0:00:17 > 0:00:20Winter in the suburbs of London.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24It's late. People are tucked up,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27or watching David Attenborough on the telly.
0:00:27 > 0:00:28'And the vast herds follow.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31'Wildebeest are free to travel
0:00:31 > 0:00:33'wherever the quest for food leads them
0:00:33 > 0:00:36'and they home in on the scent of wet soil
0:00:36 > 0:00:39'that carries the promise of fresh grass.'
0:00:41 > 0:00:44There's a migration going on here, too.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52The last bus does its rounds
0:00:52 > 0:00:57and the old residents of this place are looking to reclaim the streets.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Fallow deer are stepping into a world
0:01:03 > 0:01:06where nothing is quite natural.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Above them, this leaf should have fallen months ago,
0:01:09 > 0:01:13but a tiny patch remains, confused by the streetlights
0:01:13 > 0:01:16into believing winter has not yet arrived.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22On the ground, the council's lawnmowers encourage fresh grasses
0:01:22 > 0:01:26tastier than the brambles in the woods.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28Like the wildebeest herds in Africa,
0:01:28 > 0:01:33the deer of Essex are attracted to their own suburban Serengeti.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39There are not lions here,
0:01:39 > 0:01:41but cars can kill, too.
0:01:44 > 0:01:50They won't be deterred - the manicured lawns are irresistible.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56Finally they can eat their fill.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59By rush hour, they'll be long gone.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06And it's not just deer.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09There are other mass migrations and alien invasions,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12a world most of us never see.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16There are a lucky few
0:02:16 > 0:02:19who have opened their eyes to this wild subculture.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21Is that one feeding now?
0:02:24 > 0:02:29For them, London is a magical wilderness full of opportunity.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36Every building in London resembles a cliff face.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39Good dog.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41No, there are no foxes in the countryside now.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44They're all in London.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47They'll come right over like helicopters.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50We're surrounded. This is the real urban jungle.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54It's like a gang here and a gang there, and it's all about territory.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01I think she's camera shy.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06Our window on to this world is through some unlikely heroes.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10This is the natural history of London
0:03:10 > 0:03:12as you have never seen it before.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14'This train is ready to depart.'
0:03:26 > 0:03:29To understand the nature of London,
0:03:29 > 0:03:33we need to look at it as we would look at any other habitat.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39But there is no habitat on Earth that evolves as quickly as a city.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50London's wildlife has had to adapt
0:03:50 > 0:03:53to this extreme eruption of rock and glass.
0:03:58 > 0:03:59Down in the streets,
0:03:59 > 0:04:03spring reveals the city is still throbbing to the seasons.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Trees, the giants of the old order,
0:04:07 > 0:04:11now reach up between towers and wheels,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14living signposts to the arrival of summer.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20Despite all the changes,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23London is still a handful of gently rolling hills
0:04:23 > 0:04:27that fall away to a flood plain of drained marshes...
0:04:27 > 0:04:30with a river running through it.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Before we tried to contain it,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41the Thames reached over five times its current width.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Fighting back this tide is an ongoing battle.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07You can never keep nature out -
0:05:07 > 0:05:12it will always seep back, bringing its magic with it.
0:05:14 > 0:05:19One recent arrival swam in through the lock gates of Canary Wharf
0:05:19 > 0:05:23to an old coal dock that separates the towers of industry
0:05:23 > 0:05:25from Billingsgate Fish Market.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33The Billingsgate Porters are a London tradition.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40For 500 years, men have risen at 4am each day
0:05:40 > 0:05:42to distribute fish to a hungry city.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47But these tradesmen have gone soft on an animal
0:05:47 > 0:05:50most fishermen would see as the enemy.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58I think she's camera shy.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05When I first saw her, it was dark
0:06:05 > 0:06:08and right down the other end of the docks there
0:06:08 > 0:06:11and I was coming down the stairs from the changing room,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14and I saw this shape in the water and I thought it was a man in the water.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17No, I didn't think it was human. I could see it was a seal.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20I'm not that naive, you know?
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Just kick this. Like that...
0:06:24 > 0:06:26METAL CLANGS
0:06:26 > 0:06:28And up she comes.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Like Flipper.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44This seal can escape to the Thames should she choose to do so,
0:06:44 > 0:06:46yet she prefers to stay.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Certainly, catching fish here is a lot easier.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52She's a bit fussy - she won't eat plaice or nothing like that.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57She'll eat mackerel, herrings - soft fish, like, you know?
0:06:57 > 0:06:59What she likes the most are the squid
0:06:59 > 0:07:03because they're nice and soft, I suppose easy to swallow.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Salmon, I reckon. Salmon and trout.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Nice, big, juicy mackerel for her.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Bit hungry. Looks a bit narrow.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21METAL CLANGS
0:07:21 > 0:07:26She just puts it in her flippers and claws and just strips it down.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Strips it right off.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31It's an unlikely relationship.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Men considered to be tough as old nails
0:07:33 > 0:07:36raiding their stock for the love of a seal.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41She'll sort of go up and down, follow you along.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45She sort of performs, you know? Especially when she's hungry.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52There's a good girl. A lovely girl.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58There's more fish in there than there is in there!
0:07:59 > 0:08:05For those of us who care to look, London is full of surprises.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08You've had whales up the river, in't ya?
0:08:08 > 0:08:10Had whales, dolphins.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Terns - red Arctic terns round here.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18You see more in London and surrounding areas than what you can in the countryside.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22It's all around you,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25if you only look and see for yourself what's about.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Some people walk about with their head in the clouds. They don't look at nothing.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35Like I say, my garden - toads, slowworms, frogs.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Middle of London, you know?
