HMS Galapagos Barney's Latin America

Hola, mis amigos! Bienvenidos a Barney's America Latina!

Arriba, arriba! It's show time.

Let me introduce you to a carnival of creatures,

from fabulously freaky frogs

to hollering howler monkeys to manic meat-eating plants. Es magnifico!

And they're all connected to each other

in this wonderful world of wildlife

by funny, fabulous and fantastic facts.

-CREATURES:

-Get on with it!

-Sorry...

Tres, dos, uno!

Es la hora de Barney's Latin America!

MUSIC: The First Lord's Song from "HMS Pinafore", Gilbert and Sullivan

Aaah... I have to say, Barney, this is one of your better ideas.

The sun on our faces, the water beneath us, the salt in the air...

SHE BREATHES IN Ahh! Love it.

# We're tracing the voyage of Charles Darwin

# That's Charles Darwin on the Beagle

# A very little boat and a very special man

# Who knew his seal from seagull!

# And on the way he stopped for tea at some very, very special islands

# Galapagos was their name and you'll never guess

# What he found on them! #

Er, Barney, what have I told you about singing?

No, Barney... No!

# He found some birds and fish

# And other things that he didn't see there

-# So special and amazing...

-All right! I'll listen,

but please, just stop the singing.

The Galapagos Islands lie in the Pacific Ocean west of Ecuador,

and they are very, very special.

Mmm, this is interesting. Tell me more.

Well, Gem, because of how isolated they are,

there are some very, very special animals here.

Charles Darwin, a famous naturalist...

Hello. Anybody seen my Beagle?

..discovered and recorded these animals in 1859,

on a voyage on a ship called the HMS Beagle.

Ah! Much like this one here, then.

-So er...is it close?

-I'll have a look.

Yes! Land ahoy!

And because it's such a special land, the animals that live there

have grown and developed in a very interesting way.

There's ancient giants, graceful visitors and fearless dragons.

We're going to find out who they are, what they do, and why.

So - what's the first one then?

First up, the Darwin's finches.

Aww, cute. But not that special, really.

Ah. But look at THIS one.

That's a different bird. It's got a different beak.

No, look carefully. What about THESE ones?

All of those are different birds. That one's a woodpecker.

No, Gem, it's not. They're all finches.

Well, why so different if they're the same bird?

It's all to do with food. On different islands

in the Galapagos, there's different types of food available.

What? No supermarkets?

No supermarkets.

So the finches' beaks and feeding habits have evolved

depending on where they lived.

Oh, I get it...

So this one that looks like a woodpecker

is a finch that eats food from under the bark.

That one's eating berries, so his beak is different as well.

So, if all we ate was ice cream, our noses would turn into scoops?

Are you going to pay for those?

Ooh, I hope so, Gem. There are in fact 13 types of finches.

They all look a bit different, with different beaks all over the island.

I love hal-finches.

Ha. You mean 12.69mm?

GEMMA LAUGHS

No. Seriously, Gem, the effects the islands had on their animals

was a totally new idea. Nobody had ever thought of it before.

And all because of lots of little finches -

but different to Darwin's finches.

Oh, lovely. Now, what's for pudding?

And Charles Darwin worked this out, did he?

# Well, not to begin with... #

Oh. Sorry.

Actually it was one of his friends.

But Charles Darwin worked out WHY they looked so different.

Um...OK. So what's next through the periscope?

-Telescope.

-Yeah, that too. Let's see.

They're giants! Look.

That one's nearly as big as that tree!

No, he's just near and the tree is far away(!)

These are giant tortoises, Barney.

And they're pretty amazing creatures.

They are huge, and can live up to 150 years.

Wow. That's not old, though, there's milk in my fridge older than that.

And those tracks? They were made by generations of tortoises

over thousands of years.

They are the daddy of the islands.

Who's the daddy?

There's different types of tortoise on each of the Galapagos Islands.

A bit like the finches. Same animal - different...flavour?

Yeah, a bit like that.

