0:00:02 > 0:00:05We live in a very weird world.
0:00:08 > 0:00:13And the more we discover about our planet, the stranger it gets.
0:00:13 > 0:00:19Every day, new stories reach us, stories that surprise us...
0:00:19 > 0:00:21What is that?
0:00:21 > 0:00:23- ..shock us...- Whoa!
0:00:23 > 0:00:26PEOPLE TALK OVER EACH OTHER
0:00:26 > 0:00:29..sometimes even scare us.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31- Agh!- Oh, my God!
0:00:32 > 0:00:36We've scoured the globe to bring you the most curious creatures,
0:00:38 > 0:00:40the most extraordinary people...
0:00:40 > 0:00:44I can stick almost anything to my skin without no glue.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46..and the most bizarre behaviour.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54Using eyewitness accounts and expert opinion to explore a weird world...
0:00:55 > 0:00:57..of unexplained underwater blobs,
0:00:59 > 0:01:00flying goats,
0:01:02 > 0:01:03and glow in the dark fish.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10We examine the evidence, test the theories,
0:01:11 > 0:01:15to work out what on earth is going on.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37In this episode, we'll discover why goats might fly,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41encounter some ghostly figures in the clouds
0:01:41 > 0:01:46and find out why albatross chicks are being planted in flowerpots.
0:01:49 > 0:01:54But first, let's meet some of the world's weirdest weaponized wonders.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Bondi Beach, Australia.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06People come here to surf, to sunbathe and to be seen.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09But in April 2015
0:02:09 > 0:02:14this seaside sanctuary was to become the scene of a coastal crisis.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18So I ended up having trouble breathing
0:02:18 > 0:02:21and I started to get chest pains.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24I've never felt anything like that before.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Surf life-saver Rosie Tailano
0:02:34 > 0:02:37was taking part in the weekly biathlon.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42I did my first leg of the swim
0:02:42 > 0:02:46and all was normal, all was perfectly fine.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49But as she raced towards the finish line,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52something was waiting beneath the waves.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56I felt an initial sting on my chest,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59but I went to get it out of my costume and nothing was there.
0:03:02 > 0:03:03It was very frightening.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09But despite the excruciating pain, she struggled on.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14So, it wasn't until I got home that the symptoms began worsening
0:03:14 > 0:03:18and I began to get chest pain, the rash began developing,
0:03:18 > 0:03:20and I had trouble breathing.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24In minutes, Rosie was gasping for air.
0:03:24 > 0:03:25She was rushed to hospital.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30Thankfully, the doctors stabilised her condition.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32But what had stung her?
0:03:34 > 0:03:36What was this aquatic assailant?
0:03:38 > 0:03:43Well, in Australian waters, there's no shortage of potential culprits.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47On the sea floor, anemones and sea urchins cling to rocks,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50some armed with a paralysing neurotoxin.
0:03:52 > 0:03:57Hiding in the sands lurks the world's most dangerous fish,
0:03:57 > 0:03:58the stonefish,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02spines laden with a potent mix of toxins
0:04:02 > 0:04:05that could kill a human within an hour.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Scuttling along the sea floor, the blue-ringed octopus
0:04:10 > 0:04:13is one of the most dangerous animals in the ocean,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17its venom over 1000 times more deadly than cyanide.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23And sea snakes regularly come to the water's surface,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26the scene of this crime.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31But could their fangs really have punctured through Rosie's costume?
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Well, Rosie had a theory of her own.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43Originally, I thought it was just a bluebottle,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47but there were no warnings that day of any stingers in the ocean.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50These infamous jellies,
0:04:50 > 0:04:52the Portuguese Man o' War, or bluebottles,
0:04:52 > 0:04:57as they're known in Australia, can float in shoals of up to 1,000,
0:04:57 > 0:04:59causing carnage when they come close to the shore.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Responsible for more recorded stings than any other species,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08they inflict painful streaks when their tentacles,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10sometimes up to 50 metres long,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13wrap themselves around unsuspecting swimmers.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18But for Rosie, the evidence just didn't stack up.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20With a bluebottle sting,
0:05:20 > 0:05:25the rash usually is a welt size with white appearance,
0:05:25 > 0:05:29but with this, it was a very dotty, red rash,
0:05:29 > 0:05:31quite different from the bluebottle.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40So, with all the usual suspects ruled out,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43the source of Rosie's sting was still a mystery,
0:05:43 > 0:05:47but what could've caused her quite so much agony?
0:05:49 > 0:05:51Well, at about the same time...
0:05:54 > 0:05:57..some very strange videos started turning up on the internet.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01Yes, just two months earlier,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04this bizarre creature was washed up on the beach
0:06:04 > 0:06:07just a few hundred kilometres to the north.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10And this one had been found near Brisbane.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Millions of people watched these videos online,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25all asking the same question,
0:06:26 > 0:06:27what on earth are they?
0:06:31 > 0:06:32These animals are so weird
0:06:32 > 0:06:36that people didn't really know what to make out of them.
0:06:39 > 0:06:40They are so weird-looking
0:06:40 > 0:06:43and they almost look like they are alien organisms.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Somebody proposed that they were insects,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49somebody else proposed that they were juvenile sharks,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51and it wasn't until much more recently
0:06:51 > 0:06:55people realised that they were molluscs and they were sea slugs.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Yes, these tiny animals are blue sea dragons,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04a kind of nudibranch, or sea slug.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10They come from a truly bizarre family
0:07:10 > 0:07:13of brightly-coloured marine gastropods.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Most of them live on the bottom of the ocean,
0:07:19 > 0:07:23grazing on anything, from corals to anemones and even other sea slugs.
0:07:26 > 0:07:31But the Blue Sea Dragon dines on something entirely different.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Blue Sea Dragons feed primarily on the Portuguese Man o' War,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37which is one of the most venomous organisms in the water.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39What they can do is they can steal
0:07:39 > 0:07:42that defensive mechanism that the Man o' War has
0:07:42 > 0:07:45and utilise them for their own defence.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48The Blue Sea Dragon lives at the ocean's surface,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51which puts it at the scene of the crime
0:07:51 > 0:07:53and it has the right weapon, too.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59You see, it does something few other animals would dare,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02it eats its fill
0:08:02 > 0:08:04of the fearsome Man o' War,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06but instead of getting stung,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08it does something incredible.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10It absorbs the paralysing
0:08:10 > 0:08:12stinging cells, the nematocyst,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14and concentrates the toxin.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Then it uses it for its own defences,
0:08:18 > 0:08:23making it a very dangerous delicacy for any predator.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25Or, of course, anyone who gets in the way.
