"A universe of stars shines down on one special planet." "Our planet." "Our home." "The only planet we know that has life." "Life began when the Earth was young and it started small... when one tiny molecule managed to make a copy of itself." "Since then... since that magical moment... life has swept across the globe... filling every corner of our world." "Today there are some 5 million different species on the planet." "5 million different ways of staying alive." "This is a story that connects us all." "It's a story of hope and of triumph." "A story of our journey through life." "Every life begins with a birth." "And every mother must choose where her baby's life begins." "A Weddell seal has come to this desert of snow and ice to have her pup." "The pup is only a few hours old and is helpless." "He is entirely dependent on his mother. but the temperature can still drop to minus 20 degrees and winds of 70 miles an hour roar across the ice." "All his mother can do is try to shelter him with her own body." "Trust that she can keep her infant alive." "to have her pup?" "they're safe from their enemies." "no predator can reach her or her baby." "but there's no food here." "the only route to her hunting ground." "too." "She has to persuade him into the water." "He's not keen." "And who can blame him?" "but he soon discovers this is where he was born to be." "life's adventure can begin. so much of growing up depends on the skill and determination of your parents." "These snow monkeys live in a volcanic mountain range in the cold North." "but they still feel the cold." "And the winter here is hard on the little ones." "Some snow monkeys have discovered there is a better way." "Steamy hot thermal springs." "These resourceful mothers bring their babies here to escape the worst of the winter in a long warm bath." "the water is a delightful 100 degrees." "So why aren't all the monkeys in the pool?" "it's a privilege which is jealously guarded." "a royal family." "A queen and a ruling dynasty of snow monkeys." "Outside the pool... everyone else." "The youngest princess can luxuriate because she has an extended family determined to give her the best in life." "Not everyone has the advantage of such a supportive family." "Some have to depend on a dedicated single mother." "And here she is." "A strawberry poison arrow frog no bigger than your fingernail." "She's laid her eggs on the forest floor." "For most frog mothers that would be the job done. and then she moves her tadpoles out of danger. then sets off." "she starts to climb." "And this is what she's looking for:" "30 feet above the ground." "There's water trapped in its leaves that makes it a perfect nursery pool." "She has to leave him because she still has 4 more tadpoles and each must be carried up to its own private nursery. so she feeds each tadpole with one of her own unfertilized eggs. she has to climb back up to each youngster... and do it all over again. and leaves his devoted mother behind." "(growling)" "(adult gorilla snorting) too." "A male silverback gorilla left in charge." "(upbeat music)" "(snorting) but he's not what you might call a hands-on dad." "(snorting)" "(growling)" "(birds chirping)" "(distant growling)" "(growling)" "babysitting." "It's so exhausting." "(growling)" "(screaming)" "(distant whooping)" "(distant thumping)" "That sound is another male." "A rival." "A challenge." "(whooping)" "(echoing sound effects) and that would be the end of his family and everything he holds dear." "(distant whooping)" "(distant thumping)" "(whooping)" "(echoing sound effects)" "No reply." "(soft music) he's actually a pretty good dad." "(wind gusting)" "(whimpering) being a good parent comes naturally." "but there are times when you have to learn the hard way." "This baby elephant was born last night to a first-time mother. if the baby survives these critical early days." "the mother must find water." "she has to join the march." "(soft music) but there's still a long way to go." "(growling)" "(soft music)" "(trumpeting)" "(growling)" "(trumpeting)" "She's not sure what to make of a waterhole." "(whimpering) And no idea how to get out of it. the young mother and her calf follow." "This is dangerous." "(trumpeting) baby elephants can get fatally stuck in mud." "(calf crying) but she's actually pushing her baby deeper into the mud." "(trumpeting)" "The grandmother sees the problem." "(trumpeting)" "She barges her daughter out of the way just in time." "(soft music) they're all cared for by parents who do their best to keep them safe." "childhood ends... (trumpeting) ...and they'll discover it's time to make their own way in the world." "The lifelong search for food begins." "(birds chirping)" "Imagine trying to feed 10 million hungry mouths." "that's the challenge facing the inhabitants of this underground city." "The city is surrounded by grassland. can't actually eat grass." "(crunching)" "(thumping)" "(upbeat music) and they carry it all the way back to the colony." "(upbeat music)" "And they do this all day." "Every day." "365 days a year." "(upbeat music)" "So why are they doing it?" "The answer lies deep underground." "(cringing)" "They chop it up and feed it to a fungus that can eat grass." "And then they eat the fungus." "The anthill is a massive underground farm. except that the fungus produces so much carbon dioxide it poisons the air down here." "too." "They've built specially designed ventilation shafts to keep their air clean." "architects and engineers." "Each individual ant has a brain the size of a pinhead. they have invented a solution to feeding themselves that we would be proud to match." "the best way is to follow your own