"The Caribbean sun-drenched paradise" "bursting with color and life" "It's the ultimate desert island dream" "but every year this dream becomes a nightmare as the Caribbean gets hit by an average of six hurricanes in as many months" "How on Earth does the wildlife survive when Caribbean heaven turns to hurricane hell?" "The Carribean is, in most people's ideas, a place to chill out and relax" "But from June to November, many Caribbean islands become a danger zone" "In 2005, there were record-breaking 15 hurricanes, that's 1 every 2 weeks" "Even with the best forecasting, no one can predict exactly when or where a hurricane will strike or what the impact would be on these pristine beaches and lush forests" "So what puts these peaceful islands with their gentle breezes and warm sunshine in the firing line for some of the most ferocious storms on Earth?" "It's during the hot summer months that hurricanes are born." "When the Alantic Ocean warms up to a temperature of more than 27 decree Celcius enough to fuel a storm" "Many hurricanes begin as tropical depressions off the coast of Africa" "They whirl across the sea, feeding sucking up heat from the warm water" "This heat provides the energy they need to grow" "Winds steer them westward as they build in strength" "Too far north, and the sea is not warm enough to feed the storm" "Too far south, close to equator, and the earth is not rotating fast enough to make the storm spin" "On track though, and the storms whirl down to a narrow corridor called "hurricane alley"" "If wind tops over 40 miles per hour, we give the storm a name" "If they reaches 70 miles per hour, it ranks as the fully fletched hurricane" "On the recieving end, the Carribean about to face a monster whirlwind up to eight miles high, hundreds of miles across around an eerily calm center, called the "eye"" "Hurricanes are unpredictable beasts" "But eventually the killer will strike" "It's only a question of when and where" "When it does hit, a hurricane raw power can rave sea levels and generate huge waves, 20m high" "xxx up by spinning wind of more than 160 miles per hour" "This is what the Caribbean faces every year" "So how does it survive?" "Right in the frontline of this devastation is a coral reef" "How do the inhabitants of this complex and fragile world handle the raw power of the hurricane?" "Lobsters are particularly vulnerable during the storms easily crushed or injured by loose rocks" "Many don't take around." "They leave the shallow reef for deeper, safer water well before the storms arrive" "At the start of each hurricane season they sense warning changes in the water such as temperature or serenity and they skid out to deeper water" "But what happens to the reef itself and those creatures that don't evacuate?" "As the first storm of the season approaches, this immense force begins to make its present felt" "Waves start to swell" "Time to find shelter, if you can" "It's like a bomb exploding over and over again" "By the time the blitz finally ends the coral reef is trashed" "These are the reefs of XXX after hurricane Lenny left it calling card in" "The marine reserve around XXX took the full brunt of the storm" "Corals were smashed or ripped out of the reef" "And yet, the damage isn't quite catatrophic as it looks" "These fragile branching corals may be smashed to pieces but that's not the end of them" "The fragments can be regenerated" "All they need is the lightly spot on which they grow" "And they grow fast, up to 15 cm in a year" "Depending on where they end up, some can even sow the seed of brandnew reef" "Over thousands of years, reefs have adapted to grow with the punches in a storm" "Some corals break, others are tough enough to resist the onslaught of the waves" "They have adapted to life in the impact zone and with time, can recover" "But if major storms get even more frequent there may not be enough breeding space before the next big hit" "Hurricanes are an occupational hazard of Caribbean life" "Most people live along the coasts and in the frontline of a storm which means hurricane season puts thousands of homes and livelihoods at risk" "But most of the time, the beach is a place to chill out and have fun" "It's not just people though that use the beach" "This is where Caribbean turtles lay their eggs" "The leatherback, giant among turtle, can grow to 2m long and 700kg in weight" "It spends most of its life far out at sea where hurricanes are little threats" "But each year between February and October, females come ashore to lay their eggs" "If they lay early, they avoid hurricane season" "But from early June, eggs that still haven't hatched, are under threat" "For now though, it's a calm Caribbean night." "The female uses her enormous flipper to laboriously dig a nest around a meter deep and fill it with about 80 eggs" "Once she cover them up again, she carefully spreads sand around the nest as camoflage to ward off predarors" "Being eaten though is not the only risk to her precious eggs" "They won't hatch out for two months and hurricane season is reaching its height" "The female has done all she can but is a lottery when and where the next storm will strike" "Back out at sea, the adult turtle finds safety in her element" "But what will happen to her eggs on shore?" "The beaches are sitting targets for perhaps the hurricane's most leathal weapon storm surge" "as air pressure at the center of the hurricane begins to drop the storm tucks on the surface of the sea raising the water level" "together with the wind pushing the water it creates the storm surge that can raise sea level by more than 6 meters" "the deadliest storm surge can rage upto ten miles inland" "the impact, from damage to loss of life, is devastated" "when the entire coast has been swallowed up and spat out by the sea could there be any hope for turtle nests?" "In 2004, Hurricane Ivan's storm surge, up to 6m high swamped the west Carribean island of Grand Cayman an island known for green turtle nests" "At one point, almost the