0:00:37 > 0:00:40Remote and isolated,
0:00:40 > 0:00:44the islands of the South Pacific have a life of their own.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Animals have been living in seclusion for so long,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58they've evolved in the most curious and surprising ways.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12But island living can carry a high price.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17Recently, some dramatic changes have been sweeping through these strange islands.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33At the western limits of the Pacific Ocean,
0:01:33 > 0:01:35this is New Guinea,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38the world's largest tropical island.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45In these isolated jungles,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49there are creatures only recently discovered by Westerners...
0:01:53 > 0:01:56..and mountains that they have never visited.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06This is the home of a mammal first seen by scientists
0:02:06 > 0:02:08as recently as 1994.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16Even the locals rarely see it,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19and it has never been filmed...
0:02:19 > 0:02:20until now.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22RUSTLING
0:02:22 > 0:02:25It lives in trees, but it's not a monkey.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29Primates never made the jump across the water to this island.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47This is a rare glimpse of an almost unknown island oddity...
0:02:47 > 0:02:50SNORTS SOFTLY
0:02:50 > 0:02:52..the dingiso.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59About the size of a Labrador
0:02:59 > 0:03:03and with bear-like features, it is - amazingly - a type of kangaroo,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06a tree kangaroo.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12It lives at a higher altitude than any other kangaroo,
0:03:12 > 0:03:15hence the woolly coat.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Kangaroos usually feed on grass,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26but here on New Guinea, they've climbed into the trees
0:03:26 > 0:03:28where the greenery is more abundant.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37So the dingiso is a kangaroo
0:03:37 > 0:03:41which lives high in the mountains and climbs trees -
0:03:41 > 0:03:46but then islands do have a habit of producing rather unusual animals.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Why?
0:03:50 > 0:03:53Because islands offer fresh opportunities
0:03:53 > 0:03:55to the creatures that find their way there.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57With no monkeys in New Guinea,
0:03:57 > 0:04:02the freedom to browse in the trees has gone to the kangaroos.
0:04:08 > 0:04:13New Guinea is a vast island nestled close to the continental landmass of Australia.
0:04:13 > 0:04:18As we move south and east, to smaller, more distant islands,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21the wildlife becomes even more unusual.
0:04:21 > 0:04:27The little-known island of New Caledonia is a small sliver of Australia
0:04:27 > 0:04:31that was cast adrift over 60 million years ago.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41It's home to a creature that seems to have evolved quite strangely.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43DISTANT SQUAWKING, RUSTLING
0:04:46 > 0:04:49It has wings, but it can't fly.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51RUSTLING
0:04:51 > 0:04:54THROATY GURGLES
0:04:58 > 0:05:01It is the kagu.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10WHISTLING TRILLS
0:05:15 > 0:05:18FRENZIED TRILLING
0:05:21 > 0:05:23Kagu families stick together,
0:05:23 > 0:05:28with young from previous years helping to declare the family territory.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31FRENZIED TRILLS
0:05:34 > 0:05:36All intruders are chased away.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51It's the breeding season,
0:05:51 > 0:05:55when males rekindle the flame with their life-long partners.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28It's hard to know what the kagu is related to -
0:06:28 > 0:06:30a heron, a rail,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32or maybe a pigeon.
0:06:33 > 0:06:38Its closest relative may actually be the sun-bittern of South America,
0:06:38 > 0:06:407,000 miles to the east.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03She may not seem too impressed,
0:07:03 > 0:07:08but then kagus always keep their feet very firmly on the ground.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Their wings are too weak to get them airborne,
0:07:17 > 0:07:21but why fly when all the food you need is on the ground?
0:07:24 > 0:07:28And with no large predators stalking this island,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30there's not much cause to take flight.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37But this life is not without its worries.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41A newly hatched chick is hiding among the leaves.
0:07:50 > 0:07:56As with babies the world over, getting food into mouth can be quite a challenge.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Perhaps slimy worms just don't appeal.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18The chick's camouflage helps to hide it from aerial predators
0:08:18 > 0:08:20like the New Caledonian crow.
0:08:20 > 0:08:21CAWING
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Fortunately, Dad's wings still have a use...
0:08:25 > 0:08:27CAWING
0:08:27 > 0:08:30..to help him look big and intimidating.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39The kagu may be an island oddity,
0:08:39 > 0:08:43but with few prowling predators reaching the Pacific's isolated islands,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47flightless birds are more common here than anywhere else on Earth.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Islands are a topsy-turvy world,
0:08:53 > 0:08:58where evolution seems to follow a different set of rules.
0:08:58 > 0:09:03North of New Caledonia lies the Solomon Islands archipelago,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06a scattering of a thousand tropical islands.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15For the select few animals that arrived here,
0:09:15 > 0:09:19these were brave, new worlds, filled with possibilities.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25And to make the most of what they found here,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28some adopted a whole new way of life.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Among the successful colonists were skinks -
0:09:35 > 0:09:39lizards that are usually small with short legs.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43Quite a variety live here in the Solomons,
0:09:43 > 0:09:48but there is one in these forests that's unlike any other skink on the planet.
