Alpine Rivers: The Cradle of Life | Free Documentary Nature

even the biggest rivers start small many of them in the mountains [Music] wilds churning teeming with life [Music] in winter the majority of the water up in the mountains is frozen as snow and ice and yet mountain streams rarely freeze completely they flow too quickly due to the gradient the gorges they carve out of the stone are often so steep that only mountaineering specialists like the Shinhwa can access them safely [Music] thanks to the speed of their flow Mountain rivers often provide refuges in the winter for animals that would perish in places where everything freezes solid the white throated dipper is one hardly any other bird is as much at home in fast flowing waters as this one it dives for insect larvae that are plentiful in such clear oxygen-rich waters as leaves [Music] as spring makes his entrance things begin to move again [Music] the Shinhwa have survived the worst of it [Music] the green is beginning to show again [Music] the water may not yet be free of ice but the toads already feel the need to return to the waters where they originally hatched normally the male rides piggyback until the pair reach open waters where the eggs are laid and fertilized but this trek across the ice is obviously taking too long [Music] [Applause] [Music] the rising temperatures not only reveal numerous natural beauties they also provide the streams with their most plentiful water input [Music] they're fed by meltwater from all sides and it's now clear why they're called whitewater even on more gentle slopes [Music] the Danube bleak wastes no time in making their way upstream to their spawning sites they spend the rest of the year in brackish areas in the lower parts of the rivers and estuaries these small members of the carp family grow to about the length of a pencil their streamlined bodies show them to be specialists for rapid currents [Music] once they reach their destination the male's caught the females but why do they take on such an arduous journey mountain streams flow so fast that air bubbles are constantly bursting so the water contains more oxygen than any other body of water this makes the spawn develop especially well but due to the current many of the attached eggs are pulled off this looks like a disadvantage but can in fact to be a benefit the hungry Grayling's stick closely behind the Danube bleak they're only after one thing the Bleek's eggs if all the eggs stayed in one place hardly any would be spared like almost all fish the Bleek's put their faith in quantity despite attacks by marauding predators there will still be enough offspring to hatch the upper reaches are populated by characters we would expect to see in the mountains large popular ones and some that are easily overlooked the Alpine salamander likes a moist environment but lives mostly on land all over the region all species are involved in family planning the rare Camberwell beauty is no exception the Alpine salamander is also looking for a sheltered place to give birth to its young [Music] this is the only amphibian that does not lay eggs but gives birth to live young the pregnancy lasts two years which is the longest known gestation period of any vertebrate [Music] [Music] this particular fish is always to be found in clean mountain rivers the river trout their offspring have just hatched barely as long as a match just like the Bleek's these parents have made the long journey upstream to spawn the fresh oxygen-rich water is an advantage for the young [Music] even mountain streams sometimes take it easy where the geography of the land permits they form small lakes the water here is often clear and clean because the streams have not traveled far yet and have not picked up much sediment or pollution [Music] the list of inhabitants changes as the water changes floating sediment settle and provide a base for the first aquatic vegetation the oxygen levels are too low here for the specialists from the upper reaches but the European perch on the other hand need waters rich in nutrients and can get by with less oxygen algae are an unmistakable sign that the lake is far more nutritious than the upper reaches of the stream that feeds it [Music] alpine newts are some of the first creatures to populate mountain lakes they're underwater hunters and mosquito larvae are their favorite tidbits the male's highly colorful appearance indicates he is in mating mode the female may be less dramatically colored but is just as hungry well-fed the two will retreat to the protection of the algae jungle to mate insect larvae have a hard time they're surrounded by predators the great diving beetle is one of the most feared once caught by its raptorial forelegs there is no escape [Music] just a little later the female mountain Newt attaches the fertilized eggs to vegetation not in great clutches like other amphibians but each one separately and lovingly positioned up here the eggs are relatively safe from the caddisfly larvae because they drag their home around with them which makes climbing a problem as soon as they hatch they build their protective cases from small pebbles stuck together with secreted silk the case is not only protection due to its weight it ensures the larvae are not easily swept away [Music] the little Mountain newts have now developed well the time they need for this depends on the temperature of the water the warmer it is the faster they develop but if they're detected by the great ram's horn snail their life will be over before they have even hatched a few days later and they're ready the first newts have hatched they still have gills but in about two months they will leave the water breathe with their lungs and only return to spawn [Music] the mountain torrent changes character once again mountain rivers are more diverse than all other inland waters [Music] they are the lifelines in otherwise inhospitable landscapes but for them there will be neither forests on the mountain slopes nor woodland creatures to fill them the squirrel is busy breaking out some of its rations while the nuthatch is busy working on its home it's sealing up the entrance to a vacated woodpecker cavity with clay to prevent other birds entering the idea is to use it as a nursery the squirrel an adept climber does not always find all its hidden larder which contributes to the spread of oak and hazelnut trees the nuthatch benefits in many ways from the nearby Brook on its banks it can find moist clay and numerous insect larvae with which it can soon feed its brood [Music] water and the mountains are inseparable companions nowhere in the world do we find mountains without water in the meantime the water dipper chicks are almost fledglings but still depend on what their parents speak out of the raging waters these courageous little divers do not dive straight into the waterfall however they aim for the less turbulent waters at the edges [Music] [Applause] the river fed by its tributaries increases in size but it has hardly lost any of its liveliness and yet something has changed even in the more turbulent stretches the riverbed is not just gravel as it was further up due to the increased amount of sediment buildup there is far more aquatic vegetation here below the waterfall a Danube salmon lies in wait