.

1484
01:41:38,900 --> 01:41:41,940
Getting this close to such
a chilled-out jaguar

1485
01:41:41,940 --> 01:41:43,900
isn't normal in the wild,

1486
01:41:43,900 --> 01:41:47,020
but it's been achieved
because Lili and her team

1487
01:41:47,020 --> 01:41:49,820
have been getting these
jaguars used to the presence

1488
01:41:49,820 --> 01:41:51,340
of their safari jeeps.

1489
01:41:51,340 --> 01:41:55,740
The habituation process,
it demands a lot of patience.

1490
01:41:55,740 --> 01:41:58,780
The hardest part is finding where
the jaguars are.

1491
01:41:58,780 --> 01:42:00,700
Then you have the second stage,

1492
01:42:00,700 --> 01:42:04,820
which is trying
to reach them very, very patiently.

1493
01:42:06,260 --> 01:42:09,260
So, in general,
it takes one year of hard work,

1494
01:42:09,260 --> 01:42:11,660
and we keep reminding them that
we are not a threat

1495
01:42:11,660 --> 01:42:13,100
and they don't need to run.

1496
01:42:14,300 --> 01:42:16,540
See the way that he's smelling,

1497
01:42:16,540 --> 01:42:19,180
one female that is around this area.

1498
01:42:19,180 --> 01:42:23,780
And her last cub, which is called
Tori, just got independent,

1499
01:42:23,780 --> 01:42:26,900
which means that she's ready
to become pregnant again,

1500
01:42:26,900 --> 01:42:29,820
which means that he might be
looking for her to mate.

1501
01:42:31,340 --> 01:42:34,580
Tupa is well-known as
the dominant male in this area.

1502
01:42:36,660 --> 01:42:40,500
I learn that he's mated
with 15 different females here,

1503
01:42:40,500 --> 01:42:42,940
a sign of good genes.

1504
01:42:42,940 --> 01:42:45,940
But at around nine years old,

1505
01:42:45,940 --> 01:42:50,260
are Tupa's chances
of siring another litter fading?

1506
01:42:50,260 --> 01:42:53,700
We'll be following his story over
the coming years

1507
01:42:53,700 --> 01:42:58,740
to find out if he can continue his
reign and father a new set of cubs.

1508
01:43:08,700 --> 01:43:11,980
How do you envisage the future
for this place,

1509
01:43:11,980 --> 01:43:15,020
but also for jaguars across Brazil?

1510
01:43:16,260 --> 01:43:21,500
We are habituating jaguars
because if nobody does nothing,

1511
01:43:21,500 --> 01:43:24,140
they will disappear, this is a fact.

1512
01:43:24,140 --> 01:43:27,060
We need to believe
in the ecotourism,

1513
01:43:27,060 --> 01:43:29,660
that's the key, in my opinion. Yeah.

1514
01:43:29,660 --> 01:43:31,900
We already proved that it works
here in Pantanal,

1515
01:43:31,900 --> 01:43:34,620
it will work in different parts of
the world as well. Mm-hm. Yeah.

1516
01:43:50,620 --> 01:43:54,460
For me, there is something
uncomfortable, unsettling,

1517
01:43:54,460 --> 01:43:57,260
about commodifying wild places.

1518
01:43:57,260 --> 01:43:59,940
We should want to protect them
for their intrinsic value

1519
01:43:59,940 --> 01:44:03,380
because, morally, it's
the right thing to do.

1520
01:44:03,380 --> 01:44:05,620
But this is not an ideal world,

1521
01:44:05,620 --> 01:44:09,580
so we have to find new ways,
we have to have new visions,

1522
01:44:09,580 --> 01:44:11,540
we have to...there has
to be game-changers.

1523
01:44:11,540 --> 01:44:13,740
And right here on the ground in
the Pantanal,

1524
01:44:13,740 --> 01:44:15,820
you see the incredible work
that they've done,

1525
01:44:15,820 --> 01:44:21,060
they've brought these animals out of
the shadows for all to see.

1526
01:44:25,100 --> 01:44:29,380
After my time here,
I feel really inspired.

