Galapagos

Four million years ago a furnace of molten rock erupted and created the Galápagos islands – a beautiful oceanic outpost 600 miles off mainland South America. It’s an unforgiving landscape – yet this unique chain of rocky islands is home to giant tortoises, equatorial penguins, pink iguanas, and dandelion trees. The islands also attract a wave of extraordinary ‘visitors’ every year, including albatross, whale-sharks and hammerhead sharks. Why do these ocean giants return to the Galápagos islands every year, and how exactly do they find it? Mission Galápagos uses a state-of-the-art research vessel – with floating labs, helicopters, and sonar scanners - to tackle some age-old riddles. Could a strong geomagnetic force-field be guiding the ocean giants towards the islands? And what can submersible cameras and 3D imaging tell us about the volcanoes and creatures that lie beneath? A team of expert presenters abseil into volcanoes, journey through mangroves to monitor baby sharks and free-dive off shore to tag mighty hammerheads and film baby sea lions at play. Scientists explore the extraordinary ways that local wildlife has adapted to island-life. From sunbathing penguins to iguanas that have learnt to swim, Mission Galápagos reveals just how far a species will stretch itself in order to survive. (BBC)