Little Monsters - Hide & Cheat (2013) - full transcript

This is the only place in the universe
where we know life exists.

For billions of years, Earth's climate has swung
between ice ages and warm periods,

creating habitats and destroying them.

Today, things are heating up again.

Glaciers melt at speeds that are far from glacial.

Natural disasters seem to be
more frequent and more disastrous.

And rainforests,
the Earth's "green lungs”, shrink...

while deserts grow.

As conditions change, some animals
may not be able to adapt.

It all sounds so bleak,
but that's only part of the story.

Life always finds a way to
reshape and re-establish itself.



And while the large animals get all the attention,

it's the small and very smallest,
that have the advantage...

rising to defy every challenge with new adaptations,

insects, amphibians, spiders or reptiles,

always searching out new niches,

playing their best game in order to thrive.

The result is a dynamic balance
where each creature's role evolves,

and the only constant is survival.

Imagine a barren and forbidding landscape.

A lava island for example,
newly thrust from the bottom of the sea.

Apparently desolate, it's never entirely lifeless.

There are bacteria that thrive in the boiling,
acidic water of a new-formed island.

And the instant things cool down,
the surrounding creatures lay claim.

Some come seeking shelter.



Others look for food, or become food.

Some pioneers cling to the nooks and crannies,

making the new island their permanent home.

Life attracts more life,

and in just a few decades, an entirely
new ecosystem forms underwater.

But how does life get a toe-hold
on the rocky, forbidding "upper deck"?

A rock jutting out of the sea
doesn't have much to offer.

But even the most remote desert island
isn't entirely off the map.

Though it may be barren and rough,

it could be a lifeline for
some wayward creature lost at sea.

One day, the wind carries a Dragonfly here,

possibly hundreds of kilometers
across the open ocean.

Dragonflies are among the first settlers
of new territories and islands,

conquered first from the air.

For some colonizers, the rugged cliffs
hold a certain appeal.

One day European Bee-eaters will find
the comforts of home in the eroded rock walls.

They dig out their nests and raise their young.

But long before, down below,
seabirds assess the new shoreline.

The beach provides a convenient resting place...

and a chance to survey the new terrain
for suitable breeding grounds.

Seagulls are citizens of the world,

quickly colonizing coastlines wherever they emerge.

The surging surf always provides something to eat.

The tide delivers more than meals to the island.

Along with seaweed and algae come seeds,

and portions of land plants carried hundreds
of kilometers to reach these new shores.

And even small stowaways
like these 3-millimeter long Jumping Spiders...

survive the treacherous sea voyage.

Some butterfly species fly
hundreds of kilometers across the ocean...

only to be devoured.

It doesn't take long for crabs
and other amphibious animals...

to stake their claim on the virgin coastal regions.

Bigger pieces of flotsam carry larger
castaways to these far-flung shores.

The involuntary voyager will have to
figure out how to make a go of it.

Stranded, the Boettger's Lizard sees its chance.

Without its usual diet of small bugs,
the lizard must resort to eating fruit.

And if by chance more lizards
of the same species arrive,

they'll establish a community of fruit-eating lizards.

That's how new environmental conditions
generate new species.

Over hundreds of thousands of years,
animals isolated on an island,

develop a unique shape and coloration.

Sooner or later, a Locust finds its way here.

And although the lizards here thrive on fruit,

they've never truly lost their appetite for insects.

Bugs aren't the only ones
who have to watch their step.

Areas without vegetation can become
the domain of the Horned Viper.

Perfectly adapted to sandy soils,
It digs in and disappears.

Scorpions also love this arid environment.

The venomous pair form an uneasy truce.

As the green coastal areas get settled,

more small animals find their
niche inland, away from the crowd.

Darkling beetles nibble their way through life,

eating just a tiny amount of vegetation.

They also make do with very little moisture.

The smallest of dewdrops will suffice.

This Leopard Gecko has also adapted to desert life,

and darkling beetles are on its menu,
when it can catch one.

The little beetles are much too fleet of foot.

The leopard gecko has to hope for
slower prey or a happy coincidence,

driving the darkling beetle right into its jaws.

Desert scorpions like dry heat
but they don't tolerate direct sunlight.