1527
01:44:29,380 --> 01:44:32,900
Yes, things are tough
for jaguars across Brazil,

1528
01:44:32,900 --> 01:44:37,700
but this project could really
offer them a ray of hope

1529
01:44:37,700 --> 01:44:39,140
through this crucial time.

1530
01:44:55,620 --> 01:45:00,220
Almost 40 million people have made
their home in California,

1531
01:45:00,220 --> 01:45:05,140
so you might not expect it
to feel like much of a wilderness.

1532
01:45:05,140 --> 01:45:08,980
But there are outstanding wild
places here,

1533
01:45:08,980 --> 01:45:13,060
and almost an acre
of forest per person.

1534
01:45:13,060 --> 01:45:16,900
Home to an incredible
display of species,

1535
01:45:16,900 --> 01:45:20,740
including the tallest
living thing on Earth -

1536
01:45:20,740 --> 01:45:22,580
the giant redwoods.

1537
01:45:28,700 --> 01:45:32,180
But what was once a haven
for wildlife

1538
01:45:32,180 --> 01:45:35,140
is becoming an arid deathtrap.

1539
01:45:40,300 --> 01:45:43,140
Wildfires have been ripping
through California

1540
01:45:43,140 --> 01:45:45,860
with increasing intensity in
recent years.

1541
01:45:45,860 --> 01:45:49,460
In 2020, a staggering
four million acres burned.

1542
01:45:51,020 --> 01:45:55,100
Fuelled by the longest dry period
in over a thousand years,

1543
01:45:55,100 --> 01:46:01,100
fires are burning hotter, faster and
more intensely than ever before.

1544
01:46:01,100 --> 01:46:04,060
The impacts of these fires
are devastating,

1545
01:46:04,060 --> 01:46:06,740
they're often lethal,
they're felt throughout the state,

1546
01:46:06,740 --> 01:46:09,900
and the first casualty is
always the wildlife.

1547
01:46:11,580 --> 01:46:15,540
Around the world, raging wildfires
threaten the lives

1548
01:46:15,540 --> 01:46:17,060
of countless creatures.

1549
01:46:19,060 --> 01:46:23,420
The 2019 Australian bush fires alone
killed or displaced

1550
01:46:23,420 --> 01:46:26,740
an estimated three billion animals.

1551
01:46:26,740 --> 01:46:30,420
With these infernos set
to become 50% more common

1552
01:46:30,420 --> 01:46:32,300
by the end of the century,

1553
01:46:32,300 --> 01:46:37,180
it's only a matter of time before
entire species are lost forever.

1554
01:46:41,820 --> 01:46:45,500
Here in California,
there is a glimmer of hope.

1555
01:46:45,500 --> 01:46:49,940
I'm on my way to the headquarters of
the Wildlife Disaster Network,

1556
01:46:49,940 --> 01:46:53,220
where a dedicated team of vets
and volunteers

1557
01:46:53,220 --> 01:46:56,140
are rescuing the wildlife
injured in fires.

1558
01:46:57,900 --> 01:47:00,700
The sheer scale of this
crisis has forced them

1559
01:47:00,700 --> 01:47:03,100
to think on their feet and act fast.

1560
01:47:05,180 --> 01:47:08,020
Hello. Hey! Hi! How are you?
I'm really well.

1561
01:47:08,020 --> 01:47:11,660
Vets Jamie and Eric set up
the network in 2020.

1562
01:47:14,740 --> 01:47:16,580
The old adage was, you know,

1563
01:47:16,580 --> 01:47:18,060
wildlife will get out of the way.

1564
01:47:18,060 --> 01:47:20,260
And that may have
been true years ago

1565
01:47:20,260 --> 01:47:22,620
when we had different types of fire.

1566
01:47:22,620 --> 01:47:24,260
But now with these mega-fires,

1567
01:47:24,260 --> 01:47:25,700
it's changing.

1568
01:47:25,700 --> 01:47:28,820
Now we're seeing areas that never
had fires before

1569
01:47:28,820 --> 01:47:32,820
have these massive fires that are
causing loss of life

1570
01:47:32,820 --> 01:47:34,620
for people and animals.

1571
01:47:34,620 --> 01:47:36,260
And it's...

1572
01:47:36,260 --> 01:47:38,300
It's a new reality.
It's a new normal.

