Wildes.Deutschland 5 01
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00:00Wind speed of 10, gusts of 100 km per hour over the water, storm warning, an alpine lake
00:16is born as a thousand oceans, a lake full of surprises.
00:24The Chiemsee, the Bavarian sea, is again very calm and peaceful.
00:50In the shallow water, there are strange chunks that look like organs.
00:54The so-called brain stones retain their fragile surface of lime-forming and lime-eating blue algae.
01:06The brain stones also inhabit mussels.
01:09The migratory mussel honors its name.
01:14The little ones can sit still at least.
01:22In the middle of the 20th century, zebra mussels were brought in from the Black Sea region.
01:27They spread quickly across the entire lake, very much to the delight of many water birds.
01:39But mussel harvest is not an easy affair.
02:01Zebra mussels are not the only strangers here.
02:06A few flamingos, who fled from aviaries and zoos years ago,
02:10have come together on the Chiemsee to form a small swarm.
02:20When the spring sun gains strength, an animal awakens from its winter sleep,
02:26which is loved by some, but hated by others all the more.
02:36Tree caves are its favorite hiding place.
02:41A stinging nettle female.
02:44It has endured the winter in a stinger.
02:47Now it wakes up, like an estimated 250 million species all around the lake.
02:57As soon as spring has arrived, myriads of insects are lurking in the reeds,
03:03especially the most diverse flies and mosquito species.
03:16In the nest halls, the female is looking for protection from predators.
03:21Others have retreated deep into the reeds.
03:25The larvae of fern flies and gall mosquitoes live and eat inside the reeds
03:31and are a coveted prey for numerous stinging nettles.
03:39With a fat moth, it is off to a good start into the new day.
03:45Blue-crested geese, maize and crows do not come here because of the good view.
04:01Beyond the reed belt, there is a small pond.
04:05The water is warm and the fish are active.
04:09The water is warm and the fish are active.
04:14There are also unfertilized meadows.
04:17The key flowers are the optical proof that spring is finally here.
04:30Spring feelings are spreading in the bird world.
04:45Spring
04:58It is less fierce with the pigeon divers.
05:04The fighter only makes a rest here.
05:07His breeding area is in northern Europe.
05:15The exhausted cranes are also only guests on the journey.
05:25Although reed areas are regular monocultures,
05:29countless species of animals have adapted to this amphibious habitat.
05:34The reed is the most populous representative of the domestic grazers.
05:39In the jungle of old and new reeds, the animals do not only find food.
05:45Our smallest mouse, the dwarf mouse, lives here.
05:50She likes to build her ball nests in the reed.
05:54Building material in the form of old fruit stands is available in shells and pots.
06:00And because the reed grows in the water, hardly a mouse hunter dares to come here.
06:11A few floors below, the pigeon divers work on their nest.
06:17The reed forest protects the most diverse animals from enemies that cannot swim.
06:24Small fish are swarming everywhere.
06:27Red-eyed, sea lions and river perch with their special striped pattern, typical for Kiemsee perch.
06:43The reed forest is a place of peace and tranquility.
06:48There are two professional fishermen in front of the reed belt.
06:53There is no competition here.
06:56The times when pigeon divers fought as fishermen are luckily over.
07:07Some even leave fish waste for their feathered colleagues.
07:13Something like that does not escape the black Milan.
07:19Even seagulls and cranes are attracted.
07:23And because there is not always enough for everyone, there are usually fights.
07:33Will there be a follow-up?
07:37The fox does not dare to get out of the cover at first.
07:46Cranes and black Milan play tug-of-war in the meantime.
08:07Today, 17 professional fishermen live from catching fish in the Kiemsee.
08:11Like countless birds.
08:14The supply of small and large fish seems to never run out.
08:24The Kiemsee is fenced by huge shallow water zones.
08:28They quickly warm up in the sun and produce plenty of food.
08:36On warm spring days, insects slip out of the lake.
08:41In masses.
08:43Especially mosquitos and one-day flies.
08:48For a few spring days, the evening sky darkens regularly.
08:53Especially on the northern shore of the Kiemsee.
08:56Plankton Delfte.
08:59The basis of life for many species of animals on the lake.
09:12The one-day flies lay their eggs on the surface of the water.
09:16This attracts hungry birds.
09:20But not only the 100 species of birds benefit from the annual mass hatching of the one-day flies.
09:28When the evening comes, the birds return to the lake.
09:35But there is one big problem.
09:38The birds' eggs are not yet ready.
09:42The one-day flies have become a mass of insects.