whole ground of Grand Cayman was submerged" "Amazingly, just two people were killed but nearly every homes were damaged" "Corals torn from the reef were washed up on the beach" "In other cases though the entire beach has simply disappeared" "The huge volume of water has washed more than 150,000 m3 of sand inland" "so what had happened to the turtle eggs?" "Here on the Grand Cayman, Ivan wiped out more than 80% of the green turtle nests" "On the nearby island of Cayman Brac it was just as bad." "Heavy losses, but at least confined to a single generation" "Next year, adult turtles will be back to lay more eggs" "Hurricanes of Ivan size haven't hit Cayman in over 50 years" "Recently though, the Carribean has been hit by hightened hurricane activities with 2005 breaking the 27-year record fo the most named storms" "The question scientists are asking now is" "Are these more ferocious and more frequent hurricanes linked to global warming?" "And if so, what would it mean to the people and wildlife of the Caribbean?" "Low-lying islands are particularly vulnerable to storm surge" "In the Bahamas, few of the 700 islands rise more than a few meters above sea level" "And these islands lie along the northern fringe of the Carribean where there are more hurricanes than anywhere else" "Here, it's not just the beaches but the entire island that gets inundated" "So can any animals survive here, in such a hurricane hot spot?" "The most common species of lizard, the Brown Anole is found on a dozen of these small islands" "Despite repeated hurricanes, the population doesn't just survive it thrives" "Fiercely territorial, the brown anole defenses its patch first by flushing its u-flap then if that fails, by chasing rivals away" "But how does a small lizard stand its ground in the face of a gigantic storm" "But while the baby lizards were still in their eggs others had started to re-colonize the island" "Spiders blew in on the wind emergency supply for the new lizard generation" "Just weeks after the disaster strikes life is already fighting back" "The Caribbean beaches, coral reef and low-lying islands are alwalys vulnerable to waves and storm surge" "But one coastal environment does make its stand" "Mangroves" "Able to grow in salt water, mangrove forests border many of the islands and they are a natural break water" "Their tangle roots help to absorb the energy of massive waves shielding the shore behind" "And they also shelter vulnerable wildlife" "Among the roots are many young fish found out on the coral reef" "This is where they hatch out and start their life" "Eventually, the young fish'll strike out for the reef with stocking of fresh blood crucial after the destruction of the storm" "Acting as a nursery for fish and buffer for the entire island" "Mangroves are perhaps Caribbean's best defense for massive force of the hurricanes." "But even mangroves have their breaking point" "Hurricane Mitch struck in 1998" "Torrential rains brought chaos to the Central American country of Honduras" "This notorious category-5 hurricane claimed at least 11,000 lives" "Mitch was a specially strange beast" "As it moved nearer land, it did something odd" "It stopped and raved the island of XXX for almost two days" "This lengthy battering by surf and storm surge was too much even for mangroves" "97% of the XXX mangrove rorest was destroyed" "Years after Mitch, parts of the island are still shellsoft" "After such a hammering, the forest was uable to regenerate themselves" "There were no trees left standing to produce seedlings needed to re-grow" "even for nature's best defenses, sometimes the terrific impact of hurricanes is just too great" "In a really big storm, it is not even safe even further inland" "Many Caribbean islands are cloaked with tropical rainforests buzzing with life" "some of them are highly in danger" "But these forest strongholds aren't invincible" "They're blasted by another element of hurricane hell" "High winds" "So how do the residents cope?" "In September 2004 as Hurricane Ivan swept towards the Caribbean one island was about to be remided of exactly how a direct hit can feel" "as the farthest southern limit of hurricane alley" "Guaneda has long been considered relatively safe but all that was about to change." "ivan's wind began to scowl the island" "Eventually wind reached 130 miles per hour not even fall for category-5" "but enough to topple an entire tree, smash homes." "Guaneda hadn't seen a storm on this scale for nearly 40 years" "many people have forgotten how bad things could be" "In fact, the island was considered one of the Carribean's few safe ports in a storm" "But ivan poverised the island damaging nearly every buildings leaving a death toll of 39" "the forest was devastated, too" "more than 90% of the xxx reserve was laid waste the tree tops were literally blown off" "in some places, two-year worth of leafeaters and debris have been dumbed on the forest floor within just a single day" "But these tropical forests have faced such a punishment time and again" "Over thousands of years, they have evolved remarkable strategy to help them bounce back" "This rainforest in Puerto Rico had been stripped bare by Hurricane Hugo in 1989" "But you'll never know that looking at the forest today" "Scientists' studies discoveries uncover some of the hurricane beating tricks" "Perhaps the best survivor strategy belongs not to forest animals but to a forest tree" "This is the tabonuco, veteran of many storms" "Living for centuries, these trees have found a way to combat hurricanes" "Sure enough they'll lose their leaves, even their branches" "But they're rarely blown right down" "The secret of the tabonuco's storm beating success lies in its roots" "They fuse with those of other tabonucos' to create one giant anchor in the earth" "Anywhere from 10 to 20 trees will join this union giving them the solidarity to stand up to a storm" "sadly, not all trees have this neighborhood support" "For now, most of Guaneda forest canopy lies scattered