Secrets of The Seychelles: A Sanctuary For The Ocean's Wildlife | Wild Lives | TRACKS

paper was light gold in medieval times [Music] i want tobacco sugar [Music] that everything we thought we knew about the world might turn out to be completely wrong [Music] our planet is full of life people places and animals inspiring filmmakers to explore finding new stories taking us on journeys of discovery into our natural world this is wild lives [Music] more than 1 000 kilometers east of africa nestled within the vast indian ocean lie the seychelles a scattered archipelago of granitic islands and coral atolls one of the most remote of these has become a sanctuary to a huge variety of wildlife including several species of turtles rays crabs and other marine life [Music] [Music] but this place is important for one animal in particular sharks when i first came here in 2013 we knew that there are sharks we didn't know how many this small isolated atoll has become a sanctuary to a staggeringly large population of sharks ornella and the save our seas darus research center team set out to understand why [Music] darus island and saint joseph's atoll are situated on the amarantes bank the atoll comprises of 14 islets and a shallow sandy lagoon at low tide it is encircled by an uninterrupted reef such a dense population makes this an irresistible location for shark scientist juanella wadelli we need sharks in the ocean in order to have a natural ecosystem sharks are kind of the garbage man of the ocean so they're eating the week one the old ones so it's both top-down and bottom-up importance that sharks have on the ocean and the ocean has on sharks pristine and uninhabited by people wildlife and saint joseph's has thrived but just 250 kilometers northeast on the inner seychelles islands the reality is very different unlike other iconic species in seychelles sharks are unprotected targeted by large fisheries and populations here are in rapid decline following a global trend as a result traditional shock fishing practice for centuries is now also unsustainable seychelles is developing rapidly and has become a much more accessible destination than it once was adding to the strain on this group of small islands and its wildlife [Music] this is one reason why the isolated saint joseph's atoll attracts such a diversity of species [Music] [Applause] [Music] over several years of careful observation the team have gained some intriguing insights into the dynamics of life in the atoll 17.1 the tides have changed with every moon phase it gets from very spring tide to low neap tides the atoll itself completely changes so it also changes for the animals that live in there at low tide a whiptail ray seeks protection in an isolated pool taking care not to become stranded in the midday sun each species has found a niche in relation to the rise and fall of these tides [Music] red land crabs descend to scour the exposed shore for food as the tide rises they are forced to retreat to the forest meanwhile blacktip sharks explore and forage in the sanctuary of the lagoon but these juvenile sharks are not immune to the continual changes of the tide as the water rises they must move to the safety of the shallows the sharks have to be dynamic they have to be as dynamic as the atoll itself so they need to keep on moving in order to survive when it's full moon or new moon the tides are very extreme and this allows bigger sharks like lemons to come in you see them cruising along the sand flat and potentially hunt baby sharks on the incoming tide adult lemon sharks are able to cross the frontier of the surrounding reef and move into the lagoon with their excellent sense of hearing they can detect prey up to 100 meters away such as crabs rays and even small sharks [Music] the murky incoming water and the tangle mangrove roots offer some protection for a vulnerable black tip but despite their size lemons can maneuver in this very shallow water often exposing their distinctive angular fins so they close in using special cells that detect the tiny electrical fields given off by all living things [Music] a flexible cartilage skeleton enables them to contour in and around these confined spaces this time the black tip manages to slip away and the window of opportunity begins to close for the lemons it will be another 12 hours before they meet again at the next high tide [Music] on darros anella prepares to go into the atoll to collect shark data which he hopes will prove the importance of saint joseph's she too can only access the lagoon at high tide [Music] when we look at the saint joseph actor it looks like a perfect paradise island beautiful palm trees with the crystal clear waters the white sand but there's so many species living in there there needs to be enough space for them there needs to be enough food for them we usually start with what species is it what sex is it what time which gps location and after that we get into the more detailed information and ryan will turn him upside down to see how his umbilical looks and that one is close so you can write down number three we put a small microchip so in case of a recapture you can read the unique number of each individual 55 on the dots [Music] after a few minutes the shark is released back into the lagoon [Music] juanella's vast amount of data will take considerable time to analyze but one thing is clear i had the most amazing time discovering this place the last three years i collected 651 individual sharks so we could for sure say it's a shark nursery the most important thing for the actual i think it's that it stays as it has been there's nobody living there there's no boats coming in no fishing activity and that's how it should stay and should be forever saint joseph's atoll is one of the few truly wild places that remain for sharks in our rapidly developing world it is vital we protect them [Music] nestled in the himalayas one of the most unique species on earth the red panda is in grave danger the whole red panda habitat of nepal has been fragmented into 300 small patches this rare animal is suffering due to human grade poaching cases of red panda has been dramatically increased there may be fewer than 2 500 left in the wild but there is hope one woman has devoted her life to fight these forces determined to make a difference this is the journey