03x07 - Arribada 2: Running the Gauntlet

[bunniefuu]

Iarriba!
!andale, andale!

We're here at the turtle beach
in costa rica,

Where nights ago
tens of thousands

Of mother sea turtles
stormed the beaches

To lay hundreds
of thousands of eggs.

These totally amazing creatures,

Made for life in the sea,

Have come from as far away
as south america

And then had to climb on land
to lay their eggs.

Even with the mother
sea turtles' return to the sea,

The struggle continues.

It's a dangerous,
even deadly adventure.

For us, this beach
is just a beach,

But for baby sea turtles,
it's like a vast desert.

[Martin]
on this beach, the baby turtles
are going to face

The biggest challenge
of their lives.

[Chris]
this is what they have to do.

One--hatch...

[Martin]
two--dig out of the sand...

[Chris]
three--crawl across
this huge beach...

[Martin]
and four--make it past
the hungry mob

That wants to devour them.

And who's in the mob?

Predators at 2:00!

[Chris]
there's the first one
on the scene.

This one's got quick hands
and cool nerves.

It's the raccoon,

Alias "the masked egg bandit."

[Martin]
and here comes
his nefarious cousin, the coati.

No nest gets past
that sniffer.

We call him "the nose."

[Chris]
and there's no question

The nose is in cahoots
with the black vulture,

Alias "the egg picker."

[Martin]
uh-oh. Trouble above.
The frigate bird's coming in,

Alias "paratrooper."

[Chris]
this little goblin's an egg's
worst nightmare.

It's the ghost crab,

Alias "sidestepper."

[Martin]
long beak, long legs,
big appetite.

It's the wood stork,
alias "snappy stilts."

[Chris]
you can't see him coming,
but you can't forget him.

It's the coyote,
alias "pretty boy."

All these predators have
the same clear objective--

To fill their bellies with eggs
and baby turtles.

For these creatures,

This is the biggest
thanksgiving dinner ever.

Oh, come on!
This is a ripoff!

After all
the turtle moms
went through

To lay their eggs
and get to the beach,

It doesn't seem fair.

[Ttark]
who said life
was fair?

I remember back
in the middle
jurassic period...

[Screeching]

This mega allosaurus
thought I'd make

A nice light snack.

And, hey,
I didn't like it,

But it was fair.

Ttark,
I'm not talking about
your dinosaur days.

I'm talking about
tiny sea turtles
in little eggs.

They don't have
any defenses.

Eggs can take care
of themselves

And the little
turtles inside.

First off,
there's a shell

Hard enough
to protect you,

But you can
still breathe.

You got all sorts
of good, juicy calcium,

Which builds up
the old skeleton,

And you got 50--
count them, 50--

Days of food
packed in there.

Remember, al,
I was born in an egg,

So I know.

Eggs are nothing
to make c-c-c-cracks about.

Yeah, but when
you have creatures

Like coyotes and coatis
after you...

[Martin]
no kidding.
Coatis are tough.

Look at this coati.

He's broken into
a coconut.

How'd he do it?

[Chris]
coconut shells
are tough to cr*ck.

Humans need a machete
to get that far.

What's he after now?

A scorpion!
He can't be serious.

Scorpions are poisonous!
How do you eat a scorpion?

Very carefully.

What's he doing now?

He's clawing it.

He's biting the stinger!

How can he do that?

I don't know,

But he got his snack,
all right.

These guys love to eat
creepy, crawly things.

Although,
if I were a coati,

I think I'd look
for something

That didn't move
quite as much.

Ow!

Ha ha ha!

[Chris]
it looks like
these coatis

Have found something

That doesn't move
at all.

They found
some turtle eggs.

[Martin]
did you know that
in a native language

Coati means nosy?

Hey, that makes sense.

Coatis have serious
nostril power.

The coatis follow their
nose to an egg nest,

Dig it up,

And then get cracking,
chowing down on eggs.

