Nature (1982–…): Season 36, Episode 6 - Nature's Miniature Miracles - full transcript
♪♪
Too often in life, we
overlook the little guys.
♪♪
But if we stop and
get down to their level,
a remarkable world is revealed.
Take this gecko.
The size of just
a few raindrops,
but somehow able to
weather the greatest of storms.
Or this bird, the
weight of a nickel,
who flies thousands
of miles for a meal.
And what about this
drab-looking little fish?
Well, he's a passionate artist
whose work deserves
its own gallery.
So while they may be small,
these creatures
and others like them
have survival secrets
that are amongst
the biggest and most
surprising on planet Earth.
It's time to meet "Nature's
Miniature Miracles."
♪♪
♪♪
The world is a big place,
home to some huge animals.
And it's exposed
to wild weather.
So what does that mean if you're
one of the planet's small folk?
How are you supposed to make
a living in this big, bad world?
Well, you need to adapt.
You must develop amazing skills.
And you've got to achieve
some pretty mind-boggling feats,
like coming back from the dead.
And let's face it, there's
no greater miracle than that.
♪♪
But whether big or small,
all living creatures have
the same basic needs...
Food, finding a mate,
and securing a
safe place to live.
On an island in the Caribbean,
a tiny crab's biggest
issue is home security.
Hermit crabs have soft bodies
that make them
vulnerable to attack
from predators and the elements.
A naked crab would quickly
cook in the intense tropical sun.
So these miniature
miracles have come up
with an incredible solution.
They use abandoned seashells
as mobile homes
with 24/7 protection.
♪♪
But there's a problem.
Right now, this crab
is no bigger than a die.
But he'll continue to
grow throughout his life.
So, if he wants to stay safe, he
must always be on the lookout
for a new, larger
shell to move into.
But finding a new home isn't
as easy as you might think.
On this paradise island, there's
a surprising shortage of shells.
Maybe this is the opportunity
the small crab's
been waiting for.
Unfortunately, it's simply
too big to take on right now.
And he's not the only
prospective buyer in the area.
♪♪
Hermit crabs can be anything
from just a fraction of an inch
to the size of a coconut.
So there's a good
chance this new home
might suit someone else.
With housing stock
in such short supply,
the local crabs have
learned to do something
really quite extraordinary.
They've joined forces to set
up their own housing market.
♪♪
♪♪
Each crab is looking
for the perfect property
with the right shape,
opening, and weight.
♪♪
Somehow, the crabs
reach an agreement.
And incredibly, they start
to assemble in a chain...
Largest at one end,
smallest at the other.
♪♪
All lined up, they're
ready to exchange,
and not a real
estate agent in sight.
♪♪
The biggest crab
is the first to move.
♪♪
So far, so good.
The chain is holding together.
♪♪
Our little crab
gets in position,
ready to make his big move.
His size means he's at
the bottom of the chain.
But just as he
vacates his old shell,
a newcomer arrives on the
scene, trying to beat him to it.
♪♪
He can't afford to
be left homeless.
That's a death sentence
in this tropical heat.
♪♪
♪♪
But fortune's on his side.
After all the swapping, there's
one empty shell left over.
It's the same old
shell he started with.
And today, at least,
there's no place like home.
Our next miniature miracle faces
an even greater
security challenge.
On the east coast of Australia,
14 species of shark inhabit
the shallow tropical waters
of the Great Barrier Reef.
The smallest of them
all is the epaulette.
At less than 3 feet long,
his size unfortunately
makes him ideal prey
for some of the
other larger sharks.
♪♪
In a world of bigger,
badder sharks,
how does the tiny
epaulette stay off the menu?
Without a safe
home to retreat to,
he keeps a low
profile and waits.
♪♪
Twice a day, the tide goes out,
which means conditions on
the reef change dramatically.
As the water departs,
so do the big sharks.
♪♪
The water is far too
shallow for them now.
But now, the epaulette's
size allows him
to make the most
of this brief moment
in the life cycle of the reef.
At last, he can stop worrying
about being
someone else's dinner
and focus on finding his own.
♪♪
But it doesn't last long.
♪♪
The tide is still dropping.
♪♪
And soon, the epaulette's
left high and dry.
♪♪
If he's not careful,
he'll barbecue
in the scorching Australian sun.
Even more alarmingly,
this fish out of water
is struggling to breathe.
But the miraculous
epaulette has evolved
an extraordinary
strategy to cope with this.
♪♪
By slowing his
breathing and heart rate
and powering down his brain,
he can survive on his last
breath for up to an hour.
♪♪
When oxygen levels get critical,
another incredible
survival strategy kicks in.
♪♪
His fins turn into
prototype legs.
♪♪
♪♪
This cunning fish
breaks all the rules.
♪♪
And he's the only shark that
can walk himself out of danger.
♪♪
The epaulette shark isn't
the only miniature miracle
to have evolved
remarkable superpowers.
High on a remote, rocky
plateau in Venezuela
lives the 1-inch-long
pebble toad.
Unusually for an
amphibian, he can't hop.
So, camouflaged
against his surroundings,
this hopless toad creeps around,
looking for insects to eat.
But he's not the
only hunter up here.
♪♪
A toad-eating tarantula.
♪♪
Faced with the enemy,
the toad employs an
unexpected escape strategy.