0:08:28 > 0:08:29WOMAN SCREAMS
0:08:31 > 0:08:33When people encounter Blue Sea Dragons,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36they're going to be finding them on the beach, typically.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40By then, the animals are probably no longer venomous.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43Now, if people were to encounter blue sea dragons in the open ocean,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46that would be a different story, because that's where the animals
0:08:46 > 0:08:49are basically charged and I would be very careful not to touch them.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53To activate its deadly defence,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56the blue sea dragon squeezes its muscles,
0:08:56 > 0:09:00pushing out the stolen stinging cells, which detonate,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04shocking a predator, or an unsuspecting swimmer.
0:09:07 > 0:09:08Yeah, I was actually really surprised
0:09:08 > 0:09:12that something so small and beautiful could cause so much pain.
0:09:21 > 0:09:27So, the ingenious blue sea dragon doesn't produce its own venom.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Just like any good comic book villain, it steals it.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33And then of course, it was simply a case of wrong place,
0:09:33 > 0:09:35wrong time for Rosie.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Mystery solved.
0:09:37 > 0:09:38But there's some news, too.
0:09:38 > 0:09:39After just a couple of days,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42she was fully recovered and back in the water.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48Now, from one excruciating event to another,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51with an even more unusual origin.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56Papua New Guinea,
0:09:56 > 0:10:01vast swathes of virgin rainforest unexplored by Western science,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04where hundreds of weird and wonderful new species
0:10:04 > 0:10:07are discovered every year.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10But back in the summer of 1989,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13nothing could have prepared a young ornithology student
0:10:13 > 0:10:15for what he was about to find.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17BIRDS TWEET
0:10:22 > 0:10:24On my first trip to New Guinea, I was a student,
0:10:24 > 0:10:28studying Raggiana birds of paradise and these birds have this amazing
0:10:28 > 0:10:30behaviour where all the males get at the top of a tree,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33they do this special dance, just to impress the female.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42But little did he know,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45he was about to discover something quite extraordinary.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52We had about 40 mist nets up in the forest.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54You catch a lot of other birds.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57As you're taking them out of the net, they can easily scratch your hands.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59And so after I let them go,
0:10:59 > 0:11:02I had all these scratches on my hands, and I...
0:11:02 > 0:11:04just licked my cuts and ran to the next net.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08What happened next was truly... well, shocking.
0:11:08 > 0:11:09BUZZING SOUND
0:11:09 > 0:11:11My mouth began to sort of tingle and burn
0:11:11 > 0:11:15and I would kind of describe the sensation as similar
0:11:15 > 0:11:18to putting your tongue on a 9V battery.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21So, what on earth had caused Jack such pain?
0:11:23 > 0:11:24I didn't know what I had brushed up against,
0:11:24 > 0:11:27there are lots of poisonous plants and other things.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29You've got mosquito repellent all over your hands,
0:11:29 > 0:11:31so any number of things could've caused this.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35After a few days, Jack just forgot about it all,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39that was until another researcher reported the same symptoms.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41GRUNTING AND HUMMING SOUND
0:11:41 > 0:11:42And I thought about it
0:11:42 > 0:11:44and the only thing that my story and his story had in common
0:11:44 > 0:11:48was the these black and rufus brown birds,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52about the size of a jay, with a very sharp bill and very sharp claws.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56So, what was this mystery bird?
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Jack suddenly found himself fascinated, not by these...
0:12:03 > 0:12:04..but by these, instead.
0:12:06 > 0:12:11The Pitohui, a relatively drab and boring bird that for years had been
0:12:11 > 0:12:14ignored in favour of its more glitzy cousins.
0:12:16 > 0:12:21But could the plain old Pitohui be harbouring a secret?
0:12:21 > 0:12:28Could Jack have discovered the world's first poisonous bird?
0:12:28 > 0:12:32So we went back the next year and the first Pitohui that we caught,
0:12:32 > 0:12:34I said, "Oh, yeah, I'm going to do this test."
0:12:34 > 0:12:38And so I plucked a feather and popped it on my tongue and my mouth
0:12:38 > 0:12:39began to tingle and burn and I was like,
0:12:39 > 0:12:41"Wow, it's the bird that's doing this."
0:12:46 > 0:12:50Now, you may think that sucking feathers is pretty unscientific.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52But then, if you're in the middle of a jungle,
0:12:52 > 0:12:56desperate to prove your bizarre theory, pretty much anything goes.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00And I always like to think that a good biologist doesn't pay that much
0:13:00 > 0:13:01attention to health and safety.
0:13:04 > 0:13:09To prove the Pitohui was poisonous, Jack needed evidence.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11As soon as you realise a bird is poisonous,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14the first question you want to ask is, what is the toxin?
0:13:14 > 0:13:16What is the chemical that makes them poisonous?
0:13:16 > 0:13:21Jack brought back specimens to his lab for testing and the results were
0:13:21 > 0:13:22truly bizarre.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28You see, these birds weren't just carrying an annoying irritant or a
0:13:28 > 0:13:32mildly potent poison, this was something off the charts.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37It's a steroidal alkaloid neuro-toxin that targets the
0:13:37 > 0:13:40sodium channels in our nerve and muscle membranes
0:13:40 > 0:13:41and shuts them off.
0:13:41 > 0:13:46In higher doses, it can actually cause paralysis and convulsions
0:13:46 > 0:13:49and it can stop your heart and kill you.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51It turns out that gram for gram,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54it's one of the most toxic natural substances known,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57more toxic than curare or strychnine.
0:13:57 > 0:14:02So, just how had this bird become poisonous?
0:14:02 > 0:14:05Well, there are plenty of other poisonous creatures out there but
0:14:05 > 0:14:09only one of them was known to contain the same batrachotoxin,
0:14:09 > 0:14:15the poison dart frog, found more than 15,000km away in Colombia,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18where its secretions are used to paralyse and kill in seconds.
0:14:20 > 0:14:25So, how exactly does a bird in Papua New Guinea come to be carrying
0:14:25 > 0:14:28the same poison as a frog in Colombia?
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Jack suspected it came from their diet.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35We didn't know how the birds were actually getting the toxin.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37And it's a really hard thing to figure out
0:14:37 > 0:14:41because they feed on lots of small fruits and berries,
0:14:41 > 0:14:43they feed on a huge variety of insects,
0:14:43 > 0:14:46they also feed on small vertebrates like frogs and lizards.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49So any number of these things could have provided them with the toxin.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55For two long years, Jack's research seemed to have hit a dead end,
0:14:55 > 0:15:00until help came from a very unlikely source.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03So, the real breakthrough came when we went back to a little village
0:15:03 > 0:15:05called Heroana and our host said,
0:15:05 > 0:15:10"Oh, it's so exciting to see you guys because while you were away,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13"we figured out where the Pitohui gets its toxin."
