[majestic music]
[mooing]
[David] Grasslands are full of food
for numberless families.
[zebra snorting]
The grass grows continuously,
like a self stocking fridge.
But there are few places
to hide on an open plain.
[soft music]
So parents have problems
in keeping their young safe
while they feed.
[music]
[tense music]
African wild dogs,
expert grassland predators.
They would make quick work
of a young zebra.
[music]
[zebra snorting]
It's a parent's nightmare.
[music]
The father rounds up his family,
but that does little
to deter the dogs...
[barks]
so he makes an extraordinary sacrifice,
he hangs back.
[melancholic music]
Now he is the target,
his family can escape.
[music]
This is the story of
what it takes to be a parent
in the grasslands of our planet.
[music]
Parents must constantly
balance, risk and reward
in the wide open places of the planet.
Unusual conditions
can make that much harder.
In the winter of 2023,
California received nearly
nearly double its average...
[howling wind]
[thunder]
[raining]
...creating a grassland
not seen for generations.
[soft music]
It may seem appealing,
but not for a parent adapted to deserts.
The San Joaquin Kit Fox,
about the size of a house cat.
The tall grass makes it hard
for her to protect her five kits.
[music]
Her kits are a constant distraction.
[music]
This year, all her senses are blunted
[music]
the grass itself
muffle the sounds and smells.
In a normal year,
she'd be able to see for miles around.
[low-key suspense music]
[chirping]
As night falls,
she's faced by a serious dilemma
she must find food for her kits,
but to do that, she must leave them.
[kitties squeaking]
With no parental supervision,
the kits continue to play
well into the night.
[kitties squeaking]
She travels nearly seven miles
in search of giant kangaroo rats,
and they only emerge at night.
[music]
[distant animals' sounds]
But this year,
hunting is harder
than it has ever been...
the long grass makes
it difficult to locate them.
[music]
Finally she catches her rat.
[music]
At the den, her kits'
unsupervised playtime
has drawn some unfortunate attention...
[tense music]
...the coyote.
He's twice the size of a kit fox
and one of their main predators.
[music]
Catching scent to something amiss,
the pups escape to their underground den
but now the coyote
knows where to find them.
Returning home, the mother
finds her family is safe
but still hungry,
one rat is not enough
to feed her five kits,
she must head out for more.
[kitties squeaking]
But something isn't right.
[kitties squeaking]
[tense music]
[roar]
[distant grunting]
There's nothing she can do,
her remaining kits have scattered.
[melancholic music]
[birds chirping]
[insects buzzing]
The four surviving kits
are here, alive and well.
[music]
This mother will have to adapt
if she is to protect her family
in this strange new grassland.
[soft music]
[birds chirping]
Southern England,
a single mother
has a well-tested way
of protecting her young...
[wasp buzzing]
architecture.
[music]
A potter wasp is building
the last of 25 major Constructions.
It's her life's work.
She must finish it
before the end of autumn.
[wasp buzzing] [soft music]
She uses her saliva to soften the clay.
[wasp buzzing]
With which she builds a nursery.
[music]
Once complete,
it will provide her young
with both shelter and food.
[soft music]
In her signature style,
she flutes the edges,
then she spins a thread of silk
and on it lays a single egg
which will hatch in a couple of days.
[music]
But her job has only just begun.
[wasp buzzing]
She must also fill the pot with food
so her offspring can develop
and emerge in the spring.
[wasp buzzing]
That will require her
to collect enough caterpillars
while the weather holds.
[wasp buzzing]
When she finds one,
she paralyzes it with her sting.
And then puts it into the pot...
alive.
[wasp buzzing]
[wasp buzzing]
[curious music]
[David] With the season on the turn,
she's not the only one in a hurry,
the caterpillars are getting restless.
[music]
They're making their way
down to the ground
to find somewhere to spend the winter.
[music]
She herself is almost out of time.
[music]
Just one more,
but maybe one that is a little smaller.
[music]
[wasp buzzing]
With her pot now fully provisioned
she seals it.
[soft music]
Just in time.
[raining]
Next year in the spring,
her offspring will emerge
from its nursery
as an adult potter wasp.
[music]
As for the mother, her work is done.
Within the next week she will die.
She will never meet her offspring,
for whom she provided both a safe home
and an ample larder.
[music]
For many parents,
providing food is the easy part,
giving them an education
is much more difficult.
[cheetah cubs yipping]
This cheetah mother has singlehandedly
fed her three cubs
for eight long months.
[music]
Ten more
and they must be able
to feed themselves.
