03x03 - Diomedea exulans

[bunniefuu]

["One Step Closer" playing]

[Jane] "Diomedea exulans."

[David, Jane screaming]

David, that's the ocean, not the sky!

You don't think I know that, Jane?

[strains, grunts] I meant to do that.

[chuckles] I-I'm still learning
how to fly this thing.

- Watch out!
- [screams] What was that?

Diomedea exulans!

[albatross squawking]

Let me guess, that's the
wandering albatross's scientific name?

Exactly. Isn't he beautiful?

He's okay.
And how do you know he's a "he"?

Boy albatrosses are usually bigger
and have whiter feathers.

[chatters]

Mission not accomplished.

We're not just trying to find
the wandering albatross.

We're trying to find out how
long they can fly before they land.

Some scientists think they can
fly for years without landing.

Wait, is our mission gonna take years?

I did not bring enough snacks for this.

Maybe. The wandering albatross
can live to be over 60.

I wonder how much of their life
is spent in the air.

You're telling me that bird
could be almost as old as my grandpa?

Well, they don't all live that long.

There are less of them every year.

How come?

Because people hurt them
with the way we catch fish,

- and plastic garbage in the oceans.
- [chatters]

- [sighs] We have to help them.
- We will.

But first we need to understand them.

[albatross squawks]

I understand that the wandering albatross
just became the landing albatross.

So much for flying for years.

That can't be right.

It must be that it doesn't
land on land for a long time.

Mission 2.0.

- Uh, David, that's the ocean again!
- Oh.

Um, this isn't one of those vehicles
that can land on water?

- No!
- [alarm blaring]

[screaming]

[screaming continues]

- Millie, why are you screaming?
- Because you were screaming.

- Why are you screaming?
- [Jane sighs]

We almost crashed into the ocean.

- Well, good thing I saved you.
- What's up, Millie?

I need your help. Unicorns or fairies?

Like who'd win in a mythical battle?

Easy. Unicorns.

Unless the fairies have magic
and can turn into even bigger unicorns.

No. For my birthday party.

Should it be a unicorn or a fairy party?

You're so lucky you have your own room.

Your birthday is weeks from now, Millie.

- But you always help me plan my party.
- [Jane] I have an idea.

Why don't you have
a wandering albatross birthday party?

- Are they magic?
- Kind of.

They can fly and they have
the longest wingspan of any bird.

Longer than my hand
all the way to David's. [chuckles]

And...

we think they can fly for
a really long time without landing.

- But we saw it land.
- [Jane] On water.

But how long before he lands on land?

Remember that's our mission 2.0.

- Does it really matter?
- If you want to help them? Absolutely.

Knowing where an animal lives and eats
will help us learn how to help it better.

I think I want it to be a unicorn party.

- Can you help me, David?
- Sure.

In a couple of weeks.

[sighs]

Day one. [sighs]

[albatross squawking]

[David] Day two and the wandering
albatross is still flying.

- Day three.
- [squawks]

Still flying.

Day four.

I'm going to take a wild guess and say...

Yep, still flying.

[Jane] Amazing.
Four whole days without landing on land.

Wait, what is he doing?

Maybe he's gonna land on water again?

- [sighs] Exciting.
- [sighs] Follow him!

- [David] He's not slowing down, Jane.
- [albatross squawking]

I don't understand.

Still not stopping.

If he's not landing then what is he doing?

- Jane!
- [albatross squawks]

- Pull up! Pull up!
- [alarm blares]

[screams]

[groans] Millie? What are you doing?

Inviting you to my birthday party.

By spraying me in the face?

You were ignoring me.

Not on purpose.

We just saw the wandering albatross
crash into the ocean.

Neat. Here are my invitations.

I had to make them myself
because you didn't help me, David.

You made one for Greybeard too.
Aw, thanks, Millie.

Can you help me with the decorations now?

[sighs] Millie, your birthday
is over two weeks away.

We still have to figure out how long
the wandering albatrosses wander

- before they get back to land.
- And what it was doing underwater.

[both gasp] Submarine time!

Have fun.

- [Greybeard chatters]
- Here we go.

[sighs]

What's wrong, sweetie?

David doesn't wanna
help me with my birthday.

I'm sure he will.
He's probably just busy right now.

Hey, I have an idea.

[Jane] Day eight.

Nine, ten, 11.

[David] Twelve, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17.

