Wild.South.America.Andes

you this is a journey down the longest mountain chain on earth these are the Andes the spine of South America they span the length of the continent over five thousand miles from the tropics almost to the Antarctic surviving in the Andes is one of the greatest challenges in the natural world it's a truly hostile place to live bitter cold thin air relentless wind even the volcanic forces of the earth itself you faced with trials like these how can anything survive here let alone flourish our journey begins in the tropics at the northern end of the range the highest peaks in the Andes rise to nearly 7,000 meters and some are still growing measured on a scale of geological time the Andes are still young the mountains marker line where two great plates of the Earth's crust collide the impact crumples the continent and huge volcanoes break through as the mountains rise into the clouds their slopes are colonized by forests cloud forests in the warmth of the tropics trees can grow high on the mountains to well over three and a half thousand meters animals were quick to exploit the new opportunities these forests provide isolated in a maze of ridges and valleys all sorts of new species developed these Andean cloud forests rival the Amazon rainforest for diversity there are more kinds of hummingbird here than anywhere else in the world almost every hillside has its own unique plants and animals the cloud forests also has it's very own bear the spectacle named after the markings on its face this is the only bear in South America there are just a few thousand left most kinds of bear are good tree climbers but here that skill is essential spectacled bears get much of their fruit from the tree tops so climbing trees is one of the first lessons this baby has to learn the cub is well grown but it still has a long way to go to match its mother's skills the trees here can be 20 meters high so it can't afford to make a mistake these high forests have few monkeys so there's plenty of food for bears that are willing to climb but for an animal that can weigh well over a hundred kilos that's quite a challenge even when it's mastered the art of climbing the cub still has to learn what to eat the Bears favorite food are bromeliads hamster perch on branches high in the canopy they're especially fond of the fleshy base of the leaves bears are adaptable animals and there's only one kind here other animals are more specialized so several species can coexist like the hummingbirds these damp cool forests have few flying insects so many of the flowers rely on birds for pollination plant and pollinator have a unique relationship each hummingbirds beak is perfectly adapted to reach the nectar in its chosen flower as the hummingbird moves from flower to flower it transfers pollen and so fertilizes them in exchange it gets sugar rich nectar to fuel its hovering flight at high altitude the air is thinner and has less oxygen it's hard to hover most bromeliads win their place in the Sun by growing high in the trees but some kinds have gone a step further they've left the forest behind and climbed the mountain the puas grow in the páramo a zone of Alpine grassland above the forest after several years they throw up a stupendous 5 meter flower spike and then die with just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity it's vital that the flowers are pollinated puas have their very own hummingbirds like the ambient hillstar it lives higher than any other hummingbird up here the air is even thinner and hovering is even harder so whenever it can it perches rather than flies as it moves from flower to flower it transfers more than pollen tiny pollinating mites live in the flowers they crawl onto the hummingbird to hitch a lift to another plant at the next stop some passengers get off and others get on not every animal works in such harmony with the poo use the growing flower spikes are an irresistible honeypot four spectacled bears they can destroy a lifetime's work in seconds four bear cubs learning how to tackle puas brings a sweet reward the spikes are rich in sugar to make nectar for the hundreds of flowers they're packed with energy but how do you get out us a little parental guidance is called for spectacled bears are versatile animals but each new generation has to learn the tricks of the trade the mountains are an unpredictable place to call home massive volcanoes rise above the cloud forest at any moment they can burst into violent life as you travel south down the chain of the Andes you pass a line of brooding Giants among them are the highest active volcanoes in the world rising to more than six thousand meters they're so high but even in the tropics their summits are crowned with ice and snow in the heart of the Andes volcanic activity has built more than mountain peaks its thrust a high desert plateau 3 miles up into the sky the Altiplano sulfurous team from the world's highest easer field rises into cold thin air a vision of Earth before life began much of the water here evaporates in huge caustic lakes this must be one of the most extreme environments on earth how could anything possibly live here incredibly the Altiplano Salt Lake's actually attract animals flamingos come here to breed their season starts with a mast courtship dance three kinds of flamingos nest on these caustic lakes these ones are andi'm flamingos these lakes are prime flamingos habitat with no outlet dissolved salts washed down from the surrounding mountains are concentrated by evaporation ideal conditions for the flamingos favorite food brine shrimps they thrive in water of ten times as salty as the sea the birds catch them by filtering water through bony combs in their beaks the three kinds of flamingos have different size filters so they can live together by exploring different parts of this briny soup only a handful of other water birds can live here Andy and other sets subsist on fly larvae the key to success up here is being a specialist brine flies live in a world that's wafer thin sandwiched between the salt and the piercing wind of their swarms are large enough to support a lizard brine flies are its staple diet being cold-blooded it hunts only when the temperature has risen enough for it to move