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The west coast of America.

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It's a landscape full of extremes.

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Bringing up a family here
would be a challenge to anyone.

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So how do the mothers
in this neighborhood succeed?

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By far the most dynamic area is the coastline

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It's famous for its storms
but it's also rich in life.

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The cold shoreline is a difficult place to live.

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For a single mother, it's challenging.

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Yet this is where a sea otter mother
lives and brings up her pups.

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Dad plays no part. Mum is left
quite literally holding the baby.

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Otters only produce one pup at a time.

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It's hard enough for the mother to survive
here, let alone bring up a demanding pup.

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The pup comes with its own fluffy life jacket.

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Keeping it groomed is one of
the mother's essential tasks

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for if such a tiny pup got waterlogged,
it will be fatally choked within minutes.

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She supports her pup on her belly,
warming and feeding it.

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But like all busy mothers she needs
to grab a meal when she can

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and to do that means abandoning the pup on
the surface while she goes in search of food.

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The water is so cold
she needs to eat about a third of her
own body weight a day just to keep warm.

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And producing rich creamy milk
is an extra burden.

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The richest of our ice-creams is only 15% fat

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Her milk is a luxurious 25%.

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Not every dive is successful

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and she may need to move around the coast
if she's to find a meal.

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Sea otters are fussy feeders and
each individual has its own special favorites

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If octopus is on her menu
she needs to dive deep and search hard.

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But it's worth the effort.
One octopus makes a substantial meal.

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Other otters prefer shellfish or crabs
not the easiest of snacks to open

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but with practice, they can use rocks
to smash open their catch.

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As the pup's baby fur
changes to a waterproof coat,

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the youngster gets better
at swimming and diving

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and gradually learns to become independent

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By 2 months, mum starts
to share her solid meals

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and her favorite snacks will become
her baby's favorites too.

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But even when it's old enough to catch its own
dinner, it still pests mum for an easy meal.

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Otter pups have a lot to learn
about their complex home.

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And the more time and energy
their mother invest in them,

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the more likely she is to succeed
in passing on her genes.

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And experiences worth a lot here.

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Older mothers are far more successful
than young ones.

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Even so there's still room for trial and error.

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In her lifetime, this mother could have 10 pups
but over half will die before they mature.

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So otters have a high investment,
high-risk strategy

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producing just one high maintainance offspring

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But in pools nearby, a sea urchin mother
has a very different approach.

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She's on almost everyone's menu as
a tasty snack, so she only has a short life

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Producing one baby in a year
would be no good for her.

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She has a very different strategy.

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In one year, she produces 200,000 eggs.

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And if she can get within one meter
of the sperm producing male

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nearly all of these eggs could be fertilized.

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But she has to leave the rest
of their development to fate.

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In her unpredictable environment,
it's better to produce a huge family

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and then let the babies fend for themselves.

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So in the same neighborhood,

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two mothers have found
two totally different ways of mothering:

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playing numbers game or
lavishing attention on a single baby.

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Other mothers go for 2 or 3 babies
every other year.

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A mother black bear lies dormant in her den.

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She gives birth to her cubs
in the dead of winter,

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so they're ready to take advantage
of the spring and summer months.

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But winter in the Rockies is cold and hostile

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With temperatures as low
as 12 degrees below freezing

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mums that live here are forced
to shut down their bodies.

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Her heart rate drops to 8 beats a minute,

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and she breathes only once every 45 seconds.

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She doesn't eat, drink or defaecate.

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But her body stays warm.

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She can remain like this all winter,
transferring warmth and food into the cubs

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She is living off the fat reserve
she accumulated during the autumn

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By gorging on carrion, nuts and berries,
she put on nearly 20k a week.

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When her cubs were born,
they weighed only 200g,

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but in a few months, mother's milk will have
fatten them to 10 times their original weight

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Eventually, the temperature rises.
Spring has arrived.

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Another phase of mother bear strategy begins

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Now the cubs are free
to explore their new world.

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Mum on the other hand takes time out
to just eat, and eat and eat.

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While fasting and feeding her cubs,
she may have lost 40% of her body weight

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But despite being weak and thin,

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she still has to care on her own
for her boisterous toddlers.

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For the next 2 years,

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she will protect them and teach them
the complex skills of forest survival

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And because she's caring for them,
they have time to play.

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Play is an essential way for toddlers
to exercise their muscles and brains

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and become successful adults.

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Black bears can live for 25 years

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and so a bear mother can easily afford to
invest 2 years in raising each set of cubs

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The outstanding mothers
we've seen in America are not alone.

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Super mums exist all over the world.

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But even super mums can't afford to rest on
their laws in this changing and dynamic world

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So for mums, whether super or not,
a mother's work is never done.

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Subtitles by Andrew and Hattie
www.mvgroup.org