1 WAVES RUMBLE UPBEAT MUSIC Captions by Catherine de Chalain. Edited by Faith Hamblyn. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2016. UPBEAT MUSIC CONTINUES WHOOSH! 800km to the east of NZ... lie the Chatham Islands. There are 11 main islands in the Chatham Archipelago. MAJESTIC MUSIC Once joined to mainland NZ, these ancient islands are the final landmass in the South Pacific Ocean before Chile. MUSIC CONTINUES They might as well be the edge of the world. SERENE MUSIC The Chatham Islands are a life raft for those creatures that fall off the NZ mainland. Brought here by the prevailing currents, castaways cling on and adapt to their new home. BIRD CALLS They're a familiar bunch, yet unique. For those who are poor swimmers or flyers, the Chathams might be a prison. MAJESTIC MUSIC But for those who make their living following the currents of the featureless South Pacific, the Chatham Islands are a paradise. MUSIC SWELLS Over the course of a summer, easterly currents will transport a new generation of colonists to these shores. Locals will use every trick in the book to get a free meal. And a family of tyrants will fight to maintain their rule over the island's skies. SKUA CALLS SERENE MUSIC It's the beginning of summer in the Chatham Islands. The days are growing longer... and the waters warmer. Chatham Island is the biggest of all the islands in the archipelago. SEABIRDS CALL And in its underwater neighbourhood are many familiar faces ` blue cod,... kina,... paua... and crayfish. But what sets this neighbourhood apart from NZ is that many of these creatures are descended from refugees brought here by a force beyond their control. CALM MUSIC Their journey, or their ancestors' journey, began 800km away. PEACEFUL MUSIC Off mainland NZ, a clump of kelp drifts off the South Island's Banks Peninsula. It has attracted a group of baby hapuku,... which use it for shelter and food. But what the hapuku babies don't know is that their floating home is caught in a current on a one-way trip into the empty South Pacific Ocean,... TENSE MUSIC ...unless they chance upon the only piece of land between NZ and South America. SEABIRDS CALL Some creatures don't arrive in the Chathams by chance. They choose to come here. Every summer, great white sharks flock to what has become one of NZ's hotspots. The sharks converge on a group of islands known as the Star Keys ` and for good reason. These barren rocks host the largest fur seal rookery in the Chathams. Like the kelp-raft castaways, the original seals were probably swept here by the currents. But there's little reason for them to return to the mainland. These are some of the richest fishing grounds in NZ. But while the seals might be quite at home here now,... the great white sharks spend winter in the tropics and return to the Chatham Islands in summer. They've been satellite tracked as they travel here in a dead straight line all the way from Tonga. How great whites navigate so precisely is one of their most intriguing mysteries. INTRIGUING MUSIC At the start of summer, the male fur seals' breeding territories are well defined on the Star Keys. This bull has claimed the rock pool as his own. Only females from his harem can relax here. TENSE MUSIC In a seal colony, however, there is always another male willing to challenge. SEAL GRUNTS The pool bully sends a clear message to newly arriving males ` 'This pool is mine.' SEABIRDS CALL PEACEFUL MUSIC Underwater, blue cod play the role of bully. MUSIC CONTINUES The job of chief bully changes from moment to moment in this community. An empty shell is worth investigating,... PLAYFUL MUSIC ...and it becomes a battle for possession. The fight is an endless scrum, and anything edible left in the shell is consumed. MUSIC CONTINUES Nearby, herds of kina and massive beds of paua graze on seaweed and algae. PEACEFUL MUSIC These Chatham Island paua beds provide a glimpse of what South Island reefs might have looked like 50 years ago. MUSIC CONTINUES Both paua and kina make good eating for blue cod, so they've developed strategies to stay safe. Kina have no brain,... but display creativity as they cover themselves with anything available to stay hidden. PEACEFUL