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In a far corner of the Earth | 0:00:03 | 0:00:06 | |
is a South American wilderness. | 0:00:06 | 0:00:10 | |
These extreme landscapes are home to strange and wonderful animals. | 0:00:16 | 0:00:22 | |
From the rugged peaks of the Andes... | 0:00:27 | 0:00:29 | |
..across the scorched desert steppe... | 0:00:32 | 0:00:36 | |
..to coasts battered by some of the roughest seas on the planet. | 0:00:37 | 0:00:41 | |
Living here takes guts and determination. | 0:00:45 | 0:00:48 | |
There are incredible opportunities for some. | 0:00:51 | 0:00:53 | |
For others, it's a battle to survive. | 0:00:57 | 0:01:01 | |
A pioneering spirit | 0:01:07 | 0:01:09 | |
unites them all | 0:01:09 | 0:01:11 | |
under the spell of Patagonia. | 0:01:11 | 0:01:15 | |
Patagonia is an uncompromising wilderness. | 0:01:26 | 0:01:30 | |
It is the name given to the tail end of South America, | 0:01:36 | 0:01:39 | |
straddling Chile and Argentina. | 0:01:39 | 0:01:42 | |
Nowhere else on Earth is further south, | 0:01:45 | 0:01:48 | |
except Antarctica, | 0:01:48 | 0:01:52 | |
and it is dominated by the Andes mountains, | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
which form a backbone over 1,000 miles long. | 0:01:55 | 0:01:58 | |
Following these towering peaks, we'll travel from north to south... | 0:02:02 | 0:02:06 | |
..where a clash between the elemental forces of fire | 0:02:09 | 0:02:14 | |
and ice... | 0:02:14 | 0:02:15 | |
..create dramatically different worlds, | 0:02:22 | 0:02:26 | |
shaping the fate of all Patagonians. | 0:02:26 | 0:02:30 | |
HIGH-PITCHED CALL | 0:02:53 | 0:02:55 | |
A lone call is caught on the wind. | 0:02:58 | 0:03:00 | |
A female puma. | 0:03:09 | 0:03:11 | |
Like all settlers here, she must be resilient and adaptable. | 0:03:17 | 0:03:21 | |
She's done well so far. | 0:03:25 | 0:03:28 | |
Precious cubs, just six weeks old. | 0:03:40 | 0:03:44 | |
All three still covered in spots. | 0:03:44 | 0:03:48 | |
It will take Mum over a year to pass on all her skills. | 0:04:04 | 0:04:09 | |
In Patagonia, the tiniest details mark the difference | 0:04:09 | 0:04:13 | |
between success and failure. | 0:04:13 | 0:04:15 | |
This secret den is their sanctuary, | 0:04:20 | 0:04:23 | |
protected from wild weather and wandering predators. | 0:04:23 | 0:04:27 | |
For now, it's all about play. | 0:04:32 | 0:04:35 | |
The first step on a long road to become hunters. | 0:04:35 | 0:04:39 | |
But in Patagonia, you can't hide away forever. | 0:04:56 | 0:05:00 | |
Mum must lead her cubs to face the wilderness head on. | 0:05:07 | 0:05:11 | |
In this elemental land, the very foundations are constantly shifting. | 0:05:24 | 0:05:29 | |
Fire is reshaping and building the Andes. | 0:05:33 | 0:05:37 | |
Eruptions spew out jets of ash at over 200mph... | 0:05:42 | 0:05:47 | |
..blasting immense plumes ten miles high. | 0:05:49 | 0:05:52 | |
Debris explodes from the crater with the power of an atomic bomb | 0:05:59 | 0:06:04 | |
every ten seconds. | 0:06:04 | 0:06:05 | |
In northern Patagonia, volcanoes are very much alive. | 0:06:12 | 0:06:16 | |
Dawn reveals an alien world. | 0:06:27 | 0:06:30 | |
It looks primeval, yet this landscape is only a few years old. | 0:06:34 | 0:06:38 | |
This is a mountain still in the making. | 0:06:47 | 0:06:51 | |
It looks like a snowscape, but in fact, | 0:06:53 | 0:06:56 | |
it is ash over five metres deep, | 0:06:56 | 0:07:00 | |
layered with lava and gases. | 0:07:00 | 0:07:04 | |
These may look like stunted trees, | 0:07:18 | 0:07:21 | |
but they are just the tips of a forest, buried alive. | 0:07:21 | 0:07:25 | |
Yet Patagonia is full of surprises. | 0:07:30 | 0:07:34 | |
Remarkable trees, from the time of dinosaurs. | 0:07:43 | 0:07:47 | |
Their leaves, like spiky scales, grow in spirals. | 0:07:50 | 0:07:54 | |
From the lava grow islands of monkey puzzles. | 0:08:00 | 0:08:03 | |
They survive the intense heat radiating from the black lava, | 0:08:09 | 0:08:13 | |
absorbing minerals from the parched ground. | 0:08:13 | 0:08:16 | |
