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DAVID ATTENBOROUGH:
When you look down
on the Earth's surface,

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it's impossible
not to be impressed

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by the sheer grandeur,
splendour and power

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of the natural world.

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It's been 10 years
since we explored
these wonders

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in the first series
of Planet Earth,

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and since then,
much has changed.

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We can now show
life on our planet

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in entirely new ways,

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bring you closer to animals
than ever before,

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and reveal new wildlife dramas
for the very first time.

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(GROWLING)

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But that is not all.

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The planet has changed, too.

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Never have our wildernesses
been as fragile

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and as precious
as they are today.

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At this crucial time
for the natural world,

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we will journey
to every corner
of the globe

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to explore
the greatest treasures
of our living planet,

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and reveal the extreme lengths
animals go to to survive.

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Finally,
we will explore our cities

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to see how life is adapting
to the newest
habitat on Earth.

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This is Planet Earth II.

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(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)

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ATTENBOROUGH:
There are hundreds
of thousands of islands,

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each one a world in miniature.

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A microcosm of
our living planet.

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The struggles to survive
on these remote lands

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reflect the challenges
faced by all life on Earth.

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The tiny island of Escudo
off the coast of Panama,

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home to the pygmy
three-toed sloth.

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This is a male,
and life here suits him well.

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Mangroves
provide all the leaves
he can eat

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and there are no predators
to worry him.

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Island life may seem idyllic,

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but it comes at a price.

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There are only a few hundred
pygmy sloths in existence,

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and he needs a mate.

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(SHRILL CALL)

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That's an enticing call...

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(CALL CONTINUES)

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...from a female

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somewhere out there.

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And this, for a sloth,
is a quick reaction.

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(CALL CONTINUES)

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The problem is
there's deep water
between them.

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So what should any
red-blooded sloth do?

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Swim, of course.

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Could this be her?

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He does his best to put on
a turn of speed.

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But she's not the one.

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She already has a baby

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and she won't mate again
until it leaves her

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in about six months' time.

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Even life on a paradise island
can have its limitations.

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(CALL CONTINUES)

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But at least
she can't be far away.

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The world's entire population
of pygmy sloths

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is isolated on a speck of land
no bigger than New York's
Central Park.

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The size of an island
has a huge influence

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on the fate of those
cast away there.

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The island of
Komodo in Indonesia.

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Home to dragons.

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Three metres long and weighing
a massive 70 kilos,

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these are the largest
living lizards on the planet.

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It's unusual to
find large predators
on islands.

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Yet, for four million years,
the Komodo dragon
has dominated here.

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It might seem
there wouldn't be
enough food

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to support such giants
on this relatively
small island,

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but reptiles,
being cold-blooded,

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need only about
a tenth of the food
a carnivorous mammal would.

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A single meal
will last a dragon a month.

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They're so successful,
that their only
serious competition

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comes from others
of their own kind,

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and there are some
2,000 of them here.

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This giant, however,
isn't looking for food.

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He's looking for a mate.

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Female dragons
come into season
only once a year.

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She is receptive.

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So far, so good.

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But he strayed
into someone else's patch.

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Another huge male
thinks he is the king here.

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Space being limited
on islands,
dragon territories overlap,

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and that creates
continual conflict.

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In dragon society,
size is everything.

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But if rivals are
closely matched,

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the outcome can be uncertain.

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Muscular tails
strike the power
of sledgehammers.

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And their serrated teeth
are as sharp as steak knives.

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Each tries to
topple his opponent.

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Defeated.

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Only the most powerful dragons
win the right to mate.

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(FLY BUZZING)

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(SNORTING)

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The limited food and space
on the small islands

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can often lead to
intense competition.

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But some islands are immense.

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More like
miniature continents.

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And these provide
opportunities for life to
experiment and evolve.

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Madagascar is one of
the biggest islands

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and also one of the oldest,

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having split away
from Africa over
120 million years ago.

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(CHIRPING)

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With time and isolation,
its animals have adapted

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to take advantage
of every available niche.

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The island now has some
250,000 different species,

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most found
nowhere else on Earth.

