01x04 - Pirate Birds

[bunniefuu]

Narrator:

In every habitat imaginable,

if you look close enough,

you'll see that

animals and people

have a lot in common.

Nothing beats

a bit of pampering

down at the local spa.

Bands of pirates chase victims

until they hand over

the treasure.

And love is in the air.

But to get

this hunk's attention,

a girl's gotta take

drastic action.

This is a new way

of seeing the natural world.

Where wild animals act

just like we do.

One of the fascinating things

about studying animals

is discovering how many aspects

of their behaviour

have parallels with our own.

Narrator: Around the globe,

animals continue to astound us

with their intelligence

and deep emotions.

The amazing thing is,

the more we learn about them,

the more we realize

animals are a lot like us.

[Squealing]

Across the natural world,

animals communicate

[Howling]

and share information

just like we do.

[Buzzing]

[Spraying]

Sperm whales talk

to other whales kilometres away.

They've even developed

different dialects

depending on

which pod they belong to.

Natterjack toads can croak

over a kilometre away

when they're looking for love.

[Croaking]

And the tiny prairie dog uses

barks and squeaks as its words

that can warn others

of a predator,

what direction its coming from,

and even its colour.

But there is one animal

that takes interaction

and personal

communication skills

to a whole new level.

The African bush elephant.

The true giants

of the animal kingdom.

Found in 37 countries

across the continent,

including the vast plains

of Kenya.

[Rumbling]

Elephants are such

a tight-knit group

and those herds can be

up to 100 strong, all related.

Narrator: Leading these herds,

mostly made up of females

and their young,

is the oldest female,

known as the matriarch.

She is the oldest

and wisest member of the herd

and she makes all the decisions.

About where to find food,

where to find water,

how to keep the whole herd safe,

and especially how to defend

and protect their young.

[Trumpet playing]

Narrator: Elephants are always

on the move

and can travel up to 60 km

in a single day.

So, keeping track of what

every elephant

is up to in the herd

can be a tricky business.

One way they do this,

is by constantly communicating

with each other.

That happens in different ways,

but one thing's for sure

these elephants are as loud

as they are huge.

[Baby trumpeting]

[Low rumbling]

[Loud trumpeting]

Elephants often trumpet

when they're surprised

or being playful,

but there's a lot more

to their sounds than just that.

[Trumpeting]

Narrator: It's true.

Elephants can also squeal, cry,

scream, roar, snort, rumble,

and groan to get

their point across.

[Roaring]

Elephants produce such

an incredible range of sounds.

Not just in terms of the volume,

they can go from these

really loud, high-pitched,

trumpeting alarm calls,

also they can produce

really low, gentle rumbles,

which are like

contact calls to each other

while they're feeding.

Narrator: Rumbling will only

get you so far.

Visual or

non-verbal communication

is as important for elephants

as it is for humans.

They can use their face, ears,

tusks, trunk, tail, and feet

to signal messages

to one another.

They're body language masters.

Elephants use their whole body

to communicate,

and even though their eyes

are around 1.5 inches across

and seemingly much smaller

than the rest of their body,

they become

a lot more expressive

when they're alarmed or excited.

Narrator: Some gestures

are easier to interpret.

Raised ears make them

look more intimidating.

While they paw the ground

if they feel threatened.

Of course, having a trunk

opens up

all kinds of

other possibilities.

Elephants use their trunks

to communicate.

So they can greet one another,

a little bit like

shaking hands.

But they can also be

really tender with their trunks.

They can wrap their trunks

around another,

a little bit like putting

your arm around a friend.

Narrator:

In addition to body language

and obvious vocalizations,

elephants have another,

more secret way

of communicating.

Elephants can be seen

standing still for hours,

ears out and eyes lowered

as if lost in thought.

Finally, they leave.

And later, joins a herd

kilometres away.

How did the elephant

know where to go?

Elephants have an incredible

ability to communicate

that we have only just

started to understand.

It's called infrasound.

And they can communicate

at 20 hertz,

which to us

is impossible to hear,

but to them means everything.

Narrator: These low notes

are produced by vibrations

in the vocal folds

of the elephant's larynx

or voice box.

In essence, elephants sing

or hum, a lot like we do.

But their huge voice box

produces extremely low notes.

As low as the lowest notes

of a pipe organ.

They can travel far and wide

and be picked up

by any elephant in range,

usually anywhere within 3.5 km.