Over 5,000 of them live on the high, wet island of Isabela,

with lots of greenery and grass. They have big round shells

so they can barge through the undergrowth and not get stuck.

-TORTOISE GROANS

-Easy does it. Ah... Made it.

-Something stuck in my teeth?

-You don't have any teeth, darling.

-Hello, if you could give me the once-over.

-Leave it to me, squire -

-we'll be two shakes of a giraffe's tail.

-Well, thank you very much.

Wow, there's so many of 'em.

But on the flatter, drier islands they look very different.

Oh, yeah, so he is. He's got a funny...like an arch on his shell.

-Like a hoodie!

-Spot on.

On drier islands, juicy food is higher up.

So, he's developed a saddle-shaped shell and a long neck to reach.

But that's just like a giraffe's neck. Are they related?

Erm...not quite.

The tortoise's shell is in fact just like a Spanish saddle, or "galapago".

So, when Spanish adventurers first arrived,

they named the islands after them.

I can't think of another animal that would deserve the honour as much.

Awesome.

And, I think we've found our first Galapagos connection here.

Both Darwin's finches and the Galapagos giant tortoises

have evolved multiple versions of themselves

to suit the particular island that they live on.

Ooh - blimey. Something's a-rumbling on these islands.

Yeah, sorry, I think that milk was off. It's gone right to me...

OK, that's quite enough. What's next on the menu from Mr Darwin?

I've got a really interesting one for you now, Gem.

She's a cormorant. But like everything else here,

there's something very different...

Wow, that's amazing. Like some...kind of spirit bird.

# Ah, spirit bird, with your wings stretched out... #

Er, Gem - I'll do the bad singing.

Oh. Er...not exactly a great pair of wings.

Right. What's the gig here? I'm sure these are useful for something.

Ah, you may mock, Gem - but what I should have said

is that this is the flightless cormorant.

And its domain isn't in the air - it's under the water.

OK - that is pretty special.

It's slick and fast under the water, isn't it?

Yeah - it's like almost like this cormorant has swapped its wings

for extra underwater aerodynamics.

-She looks like she's pretty useful at fishing.

-That she is.

Her big webbed feet propel her through the water,

which makes her brilliant at catching fish and squid.

All without any fear of becoming something's dinner herself.

But this is the wild, Barney -

-everything has something that wants to eat it.

-Yeah, but not here, Gem.

On the Galapagos Islands there are very few actual predators.

Most animals live tough but pretty uneventful lives -

and that means they evolve physically as well.

The cormorant never needs to fly away in a hurry,

and finds lots of food under water.

So it makes perfect sense

for them not to bother with wings and just get good at swimming?

And here's a connection Darwin began to notice.

Both the tortoise and the flightless cormorant lacked any real predators.

So their physical characteristics changed,

just to help them feed and have an easy life.

Everything seems to happily fit in with the world around it.

No struggling, no running away.

Everything you need and nothing you don't, that's the motto.

So rather than change the environment to suit THEM,

-the animals change to suit the environment.

-Ah...

Right, Barney. Let me take you northeast

to the remote island of Genovesa, to see if that motto holds water.

Ah, maybe I was wrong.

These birds all seem to be doing your bog standard bird-type stuff -

flying about, nesting, pooping on people's shoulders...

Well, the amazing cooled lava landscape

does provide lots of nesting places

for the estimated one million sea birds here.

These ones are petrels.

Petrol? Petrol...?

My Beagle runs on wind power alone.

They have flown all the way from the middle of the Pacific

back to their single egg.

-Wow. Amazing.

-Yep, but unlike most of the other islands

there is one predator that visits THIS island.

Mmm... Nice view. Let's see what the catering has to offer.

He's not a local boy,

but has made this place his special home because of the food on offer.

Oh. What happened to the quiet life?

The short-eared owl isn't as quick as the petrels in the air

and is too big to crawl into their nests, so he has to wait and pounce

when one is leaving or arriving.

Come on out... I know you're in there.

Shush, will you? There's an owl.

He's creeping up on the nest. He's more like a cat than an owl.

