Browse content similar to Pembrokeshire. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Welcome to my Nightmares of Nature. | 0:00:02 | 0:00:03 | |
DOGS HOWL, SNAKE HISSES | 0:00:03 | 0:00:05 | |
I'm Naomi Wilkinson, woohoo! | 0:00:07 | 0:00:09 | |
'And I'm coming face to face' | 0:00:10 | 0:00:12 | |
with the nightmares of the animal world. | 0:00:12 | 0:00:14 | |
BIRDS CAW | 0:00:14 | 0:00:15 | |
The ones that make your spine tingle... | 0:00:16 | 0:00:18 | |
..your heart beat faster... | 0:00:20 | 0:00:23 | |
GROWLING, THEY GASP | 0:00:23 | 0:00:25 | |
..and your blood run cold! | 0:00:25 | 0:00:26 | |
Are they truly terrifying? | 0:00:28 | 0:00:30 | |
Or is there a twist in the tale? | 0:00:32 | 0:00:35 | |
Come with me as I shine a light on wildlife's deepest, darkest secrets. | 0:00:35 | 0:00:40 | |
And see if you can guess which will be my worst nightmare. | 0:00:41 | 0:00:45 | |
This time on Nightmares of Nature, I'm on a road trip. | 0:00:51 | 0:00:55 | |
But this is no holiday by the seaside, oh, no! | 0:00:55 | 0:00:58 | |
Me and my trusty campervan, Daisy... | 0:00:58 | 0:00:59 | |
HORN BEEPS ..we're on a mission to track down | 0:00:59 | 0:01:01 | |
the very worst home-grown horrors of the UK coast. | 0:01:01 | 0:01:04 | |
The Pembrokeshire coast, to be precise, | 0:01:07 | 0:01:09 | |
in the far, far west of Wales. | 0:01:09 | 0:01:13 | |
It's wild... | 0:01:13 | 0:01:15 | |
..rugged... | 0:01:16 | 0:01:17 | |
SQUAWKING | 0:01:17 | 0:01:18 | |
..and full of formidable fiends. | 0:01:18 | 0:01:20 | |
'My quest will see me searching high...' | 0:01:22 | 0:01:25 | |
BIRDS CAW | 0:01:25 | 0:01:26 | |
I don't want to do it! | 0:01:26 | 0:01:28 | |
'..and low.' | 0:01:28 | 0:01:30 | |
Argh! | 0:01:30 | 0:01:31 | |
'Oh, and doing a scientific experiment.' | 0:01:31 | 0:01:35 | |
Ooh! | 0:01:35 | 0:01:36 | |
But, before all that, I'm off to sea. | 0:01:36 | 0:01:39 | |
My first nightmare contender is the UK's largest meat-eater. | 0:01:41 | 0:01:45 | |
They can weigh twice as much as a red deer. | 0:01:45 | 0:01:48 | |
They have teeth bigger than an Alsatian dog | 0:01:48 | 0:01:51 | |
and the males will fight to the death to gain access to females. | 0:01:51 | 0:01:56 | |
'And you can find them right here.' | 0:01:56 | 0:01:59 | |
Ramsey Island has this wild, rocky shoreline, | 0:01:59 | 0:02:03 | |
isolated bays and, look, | 0:02:03 | 0:02:05 | |
one of the fastest tidal flows in the whole of the UK. | 0:02:05 | 0:02:08 | |
'This torrent of water brings in the fish - | 0:02:10 | 0:02:13 | |
'our nightmare contender's favourite food. | 0:02:13 | 0:02:16 | |
'Local kayaker John... | 0:02:16 | 0:02:18 | |
'..is going to take me into their world | 0:02:19 | 0:02:23 | |
'on this TINY kayak.' | 0:02:23 | 0:02:25 | |
Are we going to be meeting a nightmare of nature, | 0:02:26 | 0:02:29 | |
that's the question? | 0:02:29 | 0:02:31 | |
-Well, hopefully. -Not too nightmarish, I hope! | 0:02:31 | 0:02:35 | |
Are they aggressive? | 0:02:35 | 0:02:36 | |
If we really get in their way, | 0:02:36 | 0:02:37 | |
but hopefully we're not going to do that. OK. | 0:02:37 | 0:02:40 | |
'This is an animal you need to give some space.' | 0:02:40 | 0:02:44 | |
Are we heading straight into this cave? | 0:02:44 | 0:02:46 | |
I think we should, yeah. | 0:02:46 | 0:02:47 | |
-Woo! -Are you sure this is a good idea? | 0:02:47 | 0:02:49 | |
-Woo! -NAOMI LAUGHS NERVOUSLY | 0:02:49 | 0:02:51 | |
You're not replying, I'm getting scared. | 0:02:51 | 0:02:54 | |
It's quite creepy. | 0:02:55 | 0:02:57 | |
-Ooh! -Woohoo! | 0:02:57 | 0:02:58 | |
NAOMI LAUGHS | 0:02:58 | 0:03:00 | |
This is going to really make me jump if one pops up now. | 0:03:01 | 0:03:04 | |
JOHN LAUGHS | 0:03:04 | 0:03:06 | |
Little bit on edge. | 0:03:06 | 0:03:08 | |
Oh! NAOMI GASPS | 0:03:08 | 0:03:10 | |
-Yeah! OK, so that's an adult male. -NAOMI SIGHS HEAVILY | 0:03:10 | 0:03:15 | |
SEAL SNORTS | 0:03:15 | 0:03:16 | |
Is that him making that sort of snorting noise? | 0:03:16 | 0:03:20 | |
It's like there's a dragon in there. | 0:03:20 | 0:03:21 | |
Shall we...shall we back out? | 0:03:21 | 0:03:23 | |
'Guessed what it is yet? It's... | 0:03:25 | 0:03:27 | |
'the grey seal!' | 0:03:27 | 0:03:29 | |
SEAL HOWLS | 0:03:29 | 0:03:30 | |
'They are, potentially, | 0:03:31 | 0:03:32 | |
'some of the most aggressive mammals | 0:03:32 | 0:03:35 | |
'you'll ever face in the wilds of Britain. | 0:03:35 | 0:03:37 | |
'Big fat bruisers of the boxing ring. | 0:03:39 | 0:03:41 | |