MUSIC Around the paua beds, the cunning shellfish have a range of tactics to outsmart their blue cod predators. MAJESTIC MUSIC On the edge of the Chathams Archipelago lies Rangatira Island. BIRD CALLS This special sanctuary is one of the few islands anywhere in the world which has always remained pest-free. The island is covered by a canopy of thick, scrubby forest,... which is a haven for some of NZ's rarest birds. It's likely ancestors of these birds were stranded here after storms, and, unable to return to the mainland, many involved into their own new species ` bigger tui,... smaller snipes... and the rare black robin,... which smashes his weta into bite-sized snacks. Still recognisable, but uniquely Chatham Islanders. TENSE MUSIC Rangatira Island may be pest-free,... but a tyrant rules the skies and shores here. And this little blue penguin's mate was on the menu. PENGUIN CALLS This is a brown skua ` the size of a small eagle, with audacity to match. These mates are two of 40 which patrol the rocky platforms on Rangatira's coast. SKUA SQUAWKS They don't hunt fish like other seabirds. They are fundamentally scavengers and opportunists. And at this time of year, carcasses are numerous. (SQUAWKS) Getting to the good bits sometimes requires teamwork. But the female ` always slightly larger than the male ` is not sharing. GENTLE MUSIC Around the sheer cliffs of Rangatira Island, numerous seabirds make their homes. White-fronted terns fish close to shore,... so it's just a short commute back to the nest, where chicks are waiting. Skuas prefers scavenging,... but this nest is an easy target. The parent courageously defends her chicks,... while the female skua weighs up her options. Back at their lookout, she bonds with her mate. The breeding season is underway for this pair, and soon, they will also have chicks to feed, which will raise the stakes on how much food they need to find. 1 DRAMATIC MUSIC The Chatham Islands are like a giant salvage net,... catching the creatures swept from the mainland by powerful ocean currents. MUSIC CONTINUES These same currents also bring a great bounty to the islands. The southern current is rich in nutrients from Antarctica, while the northern current is full of minerals from the rivers of NZ. BUBBLING When these currents collide and the ingredients mix, the water turns into liquid fertiliser. DRAMATIC MUSIC SWELLS In summer, when the water warms, this mixing triggers NZ's largest plankton bloom, so huge it's visible from space. MUSIC CONTINUES The arrival of the plankton bloom turbocharges the food chain. SEABIRDS CALL Sooty shearwaters and Buller's mollymawks nest here in their thousands... and spend their days filling their bellies. SEABIRDS CALL A pair of Buller's mollymawks catch a blue cod. But a bigger white-capped mollymawk claims the fish as its own. OMINOUS MUSIC The water's surface might not be the safest place to sit, though. OMINOUS MUSIC The great white sharks are always lurking and always hungry. MUSIC SWELLS BIRDS SQUAWK PEACEFUL MUSIC SEABIRDS CALL During the plankton bloom, the seabirds return to Rangatira Island every day with bellies full of food. (CALLS) And, of course, the skuas are always ready to exploit any bird's mishap. TENSE MUSIC It's the male's job to patrol the couple's territory. (CALLS) He stakes his claim with a territorial display,... (CONTINUES CALLING) ...and then begins a foot patrol around the borders of his clifftop patch. (CALLS) This is the nest where his mate will lay their eggs any day now. CALM MUSIC Next door, the neighbours nesting on the rocky knoll have a different arrangement when it comes to their partnership. CHEERFUL MUSIC There's a male and a female... WINGS FLUTTER ...and another male. Some female skuas take multiple male partners ` up to seven. This is just a threesome, so pretty ordinary by comparison. PEACEFUL MUSIC The third territory on this Rangatira hillside is inhabited by a lone female. Her mate or mates are currently absent, and she's been left incubating freshly laid eggs. One of the rocky knoll males has his eye on her. TENSE MUSIC (CRIES) MUSIC CONTINUES It's common for skua to steal each other's eggs. The female calls