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A few years ago,
Michelle and I visited Patagonia

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with our daughters.

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Amongst the snow-capped mountains
and crystal-clear lakes,

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we marveled at an increasingly rare thing.

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Untouched wilderness.

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Human influence has spread
far and wide across our planet.

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National parks can protect
what we still have.

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But if we are to make a real change,
we must return more of our land to nature.

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In Chilean Patagonia,
vast areas are being re-wilded,

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returned to their natural balance

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before we came along.

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This region is rapidly becoming
one of the most protected places on Earth.

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Chilean Patagonia is home
to 24 unique national parks…

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across an incredible
variety of landscapes.

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The longest mountain range in the world,

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the Andes,
runs like a spine along its length.

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At its heart, lush forests

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and the open Patagonian steppe.

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And along the coast,

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the raw power of the Pacific Ocean.

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Patagonia is redefining our idea

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of what national parks could be.

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On the western seaboard
of South America lies Chile,

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the longest country in the world,

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stretching over 2,500 miles
from north to south.

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In the southern part
is the remote area of Chilean Patagonia,

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where huge swaths of land
are given over to its 24 national parks.

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The most famous of these
is Torres del Paine.

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Its three iconic towers
dominate the landscape.

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The park is home to a thriving population
of Chile's largest land predator,

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the puma.

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This mom has four little mouths to feed.

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She needs to hunt.

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For the best chance of success,

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she must leave the cubs behind.

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Their survival depends
on her stealth and cunning.

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Guanaco, an ancient ancestor
of the domestic llama,

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and her main prey.

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Blending into the landscape
is her best chance of an ambush.

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Four out of five puma hunts
end in failure.

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Compelled to find another opportunity
to feed her cubs…

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she will keep the family moving.

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They're not the only pumas
looking for food.

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Close by, a younger, lone female

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is also on the hunt.

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From her high vantage point…

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she spots a herd.

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With their backs to a lake,
their escape options are limited.

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To bring down an animal that is
up to three times heavier than her,

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she'll need everything to go her way.

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Battered and bruised,
it's another missed opportunity.

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The mom and her cubs
have found the remains

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of a guanaco carcass
at the edge of a pond.

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The hungry family grabs what they can.

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The fact that it's been killed
and partly buried

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can only mean one thing.

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This food belongs to someone else.

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The lone female.

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The cubs seem nervous of the stranger.

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But their mother is calm.

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This is her daughter
from last year's litter.

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The lone female reclaims her carcass.

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She may be the cubs' older sister,
but that doesn't mean she's keen to share.

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Her soggy little brother
will have to wait his turn.

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Others arrive…

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and are accepted at the feast.

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Until recently, puma were believed
to be solitary creatures.

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Lions and cheetahs were thought
to be the only social big cats.

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The discovery of such strong social bonds

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is redefining
how scientists think about pumas.

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The creation of this refuge
has protected these cats from ranchers

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who might fear for their livestock.

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And it has also led to an increase
in space and prey,

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so there's less need
for conflict between rivals.

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This park is now home

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to one of the highest densities
of puma in the world.

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And numbers of these majestic animals
are slowly recovering

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across southern Chile.

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Three hundred miles north,
along the Andean range,

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lies Patagonia National Park.

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One of the region's newest parks,
it may look like a wilderness,

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but until recently,
it was used to graze sheep.

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Puma and their prey,
the guanaco, were persecuted here.

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Now the livestock have been removed,
the wildlife protected,

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and the land is starting
to return to its natural balance.

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With puma numbers still low,

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guanaco are quickly repopulating the park.

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And this male is hoping to play his part.

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He has traveled here
in search of a good grazing territory,

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impressive enough to attract females.

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An all-female herd…

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in an area of prime grazing.

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But it has already been claimed
by a huge dominant male.

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And this herd isn't big enough…

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…for the both of them.

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The dominant male charges
to show who's boss.

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And he's not too big
to dish out a low blow.

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The bachelor is driven far from the herd…

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…until finally, he takes the hint.