0:15:13 > 0:15:17And he'd actually made a collection of about 44 beetles and each one was
0:15:17 > 0:15:20meticulously labelled with the collector's name,
0:15:20 > 0:15:22the locality and the date.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25And this wasn't something we had asked him to do.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29It was something that he had watched us and how we take data and he said,
0:15:29 > 0:15:31"This is what they're going to want to know."
0:15:31 > 0:15:33We were able to send some of them back to the National institutes of
0:15:33 > 0:15:35health and they verified that, yes,
0:15:35 > 0:15:38these things were full of batrachotoxins.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Each beetle contains only a low-level dose but just like the
0:15:42 > 0:15:46dart frog, the Pitohui bio accumulates its poison
0:15:46 > 0:15:48from its diet.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53But why do they need such a serious self-defence?
0:15:55 > 0:16:00Of course, the jungles are a dangerous place and the poison not
0:16:00 > 0:16:03only protects the Pitohui from hawks, eagles and numerous
0:16:03 > 0:16:09kinds of snake, it also acts as a natural insect repellent,
0:16:09 > 0:16:13warding off avian malaria and the benefits don't stop there.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21The Pitohui is so poisonous, its potent powers rub off
0:16:21 > 0:16:22on its young too.
0:16:22 > 0:16:23Quite literally.
0:16:25 > 0:16:26Just holding the bird in your hand,
0:16:26 > 0:16:30you get enough toxin on your fingers that if you rub your eyes or your
0:16:30 > 0:16:32mouth, it'll cause tingling and burning.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35So we expect that when a parent sits on a nest, that it
0:16:35 > 0:16:38probably imparts enough toxin to the nest and the eggs or the young
0:16:38 > 0:16:41nestlings that if a snake came up and tongue flicked it,
0:16:41 > 0:16:43or even ate one of the babies, it would probably have a bad enough
0:16:43 > 0:16:47experience that it would leave the other baby alone.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55So, what about that? A bird with a toxic talent in self-defence.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57But since Jack's first discovery,
0:16:57 > 0:17:02they have identified even more species of poisonous bird.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05But, whatever, the Pitohui will always be the first.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11From discovering one of nature's secret forms of self-defence,
0:17:11 > 0:17:15let's move on to harnessing one that's been known for millennia.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21Kenya.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25Vast grasslands filled with beautiful wildlife.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28But here, on the fringes of Tsavo National Park,
0:17:28 > 0:17:30it's not all a peaceful coexistence.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38They destroy vegetables, houses, water pipes...
0:17:42 > 0:17:46..throw stones, sharp objects, spears, arrows, occasionally guns.
0:17:46 > 0:17:47They set their dogs on them.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50But these aren't rival villages clashing.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53This is something on a different scale entirely.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56We've had people in our community with the roofs of their house ripped
0:17:56 > 0:17:58off while they're sleeping inside.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02It's a battle over territory.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07As population growth pushes people ever deeper into the Savanna,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10farms are becoming battlegrounds.
0:18:12 > 0:18:17And in May 2008, one raid in Laikipia was devastating.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21Elephant came and it had destroyed the whole thing.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26- My God! There were 14.- 14 elephants.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29So they're just coming...
0:18:29 > 0:18:31They come overnight. Overnight.
0:18:31 > 0:18:36Yes, this is man versus elephant and it's turning nasty.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38When they're in conflict situations,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41they can team up and this is incredibly intimidating.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44They'll come in and they'll be very tightly walking together.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Any reaction at all and they'll all put their heads up, ears out.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51There's a lot of aggression.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54So this is incredibly intimidating for a farmer living in a simple mud
0:18:54 > 0:18:57hut that even you and I could push down with our hands.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02For the farmers, the stakes couldn't be higher.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07So if they lose their crop, they have serious stress.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09What are they going to feed their kids?
0:19:09 > 0:19:11How are they going to pay the school fees?
0:19:11 > 0:19:13How are they going to maintain their farm for the next season?
0:19:13 > 0:19:16So this is a big challenge for them.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20The problem is, the world's largest land mammal isn't just big,
0:19:20 > 0:19:21it's smart, too.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24It's very difficult to find a solution which elephants
0:19:24 > 0:19:25don't habituate to.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Because even an electric fence, if they can work out how to push
0:19:27 > 0:19:30their foot against it and push it over, they can get through.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37The farmers' old methods, well, they just weren't working.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39They needed a weapon,
0:19:39 > 0:19:43something that the elephants were absolutely terrified of.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50What about this?
0:19:50 > 0:19:53I mean, everyone knows that elephants are scared of mice,
0:19:53 > 0:19:57but it isn't actually the mouse itself that frightens the elephant.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02All that comes from a legend that dates back to Roman times
0:20:02 > 0:20:07when Pliny the Elder first described elephants as being scared of mice.
0:20:07 > 0:20:08And it is a great story.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12Popular cultures have reinforced it ever since.
0:20:12 > 0:20:13But the evidence is questionable.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19True, elephants do show fear when they see a mouse,
0:20:19 > 0:20:23but this has more to do with the element of surprise than fear of the
0:20:23 > 0:20:24mouse itself.
0:20:24 > 0:20:30Any other animal scuttling around at its feet would cause the same reaction.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33And, of course, there's another far more practical reason why employing
0:20:33 > 0:20:37mice to protect the villagers' farms just wouldn't work.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43You'd need thousands of mice to scare the elephants and then the
0:20:43 > 0:20:46mice, in turn, would munch their way through the crops
0:20:46 > 0:20:47you were trying to protect.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51Lucy knew the villagers needed an ally,
0:20:51 > 0:20:55but who or what could scare a whole herd of elephants?
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Well, to come up with an answer, she had to think smaller.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00Much smaller.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Amazingly, when we started talking to the local farmers,
0:21:12 > 0:21:13these stories all started to come out.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16We had farmers saying, "Oh, yes, of course, elephants won't touch
0:21:16 > 0:21:18"that tree with the beehive in."
0:21:18 > 0:21:20"Yes, I saw a hive being disturbed by an elephant and it chased the
0:21:20 > 0:21:22"elephants away."
0:21:22 > 0:21:25"Yes, I've seen an elephant with stings around the eyes."
0:21:26 > 0:21:31A six tonne elephant with a hide that's over two centimetres thick,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35scared of a bee that weighs just a tenth of a gram?