♪♪
He transforms himself
into a toad-like ball.
Tensing all his muscles, he
becomes rigid like rubber...
perfect for bouncing down
the mountain out of danger.
♪♪
A female Arabian
fat-tailed scorpion
is on her regular
nighttime hunt for beetles.
But while she's
looking for food,
someone's eyeing her
up as a potential meal...
A desert fox.
♪♪
Once the moon comes up,
its soft light could expose her.
♪♪
But this scorpion
has a super-sense,
an early warning detection
system that gives her an edge
in this nocturnal world.
♪♪
UV-sensitive cells on her shell
warn her it's an
hour until moonrise...
which gives her plenty
of time to run and hide
before it blows her cover.
♪♪
When you're small,
life's worries extend
beyond just being eaten.
A single raindrop
looks like it might drown
the tiny Brazilian pygmy gecko.
Tricky when you
live in a rain forest.
But these geckos have
evolved super hydrophobic skin.
Water doesn't wet them.
♪♪
Their skin is so water-repellent
that even a tumble
into a puddle isn't fatal.
♪♪
These miniature marvels
can literally walk on water.
♪♪
But sometimes, even
remarkable physical adaptations
aren't enough to
ensure you survive.
♪♪
East Africa.
♪♪
Home to some of the
world's largest mammals...
as well as one
of its smallest...
A female elephant shrew,
more commonly known by
her African name of sengi.
She's 300 times
smaller than a lion...
and 8,000 times smaller
than an elephant...
♪♪
Which makes the vast savanna
a very dangerous place to live.
How on earth does she stay safe
out here without being trampled?
By living her life at top speed
and with brain power
far beyond her size.
♪♪
This miniature
mastermind has designed
and built a hidden
network of trails.
Even when she does
encounter danger,
these trails can
mean the difference
between life and death.
A monitor lizard.
♪♪
Drawing on a mental
map of her network,
the clever sengi
is able to figure out
the best escape route.
♪♪
Our fast-footed fugitive is
built for high-speed getaways.
Like most mammals,
and unlike reptiles,
her legs are directly
beneath her body...
♪♪
Which makes her less stable,
but much faster and
more agile than the lizard.
♪♪
Astonishingly,
this tiny tearaway
who weighs just over a pound
can reach speeds of
nearly 18 miles per hour.
For her size, she's twice
as fast as a cheetah...
♪♪
Which definitely qualifies her
as one of our miniature
miracles of nature.
Life in the fast lane
requires a lot of fuel.
But while the sengi's
secret network allows her
to find food efficiently
and discretely,
not everyone has it so easy.
We've all heard of the
world's great animal migrations.
Like the massive herds of
caribou who trek 1,500 miles
through the arctic wilderness
every year to find food.
And the 5 million snow geese
who flock to northern Canada
looking for a summer
feast fit to feed a family.
But these are big animals
traveling in gigantic groups.
There's another much less known,
but perhaps even more
impressive annual migration,
and this one isn't migration
on a miniature scale.
This is a miniature miracle
on a mammoth migration.
Meet the rufous hummingbird.
This tiny bird weighs
less than a nickle.
And yet, every spring,
she flies over 4,000 miles
from Mexico to
Alaska on her own.
♪♪
Her destination... The
Tongass National Forest,
part of the largest temperate
rain forest in the world.
In spring when
the forest wakes up,
it offers the promise
of a seasonal banquet.
♪♪
Rufous hummingbirds
spend the winter in the tropics,
where competition
for food is fierce.
Here, they get the
place to themselves.
They range farther north
than any other hummingbird.
But when they get here,
they can't afford to rest.
Hummingbirds
can flap their wings
an unbelievable
50 times a second...
Faster than the eye
can see in real time.
Great for hovering, but
like any racy sports car,
it's heavy on fuel.
♪♪
Every 20 minutes or so,
she's running on empty.
♪♪
If she doesn't eat soon,
she might not last the day.
And if it wasn't enough
that this mini marathon flyer
has flown all the
way from Mexico,
it looks like she's
arrived too early.
The flowers she is
hoping to drink nectar from
haven't opened yet.
♪♪
But being a mini
miracle, our little heroine
doesn't get in a flap,
for she has brains
as well as stamina.
♪♪
She hears the
distinctive tapping
of someone else hard at work.
A red-breasted sapsucker is
busy drilling holes in the trees
to release the sweet
syrup running inside.
Tree sap is quite
similar to flower nectar.
They both contain
sugar and protein.
It's exactly what the
hungry hummingbird needs.
But if she brave enough
to steal from a bird
two and a half times her size?
The sapsucker moves
on to a neighboring tree
to continue drilling.
He'll be back to this one later
once the sap is running freely.
♪♪
The cunning little
hummingbird makes her move.
Her tongue darts in and out
around 13 times a second.
If she's going to
replenish her energy levels,
she'll need to eat like
this every 20 minutes.
♪♪
The hummingbird will rely on
this sneaky strategy to survive,
stealing food from right
under the sapsucker's nose
until the forest flowers
bloom in a few weeks' time.
♪♪
Then, finally, she'll be
able to enjoy the benefits
of traveling such
a long, long way.
♪♪
Finding ingenious ways to
adapt to their environment
is what our miniature
miracles excel at.
