South Pacific

The isolation of the South Pacific islands has created the most surprising examples of life found anywhere on Earth; from giant crabs that tear open coconuts, to flesh eating caterpillars that impale their prey. Human culture is quite different here too. The men of Pentecost Island celebrate their annual harvest by leaping from 20 meter wooden scaffolds with only forest vines to break their fall.

The 20,000 islands of the South Pacific may be the most isolated in the world, but every one of them has been colonized. This is the story of the ultimate castaways - from salt water crocodiles and giant eels to crested iguanas and weird frogs. The voyages of the South Pacific's first people - the Polynesians - were no less remarkable.

Many animals that live in the ocean, among them sharks, whales and turtles - must go to extraordinary lengths to survive. Tiger sharks travel hundreds of miles to feast on fledging albatross chicks and, every year, sperm whales journey from one side of the South Pacific to the other in their search for food and mates.

Witness the birth, growth and death of an island. From the violent volcanic beginnings emerge coral reefs of supporting large groups of grey reef sharks and giant manta rays. The rising lands of the South Pacific have also given life to some very strange creatures, from the vampire bug that thrives in tropical snow, to the megapode, a bird that uses volcanic springs to incubate its eggs.

Flightless parrots, burrowing bats, giant skinks and kangaroos in trees - on the isolated islands of the South Pacific, the wildlife has evolved in extraordinary ways. But island-living can carry a high price, for when new species arrive, all hell breaks loose.

The South Pacific is the greatest ocean on earth - still relatively healthy and teeming with fish. But it's a fragile paradise. It's home to the planet's richest coral reefs and most iconic ocean wildlife; whales, sharks, albatross and tuna. The whales' future looks secure, for the moment, but international fishing fleets are taking a serious toll on the sharks, albatross and tuna.