Their giant ears,

like satellite dishes,

capture the waves.

The beauty of using

low-frequency sound

to communicate is the sound

can travel across the savannah,

across that habitat,

with very little interference.

But also very few other species

can actually

hear this frequency sound,

so it's almost like

their own channel

to speak to each other.

Narrator:

Elephants use as many

as 70 different sounds

to communicate,

and 60% of them

are actually infrasound.

It's like

an elephant group text

and when one elephant

communicates through infrasound,

all of them

get the same message.

Narrator: These powerful

messages are important.

They help male elephants

find available females.

They also

enable elephants to reunite

with lost friends

and family members.

One rumble means,

"Help, I'm lost!"

and another means,

"Hey, it's okay.

I'm over here."

We've only been

carrying cell phones

for the past few decades,

but elephants have been making

long-distance calls

for millions of years.

Narrator:

Luckily for these elephants,

they don't get billed

for these long-distance calls.

Incredibly, they all have

an in-built ability

to stay in touch

with their loved ones,

as they roam far and wide

across the African savannahs.

[Birds chirping]

Narrator: While most animals

have to work hard

to survive and find food,

some get by with a healthy dose

of deception and deviousness

Many birds in particular

are notorious tricksters.

[Chirping]

The cuckoo lays its eggs

in the nest

of another unsuspecting bird

to escape parental duties.

Blue jays do a good job

of imitating

different hawk species

causing other birds to scatter,

leaving the jays

with sole access

to the bird feeder.

But there's another avian rogue

that's more aggressive

and commits highway robbery

in the air.

This is

the magnificent frigatebird.

A large seabird,

easily recognized by its long,

slender wings and forked tail.

[Chirping]

They spend most of their life

flying effortlessly

over the ocean

searching for fish.

These birds are masters

at staying in the air,

and can glide for weeks on end

without flapping their wings.

They achieve this

with a really large wingspan,

eight feet,

wing tip to wing tip,

and that's the largest

wingspan-to-body ratio

of any bird.

And this is what

allows them to stay airborne

for such long periods,

as they range over the ocean

looking for food.

Narrator: When they do

come ashore to nest,

magnificent frigatebirds

favour tropical islands.

Like Trinidad and Tobago

in the Caribbean Sea.

The cliffs here are packed with

breeding birds of all kinds.

There's stiff competition

between parents

looking to feed

their youngsters.

Fish is always on the menu,

but these giants of the sky

have one weakness.

Even though

the frigatebird is a seabird,

it can't land on water.

Its feathers aren't waterproof.

These birds don't have oil

on their feathers,

and it's this oil that helps

keep seabirds waterproof.

Oil glands are heavy,

they take up a lot of energy,

and because these birds spend

most of their lives on the wing,

they want to be as light

and as streamlined as possible,

so nature

got rid of the oil glands.

Narrator:

So, it has to be careful

not to make a splash

when it goes fishing.

That is a really hard way

for a seabird to make a living

if it can't actually

dive into the water.

Narrator: The magnificent

frigatebird

has found a solution

that allows it to feed while

still keeping its feathers dry.

It has turned

to a life of crime,

and commits high-seas robbery

staying safely in the sky.

They target a seabird

that has a freshly caught fish

in its throat.

Then, the chase is on.

[Squawking]

Frigatebirds attack

from behind,

yanking their victims tail

and forcing it

to cough up the fish.

Honestly, these birds

would terrify me.

They're so intimidating,

not just because of their size,

but because of their tactics.

I mean, this is sky way

robbery.

They are really aggressive,

they're very persistent,

but also,

they're very calculating.

Narrator:

It's simple but effective.

You have to admire

the audacity of these birds.

They really are

the pirates of the sea.

It's a great way

to mug a bird mid-air

and get it to give up

its well-earned prey.

Very successful strategy.

Narrator: Not all victims

roll over so easily.

But the magnificent

frigatebirds

have different tactics

they can deploy.

When they have to,

they team up.

There's a high-speed chase

through the skies.

This tropic bird

tries to shake-off

these flying "Jack Sparrows."

Twisting one way

and then another.

The tropic bird thinks

it's evaded this sky pirate

when the other one pounces.

I'll take that.

These aerial dogfights

are fascinating to watch,

because they are absolutely

fixated on their victim.

This frigate just comes in,

absolutely relentless.

