Narrator: THE ATLANTIC OCEAN--
HOME TO A HANDFUL OF ISLANDS... SMALL AND ISOLATED.
MOST AREN’T EVEN VISIBLE ON A WORLD MAP.
YET THEY’RE HOME TO SOME OF EARTH’S GREATEST TREASURES:
SECLUDED BEACHES...
PROTECTED NESTING GROUNDS...
AND GEOLOGICAL WONDERS.
THIS IS A JOURNEY THROUGH THE ATLANTIC...
TO SOME OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR PLACES ON EARTH.
THEY ARE BOTH PLAYGROUNDS...
AND SANCTUARIES...
[SQUAWKING]
PLACES WHERE SOME SPECIES STRUGGLE...
AND OTHERS THRIVE.
[HONKING]
WE’LL TREK FROM THE ARCTIC TO THE ANTARCTIC
TO DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE WILD ATLANTIC ISLANDS.
[RUMBLING]
♪
FEW PLACES ON EARTH REMAIN LARGELY UNTOUCHED
AND UNINHABITED BY HUMANS.
♪
BUT SUCH SPOTS DO EXIST
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN--
ISLANDS THOUSANDS OF MILES FROM ANY MAINLAND.
TO EXPLORE EARTH AT ITS WILDEST, WE TRAVELED THE ATLANTIC
TO EIGHT ISLANDS FEW PEOPLE HAVE HEARD OF,
MUCH LESS VISITED.
THEY’RE HARD TO FIND... HARDER TO REACH...
AND OFTEN DOWNRIGHT FOREBODING.
THESE DISTANT SPOTS ARE KEY
IN UNDERSTANDING BOTH OUR PLANET’S PAST
AND ITS FUTURE.
OUR JOURNEY BEGINS IN A NATION KNOWN FOR ICE,
BUT BORN FROM FIRE--
ICELAND.
[RUMBLING]
THIS IS THE WORLD’S LARGEST VOLCANIC ISLAND,
AND ONE OF THE BEST PLACES ON EARTH
TO EXAMINE OUR GEOLOGICAL PAST.
[RUMBLING]
ITS STUNNING LANDSCAPES FORMED AROUND 20 MILLION YEARS AGO...
WHEN AN UNDERWATER VOLCANO ERUPTED AND PUSHED THIS LAND UP.
♪
TODAY, ICELAND IS A PLACE OF EXTREMES,
FROM COOL WATERS...
TO GEOTHERMAL FIELDS.
♪
THE ISLAND’S HEAT COMES FROM ITS LOCATION.
IT’S PART OF A HUGE UNDERWATER MOUNTAIN RANGE
CALLED THE MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE.
ICELAND IS ONE OF THE FEW PLACES WHERE THE RIDGE JUTS ABOVE WATER
AND THE ONLY PLACE YOU CAN SEE
THE TECTONIC PLATES AT ITS HEART.
THE NORTH AMERICAN AND EURASIAN PLATES,
ON EITHER SIDE OF THIS VALLEY, ARE MOVING APART SLOWLY,
AT ABOUT THE SAME RATE FINGERNAILS GROW.
BUT THAT SMALL MOVEMENT HAS MAJOR RIPPLE EFFECTS.
IT CREATES CRACKS DEEP UNDERGROUND
WHERE MAGMA PUSHES UP, EXPANDING THE VALLEY--
AND ICELAND-- BY ABOUT AN INCH A YEAR.
[RUMBLING]
THE PLATE MOVEMENT ALSO FUELS ICELAND’S 30 ACTIVE VOLCANOES.
THERE’S A VOLCANIC EVENT HERE ABOUT EVERY FIVE YEARS.
[RUMBLING]
[BIRDS SQUAWKING]
ON THE COAST, EVIDENCE OF ICELAND’S FIERY PAST
IS EVERYWHERE.
BUT HERE, VOLCANIC ROCK SERVES AS A SANCTUARY
FOR THOUSANDS OF SEABIRDS.
THEY FLOCK TO THESE REMOTE CLIFFS FROM JUNE TO AUGUST,
AS THE ISLAND THAWS.
[SQUAWKING]
THE BIRDS ARE PREY
FOR THE NATION’S ONLY NATIVE LAND MAMMAL--
THE ARCTIC FOX.