Their bark is fire-resistant, | 0:08:19 | 0:08:23 | |
and holding their branches high once kept them out of reach | 0:08:23 | 0:08:26 | |
of hungry dinosaurs. | 0:08:26 | 0:08:28 | |
But now, these monkey puzzles are home to some of their descendants. | 0:08:31 | 0:08:37 | |
SQUAWKING | 0:08:37 | 0:08:40 | |
Austral parakeets. | 0:08:50 | 0:08:52 | |
The most southerly parrot species in the world. | 0:08:52 | 0:08:56 | |
They come for the huge cones. | 0:08:56 | 0:08:59 | |
Weighing in at nearly 1kg, | 0:08:59 | 0:09:02 | |
each is a feast over 200 seeds. | 0:09:02 | 0:09:06 | |
It's a bonanza in this scorched land. | 0:09:18 | 0:09:22 | |
But the monkey puzzles all produce their cones at once, | 0:09:29 | 0:09:32 | |
so even a flock of parakeets cannot eat them all, | 0:09:32 | 0:09:35 | |
allowing these ancient trees to be Patagonia's enduring survivors. | 0:09:35 | 0:09:40 | |
This volcanic world is the northern gateway of the Patagonian Andes. | 0:09:43 | 0:09:48 | |
A mountainous backbone, | 0:09:52 | 0:09:54 | |
up to 4,000m high, | 0:09:54 | 0:09:56 | |
almost 100 miles wide. | 0:09:56 | 0:10:00 | |
The Andes are the weather-makers, trapping the moisture driving in | 0:10:06 | 0:10:11 | |
from the Pacific Ocean. | 0:10:11 | 0:10:13 | |
As they stretch south, they create increasingly remote worlds, | 0:10:16 | 0:10:21 | |
with curious creatures. | 0:10:21 | 0:10:24 | |
But the Andes sow the seeds of their own destruction | 0:10:27 | 0:10:30 | |
in the moisture they trap. | 0:10:30 | 0:10:32 | |
Millions of snow flakes build glaciers | 0:10:40 | 0:10:42 | |
which cling to the highest pinnacles. | 0:10:42 | 0:10:45 | |
And each summer meltwater unleashes its raw power. | 0:10:51 | 0:10:55 | |
It begins with a drip. | 0:11:01 | 0:11:03 | |
A trickle melts its way into the glacier's icy heart. | 0:11:09 | 0:11:13 | |
It gathers pace and volume. | 0:11:16 | 0:11:19 | |
Racing to the edge of these hanging glaciers. | 0:11:21 | 0:11:24 | |
This water generates immense power as it falls... | 0:11:39 | 0:11:43 | |
..pummelling the base rock below, | 0:11:47 | 0:11:49 | |
drilling back into the cliff. | 0:11:49 | 0:11:52 | |
These great thundering cascades sculpt a new world. | 0:11:54 | 0:11:59 | |
To the west side of the Andes is a narrow green band of life | 0:12:02 | 0:12:06 | |
hemmed in between the peaks and the coast, | 0:12:06 | 0:12:09 | |
shaped not by fire but by water. | 0:12:09 | 0:12:13 | |
Countless rivers carve their path through the rock, | 0:12:16 | 0:12:21 | |
whipping up some of the best white water on the planet. | 0:12:21 | 0:12:26 | |
For Diego Valsecchi and his team, | 0:12:26 | 0:12:28 | |
this elemental challenge is irresistible. | 0:12:28 | 0:12:32 | |
Dropping over 3,000m, the descents are rapid. | 0:12:34 | 0:12:39 | |
HE SPEAKS SPANISH | 0:12:42 | 0:12:45 | |
Round here they have names for torrents like these - | 0:12:51 | 0:12:54 | |
la Garganta del Diablo. | 0:12:54 | 0:12:56 | |
The devil's throat. | 0:12:56 | 0:12:59 | |
Only the most skilful paddlers would risk a double waterfall. | 0:13:12 | 0:13:16 | |
Two drops and the turmoil between them. | 0:13:16 | 0:13:19 | |
The approach is everything. | 0:13:31 | 0:13:34 | |
Diego is safely through, | 0:14:04 | 0:14:06 | |
but for one creature, mastering the rapids is not a choice | 0:14:06 | 0:14:10 | |
but a necessity. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:12 | |
Torrent ducks who forage for insects living in this white water. | 0:14:12 | 0:14:17 | |
They're experts with the right tools. | 0:14:24 | 0:14:28 | |
Big feet create explosive acceleration. | 0:14:28 | 0:14:31 | |
Stiff tail feathers brace against the force of the water. | 0:14:33 | 0:14:37 | |
And they can always fly out of danger. | 0:14:41 | 0:14:44 | |
But their chicks have none of these advantages. | 0:14:46 | 0:14:49 | |
They're just a few days old. | 0:14:49 | 0:14:51 | |
Yet Mum and Dad must teach them to master the rapids or they'll starve. | 0:14:54 | 0:14:58 | |
Even in the shallows, these chicks look unsteady | 0:15:02 | 0:15:05 | |