for a lizard living on the edge of what's possible even a patch of flyblown salt pan is worth fighting for even the steaming outflow from the Geezer attracts life this frog also survives on flies but this really is living on the edge a few hops one way and it would be boiled alive a few the other and it would freeze to death this desert on the roof of the world even has mammals the Cunha South American relatives of the camel but what can they eat up here there's more to the Altiplano than caustic lakes and not all the springs are hot and salty fed by meltwater from the snow cloud peaks some run cold and fresh they water small patches of marsh called Bafa dallas in the drier parts of the Altiplano these green oases are the key to the vicuna survival they provide grazing and fresh water to drink all sorts of animals depend on them like viscous rabbit sized rodents early in the morning the marsh is frozen hard so the viscous Baskin the Sun until the ground warms up along with the Lea feared mice that share their jumble of boulders only when the grass has thawed can they start to graze in the dryer parts of the Altiplano little grows away from the buffer dollies the few flowers give a sip of nectar for the Andean Hill star up here poaching is vital to save energy in the thin air there may be no woods here but there is a woodpecker the Andean flicker it nests underground and hunts for insect grubs in the marsh at this extreme altitude the main problems any animal has to face are cold and lack of oxygen thus catchers overcome the cold by having incredibly thick fur but they have to keep it in good shape if it's to save them from freezing to make better use of the thin air some animals have a high concentration of red blood cells and specialized lungs it also helps if you don't exert yourself the sketches hardly ever move more than a stone's throw from their protective rocks nothing moves fast without a good reason but up here even a small patch of grass is worth fighting for deciding whether to use hard-won energy reserves can be a matter of life and death the arrival of a red fox means it's decision time up here the air is so starved of oxygen that a sustained chase is impossible the Fox has to try and take its prey by surprise not easy in this open country the viscous are rarely more than a short - from safety the sketches have thin muscle walls to their lungs so they can breathe more freely at high altitude but a rapid escape is exhausting even for them the panics over for now it's time for everyone to catch their breath on the Altiplano the air is in such short supply that neither a hunter and hunted can afford to waste it it's at night that the effects of the high-altitude bite hardest when the thumb goes down the airs too thin to retain its heat and the temperature plummets for the Andean Hill star every night is like a winter even at lower altitudes hummingbirds save energy at night by slowing down their metabolism almost as if they were hibernating up here that ability can make the difference between life and death just three hours after sunset it's already 20 below even running water freezes hard this is the moment of truth for the hill star now all it can do is wait with the Rising Sun the hill star comes alive again it picked its roosting place so the very first rays reach into warm it's chilled body this time it's 1 through every night is a battle to survive a 12-hour winter but the Altiplano also has a true winter for a few weeks each year its savage climate becomes even more severe for those who can this is time to leave they must search for food in lakes lower down the mountains on the flamingo's have gone the hi Alton is left to the elements and those animals that have no choice but to sit it out the cold can be so severe that even the salt lakes freeze over any birds that breed late in the season can be trapped here they're young can't yet fly and their food is now out of reach locked beneath the ice many of these stragglers will die frozen into the ice their fate is already sealed but some places never freeze the Andes inner fires keep the geysers and hot springs free of ice here at least winter will never come in this tiny island of warmth in the most marginal and extreme of worlds life hangs on the Altiplano may be extreme but they're somewhere even more severe as you travel south down the chain of the Andes winter becomes even harder the mountains here may not be as high as the Giants further north but they're much closer to the Antarctic the snow line creeps lower and lower and in the deep south the ice never melts this is Patagonia three huge ice sheets dominate the Patagonian Andes covering over 7,000 square miles they're the largest expanse of ice outside the polls so vast but they generate their own weather towers of rock rise from the edge of the ice the remnants of ancient volcanoes stripped bare by the glaciers only the Condor asuras among these icy peaks this is one of the windiest places on earth chilled air spills from the edge of the ice sheet funnel down the glaciers and between the peaks these freezing blasts can reach a hundred miles an hour almost nothing lives on the ice sheet itself surviving even on its edge requires an imaginable stamina the guanaco a southern cousin of the vicuna it's larger and has a thick woolly coat and it needs it to survive the Patagonian winter snow is not the only peril the guanacos face the puma the Lion of the Andes this most adaptable of big cats lives throughout the mountain chain from the cloud forest to the high desert and the snows of Patagonia but its secretive and hardly ever seen for all the hunters here winter is a lean season they're poorly camouflaged against the snow the gray fox follows the Puma to scavenge any scraps from its kills she has hidden stores of food during the summer if she can sniff them out she'll survive the winter the really hard times last four months but slowly the days get longer and the land comes back to life the snow line creeps back up the mountains this is what the condors have been waiting for as the snow retreats the casualties of winter are revealed animals killed by cold or starvation and the remnants of Puma kills condors are the vultures of the Andes they have superb eyesight they