[Martin]
whoa! A family of coatis

Can sure do
a lot of damage.

Black vultures!

[Chris]
and they're all over
the coatis!

The coatis
don't seem to mind.

I wonder,
what's their angle?

Vultures look ominous
and scary,

But, in fact,
they're not
great hunters at all.

Yeah!
They're scavengers.

That means vultures
usually feed off

The kills of otheranimals.

They must be waiting
to get at the eggs.

The vultures
are biding their time,

Waiting for the coatis
to get their fill.

Then when
the coati's done,

The vultures scoot in
and gobble up the scraps.

Why does the coati

Put up with the vulture
hanging around?

I don't know, but--

A jaguar!

He's trying
a sneak att*ck.

The vultures
are taking off!

When the vultures
split,

The coati knows
there's trouble.

[Martin]
so that'swhy the coati
puts up with the vultures.

They warn him of danger.

[Chris]
the danger's taken off.

Now the team
can get back to work.

Coatis and vultures
make a great team,

But they're not
the only thr*at
to the eggs.

Coatis have a close relative
that look a lot like them.

It's the raccoon!

[Martin]
the raccoon--

Alias
"masked egg bandit."

[Chris]
like the coati,

The raccoon
follows his nose to food.

Then he touches it
all over.

The masked bandit
likes to feel his food

Before he eats it.

With those dexterous hands
and that powerful nose,

The raccoon is
a serious egg-raider.


Coulddestroy

Every single nest that
was made in a night.

Raccoons
are unstoppable.

If they smell eggs,
they'll come running,

Whether on the ground
or in the trees.

And raccoons are great...

At moving down trees
headfirst.

But it's really tough
for humans.

Hey, martin,
what are you doing?

I'm looking for eggs

Like one of the most efficient
egg predators--

The coyote.

A coyote walks along the beach

Feeling for soft spots.

And then it digs...

Because a soft spot is where

A female sea turtle
has just laid her eggs.

Except I always dig
in the wrong spot.

[Howling]

[Martin]
the old coyote may look pretty,

But he's also
a serious egg predator,

And he leaves his mark
with broken shells.

[Chris]
but who's the greatest
egg predator?

Presenting the ghost crab!

[Martin]
those tunnel-digging
sidesteppers may look weird,

But their egg-hunting technique
is direct and devastating.

[Chris]
they dig tunnels to the chamber
of the egg nest.

Once inside, it's
an all-you-can-eat egg buffet.

[Martin]
they do more than
destroy the eggs

Because the tunnel
they dig into the nest

Creates a path
for fungus and bacteria...

[Chris]
and that kills off any eggs
they didn't eat.

[Martin]
put it all together,
and it explains why--

Of all the predators
we've seen--

The ghost crab is responsible
for destroying the most eggs.

[Chris]
so these are the predators,

And they're all after
one thing--

Turtle eggs.

Vultures, coatis,
more vultures,

Ghost crabs,
raccoons, coyotes!

Everybody's after
these little guys.

I hope that's the end
of the list.

[Chris]
unfortunately, al,

There's another predator
we didn't mention.

These are human beings,

And they all come feed
at 12 noon

On something called lunch,

And lunch often consists

Of something called
turtle egg soup.

[Chris]
there are so many people
in this world,

And they can collect
so many eggs

That if we're not careful,

People could cause
the sea turtles

To disappear forever.

[Martin]
turtle egg beaches in costa rica

Are strictly controlled

Because too many people
taking too many eggs

Could really hurt sea turtles.

[Chris]
so remember,

Nobody should ever dig up
a turtle nest

Unless they have
special permission.

If we can limit the number
of eggs humans get,

Why not limit the number of eggs
available to creatures?

All we need is a plan.

[Ttark]
al, you're forgetting.

The mother sea turtles
put more eggs in the ground

Than all the natural predators

Of all costa rica
could ever eat.


At a hundred eggs each--

That's four million eggs!

Even that old allosaurus
couldn't do that.