in distress,... (SCREECHES) ...and two males respond. The raider attacks again,... SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC ...and now the eggs are exposed. SKUA SCREECHES The raider circles back to claim his prize,... but he's attacked by the two males. SKUAS CALL The female joins the aerial assault, and the threesome sees off their rival. SKUA CALLS DRAMATIC MUSIC SLOWS Today there was safety in numbers. But in a skua community, constant vigilance is the only way to keep all the nests safe. MAJESTIC MUSIC Every evening at dusk,... peak hour begins on Rangatira Island. MUSIC CONTINUES Thousands of sooty shearwaters are the first to return from hunting at sea. A crash landing is the only way through the canopy. BRANCHES CRACK The shearwaters make a beeline to their burrows, where hungry chicks wait. PEACEFUL MUSIC (BELLOWS) Then the storm petrels arrive. PEACEFUL MUSIC Each night, thousands of them also have to crash through the canopy. BIRDS CALL If they can't escape, they'll die... and become an easy meal for scavenging skuas. TENSE MUSIC GENTLE MUSIC Night vision cameras reveal what happens on the pitch-black forest floor. BIRDS CALL Little blue penguins have their own obstacles down here. COMICAL MUSIC These young penguins are on the cusp of adulthood,... but they've still got a few things to learn about the birds and the bees. PENGUINS CALL COMICAL MUSIC The male knows how to begin the courtship ritual... but quickly runs out of moves. MUSIC CONTINUES Chances are these two won't be having any chicks this summer. GENTLE PIANO MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES This blue cod has good reason to look grumpy this morning ` the sides of his face crawl with bloodsucking sea lice. So he starts his day attempting to dislodge the parasites. Next up is breakfast. He'd love some paua,... but they're clamped down tightly. However, the cod knows of another creature that can help him out. Starfish are skilful hunters, and their arms have the strength to break a paua's grip on the rock. The target move surprisingly fast on its muscular black foot,... but the starfish's tiny tube feet propel it just as quickly. The paua clings on with all its strength,... TENSE MUSIC ...but the combined force of hundreds of tube feet is stronger. TENSE MUSIC The starfish breaks the paua's hold. But its victory is short-lived. SOMBRE MUSIC For the paua, this is death by a thousand nips. 1 1 DRAMATIC MUSIC Halfway between NZ and the Chatham Islands, a kelp raft drifts slowly eastwards. SPLASH! EERIE MUSIC It's been 40 days since these baby hapuku were swept from the mainland. They've grown and look a little more like their parents now. Young hapuku can spend up to four years drifting on the currents. So long as their raft stays intact, they'll continue their journey. TENSE MUSIC At the Chatham Islands the currents circulate the plankton bloom, enticing hungry summer visitors. MUSIC CONTINUES The largest of the visiting predators lurk around the Star Keys,... honing in on the scent of the seals. It's as if they sense just what is occurring in the seal colony above. DRAMATIC MUSIC The population has almost doubled in the last week as all this summer's pups are now born. SEALS BARK LIVELY MUSIC Some seal pups congregate at the nursery pool. The braver ones try out swimming while their mothers are at sea hunting. EMOTIONAL MUSIC This female bonds with her week-old pup, which is completely dependent on her for food and protection. TENSE MUSIC It's always right after giving birth that the females are ready to mate again. Suddenly the pup is in danger of being squashed by the bull. (SNORTS) (SQUEAKS) TENSE MUSIC Fur seals mate just once every season, and the male's hormones drive his aggression. However, it's when the female resists and bites the male's neck... that he is provoked to complete fertilisation. And she can reunite with her pup. SERENE MUSIC PILOT WHALES CALL Pilot whales are another visitor to the Chatham Islands during summer. CALLS CONTINUE Contrary to their name, these 5m-long mammals are not whales but dolphins. Their leader is the pilot, and wherever the pilot goes, the rest of the pod will follow. SERENE MUSIC