Spectacular Insights into the Underground

many animals feel at home in our Gardens [Music] but some are not particularly welcome [Music] others are popular they are being truly spoiled for some everything you've done to keep them for others everything so that they leave above all the mole what gears it into the gardens nevertheless [Music] as the days get longer and longer some paths in the forest are decorated with peculiar tracks They tell of a departure of something only few would suspect in the forest like his ancestors it is drawn to Meadows and Fields here its marks resemble far more the image we humans have of it but pasture soil is heavy terrain there is hardly any progress maybe there is something better [Music] the neighboring Garden the world is still in peaceful order [Music] a custom-made Kingfisher wall already awaits rare guests at the pond foreign next door young grass snakes leave the pile of wood which was deliberately placed for them and other hibernators they had already hatched the previous autumn finally there are things to do around the garden again after all everything shall grow and prosper beautifully here foreign [Music] fills the garden some of it in perfect order the other digs itself in [Music] what attracts them all so irresistibly foreign could this be a welcome snack no our mole is a rather picky eater even on its digging Four Paws it can run as fast as a human walking with pace but where shall It Go without a roof over its head it is far too dangerous out here back home another guest also loves a private hideout it prefers the old wood pile especially in winter the Hedgehog just sleeps through the cold months [Music] from April onwards by Nightfall life reawakens beneath its spiky Shield [Music] during its sleep the Hedgehog had lowered its body temperature to below 11 degrees it has to rise again to 30 degrees upon Awakening [Music] kick-starting all life functions within such a short time is a tremendous achievement for the small circulation system and it takes several hours to get it all going smoothly [Music] foreign the food bowl was meant for it the Hedgehog is satisfied with a mixed diet unlike the mole it has long since built his masterpieces that make it so popular with Garden owners [Music] foreign [Music] the loose and Airy ground here makes it much easier for it to do so than in the countryside and nobody is following it here or is there the mole hill is just the hatch leading to the basement apartment it is fully equipped with bunks pantries and long corridors foreign can build up to 20 meters of tunnel per day digging with its pores while doing so it moves its arms like a swimmer Sideways from front to back the length of the tail corresponds exactly to the radius of a corridor and helps with orientation just like a blind person's cane the excavated soil the master of underground engineering dredges outside using its Palms its soft fur almost became its downfall a hundred years ago Germany exported more than 6 million skins to the USA every year the mole only wears velvety wool hair which can be stroked in all directions quite useful when quickly switching from forward to reverse gear pointy nose small eyes and oracles and no digging ports this is not the home of a mole but its slender cousin a watershed [Music] to Hunts as the name suggests on and in the water shrews belong to the order of the insectivores [Music] even if they eat Marsh snails the snails can leave the water for long periods of time but mostly live underwater where they feed on rotting leaves [Music] but there they are not safe either the furry Hunter's powerful hind feet counteract buoyancy and its fur is structured to capture air in it thank you in its silver Air armor it never gets wet to the skin it takes as many as it can get the snails not immediately devoured go immediately to the food chamber those who have a garden always have a lot to do luckily there is a diligent helper it produces the best fertilizer in the world digs tirelessly and aerates the soil a good worm the earthworm hardly any animal is as popular with other guests of the garden as the earthworm it likes to stay away from the Sun and its enemies but danger looks even Underground the worm does not give up that easily thank you in proportion to its size it is one of the strongest animals in the world just like the mole it digs its way through the Earth and can lift up to 50 times its own weight [Music] but at the end of the day it does not stand a chance against the much larger mole earthworms are the mold's favorite food the search for the worms or insect larvae is the main reason for its mining activities it finds them with its nose right in the soil or even better they just plummet into its corridors the branch tunnel system is above all a giant trap it even creates earthworm depots a mole cannot survive for more than 24 hours without food and needs up to 12 earthworms daily or an equivalent of other prey the mole had numbed the worms with a bite some managed to escape in time they can feel the trimmer caused by the digging this is what another relative of them all has been waiting for in spite of their completely different style of clothing spiky Hedgehog and silky mole have one thing in common they are biologically insectivores but they love earthworms and they can find them plentiful in gardens with loose hummus soil another reason why both like to reside here those who want to have the hard-working worms in their Gardens can simply create a compost heap where waste turns into fertile soil fertilized eggs turn into earthworm offspring an earthworm lays one egg into each wheat grain-sized cocoon [Music] in the course of up to a year the young earthworms develop foreign it's time to hatch [Music] only in two years they will be sexually mature if they manage to escape from the Hedgehog and mole [Music] gender and soil conditions the size of a mole's territory varies between 300 and 3 000 square meters and one usually respects each other's territorial boundaries but here strange Adventures into the Garden in search of a new territory or a female this inevitably leads to violent upperheavals foreign moles fight fiercely foreign there are no rules [Music] [Applause] [Music] fights in the mole World occur between males and males females and females and males and females [Music] even during The Mating Season males looking for female company are usually dismissed unquestioningly however one story below