but there's a much greater challenge ahead. | 0:15:05 | 0:15:08 | |
The aerated water of the falls creates prized feeding grounds. | 0:15:18 | 0:15:21 | |
But the currents are fierce. | 0:15:25 | 0:15:27 | |
Weighing little over an ounce, these fluffballs must learn fast | 0:15:30 | 0:15:34 | |
or face being swept away. | 0:15:34 | 0:15:37 | |
Mum leads them down the side of the falls. | 0:15:43 | 0:15:46 | |
Their goal is a rocky island. | 0:16:13 | 0:16:15 | |
Mum and Dad gather their chicks. | 0:16:25 | 0:16:27 | |
And they're off. | 0:16:28 | 0:16:30 | |
The ducklings' downy feathers trap air like a life-jacket | 0:16:40 | 0:16:43 | |
as they bob across the surface. | 0:16:43 | 0:16:46 | |
It's a good start. | 0:16:50 | 0:16:53 | |
But one chick is swept away. | 0:17:04 | 0:17:07 | |
Mum and Dad look frantically for their missing duckling. | 0:17:07 | 0:17:10 | |
In the chaos, they have to make a difficult choice. | 0:17:28 | 0:17:30 | |
Risk everything for a rescue, or keep their other chick safe? | 0:17:30 | 0:17:34 | |
They push across the final current to the rock. | 0:17:49 | 0:17:52 | |
Mum makes a break for it. | 0:17:55 | 0:17:57 | |
One lone chick struggles through. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:06 | |
Swiftly followed by Dad. | 0:18:09 | 0:18:11 | |
The rock is a refuge, but the insects they eat | 0:18:21 | 0:18:24 | |
live underwater, so this duckling has to go in again. | 0:18:24 | 0:18:27 | |
Luckily, the island gives shelter from the full force of the torrents. | 0:18:31 | 0:18:35 | |
Now its downy feathers make it too buoyant to dive. | 0:18:37 | 0:18:41 | |
So in the shallows, it grips the riverbed with its tiny feet | 0:18:42 | 0:18:46 | |
and drives its head underwater. | 0:18:46 | 0:18:48 | |
Today, these parents have led their duckling | 0:18:54 | 0:18:56 | |
through its toughest rite of passage. | 0:18:56 | 0:18:58 | |
But other creatures avoid these perils | 0:19:09 | 0:19:11 | |
and instead seek sanctuary in the rain-drenched forests | 0:19:11 | 0:19:15 | |
that fringe the river banks. | 0:19:15 | 0:19:17 | |
To the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, | 0:19:23 | 0:19:25 | |
this was a fragrant, silent, tangled jungle. | 0:19:25 | 0:19:30 | |
Trees are ancient, slow-growing giants. | 0:19:35 | 0:19:39 | |
These rainforests may look lush, | 0:19:42 | 0:19:45 | |
but they are surprisingly cold and challenging. | 0:19:45 | 0:19:49 | |
The water brings life, but also washes away crucial nutrients. | 0:19:53 | 0:19:58 | |
So creatures here have ingenious solutions | 0:20:00 | 0:20:03 | |
to a life of thin pickings. | 0:20:03 | 0:20:05 | |
Welcome to the Patagonian forest of miniatures. | 0:20:12 | 0:20:16 | |
It's a tiny world. | 0:20:23 | 0:20:25 | |
These pudu deer are only the size of a small dog. | 0:20:34 | 0:20:37 | |
And their newborn fawns would fit in the palm of your hand... | 0:20:41 | 0:20:44 | |
..making their kind the smallest deer in the world, | 0:20:46 | 0:20:51 | |
because building a small body is a smart solution to limited resources. | 0:20:51 | 0:20:56 | |
But others go further. | 0:21:04 | 0:21:06 | |
This minute Darwin's frog is just an inch tall. | 0:21:06 | 0:21:10 | |
He's a strange dad, eating his own eggs six weeks ago. | 0:21:15 | 0:21:20 | |
They became tadpoles in a pouch in his throat, | 0:21:20 | 0:21:25 | |
where he secretes juices to feed them. | 0:21:25 | 0:21:28 | |
Now up to 20 froglets are wriggling to get out. | 0:21:28 | 0:21:33 | |
These newborns have had a uniquely Patagonian start in life. | 0:21:42 | 0:21:46 | |
This Patagonian mistletoe, or quintral, is a parasite. | 0:22:03 | 0:22:07 | |
Tendrils grow into its host tree to steal precious sugars. | 0:22:09 | 0:22:14 | |
But how to spread and find new hosts? | 0:22:16 | 0:22:19 | |
It begins with innocent-looking flowers laced with nectar. | 0:22:24 | 0:22:29 | |
The quintral bribes the only creature up to the job. | 0:22:29 | 0:22:33 | |
The green-backed firecrown hummingbird. | 0:22:46 | 0:22:49 | |
These firecrowns, weighing less than a ten pence piece, | 0:22:54 | 0:22:58 | |