So, what,
we do nothing?

Look, allison,
I know how much
you care, but--

We got to find
a way to help
the turtles.

When they hatch,
they struggle, too.

[Chris]
you got that right, al.

It's hard to first
have to break out
from the shell

And then have
to dig your way out

From under all this sand.

Once the baby sea turtles
have hatched,

It still takes them
two or three days

To crawl out
of all of this sand.

Ready, martin?

Yeah.

Go!

[Chris]
hey, over here!

The turtles from
this nest are hatching.

The first ones are
poking their faces out.

Martin, check it out.

[Martin]
I'm trying!

Uh! Uh!

If I could just
get out of this!

Come on, guys!
Climb out of there!

Come on, guys!

Uh!

Whew! That was a lot harder
than I thought.

Then again,
I'm not a baby sea turtle

Only a few inches long,

And besides,
each baby sea turtle

Has a whole nest
of other baby sea turtles

To help it out.

[Chris]
o.k. So some of the baby
sea turtles have hatched.

Now they've got to get
their bearings.

They're covered with sand,

And they have to wipe their eyes
so they can see.

Once the turtles are out
of the nest,

They have to point themselves
in the right direction

And head straight
for the water.

The bright light
reflecting off the water

Is like a lighthouse,
telling them which way to go.

[Martin]
look at the one closest to us.

Hey, dude, you're going
the wrong way!

That's it.

[Chris]
they know wherethey're headed,

But getting there--
that's the problem.

[Martin]
you're telling me.

Baby turtles are built
for the sea, not the land.

For baby turtles,
crossing this beach

Is like an impossible marathon
with lots of hurdles.

Uh!

Turtles first have to make it
past the dry sand.

There's all sorts of obstacles

Like this little almond thing
in the way.

They've got to navigate
the dune-like beach.

To us,
they're little sand hills,

But to the baby turtle,
they're mountains.

[Chris]
the sand is hot.

You know what it's like
to walk on burning sand.

Imagine crawling over hot sand
on your belly.

Sticks and logs on the ground

Can be a real problem
for these little guys.

They have to navigate
through twigs and branches,

And sometimes they get
a little caught.

Go, guy! Go!

[Martin]
this little one's caught
in a fishing net

That somebody littered
on this beach.

Litter like this frayed rope
on the beach

Can really mess up
the baby sea turtles

Because they get
trapped inside.

[Chris]
crossing the beach means

Having to get by
a lot of predators.

It's really dangerous
for these little turtles.

Come on, guys!
Come on. Go!

Go, guys, go!

These guys are going
as fast as they can,

But they're not
great sprinters.

They have to stop and rest,
and then they're off again.

[Martin]
plus, they have
an added disadvantage.

Baby turtle shells are soft,

So a predator can chew them up
like toffee.

[Chris]
if they get nabbed
by a predator,

They're in big, big trouble.

[Martin]
uh-oh. Chris...

A coati's caught wind
of what's going on.

[Chris]
that frigate bird spotted him.

[Martin]
the ghost crabs are out.

[Chris]
oh, no! Not a wood stork.

[Martin]
the predators are coming.

[Allison]
guys, I've got it!
I've got a plan!

We cover as much of the beach
as possible,

And we could save
a whole bunch of sea turtles.

Operation sea turtle saving
is underway.

Running the gauntlet.

Allison, you're
not listening.

I know
you want to help,

But you're thinking
in human terms.

It's a matter of math--

Creature math.

That's how
I figured out my plan--

With math.

Figure 40,000 turtles,


Over one mile of beach,

Two kratt brothers,
two hands each.

I think we're ready
for some serious
turtle saving.

[Martin]
she's right, chris.
We got to do something.

[Chris]
yeah, imagine having
huge monsters after you.

[Martin]
man! That sounds like
a bad dream.

[Chris]
all those predators
after you would be...

Like this!

Like this!

But this is real.

These poor guys
are getting slaughtered!

We got to help them out.