0:10:10 > 0:10:15The monkey-tailed skink is up to 50 times heavier than your average skink,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17and is the world's largest.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24Most skinks spend their lives on the ground, but not this monster.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31This is the only skink to possess a prehensile tail...
0:10:34 > 0:10:38..and unlike nearly all other skinks which dine on insects,
0:10:38 > 0:10:42this gentle giant is entirely vegetarian.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51As in New Guinea, there are no monkeys on these islands,
0:10:51 > 0:10:56so this skink simply filled the gap in the market and branched out.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03It even forms social bonds with other monkey-tailed skinks,
0:11:03 > 0:11:07a rare characteristic among reptiles of any description.
0:11:07 > 0:11:13This skink may be an oddity, but that is exactly why it thrives here.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17For a leaf-eater these islands are paradise.
0:11:17 > 0:11:23For others, though, life can be a little harder.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28Islanders only succeed by making the most of what's around them.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Even spiders have their uses.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39On Santa Catalina Island in the Solomons,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42a fisherman prepares to go fishing.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50He seeks out a particular spider web,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53one that is strong and intricately spun.
0:12:05 > 0:12:10The fish he's after can't be caught on hooks -
0:12:10 > 0:12:12their mouths are too narrow.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15So he has to be creative.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23No rod or reel, just a kite...
0:12:26 > 0:12:29..and the spider silk, wound into a lure.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46The spider-silk lure hangs below the kite,
0:12:46 > 0:12:48flitting across the water like an insect.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57Now he must steer the kite to where he thinks the fish are gathered.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02Somewhere, just beneath the surface, shoals of needlefish lie in wait.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11He keeps a close eye on the kite - if it drops, a fish is snared.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16No hook is needed.
0:13:16 > 0:13:23The sharp teeth and rough scales of the needlefish are tangled in the spider silk.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37It's clever, it's effective...
0:13:38 > 0:13:42..and many fish can be caught in this way.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48Their ability to adapt and find food both on land and at sea
0:13:48 > 0:13:52was crucial to the survival of the Pacific's first human colonisers.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55But it wasn't all plain sailing -
0:13:55 > 0:13:58the Pacific's more remote islands
0:13:58 > 0:14:02were some of the last places on Earth to be discovered by humans.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06And the island chain of Hawaii is the remotest of them all.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15These islands are so hard to reach that before humans arrived,
0:14:15 > 0:14:20only one new species of plant or animal turned up here every 35,000 years.
0:14:22 > 0:14:27For those lucky few that made it, this was a land of milk and honey.
0:14:33 > 0:14:38This bird's beak is perfect for sipping nectar from tubular flowers.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42It's an 'i'iwi -
0:14:42 > 0:14:45a long-billed honey creeper only found in Hawaii.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49But when blown to these shores four million years ago,
0:14:49 > 0:14:52its ancestors looked very different.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57Those first Hawaiian honey creepers were finch-like,
0:14:57 > 0:15:03with short bills, perhaps quite similar to this modern honey creeper, the palila.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07Its stout bill is perfect for ripping open tough seed pods.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12But once here, the honey creepers made the most of it,
0:15:12 > 0:15:15evolving into a variety of birds with some very distinctive bills.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23The Maui parrotbill has a strong, hooked beak
0:15:23 > 0:15:25for getting at the grubs inside dead wood.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41And then there's the 'akiapola'au,
0:15:41 > 0:15:44with one of the most remarkable beaks of any bird.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Its lower mandible is straight and chisel-like
0:15:50 > 0:15:52and can puncture the bark to drink the sap...
0:15:55 > 0:16:00..while its upper mandible is long and curved for winkling out grubs.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03It's as close as a bill gets to a Swiss Army penknife.
0:16:04 > 0:16:10Amazingly, one single type of finch evolved into 58 different species
0:16:10 > 0:16:14and all because the birds that normally fill these roles,
0:16:14 > 0:16:18like hummingbirds and woodpeckers, never made it to these islands.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28Landfall in the Pacific is a risky business.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32Most islands are small, low and rather uniform,
0:16:32 > 0:16:36with few lifestyle choices on offer.
0:16:36 > 0:16:41But there is an archipelago that truly bucks the trend.
0:16:44 > 0:16:50Two of the largest islands in the Pacific have everything a castaway could dream of.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03Here lives a greater diversity of unique island creatures
0:17:03 > 0:17:06than almost anywhere else in the South Pacific.
0:17:13 > 0:17:20Forested valleys, turbulent rivers and glacier-topped peaks...
0:17:20 > 0:17:22this is New Zealand.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33A thousand miles long and with a mountainous spine
0:17:33 > 0:17:35rising one-and-a-half miles above the ocean,
0:17:35 > 0:17:38New Zealand offered a world of possibilities
0:17:38 > 0:17:41to creatures that found their way here.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49ROARING WATER
0:18:45 > 0:18:48On these islands at the end of the world
0:18:48 > 0:18:51live some unique animals.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53WHINING CALLS
0:18:53 > 0:18:57Alpine parrots, called "kea", after their calls.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01WHINING CALLS
0:19:01 > 0:19:03Living higher than any other parrots,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06these are possibly the world's most playful birds.