rely on this nectar to survive, so they fiercely defend territories | 0:22:58 | 0:23:03 | |
to protect their lifeline. | 0:23:03 | 0:23:05 | |
At 40 wing beats per second, | 0:23:16 | 0:23:18 | |
this aerial combat is exhausting. | 0:23:18 | 0:23:21 | |
So they must eat up to four times their body weight in nectar each day. | 0:23:24 | 0:23:29 | |
Then the quintral's pollen is brushed onto their feathers | 0:23:35 | 0:23:39 | |
and carried away to complete pollination. | 0:23:39 | 0:23:42 | |
At the end of each day, | 0:23:48 | 0:23:50 | |
the hummingbird must go into torpor, a nightly hibernation, | 0:23:50 | 0:23:54 | |
slowing its metabolism by over 80%... | 0:23:54 | 0:23:58 | |
..while the quintral is only halfway through its mission. | 0:24:03 | 0:24:07 | |
For the next step, it lures in a curious nocturnal specialist. | 0:24:09 | 0:24:13 | |
Monito del monte - literally, "monkey of the mountain." | 0:24:30 | 0:24:34 | |
The last of their kind, survivors of an ancient lineage, | 0:24:37 | 0:24:40 | |
not of monkeys, but of marsupials. | 0:24:40 | 0:24:44 | |
This family of diminutive climbers are ancestors of the kangaroos, | 0:24:47 | 0:24:52 | |
but in the trees they use their grasping tails | 0:24:52 | 0:24:55 | |
while looking for their favourite food. | 0:24:55 | 0:24:57 | |
Quintral berries. | 0:25:00 | 0:25:04 | |
The fruits are bitter with a sticky seed. | 0:25:06 | 0:25:09 | |
But for the quintral, every seed thrown away is as good as dead. | 0:25:19 | 0:25:23 | |
It needs to be swallowed. | 0:25:23 | 0:25:26 | |
Some seeds are harder to get rid of than others. | 0:25:29 | 0:25:33 | |
For the few seeds that do get eaten, | 0:25:40 | 0:25:43 | |
success only comes when they have passed through a monito. | 0:25:43 | 0:25:46 | |
The seed comes out much as it went in, | 0:25:57 | 0:26:00 | |
trailing gluey string to help catch any branch. | 0:26:00 | 0:26:04 | |
Finally deposited, the mistletoe has achieved its goal. | 0:26:16 | 0:26:21 | |
Over the next two weeks, the seed will germinate | 0:26:24 | 0:26:27 | |
and bore into its new host to begin its parasitic life. | 0:26:27 | 0:26:31 | |
Hummingbirds, monitos and the quintral are an unlikely trio, | 0:26:38 | 0:26:42 | |
now dependent on each other to survive in this cold forest, | 0:26:42 | 0:26:47 | |
where otherwise they could not. | 0:26:47 | 0:26:50 | |
Further south, the forests get colder, | 0:26:54 | 0:26:57 | |
until they meet an impenetrable wall of ice. | 0:26:57 | 0:27:00 | |
A perfect combination of high mountains and massive snowfall | 0:27:05 | 0:27:09 | |
have locked the Andes in a frozen grip stretching west from the peaks | 0:27:09 | 0:27:14 | |
to the rugged coast. | 0:27:14 | 0:27:16 | |
The temperature drops to 20 below zero. | 0:27:25 | 0:27:28 | |
It seems as if all life stops. | 0:27:28 | 0:27:31 | |
These are the largest southern ice sheets outside Antarctica, | 0:27:34 | 0:27:39 | |
covering over 6,500 square miles, | 0:27:39 | 0:27:43 | |
locking up over three trillion tonnes of water. | 0:27:43 | 0:27:48 | |
But astonishingly, beyond this wasteland, a new world is revealed... | 0:27:53 | 0:27:58 | |
..where the ice has ground the Andes to their knees... | 0:28:00 | 0:28:03 | |
..and shaped a final frontier. | 0:28:06 | 0:28:08 | |
The mountains are fragmented and scarred, | 0:28:11 | 0:28:14 | |
with only the granite towers of ancient magma standing tall. | 0:28:14 | 0:28:18 | |
The locals call this region Ultima Esperanza, or "Last Hope". | 0:28:22 | 0:28:27 | |
Yet the spirit of Patagonia is unbroken. | 0:28:29 | 0:28:32 | |
This is a lost world of resilient and hardy souls. | 0:28:32 | 0:28:35 | |
HORSES WHINNY | 0:28:35 | 0:28:37 | |
Secretive and agile, wild horses roam the most remote valleys... | 0:28:41 | 0:28:45 | |
..and Patagonian cowboys, or gauchos, | 0:28:51 | 0:28:54 | |
ride out as a team to try and catch them. | 0:28:54 | 0:28:56 | |
When these guys need a new horse, | 0:28:59 | 0:29:01 | |
an arisco, or wild horse, is the best you can get. | 0:29:01 | 0:29:04 | |
