NARRATOR: 600 miles off the coast of South America...
castaway in the Pacific Ocean...
the Galapagos archipelago.
Straddling the Equator,
a string of over 120
tropical islands...
that erupted
from the deep ocean floor...
more than 10 million years ago.
Those swept here by storms and currents...
survived million to one odds...
to find untouched islands
free from competition.
These hardy pioneers...
evolved in remarkable ways
in what's known
as Nature's Greatest Experiment.
Home to bizarre specialists...
and unexpected giants...
the most precious collection...
of island creatures...
on Earth.
There are still places on Earth
that remain pristine.
Where wildlife flourishes.
These are the last regions that could be called...
Eden.
When mariners first set foot on these isles
just 500 years ago...
to find mist-shrouded peaks...
heavenly beaches...
and mythical-looking beasts...
they believed they'd stepped
into a magical world.
BIRDS SINGING
NARRATOR: To reach these azure shores...
every colonizer
survived a 600-mile voyage
across the Pacific.
SEA LIONS BARKING
NARRATOR: Sea lions were one of the few mammals
to make it...
arriving from North America
two million years ago.
They quickly learnt to time pupping
with plentiful cold-season waters...
as hungry newborns
demand over a pint
of fatty milk every day.
And this mother has an extra mouth to feed.
Last year's youngster is still reliant on her too...
as she nurses her young four times longer
than her Californian relatives.
Just half of pups
with a competing sibling survive.
Every day she heads out to sea...
CALLING SOFTLY
NARRATOR: ...leaving her helpless pups behind.
CALLING SOFTLY
NARRATOR: Other mothers follow her lead.
BARKING
NARRATOR: They're heading to a mystical place.
An extinct volcanic island...
complete with its own secret cove...
and a gathering of expectant brown pelicans.
As they near the bay,
the chase is on...
against a shoal of jacks,
too fast for a lone sea lion to catch.
SQUAWKING
NARRATOR: Using the cove as a trap,
they run the fish aground.
SEA LIONS BARKING
NARRATOR: In the shallows, the pelicans
are the first to cash in...
able to squeeze up to ten fish
in their expandable throats.
But the female-led fleet regroups.
PELICANS SQUAWKING
NARRATOR: With all exits blocked...
this time the panicked prey
are driven right onto the beach.
SEA LIONS BARKING
NARRATOR: A successful hunt
yields up to 30 fish for each sea lion.
This remarkable technique
is unique to Galapagos...
filmed here for the very first time.
BARKING
NARRATOR: Up to 15 roundups later...
everyone gets their fill.
Returning triumphant to the colony...
she listens for the distinctive call...
CALLING
NARRATOR: ...of her hungry youngsters.
CALLING SOFTLY
PUP COOING
NARRATOR: Thanks to these rich winter seas...
this mother can provide enough nutritious milk...
not just for one pup...
but two.
Using intelligence and teamwork...
these skillful sea lions
take advantage of the abundance
this Eden has to offer.
Marine life flourishes in Galapagos...
thanks to its setting...
at the heart of four rich ocean currents.
As the cold season arrives,
it's flooded with nutrients...
attracting sharks in the world's highest densities
to feed...
and gather
in mesmerizing mating rituals.
And riding Antarctic ocean highways long ago...
even penguins can thrive at the Equator,
thanks to unusually cool waters.
The archipelago's most plentiful shores
lie on Fernandina volcano...
one of the most pristine islands on Earth.
This is a land of dragons.
Home to 120,000 marine iguanas...
descended from one species of South American lizard
which floated here on rafts of vegetation.
On this barren rock,
they adopted a strategy found nowhere else.
They returned to the ocean.
After a morning bask...
this cold-blooded male
is now warm enough...
to tolerate 30 minutes
in the 60-degree winter sea.
But chilled, nutrient-rich waters
provide the perfect conditions...
for luxuriant gardens of marine algae.
Paradise for a vegetarian lizard.
Diving to more than 50 feet
on a single 12-minute breath...
and anchored by hook-like claws...
he grazes just an ounce of seaweed a day.