0:08:38 > 0:08:41I mean, we'd never see a slowworm when we was kids.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45Grass snakes. You know, all coming in. Where are they coming from?
0:08:45 > 0:08:48See, what you don't see a lot of now - hedgehogs.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53When I first moved in the house where I am
0:08:53 > 0:08:58it was heaving with hedgehogs. You know, there was too many of them.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03The habitat of London is not for the faint hearted
0:09:03 > 0:09:06and hedgehogs have it tougher than most.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10They don't understand roads and they confuse a pile of cuttings
0:09:10 > 0:09:15as a place to doss down for the night when it's actually a bonfire.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24They have even developed a habit for the sweet nectar of coffee
0:09:24 > 0:09:27at the bottom of a Styrofoam cup.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30If it gets stuck, it can be fatal.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35They may not be streetwise yet,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38but they muddle along where they can.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Others have adapted brilliantly
0:09:44 > 0:09:47and left their country cousins far behind.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55To the feral pigeon, the streets of London are paved with gold.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Most Londoners barely give these birds a second thought,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02but Lisa, far from ignoring the humble pigeon...
0:10:02 > 0:10:05- Stay, boys.- ..has developed an obsession with them.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07It's all in the art of stealth.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11She's not a scientist - she's just a girl with an unlikely passion.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16But you don't crawl around the streets of London for six years
0:10:16 > 0:10:19without picking up a thing or two.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22We are in the middle of Soho,
0:10:22 > 0:10:24so all these guys basically live in Soho Square.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28Scientists believe that pigeons used to navigate their way
0:10:28 > 0:10:31using the Earth's magnetic field
0:10:31 > 0:10:33and there are actually a lot of scientists now
0:10:33 > 0:10:36that believe they just use roads like everybody else.
0:10:36 > 0:10:37So literally, you know,
0:10:37 > 0:10:41a Manchester pigeon might arrive in London by flying down the M1.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46See the bobbing heads?
0:10:46 > 0:10:49Because they've got an eye on each side of their head,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52they balance it up by bobbing their heads,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55which actually gives them amazing eyesight.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58They've also got a beak that works like a straw.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02When most birds drink, they take a sip and knock it back.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06Pigeons can literally suck up water as if their beak is like a straw,
0:11:06 > 0:11:10so it means they can literally get a good old pint-full very quickly.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16Lisa tracks them all over London, and she thinks their characters
0:11:16 > 0:11:19are defined by the neighbourhood they come from.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24God - easily spooked, these pigeons of Peckham.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29I've now filmed pigeons or shot pigeons
0:11:29 > 0:11:32in almost every borough in London pretty much.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Kensington, obviously, they tend to be
0:11:35 > 0:11:38feeding largely off smoked salmon and caviar.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42A whole different kind of posher type of pigeon, really.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45And obviously this is the extreme, which is south of the river.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49The minute you go south, they're quite different.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51Just slightly more edgy, basically.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Slightly more edgy, a little bit more of a gang mentality.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00They're a slightly scarier pigeon down here.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04She has an online diary about a pigeon called Brian
0:12:04 > 0:12:07and with thousands of hits on his website,
0:12:07 > 0:12:09he's fast becoming a London celebrity.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14There's Brian. That's Brian Pigeon -
0:12:14 > 0:12:18see that light grey one there, with the black stripes around him?
0:12:18 > 0:12:21That's how you always know that's Brian Pigeon.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24The online diary is what he gets up to every day,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28hanging out with mates, disappearing with mates.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Doing his own thing, partying.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35He organised a protest flyby
0:12:35 > 0:12:39that happened to coincide with the G20 protests
0:12:39 > 0:12:41and, literally, I came down here to cover it
0:12:41 > 0:12:46and there were thousands of pigeons. Thousands from all over the country,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49so he'd managed to get this whole thousands of pigeons together
0:12:49 > 0:12:50and then they did a mass flyby.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54Did a huge flyby over to the mayor's office, flew round it
0:12:54 > 0:12:56and then flew all the way back again.
0:13:01 > 0:13:06Lisa's blog may not be science, but it's not all flight of fancy.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09# Don't got a lot of time
0:13:09 > 0:13:12# Don't give a damn
0:13:12 > 0:13:14# Don't tell me what to do
0:13:14 > 0:13:16# I am the man. #
0:13:16 > 0:13:19The descriptions of Brian's love-life all over London
0:13:19 > 0:13:22taps into one of the keys to the pigeons' success.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24# God, shine your light down here
0:13:24 > 0:13:26# Shine on the love
0:13:26 > 0:13:29# Love of the loveless
0:13:30 > 0:13:32# Love of the loveless. #
0:13:32 > 0:13:35If you just care to look, you will see pigeon courtship
0:13:35 > 0:13:41going on all over the place and all year round.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48But the girls aren't easy.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Yeah, normally he will give it a couple of goes first,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54with most of the ladies running away.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02But finally, when he meets one who's up for it
0:14:02 > 0:14:04and a little bit of eye contact,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07a little bit of the puffing of the chest.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10And then the turning round in circles, and I've often thought
0:14:10 > 0:14:13it's just a, kind of, "Look - here's me from all sides."
0:14:14 > 0:14:17When they do finally manage, though - he's done the puffy chest bit,
0:14:17 > 0:14:21he's done the dancing round in circles bit and she's gone, "Yeah, all right, then. I'm up for it."