of the firefox guardian [Music] the remote forests of the himalayas are the last remaining home to the magnificent red panda lovingly called the firefox an endangered species struggling to survive a devastating fur and petrade but red panda network has come to the rescue working with forest guardians from the local communities each month they head deep into the panda territory to gather important data and search for signs of poaching but they face a huge challenge red pandas are hard to find only a handful have ever seen them in the wild for one of them it's been a long road to become a guardian [Music] and her team are about to set off on their next mission a previous trek revealed an abandoned nest a sure sign that a panda here has recently given birth these dense bamboo forests can be dangerous but this is panda country as an umbrella species the pandas here contribute to the natural balance of this challenging environment foreign it's the last week of april and monsoon is on its way the team only have three days to complete their mission meanwhile the forest provides important clues because and later that morning the guardians traced [Music] foreign they then follow a route they believe the pandas may have taken but as always the himalayas have other plans [Music] has by foreign [Music] foreign with newfound spirit the team follow a strategy to split up in search of the panda as they head deeper into the forest excitement grows manuka catches a glimpse of bread but the moss here plays tricks on even the expert eye and despite their bright red coat the pandas are well hidden by these misty jungles but menuka has worked hard to see more than most foreign foreign as their second day ends manuka fears the team are running out of time to find the young panda darkness in this forest brings leopards and black bears for now the team must stop their search and seek shelter [Music] oh so far the team have had no success but knowing this might be their last chance to find the young panda they decide to explore an area where the trail is even more dangerous [Music] foreign [Music] [Laughter] [Music] foreign [Music] it's a huge relief for the team and will ensure the cubs safety from poachers [Music] foreign [Music] finding this cub is another success for the firefox guardians giving meenuka hope that what she has fought to achieve is still helping to secure the future of our firefoxes [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] deep within an australian forest a famous star is facing his toughest performance a superb liar bird called the pretender and his greatest fan is jam [Music] male liar birds must compete to win the hearts of females the pretender is the reigning champion but having lost a critical part of his costume he has just one long tail feather left will he be able to stay at the top and remain the great pretender each winter the dandenong ranges near melbourne hosts the annual lyrebird breeding contest with lights stages and dazzling costumes [Music] the competition is fierce and only the best performing males will secure a mate this normally requires two curved tail feathers called lyrates that's how the liar bird got its name [Music] pretender's story is known due to the hard work of one lady i just think he's magnificent known as the liar bird lady [Music] jan and her team of liar bird enthusiasts have been watching the population here for nearly 60 years we've got certain favorites that we love i've probably spent more time than other people with pretender [Music] he's such a pleasant bird you can get quite close to him jan has followed pretender for more than half a decade she's won his trust and made him into something of a celebrity i think he quite likes the camera i think he does he didn't initially so we used to say pretend you've got to get more person friendly particularly for photographers [Music] but this year jan is worried that pretenders time at the top may be under threat ah one feather that's sad isn't it i won laura right that's a bit embarrassing something has been attacking him and he's dropped these as a decoy to get away from the fox i would imagine it's a fox it's like injuring your leg if you're a sportsman and you you do a knee injury or something like that and you can't play footy for the rest of the season [Music] jan can only guess what the impact will be i don't think any of us know what happens when a bird's tail is damaged as far as i can see he's behaving absolutely normally he's trying he's calling he's getting engaged in territorial chase he's defending his territory but if it's about his dance his call and his display [Music] one would imagine that a girl can tell that there's something missing [Music] as dawn breaks males from all around are warming up [Music] the first thing you hear is kookaburras and then you hear the live birds crawling in the top of the trees and then they tend to start singing against each other singing in unison with each other it is the battle of the bird mimics and pretender is an incredible ventriloquist i love his cook parrot i love his whip bird and my absolute favorite is the little twitty birds but now it's the costume round and pretender could be in trouble and as rivals move in on his territory his vulnerability is showing [Music] a younger male in full feather makes his move for pretenders patch [Music] [Music] so [Music] the invader wins and pretender is knocked off his perch [Music] [Music] the next morning pretender is nowhere to be seen you should put a radio tracker on we could be here we don't know it is the first time jan has been unable to find him there's not even a peep out of it seems pretenders territory was worth fighting for a young female has moved in maybe she doesn't know what to expect or she's not as discriminating against a male that's got a poor tail and her inexperience is also showing in other ways this girl's nest to me is like a gypsies caravan it's got everything hanging off everywhere every time i've seen her run from her nest it's always been with moss and normally birds don't use that much more to their nest and just when all seems to be lost there's another surprise pretender makes his entrance [Music] and the young female can't help but notice there's a little thing going on between those two if i was the mother of that boy i'd say i think