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Predators give us a dramatic health check on our planet's wild places. | 0:00:34 | 0:00:39 | |
They are the top of the food chain | 0:00:41 | 0:00:43 | |
and need an abundance of prey and vast territories for hunting. | 0:00:43 | 0:00:46 | |
But as the human population grows, | 0:00:48 | 0:00:51 | |
the conflict between people and wildlife is on the rise. | 0:00:51 | 0:00:54 | |
Over 75% of the world's top predators are now declining. | 0:00:58 | 0:01:02 | |
Humans have created this crisis, | 0:01:04 | 0:01:07 | |
but we also have the power to resolve it. | 0:01:07 | 0:01:09 | |
We meet the pioneers at the front line, | 0:01:12 | 0:01:15 | |
searching for bold solutions. | 0:01:15 | 0:01:17 | |
The question is whether we are prepared to allow room | 0:01:22 | 0:01:26 | |
for the natural world's greatest hunters. | 0:01:26 | 0:01:28 | |
The world's forests cover a third of its land surface, | 0:01:45 | 0:01:49 | |
and contain over 50% of our wildlife. | 0:01:49 | 0:01:53 | |
In the jungles of India, the top predator is the tiger. | 0:01:57 | 0:02:01 | |
Once on the point of extinction, | 0:02:04 | 0:02:06 | |
its numbers are now steadily rising here | 0:02:06 | 0:02:08 | |
for the first time in over 50 years. | 0:02:08 | 0:02:11 | |
India is also home to 1.2 billion people | 0:02:19 | 0:02:23 | |
and the fastest-growing economy on the planet. | 0:02:23 | 0:02:26 | |
So, how is the tiger making a comeback? | 0:02:28 | 0:02:31 | |
Tigers are the largest of all big cats. | 0:02:36 | 0:02:40 | |
They need a territory of up to 60 square miles | 0:02:40 | 0:02:43 | |
and must make a kill every week to survive. | 0:02:43 | 0:02:46 | |
He's so perfectly camouflaged. | 0:02:56 | 0:02:59 | |
A deer could just come close to him without knowing the tiger's there | 0:02:59 | 0:03:03 | |
and he'd just go for it. | 0:03:03 | 0:03:05 | |
Dr Ullas Karanth from the Wildlife Conservation Society | 0:03:05 | 0:03:09 | |
is the world's leading expert on tigers. | 0:03:09 | 0:03:13 | |
Watching a tiger hunt is a dream, it's just spectacular. | 0:03:13 | 0:03:17 | |
You realise what a perfectly-designed killing machine | 0:03:17 | 0:03:21 | |
this animal is. | 0:03:21 | 0:03:22 | |
500 years ago, there were over 300,000 tigers in India. | 0:03:51 | 0:03:56 | |
But in the last century, their numbers fell to just 2,000, | 0:03:58 | 0:04:03 | |
due to a combination of poaching and the loss of half of their forest. | 0:04:03 | 0:04:08 | |
In the late 1970s, | 0:04:10 | 0:04:12 | |
tigers were almost on the verge of extinction in India. | 0:04:12 | 0:04:16 | |
But strong measures by the Indian government to create protected areas | 0:04:16 | 0:04:21 | |
and a strong law enforcement effort led to a major recovery | 0:04:21 | 0:04:26 | |
better than anything else the world has seen. | 0:04:26 | 0:04:28 | |
As a result, tigers have come back big time in many places. | 0:04:28 | 0:04:32 | |
There are now around 2,500 tigers in India | 0:04:33 | 0:04:37 | |
and their numbers are steadily rising. | 0:04:37 | 0:04:40 | |
The problem now is not so much a shortage of tigers, | 0:04:43 | 0:04:46 | |
it's a lack of space for them. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:48 | |
India's human population has doubled in the last 30 years. | 0:04:50 | 0:04:54 | |
With so many people living in national parks, | 0:04:55 | 0:04:58 | |
conflict is inevitable. | 0:04:58 | 0:05:01 | |
These enclaves make a living out of raising crops, raising livestock | 0:05:01 | 0:05:06 | |
and they're competing for space and food with tigers directly. | 0:05:06 | 0:05:10 | |
So, this forces a conflict on them | 0:05:10 | 0:05:14 | |
and eventually the tigers lose out and people lose out. | 0:05:14 | 0:05:17 | |
The government has come up with a radical solution - | 0:05:17 | 0:05:21 | |
paying villagers to move out of their homes, to make way for tigers. | 0:05:21 | 0:05:25 | |
Relocating local people out of the forest is a highly emotive issue. | 0:05:28 | 0:05:32 | |
India has been strongly criticised in the past | 0:05:34 | 0:05:37 | |
for carrying out forced mass evictions. | 0:05:37 | 0:05:40 | |
It is extremely controversial, | 0:05:40 | 0:05:43 | |
because in some places, it's been done badly, | 0:05:43 | 0:05:46 | |
where people who have moved out were forcibly moved out. | 0:05:46 | 0:05:50 | |
But in many other places, it's been done right. | 0:05:50 | 0:05:53 | |
Ullas' daughter Krithi | 0:05:54 | 0:05:56 | |
also works for the Wildlife Conservation Society. | 0:05:56 | 0:05:58 | |
Her job is to manage their village relocations | 0:05:59 | 0:06:03 | |
and make sure they're done responsibly. | 0:06:03 | 0:06:06 | |
KRITHI SPEAKS INDIAN | 0:06:06 | 0:06:09 | |
Mani and his wife Jyothi | 0:06:09 | 0:06:11 | |
have volunteered to leave the forest in return for compensation. | 0:06:11 | 0:06:15 | |
TRANSLATION: | 0:06:17 | 0:06:19 | |
They feel very strong ties to this place, | 0:06:33 | 0:06:36 | |
even though they have a very difficult life here. | 0:06:36 | 0:06:39 | |
And constantly living in fear of elephants, leopards and tigers. | 0:06:39 | 0:06:44 | |
When you have little children, those challenges are even greater. | 0:06:44 | 0:06:48 | |
Mani and Jyothi are leaving their old way of life behind. | 0:06:50 | 0:06:54 | |
India is changing very rapidly and you have to sometimes make | 0:06:55 | 0:06:59 | |
really hard choices and sometimes that involves moving people. | 0:06:59 | 0:07:03 | |
And I'm very proud of the way we've done it right, | 0:07:03 | 0:07:05 | |
helping them through every step of the way. | 0:07:05 | 0:07:08 | |
But not everyone is happy about being moved out. | 0:07:09 | 0:07:13 | |
HE SPEAKS INDIAN | 0:07:13 | 0:07:15 | |
It's the fear of the outside and unknown that is keeping them here. | 0:07:28 | 0:07:32 | |
Once that fear is broken | 0:07:32 | 0:07:34 | |
and they know they are better off, everybody wants out. | 0:07:34 | 0:07:37 | |
Mani and Jyothi are the latest of 631 families | 0:07:40 | 0:07:44 | |
to leave Nagarhole National Park. | 0:07:44 | 0:07:47 | |
In total, almost 30,000 people across India have been relocated. | 0:07:49 | 0:07:54 | |
As humans move out of the forest, tigers move in. | 0:07:57 | 0:08:01 | |
A very strong proof that relocation works is to look at | 0:08:03 | 0:08:06 | |
some of the tiger reserves where it's been done well. | 0:08:06 | 0:08:09 | |
People have moved out, prey numbers have multiplied | 0:08:09 | 0:08:12 | |
