01x04 - The Far South

[bunniefuu]

Pascal:
The tip of Patagonia stretches

into the great Southern Ocean,

where giants roam.

In the deep, all is quiet.

But above, a storm is raging.

At these latitudes, the sea
can be terrifying.

They say that
below 40 degrees south,

there is no law,

but below 50, there is no god.

At the ends of the Earth
is a land of extremes...

...home to spectacular wildlife.

For centuries,

people and animals
have battled for supremacy.

But now enemies
are becoming allies.

Together they face
new challenges...

...in a rapidly changing world.

You are at the mercy
of the elements.

Pascal:
This is the story

of what it takes to survive...

...on the edge of the world.

Patagonia's far south
is dominated by the wind...

...and the cold.

Extending below
the 50th parallel,

no other land mass lies
so close to Antarctica.

To survive here
takes resilience...

...determination,

and sometimes sheer size.

Much of the land is just empty,
wind-blasted tundra.

But the sea
is teeming with life.

A humpback whale.

This 30-ton giant
has traveled all the way

from its winter breeding grounds
in the tropical Pacific,

a journey of more
than 4,000 miles.

On its tail is wildlife
veterinarian Frederick Toro.

These are the waters of the
Francisco Coloane Marine Park

in the Straits of Magellan.

In 1997,
marine biologists realized

this is an important
feeding ground for humpbacks.

The forceful mixing of
the Atlantic and Pacific oceans

stirs up nutrients,
creating plankton blooms,

the foundation
of the marine food chain.

Food is so plentiful,

the whales behave
in extraordinary ways.

Wow.

But the whales aren't the only
ones plying these waters.

The steady stream of ships
through the Straits

might drive away
the whales entirely.

To make his case,
Frederick needs proof

that the whales are stressed --

and that means taking a sample.

But chasing whales in boats
may panic them.

So Frederick and his team
are trying something new.

A drone.

Its mission?

To hover over the whale's spout

and catch a sample of its snot.

Spout samples reveal levels
of stress hormones

as well as pollution.

But catching a sample
is easier said than done.

The timing has to be just right.

Missed.

The whale disappears.

Flying against the wind,

the drone's battery
is running out of juice.

If the whale doesn't
surface soon,

they'll have to give up.

One last chance.

Got it.

Frederick hopes that his sample
will provide the proof

that these humpbacks
need protection.

The rich waters
of Patagonia's far south

have the power of life...

...and death.

Pascal: Crab fisherman Fernando Monje

has worked the waters
of the Beagle Channel

for over a decade.

The 130-mile seaway
runs east-west across Patagonia.

The narrow channel funnels

the Southern Ocean's
ferocious winds.

Pascal:
Some ships don't make it.

The waters of the far south

have claimed
well over 1,000 ships...

...and more than 10,000 sailors.

At first, Fernando
saw these wrecks

as nothing more
than rusting monuments.

But then he decided
to take a closer look.

Nature has claimed
this steel hulk.

Thanks to the nutrients
stirred up by the storms,

these waters are full of life.

But free-diving here is risky.

You can easily
get disoriented...

...even trapped.

Luckily,
today's conditions are good.

Fernando gets out safely
with his haul.

He makes a good living from
the shellfish he collects here.

Further up the coast,
another underwater forager

is also returning home.

A mother gentoo penguin
bringing food to her baby.

She's back on Hammer Island
after a 10-hour fishing trip.

She swam nearly 13 miles,

diving down 200 feet
or more to feed.

Now she hikes through hoards
of her cousins --

Magellanic penguins.

Exhausted,

but home at last.

Finally, a chance to rest.

Or maybe not.

Her 6-week-old chick
is ravenous.

Growing fast, he has
an insatiable appetite.

Mom needs to keep some food
back for herself,

but her chick won't
take "no" for an answer.

Sometimes it's not easy
being a mom.

And raising a family here
is especially hard.

One moment, you're basking
in the sunshine.

The next, you're being stalked
by an outsider.

