Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00You
00:30Rush hour
00:34It's the same all over
00:37You got to get where you're going the fastest way you can
00:45In our busy world
00:48Nature has been banished to the shadows
00:52But
00:54Here in Nepal the back streets will only get you so far
01:02So when you're forced to hit the main drag you can either get snarled up in the traffic
01:09Or create your own lane
01:11This defiant commuter is doing what his kind have always done
01:30Making the nightly migration between feeding grounds
01:36And if today the savannah has become a suburb
01:44Well, that's not gonna stop him
02:00Faced with our crazy world
02:03Nature strives to find a way through
02:09And
02:10By doing so each of these determined rhinos
02:15Weaves its own tiny thread
02:18into a vast web of life a
02:23Living network that spans our entire world
02:29It connects every living being
02:33And now for the first time we're gonna reveal how
02:41From the densest forests
02:46To the deepest oceans
02:52The fiercest skies
02:57To the hottest deserts
03:00This
03:03Hidden network links the wonders of life
03:07To the great forces of our planet
03:13Keeping our whole world alive
03:22And even when we disrupt these vital connections
03:29Nature fights on
03:35This is the wondrous untold story of the most powerful force on earth
03:48Life itself
03:50And
03:55Unlock its secrets and we'll discover how there could be a brighter future for us all
04:04On our interconnected living world
04:08You
04:19Can pick up a thread of nature's network
04:23Anywhere you care to look
04:26Even in the wilds of the frozen north
04:38She may not know it but this newborn reindeer has a vital role ahead of her
04:51She just has to survive long enough to play her part
05:00The strongest possible bond with her mother will help
05:04But first she will need to master her most important survival tool
05:14Her legs
05:34She
05:36Is a natural-born athlete speed endurance she's got it all
05:49Or she will have when she finds her feet
06:04Until then the safest place for a sprinter in training is literally under her mother's feet
06:19Because eagle eyes are watching waiting for her to stray
06:33You
06:50Mom has her back this time, but the sooner she can get those legs working the better her chances
07:04The cough will find safety joining the herd
07:16And it's together that these animals make an impact that's felt far beyond the Arctic
07:26But only if they're kept on their toes
07:34Wolves
07:49Out on the plains
07:52This herd can spot danger approaching and
07:57Can do what they were born to do
07:59In the open they can hit top speed
08:30But among the trees deep snow bogs them down
08:42Lucky for them, it's even harder work for shorter legs
08:46Breaking for open ground means better footing and the skittish herd can once again keep a watchful eye on their pursuers
09:05The Arctic is a tough place to survive
09:09But there are some things you can do to help
09:16Even for a world-class runner
09:22But this never-ending dance of predator and prey ultimately connects to us all
09:33As the calf and her herd graze on the grass and scrub
09:39They trim it back
09:42Which allows snow to settle unbroken
09:47While the predators keep the herds on the move
09:52Spreading their grazing work far and wide
10:02Together they help create
10:05uninterrupted blankets of snow
10:08Turning these white plains
10:11into a vast cosmic mirror
10:16Which can reflect up to 85% of the Sun's heat back into space
10:31We need the Arctic to stay frozen to help stabilize our climate
10:38Making the entire planet more habitable for us all
10:47And
10:49This astonishing cooling system helps set off another physical chain of events
10:59That plunges to the depths of our oceans
11:05Because just off the coast the sea is freezing
11:10Icecrystals rise to the surface
11:16Forcing denser seawater to plummet to the seabed
11:26And warmer surface waters to flood in to replace it
11:32It's the start of a gigantic circulatory system
11:36A pump that drives sea currents on a thousand-year round-trip
11:42Connecting every ocean on Earth
11:49Where there are currents
11:53There's life
12:06Nowhere more so than on a tropical coral reef
12:16A quarter of all known marine species live on reefs like these
12:22And a billion of us humans depend on them for our food, livelihoods and protection
12:31Even here in the currents around the reef
12:37The same rules apply
12:41For the hunters and the hunted
12:47The trick is to stay ahead of the competition
12:53Any way you can
12:57These cuttlefish eggs
13:00Were hidden in the rocks by their mother
13:07The trouble is they soon turn see-through
