On Argentina's eastern coast,
a vast, parched desert
collides with a brutal ocean.
Here, nature truly shows its teeth.
Some of the planet's most iconic species
battle the elements...
and each other.
Adapting to survive...
producing some of the greatest shows on Earth...
on this wild and extreme coast of Patagonia.
Stretching over 3,000 kilometers
from Bolivia to Cape Horn...
Argentina is South America's second largest country,
and it's also a land of extremes.
From lush rainforests...
to parched deserts...
giant wetlands...
to the towering peaks of the Andes.
This variety of habitats support a vast array of wildlife...
making it one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet.
But it's most spectacular animals lie here...
n the remote and wild region of Patagonia.
On the isolated beach of Punta Loma...
a large colony of sea lions
are basking in Patagonia's summer sunshine.
This coast is home to around 100,000 southern sea lions,
one of the largest populations in South America.
Sea lions sometimes travel hundreds of kilometers from the coast
n search of food.
But this colony live here all year round,
playing and feeding in Patagonia's rich, shallow waters.
Within the colony are smaller groups...
each made up of multiple females...
dominated by a single male,
up to three times their size.
Unlike seals...
sea lions can walk on their flippers...
but these colonies are so crowded,
finding a clear path can be difficult.
The males protect their territory with force,
and during the mating season fights can be brutal.
And so usually younger males
live elsewhere in bachelor groups.
But this one has decided to try his luck.
Venturing towards the females,
while the bigger bulls have their backs turned.
But he doesn't make it far.
Maybe one day he'll be big enough to fight back.
But for now he wisely backs off.
But it isn't just the bulls the sea lions need to be wary of.
There are much bigger carnivores lurking in these waters.
Orcas.
Killer whales have developed
some of the most sophisticated hunting techniques
seen among marine mammals.
Often working together to capture prey.
They are the only cetacean to routinely hunt marine mammals,
and are even capable of killing other whales.
Here in Patagonia,
seal pups and young sea lions are their staple diet.
But the smaller more agile sea lions
can easily outmaneuver a killer whale in the water.
So catching one requires a savage, but risky hunting technique.
Ambushing the sea lions on land.
This Patagonian shoreline is one of only two places in the world
where killer whales regularly strand themselves to catch their prey.
But get it wrong,
and the whales will be unable to wriggle back into the water...
slowly dying as their bodies collapse
under their own immense weight.
So today these adults are here
to teach these young orcas the dangerous hunting technique.
Here, in Peninsula Valdes, at low tide
this colony of sea lions
are protected by shallow reefs and sand bars.
Frolicking at the water's edge,
the sea lions appear to be taunting the orcas,
enjoying the protection of the bay.
But these waters aren't as safe as they seem.
These lethal predators are called killer whales for good reason.
They know this beach has a huge tidal range,
and as it changes the South Atlantic quickly floods a hidden channel,
allowing the orcas to swim in.
Here in Patagonia, during the breeding season
these beaches are littered with newborn sea lion pups.
It's a rich but risky food source,
so the adult whales spend time training their young
how to purposely beach themselves without becoming stranded.
Even when there are no pups around.
First, the adults demonstrate how to get close enough
to catch a seal pup to beach two-thirds of their body.
Then using the next wave to wriggle back into deeper water.
They then force the young orcas to beach themselves.
Teaching these skills demonstrates extremely high intelligence.
And illustrates why killer whales are the ocean's top predator.
With the sea lion pup season months away...
the elephant seals basking at the water's edge
appear to believe they aren't at risk.
But today the orcas have changed the rules...
launching a surprise attack.
Propelling itself onto the shore,
this adult orca takes a large seal.
Hauling it back into the water.
It would be enough to feed the whole pod.
But he doesn't kill it.
Instead the orca delicately carries the seal to the center of the bay.
Then surprisingly...
he lets it go.
The injured seal heads for shore,
but then the orca's terrifying game begins.
The injured seal is caught and released...
over and over again.
Each time the seal believes it has a chance of escape...
the pod corral it back to deeper water.
And once it's been exhausted by the adults...
the youngest orca is now trained
on how to strike its prey in the water.
The seal's torture continues for hours...
before finally being put out of its misery.
But as the sun sets...
the lagoon is emptying fast.
And the pod must now retreat to the ocean,
or risk becoming stranded on the sand.
Now against the clock,
the adult shepherds her pod over the sand bar
right past the on-looking sea lions.
For now this lagoon offers them a safe harbor once more.