To escape it, they frantically dig themselves a cave,

becoming so focused on their task
that they can forget their surroundings.

The Savannah Monitor seizes the opportunity.

Reproduction is the surest sign
of successful colonization.

For many lizards, that means laying eggs,

which they hide in crevices or
bury in the sand, and then abandon.

The soft, leathery shells make it easy
for the hatchlings...

to rip open without much effort.

The real trouble starts once they're out.

For some, a few days or weeks, is all they get.

Without their parents' protection,
they have to fend for themselves.

Sooner or later, a Falcon reach the isolated island,

and the balance of power shifts:

predator becomes prey.

It doesn't take long for the bird
to adapt to the new delicacy.

Nothing is wasted in this new ecosystem.

And frequently the very small play a big role.

Since ants eat anything,
they adapt easily to new habitats.

They help clear the remains
of dead animals in no time...

joining forces to transport large chunks
of scavenged food into their colonies.

Some of the more than 20,000 species
have become super-specialized.

Instead of hunting other insects,
they tend them like tiny livestock.

This little caterpillar can nibble away happily
thanks to the ants that guard it.

In return, the caterpillar supplies them...

with a sugary liquid from a gland in its abdomen.

It's a sweet deal: swapping food for security.

Seeds, carried by the wind and seabirds,
aggressively colonize the island, too.

They fall into the fertile soil or
lodge in the cracks of the rocks.

Generations of plants spread out, die,
and create rich compost,

making it easier for
the less hardy plants to grow.

Over a few thousand years,
a blink of an eye in geological terms,

the original lava desert transforms
into a lush, tropical paradise.

Another kind of island transformation happens, too.

After many generations, animals living in isolation...

from the rest of their species form local variations.

For example, this finch species in the Azores.

While they look similar to
their relatives on the mainland,

they sing a different tune, like a local dialect.

One of the world's smallest birds is the Kinglet,

it weighs about as much as 5 paper clips.

This species lives only on the island of Madeira.

There are just a few hundred specimens
of this distinctive variety.

They live in damp evergreen forests and
eat tiny insect eggs and small spiders.

This Owl Butterfly has adapted so well
to its new environment...

that it no longer visits blossoms
but feeds entirely on rotten fruit sap.

Its proboscis has adapted to the new food source.

This Malaysian fruit borer specializes in...

tapping the sap of fruit still hanging on the tree.

The Death's-head Hawk Moth developed
one of the most bizarre adaptations.

It raids the nests of wild bees
to poke its short proboscis...

into the comb and feed on honey.

The bees immediately attack,
and frequently sting these moths to death.

But the species itself will survive these losses.

The Indian Lunar Moth hitches at night,
the safest time to reveal its colourful wings.

By adapting to changing circumstances,

predators and their prey maintain
a fascinating, delicate balance...

with their environment and with each other.

Tarantulas, the world's biggest spiders,

can have a leg span almost
as wide as a dinner plate.

They have powerful mandibles,

their fangs can grow to
more than a centimeter long.

The venom they inject not only kills their prey,
but also starts to digest it.

And though most tarantula venom
is no stronger than a bee sting,

it does the trick on frogs, snakes and lizards.

The tropical Centipedes share
their habitat with the tarantulas,

and sometimes eat them.

They can grow to more than 25 centimeters.

Among the Earth's oldest land animals,

centipedes have been around
for some 400 million years.

Their poison kills lizards, frogs, birds and mice.

Sooner or later, even medium-sized mammals,
like Coati may conquer new islands.

The spider stands no chance
against its agile attack.

As island's age, they may eventually
collect enough fresh water...

to start and cultivate a dense jungle,

which swans find quite attractive.

The greater the variety of plants and animals,
the more specialized they become.

Animals diversify to find a unique niche to exploit,

a way of hunting or eating or behaving
that will help them survive.

And sometimes the result is bizarre.

Scientists are still discovering new species,

like this puzzling spider found in the late 1990s.

No one has classified it yet.

Certain body features suggest
it's a so-called raft spider,

while other features argue against it.

And no one knows how dangerous it might be.

Like animals, plants also make
the most of their opportunities.