and in many cases, the tiger numbers have doubled or tripled. | 0:08:12 | 0:08:15 | |
There are many, many such cases in India. | 0:08:15 | 0:08:18 | |
Mani and Jyothi are coming to live in a newly-built relocation centre. | 0:08:21 | 0:08:27 | |
Here, they will have to find jobs and fend for themselves. | 0:08:27 | 0:08:31 | |
Each adult receives the equivalent of £10,000 - | 0:08:33 | 0:08:36 | |
a huge sum in India. | 0:08:36 | 0:08:39 | |
This is paid part cash and part in the form of a new house | 0:08:39 | 0:08:42 | |
and three acres of land. | 0:08:42 | 0:08:44 | |
TRANSLATION: | 0:08:44 | 0:08:47 | |
There is a widespread view that forest-dwelling people | 0:08:55 | 0:08:58 | |
should live in remote locations, | 0:08:58 | 0:09:01 | |
cut-off from all signs of civilisation, | 0:09:01 | 0:09:03 | |
eating fruits and nuts, and that's far removed from reality. | 0:09:03 | 0:09:07 | |
What these people want is good education, | 0:09:07 | 0:09:10 | |
modern amenities and health. | 0:09:10 | 0:09:12 | |
And all of that is not available in the remote jungle. | 0:09:12 | 0:09:16 | |
People want to live in cities | 0:09:16 | 0:09:18 | |
and you're going to see this huge transition, | 0:09:18 | 0:09:20 | |
where India is going from 70% of the country being rural | 0:09:20 | 0:09:25 | |
to 50% of the country being urban in the next 20 years | 0:09:25 | 0:09:28 | |
and this is going to open up land. | 0:09:28 | 0:09:30 | |
And once you move people out, the vegetation comes back, | 0:09:30 | 0:09:33 | |
the prey numbers rebound and then tiger numbers come back. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:37 | |
So, ecological recovery takes time, | 0:09:37 | 0:09:39 | |
but I think nature knows how to heal itself. | 0:09:39 | 0:09:42 | |
Relocation may be an extreme solution, | 0:09:48 | 0:09:51 | |
but India's tigers are proof that given enough space, | 0:09:51 | 0:09:55 | |
predators can bounce back. | 0:09:55 | 0:09:57 | |
The greatest tropical forest on Earth is the Amazon. | 0:10:02 | 0:10:07 | |
It covers almost half of South America | 0:10:07 | 0:10:10 | |
and is home to more species than anywhere else on the planet. | 0:10:10 | 0:10:13 | |
In the jungles of Venezuela, the canopy's deadliest hunter - | 0:10:24 | 0:10:28 | |
the harpy eagle. | 0:10:28 | 0:10:30 | |
This is the most powerful bird of prey in the world. | 0:10:37 | 0:10:41 | |
It has a two-metre wing-span, | 0:10:45 | 0:10:47 | |
and it hunts silently, on the lookout for monkeys and sloths. | 0:10:47 | 0:10:51 | |
HARPY EAGLE SCREECHES | 0:10:57 | 0:10:59 | |
The harpy eagle's territory stretches over 30 square miles. | 0:11:01 | 0:11:06 | |
At the heart of it, the nest, with a very hungry chick. | 0:11:06 | 0:11:10 | |
At two months old, the chick is vulnerable | 0:11:12 | 0:11:15 | |
and is fiercely guarded by her mother. | 0:11:15 | 0:11:17 | |
Down below on the forest floor, | 0:11:23 | 0:11:25 | |
others are also keeping a close watch. | 0:11:25 | 0:11:28 | |
Dr Alexander Blanco monitors 20 different pairs of harpy eagles, | 0:11:31 | 0:11:36 | |
trying to police this area of forest | 0:11:36 | 0:11:38 | |
and keep the nest sites safe from human encroachment. | 0:11:38 | 0:11:42 | |
Throughout the harpy eagle's range, across Central and South America, | 0:11:45 | 0:11:49 | |
an area of forest the size of Switzerland | 0:11:49 | 0:11:52 | |
is being cut down every year. | 0:11:52 | 0:11:55 | |
CHAINSAWS BUZZ | 0:11:55 | 0:11:58 | |
Alexander is studying the impacts of this loss on the harpy eagle - | 0:12:04 | 0:12:09 | |
and to do that, he must first get himself | 0:12:09 | 0:12:12 | |
35 metres up to the nest in the canopy. | 0:12:12 | 0:12:15 | |
HARPY EAGLE CHIRPS | 0:12:16 | 0:12:18 | |
When the chick reaches six months old, before she fledges, | 0:12:18 | 0:12:21 | |
Alexander must climb up and bring her down. | 0:12:21 | 0:12:24 | |
He'll then fit a small radio transmitter on the chick, | 0:12:30 | 0:12:34 | |
so he can keep track of her after she's left the nest. | 0:12:34 | 0:12:37 | |
The mother eagle could attack, | 0:12:40 | 0:12:42 | |
so Alexander is wearing a stab proof vest. | 0:12:42 | 0:12:46 | |
It's dangerous work, | 0:12:47 | 0:12:49 | |
but it's driven by a lifelong passion for the harpy eagle. | 0:12:49 | 0:12:53 | |
As soon as he reaches the nest, | 0:13:09 | 0:13:11 | |
Alexander must secure the harpy eagle's deadliest weapons - | 0:13:11 | 0:13:15 | |
its talons. | 0:13:15 | 0:13:17 | |
HARPY EAGLE SCREECHES | 0:13:17 | 0:13:19 | |
Today, the female is keeping her distance, | 0:13:45 | 0:13:47 | |
but Alexander has been attacked several times. | 0:13:47 | 0:13:51 | |
OK... | 0:13:54 | 0:13:55 | |
But as Alexander starts his descent, | 0:13:57 | 0:13:59 | |
he realises there's a problem with his ropes. | 0:13:59 | 0:14:01 | |
DULL THUD ALEXANDER SCREAMS | 0:14:10 | 0:14:14 | |
AMBULANCE SIREN | 0:14:16 | 0:14:18 | |
Amazingly, both Alexander and the eagle survive the fall. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:23 | |
But Alexander breaks both his wrist and his leg. | 0:14:24 | 0:14:27 | |
Alexander's assistant Don Blas | 0:14:48 | 0:14:51 | |
brings the young eagle back to camp, to keep an eye on her. | 0:14:51 | 0:14:54 | |
Don Blas attaches the radio as planned. | 0:15:16 | 0:15:20 | |
Very little is known about these eagles, | 0:15:20 | 0:15:22 | |
so this transmitter will help the scientists understand | 0:15:22 | 0:15:25 | |
how they survive in a disappearing forest. | 0:15:25 | 0:15:29 | |
Finally, the team return the young eagle to its nest, | 0:15:33 | 0:15:37 | |
under the watchful eye of her anxious parents. | 0:15:37 | 0:15:40 | |
The adult eagles waste no time bringing in more prey... | 0:15:47 | 0:15:51 | |
..and life at the nest returns to normal. | 0:15:56 | 0:15:59 | |
The harpy eagle is now 18 months old. | 0:16:11 | 0:16:14 | |
Alexander is returning to study her progress | 0:16:14 | 0:16:17 | |
for the first time since his fall. | 0:16:17 | 0:16:19 | |
The transmitter on the eagle sends out a radio signal | 0:16:41 | 0:16:44 | |
and the scientists can now track her through the forest | 0:16:44 | 0:16:47 | |
as she learns to hunt. | 0:16:47 | 0:16:49 | |
TRACKING APPARATUS BEEPS | 0:16:50 | 0:16:52 | |
She can now recognise her prey, | 0:16:55 | 0:16:58 | |
but she's doesn't expect it to fight back. | 0:16:58 | 0:17:00 | |
But Alexander's studies show the monkeys and sloths | 0:17:04 | 0:17:07 | |
that form the eagle's main prey | 0:17:07 | 0:17:09 | |
