[tranquil music plays]
[President Obama] A few years ago, Michelle and I visited Patagonia
with our daughters.
Amongst the snow-capped mountains and crystal-clear lakes,
we marveled at an increasingly rare thing.
Untouched wilderness.
Human influence has spread far and wide across our planet.
National parks can protect what we still have.
But if we are to make a real change, we must return more of our land to nature.
[tranquil music continues]
In Chilean Patagonia, vast areas are being re-wilded,
returned to their natural balance
before we came along.
This region is rapidly becoming one of the most protected places on Earth.
[tranquil music continues]
Chilean Patagonia is home to 24 unique national parks…
across an incredible variety of landscapes.
The longest mountain range in the world,
the Andes, runs like a spine along its length.
At its heart, lush forests
and the open Patagonian steppe.
And along the coast,
the raw power of the Pacific Ocean.
[tranquil music continues]
Patagonia is redefining our idea
of what national parks could be.
[tranquil music continues]
On the western seaboard of South America lies Chile,
the longest country in the world,
stretching over 2,500 miles from north to south.
In the southern part is the remote area of Chilean Patagonia,
where huge swaths of land are given over to its 24 national parks.
The most famous of these is Torres del Paine.
[squawking]
[tranquil music plays]
Its three iconic towers dominate the landscape.
[tranquil music continues]
The park is home to a thriving population of Chile's largest land predator,
the puma.
This mom has four little mouths to feed.
[tense music plays]
She needs to hunt.
For the best chance of success,
she must leave the cubs behind.
[tense music continues]
Their survival depends on her stealth and cunning.
Guanaco, an ancient ancestor of the domestic llama,
and her main prey.
[tense music plays]
Blending into the landscape is her best chance of an ambush.
[tense music continues]
[guanaco bleats]
[bleating]
[tranquil music plays]
Four out of five puma hunts end in failure.
[tranquil music continues]
[puma screeches]
[tranquil music continues]
[pumas squealing]
[tranquil music continues]
Compelled to find another opportunity to feed her cubs…
she will keep the family moving.
[tense music plays]
They're not the only pumas looking for food.
[tense music continues]
Close by, a younger, lone female
is also on the hunt.
[tense music continues]
From her high vantage point…
she spots a herd.
[tense music plays]
With their backs to a lake, their escape options are limited.
[tense music continues]
To bring down an animal that is up to three times heavier than her,
she'll need everything to go her way.
[tense music continues]
[bleating]
[tense music continues]
[squealing]
-[squealing] -[grunting]
[tense music continues]
[tense music crescendos]
[bleating]
Battered and bruised, it's another missed opportunity.
[tranquil music plays]
The mom and her cubs have found the remains
of a guanaco carcass at the edge of a pond.
[tranquil music continues]
The hungry family grabs what they can.
The fact that it's been killed and partly buried
can only mean one thing.
This food belongs to someone else.
[tense music plays]
The lone female.
[tense music continues]
The cubs seem nervous of the stranger.
[tense music continues]
But their mother is calm.
[tranquil music plays]
This is her daughter from last year's litter.
The lone female reclaims her carcass.
She may be the cubs' older sister, but that doesn't mean she's keen to share.
[growling]
-[growling] -[squealing]
[growling]
[squealing]
Her soggy little brother will have to wait his turn.
Others arrive…
and are accepted at the feast.
[tranquil music plays]
Until recently, puma were believed to be solitary creatures.
Lions and cheetahs were thought to be the only social big cats.
The discovery of such strong social bonds
is redefining how scientists think about pumas.
[tranquil music continues]
The creation of this refuge has protected these cats from ranchers
who might fear for their livestock.
And it has also led to an increase in space and prey,
so there's less need for conflict between rivals.
[tranquil music continues]
This park is now home
to one of the highest densities of puma in the world.
[tranquil music continues]
And numbers of these majestic animals are slowly recovering
across southern Chile.
[tranquil music plays]
Three hundred miles north, along the Andean range,
lies Patagonia National Park.
[soaring music plays]
One of the region's newest parks, it may look like a wilderness,
but until recently, it was used to graze sheep.
[soaring music continues]
Puma and their prey, the guanaco, were persecuted here.
Now the livestock have been removed, the wildlife protected,
and the land is starting to return to its natural balance.