To get pollinated, orchids vie for attention
by flaunting their sexy blossoms.

But for many varieties, the birds and the bees...

focuses mainly on the birds,
specifically hummingbirds.

These super-specialized pollinators have developed...

needle-thin beaks and long tongues
to reach the orchid's nectar.

And in the process, spread the pollen.

It's win-win.

Bird and blossom are so perfectly co-adapted,
they fit like a lock and key.

A different species of hummingbird...

with slightly different beak and tongue
would be locked out.

Nowhere is evolution's colorful diversity
more apparent than in tropical forests.

But sometimes nature borrows from itself.

What looks like a leaf
is really an insect, Leaf Insect.

These plant-eating bugs, to avoid being
eaten themselves, imitate the foliage.

They even mimic a leaf's subtle veins and holes,

to confound the sharpest-eyed predator.

Of course, insects need to travel,
and leaves don't,

and that could be a dead giveaway,

but evolution has provided a work-around.

When groups of these insects sway back and forth,

they look like a simple windswept branch.

The leaf insects aren't the only ones
to figure out how to shake off danger.

Wasp spiders boisterously jiggle
back and forth inside their web.

The motion actually helps them to stand out less.

Anything that's blown about by the wind
so much surely can't be alive!

Other animals try their best
to blend in by keeping still.

The caterpillar of the wormwood moth
looks just like the plant it eats.

Only its slight movement gives it away.

Predators are attuned to the slightest motion.

Sharp-eyed mantises don't miss a trick.

In a forest littered with dry leaves and
moldy wood, flamboyance can be fatal,

so the best way to stay alive
is to blend in to the woodwork.

Madagascar's Leaf-tailed Gecko has the right idea.

Although it's more than 20 centimeters long,
it's virtually invisible.

Even its big eyes are marbleized.

And it hedges its bets by venturing out
only under cover of darkness to hunt insects.

When it does go out, it moves slowly,

doing its best to imitate
breeze-tossed bark and leaves.

One sudden move would blow its cover.

But what tiny predator can compare to...

the leaf-mimicking prowess of this next creature:

the praying mantis!

Its brilliant camouflage allows it
to lay back and disappear.

An unsuspecting insect that wanders too close
to the mantis doesn't have a prayer.

When it comes to survival tactics,
there's no limit to evolution's ingenuity.

Every forest is an enchanted forest,
and nothing is necessarily what it appears to be.

In all of nature's beauty,

arguably, one of the strangest survival
strategies in the entire animal kingdom...

involves a creature that looks like, a turd.

In the forest, nobody's trying to
win a popularity contest,

so this little piece of dung
has nothing to worry about.

Only its movement reveals it's a caterpillar.

Brilliantly disguised as a bird dropping,
it fools its enemies and gets on with its day.

Camouflage comes in all sizes,

and it's best not to overlook
the easy-to-miss Gabon viper.

Only when it starts to move
does this almost 2 meter-long,

venomous snake stand out from the background.

It mainly eats mammals,

sneaking up...

and striking fast.

Its 4-centimeter fangs get the job done.

On the ground, nesting birds
are particularly vulnerable.

The eggs can't be moved,
so they must hide in plain sight.

The Little Ringed Plover, far too delicate
to defend its nest in a fight,

depends entirely on the eggs' camouflage.

When birds of prey appear,
the plover leaves its nest...

to draw attention away from the eggs.

When the danger has passed, it returns.

Birds all over the world rely on
the same camouflage strategy as the plover.

And it's great, so long as the predator
hunts with its eyes.

But some use a different strategy.

The southwest of the United States
is home to a reptile...

that specializes in plundering birds' nests.

It's the Gila Monster,
a particularly stocky and robust lizard.

It dates back more than 65 million years,
to the Cretaceous period.

Gila monsters lived alongside the dinosaurs.

Now that's success.

Probably the most notable feature
of the Gila monster is its venom.

Glands inside its lower jaw discharge
the poison along a fissure in its teeth.

The Gila monsters specialize in
raiding birds' nests near the ground.

No amount of camouflage helps now
as the Gila sniffs them out.

Constantly darting its tongue in and out,

the Gila monster picks up
trace molecules from the eggs...

and unerringly navigates towards them.

