The Year Earth Changed

to use their sonar 165 00:15:30,347 --> 00:15:33,016 more effectively in hunting their prey. 166 00:15:48,407 --> 00:15:51,535 It's three months into the pandemic. 167 00:15:52,369 --> 00:15:57,332 In the United States, nearly half the labor force is working from home. 168 00:15:57,416 --> 00:16:01,044 And globally, a quarter of businesses are shut. 169 00:16:03,005 --> 00:16:06,925 Bars, restaurants and cafés remain closed. 170 00:16:07,885 --> 00:16:12,514 When all is said and done, the retail business is shut down. 171 00:16:13,599 --> 00:16:17,311 Right now it feels abandoned. Like there's no one around. 172 00:16:18,395 --> 00:16:20,731 Across the world's major cities, 173 00:16:20,814 --> 00:16:24,985 footfall is reduced by more than 90%. 174 00:16:27,196 --> 00:16:29,531 With urban centers almost deserted… 175 00:16:29,615 --> 00:16:31,450 remarkable pictures emerge 176 00:16:31,533 --> 00:16:35,370 of animals taking advantage of city living. 177 00:16:39,124 --> 00:16:42,169 A hippo on a trip to the gas station. 178 00:16:47,508 --> 00:16:50,219 Jackals enjoying the local park. 179 00:16:55,140 --> 00:16:58,101 Even a puma prowling the sidewalk. 180 00:17:06,068 --> 00:17:10,196 But one animal adapts to these abandoned urban spaces 181 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:12,657 with particular ingenuity. 182 00:17:25,253 --> 00:17:29,591 The city of Nara has been home to a group of sika deer 183 00:17:29,675 --> 00:17:32,845 for at least 1,300 years. 184 00:17:36,223 --> 00:17:39,059 Most of the meadows they relied on for food 185 00:17:39,142 --> 00:17:41,812 had been taken over by buildings. 186 00:17:41,895 --> 00:17:45,440 But these normally shy animals had found a solution. 187 00:17:48,735 --> 00:17:55,367 The deer turned to the 13 million annual visitors to Nara's temples… 188 00:17:56,952 --> 00:17:59,955 and discovered that showing a bit of respect… 189 00:18:02,082 --> 00:18:03,917 would bring tasty rewards. 190 00:18:08,463 --> 00:18:13,010 Rice bran crackers had become a vital part of their diet. 191 00:18:22,978 --> 00:18:25,522 But the pandemic changed that. 192 00:18:32,154 --> 00:18:35,699 Their favorite takeout disappeared overnight. 193 00:18:40,996 --> 00:18:44,208 No people means no crackers. 194 00:18:53,133 --> 00:18:56,678 There's concern that the deer might starve. 195 00:18:56,762 --> 00:19:00,974 But some of the older generation appear to have a plan. 196 00:19:06,104 --> 00:19:10,025 They lead a group out of the temple grounds. 197 00:19:10,526 --> 00:19:12,945 And they seem to know exactly where they're going. 198 00:19:21,161 --> 00:19:23,789 They're heading down a major road… 199 00:19:26,124 --> 00:19:29,336 deep into the concrete jungle of the city. 200 00:19:40,889 --> 00:19:44,643 But where will they find food in this urban sprawl? 201 00:19:52,734 --> 00:19:55,153 After a two-and-a-half kilometer trek… 202 00:19:56,989 --> 00:19:58,991 the group comes to a halt. 203 00:20:04,454 --> 00:20:09,459 This unassuming patch was once part of their grazing grounds. 204 00:20:10,586 --> 00:20:12,713 Remarkably, the older deer 205 00:20:12,796 --> 00:20:16,592 seem to have remembered it as the place where they used to feed. 206 00:20:23,807 --> 00:20:26,268 And it provides everything they need: 207 00:20:26,852 --> 00:20:30,439 fresh grass, leaves and herbs. 208 00:20:35,152 --> 00:20:36,570 Over the following weeks, 209 00:20:36,653 --> 00:20:41,992 they graze across a patchwork of these surviving scraps of land. 210 00:20:44,286 --> 00:20:48,207 And there was another upside to the absence of people. 211 00:20:50,250 --> 00:20:55,589 Scientists have discovered that not only did this new diet make them healthier… 212 00:20:57,674 --> 00:21:01,678 but fewer visitors meant less plastic trash, 213 00:21:02,346 --> 00:21:04,056 which can kill deer. 214 00:21:09,728 --> 00:21:13,273 Even when it seems that animals benefit from our presence… 215 00:21:16,109 --> 00:21:19,738 in many cases, they're actually better off without us. 216 00:21:30,958 --> 00:21:35,128 Four months into lockdown, and wherever we step back, 217 00:21:35,212 --> 00:21:39,633 the space we leave is providing wildlife with new opportunities. 218 00:21:46,765 --> 00:21:48,225 In Argentina… 219 00:21:49,268 --> 00:21:51,562 normally shy capybara 220 00:21:51,645 --> 00:21:55,524 raid the manicured gardens of this well-heeled suburb… 221 00:21:57,317 --> 00:22:00,821 which has been built on their former wetland home. 222 00:22:04,032 --> 00:22:08,829 Nothing seems to stop them enjoying what was originally theirs. 223 00:22:27,472 --> 00:22:28,682 Well… 224 00:22:30,392 --> 00:22:31,727 almost nothing. 225 00:22:39,234 --> 00:22:44,781 The longer our absence continues, the more daring animals become. 226 00:22:46,366 --> 00:22:49,995 And when the safari season in Africa is canceled… 227 00:22:51,163 --> 00:22:55,417 …one deadly hunter rewrites the rule book. 228 00:22:58,086 --> 00:23:01,006 This luxury lodge stands empty. 229