'Just under half of all the grey seals in the world | 0:03:43 | 0:03:47 | |
'can be found in the UK. | 0:03:47 | 0:03:49 | |
'They can grow to be longer than my paddle.' | 0:03:49 | 0:03:52 | |
They are huge, aren't they? | 0:03:52 | 0:03:53 | |
-They are massive. -Do they really need to be that big? | 0:03:53 | 0:03:56 | |
They do need to be that big, yeah, to fight against the other males. | 0:03:56 | 0:03:59 | |
Size is a dominant thing, so big males win over smaller males. | 0:03:59 | 0:04:03 | |
SEALS GROWL | 0:04:03 | 0:04:04 | |
So the bigger they are, the more the females like them? | 0:04:06 | 0:04:09 | |
Yeah, it shows that the male's strong enough | 0:04:09 | 0:04:12 | |
to look after the female and the female's young. | 0:04:12 | 0:04:15 | |
'Fighting also explains the teeth.' SEALS GROWL | 0:04:15 | 0:04:18 | |
They use their teeth and quite often you'll see the males | 0:04:18 | 0:04:21 | |
with scars down their chest and stuff, | 0:04:21 | 0:04:24 | |
-where they've been fighting. -Battle wounds. | 0:04:24 | 0:04:26 | |
-No way! -Yeah, so war wounds, really. -Yeah. | 0:04:26 | 0:04:29 | |
'Those fangs are also to be avoided, if you're a fish.' | 0:04:29 | 0:04:34 | |
The big teeth also come in really handy for chewing fish to pieces | 0:04:34 | 0:04:38 | |
and probably even ripping them apart, you know? | 0:04:38 | 0:04:41 | |
'Nasty! And it seems we've got one on our tail.' | 0:04:41 | 0:04:45 | |
I guess they feel safer if they're behind you, don't they? | 0:04:48 | 0:04:50 | |
-Yeah, quite often they'll follow the kayaks... -Don't feel threatened. | 0:04:50 | 0:04:53 | |
..so they can keep a good eye on what we're doing | 0:04:53 | 0:04:55 | |
-and our movements. -Yeah. | 0:04:55 | 0:04:57 | |
'Out in the daylight, though, they don't seem menacing at all.' | 0:05:00 | 0:05:04 | |
Amazing. Hello. | 0:05:06 | 0:05:07 | |
Ah, they're gorgeous! | 0:05:07 | 0:05:09 | |
She's right under our kayak right now. | 0:05:09 | 0:05:12 | |
She's having a play around down there. | 0:05:12 | 0:05:14 | |
'Despite all this talk of aggression, I think I'm starting to like them.' | 0:05:17 | 0:05:21 | |
-Yep. -Hello, beautiful. | 0:05:22 | 0:05:25 | |
-I can see her whiskers and eyebrows. -Yeah, it's amazing, isn't it? | 0:05:25 | 0:05:29 | |
So all those whiskers just give them massive sensitivity in the water? | 0:05:29 | 0:05:32 | |
That's it, yeah, so they can feel fish going past | 0:05:32 | 0:05:34 | |
-and.... -All the vibrations? -That's it. | 0:05:34 | 0:05:37 | |
Ah! She just did a fantastic roll and dive. | 0:05:38 | 0:05:42 | |
Oh! | 0:05:42 | 0:05:44 | |
'They're so agile. They can move faster in the water | 0:05:44 | 0:05:47 | |
'than an Olympian, which they need to do | 0:05:47 | 0:05:50 | |
'to catch a fish. | 0:05:50 | 0:05:52 | |
'10 kilos of fish a day, that's the weight | 0:05:52 | 0:05:55 | |
'of a small, over-stuffed suitcase.' SEAL HOWLS | 0:05:55 | 0:05:58 | |
'All that fish is what builds the blubber | 0:06:00 | 0:06:02 | |
'that keeps them warm in our chilly waters. | 0:06:02 | 0:06:06 | |
'And their acrobatic antics mean you never know where one might pop up.' | 0:06:06 | 0:06:11 | |
Hello. | 0:06:11 | 0:06:13 | |
-Hey, guys. -Awh! | 0:06:13 | 0:06:15 | |
'Like with this inquisitive bunch that's come to check us out.' | 0:06:15 | 0:06:18 | |
And it's this cheeky nature that has got them | 0:06:20 | 0:06:22 | |
into some quite interesting situations. | 0:06:22 | 0:06:26 | |
SNORING | 0:06:26 | 0:06:27 | |
'On nearby Skomer Island, | 0:06:27 | 0:06:29 | |
'this brazen bruiser hijacked a dinghy. | 0:06:29 | 0:06:33 | |
'He must have been comfy, | 0:06:33 | 0:06:34 | |
'because he refused to budge for four whole days. | 0:06:34 | 0:06:37 | |
SNORING 'Cheeky chap.' | 0:06:37 | 0:06:40 | |
'Kayaking these caves and coves today | 0:06:42 | 0:06:45 | |
'and meeting their residents has left me feeling conflicted.' | 0:06:45 | 0:06:48 | |
Well, they're undeniably huge creatures, they've got massive teeth. | 0:06:51 | 0:06:56 | |
Definitely not an animal you should get too close to, | 0:06:56 | 0:06:58 | |
but, with their doe eyes, their cheeky disposition | 0:06:58 | 0:07:02 | |
and that curious nature, | 0:07:02 | 0:07:04 | |
could I really call the grey seal my worst nightmare? | 0:07:04 | 0:07:07 | |
SEAL SNORTS Laters! | 0:07:07 | 0:07:10 | |
JOHN LAUGHS I think he definitely just said goodbye. | 0:07:10 | 0:07:13 | |
SHE MIMICS SEAL SNORT | 0:07:13 | 0:07:14 | |
It's time for me and Daisy to move on down the coast | 0:07:16 | 0:07:19 | |