-It waits...

-Hee-hee. He can't hear us.

..and listens...

I know you're down there.

-PETREL FARTS

-Oh - excuse me.

..then...pounces!

Ha! And misses. Ha-ha.

Not for long. A short-eared owl is cleverer than that.

This one has found an empty nest big enough to squeeze into.

-It waits for a petrel to return.

-(I know there's one coming.)

Oh. There's one...

Thank you.

What's your beef? You're gone!

That is clever. You think they'd get better at flying

instead of all the creeping around.

Well, the owls have learnt after years of training

that flight is an overrated tool for hunting their dinner.

They don't come to the island to wear themselves out flying -

and so they are connected to the flightless cormorant.

Ah - the cormorant doesn't need to use its wings when hunting fish,

and the owl stalks its prey from the ground.

So both have evolved to hunt without flying.

Another bird? What flavour is this one?

Er, it's erm...sea bird flavour.

Will you please sit in an upright position

so I can introduce to you the waved albatross.

Now, it's called waved because of the pattern on its feathers.

Oh, I see... Is it another

"doesn't use its wings because it's very clever"-type bird?

Wrong - clever clogs. The waved albatross is very much the flyer.

Oh, yes, I'm very much the flyer.

In fact, he takes off in a very familiar way...

'Galapagos Airways Albatross Golf Bravo Golf Golf Golf...

-'you're clear for takeoff.'

-Chocks away, decision...

and rotate.

Lift off!

That is cool. Just like an aeroplane

he's creating a flow of air

over his wings,

which lifts him into the sky!

Exactly. And what a sight it is.

The albatross can weigh 4kg, and has a wingspan of two metres.

This means that once it's got the hard work of takeoff out of the way,

it can glide and glide and glide for hours and hours...

without even flapping!

You mean to say he could fly anywhere in the eastern Pacific,

-but chooses the Galapagos as his special home?

-Yeah. That's right.

Virtually all the world's albatrosses live and nest here

on the Galapagos island of Espanola.

They're not from here -

but they choose to come because it's a special place.

Waved albatrosses live for up to 50 years,

and keep their partner for life.

They wait for weeks to be reunited, and when they are,

they perform a beautiful dance.

-Let's have a dance.

-Yeah, like the old days.

You can move.

-You're well fit.

-So are you. I love you.

I say, everyone, look - Bernard's rapping again!

(RAPS) I'm getting smart with the art of the 'ffairs of the heart

And the tune that speaks to the chick with the beak...

-Bernard, that was lovely!

-Yeah.

They are very special indeed.

They are. And they've made this special place their home.

You see, unlike the unique animals that have evolved here,

the short-eared owl and the waved albatross are outsiders,

and there's nowhere else they'd rather live.

# They travelled for months, to fall in love

# In this place and time

# But for too long, without a sight

# But this rock was just the sign... #

All right! All right, please stop with the singing!

# La-la, la-la... #

MUSIC: Barcarolle from "The Tales of Hoffmann" by Offenbach

Right, now, if I can get a word in,

let me show you the blue-footed boobie.

-BARNEY SNIGGERS

-Why do they call it that?

Er...cos they've got blue feet!

Three-quarters of the world's boobies live on the Galapagos Islands.

What are they doing?

That pair are walking like they've got big clown's feet!

Well, their name comes from the Spanish word "bobo",

which means "clown"!

The first Spanish sailors that landed here named them that.

Yeah, well, it is silly. I mean - what's the point?

-Er...to attract attention?

-What - you mean a bit like this?

HORNPIPE TUNE PLAYS

WOLF-WHISTLE

No. The higher the male boobie can lift its feet,

the better his chances are of attracting a partner.

Yeah, look - now THAT one's at it.

That's an interested female, Barney -

she's doing the same to show she likes him.

Right, so a stupid walk, big blue shoes and a great big beak

is the secret to a woman's heart?

What's wrong with flowers...?

Well, there's always showing how good you are at getting the dinner.

-Eh? What gives?