Does this bird ever land on land?

[Jane] We'll find out. Eventually.

Day 18. Any sign of him?

- [beeping]
- Still flying above us.

Then we wait.

Any idea what you're
getting Millie for her birthday?

I haven't really thought about it yet.

- What does she usually get you?
- She never really gets me anything.

It's more like she gets me to do things.

One time, she asked to make sparkle slime.

Then there was
the brother-sister ankle bracelets.

There was also
the daylong mermaid scavenger hunt.

We only found one and it was a merman.

[chuckles] Sounds like Millie loves
making things with you.

[splashes]

- [Jane] He went underwater again.
- He's fishing.

That's how he's able to spend
so much time without landing on land.

By fishing from the ocean.

[squawks]

[David] And he missed.

He's going for something else.

[Jane] That's not a squid.

- That's a balloon!
- What's a balloon doing in the ocean?

However it got here,

if the wandering albatross eats it
instead of a squid, it could die.

[squawking]

Here, wanna try tying that one?

You got it?

- Oh! [chuckling]
- [Jane] Where did that come from?

- Let's try that again.
- [chuckles]

[Kevin blowing]

What are you doing?

We're blowing up balloons
for Millie's party.

- Wanna help, David?
- No.

If balloons end up in the ocean,
they could k*ll an albatross.

That was not
what I was expecting you to say.

We need to make sure
these never hurt any albatrosses.

But they're for my party.

Jane, maybe we could
take these down after?

You don't need balloons
to have a birthday party. [gasps]

[gasps]

[cries, sniffles]

Jane, I think you should head home.
[sighs]

- David, we need to talk. Now.
- Pops, we were-- [sighs]

Uh-uh-uh-uh. Leave the balloons.

[Jane] Those balloons could float away,

end up in the ocean,
and k*ll the wandering albatross.

[Greybeard chatters]

[sighs] What?

There's not that many left.

And when they're gone,
they're gone forever.

[chatters]

What's more important,
party decorations or an entire species?

[chatters]

I still have to stop the albatross
from eating that balloon.

- [sighing]
- [chatters]

Aren't you going to help me?

[chatters]

Jane to David.
Time to get back to our mission.

[Kevin]
David's not available right now, Jane.

Copy.

[sighs] What would Jane Goodall do?

"Together we can
bring change to the world,

gradually replacing fear and hatred
with compassion and love.

Love for all living beings."

She'd do whatever it takes
to save that animal.

Come on. Come on.

- I can't let him get away.
- [albatross squawks]

[squawking]

Got it! We did it.

I did it. [sighs]

[Millie cries, sniffles]

Do you want me to go say sorry to her?

[Kevin] Do you want to?

She's been wanting you to help her
with her birthday party for weeks.

And now this.

Pops, we didn't mean to.

- We're trying to save the wandering al--
- I know.

Your mission is important
but you two can't do it alone.

You need other people's help.
A lot of people's help.

You're not gonna get that
by destroying their stuff.

She just wants
to spend time with you, Davey.

[sighs]

[sighs] David to Jane.

[Jane] Jane here.

I feel pretty bad.

Yeah, me too.

If we're gonna save
all the wandering albatrosses,

we're gonna need everyone's help.
Including Millie's.

[sighs] I know.

- You know?
- Two people can only do so much.

If we're really going to help animals
and the planet, we need everyone to care.

Did you talk to my pops too?

- What?
- Nothing.

I have an idea.

[knocking]

- So do I.
- [chatters]

Millie?

I'm sorry for not helping you
with your party.

And I'm sorry for popping your balloons.

Even though plastic in the ocean

- is one of the most dangerous--
- Mmm.

I really am sorry. [sighs]
I should have asked for your help first.

I would have helped.

I don't wanna hurt
the "wondering" albatross.

Wandering albatross. And I know you don't.

I just wanted to have a fun birthday party
and hang out with my big brother.

- She's really turning it on.
- [chuckles]

I've got an idea on something we can do
while we hang out

that will make your birthday
extra special.

Wanna make some awesome

safe-for-all-animals
unicorn decorations with us?

[giggles] Yes, please.

Did you take off our
sibling ankle bracelet?

Well, we can't ground him on her birthday.

Can't we?

- Wait, do we need any more balloons?
- [chuckles]

No, I wouldn't bring home
any more balloons.

- [children cheering, chuckling]
- Hold on a second, hon.

