(mumbles)
(fireworks)
Nightlife and beautiful beaches,
(cheerful music)
sun times and tapas.
But Spain is so much more
it's a crossroads between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic
between Europe and Africa resulting in diverse landscapes,
ancient cultures and glorious wildlife.
It's a hidden Spain missed by many tourists
who fail to venture outside the resorts.
Worlds within worlds,
the medieval towns, to farming communities, desert,
mountains and forests with some of the most dramatic
and diverse wildlife of the continent.
(piano music)
(birds chirping)
The seas of Northern Spain
are some of the richest in the world
with an impressive diversity of marine mammals.
There one of the few places on earth
where elusive beaked whales can be observed.
Several species inhabit the canyons
like this shy Sowerby's beaked whale,
they spend little time at the surface
and mostly foraging for squid in the ocean depths.
Diving for well over an hour and a descending sometimes
thousands of meters into the abyss.
The whales are here because beneath the surface,
lie massive trenches,
some twice as deep as the Grand Canyon.
(dramatic music)
They create upwellings bringing nutrients to the surface
as well as stirring the seas, earning this region,
the Bay of Biscay, the reputation of the wrecker of ships.
The trenches of the continuation
of Spain's Cantabrian Mountains that stretch 300 kilometers
along the country's northern border.
(birds clucking)
(heavy ocean water throbs)
The force of the sea makes itself well felt along the coast.
In winter, fierce storms rage.
And in summer fog forms,
the resulting rainfall gives them mountains of Cantabria,
their own unique personality.
The lush pasture, ideal for small herders
for generations they have grazed their livestock,
moving them up and down the hills.
(tractor engine roaring)
Today there's little money in farming.
And young people are moving to the cities to work,
leaving the villages locked
in a romantic cloak of forgotten times.
(guitar music)
It's not just people making a living in the hills.
(birds chirping)
Because of the rugged terrain, nature has been undisturbed.
(birds cawing)
The mountains are home to a stunning array of wildlife,
including wolves, chamois,
and a rare subspecies of brown bear,
isolated into populations in the Cantabrian Mountains.
The bears live in little islands of wilderness
among towns and farm land.
Less than 300 of these rare bears remain.
Every cub is protected
a precious natural treasure of the Spain.
(cricket chirping)
They've become a tourist attraction,
boosting the economy and increasing the desire
to protect nature among the people who share these hills.
And in doing so,
they are protecting many other fantastic species.
Among them bird life in abundance.
(birds chirping)
Spain boasts more than 600 species of birds.
The blue throat is a secretive, but dazzling flycatcher.
It's beautiful song, a war cry.
(birds singing)
A territorial warning to others in the region.
The higher you climb into the mountains,
which tower 2600 meters into the air,
the more hostile and colorless the landscape seems
were it not for the birds
yellow-billed Alpine chough live in social flocks
but it's one of the most solitary and secretive birds
that's also the most spectacular.
The wall creeper.
Social interactions are unusual.
But this is a mother trying to encourage her chick
to fly the nest.
(dramatic music)
He's been hanging around demanding handouts
but she's playing hard to get
and leading him further from home.
Perhaps he'll finally take the hint.
Wall creepers make a living seeking out
and surprising insects from between the rocks.
They find plenty but it's on the flower Meadow
of lower Alpine slopes where insects are bound.
Around 150 species of butterfly are drawn to the blooms.
Including the impressive mountain Apollo.
Unusually, this abundance of life is in part,
thanks to a human presence
the meadows or mowed to create cattle feed.
The regular trim stops trees and bushes from taking hold.
Maintaining a grassland of flowers and butterflies.
The lush green is thanks to the heavy rainfall
from the coast.
(birds singing)
(river flowing)
Because of this flow of water,
the mountains are scored by streams
that can even support a unique high altitude amphibian.
They are asterion fire salamander,
(cheerful music)
it's a subspecies of fire salamander.
Similar to its cousin in appearance and passion for worms
yet distinct because of its beautiful yellow skin.
But the abundance of water here
does not reflect most of Spain.
The mountain range to the north creates a rain shadow.
It sucks in the moisture from the sea.
Most walls on high country are north facing slopes.
(soft music)
And as a result,
most of the vast landmass to the south is more arid.
A warm, dry mediterranean climate but still high up.
Most of Spain is an enormous platter, the meseta.
These are the oldest rocks in the country.
As the highest points,
patches of snow can linger a year round
they are home to a genetically distinct group of chamois.