are disappearing as the forest is cleared. | 0:17:09 | 0:17:12 | |
In the face of this crisis, | 0:17:14 | 0:17:16 | |
the harpy eagle has proved to be remarkably resourceful. | 0:17:16 | 0:17:20 | |
The eagles are starting to hunt ground-dwelling prey | 0:17:24 | 0:17:27 | |
in more broken areas. | 0:17:27 | 0:17:28 | |
There are now less than 50,000 harpy eagles left. | 0:17:48 | 0:17:51 | |
At the current rate of deforestation, | 0:17:51 | 0:17:54 | |
their numbers will drop by a third in the next 50 years. | 0:17:54 | 0:17:58 | |
The only hope is that Alexander's data | 0:17:59 | 0:18:01 | |
will persuade governments to protect their habitat, | 0:18:01 | 0:18:05 | |
even if he has to risk his life in the process. | 0:18:05 | 0:18:08 | |
Nearly half of the world's land surface | 0:18:15 | 0:18:17 | |
is covered by grasslands and deserts | 0:18:17 | 0:18:19 | |
and none are richer than the plains of Africa. | 0:18:19 | 0:18:22 | |
This vast savanna is home | 0:18:25 | 0:18:27 | |
to some of the most celebrated predators on the planet. | 0:18:27 | 0:18:31 | |
And the most celebrated of them all is the lion. | 0:18:31 | 0:18:36 | |
The Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania | 0:18:42 | 0:18:45 | |
has the highest density of lions on Earth. | 0:18:45 | 0:18:48 | |
There are four prides of lions here | 0:18:53 | 0:18:55 | |
and they're engaged in a constant war with their human neighbours, | 0:18:55 | 0:18:58 | |
the Maasai people. | 0:18:58 | 0:19:00 | |
The Maasai rely on their cattle for survival. | 0:19:10 | 0:19:13 | |
When the lions attack their livestock, | 0:19:14 | 0:19:16 | |
the Maasai retaliate by killing them. | 0:19:16 | 0:19:19 | |
This is an ancient conflict between warrior and predator | 0:19:23 | 0:19:27 | |
that's been played out for millennia. | 0:19:27 | 0:19:29 | |
The human population here has nearly tripled in the last 20 years | 0:19:36 | 0:19:40 | |
and the conflict has now reached crisis point. | 0:19:40 | 0:19:43 | |
Craig Packer is the world's top lion expert. | 0:19:47 | 0:19:52 | |
He and assistant Ingela Jansson | 0:19:52 | 0:19:55 | |
are trying to stop the Maasai from killing lions | 0:19:55 | 0:19:57 | |
and allow them to breed in peace. | 0:19:57 | 0:20:00 | |
Those animals have to run the gauntlet of Maasai with spears. | 0:20:00 | 0:20:04 | |
And so, with that kind of armed guard all the way round the crater, | 0:20:04 | 0:20:08 | |
it's very difficult for the males to be able to come into the crater | 0:20:08 | 0:20:11 | |
from somewhere else to rejuvenate this population. | 0:20:11 | 0:20:14 | |
Time is running out for the lions of Ngorongoro. | 0:20:19 | 0:20:23 | |
Craig has roughly 100 of them | 0:20:23 | 0:20:25 | |
and the Maasai are killing an average of ten a year. | 0:20:25 | 0:20:29 | |
The one with the scar, MG103 - | 0:20:29 | 0:20:31 | |
she had cubs in May and two of hers were lost | 0:20:31 | 0:20:35 | |
and I didn't even see what sex they were. | 0:20:35 | 0:20:38 | |
Whenever one of our study lions is speared, | 0:20:38 | 0:20:41 | |
it's like right, that's just one more nail in the coffin. | 0:20:41 | 0:20:45 | |
It's like one more example of why something must be done | 0:20:45 | 0:20:48 | |
to address this problem. | 0:20:48 | 0:20:50 | |
The only way to solve the conflict here | 0:20:54 | 0:20:56 | |
is by brokering peace between these two ancient enemies. | 0:20:56 | 0:21:00 | |
Ingela and Craig have employed a team of Maasai scouts | 0:21:03 | 0:21:06 | |
from within the community. | 0:21:06 | 0:21:08 | |
Their job is to document lion attacks | 0:21:09 | 0:21:12 | |
and try and stop people from retaliating. | 0:21:12 | 0:21:14 | |
So, I'm asking them "Do you like lions?" | 0:21:17 | 0:21:20 | |
And yeah, there was some murmuring "yes" but then she said, | 0:21:20 | 0:21:23 | |
"No, I don't like lions", because a lion attacked her son last year. | 0:21:23 | 0:21:29 | |
SHE SPEAKS MAASAI DIALECT | 0:21:30 | 0:21:31 | |
Oh, he's like 22 years old. | 0:21:33 | 0:21:35 | |
He went then to defend their livestock | 0:21:35 | 0:21:38 | |
and then he got into a close fight with a lion. | 0:21:38 | 0:21:41 | |
After four years of Ingela's incredible dedication | 0:21:41 | 0:21:44 | |
to slowly, gradually build trust with people, | 0:21:44 | 0:21:48 | |
people are very much are more likely to tell her what's happened. | 0:21:48 | 0:21:51 | |
They might even have speared a lion in retaliation. | 0:21:51 | 0:21:54 | |
So, she can get a better picture of what really happens here. | 0:21:54 | 0:21:57 | |
And therefore, how best to improve circumstances. | 0:21:57 | 0:22:02 | |
TRANSLATION: | 0:22:02 | 0:22:03 | |
Craig, Ingela and their scouts have their work cut out. | 0:22:17 | 0:22:20 | |
The war between people and lions has been waged here | 0:22:22 | 0:22:26 | |
for over two million years. | 0:22:26 | 0:22:28 | |
And there is one deadly tradition | 0:22:28 | 0:22:30 | |
that's still widely practised today - | 0:22:30 | 0:22:34 | |
the ritual killing of lions. | 0:22:34 | 0:22:36 | |
The team are travelling to a remote settlement | 0:22:43 | 0:22:46 | |
on the edge of the Serengeti. | 0:22:46 | 0:22:48 | |
MAASAI SING | 0:22:49 | 0:22:52 | |
This is the front line in the conflict with lions. | 0:22:52 | 0:22:56 | |
We've come out here today to attend a Maasai wedding | 0:23:00 | 0:23:03 | |
in an area that's had a lot of ritual lion killing | 0:23:03 | 0:23:06 | |
over the last decade. | 0:23:06 | 0:23:07 | |
One of the things that Ingela has learnt in her research | 0:23:07 | 0:23:10 | |
is that these hunting parties often assemble at an event like this. | 0:23:10 | 0:23:15 | |
So, as you can see, | 0:23:18 | 0:23:19 | |
everybody's getting worked up and that level of excitement, | 0:23:19 | 0:23:22 | |
It's like they've got all this energy and all that testosterone | 0:23:22 | 0:23:25 | |
ready to go and one of the things they really get excited about doing | 0:23:25 | 0:23:28 | |
is going to hunt a lion. | 0:23:28 | 0:23:29 | |
Ingela is hoping that the presence of her scouts | 0:23:29 | 0:23:33 | |
may be enough to deter the warriors from hunting lions. | 0:23:33 | 0:23:37 | |
They know these guys, they're friends, they're relatives | 0:23:37 | 0:23:40 | |
and everyone knows here that they work for Lion Conservation, | 0:23:40 | 0:23:45 | |
so they kind of know that they can't go hunting | 0:23:45 | 0:23:48 | |
if that person is present. | 0:23:48 | 0:23:50 | |
Ingela's head scout, Roimen, comes from this area. | 0:23:50 | 0:23:54 | |
