Reptiles have roamed the planet for over 300 million years...
...But now they face a world that's changing faster than it ever has before.
This pace is hard for anyone to keep up with.
These ancient creatures are on a collision course with a very new situation.
So do reptiles have a future in the modern world?
Reptiles are the creatures time forgot...
As the surface of the planet was transformed
...some even outlived the dinosaurs.
Adapting time after time to new situations
reptiles proved themselves to be supreme survivors.
But the world today could be their greatest test.
A concrete jungle jammed with people...
modern-day Miami is a landscape reptiles never had to deal with in the past.
Just a hundred years ago, this part of Florida was an alligator swamp...
...now it's an urban jungle.
What was once reptile heaven... ...Iooks like reptile hell.
But that doesn't mean reptiles have disappeared.
In fact, they turn up in the most surprising places.
Here, image is everything,
and reptiles have become high-status accessories.
But some exotic pets like these boa constrictors
have escaped life in captivity... and set up a new home in the suburbs.
Florida's warm climate suits them...
they've even begun to breed.
But it's not just fugitive pets that are new on the block.
Anole lizards from the Caribbean stow away and jump ship here.
Today, ten immigrant species compete with Florida's native anole.
In fact, a cosmopolitan mix of reptiles call Miami home...
and some of them are treading on our toes.
This is the undisputed Mr Big.
On this golf course, the water hazard is more hazardous than usual...
It's one place where the future has caught up with the native alligators...
Someone has slapped a fairway bang on top of this predator's ancestral home...
But he's not about to change the habits
of several thousand years for a little white ball.
So Florida is starting to look like a nicely manicured Jurassic Park.
Since they can't stop the tide of progress,
reptiles have no choice but to go with the flow.
They'll only have a future if they can adapt - and fast.
Can reptiles use their age-old skills to face a brave new world?
A surprising new discovery is shedding light on how adaptable they really are.
The desert of North-west Africa -
one of the harshest places on earth.
Yet here some relatives of the Miami alligators
have found a way to beat the odds.
In the dried-out heart of Mauritania, water loving crocodiles have been discovered.
To understand why, we have to go back in time.
5,000 years ago, this area was fertile grassland.
Then, as the sands of the Sahara swallowed up the northern part of Africa,
the lush savannah disappeared.
Most mammals bit the dust...
But these resourceful reptiles found a way to beat the devastating climate change.
So how do they exist when water is so scarce?
It rains forjust a few weeks each year, creating temporary pools.
So at least part of the time, the crocodiles can find somewhere to live.
With the big game gone their only source of food is smaller creatures
that can survive these harsh conditions.
In the wet season, these crocodiles behave like any others would,
living and hunting in the water of this tiny oasis in the vast desert.
But in the dry season, nearly all the water sources do dry up...
and this is when the desert crocodiles do something
that has been a mystery for thousands of years...
When the water goes, they vanish too.
Where they go is a riddle that has only recently been solved...
As the intense heat bakes the land, there's just one option - down.
Who would have thought to look for crocodiles 10 metres underground...
But as temperatures outside soar to 40 degrees Celsius,
these clever reptiles keep their cool.
They shut down and enter a kind of hibernation.
They slow down their metabolism, a smart technique to save their energy.
And thanks to this extreme survival tactic
they can last for several months with no water or food.
It's thought that if they do emerge during this time,
it's only in the cool of night.
Over the centuries, as their home gradually dried up,
these reptiles changed their entire lifestyle to allow them to survive.
Faced with a shifting climate,
versatility gave them a future...
But today, extreme change can come much faster than that...
In Barbados, another ancient reptile's future is in doubt...
because of the sheer speed of human change.
Turtles have cruised the tropics since the dinosaurs were here.
These veterans may live more than a century...
but during their lifetime their world has been transformed.
When turtles landed on this beach just 40 years ago,
it would have been deserted...
now, it's a different world.
Turtles need warm sandy beaches to lay their eggs...
but people love beaches too.
More people and more development means less space for turtles every year.
The turtles have no choice
- they have to come ashore to lay their precious eggs.
After dark, at least it's quieter, but they still face an obstacle course...
And they have to nest in whatever space they find.
Turtles rely on laying lots of eggs,
as only about one in a thousand survive to reach adulthood.