09:46The insects have long been trapped in the eggs.
09:51The birds' insects have become the prey for the insects.
09:56At dusk, ferocious moths come out of the depths.
10:00May
10:25May moths pick up the day's flies from the surface
10:29and hurry so that they don't become prey themselves.
10:48The land around Lake Chiem is inhabited since the Stone Age.
10:53It lies at the feet of the Chiemgau Alps and the Kampenwand,
10:57whose summit resembles a rooster's comb.
11:09Even at night, many animals are active.
11:19The largest predator in the lake.
11:28The red-eyed one doesn't dare to move.
11:36The body of the pike is tense.
11:47Again and again, anglers pull pikes from almost 1.5 meters from Lake Chiem.
11:58The deepest part of the lake, at 73 meters,
12:02lies 2 kilometers east of the Fraueninsel.
12:06In the middle, however, Lake Chiem is only 25 meters deep.
12:11And especially on the edge, the banks are very flat.
12:15At the beginning of May, in the low-water zones near Lake Brugg,
12:20on the northern bank of Lake Chiem, there are always thunderstorms.
12:28The water from the lake comes from the mountains
12:32and is naturally purified in the lake.
12:35Perfect conditions for the may ranks to reproduce.
12:46Within a week, the may ranks lay millions of fish eggs in the gravel.
12:57Today, there is plenty of caviar for the may ranks.
13:03On the shore, a river rain pipe has its nest,
13:07if you can call four eggs on a naked ground a nest.
13:12After its creation, Lake Chiem was four times as large as it is today.
13:17Its tributaries, especially the Tyrolean Arches,
13:21transport more than 300,000 cubic meters of floating matter and gravel into the lake every year.
13:26So that it slowly lands.
13:30Man artificially lowered the lake level to gain land.
13:37Thanks to the 80 square kilometers of large water surface
13:41and the location of Lake Chiem in the Stau der Alpen,
13:44the weather here is often capricious.
13:48In Chiemgau, there is twice as much rain as on average in Germany.
13:52Since Lake Chiem was born about 10,000 years ago from a dying glacier,
13:57floods have become part of its nature.
14:05Forests that stand under water.
14:09Wooden mountains that tower up.
14:12The purest are floods.
14:16But the fewest animals flee in panic.
14:18Even if they have some visual difficulties.
14:24Knot ants are driven out of their nests.
14:27Drive like shipwrecks through the meadows.
14:34A real loser.
14:36The river rainfog.
14:38Its clutch has fallen victim to wet and cold.
14:48Again and again, the inhabitants of Lake Chiem are subjected to such atrocities.
14:52But how do they deal with the consequences?
15:012000 hectares of Lake Chiem surrounding area are now flooded.
15:05Even after the rain, the level continues to rise
15:09because the water from the whole area flows together at the deepest point.
15:13Species of flood areas, such as the knot ants,
15:17have survival strategies in mind.
15:20They take the queen into the middle
15:23and form a raft out of their bodies.
15:26Conquering new habitats.
15:42Even some farmers become like Robinson
15:46and save themselves and their cattle on a temporary island.
15:57Tourism is also suffering.
16:00Even the access to the holiday area is blocked.
16:04Instead of traffic,
16:07on the highway to Salzburg in Höde,
16:09there is only muddy water.
16:18A natural disaster for the people who live on the lake.
16:22For the plants and animals,
16:25the water masses mean a chance.
16:35Mosquitoes, mosquitos,
16:37Mosquitoes fill the air.
16:40As soon as the meadows are flooded,
16:43small ships float on the surface.
16:46About 300 mosquito eggs in a package,
16:50laid by the females from the tree cave.
16:54A week later,
16:57small lids open at the bottom of the ships.
17:00Tiny mosquito larvae slip out,
17:03one after the other.
17:08In the flood area,
17:11not only small animals appear.
17:19The pike is looking for a place to spawn.
17:24The largest predator of Lake Chiem
17:27presents himself as a tender admirer,
17:30holding a female's fin.
17:37Meters long fish
17:40swim deliberately from the lake
17:43into the flooded meadows to spawn here.
18:04A better nursery
18:07can not exist for their offspring.
18:33When they have laid and fertilized their eggs,
18:37the pikes return to the lake.
18:49The pike reaches the shore area unscathed.
18:53He benefits from the fact
18:56that the seal, at least as a breeding bird,
18:59has disappeared on Lake Chiem.
19:07Meanwhile, a new generation of pikes
19:10grows in the meadows.