0:19:14 > 0:19:20But most of New Zealand's pioneering creatures were drawn to the forests below.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24And here too, given the strange nature of life on Pacific islands,
0:19:24 > 0:19:28it pays to expect the unexpected.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30SHUFFLING
0:19:35 > 0:19:38And the last thing you might expect to see here...
0:19:42 > 0:19:44..is penguins.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53These are Fiordland crested penguins,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56named after this corner of south New Zealand, and their funky hairdo.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58SHRILL SQUAWKING
0:20:14 > 0:20:17They're on their daily trip to the sea.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21Despite hanging out in the forest, they haven't lost their taste for fish.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31So why are these woodlands so attractive to penguins?
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Because there are no large predators here,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39it's a safe place for bringing up baby.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56A freshwater stream through the forest makes a handy highway
0:20:56 > 0:21:00for a parent penguin heading home from a fishing trip with a crop full of food.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02BUBBLING WATER
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Born in the forest, they stay in the forest,
0:21:11 > 0:21:15while Mum and Dad bring fresh meals straight from the ocean.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21CHEEPING
0:21:21 > 0:21:23WATER WHISPERING CLOSE BY
0:21:23 > 0:21:28They can hear the waves, they can even smell the spray,
0:21:28 > 0:21:29but they have no idea what it looks like.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32These chicks won't have their first splash in the ocean
0:21:32 > 0:21:34until they're three months old,
0:21:34 > 0:21:38when they'll finally set off on their first fishing trip, alone.
0:21:42 > 0:21:451,500 miles from the nearest continent,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48New Zealand is beyond the reach of most mammals.
0:21:50 > 0:21:55Marine mammals aside, the only ones that did succeed,
0:21:55 > 0:21:57before humans arrived, had wings.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01Bats.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03This is the short-tailed bat.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07It roosts in tree cavities and comes out at night to feed.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10So far, so normal.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13But these bats have been living the island life far too long
0:22:13 > 0:22:17not to have become a little "different".
0:22:17 > 0:22:20And they're not the only ones.
0:22:20 > 0:22:26Wetas are primitive relatives of the locust, but they can't fly.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32Seeing an opportunity, the bats pounced.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38After all, why waste energy hawking for insects in the sky,
0:22:38 > 0:22:42when there is such a feast on the forest floor?
0:22:42 > 0:22:45RUSTLING AND CHIRPING
0:22:45 > 0:22:49New Zealand's night-time creepy-crawlies are at the mercy of these bats.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57Some try to put up a fight...
0:23:01 > 0:23:04..but they're no match for THIS army of predators.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13These bats have special sheaths that protect their wings,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15all the better to burrow through the leaves.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23So even worms aren't safe.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36The very first bat
0:23:36 > 0:23:40evolved from a mouse-like mammal many millions of years ago.
0:23:40 > 0:23:46Here on New Zealand, it seems evolution has gone into reverse.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51And if New Zealand's bats have turned to mice,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54what on earth has happened to the birds?
0:23:56 > 0:23:58In these forests
0:23:58 > 0:24:05lives a bird that is about as un-bird-like as it is possible for a bird to be.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14It's nocturnal, though it sometimes wakes up before sunset.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21It has whiskers so it can feel its way in the dark.
0:24:28 > 0:24:33It's a parrot, and weighing up to four kilos, it's the world's heaviest.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43And yes, you've guessed it - it can't fly.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Meet the kakapo.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Too heavy and short-winged to get airborne,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03it climbs trees instead.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19Kakapo were once one of the most successful
0:25:19 > 0:25:23and abundant herbivores in New Zealand - the Kiwi equivalent of our rabbit.
0:25:23 > 0:25:28In 1899, explorer Charlie Douglas wrote, "They could be caught in the moonlight
0:25:28 > 0:25:31"by simply shaking the tree or bush
0:25:31 > 0:25:34"until they tumbled to the ground... like shaking down apples."
0:25:51 > 0:25:57Its favourite food is up above - the tiny seeds of the rimu tree.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59This fruit fuels kakapo reproduction
0:25:59 > 0:26:03and they only breed when the trees produce a bumper crop,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06so about once every four years.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Kakapo breed slower than any other bird,
0:26:12 > 0:26:14but they also live longer,
0:26:14 > 0:26:18sometimes more than a hundred years.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26The male's song is as peculiar as the bird itself.
0:26:26 > 0:26:32More frog than parrot, it can be heard up to three miles away.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34BUZZY BOOMING
0:26:34 > 0:26:38In a breeding season, he will boom non-stop for eight hours every night
0:26:38 > 0:26:39for up to three months.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43BUZZY BOOMING
0:26:43 > 0:26:48But a female will only respond if there are plenty of rimu seeds about.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54So while these birds may nest in burrows like rabbits,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56unfortunately, they don't breed like them.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59And their numbers have dwindled dramatically.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01PIERCING WHISTLING
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Today, fewer than a hundred kakapo survive...