THIS MOTHER AND HER CUBS
ARE DIRECT DESCENDANTS OF THE ICE AGE.
THE FOXES HAVE NO NATURAL PREDATORS IN ICELAND--
YET THEIR NUMBERS ARE DECLINING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 35 YEARS.
♪
EXPERTS DON’T KNOW WHY,
BUT SUSPECT CLIMATE CHANGE, LACK OF PREY, AND POLLUTION
ARE ALL FACTORS.
[YIPPING]
THE ANIMALS’ FUTURE REMAINS UNCERTAIN...
ON AN ISLAND THAT’S LONG BEEN THEIR HOME.
[YIPPING]
5,000 MILES SOUTH OF ICELAND,
ANOTHER PART OF THE MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE SURFACES.
JUST BELOW THE EQUATOR IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN
IS ASCENSION ISLAND.
THIS SPECK OF LAND IS A BRITISH TERRITORY,
WITH A POPULATION OF 800.
THERE ARE ONLY TWO WAYS TO GET HERE--
BY BOAT OR MILITARY AIRCRAFT.
THE ENTIRE LANDMASS IS THE TIP OF A VOLCANO,
WHICH EMERGED ABOUT A MILLION YEARS AGO
IN A MASSIVE ERUPTION.
[ROARING]
♪
THE RED SOIL HERE CONSISTS OF LAVA FRAGMENTS,
CALLED CLINKER, THAT BAKE IN THE SUBTROPICAL HEAT.
ONE EXPLORER CALLED ASCENSION "HELL WITH THE FIRES PUT OUT."
TODAY, THE ISLAND OFFERS A WINDOW
INTO MANKIND’S EFFECT ON NATURE.
♪
IN 1836, A YOUNG ENGLISHMAN AND NATURALIST LANDED ON ASCENSION
AND NOTED ITS LACK OF TREES.
HIS NAME WAS CHARLES DARWIN.
AT THE TIME, ASCENSION WAS A BLEAK MILITARY OUTPOST
FOR THE BRITISH NAVY.
IT WAS ALSO A QUARANTINE SPOT FOR SAILORS WITH DISEASES
LIKE DYSENTERY AND YELLOW FEVER.
THERE WAS NO FRESH WATER.
BUT WHERE SOME SAW DESOLATION, DARWIN SAW POSSIBILITY.
[WIND WHISTLING]
DARWIN AND HIS FRIEND, THE BOTANIST JOSEPH HOOKER,
TEAMED UP TO SOLVE ASCENSION’S WATER PROBLEM FOR ENGLAND.
THEY ADVISED THE NAVY TO CREATE AN ARTIFICIAL CLOUD FOREST--
A FOREST THAT TRAPS SEA MIST AND PROVIDES WATER.
[WIND WHISTLING]
IN 1857, SAILORS BEGAN PLANTING AN ODD ASSORTMENT OF TREES--
FROM BAMBOO TO BANANA TREES--
ON ASCENSION’S HIGHEST POINT.
THEY OPTIMISTICALLY NAMED IT GREEN MOUNTAIN.
AMAZINGLY, THE PLAN WORKED.
LEAVES TRAPPED MOISTURE...
WHICH DRIPPED DOWN AND PROVIDED FRESH WATER.
THE FOREST ALLOWED BRITISH AND AMERICAN TROOPS TO LIVE HERE
DURING BOTH WORLD WARS.
BUT ON ASCENSION, THE SOLDIERS FACED ANOTHER ENEMY--
THE SOOTY TERN...
[CACOPHONY OF SQUAWKING]
NICKNAMED THE "WIDEAWAKES" FOR THEIR NON-STOP NOISE.
DURING WORLD WAR TWO,
SOLDIERS EVEN DUBBED A NEARBY AIRFIELD "WIDEAWAKE FIELD."
[SQUAWKING]
THE BIRDS DISRUPTED THE MEN’S SLEEP--
AND THEIR FLIGHTS--
OFTEN COLLIDING WITH PLANES ON TAKEOFF AND LANDING.
THE U.S. ARMY ULTIMATELY RESORTED
TO KILLING THOUSANDS OF EGGS.
[SQUAWKING]
MORE RECENTLY, THE BIRDS’ NUMBERS HAVE FALLEN
BECAUSE OF RATS.