0:14:21 > 0:14:26Yeah, then there can be all sorts of lovely entwining of necks,
0:14:26 > 0:14:28pecking each other's beaks,
0:14:28 > 0:14:32feeding each other bits of spit, which is nice.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37And, yeah, then finally, up he jumps, has a little wiggle around.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40But, of course, they don't actually have penises.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44They're not actually well hung or anything like that. They actually do have a little hole.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Well, I think that's generally why the female's a bit like,
0:14:49 > 0:14:51"I'm really sorry - I'm not in the mood.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54"It's all going to be over and done with in about ten seconds.
0:14:54 > 0:14:55"And frankly it hurts my back."
0:14:59 > 0:15:02The male tends to bask in the wonderful afterglow,
0:15:02 > 0:15:05the female's going, "Oh, my back.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08"He was a little bit heavy, that one."
0:15:08 > 0:15:09But the male's all kind of like,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12"Yeah, look at me. Check out me and my packet."
0:15:12 > 0:15:15Six weeks later, loads of eggs.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23The pigeons hide their nests
0:15:23 > 0:15:27on the rocky crags and cliff faces of our buildings.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32If you think about it, you never see a baby pigeon.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36Like many London teenagers,
0:15:36 > 0:15:39they stay with their parents until they are fully grown.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43They'll only come down when they look just like an adult.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53Once fledged, the pigeon is free to fly the canyons of London
0:15:53 > 0:15:55to places none of us can go.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01But up here, a predator's moved into the neighbourhood
0:16:01 > 0:16:05and it's the fastest animal on the planet.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32During the Second World War,
0:16:32 > 0:16:34Parliament ordered all Peregrine to be killed
0:16:34 > 0:16:37because they could hunt the carrier pigeons
0:16:37 > 0:16:39bringing messages from the front.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43The raptors have returned with a vengeance,
0:16:43 > 0:16:46even nesting here in the capital.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51Most of us have no idea what is going on above us,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54but there are a few intrepid types
0:16:54 > 0:16:56climbing high up to Peregrine level.
0:16:58 > 0:16:59Peregrine! Mark, Peregrine.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05When you do get, you know, a large bird of prey
0:17:05 > 0:17:08gunning through the centre of London, it's just...
0:17:08 > 0:17:10It's a marvel, you know, it really is.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14And a phenomenon of only the last ten years.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18Up here I can see five Peregrine sites.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21There are up to around 23, 24 pairs now.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25In the early days, it was probably three pairs in London.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27Beautiful. Beautiful.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30And it's not just Peregrines they're looking for.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34- Buzzard!- Passerine.- Swallow. Just below the horizon now.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38Peregrine just below the plane. Swift just above us up here.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40- Nice one, Jamie!- Where are we?
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Standing on the pinnacle of one of the biggest banks,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46each month this group of birders
0:17:46 > 0:17:48holds a vigil over the London skyline.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53Below them, global finance hangs in the balance.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57Up here, they're following global movements too -
0:17:57 > 0:18:01migrants from as far as Asia are tracked and logged.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06Looks like - talk of the devil - an immature lesser black-backed gull.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13Gulls are fascinating, but they're an acquired taste for a lot of people.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16You'll often look up and if there's a very distant speck soaring,
0:18:16 > 0:18:21thermalling like raptors, more often than not it's a cormorant or a gull.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25They're kind of like the ground mass that you're working through
0:18:25 > 0:18:27to try and get to the good stuff.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Most birders are solitary types.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35This gathering is a rare collaboration,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39each of them coming together from their own special patches of London.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41It seems to be coming closer towards us.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43You might get some film here, yeah.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45- We communicate online a lot, don't we?- Yeah.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48And we're always seeing things in different parts of London.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50We actually met up here, didn't we, Pete?
0:18:50 > 0:18:52- Yeah. I'd heard of you before. - And you, too.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56Yeah, we kind of follow each other's sightings and exploits.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Yeah, we've got our different patches that we cover,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02so everyone covers a certain area, and together we all cover the whole of London.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Yeah, gotcha. Cheers, mate.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09This is mutual territory,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12but what happens if one of them starts birding on another's patch?
0:19:13 > 0:19:16That's called poaching. THEY LAUGH
0:19:19 > 0:19:23Mark's patch is in the council estates of Hackney.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27You mention Hackney to most people
0:19:27 > 0:19:31and it does conjure up images of poverty and crime,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34the archetypal concrete jungle.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40It is the birders who know the wild places of our cities the best.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43At dawn, behind the estates,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46Mark has a secret oasis.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52The hidden nature of the city
0:19:52 > 0:19:55can be better than anything found in the countryside.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02Living here has really intensified my appreciation.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05It's more isolated, it's more specialised -
0:20:05 > 0:20:08I think that creates an enormous sense of well-being,
0:20:08 > 0:20:11which you can't necessarily quantify.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14You can't really put a price on.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17It's a reservoir of London's drinking water
0:20:17 > 0:20:21where heron and cormorants have taken up residence.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32No self-respecting heron would nest at water level,
0:20:32 > 0:20:37but in the city deviant behaviour is more acceptable than elsewhere.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49When out on a date, Canada geese may not be deviant,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52but they are certainly not gentle lovers.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07With the arrival of spring, Mark's secret place
0:21:07 > 0:21:11can give up one of the greatest spectacles of London wildlife.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13It's a love story -
0:21:13 > 0:21:18a courtship ritual that would knock the hardest of urban hearts.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21The grebe is a world-class performer.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26They represent a dash of real exotica.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29You wouldn't think they were out of place in, perhaps,
0:21:29 > 0:21:32Africa or Asia, but they're very much a British bird
0:21:32 > 0:21:35and they are very much a Hackney bird.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47This is the start of the courtship, where they both approach each other fairly fast, heads down.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54Straight for each other and then, as they arrive,
0:21:54 > 0:21:56the head-shaking and the dance begins.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41What the birds are actually doing now
0:22:41 > 0:22:44is they're approaching each other with vegetation,
0:22:44 > 0:22:46almost like a Valentine's Day present.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09It's very much a symbolic offering, almost Egyptian.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15It seems like a lot of work for a bit of old weed.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17It's not all about value, isn't?
