DAVID SCHWIMMER: One mountain range connecting
two extreme worlds, a fortress of fire,
stronghold of a phoenix, and a realm
of ice, conquered by a master of stealth,
a furry ninja of death.
But how have these two creatures become the rulers
of such hostile lands?
I'm hoping dance off.
To answer this question is to take the first steps on an epic
journey across continents, through millennia,
uncovering the mysteries that shape life in the mountains
of fire and ice.
Oh, hello.
I'm David Schwimmer, and I have no fear of wildlife
projected on screen behind me.
This is "Mysterious Planet--
Mountains of Fire and Ice."
Is it still behind me?
The Andes, not Warhol and Samberg, from frozen peaks
to endless, barren desert, the longest mountain
range on Earth, stretching over 4,000
miles along the entire west coast of South America.
That's, like, 100 million sausage links end to end,
to give you some perspective.
At it's end, on the doorstep of Antarctica,
lies a world shaped by ice--
Patagonia.
The peaks here are perpetually snow capped, like some people's
hearts I know.
Massive glaciers carve out vast valleys.
This is the realm of one of the most
successful hunters on earth.
The puma, top predator in the land of ice,
and pretty good at slow motion.
How did they come to rule this place?
The answer is hidden in the past, locked in the ice--
and in the next act.
But 2,000 miles to the north, at the heart of the Andes,
is a totally different world.
Here, the story of life was shaped by fire.
They, uh, must have put it out.
Touching the sky, almost 14,000 feet up,
lies the Altiplano, a vast, sun-scorched plateau,
like the surface of Mars, flanked by towering volcanoes,
stained with toxic lakes.
Worst vacation spot ever.
Survival here seems impossible, but somehow,
life rises from the ashes.
James's flamingo, ruler in the land of fire.
This Red Lake, Laguna Colorada, is their stronghold.
But the waters are so toxic, there aren't even the fish
here.
I have knees like that.
That's why I don't wear shorts.
How have they conquered this place?
The key to their survival is in the waters at their feet.
The lake is colored red by a soup of microscopic algae,
brought to you by Campbells, which
thrives in the harsh conditions here,
and the flamingo's beak is the perfect tool for extracting it.
But their strange diet isn't only for sustenance.
It serves a double purpose, revealed
by an ancient ritual, one of the most important
moments in these birds' lives.
Cue music.
[music playing]
It's the breeding season, time for males and females to dance.
Yes!
Dance off!
Love it.
This synchronized courtship is how they choose a mate,
also how they look for a contact lens.
When enough dancers join in, the real party begins.
She's over here, guys.
She's over here.
Come, come, come, come, come, come, come, come.
Yeah, baby.
There she is. No, wait.
No, she's over there. She's going that way.
As the group grows, the chaos rises,
as does my desire to join in.
All it takes is one misstep to ruin the party,
don't I know that feeling.
But how do you pick the right partner
amongst all the confusion?
Wait for it.
Their food holds the answer.
The red algae that tints the water
also gives the flamingos their iconic color.
The more you eat, the more colorful
you become, and the better your chances of winning a mate.
I am going to live on red algae shakes.
They can't be too quick to make a decision, though.
James's flamingos mate for life.
New couples don't venture far.
This fire lake is also where James's flamingo
raises the next generation.
These birds have embarked on a lifelong journey
that will never be easy.
Their harsh world will constantly
test them, from unrelenting, sun-scorched days
to frigid mountain nights.
But at least they won't have to look far for food.
It's all that red stuff.
In the ice lands to the south, getting a meal
is much more difficult, unless you only eat snow.
Puma must always be ready for the hunt, never far
behind their favorite prey, knees,
or, rather, knees of the guanaco.
But it's not easy taking down a creature that's twice its size,
and just as fast.
It's like me taking down Shaq.
It takes stealth and cunning to reign in the land of ice.
Guanaco live in big family groups
that are always on the move, in search of the freshest grasses.
Grazing is distracting work, but there's always someone
keeping an eye out for danger.
You guys hear something?
Death can be hidden around any corner,
also right there in shot.
In Patagonia, these guanaco must always remain vigilant.
Death can be hidden around any corner.
The puma must get close enough, undetected,
to spring its ambush.
Wait for it.
No!
Uh-- oh, d-- ah!
Doh!
Ugh, even the most experienced hunters slip up.
Stupid twigs.
It's all part of an ancient game of survival
that started long ago and far away.
Pumas haven't always lived in these mountains.
To become ruler of the land of ice
would take an epic journey through eons
and across continents, enduring cataclysmic change.
But the puma isn't the only ruler that came to the Andes
from distant lands.
The ancestor of James's flamingo evolved in North America,
but around four million years ago, these birds
set their sights south.
This is real footage.
When they arrived on the Altiplano,
they discovered a strange new world.
Even the land of fire can freeze over, brutal.
[vocalizing]
[grunt]
Mastering the art of the frozen lake landing takes practice.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Ah-- ah-- nailed it.
Fortunately, relief is on its way.