0:21:35 > 0:21:40Surely not. This was a legend that Lucy needed to see to believe.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44So, we came up with this idea of taking the sound of bees when
0:21:44 > 0:21:46they've been really disturbed and playing that bee sound
0:21:46 > 0:21:47back to elephants.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50And as they responded, we saw these incredible behaviours.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54They started headshaking and dusting, fanning their ears and they
0:21:54 > 0:21:58would pick up their tails and run from the sound.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01So, the legend was true.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04But how could Lucy harness the power of this unlikely ally?
0:22:07 > 0:22:11Well, by placing hives around the perimeter of the farms,
0:22:11 > 0:22:14she could create a beehive defence system.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19And by linking each small hive with a wire,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23any elephant trying to cross the boundary line would cause the fence
0:22:23 > 0:22:27to swing and the angry bees to swarm.
0:22:27 > 0:22:28Genius.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Bees can sting around the eyes and the trunk, up the mouth,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39and as we know now, African bees, they sting once and they release
0:22:39 > 0:22:42this pheromone that triggers the other bees to come and attack,
0:22:42 > 0:22:44so I don't think they're scared of one bee,
0:22:44 > 0:22:47I think they're scared of a whole colony coming to get them.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52And with temperatures rarely dropping below 15 degrees,
0:22:52 > 0:22:55even at night, the bees can continue to fly,
0:22:55 > 0:22:57providing 24 hour protection.
0:23:06 > 0:23:11Lucy's insect army have stopped over 80% of the elephant raiders
0:23:11 > 0:23:15in their tracks. What a success.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18We found out that our farmers actually have a better improved life
0:23:18 > 0:23:21through having these beehive fences because they can sleep more
0:23:21 > 0:23:23at night-time, which means they can work more in the daytime,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26which means they're putting more effort into their farms.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30So now we've got a queue of people wanting beehive fences.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32And there've been some unexpected benefits too.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37It's not just the stopping of the elephants, but it's the honey,
0:23:37 > 0:23:39the pollination services and it's that sense of ownership by the
0:23:39 > 0:23:42farmer that they're doing something for themselves now,
0:23:42 > 0:23:44to try to reduce human-elephant conflict.
0:23:46 > 0:23:52So, there you go, an age-old legend inspires a modern-day solution.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56What a story. Let's just hope that all of the elephants, the villagers,
0:23:56 > 0:24:00and their army of bees all live happily ever after.
0:24:05 > 0:24:11From the beautiful blue sea dragon to the world's first poisonous bird,
0:24:11 > 0:24:15unexpected encounters can have painful results,
0:24:15 > 0:24:19but if you can find a way to harness their power, well,
0:24:19 > 0:24:22you could make yourself a very unusual ally.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30Coming up, saving species takes a turn for the weird.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32From a bizarre beaver delivery method...
0:24:33 > 0:24:36..to an albatross living on the brink of disaster.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42But for our first stop, we're winging our way to the USA.
0:24:46 > 0:24:54The Rocky Mountains, Utah, home to a unique species, Oreamnos americanus,
0:24:54 > 0:24:56the American Mountain goat.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58One of the world's best climbers.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02Known for their abilities to scale incredible peaks and pick their way
0:25:02 > 0:25:04along dangerous precipices.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16But in 2015, these adrenaline junkies took their extreme lifestyle
0:25:16 > 0:25:18one step further.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21Yes, they're flying, but why?
0:25:22 > 0:25:26Well, in Willard Peak, the population has grown out of control
0:25:26 > 0:25:29and is overgrazing this fragile habitat.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34So, in Utah, we don't really have any natural predators for
0:25:34 > 0:25:35mountain goats.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40If the number of mountain goats gets too high in Willard Peak,
0:25:40 > 0:25:45we could start seeing them causing damage to the surrounding vegetation.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49So, we're trying to be proactive by taking goats off of there before
0:25:49 > 0:25:51they get too numerous and too dense.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55Kent needed to find a way to bring the numbers down and
0:25:55 > 0:25:59with populations struggling in other areas, relocating them
0:25:59 > 0:26:00was the perfect solution.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05But first, he had to catch them.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10Something that's easier said than done.
0:26:13 > 0:26:18Mountain goats are 130kg of pure muscle.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21And they're not just powerful, they're nimble too.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25Able to jump over 3.5m in a single bound.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31So, Kent's solution?
0:26:31 > 0:26:34A crack team of relocation experts.
0:26:34 > 0:26:40An aerial A Team, armed with high-powered pneumatic net guns.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46But even with these hi-tech solutions, success isn't guaranteed.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52So, mountain goats live in very steep, cliffy areas and so it's very
0:26:52 > 0:26:56difficult to catch them because if you were to shoot a net on them
0:26:56 > 0:26:59in the middle of a cliff, they would likely tumble down
0:26:59 > 0:27:02and likely injure themselves or possibly be killed.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05And so it's very important to make sure you use the helicopter and
0:27:05 > 0:27:08you gently push them into a relatively flat area where you can
0:27:08 > 0:27:12successfully put a net on them and they won't tumble down the side of the mountain.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15Bull's-eye.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23Now, it's all about speed and keeping stress to a minimum.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29So, to limit the stress on the animals,
0:27:29 > 0:27:31we put a blindfold on them so that they can't see.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35When we take away that visual sensation, it calms the animals down
0:27:35 > 0:27:38a lot and helps to make them relax quite a bit.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53By targeting the female goats, Kent and his team maximise the
0:27:53 > 0:27:57reproductive potential of the new population.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00After a few quick tests, they're driven to their snowy
0:28:00 > 0:28:06new home - Mount Dutton, a veritable goat utopia of unexplored peaks,
0:28:06 > 0:28:07400km to the south.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12And the final result?
0:28:13 > 0:28:18So, when you look 10, 20 years into the future and you see that a
0:28:18 > 0:28:21population that you helped transplant is established and doing
0:28:21 > 0:28:23well and other people can enjoy it, it's a great feeling.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30Is it a bird? Is it a plane?
0:28:30 > 0:28:33No, it's a flying goat.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37Obviously, the best way to redistribute this important population.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40But I've got to tell you, that Kent and his team are not pioneers when
0:28:40 > 0:28:43it comes to this extreme animal relocation.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46Animals have been flying into new homes for years.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50Just ask Idaho's beavers.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55'20 beaver ready for the flight to Mountain Meadows.'
0:28:56 > 0:29:00Yes, back in the 1950s, the Idaho authorities wanted to save
0:29:00 > 0:29:05themselves the cost of building a dam so they decided to enlist
0:29:05 > 0:29:09beavers to do it for them and they parachuted them in.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13That's a bit of a bumpy landing.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17'And a most unusual and novel trip ends for Mr Beaver.'