0:27:08 > 0:27:11..and precious chicks receive a helping hand.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20Captive rearing has helped raise the number of kakapo
0:27:20 > 0:27:22from just 51 in 1995
0:27:22 > 0:27:25to the 91 birds alive today.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29CHIRPING
0:27:33 > 0:27:36They used to number in the hundreds of thousands.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Today, their future is truly in our hands.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42FEEBLE CHIRPING
0:27:46 > 0:27:49So is this now an empty forest?
0:27:49 > 0:27:53Actually, the trees are under attack like never before.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57There's a menace lurking amongst the foliage.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04During the day, it slumbers.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10But under cover of darkness, an invader is revealed.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, the mammals have finally arrived in force.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25Australian possums.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30Imported for their fur two centuries ago,
0:28:30 > 0:28:34they soon reached plague proportions, stripping trees of their vegetation.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40A war is being waged against them -
0:28:40 > 0:28:42traps set and poison scattered.
0:28:42 > 0:28:48And yet they are now far more numerous than the kakapo ever were.
0:28:48 > 0:28:53A staggering 70 million possums overrun New Zealand's forests.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00Where a bird failed, a mammal has succeeded.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05But why? The possums were unwitting immigrants,
0:29:05 > 0:29:08while the kakapo have lived here for millennia -
0:29:08 > 0:29:10perfectly adapted to this forest.
0:29:15 > 0:29:21It's an irony that is by no means unique to the kakapo and the possum.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27Right across the Pacific, similar scenes have been unfolding.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30Tiny islands off the coast of New Zealand
0:29:30 > 0:29:35are the last refuge for a host of animals now vanished from the two main islands.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39This is Stephens Island -
0:29:39 > 0:29:42one square mile of rock protruding from the ocean.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45It's home to a living fossil,
0:29:45 > 0:29:49a relict, barely changed for over 100 million years.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57The tuatara.
0:29:59 > 0:30:04And half the world's population survive on this one island refuge.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08During the reign of the dinosaurs,
0:30:08 > 0:30:11the ancestors of the tuatara were everywhere.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14They survived the cataclysm that killed off the dinosaurs,
0:30:14 > 0:30:17but then couldn't compete with the mammals
0:30:17 > 0:30:19and died out...
0:30:19 > 0:30:24everywhere, except on what was then a mammal-free New Zealand.
0:30:31 > 0:30:39Unlike mammals, tuatara live life in the slow lane.
0:30:41 > 0:30:42Days can pass
0:30:42 > 0:30:45when they barely move a muscle...
0:30:51 > 0:30:55..sometimes taking just one breath an hour.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06They feed on wetas,
0:31:06 > 0:31:09beetles and other invertebrates...
0:31:11 > 0:31:14..but don't appear very good at catching them.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21Even after millions of years of practice,
0:31:21 > 0:31:24eye-mouth co-ordination is not what it could be.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32"Survival of the fittest" just doesn't seem to apply here.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44The tuatara's survival, first on New Zealand, now on Stephens Island,
0:31:44 > 0:31:46proves a point -
0:31:46 > 0:31:52islands are pretty safe places to be, at least until invaded.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57Fortunately for the Stephens Island tuatara,
0:31:57 > 0:32:00it did survive a brief mammal invasion.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03But for some of the other wildlife here,
0:32:03 > 0:32:06the invasion was rather more...catastrophic.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11The island had been uninhabited and largely ignored,
0:32:11 > 0:32:17but that all changed with the construction of this lighthouse back in 1894.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24When the newly installed keeper, a Mr Lyall,
0:32:24 > 0:32:27found an unusual wren on the island,
0:32:27 > 0:32:32he sent a specimen to London for identification.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35Like many island birds, it was flightless.
0:32:37 > 0:32:42And perhaps that's why it wasn't Mr Lyall who first discovered the bird,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45but his four-legged companion.
0:33:00 > 0:33:05Tibbles proved to be a very efficient specimen collector.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07So much so, in fact,
0:33:07 > 0:33:12that one year later, when the bird was officially declared a new species,
0:33:12 > 0:33:16Mr Lyall had to regretfully inform the scientific community at large
0:33:16 > 0:33:20that the species was now extinct.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27In truth, Tibbles wasn't the only feline to blame,
0:33:27 > 0:33:31but the ease with which the Stephens Island wren had been dispatched
0:33:31 > 0:33:32WAS alarming.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43The cats were removed from Stephens Island, but it was too late for the wren.
0:33:43 > 0:33:48Now only known from a few cat-chewed museum specimens,
0:33:48 > 0:33:52evolving to be flightless had proven fatal.
0:33:56 > 0:33:57So it seems there is a trade-off.
0:33:57 > 0:34:02The freedom of island life allows a species to relax its guard,
0:34:02 > 0:34:06but that can leave it defenceless.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13On the main islands of New Zealand,
0:34:13 > 0:34:16similar dramas have played out time and time again.
