ORF-E
English
2 x 52 min
Worldwide except for Germany, Denmark and Sweden

These are the Canary Islands – isolated in the Atlantic Ocean off the North-west coast of Africa. Each island is unique with a diversity of terrain and climate – temperate coastlines, scorching deserts, tropical rainforests and frozen, snowcapped mountains. With features of a small continent, supporting one of the richest and most diverse ranges of native species on the planet.

Part I: Currents of Life – Wind and Water – transported pioneer seeds, insects and animals to the isolated landmasses, defined the diversity and distribution of life and created microclimates to which many species adapted, some evolving unique features to survive in these newly occupied lands.

Part II: Life on the Edge highlights nature’s consummate ability to endure under the impacts of the modern world, and explores the islands’ natural history, focusing on the fragile balance of life on the edge of extinction.

加那利群岛——远离非洲西北海岸孤立在大西洋中。每个岛屿都有其独特且多样的地形和气候-温带海岸线，炎热的沙漠，热带雨林和冰冻的雪山。这里类似于一个小大陆，孕育着地球上最丰富且最多样化的本土物种。
第一部分，风和水流将拓荒者的种子、昆虫和动物带到了这些孤岛。它们如同世界上仅存的温带云雾森林一样在小气候条件下繁衍生息。动物和植物进化出独特的特征以求在这些岛上生存，使得我们可以惊遇奇特的鸟类和雄伟的鲸鱼!
第二部分, 重点介绍了在一个艰苦的栖息地中生存所需要的条件，聚焦求生于壮丽的原始地貌边缘的脆弱平衡中的生活。在极限生存故事中，一种罕见的蜥蜴紧紧依附在一块礁石上，他们依靠海鸥幼崽的粪便存活，这是它们在整个岩石岛上唯一的食物!