-Well, the boobie might look silly on land, but it is

one of the most impressive flying fishermen in Latin America.

-They have a piercing call which gathers them all.

-Ah, communication!

And then they synchronise their attack.

C'mon, boys, here we go! Dak a dak a dak a!

Wow! That's incredible. Those fish won't have a chance.

I've got to be honest, I don't think we stand a chance.

They only need the water to be about three feet deep!

Hmm, so all of this is just so they can get some grub,

to land on the island to act like a clown?

Yeah. The boobie relies on being a great fisher, and most importantly,

a striking-looking fella to meet his dream partner.

That's what links them to the Albatross.

-Both seabirds have a really impressive...

-But very different!

..courtship dance which makes them both successful seabirds!

See, I told you this place was special.

Yeah, totally. Let's take a look at what we've seen so far, eh?

Shh!

Well, to start was Darwin's finches,

the birds that split up to conquer these islands. One bird, 13 beaks.

-Now, that's clever!

-Then came the daddy of the island,

the old man of the land, the unique Galapagos giant tortoise.

Hows about that for a word in your shell, like?

To prove that the easy life is the best life,

this sleek swimmer even dropped its wings.

The amazing flightless cormorant won't be caught flapping!

For a visiting, stalking hunter, the big eyes and brain of

the short-eared owl can't be matched. Hop, skip and jump to dinner!

It's no surprise that the most graceful, beautiful flyer

in the Pacific chooses the Galapagos as home.

The waved albatross is an example to everything and anything.

But never mind beauty.

What counts in these parts is catching something's eye,

and nothing does that more

that the dive-bombing blue-footed boobie.

Well, they were all pretty good, but the Galapagos has a lot more

to offer. So let's take a look at our next eye-land lubbers.

"Eye, eye", Captain!

Yeah, it is pretty funny.

-What's next, then? Is it that lizard?

-Nope.

At spring in the Galapagos, all the animals come out to play.

There's one, and another, and some more.

But something really beautiful happens too.

Wow, look at all those flowers! Those ones are pretty.

-Bright yellow ones.

-Uh-huh.

And there's some more yellow flowers, and some more...

Oh, but these ones are...yellow?

Hang on. What's going on here? Why are all the flowers yellow?

Here's why.

This is the carpenter bee and she is the only species of bee

-on the Galapagos Islands.

-She really likes those flowers.

They're the only flowers she likes.

The carpenter bee is a very fussy bee.

It doesn't just pollinate any old flowers - just the yellow ones.

What's wrong with other flowers? I'd be grateful just to have some!

Nobody knows why, but given that it's the only bee on the island,

most of the flowers are yellow, just to be sure it gets pollinated!

That is very odd...but we've seen odd things out here before.

Like the boobie. And here's the connection.

The boobie likes blue feet, and the carpenter bee likes yellow flowers.

So the connection is...

Er...oh! I get it! They both have a favourite colour!

Yes, they do.

-Gem, I thought you might like these.

-Oh! They're lovely! Thank you.

Oh, I feel really bad now.

That's OK. I don't give to receive.

So what's next?

The Galapagos Islands are volcanic.

They grew from molten lava being pushed up from the ocean floor.

This is still happening, as the islands have very active volcanoes.

Ah! That's where your rumbling came from.

MUSIC: "Night On Bald Mountain" by Modest Mussorgsky

Right, now that you've finished, Barney,

this one is a colossus called Fernandina

-and has erupted at least 24 times in the last 200 years.

-Ooh!

-I can't imagine anything would want to hang around there.

-Wrong!

This is the land iguana and she has to hang around these volcanoes.

Why is she doing that?

Well, the land iguana likes to lay its eggs in warm places.

-And where could be warmer than the rim of a volcano?

-My armpit?

They've got some standards, Barney.

She doesn't look like she's having it all her way.

These are prime spots.

It's a competitive business, so the two will fight it out.

-All right.

-All right.

-I want your nest.

-You're not having my nest.

-Give us your nest.

-No, get your own nest.