The tropical forests
of Southeast Asia.
♪♪
As night falls,
some mini monkeys
are starting to stir.
♪♪
Five-inch-tall tarsiers.
♪♪
The ancestors of these
primates were daytime hunters.
But there was so much
competition for food,
they were forced
into the shadows
where they could
have disappeared.
♪♪
But they didn't surrender.
They evolved huge,
gremlin-like eyes,
the largest of any mammal
relative to their body size.
This helps them see
in the faintest light.
♪♪
And enormous ears
that seem to have
a life of their own
give them ultrasonic hearing.
These two extraordinary
super senses
opened up the night,
allowing tarsiers to hone in
on almost anything that moves.
♪♪
Tarsiers are the only
exclusively carnivorous primate.
They eat mostly flying insects,
including moths, locusts,
beetles, and cicadas.
Not the easiest of prey.
♪♪
Once they've got
dinner in their sights,
they've got just milliseconds
to ambush and catch it.
But with a genuine
spring in their step,
these miniature
assassins have no problem
taking a leap in the dark.
You see, they've also
got enormously long legs
which they use to jump 40
times their own body length.
♪♪
And they're armed
with long, slender fingers
ideal for snatching prey.
♪♪
It's as if these pocket-sized
hunters always belonged
to the rain forest night.
♪♪
Perhaps the ultimate survivor
in our list of miniature miracles
is a plant that lives
in one of the harshest
places on earth...
the vast Sahara desert.
Life here has far more to worry
about than just finding food.
Where on earth
do you find water?
Lots of plants can tolerate
a few hours or
days without water.
Think about all the house plants
that get neglected yet survive.
But most will die if they're
subjected to prolonged drought.
This small, dried
out ball of twigs
may have been
dead for 100 years.
And yet, despite
appearances, all is not lost...
because this plant is
the resurrection plant.
♪♪
Blown by the wind,
it's in desperate
need of a drink.
But around here, rain only
falls once or twice a year.
And in the world's
biggest desert,
you have to be
very lucky to find it.
♪♪
A puddle may be just enough
to raise it from the dead.
♪♪
Gradually, lifeless limbs
soak up the precious water.
Its resurrection has begun.
♪♪
Now that it's come back to life,
it must seize this
opportunity to reproduce.
But for that, this special plant
needs yet another miracle.
Rain.
The trigger for new life.
A chance for its
seeds to germinate.
♪♪
In just a few hours,
new shoots emerge.
♪♪
♪♪
And within weeks,
these offspring of the
original plant flower,
producing seeds of their own.
Sadly, it's not long
before the burning
African sun kills them.
But the seeds within their
withered branches live on,
ready for when they find rain,
even if it's a century from now.
In southern India,
rain is a much more
predictable event.
Monsoon clouds are building.
This annual deluge
triggers the breeding season
for our next miniature miracle.
Traditionally, male
frogs rely on their croak
to attract the opposite sex.
But unfortunately, their
chorus is falling on deaf ears.
They're struggling to
be heard over the noise
of all this water.
So these tiny frogs, each
one no bigger than a paper clip,
have claimed a
rock for their castle.
And now they're using
a different technique
to impress the opposite sex.
These mini monarchs wave.
♪♪
The more testosterone they
have, the more waving they do.
♪♪
All of which helps
these frog princes
attract a frog princess.
♪♪
The tiny frog's distinctive
courtship behavior
has earned them their name.
These are foot-flagging frogs.
Yet another stroke of genius
from a small animal
facing a big problem.
But the little frog's
romantic trials are nothing
compared to those of
our next miniature miracle.
He's embarking on possibly
the most dangerous
journey of his life,
and all for the sake of
trying to find a partner.
This is the Australian
peacock jumping spider,
a miracle mover who can't
afford to put a foot wrong.
He's only the size
of a grain of rice.
Yes. He's that small.
Which, in a place like this,
means almost anything
could be dangerous.
♪♪
But, in fact, the biggest threat
of all is the female he's after.
♪♪
The silken road to finding her
is littered with the remains
of unsuccessful suitors.
A stark warning that if
he doesn't get this right,
it could be his last
day on the planet.
♪♪
She ambushes him from behind.
Now, what can he
do to win her over?
♪♪
Dance. Dance for his very life.
He unfurls his striking
fan and begins his routine.
♪♪
Its elaborate shape
and vibrant colors
resemble a tiny peacock's tail.
♪♪
But even his party outfit
and his best moves
aren't impressing her.
Time to step it up a little.
♪♪
As is so often the case
in the mating game,
it's not the males
but the females
who call the shots.
The more compelling the dance,
the more likely she is
to accept his advances.
This mating ritual can
go on for up to 50 minutes.
But at last, his performance
is rewarded, and they mate.
♪♪
He's done his bit and
satisfied her needs.
But now, her need is over.
So she kills him anyway.
After all,
his body will be the
perfect nourishment
for their eggs.
Our next mini marvel wasn't
blessed with vibrant markings
or even disco dance moves.
And yet, somehow, he's
still got to attract the ladies.
The world's oceans are
filled with brilliant colors,
all designed to make
their wearers conspicuous.
But the tiny Japanese
puffer fish is so plain,
he almost fades
into the background.
If he's going to have any
success with the opposite sex,
he needs to perform a
miracle that defies belief.