Oh, and there it goes,

lunch is stolen.

Gillian:

It's a real aerial dogfight.

I feel really sorry

for the birds

that come under attack.

But it's not always

in favour of the frigatebirds

because surprisingly,

some of the smaller birds

have a bit of an advantage,

because they have

these shorter wingspans.

It makes them

more manoeuvrable in the air,

but also they stay closer

to the surface of the water

and we know

the frigatebirds cannot afford

to get close to the surface

of the water and ditch.

Narrator:

Just like in the human world,

when it comes to greed

there is no honour

among thieves.

One sky pirate's booty,

can easily become

another's stolen treasure.

[Squawking]

Gillian:

It's really tempting,

but we cannot

judge this behaviour.

It seems brutal.

It seems dishonourable.

They'll seem like th*gs.

But actually,

frigatebirds have chicks too.

So they've got their young

to keep alive

just like

any other species does.

Narrator:

Although terrifying in the air,

but at the nest,

frigatebirds are doting parents.

And one day,

these chicks will grow up

to become

young buccaneers themselves.

[Squawks]

[Playful growls]

Parenthood is something

we and most animals

have in common.

A biological necessity,

and rite of passage.

Many adult species,

human or otherwise,

temporarily put

their own lives on hold

while they raise

and look after kids.

Male emperor penguins

incubate their partner's eggs

for two months straight,

over the harsh

Antarctic winter.

It's Daddy Day Care

round the clock,

until mom returns.

An orangutan mother will stay

in close contact with her baby

for up to eight years.

But in our planet's seas,

there's a marine mammal

that looks after

the younger generation

for its entire life.

The Norwegian Sea.

[Waves crashing]

Just one of many places

where you'll find a species

that shares

a particular human trait

that almost no other creature

on Earth does.

The orca.

Also known as a k*ller whale.

Orcas were given

the name "k*ller whales"

by sailors

who directly observed them

hunting and k*lling

much larger whales in the sea.

Narrator:

These k*ller whales, though,

are very family-orientated,

living in pods

of up to 40 family members,

travelling

and hunting together.

Wherever they roam,

they are the apex predators.

Fearsome, adaptable,

and long-lived.

On average,

orcas live around 50 years old,

but some females have been known

to live as much as

90 years old.

Narrator: Like us humans,

these whales

are evolutionary oddballs.

Most mammals on the planet

stay fertile

until the end of their life,

which is usually

much shorter than ours.

But humans and orcas

are in the same boat

when it comes to menopause.

Ben: It really is incredible

when you think about it.

Apart from humans,

the only other mammals

to go through menopause

are short-finned pilot whales,

belugas and narwhals.

And why orcas do the same

is still a little bit uncertain,

but it might be down

to their close-knit

family units,

which consist of

both males and females.

And this in itself

is quite unusual

within the mammal world.

Narrator: Female orcas

reach sexual maturity

when they're between

10 and 13 years old

and start breeding

when they're 14 or 15.

Most orca moms will give birth

to a single calf

every three to ten years.

When they're about

40 years old,

they stop reproducing.

It's not clear whether orcas

experience symptoms of menopause

the way we do,

but certainly

they do stop breeding

when they reach middle age

But it doesn't mean that

they no longer have a role

in orca society.

Narrator: Far from it.

New studies have shown

that female orcas,

young and old alike,

are key to their pod's survival

and future.

Orca communities

are incredibly tightly knit,

and just like

a large human family,

they're made up

of multi-generations.

You get grannies,

you get moms,

you get the kids, the grandkids,

and they all cooperatively work

and live together.

And this group has to be

very good at finding food

and keeping each other safe.

Narrator: In fact,

after menopause,

these older females become

even more crucial to the family

and in many cases,

leave the pod.

Their accumulated knowledge

and know-how

can often be the difference

between life and death.

Especially when prey

becomes scarce.

So, grandma savvy is crucial.

For example, grandma can help

the whole pod find food.

But more than that,

when times are tough,

she'll also share food

with the younger ones.

But most crucially of all,

this older female will actually

help to teach the younger ones

how to hunt their prey.

So she actually

gives them the knowledge

of how to go out into the world

and hunt for themselves.

What's interesting is,

the orcas are able to use

a whole range of tactics

depending on

which species they're hunting.

So whales, seals,

fish, even rays,

all determine

how the particular pod hunts

Narrator: A favourite orca

delicacy is seal.

