00:00:01.023 --> 00:00:03.220
[gentle instrumental music]

00:00:03.220 --> 00:00:04.470
- [David] Let's face it,

00:00:04.470 --> 00:00:07.283
this isn't the world's
most charismatic creature.

00:00:09.030 --> 00:00:10.970
And neither is this.

00:00:10.970 --> 00:00:12.690
And these tiny crawlers,

00:00:12.690 --> 00:00:16.660
well, they don't look any cuter close up.

00:00:16.660 --> 00:00:20.880
But ants, and opossums and even vultures

00:00:20.880 --> 00:00:24.203
have something in common
with this beautiful fox.

00:00:26.500 --> 00:00:29.350
They can all be found
in our biggest cities,

00:00:29.350 --> 00:00:33.290
where they make a living
by reusing and recycling

00:00:33.290 --> 00:00:35.050
what we throw away.

00:00:35.050 --> 00:00:38.263
What we call garbage, they call dinner.

00:00:40.620 --> 00:00:42.360
We don't always welcome them,

00:00:46.030 --> 00:00:48.270
but a new generation of scientists

00:00:48.270 --> 00:00:50.780
is discovering their secret lives.

00:00:50.780 --> 00:00:55.740
- They're really in every urban
site that you can imagine.

00:00:55.740 --> 00:00:59.160
- [David] The surprising ways
they adapt to urban life.

00:00:59.160 --> 00:01:00.940
- Like have you spent a few minutes

00:01:00.940 --> 00:01:04.280
just watching the cool
things that they do?

00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:06.670
- [David] And why we should care.

00:01:06.670 --> 00:01:10.153
- There's really no other
species that can fill that role.

00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:14.670
- [David] Together, they
are the unsung heroes

00:01:14.670 --> 00:01:17.253
of nature's cleanup crew.

00:01:17.253 --> 00:01:21.003
[upbeat instrumental music]

00:01:32.500 --> 00:01:34.940
In the city that never sleeps,

00:01:34.940 --> 00:01:39.120
millions of tourists visit
Times Square every year.

00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:43.180
Most look up at the bright
lights and skyscrapers.

00:01:43.180 --> 00:01:46.700
Few notice the tiny
hustlers at their feet.

00:01:46.700 --> 00:01:51.590
If they did, they'd realize
there are ants on Broadway.

00:01:51.590 --> 00:01:53.060
Lots of them.

00:01:53.060 --> 00:01:56.227
The entire city has 8 million people

00:01:56.227 --> 00:01:59.443
and an estimated 16 billion ants.

00:02:01.050 --> 00:02:03.350
- Oh, the ant problem in
New York is off the hook.

00:02:03.350 --> 00:02:06.490
On a daily basis, I do pest control

00:02:06.490 --> 00:02:09.360
in one of the biggest
cities in the country.

00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:13.463
We basically deal with ants 24/7.

00:02:14.510 --> 00:02:18.480
I had a customer that
basically woke up one morning,

00:02:18.480 --> 00:02:21.850
made a cup of coffee and
basically swallowed ants.

00:02:21.850 --> 00:02:26.353
So until this day, he
doesn't drink coffee anymore.

00:02:28.320 --> 00:02:29.770
- [David] These out-of-towners

00:02:29.770 --> 00:02:32.800
have a more ant-positive perspective.

00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:35.130
They've come to New York to see the city

00:02:35.130 --> 00:02:36.823
from the ant's point of view.

00:02:39.320 --> 00:02:41.303
- So when I first came to Manhattan,

00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:45.440
we didn't even know
what species were here.

00:02:45.440 --> 00:02:48.430
And what we found was 23 different species

00:02:48.430 --> 00:02:49.723
of ants on Broadway.

00:02:55.600 --> 00:02:57.910
- There's 2,000 ants for every human

00:02:57.910 --> 00:02:59.540
and this just totally blew me away

00:02:59.540 --> 00:03:00.373
when I first came here.

00:03:00.373 --> 00:03:02.410
And I was like, you know,
I have to study this,

00:03:02.410 --> 00:03:03.650
I need to work in this city

00:03:03.650 --> 00:03:06.100
and understand what's
supporting all these species.

00:03:08.770 --> 00:03:11.040
- [David] Amy Savage and Clint Penick

00:03:11.040 --> 00:03:14.560
are among the world's
top urban entomologists.

00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:16.780
For nearly a decade, they've studied

00:03:16.780 --> 00:03:19.192
where the ants live.
- [Amy] Got some.

00:03:19.192 --> 00:03:21.270
- [David] How they interact,

00:03:21.270 --> 00:03:23.430
and even how long they take to hunt

00:03:23.430 --> 00:03:26.080
and carry off a fly larvae.

00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:27.123
- Ant on the card,

00:03:28.160 --> 00:03:30.590
in contact with larva,
intonation grabbing.

00:03:30.590 --> 00:03:31.490
It's picked it up.

00:03:32.780 --> 00:03:34.063
Larva off the card.

00:03:35.310 --> 00:03:37.570
- [David] This summer,
along with grad student

00:03:37.570 --> 00:03:41.950
Megan Rhone, their focus
is a rarely studied species

00:03:41.950 --> 00:03:44.460
called the pavement ant.

00:03:44.460 --> 00:03:46.210
- One of the big things that they do

00:03:46.210 --> 00:03:49.710
is they pick up the food that people drop.

00:03:49.710 --> 00:03:51.210
And that's something we study.

00:03:55.860 --> 00:03:57.200
- Maybe they're dropping their hot dog,

00:03:57.200 --> 00:03:59.060
more likely their hot dog bun,

00:03:59.060 --> 00:04:01.900
they're dropping chips, cookies--

00:04:01.900 --> 00:04:03.990
any kind of food that people drop,

00:04:03.990 --> 00:04:05.460
ants will clean that up for you.

00:04:05.460 --> 00:04:07.110
They're really great in that way.

00:04:08.100 --> 00:04:10.800
Hey guys, check out these
pavement ants on these chips.

00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:12.120
- [Amy] Oh, yeah, that's what it is.

00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:13.470
- There's ants all over it.

00:04:15.450 --> 00:04:17.940
Every time we drop
garbage on the sidewalk,

00:04:17.940 --> 00:04:20.000
ants are there to pick it up

00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:23.710
and clean up even when we're slobs.

00:04:23.710 --> 00:04:26.043
- [David] Foraging ants can lift

00:04:26.043 --> 00:04:27.490
over 10 times their weight.

00:04:27.490 --> 00:04:30.790
They have to be quick because
they've got competition

00:04:30.790 --> 00:04:33.780
from New York's massive rat population.

00:04:33.780 --> 00:04:35.970
Rats can be dangerous to humans.

00:04:35.970 --> 00:04:40.050
They transmit disease, but ants don't.

00:04:40.050 --> 00:04:42.200
So maybe we should be
rooting for the ants.

00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:46.480
- I think this looks like a good spot.

00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:47.530
- Yeah, I think so too.

00:04:48.760 --> 00:04:49.870
- [David] The team wants to know

00:04:49.870 --> 00:04:53.650
if ants or rats clean up more food waste.

00:04:53.650 --> 00:04:55.723
- Here, you place that down.
- Okay.

00:04:57.940 --> 00:04:59.820
- [David] A crushed donut goes in a cage

00:04:59.820 --> 00:05:02.863
that allows ants to
enter, but keeps out rats.

00:05:03.990 --> 00:05:04.823
- [Clint] Oh, that looks good.

00:05:04.823 --> 00:05:06.180
- Yeah, that's perfect, yeah.

00:05:09.270 --> 00:05:12.540
- [David] The same amount of
food goes outside the cage,

00:05:12.540 --> 00:05:14.553
where ants and rats can get it.

00:05:16.270 --> 00:05:19.063
Who will eat more is anybody's guess.

00:05:20.110 --> 00:05:21.510
- I might bet on the rats in this one

00:05:21.510 --> 00:05:23.130
'cause I saw the rat bro back there.

00:05:23.130 --> 00:05:26.680
So if it finds it, I think it'll be quick.

00:05:26.680 --> 00:05:27.513
- All right, yeah.

00:05:27.513 --> 00:05:29.781
- Let's see what happens.
- All right.

00:05:29.781 --> 00:05:33.531
[gentle instrumental music]

00:05:47.100 --> 00:05:48.300
- [David] In this contest,

00:05:48.300 --> 00:05:50.790
the rats get off to a fast start.

00:05:50.790 --> 00:05:53.500
They have a clear size advantage.

00:05:53.500 --> 00:05:55.860
But does size matter?

00:05:55.860 --> 00:05:57.603
Or will this be a numbers game?

00:05:59.019 --> 00:06:02.769
[upbeat instrumental music]

00:06:06.270 --> 00:06:07.990
- You guys ready?

00:06:10.619 --> 00:06:11.452
All right.

00:06:12.555 --> 00:06:13.843
- All right, what's it look like?

00:06:16.870 --> 00:06:19.579
- [Amy] Well the one from
rats has a little left.

