WEBVTT 1 00:00:28.680 --> 00:00:29.400 The world is 2 00:00:29.400 --> 00:00:33.080 full of mighty movers from Africa's most famous drifters 3 00:00:34.160 --> 00:00:36.560 to turtles that make epic journeys to reproduce 4 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:42.720 seabirds that don't come to land for years. 5 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:46.080 Waterbirds that follow ephemeral rivers 6 00:00:46.840 --> 00:00:49.120 and whales and whale sharks that roam the great 7 00:00:49.120 --> 00:01:03.000 oceans. 8 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:06.280 The colossal plains of the Serengeti spanned an enormous 9 00:01:06.280 --> 00:01:09.560 30,000 square kilometers of east Central Africa. 10 00:01:10.240 --> 00:01:12.520 Probably the most well-known plains in the world. 11 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:23.240 They are home to some of Africa's most well known inhabitants. 12 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:26.560 Hundreds 13 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:29.360 of thousands of Zebra lived together in the Serengeti. 14 00:01:29.960 --> 00:01:32.960 Their distinctive eye catching stripes are as unique 15 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:36.280 as fingerprints and even within the largest of gatherings. 16 00:01:36.720 --> 00:01:39.400 No. Two Zebra will be found with exactly the same 17 00:01:39.400 --> 00:01:47.840 stripes. 18 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:51.360 Almost 2 million shaggy maned wildebeest 19 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:53.840 share their home 20 00:01:55.440 --> 00:01:56.680 every year. 21 00:01:56.680 --> 00:02:00.600 The tough hooves of these animals will carry them almost 500 kilometers 22 00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:02.080 through Tanzania. 23 00:02:02.080 --> 00:02:05.200 Kenya, in their constant search for fresh 24 00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:13.640 grass. 25 00:02:15.920 --> 00:02:17.160 It is a journey 26 00:02:17.160 --> 00:02:21.120 that will cost many their lives. 27 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:29.560 During the rainy season, herds of wildebeest, 28 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:33.160 zebra and gazelle are scattered over the southern reaches of the Serengeti. 29 00:02:33.760 --> 00:02:37.040 But once the rains cease, it is not long before precious 30 00:02:37.040 --> 00:02:40.280 rivers and streams dry up 31 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:53.760 as the grazing animals focus on the remaining areas of greenery. 32 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:57.840 Ever bigger herds are formed as they move north and west, 33 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:09.360 following the prized fresh grass. 34 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:14.720 Columns of animals 40 kilometers long can form as over a million wildebeest 35 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:18.160 and hundreds of thousands of zebra and gazelle join together 36 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:34.760 as some pause along the way. 37 00:03:34.760 --> 00:03:38.640 Relationships are made and reinforced and endurance is tested, 38 00:03:39.200 --> 00:03:55.040 but the crowd keeps moving. 39 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:02.880 As the dry land they leave behind turns to dust. 40 00:04:03.440 --> 00:04:07.280 The migrating masses of animals move further north than ever, circling loose. 41 00:04:07.920 --> 00:04:11.480 The rains ahead of them come later and the herbivores of the plains 42 00:04:11.640 --> 00:04:12.920 follow the green grasses. 43 00:04:12.920 --> 00:04:24.760 They will bring. 44 00:04:24.760 --> 00:04:26.720 The land of the Masai Mara. 45 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:31.040 In neighboring Kenya is the northernmost part of the Serengeti Plains. 46 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:32.160 While for the grazing 47 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:35.120 animals, the border between the countries may not present a problem. 48 00:04:35.640 --> 00:04:38.120 The rivers that run across the plains most 49 00:04:38.120 --> 00:04:57.720 certainly do. 50 00:04:59.920 --> 00:05:01.560 River crocodiles are attuned 51 00:05:01.560 --> 00:05:04.400 to this annual pilgrimage 52 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:20.800 as they play Russian roulette with their lives. 