♪♪
He is one of nature's
finest landscape artists.
♪♪
♪♪
With a design of mathematical
precision in his head
and only fins for tools,
he starts to plow the sand.
He's sculpting it into
geometric shapes.
♪♪
This dedicated artist works
24 hours a day
for an entire week.
If he stops to rest, the
current will destroy his creation.
♪♪
He adds shells for decoration.
♪♪
And then the final touches.
At last, his vision is complete.
♪♪
♪♪
Using only what
was available to him,
this 5-inch fish has sculpted
a masterpiece
over 6 feet across.
♪♪
It's a remarkable
theater in the round,
a stage for an
all-important encounter.
If this doesn't get him
noticed, nothing will.
A female, swollen with
eggs and ready to partner up,
is tempted over to have a look.
He entices her into the center
to get the best possible view.
Impressed, she retreats,
leaving him to make
one critical alteration.
♪♪
By the next morning,
the center of the sculpture
has been flattened,
and all the soft
sand is in the middle.
He's created the perfect nest.
♪♪
Right on cue, she arrives.
♪♪
They dance cheek-to-cheek.
He fertilizes her eggs
as she releases them.
A quick flick of his fin, and
he buries them in the sand.
♪♪
Eggs laid, she departs
while he stays behind to
fan them until they hatch,
his extraordinary work of
art fading away around him.
♪♪
It will be about a week
before the puffer
fish's tiny eggs hatch.
But nature's newborns
come in all shapes and sizes.
♪♪
And unexpectedly, some
of the biggest animals
have the smallest babies
relative to their size.
♪♪
Like a baby giant panda
whose mom is 900 times her size
when she is first born.
♪♪
Such a tiny cub is utterly
dependent on her mother...
and sometimes a
bit of human help
for the first 9 months of life.
♪♪
But what's the benefit to being
born so small and helpless?
It's thought that a
giant panda's placenta
isn't very efficient at
passing on nutrients,
so it's better for the cubs if
they're born relatively early.
After just 5 months in the womb,
they transfer to their mother's
nutrient-rich breast milk.
The cubs won't gain independence
until they are at
least 18 months old.
Another tiny baby that relies
entirely on its
mother's milk to develop
is the red kangaroo.
As adults, the red kangaroos
are the largest living marsupial,
with some males
reaching 6 feet tall.
Yet their babies are born
the size of a jelly bean.
That's an incredible 50,000
times smaller than mom.
They're so tiny,
they're practically fetal.
♪♪
Marsupials don't
have placentas at all.
The young are born
after just one month
of gestation in the uterus.
They would be absolutely
incapable of surviving
in the outside world.
But miraculously,
the joey finds its way up
through the mother's fur
to the nipple inside her pouch.
Here, it will continue to
develop for at least 6 months.
Latched on to the teat,
the joey receives all
the nutrients he needs,
and the pouch keeps
him warm and safe.
Why venture out if
you don't need to?
♪♪
But some babies have an
amazing natural predisposition
to run from the
moment they're born.
On an island off the
coast of Mozambique,
new life is stirring
beneath the sand.
Hundreds of green turtles,
each one just 2 1/2 inches long,
are emerging from
the safety of their nest.
Instinct alone is driving
them to head for the sea.
♪♪
Their mothers came ashore
to lay their eggs 7 weeks ago,
but they left immediately after.
So now the hatchlings must make
the 100-yard dash down the beach
without any protection
from their parents.
It's a dangerous
journey for one so small,
with yellow-billed kites
and pied crows
circling overhead.
♪♪
But with some many
hatchlings appearing at once,
the predators
can't catch them all.
♪♪
Even those that reach
the sea aren't safe yet.
♪♪
The pounding waves make
it difficult to catch a breath.
♪♪
Beyond the surf,
the water is calmer.
But still, the hatchlings
aren't out of danger.
♪♪
Only 1 in 1,000 will
survive to adulthood.
But for the miracle
babies that do,
they may have 80 years of
ocean adventures ahead of them.
♪♪
The green turtle isn't
the only remarkable
mini creature beneath the waves.
We can't see them
with the naked eye,
but our seas are literally
brimming with hidden heroes...
Plankton.
Thousands of different
types and different species
you'd need a microscope to see.
♪♪
Anything that
drifts in the current
is classified as plankton.
The smallest are the
plant-like phytoplankton,
followed by the more
animal-like zooplankton.
Individually, they're
not that exciting.
But collectively, these critters
are some of the most
important species on our planet.
They're the bedrock
of the ocean food web.
♪♪
Breakfast, lunch,
and dinner for the krill
who get eaten by the fish.
Then in come the diving birds,
agile sea lions.
Dolphins.
Sharks.
All the way up to the biggest
animals on earth... whales.
♪♪
♪♪
But that's not all.
These tiny phytoplankton
perform a miracle
the rest of us rely on.
♪♪
Just like terrestrial plants,
they use light from the
sun to photosynthesize
and produce energy
for themselves.
One of the by-products
of that process is oxygen...
A gas required by
almost all life on Earth.
There are so many
phytoplankton in our oceans
that they literally produce
over half of all the
oxygen we breathe...
♪♪
Which just goes to show
how important nature's
miniature miracles are...