Because they favor mountains,
many populations have grown in isolation
on different ranges, resulting in 10 subspecies
of all the varieties the Cantabrian chamois are the smallest
slightly smaller than a Great Dane.
But what they lack in size they make up for in other talents
considered goat antelope
because they represent the ancestral animal
that gave rise to both.
They are nimble like antelope
and with the climbing skills of goats.
(soft music)
To avoid predators like wolves,
they sleep high on the craggy slopes.
But during the day, descend to alpine meadows to feed.
Everyone's heard of chamois leathers,
the soft cloth used to clean cars and windows
traditionally they were made from chamois skin,
which is unusually soft and elastic when tanned.
The commodity almost drove
the beautiful animals to extinction.
Today their numbers are higher,
and hunting is carefully controlled.
Chamois are a vital part of the food chain here
and favored prey to the region's wolves, bears and eagles.
Their carcasses also feed
some of Spain's most dramatic birds.
Because so much of Spain is mountainous
it has more vultures and more species
than anywhere else in Europe.
The black mercenaries vulture is the biggest,
a dark beauty with a three meter wingspan.
The Egyptian vulture is the smallest.
It's been observed using rocks to crack eggs,
making it one of the few birds to use tools.
It's also the only one of Spain's vultures to migrate
traveling 7000 kilometers to Africa for the winter.
Each species has their own feeding preferences.
And no leash is more specific than magnificent lammergeier.
Also known as bearded vultures
because of their magnificent gloomage.
They drop in for the last helping of any meal, the bones
and have such powerful stomach acid,
they can digest the bone and the tasty marrow within.
The commonest giant in the skies of Spain
is the magnificent griffon vulture.
(dramatic music)
The fierce sun warms low lying areas
and the heat is pushed up against the rocks,
creating thermals, warm currents of rising air,
the vultures can go with the flow,
soaring to 600 meters or more traveling many kilometers
without ever needing to flap.
They have incredible eyesight, scowering the planes below.
Black kites have already found treasure.
A cow, it's quite a feast
but trouble is brewing overhead
(birds shrieking)
with their long practically bored necks,
griffon vulture can reach deep inside the carcass.
Vultures have a bad rep.
Many people find them disgusting,
but then vitally important.
Vultures are the ultimate recyclers, cleaning up carcasses
that could otherwise rot and spread disease.
Spain is the second highest
and most mountainous country in Europe,
sculpted by several dramatic mountain ranges
and huge plateaus,
on the slopes below, rocks give way to trees.
Around 36% of Spain is forested,
though that forest comes in many forms.
A huge chunk of Central Western Spain
is known as the Extremadura.
It's the size of Switzerland,
but with a much smaller population.
It's Spain's wild west,
where cowboys still ride to work.
Bathed in a Mediterranean climate,
the region's mild in winter
and very hot and dry during the summer.
(birds singing)
(soft music)
The heat brings abundant plant growth.
Different flowers decorate each season.
Spain boasts more than 8000 plant species,
20% of which are found nowhere else on Earth.
The flowers grow around grows with olive trees and home oak.
The home oaks deliver bountiful acorns that plump up pigs
the well fed porkers have made Extremadura
famous for its ham.
But there's another oak tree here
whose produce ends up all over the world.
Every year men arrive and attack it with axes and knives.
They are stripping it's bark known to most of us as cork
men who've been doing this for centuries
and know the exact amount to remove
without killing the tree.
Cork oaks have the unique ability to regenerate their bark.
If the men get it right,
they'll be able to return to this tree in nine years
and harvest is again.
The industry for bottle corks and smoked ham
preserve the semi managed forest
because they kept open, they have a higher plant diversity
than any other forest, with more than 135 species
per square kilometer.
The gnarly old trees make good homes for many animals.
Stokes use the tree tops platforms
to build a giant sky rises.
Returning to the same nest every year, they pile them high.
The structure is sometimes weigh more than a ton.
(bills clapping)
They throw their heads back and bill clap
to express their devotion to each other
before committing to a family.
Pupose nest in tree cavities below.
(bird hooting)
Though they related to kingfishers and woodpeckers,
they have a look that is all that round.
With fast growing chicks, these parents have to work
around the clock to silence the hungry mouths.
They use their long beaks to probe the ground
for small animals, fruits, seeds and most of all insects.
(soft music)
Both the mother and chicks produce a foul oil
that coat their bodies, it's set to smell like rotting meat
and probably acts as a pesticide,
preventing the buildup of parasites in the nest.