path." "Choose food that no one else has a taste for." "(distant squawking) scanning the ground for his next meal." "(squawking)" "(distant squawking)" "A lot of rival scavengers have beaten him to this carcass." "(squawking)" "but a lammergeier is happy to miss out on the meat." "It's the bones he's after." "they are full of rich marrowfat." "The problem: how to get at it." "(epic music)" "Here's how." "(cawing)" "Now the juices in his stomach - as corrosive as battery acid - can get to work dissolving the bone." "(squawking)" "Every young lammergeier wants to learn the trick." "It's not as easy as it looks." "And a beginner needs to be closely watched." "(angry squawking) lf at first you don't succeed... try..." "(squawking) try... try again." "A unique and inventive way to get food." "One that lammergeiers have made their own." "(crickets chirring)" "these rocks have been a special place for preparing food by a really clever animal." "ln fact it's so clever it's changed the way we think about animals and even about ourselves." "These caves are home to a monkey:" "the brown tufted capuchin." "Capuchins love palm nuts." "even harder than bone." "(birds chirping)" "An old hand knows that first a nut should be peeled." "Then given a week or so drying in the sun." "Here's some he prepared earlier." "these clever capuchins worked out that this is what they needed to finish the job." "Now the final step." "(soft dramatic music)" "(music intensifying)" "We used to think only humans were clever enough to use tools like this." "(joyful music) just as human toddlers do." "(thumping) you've gotta have the right tool." "(fly buzzing)" "It takes 8 years to become a master nutcracker." "(birds squawking)" "you need more than just skill." "You need courage to find food." "(birds squawking)" "this ibex gave birth to her kids out of the reach of predators." "Now they need food and water." "And that is down in the valley." "Getting there is going to be tough." "(pebbles falling down)" "(hooves echoing)" "(wind gusting)" "(birds squawking) when she runs right into trouble." "(dramatic music)" "The kid has never seen a fox before but she knows she must run for her life." "one hesitation and the ibex's short life will be over." "The kid has the good sense to make for a place where only an ibex could stand." "(soft music)" "Today the little kid made all the right choices... and the fox goes home hungry." "(birds chirping)" "So being a hunter isn't always easy." "You have to be at the top of your game to survive." "(crunching)" "A praying mantis." "Sharp-eyed and lightning quick." "A perfect hunter." "a perfect meal." "(sound effects)" "but he's outgunned by something even more deadly:" "a chameleon." "She can camouflage her skin to melt into the background." "She can move her eyes independently to lock on to her target. striking her victims at 50 feet a second." "And it comes totally out of the blue." "Delicious." "You don't have to work alone." "You can be part of a team." "Get it right and it can totally change your life." "things are changing." "Fast." "(birds squawking)" "(soft music)" "Cheetahs hunt alone. but not strong enough to take down a big animal." "And the zebra know it." "but this cheetah is different." "He doesn't hunt alone. but his 2 brothers. and now 3 times as strong." "They're turning their sights on much bigger prey." "(distant zebra crying)" "An ostrich knows a lone cheetah is too small and weak to worry about." "but these brothers have changed the rules." "(dramatic music)" "(ostrich squawking)" "The female is slow to react and the cheetahs switch target." "(squawking)" "(groaning)" "(cheetahs panting)" "These brothers have figured out how successful a team can be." "Strange circular scars on the sea floor are the mark of a spectacularly successful team." "coordinated and creative." "These dolphins have worked out that fish out of water are much easier to catch." "(puffing) this bottlenose dolphin stirs up the seabed. she creates a ring of mushrooming mud around a shoal of fish." "A fishing net... made of mud. till there's only one way out... straight into the mouths of the waiting dolphins." "(classical music)" "(birds chirping) can't move?" "There's only one option:" "lure your victim in." "(fly buzzing)" "The Venus flytrap does just that: oozing sugary nectar around the brim of each leaf." "bait for hungry visitors. which only work when 2 of them are touched within 20 seconds." "(metallic clanging) One... (clock ticking)" "(metallic clanging) ...two." "(buzzing) (dramatic music)" "(fly squirming) ready for its next meal." "except... there'll be nobody left to pollinate its flowers." "No baby flytraps next year. well away from the traps below." "(birds chirping)" "flies can safely graze on nectar." "they fertilize the flowers." "(buzzing) business as usual." "When it comes to the truly ruthless pursuit of prey... there is one hunter you don't want to meet." "the biggest lizard on the planet." "10-feet long and weighing 300 pounds." "It's the height of the dry season." "Perfect times for a dragon." "(insects buzzing) (growling) buffalo concentrate at the shrinking waterholes." "The dragon is wary of getting too close. even a kick from those legs could badly injure him." "He knows all he needs is just one bite. but it alerts the other dragons close-by." "they're attracted by blood." "(grunting)" "They gather round and watch the buffalo's every move... for days." "The wound doesn't heal." "This is the Komodo dragon's secret weapon." "lts bite injected a poisonous cocktail of bacteria and venom." "the buffalo weakens." "And the dragons wait." "That's all they have to do. and wait for the poison to