Do you want some, then?

Owie! That's a real cat fight.

-They're fierce creatures.

-Oh, yes. They're fiercely territorial.

A threatened iguana will fight long and hard

to keep the best nesting ground.

Well, it was a bit cheeky of her to try and steal it.

What's that? You're a coward? Want to run away? Go on.

The next best place to lay her eggs

is right in the dangerous crater of the volcano.

Loads of iguanas get trapped here in landslides.

-Aw!

-Don't worry, Barney. She's going to be OK.

She'll lay her eggs safely before finding herself some food.

Given that she's a fierce old girl,

I bet she rips the head of anything passing by.

Well, no, actually. The land iguana's diet is made up of mostly prickly,

but juicy cacti and she especially likes these pretty yellow flowers.

You see, they give her all the energy she needs.

Yeah, five a day. Whatever!

That is bizarre, but I suppose there is a lot of them.

Do you mean to say that there is a link

-between the carpenter bee and the land iguana?

-Yep.

The carpenter bee eats the yellow flowers' nectar

and the land iguana chomps on its sweet nettles too.

They both just love this sweet nutritious dessert.

-A bit like custard. I love custard.

-Er...yes, Barney.

Ah, now that's more like it.

These sea lions don't eat flowers - it's meat and two veg for them!

Well, fish at least.

-They're big boys and girls, aren't they?

-Oh, yes.

The biggest of them can weigh 250kg.

That's the weight of more than four Gemmas!

Charming! But look at what great swimmers they are.

I suppose if you have to eat that many fish a day, you need to be.

These sea lions breed exclusively on the Galapagos Islands.

The head sea lion, the male bull,

is fiercely protective of his territory.

-And all the ladies that live there!

-He's so dishy, I love him.

Yeah, ladies, I'm the daddy.

You like me, don't ya?

Anyway, younger bulls will try and chase him off his territory.

In fact, every 27 days a bull loses his territory to some young upstart.

I see you, Junior.

Come on, granddad! It's time for a new face on the block.

They fight on the beach and in the water to decide who's the daddy.

Don't worry, ladies, this is my home. Our home, our territory.

Oh, look, he's coming over. Act calm and cool.

The bull has all the attention from up to 25 sea lion cows to himself.

Oh, hang on.

There's a connection here with the land iguana.

"Ooooh, yeah." I mean, oh, yes, the land iguana is fiercely

protective of its nest, and the sea lion of its special patch of beach.

They are both extremely territorial.

And they never give it up, do they, Barney?

# Never gonna give it up

# Never, never gonna give... # Ahem.

OK, let's move on before your singing gets us in to deep water.

Ah...rocks. You can't go wrong with a rock.

Unless you trip over it or it falls on your head.

They're not rocks. They're iguanas.

Hang on. We've already ticked these off our list, remember?

Eats flowers. Fights over territory.

Well, yes, but these iguanas are even more special.

They can swim deep into the ocean and don't exist anywhere else on Earth.

Why are they sneezing? Have they got colds?

No, they're not sneezing, they're just getting rid of

the salt water they breathed in whilst they were swimming.

These giants are called marine iguanas.

Wow! Like Marine Commandos!

You're not far from the truth.

Gentleman, it's time to enter the water.

These iguanas realised there wasn't anything like enough food on land

on the harsh volcanic rocks, so...

The other ones seemed to manage - flowers, cactus and what not.

I suppose, but the marine iguana's developed the ability

to swim deep down to get to far more bountiful supplies of food!

Of course. Fish.

Er, actually, algae. With a single breath, they can dive

up to ten meters deep to reach their favourite food.

They go all that way holding their breath just for some algae?

What is wrong with these animals?

What's wrong with me? Why don't you want to eat me?

The truth is, they aren't particularly fond of the sea.

There are predators out there and it's very cold.

Ten minutes is about all they can take, but they do it to survive.

Well, I suppose that is quite impressive.

Charles Darwin discovered something very unusual about them as well.

He noticed that if he put one into the water,

it would get straight back out and return to where he picked it up from.