♪♪
And why we can't afford
to overlook a
single one of them.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
To learn more about what you've
seen on this "Nature" program,
♪♪
Too often in life, we
overlook the little guys.
♪♪
But if we stop and
get down to their level,
a remarkable world is revealed.
Take this gecko.
The size of just
a few raindrops,
but somehow able to
weather the greatest of storms.
Or this bird, the
weight of a nickel,
who flies thousands
of miles for a meal.
And what about this
drab-looking little fish?
Well, he's a passionate artist
whose work deserves
its own gallery.
So while they may be small,
these creatures
and others like them
have survival secrets
that are amongst
the biggest and most
surprising on planet Earth.
It's time to meet "Nature's
Miniature Miracles."
♪♪
♪♪
The world is a big place,
home to some huge animals.
And it's exposed
to wild weather.
So what does that mean if you're
one of the planet's small folk?
How are you supposed to make
a living in this big, bad world?
Well, you need to adapt.
You must develop amazing skills.
And you've got to achieve
some pretty mind-boggling feats,
like coming back from the dead.
And let's face it, there's
no greater miracle than that.
♪♪
But whether big or small,
all living creatures have
the same basic needs...
Food, finding a mate,
and securing a
safe place to live.
On an island in the Caribbean,
a tiny crab's biggest
issue is home security.
Hermit crabs have soft bodies
that make them
vulnerable to attack
from predators and the elements.
A naked crab would quickly
cook in the intense tropical sun.
So these miniature
miracles have come up
with an incredible solution.
They use abandoned seashells
as mobile homes
with 24/7 protection.
♪♪
But there's a problem.
Right now, this crab
is no bigger than a die.
But he'll continue to
grow throughout his life.
So, if he wants to stay safe, he
must always be on the lookout
for a new, larger
shell to move into.
But finding a new home isn't
as easy as you might think.
On this paradise island, there's
a surprising shortage of shells.
Maybe this is the opportunity
the small crab's
been waiting for.
Unfortunately, it's simply
too big to take on right now.
And he's not the only
prospective buyer in the area.
♪♪
Hermit crabs can be anything
from just a fraction of an inch
to the size of a coconut.
So there's a good
chance this new home
might suit someone else.
With housing stock
in such short supply,
the local crabs have
learned to do something
really quite extraordinary.
They've joined forces to set
up their own housing market.
♪♪
♪♪
Each crab is looking
for the perfect property
with the right shape,
opening, and weight.
♪♪
Somehow, the crabs
reach an agreement.
And incredibly, they start
to assemble in a chain...
Largest at one end,
smallest at the other.
♪♪
All lined up, they're
ready to exchange,
and not a real
estate agent in sight.
♪♪
The biggest crab
is the first to move.
♪♪
So far, so good.
The chain is holding together.
♪♪
Our little crab
gets in position,
ready to make his big move.
His size means he's at
the bottom of the chain.
But just as he
vacates his old shell,
a newcomer arrives on the
scene, trying to beat him to it.
♪♪
He can't afford to
be left homeless.
That's a death sentence
in this tropical heat.
♪♪
♪♪
But fortune's on his side.
After all the swapping, there's
one empty shell left over.
It's the same old
shell he started with.
And today, at least,
there's no place like home.
Our next miniature miracle faces
an even greater
security challenge.
On the east coast of Australia,
14 species of shark inhabit
the shallow tropical waters
of the Great Barrier Reef.
The smallest of them
all is the epaulette.
At less than 3 feet long,
his size unfortunately
makes him ideal prey
for some of the
other larger sharks.
♪♪
In a world of bigger,
badder sharks,
how does the tiny
epaulette stay off the menu?
Without a safe
home to retreat to,
he keeps a low
profile and waits.
♪♪
Twice a day, the tide goes out,
which means conditions on
the reef change dramatically.
As the water departs,
so do the big sharks.
♪♪
The water is far too
shallow for them now.
But now, the epaulette's
size allows him
to make the most
of this brief moment
in the life cycle of the reef.
At last, he can stop worrying
about being
someone else's dinner
and focus on finding his own.
♪♪
But it doesn't last long.
♪♪
The tide is still dropping.
♪♪
And soon, the epaulette's
left high and dry.
♪♪
If he's not careful,
he'll barbecue
in the scorching Australian sun.
Even more alarmingly,
this fish out of water
is struggling to breathe.
But the miraculous
epaulette has evolved
an extraordinary
strategy to cope with this.
♪♪
By slowing his
breathing and heart rate
and powering down his brain,
he can survive on his last
breath for up to an hour.
♪♪
When oxygen levels get critical,
another incredible
survival strategy kicks in.
♪♪
His fins turn into
prototype legs.
♪♪
♪♪
This cunning fish
breaks all the rules.
♪♪
And he's the only shark that
can walk himself out of danger.
♪♪
The epaulette shark isn't
the only miniature miracle
to have evolved
remarkable superpowers.
High on a remote, rocky
plateau in Venezuela
lives the 1-inch-long
pebble toad.
Unusually for an
amphibian, he can't hop.
So, camouflaged
against his surroundings,
this hopless toad creeps around,
looking for insects to eat.
But he's not the
only hunter up here.
♪♪
A toad-eating tarantula.
♪♪
Faced with the enemy,
the toad employs an
unexpected escape strategy.
♪♪
He transforms himself
into a toad-like ball.