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The victor returns to his females…

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only to find

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another intruder in their midst.

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With the dominant male busy
seeing off his new rival,

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the bachelor sneaks back in…

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…and seizes the opportunity…

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…finally meeting his mate.

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With the creation of these national parks,

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agricultural fences were taken down,

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allowing guanaco to travel more freely,

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mixing and strengthening gene pools.

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After almost a year of pregnancy,

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a mother is in labor.

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The baby guanaco needs to be
up on her feet as fast as possible.

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In a matter of just two weeks,

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thousands of baby guanaco
will take their first steps here.

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The females all give birth
within the same period

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to make the most of the safety of a crowd.

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Out here, you never know who's watching.

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As these guanaco herds expand,

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so too will the opportunities
for the puma population to bounce back

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and for nature to recover.

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Around the world,
many national parks exist

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as isolated pockets
of protected wilderness.

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To really flourish,

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animals need not only safeguarding,

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but safe passage.

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The ability to move freely

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in search of food, a territory, or a mate.

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Since 2017, Chile has been working

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to connect a patchwork of wild spaces,

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joining national parks with other
protected reserves and marine parks

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to create a network,
a wildlife conservation corridor,

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connecting over 30 million acres
of Chilean Patagonia.

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At the center of this network
lies Cerro Castillo National Park,

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home to a once-endangered creature
now making a spectacular comeback.

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The Andean condor.

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Condors are scavengers.

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They consume dead animals.

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A role that is vital in removing waste
and preventing disease.

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In the past,
they've been hunted and poisoned

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by landowners seeking
to protect their livestock.

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But now the population
of these magnificent birds

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is bouncing back.

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They nest in these inaccessible,
forested cliffs.

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And every day,
they travel hundreds of miles

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in search of food…

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…leaving behind…

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their vulnerable youngsters.

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He might almost be the size of an adult,

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but this massive chick
is only nine months old.

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Condors are the world's
largest soaring birds.

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And he could eventually
have a wingspan of over ten feet.

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For now though,

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he's just learning how to use them.

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He's getting braver.

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But attempting a first flight from here
would be extremely risky.

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Best to head back to safety.

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If he can.

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His parents return.

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And it's finally breakfast time.

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To give him the best chance in life,

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they will only raise one chick at a time.

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But if all of their efforts
are to pay off,

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he must take to the skies himself.

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Perhaps he needs
to be shown how it's done.

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It's time…

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for his first-ever flight.

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Well, it's a start.

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Better.

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These birds are too heavy
to fly by flapping alone.

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To stay aloft and travel long distances,

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he must learn to ride the wind.

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His parents lead him into the air currents
and rising hot air thermals.

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Their chick will stay with them
for up to two years.

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Until then,
he'll be stretching his wings daily,

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growing stronger,
until he too can soar over the Andes.

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Six hundred miles further north,

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the landscape begins to change.

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Here, it's dominated by volcanoes.

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They scar the land with lava flows…

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…between which grow primeval forests.

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At the very northern edge,
lies Conguillío National Park,

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one of the last strongholds
for the endangered Araucaria,

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the monkey puzzle tree.

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Growing to over 150 feet,

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these giants were once a common sight
across northern Patagonia.

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But they were cut down
to make way for farmland

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and now only exist
in small pockets of ancient woodland.

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In the shadows of the monkey puzzle trees
are the delicate beech forests…

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home to animals
found nowhere else on Earth.

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The pudu…

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the world's smallest deer.

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This spotted baby could fit
into the palm of your hand.

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And the smallest wildcat of the Americas.

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The kodkod isn't even as big as a pet cat.

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Along with these miniature mammals,

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the Valdivian forest

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is also home to one of the most
spectacular insects in the world.

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The Chilean stag beetle…

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named for the incredible
antler-like jaws found on the males.

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This one has picked up
the scent of a female.

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But she is 100 feet up

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in the canopy of a beech tree.

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For him, that's the equivalent
of a person climbing the Eiffel Tower.