Even the sea is a dangerous place
- trapped in nets and poisoned by pollution,
Many turtles are already endangered.
Having to share the beach just stacks the odds against them even more.
During the day, the beach is home to the holiday crowd.
Most people have no idea what's going on beneath their feet
- and how vital it is to the turtle population.
And all this activity on the surface can affect the developing eggs below.
Some dangers are obvious...
Constant pressure on the sand compacts it,
which can crush the eggs too close together...
This could starve them of oxygen.
If they do manage to survive all this,
the babies will hatch two months later, under cover of darkness...
They rely completely on their instincts to take them to the sea...
They aim for the brightest horizon,
which for millions of years would have been the Water.
But today, they can be easily misled... Like moths to a flame,
these hatchlings are drawn to the lights of a hotel resort...
Once there, they're totally confused.
Thers are disorientated by the bright lights of a road...
The further they wander off course,
the more Likely they are to run into cars or predators,
or get lethally dehydrated.
These hatchlings have found water - but the wrong kind.
Attracted to a bright spa pool,
they're trapped in the chlorinated water.
Luckily, there's help at hand.
The Barbados Sea Turtle Project patrols the beaches every night
on the lookout for turtles in trouble.
These hatchlings get a second chance... released back on the beach,
in a dark quiet spot well away from the confusing lights.
Worldwide, many turtles are having a tough time adapting to so much change so fast.
If they are to survive in the future, something will need to change.
But there's one place at least where turtles are showing
they can Move with the times...
In San Diego Bay, green turtles gather in large numbers...
They're normally solitary, so this is unusual for a start...
They are also growing at an accelerated rate
- as these scientists are finding out
- and reaching maturity quicker than other turtles.
So what's going on?
To find out,
one old lady of the sea is coming
face to face with modern science.
It's a bit of an indignity, but it won't do her any harm.
Tracking devices are securely attached to her shell,
they'll be retrieved when her assignment is over.
She is now fully equipped for her mission to spy on her neighbours in the bay.
The transmitters won't affect her swimming
- although she may get some strange looks from the other turtles!
And the results of this hi-tech surveillance are surprising...
the answers lie around the power plant that dominates the bay.
It turns out that the clean water running out of it is several degrees warmer
than the open ocean.
These 'Jacuzzi-like' conditions are ideal for sea grass...
a turtle's favourite salad.
Unlike other turtles,
they can keep feeding throughout the winter months
- another reason they grow faster here.
These turtles have acted quickly to turn a changing situation
to their own advantage.
Spotting opportunities like this is one way
reptiles will survive in a future world.
Here, a single power plant has created turtle heaven.
But worldwide, thousands of them have a very different Effect.
Global warming, partly caused by air pollution,
could be the biggest thing to affect our planet in the future.
But is that really bad news for reptiles?
After all, these cold-blooded creatures depend on external heat to warm them up,
and they thrive in hot environments.
It's possible a rise in temperature might give reptiles a boost.
But changes on such a huge scale are hard to predict.
And for some reptiles,
the outside temperature holds another vital card
- it decides their sex.
These pink flags mark painted terrapin nests on the banks of the Mississippi.
Studies have revealed that when the air is warmer,
more females hatch out than males.
During the hottest summers, there are no males at all.
Obviously, if this happened every year,
the terrapins in this area Would become extinct.
In the past, if one place got too hot,
reptiles could simply find a cooler area to lay their eggs.
Now, space is more limited.
When it comes to finding a home in the modern world,
it's a case of location, location, location.
Some reptiles' homes are vanishing from right under their feet.
In South Africa,
dwarf chameleons are perfectly formed to move around their native vegetation,
Using specialist gripping feet and a prehensile tail.
But like many other places,
Cape Town is the focus of a huge property boom,
and remaining pockets of wild land are being cleared.
Drastic change like this
Would seem to leave reptiles little room for manoeuvre.
But these chameleons have spotted a gap in the market.
As the builders move in,
immaculate suburban gardens offer them a brand new home.
And as these residents are famous for their disappearing act,
they often go unnoticed by their new neighbours.
Best of all,
the chameleons' new residence comes with a restaurant attached.
A compost heap loaded with rotting fruit and vegetables draws swarms of flies...
It's all fast food for the chameleons with their flypaper tongue...
This all-you-can-eat buffet is an improvement on their previous home.
