01x04 - Outback

[bunniefuu]

[Paul Rudd]

Planet Earth is so spectacular,

it's easy to miss

the smaller things in life.

But take a closer look

and there's a whole undiscovered world.

A world where tiny heroes

and little monsters

need incredible superpowers

to help them triumph against giant odds.

Australia is a land

full of fantastical creatures.

Not just kangaroos and koalas.

Down under, the bush teems

with strange little animals

who've mastered life

in this sun-scorched world.

A palm-sized sugar glider

finds all the food and shelter she needs

amongst the gum trees.

And so do her neighbors.

But even at the best of times,

there are challenges.

And when summer hits,

and the sun grows stronger

only those who can take the heat

will go the distance.

Living on the driest inhabited continent

does have some benefits.

A lot of sunshine forces the gum trees

to produce a lot of sugar.

In spring, it makes a big part of

a little sugar glider's diet.

Right now, life is pretty straightforward.

Cruising between gum trees

in search of the next sweet stop.

In just one leap, she can glide

the length of two tennis courts.

The sugar also attracts rainbow lorikeets.

Hundreds of them.

[lorikeets screeching]

There's more than enough food to go round.

So during the heat of the day,

she leaves them to it

and rests up somewhere more peaceful.

Her new baby,

just two weeks out of the pouch.

He's only the length of a thumb.

And completely reliant on his mother.

But by midsummer,

he'll need to fend for himself

in a far more challenging world.

[lorikeets chirping]

For now, life is so good here,

the lorikeets have decided to settle down.

[chirping]

But finding a nest isn't easy.

There are no woodpeckers in Australia

to make holes in trees.

So safe hiding places are hot property.

A monstrous, cold-blooded k*ller.

Lace monitors can weigh

as much as a toddler,

and they eat almost anything.

Just a fraction of the weight,

a frilled lizard would make easy prey

for this giant.

He needs a tree to hide in.

But they're all occupied.

Frilled lizards

can be aggressively territorial.

Head bobbing is a warning.

But the newcomer has nowhere else to go.

To avoid injury,

these lizards fight with frills.

The brighter, the better.

But when closely matched

it gets physical.

The intruder isn't looking so strong.

Defeated and running scared,

the resident sends him packing.

Seen off by the dominant male,

this will have to do for now.

But soon, he will need a much safer place.

Tougher times lie ahead.

The ants are already busy stockpiling.

But foraging can be dangerous.

The outback is full of strange beasts.

[leaves rustling]

Armed with huge claws

spines, and a long, sticky tongue.

An echidna.

Perhaps not that scary looking.

But to an ant, he's deadly.

He can eat 60,000 of them in ten minutes.

Feeding in the trees

can be more time-consuming.

Gum leaves are so full of toxins,

koalas are one of the few mammals

that can eat them.

But they take so much energy to digest

koalas spend 15 hours a day sleeping.

Even their waking hours

are a bit of a daze.

This is not a dream.

This thing is real.

It's a mad hatterpillar.

Balancing all of its previously shed

head skins on top of its current head.

Curious, but a lifesaver.

Assassin bugs k*ll their victims

with venom that liquefies their insides.

But with its crazy disguise,

the mad hatterpillar

keeps ahead of its enemies.

Little creatures are much better

adapted to digest gum leaves.

A prickly stick insect

even looks like them.

A clever camouflage

so she can eat without being eaten.

She spends each day

consuming her own body weight in leaves.

There's no time for parenting.

Instead, she outsources it.

Disguised as tasty seeds,

her eggs are carried off

by unwitting ants.

But only the top of the egg is edible.

The rest will be discarded in the nest.

And there it will stay

safe underground until it hatches

many months from now.

[birds chirping]

The sun is getting stronger.

[lorikeets screeching]

The sugar glider's neighbors

are getting noisier.

[screeching continues]

But it's not the usual squawking.

It's an alarm call.

[birds screeching]

Energized by the sun,

the lace monitor

becomes a formidable hunter.

A forked tongue

tastes for prey wherever it hides.

With powerful hooked claws,

these monster lizards even climb trees.

The little glider

is almost too big to carry.

Soon, he'll have to navigate this world

on his own.