Both parents will run themselves ragged for about a month
until the young are finally ready to leave the home
pupose are colorful and hard to miss,
but there are other creatures living in the trees
that are masters of going unnoticed.
In the rotten heart of an old oak tree
a weary mother tends to her young
Genets are rare in Europe,
found mostly in the warmer climate at the Southwest.
They're widespread across Africa,
and may have been introduced here by the Romans
as pest control because of their mouse catching skills.
This one's a single mom.
Genets like to be solitary,
unless they have kids to take care of.
Her little pair were born blind and helpless,
but under her care, they're growing fast.
She's still providing milk for them
when they are four months old.
But for the next few weeks, she'll stay busy.
She needs to keep yourself in good shape,
but only sneaks out to feed once the sun has set.
Illuminated only by the Milky Way she creeps out
with the low human population,
there's little light pollution out here,
giving Spain side Europe's finest spots for stargazing.
But she has other things on her mind.
With nocturnal habits she's rarely seen
apart from her tony owl neighbor both are on the prowl
the vol better beware.
Genets and that only living relatives civets
are considered proto cats having many cat like traits,
long slinking bodies and semi retractable claws.
She's an expert climber and knows that day active birds
could be sound asleep in the branches.
(soft music)
The pigeon never saw what hit it.
She'll hunt any small animals and dispatches them
with a bite to the back of the head.
Below her, a true cat the rarest in the world
an Iberian lynx only found in southwestern Europe.
Hunting and habitat loss
pushed his population down to less than 100.
Careful protection has helped a slow recovery to about 400.
He's mostly preys on rabbits and rodents
but can even tackle small deer.
The genet decides to stay out of its way
and returns to her nest,
ready to sit out the heat of the day.
(dramatic music)
The mercury rises quickly in Spain, especially to the south
in the region known as Andalusia,
home of the gore fay desert,
one of the hottest and driest parts of Europe.
Likened to the Grand Canyon, this is a land of sun lovers,
reptiles
and insects rule.
A praying mantis cleans its complex eyes,
distracted it doesn't notice a predator on the prowl.
The scorpions armed with pinching claws
and the venomous sting.
But there's a twist in this tale.
The praying mantis has lightning reactions.
Its spine covered arms pinning the scorpion
before it has the chance to strike.
Cold blooded creatures enjoy solar radiation in the desert.
The warm weather gives Spain the grand total
of 45 species of reptiles, in a land of contrasts,
the desert is framed by the snow capped peaks
of the Sierra Nevada.
After the Alps, it's the highest mountain range in Europe.
It's deep ravines and gorges remain a fortress
to one of the country's most dramatic mammals,
the Spanish ibex.
They used to be to other kinds of ibex in Spain,
but hunting drove them to extinction.
Fortunately, this last survivor thrives.
For most of the year,
female ibex wonder apart from the males
protecting their young in the center of their group.
Only once the young are old enough
to leave their mother's side will both sexes meet.
During rutting season, the males
with their impressive 75 centimeter horns
do their best to flirt.
They strut, heads low, tails high and tongues out.
Apparently, the females find this alluring in theory,
it's like a game of kiss chase,
with several males pursuing a female.
Usually the horniest wins.
The boys giving way to the bigger headgear of a mature male.
Though so far, the girls don't seem too impressed.
Andalusia is a treasured unique region of Spain.
Still steeped in culture and tradition.
Its famed for its cowboys,
wild horses and bull fights.
Herds with the impressive animals still roam.
Every year over 100 cowboys gather for a dramatic roundup.
2000 of free roaming animals are driven back
through the town of El Rocio.
They're heading for a world famous market,
where best will be sold off for riding.
(traditional music)
Here tradition runs riot,
especially over the Easter period
when it hosts the biggest party in Spain.
The celebrations go through to Whit Sunday.
When this parade arrives after a five day march
thousands of pilgrims come to greet it.
Now the celebrations really get underway.
It's a reminder of the strength
of Roman Catholic tradition in Spain.
The time of scenes of color and culture have played out here
for 800 years.
It's no wonder tourists flock
to this incredible region of Spain.
Andalusia not only reveals the nation's proud heritage
but its natural wonders.
It's a region with enormous diversity.
Within a few 10s of kilometers,
terrain can go from snow capped mountains
to sub tropical beaches.
And everything in between.
The ancient cities show Moorish roots
with historic influxes of people
from nearby North Africa of a millennia.
Some species make the most of the old buildings.
Sparrows here have some unusual roommates.
Unlike most birds of prey,
lesser kestrels are social and nest in colonies.