[soaring music fades]
With puma numbers still low,
guanaco are quickly repopulating the park.
[tranquil music plays]
And this male is hoping to play his part.
[tranquil music continues]
He has traveled here in search of a good grazing territory,
impressive enough to attract females.
[tranquil music continues]
An all-female herd…
in an area of prime grazing.
But it has already been claimed by a huge dominant male.
[tense music plays]
And this herd isn't big enough…
[bleating]
…for the both of them.
[tense music continues]
[bleating]
The dominant male charges to show who's boss.
[dramatic music plays]
[squealing]
[bleating]
[dramatic music continues]
And he's not too big to dish out a low blow.
[dramatic music continues]
[bleating]
[dramatic music continues]
The bachelor is driven far from the herd…
[dramatic music continues]
…until finally, he takes the hint.
[upbeat music plays]
The victor returns to his females…
only to find
another intruder in their midst.
[dramatic music plays]
[bleating]
[dramatic music continues]
With the dominant male busy seeing off his new rival,
the bachelor sneaks back in…
[dramatic music continues]
[gentle music plays]
…and seizes the opportunity…
[gentle music continues]
…finally meeting his mate.
With the creation of these national parks,
agricultural fences were taken down,
allowing guanaco to travel more freely,
mixing and strengthening gene pools.
[tranquil music plays]
After almost a year of pregnancy,
a mother is in labor.
[tranquil music continues]
The baby guanaco needs to be up on her feet as fast as possible.
[tranquil music continues]
In a matter of just two weeks,
thousands of baby guanaco will take their first steps here.
[tranquil music continues]
The females all give birth within the same period
to make the most of the safety of a crowd.
[tranquil music continues]
Out here, you never know who's watching.
[foreboding music plays]
As these guanaco herds expand,
so too will the opportunities for the puma population to bounce back
and for nature to recover.
[tranquil music plays]
[squawking]
Around the world, many national parks exist
as isolated pockets of protected wilderness.
To really flourish,
animals need not only safeguarding,
but safe passage.
The ability to move freely
in search of food, a territory, or a mate.
[tranquil music continues]
Since 2017, Chile has been working
to connect a patchwork of wild spaces,
joining national parks with other protected reserves and marine parks
to create a network, a wildlife conservation corridor,
connecting over 30 million acres of Chilean Patagonia.
[squawking]
At the center of this network lies Cerro Castillo National Park,
home to a once-endangered creature now making a spectacular comeback.
[tranquil music plays]
The Andean condor.
Condors are scavengers.
They consume dead animals.
A role that is vital in removing waste and preventing disease.
[tranquil music continues]
In the past, they've been hunted and poisoned
by landowners seeking to protect their livestock.
But now the population of these magnificent birds
is bouncing back.
[tranquil music continues]
They nest in these inaccessible, forested cliffs.
And every day, they travel hundreds of miles
in search of food…
[tranquil music continues]
[tranquil music crescendos]
…leaving behind…
their vulnerable youngsters.
[tranquil music plays]
He might almost be the size of an adult,
but this massive chick is only nine months old.
Condors are the world's largest soaring birds.
And he could eventually have a wingspan of over ten feet.
For now though,
he's just learning how to use them.
[jaunty music plays]
He's getting braver.
[jaunty music continues]
[suspenseful music plays]
But attempting a first flight from here would be extremely risky.
[suspenseful music continues]
[wind rushing]
Best to head back to safety.
If he can.
[tranquil music plays]
His parents return.
[tranquil music continues]
And it's finally breakfast time.
To give him the best chance in life,
they will only raise one chick at a time.
But if all of their efforts are to pay off,
he must take to the skies himself.
[tranquil music plays]
Perhaps he needs to be shown how it's done.
[uplifting music plays]
It's time…
for his first-ever flight.
[uplifting music continues]
[uplifting music dwindles]
Well, it's a start.
[tense music plays]
[tranquil music plays]
Better.
[tranquil music continues]
These birds are too heavy to fly by flapping alone.
To stay aloft and travel long distances,
he must learn to ride the wind.
[uplifting music plays]
His parents lead him into the air currents and rising hot air thermals.
[uplifting music continues]
Their chick will stay with them for up to two years.
Until then, he'll be stretching his wings daily,
growing stronger, until he too can soar over the Andes.