The rising sun melts the ice and gives the flamingos access
to their food once more.
With each dawn, heat is restored to the land of fire.
But at 14,000 feet above sea level, when the sun sets,
temperatures plummet.
And on winter nights, the ice takes hold.
The freeze can be fatal.
Oh, man.
But not all flamingos fall victim to the cold.
There are places where these birds
get help from forces hidden deep in the heart of the fire world.
Beneath the Altiplano churns a massive chamber
of molten magma.
Across the plateau, volcanic vents
break through the surface.
Some spew magma-heated water into Laguna Colorada,
giving the flamingos a break from the coldest nights.
But it's just a hint of the true power hidden below.
To understand the forces that shaped this world,
we need to go back in time to the bottom
of the Pacific Ocean.
140 million years ago, the sliding oceanic crust
met an impenetrable barrier, my mother,
or, rather, the continent of South America.
There is only one way to go.
The scraping sea floor descends into the earth,
pushing up the continent.
The Andes begin to rise.
Great volcanic peaks shoot into the sky.
But then, something strange happens
here in the heart of the Andes.
Pushed against the massive center of the continent,
the earth crumples and folds, forming
a second mountain range.
As these parallel ranges squeeze together, the land in between
is forced upwards.
Molten rock and ash spew into the rising plateau,
building it up even higher.
Layer upon layer, the Altiplano is born.
It's this unique geology that makes the Altiplano
so unusual and so extreme--
and kind of sexy.
The fortress of parallel peaks blocks almost all moisture
from entering the plateau.
And at 14,000 feet, the sun is brutal.
It blasts the Altiplano with the most intense UV radiation
on Earth, baking away the water of James's
flamingo's stronghold.
In the Altiplano, the harsh sun evaporates lake water,
but this is actually a good thing for James's flamingo.
Evaporation concentrates toxic volcanic salts
in Laguna Colorada, creating the perfect chemical
cocktail for the flamingo's red algae to bloom.
Under these extreme conditions, James's flamingos
not only survive, they thrive.
But like everyone, wish they bought real estate in the '70s.
Right in the middle of this toxic lake,
they're even bringing forth new life.
Chicks are born with a straight beak and can't feed themselves.
Until their beaks bend, they rely on their parents
to provide a remarkable meal--
flamingo milk, an algae smoothie high in proteins and fats,
richer than cow's milk, perfect for growing
chicks in a toxic wasteland.
Not available online.
The ancient forces that shaped the land of fire
are critical to the flamingo's rule.
In the ice lands to the south, the rise of the puma
is also linked to the mountain's past.
But the story of this world is very different--
hint, it's colder.
Patagonia sits on the doorstep of Antarctica.
The freezing temperatures at the bottom of the world
have a major impact on the end of the Andes.
I mean, it makes it really cold.
Every 100,000 years, as ice ages take hold,
the Antarctic deep freeze spreads north,
forming a massive ice cap over Patagonia.
Through millennia, this has happened again and again.
I hope that doesn't mean we're due.
And when it retreated, it left behind great valleys
right through the heart of Patagonia.
Unlike the arid fortress of the Altiplano,
these ice-sculpted mountains funnel and collect
moisture, blanketing the peaks with thick snow every winter.
When the summer sun arrives, melting snow
flows down into the valleys.
This influx of water fuels an explosion of life.
Aw.
Every summer, female guanaco give birth to a single baby,
called a chulengo.
They're a bit awkward at first, but they quickly
find their feet, which is a shock to them
because their parents have hoofs.
While females are busy caring for their chulengo,
males have a very different priority--
combat, or, rather, running to combat.
Males are highly territorial.
The strongest fighters secure the best feeding sites
and get access to the most females.
They'll wrestle, fight, and even spit putrid green phlegm.
Oh, yeah, go ahead, use your phlegm.
Anything to secure their dominance.
Ah!
Hey, don't bite me there!
All this commotion is an opportunity
for pumas on the prowl.
The chaos of the breeding season and the arrival
of carefree chulengos increase the chances of making a kill.
But for this puma, the stakes are even higher.
OK, that sounds ominous.
Summer in Patagonia brings a bounty
of carefree baby guanaco, the prime target for pumas.
But pumas have their own distractions.
Keeping focus is difficult with mischievous kittens in tow.
Aw, look at those darling guanaco eaters.
Playing games helps young puma learn the hunting
skills they need to survive.
Soon, they'll be on their own, but they've
got a good start in life.
Here in Patagonia, the frozen past
has created the perfect conditions for guanacos, which,
in turn, support one of the densest populations
of puma in the world.
But how did they find this paradise?
Puma Yelp?
Like James's flamingo, their journey
begins millions of years ago, 6,000 miles
away in Derek's North America.
But at first, the puma's ancestor has
no way of reaching the Andes.
There's an ocean blocking its path.
Then, around 5 million years ago, a bridge starts to form.
The isthmus of Panama rises from the waters, joining continents.
The puma said, isthmus be my time
to cross into South America.
