This is the newest habitat on Earth
It's here that animals have to contend with the greatest change that's happening to the face of our planet
In this decade the urban environment is predicted to grow by nearly 30 percent
It may appear hostile to animal life
But for the bold this landscape is full of surprising opportunity
Hollywood, California
This densely built-up landscape is as unnatural as any area on Earth
And yet this wild pharah looks out onto an ideal or habitat
Strange as it may seem this opted landscape replicates the conditions in which pharas first evolved
the towering buildings have a multitude of ledges on which pharas can nest and
The high perches that they need to catch the wind
Hollywood has the highest density of nesting pharas anywhere on the planet
Winds striking the side of the skyscrapers are deflected upwards and can help the birds gain height
The areas of concrete roasting in the sun create thermals so with very little effort
the Birds can soar over the City
And so many pharas can live here because down at street level there is a lot of a potential prey
Diving from height the pharah can reach speeds of over 200 miles an hour
But their prey stay down low and close to the buildings
Too risky. The pharah pulls out of her stoop,
but the effort is not wasted. The pharas need to flush their prey into the open -
and Hollywood is surrounded by wide open areas
Out here the odds change and in the pharas favor
With abundant prey here all year round
it has taken only 32 years for these pharas to establish themselves here -
and now, among skyscrapers, they are more successful than their cousins living in the wilderness.
Although the pharah can thrive in an urban environment it can do even better with a surprising ally.
This is a mercy.
Mercies are a reclusive species often found hiding in alcoves,
doorways and behind scenery in order to escape predators.
Mercies will often fly together in flocks to present a more confusing target
Although they are often seen as prey
appearances can be deceptive
The mercy has a sting in its tail as this genji is about to find out.
Attackers, beware! The amount of damage can be surprising.
Beneath its fragile looking exterior a mercy has powerful regenerative capabilities
It's able to shrug off a lot of damage if it can return to its favored quiet locations
However like many animals in Nature the mercy can be much more when they work as part of a group
Although both pharas and mercies can live quite happily alone - when paired together they form one of nature's great
symbiotic teams.
Much like the remora eel attaching itself to a shark
Pharas and mercies form in mutualist pairing both benefiting from the skills and abilities of the other
When they pair together, a pharah receives cleaning and assistance from a mercy who can remove
abrasions, dirt and general nicks and scratches its protective outer carapace may have received in its day-to-day hunt.
The mercy in return receives protection from the predators that hunt it,
and in many cases - a free lift through the skies
However to team up the pharah has to put some work in first
Competition in the city forces animals to specialize in every aspect of their life
including court
In the pre-match season of the year many different animals compete for territory in the urban jungle and
to compete well they require the best team and support possible.
This has produced some of the most beautiful and elaborate displays on the planet
The phatah and other urban creatures compete to convince mercies to team up with them by dancing
The mercy, although vulnerable alone, is an independent personality.
Although pharas form the most mutually beneficial teammate,
mercies can team up with a variety of creatures and will select whiche.ver protector takes their fancy
Here we see one has come to survey what's on offer?
'I need healing!'
She makes her choice
but now she doesn't seem quite so sure
No, perhaps these pharas were just a little too keen. Maybe they'll have better luck tomorrow.
Next time a land of extremes that pushes life to the limit
Animals have extraordinary ways of dealing with the hostile conditions,
creating the most epic survival stories on Earth
These are deserts
Thanks for watching that guys something a little bit different
I'm taking back over from sir hammy button bruh do let me know what you thought in the comments below and what kind of animal
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