♪♪ -In the heart of the Pacific Ocean, sits the most remote island chain on Earth.

♪♪ Hawaii.

♪♪ Born of fire... this is a land of extremes.

♪♪ From volcanic flows of lava... and soaring peaks... to tiny strips of sand.

♪♪ Reaching these isolated shores is extraordinarily difficult.

♪♪ And only the toughest have made it.

♪♪ But for the intrepid travelers that manage to arrive here, against all the odds, the rewards are plenty.

♪♪ With an abundance of opportunity found nowhere else for thousands of miles.

♪♪ Across the globe, islands, isolated by vast seas, are home to remarkable animal castaways... ♪♪ ...and extraordinary human cultures.

These islands of wonder cradle precious life found nowhere else on planet Earth.

♪♪ ♪♪ -In Hawaii's warm, tropical shallows rests a baby humpback whale... just two weeks old.

♪♪ Her mother swam 2,500 miles all the way from Alaska to give birth here... Because Hawaii is the best place in the world to raise her baby.

♪♪ [ Whale sings ] Its extreme isolation keeps her hidden from predators.

And surrounded by the deepest ocean in the world, these shallows offer the only warm water around.

[ Whale sings ] The newborn calf has yet to carry much insulating blubber and feels the cold.

[ Whale sings ] The Hawaiian islands also offer a protective barrier, sheltering her from the winds and currents of the open ocean... ♪♪ ...allowing her to rest... and put every ounce of milk and all her energy into growing.

♪♪ ♪♪ And like these humpbacks, for those that can reach these remote tropical shores, Hawaii provides a sanctuary and extraordinary opportunities for new life.

♪♪ The 50th state in the U.S. can be found in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

♪♪ Hawaii is made up of a chain of over 100 islands, stretching across 1,000 miles.

♪♪ Starting at the bottom of the chain is the largest island.

And traveling northwest, they get progressively smaller until they're little more than a strip of sand.

♪♪ The huge variety of habitats on the different islands offers a wide range of opportunities for life.

But to take advantage, pioneering animals must cross thousands of miles of open ocean to get here.

♪♪ How these islands came to be and just how life has managed to take advantage of all that Hawaii has to offer is a remarkable story... ...which begins beneath the waves... ...at the very bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

[ Rumbling ] Hawaii sits above a volcanic hotspot, like this, on the sea floor.

Liquid rock heated to 2,000 degrees spews from the Earth's core.

As the rock cools, it solidifies, creating new land.

Over hundreds of thousands of years, an underwater mountain gradually grows in size.

Eventually, its peak breaks the sea surface... ...and an island is born.

♪♪ As long as an island's volcanoes remain active, spewing more lava, it continues to grow in size... ♪♪ ...expanding by as much as 900 acres a year... ♪♪ ...and creating precious new land.

♪♪ ♪♪ But the islands don't keep growing forever.

Because all of Hawaii's islands are actually moving... slowly inching away from the volcanic hotspot that created them.

Hawaii sits on a massive tectonic plate which is carrying all the islands northwest.

As they form, each island moves off the hotspot, and another is made behind it -- like a conveyor belt.

This process has built a chain of islands, each one newer than the last.

[ Animals calling ] Over time, islands change radically.

The different ages of Hawaii's islands explain their different shapes, sizes, and habitats... ...and how they can offer so many opportunities for life.

The newest of all is known as Hawaii Island, or The Big Island.

It began forming a million years ago, and for now it's still on the volcanic hotspot.

The Big Island has the tallest peaks in all of Hawaii.

♪♪ The highest is Mauna Kea, which is sacred to native Hawaiians.

Measured from the seabed, it stands 1,000 feet taller than Mount Everest.

♪♪ Up here, totally isolated from the rest of the world, it's as far away as possible from man-made light pollution... ♪♪ ...and one of the best places on Earth for studying the universe.

♪♪ [ Clicking ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ These laser-guided telescopes are the largest in the world... ♪♪ ...and have already discovered over 100 new planets.