The ariscos are the descendants of escaped horses | 0:29:10 | 0:29:12 | |
brought by European settlers over the centuries. | 0:29:12 | 0:29:15 | |
It takes coordination to round them up. | 0:29:20 | 0:29:22 | |
Vitito leads the drive to a remote corral. | 0:29:25 | 0:29:28 | |
HORSES WHINNY | 0:29:32 | 0:29:34 | |
TRANSLATION FROM SPANISH: | 0:29:48 | 0:29:50 | |
With the horses, it's all about attitude. | 0:30:05 | 0:30:08 | |
The gauchos have to catch | 0:30:25 | 0:30:27 | |
and get a bridle on each horse they want to break. | 0:30:27 | 0:30:30 | |
Lassoing must be done at speed, | 0:30:37 | 0:30:40 | |
dropping the lasso just before the galloping front feet | 0:30:40 | 0:30:43 | |
then snatching it tight as they step into the trap. | 0:30:43 | 0:30:46 | |
But their raw strength tests the men. | 0:30:50 | 0:30:53 | |
A kick from a hoof could be fatal. | 0:30:55 | 0:30:56 | |
HE PANTS | 0:31:02 | 0:31:03 | |
With the ariscos subdued, | 0:31:09 | 0:31:11 | |
the gauchos make the day-long trek back to the main ranch, | 0:31:11 | 0:31:15 | |
where taming can begin. | 0:31:15 | 0:31:16 | |
From the wild herd, they have chosen just three. | 0:31:20 | 0:31:23 | |
WHINNYING | 0:31:35 | 0:31:37 | |
BIRDSONG | 0:31:40 | 0:31:42 | |
Today, the focus intensifies. | 0:31:50 | 0:31:52 | |
Vitito will face one arisco...alone. | 0:31:55 | 0:32:00 | |
Each gaucho has his own style of taming. | 0:32:22 | 0:32:25 | |
The mare has to decide whether to trust Vitito. | 0:32:57 | 0:33:00 | |
He watches her ears, her nostrils. | 0:33:00 | 0:33:02 | |
Patiently, he works his magic. | 0:33:04 | 0:33:06 | |
In just three hours, this mare has gone from wild to tame | 0:35:05 | 0:35:09 | |
as she begins a new life with the gauchos. | 0:35:09 | 0:35:11 | |
To survive this far south, | 0:35:18 | 0:35:20 | |
you need specialist skills, | 0:35:20 | 0:35:22 | |
but they take time to learn. | 0:35:22 | 0:35:24 | |
Wandering over these windswept, grassy plains | 0:35:27 | 0:35:31 | |
are big herds of guanacos, | 0:35:31 | 0:35:33 | |
wild ancestors of the llama... | 0:35:33 | 0:35:35 | |
..and they are the favourite prey of Patagonia's biggest predator. | 0:35:38 | 0:35:42 | |
Puma. | 0:35:54 | 0:35:56 | |
Her snooze is interrupted by her boisterous sister. | 0:36:00 | 0:36:03 | |
These two teenagers are just beginning life | 0:36:06 | 0:36:08 | |
without Mum to provide for them. | 0:36:08 | 0:36:10 | |
One is tailless, a defect since birth. | 0:36:12 | 0:36:16 | |
Now 15 months old, | 0:36:22 | 0:36:24 | |
they will have to turn their games into successful hunts to survive. | 0:36:24 | 0:36:28 | |
Late afternoon is the time when pumas begin to feel hungry. | 0:36:32 | 0:36:36 | |
Such open country means they can easily see their prey | 0:36:43 | 0:36:47 | |
but in a land without trees there is nowhere to hide. | 0:36:47 | 0:36:50 | |
A lone guanaco. | 0:36:59 | 0:37:00 | |
Tailless joins her sister... | 0:37:09 | 0:37:10 | |
..but isn't welcome. | 0:37:12 | 0:37:13 | |
By hunting together, there's twice the chance of being spotted. | 0:37:16 | 0:37:20 | |
But she doesn't wait. | 0:37:47 | 0:37:49 | |
GUANACO BRAYS | 0:37:49 | 0:37:51 | |
She's blown their cover. | 0:37:53 | 0:37:54 | |
Ultimately, the sisters must become solitary hunters. | 0:38:01 | 0:38:04 | |
Perhaps it is time to go it alone. | 0:38:05 | 0:38:08 | |
But it won't be easy in this unpredictable world. | 0:38:13 | 0:38:16 | |
THUNDER RUMBLES | 0:38:17 | 0:38:19 | |
This far south, the weather is more treacherous. | 0:38:19 | 0:38:22 | |
A snow flurry ramps into a blizzard in minutes. | 0:38:30 | 0:38:33 | |
But with coarse outer hairs and warm under-fur, | 0:38:45 | 0:38:48 | |
these guanacos cope with the cold. | 0:38:48 | 0:38:50 | |
Andean condors, | 0:39:01 | 0:39:03 | |
Patagonia's heaviest flying birds, must find a ledge while there is | 0:39:03 | 0:39:07 | |
still enough lift in the chilling air to raise their bulky bodies. | 0:39:07 | 0:39:11 | |
As the weather clears, | 0:39:24 | 0:39:26 | |
the storm has claimed a victim. | 0:39:26 | 0:39:28 | |