can spot food from miles away and can locate even more distant carcasses by watching for other condors gathering the gray fox is the scavenger to the winter survivors are lean and hungry and they're stiff competition for any chance of a meal there's a well-defined pecking order at carcasses one fox may defer to another but neither of them can argue with a condor with a three meter wingspan and weighing up to 15 kilos it's the world's largest flying bird the Fox simply can't compete at this feast the condor is kim caracaras have to wait their time to all make do with scraps that fall from the condors table spring brings a flood of migrants to take advantage of the brief Patagonian summer like both necked ibis they waste no time and starting to breed great brebes overwinter on the coast but as soon as the lakes of free of ice they move inland and start fighting for territory only the winners will have a good chance of raising a family the losers are forced onto lakes higher in the mountains where the summer is that much shorter territory is also the key to breeding from male guanacos they gather a group of females on their patch of ground and guard them closely against rival males he must always be on watch younger males will seize any opportunity to raid for her in soon the reed beds are alive with mustang birds and where there are nests our nest thieves as soon as eggs are laid the Fox is quick to take advantage she's found the nest of an upland goose now the birds will have to start all over again those little a bird can do to drive a force awakens message but a male guanaco packs more of a punch soon there'll be baby guanacos to defend and he's not taking any chances male guanacos are exceedingly territorial at this time of year and they won't tolerate intruders of any kind the Fox already has a family to feed her Cubs will be safer away from the aggressive guanacos territory so she moves them to another den there can be as many as five cubs in a litter their mother has to carry each individually to the new den so moving house takes a lot of energy even so foxes often move their cubs several times the longer a den is occupied the greater the chance a puma will find it the Cubs are still dependent on their mother's milk but soon she'll be weaning them onto solid food by the time winter returns they'll have to look after themselves few of these Cubs will live as long as a year if they're to survive they have a lot to learn and only a brief summer to learn hi summer in Patagonia at the edge of the great ice sheet the mountains are almost clear of snow this far south with summer days are long and occasionally it can even be worn Patagonia seems almost benign the Puma hunts mostly at night but summer nights are short there may be more food at this time of year but there's less time for the Puma to catch it at dusk a deadly game of cat and mouse begins the guanaco x' move to the ridge tops from there they have a better chance of spotting a prowling Puma but under cover of darkness the odds are stacked in the big cats favor this time the Puma killed a full-grown guanaco but the most vulnerable are the young the cat won't have long to wait for the new seasons baby guanacos all the births are concentrated over just a few days that way the Puma is spoiled for choice and it can't take all the young the sooner a newborn infant can stand and run the better its chances of surviving the summer within days of giving birth the female guanacos come on heat for the male's this will be the payoff for all the hard work they've put into defending Gauhar emic but they can't afford to relax their guard this is when other males are most tempted to intrude first there's a standoff Fighting's dangerous some males try to intimidate their opponents by posturing but this time threat has to be backed by physical force Monaco's are heavy powerful animals and they can inflict a vicious bite this neck wrestling is a way of avoiding being bitten the battle over the winner takes his reward so long as he can fend off intruders the resident male will mate with all the females in his group and sire a whole new generation this may be midsummer but at any time the mountain can spring cruel suppose on a sunny summers day ferocious storms can strike out of the boom from behind it's fringing Peaks the icecap hurls of frozen blasts down the mountains these sudden winds can reach a hundred miles an hour for everything that lives here these sudden storms are part of the Patagonian summer they can strike almost daily even in the strongest winds the Grebe's keep fishing all kinds of greep carry their young on their back but here in Patagonia it's a life saver from their earliest days the chicks feel the brutal force of the Andes but these birds are great survivors and if they can make it through the storms this is an ideal home sometimes creeps feed feathers to their chicks this may help bind the fish bombs together so they can be regurgitate it safely as a pellet young of all kinds have to grow fast if they're to survive the coming winter the young guanacos build up their stamina by playing in the last of the summer some the mother fox has only a few more weeks to teach her cubs how to fend for themselves carrion from a puma kill gives them their first taste of red meat but meat is a luxury to survive they'll have to eat insects fruit leaves even grass they may be playing now but in a few weeks they'll be hunting for real on their own only the most resourceful can live through an andean winter all along the chain of the Andes survival depends on adapting to some of the harshest conditions on the planet thin air bitter cold relentless wind but for those that can live here the mountains provide all their needs our journey of over 5,000 miles ends here almost in the Antarctic with the glaciers of Patagonia plunge towards the southern ocean the mighty force of the mountains can give life but at any moment it can take it away living in the Andes is one of the greatest challenges in the natural world you you

Channel: Nirmala Hickey

Views: 101,619

Rating: 4.742373 out of 5

Keywords: Andes, Peru, Bolivia, Altiplano, Puma, Llama

Id: Z08BZZ8f7Bw

Length: 49min 1sec (2941 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 05 2013