THE RODENTS, INTRODUCED BY SHIPS LONG AGO,
DROVE AWAY MANY BIRD SPECIES HERE--
AS DID CATS, WHICH WERE BROUGHT IN TO CONTROL THE RATS.
SEVERAL BIRD SPECIES FLED TO A SPOT JUST OFFSHORE
CALLED BOATSWAIN BIRD ISLAND.
THIS 13-ACRE ISLET HAS BECOME A SANCTUARY
FOR TEN SPECIES OF SEABIRDS...
[SQUAWKING]
EACH OF WHICH COLONIZES A DIFFERENT PART OF THE ISLAND.
[SQUAWKING]
THE WHITE FAIRY TERN INHABITS NARROW LEDGES.
THESE ANGELIC-LOOKING BIRDS ARE ACTUALLY RISK-TAKERS.
THEY LAY THEIR EGGS DIRECTLY ON THE ROCKS.
WHEN A CHICK HATCHES,
THE PARENTS STAY CLOSE FOR A FEW DAYS.
THEN THEY START TAKING FREQUENT FISHING TRIPS
TO FEED THEIR YOUNGSTER AND THEMSELVES.
[SQUAWKING]
THE TOP OF THE ISLET IS DOMINATED BY MASKED BOOBIES.
THE LONG-WINGED BIRDS NEST ON HIGH SPOTS
SO THEY CAN MORE EASILY TAKE FLIGHT.
THE SURROUNDING SLOPES
ARE HOME TO A BIRD THAT’S MADE A MAJOR COMEBACK--
THE ASCENSION FRIGATEBIRD, KNOWN FOR ITS RED-THROATED MALES.
FOR 180 YEARS, THEY LIVED ONLY ON THIS ISLET,
DRIVEN FROM ASCENSION BY THE RODENTS AND CATS.
IN 2006, FERAL CATS WERE ELIMINATED FROM ASCENSION,
AND THE FRIGATEBIRDS, ALONG WITH OTHER SEABIRDS,
SLOWLY RETURNED.
TODAY, THIS IS THE MAIN SEABIRD NESTING STATION
IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC.
[HONKING]
ASCENSION ISLAND IS A SAFE HAVEN FOR A LONG-ENDANGERED SPECIES--
THE GREEN SEA TURTLE.
THIS FEMALE IS ONE OF ABOUT 5,000
THAT HEADS TO THE ISLAND TO NEST.
SHE INSTINCTIVELY RETURNS TO THE BEACH WHERE SHE WAS BORN
TO LAY HER OWN EGGS.
THE FEMALE HAS TREKKED 1,200 MILES
FROM HER FEEDING GROUNDS NEAR BRAZIL.
♪
FOR FIVE CENTURIES, MEN WOULD CAMP OUT ON THESE BEACHES
TO HARVEST THE ANIMALS AND THEIR EGGS FOR FOOD.
THEY’D WATCH THE 700-POUND ANIMALS CAREFULLY DIG...
♪
THEN WAIT AS THE TURTLES NESTED.
♪
FEMALES LAY AROUND 100 EGGS...
♪
AND SHED TEARS, A WAY OF EXPELLING SALT WATER.
♪
AS THE EXHAUSTED MOTHERS LUMBERED BACK TO THE OCEAN,
HUNTERS WOULD POUNCE--
FLIPPING THE ANIMALS AND TRAPPING THEM ON THEIR BACKS.
HARVESTERS KILLED UP TO A THOUSAND TURTLES EACH YEAR--
UNTIL THE PRACTICE WAS BANNED IN THE 1930s.
♪
IT TOOK 40 YEARS
FOR THE GREEN SEA TURTLES HERE TO REBOUND.
TODAY, ASCENSION HAS
THE SECOND LARGEST COLONY IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
♪
HUNDREDS OF TURTLES NOW BURY MILLIONS OF EGGS HERE EACH YEAR,
WITH EACH FEMALE NESTING UP TO SEVEN TIMES.
♪
TWO MONTHS AFTER THE MOTHERS LEAVE, THE EGGS HATCH.
♪
THEIR SHELLS ATTRACT SCAVENGERS CALLED SALLY LIGHTFOOTS.
♪
AT LOW TIDE, THEY COMB THE BEACH FOR ANYTHING EDIBLE.