A world that gets more precarious

by the day.

[insects buzzing]

By early summer,

the outback is already fiercely hot.

There's little shelter from the sun

and little water to drink.

A thorny devil,

only the length of a pencil,

has a very impressive way

of staying hydrated.

It's no quick fix,

but it's worth the wait.

When it finally finds standing water,

it just stands in it.

Tiny gaps between its spines

draw water upwards.

All the way to its mouth.

An extraordinary trick

that allows this little devil

to endure soaring temperatures.

The gum tree forest

provides a bit more shelter.

But even here,

tiny creatures are racing

to complete their lives.

A male glittering peacock spider

searching for a mate.

Easier said than done.

These spiders are smaller than a lentil.

Another male has already found a female,

but he still needs to win her over.

Female peacock spiders are very picky.

[dance music playing]

How the male looks and moves

must be just right.

[music ends]

Get it wrong

and get rejected.

There are over 80 different kinds

of peacock spiders,

each with their own unique display

Specially choreographed to the tastes

of the female of that species.

A male will dance

like his life depends on it

when courting a predatory female.

But the glittering male

is still searching.

Waving his legs,

he tests the air for female pheromones.

There she is.

Time to strut his stuff.

[tango music playing]

He's found his groove

and she seems to be feeling it.

This butt wiggle is a sign

that she's already mated.

[music ends]

Well, that was a waste of time.

And time is running out.

In just a few weeks,

the little glider will have to

make his own way in this strange world

and know where to find food.

At this time of year,

the gum leaves

are covered in strange dots.

Psyllid bugs use their sugary sap

to build shelters

no bigger than a grain of rice.

These tiny candy homes

look like works of art.

And taste good too.

But now, even the early mornings

are too hot to be out and about.

As temperatures soar to 50 degrees,

gum leaves wither and fall.

But they're so full of toxic chemicals,

they decompose very slowly.

Deep leaf litter provides cover

for sly predators.

A Burton's legless lizard

preys exclusively on other reptiles.

Most run for their lives.

Not the golden-tailed gecko.

Being small and camouflaged

gives him some protection

but not from the sun.

He needs shade.

And only the length of a credit card,

he'll slot in perfectly just there.

Legless lizards' eyesight is attuned

to the slightest movement.

When this little lizard feels threatened,

it goes on the offensive.

A goo-slinging gecko.

The liquid is harmless,

but so sticky and smelly,

it's enough to repel

even the deadliest hunter.

Slowly but surely

he takes shelter.

With the summer heat comes summer storms.

-[thunder rumbling]

-It's so hot,

the first drops of rain evaporate

before they even hit the ground.

But when lightning strikes,

all the dry leaves ignite.

And their volatile chemicals

fuel the flames.

[thunderclap]

Small animals struggle

to outrun the fast-moving wildfire.

The echidna's only escape is underground.

He could be digging his own grave.

Flames are getting higher,

but the little glider is now too big

to be carried.

Mom's only option

is to save herself.

The little glider is on his own.

As insects flee, predators move in.

Kites flock to the flames in huge numbers.

These so-called firehawks are here

to feed off the panic.

The little glider is surrounded.

His first flight might be his last.

When bushfires eventually die out

they leave the land devastated.

But not totally lifeless.

Echidnas can lower their body temperatures

enough to survive the fires raging above.

The young sugar glider also made it.

Now he must survive

in a world reduced to ashes.

Charred insects will see him through

until life returns to the forest.

And life does return.

Gum trees are incredibly resilient,

and mineral-rich ash enriches the soil.

[bird screeches]

Add a little water

and the forest is reborn.

[chirping]

Before long,

the bush is getting back to normal.

New lives emerge.

Familiar animals return.

And once again,

the gum trees provide sanctuary

for all sorts of weird

and wonderful little creatures.

Over millennia, they have adapted to

the annual cycle of fire.

But as bush fires become bigger,

hotter and more frequent,

Australia's tiny creatures will struggle

to survive.

For now,

the young sugar glider is ready

to rise to the extreme challenges

of life in the outback.

And he won't be totally alone.

Even the most

independent little sugar gliders

still like to snuggle up

with a few friends.

[chirping]