Iceland, the Newborn Island - The Secrets of Nature

[Music] [Music] foreign he's in luck a flock of ideas is a great chance for this arctic fox to find a meal [Music] especially those chicks as clumsy and curious as they are oblivious to the dangers that surround them in this new world they were recently born into he just needs one of them to let its guard down long enough and it will be his [Music] [Music] um [Music] [Music] [Applause] the arctic fox has once again fallen foul of the superb parenting by these ideas as they stay forever vigilant ready to quack a warning and carry the little ones out to the safety of the water [Music] it's clear he won't find anything to eat here so spurred on by a rumbling belly he has no choice but to continue roaming his territory in search of easier pickings winter still clings to the fox's skin those tufts of white fur are a reminder of the tough season he has just survived [Music] the only canine to change color seasonally covers itself with a longer denser and more insulating coat of fur in winter perfect for keeping him warm the winter is brutal on this island at the edge of the arctic circle months of snow ice and storms beneath a freezing and constant twilight nonetheless that icl is now in the past the sun has returned to stay in iceland it will remain in the sky throughout the day for several months and with it life picks up the pace again to the delight of the only indigenous mammal on this island [Music] this new lease of life is reflected in the plethora of birds that like the ida's come to iceland to raise their young this is an opportunity that the fox does not intend to waste [Music] [Music] the snow bunting is another animal that knows the harsh winter in iceland very well [Music] actually only the males do they arrived here from more southerly regions several weeks ago when the cold was still intense and the snowstorms frequent [Music] they have found a good reason to take that risk to stake their claim on the best territories with plenty of insects and shelter for nesting after courting the female has built a warm nest at the bottom of a crack between the rocks where her cheeks are protected from outside threats while their parents hunt for food threats such as this arctic score circulating the territory of the snow buntings [Music] this highwayman of the skies specializes in attacking other marine birds mid-flight to steal their catch but it would have no problem nabbing a small snow bunting if given the chance the winter known so well to the snow bunting and especially the arctic fox should theoretically rain forever on this island given its position on the planet iceland should be an enormous block of cold ice because it lies further north than alaska however the island receives the warm embrace of the gulf stream to heat its climate and enable life to thrive quite unexpectedly [Music] but the reign of arctic ice is a constant threat that defines a natural world and its landscape that refuses to be domesticated the best symbol of that icy power lies in the gigantic glaciers that dominate the landscapes of iceland not surprisingly they cover 11 percent of the land with colossal ice sheets like vatnajo coal spanning 8 000 square kilometers of ice and snow this glacier alone is larger than all the other european glaciers combined [Music] these glaciers are a force of nature that only obeys the law of gravity they advance inexorably eroding and dragging everything in their path along with them when the river of ice meets the sea it creates scenes of singular beauty where icebergs of thousand-year-old blue eyes float away towards their watery end beneath that ice shell sometimes several hundreds of meters thick hides the other great architect of the icelandic landscape the fires of the incandescent heart of the earth [Music] [Applause] the under valleys of the icelandic glaciers melted by that telluric warmth create rivers and streams that convert the slow erosive power of the ice into an unbound fury that forces its way through the landscape with watery vests [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the land drops in iceland they are the heartbeats of a newborn isle in very few places of the world can so many demonstrations of the geothermal activity that formed the earth's crust be seen as in iceland a newborn isle in geological terms its 16 million years are nothing compared to nearby greenland for example greenland is home to the oldest rocks found to date which are said to be some 800 million years old the icelandic landscape reflects the infancy of our planet exploring it helps us understand the extraordinary adventure that has happened here an adventure in which life slowly took hold on this newly formed land through a constant and determined struggle this brave little bird knows a great deal about what it takes for life to survive because it comes from the other side of the world literally after a journey of some 40 days on which it has traveled some 25 000 kilometers from somewhere near the antarctic this arctic turn has finally reached its breeding ground in iceland it spends the first few days eating and regaining its strength after such a long dangerous and strenuous journey which it will repeat in a few months time when it sets off back to the far south of the planet no other living being makes such a long annual migration if this arctic turn reaches the age of 30 the average life expectancy for its species it will have flown the equivalent of three times the distance from the earth to the moon over the course of its migrations all that effort will have been in vain if it cannot find its mate turns mate for life but migrate separately so they don't know if anything might have happened to their partner when they reach their breeding ground which is the same every year all they can do is wait and hope that their partner has also made the journey safely a lone female does not go unnoticed by a lone male perhaps she is a widow to convince that he is an excellent choice for starting a new family this female seems unimpressed by his display of masculinity she prefers to keep waiting for her partner [Music] however the suitor is not willing to give up so easily believing that his elegance and strength will be irresistible to her [Music] patience and loyalty win again her mate finally makes an appearance and does so with a gift to renew their bond the male will spend several days lavishing attention on her with constant food until she becomes receptive again [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] these emotional reunions after an arduous and hazardous journey are repeated among the thousands of arctic terns that arrive in iceland to start raising their chicks together [Music] um