This can lead to a fair amount of squabbling
one of the smallest birds of prey in Europe,
their nests fit nicely under old roof tiles.
Lesser kestrel feed almost entirely on insects.
And the use of pesticides over the last hundred years
has massively decreased their population.
The sparrows don't seem concerned by the tiny predators.
Though the young kestrel objects to the trespassing.
The intruder gets bolder.
Little pesky insects often build up in bird's nest.
Perhaps he spots a snack.
But he makes way when dad arrives with food.
(wind blowing)
It's hot here,
very hot, often 40 degrees or more in summer
something much appreciated by another insect eater.
The common chameleon hugs the Mediterranean coast
to savor the balmy climate.
Creeping like a leaf catching the breeze,
rotating his big beady eyes independently
and of course with his famous ability to change his hue.
The chameleon is the master of stealth.
When he spots prey, he freezes, aims and fires.
With the fastest tongue in the west,
he snagged the cricket in just one 20th of a millisecond.
Then those beady eyes start scanning for a second helping.
(dramatic haunting music)
A movement grabs his attention,
but not what he was hoping for.
Chameleons are fiercely territorial.
They occupy different heights on the plants
based on their rank to avoid conflicts like this,
darkened with rage
but it seems this was all a mistake.
The trespasser is keen to move on without causing trouble
having escorted the unwelcome guests off,
he can get back to breakfast.
Surrounded by mountains,
the low lands received a lot of water.
The Guadalquivir rises in the mountains far inland.
The second longest river in Spain.
It flows for more than 650 kilometers
until it reaches a huge delta close to the southern coast,
forming the spectacular damiana wetland.
One of Europe's most important habitats,
both for resident and migrating birds.
Summer's here are harsh,
shrinking pools mean animals must trek for water
and pond life can be left high and dry.
But Spain Southern coastline touches two bodies of water.
Its Southern peninsula stands between the Mediterranean Sea
on the eastern side and to the southwest, the Atlantic.
Storms from this much colder ocean
ensure plenty of winter rainfall.
With the water sources refreshed, life locks.
Pools that were desiccated are soon teeming with life.
Shrimp eggs that laid dormant in the mud quickly hatch
and draw one of the region's most colorful inhabitants.
Flamingos need no introduction.
It's the carotene, the red pigment in their shrimp prey
that colors their feathers.
These birds like a party.
They always live in flocks and only breed
if they've got enough bodies around them.
Their pinks get most vibrant for the breeding season
when the birds dance to impress their mates.
Something that may have inspired
one of the most iconic Spanish arts, the flamenco
which shares its name with the Spanish for Flamingo.
(Spanish dance music)
Beyond the wetlands, the Mediterranean glistens
and inviting tuck waves.
It's mostly warm water, but it does attract visitors
from the colder Atlantic.
A small population of around 40 orca or killer whales
live in the Straits of Gibraltar,
(whales pulse calls)
a narrow channel of water between northern Africa
and southern Spain.
The water separates the Mediterranean and Atlantic.
As the killers are here to feast on bluefin tuna
that migrate to the Straits,
whales often interact with fisheries
that are after the same prey.
With 8000 kilometers of coastline,
Spain has the biggest fishing industry in Europe.
It's worth over 2 billion euros to the Spanish economy,
which equates to over a million tons of fish a year.
With seafood being a major part of the local cuisine
but it's not all big industrial fishing ships.
There are many small independent fishermen
taking a carefully controlled catch
from a long Spain's rich Mediterranean shores.
(soft music)
Many areas are protected against over exploitation,
creating a haven for marine life.
Stripped dolphins, a small and agile species
that's quite common in the Med
seem to race the fishing vessels
and beneath the surface,
a hawkbill turtle dives under the reefs
spooking an octopus.
Common here octopus are extraordinary members
of the mollusk family, related to squid and snails.
But they are uniquely brainy
with problem solving intelligence.
Expertise in camouflaging on the reef
and extracting prey from between the rocks.
Mediterranean slipper lobsters rely on their body armor,
as well as their terrain to protect them from predators.
The marine life of Spain is amazing.
There are considered to be 900 different marine habitats,
supporting 10,000 species of animals.
The richest marine diversity in Europe
from cold ocean to tropical paradise
and everything in between.
(cheerful music)
Spain is full of wonder.
Even for those who don't explore.
Spain has done more than most to preserve its wildlife
and wild places
with nearly 30% of the land
and 20% of its waters protected,
keeping hidden Spain ready to be discovered by us all.