But these fertile waters come with a catch.
Pacific storms fuel 15-foot-high breakers.
Struggling through his final mouthfuls...
with a body temperature that's plummeted
by 20 degrees...
he must head back to shore,
or risk hypothermia.
In the roughest storms,
some are lost at sea.
Collision with razor-sharp lava
can inflict lethal injuries.
And as muscles sapped of strength by the cold
begin to seize up...
it takes one last effort.
With a bask in the tropical Galapagos sun...
he'll quickly recharge.
Just got to get rid of all that sea salt.
A good sneeze should do the trick.
FLY BUZZING
NARRATOR: It does draw in the flies...
FLIES BUZZING
NARRATOR: ...but luckily this coastal spa
offers a premium service...
Lava lizards.
They're a little heavy-handed...
but they do a great job at pest control.
Making for happy customers...
at least most of the time.
BIRD CACKLING
NARRATOR: At the climax of the cold season...
SQUAWKING
NARRATOR: ...boobies also profit from these rich waters.
Divebombing from up to 100 feet...
they hit the surface at 60 mph.
Nourished with fish,
now is the perfect time to breed.
At the most northerly tip of the archipelago...
Wolf Island provides a remote sanctuary...
for nesting Nazca boobies.
Just half a square mile...
supports around 10,000.
SQUAWKING
NARRATOR: They're a lifeline
for an innocent-looking land bird...
A finch, just 4 inches tall.
Its ancestors were marooned here millennia ago...
and without enough wing power to escape...
they turned to a life of crime...
stealing eggs from their neighbors.
BOOBY CROAKS
NARRATOR: But they're guarded around the clock...
by protective parents nine times their size.
Luckily, what this little bird lacks in stature...
he makes up for...
in cunning.
Darker with age,
this finch is the brains of the outfit.
BOOBY SQUAWKS
NARRATOR: He pecks at a booby's wing feathers...
armed with the sharpest beak of any Galapagos finch.
Perfect for drawing blood.
Living up to his name...
the vampire finch.
Such rich pickings don't go unnoticed.
Though it's little more than a nuisance...
BOOBY SQUAWKING
NARRATOR: ...it's enough to drive her away.
Just what he's been waiting for.
But that shell is too thick
for even the sharpest finch beak.
He needs to hatch a plan.
Using his beak for leverage...
this wily ringleader sets things in motion.
He's cracked it.
Though unfortunately for him,
there's no honor amongst thieves.
Now one of the Earth's newest species,
the vampire finch
has triumphed
in this far-flung frontier.
SQUAWKING
NARRATOR: As the hot season arrives in Galapagos...
temperatures soar
into the nineties.
And the world's only Equatorial penguins
have evolved tricks
to withstand
the tropical sun.
Now just 20 inches tall...
to lose heat,
they've shrunk to half the size of their ancestors...
PANTING
NARRATOR: ...they pant, just like dogs...
and take advantage of the shade...
that lava caves provide.
As the heat intensifies...
evaporating seawater forms storm clouds.
Gathering at the islands' volcanic peaks...
they create the ideal conditions
for verdant forests.
On these far-away isles,
nothing is quite as it first appears.
These are groves of giant daisies.
Their seeds were small enough to hitch a ride on birds...
and with little competition
grew into 50-foot-high trees...
to become the most species-rich habitat
in the archipelago.
80% of Galapagos land birds...
and half of its insects...
are found nowhere else on Earth...
including its only native bee species...
the Galapagos carpenter bee...
BUZZING
NARRATOR: ...whose affinity for yellow...
make this one of the most popular flower colors...
blooming with the seasonal rains.
Beyond the forests...
at the very roof of Galapagos...
its 21 volcanic summits...
tower up to 6,000 feet.
Lush and rain-drenched...
Alcedo's crater
provides a fertile summer oasis...
for 15,000 of the island's largest land resident...
the giant tortoise...
surviving a year
without food or water.
Their substantial size
allowed them to float here
from South America.
And with no competition,
they became the only large herbivore here.
