Wild Wonders of Patagonia: Exploring Nature's Beauty at the End of the World | Full Documentary

Patagonia, at the southernmost tip of the American continent. Home to a fascinating animal world. A bleak region shaped by mountains, wind and water. Patagonia seems to be mostly uninhabited, certainly by man. Which makes it a paradise for animals. The rusty remains of an old lighthouse stirs the curiosity of this young Patagonian fox. The scrubland on the Argentinian east coast is an ideal playground to prepare him for the severities of life. A good sparring partner is never far away. The young adults practice their hunting skills playfully. The Patagonian fox is known as a hunter. These two are siblings that have recently been abandoned by their mother. Now they're taking their first steps together towards independence. The next exercise is, where's the food? What will their first catch be? A rodent? A bird? Soon, they'll each go their own way. As loners, they'll be rivals if they meet again. A peculiar, prehistoric-looking creature is on patrol. The dwarf armadillo is usually nocturnal. It makes shallow caves in the sandy coastal soil and spends its days there asleep. Either hunger or an excited fox must have flushed this one out. Now it's foraging for food. A grasshopper snack that might make up for missing its daytime nap. The young foxes go off in search of new adventures. Masculine honking fills the air along the Patagonian coast. September is the mating season for Magellanic penguins. Each pair keeps a beady eye on its burrow. The male sticks doggedly to his lady's side. But before she lays her eggs, close inspection of the burrow takes priority. He can only hope that his hollow will meet with her approval. And he falls back on what he does best, puts back his head and brays. Loudly, he lays claim to both burrow and mate. During the breeding season, penguins are strictly monogamous. One guards the nest, while the other goes fishing. Fishing forays can take them up to 500 kilometres away from their breeding grounds. Commuting relationships like this need strong ties. With heads held high, the penguins successfully negotiate the difficult trek to the ocean. Well, most of the time. A black and white troop waddles to the breakers. Hunger must be driving them. But when they get to the water, Magellanic penguins are in their element. They plunge headfirst into the swells. The seas off Patagonia are rough, with metre-high waves. But personal hygiene rituals may still not be neglected. Penguins demonstrate their true grace when they swim. They dive down to around 90 metres to catch fish, squid and krill. They can be hunting for hours or even days, returning to dry land only when they're absolutely full. They know it could be a very long time before their next meal. This penguin reunion is almost tender. But the togetherness doesn't last long. The hungry partner soon makes its way to the open sea. An unusual encounter of a Patagonian kind. The green coastal bush is irresistible to the guanaco. Because juicy grass is scarce in the steppes. Darwin's rears also hunt here for seeds, plants and insects. Rears and guanacos often live close to each other. The sharp eyes of the flightless birds and the guanaco's finely-tuned sense of smell combine to form an excellent early warning system that the penguins benefit from. A new life begins. After about three months, the penguin chicks lose their fluffy down. Once they've molted, the young birds grow a coat of waterproof feathers and can venture into the sea. The coastal stretch is covered by millions of feathers. Testimony to a successful breeding season. A colony of South American sea lions. They're far away, so they pose no direct threat to the penguin colony. The baby sea lions take to the water soon after birth. They learn to swim in the sheltered shallows. Colonies of over a hundred animals are not unusual. It's no easy task finding your mother in a crowd like this. Just like any other babies, the first thing they do is cry loudly. When they're very young, sea lion pups can only bleat or howl. The mother's calls and her scent lead the pup back to the safety of her presence. While the mother is out hunting, the pups are looked after in a kind of kindergarten. Penguins are a rare delicacy. Generally, sea lions live off fish, crustaceans or squid. The rich fishing grounds off the coast of Patagonia are an ideal habitat for sea lions. Waves, plentiful fish and a sheltered beach. A veritable sea lion paradise. At sunrise, the peaks of the Torres del Paine mountains glow a luminescent red. They form the majestic centre of the Chilean National Park in the heart of Patagonia. Torres del Paine, the name means towers of the blue heavens. And rightly so. Their striking granite peaks soar almost 3,000 metres into the skies. Guanacos graze in broad valleys between the steep slopes. According to local Indio lore, the mountains are their shepherd, watching over them constantly with eyes of stone. Guanacos are the wild cousins of the llama, the traditional farm animal of the Andean peoples. They live in small family herds. The alpha male keeps a vigilant eye on his little group. Their thick coat and tasty meat made the Guanaco a favourite target for hunters. This is why they have become virtually extinct in many parts of South America. But today, in the Torres del Paine National Park, they have nothing to fear. And their numbers are increasing steadily. No other animal is as closely associated with this landscape as the Guanaco. It could even be called the king of the Andes, if it were not for this creature, the largest vulture in the world. The Andean condor, lord of the skies. Seemingly weightless, it glides on the upward thermals high above the Andean mountain peaks. Its three-metre wingspan allows it to drift up to 7,000 metres above ground. The remains of this Guanaco don't interest the scavenger. It's been lying here for too long. The Guanacos have adapted to the harsh living conditions in the Patagonian mountains. Like all camelids, Guanacos ruminate to make the tough grasses more digestible. The mighty granite massifs are testimony to the immense forces that created the fold mountains of the Andes over millennia. They influence the climate of the whole of South America. And also Patagonia, the harsh, wild land at the very end of this continent.