The Tyrant of the Deep | The Green Planet | BBC Earth
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- Published on Jan 15, 2022
- Giant water lilies clear competition from the water’s surface by wielding their buds like a club. Once clear, they claim their space and grow up to 20cm a day. Their leaves can measure around 2m across, blocking out the light from anything below the surface.
The Green Planet will open your eyes to an undiscovered kingdom like never before…this is life from the perspective of plants. 🌱 Find out more 👉 www.bbcearth.com/shows/the-green-planet
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The Green Planet (2022)
Join Sir David Attenborough and step into a hidden world full of remarkable behaviour, emotional stories and surprising heroes. Using specialist cameras, this spectacular series allows us to travel beyond the power of the human eye, to look closer at the interconnected world of plants, showcasing over two decades of new discoveries. From deserts, tropical jungles and underwater worlds to seasonal lands and our own urban environment, each episode introduces a set of plants, reveals the battles they face, and the ingenious ways they’ve found to survive.
Welcome to BBC EARTH! The world is an amazing place full of stories, beauty and natural wonder. Here you'll find 50 years worth of entertaining and thought-provoking natural history content. Dramatic, rare, and exclusive, nature doesn't get more exciting than this.
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Pets & Animals
Of all the disturbing and terrifying things out in nature, I never thought I'd get so freaked out by a lilypad. It is truly a horrifying plant.
I thought the plant looked pretty
@David Mansfield Which is a more accurate or "real" definition of light: a phenomena which sustains life and guides it by allowing for vision, or wibbly wobbly lines on a chalkboard described by mathematical equations that we still can't all agree on? If you accept the first definition then Earth did come before light because there had to be life on Earth to experience light. And then there had to be life on land the next "day" to experience it and thus have it exist. The description of the creation of the world in Genesis is surprisingly accurate in this way. If you accept the second definition then you're willing to ret-con your entire understanding of the creation of the universe every time an advancement is made in off-shell physics, which you probably don't even follow, so really your understanding is based on some misconception of physics that you have as a figment in your imagination. Doesn't seem like a great way to live to me.
Why do you think the fish evolved to walk on land? it was to escape the horrors of the deep.
@BenniAkaBenz If you Give me a Good Reason to.
@Ayo Olukoga Can you maybe just don't make it religious?
I am always fascinated by people imagining alien/extra terrestrial life because you only need to look at our *own* planet to see weird, disturbing and ultra fascinating stuff like this. I mean, you are really going to tell me that *this* doesn't look like something straight out of a alien horror movie?
@Cymatic Oh by the Gods, yes! The things that live deep down in the water are also from a whole other planet! Amazing and terrifying at the same time!
Not to mention the deep oceans that still remain over 80% unexplored. Gotta wonder what is there lingering beneath the surface...
I love how 2:20 its looks like theyre filming a monster; the music, camara, narration.Its amazing how they can reflect the nature, not only scientifically but also artistically👍🏼
No
Read my name.
The way its filmed is just amazing
You can actually see every detail
Its like you are the wind and can see every part of what’s happening
Damn, the few white flowers that survived in the end after the lilies' conquest of the waterland must be sighing in relief.
Fascinating...yet remarkably eerie to watch a PLANT do all that.
David Attenborough is a genius when it comes narration.
David Attenborough can literally make watching grass grow interesting and educational.
Right
@Aaron Heininger I mean, old sheep starve to death because their food wears down their teeth...
Some of us actually like watching this stuff, like for fun.
Time lapse makes anything interesting
Read my name
Only Sir David can make plant growth sound like an epic battle for survival
If lilies are dominating plants, then do they have competition from other plant species that could rival them equally? If not, are there animals that prey on the lillies to control their population?
@Terminal Frost beat story. Very compelling. You provided such useful information. Very credible source.
Lol, shut up
@Polydynamix yea.. that is simply incorrect.
Human control them, fruits of these Lilly are edible
@Miriam Weller imagine trying to grab the lilly and those thorns stabing into skin
They will likely be eaten by animals, especially smaller ones, snailes, beetles, larvas and so on.
Our planet is really something else. Even the Plant Kingdom is replete with malevolent slaughter monsters and terrifying struggles for life. THIS is how to do a nature video. Also, the next time I see a pond like that I will shudder in memory of all the fallen plants.
This is so intense, never fails to amaze me in such wonderful way nature grows and moves around us. 🪷🌏🌍🌎 natural world is such interesting place to be. Thank you for letting us see it.