♪♪ But scientists have gone one step further, bringing space back down to Earth.

♪♪ The freezing heights and barren rock here make it the closest thing to the extreme conditions found on Mars.

♪♪ It couldn't be further from the island paradise down below, but it's the ideal training ground for astronauts preparing to live in space.

♪♪ For missions lasting between four months and a year, participants must live in total isolation... ♪♪ ...while carrying out research operations.

♪♪ Making a life on these desolate lava fields may seem as improbable as colonizing another planet.

♪♪ But this new land offers a huge opportunity.

Any creatures that can survive amongst the rubble will have the place to themselves.

And one hardy pioneer ha has found a way to capitalize.

The wekiu bug... meaning "summit" in Hawaiian.

♪♪ To find enough food to survive, it's resorted to loff the dead.

♪♪ Up here at 13,000 feet above sea level, temperatures can plummet well below freezing.

[ Wind rushing ] Other insects blown in on the wind quickly die.

But the wekiu's blood acts like antifreeze, protecting it from the cold.

♪♪ Using piercing mouth parts, it punctures its victim's exoskeleton and sucks out its juices.

♪♪ The wekiu may have originally come from South America.

So how did it cross thousands of miles of open ocean to get here?

The same way as its food arrives -- blown in on the wind.

[ Winds rushing ] Strong winds carry spores... seeds... and lightweight creatures high into the jet stream.

♪♪ ♪♪ The odds of being carried across the Pacific and then dropped precisely onto the only dots of land are miniscule.

♪♪ Yet, over millions of years, seed by seed, slowly but surely... life arrived.

♪♪ 30 miles away is the next island along the chain.

♪♪ Maui.

Made almost a million years before The Big Island... ♪♪ ...Maui, too, was once barren lava fields... ♪♪ ...but is now brimming with life.

[ Animals calling ] ♪♪ The journey to get here is so difficult that only the smaller creatures were light enough to be carried all this way.

♪♪ And while the wind transports life to the land of Hawaii, it also brings life to its surrounding waters.

Huge waves batter the coastline.

Created by strong winds out at sea and unimpeded by land for thousands of miles, waves continually grow.

Once they reach the shallows of the island, the waves rise up into giants and break.

Maui is home to some of the biggest surf on Earth.

Up to 70 feet high.

And these monsters allow life to flourish beneath the waves.

By mixing the layers of water, the pounding waves help stir up nutrients, feeding microscopic creatures called plankton.

Compared to the sterile waters of the surrounding open ocean, Hawaii's shallows are around 80% richer in plankton.

And bigger creatures are able to take advantage.

Like manta rays.

♪♪ With wingspans stretching over 15 feet, these rays can migrate vast distances, which is how they first discovered Hawaii.

♪♪ Totally toothless, they use rows of tiny plates in their mouths to sift plankton out of the water.

♪♪ When they hit a rich patch of food, they somersault in loops to maximize their catch.

♪♪ ♪♪ They may even chain-feed... ♪♪ ...following each other in a train so any food missed by the first is scooped up by the followers.

♪♪ These waters are so bountiful, they support one of the largest resident populations of manta rays on the planet.

♪♪ ♪♪ And with 9 million vacationers flocking to Hawaii every year, life for the manta rays has gotten even better.

♪♪ Divers take to the water in their hundreds to see these graceful giants.

♪♪ The divers' lights attract plankton, concentrating the mantas' food for them.

♪♪ They've even come to associate divers with dinner.

Isolated in open ocean, life must come a long way to capitalize on all that Hawaii has to offer.

But once here, with no competition, new species began to evolve to take advantage of every opportunity.

A single flock carried on a violent storm became 50 new species of honeycreeper.

And from just one pregnant fruit fly came over 1,000 new species.

Because all of these flies evolved here on Hawaii, they're found nowhere else on earth.

And each one has its very own courtship ritual.

♪♪ Like this male silvestris which wiggles its rear to create vibrations through the ground.

♪♪ But the female's not impressed and sends him packing.