Tensing all his muscles, he
becomes rigid like rubber...
perfect for bouncing down
the mountain out of danger.
♪♪
A female Arabian
fat-tailed scorpion
is on her regular
nighttime hunt for beetles.
But while she's
looking for food,
someone's eyeing her
up as a potential meal...
A desert fox.
♪♪
Once the moon comes up,
its soft light could expose her.
♪♪
But this scorpion
has a super-sense,
an early warning detection
system that gives her an edge
in this nocturnal world.
♪♪
UV-sensitive cells on her shell
warn her it's an
hour until moonrise...
which gives her plenty
of time to run and hide
before it blows her cover.
♪♪
When you're small,
life's worries extend
beyond just being eaten.
A single raindrop
looks like it might drown
the tiny Brazilian pygmy gecko.
Tricky when you
live in a rain forest.
But these geckos have
evolved super hydrophobic skin.
Water doesn't wet them.
♪♪
Their skin is so water-repellent
that even a tumble
into a puddle isn't fatal.
♪♪
These miniature marvels
can literally walk on water.
♪♪
But sometimes, even
remarkable physical adaptations
aren't enough to
ensure you survive.
♪♪
East Africa.
♪♪
Home to some of the
world's largest mammals...
as well as one
of its smallest...
A female elephant shrew,
more commonly known by
her African name of sengi.
She's 300 times
smaller than a lion...
and 8,000 times smaller
than an elephant...
♪♪
Which makes the vast savanna
a very dangerous place to live.
How on earth does she stay safe
out here without being trampled?
By living her life at top speed
and with brain power
far beyond her size.
♪♪
This miniature
mastermind has designed
and built a hidden
network of trails.
Even when she does
encounter danger,
these trails can
mean the difference
between life and death.
A monitor lizard.
♪♪
Drawing on a mental
map of her network,
the clever sengi
is able to figure out
the best escape route.
♪♪
Our fast-footed fugitive is
built for high-speed getaways.
Like most mammals,
and unlike reptiles,
her legs are directly
beneath her body...
♪♪
Which makes her less stable,
but much faster and
more agile than the lizard.
♪♪
Astonishingly,
this tiny tearaway
who weighs just over a pound
can reach speeds of
nearly 18 miles per hour.
For her size, she's twice
as fast as a cheetah...
♪♪
Which definitely qualifies her
as one of our miniature
miracles of nature.
Life in the fast lane
requires a lot of fuel.
But while the sengi's
secret network allows her
to find food efficiently
and discretely,
not everyone has it so easy.
We've all heard of the
world's great animal migrations.
Like the massive herds of
caribou who trek 1,500 miles
through the arctic wilderness
every year to find food.
And the 5 million snow geese
who flock to northern Canada
looking for a summer
feast fit to feed a family.
But these are big animals
traveling in gigantic groups.
There's another much less known,
but perhaps even more
impressive annual migration,
and this one isn't migration
on a miniature scale.
This is a miniature miracle
on a mammoth migration.
Meet the rufous hummingbird.
This tiny bird weighs
less than a nickle.
And yet, every spring,
she flies over 4,000 miles
from Mexico to
Alaska on her own.
♪♪
Her destination... The
Tongass National Forest,
part of the largest temperate
rain forest in the world.
In spring when
the forest wakes up,
it offers the promise
of a seasonal banquet.
♪♪
Rufous hummingbirds
spend the winter in the tropics,
where competition
for food is fierce.
Here, they get the
place to themselves.
They range farther north
than any other hummingbird.
But when they get here,
they can't afford to rest.
Hummingbirds
can flap their wings
an unbelievable
50 times a second...
Faster than the eye
can see in real time.
Great for hovering, but
like any racy sports car,
it's heavy on fuel.
♪♪
Every 20 minutes or so,
she's running on empty.
♪♪
If she doesn't eat soon,
she might not last the day.
And if it wasn't enough
that this mini marathon flyer
has flown all the
way from Mexico,
it looks like she's
arrived too early.
The flowers she is
hoping to drink nectar from
haven't opened yet.
♪♪
But being a mini
miracle, our little heroine
doesn't get in a flap,
for she has brains
as well as stamina.
♪♪
She hears the
distinctive tapping
of someone else hard at work.
A red-breasted sapsucker is
busy drilling holes in the trees
to release the sweet
syrup running inside.
Tree sap is quite
similar to flower nectar.
They both contain
sugar and protein.
It's exactly what the
hungry hummingbird needs.
But if she brave enough
to steal from a bird
two and a half times her size?
The sapsucker moves
on to a neighboring tree
to continue drilling.
He'll be back to this one later
once the sap is running freely.
♪♪
The cunning little
hummingbird makes her move.
Her tongue darts in and out
around 13 times a second.
If she's going to
replenish her energy levels,
she'll need to eat like
this every 20 minutes.
♪♪
The hummingbird will rely on
this sneaky strategy to survive,
stealing food from right
under the sapsucker's nose
until the forest flowers
bloom in a few weeks' time.
♪♪
Then, finally, she'll be
able to enjoy the benefits
of traveling such
a long, long way.
♪♪
Finding ingenious ways to
adapt to their environment
is what our miniature
miracles excel at.
The tropical forests
of Southeast Asia.