[uplifting music continues]
[uplifting music fades]
[tranquil music plays]
Six hundred miles further north,
the landscape begins to change.
[tranquil music continues]
Here, it's dominated by volcanoes.
They scar the land with lava flows…
[tranquil music continues]
…between which grow primeval forests.
At the very northern edge, lies Conguillío National Park,
one of the last strongholds for the endangered Araucaria,
the monkey puzzle tree.
[tranquil music continues]
Growing to over 150 feet,
these giants were once a common sight across northern Patagonia.
But they were cut down to make way for farmland
and now only exist in small pockets of ancient woodland.
In the shadows of the monkey puzzle trees are the delicate beech forests…
home to animals found nowhere else on Earth.
The pudu…
the world's smallest deer.
This spotted baby could fit into the palm of your hand.
And the smallest wildcat of the Americas.
The kodkod isn't even as big as a pet cat.
Along with these miniature mammals,
the Valdivian forest
is also home to one of the most spectacular insects in the world.
[dramatic music plays]
The Chilean stag beetle…
named for the incredible antler-like jaws found on the males.
[tense music plays]
This one has picked up the scent of a female.
[tense music continues]
But she is 100 feet up
in the canopy of a beech tree.
[tense music continues]
For him, that's the equivalent of a person climbing the Eiffel Tower.
Twice.
[tense music continues]
Her seductive fragrance can be detected by males far and wide.
And the race is on.
[tense music continues]
Finally, he reaches the canopy ahead of his rivals…
[tense music continues]
…with the female in his sights.
[tense music fades]
But he has a challenger.
[suspenseful music plays]
They size each other up.
[dramatic music plays]
Now, those huge weapons come into their own.
[dramatic music plays]
One of the largest weapons to body size of any animal that has ever lived.
[dramatic music continues]
They have evolved to grasp
and lift.
[dramatic music continues]
His opponent strikes first.
[suspenseful music plays]
But he turns the tables
and gets the upper hand.
[suspenseful music continues]
[suspenseful music fades]
[jaunty music plays]
Finally, there's nothing between him and his mate.
[jaunty music continues]
[tranquil music plays]
As dusk falls over the park,
we are reminded of our place in the universe.
[tranquil music continues]
By carefully managing light pollution,
the celestial views above the reserves
have remained some of the darkest on Earth.
[tranquil music continues]
On a clear night, you can see the planets
of the solar system…
the stars of the Milky Way,
and the distant glow of our closest neighboring galaxies.
[tranquil music continues]
Even with the naked eye.
[tranquil music continues]
And under the cover of darkness,
one nocturnal forest resident is helping his home to regenerate.
Using new camera technology,
we can reveal his nighttime antics.
The monito del monte.
[jaunty music plays]
The "little monkey of the mountain."
[jaunty music continues]
But the monito isn't a monkey. He's a marsupial.
[jaunty music continues]
And although he is tiny…
these giant trees depend on him.
He will eat his entire body weight in food every night.
[tense music plays]
During his lifetime, he will help spread at least 20 different species of plant
by eating the fruits…
and dropping the seeds in new places.
[tense music continues]
As dawn begins to break,
he returns to his hidden nest to sleep.
[tranquil music plays]
And he is not alone.
[tranquil music continues]
These communal nests can contain up to ten unrelated monitos
huddling together.
[tranquil music continues]
With the help of these "little monkeys of the mountain,"
it is possible that a huge Valdivian forest
will once again stretch from the Andean mountains
to the Pacific Ocean.
[tranquil music continues]
[squawking]
Chile has more than 4,000 miles of winding Pacific coastline.
[tranquil music plays]
During the last ice age,
glaciers descended from the mountaintops to the sea.
[ice crashes]
[dramatic music plays]
As they moved,
they carved Patagonia's maze of deep coastal fjords.
[jaunty music plays]
Relatively few of these icy giants remain.
This is the San Rafael glacier.
[tranquil music plays]
[cooing]
Every spring, an ethereal song echoes around these fjords.
[cooing]
[somber music plays]
[deep sighing]
[cooing]
[somber music continues]
[cooing]
[somber music continues]
[cooing]
[somber music continues]
[deep sighing]
It's the haunting call of a male leopard seal.