Across Galapagos, drinking pools allow
these normally solitary giants to gather...
and mate.
With males double the size of females,
it's a clumsy affair...
MALE GRUNTING
NARRATOR: ...and one of the only occasions...
GRUNTING
NARRATOR: ...the impassioned males
ever vocalize.
MALE GRUNTING
GRUNTS
NARRATOR: It's now that pregnant females
begin an epic trek...
to their nesting grounds...
in the arid plains below.
At tortoise speed...
this pilgrimage of many miles
will take almost a month.
SEABIRDS SQUAWKING
NARRATOR: 40 miles away...
marine iguana mothers
are on their own nesting journey...
as the Galapagos summer warms the sand
to the perfect temperature for their eggs.
This five-year-old female
is eager to secure the best nesting site.
The first task is to dig a two-foot-deep burrow.
But rivals are eyeing up her hard work.
With a head bob...
battle lines are drawn.
Skill and experience
allows this mother to come out on top...
and precious eggs can be laid.
But now, the females' every move
is being watched...
by the island's apex predator...
Galapagos hawks.
But they know the most effective way to tackle
these two-foot-long reptiles...
is to bide their time...
and wait
for the battling females to tire.
Once the iguanas are exhausted...
the hunters move in for the kill...
with a precise incision to the jugular.
The smaller, slower females
are the first to fall.
SCREECHING
NARRATOR: Those who take cover should be protected.
But these clever raptors have acquired
a deadly new tactic...
Plucking the iguanas right from their burrows.
Now, the shelter and camouflage of the rocks
is the only hope.
Thanks to sheer determination...
she's safeguarded her next generation.
By taking advantage of the warming Galapagos sands...
and its life-giving waters...
marine iguanas are one of the most successful creatures
on these distant isles.
As the hot season fades,
signaling the return of the cold, nutrient-rich waters...
the sea lion colony is anticipating
the plentiful hunting season ahead.
And its juveniles are eager to join in.
BARKING
NARRATOR: Until now,
they've spent much of their time...
cooped up in a natural play pool...
under the ever-watchful eye
of the beachmaster bull.
BULL BARKING
NARRATOR: But soon, they'll be catching fish
by themselves...
so it's time to sharpen their skills in open water.
Out here...
there's infinite space for acrobatics...
peculiar neighbors...
and endless curiosities to investigate...
which help to hone dexterity
for hunting agile prey.
But life on the wild side
comes with its dangers.
Sharks up to eight feet long...
SEA LIONS BARKING
NARRATOR: ...have timed their appearance
with the arrival of novice youngsters.
GRUNTING
BARKING
NARRATOR: As the bull sounds the alarm...
the rest of the colony hangs back.
But the boisterous play...
acts like a dinner bell to the hungry shark.
With little experience of predators,
they're oblivious of the threat.
SEA LIONS BARKING
NARRATOR: As more sharks are drawn to the commotion...
the bull sea lion launches a counter-attack.
He may be smaller...
but by nipping at their tails...
and using his agility to avoid razor-sharp teeth...
he drives them from the bay.
SEA LIONS BARKING
NARRATOR: Though some are left with scars...
their lucky escape leaves them wiser
in the ways of the ocean...
allowing them to make the most
of their paradise home.
Catching a wave...
for the sheer joy of it.
Thanks to its extreme isolation...
the Galapagos remained unsettled by humans
until just 200 years ago.
But on Santa Cruz island...
everything has changed...
in just one tortoise lifetime.
This female is on her own weeks-long trek
from the highlands...
to lay her eggs.
But today a third of her home...
is farmland.
Though they're one inch thick,
tortoises can still feel
though their armored shells.
20,000 people now live on Santa Cruz.
Since humans first arrived,
over 90% of the island's tortoises...
have been lost.
Still, maternal instinct
drives this mother on...
to the lowland clearing...
where she herself was born...
up to 100 years ago.
These are the perfect sandy conditions...
to excavate a 12-inch-deep hole.