Pascal: On Hammer Island,
deep in the far south,

gentoo penguins face a harsh
and remote existence.

But they're not alone.

This is marine biologist
Dr. Andrea Raya Rey.

Pascal: Andrea and her team
don't just observe the penguins.

They get hands-on.

They take blood samples and give
the birds a health check.

Studying them on land
is one thing.

But what happens
when the gentoos go to sea?

Andrea wants to learn
how they feed.

A small camera is attached
to this male's back

to document
his hunting strategy.

Ungainly on land,

the gentoo is the world's
fastest underwater bird.

His wings propel him
at over 20 miles per hour

into a shoal of small fish.

But he's not the only
one feasting here.

Seabirds dive in from above,
grabbing what they can.

Gentoos were thought
to primarily feed at depth,

but now Andrea has discovered

that they're also
opportunistic feeders.

Right now, there are
only 50 pairs

of gentoos
living on Hammer Island.

But the colony is growing.

Fish are plentiful
in the open water,

and nearby is a habitat
that supports yet more food.

A giant kelp forest.

Like an underwater rainforest,

it's one of the most biodiverse
habitats in the ocean,

providing food and shelter
for hundreds of species.

The conditions here are perfect.

These are the largest, most
pristine kelp beds in the world.

The fjords and seaways
of the far south stretch

for thousands of miles.

Remote and rarely visited
by humans.

In 2003, scientists made
a surprising discovery

here in the heart of the
Tierra del Fuego archipelago.

On this small island,
they found an animal

that was completely unexpected.

One of the largest birds
to take to the skies...

...albatross.

These giants normally nest
on remote oceanic islands,

not in narrow fjords
surrounded by mountains.

No-one knows why these
black-browed albatross

have chosen to settle here.

Exposed and steep,

it's a challenging place
to build a nest.

But every spring,


their small dirt mounds.

Black-browed albatross
can live over 70 years.

This couple may well have been
together for decades.

They only produce a single
precious egg every year or two.

The female could be away
for days, even weeks.

And there's a chance
she may not come back at all...

...because out at sea,
there is something deadly.

Pascal: This black-browed
albatross father

is keeping
his precious egg warm.

And he needs to sit tight.

a snowstorm is coming.

When the wind is this
bitterly cold,

leaving the egg
for a moment might k*ll it.

And in the far south,
it can blow for days.

And days.

It's been a week
since his partner left.

Cold and hungry,
soon he will have no choice

but to abandon his egg and feed.

Finally, his partner returns.

For now, their egg is safe.

And dad is free to search
for his own food.

Time to head for the open ocean.

His wings,
nearly 8 feet across,

allow him to glide
with almost no effort.

He may travel hundreds of miles
on a single feeding trip.

Riding the winds, he soars
with barely a wing flap.

But there's danger
in the feeding grounds.

Hooks --
often lethal for albatross.

Commercial fishing vessels
trail hundreds of them on lines

that can be over a mile long.

Every year, thousands of
albatross are hooked and drown.

This longline fishing boat
is different.

And not just
because it's smaller,

but because of its skipper --
Juan Carrasco.

Pascal:
On a heavily weighted line,

Juan's bait quickly sinks beyond
the reach of the albatross.

This one may be hungry,

but at least he's safe.

Pascal: Sometimes
gatherings of albatross

even guide Juan
to good fishing spots.

And in return, he gives them
nutritious cast-offs

from his catch.

But perhaps the most
incredible part of this story

is how widely Juan's
technique is spreading.

Prompted by scientists,

the Chilean
commercial longline fleet

is now using Juan's
heavy-weighted bait technique.

Hook-related deaths in Patagonia

have dropped
to practically zero.

It's an extraordinary
conservation success story.

Juan's technique has even
been adopted by other fleets

across the rest
of the Southern Ocean.

While the rich waters
of Patagonia's far south support

an amazing diversity
of sea life...

...the land appears desolate.

Much of it is a treeless steppe.