♪♪ Another, the clavisetae fly, fans pheromones from his raised abdomen... sticking out his tongue for added appeal.

♪♪ And one species, cyrtoloma, has grown 30 times bigger than the average fruit fly.

♪♪ For these giants, it's a battle of strength to get the girl.

♪♪ ♪♪ As new creatures evolved, some became monsters.

♪♪ The caterpillar of the Eupithecia moth.

♪♪ Like most caterpillars, its ancestor ate plants.

♪♪ But with so many insects and so few predators here, this caterpillar seized the opportunity to feast on a meatier diet.

♪♪ It developed especially sharp claws.

♪♪ So few escape a grisly death.

The island of Maui may be a lush, tropical paradise, but it's shrinking.

Its now dormant volcanoes no longer build new land.

Instead, extreme weather wears away its peaks.

Maui contains some of the wettest places on Earth.

♪♪ Eight feet of rain can fall in a single month.

♪♪ Rainfall and waterfalls erode the soft volcanic rock.

♪♪ But across all the islands, this process has also created new rivers... ♪♪ ...providing yet more opportunities for life here.

♪♪ Young Hawaiian gobies leave the sea behind to take advantage of these upland rivers.

But to get to the pristine rivers above, these tiny fish face enormous hurdles.

Above, there are fewer predators and little competition for food.

So this plucky little fish begins her seemingly impossible ascent.

♪♪ Just days ago, her body transformed.

Her mouth moved 90 degrees downwards so she could use it like a suction cup.

♪♪ She alternates between her mouth and another sucker made from her fins on her underside, slowly pulling her inch-long body upwards.

♪♪ ♪♪ And she's not alone.

♪♪ ♪♪ The odds are stacked against them.

♪♪ Around 99% perish long before the top.

♪♪ ♪♪ It can take days of hard climbing before finally reaching the top.

There, the lucky few can grow up free from predators and with food aplenty.

The main islands of Hawaii are surrounded by extensive sheltered waters.

Nestled between Maui and its neighboring islands of Molokai and Lanai is a shallow channel, the most protected in Hawaii.

It's the perfect winter getaway for the biggest gathering of ocean giants on Earth.

♪♪ ♪♪ After a summer feeding in Alaska, 10,000 humpback whales leave the freezing waters behind and migrate 2,500 miles south to get here.

♪♪ It's one of the longest migrations of any mammal.

And they do it not just to give birth, but also to find a mate.

[ Whales singing ] The males fill the water with their love songs.

[ Whales singing ] In a show of strength, they breach 50 feet out of the sea.

[ Singing continues ] All in an attempt to win over a female.

But to help her choose her partner, she calls for a competition.

Slapping her fin, she invites the males to chase her.

And they quickly rise to the challenge.

[ Whales singing ] ♪♪ The winner will be the one that manages to stay at the head of the pack, closest to the female at the front.

[ Singing continues ] This is known as a heat run, and it's the biggest courtship race in the world.

♪♪ ♪♪ The males know all the dirty tactics.

One blows a screen of bubbles, trying to disorient his competitors.

♪♪ Others head-butt, ram, and slash with their tails.

♪♪ ♪♪ These 40-ton giants can seriously injure each other in their fight to get to the female at the front.

♪♪ ♪♪ After two hours of chasing, the lead male has proven his worth.

Pairing off, she leads him away to finally mate.

[ Whales singing ] Although no one's sure how these humpbacks ever found Hawaii, for those that make it here, these remote tropical islands offer extraordinary opportunities for new life.

And around 1,000 years ago, another pioneer discovered these islands -- a key moment in history which changed Hawaii forever.

♪♪ ♪♪ The ancestors of the Polynesians were an ancient seafaring nation that island-hopped their way from South East Asia across the Pacific to get here.

♪♪ Reaching these uncharted remote shores was such a remarkable feat that it's still celebrated today.

♪♪ Each year, in honor of their pioneering ancestors, Hawaii hosts one of the world's biggest canoe races.

♪♪ It's known as the The Na Wahine O Ke Kai -- Women of the Sea.