SWELLS This pod's leader is also their matriarch, and every whale here is a descendant of the elder females. PILOT WHALES CALL They've come to the Chathams to hunt arrow squid, but since they're nocturnal, the whales take the opportunity to rest. PILOT WHALES CALL They sleep hanging vertically in the water, one eye open. SERENE MUSIC Like all dolphins, only one side of their brain sleeps at a time, because they need to surface for air. MUSIC CONTINUES Pilot whales are not the only Southern Ocean wanderers to regularly visit here. GENTLE PIANO MUSIC In the Chathams Archipelago, there's an isolated rock known as The Pyramid. SEABIRD SQUAWKS 5000 Chatham albatross converge here to breed over summer every year. UPBEAT MUSIC Although they cruise from South Africa to Peru, The Pyramid is the only place in the world where Chatham albatross gather to breed. PEACEFUL MUSIC (SQUEAKS) Sometimes both parents will leave a chick alone while they hunt at sea ` not a wise choice,... as this island has its own pair of resident skuas. TENSE MUSIC A passing shadow excites the chick,... (SQUEAKS) ...though the neighbours ignore it. OMINOUS MUSIC The skua has spied the vulnerable chick. MUSIC RISES BIRDS SQUAWK That was a close call. Both parents quickly position themselves in vigilant mode. TENSE MUSIC All around The Pyramid, Chatham albatross mates share intimate bonding rituals. GENTLE MUSIC But sometimes enough is enough. It's probably time to go fishing instead. Easier said than done on this steep incline. COMICAL MUSIC MAJESTIC MUSIC Over on Rangatira Island, tiny skua chicks are also starting to hatch. GENTLE MUSIC CHICKS SQUEAK These babies are born with attitude, which challenges skua parenting skills. MUSIC CONTINUES At the clifftop nest, there's always one parent watching over the offspring. TENSE MUSIC However, these two chicks have been left alone,... which isn't entirely unusual. CHEERFUL MUSIC Baby skuas hatch with their eyes open, covered in down and ready to run. Birds like this are referred to as precocious. There is one place the skua chicks' parents could be. (CALLS) There's no fresh water on Rangatira Island,... so skua often take a short flight to Pitt Island, about 20 minutes away. There's a freshwater stream here, which attracts skua to carry out an unexpected ritual. It's a little-known fact that these ruthless scavengers are extremely fastidious about their cleanliness. GENTLE PIANO MUSIC SPLASH! As the skua parents remove all traces of their gruesome lunch,... TENSE MUSIC ...their two chicks sit alone in the nest, vulnerable to danger from above. SEABIRD CALLS 1 SOMBRE MUSIC The Chatham Islands were named Rekohu by their Moriori discoverers,... referring to their misty skies. MUSIC SWELLS This phenomenon results when warm currents meet cold waters. But the Chathams are infamous for a range of extreme weather,... SEABIRD CALLS ...and sneaking in behind the clouds of mist comes a storm from the south. SOMBRE MUSIC SWELLS OMINOUSLY The residents must batten down the hatches. DRAMATIC MUSIC Fur seals race back to their land-based colony. Kina crawl to their home stars ` a pocket in the rock carved by the movement of the kina's own spines ` and crayfish hunker down in their crevices. DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES The swells bring with them all the flotsam of the ocean,... including a raft of bladder kelp. MUSIC SWELLS CYMBALS CLASH The next morning reveals the damage from the storm. SOMBRE MUSIC The huge, shallow lagoon at the heart of Chatham Island has become a prison for a swarm of jellyfish, which were blown in at the height of the storm. MUSIC CONTINUES The strength of the swells has also ripped paua from their rocks,... SEABIRDS CALL ...and now they're stranded. SEABIRDS CALL SOMBRE MUSIC The clean-up crew arrives, ready for the feast. MUSIC CONTINUES During the storm, one pilot whale was separated from her pod. PILOT WHALE CALLS Now she swims through the shallows, lost and confused. But the rest of her family might have suffered an even worse fate. Chatham Island is one of the most notorious places in NZ for pilot whale strandings. It's believed that the broad, shallow beaches disrupt the