But landing

one of these tasty morsels

can be a dangerous endeavour

for a k*ller whale.

Especially a newbie.

Baby seals spend a lot of time

by the shoreline.

They look like easy pickings.

But if an over-eager

juvenile orca

rushes in to grab one,

it might miss

and end up beaching itself.

A successful raid

depends on timing, and skill.

Without an educator around,

it's tricky.

But if grandma's there

to show you how it's done,

it can be a piece of cake.

What's really nice is

seeing they're adapting

their behaviours

these really sharp

flips of the tail

to propel themselves

up this steep sandy beach

just to get those pups there.

They've learned

this special adaptive behaviour

to get back into the sea

to make sure

they're not in trouble.

It's really clever.

[Puppy seals crying]

Narrator:

Like a human society,

orcas value

and revere their elders

and seem to

instinctively realize

that these veterans

of life on the high seas

have a lot to offer.

Not in spite of,

but because of their old age.

Scientists call it

"the grandmother effect."

And for young orcas,

it is profound.

Studies show

that calves with grandmothers

are more likely to stay alive

than those without.

Ben: Many human grandmothers

love to spoil their grandkids

with treats and attention,

and for good reason,

because research has shown

that by having

living grandmothers

actually improves

the well being of the children.

And it appears

the same is true for orcas.

It just goes to show

that with the decades

of hard-earned experience

that these older females have,

it's not just

about having babies,

it's also about being able to

pass on the knowledge

that they have

to the younger generations.

Narrator: Respect your elders,

it's a piece of advice

young people

around world often hear.

For juvenile orcas,

it's not just a nice idea,

it's key to survival.

Having an elder female around

just might be

the kind of influence they need

early in life,

to flourish and make their way

in the world.

For them,

grandma really does know best.

Some people go to

a lot of trouble

to find that special someone.

And like us, many animals

also go to great lengths

to attract a mate.

For example, male peacocks

use elaborate tail dances

to impress the ladies.

While the male fiddler crab

waves his large claw

to entice a female.

Their first date

is getting together

to dig a burrow.

But for a certain kind

of cheeky monkey,

the female does

all the chasing.

The tropical forests of Brazil.

In the far northeast

of the country,

you'll find

the Serra da Capivara

National Park.

During the dry season,

many of the trees

lose their leaves.

[Birds tweeting]

But for some animals,

love is in the air.

The only problem

not everyone

is on the same page.

[Squeaking]

These are Capuchin monkeys.

Known around the world

for their supreme intelligence.

They can fashion tools

out of sticks,

and use rocks

for cracking nuts.

When the Portuguese explorers

first saw these primates

in the 1400s,

they names them "cappuccinos,"

after the "capuchin monks."

Capuchin friars

wear a brown, pointed hood

called a cappuccino,

and the monkeys

really look like them

with their brown fur

and white faces.

So the name just stuck.

Narrator:

Unlike real monks, though,

these monkeys live in large,

mixed sex groups

of up to 40 individuals.

They're made up

of a dominant male

and lots of females

vying for his attention.

They communicate

in a variety of ways,

but usually through calls

and vocalizations.

[Squeaking]

Capuchins communicate with

each other through the trees.

They'll be like,

"Hey, where are you?"

And the other one will be like,

"Oh, I'm over here!"

And they get really excited

when they find food,

and they make sure

to let others know

where the food is at.

[Squeaking]

They also

warn each other of predators

and have a specific alarm call

if they see an eagle or a snake.

[Squeaking]

Narrator: Sometimes,

when they're trying

to make their feelings known

to a member

of the opposite sex,

they need to take

a more direct approach.

Like this lustful lady.

Capuchins are polygamous,

meaning they mate

with several

different partners.

And there's one guy the females

all have their eyes on.

The group's alpha male.

To them, he's kinda like

the coolest guy on the block.

The school heartthrob.

But getting his attention

can be tricky.

This female is in heat

and ready for romance.

So she needs to work extra hard

to get his attention.

Capuchins love to play games

and they're known for all sorts

of strange social behaviour.

They test friendships

by poking their fingers

in their friends eyes.

And when it comes

to mating rituals,

it can be even more bizarre.

Narrator: First, she'll do

a bit of stalking.

You know, following him

wherever he goes.

We've all had one of those.

Not very subtle,

and probably quite annoying.

It's just like

teenagers in high school

trying to impress their crush.