♪
AS THE CRABS CLEAN UP,
THE BABY TURTLES INSTINCTIVELY HEAD TOWARD THE OCEAN.
♪
OUT OF EVERY THOUSAND HATCHLINGS,
ONLY ONE WILL LIVE TO ADULTHOOD.
THOSE THAT DO WILL RETURN TO THIS BEACH...
TO MAKE NESTS OF THEIR OWN.
THROUGHOUT ASCENSION’S HISTORY,
ONE THING HAS REMAINED CONSTANT--
THE LAND CRABS.
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, THEY WERE THE LARGEST ANIMALS HERE,
THOUGH NO ONE KNOWS HOW THEY ARRIVED,
SINCE THEY CAN’T SWIM.
EVERY YEAR, THE FEMALES BULK UP
FOR ONE OF NATURE’S TOUGHEST TREKS...
A HALF-MILE JOURNEY
FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE SHORE TO NEST.
IT’S TOO HOT TO MAKE THE DESCENT DURING THE DAY...
SO THE FEMALES WAIT FOR NIGHTFALL.
EVEN THEN, IT’S SLOW GOING.
IT TAKES THEM A FULL WEEK TO REACH THE WATER.
NEXT, THE ANIMALS WAIT FOR A WAVE--
TO SHAKE OUT THEIR EGGS.
♪
FOR THESE NON-SWIMMERS, TIMING IS EVERYTHING.
♪
AFTERWARDS, THE FEMALES MAKE THE SLOW TREK BACK.
IN THREE WEEKS, THEIR BABIES WILL EMERGE FROM THE OCEAN
AND HEAD HOME.
TRAVELING SOUTH DOWN THE MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
IS AN ISLAND GROUP EVEN MORE REMOTE THAN ASCENSION--
TRISTAN DA CUNHA.
THIS BRITISH TERRITORY NAMED AFTER A PORTUGUESE EXPLORER
ALSO SITS IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC.
ITS FOUR ISLANDS ARE THE TIPS OF UNDERWATER VOLCANOES--
ALL IN THE PATH OF RELENTLESS WINDS
KNOWN AS "THE ROARING FORTIES."
THEY MAKE THE SEVEN-DAY BOAT RIDE HERE
AN ADVENTURE IN AND OF ITSELF.
THE FIERCE WINDS BRING WHITECAPS AND RAIN...
UP TO THREE WEEKS OUT OF EVERY MONTH.
TRISTAN IS THE WORLD’S MOST REMOTE INHABITED ISLAND.
ITS SINGLE VILLAGE HAS A POPULATION OF 262.
THE SETTLEMENT SITS BENEATH QUEEN MARY’S PEAK--
THE VOLCANIC SUMMIT.
IT LAST ERUPTED IN 1961,
FORCING FAMILIES HERE TO EVACUATE.
♪
TWO YEARS LATER, THEY RETURNED TO THE FARMING LIFE
THAT DOMINATES TRISTAN.
THE MAIN CROP IS POTATOES,
WHICH THRIVE IN THE VOLCANIC ASH.
[BIRDS CALLING]
HERE, NATURE EVOLVES AROUND HUMANS
IN UNEXPECTED WAYS.
TRISTAN IS HOME TO SEVEN SPECIES OF LAND BIRDS--
INCLUDING THESE FINCHES.
THEY ORIGINATED FROM SOUTH AMERICA--
2,000 MILES AWAY.
BUT ON TRISTAN, THEY’VE CHANGED, EVOLVING INTO DIFFERENT SPECIES,
EACH WITH A BILL ADAPTED FOR A SPECIFIC KIND OF SEED.
ANOTHER LAND BIRD, CALLED THE TRISTAN THRUSH,
HAS CHANGED FROM AN HERBIVORE TO A CARNIVORE.
[PENGUINS BRAYING]
THE BIRDS LURK AROUND TRISTAN’S COLONIES
OF NORTHERN ROCKHOPPER PENGUINS.
THEY PECK AT THE LARGER BIRDS’ OPEN WOUNDS...
AND DRINK THEIR BLOOD.
[BRAYING]
♪
[HONKING]
♪
[BRAYING]
IT’S A STARK EXAMPLE OF SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.