0:29:17 > 0:29:20Look, look. He's OK. He's out. He's living.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23That is one bemused beaver.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27But thankfully, Kent and his helicoptering goats are proving that
0:29:27 > 0:29:30delivery methods have improved a little bit since the early days.
0:29:34 > 0:29:39From flying goats and parachuting beavers to a different kind of
0:29:39 > 0:29:41rescue mission entirely.
0:29:46 > 0:29:51700km from the coast of New Zealand is a strange volcanic
0:29:51 > 0:29:53island - the Pyramid.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57The most important place on the planet for an entire species.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01The Chatham albatross.
0:30:02 > 0:30:08The Chatham albatross is only found in the Chathams and there, even,
0:30:08 > 0:30:12it only breeds on one small rock stack.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18It literally is a pile of rocks coming out of the sea.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24But the species is under attack.
0:30:24 > 0:30:25It's very survival is in doubt.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31Unlike the other albatross species, the threat isn't from commercial
0:30:31 > 0:30:37fishing, nor is it disease or a rampaging rogue predator.
0:30:40 > 0:30:45No, the problem for the Chatham albatross is elemental.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52One of the biggest threats to Chatham albatross, actually,
0:30:52 > 0:30:53is climate change.
0:30:54 > 0:30:59The Chathams are lashed by storms all the time.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03So the islands and the species are adapted to that, but when the storms
0:31:03 > 0:31:06come from an easterly direction, that's what causes the havoc.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14This wonderful papier mache model represents the pyramid and for
0:31:14 > 0:31:19thousands of years, the albatross have been nesting on the north-east
0:31:19 > 0:31:22side, protected from the prevailing winds.
0:31:22 > 0:31:27The thing is, the soil here, which they make their nest from,
0:31:27 > 0:31:32is very soft and easily eroded and things are changing.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36Due to climate change, there's been an increase in the frequency
0:31:36 > 0:31:39and the severity of the winds.
0:31:39 > 0:31:40And the result...
0:31:41 > 0:31:44..is that all of that soil is blowing away,
0:31:44 > 0:31:47making it impossible for the birds to nest here.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50So what can be done to save them?
0:31:53 > 0:31:56Well, move them from the island.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59Surely that would be the obvious solution?
0:31:59 > 0:32:01Yeah. But the thing with albatross, you see,
0:32:01 > 0:32:05is that they have a superpower and it's working against them.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12When the young albatross fledge their nest, they wander widely
0:32:12 > 0:32:16over the southern Pacific Ocean and they continue to do
0:32:16 > 0:32:20that for a number of years until they reach sexual maturity.
0:32:20 > 0:32:25Then, a homing instinct kicks in and they head back to the island where
0:32:25 > 0:32:29they grew up and, do you know, sometimes, when they first land
0:32:29 > 0:32:33on it, they will land only a matter of metres away from the nest
0:32:33 > 0:32:35that they actually grew up in.
0:32:37 > 0:32:42So move an albatross and it'll come right back to its nest,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45a perfectly designed mound of insulating mud and vegetation,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48home for the chicks' first five months.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55So how do you undo thousands of years of evolution?
0:32:57 > 0:33:00Well, Mike and his team had a plan.
0:33:00 > 0:33:06In January 2014, they set about saving the Chatham albatross,
0:33:06 > 0:33:11moving them to a new safe island, 50km to the north.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15And for the plan to work, they had to target the chicks.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18The adults' natural compass was too well engrained.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21The pyramid would always be their home.
0:33:21 > 0:33:2699.9% of sea birds will come back to the island they were raised from.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30So we're taking these chicks and trying to establish a new colony.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34They chose only the healthiest youngsters,
0:33:34 > 0:33:38the ones old enough to cope with the separation from their parents but
0:33:38 > 0:33:40young enough to accept a new island.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46We're basically hoping that we can reprogramme their GPS
0:33:46 > 0:33:49so that they'll fly back to the main island rather than the pyramid.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56With the plan hinged on persuading the chicks to accept their new home,
0:33:56 > 0:33:59Mike needed to perfectly copy the colony
0:33:59 > 0:34:02and, most importantly, the nests.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10And his solution? Well, it was beautifully basic.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19For an albatross chick, its nest is its castle.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21It's parents know to come back to that nest,
0:34:21 > 0:34:24that's where it'll find its chick and that's where it'll be fed.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28So it's engrained in these chicks to stay on their nest until they leave,
0:34:28 > 0:34:32so we had to find something to replicate that nest.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36And who would've thought a flowerpot was the ideal replacement?
0:34:36 > 0:34:37Filled with rocks and peat,
0:34:37 > 0:34:42it provided not only a comfy seat but fantastic drainage too.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48But making the ultimate albatross nursery didn't stop there.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Mike needed to make the chicks feel safe,
0:34:51 > 0:34:53so he's provided plastic bodyguards...
0:34:56 > 0:34:58..enlisted the help of the local community
0:34:58 > 0:35:04to become surrogate parents, delivering daily meals and he's even
0:35:04 > 0:35:08playing mood music on hidden speakers.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12And if he's successful, for the first time,
0:35:12 > 0:35:17the Chatham albatross won't have all of its eggs in one basket.
0:35:17 > 0:35:22With two colonies on two islands, Mike hopes the species will survive,
0:35:22 > 0:35:24no matter what climate change throws at it.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30This project's going to have several different measures of success.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33The first one will be when the first birds return and breed.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37So, for us, it'll be when we've got a core of birds that are starting to
0:35:37 > 0:35:42breed and that's starting to grow to be a new colony.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46But our overall aim is to try and future proof Chatham island
0:35:46 > 0:35:48albatross in a changing world.
0:35:49 > 0:35:54It'll be at least three more years before they know if they've been successful.
0:35:54 > 0:35:58So it's all fingers crossed that the first of this new
0:35:58 > 0:36:03generation of Chatham albatross will return to their safe new home.
0:36:04 > 0:36:09Who'd have thought the best way to save a bird would be to plant its
0:36:09 > 0:36:11chicks in a flowerpot?
0:36:11 > 0:36:12Fantastic.
0:36:12 > 0:36:18Has to be one of the best low tech ideas in conservation that I've ever heard.
0:36:18 > 0:36:19Top work.
0:36:22 > 0:36:29So, from flying goats and falling beavers to albatross in flowerpots,
0:36:29 > 0:36:32moving to a new home is fraught with challenges.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36'And a most unusual and novel trip ends for Mr Beaver.'
0:36:38 > 0:36:41Finally, bizarre chimpanzee behaviour...