The guanaco carcass is quickly found by small falcons, chimangos, | 0:39:41 | 0:39:46 | |
but their discovery won't go unnoticed for long. | 0:39:46 | 0:39:50 | |
FALCONS SCREECH | 0:39:50 | 0:39:51 | |
This young crested caracara has the advantage of being almost | 0:40:06 | 0:40:10 | |
twice the size of the chimangos, | 0:40:10 | 0:40:12 | |
and has come to stake his claim on this frozen buffet. | 0:40:12 | 0:40:16 | |
But with all his posturing, he's too slow. | 0:40:19 | 0:40:22 | |
Yellow-beaked adults are hard on his heels... | 0:40:23 | 0:40:26 | |
..and he is pushed away before he can even get a bite. | 0:40:28 | 0:40:31 | |
All he can do is watch | 0:40:42 | 0:40:44 | |
while the grown-ups make the most of their opportunity. | 0:40:44 | 0:40:47 | |
Another contender approaches, | 0:40:50 | 0:40:52 | |
as much a predator as a scavenger. | 0:40:52 | 0:40:55 | |
It's time for a sharp exit. | 0:41:00 | 0:41:02 | |
A culpeo fox, | 0:41:10 | 0:41:12 | |
the largest of Patagonia's foxes. | 0:41:12 | 0:41:14 | |
He's an opportunist with a voracious appetite. | 0:41:17 | 0:41:20 | |
Round here, they call him el zorro de los Andes. | 0:41:30 | 0:41:33 | |
He's not one to be rushed. | 0:41:40 | 0:41:42 | |
Time to clean up after a welcome meal, with a little snow bathing. | 0:41:43 | 0:41:47 | |
Andean condors can spot a carcass from over a mile. | 0:41:57 | 0:42:00 | |
As the main clean-up squad flies in... | 0:42:09 | 0:42:11 | |
..the young caracara is back... | 0:42:13 | 0:42:14 | |
..and this time it's a case of David and Goliath. | 0:42:17 | 0:42:21 | |
He's faced with a wall of feathers three feet high. | 0:42:36 | 0:42:40 | |
There seems to be no way through for the young caracara. | 0:42:40 | 0:42:43 | |
A gang of condors can strip a carcass in a few hours. | 0:42:45 | 0:42:48 | |
He looks for a way in before there's nothing left. | 0:42:51 | 0:42:54 | |
Condors can gorge themselves on over 2kg of meat. | 0:43:03 | 0:43:07 | |
The juvenile finally gets a chance. | 0:43:12 | 0:43:14 | |
Hardly a feast but it'll be just enough. | 0:43:17 | 0:43:19 | |
Growing up in Patagonia's far south, | 0:43:24 | 0:43:26 | |
you have to keep your wits about you, | 0:43:26 | 0:43:29 | |
but more than anything, you can never give up. | 0:43:29 | 0:43:31 | |
This youngster is now alone, | 0:43:40 | 0:43:42 | |
a step closer to independence. | 0:43:42 | 0:43:45 | |
A herd of guanaco has many eyes on lookout. | 0:43:49 | 0:43:52 | |
Even for one puma to get close takes great skill. | 0:43:55 | 0:43:58 | |
The lead male guanaco walks ahead. | 0:44:08 | 0:44:10 | |
The hunt is on. | 0:44:16 | 0:44:17 | |
With only one ear, he is vulnerable. | 0:44:25 | 0:44:28 | |
Perhaps a weakness the puma can exploit. | 0:44:28 | 0:44:30 | |
Pumas need to get within 20m for a fighting chance... | 0:44:58 | 0:45:01 | |
..and this hillside is practically bare. | 0:45:03 | 0:45:05 | |
The guanaco will bolt downhill | 0:45:14 | 0:45:17 | |
so the puma hunts from below. | 0:45:17 | 0:45:19 | |
It freezes, exposed. | 0:45:29 | 0:45:32 | |
Yet its coat blends impressively into the landscape... | 0:45:33 | 0:45:36 | |
..almost impossible to spot. | 0:45:39 | 0:45:41 | |
In a long chase, the guanaco will always win, | 0:45:43 | 0:45:47 | |
so the puma needs an element of surprise. | 0:45:47 | 0:45:49 | |
Tense and focused, | 0:46:00 | 0:46:02 | |
the ambush is set. | 0:46:02 | 0:46:04 | |
After 40 minutes stock still, | 0:46:22 | 0:46:26 | |
the puma strikes. | 0:46:26 | 0:46:27 | |
Not fast enough. | 0:46:43 | 0:46:44 | |
But the puma's got the whole night ahead. | 0:46:51 | 0:46:53 | |
While a guanaco's eyesight weakens in the darkness, | 0:46:53 | 0:46:56 | |
the puma's vision could give her the edge. | 0:46:56 | 0:46:59 | |
Under the Southern Cross, | 0:47:14 | 0:47:16 | |
the winds race and the temperature plummets. | 0:47:16 | 0:47:19 | |
At dawn, the lakes are fringed with ice. | 0:47:26 | 0:47:30 | |
Condors are on the wing, | 0:47:32 | 0:47:34 | |
looking for fresh carcasses. | 0:47:34 | 0:47:36 | |
Overnight, the sister has finally made a kill, | 0:47:51 | 0:47:54 | |