13:14So the tiny embryos must stay stock still to avoid being
13:21Oh
13:23There's always one
13:25No
13:28Bigger than a peanut this precocious youngster is already enthralled by the reef around him
13:41He'll only live for a year
13:44So he seems determined to learn as much as he can
13:50As fast as he can
13:52But his exuberance is attracting attention
14:02A hungry mantis shrimp with the sharpest eyes on the reef
14:08He likes his eggs
14:11soft in the middle
14:18But junior is already one step ahead
14:23Now you see me now you don't
14:40But not everyone is gonna fall for that ruse
14:47Epaulette sharks can sense the electrical current given off by the next meal
14:53And the baby's heartbeat is blaring out like a car alarm
15:05At the last second he somehow moves
15:12To kill the switch
15:16Holding his breath and
15:18Slowing down his three hearts to disappear once more
15:31All this eager student needs now is a grown-up to teach him how to catch his dinner
15:48It's enough to make a wannabe hunter reversed
16:05Graduating from egg school gives him the best start in life
16:09He
16:14Will now feast on whatever opportunities the currents bring
16:22Tiny critters riding the watery superhighway from reef to distant reef
16:32Spreading new life and
16:35New hope for the future of these underwater wonders
16:48From a baby reindeer who helps power the ocean's heartbeat
16:54Via a tropical reef
16:57the network of ocean currents
16:59Connects both poles as it continues all the way to Antarctica
17:07Freezing temperatures supercharged the ocean's pulse
17:13Pumping seawater northwards once more
17:20Where the most powerful currents rejuvenate life
17:25In places you'd least expect
17:34During the dry season in Africa's Kalahari Desert
17:39Everyone is struggling to beat the heat
17:45Yet even here
17:49Nature's network has a way of protecting the world
17:54Providing exactly what life needs to flourish
18:02All because hundreds of miles away an icy Atlantic current meets hot desert air
18:15Thick fog blows inland
18:20Thunder clouds billow up over the highlands
18:25Where they perform nature's own alchemy
18:33Each bolt of lightning is so powerful
18:41It splits molecules in the air
18:45Creating nitrates a
18:49liquid fertilizer
18:50essential for the growth of every plant on earth
18:55These nutrients rain down and cascade south
19:06Crossing hundreds of miles of southern Africa
19:12Until they pour into the Okavango Delta
19:19Transforming the parched Kalahari into one of nature's greatest oases
19:25of life
19:30Triggering an explosion of new growth in the once barren desert
19:47But while a connection to a distant ocean provides the waters
19:54It is down to the locals to create a neighborhood where everyone can benefit
20:06Heavyweight engineers bulldoze their way through the vegetation
20:18Creating networks of flowing channels
20:20The connect pools and watering holes
20:26Allowing the rich waters to spread further afield
20:35Meaning no one misses out
20:38And for this family of leisure-loving hippos
20:43It's pool party season
20:50They've got first dibs on the best bathing spot in the area
20:57And the best bathing spot in the world
21:08But
21:23Dad can't kick back completely
21:27Keeping hold of this pool and his harem of breeding females is not gonna be easy
21:34Both are hot property for young bulls looking to start their own family
21:45For the father this interloper is about as welcome as a band-aid in a hot tub
22:03Dad
22:10Warns him to back off
22:18Fighting a two-ton rival would be exhausting. It could also be deadly
22:26But
22:31If the rogue male steps into his pool
22:36Dad has a simple choice
22:38Lose his family
22:42Or fight
22:56Dad
23:12Dad may have to see off many more challengers before the season is over
23:16But
23:23For now victory deserves a lap of celebration
23:32Yeah still got it
23:39All this frolicking and fighting helps to prolong the party season
23:46It stirs the waters and stops the pools from stagnating
23:56So even as the flood begins to subside
24:01Their fellow landscape engineers can be sure that hippo flavored water is safe to drink
24:17Just a few months on
24:21The riches of the flood disappear
24:31And the bulldozers bring what food is left
24:34But
24:45Even this demolition dinner
24:49Sets off a chain reaction
24:53That sends ripples far beyond the desert
25:00By paving the way for another natural phenomenon
25:05a
25:07Fire
25:14Dead wood fuels seasonal bushfires that rejuvenate the savannah
25:26And in these flames a new thread in the vast web of life begins
25:35With a link that connects continents
25:48As the brush and soil burn microscopic nutrients are released from their earthbound existence