0:36:42 > 0:36:45..and strange messages in prehistoric art.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52But our first story starts here in the UK.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00Cumbria, northern England.
0:37:02 > 0:37:08A place where ancient legends and romantic poetry are woven into the hillsides.
0:37:10 > 0:37:15But in November 2014, Dave Murphy was about to write his own chapter
0:37:15 > 0:37:20in the book of the bizarre, when a strange figure appeared in the clouds.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24Peace, we come in peace.
0:37:25 > 0:37:26Get closer!
0:37:29 > 0:37:32Dave and his friend were out wild camping,
0:37:32 > 0:37:37finding secret corners of the country, far from civilisation.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41I just love being by myself and getting out in the hills,
0:37:41 > 0:37:44and just putting my tent up and waiting for the sunset.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52I can't think of anything else to be doing in my life, it's my passion.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57Pitching their tents on top of Dufton Pike,
0:37:57 > 0:37:59they thought they'd left everyone else behind.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05I've seen some amazing things on the hills when I've been out,
0:38:05 > 0:38:08but nothing compares to seeing what I seen that day.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10I just remember it being a nice morning,
0:38:10 > 0:38:14the sun was shining and I could see the clouds sort of coming in,
0:38:14 > 0:38:17and it just looked a lovely morning.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20A strange, shadowy figure had followed them.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23Oh, look at that!
0:38:23 > 0:38:26How bright it is!
0:38:26 > 0:38:27It comes and goes.
0:38:27 > 0:38:31It can be there for a second, and then it can be gone.
0:38:31 > 0:38:32Back again, look.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38It's getting further away though, isn't it?
0:38:38 > 0:38:42The figures inside can actually be small and then go large again,
0:38:42 > 0:38:45so it was like it's sort of focusing in and out.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47It's unbelievable, unbelievable.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49Looks like two aliens, you know, Jonathan?
0:38:49 > 0:38:52Look at that, look at that!
0:38:52 > 0:38:56And Dave isn't the only person to have seen these strange spectres
0:38:56 > 0:38:58in the sky.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01All over the UK, people were uploading videos to the internet.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08What on earth was it that these people were witnessing?
0:39:10 > 0:39:14Well, they're known as Brocken Spectre,
0:39:14 > 0:39:18and their appearance is all about perfect alignment.
0:39:19 > 0:39:25When you get some elevation above a layer of cloud and the sunlight's
0:39:25 > 0:39:29behind you, that's when you can sometimes see one of these eerie,
0:39:29 > 0:39:31strange optical phenomena...
0:39:36 > 0:39:40..that are to do with your shadow and the sunlight bouncing back at you.
0:39:40 > 0:39:45So, far from being a spooky figure, the Brocken Spectre is in fact...
0:39:45 > 0:39:47Well, it's you.
0:39:47 > 0:39:52As your shadow is cast down onto the layer of cloud below you,
0:39:52 > 0:39:55your shadow seems strangely distorted.
0:39:55 > 0:40:01Your head seems very, very small and your legs very, very large.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03This is simply the dramatic effect
0:40:03 > 0:40:06of the perspective as a shadow
0:40:06 > 0:40:08recedes away from you.
0:40:09 > 0:40:15The other strange phenomenon is a halo of rainbow colours.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18These tiny droplets of cloud scatter
0:40:18 > 0:40:20the sunlight back at us,
0:40:20 > 0:40:21and the way the sunlight is
0:40:21 > 0:40:24scattered, is different depending
0:40:24 > 0:40:28on the wavelengths. For this reason, we get this separation,
0:40:28 > 0:40:30this ring of colours around the shadow.
0:40:32 > 0:40:37The apparition is your own shadow, surrounded by a rainbow halo
0:40:37 > 0:40:43created by the sun's rays reflected and refracted by the water droplets.
0:40:44 > 0:40:49And for those of you who don't regularly climb mountains, never fear.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52There is another place to see this bizarre phenomenon at work.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00So they're just shadows.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02There's no need to be scared of a Brocken Spectre.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08Well, actually, legend has it that seeing one is a bad omen,
0:41:08 > 0:41:09a really bad omen.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12A foretelling of your own death.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15Perhaps because stormy weather had closed in below you,
0:41:15 > 0:41:19or you'd ventured too close to the edge to get a better look.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25For centuries, we've gazed up into the skies, searching for answers.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29And these days, science can explain some of these bizarre apparitions.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33We know what they are, how they work.
0:41:33 > 0:41:38But that, nevertheless, can't detract from their simply awesome beauty.
0:41:42 > 0:41:47So, from legends in the sky to strange signs in the trees.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54March 2011.
0:41:54 > 0:41:59A research team are deep in the Forest of Guinea in Western Africa.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02They were studying an area for the very first time when they noticed
0:42:02 > 0:42:04something strange.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10I was at the back of the group that day,
0:42:10 > 0:42:13because I got caught in some thorns.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17So when I caught up, the group had stopped and we were gathered around
0:42:17 > 0:42:21these markings on a tree, which the main field guide had found.
0:42:24 > 0:42:25They looked really innocuous.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28I mean, it would be impossible to tell what they were.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36We weren't sure if they were wild pigs,
0:42:36 > 0:42:40or if they were human created or if they were cows.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43What they'd found was utterly baffling.
0:42:43 > 0:42:48Strange notches on a tree, and below them, large piles of rocks,
0:42:48 > 0:42:50seemingly placed there deliberately.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55Laura set up camera traps to see who or what had made them.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03Two weeks later, she recovered the footage.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07What we saw was really incredible.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11It was a male chimpanzee arriving at the site, pausing,
0:43:11 > 0:43:14looking around and picking up quite a large stone...
0:43:16 > 0:43:19..and flinging it at the tree.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23We didn't know what it could mean, we didn't know how common it was,
0:43:23 > 0:43:25we didn't know if it was just a once off event.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33So, a chimp throwing a stone against a tree.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36What's so weird about that?
0:43:36 > 0:43:40Well, the problem is, you see, explaining why a chimp would want to
0:43:40 > 0:43:41throw a stone against a tree.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43There's no obvious reason.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45It is, in fact, a great ape mystery.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52Anybody that's been to the zoo knows that chimpanzees can throw stones.
0:43:52 > 0:43:53I mean, that's not new.
0:43:53 > 0:43:57The really new and interesting thing is that they come back to the same
0:43:57 > 0:43:59site with the same repeated behaviour,
0:43:59 > 0:44:01and only at certain specific locations.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06But as her cameras gathered more footage,
0:44:06 > 0:44:09Laura realised this wasn't an isolated case.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11This was a real phenomenon,
0:44:11 > 0:44:14and it had never been reported anywhere before.