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These are not monkeys,
but lemurs.

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From a single ancestor,
about a hundred
different types have evolved.

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The largest, the Indri,
seldom comes down
from the branches.

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The much smaller ring-tails
wander in troops
across the forest floor

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searching for fruit.

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And tiny bamboo
lemurs eat nothing
except bamboo.

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With few competitors,

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lemurs have been free
to colonise almost every
environment on the island,

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even the most extreme.

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This baby sifaka
has a hard life ahead of it.

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He's been born
in the most arid
and hostile corner

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of Madagascar's
vast landscape.

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If he is to survive here,
he has much to learn.

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The spiny forest
is like a desert.

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It rarely rains,
so water and food
is very hard to find.

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Moving from tree to tree
is a perilous business.

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Here, nearly all the plants
are covered with
ferocious spines.

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His mother
searches the treetops
for the youngest leaves.

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They provide
the only food and water
to sustain the family.

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At three months old,
the youngster is
starting to explore.

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All too soon,
he will have to fend
for himself up here.

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But it's altogether easier
to stay on Mother's back.

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If he can master
the strange ways
of this forest,

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he will have a little corner
of Madagascar to himself.

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Island life encourages animals
to do things differently,

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and on some islands,
that is essential.

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(VIOLENT RUMBLING)

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There are islands
still forming today

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built by volcanoes.

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Some erupt explosively,

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others pour out
rivers of molten rock,

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lava.

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In the last 50 years,

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10 new volcanic islands
have been formed.

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Newly created
and often remote,

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they're hard
for colonists to reach.

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Even those that do, find these
are tough places to survive.

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This is Fernandina,

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one of the Galapagos Islands
in the Pacific.

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Young and still
volcanically active,
it's a desolate place.

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The surrounding sea, however,
is particularly rich
with life,

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and the frontier between these
two very different worlds

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is the home of
one of the strangest
of reptiles,

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sea-going iguanas.

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They are vegetarians,

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but since there's
little food for them
on the land,

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marine iguanas
graze on the sea floor.

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A big male like this one
can dive to 30 metres

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and hold his
breath for half an hour.

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There are more
than 7,000 individuals
on Fernandina alone.

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And by bringing
nutrients from the sea
to the land,

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the iguanas help other animals
to survive here, too.

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Crabs feed on dead skin
on the iguanas' back

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and, in turn, provide
a welcome exfoliation service.

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(FLIES BUZZING)

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While smaller lizards prey on
the flies that
pester the colony.

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But not all the relationships
on this island
are so harmonious.

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Marine iguanas
lay their eggs in sand.

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In June,
when the hatchlings emerge,
they're vulnerable.

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They must join the adults
at the edge of the sea.

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But the journey will
be a dangerous one.

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Racer snakes.

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(INTENSE MUSIC)

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The snakes
missed their chance.

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But more babies are hatching.

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And now the snakes
are on the alert.

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This is the best
feeding opportunity
they will get all year.

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On flat ground a baby iguana
can outrun a racer snake.

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But others
are waiting in ambush.

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Another hatchling
has its first glimpse
of a dangerous world.

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A snake's eyes
aren't very good,

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but they can detect movement.

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So if
the hatchling keeps its nerve,
it may just avoid detection.

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A near miraculous escape.

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The lucky survivors

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can begin learning
the unique way of life

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demanded by this
hostile island.

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Although marine iguanas
are expert swimmers,

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they can't cross open oceans.

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But even the stormiest waters

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are no barrier for birds.

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Gale force winds
and cold temperatures

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make the subantarctic islands
off New Zealand

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particularly
unwelcoming in winter.

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But when the brief summer
comes,

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temperatures rise
and winds slacken.

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It's now that visitors arrive.

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All here to breed
before winter returns.

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There's the Snares penguins.

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Shearwaters come, too.

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This is
an excellent place for them
to dig their nesting burrows,

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for no predators
have managed to get here.

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00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:31,920
Soon the island is
crowded with birds.

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Every one of them
eager to make the most of
the short breeding season.

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00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:44,560
But not everyone
has a partner.

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00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:54,280
A male Buller's albatross
waits for his mate.