0:23:17 > 0:23:20The bigger the rock on your finger, the better the marriage?
0:23:20 > 0:23:22I don't think so.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24That judging them by human standards,
0:23:24 > 0:23:30which is, you know, an extremely flawed way to enjoy nature.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03The grebe's display is...
0:24:03 > 0:24:07something that's indicative of spring.
0:24:07 > 0:24:08I think it's one of nature's signals
0:24:08 > 0:24:13that spring is well and truly on its way.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17And that makes you happy?
0:24:19 > 0:24:22I think... I think it'd be very odd if it didn't make me happy.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35While most of us are still supping cornflakes,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Mark's tapping into a Planet Earth special.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Unlike Mark's secluded haven,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46over at Pete's patch, there's a riot going on.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54It's a huge party, with an all-you-can-eat deal.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01For them, it must be heaven.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Because they're scavengers, so it's the ultimate scavenger paradise.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07They've got more food than they can wave a stick at.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12London's waste attracts
0:25:12 > 0:25:15one of the greatest gatherings of gulls in the country.
0:25:17 > 0:25:18To be close to this,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21Pete has even bought his house overlooking the site.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25When the wind is blowing from the East
0:25:25 > 0:25:27it can actually get almost unbearable some days.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32This is junk food - literally.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37The gulls' success is all about the distinct lack of fussiness.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42It's not just the fast food that lures them in -
0:25:42 > 0:25:45around the coast, there's no longer the same opportunities
0:25:45 > 0:25:47for seagulls to socialise en masse.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52This is one big seagull party.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00Herring gulls got their name
0:26:00 > 0:26:05because they followed our boats for the herring we threw overboard.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07There are over 2,000 of them here,
0:26:07 > 0:26:10yet on the coastlines of Britain, they're becoming endangered.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15In the future, London's children may wonder
0:26:15 > 0:26:17why they are called herring gulls.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21The relationship these birds once had with fishermen out to sea
0:26:21 > 0:26:25will have been lost for the pull of the city.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29Herring gulls, lesser black-backed gull...
0:26:31 > 0:26:35Where we see a mass of birds, Pete sees rare individuals.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39There should be greater black-backed here as well.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42There's one there now, look. Going past that bulldozer.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45It's hovering. Down and right.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50Coming towards us, just a single bird, there.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59Some of them come from a very long way,
0:26:59 > 0:27:03you know, all over Scandinavia, Norway, Finland...
0:27:05 > 0:27:09We get Caspian gulls here as well - they've come from central Asia.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11Uh, we get, um...
0:27:11 > 0:27:15We get Iceland gulls, which come from Greenland.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20We've had gulls that have come from as far as Alaska.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25There could be up to 15,000 gulls here today.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29That's a lot of birds.
0:27:29 > 0:27:30Every hour in Britain,
0:27:30 > 0:27:34we throw away enough rubbish to fill the Albert Hall.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37It's not just the gulls that are cashing in on this.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42Foxes like to scavenge, too,
0:27:42 > 0:27:47but the swirling mass of live food above his head is just too tempting.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15Old instincts die hard.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33- SOMEONE WHISTLES - This vixen has learned to do an extraordinary thing
0:28:33 > 0:28:36for an even more reliable source of food.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43First, all she has to do is follow the whistle.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45SOMEONE WHISTLES
0:28:55 > 0:28:59Then she's learned that sitting politely is a small price to pay
0:28:59 > 0:29:02for a steady stream of sausages.
0:29:02 > 0:29:03Do you want this?
0:29:03 > 0:29:05Sit.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08Good dog.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11And I just call her White Legs. She's the mother.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14And this one's Greedy. Yeah?
0:29:14 > 0:29:18You want this? Fox. Sit.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20Sit.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22Good dog.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25You see? He sits.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28Do as your mother tells you.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32There are four or five foxes who have this relationship with Lillian.
0:29:32 > 0:29:37The White Legs is the mummy. She's got five little ones to feed.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40Greedy, I think, is her sister.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43You want this one, Greedy?
0:29:43 > 0:29:46We've got two Greedys here and they've got the daddy there.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49Sit. Sit. Sit.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52- But, of course, this isn't just about the foxes.- Good dog.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57This is about our need for a connection with nature.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00This is about a lady high in a concrete tower
0:30:00 > 0:30:03who finds solace through the animals below.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07Oh, the other one's there. That's three, that's four there. Sit.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12Now, watch him. When we give him...
0:30:12 > 0:30:15He'll go straight over there and take it to the little one.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19- Hey! - SHE LAUGHS
0:30:20 > 0:30:23Now he's got it, he's going to go. He's going to go.