So they were more scared of what was in the water

-than some bloke picking them up and throwing them in?

-Yeah.

Unthreatened by anything on land, but a bit cautious in the water.

They are undoubtedly great swimmers.

That diving ability puts them right up there

with the sea lion for marine mastery.

They're both connected by this underwater talent,

even if the iguana prefers the shallow end.

There's a time and a place for everything, I suppose.

And we're just in time for the last and best Galapagos animal.

The Galapagos hawk is the island's most effective predator.

Hang on. There's the marine iguana again. What's going on here?

-The Galapagos hawk has a diet of...

-Oh! Oh, dear.

..rats, lizards, other birds, but it what it really likes to eat

is marine iguanas.

Who's that? What?

In fact, they time their mating patterns

so their chicks are born when the marine iguanas come onto land

-to lay their eggs.

-Hang on. You've lost me.

One marine iguana can feed a whole nestful of baby hawks,

so the hawk watches and waits.

And waits.

-And then...

-Then?

Then it swoops!

Oh, over the brambles, ow!

Oh, whoa, I'm flying! Look at me, guys!

-You numpty.

-Hello, chick.

What a crafty bird. I wouldn't go near it.

It would probably eat me!

Well, actually, no. You see, here's the funny thing. Charles Darwin,

on his travels noticed the hawk was completely tame!

He could touch it, stroke it...

In fact, Barney, to get hold of one to take a closer look,

I just lifted it off its branch.

Easy peasy, evolutionary!

-What?!

-Well, the hawk is so used to being the only predator,

it's not scared of anything. No fear, no problem.

Why would it attack?

Least of all a human with a satchel and sideburns as big as that!

I've never been so insulted in all my life.

Onwards, Gould, to the Isle of Sheppey.

And here's the connection. Both the marine iguana and the Galapagos hawk

are incredibly fearless because of a lack of predators to scare them.

And it's this Darwin discovery that brings us all the way back

to his special finches.

They became part of the story of Charles Darwin's five-week trip

to the Galapagos Islands and helped kick-start a bigger story

about how the natural world works.

Fearless animals, one-colour plants, multi-role birds, swimming lizards.

Crikey! It's all a blur!

So let's have another leaf through Darwin's notebook.

To start with, Darwin's finches,

the birds that fill the jobs of all the other birds...

-that weren't there!

-Then the wise father-figure,

the giant tortoise, so amazing, they named the place after them.

Helping to prove that animals adapt to their needs

is the wingless cormorant.

Don't forget the first of the rare predators,

the tourist short-eared owl plays the waiting game for prey.

For long-range travel and well-deserved rest,

the story of the waved albatross is worth a second read.

If you like a laugh, the blue-footed boobie is more of a performer.

He's sure to catch your eye.

Only one colour attracts the island's queen and only bee.

The carpenter bee is colour-blind to anything but yellow.

She may have to wait for the land iguana to finish eating first,

before it heads off to have a scrap and lay some eggs!

For a proper scrap, Gem, you want to get back to the seashore.

The bullish sea lion won't leave you in any doubt who's boss.

A swimmer who risks it all for a sloppy meal is the marine iguana.

It has a love-hate relationship with the sea, but a lizard's gotta eat!

Finally, the island's only resident predator is the Galapagos hawk.

So secure, so sure of herself that she got closer to Charles Darwin

than any of his readers could ever hope to.

I have to say, Barney, I was pretty unsure about this at the start,

but they were some amazing animals, and what an incredible place!

It's awesome. Charles Darwin left full of new ideas,

new ideas that would change the world, eventually.

Just a shame we could only see them through these telescopes.

Ah, yeah, about that...

Don't worry. I told you we're going to get there.

This boat's going to travel at a rate of knots.

# Now, this here boat's travelling at a rate of knots

-# It won't be long before we hit the rocks... #

-Hey! Get off my boat!

I don't believe it.

# ..before we hit the rocks... #

Hey, get off my boat!

Um... # La dum da... #

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