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Twice.

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Her seductive fragrance
can be detected by males far and wide.

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And the race is on.

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Finally, he reaches the canopy
ahead of his rivals…

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…with the female in his sights.

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But he has a challenger.

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They size each other up.

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Now, those huge weapons
come into their own.

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One of the largest weapons to body size
of any animal that has ever lived.

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They have evolved to grasp

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and lift.

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His opponent strikes first.

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But he turns the tables

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and gets the upper hand.

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Finally, there's nothing
between him and his mate.

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As dusk falls over the park,

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we are reminded
of our place in the universe.

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By carefully managing light pollution,

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the celestial views above the reserves

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have remained some
of the darkest on Earth.

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On a clear night, you can see the planets

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of the solar system…

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the stars of the Milky Way,

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and the distant glow
of our closest neighboring galaxies.

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Even with the naked eye.

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And under the cover of darkness,

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one nocturnal forest resident
is helping his home to regenerate.

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Using new camera technology,

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we can reveal his nighttime antics.

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The monito del monte.

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The "little monkey of the mountain."

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But the monito isn't a monkey.
He's a marsupial.

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And although he is tiny…

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these giant trees depend on him.

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He will eat his entire body weight
in food every night.

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During his lifetime, he will help spread
at least 20 different species of plant

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by eating the fruits…

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and dropping the seeds in new places.

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As dawn begins to break,

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he returns to his hidden nest to sleep.

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And he is not alone.

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These communal nests can contain
up to ten unrelated monitos

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huddling together.

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With the help of these
"little monkeys of the mountain,"

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it is possible
that a huge Valdivian forest

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will once again stretch
from the Andean mountains

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to the Pacific Ocean.

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Chile has more than 4,000 miles
of winding Pacific coastline.

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During the last ice age,

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glaciers descended
from the mountaintops to the sea.

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As they moved,

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00:37:44,080 --> 00:37:48,160
they carved Patagonia's maze
of deep coastal fjords.

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Relatively few of these icy giants remain.

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This is the San Rafael glacier.

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00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:24,800
Every spring, an ethereal song
echoes around these fjords.

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00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:16,120
It's the haunting call
of a male leopard seal.

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00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:27,160
He's here to take advantage
of the icebergs to breed…

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00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:34,000
…and will sing day and night
to attract a mate…

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00:39:36,720 --> 00:39:40,600
…skillfully crafting his love songs
to incorporate a range of notes

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00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:42,200
and a variety of pitch.

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00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:53,080
Elements of his tuneful repertoire
can be heard far and wide.

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00:39:59,400 --> 00:40:00,280
A female…

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…tunes into the male's song.

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During the short breeding season,

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leopard seals sing underwater
all through the night.

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00:40:18,160 --> 00:40:21,880
Worn out from her nighttime courtship,
she rests on the ice.

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The serenade is enticing.

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She approaches.

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Only to find

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her would-be suitor…

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…isn't actually awake.

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00:41:13,720 --> 00:41:16,520
Scientists believe
that during the breeding season,

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leopard seals have such high levels
of surging hormones…

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…they even call while sleeping.

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As the sun starts to sink…

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…he finally wakes up.

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00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:19,240
And they retreat beneath the ice
to begin their courtship duet.

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Whilst almost half
of Chilean Patagonia's land is protected,

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less than a fifth
of its coastal waters are.

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Seventy miles off the southern tip
of mainland Chile

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lie the sub-Antarctic Islands
of Diego Ramírez,

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one of Patagonia's
few marine protected areas.

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00:42:59,680 --> 00:43:02,600
Off its shores, three oceans collide.

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The Pacific to the west…

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00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:12,440
Atlantic to the east,

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00:43:14,120 --> 00:43:17,840
and to the south,
the brutal Southern Ocean.

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00:43:22,720 --> 00:43:26,920
Despite being surrounded by some
of the most treacherous seas in the world,

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this place is brimming with life.

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The islands offer a safe haven
for over two million nesting seabirds.