0:34:18 > 0:34:24Forests dominated by giant kauri trees once covered the North Island.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28The fragments that remain look much like they have for millennia,
0:34:28 > 0:34:31but looks can be deceiving.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34A few centuries ago,
0:34:34 > 0:34:39this forest echoed with the calls of strange and wonderful birds.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43CACOPHONY OF BIRD CALLS
0:34:43 > 0:34:46Most famous was the giant moa,
0:34:46 > 0:34:50which looked a bit like an ostrich, but taller than an elephant.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52And there are many more birds
0:34:52 > 0:34:56whose haunting songs now exist here only in memory.
0:34:56 > 0:35:02CACOPHONY OF BIRD CALLS
0:35:02 > 0:35:07The bird recordings and recreated songs you hear now
0:35:07 > 0:35:10are all of species that have disappeared
0:35:10 > 0:35:12from these main-island forests.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39We can't just blame Tibbles and his kin. Humans have brought
0:35:39 > 0:35:44a whole range of mammalian competitors and predators to these shores.
0:35:49 > 0:35:55Today, the people of New Zealand are making amends.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05This is New Zealand's most famous tree -
0:36:05 > 0:36:08Tane Mahuta, Lord of the Forest.
0:36:09 > 0:36:14There's more wood in this kauri tree than in any other tropical tree in the world.
0:36:14 > 0:36:21Conservationists are working hard to protect and nurture these special forests.
0:36:21 > 0:36:26By collecting kauri seeds, they ensure that new trees can be cultivated
0:36:26 > 0:36:29and the forest expanded into its former range.
0:36:29 > 0:36:34Meanwhile, the animal invaders are being controlled,
0:36:34 > 0:36:38and birds that only survived on small outlying islands
0:36:38 > 0:36:41are now being reintroduced to these mighty forests.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50Back in Hawaii, being the remotest of all archipelagos,
0:36:50 > 0:36:55you might expect the unique wildlife to have fared rather better.
0:36:56 > 0:37:02In the lowlands, there are lush coastal rainforests teeming with life.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05But not indigenous life.
0:37:05 > 0:37:11None of the plants or animals you see here is actually native.
0:37:21 > 0:37:27Jackson's chameleons were brought from East Africa as exotic pets.
0:37:35 > 0:37:39The white-rumped shama from India and the northern cardinal from North America
0:37:39 > 0:37:44were both introduced to supplement the native bird life,
0:37:44 > 0:37:50while the red-billed leiothrix was a cage bird imported from China.
0:37:53 > 0:37:58And the Japanese white-eye was imported in an attempt to control insect pests.
0:38:00 > 0:38:07Before humans, only one new species reached Hawaii every 35,000 years.
0:38:07 > 0:38:12Now up to 50 new species turn up every year.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21Invaders are everywhere,
0:38:21 > 0:38:23and some have had a significant impact.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29In an attempt to control introduced rats,
0:38:29 > 0:38:33humans brought the Indian mongoose to Hawaii.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37Unfortunately, no-one considered the fact that rats are nocturnal,
0:38:37 > 0:38:39while the mongoose hunts by day,
0:38:39 > 0:38:42so the hungry mongoose turned its attention
0:38:42 > 0:38:45to decimating the island's unique bird life instead.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51Thousands of species have humans to thank
0:38:51 > 0:38:54for bringing them to islands throughout the Pacific.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58But there's one animal that has been a valued travelling companion
0:38:58 > 0:39:00for as long as people have sailed this ocean.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03GRUNTING
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Wherever people went,
0:39:06 > 0:39:08pigs went too.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12ALL SING
0:39:12 > 0:39:16In Vanuatu, 1,200 miles north of New Zealand,
0:39:16 > 0:39:20the people of Tanna Island have gathered for a festival.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24Like an expensive car in Western culture,
0:39:24 > 0:39:29here pigs are a symbol of wealth and status.
0:39:32 > 0:39:38The Toka festival celebrates the end of warfare between rival clans,
0:39:38 > 0:39:42and pigs are at the centre of it.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46To attend, each village must bring some to the party,
0:39:46 > 0:39:48and that's a lot of pigs.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51PIGS SQUEAL AND GRUNT
0:39:53 > 0:39:57Some will be butchered for a feast, others given away.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00But to take one of these pigs home,
0:40:00 > 0:40:03a family must agree to one day repay the debt...
0:40:05 > 0:40:07..and it's these pig debts
0:40:07 > 0:40:10that help strengthen the bonds between the different villages.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13SINGING
0:40:21 > 0:40:26Major celebrations surround the giving and receiving of these prized assets.
0:40:26 > 0:40:31And since the Toka only occurs once every three or four years,
0:40:31 > 0:40:34everyone jumps at the chance to dress up.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39SINGING AND STAMPING
0:40:39 > 0:40:41The dancing goes on for three days.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49Each village attempts to out-dance its neighbours
0:40:49 > 0:40:51in a display of friendly rivalry.