[leopard seal sighs and coos]
[cooing]
He's here to take advantage of the icebergs to breed…
[cooing]
…and will sing day and night to attract a mate…
[leopard seal coos]
…skillfully crafting his love songs to incorporate a range of notes
and a variety of pitch.
[grunting]
Elements of his tuneful repertoire can be heard far and wide.
[cooing]
A female…
[cooing continues]
[high-pitched sigh]
…tunes into the male's song.
During the short breeding season,
leopard seals sing underwater all through the night.
[leopard seal sighs and coos]
Worn out from her nighttime courtship, she rests on the ice.
[grunting]
[cooing]
[grunting and cooing]
The serenade is enticing.
[cooing]
[hopeful music plays]
[cooing]
[hopeful music continues]
She approaches.
[hopeful music continues]
Only to find
her would-be suitor…
[cooing]
…isn't actually awake.
[cooing]
Scientists believe that during the breeding season,
leopard seals have such high levels of surging hormones…
[cooing]
…they even call while sleeping.
[grunts and sighs]
As the sun starts to sink…
[leopard seal sighs]
[hopeful music plays]
…he finally wakes up.
[grunts]
[hopeful music continues]
And they retreat beneath the ice to begin their courtship duet.
[hopeful music continues]
Whilst almost half of Chilean Patagonia's land is protected,
less than a fifth of its coastal waters are.
[waves crashing]
Seventy miles off the southern tip of mainland Chile
lie the sub-Antarctic Islands of Diego Ramírez,
one of Patagonia's few marine protected areas.
Off its shores, three oceans collide.
The Pacific to the west…
Atlantic to the east,
and to the south, the brutal Southern Ocean.
Despite being surrounded by some of the most treacherous seas in the world,
this place is brimming with life.
[soaring music plays]
The islands offer a safe haven for over two million nesting seabirds.
[soaring music continues]
Colonies of albatross carve rivers through the thick tussock grass.
[soaring music continues]
It's one of the world's few albatross colonies not in decline,
due to the lack of predators on the island
and the ban on fishing within the marine park.
[birds squawking]
Not all animals that live here have the luxury of arriving by air.
[tranquil music plays]
Southern rockhopper penguins nest here too.
[penguin squawks]
Penguin parents must take turns traveling hundreds of miles
in search of food for their hungry chicks.
[tense music plays]
They can be away for up to three days at a time.
[tense music continues]
But the most dangerous part of their journey
is the return.
[tense music continues]
Thrown by the swell to the shore.
[tense music continues]
Though the ocean is the least of their worries.
[suspenseful music plays]
South American sea lions patrol these waters.
[suspenseful music continues]
For every fishing party that returns…
[suspenseful music continues]
…some won't make it.
[birds squawking]
[suspenseful music plays]
A mother penguin runs the gauntlet
to return to her family.
But these sea lions swim three times faster.
[suspenseful music continues]
Her best chance of survival…
[suspenseful music continues]
…is to get out of the water.
[suspenseful music continues]
[suspenseful music fades]
Safe at last.
[suspenseful music plays]
Maybe not.
[suspenseful music continues]
[suspenseful music fades]
[tranquil music plays]
A narrow escape.
[tranquil music continues]
And now, the arduous climb back to the nest.
[tranquil music continues]
Just to feed their little one,
every penguin parent must put their life on the line…
taking turns making this trip for another six months,
until their chick is able to run the sea lion gauntlet.
[uplifting music plays]
This marine park now protects over 55,000 square miles of ocean…
and extends the wildlife conservation corridor of Chilean Patagonia
out toward the protected waters of Antarctica.
[uplifting music continues]
This network of parks now protects over 200 species of birds and mammals
across an astonishing variety of landscapes.
[uplifting music continues]
It's helping bring animals back from the brink of extinction.
But it's not just wildlife that is benefiting.
Ecotourism is predicted to bring hundreds of millions of dollars
to the local economy over the next ten years.
And it will have a far greater benefit
to every being on our planet.
In the fight against climate change,
this land and vegetation act like a sponge,
absorbing carbon dioxide,
making the region one of the largest carbon sinks in South America.
[uplifting music continues]
Give nature a chance and it will return.
Wilderness and wildlife can recover,
and balance can be restored.
Chilean Patagonia is an inspiring example
of what can be achieved when we work together with nature
and believe in the true value of our national parks.
[uplifting music crescendos]
[tranquil music plays]