♪♪
As night falls,
some mini monkeys
are starting to stir.
♪♪
Five-inch-tall tarsiers.
♪♪
The ancestors of these
primates were daytime hunters.
But there was so much
competition for food,
they were forced
into the shadows
where they could
have disappeared.
♪♪
But they didn't surrender.
They evolved huge,
gremlin-like eyes,
the largest of any mammal
relative to their body size.
This helps them see
in the faintest light.
♪♪
And enormous ears
that seem to have
a life of their own
give them ultrasonic hearing.
These two extraordinary
super senses
opened up the night,
allowing tarsiers to hone in
on almost anything that moves.
♪♪
Tarsiers are the only
exclusively carnivorous primate.
They eat mostly flying insects,
including moths, locusts,
beetles, and cicadas.
Not the easiest of prey.
♪♪
Once they've got
dinner in their sights,
they've got just milliseconds
to ambush and catch it.
But with a genuine
spring in their step,
these miniature
assassins have no problem
taking a leap in the dark.
You see, they've also
got enormously long legs
which they use to jump 40
times their own body length.
♪♪
And they're armed
with long, slender fingers
ideal for snatching prey.
♪♪
It's as if these pocket-sized
hunters always belonged
to the rain forest night.
♪♪
Perhaps the ultimate survivor
in our list of miniature miracles
is a plant that lives
in one of the harshest
places on earth...
the vast Sahara desert.
Life here has far more to worry
about than just finding food.
Where on earth
do you find water?
Lots of plants can tolerate
a few hours or
days without water.
Think about all the house plants
that get neglected yet survive.
But most will die if they're
subjected to prolonged drought.
This small, dried
out ball of twigs
may have been
dead for 100 years.
And yet, despite
appearances, all is not lost...
because this plant is
the resurrection plant.
♪♪
Blown by the wind,
it's in desperate
need of a drink.
But around here, rain only
falls once or twice a year.
And in the world's
biggest desert,
you have to be
very lucky to find it.
♪♪
A puddle may be just enough
to raise it from the dead.
♪♪
Gradually, lifeless limbs
soak up the precious water.
Its resurrection has begun.
♪♪
Now that it's come back to life,
it must seize this
opportunity to reproduce.
But for that, this special plant
needs yet another miracle.
Rain.
The trigger for new life.
A chance for its
seeds to germinate.
♪♪
In just a few hours,
new shoots emerge.
♪♪
♪♪
And within weeks,
these offspring of the
original plant flower,
producing seeds of their own.
Sadly, it's not long
before the burning
African sun kills them.
But the seeds within their
withered branches live on,
ready for when they find rain,
even if it's a century from now.
In southern India,
rain is a much more
predictable event.
Monsoon clouds are building.
This annual deluge
triggers the breeding season
for our next miniature miracle.
Traditionally, male
frogs rely on their croak
to attract the opposite sex.
But unfortunately, their
chorus is falling on deaf ears.
They're struggling to
be heard over the noise
of all this water.
So these tiny frogs, each
one no bigger than a paper clip,
have claimed a
rock for their castle.
And now they're using
a different technique
to impress the opposite sex.
These mini monarchs wave.
♪♪
The more testosterone they
have, the more waving they do.
♪♪
All of which helps
these frog princes
attract a frog princess.
♪♪
The tiny frog's distinctive
courtship behavior
has earned them their name.
These are foot-flagging frogs.
Yet another stroke of genius
from a small animal
facing a big problem.
But the little frog's
romantic trials are nothing
compared to those of
our next miniature miracle.
He's embarking on possibly
the most dangerous
journey of his life,
and all for the sake of
trying to find a partner.
This is the Australian
peacock jumping spider,
a miracle mover who can't
afford to put a foot wrong.
He's only the size
of a grain of rice.
Yes. He's that small.
Which, in a place like this,
means almost anything
could be dangerous.
♪♪
But, in fact, the biggest threat
of all is the female he's after.
♪♪
The silken road to finding her
is littered with the remains
of unsuccessful suitors.
A stark warning that if
he doesn't get this right,
it could be his last
day on the planet.
♪♪
She ambushes him from behind.
Now, what can he
do to win her over?
♪♪
Dance. Dance for his very life.
He unfurls his striking
fan and begins his routine.
♪♪
Its elaborate shape
and vibrant colors
resemble a tiny peacock's tail.
♪♪
But even his party outfit
and his best moves
aren't impressing her.
Time to step it up a little.
♪♪
As is so often the case
in the mating game,
it's not the males
but the females
who call the shots.
The more compelling the dance,
the more likely she is
to accept his advances.
This mating ritual can
go on for up to 50 minutes.
But at last, his performance
is rewarded, and they mate.
♪♪
He's done his bit and
satisfied her needs.
But now, her need is over.
So she kills him anyway.
After all,
his body will be the
perfect nourishment
for their eggs.
Our next mini marvel wasn't
blessed with vibrant markings
or even disco dance moves.
And yet, somehow, he's
still got to attract the ladies.
The world's oceans are
filled with brilliant colors,
all designed to make
their wearers conspicuous.
But the tiny Japanese
puffer fish is so plain,
he almost fades
into the background.
If he's going to have any
success with the opposite sex,
he needs to perform a
miracle that defies belief.
♪♪
He is one of nature's
finest landscape artists.