0:40:54 > 0:40:59You could say this is Strictly Come Dancing, Vanuatu-style.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02SINGING
0:41:05 > 0:41:09DRUMS BEAT RHYTHMICALLY
0:41:16 > 0:41:21In the past, tribal rivalry was far more serious.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27On this island, there were precious few wild animals to hunt.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33Pigs would have been essential protein,
0:41:33 > 0:41:39but if they died, perhaps through disease, what else did the islanders have to eat?
0:41:41 > 0:41:45The great-grandparents of these dancers were cannibals.
0:42:21 > 0:42:28Life on an isolated Pacific island is eternally poised on a knife-edge.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30Nowhere is this more apparent
0:42:30 > 0:42:34than on the single most remote island in the Pacific -
0:42:34 > 0:42:36Easter Island.
0:42:36 > 0:42:41This tiny speck of land has an extraordinary story to tell,
0:42:41 > 0:42:44with new twists turning up still to this day.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50Just 13 miles long and 7 miles wide,
0:42:50 > 0:42:55Easter Island rises like a fortress from the waves,
0:42:55 > 0:42:59surrounded by thousands of miles of ocean in every direction.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19People first arrived here less than 1,000 years ago.
0:43:19 > 0:43:21Most of what we know about their civilisation
0:43:21 > 0:43:25can only be pieced together from the relics that remain.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33It is a strange and desolate place.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44The most striking features in this bleak and windswept landscape
0:43:44 > 0:43:49are the hundreds of giant stone statues, known as moai,
0:43:49 > 0:43:53thought to be carved in the likeness of chiefs or ancestors.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03It's difficult to believe that an advanced culture
0:44:03 > 0:44:06capable of carving and erecting these monoliths
0:44:06 > 0:44:08grew up in such a barren landscape.
0:44:08 > 0:44:10The truth is,
0:44:10 > 0:44:12it didn't.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15When those first colonisers discovered Easter Island,
0:44:15 > 0:44:17this was a paradise.
0:44:26 > 0:44:28These empty cliffs
0:44:28 > 0:44:32were once home to the largest seabird colonies in the South Pacific.
0:44:32 > 0:44:34SEABIRDS CRY
0:44:39 > 0:44:43Rich volcanic soils nourished a forest of giant palms
0:44:43 > 0:44:46that was home to many unique species,
0:44:46 > 0:44:52including Easter Island versions of herons, parrots, rails and owls.
0:44:52 > 0:44:54BIRDSONG
0:44:57 > 0:44:59Today, they are all gone.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02SILENCE
0:45:03 > 0:45:08The people, ultimately, didn't do much better.
0:45:08 > 0:45:12The rise and tragic demise of the Easter Islanders,
0:45:12 > 0:45:16the Rapa Nui, is now legendary.
0:45:22 > 0:45:27This quarry once occupied the majority of the island's workforce,
0:45:27 > 0:45:28thousands of people,
0:45:28 > 0:45:32with each clan trying to carve and raise a bigger, grander figure
0:45:32 > 0:45:34than those of their neighbours.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37HAMMERING AND HUBBUB
0:45:52 > 0:45:55Vast amounts of timber would have been required
0:45:55 > 0:45:59to transport and erect the giant moai,
0:45:59 > 0:46:02and slowly but surely, the forests vanished.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04Eventually,
0:46:04 > 0:46:07there was no wood left even to build boats.
0:46:07 > 0:46:08Without fishing boats,
0:46:08 > 0:46:13they would have been denied their main source of food,
0:46:13 > 0:46:15and their one means of escape.
0:46:16 > 0:46:18As resources dwindled,
0:46:18 > 0:46:23Easter Island society descended into chaos and warfare.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26The giant statues were pulled to the ground -
0:46:26 > 0:46:31possibly acts of sabotage between rival clans.
0:46:37 > 0:46:41Houses were abandoned and the foundation stones used
0:46:41 > 0:46:46to construct fortified dwellings in caves underground.
0:46:51 > 0:46:55Some evidence even suggests that once everything edible had been consumed,
0:46:55 > 0:47:00the starving were driven to that most desperate of acts - cannibalism.
0:47:06 > 0:47:11Understandably, this version of Easter Island's history remains controversial,
0:47:11 > 0:47:15because it suggests the Rapa Nui were incredibly short-sighted.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19As the trees dwindled, why did they do nothing about it?
0:47:21 > 0:47:27But a new theory suggests the Rapa Nui were powerless to prevent their downfall,
0:47:27 > 0:47:29for when they arrived on this island,
0:47:29 > 0:47:31they were not alone.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36Rats travelled with people to every corner of the Pacific.
0:47:36 > 0:47:41On Easter Island, their impact may have been catastrophic.
0:47:41 > 0:47:45Multiplying to plague proportions, they would have devoured the wild fruits,
0:47:45 > 0:47:49the seabirds, even the nuts of the giant palms,
0:47:49 > 0:47:51so that the trees may have stopped reproducing
0:47:51 > 0:47:54long before the last one was felled.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59Perhaps the fate of Easter Island was not sealed
0:47:59 > 0:48:02by the human who felled that last tree,
0:48:02 > 0:48:06but by the rat that ate the last palm nut.