in search of a nice sandy beach. | 0:07:19 | 0:07:21 | |
SEAGULLS CAW | 0:07:21 | 0:07:22 | |
Ah, the great British seaside! | 0:07:24 | 0:07:26 | |
Lapping waves, sandcastles, ice cream, | 0:07:26 | 0:07:31 | |
what could possibly be a nightmare here? | 0:07:31 | 0:07:33 | |
Well, you might not think it, but rock pools | 0:07:33 | 0:07:36 | |
are one of nature's most brutal battlegrounds. | 0:07:36 | 0:07:39 | |
Anything living here must fight, hide, or attack | 0:07:39 | 0:07:43 | |
just to stay alive. | 0:07:43 | 0:07:44 | |
As the tide retreats, the pools it leaves behind | 0:07:46 | 0:07:49 | |
are small and overflowing with occupants. | 0:07:49 | 0:07:53 | |
Dinner is each other. | 0:07:53 | 0:07:55 | |
Marooned in puddles, there's nowhere to escape. | 0:07:55 | 0:07:59 | |
So each must work out a strategy to outwit their opponents | 0:08:00 | 0:08:05 | |
in the ultimate battle. | 0:08:05 | 0:08:07 | |
I want to show you what really goes on in our rock pools. | 0:08:10 | 0:08:13 | |
Far from peace and quiet, it's a riot in there! | 0:08:13 | 0:08:16 | |
So may I present to you... Naomi's Nightmares Rock Pool Lab! | 0:08:16 | 0:08:20 | |
Here in Tank One, we have limpets. | 0:08:21 | 0:08:24 | |
Now limpets, you might think, boring! | 0:08:24 | 0:08:27 | |
An animal that just sits around all day and all night | 0:08:27 | 0:08:30 | |
doing very little. | 0:08:30 | 0:08:32 | |
Haha! That is where you are wrong. | 0:08:32 | 0:08:33 | |
Limpets gets my vote as top fighter of our rock pools! | 0:08:33 | 0:08:37 | |
And I give you the battle between the limpet and... | 0:08:40 | 0:08:44 | |
the starfish! | 0:08:44 | 0:08:46 | |
Remember, this is going on in these rock pools | 0:08:46 | 0:08:48 | |
and in rock pools all around our coast all the time, | 0:08:48 | 0:08:51 | |
it's just much easier to show you in here. | 0:08:51 | 0:08:54 | |
There are our limpets minding their own business | 0:08:54 | 0:08:56 | |
and I'm going to introduce a common starfish. | 0:08:56 | 0:08:59 | |
Let me just show you this. | 0:08:59 | 0:09:00 | |
That's its mouth. It has eyes on the end of its legs | 0:09:00 | 0:09:04 | |
and that's its bum. | 0:09:04 | 0:09:07 | |
Starfish eat limpets. | 0:09:07 | 0:09:08 | |
They do it by expelling their stomach out through their mouth, | 0:09:08 | 0:09:12 | |
digesting the limpet and then sucking it back down again. | 0:09:12 | 0:09:15 | |
What a way to go! | 0:09:15 | 0:09:17 | |
But will our little heroes fight back? | 0:09:17 | 0:09:19 | |
Starfish use smell to hunt, so let's see | 0:09:21 | 0:09:24 | |
if it gets a whiff of those limpets. | 0:09:24 | 0:09:26 | |
Yep. Yep, it's got a whiff. | 0:09:28 | 0:09:31 | |
It's on its way. | 0:09:31 | 0:09:32 | |
It's moving towards the limpets | 0:09:32 | 0:09:34 | |
using those hundreds of little tubed feet | 0:09:34 | 0:09:36 | |
on its underside. | 0:09:36 | 0:09:38 | |
Wow! | 0:09:38 | 0:09:40 | |
Obviously hungry, this one. | 0:09:40 | 0:09:42 | |
Now watch for the really cool bit. | 0:09:42 | 0:09:44 | |
So the limpet is trying to trap the tentacles of the starfish | 0:09:45 | 0:09:49 | |
under its shell. | 0:09:49 | 0:09:50 | |
SHE GASPS | 0:09:50 | 0:09:51 | |
No way! It's totally got it! | 0:09:51 | 0:09:53 | |
It's totally got it! Ooh, the poor starfish! | 0:09:53 | 0:09:55 | |
SHE GASPS | 0:09:56 | 0:09:58 | |
Ninja limpet! | 0:09:58 | 0:09:59 | |
Who would have thought it? | 0:09:59 | 0:10:02 | |
Tank Two and my second super strategy | 0:10:02 | 0:10:04 | |
for surviving in a rock pool. | 0:10:04 | 0:10:06 | |
It's...the hermit crab. | 0:10:06 | 0:10:08 | |
Hermit crabs don't have their own shells. | 0:10:11 | 0:10:14 | |
They use empty snail shells as their homes, | 0:10:14 | 0:10:16 | |
finding just the right size to protect their soft bottoms. | 0:10:16 | 0:10:20 | |
Look at these guys. Now, if I pick him up... | 0:10:23 | 0:10:25 | |
Ooh! ..he'll retreat into his shell. | 0:10:26 | 0:10:28 | |
Not many predators are going to be able to get him in there. | 0:10:28 | 0:10:31 | |
But if I put him back in the water | 0:10:31 | 0:10:34 | |
he'll relax, realising that he is not under attack, | 0:10:34 | 0:10:37 | |
and he'll come out. | 0:10:37 | 0:10:39 | |
Look at his little eyes! | 0:10:39 | 0:10:41 | |
Very cute. | 0:10:41 | 0:10:42 | |
Now, you might look at a hermit crab and think, yeah, that's nice, | 0:10:42 | 0:10:46 | |
but not much going on between their ears. | 0:10:46 | 0:10:47 | |