He killed two lions by himself in ritual hunts when he was younger, | 0:23:54 | 0:23:58 | |
and has the respect of his fellow warriors. | 0:23:58 | 0:24:01 | |
ROIMEN SPEAKS MAASAI DIALECT | 0:24:01 | 0:24:03 | |
Today, no-one is going hunting and the lions in this area are safe. | 0:24:19 | 0:24:23 | |
But it could take decades to solve the conflict, | 0:24:25 | 0:24:28 | |
so Craig is proposing a highly controversial solution - | 0:24:28 | 0:24:32 | |
putting up fences to keep people and predators apart. | 0:24:32 | 0:24:37 | |
Our romantic visions of Africa's unspoilt wilderness - | 0:24:37 | 0:24:40 | |
that's already out of date. | 0:24:40 | 0:24:42 | |
The human population now is already one billion people. | 0:24:42 | 0:24:45 | |
It's expected to quadruple by the end of this century. | 0:24:45 | 0:24:48 | |
So, it's time to consider erecting fences between people and wildlife. | 0:24:48 | 0:24:53 | |
It's time to rethink the basic need | 0:24:53 | 0:24:55 | |
for the safety of the people around these parks | 0:24:55 | 0:24:58 | |
and the safety of the animals themselves. | 0:24:58 | 0:25:01 | |
Craig is calling for fortress conservation - | 0:25:02 | 0:25:06 | |
protecting vast areas with hundreds of miles of electric fencing. | 0:25:06 | 0:25:11 | |
In South Africa, | 0:25:13 | 0:25:14 | |
all the wildlife parks have already been completely fenced in. | 0:25:14 | 0:25:18 | |
There are now 1,000 highly protected game reserves here | 0:25:20 | 0:25:24 | |
and the number of top carnivores is steadily rising. | 0:25:24 | 0:25:28 | |
But for wide-ranging predators like cheetah, | 0:25:32 | 0:25:35 | |
being fenced in poses a deadly problem. | 0:25:35 | 0:25:38 | |
Cheetahs need vast territories to survive. | 0:25:47 | 0:25:50 | |
The world's fastest land animal is mainly solitary | 0:26:07 | 0:26:10 | |
and must roam long distances to find a mate. | 0:26:10 | 0:26:13 | |
But when they're trapped in behind fences with their own families, | 0:26:16 | 0:26:20 | |
in-breeding becomes the biggest threat to their survival. | 0:26:20 | 0:26:23 | |
The only way to prevent this is by playing Cupid with cheetahs. | 0:26:29 | 0:26:34 | |
Vincent Van Der Merwe from the Endangered Wildlife Trust | 0:26:42 | 0:26:46 | |
runs what could be described as a cheetah dating agency. | 0:26:46 | 0:26:50 | |
These population are small | 0:26:50 | 0:26:51 | |
and inbreeding is a terrible thing, in the long run. | 0:26:51 | 0:26:55 | |
So, it's not a natural thing, you know? | 0:26:55 | 0:26:59 | |
We'd prefer natural dispersal, | 0:26:59 | 0:27:01 | |
natural migration between the populations, | 0:27:01 | 0:27:04 | |
but South Africa is a highly-developed country | 0:27:04 | 0:27:07 | |
compared to the rest of Africa. | 0:27:07 | 0:27:09 | |
And you know, we have to move them artificially. | 0:27:09 | 0:27:12 | |
Vincent has come to Dinokeng Game Reserve to remove two males. | 0:27:20 | 0:27:25 | |
They're 18 months old | 0:27:26 | 0:27:28 | |
and would normally have left their mother by now. | 0:27:28 | 0:27:30 | |
So, these two males are related to the two females | 0:27:30 | 0:27:34 | |
and they're reaching sexual maturity now, | 0:27:34 | 0:27:37 | |
so there is the possibility that inbreeding will take place. | 0:27:37 | 0:27:40 | |
So, it's important that we remove these two males, | 0:27:40 | 0:27:44 | |
to prevent inbreeding. | 0:27:44 | 0:27:45 | |
Before they can be moved, | 0:27:45 | 0:27:47 | |
the cheetah must be immobilised by wildlife vet Shaun Beverley. | 0:27:47 | 0:27:51 | |
Let's just have a look and see. | 0:27:51 | 0:27:53 | |
I just want to check what these two do. | 0:27:53 | 0:27:55 | |
Just reverse. | 0:27:56 | 0:27:58 | |
Stop here. | 0:28:02 | 0:28:04 | |
These animals are very sensitive to drugs | 0:28:04 | 0:28:06 | |
and there's a high risk of overdose or injury. | 0:28:06 | 0:28:09 | |
OK, I'm going to take it. | 0:28:10 | 0:28:11 | |
Just watch the female - she's not happy at all about the vehicle. | 0:28:17 | 0:28:20 | |
She's quite intent in protecting her... The young male. | 0:28:20 | 0:28:23 | |
CHEETAH HISSES | 0:28:23 | 0:28:25 | |
With an eye out for the angry mother, | 0:28:25 | 0:28:27 | |
Shaun carefully removes the first young male. | 0:28:27 | 0:28:30 | |
Ready. We're just going to pop him in here. | 0:28:30 | 0:28:33 | |
By collecting DNA samples, Vincent creates a profile for each cheetah | 0:28:33 | 0:28:38 | |
and matches them up with unrelated females on other fenced reserves. | 0:28:38 | 0:28:43 | |
OK, got some blood vials over there. | 0:28:43 | 0:28:46 | |
A single population on a small fenced reserve like this | 0:28:48 | 0:28:51 | |
is not viable in the long term. | 0:28:51 | 0:28:53 | |
But 53 small populations on 53 reserves | 0:28:53 | 0:28:58 | |
are viable in the long term, if managed as a single population. | 0:28:58 | 0:29:02 | |
So, we continuously have to move these cheetah | 0:29:04 | 0:29:06 | |
between the 53 small fenced reserves | 0:29:06 | 0:29:09 | |
to ensure that they remain genetically viable. | 0:29:09 | 0:29:12 | |
Just support his neck here. | 0:29:14 | 0:29:16 | |
You can put it in as deep as you can | 0:29:17 | 0:29:19 | |
and just grab him from the outside and drag him through. | 0:29:19 | 0:29:22 | |
Just give him an antidote. | 0:29:22 | 0:29:24 | |
Far more comfortable, once they're awake. | 0:29:27 | 0:29:31 | |
CHEETAH HISSES | 0:29:31 | 0:29:33 | |
OK, let's go. | 0:29:33 | 0:29:34 | |
ENGINE STARTS | 0:29:34 | 0:29:36 | |
Vincent has now moved 98 cheetah. | 0:29:41 | 0:29:45 | |
But alarmingly, one in five of them have died in the process. | 0:29:45 | 0:29:49 | |
It's a terrible price to pay for conservation. | 0:29:50 | 0:29:53 | |
A small box, it's a very, very confined space for a cheetah. | 0:29:53 | 0:29:57 | |
We don't like to keep them there too long. | 0:29:57 | 0:29:59 | |
Unfortunately, some of the reserves are really far from each other | 0:29:59 | 0:30:02 | |
and we have to move them over a day or two. | 0:30:02 | 0:30:05 | |
So, we really fear for them, | 0:30:05 | 0:30:07 | |
and we lose a lot of cheetah because of chronic stress. | 0:30:07 | 0:30:11 | |
CHEETAH HISSES | 0:30:11 | 0:30:13 | |
The two brothers are travelling 100 miles to their new home, | 0:30:16 | 0:30:21 | |
Sable Ranch, where they will stay for the rest of their lives. | 0:30:21 | 0:30:25 | |
Plenty of cheetah food over here. | 0:30:25 | 0:30:27 | |
These two young cheetah have survived their journey unscathed. | 0:30:34 | 0:30:38 | |