Once it draws a bead on its target,
nothing can stop it.

Blending into the background
is one survival technique.

But some environments are
more dynamic than others,

and conventional camouflage falls short.

For some creatures, evolution
has provided a solution.

And one of those creatures
is the half-centimeter long Crab Spider.

The crab spider will be yellow on a yellow flower.

When it settles on a white background,

it absorbs the yellow pigment deeper into its body...

and exposes its shimmering white pigment.

Here is the process, speeded up.

What a tremendous evolutionary effort
to disguise a tiny spider.

The island of Madagascar, east of Africa,

is home to the world's most celebrated
masters-of-disguise: chameleons.

They can transform from green to black,
or yellow to red,

without even breaking into a sweat,

mainly because chameleons don't sweat.

But they have two good reasons for changing colors.

The first is practical: to fade into the background
so prey will blunder into them.

The second reason is emotional:

they flash a color code to
reflect their mood and temper.

The males, extremely territorial,
will challenge any intruder that enters his turf.

The loser can get so vexed that he turns black.

Scientists are still trying to crack the color code.

But it's clear that chamelons and other animals
flaunt colors when selecting a mate.

Certain frog species can also quickly change color.

Camouflage and mood play a role here, too.

In all the animal kingdom,

frogs have developed the most sophisticated
language of color communication.

With bright colors, they warn
potential predators about their toxicity,

or, like the Red-eyed Treefrog,
at least pretend to be inedible.

Red, orange, yellow and blue are
the colors that signal poison or danger.

These "Animal warning lights" are
a life-saver in the dark jungle.

Whether it's frogs or spiders,
newly discovered species suggest...

an almost infinite variety of
markings and patterns that say "danger”.

This spider, the Venezuelan Sun Tiger,
discovered in 1994 in the depths of the jungle,

signals its toxicity through
a distinctive pattern on its legs.

While not particularly dangerous to humans,

its bite can mean death to the large insects,
reptiles and amphibians it hunts.

In rainforests, frogs without bright signal colors...

are more likely to be prey to hungry spiders.

In South and Central America
live the highly toxic Poison Dart Frogs,

nobody's favorite prey.

These tiny frogs, only 12 to 50 millimeters long,
are so powerfully poisonous...

that some aboriginal tribes used them
to poison their arrow tips.

The venomous secretion of Brazil's
Blue Poison Dart Frog not only repels predators,

it also protects the frog's moist skin
against the damp jungle's bacteria and fungi.

The same protective technique
is used by many of its toxic relatives.

Though the toxin is something to be shunned,

medical research has embraced it
as a possible treatment for skin diseases.

The high toxicity of these small frogs
likely relates to what they eat,

tiny insects and arthropods.

The Golden Poison Frog is considered
the world's most venomous animal.

At up to 5 centimeters long, it's also
one of the largest of the poison dart frogs.

Its venom is strong enough
to kill hundreds of humans.

The frog's bright yellow skin is
a billboard announcing its toxicity.

This species inhabits a relatively small area
in the jungles of Colombia.

For a natural-born killer,
it lavishes an exceptional level of parental care,

because it lays its eggs on land.

The male always keeps close and guards them.

The tadpoles start to develop
while still in their gelatinous egg capsules.

Their father takes the half-developed
tadpoles on his back, where they stick.

Once he's collected several of them,

he distributes them in small puddles
where they continue to mature.

He places some of his brood in bromeliads,
plants related to the pineapple.

The plants collect tiny amounts
of rainwater in their center.

It's enough for the young golden poison frogs
to continue their metamorphosis.

The tadpoles are usually safe
from predators in these hidden puddles.

At this stage they're nontoxic and vulnerable.

Only gradually does their warning color develop.

And they'll turn poisonous only after
taking their first steps on land and feeding.

Fifteen thousand kilometers away from
the golden poison frogs, in central Europe,

the Fire Salamander also sports
the animal kingdom's international color code.

Bright yellow spots warn predators
about its poison glands.

It's no idle threat:

the fire salamander's venom can kill
a small dog foolish enough to eat it.

Instead of laying eggs,
salamanders bear well-developed larvae...

and deposit them in gentle forest streams.