The chameleons carve up their des res into individual territories,
and don't appreciate the neighbours dropping by.
They usually show their displeasure through a ritualised display...
bobbing their heads,
striking a suitably intimidating posture...
even changing colour to signal their angry mood.
But sometimes this mimed combat escalates into a claws-on fight.
This chameleon knows this is a place worth fighting for!
We may have pushed them out of their natural habitat,
but they're now doing very well in ours.
Finding a space in the expanding human world is probably the best way reptiles
can improve their prospects for the future.
Another lizard has managed to infiltrate the very Heart of city life.
Geckos view our world from a unique perspective...
and in Bangkok, they explore the streets.
It seems a million Miles away from living in the trees...
But these tokay geckos have transferred
their climbing skills to man-made structures.
They can do this thanks to minute forces of attraction...
tiny hairs on their feet clamp them to the surface they're walking on.
These superhero Skills make them expert at breaking and entering...
While they can't exactly leap tall buildings in a single bound,
they can support their entire weight on just one toe when landing.
The human world provides a dazzling new arena for the geckos to explore...
and they've quickly learned to make the most of it.
Places full of food and people also draw crowds of tasty insects.
Our invention of the light bulb has dramatically increased
the geckos' odds of capturing a meal.
All they have to do is loiter around the lights,
waiting for one to be lured in.
Not only do they have a superhero's grip
- their strike speed would put many to shame!
Since geckos prey on insects.
We don't mind them sharing our space.
So geckos have got what it takes to thrive in the urban jungle...
in fact, in most tropical cities,
they outnumber us.
Neon streets have opened up a whole new gecko world...
As cities grow,
this reptile's Future is looking bright.
Many reptiles are rising to the challenges of modern life...
Some have hit the jackpot by adjusting fast...
...others have managed to carve out a place in the new urban world.
But although city living has its benefits,
not all reptiles make such good neighbours as geckos.
Some are coming head to head with humans.
In South Africa,
another reptile population is doing well in town,
but they're regarded as neighbours from hell.
Cities are spreading into areas long ruled by dangerous snakes.
These predators do their best to adapt and explore this new urban world.
But not everyone appreciates their skills!
This is a cape cobra...
the deadliest snake in southern Africa.
Its venom is neurotoxic,
which means it affects your nerve cells
and can stop you breathing in less than half an hour.
Yet this snake is the one you're most likely to find in a house.
Unlike most snakes,
cobras don't seem bothered by the strange objects
and scents that fill the human world.
They make themselves at home
- it's thought some even come indoors as a refuge from the mid-day heat.
Snakes have the ideal body shape to sneak around the underworld of our homes...
Cobras actively hunt out their prey,
so investigating their surroundings is their natural way to locate food.
Rodents are a magnet for them...
The mice are here to raid the kitchen cupboards...
So far they've gone unnoticed by the people who live here,
but a snake doesn't have to see them - it can pick up their scent from outside.
Cold-blooded cobras have been hunting warm-blooded mice for thousands of years
- the human world simply provides a different backdrop.
The problem is,
most people aren't keen on having a cobra as a house guest.
It's lack of space that creates a conflict between people and reptiles,
and this looks set to get worse in the future.
In Cape Town,
snakes are turning up in houses on a daily basis.
It's such a problem that professionals are called in to remove them.
If you want to catch a cobra quick, you'll need a secret weapon.
Meerkats are naturally curious...
In a new area they'll inspect everything.
And their sensitive nose can soon sniff out the distinctive scent of a snake.
And snakes have turned up in some very surprising places...
under cushions, kitchen units, inside washing machines
and even video recorders.
Without the meerkat's help, this job could take far longer.
And it's not as risky for the meerkat as you'd think.
They actively harass snakes in the wild.
They can afford to do this
because they seem to have a natural resistance to snake venom.
Once the meerkat finds the snake,
he broadcasts its location with a loud alarm call... and then withdraws.
He's bold, but he's not stupid!
Now, the snake catcher can do his job...
and take the snake to safety outside the city limits.
It seems that people aren't prepared to share space with snakes.
So what happens when they mount an out and out invasion?
The Pacific island of Guam is thousands of miles
from the nearest land mass,
and its unique wildlife has evolved in isolation.
But in the 1950s,
something strange began to happen to the island's forests.