♪♪
♪♪
With a design of mathematical
precision in his head
and only fins for tools,
he starts to plow the sand.
He's sculpting it into
geometric shapes.
♪♪
This dedicated artist works
24 hours a day
for an entire week.
If he stops to rest, the
current will destroy his creation.
♪♪
He adds shells for decoration.
♪♪
And then the final touches.
At last, his vision is complete.
♪♪
♪♪
Using only what
was available to him,
this 5-inch fish has sculpted
a masterpiece
over 6 feet across.
♪♪
It's a remarkable
theater in the round,
a stage for an
all-important encounter.
If this doesn't get him
noticed, nothing will.
A female, swollen with
eggs and ready to partner up,
is tempted over to have a look.
He entices her into the center
to get the best possible view.
Impressed, she retreats,
leaving him to make
one critical alteration.
♪♪
By the next morning,
the center of the sculpture
has been flattened,
and all the soft
sand is in the middle.
He's created the perfect nest.
♪♪
Right on cue, she arrives.
♪♪
They dance cheek-to-cheek.
He fertilizes her eggs
as she releases them.
A quick flick of his fin, and
he buries them in the sand.
♪♪
Eggs laid, she departs
while he stays behind to
fan them until they hatch,
his extraordinary work of
art fading away around him.
♪♪
It will be about a week
before the puffer
fish's tiny eggs hatch.
But nature's newborns
come in all shapes and sizes.
♪♪
And unexpectedly, some
of the biggest animals
have the smallest babies
relative to their size.
♪♪
Like a baby giant panda
whose mom is 900 times her size
when she is first born.
♪♪
Such a tiny cub is utterly
dependent on her mother...
and sometimes a
bit of human help
for the first 9 months of life.
♪♪
But what's the benefit to being
born so small and helpless?
It's thought that a
giant panda's placenta
isn't very efficient at
passing on nutrients,
so it's better for the cubs if
they're born relatively early.
After just 5 months in the womb,
they transfer to their mother's
nutrient-rich breast milk.
The cubs won't gain independence
until they are at
least 18 months old.
Another tiny baby that relies
entirely on its
mother's milk to develop
is the red kangaroo.
As adults, the red kangaroos
are the largest living marsupial,
with some males
reaching 6 feet tall.
Yet their babies are born
the size of a jelly bean.
That's an incredible 50,000
times smaller than mom.
They're so tiny,
they're practically fetal.
♪♪
Marsupials don't
have placentas at all.
The young are born
after just one month
of gestation in the uterus.
They would be absolutely
incapable of surviving
in the outside world.
But miraculously,
the joey finds its way up
through the mother's fur
to the nipple inside her pouch.
Here, it will continue to
develop for at least 6 months.
Latched on to the teat,
the joey receives all
the nutrients he needs,
and the pouch keeps
him warm and safe.
Why venture out if
you don't need to?
♪♪
But some babies have an
amazing natural predisposition
to run from the
moment they're born.
On an island off the
coast of Mozambique,
new life is stirring
beneath the sand.
Hundreds of green turtles,
each one just 2 1/2 inches long,
are emerging from
the safety of their nest.
Instinct alone is driving
them to head for the sea.
♪♪
Their mothers came ashore
to lay their eggs 7 weeks ago,
but they left immediately after.
So now the hatchlings must make
the 100-yard dash down the beach
without any protection
from their parents.
It's a dangerous
journey for one so small,
with yellow-billed kites
and pied crows
circling overhead.
♪♪
But with some many
hatchlings appearing at once,
the predators
can't catch them all.
♪♪
Even those that reach
the sea aren't safe yet.
♪♪
The pounding waves make
it difficult to catch a breath.
♪♪
Beyond the surf,
the water is calmer.
But still, the hatchlings
aren't out of danger.
♪♪
Only 1 in 1,000 will
survive to adulthood.
But for the miracle
babies that do,
they may have 80 years of
ocean adventures ahead of them.
♪♪
The green turtle isn't
the only remarkable
mini creature beneath the waves.
We can't see them
with the naked eye,
but our seas are literally
brimming with hidden heroes...
Plankton.
Thousands of different
types and different species
you'd need a microscope to see.
♪♪
Anything that
drifts in the current
is classified as plankton.
The smallest are the
plant-like phytoplankton,
followed by the more
animal-like zooplankton.
Individually, they're
not that exciting.
But collectively, these critters
are some of the most
important species on our planet.
They're the bedrock
of the ocean food web.
♪♪
Breakfast, lunch,
and dinner for the krill
who get eaten by the fish.
Then in come the diving birds,
agile sea lions.
Dolphins.
Sharks.
All the way up to the biggest
animals on earth... whales.
♪♪
♪♪
But that's not all.
These tiny phytoplankton
perform a miracle
the rest of us rely on.
♪♪
Just like terrestrial plants,
they use light from the
sun to photosynthesize
and produce energy
for themselves.
One of the by-products
of that process is oxygen...
A gas required by
almost all life on Earth.
There are so many
phytoplankton in our oceans
that they literally produce
over half of all the
oxygen we breathe...
♪♪
Which just goes to show
how important nature's
miniature miracles are...
♪♪
And why we can't afford
to overlook a
single one of them.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
To learn more about what you've
seen on this "Nature" program,
♪♪