[BRAYING]
TRISTAN DA CUNHA HAS THE WORLD’S LARGEST NUMBER
OF NORTHERN ROCKHOPPER PENGUINS,
WHICH HOP RATHER THAN WADDLE.
BUT THE SPECIES IS IN TROUBLE.
THEIR POPULATION HAS DECREASED 90% SINCE THE 1950s.
THE BIGGEST THREAT TO THEM
USED TO BE HUNTERS SEEKING THEIR DECORATIVE FEATHERS.
TODAY, THE CULPRITS ARE CLIMATE CHANGE AND OVERFISHING,
WHICH HAS CUT DOWN THE FOOD SUPPLY
FOR BOTH THE PENGUINS AND ANOTHER TRISTAN RESIDENT...
THE SUBANTARCTIC FUR SEAL.
[PUPS CRYING]
THESE PUPS LIVE IN ONE OF SEVERAL BREEDING COLONIES
THAT HAVE RE-EMERGED ON TRISTAN.
[WARBLING]
THE SPECIES WAS ONCE PUSHED TO THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION,
LARGELY BY SEALERS FROM NORTH AMERICA.
IN THE 17- AND 1800s,
HUNTERS SLAUGHTERED THOUSANDS OF THESE ANIMALS
FOR THEIR THICK PELTS.
THE PRACTICE STOPPED IN THE 20th CENTURY
WHEN THE SPECIES EARNED WIDESPREAD PROTECTION.
[BELLOWING]
HUNDREDS OF PUPS NOW THRIVE ON TRISTAN.
[BELLOWING]
♪
THE ANIMALS LINE THE ROCKY SHORES
DURING BREEDING SEASON EACH FALL.
BUT THEY’RE MOST AT HOME IN THE WATER.
♪
MOTHERS HUNT ALONE...
OR IN GROUPS...
FORTIFYING THEMSELVES TO NURSE THEIR PUPS BACK ON SHORE.
♪
THESE MASTER DIVERS CAN PLUNGE UP TO 60 FEET
AND HOLD THEIR BREATH FOR FOUR MINUTES.
♪
THE WATERS HERE ARE RICH WITH FOOD,
SINCE COMMERCIAL FISHING IS BANNED.
THE SEALS USE THEIR SHARP EYESIGHT AND KEEN HEARING
TO TRACK DOWN FISH AND KRILL.
♪
THESE PROTECTED WATERS ALSO TEEM WITH PLANT LIFE.
OCEAN CURRENTS, ALONG WITH THE ROARING FORTIES,
STIR UP SEDIMENT DEEP UNDERGROUND...
WHICH FEEDS TOWERING FORESTS OF KELP.
THIS IS HOME TO TRISTAN’S MOST ABUNDANT FISH,
CALLED THE FIVE-FINGERS...
ALONG WITH A COLOR-STREAKED SPECIES
NAMED THE TRISTAN WRASSE.
♪
THE SCHOOLS OF FISH AROUND TRISTAN
FEED 25 SPECIES OF SEABIRDS--
INCLUDING YELLOW-NOSED ALBATROSSES.
♪
[SQUAWKING]
THEY’RE FOUND THROUGHOUT THE SOUTH ATLANTIC,
BUT TRISTAN IS THE ONLY PLACE THAT THEY NEST.
IN AUGUST, THE BIRDS BEGIN MOVING INLAND
TO TRISTAN’S VOLCANIC PEAK.
HERE, AMONG DWARF TREE FERNS,
THE ALBATROSSES BUILD THEIR NESTS.
PAIRS ARE MONOGAMOUS AND OFTEN RETURN TO THE SAME NESTING SITE.
♪
TOGETHER, THEY CARE FOR A SINGLE BABY BIRD...
[SQUEAKING]
TAKING TURNS FISHING, THEN FEEDING.
♪
BY SPRING, THEIR CHICK WILL LEAVE THE NEST
AND WON’T RETURN TO LAND FOR FIVE YEARS.
♪
[SQUAWKING]
IN THE EVENINGS ON TRISTAN,
A RELATIVE OF THE ALBATROSS GATHERS OFFSHORE--
THE GREAT SHEARWATERS.
THESE BIRDS ARE COMMON IN NORTH AMERICA
BUT ONLY BREED ON THESE REMOTE ISLANDS.