take effect." "(snorting)" "(groaning)" "The buffalo died in the night." "(flies buzzing)" "The dragons can eat almost their own body weight in one meal." "They strip the buffalo to the bone in under 3 hours." "Hunters." "determined." "They seem to hold all the aces." "So what can you do if you're the one being hunted?" "beneath this tree lives a tiny creature called a sengi." "And she has a plan. and a very good memory." "She's cleared an intricate network of trails all around her territory." "And she's memorized every twist and turn of this maze." "And here's why." "(dramatic music)" "The monitor lizard is very fast in short bursts." "but she's the one with the agility to take the tight corners." "(dramatic music)" "And she makes the most of home advantage. she's outwitted him." "(insects buzzing)" "in time to suckle her baby." "Her escape plan has kept them both alive. there's an escape artist to gladden your heart." "(soft music)" "Meet the pebble toad." "the toad-eating tarantula." "The pebble toad has no armour." "He crawls very slowly... and hopping is quite beyond him. no contest." "(gulping) but he's not called a pebble toad for nothing." "(dramatic music)" "He rolls like a pebble and he bounces like a pebble... right out of danger." "(birds chirping)" "Now meet the Jesus Christ lizard. but he's actually about to do something quite miraculous." "(squawking)" "That hunter's too close." "Time to go." "(rhythmic music)" "(soft music)" "We'd have to run at more than 65 miles an hour to do this." "He's got a talent for walking on water and a name to match." "(joyful music)" "There are places where there's simply nowhere to run." "Then your best chance is to hide in a crowd. but the synchronized flash of silver makes it hard for the hunter to pick out a victim." "(joyful music)" "(squawking) a crowd attracts attention." "And the fish find themselves at the centre of a feeding frenzy." "(dramatic music) surgical precision." "Sailfish combine speed with skilful swordplay to pick off one fish after another." "So is there anywhere to escape?" "(epic music)" "Fish... that fly." "Escaping the clutches of a hunter is not just about self-preservation." "Often there is even more at stake." "(dramatic music)" "Red-billed tropicbirds coming home from a fishing trip." "(squawking)" "Frigate birds patrolling offshore." "Waiting." "They don't want to kill him; they want to steal his fish." "It's easier than catching their own." "Another ambush." "(squawking)" "There goes the fish." "Another victory for the robbers." "It's nesting time here in Tobago and this chick is hungry." "lts father has yet to battle his way through." "(dramatic music)" "but tropicbirds are quicker on the turn." "(squawking)" "(chirping)" "He didn't fight off his attackers to feed himself." "He did it for his chick." "because nothing is more important to him than family." "It's tempting to think that the story of life but living here is an animal who turns that idea on its head one greater goal." "(breathing)" "This giant octopus is looking for a new home." "(breathing)" "It has to be just right. and living there for the rest of her life." "(breathing)" "These translucent curtains of eggs are her first brood." "Her only brood." "A giant octopus has only one chance to be a mother. she dare not leave her eggs unprotected for a moment." "Not even to feed." "She's prepared to starve herself to death... for the sake of her young." "(soft music)" "She softly blows water over her eggs to encourage them to hatch. she sees her babies born into the world." "They mean so much to her she's willing to die for them." "in her children and in the generations to come." "(birds chirping)" "(soft music) we all dream the love of our life. these beautiful birds fly north to find each other again lonely winter apart. the male gives her the most romantic gift he can." "A fish. so she invites him to join her in a dance." "(soft music)" "(splashing)" "(birds chirping) and he thinks he's going to find her at the top of this tree." "waiting." "but the love life of a beetle is never that simple." "Those aren't horns on his head." "They're jaws." "The male Darwin's beetle has some of the biggest jaws in nature... for fighting rivals." "(squeaking)" "the better the fighter." "Just as well that armour's tough." "(amusing music)" "A second rival." "And another." "One more." "And yet another." "Here she is at last." "she doesn't seem that impressed." "(amusing music)" "the hurling habit dies hard." "(squeaking) but often it's the females that do the choosing." "This is a female humpback whale and she's ready to mate. attracting males from far and wide." "(whale singing) enticing her suitors to chase her." "They challenge for the one position that counts:" "to swim right behind her." "They're doing exactly what she wants." "She wants them to fight." "(whales singing)" "(epic music)" "40-ton males lash out at each other." "It's an epic battle where there can only be one winner." "(dramatic music)" "Only when the female is sure that the strongest male has won will she allow him to take his place at her side to be her mate." "(whales singing)" "(whale singing) she comes back to Tonga with her perfect newborn calf." "her whole life has brought her to this moment." "Every living thing on our planet shares the same desire: but to foster new life." "And we're no different." "We see so much of us in them... and them in us." "Whether it's intelligence or ingenuity... grace or determination." "Courage... even love." "Their lives... our lives... all life on Earth will be richer if we choose to remember everything we have in common." "To remember we share one planet... one future."