whales' sonar, which causes them to swim into water that's too shallow. PILOT WHALE CALLS The lost female hears a familiar call. PILOT WHALE CALLS It's another member of her pod. PILOT WHALES CALL Together, they follow the clicks and whistles towards the rest of the pod. The matriarch leads the whales to the safety of the open sea. MAJESTIC MUSIC For the skuas on Rangatira Island, the aftermath of the storm brings an extra bounty. SOMBRE MUSIC FLIES BUZZ Many seabirds were killed trying to land during the gale force winds, and now this is a scavenger's paradise. The clifftop nest parents take turns flying off to tuck into the windfall. GENTLE MUSIC And, of course, they're not eating just to stuff their own bellies. The chicks are almost a week old now and know exactly how to tell their parents they're hungry. PLAYFUL MUSIC Seems like it's time for Dad to go stock up again. MUSIC CONTINUES Meanwhile, the precocious little chicks rule the roost. (CHIRPS) The chicks won't fledge for another couple of months, but this little one is getting lots of practice in already. (CHIRPS) PLAYFUL MUSIC (CHIRPS) The male returns from topping up his resources, and the chicks are prime. Dad pre-digesting their food makes it easier for the chicks to eat. Dinnertime at the skua household is not for the squeamish. These chicks are fortunate to have such experienced parents taking care of their every need. SOMBRE MUSIC Other chicks on Rangatira Island have not been so lucky. FLIES BUZZ 1 SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC At Chatham Island, a raft of bladder kelp ends its rudderless journey. MUSIC CONTINUES The crew of tiny colonists who came with it have dispersed now,... but there's plenty of evidence of what their future may hold for them. SERENE MUSIC Hapuku thrive in the Chatham Islands, and many of these adults likely made the same journey when they were babies. WATER RUSHES Down on the paua beds, blue cod ` as always ` are on patrol,... seeking starfish they can rob. But this starfish isn't sharing. Blue cod have learned that when paua are fleeing, they're at their most vulnerable. Sometimes it seems like a game for these well-fed blue cod. PEACEFUL MUSIC Eventually the gang grabs a victim,... and a food fight concludes the morning's work. The blue cods' antics attract attention. OMINOUS MUSIC School sharks hunt unwary cod. This one has managed to get a bite out of someone, and now there's a scent of flesh in the water. MUSIC CONTINUES And that always attracts the biggest predator. He can taste the particles of food,... but the source eludes him. Great white sharks are known for their blubber-rich diet of marine mammals, but this is not the whole story. The majority of their diet comes from fish and squid. Great white sharks are curious beasts... and often snap at anything. Seaweed isn't an option for a true carnivore,... but cod are. This great white shark will just as happily settle for a nice fillet of fish. PEACEFUL MUSIC At the hilltop nest on Rangatira Island, the two skua siblings flourish with the devotion of both parents. CHICKS CHIRP Because the adults time their breeding to match this time of plenty, no one will go hungry. PLAYFUL MUSIC Skua chicks learn early that bullying and coercion equals food ` skills that will serve them well in the future. MUSIC CONTINUES Skuas might be the tyrants of the Chatham Islands, but the adults are remarkably tolerant when it comes to acting as the target for their chicks' life lessons. (SQUAWKS) Elsewhere in their range, brown skuas rarely raise two babies,... PEACEFUL MUSIC ...but here in the Chatham Islands, both chicks often survive to fledging. Thanks to the plankton bloom and the visitors it attracts, these chicks have had the best possible start in life. As summer draws to a close, the oceanic visitors begin to leave the islands. UPBEAT MUSIC The pilot whales follow their matriarch out to sea. PILOT WHALES CALL This is a society that truly values its elders. PILOT WHALES CALL The old females share with their pod a lifetime of experience,... and it's likely that regular returns to this unique corner of our big, blue backyard will be passed down in their map for their future.