19:15Several hundred thousand eggs
19:18are laid by each female pike,
19:21which remain glued to grass and moss plants.
19:26After hatching,
19:29the pikes' larvae hang themselves
19:32on grasshalms with their gills on their bellies.
19:35A week later,
19:38thousands of mini-pikes
19:41hunt everything that moves in the meadows.
19:53The pikes need food in large quantities.
19:57Supply is on the way.
20:00Herbs of mosquito larvae
20:03breathe on the surface
20:06or creep through the water.
20:09Sweet water plankton.
20:20Because mosquito larvae are particularly protein-rich,
20:24the pikes grow rapidly.
20:26After only 14 days,
20:29they are finger-long.
20:32They have to make the most of the abundant food supply,
20:35because soon the water will retreat.
20:38Only the pikes will survive,
20:41who find their way back to the lake well-fed.
20:43Many floodplains
20:46are cut off from the lake beforehand.
20:49Then the small pikes are lost.
20:58Just like the pikes,
21:01the pikes are also
21:04in danger of extinction.
21:07Just as many of them are eaten,
21:10enough mosquito larvae
21:13close their development
21:16and turn from a twitching,
21:19in the water-living larva and pupa
21:22into a flight-capable land insect.
21:29For about an hour,
21:32the freshly baked sting insects
21:34harden in the water.
21:37Then they rise
21:40on glass swings
21:43and populate the surroundings of their birthplace.
21:53Much to the delight
21:56of many wetland dwellers.
22:05Even small leaves
22:08need something to eat
22:11if they want to grow up.
22:15But the medal
22:18has a downside.
22:21A cosy time at the lake
22:24on a lazy summer evening
22:27can be sensitively disturbed.
22:30In years with high water levels,
22:33there are estimated
22:3650 billion mosquito larvae around the lake.
22:39Twelve different species
22:42swarm around.
22:45And while the mosquito males
22:48behave inconspicuously,
22:51the females become mini-vampires.
22:54Blood as food
22:56is the biggest challenge
22:59for the mosquito.
23:02If it sucks in three times
23:05its body weight,
23:08its body temperature suddenly rises
23:11by more than 10 degrees.
23:14To survive,
23:17the mosquito produces
23:20special heat-shock proteins.
23:23The age of its victims
23:26can be as high as
23:2950 years.
23:32So that the mosquito plague
23:35does not harm tourism,
23:38the state takes the extreme.
23:44With the help of helicopters,
23:47the shallow water zones
23:50and flood areas around the lake
23:53are treated against mosquitoes.
23:56And tons of a refined cocktail
23:59are distributed,
24:02also in nature reserves.
24:09Ice cubes,
24:12packed with a protein
24:15that is obtained from the
24:18Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis.
24:21A bio-weapon in the service
24:23of the Bacillus thuringiensis.
24:30When the ice cubes melt,
24:33the active ingredient BTI is released.
24:36The mosquito larvae
24:39then take it up involuntarily.
24:43Mosquito larvae strangle everything
24:46that comes in front of their mouth tools.
24:49The larvae continue to filter
24:51until the Bacillus thuringiensis
24:54has destroyed their digestive tract.
25:00The gut has dissolved.
25:03The larvae are starved.
25:12Up to 95% of the mosquito larvae
25:15die in such a treated water.
25:18Studies have shown
25:21that only a few other insect species
25:24fall victim to the killer bacterium
25:27besides mosquitoes.
25:30For this, the plankton
25:33as a food base for the animals
25:36is first of all gone.
25:41At some point,
25:44the water withdraws
25:48and now
25:51botanical beauties bloom
25:54that can only grow on such
25:57alternating moist habitats
26:00like the mealworms.
26:13In the wet meadows
26:15there are more than a dozen
26:18different orchid species.
26:21They now live,
26:24where the water is gone,
26:27indistinguishable.
26:30On the southern shore of Lake Chiemsee,
26:33the Siberian sword lily
26:36has its largest stock in Bavaria.
26:39All these vegetable delicacies
26:42grow on meadows that are rarely,
26:45if not everywhere,
26:48visited.
26:56Smoky swallows
26:59are lucky for many people.
27:02On the contrary,
27:05this is not the case.
27:08You can still hear the loud squawking
27:11from the places around Lake Chiemsee.
27:14Only well-spoken residents
27:17would do something to the swallows themselves and their nests.
27:20But because of the intensification of the Greenland
27:23and the dewatering of meadows,
27:26there are fewer and fewer insects,
27:29fewer and fewer plankton in the air.