it remains to be seen whether one will get closer later on ecological value of a garden often lies in the details rarely does one notice what hides in these grape-sized cocoons a wasp spider had spun them for its Offspring in the late summer of last year the little ones spent the winter there and are now ready to leave [Music] without hesitation they climbed the next straw tips [Music] there they spin their Nets considerably increasing their radius foreign light as they are they can even be carried away by the wind with a spider's threat as a parachute [Music] when a garden offers a pond and a wood pile to hide in grass snakes are in seventh heaven because the pond holds true Treasures for the young amphibious Hunters tadpoles they've just hatched in large numbers in the warm water snakes pick up on the smell of water and pray through their tongues they always live near bodies of water [Music] foreign they have grown up they will hunt adult tadpoles frogs [Applause] [Music] this one is of no threat to the grass snakes the Kingfisher is out for fish not all attempts are successful on average only one in ten [Applause] [Music] in order to keep the fidgety fish calm the bird wants to stun it but that hasn't quite worked out as planned this time the fish is Victorious since the Kingfisher has to eat its own body weight in Food daily there is no way of giving up now [Music] the whole capture lasts just two to three seconds now only their head has to go in first so that the fin spikes do not hurt there you go [Music] not every Garden hosts Kingfishers and grass snakes but recreational Gardens take up large areas a huge potential for biodiversity [Music] but even in naturalistic gardens the mole is often unwanted trampling might help some Digger might feel disturbed by it but there are also the stubborn types but what if you catch it digging digging mud-handed [Music] hitting a mole like this would be like winning the lottery foreign because the sensitive animals feel every movement around them more importantly moles are protected animals and killing them is prohibited whether you like it or not maybe this will keep the mole away moles respond to loud sounds and vibration therefore such sound devices are said to be effective as mold control how they work depends on the individual case a garden that provides food for insectivores can also be a place to be for swallows the young swallows have already left their nest but still have to be fed by their parents was it a need for security that drove the banded Grove snail towards Higher Grounds at least the Hedgehog cannot catch it here [Music] who would have imagined an earthquake happening here whether the mole deliberately undermine the noisemaker or it simply got in the way of its digging will remain the mole Secret but the Hedgehog after all has his dinner within reach and after a while the sound devices do not only disturb the moles and Hedgehog's nightly activities required hedgehogs are just like moles pronounced loners and they express that through hissing the courting male must have patience until the female finally accepts him with its sensitive nose the mold checks to see if it can venture outside because it has something to do in the flower bed it finds what it's looking for when a mole collects leaves on a warm night it can only mean one thing the garden basement dweller is a she and she is pregnant [Music] thank you carefully she dresses the future Nursery [Music] moles produce Offspring only once a year losses are difficult to compensate [Music] compost heaps are not only the cradles of the earthworms they are the breeding ground of many animals for the grass snakes which have long since developed into cyanothropes like the Hedgehog and mole they are perfect because the heat produced through rotting biological waste acts as an incubator for the young in the eggs the alternative name for the species ringed snake is derived from the white yellow patches on the neck which resemble a ring for a long time the harmless snakes were considered Lucky Charms for many people grass snakes in the garden are still a sign of luck a compost pile is the best prerequisite the young snake about the length of a pencil is on its own from the start foreign [Music] by the time it's fully grown three years will pass and it will have shed its skin many times [Music] well protected in the wood pile next door the Hedgehog is given birth to four youngsters they are just five days old blind and deaf and completely dependent on their mother hedgehogs carry spikes from birth they are soft so as not to hurt the mother but a second set of brown harder and sharper spikes has already started to grow it will soon completely replace the first one upstairs the Kingfisher can no longer afford a break it too has Offspring to look after seven at that beak by beak it offers fish to them head first of course the feeding capacity of a young Kingfisher is considerable until fully grown each eats the amount of fish equivalent of two piglets when feeding males and females take turns and are constantly in action every nestling gets one fish every hour with seven chicks that means more than 50 fish and that's only for The Offspring combined with the failed attempts that's four to five hundred Dives per day [Music] the mole is not the only ruler of the Underground [Music] such egg-shaped corridors just below the ground are the realm of the vole [Music] unlike the Hedgehog and the mole this one is a strict vegetarian the mouse feasts on roots and tubers which is not of a great benefit to the Splendor of the garden in addition voles are diligent breeders they have up to four litters a year the little rodents can cause considerable damage to Gardens loving Neighbors on the other hand are not interested in Roots at all they are at most in their way you can hardly convicted for being a plant pest on the contrary it prefers to eat them [Music] the hedgehogs are now four weeks old and already where the same spiked dress as their mother when fully grown their armor will consist of six thousand to eight thousand spines the mother keeps nursing them until they are 40 days old [Music] the little ones get tired quickly after this extensive meal when mother is asleep as well more active children get bored a good opportunity for the first outing not every young Hedgehog wandering around without a mother is thus abandoned a grasshopper would be to its taste but catching them is another matter