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00:28:56,800 --> 00:29:01,760
Each year they spend
six months apart,
travelling the ocean.

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00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:09,560
They reunite here to breed.

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00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,520
But this year, she's late.

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00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:20,440
No, that's not her.

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00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:27,240
The other birds come and go.

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00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:38,760
The clock is ticking.

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00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:41,480
If she doesn't appear soon,

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00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:45,080
it will be too late for them
to breed successfully.

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00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:51,720
Every morning the shearwaters
fly off to collect food
for their young.

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00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:53,600
(HOOTING)

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(CHIRPING)

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00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:12,880
Everybody else seems
to be getting on with it.

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00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:29,520
The shearwaters' return
marks another lost day.

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00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:34,560
There are three million birds
on the island,

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00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:37,200
but only one matters to him.

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Could this be her?

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00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:53,520
At last.

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(SQUAWKING)

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00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:10,480
At first, he's a little coy.

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00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:13,320
(SQUAWKING)

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00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:26,320
But not for long.

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They greet each other
with the special dance

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00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:38,960
they've perfected
over many years.

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00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:51,760
There is much to do,

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00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:55,440
if they are to raise
a chick before winter returns.

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00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:02,360
But when you've been apart
for six months,

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some things can't be rushed.

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Islands in warm tropical
waters don't experience

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00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:30,000
seasonal extremes.

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00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:36,000
The Seychelles, lying off
the coast of East Africa,

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00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:39,320
provide a sanctuary
for seabirds
all the year round.

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00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:43,240
(BIRDS CHIRPING
AND SCREECHING)

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00:32:55,480 --> 00:32:59,040
Fairy terns are
permanent residents.

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00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:02,360
They take
a fairly relaxed view

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00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:05,240
about what constitutes a nest.

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00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:08,920
A bare branch is quite enough.

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00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:21,920
Climbing onto it to incubate
has to be done with care.

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00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:33,520
Once a year,
the noddies arrive.

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00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:37,600
They do make nests,
and Pisonia trees

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00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:42,120
provide their young
with a rather less precarious
start in life.

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00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:51,480
Nesting on this
island looks idyllic,

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00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:57,360
but behind the beauty
there's a sinister side.

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The Seychelles fody
makes quick work
of an unattended egg.

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00:34:21,240 --> 00:34:24,240
She knows
something's not quite right,

248
00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:27,200
but her drive to
incubate is strong.

249
00:34:41,200 --> 00:34:43,760
The noddies,
too, have a problem.

250
00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:49,120
As their chicks grow,

251
00:34:49,200 --> 00:34:53,200
so the Pisonia tree
develops seeds that are sticky

252
00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:55,320
and equipped with hooks.

253
00:35:00,240 --> 00:35:02,480
By the time
the young noddies leave

254
00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:07,320
they carry these
hitchhiking seeds
away to other islands.

255
00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:17,960
But sometimes
the Pisonia trees
are too successful.

256
00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:27,320
If a fledgling
testing out its wings
drops to the ground,

257
00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:30,000
it can get
covered with the seeds.

258
00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:41,120
Entangled and weighed down,

259
00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:44,760
if it can't free itself,
the youngster will starve.

260
00:35:57,920 --> 00:36:02,200
The Pisonia may have failed
to disperse these seeds,

261
00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:07,560
but it will soon have
fertiliser for its roots.

262
00:36:13,480 --> 00:36:17,400
This is why some people call
the Pisonia

263
00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:20,040
the bird catcher tree.

264
00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:24,160
(SQUAWKING)

265
00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:55,560
The Fairy tern
laid another egg,

266
00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:58,840
and now she has
a tiny chick to feed.

267
00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:06,840
This chick is lucky.

268
00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:13,200
By the time it fledges,
the Pisonia seeds
will have dispersed

269
00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:15,960
and the danger
they brought will be gone.

270
00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:29,960
Even the most
idyllic looking of islands

271
00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:33,520
presents challenges
for the animals living there.

272
00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:38,360
But the greatest threat
they face is change.

273
00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:57,160
Christmas Island
in the Indian Ocean.