these fish are known to be rapacious predators and are related to the much smaller river trout trout are regarded as an iconic fish for the upper reaches of mountain streams which are also known as trout zones the sterlet a small member of the sturgeon family is no threat to them it prefers to graze among the tiny aquatic animals [Music] the slightly smaller grayling has joined them they are also regarded as iconic fish the grayling zone lies below the trout zone and is much more nutritious but what has attracted always fish to this point the waterfall it carries innumerable nutrients straight to their dinner tables [Music] the size of the trout meat is increasing their coloring that looks so obvious at first sight is really camouflage lurking on the gravel bottom they're hardly visible but they can't escape this one the Danube salmon does not even stop at relatives it looks as if he's bitten off more than he can chew the Danube salmon maybe over a metre long but a full-grown trout can also be 60 to 80 centimeters the Danube salmon is a typical inhabitant of the grayling zone but is now a highly endangered species due to water pollution and banks straightening programs [Music] white and grey wagtails Keep Watch beside the water waiting for insects their name is a highly appropriate description of their most obvious feature why they do this has not been clearly explained they may be signaling their alert state to potential enemies the curtseying of the dippers could be interpreted in the same way [Applause] although the wagtails are at home beside the water it's only the white throated dippers that actually dive they fly through the water looking for insect larvae a dive typically lasts ten seconds and occasionally up to 30 seconds [Applause] the birds devour both the extracted content and the packaging [Music] the young of the second brood have now hatched the jet black cap shows clearly that the male wagtail is in its wedding attire [Music] the mountain stream provides for both its sub-aqua residents and a colorful community of occasional and permanent land-based inhabitants [Music] there's plenty to go round for all here [Music] the further we move downstream the denser the underwater jungle gets there are now an increasing number of zones at the water's edge where the water is nearly at a standstill but even in the middle of the stream the current has markedly decreased the grayling region transitions downstream into the common bärbel region where there are now no trout at all marbles scan the ground for hidden fish and other aquatic animals it sometimes happens that they take up more than they want and spit out the unwanted bits the for tactile feelers around the mouth are highly sensitive and are used by the fish the senses [Music] the number of common barbels increases gradually in particular if there's a lot of gravel on the riverbed these fascinating fish will soon start to deposit their eggs [Music] [Music] the mountain river has now reached its last destination for now a lake [Music] the thunderous whitewater torrent has given way to deep still waters it's in this mysterious underwater world that the largest European freshwater predator reigns the catfish [Music] catfish are weary of the light and hide out during the day to go hunting at night they are inveterate loners each occupying its own territory [Music] these predatory fish grow throughout their lives and since some of them reach almost biblical age they can grow to a good 3 metres long and weigh up to 300 kilograms this one's up to something it's still too light for hunting so what's it doing around that old bored [Music] it's obviously using it as a back scrubber to remove annoying parasites [Music] in the dense vegetation lurking hunters are hardly noticeable unless they are Alby knows this pigment disorder occurs quite frequently in fish but that do seem to have been enough fish that have not detected him in time otherwise he could hardly have reached this impressive size catfish will devour almost anything they can handle besides fish there will go for frogs and even water birds when a crowd of loners meet like this there must be a female in the vicinity if the couple mate the male will watch over the spawn until the youngsters hatch male fish are far more likely to care for their young than male birds or mammals another lake dweller is also on the lookout for juicy fish even if one is not expected to the eel this eels wide mouth gives it away as a fish eater while its cousins with the pointed mouth are crayfish eaters the variant that develops will depend on the food available [Music] the male pike-perch is keen to protect its spawn another fine example of a father watching over its young the crested grebe does not look like a threat yet that may change very quickly the crested grebe is known to be an excellent diver and searches under water for its meals [Music] and is a good job it didn't get too close to this other hunter a pike will take what it can get and even water birds are no problem for an adult but he's content to leave this one well alone [Music] the sterlet has an armor like skin and this along with its size would make it difficult for a pike to handle it's intended as protection because the sterlet is not a fast swimmer [Music] like many bottom-dwellers its mouth is on the underside it picks up small creatures from the sand and filters out any unwanted items through his gills [Music] it's spawn is famous under the name caviar which is why the fish is almost extinct in some places [Music] the tench employs a similar eating technique this fish is the opposite of the trout which loves cold oxygen-rich water and lives in the upper reaches of the stream while the tench prefers to be at the bottom end this fish needs warmth and can cope with a far lower oxygen level a classic lake dweller [Music] when night falls on the alpine lake the Predators come out the pike is the predatory cat of the lakes without kicking up much of a stir it sneaks up on its prey and pounces in a flash it is already located its next victim [Music] a few weeks later winter often arrives overnight in the mountains [Music] the cold transforms the humid air into filigree works of art [Music] soon the whole lake will be covered with ice those that can will seek refuge on the warmer bottom of the lake not every fish has survived the sudden cold spell [Music] the lake is rigid and still [Music] it will be months before spring gives it the kiss of life the upper reaches have been in winter mode for some time [Music] but this stream is just as cheeky and full of life as ever it will once again ensure that the white throated dipper finds enough to eat throughout the winter [Music] an untamed Alpine stream the dynamic habitat teeming with life [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary - Nature

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), nature documentary, Alps, Alps Mountain, Alpine Rivers, Mountain River, swiss alps, european alps, alps mountains, the alps, Austrian Alps, French Alps, Italian Alps, German Alps, Wildlife, Wildlife Documentary, Ibex, Chamois, Chamois Documentary, Cradle of Life, wildlife documentary 2021, Alpine

Id: jpmVInEOS9c

Length: 29min 54sec (1794 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 17 2020