00:06:19.579 --> 00:06:22.480
- Yeah, I for sure thought
rats would come out here

00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:23.703
and just scoop this up.

00:06:25.300 --> 00:06:26.450
Obviously, I was wrong.

00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:29.740
- Right now what it looks like

00:06:30.717 --> 00:06:31.960
is that just as much food is gone

00:06:31.960 --> 00:06:34.970
from the tray where it was just ants,

00:06:34.970 --> 00:06:38.580
as from the tray with ants plus rats.

00:06:38.580 --> 00:06:39.930
- I was amazed to find out

00:06:39.930 --> 00:06:41.920
that ants are actually eating as much

00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:45.200
if not more garbage than
rats are in the city.

00:06:45.200 --> 00:06:47.690
- [David] That means
less food for the rats,

00:06:47.690 --> 00:06:51.403
which also means fewer
rats to transmit disease.

00:06:53.220 --> 00:06:55.390
- So a lot of people find ants

00:06:55.390 --> 00:06:58.310
maybe useless or disgusting.

00:06:58.310 --> 00:06:59.660
And it's really unfortunate

00:06:59.660 --> 00:07:02.713
because they perform a number
of these ecosystem services.

00:07:05.830 --> 00:07:08.300
- We realized that
pavement ants in particular

00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:10.303
are basically nature's cleanup crew.

00:07:13.430 --> 00:07:15.110
- [David] On Broadway alone,

00:07:15.110 --> 00:07:17.640
pavement ants consume the equivalent

00:07:17.640 --> 00:07:20.900
of a quarter million donuts per year.

00:07:20.900 --> 00:07:24.330
If you piled them up, they
would reach twice the height

00:07:24.330 --> 00:07:25.993
of the Empire State Building.

00:07:27.297 --> 00:07:30.380
[traffic noise]

00:07:34.043 --> 00:07:35.540
- Oh my, you guys come here.

00:07:35.540 --> 00:07:37.280
- Oh, wow, they're super active.

00:07:37.280 --> 00:07:39.330
- Maybe it's from all
the sugar in the cereal.

00:07:39.330 --> 00:07:40.871
- [Amy] Maybe! [laughing]

00:07:40.871 --> 00:07:43.510
- [David] These female
foraging ants are on a mission

00:07:43.510 --> 00:07:46.173
to take food home to their community.

00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:48.513
- Do you think one of these ants

00:07:48.513 --> 00:07:50.830
could actually pick up a
whole piece of a cereal?

00:07:50.830 --> 00:07:51.810
- Not a whole one,

00:07:51.810 --> 00:07:54.350
but sometimes you'll see two or three ants

00:07:54.350 --> 00:07:56.363
carrying a big piece of food away.

00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:00.420
- [David] In a way, they're commuters,

00:08:00.420 --> 00:08:03.260
because they don't live in Manhattan.

00:08:03.260 --> 00:08:05.490
They live under it.

00:08:05.490 --> 00:08:06.940
In an unseen world,

00:08:06.940 --> 00:08:08.700
beneath the human city,

00:08:08.700 --> 00:08:11.450
are many complex ant cities

00:08:11.450 --> 00:08:15.073
where foragers return with food
for their mother, the queen.

00:08:17.700 --> 00:08:21.280
Most of her eggs will
become new female workers

00:08:21.280 --> 00:08:24.753
who do increasingly difficult
tasks as they get older.

00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:27.400
- [Amy] They'll start as nurses

00:08:27.400 --> 00:08:28.810
and then they'll move on

00:08:28.810 --> 00:08:32.050
and start working on nest maintenance.

00:08:32.050 --> 00:08:34.150
And then as they get older and older,

00:08:34.150 --> 00:08:35.710
they go out and become foragers,

00:08:35.710 --> 00:08:38.993
which is of course the most
dangerous part of an ant's life.

00:08:40.430 --> 00:08:42.720
- [David] And it's the oldest female ants

00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:44.710
who are on the frontlines.

00:08:44.710 --> 00:08:47.030
- And E.O. Wilson, the famous biologist,

00:08:47.030 --> 00:08:48.880
has a statement something like,

00:08:48.880 --> 00:08:51.370
"Humans send their young men to war,

00:08:51.370 --> 00:08:53.153
"and ants send their grandmas."

00:08:55.880 --> 00:08:58.410
- [David] Without the
grandmas' fight to get food,

00:08:58.410 --> 00:09:01.563
their colony could not
survive or reproduce.

00:09:03.220 --> 00:09:05.390
And when these ants do reproduce,

00:09:05.390 --> 00:09:08.530
they do it in spectacular fashion.

00:09:08.530 --> 00:09:12.540
This is one time when
lowly ants do get noticed

00:09:12.540 --> 00:09:14.493
because they become airborne.

00:09:16.050 --> 00:09:17.780
- And what happens is

00:09:17.780 --> 00:09:19.220
they all fly into the air

00:09:19.220 --> 00:09:21.890
and they mate in the air.

00:09:21.890 --> 00:09:24.820
And in some species the queen
will mate with multiple males,

00:09:24.820 --> 00:09:26.610
most species just one,

00:09:26.610 --> 00:09:29.330
and then they all fall to the ground.

00:09:29.330 --> 00:09:30.761
Males die, they're done.

00:09:32.390 --> 00:09:35.477
- [David] For some New
Yorkers like this man,

00:09:35.477 --> 00:09:37.323
the only good ant is a dead ant.

00:09:39.530 --> 00:09:40.910
- I just received a phone call

00:09:40.910 --> 00:09:44.510
from a client out in Staten
Island with an ant problem.

00:09:44.510 --> 00:09:47.640
So we're heading out there
now to eradicate that problem.

00:09:47.640 --> 00:09:51.153
She really hates ants and she's
super freaked out by them.

00:09:52.130 --> 00:09:55.040
Okay Agatha, seems that
we found the problem here.

00:09:55.040 --> 00:09:57.870
You have an infestation
with pavement ants.

00:09:58.910 --> 00:10:02.120
- Oh, what freaks me out
is they're gross looking

00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:03.730
and they have these creepy legs,

00:10:03.730 --> 00:10:05.240
and then they're so small

00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:08.450
that they can actually fit in,
like, every little crevice.

00:10:08.450 --> 00:10:11.000
So they serve no purpose
aside from infestation

00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:13.703
and being a nuisance and causing problems.

00:10:15.860 --> 00:10:17.650
- When I tell someone
that I'm an ant biologist,

00:10:17.650 --> 00:10:19.580
there's always two questions I get asked.

00:10:19.580 --> 00:10:20.910
The first question is,

00:10:20.910 --> 00:10:23.440
"Can you tell me what the
ants are in my kitchen?"

00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:25.663
And the second question
is, "How do I kill them?"

00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:29.440
- I understand not wanting ants

00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:31.970
walking on your food in your kitchen,

00:10:31.970 --> 00:10:33.700
but you know there are ways

00:10:34.656 --> 00:10:37.180
to deal with that particular behavior

00:10:37.180 --> 00:10:40.920
while still embracing
the wonderful services

00:10:40.920 --> 00:10:43.620
that they provide us,
especially when they're outside.

00:10:46.300 --> 00:10:48.260
- [David] He may win this battle,

00:10:48.260 --> 00:10:50.310
but he'll never win the war,

00:10:50.310 --> 00:10:52.650
because on our entire planet

00:10:52.650 --> 00:10:56.183
ants outnumber humans by a million to one.

00:10:58.510 --> 00:11:01.240
- Ants are definitely abundant in cities,

00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:02.950
successful in cities.

00:11:02.950 --> 00:11:04.100
And then they're actually
doing some good work

00:11:04.100 --> 00:11:06.200
for us as well, which is good to find out.

00:11:10.030 --> 00:11:11.750
- So I think that, in a way,

00:11:11.750 --> 00:11:14.779
we need to have more
empathy with the species

00:11:14.779 --> 00:11:15.612
that share our cities.

00:11:15.612 --> 00:11:17.260
And really embrace the fact that

00:11:17.260 --> 00:11:20.010
we do live in a diverse world,
and that's a good thing.

00:11:22.100 --> 00:11:23.530
If ants could speak to us,

00:11:23.530 --> 00:11:26.877
I feel like ants would
say, "Just let us be.

00:11:27.819 --> 00:11:28.819
"Let us do our thing.

00:11:30.420 --> 00:11:31.520
"It'll be good for you."

00:11:34.830 --> 00:11:37.630
- [David] Ants aren't
the only unsung heroes

00:11:37.630 --> 00:11:39.733
in nature's cleanup crew.

00:11:40.741 --> 00:11:44.408
[upbeat instrumental music]

00:11:53.630 --> 00:11:55.800
- They have that long rat-like tail.

00:11:55.800 --> 00:11:56.900
They've got that nose

00:11:56.900 --> 00:11:58.740
that's like a star-nosed
mole kind of thing,

00:11:58.740 --> 00:12:00.144
where it just comes out at you

00:12:00.144 --> 00:12:01.567
and it's the first thing you see.

00:12:03.857 --> 00:12:05.020
And they've got little red eyes,

00:12:05.020 --> 00:12:07.410
and then they're just sort of pointed.

00:12:07.410 --> 00:12:10.893
- [Male] A baby opossum is
the stuck in the chicken food.

00:12:12.390 --> 00:12:13.223
Oh my god.

00:12:14.650 --> 00:12:17.317
- But when you see them,
it's very upsetting.

00:12:24.350 --> 00:12:26.600
- People will call into our hotline,

00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:29.560
they're like, "It's
just like a giant rat,"

00:12:29.560 --> 00:12:30.920
but it's definitely not a rat.

00:12:30.920 --> 00:12:32.940
Like, it's indescribable animal.

00:12:32.940 --> 00:12:35.123
As soon as they hear, like,

00:12:36.729 --> 00:12:38.340
"Oh, and it's got this pointy face."

00:12:38.340 --> 00:12:41.115
They're like, "Oh, you're talking
about a Virginia opossum."

00:12:43.970 --> 00:12:46.650
- [David] When left alone,
the Virginia opossum

00:12:46.650 --> 00:12:49.063
prefers a quiet, solitary life.

00:12:50.094 --> 00:12:53.420
If one is nearby, you might not know it,

00:12:53.420 --> 00:12:56.080
even if you are an urban wildlife expert

00:12:56.080 --> 00:12:57.383
like Suzanne MacDonald.

00:12:59.760 --> 00:13:01.380
- My background is a little bit weird.

00:13:01.380 --> 00:13:04.130
I am a psychologist who
studies animal behavior,

00:13:04.130 --> 00:13:05.383
not human behavior.

00:13:06.280 --> 00:13:09.840
About 10 years ago, I started
doing studies on raccoons,

00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:12.570
urban raccoons that live
with us in the city.

00:13:12.570 --> 00:13:15.510
It was mostly motivated by laziness

00:13:15.510 --> 00:13:17.690
because they were in my backyard,

00:13:17.690 --> 00:13:19.333
so why not study them?

00:13:20.974 --> 00:13:22.950
- [Male] How smart he is, look at him go.

00:13:22.950 --> 00:13:24.870
- [Suzanne] But also because
I was really really interested

00:13:24.870 --> 00:13:28.203
in these animals that everyone
thought were super smart.

00:13:30.391 --> 00:13:32.391
- [Male] Look at him go.

00:13:33.750 --> 00:13:36.740
- [David] While Suzanne
studied raccoon behavior,

00:13:36.740 --> 00:13:39.123
her yard was visited by an opossum.

00:13:42.380 --> 00:13:45.330
- Nothing prepares you for an opossum.

00:13:45.330 --> 00:13:48.938
Like, they have a face only
a mother could love, really,

00:13:48.938 --> 00:13:51.153
they are such a weird-looking animal.

00:13:53.590 --> 00:13:56.240
I find opossums really interesting

00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:57.990
and also strangely charming

00:13:57.990 --> 00:14:00.783
because they are just super unusual.

00:14:04.970 --> 00:14:07.240
- [David] Suzanne has
designed an experiment

00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:09.710
to find out who will come to clean up food

00:14:09.710 --> 00:14:11.083
left out in her yard.

00:14:15.730 --> 00:14:17.430
- I have cameras set
up all around the yard

00:14:17.430 --> 00:14:20.113
so they can get all the
different angles of the chicken.

00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:25.820
Everybody who's in the vicinity

00:14:25.820 --> 00:14:27.550
will probably get the memo

00:14:27.550 --> 00:14:30.100
that there's a chicken
available in the backyard,

00:14:30.100 --> 00:14:32.020
so let's watch to see what happens.

00:14:41.870 --> 00:14:43.410
- [David] After night falls,

00:14:43.410 --> 00:14:45.793
the backyard receives some dinner guests.

00:14:49.190 --> 00:14:51.490
- [Suzanne] It's sort of a
battle out there of, you know,

00:14:51.490 --> 00:14:53.570
first the skunks, then the raccoons.

00:14:53.570 --> 00:14:55.730
And I think it's pretty cool to think that

00:14:55.730 --> 00:14:58.730
as soon as we go to bed,
everything else comes out.

00:15:00.839 --> 00:15:04.506
[playful instrumental music]

00:15:19.280 --> 00:15:21.440
- [David] After everyone else goes home,

00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:25.059
an opossum arrives, late to the party.

00:15:25.059 --> 00:15:28.726
[upbeat instrumental music]

00:15:37.930 --> 00:15:39.450
- Because they really don't

00:15:39.450 --> 00:15:41.650
have the ability to fight anybody off,

00:15:41.650 --> 00:15:43.760
they pretty much get whatever's left over

00:15:43.760 --> 00:15:45.940
after the raccoons are done with it.

00:15:45.940 --> 00:15:48.250
And opossums can digest bone,

00:15:48.250 --> 00:15:50.110
and they can digest pretty much anything.

00:15:50.110 --> 00:15:51.583
They eat everything.

00:15:53.340 --> 00:15:55.030
Whenever people say,
"Oh, I don't like them,"

00:15:55.030 --> 00:15:57.060
I always say, "Let me
sell you on opossums."

00:15:57.060 --> 00:15:58.610
And one of the things about opossums

00:15:58.610 --> 00:16:00.423
is that they also eat ticks.

00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:06.613
- Look at that, that is
so horribly disgusting.

00:16:08.970 --> 00:16:10.740
- [Suzanne] We know that in the city,

00:16:10.740 --> 00:16:13.500
pretty sizable proportion
of ticks carry Lyme disease,

00:16:13.500 --> 00:16:15.893
and opossums will eat
them with great delight.

00:16:18.180 --> 00:16:20.710
- [David] Lyme disease causes severe pain

00:16:20.710 --> 00:16:22.153
and can be hard to treat.

00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:28.840
An opossum can eat up
to 4,000 ticks a week.

00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:32.380
They provide this service in
backyards throughout Toronto,

00:16:32.380 --> 00:16:35.023
even though they don't
exactly belong here.

00:16:36.880 --> 00:16:39.110
The Virginia opossum is native

00:16:39.110 --> 00:16:41.370
to the southern United States.

00:16:41.370 --> 00:16:43.990
But in recent years, climate change

00:16:43.990 --> 00:16:46.203
has extended its habitat north.

00:16:47.830 --> 00:16:51.960
In Canada and the US,
it's the only marsupial,

00:16:51.960 --> 00:16:55.353
a close relative of this
more familiar animal.

00:16:56.850 --> 00:16:58.510
Like all marsupials,

00:16:58.510 --> 00:17:02.100
opossums give birth to
tiny undeveloped babies

00:17:02.100 --> 00:17:04.583
that make their way to
their mother's pouch.

00:17:05.830 --> 00:17:07.720
- She has 13 nipples.

00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:10.390
If there are more babies than
that, the rest of them die.

00:17:10.390 --> 00:17:13.540
It's like a terrible
game of musical chairs.

00:17:13.540 --> 00:17:16.070
They grow for about three months,

00:17:16.070 --> 00:17:17.948
they come out and then they'll go up

00:17:17.948 --> 00:17:19.750
on their mom's back to
travel around with her.

00:17:19.750 --> 00:17:21.660
She can have two litters a year.

00:17:21.660 --> 00:17:23.960
So if you have 26 babies a year,

00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:26.250
you're doing pretty well evolutionarily.

00:17:26.250 --> 00:17:28.980
I mean, most of them may die,

00:17:28.980 --> 00:17:32.813
but you're pretty sure that
some of them will live.

00:17:36.300 --> 00:17:39.740
- [David] And sometimes they
could use some help from us

00:17:39.740 --> 00:17:42.170
to increase their odds of survival.

00:17:42.170 --> 00:17:44.233
- Okay, I'll meet you out there.

00:17:48.850 --> 00:17:50.820
Looks like there's a couple up there,

00:17:50.820 --> 00:17:52.720
and a couple down in here

00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:53.770
I'll use the ladder.

00:17:53.770 --> 00:17:55.700
I'll go up and then I'll
hand them down to you

00:17:55.700 --> 00:17:56.533
one at a time.

00:17:59.820 --> 00:18:02.340
- [David] Their injured
mother was rescued,

00:18:02.340 --> 00:18:03.983
but died in surgery.

00:18:07.530 --> 00:18:10.930
- These possums had a hard start to life.

00:18:10.930 --> 00:18:14.870
They were discovered
in their mother's pouch

00:18:14.870 --> 00:18:17.683
at a very very small age,
they had just been born.

00:18:23.340 --> 00:18:25.110
- Opossums are gentle little creatures

00:18:25.110 --> 00:18:28.163
and they really have no
defense against predators,

00:18:29.120 --> 00:18:30.910
which is why they don't live very long.

00:18:30.910 --> 00:18:32.230
But their big thing,

00:18:32.230 --> 00:18:35.480
their big go-to move when they are afraid,

00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:37.633
is to fall over as if they're dead.

00:18:39.590 --> 00:18:41.320
- [David] To complete the illusion,

00:18:41.320 --> 00:18:44.570
they exude a smell like rotting meat.

00:18:44.570 --> 00:18:47.693
After a while, they jump
up like nothing happened.

00:18:48.540 --> 00:18:50.820
It may look like a clever trick,

00:18:50.820 --> 00:18:52.800
but it's really an instinct,

00:18:52.800 --> 00:18:55.393
an evolutionary survival mechanism.

00:18:56.340 --> 00:18:58.540
- So we don't know very much
about opossum intelligence

00:18:58.540 --> 00:19:01.400
and I think that's because
they kind of are slow-moving

00:19:01.400 --> 00:19:02.640
and they're weird looking

00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:05.183
and people think that they
must therefore be dumb.

00:19:10.040 --> 00:19:11.540
- [David] Suzanne wants to know

00:19:11.540 --> 00:19:13.733
if the conventional wisdom is true.

00:19:15.170 --> 00:19:17.330
- So this is a dog toy,

00:19:17.330 --> 00:19:19.230
and it's supposed to challenge dogs

00:19:19.230 --> 00:19:20.530
who are left home alone.

00:19:20.530 --> 00:19:22.770
So it gives them something to think about.

00:19:22.770 --> 00:19:25.150
And I thought, this is a great idea

00:19:25.150 --> 00:19:26.990
to test for the possums

00:19:26.990 --> 00:19:29.970
because it's colorful,
it will attract them

00:19:29.970 --> 00:19:32.003
and it's got hidden compartments.

00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:36.070
- [David] There is some food
in the pink compartments.

00:19:36.070 --> 00:19:37.640
But to get all the food,

00:19:37.640 --> 00:19:39.860
the opossum will need to figure out

00:19:39.860 --> 00:19:42.353
that you need to remove the white bones.

00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:46.760
After Suzanne conducts the experiment,

00:19:46.760 --> 00:19:49.640
she reviews surveillance video.

00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:51.813
- Oh my, she just comes in nose a-goin'.

00:19:52.676 --> 00:19:56.343
[playful instrumental music]

00:19:59.120 --> 00:20:01.713
Oh my god, look at her!

00:20:05.540 --> 00:20:07.630
She's doing exactly what a dog does.

00:20:10.600 --> 00:20:12.033
She took the bone out!

00:20:13.560 --> 00:20:14.860
She removed the center portion,

00:20:14.860 --> 00:20:16.780
which is exactly what the
dogs are supposed to do

00:20:16.780 --> 00:20:18.010
to solve the toy.

00:20:20.490 --> 00:20:23.370
So she figured out the
flipping the lids instantly

00:20:23.370 --> 00:20:26.320
and went for those bones
and just chomped 'em

00:20:26.320 --> 00:20:27.670
and got 'em out of the way.

00:20:30.590 --> 00:20:33.063
I was completely gobsmacked by that.

00:20:34.840 --> 00:20:37.500
That dog toy is a challenge for dogs,

00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:40.110
and the opossum figured it out.

00:20:40.110 --> 00:20:42.290
She really showed me something
I didn't think they had

00:20:42.290 --> 00:20:44.293
so, you know, looks can be deceiving.

00:20:47.470 --> 00:20:49.100
- Timing feels good,

00:20:49.100 --> 00:20:50.400
sun's beginning to set,

00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:51.510
we should be at the release site

00:20:51.510 --> 00:20:53.410
right before sunset.
- Perfect, okay.

00:20:54.680 --> 00:20:57.500
- [David] The young opossums
are now four months old

00:20:57.500 --> 00:20:59.557
and ready to live on their own.

00:21:00.670 --> 00:21:01.740
- [Andrew] Virginia opossums are

00:21:01.740 --> 00:21:04.090
primarily active at nighttime.

00:21:04.090 --> 00:21:07.820
So we wanna put them out
at their comfort time.

00:21:07.820 --> 00:21:09.970
And being early in the evening,

00:21:09.970 --> 00:21:12.800
it gives them the entire
night to move around,

00:21:12.800 --> 00:21:15.790
find food, find shelter, and just discover

00:21:15.790 --> 00:21:17.533
their new life in the wild.

00:21:18.430 --> 00:21:19.380
- Yeah, we're good.

00:21:21.400 --> 00:21:23.410
- [David] This urban park is very near

00:21:23.410 --> 00:21:24.973
where their mother was found.

00:21:27.260 --> 00:21:29.330
- Collect an animal that needs rehab

00:21:29.330 --> 00:21:31.680
from a spot, that's it's home.

00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:33.900
When you fix it, it
should be returned home.

00:21:33.900 --> 00:21:35.280
So just because you think,

00:21:35.280 --> 00:21:38.520
"Oh, there's a beautiful
forest five blocks down

00:21:38.520 --> 00:21:39.353
"the other place--

00:21:39.353 --> 00:21:41.060
that animal's never been there before,

00:21:41.060 --> 00:21:42.240
and there's probably another animal

00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:43.580
that is already living there

00:21:43.580 --> 00:21:45.120
that's not gonna want them there.

00:21:45.120 --> 00:21:47.460
And they're gonna fight, possibly,

00:21:47.460 --> 00:21:50.270
and it could maybe even
cost them their life

00:21:50.270 --> 00:21:52.020
if you take them to the wrong spot.

00:21:56.120 --> 00:21:57.330
- [Female] Just around the corner.

00:21:57.330 --> 00:21:58.880
- Yeah, just around the corner.

00:22:01.250 --> 00:22:02.450
For opossums specifically,

00:22:02.450 --> 00:22:04.680
we're looking for a lot of down debris

00:22:04.680 --> 00:22:06.040
that they can just kind of hide in

00:22:06.040 --> 00:22:11.040
and have natural spots to feel
safe in right off the bat.

00:22:12.868 --> 00:22:16.535
[gentle instrumental music]

00:22:24.980 --> 00:22:26.730
Alright, I'm gonna open the kennel.

00:22:28.170 --> 00:22:29.780
- People at parties always say,

00:22:29.780 --> 00:22:32.080
"Oh, these opossums, we
have to get rid of them."

00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:38.270
They say opossums are ugly.

00:22:38.270 --> 00:22:39.720
Yes, they are, they are ugly, but..

00:22:39.720 --> 00:22:42.680
They say that they're dangerous

00:22:42.680 --> 00:22:44.200
because they're gonna bite people.

00:22:44.200 --> 00:22:45.400
They don't bite people.

00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:46.880
They say they dig up their yards.

00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:49.000
They do not, they only
use burrows and dens

00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:50.490
used by other animals,

00:22:50.490 --> 00:22:52.733
so they're not doing that at all.

00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:56.890
They say they carry rabies,
that they spread disease.

00:22:56.890 --> 00:22:58.790
They do not do that.

00:22:58.790 --> 00:23:00.010
In fact, they eat all the ticks

00:23:00.010 --> 00:23:02.443
and things that we
don't want in our yards.

00:23:04.330 --> 00:23:07.460
So pretty much every
misconception, I can say,

00:23:07.460 --> 00:23:08.643
"No, that's not true."

00:23:10.130 --> 00:23:11.380
And the more we learn about them,

00:23:11.380 --> 00:23:13.380
the more we're gonna love them, I think.

00:23:16.600 --> 00:23:18.383
- [Andrew] You worry
about them a little bit.

00:23:18.383 --> 00:23:21.250
They're so small going
into the big, wild city.

00:23:21.250 --> 00:23:25.303
But end of the day, this
is the best moment, yeah.

00:23:33.840 --> 00:23:35.100
That was really nice.

00:23:36.058 --> 00:23:37.947
- [Female Rescue Worker] That was perfect.

00:23:39.648 --> 00:23:43.315
[upbeat dance music]

00:23:50.737 --> 00:23:53.443
- [David] Berlin is famous
for its wild nightlife.

00:23:55.560 --> 00:23:59.260
Less well known is its night wildlife.

00:23:59.260 --> 00:24:02.830
Foxes are newcomers to the big city.

00:24:02.830 --> 00:24:04.820
Like tourists on a pub crawl,

00:24:04.820 --> 00:24:07.220
they don't stay long in one place.

00:24:07.220 --> 00:24:09.473
You see them, and then you don't.

00:24:17.840 --> 00:24:21.040
Evolutionary ecologist Sophia Kimmig

00:24:21.040 --> 00:24:24.160
is on a mission to uncover the secret life

00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:27.293
of Berlin's most elusive party animals.

00:24:28.800 --> 00:24:31.680
- What I personally find
really interesting about foxes

00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:34.990
is that they are kind of torn

00:24:34.990 --> 00:24:37.233
between curiosity and fear always.

00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:39.930
They colonize novel habitats,

00:24:39.930 --> 00:24:42.740
so they have to have a
certain level of curiosity

00:24:42.740 --> 00:24:45.040
and boldness to make that step

00:24:45.040 --> 00:24:46.700
that other wildlife would never do.

00:24:46.700 --> 00:24:47.680
And on the other hand,

00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:49.870
they are so shy and careful

00:24:49.870 --> 00:24:53.350
and they try to avoid us
wherever possible sometimes.

00:24:53.350 --> 00:24:56.070
And it's really fascinating

00:24:56.070 --> 00:24:59.243
how they're torn between
those two extreme sides.

00:25:02.760 --> 00:25:05.151
I was always interested in mammals,

00:25:05.151 --> 00:25:08.120
but I have to admit that the fox

00:25:08.120 --> 00:25:10.883
somehow managed to make
me fall in love with it.

00:25:13.220 --> 00:25:16.553
- [David] This warm feeling
is not shared by everyone.

00:25:18.070 --> 00:25:21.240
- Many people think that
wildlife in the city

00:25:21.240 --> 00:25:22.490
is something like a pest.

00:25:23.360 --> 00:25:25.430
Foxes have a lot of fans out there.

00:25:25.430 --> 00:25:28.720
They just also have people
that really dislike them.

00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:31.750
People enjoy wildlife as
long as it's far enough--

00:25:31.750 --> 00:25:32.803
far enough away.

00:25:34.810 --> 00:25:37.220
I think some of the negative perspectives

00:25:37.220 --> 00:25:39.500
are a historic relic

00:25:39.500 --> 00:25:42.880
because they used to be a
carrier of severe diseases,

00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:46.230
so people actually had
reason to be afraid of them.

00:25:46.230 --> 00:25:50.563
But in our days, we do not
have those diseases anymore.

00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:54.460
- [David] It's quite
obvious that foxes are here

00:25:54.460 --> 00:25:56.530
for the easy pickings.

00:25:56.530 --> 00:25:58.820
They have become the newest members

00:25:58.820 --> 00:26:00.473
of nature's cleanup crew.

00:26:01.900 --> 00:26:04.720
- They will not collect our
plastics and recycle them,

00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:08.440
but when we throw food, they eat it.

00:26:08.440 --> 00:26:13.050
So they kind of clean
up behind messy people.

00:26:13.050 --> 00:26:14.700
And the other thing is that

00:26:14.700 --> 00:26:17.750
we have rodents and we
have rats in the city,

00:26:17.750 --> 00:26:19.143
and foxes hunt them,

00:26:21.170 --> 00:26:24.293
and they eliminate pest species.

00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:28.770
We have some areas in the city

00:26:28.770 --> 00:26:30.623
where we have too many rabbits.

00:26:32.189 --> 00:26:36.473
And the city is almost desperate
about getting rid of them.

00:26:40.790 --> 00:26:43.303
- [David] The prolific
rabbits devour gardens,

00:26:44.950 --> 00:26:47.363
and their burrows undermine roads.

00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:54.740
- Foxes hunt them, and you
don't have to make them do it,

00:26:54.740 --> 00:26:56.187
they just do it.

00:26:56.187 --> 00:27:00.160
So in this case, they
help the city of Berlin

00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:02.233
to reduce the rabbit population.

00:27:04.840 --> 00:27:07.440
- [David] In a single year, Berlin foxes

00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:10.980
feast on more than a
million rodents and rabbits

00:27:10.980 --> 00:27:13.260
and eat enough cast-off food

00:27:13.260 --> 00:27:17.383
to divert at least 30 truckloads
of waste from landfill.

00:27:21.790 --> 00:27:24.330
Foxes enjoy the street food.

00:27:24.330 --> 00:27:26.680
But can these woodland creatures

00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:29.563
really thrive amid the
concrete and the noise?

00:27:36.229 --> 00:27:38.510
- And I'm interested in,
how do they cope with that?

00:27:38.510 --> 00:27:39.510
Where do they go?

00:27:39.510 --> 00:27:43.070
Where do they find spots
where they can still hide?

00:27:43.070 --> 00:27:44.480
Where do they breed?

00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:46.530
How do they change by living in the city?

00:27:48.060 --> 00:27:49.160
- [David] To find out,

00:27:49.160 --> 00:27:51.793
Sophia plans to monitor their movements.

00:27:53.020 --> 00:27:55.333
But first, she'll need to catch one.

00:27:57.029 --> 00:28:00.696
[playful instrumental music]

00:28:04.709 --> 00:28:07.350
In the wild, the fox's
acute sense of smell

00:28:07.350 --> 00:28:09.040
would warn her about objects

00:28:09.040 --> 00:28:12.100
that have been touched
by dangerous humans.

00:28:12.100 --> 00:28:15.820
But in the city, everything
smells like humans,

00:28:15.820 --> 00:28:18.613
so it's hard for her to recognize a trap.

00:28:31.390 --> 00:28:33.370
Under Sophia's direction,

00:28:33.370 --> 00:28:37.300
the fox will be sedated and
fitted with a GPS collar

00:28:37.300 --> 00:28:39.363
that can record where it goes.

00:28:41.710 --> 00:28:43.760
- Some people are concerned, like,

00:28:43.760 --> 00:28:45.600
those poor foxes get those collars

00:28:45.600 --> 00:28:47.500
and have to walk around with them.

00:28:47.500 --> 00:28:51.040
But for me the more relevant question is,

00:28:52.657 --> 00:28:54.693
are those foxes okay in the city?

00:28:57.679 --> 00:29:00.163
[conversing in German]

00:29:04.820 --> 00:29:06.900
- [David] Sophia's radio direction finder

00:29:06.900 --> 00:29:10.363
will help her find the fox
and retrieve location data.

00:29:13.877 --> 00:29:17.544
[gentle instrumental music]

00:29:25.237 --> 00:29:29.137
There's a good chance that
while she looks for the fox,

00:29:29.137 --> 00:29:31.083
the fox is watching her.

00:29:33.840 --> 00:29:35.850
- Actually I will not see it, probably,

00:29:35.850 --> 00:29:37.680
because they are hidden somewhere.

00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:40.230
They're really good in
hiding right in front of us.

00:29:41.260 --> 00:29:42.307
If you walk around here

00:29:42.307 --> 00:29:43.820
you can realize that there is

00:29:43.820 --> 00:29:46.430
a very distinct foxy smell in the air,

00:29:46.430 --> 00:29:48.160
so I know that there are some.

00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:51.783
But what I'm really interested
in now is if my fox is here.

00:29:53.010 --> 00:29:56.630
Yeah, when we hear that sound,
then we are quite close.

00:29:56.630 --> 00:29:58.620
And when you're lucky
then you get close enough

00:29:58.620 --> 00:29:59.570
to get to the data.

00:30:02.298 --> 00:30:05.965
[gentle instrumental music]

00:30:11.330 --> 00:30:14.460
We just uploaded this from last week.

00:30:14.460 --> 00:30:18.120
So we can see now for every four minutes

00:30:18.120 --> 00:30:20.550
where the fox has been in the last week.

00:30:20.550 --> 00:30:23.310
- [David] This is just one of 17 foxes

00:30:23.310 --> 00:30:25.293
that Sophia is spying on.

00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:28.050
- So every color that you see here

00:30:28.050 --> 00:30:29.390
is a different individual.

00:30:29.390 --> 00:30:31.590
Like the pink one is a
female fox down here,

00:30:31.590 --> 00:30:32.970
which is a coincidence.

00:30:32.970 --> 00:30:35.360
And the blue one up here

00:30:35.360 --> 00:30:37.540
was the one living in
the presidential garden.

00:30:37.540 --> 00:30:39.600
When the fox go somewhere more often,

00:30:39.600 --> 00:30:41.193
then the color's more bright.

00:30:42.130 --> 00:30:44.540
Here, you can perfectly
see that there are spots

00:30:44.540 --> 00:30:47.390
that they prefer to use or
where they spend lots of time.

00:30:50.080 --> 00:30:53.390
- [David] Now, Sophia can
visit these secret places

00:30:53.390 --> 00:30:57.350
to discover how foxes
are adapting to the city.

00:30:57.350 --> 00:31:00.900
It turns out, they have
found places to hide

00:31:00.900 --> 00:31:03.323
and secluded homes for their young.

00:31:05.180 --> 00:31:07.953
But the data also show another side.

00:31:09.680 --> 00:31:11.410
- This is a really big street

00:31:11.410 --> 00:31:12.830
that is crowded with traffic,

00:31:12.830 --> 00:31:14.793
and it's crossing it continuously.

00:31:15.810 --> 00:31:19.693
So we can see why the lifespan
of an urban fox is so short.

00:31:21.420 --> 00:31:25.540
It's really hard to have a definite answer

00:31:25.540 --> 00:31:28.290
to the question whether
they're doing well here or not.

00:31:29.600 --> 00:31:32.663
- [David] Sophia can't make
the city safe for foxes,

00:31:33.724 --> 00:31:37.123
but she hopes to convince more
Berliners to welcome them.

00:31:39.260 --> 00:31:42.970
- There actually are services
that wildlife provides,

00:31:42.970 --> 00:31:47.330
like collecting garbage,
killing rats in the city.

00:31:47.330 --> 00:31:50.750
On the other side, wildlife
has an intrinsic value

00:31:50.750 --> 00:31:55.020
beyond any kind of service
that it can have for us.

00:31:55.020 --> 00:31:57.520
I would really love to one day

00:31:57.520 --> 00:31:59.533
see the city through the eyes of a fox.

00:32:00.607 --> 00:32:04.274
[gentle instrumental music]

00:32:08.750 --> 00:32:11.040
- [David] So far, we've met scavengers

00:32:11.040 --> 00:32:14.720
that clean up trash that we
can clean up for ourselves.

00:32:14.720 --> 00:32:16.753
But we have bigger problems.

00:32:17.660 --> 00:32:18.950
- [Reporter] A huge new leak,

00:32:18.950 --> 00:32:21.563
one of the biggest oil spills ever.

00:32:23.400 --> 00:32:25.240
- [David] Can nature's cleanup crew

00:32:25.240 --> 00:32:26.733
handle the tough stuff?

00:32:28.880 --> 00:32:33.030
In a biochemistry lab
lives a strange species

00:32:33.030 --> 00:32:36.800
weirder than opossums, smaller than ants,

00:32:36.800 --> 00:32:40.803
and from a family with a
reputation for making us sick.

00:32:44.790 --> 00:32:49.423
These bean-shaped things are
bacteria named Alcanivorax.

00:32:52.220 --> 00:32:55.000
During a recent oil spill disaster,

00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.010
they were found at great
depths eating the oil.

00:32:59.010 --> 00:33:03.033
That was strange, because
most bacteria can't do that.

00:33:04.835 --> 00:33:08.923
- Alcanivorax is an
incredible bacterial species

00:33:09.830 --> 00:33:14.630
which loves to feast on the
petroleum oil hydrocarbons,

00:33:14.630 --> 00:33:17.550
as it gives them their source of energy.

00:33:17.550 --> 00:33:22.550
And no other bacteria can
do this wonderful job.

00:33:24.510 --> 00:33:27.740
- [David] Microbiologist
Satinder Kaur Brar

00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:32.073
wants to know if Alcanivorax
will eat oil underground--

00:33:33.640 --> 00:33:38.640
the kind of toxic goo spilled
by millions of rotting tanks

00:33:38.940 --> 00:33:41.733
and burst pipelines throughout the world.

00:33:45.960 --> 00:33:48.580
- [Satinder] There are many
sites which have been abandoned

00:33:48.580 --> 00:33:51.533
and which have petroleum
oil contamination in them.

00:33:54.180 --> 00:33:58.388
Sometimes the oil-contaminated
soil is dug up and removed,

00:33:58.388 --> 00:34:01.033
but then it just ends up somewhere else.

00:34:02.550 --> 00:34:06.060
At times, chemicals are used,
but that too leaves residues

00:34:06.060 --> 00:34:07.933
that may also turn out to be toxic.

00:34:09.250 --> 00:34:12.020
I've been working to find
a biological solution

00:34:12.020 --> 00:34:13.153
that might be better.

00:34:20.340 --> 00:34:23.240
- [David] After acquiring
waste oil from a garage

00:34:25.980 --> 00:34:29.393
and Alcanivorax from a microbe repository,

00:34:30.610 --> 00:34:32.023
she puts them together.

00:34:34.230 --> 00:34:36.249
- I think this is the final...

00:34:36.249 --> 00:34:38.890
- It's the final.
- ...addition of your oil

00:34:39.752 --> 00:34:41.085
into the medium.

00:34:42.948 --> 00:34:46.615
[upbeat instrumental music]

00:35:00.670 --> 00:35:02.110
- [David] A time-lapse reveals

00:35:02.110 --> 00:35:04.003
that something is going on.

00:35:04.910 --> 00:35:07.683
But the real action is microscopic.

00:35:10.670 --> 00:35:15.073
Each tiny bacterium releases
even tinier enzymes.

00:35:16.060 --> 00:35:19.300
What makes the Alcanivorax enzyme unique

00:35:19.300 --> 00:35:22.430
is the size of the dimple on its side.

00:35:22.430 --> 00:35:25.800
It's large enough to
trap a heavy oil molecule

00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:27.093
and rip it apart.

00:35:28.650 --> 00:35:31.640
- In simple terms, they are the scissors

00:35:31.640 --> 00:35:33.590
which the bacteria needs

00:35:33.590 --> 00:35:35.843
to cut into the petroleum oil hydrocarbon.

00:35:37.810 --> 00:35:40.660
- [David] The resulting
atoms of hydrogen and carbon

00:35:40.660 --> 00:35:43.933
are scooped up by the
Alcanivorax bacteria.

00:35:45.200 --> 00:35:46.907
- [Satinder] Inside the bacteria,

00:35:46.907 --> 00:35:48.200
they are transformed into energy

00:35:48.200 --> 00:35:50.733
so the bacteria can grow and reproduce.

00:35:51.700 --> 00:35:56.013
What is expelled is non-toxic
carbon dioxide and water.

00:36:00.660 --> 00:36:03.590
- [David] But will this
work in the real world?

00:36:03.590 --> 00:36:06.183
Satinder and her team intend to find out.

00:36:07.170 --> 00:36:09.750
- Hi, Thomas.
- So we're standing

00:36:09.750 --> 00:36:13.130
here today, on the site
of a former gas station.

00:36:13.130 --> 00:36:15.900
The gas station was used in the '50s,

00:36:15.900 --> 00:36:19.320
and it was used afterwards
for petroleum storage.

00:36:19.320 --> 00:36:21.110
And what happened over the years,

00:36:21.110 --> 00:36:24.283
oil leaked from those
reservoirs into the ground.

00:36:26.480 --> 00:36:30.400
First, what we do is we
dilute the enzyme concentrate

00:36:30.400 --> 00:36:31.823
in the process tank.

00:36:40.827 --> 00:36:45.230
And then we use a pump to
pump it right into the well

00:36:45.230 --> 00:36:47.293
and into the contaminated soil.

00:36:52.390 --> 00:36:55.660
- [Satinder] It gave fantastic
results in the laboratory,

00:36:55.660 --> 00:36:58.050
and now the only crux was

00:36:58.050 --> 00:37:00.593
whether this would translate in the field.

00:37:02.110 --> 00:37:03.550
- After a couple of weeks,

00:37:03.550 --> 00:37:06.030
what we'll do is we'll
come back on this site,

00:37:06.030 --> 00:37:09.500
we'll drill more holes and
we'll see what was the effect

00:37:09.500 --> 00:37:12.193
of the enzyme on the
level of contamination.

00:37:13.860 --> 00:37:15.460
- [David] Over those two weeks,

00:37:15.460 --> 00:37:18.020
the enzymes seeped through the soil,

00:37:18.020 --> 00:37:20.843
making contact with the oil deposits.

00:37:30.216 --> 00:37:32.050
[speaking in French dialect]

00:37:38.570 --> 00:37:42.123
- [David] Tests reveal that
almost all the oil is gone.

00:37:45.500 --> 00:37:47.930
- [Satinder] So the enzymes
after a certain time

00:37:47.930 --> 00:37:50.550
will break down into non-toxic components

00:37:50.550 --> 00:37:51.950
which become part of nature.

00:37:54.890 --> 00:37:57.110
- You do not need excavators,

00:37:57.110 --> 00:37:58.800
you do not need trucks,

00:37:58.800 --> 00:38:02.730
you don't rely on bringing
the contaminated soil

00:38:02.730 --> 00:38:07.730
to another disposal site--
the soil is treated in place.

00:38:10.534 --> 00:38:14.180
- The site has been contaminated
for the last few decades,

00:38:14.180 --> 00:38:19.180
and the enzymes produced by
the incredible Alcanivorax

00:38:19.790 --> 00:38:23.333
can do the cleanup job
just in one to three weeks.

00:38:25.900 --> 00:38:28.880
- [David] This successful
trial was small scale,

00:38:28.880 --> 00:38:32.320
but soon Satinder hopes to try Alcanivorax

00:38:32.320 --> 00:38:34.270
on a much larger spill.

00:38:34.270 --> 00:38:37.980
If it works, unique
bacteria found in the sea

00:38:37.980 --> 00:38:40.140
could become an important tool

00:38:40.140 --> 00:38:43.693
to combat oil contamination
around the world.

00:38:45.240 --> 00:38:49.300
- 80% of the bacterial
species, they work for us.

00:38:49.300 --> 00:38:52.270
It's only the 20% that are pathogens.

00:38:52.270 --> 00:38:54.200
So we shouldn't be scared of bacteria,

00:38:54.200 --> 00:38:55.700
we have to embrace them.

00:38:55.700 --> 00:38:56.600
They are our friends.

00:38:56.600 --> 00:38:57.700
They are not our foes.

00:38:59.440 --> 00:39:02.703
- [David] Few of us can
recognize beneficial bacteria.

00:39:04.430 --> 00:39:08.243
But it's common knowledge
that a vulture is bad news.

00:39:09.540 --> 00:39:12.000
- Let's not be melodramatic, Harry.

00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:13.150
You're not going to die.

00:39:13.150 --> 00:39:17.303
- No, I'm dying now, ask those things.

00:39:18.270 --> 00:39:20.570
- [David] The vulture is often portrayed

00:39:20.570 --> 00:39:21.923
as a portent of doom.

00:39:26.600 --> 00:39:29.900
But conservation biologist Evan Buechley

00:39:29.900 --> 00:39:31.910
sees them differently.

00:39:31.910 --> 00:39:34.623
- They're large, colorful birds.

00:39:35.650 --> 00:39:37.560
They're exquisite fliers.

00:39:37.560 --> 00:39:40.360
They're really elegant
when they're flying.

00:39:40.360 --> 00:39:44.040
Vultures are the highest
flying birds in the world.

00:39:44.040 --> 00:39:48.563
They can slowly glide for
hundreds of kilometers.

00:39:51.460 --> 00:39:53.900
They're some of the most
intelligent birds in the world.

00:39:53.900 --> 00:39:56.491
They have some of the keenest vision,

00:39:56.491 --> 00:39:58.316
strong senses of smell.

00:39:59.650 --> 00:40:01.713
So you can have an animal that dies--

00:40:02.870 --> 00:40:05.900
within five minutes,
vultures are circling over

00:40:05.900 --> 00:40:08.003
and dropping down and starting to feed.

00:40:09.650 --> 00:40:12.410
Vultures actually consume more animals

00:40:12.410 --> 00:40:14.380
than all the lions, the jackals,

00:40:14.380 --> 00:40:16.213
the hyenas, the leopards combined.

00:40:18.260 --> 00:40:22.230
- [David] In Ethiopia, they
clean up carrion in the wild,

00:40:22.230 --> 00:40:25.783
but also live in the
bustling city of Addis Ababa.

00:40:29.200 --> 00:40:31.213
So what are vultures doing here?

00:40:38.850 --> 00:40:41.420
- So we're gonna go to a abattoir,

00:40:41.420 --> 00:40:45.970
which is a traditional
slaughterhouse here in Ethiopia,

00:40:45.970 --> 00:40:48.570
where animals are slaughtered
for human consumption.

00:40:52.150 --> 00:40:54.150
People rely on the vultures to come in

00:40:54.150 --> 00:40:56.520
and feed on the waste and clean it up.

00:40:56.520 --> 00:40:58.150
It's a very ancient system

00:40:58.150 --> 00:41:00.090
that's been in practice for hundreds

00:41:00.090 --> 00:41:01.773
if not thousands of years.

00:41:04.130 --> 00:41:07.060
- [David] Evan and his
colleague, Eleazar Dukkah,

00:41:07.060 --> 00:41:09.593
observe humans and vultures at work.

00:41:11.640 --> 00:41:14.570
- We got about a dozen hooded vultures,

00:41:14.570 --> 00:41:17.810
and then there's a few white-backs.

00:41:17.810 --> 00:41:20.503
So that's been a nice bout
of feeding this morning.

00:41:23.480 --> 00:41:24.995
They're pretty fierce
when they're fighting for

00:41:24.995 --> 00:41:26.328
the food like that.

00:41:27.902 --> 00:41:31.569
[gentle instrumental music]

00:41:36.240 --> 00:41:39.170
By offering and placing out
the food for the vultures

00:41:39.170 --> 00:41:41.640
and then having large
populations of vultures

00:41:41.640 --> 00:41:44.600
come and quickly and
efficiently clean up the waste,

00:41:44.600 --> 00:41:46.943
it's a win-win solution for both.

00:41:50.510 --> 00:41:51.430
In other parts of the world

00:41:51.430 --> 00:41:54.880
where we rely on big garbage
dumps or incineration,

00:41:54.880 --> 00:41:59.200
it's a very kind of inefficient
way to process that food.

00:41:59.200 --> 00:42:00.310
And so I think there's ways

00:42:00.310 --> 00:42:02.673
in which we could really
learn from this system.

00:42:04.880 --> 00:42:06.980
- [David] The vulture is uniquely adapted

00:42:06.980 --> 00:42:08.720
to clean up carrion.

00:42:08.720 --> 00:42:11.180
Its acidic digestive system

00:42:11.180 --> 00:42:13.330
neutralizes deadly pathogens

00:42:13.330 --> 00:42:17.103
including botulism, cholera, and anthrax.

00:42:20.161 --> 00:42:22.200
- And then when they defecate,

00:42:22.200 --> 00:42:24.553
the viruses and bacteria
are largely absent.

00:42:25.480 --> 00:42:28.257
We think of vultures as
being maybe dirty birds--

00:42:28.257 --> 00:42:29.170
they're eating these dead animals,

00:42:29.170 --> 00:42:31.240
they're gross, they're icky--

00:42:31.240 --> 00:42:34.043
but really, they are critically important.

00:42:35.350 --> 00:42:37.770
Vultures, by consuming carcasses,

00:42:37.770 --> 00:42:41.000
are really actively helping
to eliminate disease

00:42:41.000 --> 00:42:42.050
from the environment.

00:42:44.770 --> 00:42:47.700
- [David] While vultures
thrive in Ethiopia,

00:42:47.700 --> 00:42:49.370
elsewhere in Africa

00:42:49.370 --> 00:42:52.990
they are endangered by elephant poaching.

00:42:52.990 --> 00:42:55.260
Because the vultures' quick arrival

00:42:55.260 --> 00:42:57.720
alerts authorities to the crime,

00:42:57.720 --> 00:43:00.980
poachers want to eliminate vultures.

00:43:00.980 --> 00:43:03.400
They douse carcasses with a poison

00:43:03.400 --> 00:43:06.693
that overpowers the
vultures' iron constitution.

00:43:08.010 --> 00:43:10.170
- There's been several cases now

00:43:10.170 --> 00:43:12.690
of several hundreds of vultures

00:43:12.690 --> 00:43:15.443
dying from a single
elephant poisoned carcass.

00:43:17.450 --> 00:43:20.160
So it only takes a handful of those events

00:43:20.160 --> 00:43:24.353
to drive vulture population
declines across many countries.

00:43:27.630 --> 00:43:31.640
Luckily, in Ethiopia, these main threats

00:43:31.640 --> 00:43:33.793
seem to be largely absent.

00:43:35.140 --> 00:43:38.650
- [David] This may be because
of Ethiopia's long history

00:43:38.650 --> 00:43:41.710
of human-vulture collaboration.

00:43:41.710 --> 00:43:44.090
But even here, they are vulnerable,

00:43:44.090 --> 00:43:47.963
because at some abattoirs
feral dogs get in.

00:43:51.530 --> 00:43:54.180
Unlike vultures, dogs' stomachs

00:43:54.180 --> 00:43:56.960
did not evolve to kill pathogens.

00:43:56.960 --> 00:43:59.130
So when they eat rotting meat,

00:43:59.130 --> 00:44:02.310
they contract diseases
and pass them to humans

00:44:02.310 --> 00:44:03.593
through their feces.

00:44:04.859 --> 00:44:07.859
[dogs snarling]

00:44:14.050 --> 00:44:16.860
- The dominance of the
dogs at this abattoir

00:44:16.860 --> 00:44:18.540
is something that's happening
all over the country

00:44:18.540 --> 00:44:21.447
and is really troubling for
people, for human health.

00:44:25.590 --> 00:44:27.310
Over the past three decades,

00:44:27.310 --> 00:44:29.460
the seven vulture species across Africa

00:44:29.460 --> 00:44:32.423
have declined by 70% to 97%.

00:44:33.450 --> 00:44:36.030
- [David] In Africa and around the world,

00:44:36.030 --> 00:44:39.440
hunting, poisoning and habitat loss

00:44:39.440 --> 00:44:43.850
have put many vulture
species at critical risk.

00:44:43.850 --> 00:44:46.260
- It is something that everybody
should really worry about.

00:44:46.260 --> 00:44:48.170
Because as vultures decline,

00:44:48.170 --> 00:44:51.580
we have evidence and growing
evidence from around the world

00:44:51.580 --> 00:44:54.603
that human disease will increase.

00:44:55.850 --> 00:44:58.790
You could lose an
insectivorous bird species

00:44:58.790 --> 00:45:00.477
or a pollinating bird species,

00:45:00.477 --> 00:45:02.410
and that would be a tragedy.

00:45:02.410 --> 00:45:05.190
But the ecosystem largely
would be able to continue

00:45:05.190 --> 00:45:08.360
and fill that role with other species.

00:45:08.360 --> 00:45:11.339
But if you lose even one vulture species,

00:45:11.339 --> 00:45:13.250
there's nothing that's
gonna be able to really

00:45:13.250 --> 00:45:16.141
replace that function of
consuming that carcass,

00:45:16.141 --> 00:45:18.850
from removing the disease
from the environment.

00:45:18.850 --> 00:45:22.200
So, vulture conservation
and vultures in ecosystems

00:45:22.200 --> 00:45:23.463
are extremely important.

00:45:26.630 --> 00:45:28.510
- [David] Evan and Eleazar want to know

00:45:28.510 --> 00:45:30.120
where vultures go

00:45:30.120 --> 00:45:33.763
when they leave the relatively
safe borders of Ethiopia.

00:45:34.860 --> 00:45:36.773
- I think this is a good spot.

00:45:37.790 --> 00:45:38.889
- [David] To find out,

00:45:38.889 --> 00:45:40.980
they hope to trap a vulture

00:45:40.980 --> 00:45:43.243
and attach a satellite transmitter.

00:45:45.710 --> 00:45:48.050
- Birds are really smart and
they're really, you know,

00:45:48.050 --> 00:45:51.260
the one time in their lives
when they're at risk at all

00:45:51.260 --> 00:45:53.610
is when they're on the ground feeding.

00:45:53.610 --> 00:45:55.620
And so we need to be
really thoughtful about

00:45:55.620 --> 00:45:58.613
making sure that everything
seems as normal as possible.

00:46:03.990 --> 00:46:05.800
Trapping is always nerve-racking.

00:46:05.800 --> 00:46:07.960
So, like, I'm always a little on edge

00:46:07.960 --> 00:46:10.293
until we actually, like, get it done.

00:46:11.790 --> 00:46:13.530
- [David] The flock takes to the air

00:46:13.530 --> 00:46:15.680
because a bird has been caught in a trap.

00:46:19.740 --> 00:46:22.063
It turns out, it's a raven.

00:46:24.110 --> 00:46:25.753
- There's a bunch of different species

00:46:25.753 --> 00:46:28.327
that come in and scavenge.

00:46:28.327 --> 00:46:29.480
It's a fantail raven.

00:46:29.480 --> 00:46:31.807
A lot of times, the first thing you catch

00:46:31.807 --> 00:46:33.950
is not what you planned on catching.

00:46:33.950 --> 00:46:37.100
Not a vulture-- it's a beautiful bird.

00:46:37.100 --> 00:46:41.413
So it's not ideal, but
it's part of the process.

00:46:47.860 --> 00:46:49.110
- [David] They try again

00:46:49.110 --> 00:46:51.333
at a series of different locations.

00:46:57.350 --> 00:47:00.690
- All right, so after five days
of waiting and moving traps

00:47:00.690 --> 00:47:02.140
and trying many times,

00:47:02.140 --> 00:47:05.550
we finally managed to catch
a white-backed vulture.

00:47:08.090 --> 00:47:10.400
We'll attach a satellite
transmitters on them

00:47:10.400 --> 00:47:12.353
using a harness that we build.

00:47:13.530 --> 00:47:15.200
These satellite transmitters weigh

00:47:15.200 --> 00:47:18.570
less than 3% of the weight of the bird,

00:47:18.570 --> 00:47:20.930
and studies show that
they don't harm the bird.

00:47:20.930 --> 00:47:24.090
But they allow us to
collect detailed points

00:47:24.090 --> 00:47:25.880
of precisely where the birds are going

00:47:25.880 --> 00:47:28.723
every hour throughout the
day and night of their lives.

00:47:30.857 --> 00:47:34.524
[upbeat instrumental music]

00:47:49.400 --> 00:47:53.490
So we have tracks here of
many different vultures

00:47:53.490 --> 00:47:56.190
that we've tagged over
the last couple of years.

00:47:56.190 --> 00:47:58.233
For the first time, we get to see

00:47:58.233 --> 00:47:59.453
exactly where these birds are moving.

00:48:00.410 --> 00:48:03.180
That lets us identify
where they're feeding,

00:48:03.180 --> 00:48:04.230
where they're roosting,

00:48:04.230 --> 00:48:05.630
where they're nesting,

00:48:05.630 --> 00:48:07.630
and eventually also where they're dying.

00:48:09.940 --> 00:48:12.430
So we've had birds that we've tagged here

00:48:12.430 --> 00:48:15.120
travel through more than
20 different countries

00:48:15.120 --> 00:48:18.617
and cover many, many
thousands of kilometers

00:48:18.617 --> 00:48:21.803
in their migrations and their journeys.

00:48:22.870 --> 00:48:25.520
- [David] Their migrations
pass through places

00:48:25.520 --> 00:48:28.473
where they're not
appreciated or protected.

00:48:31.000 --> 00:48:33.080
- So conservation of vultures

00:48:33.080 --> 00:48:35.160
really cannot be within one country

00:48:35.160 --> 00:48:37.353
or within one continent.

00:48:37.353 --> 00:48:40.990
It really needs to be kind of
broad scale across continents.

00:48:40.990 --> 00:48:45.100
- [David] For eons, vultures
have migrated from Africa

00:48:45.100 --> 00:48:48.093
across the Mediterranean
into southern Europe.

00:48:52.800 --> 00:48:55.663
But during the past
century, their numbers fell.

00:48:57.680 --> 00:49:01.443
The Arda River Valley was
once their Summer home.

00:49:03.770 --> 00:49:07.120
Conservationists are
determined to bring them back.

00:49:10.140 --> 00:49:12.557
- This is the bearded vulture,

00:49:12.557 --> 00:49:15.500
and nowadays they doesn't
exist in our nature.

00:49:15.500 --> 00:49:18.800
And this is our main goal
in the rescue center,

00:49:18.800 --> 00:49:22.210
to reintroduce the
species back to Bulgaria

00:49:22.210 --> 00:49:23.193
and to the Balkans.

00:49:26.630 --> 00:49:29.040
- [David] The Green Balkans Rescue Center

00:49:29.040 --> 00:49:33.040
cares for and breeds
several endangered species.

00:49:42.600 --> 00:49:45.860
- [David] At eight weeks old,
they are prepared for release

00:49:45.860 --> 00:49:47.023
into the wild.

00:49:47.860 --> 00:49:49.160
- [Male] You are beautiful.

00:49:50.220 --> 00:49:51.673
Don't die in the sea.

00:49:52.510 --> 00:49:55.480
Don't perch on dangerous power lines.

00:49:55.480 --> 00:49:56.693
Do not eat poison.

00:50:02.500 --> 00:50:05.300
- [David] It's important to
take them to the right spot.

00:50:10.310 --> 00:50:14.100
To reach it, these
volunteers climb for hours

00:50:14.100 --> 00:50:16.063
with fledglings on their backs.

00:50:19.156 --> 00:50:22.823
[gentle instrumental music]

00:50:24.090 --> 00:50:27.440
Their destination is the
valley where vultures

00:50:27.440 --> 00:50:29.170
once ruled the sky.

00:50:30.298 --> 00:50:32.559
- Precious cargo is here.

00:50:38.017 --> 00:50:41.463
- [David] The young ones
are lowered, carefully,

00:50:41.463 --> 00:50:42.553
off the cliff.

00:50:43.439 --> 00:50:47.106
[gentle instrumental music]

00:51:02.960 --> 00:51:04.610
In a natural cave,

00:51:04.610 --> 00:51:07.553
a metal screen protects
them from predators.

00:51:09.100 --> 00:51:11.770
For a few weeks, they
will live here alone,

00:51:11.770 --> 00:51:14.103
fed each day through a tube.

00:51:16.285 --> 00:51:21.035
From this point on, the birds
will have no human contact.

00:51:59.423 --> 00:52:03.090
[upbeat instrumental music]

00:52:06.680 --> 00:52:09.220
- It is my hope that through understanding

00:52:09.220 --> 00:52:12.170
the important role that
vultures play in ecosystems,

00:52:12.170 --> 00:52:15.560
we'll be able to help to change the images

00:52:15.560 --> 00:52:18.520
and perceptions of vultures in society

00:52:18.520 --> 00:52:20.450
so that people appreciate more

00:52:20.450 --> 00:52:22.630
the role that they have in ecosystems

00:52:22.630 --> 00:52:26.123
and the benefits that they
provide to humans free of charge.

00:52:32.290 --> 00:52:33.820
If vultures could talk,

00:52:33.820 --> 00:52:36.270
perhaps they would say,
"Give me some respect, man."

00:52:37.430 --> 00:52:39.800
- [David] For all our unsung heroes,

00:52:39.800 --> 00:52:42.130
respect would be a good start.

00:52:42.130 --> 00:52:45.800
Because while some may
seem strange or weird,

00:52:45.800 --> 00:52:49.863
or even disgusting, they
make our cities cleaner.

00:52:52.200 --> 00:52:54.560
So maybe we should relax a little,

00:52:54.560 --> 00:52:56.863
and make some space for them.

00:52:58.550 --> 00:53:03.098
We help ourselves when we
let them live in peace.

00:53:03.098 --> 00:53:06.765
[gentle instrumental music]