0:30:25 > 0:30:30Yeah, here he goes. Go on. He's gone to where the cubs are.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32Only we humans go out of our way
0:30:32 > 0:30:36to intentionally sustain another species.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39I'd like someone to feed me if I was out there,
0:30:39 > 0:30:42especially if I've got five cubs.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47You want this? Sit.
0:30:47 > 0:30:48Sit.
0:30:48 > 0:30:53When animals respond to us, they can bring extraordinary joy.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56And that can come in many forms.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00For a chef in Bethnal Green, it's not foxes -
0:31:00 > 0:31:03but sparrows are important in his life.
0:31:04 > 0:31:09For Cyrus, these small birds are a reminder of his childhood in India.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15Ah, look who's here - a good friend.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20There's one bird I grew up with in India,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23and we had hundreds of them there. They used to perch inside our house
0:31:23 > 0:31:27and we used to get little sparrows coming out and I used to
0:31:27 > 0:31:31actually have them in my hands sometimes. So sparrows make me very happy.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35I was amazed when I first came here that the sparrows were dwindling
0:31:35 > 0:31:37and I didn't see many sparrows. I only saw them in a few places.
0:31:37 > 0:31:41It's an amazing bird - very industrious, very hard-working
0:31:41 > 0:31:44and every one of them has got a character.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49If Cyrus is to help his little friends here in London,
0:31:49 > 0:31:51then he must do battle with an invader
0:31:51 > 0:31:56that some consider to be overrunning the city in plague proportions.
0:31:58 > 0:32:00My biggest problem is the squirrel.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03A squirrel becomes cleverer by the day.
0:32:05 > 0:32:10What I'm going to do now is apply lots of Vaseline on that bar,
0:32:10 > 0:32:14and just really keep on smearing Vaseline, coat after coat.
0:32:14 > 0:32:19Cyrus is an award-winning chef and he has another trick up its sleeve.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23To ward off my little devil four-legged friend,
0:32:23 > 0:32:25who seems to get into everything,
0:32:25 > 0:32:28I mixed some crushed chilli seeds inside.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31I know it's a bad thing to do because I love animals of all kinds,
0:32:31 > 0:32:35so I won't kill him, but what I will do is keep him away from here.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39So the chillies get into his nose and it's amazing
0:32:39 > 0:32:43because he takes a somersault, he takes a backward flip,
0:32:43 > 0:32:46shakes his head about, and he doesn't come back.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50If you tried to eat a spoonful of that, you'd be suffering miserably.
0:32:56 > 0:32:58London is amazing from the point of view that
0:32:58 > 0:33:01there is still so much wildlife.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03Just look on the canal in the early morning.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06The swans are floating past, the geese are there,
0:33:06 > 0:33:10the ducks are there, the coots are there, of course, crazy as they are,
0:33:10 > 0:33:13screaming and shouting at two in the morning, waking me up sometimes.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15In India, they would be cut.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17Somebody's little dinner would be ready.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20You just see birds floating around like that, aimlessly.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24They would get them. If you come from a city like Bombay,
0:33:24 > 0:33:26wildlife has virtually been exterminated.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30Where I grew up, in our little suburb of Bombay, we had snakes,
0:33:30 > 0:33:34we had monitor lizards, we had parakeets, parrots, the lot.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36I don't see a single bird now.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39There is no city like London in the world.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43The amount of parks we have got, the amount of open spaces we've got,
0:33:43 > 0:33:45tiny little spaces also are green.
0:33:45 > 0:33:49I think that is something that London needs to be really proud of.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52Coming from India, of course, this is like magic.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57'Good morning, London. It's five minutes past six.'
0:33:57 > 0:33:59'As London basks in a mini heatwave,
0:33:59 > 0:34:02'it's perhaps difficult to imagine the capital...'
0:34:02 > 0:34:03'Phew, what a scorcher!
0:34:03 > 0:34:07'If you watched John Hammond a bit earlier on the national weather,
0:34:07 > 0:34:11'you'll know the hotspot today is Northolt in north-west London.'
0:34:15 > 0:34:18London is indeed magical.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21It is home to eight million people,
0:34:21 > 0:34:24yet each day throughout its history
0:34:24 > 0:34:28it has greeted a wild population bigger than its human count.
0:34:29 > 0:34:34'Habitats on land and in water are still works in progress,
0:34:34 > 0:34:36'but already drawing praise.'
0:34:36 > 0:34:38'The rivers look a lot cleaner.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41'Everything's been trimmed down, so it's wonderful.'
0:34:41 > 0:34:46The rivers are now full of fish,
0:34:46 > 0:34:49grebes and herons, even otters are back.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52Peregrines and gulls fill the sky.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55It's one of the greenest cities in the world.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02Away from the canyons of the city,
0:35:02 > 0:35:06rising above the floodplains of the Thames,
0:35:06 > 0:35:09lie the ancient oak forests of Richmond.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14This is a place where Old England still remains,
0:35:14 > 0:35:17that harks back to the original habitat of London.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23This man is no stranger to the history of these woods.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27Nice old oak trees here.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30Massive, big, old tree.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33These are probably 400,500 years old.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37Henry VIII probably alive when these trees were around.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39He's probably done what I've done,
0:35:39 > 0:35:41just lent against it while he's chasing the old deer.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47It's almost like Robin Hood country.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51You expect to see a bloke come out in a pair of tights in a minute.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54It's John's job to manage the deer here.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57He's been a London gamekeeper all his life.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01There was a female here a minute ago,
0:36:01 > 0:36:05cos she's got a baby here somewhere.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08Right now, he's looking for a fawn.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12At the start of summer, the mothers stash their young in the grass.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17It's the one time when female deer are aggressive to anything
0:36:17 > 0:36:20they think may be a danger to their calves.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23There's a hind watching. Be careful of her.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27She's got one here somewhere.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30Most at risk are the dog-walkers in the park.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33If we had a dog here, you'd be in serious trouble.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38I mean, if there was a dog chasing a calf here now,
0:36:38 > 0:36:40all of those hinds and those up there,
0:36:40 > 0:36:44there'd be 50 hinds chasing the dog. And God help the dog!