[music]
[insect buzzing]
[music]
[cheetah cubs yipping]
Play fighting develops
their physical skills,
[insects buzzing]
and they can learn a lot about prey
through trial and error,
such as which kind is most
likely to fight back.
[barks]
[soft music]
[soft roars]
[music]
But you must provide them
with an opportunity to learn
one skill in particular.
[birds chirping]
[low-key suspense music]
[fawn mewing ]
A fawn too young to run far
has been abandoned,
but she doesn't k*ll it.
[fawn mewing ]
[music]
Cheetah cubs don't instinctively know
how to make a k*ll,
and even simply making contact with prey
can be dangerous,
so for this lesson,
the mother provides something
her cubs can tackle safely.
[David] With practice over,
it's time for a test.
[mooing]
This wildebeest calf is too big
for her cubs to bring down
by themselves,
but they may have learned
enough to be of help.
[low-key tense music]
[mooing]
[music]
Mother leads the chase.
[intense music]
The calf is escaping.
[intense music]
The cub realizes that
his mother needs help.
[paws thudding]
[calf moans]
[soft music]
He holds on, enabling her to reposition.
[calf moans]
Cheetah mothers work alone
in educating their cubs...
[soft music]
African wild dogs need
the help of their whole family
to raise their young.
[music]
A breeding pair cannot do it alone.
[music]
The whole pack is responsible
for parenting the next generation.
[music]
And this pack has been
unusually successful.
it's three times the average size.
[music]
Such numbers should be an asset...
[wild dogs yipping]
but over half of them still
have some growing up to do.
[wild dogs yipping]
The teenagers are
something of a liability...
[intense music]
their inexperience can ruin
a hunt before it even starts.
[barks]
Their parents have a big job
ahead to control them...
[intense music]
a really big job.
[wild dogs yipping]
The matriarch of the pack is nursing,
she has another ten puppies
back in the den.
She and her partner
must find enough food
for the whole family.
[soft music]
Buffalo are seldom
attacked by wild dogs,
their size, horns and numbers
make them potentially very dangerous.
But with so many mouths to feed,
the bigger the prey, the better.
[music]
The pack size could give them a chance
if the youngsters behave properly.
The herd is heading out
to feed in the grassland,
where they'll be more exposed.
[music]
The odds of a successful hunt
are shifting in the pack's favor.
[wild dogs yipping]
The adults steer the pack into position
at the edge of the forest,
there they will be able
to get closer to the herd.
[music]
Now they must select an individual.
[music]
The matriarch knows
they must be patient,
timing is key.
[music]
But once again,
the youngsters break cover too soon.
[music]
Their enthusiasm has given the buffalo
time to form a defensive group.
[roaring and mooing]
They themselves are now in danger,
they've moved too close, too quickly
[music]
and worse, they're chasing
the biggest buffalo in the herd
so big they could k*ll the young dog
with a single well-placed kick.
The matriarch seems to know
that their chances are dwindling.
[roaring and mooing]
Selecting a target within the trees
is almost impossible.
[mooing]
The youngsters
have wasted their chance...
the parents, however, are watching
for a weak buffalo to make a wrong move.
An unprotected calf,
it won't provide a meal for everyone,
but it's better than nothing.
[music] [bark]
[intense music]
This time the youngsters
are following their parents
[music] [mooing]
but now the odds clearly
favor the buffalo.
[soft music]
There will be many more failed hunts
before the teenagers
are of any real help.
But with time and practice,
they will become experienced enough
to assist in raising
the next generation.
[music]
[birds chirping]
[David] For many parents,
practice is essential for success.
India.
[barks]
This Hanuman langur is
pregnant for the first time.
It won't be long before she gives birth,
but she's not ready yet.
Many parenting skills
are not instinctive for langurs
if this young female
wants to give her newborn
the best start in life,
she must learn how to be a mother
before she gives birth.
Fortunately, being part of a troop
provides an opportunity
for her to practice.
[baby monkey screeching]
Time for some prenatal classes.
[soft music]
But parents are often
choosy about who they allow to babysit.
[music]
The expectant mother
has to persuade someone
to give her a chance.
[monkey mom grunts]
Baby snatching isn't the best start.
[curious music]
She must take a gentler approach.
[baby monkey screeching]
But babysitting is harder than it looks,
mishandling a baby could
be fatal for both the baby
and her social standing.
[baby monkey screeching]
[baby monkey calms]
That's better.
[baby monkey soft grunts]
She's even learned when it is
that an exhausted mother
could use a helping hand.
[baby monkey screeching]
[music]
[baby monkey screeching]
These newly acquired skills
will prepare her for parenthood...