Only the very toughest animals
can survive here.

Pascal: Isla Grande,

the largest land mass
of Tierra del Fuego,

covers 18,000 square miles.

This is the last land
before Antarctica --

the very end of the world.

It takes a tough customer
to survive here.

Europeans introduced sheep
around 150 years ago

for wool and meat.

In summer, they graze
on the hills.

But winter is coming.

Freezing rain is forecast.

Shepherd Cristian Trina must
get his sheep down

to his lowland ranch.

All 1,200 of them.

Pascal:
If they get cold and wet,

many could die from pneumonia.

To get to the lower pastures,
they must cover more

than 10 miles before nightfall.

Moving so many sheep
is a tough job,

but Cristian
has some expert helpers.

It's not an easy life,
but Cristian loves it.

But times are changing.

Fewer young people
are choosing this way of life.

And the modern world
is taking over.

A highway now runs alongside the
old traditional trail

Cristian uses for his sheep.

Finally, the flock can move
away from the road.

Their 10-mile journey
is almost at an end.

The weather has held,

and home is in sight.

And just a few miles south
from here, a remarkable animal

is making a surprising
comeback to Patagonia.

The king penguin.

These are the only king penguins
on the South American land mass.

Once,
hundreds of thousands of them

lived on Tierra del Fuego.

But they were hunted to
extinction by European settlers.

It was only in 2010, unexpectedly,

a handful of king penguins returned.

But the land's owner,
Cecilia Durán,

was not the first person
to find them.

Pascal: Since that moment,
she has dedicated her life

to looking after these penguins.

Pascal: To keep them safe,
Cecilia has built an enclosure

around the penguins'
breeding grounds.

Pascal: Visitors
are kept at a safe distance.

Ticket sales fund research
and conservation.

Cecilia is so devoted
to protecting them,

she is known locally as
"the mother of penguins."

The colony may be small,
but it's growing every year

under the vigilance
of its passionate protector.

King penguins are under
increasing threat

from climate change
and over-fishing.

So their unexpected return
to Tierra del Fuego

is something to be celebrated.

But where prey goes,

predators follow.

And a fearsome penguin hunter
has arrived in Patagonia.

Pascal:
The San Rafael glacier.

Located in southern Chile,

hundreds of miles north
of the king penguin colony,

it empties into
an almost landlocked lagoon.

Because of the steepness of this
glacier and climate change,

a lot of ice falls here.

On average,

a volume twice the size of
the Empire State Building

crashes into the lagoon
every day.

And the fractured ice flows hide
a formidable predator...

...a leopard seal.

Normally, they live and breed

almost exclusively
in the Antarctic...

...where penguins are one
of their main prey.

But in the San Rafael lagoon,

more than 1,200 miles
from Antarctica,

there are no penguins,

and it's a mystery how these
seals are surviving here.

On a mission to learn
more about them

is national park ranger
Nicolas Fernandez.

Pascal: Although Nicolas doesn't
yet have the funds

to analyze the seals' diet,

he thinks he knows
what they're eating.

Large numbers
of Patagonian rock cod

live just below
the glacier wall.

Whenever there's an icefall,

the leopard seals
swim directly for it.

Nicolas suspects
the leopard seals

are hunting fish
scattered by the impact.

But his biggest discovery
has come from his observation

of this particular seal.

Pascal: Nicolas has proved this
is the most northerly

established breeding population
of leopard seals on the planet.

In a world where so many large
predators are disappearing,

the arrival of this
incredible hunter

into new territory
is remarkable.

Pascal:
Here in Patagonia's far south,

life is making a comeback,

returning home to habitats
once abandoned.

Growing in number.

And even expanding
into new areas.

There are still
great challenges ahead.

But the people here
love this place

and the life it sustains.

With such passion
and commitment,

anything is possible.

Next on "Patagonia: Life on the
Edge of the World"...

These are the forests
that time forgot --

home to creatures
both strange and wonderful.

Amazing things happen
up in the trees.