The young salamanders, born one by one,
are immediately independent.

They have external gills and
a camouflage color to protect them,

since they aren't toxic yet.

The fact that larva slowly
develop toxicity as they grow...

suggests that they accumulate poison from their diet.

Snakes know the color code and
won't attack when it's yellow and black.

But once animals know the rules,
it's easy to cheat.

Some non-toxic species, like the Hawk-eyed Moth,

exploit the color code to scare off enemies.

In danger of being eaten by a Great Tit,
the moth tries to psych out its opponent.

By flashing its red hind wings
with their blue lined eyespots,

the moth tricks the bird into
thinking it's facing toxic prey.

The ploy worked.

Most animals that bear the warning colors
have truly earned their toxic credentials.

The Spurge Hawk-moth caterpillar, for instance,

feeds exclusively on poisonous euphorbia
and becomes toxic itself.

Flashing danger-red,
the Black Widow protects itself...

from predators while it feeds, exposed on its web.

The color adds an extra measure of caution...

because most of the time the spider hides
in dark corners and can't be seen.

Black widows grow barely
larger than 12 millimeters...

but their venom is about 15 times
stronger than a rattlesnake's.

The Australian species of the black widow
inhabit steppes and semi-deserts,

and are difficult to make out
among the dry grasses and stalks.

Occasionally they even prey on small lizards.

But at about 50 centimeters,
the Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard...

has nothing to fear from this little spider.

This lizard combines two survival strategies:

its striped pattern serves as camouflage,

and its deep blue tongue speaks of its toxicity.

But that scary blue tongue tells lies.

The Eastern blue tongued lizard is harmless.

Its continued existence proves that...

this tricky combination of camouflage
and warning is working.

It has roamed Australia's arid zones
for millions of years.

Color signals, camouflage, venom,

all these are great tactics for survival.

But don't underestimate the awesome
life-preserving power of just being annoying,

a survival skill demonstrated by this creature.

The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach.

It's probably been around for
some 300 million years.

For about half that time,

the island of Madagascar has been
separated from the African continent,

plenty of time to develop
a unique kind of specialization.

When threatened, Madagascar hissing cockroaches
defend themselves with sound.

Nocturnal geckos are among its main enemies.

Irritated by the hissing, the gecko
lets go of the cockroach.

Its acoustic resistance has worked.
The cockroach is safe.

The hissing cockroach doesn't have
a monopoly on acoustic resistance.

In fact, the technique was made famous
by an animal that was named for it:

the Rattlesnake.

If animals or humans get too close to
these usually well-camouflaged reptiles,

they'll start shaking the tips of their tails.

Lose overlapping scales produce
the characteristic rattling noise...

that sends a clear message: leave or I'll strike!

Rattlesnakes can be lethal.

But a venomous bite costs a lot of energy.

So it's always a last resort, only if
their rattle warnings go ignored.

Nature always finds a way to
give life new opportunities.

Whether it be on a small lava island,
in deserts, rainforests,

or a nearby grove of oaks.

As conditions change and creatures adapt,
evolution produces some surprising results,

like the Stag Beetle, Europe's biggest,
measuring up to 8 centimeters.

Despite its ferocious-looking antlers,
it actually has small mandibles...

and only a modest, brushy tongue,

which is only good for sipping liquid.

Even the bulkier female stag beetle exists
only by sucking sap, despite her size.

But more surprising is the impressive,
tropical Rhinoceros Beetle,

which doesn't eat at all.

These large beetles gather almost
all their energy needs in their larval stage.

The adult beetle lives only to reproduce
and then dies after a few weeks.

There's no time and no need for a meal.

As far as evolution is concerned,
eating would be a waste.

The Goliath Beetle from the African Congo,

weighing up to 100 grams and
about the length of an iPhone,

is one of the world's heaviest insects.

Still, it's a modest eater that confines itself...

to searching the forest floor for fallen, rotting fruit.

It has tiny vestigial mandibles,
so the goliath beetle can only lick at the fruit,

just enough to keep it alive until mating time.

Life, in all its diversity,
always finds a way to carry on.

And mankind can admire it and hope to
learn from it, for as long as we're here.