53 00:05:21.280 --> 00:05:23.760 This is the most hazardous part of their journey 54 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:27.080 and one that cannot be avoided if they are to. 55 00:05:27.080 --> 00:05:37.480 Complete their exodus North. 56 00:05:37.480 --> 00:05:41.080 Nevermore alone and with no option but to cross. 57 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:44.320 Thousands of animals plunge themselves into the perilous 58 00:05:44.320 --> 00:05:48.160 waters. 59 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:50.760 Many other 60 00:05:50.760 --> 00:06:05.840 animals are already there. 61 00:06:08.360 --> 00:06:09.480 For those in. 62 00:06:09.480 --> 00:06:12.480 The lethal embrace of the crocodile, it is the end. 63 00:06:12.880 --> 00:06:27.440 Of their journey. 64 00:06:30.120 --> 00:06:32.800 Despite the dangers, the Voyagers continue 65 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:35.840 in what is the largest mass movement of mammals anywhere. 66 00:06:35.840 --> 00:06:43.040 In the world. 67 00:06:47.400 --> 00:06:48.680 The need for fresh grass 68 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:51.400 and water pulls the migrating vegetarians like a magnet. 69 00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:54.640 Young and old alike will attempt the journey as they travel 70 00:06:54.640 --> 00:06:58.760 across the reaches of the Serengeti and all the challenges it throws at them, 71 00:06:59.160 --> 00:07:14.520 hauling themselves to new pastures. 72 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:21.000 We do not 73 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:24.560 fully understand how these hearty animals know which way to go, 74 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:29.160 but it is likely that it is more than just following the rains and new growth, 75 00:07:30.640 --> 00:07:33.840 more than just following the lightning and thunderstorms that predict these. 76 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:37.720 It is likely that the instinct etched into the DNA 77 00:07:37.720 --> 00:07:41.560 of those that have survived this journey for generations must surely. 78 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:43.080 Play a part. 79 00:07:59.960 --> 00:08:00.960 As they journey 80 00:08:00.960 --> 00:08:04.560 on the wildebeest, benefit from the superior vision and hearing 81 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:07.920 of the zebra young wildebeest, often watching them 82 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:17.240 for any signs of alarm. 83 00:08:19.800 --> 00:08:22.920 While both zebra and wildebeest eat similar grasses, 84 00:08:23.400 --> 00:08:26.840 they have preferences for different parts of the plant and coexistence 85 00:08:26.880 --> 00:08:29.240 is peaceful. 86 00:08:34.760 --> 00:08:37.000 Having made it to the plains of southern Kenya, 87 00:08:37.280 --> 00:08:43.640 they can feast and enjoy the time of plenty, 88 00:08:43.640 --> 00:08:46.920 but they cannot stay. 89 00:08:47.280 --> 00:08:50.200 These grasses do not contain enough of the phosphorus they need, 90 00:08:50.200 --> 00:09:02.040 and when the southern rains begin again, they start to leave. 91 00:09:02.040 --> 00:09:05.480 The freshly sprouted grass of the southern Serengeti contains 92 00:09:05.520 --> 00:09:08.400 this valuable phosphorus and it beckons them back. 93 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:12.120 As these great wanderers continue to migrations 94 00:09:12.280 --> 00:09:28.840 of their life, the most abundant sea turtle in the world, 95 00:09:29.160 --> 00:09:33.720 Olive Ridleys, have extraordinary nesting habits. 96 00:09:34.680 --> 00:09:37.400 These small turtles migrate massive distances 97 00:09:37.400 --> 00:09:41.360 between their oceanic feeding grounds and the shores that draw them back to meat 98 00:09:41.560 --> 00:09:45.120 and then to nest. 99 00:09:49.320 --> 00:09:52.920 It's an effort that will have taken this female almost everything. 100 00:09:52.920 --> 00:09:54.320 She has 101 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:02.000 in huge congregations 102 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:04.920 known as audible, thus meaning arrival by sea. 103 00:10:05.400 --> 00:10:09.560 Vast numbers of these usually solitary females come ashore to lay their eggs. 104 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:12.960 They will do this once or twice every season 105 00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:16.760 and for a few days, every year, their tropical nesting 106 00:10:16.800 --> 00:10:27.120 beaches will be crammed with thousands of turtles. 