0:44:17 > 0:44:22What we were seeing was something that had never been seen before in chimpanzees.
0:44:24 > 0:44:29It seems like a new level of tool use. It was astounding.
0:44:34 > 0:44:38So, what on earth were humans' closest relatives doing?
0:44:41 > 0:44:45Laura quickly ruled out the most obvious answer.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48Unlike other examples, termite fishing, cracking nuts
0:44:48 > 0:44:54and making spears, this behaviour wasn't connected to finding food.
0:44:54 > 0:44:57So we checked the area to check that there was no fruit trees that it
0:44:57 > 0:45:01could be affecting, or any different kind of food source that it could be
0:45:01 > 0:45:02related to.
0:45:02 > 0:45:08And it really is quite sure that it's nothing to do with gaining food.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11Could it have been a male status display,
0:45:11 > 0:45:15an aggressive show of dominance that sometimes involves throwing stones?
0:45:19 > 0:45:23No, it wasn't, because it wasn't just males doing this.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26Teenagers and even mothers with babies had been captured by the
0:45:26 > 0:45:27camera traps.
0:45:29 > 0:45:34So what could inspire this ritualised act of chimpanzee vandalism?
0:45:35 > 0:45:38Laura developed two main theories.
0:45:39 > 0:45:45So, chimpanzees live in close-knit groups and they defend territory.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48And so there's other groups around their boundaries,
0:45:48 > 0:45:53so maybe these stone cairns are symbolic of a chimpanzee's territory
0:45:53 > 0:45:54that they protect.
0:45:55 > 0:46:01Theory one. It's possible that the rock piles are territorial markers,
0:46:01 > 0:46:04a way for the chimps to declare their space in the forest.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11But it's theory two that Laura feels is most likely.
0:46:14 > 0:46:17Chimpanzees, during the day, they'll split off into subgroups,
0:46:17 > 0:46:20but they'll often communicate with things like calls and drumming,
0:46:20 > 0:46:23and doing a loud pant hoot.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26And it was this call, the pant hoot,
0:46:26 > 0:46:28that was Laura's most convincing clue.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34It's generally thought of as a long-distance call.
0:46:34 > 0:46:39It kind of starts out like hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-ah-ah-ah-ah!
0:46:45 > 0:46:46Often, when you see a chimp doing this,
0:46:46 > 0:46:48if you can really study the community,
0:46:48 > 0:46:52you see that other individuals will actually change direction.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55It seems like there's signals being given that affect other members
0:46:55 > 0:46:57in the group.
0:46:57 > 0:47:01And so possibly this stone throwing is an add-on to that,
0:47:01 > 0:47:04and therefore maybe it's a kind of chimpanzee Morse code.
0:47:07 > 0:47:12So this strange behaviour could be a form of territorial marking.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15It could be a form of communication.
0:47:15 > 0:47:20But then, some truly extraordinary new evidence came to light.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29Researchers across Western Africa started to look out for telltale
0:47:29 > 0:47:30notches on the trees.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35Three of the four subspecies reported nothing.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39But sites in neighbouring Guinea-Bissau,
0:47:39 > 0:47:44Liberia and the Ivory Coast reported positive sightings.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47These groups either passed the ritual to each other,
0:47:47 > 0:47:52or they've developed this behaviour entirely independently.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55This wasn't an isolated incident.
0:47:55 > 0:47:59It was occurring across the species range, and that meant that the
0:47:59 > 0:48:05scientific community became immediately a lot more interested.
0:48:05 > 0:48:08And one rather bizarre theory surfaced.
0:48:11 > 0:48:16They seem to be responding to something in the space
0:48:16 > 0:48:17that we can't see.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29There's something in that space that they're returning to,
0:48:29 > 0:48:32that is fascinating to them, that has a hold over them.
0:48:36 > 0:48:41Is there a memory that they have attached to that particular spot,
0:48:41 > 0:48:46like the death of a member of their clan, or a leader of their clan?
0:48:46 > 0:48:49Or was there some other anomaly at that site,
0:48:49 > 0:48:51like a lightning strike, or a fire,
0:48:51 > 0:48:55or a particular storm that they witnessed together?
0:48:55 > 0:49:01We might never have an answer to the question of why a particular space
0:49:01 > 0:49:03seems to have become charged,
0:49:03 > 0:49:07seems to have become electrified for these chimpanzees.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11But similarly, we don't necessarily have good answers as to why it is
0:49:11 > 0:49:15that our sacred spaces have become charged or electrified for us.
0:49:19 > 0:49:24OK. Now, identifying these sites as chimpanzee sacred spaces
0:49:24 > 0:49:29might seem a little crackpot. But, when you think back to our own past,
0:49:29 > 0:49:35and how human beliefs were formed, it's not really as crazy as it sounds.
0:49:35 > 0:49:40If we go back to the beginning of human beings as a species,
0:49:40 > 0:49:44which is generally believed to be about 50,000 years ago,
0:49:44 > 0:49:48we would be seeing a range of behaviours that looked very similar to this.
0:49:51 > 0:49:57The religions that we have now would be the descendants of these
0:49:57 > 0:50:00amalgamations of early human behaviours that would have looked
0:50:00 > 0:50:03like these animal rituals.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07Perhaps we'll never fully understand why these chimpanzees engage in such
0:50:07 > 0:50:09bizarre behaviour.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13But for Laura, this discovery is just the beginning.
0:50:13 > 0:50:17I do think that we constantly underestimate other species.
0:50:17 > 0:50:21And so, I think it's worth wondering what this could mean in,
0:50:21 > 0:50:23potentially, a higher sense.
0:50:23 > 0:50:27And I think the real thing that we should take from this is
0:50:27 > 0:50:30how important it is to protect the future of these chimpanzees,
0:50:30 > 0:50:34because I'm sure there's a lot more to discover that we haven't yet seen.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37Who'd have thought it?
0:50:37 > 0:50:42A few mysterious notches on a tree growing into such a great mystery.
0:50:42 > 0:50:44But we really shouldn't worry.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47Planet of the Apes? Well, it's not round the corner.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49Well, not quite yet, anyway.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56So, from chimpanzee rituals that tell us about the beginnings of
0:50:56 > 0:51:00human religions, to early human religions that might just point
0:51:00 > 0:51:05to a god of a very different kind. Something totally alien.
0:51:10 > 0:51:1211th of May, 2002.
0:51:13 > 0:51:17An expedition is exploring the deserts of Gilf Kebir,
0:51:17 > 0:51:20the great barrier in the Egyptian Sahara.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24And at 4.30 in the afternoon, with the sun burning down,
0:51:24 > 0:51:30Jacopo Foggini sought out shade in a cave and made a startling discovery.