Doing whatever you can

to get noticed.

It's like typical

"Hey, come get me" behaviour.

Narrator: She's doing her best

to catch his eye,

but he's totally distracted.

Fed up with being ignored,

she finally resorts

to more drastic action.

Here's a female.

Oh, she's got a coconut.

Really? She's gonna go that far?

Yeah, she is.

She's actually

chucked a coconut at him!

Always works for me.

I'm not sure

it's the best approach,

but anyway, obviously it works

for the female capuchins.

Nadeem: This female

is being really cheeky.

But it's cool, it's kinda sweet,

it's just like playful,

innocent.

A bit of puppy love, you know?

This guy doesn't look like

he's receiving it too well,

but hey, persistence, sister,

I believe in you.

Narrator: These blatant

attention-seeking ploys

may seem comical

but a female Capuchin

doesn't have many options.

These monkeys don't have

any physical indicators

to let males know

when they're most fertile

and ready to mate.

They're not showy,

like some female primates,

who will display

their swollen genitals

to the males.

Instead, capuchins rely on

bad behaviour.

Essentially bugging the boy

they like non-stop,

until he finally gets the hint.

She knows

when she's most fertile

and most likely to get pregnant.

And this is vital

for keeping the troop going

and producing

the next generation.

By making sure she's the mother

of the alpha-male's offspring

is a smart move.

Narrator: While

their romancing techniques

might seem somewhat juvenile,

capuchins are usually

considered the most intelligent

of all South American monkeys.

And scientists confirm

that the unusual tactics

usually pay off.

The desperate

coconut-throwing female

gets to spend some quality time

with the man of her dreams.

[Squawking]

In the bird world,

mates tend to come and go.

After a single breeding season,

many avian couples

call it quits

and go their separate ways.

Regardless of whether

they produce chicks, or not.

But in the southern hemisphere,

there's a seabird

that is more faithful,

pairing with the same partner

year after year.

The black-browed albatross

spends most of its life at sea.

For months at a time,

they don't see land.

Until they return

to one special place

to breed.

That special place is a remote,

rocky archipelago.

The Falkland Islands.

Home to one of

nature's greatest love stories.

Black-browed albatrosses

return to these same shores.

over and over again.

More than 70%

of the world's population

of these massive seabirds

nests here.

The shores of the Falklands

are flooded with albatross,

close to a million.

It's like a packed beach

in summer vacation.

Everyone jostling around

trying to find the best spot,

and there's nowhere to stand

without stepping

on a foot or a wing.

Narrator: They'll usually spend

the next six months or so

here in the colony

reuniting with a partner

to produce the next generation

of albatrosses.

[Albatross calling]

Albatross pairs actually spend

half the year apart,

on the wing, foraging for food,

and then half the year together

to build their nests

and raise their chick.

Narrator: These albatrosses

are socially monogamous,

which means year after year,

they'll pair up

with the same partner.

And these couples

make a long-term commitment

to each other.

It's really impressive

because some of these bonds

can last for decades.

Most birds will mate

for one season,

but these albatross

will very frequently

mate for season after season.

Narrator: Young albatrosses

that aren't coupled up yet

have to find their ideal mate

before they settle down.

They perform a very specific

and elaborate

courtship display.

[Albatross calling]

These rituals can include

up to 25 different poses.

[Beaks clicking]

Clicking beaks

seems to be the most popular.

The idea is to find a mate

that makes communication

and coordination easy.

Once both partners are happy

that they've found

their soulmate,

they set up a home together.

Albatrosses will make

a basic nest,

and then the female will lay

one single egg,

and then both sexes

will incubate it

for up to three months.

It's had work

raising a chick,

and so the parents take turns.

While one is on incubating duty,

the other one is off foraging.

And it takes about 130 days

for the chick to fledge.

Narrator: These couples

have a strong connection,

and unlike in humans,

divorce is rare.

Worldwide, the figure

for failed relationships

between albatrosses

has been estimated

at around 1%.

But divorce rates

for those birds

living in the Falklands

are actually on the rise.

There's a few factors

at play here.

The birds have to fly

much further to find food,

sometimes up to 5,000 miles

on a round trip to find squid.

Narrator: Squid, fish,

and crustaceans

are their favourite food.

But in recent years,

these "goodies" have dropped

in supply close to home

So the albatross'

search for sustenance

becomes longer

and more arduous.