♪♪ Before the race begins, the teams gather for an opening prayer.

-[ Speaking native language ] -Many of those taking part descdescend from those heroic Polynesian voyagers.

Like Mahealani Botelho.

-Paddling affords me to connect to my ancestors, to my kupuna, to my family.

Initially our ancestors used it as a way of traveling, to seek home and shelter.

And, you know, now in these days we use it for racing.

[ Horn blares ] ♪♪ ♪♪ -The teams must paddle across 42 miles of grueling open ocean... between the island of Molokai and the next island along the chain, Oahu.

♪♪ To make their voyages of thousands of miles, the Polynesian ancestors used dugout canoes joined by a platform, powered by paddle and sail... ♪♪ ...in journeys lasting months.

♪♪ Today's race may be shorter, but it's so intense that exhausted paddlers must switch over.

♪♪ Like any relay, timing is crucial, and for Mahealani, it's a spiritual part of the race.

-You go through the whole gamut of emotion, and there's something magical that happens there because I think you just have to surrender yourself to the ocean.

♪♪ ♪♪ Navigating without visual landmarks takes remarkable skill.

The ancestral Polynesians could detect distant islands from wave reflections in the swell... ♪♪ ...just one of the cues that may have helped them discover Hawaii in the first place.

♪♪ ♪♪ With land in sight, the rival red team is drawing in on Mahealani's team.

♪♪ The finish line is on the shores of Hawaii's capital city, Honolulu.

♪♪ ♪♪ And after almost six hours of paddling, it's Mahealani's team that claims victory.

♪♪ [ Cheering and indistinct shouting ] ♪♪ -Whoo-hoo!

♪♪ [ Cheering ] ♪♪ -It's a magical bonding experience of women from young to old, and, you know, you're honoring the people that came before us, and you're honoring the people that will come after us, and ultimately honoring ourselves.

♪♪ ♪♪ -We don't know where the original settlers landed... but they quickly colonized all the large main islands, taking advantage of the abundant rainfall and rich volcanic soil that has developed over time.

As successive waves of people arrived, they slowly transformed parts of Hawaii into the buzzing modern metropolises they are today.

But the greatest change humans brought were all the new plants and animals that came with them.

A trend that has continued to modern times.

In 1972, a pet shop imported several dozen Jackson's chameleons from East Africa.

But they escaped.

[ Engine starts ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Slowly but surely... [ Dog whimpers ] ...they found their way out of the suburbs and up into Oahu's forests.

And that's when the trouble began.

Horned males joined the escapee females.

Free from predators and with an abundance of food, their numbers exploded.

They began eating their way through the unique collection of species that evolved on Hawaii... who had never seen a predator like this before.

Invasive species like these chameleons have contributed to the extinction of over 500 native species.

Attempts are now being made to recapture the chameleons -- part of a larger effort to save Hawaii's native wildlife... [ Truck horn blares ] ...even in the most unlikely places.

[ Horn blares ] In Hawaii's busiest city, Honolulu, a fluffy white tern just a few days old.

With no nest to protect him, he must cling carefully to his street perch... while he waits for his parents to deliver regular supplies of squid and small fish.

[ Chirping ] ♪♪ These birds were revered by the ancient Polynesians.

♪♪ They knew that if they saw a white tern with a bill full of fish, it was a sure sign that land was nearby.

♪♪ And yet it's likely the arrival of humans wiped them out from the main islands.

♪♪ But now the terns are making a comeback.

♪♪ In the last 60 years, their numbers have risen from a single pair to over 2,000 birds.

♪♪ Busy roads may help keep predators away.

♪♪ And trees planted within the city provide safety and prime nesting habitat.

♪♪ [ Horns honking ] ♪♪ In six weeks' time, this chick will take to the air... ♪♪ ...joining the island's now thriving white tern population.

♪♪ [ Thunder rumbling ] For one species, the changes people have made to Hawaii have brought new opportunities... and plenty of food.

♪♪ The Pacific golden plover.