0:48:13 > 0:48:18Other South Pacific islands have also seen civilisations rise and fall,
0:48:18 > 0:48:22though none have left such dramatic reminders of their passing
0:48:22 > 0:48:26as the giant statues of the Rapa Nui.
0:48:29 > 0:48:30Now re-erected,
0:48:30 > 0:48:36they've come to symbolise how precarious life can be on an isolated island.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40For this island has not been abandoned.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45A few Rapa Nui survived, and now they're thriving once more,
0:48:45 > 0:48:48entertaining visitors from the outside world.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52Trees have been planted,
0:48:52 > 0:48:56though it's too late for the unique creatures that once lived here.
0:49:00 > 0:49:05Elsewhere, on islands throughout the Pacific, there is still time.
0:49:05 > 0:49:09People are working hard to remove the creatures that don't belong here
0:49:09 > 0:49:12and make space once again for the curiosities,
0:49:12 > 0:49:14from kagus to kakapo,
0:49:14 > 0:49:19that make the South Pacific such a uniquely wonderful world.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43Of all the animals in this programme,
0:49:43 > 0:49:46the dingiso was the most difficult to film.
0:49:46 > 0:49:50It is extremely rare, and only recently discovered by Western science,
0:49:50 > 0:49:54which is one of the reasons why the team wanted to record it on camera.
0:49:54 > 0:49:59Their quest took them to a forbidden land guarded by a mountain tribe.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04No-one knew what an emotional journey lay ahead.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10They flew to Pogapa, New Guinea -
0:50:10 > 0:50:13a village of the Moni tribe, guardians of the dingiso.
0:50:13 > 0:50:18A meeting was called to discuss the visitors' proposal.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22THEY SPEAK LOCAL LANGUAGE
0:50:22 > 0:50:27To the Moni, the dingiso is an ancestral spirit.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31Hunting it is strictly forbidden. But how would they feel about filming it?
0:50:31 > 0:50:34Many of these people have never visited Lake Wutidi,
0:50:34 > 0:50:37the sacred area where the dingiso lives,
0:50:37 > 0:50:41so letting our crew go there was a big decision.
0:50:41 > 0:50:47There were so many times that I thought, "These people are gonna walk out the door
0:50:47 > 0:50:49"and we're gonna have to go home."
0:50:49 > 0:50:51But eventually, we got everybody on board, and yeah,
0:50:51 > 0:50:55I'm really glad we're over that and now we can finally get going.
0:50:55 > 0:51:00Pilemon is a village chief who agreed to accompany the team.
0:51:04 > 0:51:08The Moni were now really keen to help the team track down a dingiso in the wild.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12Good morning!
0:51:12 > 0:51:15Everyone walked at their own pace.
0:51:18 > 0:51:22The film crew had to take things rather more slowly.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24We've been left for dead
0:51:24 > 0:51:26by the old ladies and the kids
0:51:26 > 0:51:29that are carrying the generator and the cameras
0:51:29 > 0:51:32and our tents and all the rest of the stuff that we brought!
0:51:39 > 0:51:44The team has reached the edge of the sacred area of Wutidi.
0:51:44 > 0:51:48From here on in, everything changes.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51So from here, the trail gets really slippery and really dangerous,
0:51:51 > 0:51:53so we've got to go very slow.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56From here on out, some of the names we use change.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59Wutidi is... We're not allowed to use that - we use the sacred name.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03Same for the dingiso. We have to use the sacred name for the dingiso -
0:52:03 > 0:52:05we're not allowed to use the word "dingiso" any more.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07The team continue to climb.
0:52:07 > 0:52:11They are now over 3,000 metres above sea level.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14- JAMES MAIR:- It's madness. The landscape's totally changed.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17It's really dry and wiry and...sparse,
0:52:17 > 0:52:20and I think this is the kind of habitat where the animal lives,
0:52:20 > 0:52:22kind of in the much more stunted trees.
0:52:22 > 0:52:28Finally, they reach the sacred lake. They must remember the sacred rules.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31This is Lake Ezimoga,
0:52:31 > 0:52:34which is the name they use in the sacred area.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37And this is a central point
0:52:37 > 0:52:42from which it's a good area to look for the manimomaga,
0:52:42 > 0:52:46which is the other name for the tree kangaroo we're looking for.
0:52:46 > 0:52:49And everyone's...
0:52:49 > 0:52:52everyone's pretty emotional to be here.
0:52:52 > 0:52:56Even Chief Pilemon is deeply moved.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59- JOE YAGGI:- This lake is one of the most important parts of the Moni culture.
0:52:59 > 0:53:05It's a really, really big deal for these guys to come here, to see this place.
0:53:11 > 0:53:13With base camp established,
0:53:13 > 0:53:17the search for a dingiso begins in earnest,
0:53:17 > 0:53:21and it's not long before Pilemon announces he's found something.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23PILEMON SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE
0:53:23 > 0:53:28Signs on the ground suggest a dingiso was here, and the signs are fresh.