They could be

away from the nest

for days, weeks, even months.

The partner left behind

has a tough choice to make.

Wait for their partner to return

or look for another.

Narrator:

Just like it is for us,

climate change is making life

more stressful

for the albatrosses.

As ocean temperatures rise,

it robs the water of nutrients

that fish

and other marine creatures

need to survive,

so their numbers drop.

By the time the albatrosses

return to land to mate,

they may be too exhausted

or too sick to start a family.

Warmer weather causes

a rise in stress for the birds,

and they're more likely

to divorce their partner

if they fail to breed.

Narrator: But over in Hawaii,

one species of albatross

has found an alternative

path to parenthood.

One that may help

stack the odds in their favour.

The laysan albatross.

Many of them

are in same sex relationships.

Dan: It's actually

a bigger proportion

than you might think.

Up to 31% are same sex pairs.

What's really cool, though,

is that there are major benefits

to being in a same sex pair,

including having two eggs hatch.

Lucy: These albatrosses

are true pioneers.

There aren't enough males

on the colony,

so they'll mate

with other albatross husbands

and then partner

with another female

in order to do the hard job

of raising the chick.

Narrator: These

all female relationships

are helping to secure a future

for these magnificent birds.

Climate change

and rising sea levels

are expected to destroy 95%

of albatross nesting areas

in this part of the Pacific.

But some same-sex

female couples

have been observed

building their nests

on much higher ground.

Out of reach of the waves,

so they are

ensuring a safe home

for the next generation

of albatrosses.

A species famous

for its steadfast monogamy,

is now showing

that it's also adaptable.

Finding a way

to reproduce and raise chicks

even when there aren't enough

dads to go around.

[Chirping]

Most animals don't mind

getting a little muddy.

But some can get carried away.

[Snorting]

These bathing beauties

are warthogs.

Wild African pigs

that will never say no

to a good mud bath.

While we all might like

a nice spa treatment,

these guys take it

to the extreme.

Dan: You gotta love warthogs.

They're not gonna win

any beauty contests

but they're a joy to watch.

Just look at them, they're like

fully armoured pigs.

Narrator: Warthogs live

all over sub-Saharan Africa.

Like here, in Uganda.

Where they share

watering holes and habitat

with a wide range

of other creatures.

All taking advantage of

this African nation's bounty.

Although they look

pretty fierce,

and looks can be deceiving,

and warthogs actually spend

most of their time grazing.

They're always rootling around

in the ground

looking for bulbs

or roots to eat.

They're greedy, basically.

Narrator:

These tough looking guys

are perfectly adapted

to life here.

During the wet season,

they feed

on the abundant grasses.

But during

the oppressive dry season,

when temperatures

regularly reach almost 32 C,

these versatile hogs cope

by spending more time

in their underground burrows.

The warthogs always seem

to have one pesky problem

ticks.

The parasites flourish

in warm, humid climates.

And feed exclusively

on the blood of other animals.

With all that exposed skin,

the warthog is an easy target.

Dan: Ticks are a real problem

in the wild.

They latch onto to the skin

of their hosts

and suck their blood.

If these ticks stay on,

the warthog

could get really sick.

Lucy: Ticks can carry

all sorts of diseases,

like African swine fever,

which is highly contagious.

But those hogs have found

an ingenious way

of ridding themselves

of those pesky ticks.

Narrator:

To keep themselves tick-free,

warthogs take

a lot of mud baths.

Wallowing also

helps them stay cool

and avoid sunburn.

But that's not always enough.

So from time to time,

these hogs head off

to the local spa.

Where there's a team

of trained beauticians waiting

dedicated to pampering

their clients.

Staffing this wildlife spa

mongooses.

The relationship between

the mongoose and the warthog

is pretty unique

because they don't have

any other reason

to hang out with each other.

In fact, warthogs

are being known

to k*ll mongooses.

So you'd think the mongooses

would be steering clear of them.

But the warthog knows

that the mongoose provides

a very special service.

Narrator: The first step

of any beauty treatment

is to assess

the clients' needs.

So, the mongoose

inspects the warthog

to see which treatment

it would best benefit from.

Then, they get to work.

The mongoose picks off

any ticks and other insects

the warthog might have

on its body,

and the warthog just lies there,

enjoying the work

of natural beauticians.