MILLIONS DESCEND ON TRISTAN EACH YEAR.
THE BIRDS SPEND THEIR DAYS FISHING.
WHEN NIGHT FALLS, THEY’LL RETURN TO THEIR NESTS
AND FEED THEIR YOUNG UNTIL THE SUN RISES AGAIN.
MOVING FURTHER SOUTH IN THE ATLANTIC...
TOWARDS THE TIP OF SOUTH AMERICA...
ARE THE FALKLAND ISLANDS.
THE CHAIN CONSISTS OF TWO MAIN ISLANDS--
EAST AND WEST--
ALONG WITH HUNDREDS OF SMALLER ONES.
TODAY THIS REMOTE CHAIN IS BEST KNOWN FOR ITS DIVERSITY.
♪
COMMERSON’S DOLPHINS PLAY IN THE SURF...
♪
WHILE ON THE BEACH, BIRDS ABOUND.
[CHIRPING]
FIVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PENGUINS LIVE HERE,
INCLUDING THE GENTOO.
THE FALKLANDS HAVE THE LARGEST GENTOO POPULATION ON EARTH--
MORE THAN 120,000 PAIRS.
[SQUAWKING]
DURING THE DAY, THE BIRDS BUSILY FISH ON SHORE.
[HONKING]
♪
THEN, IN THE EVENING, THEY WADDLE INLAND TO THEIR NESTS.
FOR A TWO-FOOT-TALL PENGUIN, IT’S A LONG HAUL.
[HONKING]
THERE ARE MORE THAN 230 BIRD SPECIES IN THE FALKLANDS.
[SQUAWKING]
THE ISLANDS ARE HOME TO THE STRIATED CARACARA,
THE WORLD’S SOUTHERNMOST BIRD OF PREY.
[SCREECHING]
THIS AREA IS ALSO POPULAR WITH SOUTHERN ROCKHOPPER PENGUINS--
CLOSE RELATIVES OF THE NORTHERN ONES.
BUT THE SHOW STOPPERS ON THE FALKLANDS
ARE THE BLACK-BROWED ALBATROSSES--
NAMED FOR THE FAINT BLACK BROW OVER THEIR EYES.
[SQUEAKING]
TWO-THIRDS OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION NEST HERE--
AROUND A MILLION BIRDS.
[CHIRPING AND SQUAWKING]
♪
THE SEABIRDS OFTEN MIX WITH THE LOCAL PENGUIN POPULATION--
BOTH PEACEFULLY...
AND NOT SO PEACEFULLY.
[SQUAWKING]
♪
[SQUAWKING]
♪
WHEN NESTING SEASON ENDS, THE ALBATROSSES TAKE FLIGHT.
THEIR SEVEN-FOOT WINGSPAN MAKES FOR AWKWARD TAKEOFFS...
[SQUAWKING]
BUT EASY FLIGHT.
THE EXPERT GLIDERS CAN FLY FOR HOURS
WITHOUT A SINGLE WINGBEAT.
♪
BY RIDING AIR CURRENTS,
THEY TRAVEL THOUSANDS OF MILES WITH MINIMAL EFFORT.
[SQUAWKING]
AND EACH FALL, THEY RETURN TO THIS FAMILIAR SPOT TO NEST.
♪
THE FALKLANDS’ TWO MAIN ISLANDS SIT AMONG 200 SMALLER ONES.
ON MANY, TUSSOCKS OF GRASS HIDE THE NESTING GROUNDS
FOR SEABIRDS CALLED SOOTY SHEARWATERS.
LIKE GREAT SHEARWATERS, THESE BIRDS FISH DURING THE DAY
AND RETURN TO LAND AT NIGHT.
SOOTY SHEARWATERS ARE AMONG THE WORLD’S MOST ABUNDANT SEABIRDS.
BUT EXPERTS SAY THEIR POPULATION IS DECREASING.
THEIR YOUNG ARE HARVESTED BY THE THOUSANDS
FOR FOOD, SOAP, AND OIL.
IN THE FALKLANDS, SKIES THAT ONCE TURNED BLACK WITH BIRDS
ARE BECOMING LESS AND LESS CROWDED.
[SQUAWKING]
MOVING A THOUSAND MILES SOUTHEAST OF THE FALKLANDS...