- [neighing, chuckles]
- What's going on out here?

David and Jane helped me
make unicorn horns

from used paper-towel rolls
for my stuffed animals.

And we didn't need to destroy anything
to do it.

Sorry about that.

This is actually better.

"Uni-hippo"?

- [Jane, Millie chuckle]
- [David] Yep.

Now we're making unicorn ankle bracelets
out of old paper straws.

We're gonna give them to my friends.

- [chuckles]
- [children chattering]

- [Jane] Let's practice our neighing.
- They sorted it out.

[children neighing, chuckling]

Did I just hear neighing?

Yeah, there may be
some unicorn horns involved.

See you soon, hon.

- Don't forget the birthday cake.
- One unicorn cake coming up.

And if you could make sure it's
in environmentally friendly packaging.

- [Lucas chuckles] Got it. Love you.
- [Millie] Ooh, okay.

You know, I have some other recyclables

- we can decorate as unicorns.
- [David] Great.

But if you're gonna help us,
you're gonna need a horn.

Sounds good to me.

- [children laughing]
- [neighs, blusters]

[imitates trotting]

[partygoers chattering]

[Kevin] Here we go.

- One, two-- One last one.
- Whoa.

- [grunts] You can do it, Millie.
- [Lucas] Oh.

Go for it.

- [cheering, laughing]
- [David] Good job, Millie!

Yeah! Did you see that?

What's wrong?

[sighing] We didn't finish our mission.

- And...
- And what?

When I went back to stop
the albatross from eating the balloon,

I saw a ton of other
plastic garbage in the water.

No matter what we do,

sometimes saving the planet
feels impossible.

But we have to try. Right?

Right.

Hey, David, Jane. This is awesome.

How did you make it?

[partygoers clamoring]

- [Lucas] Oh!
- Okay, here we go.

[gasps]

[Lucas] Make a wish, Millie.

- [cheering, laughing]
- [David] Yay!

- Good job, Millie. [laughs] Nice job.
- Nicely done.

- Now, who wants cake?
- [all clamoring] Me!

Oh, is that a yay or a... "neigh"?

[neighing]

Don't you wanna know what I wished for?

You're not supposed to tell us, Millie.

I wished I could help you
with the albatross.

That's what you used
your birthday wish for?

Everyone needs to help, right?

Right. Thanks, Millie.

Come on. Let's do this.

[Millie] Day 19. Day 20.

- Got it!
- [chuckles] You're good at this.

Thanks.

This is a good start.

But we also need to make sure garbage
doesn't get here in the first place.

Like making your own decorations
instead of buying them?

Exactly.

I like making them ourselves better.

- [splashing]
- [gasps] Is that the albatross?

That's him.

I didn't know he could dive.

Or fish!

That was so cool.
Except maybe not so cool for the squid.

[chuckles]

[radar beeping]

[Jane gasps]
Look, the albatross is headed for land.

Do you think he's finally
gonna land on land?

After 20 days? We'll see.

We're going to have to switch
to the flying vehicle

if we want to know for sure.

We won't all fit.

Why don't you take Millie?

Why don't you?

[shrieks, squawks]

[Millie] The albatross even flies cool.

Kind of like a roller coaster.

You wanna see if we can do that too?

You've got the controls, Millie.

- [albatross squawks]
- [Millie giggling]

[shouting, cheering]

Hands on the controls.

- Whoo-hoo!
- [squawks]

Is he landing?

- He is. Check it out.
- [albatross squawking]

Finally! We tracked
the wandering albatross

for 20 days before it landed on land.

[squawks]

It's over already?

[Jane] Not quite.

We still don't know why
he landed here today.

And until we know that,

we can't fully help
the wandering albatross.

- [squawking]
- [Jane] Like, what is he doing now?

Dancing?

[gasps] And here comes the girl albatross.

How do you know she's a "she"?

Because girls are smaller and usually
have darker feathers than the boys.

[squawking continues]

She's dancing too.

This is how some birds figure out
if they'd make good parents together.

They're going to have a baby?

[Jane] If they're good partners, probably.

The wandering albatross must stay at sea

until it's time to find a partner
and become a parent.

[David] That's when it lands on land.

I'd celebrate too
after flying around for 20 days.

[Millie] Dance with us, Jane.

[squawking]

- [Lucas] Are you copying my dance moves?
- [David chuckles]

That is definitely how you dance.