Patagonia's rugged coastline
carves its way over 1,600 kilometers from north to south.
But one 12-kilometer stretch of its sandstone cliffs...
s home to the largest parrot population anywhere on Earth.
More than 70,000 Patagonian conures
make their nests in these sheer cliffs.
Parrots are more usually associated
with South America's dense forests.
But in this coastal habitat,
a unique adaptation has allowed them to thrive.
After squabbling over prime position...
these birds burrow their way
up to four meters into the sandstone,
using their tough beaks just like an axe.
These burrows protect their eggs,
allowing more young to survive.
But they also use their beak for preening.
Vital for removing the inevitable parasites
from living in such a huge colony.
And the enormous numbers of birds nesting in these cliffs
also has a direct effect on the landscape.
The thousands of nests here
destabilize the soft rock of the cliffs...
and leave them exposed to much faster erosion
by Patagonia's wind and waves.
But Patagonia's coastal terrain
has been shaped by many natural forces.
And one exerts its power
from over 1,500 kilometers away.
The western coast of this remote wilderness
s flanked by the world's longest mountain range.
Rising steeply from the Pacific,
the Andes force air upwards,
draining all moisture from the skies on their western slopes...
leaving a parched, desiccated desert to the east.
This arid land stretches all the way to Argentina's eastern coast...
where it is battered by some of the most powerful seas on Earth.
Fueled by strong winds and huge storms...
the southern Atlantic bombards these cliffs
with waves over 12 meters high...
carving out a landscape unlike anywhere else on Earth.
But despite such extreme conditions,
this is one of nature's richest ecosystems.
Both on land,
and in the sea.
The waters of southern Patagonia and its surrounding islands
are home to almost two-million southern rockhopper penguins...
that brave these tumultuous waves every day
to get back to dry land.
But surviving this battering is the easy part.
Now they need to climb hundreds of meters
to the safety of their clifftop nests.
But a potentially deadly obstacle lies in their path.
A colony of fur seals.
Seals are one of the penguin's main predators.
And hundreds now stand between these birds...
and the hungry chicks waiting at the top of the cliff.
The seals' teeth can quickly dispatch a rockhopper.
But not today.
For some reason this seal colony...
have accepted these penguins.
Letting them pass through peacefully
on their way to their nests.
Sometimes, however, the penguins push their luck.
Luckily, he gets away with it.
But another obstacle now lies ahead.
The 100-meter high cliff.
Fortunately, rockhoppers are the most agile of all penguins.
They choose their clifftop-nest site to avoid predators...
and this colony have been treading this path for generations.
Full of fish from their hunting exploits...
the rockhoppers must also navigate two-meter high grass...
all the way back to their colony.
Battling through the crowd,
he first reacquaints himself with his mate.
Then feeds his single surviving chick.
Rockhoppers lay two eggs,
but like in almost every nest,
the first smaller egg failed to hatch.
In such a battle for space,
there often isn't enough to go around.
Starvation isn't the only threat to the chicks up here on the cliffs.
Weaker birds will often be taken by Patagonia's aerial predators
that lurk on the edge of its penguin colonies.
In an amazing display of natural instinct,
thousands of pregnant elephant seals
arrive on the Argentinian coast,
just days before they are due to give birth.
This female has spent an 11-month gestation at sea...
feeding several thousand kilometers away.
And she needed to build up her energy.
She will not feed for the duration of the breeding season.
As she gives birth, gulls lurk menacingly.
But it isn't the pup they are after...
t's the placenta.
This newborn pup weighs 40 kilos.
It will be nursed by its mother for around 23 days,
gaining almost seven kilos every day from the fat-rich milk.
And they need to grow fast.
Their mothers will desert them when they are less than a month old.
But it is little wonder they want to leave.
Having just given birth,
the breeding season is a brutal time for the females.
These are some of the most sexually dimorphic mammals.
The largest males can weigh up to ten times as much as females...
making them impossible to fight off.
Only the dominant male is allowed to breed in his domain.
And once he's successfully mated
with all the sexually mature females,
the beach-master bull decides it's time to leave.
But the females must remain until their pups are fully weaned...
opening a short window of opportunity
for other males hoping to reproduce.
This sub-adult is searching for any females that haven't already mated.
But in his desperation,
he is targeting very young, immature seals.
This tiny seal won't be ready
to produce her own pups for another few years.
And even this less dominant male is ten times her size.
And all the other females can do is watch.
But despite his size...
she can't outrun him.