Hang on, do hermit crabs even have ears? | 0:10:47 | 0:10:50 | |
Anyway, their strategy for survival is very clever. | 0:10:50 | 0:10:54 | |
They hide and they do it in a very cunning way. | 0:10:54 | 0:10:57 | |
To demonstrate, I've got a whole lot of hermit crabs in this tank, | 0:10:57 | 0:11:00 | |
in dark coloured shells, against light coloured sand, | 0:11:00 | 0:11:03 | |
so, at the moment, they're about as camouflaged | 0:11:03 | 0:11:06 | |
as a load of flamingos in the Arctic. | 0:11:06 | 0:11:07 | |
I'm going to pop in some shells that match the sand | 0:11:07 | 0:11:11 | |
and let's see what they do. | 0:11:11 | 0:11:13 | |
Yes! Immediately, they are checking out the new shells | 0:11:13 | 0:11:16 | |
that match the background. | 0:11:16 | 0:11:18 | |
It's like a tenant investigating a new house. | 0:11:18 | 0:11:22 | |
Is it empty? Yes, it is. | 0:11:22 | 0:11:24 | |
Can I move in? Yes, I can. | 0:11:24 | 0:11:25 | |
Will I be more camouflaged? Definitely. | 0:11:27 | 0:11:29 | |
Ooh, yeah, he's moving in. | 0:11:31 | 0:11:33 | |
SHE GASPS Go on, in you go. | 0:11:33 | 0:11:35 | |
Shuffling into position. | 0:11:37 | 0:11:39 | |
Bum's going in! | 0:11:39 | 0:11:41 | |
Yes! We have a new tenant. | 0:11:44 | 0:11:46 | |
Hurrah! | 0:11:46 | 0:11:47 | |
'These clever crabs hide from predators | 0:11:48 | 0:11:50 | |
'by blending with their background.' | 0:11:50 | 0:11:52 | |
My third tank and final survival strategy, | 0:11:53 | 0:11:56 | |
it's the top predators of our rock pools. | 0:11:56 | 0:11:59 | |
'This guy's strategy | 0:11:59 | 0:12:00 | |
'is to be downright nasty.' | 0:12:00 | 0:12:02 | |
I'm going to try and get him out. | 0:12:02 | 0:12:04 | |
IN FUNNY VOICE: Oh, no, no, no! I'm really nervous of you! | 0:12:04 | 0:12:07 | |
Hoo-hoo! | 0:12:07 | 0:12:09 | |
This is the velvet swimming crab. | 0:12:09 | 0:12:12 | |
Look at those red eyes, HUGE claws | 0:12:12 | 0:12:14 | |
and flattened back legs, perfect for swimming. | 0:12:14 | 0:12:17 | |
Got little paddles on the back. | 0:12:17 | 0:12:20 | |
If you live in a rock pool, this would be your worst nightmare. | 0:12:20 | 0:12:24 | |
'Crabs like this and its other crabby counterparts | 0:12:24 | 0:12:28 | |
'will use their razor sharp pincers | 0:12:28 | 0:12:30 | |
'to tear at their victims, | 0:12:30 | 0:12:33 | |
'ripping out the flesh.' | 0:12:33 | 0:12:35 | |
CRUNCHING | 0:12:35 | 0:12:36 | |
'You wouldn't want to end up marooned with these | 0:12:36 | 0:12:39 | |
'or any other top predators of the pools. | 0:12:39 | 0:12:42 | |
'It's a beastly battleground, | 0:12:42 | 0:12:45 | |
'which makes the rock pool a definite contender | 0:12:45 | 0:12:48 | |
'for my worst nightmare.' | 0:12:48 | 0:12:50 | |
Away from the rock pools, Britain's beautiful beaches | 0:12:54 | 0:12:57 | |
are lovely relaxing spots to kick back and enjoy the sunshine. | 0:12:57 | 0:13:03 | |
Oh, except that my next nightmare | 0:13:03 | 0:13:05 | |
may put you off ever sunbathing again. | 0:13:05 | 0:13:09 | |
This nightmare could be hiding under your beach towel, | 0:13:09 | 0:13:12 | |
slithering through your sandcastle, lurking in the shallows. | 0:13:12 | 0:13:15 | |
WARNING! If you are of a nervous disposition, | 0:13:15 | 0:13:18 | |
you possibly shouldn't watch this, | 0:13:18 | 0:13:20 | |
because I... | 0:13:20 | 0:13:21 | |
am on the hunt for ragworm. | 0:13:21 | 0:13:23 | |
Squelchy squirmers that lurk beneath our sandy feet. | 0:13:25 | 0:13:30 | |
They live underground on beaches all around our coast. | 0:13:30 | 0:13:34 | |
These writhing wrigglers are no strangers to fishermen, | 0:13:39 | 0:13:43 | |
who use them as bait. | 0:13:43 | 0:13:45 | |
And that's why Neil here... | 0:13:45 | 0:13:47 | |
..is digging them up today. | 0:13:48 | 0:13:50 | |
Oh, and they have a special feature | 0:13:50 | 0:13:52 | |
that other worms don't - | 0:13:52 | 0:13:54 | |
they bite! | 0:13:54 | 0:13:56 | |
Great, let's go and find some. | 0:13:56 | 0:13:58 | |
You can tell their whereabouts from tiny pinpricks in the ground, | 0:13:59 | 0:14:03 | |
the entrance to their burrow. | 0:14:03 | 0:14:05 | |
Look here. | 0:14:05 | 0:14:08 | |
Here's some small holes. | 0:14:08 | 0:14:10 | |
-Oh, I see. -Yeah. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:12 | |
-OK, so we better get digging. -Yep. | 0:14:12 | 0:14:14 | |
-And see if we can unearth one. -Give it a go. | 0:14:14 | 0:14:16 | |
Here, raggy, raggy, raggy! | 0:14:18 | 0:14:21 | |
Do they ever come up to the surface? | 0:14:21 | 0:14:24 | |