unless you're following a different strategy in its net with the typical zigzag band a hunter lures its victim to get stuck in the sticky trap foreign [Music] in the span of just a few weeks one of the tiny parachute Flyers has grown into a wasp spider the size of a coin within seconds it has stunned the prey with poison and wrapped it up [Music] the poison will liquefy the inside of the insect the spider has just to wait until it's time to absorb the protein-rich cocktail [Music] The Grapes hang out to reach for the young Hedgehog and it prefers to stay away from the unknown biped foreign [Music] even the very young respond to tempting scents [Music] the youngsters follow the example of their mother and always check first where the danger is in the air [Music] foreign [Music] hedgehogs there are brave and less Brave to be a hedgehog alone at home is sometimes nice too such mixed food made from nuts fruit and oatmeal and chicken meat is far more easily digestible for hedgehogs than milk foreign [Music] strange things are happening next door since when do stones move what else but a mole can be behind it it actually manages to lift 20 times its weight its falling muscles make up more than half of its entire muscle mass [Music] thank you yeah the young mole is confused it had not imagined the way to autonomy that Stoney [Music] perhaps better to head back home for now where the tunnels have already been dug and digging is much easier [Music] but the mother stops it even at the age of five weeks moles have to leave the territory of their childhood but they are not born diggers and must first learn which soils are suitable those who take too long can quickly be spotted by birds of prey or foxes [Music] the Garden on the other hand seems to be a safe haven in addition the experienced mole manages to disappear in less than five seconds even if it has not already dug a hill but even the mole can be taken by surprise foxes have long become a synotropic species and even appear in City Gardens the fox and mole are equal opponents the mole feels where that fox is digging and the fox the muckraking of the mole foreign if the mole is not sitting right under a hill the cunning Fox usually comes too late so even this visitor cannot get rid of the unloved squatter in the basement three weeks later the young hedgehogs almost always accompany their mother they are still begging for milk but mum is becoming reluctant the little one should learn to survive on their own young hedgehogs do not get any food delivered by their mother they have to look for it themselves however she leads her young to Abundant sources Early Autumn is the time of the Fruit Harvest [Music] an orchard is a paradise for hedgehogs because the Fallen fruit contains a lot of sugar perfect for establishing fat Depots for the winter hedgehogs despite their affiliation to the insectivores don't take it very literally it is told that hedgehogs would spike fruit and carry it on their backs into their hiding place but that's just an ancient fairy tale hedgehogs do not believe in keeping stock despite that an apple would simply not remain on their spikes because they have no barbs hedgehogs it is now time to wander off and seek their own territory in another Garden in a meadow under a hedge or at the edge of the forest [Music] the knights are getting colder and the grass snakes hide again to survive the cold and Barren period [Music] a little later the Hedgehog follows their example [Music] foreign [Music] however in regard to its bedding it is a bit more demanding than the snakes and upholsters its nest with leaves [Music] it works half the night [Music] then it is finally done little by little it throttles its circulation heartbeat and breaths until it revives everything next spring [Music] for those who do not hibernate Hard Times begin now as it gets colder and wetter all right the young mole has survived until now but now it is in great Danger [Music] if it's already raining through the roof and the water is flooding the deeper tunnels what to do [Music] it can only flee [Music] Salvage it can swim surprisingly well so it's not surprising that moles can even conquer Islands [Music] it is safe for now [Music] others are also struggling with the weather foreign is getting harder and harder and once you've found a big chunk you're suddenly faced with other problems the mold slender cousin by no means possesses its power foreign [Music] must eat something its circulation runs at top speed in the cold weather otherwise it would freeze to death [Music] only one bite will not satisfy it [Music] but then it discovers something a tiny hole in the eyes is enough for it [Music] but it can only dive for 12 seconds before catching its breath so it has to be quick for it to do this in cold water it has to raise its body temperature [Music] survival is the mother of invention because what would be a dream for many of us is a nightmare for the Shrew it eats almost its own weight every day only to lose the stuffed upholstery all over again at night foreign pond is frozen not only the water shrew is in trouble the Kingfisher is not a friend of the cold if it does not receive help like this and even running water freezes over the Fish Hunter starts to death foreign its ancestors were tropical birds that immigrated only 10 000 years ago it has not yet fully adapted to the local climate conditions which is why in winter in some places entire populations disappear those who offer it a breeding ground and help through the winter contribute a lot to its protection so there are good reasons for the flying gem to Delight the garden owners next year as well but another guest was getting too cold in the garden its forefathers came from the forest where it now returns to in order to live under the protective dense foliage the Forester at least is happy to see it because it loosens the ground but in the spring the mole will probably return to the garden to the loose Earth to the earthworms to to safety [Music] there too it aerates the soil and eats pests but most gardeners do not see the mold for the hills the way it really is [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: Free High-Quality Documentaries

Views: 196,901

Keywords: Free High-Quality Documentaries, HD, Full HD, Quality, Mole, Earthworm, Mole mound, Hedgehog, Fight, Shrew, garden, hole

Id: R5XjK9IZJOk

Length: 43min 24sec (2604 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 17 2023