0:36:44 > 0:36:46Their feet are called slots
0:36:46 > 0:36:50and they're extremely sharp on the tip end of the toe.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53We have had dogs killed here.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57Got some people here with dogs which are going to be in trouble,
0:36:57 > 0:37:00cos they're heading right towards them.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15If you let the dog off the lead, actually,
0:37:15 > 0:37:17and if it was scared of deer and was running away,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20you could run away with it and it would attack the dog, not you.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22You'd get away that way.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25With the deer distracted by the dogs,
0:37:25 > 0:37:29it's a good opportunity to sneak in to catch a young fawn.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31Got one, just down here.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35It's 20 feet in front of me now.
0:37:36 > 0:37:41Hopefully, if I can just walk up to it and just hold it, you know,
0:37:41 > 0:37:44come in slowly, keep it calm, there's less chance of it bleating.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48But once it bleats, we've got some girls behind us, some hinds...
0:37:48 > 0:37:52Once he bleats, we've got to get out fast because they'll come running.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57John wants to tag the young deer.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06They will not move for anything.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10Catching it is the easy part.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14But avoiding the attention of the females is the problem.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17Let me get an ear tag in fast because...
0:38:17 > 0:38:19BLEATING
0:38:21 > 0:38:24CONTINUES BLEATING
0:38:27 > 0:38:29Number ten. There you are.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32Oop! Get out of here quick. Here come the girls.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38Stay with me, John.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41You see what I mean? You have to be careful.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46But I would back out now if I were you guys.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49She's going to follow us, see.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52Just keep walking.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57The tags help track the fawns as they grow up.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01Come winter, many of the deer will have to be culled
0:39:01 > 0:39:03in the dead of the night.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05We'd all like to live in an ideal world,
0:39:05 > 0:39:07where predators will take care of things,
0:39:07 > 0:39:09but we're not in that world no more.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12You know, if you didn't cull these deer, I mean,
0:39:12 > 0:39:15they produce between 100 and 150 babies every year.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18And you've got to think, you've only got to give it three, four years,
0:39:18 > 0:39:20you'll have doubled your herd size.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23Then, anything green you're looking at will be gone
0:39:23 > 0:39:25cos they'll have eaten it all.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27There'll be nothing left.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29Who wants a park like that?
0:39:31 > 0:39:34Here, nature has been managed and controlled
0:39:34 > 0:39:37since Charles I built a wall around Richmond
0:39:37 > 0:39:39and claimed it as his garden.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43I'm afraid you have to act as God.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50The really wild spaces of London are somewhere else.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53not the parks and gardens,
0:39:53 > 0:39:55but the forbidden zones.
0:40:00 > 0:40:01The railway verges
0:40:01 > 0:40:06are some of the most important and undisturbed green spaces in London.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12Behind electric fence and barbed wire,
0:40:12 > 0:40:17they are as difficult to reach as any sea cliffs or deserted island.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24They thread through London like green arteries.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27Plants which normally live oceans apart
0:40:27 > 0:40:31find their place to thrive and reach every corner of the city.
0:40:33 > 0:40:37Here, the seeds of ragwort, knotweed and willowherb
0:40:37 > 0:40:41commute on the slipstream of the Circle, District or Northern lines.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48Here, foxes and feral cats migrate through the city,
0:40:48 > 0:40:49seeking their fortune.
0:40:52 > 0:40:57And there's another animal that is rumoured to be using our rail links.
0:41:00 > 0:41:05If it's true, then pigeons have taken their relationship with London
0:41:05 > 0:41:07to a whole other level.
0:41:20 > 0:41:25Pigeons visit stations because there are plenty of crumbs about.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28But Londoners are reporting a new phenomena.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32Some birds, after feeding at one station,
0:41:32 > 0:41:37are happy to go to the next one...by train.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43'Bad news for commuters - fare rises and tube strikes.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46'The RMT has announced a series of walk-out dates.'
0:41:46 > 0:41:49'That's right. Four days of strikes have been announced,
0:41:49 > 0:41:51'all for the second half of this month.'.
0:41:51 > 0:41:56'South West Trains has said it will review the way it deals with disruption to its services..'
0:41:56 > 0:42:01PA: This is a Circle line train via Paddington and Baker Street.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05This train is ready to depart. Please stand clear of the doors.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21Is this a new kind of evolution?
0:42:27 > 0:42:30PA: The next station is Goldhawk Road.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46PA: This is Goldhawk Road.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49This is Hammersmith & City line train to Plaistow.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55It's certainly a nice life if you can get it.
0:42:55 > 0:43:00Travelling by train, visiting friends in the park,
0:43:00 > 0:43:03constantly fed by the upright apes all around you.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06But a pigeon doesn't have it all its own way.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08There are dangers here, too.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15There are 300 languages being spoken in London.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19And the multicultural flavour of the city
0:43:19 > 0:43:21is reflected in the animals that live here.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27The pelicans have been here since 1664,
0:43:27 > 0:43:29a gift from a Russian ambassador.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33They seem prepared to get along with the locals.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39It's hard to know what sort of behaviour to expect
0:43:39 > 0:43:43from a Russian pelican living near Buckingham Palace.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54But, surely, this is not normal.