Like, do you ever see them just walking around on the sand? | 0:14:24 | 0:14:26 | |
No, no, the birds would be having them. | 0:14:26 | 0:14:28 | |
-So they prefer to stay hidden? -Yeah. | 0:14:28 | 0:14:30 | |
-So we are safe, when we're sunbathing. -Yep. | 0:14:30 | 0:14:33 | |
-Just paddling and stuff. -Yep. | 0:14:33 | 0:14:34 | |
IN NERVOUS VOICE: Good. | 0:14:34 | 0:14:36 | |
Can you see one? | 0:14:37 | 0:14:39 | |
A baby one. | 0:14:39 | 0:14:41 | |
-Ooh, it's tiny! -Yep. -A little tiddler. | 0:14:41 | 0:14:43 | |
That one shouldn't bite you. | 0:14:43 | 0:14:46 | |
-What shall I do with that? -Put him in with the rest of them. | 0:14:46 | 0:14:49 | |
OK. All right, cheers, Neil. | 0:14:49 | 0:14:50 | |
All right, no worries. | 0:14:50 | 0:14:52 | |
Quite tiny. Not too bad like that. | 0:14:52 | 0:14:55 | |
SHE LAUGHS | 0:14:57 | 0:14:59 | |
But we've got some here that we collected earlier | 0:14:59 | 0:15:01 | |
that appear to be significantly bigger. | 0:15:01 | 0:15:04 | |
Oh, my word! | 0:15:04 | 0:15:05 | |
The crew think it would be a really good idea if I pick one up, | 0:15:08 | 0:15:11 | |
so we can have a very good look at it. | 0:15:11 | 0:15:13 | |
They're massive! No! | 0:15:13 | 0:15:16 | |
Hold on, I've got to psych myself up for this. | 0:15:16 | 0:15:19 | |
SHE LAUGHS This is going to take a bit of nerve. | 0:15:19 | 0:15:22 | |
Oh! | 0:15:22 | 0:15:24 | |
I'm having hagfish flashbacks! | 0:15:24 | 0:15:26 | |
SHE SHOUTS AND LAUGHS | 0:15:26 | 0:15:28 | |
Right, get brave, get brave. | 0:15:28 | 0:15:30 | |
Eugh, I don't like the way they feel! | 0:15:30 | 0:15:33 | |
Ooh, no. These are really soft. | 0:15:33 | 0:15:36 | |
Slimy. | 0:15:36 | 0:15:37 | |
SHE LAUGHS Right, come here, you! | 0:15:37 | 0:15:41 | |
Eugh! | 0:15:41 | 0:15:42 | |
Bear with me, caller! | 0:15:42 | 0:15:44 | |
Maybe I'll try a different one. | 0:15:46 | 0:15:48 | |
No, come on. Come on, Naomi. Be brave. | 0:15:48 | 0:15:51 | |
SHE WHISPERS TO HERSELF | 0:15:51 | 0:15:52 | |
Right, I got it, I've got it. Got it. | 0:15:52 | 0:15:54 | |
Naomi, why are you shaking? | 0:15:57 | 0:15:59 | |
Shh! | 0:15:59 | 0:16:00 | |
Eugh, it's like an alien, isn't it? | 0:16:01 | 0:16:03 | |
So that end is its mouth | 0:16:03 | 0:16:07 | |
and in there it has teeth and two sets of big, large big pincers, | 0:16:07 | 0:16:11 | |
which you might see every now and again. | 0:16:11 | 0:16:13 | |
And it uses those to grab its prey, or to fend off any attacker | 0:16:13 | 0:16:18 | |
that might try and get it while it's in its burrow. | 0:16:18 | 0:16:20 | |
SHE GASPS | 0:16:20 | 0:16:21 | |
There! Did you see that? BITING NOISE | 0:16:21 | 0:16:24 | |
You can probably see those two... | 0:16:24 | 0:16:26 | |
pincers that are trying to bite me right now. | 0:16:26 | 0:16:28 | |
Agh! | 0:16:28 | 0:16:31 | |
That didn't really hurt, but I don't like it. | 0:16:31 | 0:16:34 | |
WAILING | 0:16:34 | 0:16:36 | |
'You can find these beasties at your local beach, | 0:16:36 | 0:16:39 | |
'just in case you fancy holding one, too.' | 0:16:39 | 0:16:42 | |
SHE SQUEALS | 0:16:42 | 0:16:44 | |
So can you see they've got loads of tiny little pairs of legs | 0:16:47 | 0:16:51 | |
all the way down its body? | 0:16:51 | 0:16:53 | |
And it uses those for walking on the sand, | 0:16:53 | 0:16:56 | |
for pushing through the mud and even swimming. | 0:16:56 | 0:16:59 | |
Now, when it comes to feeding, the ragworm really does it all. | 0:17:00 | 0:17:04 | |
They scavenge for anything dead they can find, | 0:17:04 | 0:17:06 | |
they hunt down live prey and they filter the water | 0:17:06 | 0:17:10 | |
to catch a meal too and the way they do that is pretty ingenious. | 0:17:10 | 0:17:13 | |
They produce slime and then they'll use that slime | 0:17:13 | 0:17:16 | |
and weave it into a net across their burrow, | 0:17:16 | 0:17:19 | |
which will then filter out any smaller critters in the water. | 0:17:19 | 0:17:22 | |
They'll then eat those animals and the net, too. | 0:17:22 | 0:17:25 | |
BITING SOUND, SHE SHOUTS | 0:17:25 | 0:17:27 | |
Oh! It scratched me with its pincers. Urgh! | 0:17:27 | 0:17:30 | |
Ooh, I don't like you! | 0:17:30 | 0:17:32 | |
Slimy, creepy, wriggly, | 0:17:32 | 0:17:36 | |
downright disgusting ragworm - | 0:17:36 | 0:17:39 | |
you could easily be my worst nightmare. | 0:17:39 | 0:17:41 | |
SHE GASPS | 0:17:45 | 0:17:46 | |
I've had enough of the seaside. | 0:17:50 | 0:17:52 | |
Time to speed away from the nightmares of British beaches | 0:17:52 | 0:17:56 | |
in search of my final contender. | 0:17:56 | 0:17:59 | |
My next animal lives in a nightmare place. | 0:17:59 | 0:18:02 | |
It's crowded, it's remote, battered by wind and rain, | 0:18:02 | 0:18:06 | |
and surrounded by sheer drops and, well, | 0:18:06 | 0:18:08 | |
just downright scary. | 0:18:08 | 0:18:10 | |
That place is the dizzying... | 0:18:10 | 0:18:12 | |
HORROR MUSIC ..craggy, coastal cliffs | 0:18:12 | 0:18:16 | |
..of... | 0:18:16 | 0:18:17 | |
GENTLE MUSIC ..Skomer Island. | 0:18:17 | 0:18:18 | |
A lump of rock sitting off the west coast of Wales. | 0:18:21 | 0:18:25 | |
BIRDS CAW | 0:18:25 | 0:18:27 | |
In the spring and summer, it's sea bird central! | 0:18:27 | 0:18:30 | |
BIRDS CAW | 0:18:30 | 0:18:33 | |
12,000 puffins, the largest colony of shearwaters in the world, | 0:18:33 | 0:18:38 | |
and hundreds of black-backed gulls. | 0:18:38 | 0:18:41 | |
But the super survivors of this island are... | 0:18:41 | 0:18:43 | |
Thousands of these feisty fliers | 0:18:47 | 0:18:50 | |
nestle on the island every year to breed. | 0:18:50 | 0:18:54 | |
The trouble is, getting off the island again | 0:18:54 | 0:18:56 | |
involves a feat of Olympian proportions! | 0:18:56 | 0:18:59 | |
To help me understand these plucky birds, | 0:19:00 | 0:19:03 | |
I'm meeting up with Elspeth Kenny... | 0:19:03 | 0:19:05 | |
..a real life guillemot scientist. | 0:19:06 | 0:19:08 | |
-I'm Naomi. -Hi. -So this is where you live, is it? | 0:19:08 | 0:19:11 | |
-Pretty much, pretty much. -Hang out, yeah? | 0:19:11 | 0:19:13 | |
-Yeah, just hang out here in the sun. -All the time. | 0:19:13 | 0:19:15 | |
We've got a whole lot of birds on the cliff. | 0:19:15 | 0:19:16 | |
Which ones are the guillemots? | 0:19:16 | 0:19:18 | |
So the guillemots are the ones in big clumps | 0:19:18 | 0:19:20 | |
and they're sort of chocolaty brown and white. | 0:19:20 | 0:19:22 | |
-Kind of like mini penguins? -That's exactly how I describe them. | 0:19:22 | 0:19:24 | |
-Do you? Oh, cool. -Yep, that I study mini penguins! | 0:19:24 | 0:19:28 | |
'These brave birds choose to nest on cliffs, | 0:19:28 | 0:19:31 | |
'often 100 metres above the sea. | 0:19:31 | 0:19:35 | |
'It gets pretty crowded up there.' | 0:19:35 | 0:19:38 | |
I think it's a bit like trying to have a baby on the Tube, | 0:19:38 | 0:19:41 | |
-because...trying to raise a kid and look after it. -Yeah! | 0:19:41 | 0:19:44 | |
And they're all jam-packed in, | 0:19:44 | 0:19:45 | |
with somebody's armpit in their face and... | 0:19:45 | 0:19:48 | |
Why would they all hang out together? | 0:19:48 | 0:19:50 | |
Why don't they find a space? | 0:19:50 | 0:19:52 | |
They breed so densely to deter other predators, | 0:19:52 | 0:19:54 | |
so, when a gull comes down and tries to get their egg | 0:19:54 | 0:19:58 | |
or their chick or anything, | 0:19:58 | 0:20:00 | |
they all just look at the gull and force their beaks up towards them | 0:20:00 | 0:20:02 | |
and ward the gull away from each other. | 0:20:02 | 0:20:04 | |
-Safety in numbers. -Exactly! | 0:20:04 | 0:20:07 | |
'The pros of community bouncers does mean | 0:20:07 | 0:20:10 | |
'putting up with the cons of badly-behaved neighbours.' | 0:20:10 | 0:20:14 | |
Actually, I'm sure I saw one that looked like it had been pooed on. | 0:20:14 | 0:20:17 | |
Oh, yeah, all the time. | 0:20:17 | 0:20:19 | |
Eugh! If my neighbour pooed on me, I would move away. | 0:20:19 | 0:20:22 | |
ELSPETH LAUGHS Wouldn't be a friend any more. | 0:20:22 | 0:20:25 | |
'Even though they look like they're LITERALLY living | 0:20:25 | 0:20:29 | |
'on top of each other, | 0:20:29 | 0:20:31 | |
'each pair actually has its own personal territory. | 0:20:31 | 0:20:35 | |
'Just big enough for one single egg.' | 0:20:35 | 0:20:38 | |
How come the eggs don't just roll off and fall into the water? | 0:20:38 | 0:20:42 | |
-I have some model eggs to show you. -Oh! -Here's some I made earlier! | 0:20:42 | 0:20:45 | |
And, as you can see, the egg is a very unusual shape. | 0:20:45 | 0:20:48 | |
If you compare to a chicken egg, | 0:20:48 | 0:20:49 | |
-this guillemot egg is much more pointed. -Yes. | 0:20:49 | 0:20:53 | |
'It's thought this pointy shape stops it rolling off the cliff. | 0:20:53 | 0:20:57 | |
'The rest is up to Mum and Dad.' | 0:20:57 | 0:21:01 | |
Both the mother and father take turns in incubating the egg | 0:21:01 | 0:21:04 | |
-and, when they swap, they're both very careful. -I was going to say, | 0:21:04 | 0:21:07 | |