25:55They rise up with the smoke to meet the clouds
26:08High in the atmosphere plumes of phosphorus speed their way through wind currents and weather systems
26:17Fertilizers carried all the way across the Atlantic
26:23To the skies of South America
26:31Where their magic rains down
26:36Over the mighty Amazon rainforest
26:40Remarkably half of the phosphorus that finds its way here originates from African fires
26:50Providing an intercontinental lifeline for the three million species that call this place home
26:59We used to think the incredible diversity of life here evolved through the pressures of competition
27:12But
27:17The
27:20But there is also a more subtle and equally powerful force at play
27:29Collaboration
27:33The
27:36The
27:40The
27:43The
27:46The
27:50Rising above it all is an elegant Brazil nut tree
27:59She has been growing here for over a century
28:05At nearly a hundred and fifty feet tall she is a pillar of high society
28:20She has risen to the top by being the ultimate forest networker
28:25And she has faith that her contacts will provide everything she needs
28:33Bright yellow flowers brimming with nectar announce that she is ready to reproduce
28:46But she's a little bit picky
28:49She only wants to emit VIPs
28:53Very important pollinators who might have visited another Brazil nut tree
29:03So her flowers have a protective hood
29:08It'll take someone with a bit more heft to deadlift this doorway
29:13Astonishingly this tree is so well connected that she can outsource the hard work of finding such an exclusive creature
29:24To a personal assistant
29:29A neighboring orchid
29:33Looking to lure in a pollinator of its own
29:38Looking to lure in a pollinator of its own
29:44Its captivating aroma is irresistible to a connoisseur of scents
29:56This orchid bee is a master perfumier
30:02Working on his own signature cologne
30:07He simply must add this divine fragrance to his mix
30:14He gently gathers the finest aromatic oils with his brushes
30:23And deftly blends them together in his pouches
30:30The perfect concoction will make him more desirable to any admirer
30:36So it must be just right
30:43Maybe a dab more
30:47But it's not this perfumed perfectionist who will help the Brazil nut tree
30:55It's who he attracts
30:57With the forest air now heady with seductive scents
31:02Bigger, stronger, female bees start buzzing about
31:11And it is these heavyweights who the Brazil nut tree has been waiting to entertain
31:19Female bees have the power to prise open the hood
31:27And deliver the pollen the tree needs to reproduce
31:35And it is these heavyweights who the Brazil nut tree has been waiting to entertain
31:49The tree's mastery of the forest network has paid off
32:00But by next year her exclusive flowers have turned into a fruit
32:08That is even harder to get into
32:19Not even a hundred-foot drop can spring its seeds from their rock-hard shell
32:29Only a safecracker could bust into this strongbox
32:34But this noble tree even has contacts in the forest underworld
32:44Suspect number one
32:48The light-fingered agouti
32:55This toothy rodent is the only creature with the right tools to jimmy open the case
33:03And when it comes to the nuts inside
33:07He's just gotta have them all
33:10If there's any leftovers, he stashes them in little caches throughout the forest
33:21So he can enjoy them later
33:31But this forest filter has so many hidden away
33:35He can't possibly remember where they all are
33:42And it's his lost seeds that the Brazil nut has been counting on
34:06Placing her precious legacy in the hands of such a motley crew might seem reckless
34:16But that's the wonder of nature's network
34:20These fantastical collaborations really do work
34:27And they're so reliable that every single Brazil nut is created in this extraordinary way
34:36There are crop that can only come from a healthy, intact rainforest
34:49And there's one animal in particular who is crucial to keeping this whole forest healthy
34:57A creature who rules his kingdom with an iron fist of fear
35:14Well, at least he will when he gets out of bed
35:26A typical teenager
35:29This young jaguar spends his days sleeping
35:34And occasionally getting up to raid the pantry
35:49His snacks range from the tops of the trees
35:54Right down to beneath the waterline
36:03But his boundless appetite means that everywhere he treads, he breathes not death, but life
36:15Without big cats like him, this place could look very different
36:24Fewer hunters would mean a boom of grazers, devouring saplings before they reach maturity
36:37As older trees die off, fewer young ones replace them
36:44Sunlight streams in through gaps in the canopy