0:43:54 > 0:43:56WOMAN: Oh, my God!
0:44:07 > 0:44:09ONLOOKERS LAUGH
0:44:24 > 0:44:27It's not just the pigeons that have to face
0:44:27 > 0:44:30unnatural dangers in the city.
0:44:30 > 0:44:36Nesting high in a tree or on a rock face is normal for a duck.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39The chicks jump down soon after they hatch.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44But this London cliff face is a hell of a leap.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21For some ducklings, once in the water,
0:45:21 > 0:45:23their troubles are just beginning.
0:45:27 > 0:45:2920 years ago,
0:45:29 > 0:45:33a ninja cartoon sent kids flocking to the shops to buy baby turtles.
0:45:33 > 0:45:38Then, they were no bigger than a 50-pence piece.
0:45:38 > 0:45:43Now, a London pond can contain several hundred red-eared terrapins,
0:45:43 > 0:45:45all grown up,
0:45:45 > 0:45:50and doing what they've always done in the Everglades and the Amazon.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22London has always provided a haven to immigrants
0:46:22 > 0:46:24from all over the world,
0:46:24 > 0:46:29and there's one refugee rumoured to have Hollywood credentials.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32Sometimes, dramatic changes may be traced back
0:46:32 > 0:46:34to a single human mistake.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37These Indian ring-necked parakeets
0:46:37 > 0:46:41first centred around London's Shepperton Studios,
0:46:41 > 0:46:44and popular opinion has it that they escaped in 1950
0:46:44 > 0:46:47from the set of The African Queen.
0:46:49 > 0:46:53Humphrey Bogart left a door open for a moment perhaps,
0:46:53 > 0:46:57and the wildlife of London was changed.
0:47:06 > 0:47:10And dusk, wave after wave of parakeets
0:47:10 > 0:47:14can build to a roost of over 6,000 birds.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26Of course, London is used to aliens.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34Immigrant black rats off the boats brought with them the plague.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40Today, it's the Norwegian brown rat
0:47:40 > 0:47:45which, in London, can now grow twice the size of its cousins back home.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54And new arrivals are still coming in off the boats.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03Go dancing down by the docks tonight
0:48:03 > 0:48:08and the UV lights of the clubs can reveal more than you bargained for.
0:48:11 > 0:48:16The European yellowtail scorpion is rarely lethal,
0:48:16 > 0:48:20but you wouldn't want to lie around in this gutter after a skinful.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25There are now three separate colonies of scorpion
0:48:25 > 0:48:29living in London, some several thousand strong.
0:48:33 > 0:48:37Some immigrants arrive on boats, others by train.
0:48:38 > 0:48:43This man is hunting aliens that are sneaking their way in
0:48:43 > 0:48:45using the old Victorian canals.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50Crayfish Bob has ideas of big business down here.
0:48:51 > 0:48:55He wants to catch the invaders for us all to eat.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00But in these murky depths,
0:49:00 > 0:49:03he's stumbled upon a gang war with crayfish invaders
0:49:03 > 0:49:07from both Europe and America fighting over territory.
0:49:08 > 0:49:12This underworld is the scene for a major turf war.
0:49:14 > 0:49:19I would think, in this darkness, this would be a very attractive habitat.
0:49:20 > 0:49:22In this old brickwork,
0:49:22 > 0:49:26the chances are they'll find crevices to hide away in.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29Yeah, I would think that this was
0:49:29 > 0:49:33a fairly popular place to reside.
0:49:34 > 0:49:36Well, that's a red swamp.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41As you see - red swamp - likes living in swamps and...
0:49:43 > 0:49:45..is somewhat red.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50What we have is four different species of crayfish.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52They're all invasive. None of them should be here.
0:49:52 > 0:49:57The old gang of white-claw - folklore, gone years ago.
0:49:57 > 0:50:01And it's like a gang here and a gang here. It's all about territory.
0:50:02 > 0:50:04The Serpentine, for example,
0:50:04 > 0:50:08used to be absolutely teeming with Turkish crayfish.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11But now the signal crayfish have come in.
0:50:13 > 0:50:17Hampstead Heath - once Turkish territory, red swamp move in.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22It's like the sort of gangland wars of the '60s.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28The gangs are on the move.
0:50:28 > 0:50:33In Maida Vale, a red swamp has moved on a signal's patch.
0:50:33 > 0:50:35A punch-up is inevitable.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03The signal crayfish fights dirty.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05He carries with him a plague
0:51:05 > 0:51:09that lays low all other crayfish in its path.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11He's already wiped out the native crayfish
0:51:11 > 0:51:15and his gang is set to take over the whole of London.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25He's killed most of our native white-claws in many areas.
0:51:25 > 0:51:29He's teeming on the bottom of the rivers, and he's quite likely
0:51:29 > 0:51:32to do what he's done in the rest of the UK and become dominant.
0:51:35 > 0:51:40In the waterways of London, a new order is being established.
0:51:44 > 0:51:47All over London, it's the same.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50The ancient residents and immigrants
0:51:50 > 0:51:53are pioneering a new future with us in the city.