-that's got to be a moment where they're worried. -Yeah. | 0:21:07 | 0:21:10 | |
'Considering the care taken over the egg, | 0:21:10 | 0:21:13 | |
'the fate of the chick is somewhat ironic.' | 0:21:13 | 0:21:17 | |
So once the little chick hatches out of the egg, | 0:21:17 | 0:21:19 | |
how does it get off the cliff? | 0:21:19 | 0:21:21 | |
Erm, it jumps... | 0:21:21 | 0:21:23 | |
-or falls. -Really? | 0:21:23 | 0:21:25 | |
Yep. | 0:21:25 | 0:21:27 | |
'That's right! When guillemot chicks reach around three weeks old, | 0:21:27 | 0:21:31 | |
'they simply hurl themselves into the void. | 0:21:31 | 0:21:34 | |
CHICKS CAW | 0:21:34 | 0:21:35 | |
'And they can't yet fly! | 0:21:35 | 0:21:37 | |
'Move over, Tom Daley, | 0:21:39 | 0:21:41 | |
'this is how diving is done! | 0:21:41 | 0:21:43 | |
'Gather some fans to cheer you on.' | 0:21:44 | 0:21:48 | |
CHEERING | 0:21:48 | 0:21:49 | |
So when the chick is ready to leave... | 0:21:49 | 0:21:51 | |
-GUILLEMOT CALLS -..the father goes down to the sea | 0:21:51 | 0:21:53 | |
and starts calling it, so it's encouraging it to jump off | 0:21:53 | 0:21:56 | |
-and the little chick sort of 60, 70, 80 metres above... -What? | 0:21:56 | 0:22:00 | |
..can hear, among all those other birds, its father calling at it. | 0:22:00 | 0:22:03 | |
'Steel yourself for the jump. | 0:22:07 | 0:22:10 | |
CHICKS CALL | 0:22:10 | 0:22:11 | |
'It takes the chicks a little while to psych themselves up.' | 0:22:11 | 0:22:15 | |
-You see them sort of getting up the courage to do it. -Yeah. | 0:22:17 | 0:22:21 | |
-Nudged on by other adult guillemots around. -Yeah. | 0:22:21 | 0:22:24 | |
And eventually they just sort of fall off the cliff. | 0:22:24 | 0:22:27 | |
'The guillemot dive is less than graceful.' | 0:22:33 | 0:22:37 | |
They'll tumble down from their ledge and they might bash into other birds | 0:22:37 | 0:22:41 | |
rolling down the cliff and they flap like mad, | 0:22:41 | 0:22:43 | |
which might slow them down a bit | 0:22:43 | 0:22:45 | |
and then they plop into the sea. | 0:22:45 | 0:22:47 | |
Does it not hurt itself? | 0:22:51 | 0:22:52 | |
Erm, no, they're pretty tough. | 0:22:52 | 0:22:54 | |
-They're really fluffy! -Bounce, yeah! | 0:22:54 | 0:22:56 | |
They seem to land in the water absolutely fine. | 0:22:56 | 0:22:59 | |
'Once in the water, there's one final stage left and that's... | 0:22:59 | 0:23:04 | |
'to celebrate the victory.' | 0:23:04 | 0:23:05 | |
Once they're on the water, their father is there waiting for them. | 0:23:06 | 0:23:10 | |
-GUILLEMOTS CALL -So there's all these young chicks | 0:23:10 | 0:23:12 | |
and all these fathers in the water, calling and calling | 0:23:12 | 0:23:15 | |
-and calling each other incessantly. -Awh! | 0:23:15 | 0:23:17 | |
And once they've met up, they spend the next few weeks out at sea | 0:23:17 | 0:23:21 | |
just with their father and their father teaches them | 0:23:21 | 0:23:23 | |
how to forage and protects it. | 0:23:23 | 0:23:26 | |
-Yeah... -Right, hang on. Let me get this straight. | 0:23:26 | 0:23:28 | |
So these little chicks, they've been out of the egg, what? | 0:23:28 | 0:23:30 | |
-Two to three weeks. -Yep. -Nice warm egg. Then they're having to leap | 0:23:30 | 0:23:33 | |
50 metres, or way higher, into the sea, | 0:23:33 | 0:23:35 | |
they've never swum before and they've got no idea where they're going. | 0:23:35 | 0:23:39 | |
-Exactly. -That sounds like a seriously nightmarish thing to do. | 0:23:39 | 0:23:43 | |
Blimey, glad I'm not a guillemot chick. | 0:23:43 | 0:23:45 | |
HORN BLARES, SHE SIGHS | 0:23:45 | 0:23:48 | |
Spoke too soon. | 0:23:48 | 0:23:49 | |
"Jump like a guillemot chick." | 0:23:49 | 0:23:51 | |
SHE GASPS | 0:23:51 | 0:23:53 | |
'Pembrokeshire's coastline is dotted with natural dive boards. | 0:23:54 | 0:23:59 | |
'Lucky me! | 0:23:59 | 0:24:00 | |
'Thankfully, I won't be alone. | 0:24:02 | 0:24:04 | |
'Joining me for a spot of coasteering are outdoor enthusiasts...' | 0:24:04 | 0:24:08 | |
'And an experienced guide, grey seal John again. | 0:24:11 | 0:24:16 | |
'He's kitted us out in all our safety gear | 0:24:16 | 0:24:18 | |
'and knows precisely which rocks are safe to sail from around here.' | 0:24:18 | 0:24:23 | |
OK, so you're going to take a nice big leap, right the way out, | 0:24:23 | 0:24:26 | |
aiming to get as far away from the rock as possible. | 0:24:26 | 0:24:29 | |
In the air, you can wriggle around a little bit, | 0:24:29 | 0:24:32 | |
as long as, when you're coming in to land, | 0:24:32 | 0:24:34 | |