female rednecked fowler robes which have more colorful feathers than the males go a little bit further than the arctic turn in fact gender roles have been inverted in this species it is the males who take on the solitary job of raising their chicks the female merely lays the eggs and leaves her made to sit on them and look after the young until they can look after themselves meanwhile the female will have already found another male to leave in charge of another nest [Music] procreation is not something that stresses this group of wooper swans right now they have migrated from the british isles where they spend the winter in the hope of finding a mate however it seems they've not been so lucky this [Music] year more than half of all wooper swans fail in this endeavor because they cannot find a mate or territory because they are too young or because of unfavorable weather conditions so singletons like the ones in this group spend time together until the time comes to migrate south once again maybe they will be more lucky in love next year [Music] when you're a plant that lives in iceland like the moss campion reproduction requires a great deal of creativity the flowers on a single plant can be male female or hermaphrodite changing each year or depending on the altitude at which they [Music] grow lichen and moss are undoubtedly the big winners of plant colonization on this newborn isle they have evolved very effectively for this purpose the moss uses its roots merely to hold onto the ground where it grows taking the water it needs through its whole surface [Music] after a period of drought during which it slows down biological function it is capable of rehydrating itself extremely quickly this ability allows them to survive in extreme habitats albeit the cost of slower growth [Music] in 1783 an eruption from the volcano larki covered this enormous plane with lava where fringe moss started to spread day by day centimeter by centimeter the fringe moss is colonizing the land again and this process also benefits other [Music] plants [Music] these pioneers in the spread of life generate organic material on which other plants can grow which also take advantage of the nitrogen put into the soil by the cyanobacteria associated with the [Music] moss the nuke lupine is another undisputed winner in plant life struggle to survive in this extreme environment the perennial herb is a recent arrival to iceland and was brought here by people introduced in the mid 20th century to combat erosion it has spread so extensively that some view it as a threat to plant biodiversity on the island nonetheless its defensive work against certification is undeniable [Music] and they don't only help other plants the lupines and the rugged terrain of volcanic rocks where they grow is the ideal environment for this european golden plover and its family the male looks for vantage points from where to spot possible prey such as insects or small invertebrates and above all from where to warn of approaching danger [Music] [Music] [Music] ascoa flying over his territory is an obvious threat he should immediately warn his family about [Music] they can relax now daddy has said the danger is gone so the chicks until now protected beneath the feathers of their mother and perfectly camouflaged into the surroundings can come out again now besides for protection they usually huddle there for warmth because they depend on their parents to regulate their body temperature until they are two weeks old the family of european golden plovers can go about their life among the rocks and nucalupine that decorate their territory safe in the knowledge that daddy will identify any threat [Music] horses roam these lands many centuries before the new caluping covered them which were also brought here by early human settlers these herds of icelandic horses have been living here in semi-freedom and without mixing with other equine species for over 1 000 years scandinavian colonists landed on the icelandic shores during the 9th century bringing with them their small hardy horses their physical strength and thick fur allowed them to adapt perfectly to this new environment of tough winters and scarce posture [Music] the ships that brought the horses from scandinavia also carried sheep and like the horses it was easy for them to adapt to their new home in the remote north they have also remained separate from other ovine species over the centuries this means that the icelandic sheep can be spoken about as an indigenous species unto itself with a fearless character when it comes to finding sustenance the ancestors of the arctic fox must have seen the arrival of sheep to their territory as a gift from the ocean in the form of tasty lambs however it was a poisoned gift because in hunting the lambs they found themselves an enemy who pursued them viciously their owners nonetheless the foxes also overcome that threat armed with the qualities that enabled it to colonize iceland adaptability and an indiscriminating palate the arctic foxes that live in iceland have developed an opportunistic nature that finds a perfect ally in the sea that ocean that brought men and their domesticated animals also fills the island's beaches with a wide variety of food [Music] among the riches to be found by the fox when the tide goes out is a truly unique animal due to its exceptional longevity the ocean quahog in fact the study of one specimen of this mollusk showed that it had lived 507 years the 6 000 kilometers of icelandic coastline are bathed by aboard a sea in which can be found the warm waters of the gulf stream and the cold waters coming from the arctic glacial ocean into which flow the fresh water from rivers and streams these conditions create an environment that is extremely rich in nutrients capable of sustaining an enormous diversity of marine life this environment is home to the impressive wolf fish capable of breaking open a crab shell or sea urchin with its spectacular teeth [Music] these young common seals will have no shortage of food in this rich sea they are exploring now but they are still too young to hunt themselves for their first month they depend exclusively on their mothers for food the mothers provide a very fat rich milk that will make them double in weight during this breastfeeding period [Music] it's hard to believe but this is a busy time in common seals society one month after giving birth and when their young can look after themselves females go into heat once again [Music] so the large male will need to make sure his harem doesn't scatter and another male doesn't take advantage of his lack of attention close to where the seals are sunbathing oyster catchers are trying to find something to eat these birds are especially adept at