274
00:37:58,360 --> 00:38:01,680
For millions of years
this remote spec of land

275
00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:04,640
has been ruled by crabs.

276
00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:13,160
Their ancestors
came from the sea,

277
00:38:13,240 --> 00:38:17,760
but most have now adopted
a land-based existence.

278
00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:31,400
Given there are so many
of them, they get along
relatively harmoniously.

279
00:38:33,200 --> 00:38:36,400
They're the gardeners
and caretakers

280
00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:39,480
of a tiny crab utopia.

281
00:38:42,760 --> 00:38:46,440
Once a year,
they must all return
to the sea to breed,

282
00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:48,680
and the march of the red crabs

283
00:38:48,760 --> 00:38:52,880
is one of the greatest
natural spectacles on Earth.

284
00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:07,480
There are 50 million of them.

285
00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:18,080
It's an event that has brought
the island worldwide fame.

286
00:39:28,720 --> 00:39:30,880
But in recent years,

287
00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:34,440
millions of red crabs
haven't managed
to reach the sea.

288
00:39:40,160 --> 00:39:43,640
An invader has
occupied this island.

289
00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:48,680
Yellow crazy ants.

290
00:39:49,360 --> 00:39:52,600
They escape from
visiting ships,
and with no predators

291
00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:55,600
to control them,
they have now created vast

292
00:39:55,680 --> 00:39:58,440
super colonies in the forest.

293
00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:06,720
When migrating
red crabs march
into their territory,

294
00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:08,680
the ants attack,

295
00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:13,960
squirting acid
into the crabs'
eyes and mouths.

296
00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:26,280
The crabs have no defence.

297
00:40:29,680 --> 00:40:34,160
Blinded and confused,
they're doomed.

298
00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:48,760
Humans brought
these ant invaders here

299
00:40:48,840 --> 00:40:51,760
and now humans are having
to control them.

300
00:40:55,160 --> 00:40:56,880
Isolated communities

301
00:40:56,960 --> 00:41:00,840
may evolve for millions
of years in relative peace,

302
00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:06,600
but when
new challenges arrive,
they can struggle to cope.

303
00:41:08,720 --> 00:41:12,920
Of all the species
that have become extinct
in recent years,

304
00:41:13,320 --> 00:41:16,560
around 80% have
been islanders.

305
00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:25,000
Our impact on the Earth
is greater today
than ever before.

306
00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:28,480
Yet some islands
are so remote,

307
00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:31,720
that few humans
have even set foot
on them.

308
00:41:34,920 --> 00:41:37,560
Zavodovski Island is one.

309
00:41:41,240 --> 00:41:44,000
It lies in the great
Southern Ocean.

310
00:41:44,080 --> 00:41:47,640
It's not only surrounded
by the stormiest of seas,

311
00:41:47,720 --> 00:41:50,600
it is itself
an active volcano.

312
00:41:52,920 --> 00:41:56,480
It's the last place on Earth
you'd choose to live.

313
00:42:05,400 --> 00:42:08,640
Unless,
you're a chinstrap penguin.

314
00:42:10,880 --> 00:42:14,200
There's plenty of food
in these waters,
but to exploit it,

315
00:42:14,280 --> 00:42:17,400
the penguins have
to risk their lives.

316
00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:09,840
Life here is
dangerous in the extreme.

317
00:43:22,520 --> 00:43:23,520
(PENGUINS CHATTERING)

318
00:43:26,440 --> 00:43:30,040
But there are some benefits
from living on a volcano.

319
00:43:32,440 --> 00:43:36,120
Its warmth melts the snow
early in the year

320
00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:40,040
and by January,
the Antarctic's mid-summer,

321
00:43:40,120 --> 00:43:42,920
the island is
covered in chicks.

322
00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:44,880
(CHIRPING)

323
00:43:46,840 --> 00:43:49,960
Parents take turns
at guarding them

324
00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:52,720
until they're large enough
to be left alone.

325
00:43:57,200 --> 00:44:02,680
This mother's chicks
are hungry, but she has
no food left to give them.