36:51The damp understory dries out
36:55And those that rely on moist conditions disappear
37:03Flowers wilt
37:06Hummingbirds starve
37:10Where no large predators roam, leafcutter ant numbers explode a hundredfold
37:21Ready to strip away the forest, one leaf at a time
37:32Just one missing link
37:35Just one missing link, and the whole network begins to fall apart
37:46But where jaguars still hunt, they are the glue that binds together the complex web of the rainforest
37:56And this voracious teenager
37:59Will even attempt something few other hunters would dare
38:06Taking on another top predator
38:15A caiman
38:19Waiting to ambush her own prey
38:23A naive jaguar would be well within her power
38:29It's all about who gets the jump on whom
38:59He has landed a meal worthy of even the heartiest teenage appetite
39:08And one that will have profound consequences
39:13For the rest of her life
39:17And for the rest of her life
39:21And for the rest of her life
39:26And one that will have profound knock-on effects
39:34Because his leftovers are about to start their own journey
39:40That will reveal the mind-blowing secret of how forests all over the world really work
39:49The rotting carcass releases a lifetime's worth of nutrients that seep into the forest floor
40:01And underground, something is waiting to receive them
40:10A microscopic thread absorbs the nutrients
40:14And transports them beneath the trees above
40:23It is just one filament in a vast living network
40:32The mycelial tissue from colonies of fungi
40:37That spread beneath this entire rainforest
40:42Their tiny terminals connect to tree roots
40:47Trading captured nutrients in return for a share of the tree's own food
40:56But this is more than just a business transaction
41:01In some forests, underground networks unite their trees
41:06In some forests, underground networks unite their trees
41:11Into a single wood-wide web
41:15A smart system that allows a mutual flow of food and water
41:21From the strongest to the weakest
41:24Even between species
41:29A sapling starved of sunlight
41:32Can be nursed to full strength by her taller neighbors
41:38The trees might even use their network to communicate with each other
41:44A hive mind, warning others of disease or attack
41:49So they can prepare for tough times ahead
41:56The scale of the planet's fungal networks is staggering
42:01Laid end-to-end, they would spread beyond our solar system
42:06Extending more than halfway across our galaxy
42:12But here on Earth, they work with their trees
42:17To lock away three-quarters of all our terrestrial carbon
42:22Safely beneath the soil
42:31This fig tree is hundreds of years old
42:37A mother tree
42:41Many saplings have grown up in her shadow
42:48But now, her life is coming to an end
43:02The fungal network may allow her one final act of selflessness
43:11To gift the last of her precious nutrients to her community
43:21A grandmother's dying wish to provide the best chance for her forest family
43:32Another tree will grow to take her place
43:37And continue her enduring role
43:42Thanks to the wonders of the wood wide web
43:55Some scientists today are increasingly seeing forests
44:00As a single, interconnected entity
44:07Where plants, animals and fungi all work together
44:16As a collaborating, self-supporting community
44:22The epitome of nature's amazing network
44:31In the light of these recent discoveries
44:36It's not too great a leap to see the whole planet functioning in the same way
44:43Every life connected
44:47From a speedy reindeer to a triumphant hippo
44:52Every action with its consequences
44:58From an ocean heartbeat to a fertile rainstorm
45:10One way or another, all of nature connects to all our lives
45:20Even if it's not walking down our street
45:28Life's connections stretch to every corner of the earth
45:36But nature's network must be constantly on the move
45:41Dancing to the rhythms of our living planet
45:46And reacting to the passage of time itself
45:53In a world that is ever-changing
45:58Opportunity is always there for the taking
46:03But timing is everything
46:23A film by
46:27A film by
46:32A film by
46:37A film by
46:42A film by
46:47A film by
46:51A film by
46:56A film by
47:01A film by
47:06A film by
47:11A film by
47:16A film by
47:21A film by
47:26A film by
47:31A film by
47:36A film by
47:41A film by
47:46A film by
47:51A film by
47:56A film by
48:01A film by
48:11A film by
48:16A film by
48:21A film by
48:26A film by
48:31A film by
48:36A film by
48:41A film by
48:46A film by
48:51A film by
48:56A film by
49:01A film by
49:06A film by
49:11A film by
49:16A film by
49:21A film by
49:26A film by
49:31A film by
49:36A film by
49:41A film by
49:46A film by