disguising it from prying eyes with scrub. | 0:47:54 | 0:47:57 | |
She has come of age. | 0:48:01 | 0:48:02 | |
She can eat 7kg of meat at a sitting, | 0:48:10 | 0:48:13 | |
her teeth effortlessly slicing flesh from bone. | 0:48:13 | 0:48:16 | |
Her kill will give her enough food for the next few days, | 0:48:23 | 0:48:26 | |
but only if the condors don't find it first. | 0:48:26 | 0:48:29 | |
Her tailless sister has not done so well. | 0:48:40 | 0:48:43 | |
She looks small, | 0:48:48 | 0:48:50 | |
alone in this wide world... | 0:48:50 | 0:48:51 | |
..as she heads back to familiar territory. | 0:48:53 | 0:48:56 | |
After many days apart, | 0:49:01 | 0:49:03 | |
the sisters are reunited. | 0:49:03 | 0:49:05 | |
Their bond is proving hard to break. | 0:49:13 | 0:49:15 | |
It may take up to five months | 0:49:19 | 0:49:20 | |
for these siblings to permanently separate. | 0:49:20 | 0:49:23 | |
They'll take a little longer to master their realm. | 0:49:27 | 0:49:30 | |
Finally, at the tip of the Americas, | 0:49:42 | 0:49:46 | |
Patagonia fragments into windswept islands. | 0:49:46 | 0:49:49 | |
Here, the Andes are swallowed by the ferocious Southern Ocean. | 0:49:50 | 0:49:54 | |
Yet along their length | 0:50:01 | 0:50:03 | |
elemental forces have created contrasting worlds... | 0:50:03 | 0:50:06 | |
..sustaining a unique diversity of life. | 0:50:09 | 0:50:12 | |
Here, resourceful creatures learn the specialist skills | 0:50:15 | 0:50:19 | |
they need to survive in their own domain... | 0:50:19 | 0:50:21 | |
..so they can call Patagonia home. | 0:50:24 | 0:50:28 | |
Over a year, BBC film crews travelled the length of Patagonia | 0:50:46 | 0:50:50 | |
to reveal little-known stories. | 0:50:50 | 0:50:52 | |
The most captivating encounter of all | 0:51:02 | 0:51:05 | |
was in the Patagonian Wild West, | 0:51:05 | 0:51:07 | |
the world of the gauchos, | 0:51:07 | 0:51:09 | |
Patagonia's cowboys. | 0:51:09 | 0:51:11 | |
The remote estancia where they were headed was vast, | 0:51:17 | 0:51:20 | |
40,000 hectares of rugged country, | 0:51:20 | 0:51:24 | |
five hours from the nearest town. | 0:51:24 | 0:51:26 | |
Epa, amigo! | 0:51:26 | 0:51:27 | |
It's horses that make life possible here... | 0:51:28 | 0:51:31 | |
..and these gauchos are the master horseman of South America. | 0:51:32 | 0:51:35 | |
The team's challenge was to film them catching and breaking in wild horses. | 0:51:38 | 0:51:42 | |
Around a Patagonian barbecue, | 0:51:46 | 0:51:47 | |
the crew were welcomed with a special tradition. | 0:51:47 | 0:51:50 | |
I'm trying a bit of mate. | 0:51:52 | 0:51:55 | |
It's absolutely delicious. I really like it. | 0:51:55 | 0:51:57 | |
-Esta bueno, esta frio? -What is it? | 0:51:57 | 0:51:58 | |
-No, no esta frio. -Esta bueno, no? -Si. Si, esta bueno. | 0:51:58 | 0:52:02 | |
So, it's a herb, or collection of herbs, that you put hot water on | 0:52:04 | 0:52:08 | |
and then you suck it through a straw and you pass it round. | 0:52:08 | 0:52:10 | |
Traditionally, it's a drink that everyone shares. | 0:52:10 | 0:52:13 | |
To find the elusive wild horses | 0:52:16 | 0:52:19 | |
meant a day's trek further into the wilderness, | 0:52:19 | 0:52:22 | |
and the only way to get there was to saddle up. | 0:52:22 | 0:52:24 | |
So, we'd heard about these wild horses. | 0:52:25 | 0:52:28 | |
People told us that they were in the most remote valleys, | 0:52:28 | 0:52:31 | |
that they were impossible to find, | 0:52:31 | 0:52:33 | |
and that, even if you got a glimpse of them, | 0:52:33 | 0:52:35 | |
they would disappear over the horizon, | 0:52:35 | 0:52:38 | |
so we knew it was going to be really tricky. | 0:52:38 | 0:52:40 | |
The wild horses originally came from Europe. | 0:52:42 | 0:52:45 | |
The gauchos, too, came here from elsewhere. | 0:52:46 | 0:52:49 | |
But they had fallen in love with this landscape and stayed. | 0:53:02 | 0:53:06 | |
We'd ridden for hours, we'd set up, we were super quiet | 0:53:18 | 0:53:20 | |
and waiting and then we finally caught a glimpse of the wild horses. | 0:53:20 | 0:53:24 | |