1573
01:47:42,700 --> 01:47:45,900
Many of the animals
rescued from the flames

1574
01:47:45,900 --> 01:47:49,940
are critically injured or orphaned.

1575
01:47:49,940 --> 01:47:51,460
Often, they are both.

1576
01:47:52,940 --> 01:47:55,780
The team take the
hardest hit to a rescue

1577
01:47:55,780 --> 01:47:59,700
and rehabilitation centre,
founded by Sallysue Stein.

1578
01:48:01,820 --> 01:48:04,340
So, you'll see foxes and racoons.

1579
01:48:04,340 --> 01:48:08,260
And we have a baby bobcat,
but he may not show his face.

1580
01:48:08,260 --> 01:48:11,300
LOW GROWLING

1581
01:48:11,300 --> 01:48:15,100
We took in about 3,700
animals in all of 2020

1582
01:48:15,100 --> 01:48:16,700
and that was a record for us.

1583
01:48:16,700 --> 01:48:20,060
We've already taken in
over 4,700 this year.

1584
01:48:20,060 --> 01:48:21,660
Well, that's just crazy.

1585
01:48:21,660 --> 01:48:23,340
Yes, it is. That's overwhelming.

1586
01:48:23,340 --> 01:48:25,420
Yes. This is just a fraction of

1587
01:48:25,420 --> 01:48:29,060
the animals we know got hurt in
these huge fires we had this year,

1588
01:48:29,060 --> 01:48:32,500
and it just breaks my heart to think
of all the ones we aren't helping.

1589
01:48:35,940 --> 01:48:38,020
In this fire, we're only seeing cubs

1590
01:48:38,020 --> 01:48:40,460
and we think that the fire was
so fast

1591
01:48:40,460 --> 01:48:45,380
and so hot that
the cubs climbed up high,

1592
01:48:45,380 --> 01:48:47,500
but the big bears couldn't climb as
high in the trees,

1593
01:48:47,500 --> 01:48:49,380
so the big bears didn't make it.

1594
01:48:49,380 --> 01:48:51,060
So that's another indication

1595
01:48:51,060 --> 01:48:53,260
that the fires are getting
stronger and faster,

1596
01:48:53,260 --> 01:48:55,660
so much so that the bigger
animals can't escape. Right.

1597
01:48:55,660 --> 01:48:58,620
And then the babies are left on
their own hanging on

1598
01:48:58,620 --> 01:49:00,500
for dear life up a tree.
Right, right.

1599
01:49:02,980 --> 01:49:08,460
So this is a bobcat we call
Lava Bob. He's an adult bobcat.

1600
01:49:10,540 --> 01:49:15,460
Prolonged drought and a heatwave
meant the Lava Fire of 2021

1601
01:49:15,460 --> 01:49:17,820
burned for more than two months,

1602
01:49:17,820 --> 01:49:20,660
consuming over
26,000 acres of forest.

1603
01:49:22,900 --> 01:49:26,460
When he came in, we didn't know at
first if he was going to make it.

1604
01:49:26,460 --> 01:49:28,620
But you can see...
I mean, he looks perfect.

1605
01:49:28,620 --> 01:49:30,820
He does. He's ready to go.
He's ready to go?

1606
01:49:30,820 --> 01:49:33,740
When are you releasing him?
I hope tomorrow.

1607
01:49:33,740 --> 01:49:35,420
Can I keep you company
when you do it?

1608
01:49:35,420 --> 01:49:37,060
Yes, you can. You're invited.

1609
01:49:46,060 --> 01:49:48,340
In the clinic with Jamie and Eric,

1610
01:49:48,340 --> 01:49:51,580
today's patient is
a fox they call Mr T.

1611
01:49:56,740 --> 01:49:59,700
When he came in, not only did he
have those burn injuries

1612
01:49:59,700 --> 01:50:02,100
and he was skinny and dehydrated,

1613
01:50:02,100 --> 01:50:06,340
but he had basically singed all
the fur and his whiskers

1614
01:50:06,340 --> 01:50:08,620
and his ears.

1615
01:50:10,900 --> 01:50:13,940
You've seen some pretty horrific
stuff, haven't you?