And under the cover of darkness,
she deposits her precious cargo...
of around 16 tennis ball-sized eggs...
which will mature
over the next four months.
Finally...
hatchlings emerge.
More than a thousand times smaller than their mother...
they're just three inches long.
Thanks to recent conservation efforts,
this nesting ground is now protected...
and the tortoise population
is starting to rebound.
With 97% of its land now preserved...
the Galapagos is the world's
most pristine tropical archipelago...
home to more than 2,000 species
found nowhere else on Earth.
With our continued help,
these irreplaceable island creatures
will endure...
in this enchanted Eden.
NARRATOR: For the Galapagos episode,
the Eden team were faced with filming
in one of the most isolated...
and inaccessible locations on the planet.
With the help of the latest camera technologies,
the crew captured previously unseen behaviors...
and found new ways
to tell the extraordinary stories
of the islands' remarkable inhabitants,
many of whom have no fear of humans.
The sea lions are all over us,
tugging on my fins.
The stories about Galapagos wildlife
being exceptionally tame are certainly true.
But the team were about to face a much bigger challenge...
Covid-19.
Everything closed down.
No one was allowed in...
or out of the islands.
Six months later,
when the crew are allowed to return...
travel protocols are a little more invasive.
Don't make me cry.
NURSE: Close your eyes. Relax.
[COUGHS] Ah!
NARRATOR: With tests results giving them the all-clear...
MAN: Yeah!
NARRATOR: ...they've got a lot of lost time to make up.
Heading to the exposed coast of Fernandina Island...
they've saved one of their toughest shoots till last.
A journey only the largest male iguanas dare to make.
JO: The dream shot we want
is an iguana in a roller
similar to the classic, kind of, surfer shot that you might see.
That involves the underwater team
basically going into a washing machine.
JAVIER: We're in a pretty remote location,
so if we would get washed offshore,
then we would be facing
high chances of getting lost.
NARRATOR: Safety is paramount...
and the South American dive team are well versed
in the challenges of the pounding Pacific surf.
SANTI: Our tactics are based on
being as close to the waves as we can,
so we're gonna go very light
with fins just to kick around the waves
and try not to get dragged.
NARRATOR: With tons of water breaking over them
every few seconds...
even with their extensive experience...
they struggle to film.
JAVIER: Each big wave made everything turn white.
I was trying to hold shots, but at the same time
you're kind of looking around to see where you are.
SANTI: You end up fighting all the water movement.
We were bracing ourselves with our feet, with our hands,
and just leaving one hand to hold the camera.
It's, uh... a bit nerve-wracking,
so it wasn't ideal.
NARRATOR: The team need to rethink their plan.
It's just finding the balance and the right spots
where we can see this happening
without us ending
dragged down the shore by these big waves.
NARRATOR: With their limited filming days running out,
the crew scour iguana-feeding haunts
along the jagged coastline.
They need to find the perfect spot...
with deep enough water to protect them
from the breaking waves above.
SANTI: We finally came across this place
that it's sheltered for us
but the waves are still huge and breaking over us,
so, yeah, hopefully we can manage
to get the most out of this.
NARRATOR: Santi and Javier prepare to make
one of their very last dives.
Sheltered by a reef edge,
the team finally stand a chance
of capturing the shots they came here for.
SANTI: It's been amazing.
It's just, yeah, so beautiful and so much going on.
SANTI: The big waves come in and
there's so much water being moved around,
some iguanas get turned out of their feeding place
and they just come out of nowhere
in every direction,
and you see them, like, upside down,
trying to brace themselves against things.
It cost me a fin, a boot,
but it's totally worth it
getting to film stuff that nobody has seen.
It's nerve-wracking, but at the same time
it's been a really fulfilling experience.
JAVIER: Actually getting to see them struggling in and out,
it's really humbling
to see what iguanas have to go through.
NARRATOR: These ground-breaking images illustrate
the remarkable adaptability
and endurance
of Galapagos creatures...
in their efforts to make these far-flung islands home.
With its unique collection of creatures..
this place will continue
to captivate...
and inspire us...
for generations to come.