Most birds mysteriously disappeared,
leaving insects and spiders to run wild...
It became a sinister world, teeming with creepy crawlies.
Even stranger, snakes began to appear.
But Guam has no native snakes.
So how did they get here?
Guam is an American island,
and was an important military base in the second world war.
The increased traffic opened the door for those hitching a ride.
And nothing is better designed as a stowaway than a snake...
Just one pregnant brown tree snake,
en route from Australasia,
would have been enough to launch the invasion.
On Guam, the snakes struck very lucky...
The island's unique birds had never even seen a snake,
let alone one that climbed trees and hunted at night.
Roosting birds were sitting ducks.
Although they're only mildly venomous
their killing spree has wiped out nearly all Guam's birds.
There are now more than 12,000 snakes per square mile.
Brown tree snakes aren't fussy eaters, and this too has helped them thrive.
While most snakes only eat live prey,
these scavengers happily hoover up our leftovers.
With so many snakes on the island, they're turning up everywhere...
This invasion is nojoke...
and the authorities are taking it extremely seriously.
They're worried that the snakes could stow away again
and forge the same trail of destruction somewhere else.
So special agents have been drafted in... Jack Russell terriers...
trained to sniff out not drugs, but snakes.
All cargo is checked at the port before leaving Guam.
Hundreds of snake traps are strategically positioned all over the island,
while posters keep people on the lookout.
The snakes are nocturnal, so government teams patrol by night.
But there are now so many snakes here, it's hard to dent their numbers.
A small but versatile brown snake is defeating
the best efforts of the US authorities.
Although this reptile relocation was disastrous for the birds on Guam,
it's been a triumph for the tree snakes.
Their adaptability has earned them a new island home.
In future, who knows how far they will go?
As reptiles colonise new corners of our world,
they spark serious conflict.
Some threaten our lives...
...while others dramatically alter the world around them.
If even small reptiles can have this effect,
what happens when the real monsters
of the reptile world come face to face with man?
In a remote part of Indonesia lives a modern-day dragon
- with a monster-sized dilemma.
Komodo dragons are the world's biggest monitor lizards.
They're found only on five small islands,
where they've ruled for thousands of years.
But things have changed.
Who wouldn't want to see a real-life dragon?
They've become world-famous,
and their isolated home is now a major landmark on the tourist map.
Until recently, the dragons were in danger of becoming victims of their own success.
For many years,
these mighty predators were fed hand-outs as a show for tourists.
But hand-feeding dragons was playing with fire.
The monsters soon preferred their fast food diet.
Many stopped hunting altogether and went to seed...
becoming fat and sluggish as they waited for the tourists to show up.
Squabbles over food increased their aggression.
So the feeding was eventually stopped.
But old habits die hard.
The dragons still try to cash in on the benefits people bring.
They're less wary of us than they were,
and many still hang around humans,
hoping for a hand out, or scavenging scraps.
They've got used to life in the spotlight,
where the paparazzi capture even their most intimate moments.
And this trade-off seems to work...
the dragons' popularity is their insurance for the future...
For as long as tourists pay to see them,
local people will help them survive.
We get to see our real-life dragons...
and these lizards can still rule their island.
But in other places,
living with monster reptiles is more dangerous than ever before.
In Australia,
campers share their space with man-eaters...
They say you shouldn't go down to the water
at the same place more than once...
because the giant reptiles that live here watch...
and remember...
Do it once, and you'll probably be okay...
Do it twice, and you might stay lucky...
Three times and you're really asking for trouble!
Another day, you might lose a lot more than your boot.
This is the planet's largest living reptile
- the saltwater crocodile...
An animal that sees us simply as another meal...
In northern Australia, saltie attacks are on the up.
Just 30 years ago,
crocs were endangered here after decades of being hunted for their skins.
But as soon as they were protected, they made a monster come-back!
As their numbers increase Crocs compete for space.
These two males are locked in a ritualised fight over territory.
The losing crocodiles are forced into new areas
- Which brings them into contact with people.
As the human population in the Northern Territory also grows,
man and man-eater meet more often than ever before.
Some water sports now have an added thrill...
As crocodiles increase their range,
it's people who will have to change...
Learning the rules could keep you alive.
For one thing, don't stand in their strike zone at the water's Edge...