And no matter how many times she tries to escape,
he doesn't want to let this opportunity slip away.
The biggest males are so dominant...
that less than 10% of male elephant seals
will successfully mate in their lifetime.
Using his sheer weight and powerful bite,
he repeatedly attempts to mate with this young female.
But he's inexperienced, and she isn't receptive.
Now battered and bleeding,
the young seal is becoming exhausted.
But after yet another failed attempt...
she spots her chance and makes a dash for the water.
As the older seals have already learnt,
amongst the waves she'll have more chance of evading him.
And just in time...
she makes it safely to the water.
And for this male, his attempt to reproduce drifts away.
The southern tip of Patagonia's coast.
This archipelago is known as Tierra del Fuego,
the Land of Fire.
But this entire region was actually carved by ice.
At its southernmost point, Cape Horn, Antarctica
s just 1,000 kilometers away.
And even in the height of summer,
Tierra del Fuego's glaciers continue to shape the landscape.
Around 9,000 years ago,
the ocean broke through the tip of this continent,
completely isolating Tierra del Fuego
from mainland Patagonia.
But despite the harsh climate this close to the South Pole...
the planet's most notorious seabird
makes these cliffs its home.
With a wingspan of almost two-and-a-half meters...
this black-browed albatross will spend years at time at sea.
But has returned here for the breeding season.
Along with almost 200,000 others.
These birds are found on cliffs right across the southern ocean.
Although often solitary when at sea,
albatross pairs mate for life.
And like many penguins...
their beak clattering is all part of their courtship ritual.
Reacquainting themselves
after spending the year thousands of kilometers apart.
They usually return to the same nests each year...
raising a single chick in a solid pillar-like structure.
The chicks remain on their nest for around four months...
being fed by the parents once a day on regurgitated fish.
And these young birds need to build their strength.
In just a few weeks,
they will have one chance to launch themselves
safely from these sheer cliffs.
And once they take flight...
they won't return to land for at least two years.
Late-November on the northern Patagonian coast.
And the thousands of Magellanic penguins are still in their burrows.
And for good reason.
Like most of the penguins here,
this bird laid a clutch of two eggs 40 days ago.
They've been incubated by both adults,
taking shifts of around two weeks...
while the other bird searches for food.
The first egg is now ready to hatch.
It's a slow process...
and the mother must keep it warm as it emerges.
The first chick hatched roughly two days before the other.
It is therefore larger and better able
to obtain food from the parents.
Once hatched the young penguins
are brooded for around a month.
There's only one thing on the menu.
Regurgitated fish.
Often the second chick will die from starvation.
But this mother is doing her best to share equally.
At around four weeks old, these chicks will be left unattended,
as both parents head out to hunt.
But unless there is an overabundance of fish,
this smaller chick will probably perish
before it ever gets a chance to leave the nest.
By February, in Patagonia,
t's time for Magellenic penguin chicks to fend for themselves.
The adult penguins have now molted...
and are restless to get back in the ocean.
Right now, algae blooms, big enough to be seen from space,
are attracting billions of fish to Patagonia's northern waters.
In turn, these shoals attract predators from all directions.
But with so many predators,
even this many fish won't last forever.
The penguins must move now,
f they are to follow the shoals northward.
This could be the last time these penguins will touch dry land
for six months.
And despite being perfectly adapted to life at sea...
many will not return at all.
Patagonia's vast array of penguins...
attract a predator just as agile.
Sea lions.
In Patagonia, wherever you find penguins...
you will also usually find these deadly hunters.
On this island just off the coast,
this colony of gentoo penguins
must enter the water to feed their chicks.
And this sea lion knows it.
As they edge towards the water,
he attempts to catch them on land.
He causes confusion, scattering the group,
but here he is slow and clumsy.
But in the water, he'll be a deadly assassin.
So he decides to lie in wait,
knowing the penguins must eventually risk entering the water.
Cautiously...
they make their move.
These gentoos are the fastest swimming birds on Earth.
But the sea lion is more than their equal.
They may be safety in numbers...
but the sea lion works to split the pack.
And this gentoo is now in his sights.
And his fate...
s sealed.
From the glaciers of Tierra del Fuego...
to the arid, desert beaches of the north...
Argentina's Patagonian coast is a land of extremes.
Stretching over 1,600 kilometers...
this remote and often inhospitable corner of the Earth...
attracts millions of animals.
They must battle this region's harsh conditions and each other...
n order to survive...
and even thrive in this unique habitat.
Subtitles: Asha Chong www.btistudios.com