27:32The swallows therefore find it more and more difficult
27:35to feed the young.
27:38French scientists have proven
27:40that the Bacillus thuringiensis
27:43against mosquitos
27:46has a negative effect on the size of the clutch
27:49and the survival rate of young birds.
27:55Thousands of swallows and other birds
27:58also come to Lake Chiemsee
28:01to rest and to fill their bellies
28:04before crossing the Alps.
28:10Mosquitoes, flies and others
28:13are the basis of life for the bird world.
28:16Without small insects,
28:19the swallow can't get enough of a cuckoo.
28:22About a third of the 150 bird species
28:25on the lake
28:28rely directly on this food source.
28:31Not only those who raise their
28:34or foreign young in the clutch.
28:41In the past, the reed was harvested on Lake Chiemsee
28:44and used to cover the houses.
28:47Today, the reed belts remain untouched
28:50and are left to the many bird species
28:53breeding on the reeds,
28:56such as the gull.
28:59Ultimately, the gull also benefits
29:02from the insect wealth of the region.
29:05However, some of its prey animals
29:07are only numerous here
29:10because they feed on small insects.
29:13Among them, eidex, frogs and parrots.
29:24Ornate vines are dependent
29:27on large stocks of reed.
29:30Inside the reed bed,
29:33they build their nests,
29:35but if there is a flood here,
29:38the brood is lost.
29:59The lake is a hunting ground,
30:02a breeding ground
30:05and a breeding ground.
30:08And when the temperatures rise in summer
30:11and humans and animals suffer under the heat,
30:14the cool wet of the lake creates
30:17lint.
30:35The colorful bird world
30:38is not to be overlooked for the bathing guests.
30:41However, no one ever gets to see
30:44other figures,
30:47who also share the water with humans
30:50and look terrifying.
31:05Like in the sea,
31:08many species of animals also live in large lakes,
31:11floating in the open water.
31:14Many of them are transparent
31:17in order to feed on enemies.
31:20Thorns and a hard shell
31:23also help in the flood.
31:27There is also an almost transparent robber down here,
31:30the glass crab.
31:32He is over one and a half centimeters long
31:35and is thus the largest water flea in the world.
31:42The glass crab only comes at night
31:45in higher water layers.
31:48During the day, he dives,
31:51where he hunts for jumpers and small water fleas
31:54at a depth of 20 meters.
31:57The glass crab is transparent
32:00and thus invisible to his prey animals.
32:14Eating and being eaten
32:17is also called here in the swim bladder belt of the lake.
32:20That is why many young fish
32:22are looking for protection
32:25under the leaves of ponds and seaweed.
32:28At least from the air,
32:31there is less danger here than in the open water.
32:34Mixed fish
32:37that seek protection in the same swarm.
32:40But there is a fish hunter
32:43who knows his way around in the labyrinth of swimming plants.
32:53The pigeon diver
32:56delivers extensive pursuit hunts
32:59with his prey.
33:02On the back of the mother
33:05there are more hungry snails waiting.
33:22This young bird
33:25is already one month old.
33:28He will be independent only in six weeks.
33:31Until then, the parents provide him
33:34with freshly caught fish,
33:37like this pike.
33:40A comparatively large frog.
33:52In the Chiemsee
33:55there are three islands
33:58that together form
34:01Bavaria's smallest political community.
34:04Fraueninsel, Krautinsel
34:07and Herrenchiemsee.
34:10In the middle of the forest
34:13on this largest island of the lake
34:16there is a small sensation to marvel at.
34:23After the break in the darkness
34:26on the underside of the tree mushrooms
34:29blue lights are shimmering around.
34:32These are the larvae
34:35of the largest native mushroom mosquito.
34:38A time-lapse camera
34:41and long exposure times
34:44make movements
34:47around the blue gleam of the almost 2 cm long animal
34:49visible to the naked eye.
34:56It is unknown
34:59why the larvae are shining at night.
35:02Otherwise you know very little about them.
35:05Except that they prefer to live
35:08on budgerigars,
35:11typical tree mushrooms of old beech forests.
35:14When the morning dawns
35:17the lightworms hide
35:20and wait for the food
35:23to fall into their lap.
35:29On warm and dry days
35:32the tree mushrooms leave their tracks
35:35to multiply.
35:38In fine clouds they fly through the forest
35:40and sink somewhere to the ground.
35:43An unused source of energy.
35:48For all animals it is vital
35:51to find a source of food
35:54and to use it as effectively as possible.
35:57The mushroom mosquito larva
36:00specializes in these mushroom tracks.