As crocs enjoy their protected status, there aren't just more of them
- they're getting even bigger too.
Today, a five metre long monster is a regular sight.
It may seem odd that people are prepared to share
their world with such dangerous animals.
But like the Komodo dragons, these reptiles pull in a crowd.
It's good for the local economy - and good for the crocodiles too...
They've found a very modern way to get a meal.
They've learned to recognise the engine of the boat that carries food...
And only come in closer when they know it's the one.
The jumping up isn't a circus trick
- it's something crocodiles do naturally to catch certain prey.
Their powerful tail provides the main thrust for the jump,
while their legs help them balance.
In return for this display of power and strength,
the crocodiles get their lunch.
By adapting their ancient skills,
they're making the most of a very modern situation.
These crocs are forcing us to take more notice of their abilities
and a new discovery looks set to change our view of them forever.
Gatorland in Florida is home to a group of Cuban crocs.
They're endangered in the wild,
but protecting them even in captivity is no easy task.
They're notorious to reptile keepers everywhere,
as being the most aggressive of their kind.
Even a routine check can spark a reaction.
This gallop is a Cuban croc speciality - it can top 10 miles per hour.
One keeper who wanted to make working with these animals easier,
decided to try something new...
He trained them!
Crocodiles are known to respond to various sounds...
But the way these Cuban crocs react to training
illustrates a different level of intelligence.
The three crocodiles in this enclosure have been given names
- Ricardo, Chikita and Lucy.
It's clear they can hear the keepers voice from under the water but remarkably,
they recognise their own name.
Keeper syncRicardo here.
Good boy. Ricardo here. Good boy. Good boy. Ricardo here.
Only Ricardo,
the croc whose name is being called, is swimming over...
He gets his first reward for responding to the keeper's call...
And then he's asked to 'hold'...
Keeper syncRicardo hold. Hold. Hold.
He's only centimetres away from food.
Keeper syncGood boy.
Yet he holds back... Until he gets the go-ahead.
Keeper upRicardo up. Ricardo up. Good boy. Ricardo up. Good boy.
It turns out crocodiles are the only reptiles with a developed cerebral cortex.
Keeper syncRicardo water
This brainpower is undoubtedly what's helped crocs adapt for millions of years.
But it's only now we're beginning
to see beyond the image of cold-blooded killer.
These animals aren't just relics from the past
- they're proving they'll be monsters for the future.
...many reptiles have earned their place in today's changing world.
A few are even squeezing us out of our space.
And living side by side, the scales have fallen from our eyes...
Now we're beginning to see reptiles
as modern animals with unique skills,
is it time to admit that we could learn from them?
It turns out reptile technology is more sophisticated than we'd ever thought.
Crocodiles live in stagnant water teaming with bacteria...
superbugs that Would be the end of us.
Even when injured, they don't seem to get infected...
Something is protecting them.
Scientists have finally cracked this mystery.
A substance in crocodile blood kills bacteria...
an incredibly powerful antibiotic.
In a world where our antibiotics are becoming less effective,
this could be a major discovery.
Turtles too, may have an ancient history, but hold a futuristic power.
It seems they have a very low rate of genetic mutation.
Their cells are programmed not to change - unlike ours,
which mutate and grow old far more rapidly.
This may one day help us fight cancer...
and imagine if,
in future, the ancient turtles have the power to stop us growing old!
Snake venom is a highly complex chemical...
capable of affecting us in many ways.
Scientists are now investigating.
A single drop has an instant effect on mammal blood.
Snake venom is already used in drugs to fight diseases such as cancer,
strokes and heart attacks.
Commercial preparations of these compounds now save
thousands of human lives every year.
The gecko's futuristic feet could have a major impact too.
Researchers are now making artificial gecko hairs, and 'gecko tape'
Which could one day be the strongest adhesive in the world.
A 'gecko suit' would give us all the powers of a superhero...
Far from being creatures of the past,
reptiles are helping us to face the future.
Today, reptiles still rule many corners of the world,
sometimes with supreme power.
For millions of years,
they've outsmarted their prey and confused their enemies
- by using unique skills and astonishing technology that
we're only now beginning to understand.
Many modern reptiles Seem destined to do well in the future.
Given the chance,
they may even be able to Teach us a thing or two
These extraordinary animals ruled
our planet long before we arrived,
and they still have a role to play.