0:51:55 > 0:51:59This unnatural habitat is home for a new generation
0:51:59 > 0:52:04and they're growing up in a place that suits them just fine.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08An unnatural life in the city
0:52:08 > 0:52:11can be easier than anything in the countryside,
0:52:11 > 0:52:14never more so than in the winter.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21'More heavy snow and freezing temperatures forecast.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24'Up to nine inches of snow fell in some areas.'
0:52:24 > 0:52:26It's two degrees warmer for a start.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29It means pigeons can nest even earlier here.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33They may even get a break from the London Peregrines
0:52:33 > 0:52:36who've adapted to use the bright lights to hunt bats,
0:52:36 > 0:52:38instead of birds.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42And when times are tough, for those who look for it,
0:52:42 > 0:52:45there's always a little extra food to be found.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50Modern life usually creates a barrier between us
0:52:50 > 0:52:52and the natural world.
0:52:52 > 0:52:56But, just occasionally, technology brings us closer together.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00Ernie has his own special relationship
0:53:00 > 0:53:04with the foxes he feeds around his nightwatchman's cabin.
0:53:04 > 0:53:05ERNIE SHOUTS
0:53:05 > 0:53:08It's the shouting out that actually does it.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10They seem to get to recognise the voice.
0:53:10 > 0:53:15Then he sits back for his own reality TV show, live.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19And like Lillian and her foxes, and Cyrix and his sparrows,
0:53:19 > 0:53:23he thinks of the wild animals as friends.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27You can hear them actually walk across the weigh bridge
0:53:27 > 0:53:29and you look up and think, "What's that noise?"
0:53:29 > 0:53:33Look at the camera and you can actually see 'em coming across.
0:53:38 > 0:53:40Is that one feeding now?
0:53:43 > 0:53:46We've got one feeding on the left-hand corner.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54Ernie's seeing an important twist in the story.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03An old hand at urban living
0:54:03 > 0:54:06is threatened by a new migrant to the city.
0:54:09 > 0:54:13If the fox is feeding first, they obviously can sense the badger
0:54:13 > 0:54:16and they can hear it, they will look around and simply back off.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18They walk away.
0:54:19 > 0:54:21As his weigh bridge reveals,
0:54:21 > 0:54:24this badger comes with a formidable appetite.
0:54:24 > 0:54:2710.2 kilos, that one weighed.
0:54:30 > 0:54:35They're supposed to dig their own weight in worms a day.
0:54:35 > 0:54:39And I can imagine some of them are quite a big animal.
0:54:39 > 0:54:43This winter, Ernie's going to be eaten out of house and home.
0:54:43 > 0:54:48The fox very rarely will try and intimidate the badger.
0:54:48 > 0:54:50If you see the size of the claws,
0:54:50 > 0:54:53you can understand why the foxes would walk away.
0:54:54 > 0:54:57I'm sure I would as well!
0:55:04 > 0:55:07Here comes a car in now.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17Maybe in a few years, the badger will also abandon its country roots
0:55:17 > 0:55:19for an improvised city life.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30MUSIC: "Someone Like You" by Adele
0:55:32 > 0:55:36Do you miss the badgers when you're not at work?
0:55:36 > 0:55:39Sometimes - when we're talking to the grandchildren.
0:55:39 > 0:55:43A couple of times, they'll come down and watch 'em all come out and feed.
0:55:44 > 0:55:46Not so much now.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51They're growing up and becoming teenagers
0:55:51 > 0:55:55and girls become more important than badgers, unfortunately.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05We all like a glimpse of an untamed world.
0:56:11 > 0:56:14All around us, animals and plants
0:56:14 > 0:56:17are being displaced from their natural homes,
0:56:17 > 0:56:21colonising the forgotten corners of our cities.
0:56:21 > 0:56:25Here, a global mixture of emigres and refugees
0:56:25 > 0:56:27have created a new life.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33And there's no turning back.
0:56:33 > 0:56:34They're Londoners now.
0:56:37 > 0:56:41Who knows what weeds in the concrete, or gang of crayfish
0:56:41 > 0:56:46or scorpion, parakeets or ninja turtles will arrive next.
0:56:50 > 0:56:54Here, the animals have a dependency on us,
0:56:54 > 0:56:57but we also have a need for them -
0:56:57 > 0:56:59a desire to be in contact with a world
0:56:59 > 0:57:02that is not shaped by human hand.
0:57:06 > 0:57:11Most people live in cities now, lost in their own world.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14They only notice each other.
0:57:14 > 0:57:18Yet if they look up into the sky, down an alleyway,
0:57:18 > 0:57:20or behind a fence,
0:57:20 > 0:57:25they may meet a wild animal, and that could change both their lives.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34There is no city like London in the world.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37Coming from India, of course, this is like magic.
0:57:38 > 0:57:43I've got the job that everybody wants. What could I want for more?
0:57:45 > 0:57:47Pleasure. Just simple pleasure,
0:57:47 > 0:57:50to know that they're surviving.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55I think it'd be very odd if it didn't make me happy.
0:57:57 > 0:57:59When you're reincarnated the first time around,
0:57:59 > 0:58:02you come back as a bird which, quite often, is a pigeon.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04I'd love to come back as a pigeon.
0:58:05 > 0:58:12# Never mind I'll find someone like you
0:58:12 > 0:58:18# I wish nothing but the best for you, too
0:58:18 > 0:58:25# Sometimes it lasts in love But sometimes it hurts instead
0:58:25 > 0:58:30# Sometimes it lasts in love But sometimes it hurts instead. #
0:58:30 > 0:58:33Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd