Human Planet

Only one creature has carved a life for itself

in every habitat on earth.

That creature is us.

All over the world, we still use our ingenuity to survive in the wild places,

far from the city lights, face to face with raw nature.

This is the Human Planet.

The sea covers 70% of our planet's surface.

It's home to three-quarters of all life on earth.

All the creatures found here are perfectly adapted to thrive in the ocean...

...all except one.

We are not evolved for a life aquatic...

...and we're way out of our depth in this dangerous and alien world.

But great opportunities await those people who dare to venture into the water.

As we immerse ourselves ever deeper in the big blue,

how do we overcome the enormous challenges that confront us?

Our relationship with the ocean begins on the coast.

Even here, the sea is a force to be reckoned with.

Galicia, in Northern Spain, is home

to one of Europe's most treacherous coasts.

But the more extreme the conditions, the greater the rewards,

if, like Javier and Angel, you're prepared to take the risk.

Javier and Angel are on the hunt for a strange creature

that clings to the wave-battered rocks...

at the bottom of these cliffs.

They have to move fast. Their quarry is only exposed at low tide.

Vamos! Arriba! Arriba!

It's goose barnacles they're after,

a highly prized delicacy that can sell for 200 euros a kilo.

But it's not easy pickings. Each year, about five collectors die.

Few dare work when it's this rough.

But those who do can charge a premium for their harvest.

Despite the onslaught, Javier's filled his bag.

Now it's Angel's turn, and though it's getting even rougher...

...he's going in with no safety rope.

Working unattached allows him to dash between waves

and reach the lowest rocks, where the biggest barnacles grow.

But one slip could be fatal.

Although the tide's coming in, Angel's determined to collect more.

Javier and Angel's gamble paid off.

In two hours, they've gathered enough goose barnacles

to fetch around 800 euros. Not bad for a day at the seaside.

It's this abundance of food that entices us into the waves.

And just a little further out, there are even greater riches.

Coastal waters account forjust one-tenth of the world's oceans,

but they're home to the vast majority of marine life.

The trouble is, as we venture further from the shore, the dangers escalate.

Benjamin's training to be a harpoonist

and he knows, any day now, all he's learned could be put to the test.

He lives on a small Indonesian island called Lembata.

Few crops grow in this rocky land,

and even surviving from the sea is a struggle.

But there's one animal they wait for

that can dramatically change their fortunes.

The whole village springs into action.

It's a race against time to get out to sea.

Benjamin and the rest of the crew

are about to take on the biggest predator that's ever lived.

They all know the risks,

but opportunities don't come much bigger than this.

The sperm whale.

Up to 1 8 metres long, these mighty leviathans are powerful animals

and they won't go down without a fight.

With simple wooden boats and handmade weapons,

the whalers seem ill-prepared for battle, but this is how it's been for 600 years.

They can only harpoon the whale when it surfaces to breathe...

...so they need to move fast.

Benjamin's brother prepares to launch himself at the whale.

This is the most dangerous moment of all.

But he misses,

and now someone else must step up before the whale dives.

Benjamin's moment has arrived.

He's got it.

But the battle has just begun.

As the whale fights to break free, they move to harpoon it again.

They need to prevent it from diving and pulling a boat under.

But it's not enough.

Terrified of the thrashing whale, the crew scramble to safety.

Another boat attacks and harpoons the whale once more.

Now dragging several boats, the whale slowly tires.

Eventually, its struggles are exhausted

and a final cut, through its backbone, is made.

It's been an epic eight-hour battle,

but Benjamin has shown his skill and bravery...

...and this time everyone returns safely home.

The death of a whale may be sad to us, but this is their lifeline.

One catch can feed a village for months,

and this small-scale hunt in Lembata

doesn't threaten whale numbers in these oceans.

They only take around six whales a year.

Nothing is wasted. The meat is shared out.

As the man who dealt the decisive blow, Benjamin gets a larger share,

and for a while at least, his family won't be going hungry.

Although we've evolved for a life on land,

we've become remarkably efficient oceanic hunters.

Adaptability is the secret of our success

at discovering new ways to exploit the ocean.

And in a few special places, this means working with the creatures of the sea.

These fishermen of Laguna in Brazil

have forged one of the most extraordinary partnerships

between humans and wild animals found anywhere on earth.

Edson is up early to fish the large numbers of mullet

that migrate through these waters every May.

But there's a problem.

The water's so murky, the fishermen can't see where to cast their nets.

So, they join forces with the most intelligent animal in the sea.

But, like all relationships, a certain amount of patience is required.

Finally, their friends surface.

The local bottlenose dolphins are celebrities in Laguna.

In fact, Edson and his pal Alfredo know each one by name.

Incredibly, the dolphins drive the mullet towards the fishermen,

and even signal when to cast their nets, with these distinctive dives.

The fishermen say they can tell the size of the school,

and which way it's travelling,

from the vigour and direction of the dive.

The dolphins do the hard work, herding the mullet.

The fish are served to the fishermen on a plate...

...but what the dolphins stand to gain is less clear.

Since they detect prey by echolocation,

they have no problem hunting in the murky water,

but picking off individuals from the school is more difficult.

It seems the nets panic the fish into breaking formation,

making them much easier for the dolphins to chase down.

As the nets are hauled in, the benefits of teamwork are revealed.

Edson and the other fishermen have no doubt

how much the dolphins help them.

No matter how we catch it, seafood is vital to human survival,

providing the main source of protein for about half the world's population.

But there's a lot more to our ancient connection with the sea than just food.

The more we've come to depend on the ocean,

and the further we've pushed into its vast frontier,

the greater its influence has become in our lives.

The Pacific covers one-third of the globe.

The tiny specks of land in the middle of it

are about as remote as life can get for a human being.

With so few options on land,

the surrounding ocean underpins almost every aspect of life on a Pacific island.

Over 3,000 kilometres from the nearest continent,

Hawaii is one of the most isolated of all.

There are few places where the sea has had a greater impact on human existence.

The ocean, significantly to us, it's...it's our home.

Our connection is so great, we look at it as our origin.

The water is who we are, and the water is our mother, our father, our gods.

For Tom ''Pohako''Stone, displaying his skill in the ocean

is a central part of what it means to be Hawaiian.

Sliding on waves, as it was known,

has been practised by the Polynesians for millennia.

But it was around 1,000 years ago, when they arrived in Hawaii,

that it evolved into surfing.

When we actually learned that we could construct boards

to stand up and surf a wave,

it became a very ritualistic component of our culture.

Far more than just a sport, surfing was a sacred art form for Tom's ancestors.

It was a core part of their society,

and the noble pursuit of warriors, kings and queens.

We have a lot of history about women that...that surf,

and, you know, they surfed so well that they actually reached godly status.

We revered these women.

From ancient origins, surfing has now gone global.

And for some, searching for the ride of your life

has become an extreme obsession.

December 9th, 2009.

The world's surfing elite has gathered in Hawaii,

to ride some of the biggest swells to hit these shores in over a decade.

Surfing's certainly changed, but for many it's still a way of life,

and the best riders are still revered as gods

amongst the worldwide surfing tribe.

With waves over 1 5 metres, five storeys high,

this is a real test of skill and stamina.

Ken Bradshaw is famed for taming a 26-metre wave,

probably the biggest ever ridden.

But these unpredictable swells can claim even the most seasoned surfer.

Trapped in a rolling mountain of white water,

Ken is tossed around like a rag doll in a washing machine.

Just as he surfaces, another giant breaker comes crashing in.

After a relentless pounding from six successive waves,

Ken eventually escapes in one piece.

All big wave surfers know the risks,

but the adrenaline and the glory is addictive.

And just as the ancient Hawaiians discovered,

surfing is still the most spectacular demonstration

of our ability to conquer the waves.

Our mastery of the sea is impressive, but we'll never tame its full fury.

The enormous waves of December 9th

were created by intense tropical cyclone activity in the Pacific.

When warm waters fuel the ferocity of depressions over the ocean,

they can create the most violent weather systems on earth.

People must stay well away from the raging sea

during these tempestuous times,

but they can't stop it coming to them.

These super-storms, with winds of over 300 kilometres per hour,

wreak havoc on the human world.

It can take years to recover from the destruction.

Sometimes over 1,600 kilometres wide,

hurricanes and typhoons are persistent reminders of the ocean's awesome force.

It's little wonder that coastal people look at these mighty waters

with great reverence...