you make sure you've got your legs together. | 0:24:34 | 0:24:36 | |
One other tip is don't look down at the water. | 0:24:36 | 0:24:39 | |
-So how do you stop it going up your nose? -Just breathe out your nose. | 0:24:39 | 0:24:42 | |
Out through your nose...like a seal. | 0:24:42 | 0:24:44 | |
'Time for a few practice jumps before the big one. | 0:24:44 | 0:24:48 | |
'Our gutsy guillemots on Skomer jump from 60 metres. | 0:24:52 | 0:24:57 | |
'That's like me jumping from five times the height of Big Ben! | 0:24:57 | 0:25:01 | |
CHEERING | 0:25:01 | 0:25:02 | |
'If I did that, I'd break my neck. | 0:25:02 | 0:25:05 | |
'So our gigantic jump will be | 0:25:05 | 0:25:07 | |
'from a more reasonable seven metres. | 0:25:07 | 0:25:10 | |
'Time to gather some fans. | 0:25:11 | 0:25:13 | |
'While my dad might not be cheering me on from the water, the crew are. | 0:25:14 | 0:25:18 | |
'Now for Stage 2 - preparing ourselves for the jump.' | 0:25:20 | 0:25:24 | |
-Oh, my heart's suddenly started going like the clappers! -Woo! | 0:25:24 | 0:25:28 | |
And a guillemot will jump from, what, 10 times or more the height of this? | 0:25:28 | 0:25:32 | |
What do you think of what the guillemot does? | 0:25:32 | 0:25:34 | |
It's amazing. | 0:25:34 | 0:25:35 | |
How are you feeling about doing this? | 0:25:35 | 0:25:37 | |
Nervous, it's my first time, so... | 0:25:37 | 0:25:39 | |
feeling like a guillemot, really. | 0:25:39 | 0:25:41 | |
-Are you? -Yeah. -A bit anxious? | 0:25:41 | 0:25:43 | |
'That's an understatement. | 0:25:43 | 0:25:45 | |
'I think I'll let my fellow guillemots go first. | 0:25:45 | 0:25:48 | |
'Now for the descent. | 0:25:48 | 0:25:51 | |
'Good luck, everyone.' | 0:25:51 | 0:25:52 | |
MUSIC: Chariots of Fire by Vangelis | 0:25:52 | 0:25:54 | |
Yoo-hoo-hoo! | 0:25:54 | 0:25:55 | |
-Ah! You made that look so easy. -Awesome! -Yes! | 0:25:55 | 0:25:58 | |
Ah! | 0:25:58 | 0:26:00 | |
-Woo! -Yeah! -CHEERING | 0:26:00 | 0:26:02 | |
That means it's only me left. Oh! | 0:26:03 | 0:26:06 | |
Oh! SHE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY | 0:26:06 | 0:26:08 | |
I don't want to do it! | 0:26:08 | 0:26:09 | |
'Guillemots, I'm doing this for you.' | 0:26:11 | 0:26:13 | |
Yoo-hoo-hoo! | 0:26:15 | 0:26:16 | |
Oh! CHEERING | 0:26:19 | 0:26:21 | |
'Let's see that again in... | 0:26:21 | 0:26:22 | |
SLOW MOTION VOICE: '..slow-mo replay. | 0:26:22 | 0:26:25 | |
'Oh, no! I forgot to flap!' | 0:26:27 | 0:26:29 | |
SLOW MOTION CHEERING | 0:26:30 | 0:26:32 | |
Oh! LAUGHTER | 0:26:32 | 0:26:34 | |
Whoa! I tell you what... | 0:26:36 | 0:26:37 | |
much respect, guillemot chick. I salute you! | 0:26:39 | 0:26:43 | |
I can now say, with first-hand experience, | 0:26:43 | 0:26:45 | |
your death-defying dive truly qualifies | 0:26:45 | 0:26:49 | |
as a nightmare of nature. | 0:26:49 | 0:26:51 | |
Ugh! | 0:26:51 | 0:26:52 | |
It's time for me to bid farewell to the fearsome UK coast. | 0:26:55 | 0:26:58 | |
But, out of all my nightmare encounters, | 0:26:58 | 0:27:00 | |
which one will top my list? | 0:27:00 | 0:27:02 | |
Will it be that cheeky chappy, the grey seal? | 0:27:02 | 0:27:04 | |
Oh, my goodness. | 0:27:04 | 0:27:07 | |
She's right underneath our kayak right now. | 0:27:07 | 0:27:09 | |
Or is it the hostile world of the rock pool, | 0:27:09 | 0:27:11 | |
with its feisty inhabitants? | 0:27:11 | 0:27:13 | |
Hi-yah! | 0:27:13 | 0:27:15 | |
Ninja limpet! | 0:27:15 | 0:27:16 | |
Who would have thought it? | 0:27:16 | 0:27:18 | |
Well, I wouldn't be at all surprised if you've figured out that it is... | 0:27:18 | 0:27:21 | |
the subterranean, scissor mouthed, slimy British burrower... | 0:27:21 | 0:27:25 | |
the ragworm. | 0:27:25 | 0:27:26 | |
It probably got your vote, too. | 0:27:26 | 0:27:27 | |
It might the fishermen's favourite | 0:27:27 | 0:27:29 | |
but it's definitely my worst UK nightmare. | 0:27:29 | 0:27:32 | |
BITING SOUND | 0:27:32 | 0:27:33 | |
SHE SQUEALS | 0:27:34 | 0:27:37 | |
No-one else will carry anything. | 0:27:37 | 0:27:39 | |
-LAUGHTER -Every time someone... | 0:27:39 | 0:27:40 | |
They just pass me stuff all the time, like, "Take this, take this." | 0:27:40 | 0:27:43 | |
It's all I'm here for. | 0:27:43 | 0:27:44 | |
-LAUGHTER -I'm a pack horse. | 0:27:44 | 0:27:46 | |
Thanks, Rich. Do you want me...? | 0:27:46 | 0:27:48 | |
-Something. -You all right? OK. Yeah, I've got it. | 0:27:48 | 0:27:50 | |
I've had a great day. | 0:27:50 | 0:27:51 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:27:51 | 0:27:52 |