on the forest floor" "This debris though contains the gem for regrowth and regeneratioon vital nutrients" "These nutrients need to get back into circulation fast" "A big job for some other, smallest animals" "And it's down here among the debris that the hardwork begins" "Fragments of leaves and wood left by the storm are broken down by leafeater community worm, millipedes and termites are unsong heros that kickstart recovery" "Without this underworld, the plants and trees above could not exist" "Termites help remove the wood" "and millipedes chew up the leaves into even tinier bits" "Fungi are important decomposers, too" "They help process enormous quantity of wood and leaves" "In a surprisingly short period of time sometimes well under a year these teens transform the piles of storm debris into rich composts the foundation of new growth" "Just weeks after the storm new shoots begin to fill the open space left by the fallen trees" "while those left standing sprout new leaves" "But what about the wildlife that live in these trees?" "After a storm, food can be hard to find" "Bad news for nectar-hungry humming birds" "But many Caribbean birds are used to flying by the seed of their pants" "If one part of the forest has been trashed, they just move on" "Artificial feeding sites in people's gardens help tide over hungry birds" "These little birds, xxx, get their sugar feasts too" "XXXXXXX" "By being mobile and adaptale" "These tiny birds defy the hurricane attacks" "By next year breeding season, population are usually taking off again" "Once the storm has passed it's time to start rebuilding life" "and home" "A hurricane of Ivan's manitude may only hit an island once in a half century leaving plenty of time for people, forests and wildlife to get back on their feet" "But if these huge storm strike more often they could have longer-lasting effects" "On Puerto Rico, there's one bird for whom another hurricane right now could be the final blow" "Once it was the widespread throughout the island but by the 1970s, it had almost disappeared" "xxx by loss of forests and human activities, just 13 individuals remain in one last patch of forest" "An urgent conservation effort has just started to save the Puerto Rico's parrot." "By1989, these efforts were beginning to payoff with 47 parrots in the wild" "But then, disaster struck" "Hurricane Hugo started off the coast of Africa on September 9, 1989" "By the 15, it had reached category 5 with wind speed estimated at 160 miles per hour" "and on the 19 it struck Puerto Rico, and the parrot santuary as the decade's most violent storm" "By the time Hugo left, the forest had been decimated" "Tragically, the parrots had been too" "Only three breeding pairs were left" "The storm had left the parrots desparately in need of help and the US wildlife service set up extra artificall nests on 24-hour big wildlife surveillance" "Precious chicks are monitored instantly from day they hatch" "Usually both of the parrot parents feed the chicks for two months until they fletch" "But if these chicks get sick or get a little weak" "They have an expert team as foster parent too even their very own hospital" "The aim is to beef up the parrot population and one day to create the second breeding colony else where in Puerto Rico's few remaining protected forests" "That way, when another hurricane is to be hit the parrots may be better able to ride out the storm" "The Puerto Rico parrots almost face extinction but for other wildlife, winds of change can be good news" "In 1995, researchers started to suspect that hurricanes has given a group of animals the opportunity of a lifetime" "Green iguanas had begun to turn up where they weren't supposed to be in particular, on the island of Anguilla" "How they got there was a mystery" "To solve the puzzle, scientists began to gather evidence about the weather at that time" "In September 1995, Hurricane Luis was followed less than 2 weeks later by Hurrican Marlin" "This double army headed for the eastern Caribbean island of Guadeloup home to thousands of green iguanas" "Scientists wondered if these hurricanes could be the catalyst for the iguana's move" "After a storm, there's often vegetation floating in the sea" "Did one of these branches become a raft?" "or was it possible there was a castaway?" "Could any iguana have survived an epic voyage by sea?" "Iguanas are cold-blooded reptiles" "So they use the sun for warmth and energy" "And they don't need too much food" "And rain could have provided drinking water" "Still it would have XXXXX hardly any creatures could survive" "Once inside of land and safely passed the surf and reef the castaway could have almost been the home-and-ride" "Scientists now believe green iguanas did indeed spend weeks at sea to make the journey to Anguilla" "And even more astonishingly, it was not alone" "As many as 15 green iguanas were recorded on Anguilla where they'd never been seen before" "Later, a pregnant female was discovered showing that the newcomers were capable of breeding too" "So it appears that green iguanas on Anguilla are now here to stay" "And scientists believe that iguanas may have pulled this island-hopping trick before" "They have turned the devastation of a hurricane to their advantage using it to colonize new islands in the Caribbean that would otherwise be completely out of reach" "Hurricane continues to torment this tropical paradise but they also breed new life into it has XXXX" "The Caribbean islands can undo, regenarate as long as they has enough time to heal" "Given 50 years before another monster hurricane there's time for the forest to become luxurious again" "and for the beaches to appear untouched" "Life along hurricane alley is the question of adapt or die which has helped shape one of the most colorful and xxx wildlife on earth" "But as our plantet climate changes many scientist fear that hurricane will hit more frequently and harder than before" "If that does happen, just how much pressure can Carribean wildlife take?"