107 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:32.520 Olive Ridleys have been seen 4000 kilometers from shore 108 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:37.320 and have an annual migration from pelagic foraging to coastal nesting site 109 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:40.440 and then all the way back to their oceanic 110 00:10:40.440 --> 00:10:49.040 breeding grounds. 111 00:10:50.280 --> 00:10:53.120 It is a massive effort for each of these small turtles 112 00:10:53.160 --> 00:10:55.760 and for some it will be their last 113 00:10:58.640 --> 00:10:59.240 which 114 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:06.480 dragging themselves out of the water. 115 00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:10.600 The arriving females lumber on shore, pulling themselves up beaches 116 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:14.880 where they themselves hatched some years before, 117 00:11:14.880 --> 00:11:28.480 which was 118 00:11:34.920 --> 00:11:35.600 clearing away 119 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:38.520 sand with their front flippers and digging with her rear ones. 120 00:11:38.800 --> 00:11:42.000 She prepares her egg jaber 121 00:11:49.920 --> 00:11:50.800 into it. 122 00:11:50.800 --> 00:11:53.600 She will deposit around 100 white eggs. 123 00:11:54.120 --> 00:11:56.600 This could be the first of up to three batches. 124 00:11:56.800 --> 00:12:14.680 She will lay in one season. 125 00:12:14.680 --> 00:12:18.720 Once her eggs are covered, she will use her 45 kilogram body 126 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:22.000 to help pack down the sand before she leaves the nest 127 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:23.200 forever 128 00:12:31.560 --> 00:12:34.400 to their work done. 129 00:12:34.800 --> 00:12:37.400 The wary females make their way back to the ocean, 130 00:12:37.880 --> 00:12:42.440 leaving their eggs to incubate in the warm sands. 131 00:12:44.560 --> 00:12:46.760 They will never see their offspring. 132 00:12:46.760 --> 00:12:51.440 As these oceanic wanderers disappear back into the welcoming swell of the ocean 133 00:13:00.280 --> 00:13:01.680 back on shore. 134 00:13:01.680 --> 00:13:06.120 The residents know there is a feast coming. 135 00:13:10.440 --> 00:13:12.720 Just under two months after being laid. 136 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:15.880 The tiny turtle hatchlings will emerge from their eggs 137 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:41.640 into an unwelcoming world. 138 00:13:41.640 --> 00:13:45.200 The beach that stretches like a marathon before them is daunting, 139 00:13:45.520 --> 00:13:47.880 and their chances of survival are not good. 140 00:13:49.040 --> 00:13:52.040 But these little hatchlings must make their first mini migration 141 00:13:52.040 --> 00:13:55.280 if they are to survive and they run the gantlet. 142 00:13:55.560 --> 00:14:03.720 Of the beach. 143 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:08.640 Black vultures are usually carrion eaters. 144 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:10.680 But for them and other wading 145 00:14:10.680 --> 00:14:14.480 birds, the bite size and bountiful turtle hatchlings are a snack. 146 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:29.520 Too tempting to pass up. 147 00:14:30.680 --> 00:14:35.240 Crabs too yearn to join the feast. 148 00:14:40.040 --> 00:14:42.120 Endearing little ghost crabs 149 00:14:42.120 --> 00:14:45.440 with their fast and jerky movements and powerful pincer claws 150 00:14:45.800 --> 00:14:56.840 are one of the main causes of mortality for turtle hatchlings. 151 00:14:58.200 --> 00:15:02.520 For this tiny fighter, it's a lucky day. 152 00:15:04.160 --> 00:15:06.240 Making a break for the beckoning surf line, 153 00:15:06.640 --> 00:15:10.480 its ocean home is in sight 154 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:25.120 for the next few years. 155 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:28.800 The hatchlings are lost to the ocean currents until they too 156 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:31.880 are old enough to journey all the way back to this 157 00:15:31.920 --> 00:15:46.320 very spot. 158 00:15:48.400 --> 00:15:49.640 Like the turtle. 159 00:15:49.640 --> 00:15:51.960 Once it has left land for the first time, 160 00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:54.480 a young, sooty tern may not go back for years, 161 00:15:54.960 --> 00:15:58.320 spending all its time in the ocean skies until it is time 162 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:00.720 to breed. 