THE WINDS PICK UP, AND THE TEMPERATURE PLUMMETS.
THIS ICY CLIMATE IS HOME TO SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND--
A BRITISH TERRITORY MADE FAMOUS BY ERNEST SHACKLETON.
IN 1916, SHACKLETON VENTURED HERE
TO SAVE THE CREW OF HIS SHIP THE ENDURANCE,
WHICH WAS CRUSHED BY ICE.
SHACKLETON TRAVERSED GLACIERS TO REACH A WHALING STATION,
WHERE HE LAUNCHED A RESCUE MISSION.
[CHIRPING]
[HONKING]
TODAY SOUTH GEORGIA IS UNINHABITED BY PEOPLE
BUT PACKED WITH WILDLIFE...
[HONKING]
THE GREATEST DENSITY ON EARTH.
FUR SEALS MINGLE WITH GENTOO PENGUINS--
BOTH OF WHICH SHACKLETON AND HIS CREW ATE TO SURVIVE.
[GRUNTING]
TODAY THE HUNTERS ARE GIANT PETRELS,
INFAMOUS FOR THEIR GLUTTONY.
[SQUAWKING]
BUT THE BEHEMOTHS HERE ARE SOUTHERN ELEPHANT SEALS.
[BELLOWING]
THESE BULLS ARE FIGHTING
OVER NEARBY FEMALES, CALLED COWS.
THE TWO-TON ANIMALS ARE NAMED FOR THEIR NOSES,
NOT THEIR SIZE.
[BELLOWING]
EACH BULL CLAIMS A TERRITORY FOR HIS HAREM OF COWS.
[BELLOWING]
BUT CHALLENGES CAN COME ANYTIME.
[BELLOWING]
THE STRONGEST BULLS HAVE UP TO 50 MATES.
AFTER BREEDING, THE ANIMALS MIGRATE TO THE ANTARCTIC--
TO FEAST ON FISH AND SQUID.
♪
NEARBY, A DIFFERENT SPECIES-- THE ANTARCTIC FUR SEAL--
SEEMS PEACEFUL.
[SEALS GROANING]
BUT THEIR BEHAVIOR IS SIMILAR TO THEIR HULKING RELATIVES.
[WARBLING]
IRONICALLY, THIS FEISTY COLONY
INHABITS AN ABANDONED SEALING STATION.
[GRUNTING]
SEALERS LIVED ON SOUTH GEORGIA THROUGH THE 18th CENTURY,
DECIMATING THE SEAL POPULATION.
[WARBLING AND GRUNTING]
NOW 95% OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION LIVES HERE.
THE MOST SPECTACULAR THING ABOUT SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND
MAY BE ITS KING PENGUINS.
[CACOPHONY OF HONKING]
IT’S HOME TO NEARLY A MILLION OF THESE BIRDS...
[HONKING]
SECOND IN SIZE ONLY TO THE EMPEROR PENGUIN.
[HONKING]
♪
PARENTS KEEP THEIR NEWBORNS WARM BY BALANCING THEM ON THEIR FEET.
AS AWKWARD ADOLESCENTS,
THE YOUNGSTERS GROW A COAT OF DOWNY FEATHERS
TO PROTECT THEM FROM THE FREEZING TEMPERATURES.
[HONKING]
♪
THE PENGUINS ALSO STAY WARM WITH COLLECTIVE BODY HEAT.
THE RESULT IS ONE OF THE MOST STUNNING SIGHTS IN THE ATLANTIC.
MOVING EVEN FURTHER SOUTH, WE ARRIVE
AT SOME OF THE MOST FOREBODING ISLANDS ON EARTH--
THE SOUTH SHETLANDS.
THE ARCHIPELAGO SITS OFF THE COAST OF ANTARCTICA--
THE ONLY CONTINENT WITH NO NATIVE PEOPLE.
ALL OF THIS LAND IS PROTECTED BY THE ANTARCTIC TREATY,
WHICH SETS IT ASIDE FOR SCIENTIFIC USE.
ON THE NORTHERN END OF THE SOUTH SHETLANDS
IS ELEPHANT ISLAND,
WHERE SUMMER HIGHS REACH ABOUT 34 DEGREES.