The puma's ancestor has a direct route to South America.
The Andes are there to greet it, a giant highway
to the entire continent.
Over generations, it moves along the Andes,
establishing itself in every ecosystem.
Its southward expansion never stops
until it reaches the end of the longest
mountain range on Earth.
But the puma's journey to become ruler of the land of ice
is only just beginning.
There are monsters in these mountains, predators the puma
can't possibly overthrow.
When James's flamingo first arrives in the fire lands
to the north, it doesn't have to cope with competition.
It faces a totally different challenge.
In the arid desolation of the Altiplano,
it discovers an untapped food source.
But a deadly threat looms overhead.
As the brutal sun evaporates water,
it creates the perfect conditions
for the flamingos food.
But too much evaporation, and the lake
will vanish, and so will James's flamingo.
How can Laguna Colorada survive in this arid mountain fortress?
At over 20,000 feet high, the great volcanic peaks
that encircle the Altiplano act as gatekeeper,
preventing moist air from entering the plateau.
But every summer, some clouds breach the mountain fortress,
spilling just 15 inches of rainfall into the land of fire.
As this fresh water flows over the plateau,
it begins a radical transformation
that is crucial to the survival of James's flamingo.
Summer in the Altiplano brings just 15 inches of rainfall
to the land of fire.
It may not be much, but this fresh water
is crucial to the survival of James's flamingo.
Over millions of years, the water carves out great ravines.
As it passes through the ancient layers of ash and lava,
it dissolves out volcanic salts, transporting
them towards Laguna Colorada.
By the time it spills out to replenish the levels
of the giant lake, it becomes 4 times as salty as the Pacific
Ocean, with all the toxic ingredients needed
for red algae to thrive, which is also the recipe
for my mom's brisket.
In the colony, the chicks are growing fast.
Their beaks begin to develop the iconic curve,
and they start to feed for themselves.
Their world exists in a delicate balance
between water lost from evaporation and water
brought in by seasonal rains.
But as global temperatures rise, the land of fire
just gets hotter and drier, and the future for these chicks,
less certain.
Adapting to change isn't a new challenge for the puma.
In fact, it could even be the secret to its reign.
When the puma first arrives in Patagonia,
the climate is even colder than today.
And there are strange creatures lurking in the land of ice--
ground sloths, 10-feet long, one of the biggest
herbivores to ever live in the Andes.
With mega prey comes monster predators.
Oh, jeez.
20,000 years ago, the puma isn't the ruler here.
That title is held by a more terrifying hunter--
smilodon, the saber-toothed cat, not to be
confused with frownasaurus.
Over 800 pounds, it can take down prey five times its size.
Again, this is footage from 20,000 years ago.
This formidable cat won't remain the top predator for long.
Patagonia is about to change forever.
Around 12,000 years ago, temperatures
begin to rapidly rise.
Massive glaciers retreat.
Great forests expand, replacing the open grasslands
that the giants need to survive.
As smilodon follows its prey into the last remaining pockets
of grasslands, a new threat appears, an even
more ruthless predator--
humans.
The mega mammals are no match for such intelligent hunters.
Here, kitty, kitty.
Come here.
Relentless human hunting, and the loss
of their open grasslands, brings an end to the age of giants.
The stage is set for a new ruler to emerge.
Thousands of years ago, the mega mammals
that once dominated the land of ice
become extinct, ushering in a new ruler of Patagonia.
The key to the puma's rise to power
is its ability to adapt to its changing world.
Unlike smilodon, pumas can survive anywhere, from forests
to sheer mountain cliffs, and on any prey big or small,
allowing them to thrive in places where
even humans can't reach them.
The puma survives the test of time to rule the land of ice,
but every day must fight for its life.
This young male is now on its own.
Without his mother's support, hunting
is no longer a playful game.
Been there.
One misstep, one well-placed kick
could seriously injure him.
He must choose his target wisely.
And he can't hesitate.
OK, I'm going to--
I'm-- I'm-- no, I'm--
I'm looking away now.
I don't want to.
Oh, boy.
Is it over?
Oh-- oh, god.
Oh, no.
Here we-- no, you know what?
Oh, ah-- OK.
He won't go hungry tonight.
He's learned the skills he needs to survive on his own,
and now he can take his rightful place
as ruler of the land of ice.
Where did I put the French fries?
In the land of fire, the flamingo's world
is transformed.
Parts of Laguna Colorada dry up seasonally.
But this year, the water around the breeding colony
vanishes early, and so do the flamingos--
or at least most of them.
This flock of juveniles is on its own.
Their parents flew to the edges of the lake
where some water still flows down from the mountains.
If these young flamingos don't leave soon, they'll starve.
But how do you reach the life-giving waters
when you can't fly?
There's only one option.
Like countless generations before them,
these young flamingos march to survive.
Every year, juveniles must leave the only home
they've ever known, entering the next chapter of their lives.
Reaching the red waters brings them
one step closer to to becoming the rulers of the land of fire.
Yes!
Woo-hoo!
Made it!
[music playing]