he's got a new girlfriend two [Music] [Applause] but will she choose a male with a damaged display [Music] a few days later jan and her team find promising evidence of pretenders success when she's mated there's a little indentation in the in the um mound and then there's some feathers yeah there's been a mating on this man definitely looks like yep but can the cameras reveal the proof oh look at this oh gee i wonder he might have made it here there look at that so there's the female and he's dancing around here so maybe all is not lost there she is there so usually when she stops circling like that and he gets behind it it usually means he's in with a chance [Music] great yeah it's great it just means that although he's got a lie right missing he's still able to mate maybe tail isn't as important as we thought it was maybe it's all about your song and your dance [Music] good honey [Music] so [Music] [Music] is me foreign [Music] in sonora mexico in the rolling sierra madre mountains a small population of jaguars struggles to avoid extinction hunting and conflict with ranchers have shrunken their range making these last borderland jaguars the most northern population in the americas [Music] but in this unforgiving land ranchers also struggled to survive battling severe drought cattle disease and hungry predators foreign at the heart of this patchwork of cattle ranches lies the 55 000 acre northern jaguar reserve here water flows year round and vegetation is abundant attracting a variety of species from north and south it provides a safe haven for jaguars and other wildlife as long as they stay within the boundaries miguel ramirez a biologist for the reserve knows first hand the importance of this unique location is [Music] b as a dentist and fellow rancher diego knows everyone in town and uses his influence to bring ranchers and biologists together we presidented [Laughter] okay with diego as a catalyst the northern jaguar project started the viviendo conference program and others followed warming to the idea that jaguars can be more valuable alive than dead [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] um [Music] a now 12 ranch owners agree not to harm any wildlife effectively doubling the size of the reserve every month miguel gives each ranchero del hogua photos taken from the camera traps on their landscape um is [Music] [Music] [Music] um [Music] [Music] the [Music] anymore my [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Laughter] in the carpathian mountains of slovakia much has changed since the time tales of broderick were told [Music] old ways have been abandoned and traditional life on the farm is vanishing but now a threat from the past has returned to the forest threatening the livestock chuvatch dogs like broderick may be the only way for shepherds to protect their flocks [Music] can the shepherds look to their past for a solution to this new problem [Music] orowiza slovakia antoniancho still uses the old ways to protect his flock the farm lies at the edge of a national park that a growing number of predators call home [Music] while the shepherds are hard at work something is lurking in the forest watching the sheep but the shepherds can rest easy knowing that the sheep are protected the animals in the forest are also being watched by a group of chuvach dogs they stand guard searching for threats and sensing if anything is wrong [Music] [Music] [Music] dogs on another farm are dealing with an even larger predator brown bears hunt in the woods outside of this farm if duchamp isn't vigilant his sheep could be the next meal these bears have okay indeed the dogs have been here for a long time jana goliasheva has been a breeder for over 20 years and knows everything about the legacy foreign they were part of a much larger life in the mountains [Music] then everything started to change [Music] after world war ii shifts in populations and urbanization led to a decline in farming across slovakia as the people left the farms and moved to villages the dogs went with them and started to become a domestic pet chuvash dogs like the ones at yanin ranch live a very different life to those that live on the farm instead of guarding sheep these dogs are being groomed to compete in dog shows but these chufatch pets aren't for everyone a when looking at a truvatch puppy it's hard to imagine it growing up to be a fierce fighting guard dog and while these pet dogs look quite similar to their guard dog cousins their physiology has changed dramatically through breeding the dogs have become smaller their personality might also be changing which is troubling to one young scientist zuzana the breed and is worried that they're losing their guard dog capabilities there are around twelve hundred pet in slovakia and far fewer serving as guard dogs on the farm however an opportunity to increase the number of guard dogs may lie in slovakia's changing forests they once teamed with predators they played an important role in balancing the ecosystem wolves in particular helped to keep the deer population under control but these predators weren't always held in such high regard and by the start of the 20th century they were hunted out [Music] now these predators are making a comeback protected by law and changing attitudes but when these predators move into their old territories problems with shepherds can still occur yes [Music] [Music] guard dogs the shepherds that used to defend against the walls have a new role [Music] with the ability to prevent human predator conflicts these livestock guard dogs could actually help restore balance back to the mountains and breeders like zuzana are making sure that the chuvaj is up to the task [Music] it seems a return to the old traditions of slovakia may be the key to a new era of balance for the chuvaj and the wolf [Music] [Music] [Music] hmm [Music]

Channel: TRACKS - Travel Documentaries

Views: 160,352

Keywords: TRACKS, tracks travel channel, tracks travel, Documentary movies - topic, full documentary, travel documentary, culture documentary, Wildlife, Wild Lives, Wild Animals, endangered species, endangered animals, seychelles, australia, nepal, red panda, sharks, birds, bird watching, protecting nature, slovakia

Id: 4N4to7ZTUhY

Length: 60min 1sec (3601 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 18 2021