THIS DESOLATE LANDSCAPE IS A HAVEN FOR CHINSTRAP PENGUINS,
NAMED FOR THE BLACK BAND OF FEATHERS UNDER THEIR HEADS.
THOUSANDS OF THE BIRDS LIVE HERE IN RELATIVE PEACE,
SINCE THERE ARE FEW NATURAL PREDATORS.
[SQUAWKING]
[SQUIRT]
FOR THEM, PARENTHOOD IS A TEAM EFFORT.
MALES HUNT FOR ROCKS TO BUILD NESTS.
♪
THEY CAREFULLY CONSTRUCT CIRCULAR STONE ENCLOSURES
TO PROTECT EGGS FROM THE ELEMENTS.
[SQUAWKING]
♪
WHEN FEMALES ARRIVE,
THE PARENTS WILL TAKE TURNS KEEPING THEIR OFFSPRING WARM.
IN THEIR OFF HOURS,
THESE PENGUINS PLUNGE INTO THE 30-DEGREE WATERS
TO FISH FOR KRILL.
[SQUAWKING]
♪
THEY WITHSTAND THE FREEZING TEMPERATURES
THANKS TO TIGHTLY PACKED FEATHERS,
WHICH PROVIDE A WATERPROOF COAT,
ALONG WITH PLENTY OF BLUBBER.
[SQUAWKING]
WHEN BREEDING SEASON ENDS, THE PAIRS HEAD BACK OUT TO SEA.
ON THE SOUTHERN END OF THE SOUTH SHETLANDS
IS DECEPTION ISLAND,
NAMED FOR ITS DECEPTIVE HARBOR.
THE HORSESHOE SHAPE CREATES AN UNEXPECTED HAVEN
IN THE HARSH ENVIRONMENT.
THE ENTIRE ISLAND IS THE CALDERA OF AN ACTIVE VOLCANO.
AROUND DECEPTION, COLD AIR COLLIDES
WITH THE WARMTH OF THE ISLAND--
CREATING A LOW-HANGING MIST.
♪
THIS IS A PLACE OF CONTRASTS.
SNOW DOTS RED VOLCANIC ASH
FROM A MASSIVE ERUPTION AROUND 10,000 YEARS AGO.
FREEZING WATER LAPS ON BLACK LAVA BEACHES,
WHERE WILDLIFE WAS ONCE WIPED OUT.
AND AMID THE SNOW AND ICE,
THE EARTH BELOW IS SO HOT, IT BOILS WATER.
IN 1906, WHALERS ESTABLISHED A BLEAK OUTPOST ON DECEPTION.
WHALING WAS A WORLDWIDE INDUSTRY THROUGH THE 19th CENTURY.
HERE, WHALERS BUILT MASSIVE IRON BOILERS
TO EXTRACT OIL FROM THE ANIMALS.
♪
THE BLEACHED BONES OF THE WHALES THEY HUNTED
STILL LITTER THE GROUND.
[WARBLING]
♪
TODAY, ALL OF ANTARCTICA IS A WHALE SANCTUARY...
[WHOOSH]
AND A FEEDING GROUND FOR HUMPBACK WHALES.
[WHALES MOANING]
EVERY YEAR, THEY TRAVEL 3,000 MILES
FROM THEIR CALVING GROUNDS
TO FEAST IN THESE RICH WATERS.
[SQUEALING]
[MOANING]
[SQUEAKING]
IT’S ONE OF THE LONGEST JOURNEYS ON EARTH
FOR ONE OF EARTH’S LARGEST MAMMALS.
♪
[SQUEALING]
♪
FROM NORTH TO SOUTH, THE ISLANDS SCATTERED DOWN THE ATLANTIC
GIVE US A GLIMPSE OF EARTH UNPLUGGED.
[SQUAWKING]
THESE REMOTE SPOTS ARE SAFE HAVENS FOR SOME SPECIES...
AND TESTING GROUNDS FOR OTHERS.
THEY OFFER WINDOWS INTO EVOLUTION...
AND SPACES FOR SCIENTIFIC STUDY.
THE FORCES OF NATURE WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH AND PULL.
[RUMBLING]
[SQUAWKING]
AND THESE EIGHT ISLANDS WILL REMAIN ELUSIVE...
SPECKS OF LAND...
IN THE WILD ATLANTIC OCEAN.
♪