They are doing 100%, just a case of opening up now. | 0:30:40 | 0:30:44 | |
CHEETAH HISSES | 0:30:44 | 0:30:46 | |
Vincent will soon bring in a female, so they can start a family. | 0:30:54 | 0:30:58 | |
When their offspring have reached adulthood, | 0:30:59 | 0:31:01 | |
they'll need to be moved to another reserve. | 0:31:01 | 0:31:04 | |
It's never-ending work. | 0:31:04 | 0:31:06 | |
There are now less than 10,000 cheetahs left. | 0:31:10 | 0:31:14 | |
South Africa is the only country where the population is growing, | 0:31:15 | 0:31:19 | |
thanks to human intervention. | 0:31:19 | 0:31:21 | |
But at what cost? | 0:31:22 | 0:31:24 | |
Will all of Africa's wildlife end up living on fenced private reserves? | 0:31:25 | 0:31:31 | |
I really think that this is going to be the future of conservation, | 0:31:33 | 0:31:36 | |
because we're not going to find wide open spaces in Africa any more. | 0:31:36 | 0:31:39 | |
There's just too many people, too much development. | 0:31:39 | 0:31:42 | |
But we will find small fragments of natural habitat | 0:31:42 | 0:31:45 | |
where we can reintroduce cheetah. | 0:31:45 | 0:31:47 | |
So this is really a way to increase the range of cheetah, | 0:31:47 | 0:31:51 | |
to beef up their numbers, | 0:31:51 | 0:31:52 | |
because in the rest of Africa, their numbers are going down. | 0:31:52 | 0:31:56 | |
There is at least one place left in Africa | 0:32:07 | 0:32:11 | |
where you can still find wide open spaces. | 0:32:11 | 0:32:14 | |
Zambia. | 0:32:16 | 0:32:17 | |
With over 100,000 square miles of untamed wilderness, | 0:32:22 | 0:32:26 | |
Zambia is simply too large to fence in. | 0:32:26 | 0:32:30 | |
One hunter needs this vast landscape more than any other | 0:32:32 | 0:32:36 | |
and it's the most endangered of all the predators on the plains. | 0:32:36 | 0:32:40 | |
The African wild dog. | 0:32:42 | 0:32:44 | |
Wild dogs are highly social animals. | 0:32:51 | 0:32:54 | |
Before hunting, they carry out a greeting ritual, | 0:32:56 | 0:32:59 | |
reinforcing bonds within the pack. | 0:32:59 | 0:33:01 | |
They also care for their old and injured, | 0:33:05 | 0:33:07 | |
making sure no dog goes hungry or gets left behind. | 0:33:07 | 0:33:11 | |
But these greetings are becoming a rarity. | 0:33:13 | 0:33:16 | |
Wild dogs have lost over 90% of their former range | 0:33:16 | 0:33:20 | |
and there are now just 6,000 remaining in the whole of Africa. | 0:33:20 | 0:33:24 | |
Mike Bravo, go ahead. | 0:33:26 | 0:33:27 | |
Yeah, we have the hot springs pack just upstream. | 0:33:27 | 0:33:31 | |
Copy that, going there right now. | 0:33:31 | 0:33:33 | |
It's five o'clock in the morning | 0:33:33 | 0:33:35 | |
and a team from the Zambian Carnivore Programme | 0:33:35 | 0:33:38 | |
are tracking a pack of wild dogs. | 0:33:38 | 0:33:41 | |
Their study animals are getting caught | 0:33:41 | 0:33:43 | |
in the crossfire of a war with illegal poaching | 0:33:43 | 0:33:46 | |
and Thandive and Henry are trying to keep watch over them. | 0:33:46 | 0:33:50 | |
It's a huge area and to look for animals like that | 0:33:50 | 0:33:53 | |
is like looking for a needle in a haystack | 0:33:53 | 0:33:56 | |
and worse still, these dogs are moving at really high speeds. | 0:33:56 | 0:34:00 | |
They're heading out hunting, huh? | 0:34:00 | 0:34:03 | |
They're joined on their search by air support. | 0:34:03 | 0:34:06 | |
Team leader Dr Matt Becker is spotting from above, | 0:34:07 | 0:34:11 | |
trying to work out which direction the dogs are heading. | 0:34:11 | 0:34:15 | |
Tango Mike, Tango Mike, Mike, Bravo. | 0:34:15 | 0:34:17 | |
Mike Bravo, go ahead. | 0:34:17 | 0:34:20 | |
Yeah, we have the hot springs pack - | 0:34:20 | 0:34:22 | |
got a visual, all 15 of them, just upstream from the Kalousie. | 0:34:22 | 0:34:27 | |
Copy that. We'll head there now and try to keep up as best as we can. | 0:34:27 | 0:34:31 | |
OK, sounds good. | 0:34:31 | 0:34:33 | |
Wild dog territories stretch over 600 square miles. | 0:34:36 | 0:34:39 | |
They're constantly on the move, | 0:34:41 | 0:34:43 | |
so the scientists track them using radio collars. | 0:34:43 | 0:34:46 | |
If you don't follow them on the ground for a couple of days, | 0:34:47 | 0:34:50 | |
you often have no idea where they may be. | 0:34:50 | 0:34:53 | |
So the quickest, easiest thing to do is get up in the air | 0:34:53 | 0:34:56 | |
and pick up the signal from a long ways away, | 0:34:56 | 0:34:58 | |
and then, we'll radio those locations to our ground teams, | 0:34:58 | 0:35:03 | |
who will come in with their Land Rovers | 0:35:03 | 0:35:05 | |
and follow the dogs on the ground | 0:35:05 | 0:35:07 | |
and collect all sorts of critical information on them. | 0:35:07 | 0:35:10 | |
Mike Bravo, I copy that. | 0:35:10 | 0:35:12 | |
Do you have the location right now? | 0:35:13 | 0:35:15 | |
Yeah, I've got them. 11 o'clock, moving in now. | 0:35:16 | 0:35:20 | |
Oh, that's great. | 0:35:24 | 0:35:25 | |
The team observe the pack hunting almost every day. | 0:35:29 | 0:35:32 | |
Once they've selected their target, it's all about teamwork. | 0:35:35 | 0:35:39 | |
When they actually encounter wildebeest or other prey, | 0:35:45 | 0:35:48 | |
you'll see them reacting to where the other dogs are running as well. | 0:35:48 | 0:35:52 | |
They are very aware of what's going on | 0:35:52 | 0:35:54 | |
and what their other pack members are doing. | 0:35:54 | 0:35:56 | |
You know, they take down wildebeest | 0:36:03 | 0:36:05 | |
that one dog can't possibly do by itself, | 0:36:05 | 0:36:07 | |
so through working together and helping each other out, | 0:36:07 | 0:36:10 | |
they're able to take down big animals like that. | 0:36:10 | 0:36:13 | |
No matter how many times I see a wild dog hunt, it's always amazing. | 0:36:23 | 0:36:28 | |
The grace and speed of the dogs in a hunt | 0:36:28 | 0:36:31 | |
is something that you can't get with any other species. | 0:36:31 | 0:36:35 | |
There's nothing like wild dogs | 0:36:47 | 0:36:49 | |
and if we lose them, there will never be anything like them again. | 0:36:49 | 0:36:53 | |
The greatest threat to wild dogs comes from humans. | 0:36:57 | 0:37:01 | |
The dogs are getting caught in snares intended for other animals. | 0:37:05 | 0:37:08 | |
Zambia's growing population is creating a huge | 0:37:10 | 0:37:13 | |
and increasing demand for commercial bushmeat, | 0:37:13 | 0:37:16 | |
with poachers targeting species like gazelles. | 0:37:16 | 0:37:20 | |
But snares are indiscriminate | 0:37:21 | 0:37:24 | |