[Martin]
let's do it!

O.k. You're on your own now.

Go get 'em!

Oh, man!
We're getting clobbered!

[Martin]
oh, no! Frigate birds at 12:00.

It looks like
the tides are turning.

There's so many turtles now,

The predators
can't eat them all.

[Chris]
some of the baby turtles
are slipping by.

[Martin]
look at this little guy go.

He's zipping right past
these two vultures!

Come on!
You're almost there!

Move it out, buddy!

Uh-oh. Ghost crab.

[Chris]
our little guy better move.

[Martin]
yeah! He did it!

Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!

Good thing those vultures
are further down the beach.

[Chris]
it looks like
he and his buddies

Are going to make it.

You're almost there!

[Martin]
close race here--

The dark one and the light one.

Dark one's ahead
by a turtle length.

The light one pulls ahead
two turtle lengths.

Oh, no! The dark one
catches up again!

They're in a little jam here,

But the light one
pulls out of it!

[Chris]
martin, check it out!

[Martin]
what's wrong?

Do crocodiles
eat baby turtles?

[Chris]
I'm not sure,

But I don't think
we want to find out.

[Martin]
more frigate birds
are moving in!

We got frigate birds coming.
Come on, guy.

I'll help you out.
Let's go.

Quick time all the way
to the ocean.

The flying sea turtle.

Let's go, buddy.

Let's go. All right.

We're going to get you past
the first wave.

You've imprinted on the beach.

Say what?

[Martin]
an imprint is basically this--

A memory.

Through smell or taste
or some other sense,

The baby turtles imprint
on the beach.

Some scientists
think that's why

They need to walk
most of the way--

So they can remember the beach.

[Chris]
one day the females
will return to this beach

And lay their own eggs.

Baby turtles also need to walk
most of the way

To get their muscles
and lungs pumping.

All right.
Here you go.

[Martin]
they've made it to the ocean,

But now they have to b*at
the surf.

Those waves can really
bash a turtle around.

[Martin]
some turtles
get really beaten up

And get knocked out.

Let's see if we can
revive this guy

By bringing him back to water.

He's not even
moving anymore.

We'll get him
to the ocean.

[Chris]
maybe a crab pinched him,

A wood stork snapped him,

Or he was thrown around
by a vulture.

[Martin]
hey, he's moving!

The water's snapping him
out of it.

O.k. He's looking better.

All right, guy,
come on to the water...

Wait for the next big wave.

It's coming.

O.k. Go get 'em!

[Chris]
all right!
He's cruising now!

[Martin]
but it's not over yet, pal.

Watch out for the sharks!

[Chris]
o.k. Most of the turtles
don't make it,

But others do,

And they have a long life
ahead of them--

Maybe 50 years.

[Martin]
and one day, the adult turtles
will return to turtle beach

And start the arribada
all over again.

But with all
the obstacles
they have to face

Both inland
and in the water,

How can they survive
as a species at all?

Creature math,
allison.

O.k. What is
creature math?

Of all the eggs laid,

About 7% are
accidentally dug up

By other turtles.

Another 50%
just never hatch--

Could be fungi,
could be high tides.

Who knows?

That means only 13%
are actually eaten.

Which leaves 30%
of the eggs untouched,

And 30% of
four million is...

That's a lot
of eggs.

[Allison]
so the turtles as a species

Really didn't need our plan
after all.

[Chris]
we never looked at it
from the predators' perspective.

The turtle eggs and babies
provided food

For the predators
and theirbabies.

So maybe we got
a little carried away

Helping out these
baby sea turtles.

It's o.k. To care
about wildlife

And want to help out,

As long as you realize
how things work

And that nature
takes care of itself.

[Allison]
sometimes we humans can
get pretty carried away

And think we can control
the balance of nature.

The truth is, I guess,
that we forget--

Nature can take care of itself.

As long as we give nature
enough room,

We don't need to interfere.

We can watch and wonder
and keep exploring.