opening mollusk shells however that skill doesn't stop them from finding new places to eat far from the coast a recently mowed piece of grassland becomes a wonderful opportunity for this flock of oyster catchers to get their fill of succulent worms they are young birds not yet mature enough to reproduce and gather in flocks to search their territory for food nonetheless this social interaction is not without conflict [Music] it's clear that friendship among young oyster catchers is not valued as highly as a good mouthful of food these disputes over more food rich places are also an opportunity to demonstrate who is the strongest this puffin is finally standing on terra firma it must be a very special moment for him because he has spent his first years of life at sea and has also come back to where he was born and he's doing this to start his own [Music] family [Music] so the puffin has landed on a cliff that is like a natural block of residential flats where various bird species each find the perfect spot to build a nest the puffins prefer the penthouses where they have enough land to dig a cave and plant material to build the nest [Music] inside they also like these areas because it's easier and faster for them to reach their nest avoiding the possibility that other birds will attack them to steal the fish they are bringing for their chicks [Music] on the other hand the common gillamots a relative of the puffin prefer more spacious ledges lower down where they build large communes for the young they don't complicate their lives with furniture they simply lay their eggs on the naked rock and then take it in turns with their partner to sit on it [Music] common guillermods can also be found at the bottom of this unique building dedicated to birth it is not a very comfortable place and occupied by those without a mate [Music] although they are too young to have a family they visit the breeding grounds to observe the adults and start learning how to live in a community so [Music] full mars are decidedly more domestic and return to the same place year after year to raise their young they spend the first weeks after arriving in iceland defending their nest and strengthening their bond with their mate which is always the same this loyalty can be very long because these birds can live up to 50 years full mouse expel the excess salt they ingest while eating through the protuberance on their bill however this is not its only purpose it seems they are among the few bird species with a developed sense of smell kitty wake pears prefer small apartments on ledges or in cracks to build their nest with algae and plant material which they attach to the rock with mud [Music] once finished to their taste the female lays between one and three eggs that both parents will look after for almost a month these seafront properties overflowing with life are an irresistible magnet for all sorts of predators bold hunters like the arctic fox that have no fear of falling to catch their prey although the reward for so much effort and risk is to sometimes find the disappointing evidence that another hunter has beaten you to it [Music] by nesting on the ground arctic turns like the natural defense that can be found on the sides of a cliff although who needs to shelter on the edge of a precipice when you have courage any stranger who poses a threat will suffer the violent and tenacious attack of squadrons of turns until they turn around and flee this aerial defense force is so effective that other birds such as idols or barnacle geese are keen to build their nests near colonies of arctic turns they have learned that such firm protectors can help them raise their young without worrying about predators for those like the meadow pipit that nested a distance from the term colonies survival becomes much more hazardous this small bird lives and breeds in open spaces where it finds the insects fruits and seeds it needs to feed its family it is a territory with plenty of food but also highly exposed to the threat of a hungry hunter [Music] the parents can do nothing for their chick only hope that the vegetation will hide it from their enemy while the arctic turns do not hesitate to fight together against predators life within their colonies is far from an example of social peace and harmony stealing food from a defenseless chick is usually very common within turn colonies [Music] so [Music] so the parents have to take turns to protect their young while the other goes out fishing and neither of them ever get bored [Music] having made a good catch is only half the job for these parents to the desperation of the hungry chick they usually have to make several passes over their family to make sure there are no opportunists about ready to pinch their catch the young barnacle geese which owe their protection to the arctic terns enjoy a much more peaceful life they take their first steps learning to look after themselves while safe in the knowledge that there is always an adult around looking out for any danger several pairs of barnacle geese usually breed close to one another when the chicks are old enough to walk the families gather in flocks close to a body of water where they hurt their young into a kind of nursery watched over by all the adults [Music] [Music] [Music] wow at the top of the cliff where the puffins are nesting peace is only on the horizon the midnight sun reaches its lowest point before heading back up into the icelandic sky [Music] under this magical light the puffins returned to their nest high up on the cliff after a day at sea [Music] but some of them cannot rest the best penthouses are in very high demand and some males are willing to do anything to throw out the occupant and take over themselves [Music] [Music] ah [Music] after making it quite clear to the intruder that this is not going to be his nest male and female can now continue their courting in front of the home they return to year after year after spending the winter apart they are reaffirming a union that is made to last forever and that they will protect from all outsiders [Music] the rituals that will lead to the birth of new generations are happening now all over iceland [Music] these are nightless days in which the most exciting of stories continues to be written the adventure of bringing life to an island recently born of the earth's internal fires standing on the edge of eternal eyes [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Go Wild

Views: 1,092,376

Keywords: orf universum, documentary, blue chip, natural history, secrets of nature, planet earth, natura, naturaleza, documentales, wildlife, grandes documentales

Id: Qr79-qUoLRM

Length: 52min 36sec (3156 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 07 2021