and thousands of other animals are caught by accident. | 0:37:24 | 0:37:27 | |
With the dogs in constant danger, | 0:37:32 | 0:37:34 | |
the team keeps an eye on them, in case they get caught in snares. | 0:37:34 | 0:37:38 | |
To follow the dogs, they need to collar only one animal, | 0:37:41 | 0:37:44 | |
as they normally stick together as a pack. | 0:37:44 | 0:37:47 | |
WILD DOG YELPS | 0:37:49 | 0:37:50 | |
Once the dog is safely down, the team can slowly move in. | 0:37:53 | 0:37:57 | |
A lot of them are getting snared. | 0:38:02 | 0:38:04 | |
And so, these radio collars enable us to get an animal, | 0:38:04 | 0:38:07 | |
find it and de-snare it. | 0:38:07 | 0:38:09 | |
So, this collar may save this dog's life, | 0:38:09 | 0:38:12 | |
it may save its brothers and sisters and other pack members. | 0:38:12 | 0:38:15 | |
Once the pack member is down, the other dogs will stay in the area. | 0:38:16 | 0:38:20 | |
As you can see, some in the background - | 0:38:20 | 0:38:23 | |
so that makes it easier for the immobilised dog to join the group | 0:38:23 | 0:38:26 | |
after the drugs wear off. | 0:38:26 | 0:38:28 | |
When he comes round, the young male is unsteady on his feet, | 0:38:30 | 0:38:34 | |
but he soon catches up with the rest of the pack. | 0:38:34 | 0:38:37 | |
I think the best sight of the whole darting | 0:38:41 | 0:38:44 | |
is when the dog gets up and rejoins the pack. | 0:38:44 | 0:38:47 | |
It doesn't get any better than that. | 0:38:48 | 0:38:51 | |
The team are searching for a pair of females that they're worried about. | 0:38:56 | 0:39:00 | |
It's not unusual for females to leave the pack | 0:39:02 | 0:39:05 | |
to look for new males, | 0:39:05 | 0:39:07 | |
but these two sisters have run into trouble. | 0:39:07 | 0:39:09 | |
A few weeks ago, we de-snared one of the females - | 0:39:12 | 0:39:15 | |
she had a snare around her waist | 0:39:15 | 0:39:17 | |
and was actually one of the worst we've ever seen. | 0:39:17 | 0:39:21 | |
If you look very closely, you can also see just where the wire was. | 0:39:21 | 0:39:25 | |
Her sister's also got an injured back leg. | 0:39:27 | 0:39:30 | |
We can't see any open wounds at the moment, | 0:39:30 | 0:39:33 | |
but she's clearly not putting any weight on it at all. | 0:39:33 | 0:39:36 | |
And that does not bode well for them, | 0:39:36 | 0:39:38 | |
when it comes to hunting, looking for food. | 0:39:38 | 0:39:41 | |
Looks like they have not eaten for a while, now. | 0:39:41 | 0:39:44 | |
They look very thin. | 0:39:44 | 0:39:46 | |
I don't think they have a good chance of survival. | 0:39:46 | 0:39:49 | |
We will keep monitoring them and see how it goes. | 0:39:49 | 0:39:52 | |
It's going to be difficult. We might just end up picking up | 0:39:52 | 0:39:56 | |
two empty collars in the next few weeks. | 0:39:56 | 0:39:59 | |
Sadly, the snared female doesn't make it | 0:39:59 | 0:40:02 | |
and is found dead a month later, | 0:40:02 | 0:40:05 | |
but her sister manages to join another pack. | 0:40:05 | 0:40:08 | |
Matt's team works closely with anti-poaching patrols | 0:40:10 | 0:40:13 | |
from the South Luangwa Conservation Society | 0:40:13 | 0:40:16 | |
and the Zambian Wildlife Authority, | 0:40:16 | 0:40:19 | |
looking for snares and searching vehicles for bushmeat and guns. | 0:40:19 | 0:40:23 | |
But as always, the greatest weapon in the war against poaching | 0:40:25 | 0:40:30 | |
is the next generation. | 0:40:30 | 0:40:32 | |
HENRY SPEAKS AFRICAN DIALECT | 0:40:32 | 0:40:34 | |
This is conservation club. | 0:40:41 | 0:40:44 | |
Every week, Thandi and Henry take children on safari, | 0:40:44 | 0:40:48 | |
so they can appreciate wildlife and the opportunities it brings. | 0:40:48 | 0:40:52 | |
How many people have seen wild dogs before? | 0:40:52 | 0:40:55 | |
They hunt in packs of course, | 0:40:56 | 0:40:58 | |
and they prefer to chase the animal down. | 0:40:58 | 0:41:01 | |
Probably the most important aspect of our work | 0:41:01 | 0:41:04 | |
is ensuring that the people that are most responsible for conservation | 0:41:04 | 0:41:07 | |
of wild dogs and wild life in general are the Zambians themselves. | 0:41:07 | 0:41:11 | |
Henry and Thandi are fantastic and are continuing | 0:41:11 | 0:41:14 | |
to help kids get engaged in wildlife conservation. | 0:41:14 | 0:41:17 | |
For those of you that have never seen a snare before, | 0:41:17 | 0:41:20 | |
this is what it looks like. | 0:41:20 | 0:41:22 | |
The mechanism is so that it should tighten | 0:41:22 | 0:41:24 | |
as the animal struggles to get away. | 0:41:24 | 0:41:27 | |
The best thing that can come out of this is a generation of people | 0:41:27 | 0:41:31 | |
that are interested in wildlife. | 0:41:31 | 0:41:33 | |
Regardless of what field they join later on - | 0:41:33 | 0:41:36 | |
they could be teachers, or bankers, or whatever - | 0:41:36 | 0:41:38 | |
but just environmentally-minded people. | 0:41:38 | 0:41:41 | |
The animals are important, because they are the sources of income | 0:41:42 | 0:41:47 | |
that can develop our Zambia - our nation. | 0:41:47 | 0:41:52 | |
When I grow up, I just want to teach people about wildlife. | 0:41:52 | 0:41:57 | |
Just like Mr Henry do. | 0:41:57 | 0:41:59 | |
Oceans cover over 70% of the planet. | 0:42:17 | 0:42:21 | |
This immense blue wilderness | 0:42:25 | 0:42:27 | |
is home to the largest predator that's ever lived... | 0:42:27 | 0:42:30 | |
..the blue whale - | 0:42:37 | 0:42:39 | |
up to 30 metres long and weighing 200 tonnes. | 0:42:39 | 0:42:43 | |
Since commercial whaling was banned 30 years ago, | 0:42:59 | 0:43:04 | |
off the coast of California, | 0:43:04 | 0:43:06 | |
its numbers have almost fully recovered. | 0:43:06 | 0:43:09 | |
But they face a new problem. | 0:43:11 | 0:43:13 | |
Here, blue whales are feeding on krill, | 0:43:17 | 0:43:20 | |
in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. | 0:43:20 | 0:43:23 | |
Container ships plough through these waters 24 hours a day, | 0:43:26 | 0:43:31 | |
heading in and out of Los Angeles. | 0:43:31 | 0:43:33 | |
When the bow strikes a whale, it's usually fatal. | 0:43:40 | 0:43:43 | |
Some scientists have suggested that this could be one reason | 0:43:46 | 0:43:50 | |
why the blue whale population here is not increasing. | 0:43:50 | 0:43:53 | |
But proving it requires very challenging research. | 0:43:56 | 0:44:00 | |
So, we'll go through the area where we've had the sightings | 0:44:02 | 0:44:06 | |
and it looks like both those whales moved last night | 0:44:06 | 0:44:08 | |