0:51:37 > 0:51:39Thousands of cave paintings.
0:51:39 > 0:51:428,000 years old.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46One of the most important prehistoric sites ever discovered.
0:51:48 > 0:51:52The big question everybody's asking about this cave is,
0:51:52 > 0:51:56"What the heck are these animals?"
0:51:56 > 0:51:58These big animals.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00And the beast, what is it?
0:52:00 > 0:52:03Whilst most were fascinated by the strange images of headless
0:52:03 > 0:52:08creatures, one archaeologist was drawn to something else.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11Something everyone had overlooked.
0:52:12 > 0:52:17When I arrived on the site, I did not believe my eyes.
0:52:23 > 0:52:27I immediately noticed the tiny stencil hands.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30There were 13 of them, and I thought,
0:52:30 > 0:52:35"Wow, it's really different from any stencil hand I've seen before in my career."
0:52:36 > 0:52:40Prehistoric handprints have been found at cave art sites all over the
0:52:40 > 0:52:43world, from Australia to Argentina.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46And in evolutionary terms, they're fascinating.
0:52:46 > 0:52:51They provide one of the first insights into humans developing
0:52:51 > 0:52:52a sense of self.
0:53:00 > 0:53:07Look at that. It's a signature, a sort of prehistoric spray tag.
0:53:07 > 0:53:12But the prints that fascinated Emmanuelle were altogether more bizarre.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15What she'd found weren't just handprints.
0:53:15 > 0:53:21Inside each of the 13 larger ones was strange, second, smaller print.
0:53:21 > 0:53:25All of the experts had assumed that they were children's hands.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27But Emmanuelle wasn't so sure.
0:53:29 > 0:53:34We did some measurements on dozens of pre-term new-borns,
0:53:34 > 0:53:39and even if they were matching in terms of hand length,
0:53:39 > 0:53:41the proportions were really different.
0:53:42 > 0:53:46With a probability of less than 0.01%,
0:53:46 > 0:53:51Emmanuelle proved that humans hadn't made these handprints.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55But who, or what, had?
0:53:58 > 0:54:03My first hypothesis was, it could be monkeys' hands.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06And for that time, 8,000 years ago,
0:54:06 > 0:54:11imagine that people have taken monkeys under their shoulders and
0:54:11 > 0:54:14stencilled their hands, it was really crazy to imagine it.
0:54:16 > 0:54:20Crazy maybe, but impossible, certainly not.
0:54:20 > 0:54:22But no matter which monkey she tested,
0:54:22 > 0:54:26she just couldn't get the thumb in the right place.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29Emmanuelle was at a loss, but there were some other theories
0:54:29 > 0:54:31out there she couldn't ignore entirely.
0:54:35 > 0:54:39Our first publication was about telling it's not human.
0:54:39 > 0:54:41But we didn't find yet the solution,
0:54:41 > 0:54:45so after that I got plenty of e-mails telling me,
0:54:45 > 0:54:47"Would you investigate the alien path?"
0:54:47 > 0:54:50And I thought, "But how can I measure aliens?"
0:54:52 > 0:54:56But Emmanuelle wasn't quite ready to give up on a more terrestrial answer.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02We did a lot of measurements on the hands of crocodiles
0:55:02 > 0:55:07and the match was quite good, but it was not 100% convincing.
0:55:08 > 0:55:13After nearly ten years, her search had become an obsession.
0:55:13 > 0:55:19At this point, we had investigated the human path, monkey path,
0:55:19 > 0:55:24the crocodile path, and no-one was really matching.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27I have to confess, it began to haunt my dreams.
0:55:28 > 0:55:32Determined to find an answer, she scoured the records and
0:55:32 > 0:55:35discovered one animal, no longer found in the area,
0:55:35 > 0:55:38that would have once walked the dunes here.
0:55:41 > 0:55:46This desert monitor lizard had lived here 8,000 years ago.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49I contacted a lot of crocodile farms,
0:55:49 > 0:55:53and I realised they were also keeping a lot of monitor lizards.
0:55:53 > 0:55:59So I asked them if they would enjoy to take part in the study,
0:55:59 > 0:56:02and to my surprise they were all very enthusiastic.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07Hunted for centuries by humans for their skins,
0:56:07 > 0:56:11these throwbacks to the time of dinosaurs were in the right place
0:56:11 > 0:56:13at the right time.
0:56:13 > 0:56:17But could they be the source of the non-human handprints?
0:56:18 > 0:56:22When I got the final result, I couldn't believe my eyes.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25We got the closest match with lizards,
0:56:25 > 0:56:29and they are actually matching with more than 85%.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34But one vital question remains.
0:56:34 > 0:56:38Why were they using these lizard feet in the first place?
0:56:39 > 0:56:45We have no evidence of a reptile worship, but the fact that those
0:56:45 > 0:56:50hands are stencilled exactly as the human ones are done,
0:56:50 > 0:56:57it does testify of really different relationship to nature than the
0:56:57 > 0:56:58one we have today.
0:56:58 > 0:57:03Today, we consider that humans are separated from nature.
0:57:03 > 0:57:08But in animalistic societies, people consider that
0:57:08 > 0:57:13they are equivalent of any living entity in the world.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17After ten years of enquiry,
0:57:17 > 0:57:20I really feel happy to have found the solution!
0:57:20 > 0:57:22So now I can sleep at night.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29So, from humans to monkeys, from crocodiles to aliens and
0:57:29 > 0:57:31finally to the desert monitor lizard,
0:57:31 > 0:57:35what Emmanuelle has proved here is that to solve the perfect
0:57:35 > 0:57:38prehistoric riddle, you've got to pull out all of the stops.
0:57:38 > 0:57:40Determination is key.
0:57:43 > 0:57:47From weird clouds bringing portents of doom,
0:57:47 > 0:57:51to a chimpanzee ritual that sheds light on our own early religions.
0:57:51 > 0:57:55And a prehistoric discovery that hints at a very different set of
0:57:55 > 0:57:57beliefs entirely.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02We've found that in our search for deeper meanings,
0:58:02 > 0:58:06some of the answers can be found in the most unexpected places.
0:58:07 > 0:58:11Next time... What so enraged this placid marine mammal?
0:58:15 > 0:58:19Why has this guy got peanuts stuck to his head?
0:58:19 > 0:58:20Pull.
0:58:22 > 0:58:26And a glowing underwater wonderland, invisible to the human eye.
0:58:26 > 0:58:29Blink! Unbelievable!