1616
01:50:13,940 --> 01:50:15,420
Yeah, we've seen a lot.

1617
01:50:15,420 --> 01:50:18,340
I mean, we've seen animals
with burns from, you know,

1618
01:50:18,340 --> 01:50:21,740
1% of their body all the way up
to 40% of their body.

1619
01:50:26,660 --> 01:50:28,540
So this one's all healed.

1620
01:50:28,540 --> 01:50:31,700
He's got all this... All this hair
is brand-new. New fur, yeah.

1621
01:50:34,820 --> 01:50:39,500
Little funding and scarce resources
for their ever-growing patient list

1622
01:50:39,500 --> 01:50:43,900
are driving Jamie and Eric to
pioneer innovative treatments,

1623
01:50:43,900 --> 01:50:46,340
like using fish skin for bandages.

1624
01:50:48,020 --> 01:50:51,780
When you eat fish, about 40% of
that fish goes to waste,

1625
01:50:51,780 --> 01:50:53,940
and part of that waste is
fish skin.

1626
01:50:53,940 --> 01:50:57,660
So you literally went to
the local, what, fishmongers?

1627
01:50:57,660 --> 01:50:59,060
Yes.

1628
01:50:59,060 --> 01:51:03,260
What we found with this
fish skin is it has collagen.

1629
01:51:03,260 --> 01:51:06,900
Collagen is a really important part
of all of our skin,

1630
01:51:06,900 --> 01:51:09,940
and the collagen works like
a little jungle gym.

1631
01:51:09,940 --> 01:51:11,500
It has a matrix.

1632
01:51:11,500 --> 01:51:13,780
And what happens is -
is the cells will actually,

1633
01:51:13,780 --> 01:51:16,420
your epithelial cells will actually
grab on to that matrix

1634
01:51:16,420 --> 01:51:20,020
and use it as sort of a jungle gym
to move across the wound.

1635
01:51:21,820 --> 01:51:25,820
As the skin then heals underneath
it, it'll eventually just fall off.

1636
01:51:25,820 --> 01:51:28,700
Amazing, amazing,
it's a miracle bandage!

1637
01:51:28,700 --> 01:51:29,980
It really is.

1638
01:51:31,900 --> 01:51:35,140
Do you ever have moments where
you just think it's too much?

1639
01:51:35,140 --> 01:51:36,780
Oh, sure.

1640
01:51:36,780 --> 01:51:39,860
When you're in a disaster
or you're treating an animal,

1641
01:51:39,860 --> 01:51:43,020
you have to focus on your job.

1642
01:51:43,020 --> 01:51:44,900
Then you go home and you cry.

1643
01:51:44,900 --> 01:51:47,900
Because crying is a
really good stress reliever.

1644
01:51:47,900 --> 01:51:49,540
Yeah. And be OK with that.

1645
01:51:52,020 --> 01:51:55,260
Aw, he's awake!
Oh, hello, little guy.

1646
01:51:58,060 --> 01:51:59,300
You OK?

1647
01:51:59,300 --> 01:52:01,300
Has he got...? I'll get it.

1648
01:52:01,300 --> 01:52:02,660
I got it.

1649
01:52:02,660 --> 01:52:06,420
I am finding it really hard
to get the words out

1650
01:52:06,420 --> 01:52:10,580
about how the people in there
have affected me today.

1651
01:52:11,900 --> 01:52:14,380
You know, there's a lot
of stuff going on on this planet

1652
01:52:14,380 --> 01:52:16,300
that makes you just despair at
the human race.

1653
01:52:16,300 --> 01:52:18,460
And then you meet people like
that and you're like,

1654
01:52:18,460 --> 01:52:21,060
"Where did you come from?
Like, who, are you?"

1655
01:52:21,060 --> 01:52:24,500
Extraordinary.
Absolutely mind-blowing, actually.

1656
01:52:37,100 --> 01:52:41,060
Sallysue, Jamie and Eric aim to
return as many patients

1657
01:52:41,060 --> 01:52:43,380
to the wild as possible.

1658
01:52:43,380 --> 01:52:46,020
And after four whole months
of rehab,

1659
01:52:46,020 --> 01:52:49,860
today, Lava Bob gets
to roam free again.