to the shipping lanes, right in that zone... | 0:44:08 | 0:44:11 | |
On the MS Shearwater in LA harbour, | 0:44:11 | 0:44:14 | |
a team of marine biologists are heading out to hunt for blue whales. | 0:44:14 | 0:44:18 | |
Their mission is to investigate the impacts of ship strike. | 0:44:18 | 0:44:22 | |
I think we'll have a chance at this angle - | 0:44:31 | 0:44:34 | |
it looks like he's back into | 0:44:34 | 0:44:35 | |
a little bit more of a travelling mode. | 0:44:35 | 0:44:38 | |
John Calambokidis from Cascadia Research | 0:44:38 | 0:44:41 | |
is the world's top expert on blue whales | 0:44:41 | 0:44:44 | |
and has been studying them for 29 years. | 0:44:44 | 0:44:47 | |
I first became aware of the ship strike issue in 2007, | 0:44:47 | 0:44:51 | |
when we had at least four blue whales that were struck | 0:44:51 | 0:44:54 | |
and killed by ships just in Southern California in a few months' period. | 0:44:54 | 0:44:58 | |
The port of Los Angeles Long Beach | 0:45:11 | 0:45:14 | |
is the largest shipping complex in the United States. | 0:45:14 | 0:45:17 | |
Container traffic here has increased ten-fold in the last 30 years. | 0:45:18 | 0:45:23 | |
This spot right here probably has | 0:45:26 | 0:45:28 | |
some of the densest concentration of ships | 0:45:28 | 0:45:30 | |
that will funnel through here, coming into Los Angeles Long Beach. | 0:45:30 | 0:45:34 | |
This also, right here, is a canyon | 0:45:34 | 0:45:37 | |
that has quite a bit of krill for blue whales to feed on. | 0:45:37 | 0:45:40 | |
And we've often got concentrations of blue whales | 0:45:40 | 0:45:43 | |
right in this same area. | 0:45:43 | 0:45:45 | |
John is tagging a number of whales | 0:45:51 | 0:45:53 | |
to see how they respond to the ships. | 0:45:53 | 0:45:55 | |
Right now, we have a whale that's in the shipping lane, | 0:45:56 | 0:46:00 | |
so we're going to try to take this opportunity | 0:46:00 | 0:46:02 | |
to put a tag on this whale, | 0:46:02 | 0:46:04 | |
monitor both what it's doing and get the reaction of the whale. | 0:46:04 | 0:46:08 | |
Deploying a suction cup tag requires precision timing. | 0:46:15 | 0:46:20 | |
This first critical point, till you figure out what a whale's doing, | 0:46:21 | 0:46:25 | |
it's very easy to lose it. | 0:46:25 | 0:46:26 | |
Right now, there's a little bit of pressure. | 0:46:28 | 0:46:30 | |
He may come up again here. | 0:46:35 | 0:46:37 | |
Yep, here he comes. | 0:46:37 | 0:46:38 | |
All right! Let's go. | 0:46:43 | 0:46:45 | |
Coming up. | 0:46:48 | 0:46:50 | |
OK, nice job there. | 0:46:57 | 0:46:58 | |
So, that's attached with a suction cup. | 0:47:01 | 0:47:04 | |
We hope it will stay on | 0:47:04 | 0:47:05 | |
for something of the order of a few hours. | 0:47:05 | 0:47:08 | |
These modern day whalers with hi-tech harpoons | 0:47:11 | 0:47:15 | |
are hunting for new information about the whales' behaviour | 0:47:15 | 0:47:18 | |
and why they don't simply swim out of harm's way. | 0:47:18 | 0:47:22 | |
Blue whales don't seem to respond very strongly to the ship presence. | 0:47:23 | 0:47:27 | |
You think about a long ship, | 0:47:27 | 0:47:29 | |
the engine of that ship that's generating the noise | 0:47:29 | 0:47:31 | |
and the propeller are all the way at the far end. | 0:47:31 | 0:47:34 | |
What might be of danger to the blue whale | 0:47:34 | 0:47:36 | |
might be 300 metres in front of that. | 0:47:36 | 0:47:39 | |
The tags reveal how much time the whales spend in the shipping lanes, | 0:47:44 | 0:47:49 | |
especially at night. | 0:47:49 | 0:47:50 | |
The first thing that's rather surprising | 0:47:52 | 0:47:54 | |
is that the whale crosses the shipping lanes twice. | 0:47:54 | 0:47:56 | |
And we see that the blue whales are spending | 0:47:56 | 0:47:59 | |
about twice as much of their time at night near the surface, | 0:47:59 | 0:48:01 | |
where they will be vulnerable to being struck by a ship, | 0:48:01 | 0:48:04 | |
compared to the day time. | 0:48:04 | 0:48:06 | |
John is now working with the authorities | 0:48:08 | 0:48:10 | |
to try to divert the shipping lanes and slow the vessels down. | 0:48:10 | 0:48:14 | |
All sides are keen to find a solution | 0:48:18 | 0:48:21 | |
and allow the whales to feed in peace. | 0:48:21 | 0:48:24 | |
The polar regions are the least-inhabited | 0:48:40 | 0:48:43 | |
and the most remote wildernesses on Earth. | 0:48:43 | 0:48:46 | |
Here in the Arctic, the top predator is the polar bear. | 0:48:49 | 0:48:53 | |
Over almost half a million years, these bears have adapted to | 0:48:55 | 0:48:59 | |
the Arctic's dramatic annual changes of season. | 0:48:59 | 0:49:03 | |
They're the only predators to hunt on sea ice | 0:49:08 | 0:49:12 | |
and they rely on it for almost all of their prey. | 0:49:12 | 0:49:15 | |
But due to changes in the global climate, the ice is getting thinner. | 0:49:28 | 0:49:33 | |
And their season for hunting is getting shorter. | 0:49:36 | 0:49:39 | |
To prove this is happening, you need hard evidence. | 0:49:46 | 0:49:49 | |
And there's one team of scientists | 0:49:49 | 0:49:51 | |
who've been collecting that evidence for the last 30 years. | 0:49:51 | 0:49:55 | |
What is that? | 0:49:59 | 0:50:01 | |
It might be a swan. | 0:50:01 | 0:50:02 | |
-Oh, just this side of the ridge? -Yeah. | 0:50:02 | 0:50:04 | |
In West Hudson Bay in Northern Canada, | 0:50:04 | 0:50:07 | |
Government biologists are carrying out | 0:50:07 | 0:50:09 | |
the world's longest study on polar bears. | 0:50:09 | 0:50:12 | |
Oh, there's a bear, right below me - holy smokes. | 0:50:14 | 0:50:16 | |
I think if I was going to do this guy, I'd try to get on his left | 0:50:16 | 0:50:19 | |
and just push up onto this ridge here. | 0:50:19 | 0:50:21 | |
If we get him on this ridge, I think we're laughing. | 0:50:21 | 0:50:25 | |
The scientists are like health visitors for bears, | 0:50:28 | 0:50:31 | |
checking the pulse of the local population. | 0:50:31 | 0:50:34 | |
For Dr Evan Richardson, summer is the perfect time to call. | 0:50:35 | 0:50:39 | |
As the bears are resting on land right now, | 0:50:39 | 0:50:42 | |
living off their stored fat reserves, waiting for the sea ice | 0:50:42 | 0:50:46 | |
to come back in the fall, in November and December, | 0:50:46 | 0:50:49 | |
it really gives us a good opportunity | 0:50:49 | 0:50:51 | |
to come and study this particular population of bears. | 0:50:51 | 0:50:54 | |
The bears need to be immobilised | 0:50:57 | 0:50:59 | |
before the biologists can get to work. | 0:50:59 | 0:51:02 | |