0:53:28 > 0:53:34He's saying the creature filled a space about this big, so he was quite large,
0:53:34 > 0:53:38and he sticks his nose in there, he's looking for worms,
0:53:38 > 0:53:39so he sticks his nose in there
0:53:39 > 0:53:42and he takes his claws, and pushes the soil out of the way.
0:53:42 > 0:53:46But dingiso are supposed to eat leaves, not worms.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49Perhaps these are the marks of a spiny anteater, or echidna.
0:53:49 > 0:53:54Pilemon's impression of the animal reassures the team he wasn't mistaken -
0:53:54 > 0:53:56echidnas don't climb trees.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59It just shows how little is known about the dingiso.
0:53:59 > 0:54:04- JAMES MAIR:- It's really exciting to see a kind of sign that this animal exists,
0:54:04 > 0:54:06cos it was kinda feeling a bit like a myth,
0:54:06 > 0:54:09especially the last couple of weeks where it's taken so much to get here
0:54:09 > 0:54:12and the chances of filming it have felt so slim,
0:54:12 > 0:54:15but it feels like we're kind of in with a chance now, which is great!
0:54:15 > 0:54:19But the animal itself remains elusive.
0:54:19 > 0:54:21A week has now passed,
0:54:21 > 0:54:26and the trackers set out in different directions to widen the search.
0:54:34 > 0:54:39Only three of these men have ever seen a dingiso before.
0:54:39 > 0:54:44The chances of improving on that are looking slim.
0:54:44 > 0:54:48Village chief Pilemon has crossed to the other side of the valley.
0:54:48 > 0:54:52The crew are ready to follow if he signals good news.
0:54:54 > 0:54:58Next morning, bizarrely, the postman calls. It's a letter from Pilemon.
0:54:58 > 0:55:00But it's not the news they wanted.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03He's just requesting fresh supplies.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06The team have all but given up hope.
0:55:09 > 0:55:10Late that night,
0:55:10 > 0:55:15Chief Pilemon arrives back in camp with a shocking surprise.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18MAN SHOUTS
0:55:21 > 0:55:25The guys from the other side of the valley have just come in,
0:55:25 > 0:55:27and we're not sure what they're carrying yet.
0:55:27 > 0:55:29They've just come in to... to the camp.
0:55:32 > 0:55:33The crew fear the worst.
0:55:33 > 0:55:38SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE
0:55:38 > 0:55:41He appears to be carrying a live animal.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43This was never part of the plan.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47Throughout the trip, the crew had tried to make it clear
0:55:47 > 0:55:50they only wanted to film a dingiso in the wild.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56It is a dingiso.
0:55:56 > 0:56:00This was the very last thing any of the team wanted to witness,
0:56:00 > 0:56:02and it was very distressing.
0:56:03 > 0:56:06Now the team's only concern is for the animal's welfare.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09- JAMES MAIR:- We're gonna have to take it back with them tomorrow.
0:56:09 > 0:56:13We can't release it here - it needs to be released in its home territory.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16Um...so we're gonna have to keep it like this overnight -
0:56:16 > 0:56:19it's the only way that it can be kept safe -
0:56:19 > 0:56:22and then take it back and release it tomorrow.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE
0:56:27 > 0:56:31For Pilemon, the dingiso is a sacred animal.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34So he performs a ceremony to the spirits for capturing it.
0:56:49 > 0:56:53As soon as they can, the team set off to return the dingiso to its forest home.
0:56:59 > 0:57:03The dingiso is so highly revered in Moni culture
0:57:03 > 0:57:07that Pilemon wanted to share it with the outside world.
0:57:07 > 0:57:09Strange as it seems, bringing it to the team
0:57:09 > 0:57:13was his way of showing great respect for the animal.
0:57:13 > 0:57:19Filming it now depends on how the dingiso behaves once it's released.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23We're finally where the manimomaga was found.
0:57:23 > 0:57:28I think it was literally at the tree... one of these trees just around us.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31We're gonna release it in the jungle and see what happens.
0:57:32 > 0:57:34To the crew's great relief,
0:57:34 > 0:57:38the dingiso doesn't appear to be stressed or harmed in any way.
0:57:40 > 0:57:46It bounds up a tree, and then acts as if nothing unusual has happened.
0:57:48 > 0:57:52OK, he's started to feed a little bit, which is a great sign.
0:57:56 > 0:58:00After all this trouble, and walking and everything,
0:58:00 > 0:58:05it's really great just to see him chewing on a bit of food
0:58:05 > 0:58:09and kind of half dozing and looking a lot happier.
0:58:09 > 0:58:13There he is, where he should be, up in a tree.
0:58:13 > 0:58:16Tree kangaroos!
0:58:16 > 0:58:21This had been an emotional journey for the whole team.
0:58:21 > 0:58:23Finally,
0:58:23 > 0:58:28intimate shots of the elusive, almost mythical dingiso,
0:58:28 > 0:58:33back home in a place that is truly a world apart.