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00:43:42,920 --> 00:43:47,200
Colonies of albatross carve rivers
through the thick tussock grass.

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00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:59,680
It's one of the world's
few albatross colonies not in decline,

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due to the lack of predators on the island

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and the ban on fishing
within the marine park.

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00:44:09,800 --> 00:44:14,200
Not all animals that live here
have the luxury of arriving by air.

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00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:26,400
Southern rockhopper penguins
nest here too.

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00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:36,000
Penguin parents must take turns
traveling hundreds of miles

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in search of food for their hungry chicks.

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00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:52,760
They can be away
for up to three days at a time.

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00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:04,080
But the most dangerous
part of their journey

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is the return.

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00:45:13,320 --> 00:45:15,240
Thrown by the swell to the shore.

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00:45:20,640 --> 00:45:24,160
Though the ocean
is the least of their worries.

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00:45:29,400 --> 00:45:32,320
South American sea lions
patrol these waters.

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00:45:46,800 --> 00:45:48,720
For every fishing party that returns…

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00:45:52,520 --> 00:45:54,520
…some won't make it.

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00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:08,120
A mother penguin runs the gauntlet

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00:46:08,800 --> 00:46:10,240
to return to her family.

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00:46:15,000 --> 00:46:17,720
But these sea lions
swim three times faster.

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00:46:22,320 --> 00:46:23,760
Her best chance of survival…

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00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:28,440
…is to get out of the water.

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00:46:49,320 --> 00:46:50,760
Safe at last.

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00:46:58,160 --> 00:46:59,040
Maybe not.

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00:47:42,800 --> 00:47:44,200
A narrow escape.

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00:47:58,320 --> 00:48:02,240
And now, the arduous climb
back to the nest.

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00:48:48,080 --> 00:48:49,880
Just to feed their little one,

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00:48:50,560 --> 00:48:54,400
every penguin parent
must put their life on the line…

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00:48:57,480 --> 00:49:01,440
taking turns making this trip
for another six months,

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00:49:02,200 --> 00:49:06,280
until their chick is able
to run the sea lion gauntlet.

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00:49:25,480 --> 00:49:31,040
This marine park now protects
over 55,000 square miles of ocean…

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00:49:33,640 --> 00:49:38,160
and extends the wildlife conservation
corridor of Chilean Patagonia

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00:49:39,600 --> 00:49:42,960
out toward the protected waters
of Antarctica.

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00:49:57,640 --> 00:50:03,320
This network of parks now protects
over 200 species of birds and mammals

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00:50:04,680 --> 00:50:07,800
across an astonishing
variety of landscapes.

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00:50:10,720 --> 00:50:15,040
It's helping bring animals
back from the brink of extinction.

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00:50:16,680 --> 00:50:20,080
But it's not just wildlife
that is benefiting.

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00:50:21,880 --> 00:50:26,000
Ecotourism is predicted
to bring hundreds of millions of dollars

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00:50:26,080 --> 00:50:28,360
to the local economy
over the next ten years.

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00:50:29,080 --> 00:50:31,200
And it will have a far greater benefit

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00:50:31,920 --> 00:50:34,680
to every being on our planet.

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00:50:36,320 --> 00:50:38,320
In the fight against climate change,

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00:50:38,400 --> 00:50:42,080
this land and vegetation
act like a sponge,

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00:50:42,160 --> 00:50:44,320
absorbing carbon dioxide,

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00:50:45,240 --> 00:50:49,440
making the region one of the largest
carbon sinks in South America.

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00:50:52,520 --> 00:50:55,560
Give nature a chance and it will return.

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00:50:56,320 --> 00:50:59,120
Wilderness and wildlife can recover,

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00:50:59,800 --> 00:51:02,040
and balance can be restored.

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00:51:03,320 --> 00:51:06,640
Chilean Patagonia is an inspiring example

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00:51:07,200 --> 00:51:11,000
of what can be achieved
when we work together with nature

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00:51:11,520 --> 00:51:16,360
and believe in the true value
of our national parks.