The whole herd thundering towards us and the ground was shaking. | 0:53:24 | 0:53:28 | |
LOUD RUMBLE | 0:53:28 | 0:53:30 | |
The gauchos push the wild horses into the corral | 0:53:33 | 0:53:37 | |
and then the team had to find their star horse. | 0:53:37 | 0:53:39 | |
DOG BARKS | 0:53:41 | 0:53:43 | |
One stood out instantly. | 0:53:48 | 0:53:51 | |
A spirited black stallion. | 0:53:51 | 0:53:53 | |
That black stallion was so proud, | 0:53:53 | 0:53:56 | |
he had such a raw power, | 0:53:56 | 0:53:58 | |
but it was really tense as Vitito tried to get a bridle on him. | 0:53:58 | 0:54:03 | |
The gauchos have great respect for these horses, | 0:54:07 | 0:54:10 | |
but there's no place for sentimentality. | 0:54:10 | 0:54:12 | |
MAN SHOUTS | 0:54:16 | 0:54:17 | |
Finally roped up, he was left to calm down. | 0:54:34 | 0:54:37 | |
That evening, Toby found out a little more about | 0:54:43 | 0:54:46 | |
how tough gaucho life can be. | 0:54:46 | 0:54:48 | |
How often do these guys get hurt? | 0:54:48 | 0:54:50 | |
Every once in a while. And when you get hit, you get hit hard. | 0:54:50 | 0:54:53 | |
Really? Cos it's so remote, if things go wrong, it's serious. | 0:55:01 | 0:55:06 | |
Yes, si. | 0:55:07 | 0:55:08 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:55:12 | 0:55:14 | |
No-one left. | 0:55:18 | 0:55:20 | |
There's nothing to eat in him, | 0:55:26 | 0:55:28 | |
so they're joking. | 0:55:28 | 0:55:29 | |
Only bones! Only bones! | 0:55:29 | 0:55:31 | |
The next morning, the crew went ahead to film the gauchos | 0:55:34 | 0:55:36 | |
bringing the wild horses back from the mountains... | 0:55:36 | 0:55:39 | |
..and very quickly, it was obvious something was wrong. | 0:55:40 | 0:55:44 | |
They came down the hill, we were all looking for the black stallion | 0:55:44 | 0:55:47 | |
and he wasn't there. | 0:55:47 | 0:55:49 | |
And that was our key star character gone. | 0:55:49 | 0:55:52 | |
Alberto explained to us what had happened. | 0:55:53 | 0:55:55 | |
HE SPEAKS SPANISH | 0:55:55 | 0:55:57 | |
He was tied up and this got cut off and the horse got away. | 0:55:59 | 0:56:03 | |
-Really? -Yeah. -Did they try chasing him? | 0:56:03 | 0:56:06 | |
THEY SPEAK SPANISH | 0:56:06 | 0:56:09 | |
No, no time. It was in a very narrow place. They had no time. | 0:56:11 | 0:56:15 | |
Our star had escaped, | 0:56:18 | 0:56:20 | |
but on those narrow mountain paths you can't chase after them. | 0:56:20 | 0:56:24 | |
I mean, that would be almost suicidal. | 0:56:24 | 0:56:27 | |
So, we had to come up with a new story. | 0:56:27 | 0:56:29 | |
The team realised their focus would be less on one horse | 0:56:35 | 0:56:38 | |
and more on the connection between gaucho and wild animal. | 0:56:38 | 0:56:42 | |
What Vitito was about to show them was so dangerous | 0:56:47 | 0:56:50 | |
that everyone had to stay out of the corral. | 0:56:50 | 0:56:52 | |
Vitito's taming style is his own. | 0:56:56 | 0:56:58 | |
His technique captured the attention of the horse... | 0:57:00 | 0:57:03 | |
and the crew. | 0:57:03 | 0:57:04 | |
I mean, what we've got going on here with Vitito is... | 0:57:07 | 0:57:10 | |
he's walking up to this wild horse, | 0:57:10 | 0:57:12 | |
he's just managed to captivate her. | 0:57:12 | 0:57:16 | |
And you can see in the horse's ears, it's like, | 0:57:20 | 0:57:22 | |
"Do I trust him? Do I not trust him?" | 0:57:22 | 0:57:24 | |
He pulls her in and then pushes her back. | 0:57:24 | 0:57:27 | |
It's just an incredible connection to be a part of, | 0:57:35 | 0:57:37 | |
incredible to witness. | 0:57:37 | 0:57:39 | |
In a remarkable three hours, | 0:57:41 | 0:57:43 | |
the team had the conclusion to their sequence | 0:57:43 | 0:57:46 | |
and, along the way, learnt a little of what it takes | 0:57:46 | 0:57:49 | |
to be a Patagonian cowboy. | 0:57:49 | 0:57:50 | |
Next time, we travel across Patagonia's dusty plains. | 0:57:57 | 0:58:00 | |
To the east, the world becomes drier, | 0:58:02 | 0:58:05 | |
the creatures stranger... | 0:58:05 | 0:58:07 | |
..in their bid to survive these curious badlands. | 0:58:08 | 0:58:12 |