163 00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:05.840 Soaring on outstretched wings, these elegant seabirds 164 00:16:05.840 --> 00:16:09.200 feed almost entirely on fish, driven to the surface by the hunters 165 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:11.280 below. 166 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:15.640 Sooty 167 00:16:15.640 --> 00:16:18.360 terns themselves rarely rest on the ocean surface. 168 00:16:18.800 --> 00:16:20.720 Their feathers are not water repellent 169 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:23.600 and would get waterlogged, hampering their graceful flight. 170 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:34.920 For this bird, life is in the sky. 171 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:38.400 They are so at home in the air 172 00:16:38.400 --> 00:16:42.040 that these turns are known for taking naps of a couple of seconds while they fly. 173 00:16:42.840 --> 00:16:46.320 This strange quirk of ability allows them to stay in the air 174 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:47.520 for months 175 00:16:57.120 --> 00:16:59.040 after many weeks at sea. 176 00:16:59.040 --> 00:17:02.880 The breeding season beckons and the terns answer the call. 177 00:17:03.160 --> 00:17:07.920 Heading Finland to the tropical islands of their nesting sites. 178 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:16.160 Their massive colonies are home to thousands 179 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:19.680 of nesting birds in these dense, noisy grounds. 180 00:17:19.960 --> 00:17:22.680 Courtship displays are performed as monogamous couples 181 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:31.640 make their bonds. 182 00:17:36.800 --> 00:17:37.560 Both parents 183 00:17:37.560 --> 00:17:50.280 will incubate a single egg, finding food for their young as a daily migration 184 00:17:50.280 --> 00:17:54.480 in itself, as adults forage up to 500 kilometers around the colony, 185 00:17:54.920 --> 00:17:59.240 returning to feed the ever growing chick. 186 00:18:03.120 --> 00:18:05.280 Once the breeding season is over, 187 00:18:05.280 --> 00:18:07.760 Sooty turns go back to their pelagic lifestyle 188 00:18:08.080 --> 00:18:12.160 and spend the next few months back at sea, wintering through the tropical oceans 189 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:16.200 until the need to breed draws them back in to land once more 190 00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:33.840 pelicans. 191 00:18:33.840 --> 00:18:37.280 These quirky, comical, big billed birds are usually thought 192 00:18:37.280 --> 00:18:40.120 of as spending all their time around coasts and harbors. 193 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:44.760 They are widespread 194 00:18:44.760 --> 00:18:48.400 in Australia's lakes, rivers, billabongs and estuaries 195 00:18:48.840 --> 00:18:51.240 or other waterways, with enough food 196 00:18:51.400 --> 00:19:01.320 for their fish loving lifestyle. 197 00:19:03.120 --> 00:19:05.680 With the longest beak of any bird in the world 198 00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:08.360 and a wingspan that could reach two and a half meters. 199 00:19:08.840 --> 00:19:11.520 These are very unusual looking birds, 200 00:19:11.520 --> 00:19:14.160 and some of them have a very unusual habit. 201 00:19:14.800 --> 00:19:17.120 They migrate, but not over oceans. 202 00:19:17.320 --> 00:19:31.800 Some migrate inland. 203 00:19:31.800 --> 00:19:35.160 In the arid center of Australia lies Lake Eyre, 204 00:19:35.640 --> 00:19:39.480 a dry salt pan that is the lowest point of the country's vast landmass. 205 00:19:40.320 --> 00:19:43.360 When rare rains bring water to the parched outback rivers, 206 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:48.000 they begin to flow and bring water and life into Lake Eyre. 207 00:19:48.520 --> 00:19:55.080 And the pelicans follow them, 208 00:19:55.080 --> 00:19:58.880 stopping at creeks and billabongs along the way to their ephemeral paradise. 209 00:19:59.360 --> 00:20:03.320 Many of the birds that make this inland journey are heading back to the place 210 00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:12.120 of their birth. 211 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:15.840 Soaring on 212 00:20:15.840 --> 00:20:19.880 thermals, these ingenious animals make a route map from the temporary 213 00:20:19.880 --> 00:20:37.640 waterways, following them ever deeper into the outback. 