326
00:44:04,040 --> 00:44:08,640
Their survival depends
on their father returning
with their next meal.

327
00:44:12,440 --> 00:44:15,040
But some don't make it.

328
00:44:28,360 --> 00:44:32,600
Skuas harass the colony
hoping to snatch a chick.

329
00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:34,200
(SKUA HONKING)

330
00:44:40,160 --> 00:44:42,240
She can't risk leaving them.

331
00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:51,280
Everything will be fine
as long as their father
comes back soon.

332
00:45:20,160 --> 00:45:23,560
He's been fishing
80 kilometres offshore,

333
00:45:23,640 --> 00:45:26,160
but now, he's not far away.

334
00:45:28,120 --> 00:45:31,520
For him, however,
and for all
the other parents here,

335
00:45:31,600 --> 00:45:34,720
the worst of the journey
is still to come.

336
00:46:06,080 --> 00:46:10,960
Tiny claws help him to get
whatever grip he can
on the rough lava.

337
00:46:38,360 --> 00:46:41,640
For these commuters,
it's rush hour.

338
00:46:42,840 --> 00:46:46,200
Some have had
a really bad day.

339
00:46:49,840 --> 00:46:53,960
The father now has
a three kilometre walk
to the nest,

340
00:46:54,040 --> 00:46:57,040
and a stomach loaded with food
doesn't help.

341
00:47:03,680 --> 00:47:07,760
This is
the largest penguin colony
in the world.

342
00:47:07,840 --> 00:47:09,720
(PENGUINS CHATTERING)

343
00:47:14,320 --> 00:47:17,680
But as he makes
the same journey
every other day,

344
00:47:17,760 --> 00:47:21,160
he should be able to do it
with his eyes closed.

345
00:47:29,360 --> 00:47:32,480
It's true that
there can be safety
in numbers,

346
00:47:32,560 --> 00:47:35,120
but numbers can
also be something
of a problem

347
00:47:35,200 --> 00:47:38,200
when you're trying to find
your own nest.

348
00:47:43,920 --> 00:47:46,400
The mother is still waiting.

349
00:47:47,920 --> 00:47:50,000
Her chicks are now desperate.

350
00:47:50,080 --> 00:47:52,440
(CHICKS CHIRPING)

351
00:47:55,840 --> 00:47:58,480
In the midst of all this
deafening chorus,

352
00:47:58,560 --> 00:48:01,600
he can recognise
her particular cry.

353
00:48:01,680 --> 00:48:03,480
(CRYING OUT)

354
00:48:20,640 --> 00:48:22,200
At last.

355
00:48:37,200 --> 00:48:39,840
Both chicks will get a meal.

356
00:48:46,560 --> 00:48:51,160
With a head bob
of acknowledgement,
their mother now leaves.

357
00:48:51,240 --> 00:48:54,880
It's her turn to
do the feeding run.

358
00:49:00,760 --> 00:49:03,680
This formidable commute

359
00:49:03,760 --> 00:49:08,280
is the price these penguins
pay for sanctuary.

360
00:49:13,360 --> 00:49:16,800
A strange vision
of paradise to us,
perhaps,

361
00:49:16,880 --> 00:49:20,280
but for one and
a half million penguins,

362
00:49:20,360 --> 00:49:23,000
this island has it all.

363
00:49:33,200 --> 00:49:37,160
Islands may seem remote
and insignificant,

364
00:49:37,240 --> 00:49:42,320
but they are home
to some of the most
precious wildlife on Earth.

365
00:49:56,160 --> 00:49:57,720
Next time,

366
00:49:57,800 --> 00:50:00,880
we ascend into
the planet's high mountains

367
00:50:01,920 --> 00:50:05,760
to discover a spectacular
but hostile world

368
00:50:05,840 --> 00:50:09,120
where life must be
at its most resourceful.

369
00:50:10,240 --> 00:50:13,240
And only the toughest animals
can endure

370
00:50:13,920 --> 00:50:15,280
(ROARING)

371
00:50:17,440 --> 00:50:19,320
(ORCHESTRAL MUSIC)

9999
00:00:0,500 --> 00:00:2,00
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