[soft music]
...and just in time.
Last night she moved away
from the troop and gave birth.
[music]
Tender moments like these
create a bond with her baby,
but away from the troop,
the pair are vulnerable
and there are some things
for which it is impossible to prepare.
[barks]
Feral dogs...
on the lookout for an easy meal.
[monkeys screeching]
[feral dogs barking]
A newborn baby monkey
is an obvious target.
[monkeys screeching]
[feral dogs barking]
She needs to find a way back
to the safety of the troop...
[low-key suspense music]
...without injuring her baby.
[intense music]
[feral dogs barking]
The troop rally around her.
[feral dogs barking]
[monkeys screeching]
[feral dogs barking]
[monkeys screeching]
[feral dogs barking]
Her practice has paid off.
[soft music]
Now that she's returned
to the safety of the troop,
she has as many trusted babysitters
as any mother could wish for.
[soft music]
[birds chirping]
[David] Where conditions are hostile,
parents may need to band together.
Temperatures in the Kalahari
can exceed a formidable
so these sociable weaver parents
have joined forces with other families
to build a climate controlled home
for their young.
[soft music] [birds chirping]
The nest they produce is
the largest built by any bird.
[birds chirping]
A thatched roof weighing over a ton
is a very effective shield
against the worst of the heat.
A single pair couldn't possibly build
such an enormous construction,
it takes a whole community to do that.
[birds chirping]
At least half the parents
also have helpers,
offspring from previous years
who stick around to babysit.
[birds chirping]
The helpers feed the chicks,
maintain their nest
and watch out for danger.
[birds chirping]
As the day gets hotter,
snakes become more active.
This cobra could eat every
single chick in the colony
in a matter of days...
[birds chirping aggressively]
but the community has other ideas.
[birds chirping]
It's a neighborhood watch with wings.
[music]
But a less visible threat is building,
the temperature is rising.
It's only a couple of
degrees above average,
but as the heat wave drags on,
every family is affected.
[tense music]
Even a small rise in the temperature
can have big consequences.
[music]
Parents and helpers alike
are too hot to look for food,
maintain their nest
or watch out for danger.
[music]
All they can do is sit in the shade.
It's every bird for itself.
[birds chirping]
The chicks are left alone
for hours at a time.
[tense music]
An adult shows up,
[music]
but it's from a different family
and it isn't here to help.
[birds chirping loudly]
[music]
Scientists don't understand exactly why,
but more chicks
are ejected from a colony
during heat waves
than at any other time.
The social order starts to break down,
even when the rise
in temperature is quite small.
It seems that most families
here are living
on the very edge of what is tolerable,
[music]
they're only just coping with the world
that is 1.2 degrees warmer...
but the temperature is still rising.
[distant chirping]
The world is changing so quickly.
[David] To ensure a future
for the next generation,
parents everywhere
will have to forge a new path.
[distant guanaco bleating]
The end of summer,
high up on the Patagonian plateau.
[guanaco bleating]
In order to produce milk for her calf,
this guanaco needs to feed constantly.
She's also pregnant.
[guanaco bleating]
Snow comes early at high altitudes,
covering what's left of the grass.
[guanaco bleating]
Grazers are driven downhill
in search of food.
[guanaco bleating]
When they reach the lowest elevations,
the guanaco will have enough
shelter and food
to see them through the winter.
[soft music]
They just need to get there.
[music]
But fences now cut across the landscape,
they're almost impossible to avoid.
[music]
Adult guanaco can get across.
[music]
But calves usually can't.
[guanaco bleating]
In her haste, she leaves her calf
on the wrong side of the fence.
[chirping]
She is desperate to move on.
[guanaco bleating]
The demands of both pregnancy
and producing milk are high
and good winter grazing
in the valley is so close.
[metallic bangs]
[melancholic music]
He will not survive alone.
[melancholic music]
[guanaco bleating]
Going back will mean a longer,
less certain path,
[music]
nevertheless...
she rejoins him.
There are nearly a hundred
thousand miles
of fences in Patagonia,
[soft music]
it's not possible
to avoid them completely.
[birds chirping]
[soft music]
She must find a safer route
through for them both.
[music]
[birds chirping]
[soft music]
He tries again.
[music]
There's something different
about this fence...
[soft music]
...the top line has been removed.
[soft music]
She's done all she can,
now he must make the jump.
[music]
Together they rejoin the herd
for the last leg into the valley.
[music]
The changing world is
forcing parents everywhere
to make new and difficult choices
in order to protect and provide
for the next generation.
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