214 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:41.000 Finally, their destination is in sight 215 00:20:47.760 --> 00:20:50.680 as each pelican comes in to land on these magical waters. 216 00:20:51.000 --> 00:21:07.320 The population of the lake seems to grow by the minute. 217 00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:12.920 Many of these birds will have flown hundreds of kilometers to get here. 218 00:21:13.360 --> 00:21:15.840 It is a journey worth making. 219 00:21:15.840 --> 00:21:18.880 The lake only has a covering of water once every eight years, 220 00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:22.560 and it is filled only three times in the past 150 years. 221 00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:38.840 It is a place worthy of migration. 222 00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:43.640 While there is water and plenty, the birds continue 223 00:21:43.640 --> 00:21:52.040 to come. 224 00:21:52.440 --> 00:21:54.560 Soon thoughts turn to breeding 225 00:21:59.480 --> 00:22:03.160 with these grown. Mr. 226 00:22:03.160 --> 00:22:04.840 Lee two or three eggs. 227 00:22:04.840 --> 00:22:08.480 After just over a month, the first two hatch peeks out of 228 00:22:08.480 --> 00:22:16.640 its egg. 229 00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:19.080 For the 230 00:22:19.080 --> 00:22:22.320 first few weeks of its life, the young chick will be reliant on 231 00:22:22.320 --> 00:22:38.240 the bounty its parents bring from the lake. 232 00:22:42.520 --> 00:22:45.080 Lured to this fleeting paradise, the pelicans here 233 00:22:45.120 --> 00:22:46.960 have a rich start in life. 234 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:49.240 They will make the most of this time of plenty. 235 00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:52.200 No one knows how long the bounty giving water will last. 236 00:22:52.680 --> 00:23:02.840 They will stay and breed while they can. 237 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:07.160 Once the waters start to recede, 238 00:23:07.160 --> 00:23:22.320 it's time to leave. 239 00:23:23.040 --> 00:23:25.640 Some of the greatest migratory animals on earth, 240 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:28.640 or those that live in its waters and traverse 241 00:23:28.800 --> 00:23:31.640 its great oceans. 242 00:23:35.520 --> 00:23:38.880 From baleen whales that travel from the nutrient rich polar waters 243 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:42.840 to warm tropical seas to the whale shark whose migrations 244 00:23:42.840 --> 00:23:58.040 we barely understand. 245 00:24:00.360 --> 00:24:02.160 The mysterious migrations of the whale 246 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:05.280 shark were thought to be linked to the availability of food 247 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:09.200 as these huge fish eke out their existence on tiny 248 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:18.120 planktonic animals. 249 00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:22.600 These enormous fish 250 00:24:22.600 --> 00:24:25.400 migrate massive distances during their lifetime 251 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:29.800 with individuals traveling thousands of kilometers, journeys 252 00:24:30.120 --> 00:24:33.440 that may take them years. 253 00:24:35.760 --> 00:24:38.080 Other, even larger filter feeders 254 00:24:38.280 --> 00:24:54.240 migrate to breed. 255 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:57.080 Journeying the length of the oceans to give birth in the warmer 256 00:24:57.120 --> 00:25:00.240 waters of the tropics can bring the phenomenal blue 257 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:04.520 whale surprisingly close to its shores as it graces coastlines 258 00:25:04.520 --> 00:25:06.240 with its presence 259 00:25:16.400 --> 00:25:18.400 gliding with an unparalleled grace 260 00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:22.280 and elegance, as well as with an unparalleled size. 261 00:25:22.800 --> 00:25:24.280 The Ocean Wanderers. 262 00:25:24.280 --> 00:25:27.440 Know no limits. 263 00:25:31.080 --> 00:25:32.520 We are in all of them, 264 00:25:32.520 --> 00:25:36.440 all the Great Plains Wanderers. 265 00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:39.320 The massive journey to land of the nesting turtles 266 00:25:40.440 --> 00:25:45.240 as well as the breeding sooty tern. 267 00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:48.080 The inland migrations of the pelicans. 268 00:25:48.080 --> 00:25:50.040 And the huge voyages of 269 00:25:50.040 --> 00:26:17.240 the ocean giants.