Party's out here.

- And so is the cake.
- [Millie] Coming.

- Time to open presents.
- [Millie] Yay!

[partygoers chattering]

[Jane] You go ahead, David.

I'll be right there.

[David] Okay, but hurry.

[exhales]

[squawking]

[chatters]

Together we can bring change
to this world. Our world.

[Greybeard chatters]

[squawking]

[Jane] Help save the albatross.

[Greybeard chatters]

Hurry, Millie. We have one more
birthday surprise for you.

We're doing a special call
with Dr. Sarah Gutowsky.

An ornithologist.

Really? Wait. What's an ora--

Ornithologist.

It's someone who studies birds. Like the...

Wandering albatross.

And you get to ask the first question.

- Can I ask the first two?
- Sure.

[laptop beeping]

[children] Hi, Sarah!

Hi, Jane. Hi, David.
Happy birthday, Millie.

Want to ask your first question
about the wandering albatross?

Does having super long wings
help them fly really far?

[Gutowsky] It sure does.

The wandering albatross actually has

the largest wingspan of any bird
in the world.

Look at this.

[David] Wow! Those are long wings.

[Gutowsky] As long as it's windy,
these birds can fly really long distances

without spending any energy.

That's why they live
mostly in the Southern Ocean.

It's super windy,
where the wind helps them get around.

Ready for your next question, Millie?

How long do the albatrosses
stay away from land?

They spend most of their lives
out in the open ocean.

And when the chicks leave the nest
for the first time,

they spend the first five to seven years
of their life out at sea

without coming back to land.

Seven years?
That's more than my whole life.

- [David, Jane chuckle]
- [Gutowsky] It's a really long time.

They come back to land because
they're thinking about becoming parents.

So, they try and find a partner.
And to do that, they dance.

We saw two albatrosses do that.

Here, let me show you some photos I took.

This is two young albatrosses

that are practicing their dance moves
and their calls.

And it can take years
before they get it right.

But once they do, it's really impressive.
Check out this video.

- [coos]
- [Jane] Cool.

- [Millie] Wow!
- [David] Look at them dancing.

They need to rely on each other

because the parents
take turns sitting on the egg,

while the other partner
goes out to find food at sea.

It can be hard to find food
out on the open ocean.

Sometimes the birds
don't come back at all.

Why don't they come back?

Albatrosses find fishing boats

that are using lines
with thousands of hooks like this,

where they take bait to bait the hook.

The birds try to grab the food,
they get caught on the hook

and get pulled under.

How can we stop it?

[Gutowsky] There's people trying to
come up with solutions.

Like this cool device called a Hookpod.

This allows the fishers to put the hook
inside of the pod.

And when it sinks down deep,

the pod pops open
and the hook can start fishing.

Some fisheries have gone

from catching thousands of birds each year
to catching none.

That's awesome, Sarah.

[Gutowsky] We still need to do better

at making sure Hookpods
are easy to access for all fishers,

but making any change
is a big collective effort.

When did you decide
to start helping seabirds?

When I was a teenager, I wanted to
do something to help the environment.

So I decided to go to university
to study Environmental Sciences.

And that's when I discovered seabirds
like murrelets and puffins.

And of course, albatrosses.

This is my favorite species.
The Laysan albatross.

What is that albatross sitting on?

[Gutowsky] That's trash from fishing.

There's so much plastic in our oceans.

And not just from fisheries,
from people on land too.

That's why we all we need to do our part
to reduce plastic pollution.

What else can we do to help?

[Gutowsky] Keep being brave.

And don't be afraid to ask if there is
an option that has less plastic packaging.

And keep
being creative with your solutions.

We could reuse the unicorn decorations
for next year. Right, Millie?

Or cut them up into fairy decorations.

Good point.

And thank you, Sarah,
for all these great ideas.

- We'll make sure to keep asking questions.
- Thank you.

The world needs more curious
and creative young minds like you.

- Good luck on your adventures.
- Bye, Sarah!

Bye!

- I know what we should do now.
- What?

Make even more homemade stuff
out of recyclable things.

We can make rainbow wind chimes
out of tin cans.

- And egg carton Pegasuses.
- You in?

It is still her birthday.

Let's go!

- I'll be right there.
- [Millie] Okay, but hurry.

- [knocking]
- Come on, Jane.

["One Step Closer" playing]