1660
01:52:51,540 --> 01:52:54,860
Biologist Axel Hunnicutt
joins the team for his release.

1661
01:52:57,460 --> 01:52:59,820
LOW GROWLING

1662
01:52:59,820 --> 01:53:01,500
He's good and wild.

1663
01:53:01,500 --> 01:53:03,380
He is. There's no question.

1664
01:53:03,380 --> 01:53:05,500
Yeah. He's ready.

1665
01:53:11,020 --> 01:53:13,820
Yes, you're cute,
but it's time to go home, Bob.

1666
01:53:21,140 --> 01:53:22,980
LIGHT TAPPING

1667
01:53:22,980 --> 01:53:24,340
Aw, gosh.

1668
01:53:25,540 --> 01:53:27,060
CHUCKLING

1669
01:53:27,060 --> 01:53:29,780
That's so lovely to see
him go back out there. Yeah.

1670
01:53:32,140 --> 01:53:35,780
When I first saw Lava Bob,
I didn't know if he would survive.

1671
01:53:35,780 --> 01:53:39,220
He weighed 15lbs, and when we
released him, he's over 40lbs.

1672
01:53:42,380 --> 01:53:45,340
So, how do we begin
to solve this problem

1673
01:53:45,340 --> 01:53:48,460
so that this bobcat doesn't face
another wildfire

1674
01:53:48,460 --> 01:53:51,660
of even fiercer intensity next year

1675
01:53:51,660 --> 01:53:53,980
and have to come back to
Jamie and Eric?

1676
01:53:53,980 --> 01:53:55,420
Personal responsibility.

1677
01:53:55,420 --> 01:53:57,140
That's everything you do,

1678
01:53:57,140 --> 01:53:58,940
everything you buy has
a consequence.

1679
01:53:58,940 --> 01:54:03,740
We're utilising
a system that is only continuing

1680
01:54:03,740 --> 01:54:05,060
to promote climate change.

1681
01:54:07,380 --> 01:54:09,740
The animals, I feel,
are the canary in the coal mine.

1682
01:54:09,740 --> 01:54:13,580
I mean, it's what the future is
for humankind.

1683
01:54:13,580 --> 01:54:16,700
We can do things
to make our world better.

1684
01:54:16,700 --> 01:54:19,660
And, you know, we may be one
person, but we can do it.

1685
01:54:19,660 --> 01:54:21,860
You know, everyone can
play their part.

1686
01:54:21,860 --> 01:54:24,940
I mean, I'm inspired, and I know
you'll be inspiring lots of others,

1687
01:54:24,940 --> 01:54:26,980
you know, with your story,
and we look forward

1688
01:54:26,980 --> 01:54:29,260
to continuing to tell your story.

1689
01:54:35,300 --> 01:54:37,500
So, the challenges ahead are huge,

1690
01:54:37,500 --> 01:54:40,980
but what's clear from talking
to these amazing humans is

1691
01:54:40,980 --> 01:54:44,260
that we have everything at our
fingertips to fix this,

1692
01:54:44,260 --> 01:54:46,700
and the most important
thing, I think,

1693
01:54:46,700 --> 01:54:48,980
is to reconnect with nature first

1694
01:54:48,980 --> 01:54:52,300
and to learn how to prioritise
it above all else,

1695
01:54:52,300 --> 01:54:55,100
above all the things we seem
to think are more important

1696
01:54:55,100 --> 01:54:56,620
in the way we live our lives.

1697
01:55:03,940 --> 01:55:06,580
The projects we've witnessed
are a snapshot of

1698
01:55:06,580 --> 01:55:10,260
the extraordinary network
of conservation efforts

1699
01:55:10,260 --> 01:55:12,460
happening all across the world.

1700
01:55:14,140 --> 01:55:17,780
As year one of our seven-year
project draws to a close,

1701
01:55:17,780 --> 01:55:21,220
we'll be keeping up with
the inspiring people we've met,

1702
01:55:21,220 --> 01:55:25,460
and monitoring how the bellwethers
of the natural world adapt

1703
01:55:25,460 --> 01:55:30,020
to the immense challenges that lie
ahead for Our Changing Planet.