I'll just keep pushing him in the direction he's headed now, OK? | 0:51:02 | 0:51:05 | |
Dr Nick Lunn's team has darted over 5,000 bears | 0:51:05 | 0:51:08 | |
since the project first started. | 0:51:08 | 0:51:11 | |
That bear's going into the water. | 0:51:11 | 0:51:13 | |
It's a place they consider safe, they head out to sea. | 0:51:13 | 0:51:16 | |
And we don't want to be darting him in the water, | 0:51:16 | 0:51:19 | |
so we need to move him back out where we can get a safe shot | 0:51:19 | 0:51:22 | |
and have him go down on the land. | 0:51:22 | 0:51:24 | |
Though it's stressful for the individuals in the short-term, | 0:51:32 | 0:51:35 | |
this research could help save the entire species in the long-term. | 0:51:35 | 0:51:40 | |
Once the dart is in, | 0:51:48 | 0:51:49 | |
the crew wait at a safe distance until the bear is down. | 0:51:49 | 0:51:53 | |
They must be extremely cautious when leaving the helicopter. | 0:52:02 | 0:52:05 | |
Working around polar bear country, one always has to be vigilant | 0:52:10 | 0:52:13 | |
and aware that there are other bears around - | 0:52:13 | 0:52:15 | |
they're curious, they're going to come in. | 0:52:15 | 0:52:18 | |
We have firearms, as a protective measure, | 0:52:18 | 0:52:20 | |
just in case of an incident. | 0:52:20 | 0:52:23 | |
Let's see if we can reposition him, | 0:52:25 | 0:52:27 | |
which might be easier said than done. | 0:52:27 | 0:52:29 | |
The team have to work fast. | 0:52:29 | 0:52:31 | |
Once the anaesthetic wears off, | 0:52:32 | 0:52:35 | |
this bear will quickly become very dangerous. | 0:52:35 | 0:52:37 | |
This bear was first caught back in 2003 | 0:52:43 | 0:52:46 | |
and he's got about another ten capture histories. | 0:52:46 | 0:52:49 | |
We collect hair samples, we'll take fat samples, | 0:52:50 | 0:52:54 | |
we'll take a few standard measurements. | 0:52:54 | 0:52:57 | |
Head length - 343. | 0:52:57 | 0:53:00 | |
Now, we're going to get a straight line body length of this bear. | 0:53:01 | 0:53:04 | |
233. | 0:53:04 | 0:53:06 | |
His canines are one. Tooth wear is one. | 0:53:07 | 0:53:11 | |
By updating their health records each year, | 0:53:12 | 0:53:15 | |
the team can keep an eye on this bear's condition. | 0:53:15 | 0:53:19 | |
The number is 016. | 0:53:19 | 0:53:22 | |
Typically, male bears would be | 0:53:22 | 0:53:24 | |
10% larger than this particular individual, | 0:53:24 | 0:53:26 | |
so the bears are actually shorter, | 0:53:26 | 0:53:29 | |
smaller than they used to be in the 1980s and 1990s. | 0:53:29 | 0:53:32 | |
We believe it's probably related to nutritional stress | 0:53:32 | 0:53:36 | |
and the population and reduced access to food. | 0:53:36 | 0:53:38 | |
The bears are going hungry | 0:53:41 | 0:53:43 | |
because the winters here have become warmer and shorter | 0:53:43 | 0:53:47 | |
and the summers longer and hotter. | 0:53:47 | 0:53:50 | |
The bears need to see ice as a platform to hunt their prey, | 0:53:51 | 0:53:55 | |
to travel, they mate out on the sea ice, | 0:53:55 | 0:53:58 | |
but we see sea ice breaking up | 0:53:58 | 0:54:00 | |
around two and a half to three weeks earlier | 0:54:00 | 0:54:03 | |
and forming around two and a half to three weeks later, | 0:54:03 | 0:54:06 | |
so the bears have less time to feed. | 0:54:06 | 0:54:08 | |
They're thinner, they don't have the same amount of fat on their bodies. | 0:54:08 | 0:54:12 | |
We're seeing fewer cubs being produced, | 0:54:12 | 0:54:14 | |
declines in cubs' survival, | 0:54:14 | 0:54:16 | |
bears coming ashore in poor condition, | 0:54:16 | 0:54:18 | |
weighing a lot less now than they did 30 years ago. | 0:54:18 | 0:54:22 | |
The scientists can now prove that these bears are, on average, | 0:54:24 | 0:54:29 | |
20% smaller than when their study first started. | 0:54:29 | 0:54:32 | |
If the loss of ice continues, | 0:54:32 | 0:54:34 | |
the polar bear will gradually become extinct. | 0:54:34 | 0:54:37 | |
Climate change is happening fairly rapidly, | 0:54:46 | 0:54:49 | |
so even though these bears are really good at fasting | 0:54:49 | 0:54:51 | |
and living off their body reserves and going long periods without food, | 0:54:51 | 0:54:55 | |
what we're seeing is, we're starting to push these bears | 0:54:55 | 0:54:58 | |
to their physiological limits, | 0:54:58 | 0:55:00 | |
and as they're pushed to the limits of their body reserves, | 0:55:00 | 0:55:02 | |
obviously, that has implications for their survival. | 0:55:02 | 0:55:06 | |
More than any other predator, | 0:55:08 | 0:55:10 | |
the polar bear has evolved to cope | 0:55:10 | 0:55:12 | |
with dramatic changes in the Arctic seasons. | 0:55:12 | 0:55:16 | |
But with the current pace of climate change, | 0:55:16 | 0:55:19 | |
the bears simply cannot adapt fast enough. | 0:55:19 | 0:55:22 | |
If polar bears are to survive, | 0:55:24 | 0:55:27 | |
we will all have to play our part. | 0:55:27 | 0:55:29 | |
DR ULLAS KARANTH: If people do smart things, | 0:55:39 | 0:55:42 | |
like different ways of producing energy, | 0:55:42 | 0:55:44 | |
I think we will have room for large predators, | 0:55:44 | 0:55:47 | |
as well as people living really well. | 0:55:47 | 0:55:50 | |
-JOHN CALAMBOKIDIS: -If humans are going to survive on this Earth | 0:55:51 | 0:55:54 | |
and do so in harmony with other species, | 0:55:54 | 0:55:56 | |
we're going to have to find a more sustainable way to live than we do. | 0:55:56 | 0:55:59 | |
And a lot of that is going to have to involve | 0:55:59 | 0:56:01 | |
lower levels of consumption. | 0:56:01 | 0:56:03 | |
We have to accept the fact that | 0:56:03 | 0:56:04 | |
we can't just blindly go on the trajectory we're currently on | 0:56:04 | 0:56:07 | |
and expect things to work out well. | 0:56:07 | 0:56:09 | |
We've got to make changes. | 0:56:09 | 0:56:11 | |
CRAIG PACKER: We need to start thinking about the ways | 0:56:12 | 0:56:15 | |
the whole world can contribute. | 0:56:15 | 0:56:17 | |
These precious animals belong to all of us. | 0:56:17 | 0:56:19 | |
These are a world resource and the world as a whole should | 0:56:19 | 0:56:23 | |
guard these animals against poachers, | 0:56:23 | 0:56:25 | |
habitat loss and protect them into the future. | 0:56:25 | 0:56:28 | |
If we can't save the planet's most charismatic predators, | 0:56:32 | 0:56:36 | |
what hope is there for the rest of the natural world? | 0:56:36 | 0:56:40 | |
Wildlife has the power to recover | 0:56:42 | 0:56:45 | |
and people have the power to change. | 0:56:45 | 0:56:47 | |
What happens next depends on us. | 0:56:48 | 0:56:52 |