♪♪ They migrate an epic 3,00 miles to get here from Alaska every winter.

♪♪ Because this is the perfect place for them to fatten up and double their body weight.

♪♪ Short grass is full of their favorite insects like cockroaches, caterpillars, and earwigs, which they locate by sight.

[ Engine rumbling softly ] And here the grass is carefully maintained year-round... ...because this is a military cemetery.

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

The final resting place for thousands of U.S. service personnel.

It sits inside an extinct volcano known as the Punchbowl Crater.

A visual reminder of how these islands were made... and just how much they've changed since people arrived.

♪♪ ♪♪ But on a far greater time scale, Hawaii has always been changing.

From their birth and through their gradual decline, there comes a time when these islands finally die.

Journeying northwest, Hawaii's islands become progressively older and smaller.

Over tens of millions of years, island that were once lush, towering peaks have been eroded to little more than a patch of sand.

Even now, while the land is lost above water, new opportunities open up for those beneath the waves.

[ Dolphins chirping softly ] These sinking islands, bathed in warm tropical seas, provide the perfect platform for coral reefs to thrive.

♪♪ They've become a magnet for ocean drifters like these green turtles... who travel here for a service that's not available in the open ocean... ♪♪ ...a thorough clean by reef fish to remove algae from their shells.

♪♪ The fish get a good meal... and the turtle can swim more easily.

♪♪ Like on land, many new species have evolved.

On some of these reefs, every single fish is unique to Hawaii.

The Hawaiian monk seal is another species found nowhere else.

After being hunted to the edge of extinction, it's now one of the rarest seals on Earth, with just 1,500 left.

Today their numbers are stable... thanks mainly to the creation of one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world... ♪♪ ...which stretches from the last of the main islands all the way to the end of the Hawaiian chain.

♪♪ There lies Midway Atoll.

At 30 million years old, it's one of the oldest of all the islands.

♪♪ Today all that's left of its once towering volcanic peak are 2 square miles of sand.

♪♪ But it's still highly prized real estate.

♪♪ [ Birds crying ] ♪♪ Once fiercely fought over in World War II's Battle of Midway... ♪♪ ...today it hosts three million nesting seabirds... [ Bird honks ] ...including the biggest colony of Laysan albatross in the world.

[ Rapid knocking ] ♪♪ Among the thousands, one 4-month-old chick is getting desperate.

Like the other chicks around him, he's still flightless and entirely dependent on his parents for food.

But his mother is the oldest known living bird in the wild -- an astonishing 67 years old.

He hasn't seen her for over a week.

She may be thousands of miles away searching for food.

In the searing tropical sun, he desperately pants to cool down... ...and can only watch while other parents return to feed their chicks.

♪♪ ♪♪ But after two long weeks of waiting... ♪♪ ...the world's oldest known bird finally appears.

♪♪ ♪♪ Identified as "Z333" on her leg band... she's more affectionately known as "Wisdom."

♪♪ And to her chick, she's instantly recognizable as Mom.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ In her extraordinary lifetime, Wisdom has flown around 3 million miles to successfully raise 37 chicks.

[ Knocking ] Now she's surrounded by three generations of her extended family, but this exceptional great-grandmother has no time to rest... ♪♪ ...only staying for ten minutes before leaving to search for more food.

♪♪ The chick may have one of the most experienced mothers in the world, but his future is uncertain.

♪♪ The natural process that sees Hawaii's islands slowly sink back into the ocean is accelerating with rising sea levels.

♪♪ By the end of this century, due to climate change, many low-lying islands like Midway Atoll are predicted to disappear... and with them their unique wildlife.

[ Knocking ] ♪♪ But as some of Hawaii's islands are reclaimed by the sea, others are rising up under the depths, ready to form new land... ♪♪ ...and create even more opportunity for any brave creatures that can reach these distant shores and make Hawaii their home.

♪♪ ♪♪ -To order "Islands of Wonder" on DVD, visit ShopPBS or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.

This program is also available on Amazon Prime Video.

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