36:03It builds traps from the finest silk
36:06under the mushroom consoles
36:08and eats up the tracks
36:11left by the mushroom.
36:14The following night
36:17the trap is harvested
36:20and eaten up.
36:23All under the protective hat
36:26of the mushroom console.
36:30The Herring Island also offers
36:33a habitat for countless other animals.
36:35Many of them are inhabitants of old forests.
36:38The trees that stand here
36:41owe their existence to King Ludwig II.
36:44In 1873
36:47the fairy tale king bought the island
36:50and the tree stock from the possession of wood speculators
36:53who wanted to expel Lord Chimsey.
36:56Thus the monarch ensured
36:59that the coveted giants remained standing.
37:06However, the king of Bavaria
37:09was not primarily interested in nature conservation.
37:12He wanted to create something gigantic.
37:19In 1878
37:22the most elaborate royal seat in Bavaria was built.
37:25Lord Chimsey Castle.
37:28More expensive than Neuschwanstein and Linderhof combined.
37:32Countless commissioned works
37:35of the building and castle owners
37:38made Munich a center of art crafts.
37:41Today, Lord Chimsey
37:44is one of the most lucrative
37:47and popular attractions in Bavaria
37:50and at the same time
37:53a hotspot of biodiversity.
37:56The Chimsey only has one drain,
37:59the Alz.
38:06It drains the lake at Seebruck.
38:14There are several tributaries against it.
38:17The largest of them is the Tiroler Aachen,
38:20which flows from the Chimney
38:22and the Tiroler mountains.
38:34The other streams that flow into the lake
38:37are smaller, like the Lachsgang
38:40on the edge of the Aachen delta.
38:43On the west bank, the Prien flows into the Chimsey.
38:46Like all streams, it flows slowly
38:49into the lake.
38:52At the top of the Chimsey,
38:55it reveals itself as a mouth-watering mountain stream.
38:58Since the Chimsey tributaries are usually short
39:01or flow through areas hardly used by agriculture,
39:04their water is clear and clean.
39:07There are also stream trout
39:10that can survive in most Bavarian waters
39:13only thanks to the fishing club's occupation measures.
39:16A male with a mouth shaped like a hatchet
39:19and a smaller female
39:22with a mouth shaped like a spade.
39:25They tremble in front of irritation.
39:28Stream trout are one of the so-called autumn spawns,
39:31to which decreasing water temperatures
39:34in the already cold springs of the Prien tell the tale.
39:37The female strikes the spade deeper and deeper.
39:45Then, all of a sudden,
39:48the mating fish parents give birth and milk into the water.
39:50The fertilized eggs sink
39:53into the loosened and cleaned soil
39:56caused by the strike.
40:01In the lake, the fish offspring are already one step ahead.
40:04Mixed young fish swarms
40:07protect themselves from predators.
40:09In the summer,
40:12the boat houses
40:15house people's swimming and bathing equipment.
40:18In the autumn,
40:21they become refuges for tens of thousands of fish.
40:24Among them,
40:27seahorses,
40:30red-eyed fish,
40:33sea trouts and so on.
40:36The fact that there is something to catch here
40:39is known to the fish eaters.
40:42A male seahorse keeps an eye on what happens.
40:46The female seahorses also keep an eye out.
40:51A pike has come.
40:54But the swarm effect makes all predators.
40:57They just can't concentrate
41:00on a single victim.
41:10A green-feet seahorse appears.
41:17It is probably the worst fish
41:20in the collection of animal pedigrees.
41:23But the cold winter is coming
41:26and every opportunity to catch a big prey
41:29is going to be used.
41:32The eel,
41:35which is exploited by fishermen in the Chiemsee
41:37is on the hunt.
41:46The pigeon diver,
41:49the feathered king of fish, is trying his luck.
41:58For the moment,
42:01he fails.
42:04But the pond chicken
42:07has a successful hunt.
42:13For the first meal,
42:16it swims towards the sleeping place.
42:25One year at the Chiemsee is coming to an end.
42:28For the animals,
42:30it is now all about
42:33surviving the cold season.
42:36Some have moved south
42:39to come back next year.
42:42Others hide
42:45to survive frost and snow
42:48in a deep sleep.
42:51Females are waiting for their turn
42:54next year.
42:57Others
43:00are looking forward to the next picture in winter.
43:05The Bavarian sea
43:08is a home for them all.
43:30The Bavarian sea is a home for them all.
43:33The Bavarian sea is a home for them all.
44:00The Bavarian sea is a home for them all.