They swarm over the body,

getting into those crevices

in the folds of the skin,

and the warthog

will even lift its leg

to help them access those

difficult to reach places.

Narrator:

It's a very thorough process.

No area is off limits.

This particular treatment

is swift.

Carried out by a number

of the spa staff.

Ten minutes later,

the treatment is over.

Our refreshed warthog emerges

cleaned and reinvigorated.

And as an added bonus,

the warthog doesn't even

have to pay.

For the mongooses,

a full stomach

is payment enough.

This is a great example

of mutual benefit.

You scratch my back

and I'll scratch yours.

But the fact that

this involves different species,

makes it even more amazing.

Narrator: An animal helping

another species is rare

but not unique.

Zebra and wildebeest

travel together

as they benefit

from each other's keen senses.

The zebra

has exceptional sight,

even at night.

And the wildebeest use

their sharp sense of hearing

and smell

to keep the herd safe

and find water.

And bottlenose dolphins

make regular trips

to their local

underwater "pharmacy"

to treat very specific

skin problems.

This particular pharmacy

is in the Red Sea.

The warm waters cover

over 453,000 square kilometres.

Beneath the waves,

bottlenose dolphins

dance and dash

through a world

brimming with biodiversity.

Ben: Everyone loves dolphins.

They're so smart,

they're charismatic,

and that little smile

on their faces permanently.

They are quite human-like.

Narrator: Incredibly social

and highly intelligent,

these dolphins

are also adaptable

and health conscious.

That's important,

because around the world,

dolphins are threatened

by man-made chemicals

and the rise in sea pollution.

Just as we can get sick

from polluted water,

dolphins can too.

Because they're at the top

of a food chain

this toxic build up accumulates

all the way up

and causes massive problems

for them individually,

but also as a group.

Narrator: Heavy metals,

including mercury,

and industrial chemicals,

affect the dolphins' health.

These pollutants can cause harm

to the dolphins' growth,

development,

and even their reproduction.

These contaminants also

weaken their immune system.

The result of

all this environmental stress

means that

they're prone to infections,

especially fungal infections

on their skin,

which can become fatal.

Narrator: To guard against

and treat

harmful skin infections,

the dolphins take advantage

of a natural remedy.

One that's on offer

free of charge,

courtesy of another

underseas species.

There are over 1200

known species of gorgonians,

and they come

in a great variety

of shapes and sizes.

They thrive in the tropics

and grow in huge colonies.

In the Red Sea,

bottlenose dolphins seek out

specific kinds

of gorgonian corals

among an enormous reef.

Including one known as

Rumphella aggregata.

They seem to be able to focus

on this one species

and pick it out in amongst

all the other types

of coral there.

It's quite amazing.

Narrator: They get in line

and wait their turn.

One by one,

the dolphins swim to the coral,

and scrape their skin over it.

This rubbing behaviour

is all about self-medicating.

And of course,

because they're dolphins,

it's an orderly queue.

Dolphins have

a highly developed

way of communicating.

It's clear they've

shown the youngsters

and told each other

about this special coral.

And they all want in

on the action.

Dolphins are spotted

repeating this

over and over again.

It looks like they really enjoy

engaging in this behaviour.

So they're rubbing their sides,

their bellies.

And more interestingly,

it's all members of the pod,

the juveniles and the adults

that engage in this behaviour.

Narrator: They may enjoy it,

after all,

scraping up against the coral

is probably like

a good back scratch.

But these dolphins

have also learned

that this coral

has medicinal properties.

This is much more complex

than a simple body scrub

because the corals are releasing

a whole c*ck

of natural compounds.

And it's released in this

sort of mucus-like substance

as the dolphins swim over

and tub against them

triggering this response.

Narrator: This coral contains

17 compounds,

including

antibacterial elements

and antioxidants.

A perfect mix for getting rid

of troublesome skin complaints.

As the dolphins are using

this natural medicated skincare,

to rub and expose

sore parts of their skin

the chemicals released

will help to soothe

and also to treat

these infections.

Narrator:

These medicated corals

can be a life saver

for dolphins.

This is natural medicine

at its best,

using nature to cure your ills.

But for me,

it's amazing that they're able

to identify

and locate specific corals

that can help them

in this particular way.

Narrator: Scientists

who observed this behaviour

think it plays an integral role

in the dolphins' lives.

Kind of like a daily ritual,

for old and young alike.

That helps to keep them happy,

as well as healthy.