Much love and harmony for all of us.🙏🏻
They found a way to make the plants have so much personality. This filming is incredible.
@Edokun Zitro for the other plants is this one a Monster ^^
Jesus love you so much!!✝️✝️
Stolen reddit comment my guy
@Ace Strife yes the pan out is not in a studio, that is real. My reference is the time lapse photography. Note how the background shown in the time lapse does not match what is shown in the pan out. It’s a CGI background. They use very large tanks in controlled environments with the introduction of one or two insects species at most. You see no other animal life beyond the insects, the plants do not look like they have been damaged or attacked by any kind of insect life, they look pristine, and even then days, possibly weeks of capture you are telling me the sun remains in the exact same place, no rain, no clouds, no animals coming by disturbing the scene or camera. If you knew the first thing about time lapse you would understand why this could not have been taken in the wild.
This is a stellar presentation of giant water lily imagery. Thank you BBC Earth.
What a National Treasure Sir David Attenborough is, Spent his 95 years Teaching us about this Planet, With a Badass Voice 💯✌🏻
I felt like I was watching a Sci Fi movie seeing this come to life moving around. Interesting waterlily but creepy. Nice documentary of this unique water lily.
Didn't know humans and lily pads were so similar
Can't help but think how lucky we are to live in a time of Time-lapse cameras.
thanks to storage tech.
the devil is in the details
I never thought I'd ever feel bad for plants lol😭😭😭
It's truly fascinating how other plants develop to pursue the process of photosynthesis in a harmless way by simply trying to cover as much area growing, while the giant lilly develops to strive in such a harmful way for other inhabitants. I would love to one day gain a deeper understanding of why certain species evolve to be the aggressors and develop in that way. It's almost as if it taps into the very nature of good and evil when you let the dramatic music carry you away. Stunning work by everyone involved !
Who will take this man's place when his times up? He has made natural science so very interesting too me and so many.Thank you David.
2 meters?? 😳 that’s like 6.5 ft. That’s crazy. Would have never expected a plant leaf is so large.
Also 👍 sound design!
Nature documentaries will never be quite the same whenever we lose Mr. Attenborough, thank you sir for your dedication to narrating our beautiful natural world for so many years.
@bea kittelscherz agreed
@Ryan Denziloe maybe cause hes close to 100.
@Hilop33 ai can replicate it.
When tf did Attenborough die?
It still says he's alive on the sources I checked?
true.
"Sir!"
"Grab me that plant"
"But sir, it's highly dangerous"
"Grab *me* that plant"
Such brilliance in this video. Time lapse, clear, crisp, just the right notes in the background & that legendary voice. It's just over 3 mins, but I can only begin to imagine how much time & effort was put into making this
In the river I lived nearby as a child we had these huge water lilies. I always thought they looked peaceful and elegant, but this video was so dramatic and disturbing. Never thought of the other plants it was killing by taking over the water. In our river men would just cut the water lilies off when it becomes too crowded to make way for small boats.
Amazing how it "measures" the surface first to see if there's nothing blocking the way.
Not often we get to see the life of plants like this, great filming!
Ok
@Sonic on a Budget yes I did
@Big Zach no you didn't
Thanks I filmed it
You know Walt Disney started the modern nature documentary thing in the early days of television.
I love how they made this just as intense as the videos of ants straight up ripping enemy colonies apart limb by limb.
Amazing! Nature is so majestic and magical. So beautiful
Who could have thought that waterlilies would make for such a great war movie.
Also amazed at the sheer skill of the producers and camerapersons.
The amount of effort that must have gone in making this masterpiece. I feel like I must pay for having watched this
Never knew water Lily is such aggressive plant. Beauty outside, predator inside.
Wonderful video.
Slay Queen!
It's not a predator.
@J Dubb labia
@J Dubb Until it blooms at night. Flowers are white one night, and fuchsia the second, the flowers are 18 inches in diameter and smell of pineapples and coconut, that is perceptible up to 30 feet away.
@Fire Song Aww Yeah! Survival of the thorniest!
If think of time as a construct, it's amazing to think this is how plants perceive time, truly the slowest most brutal war for survival is that of the plant
I can easily imagine how the "crushing competitors by expanding" could have evolve, but that "wigging 360 degrees to clear the surface" thing seems mysterious. How did it get such a bizarre technique?
@I'mYourNeighbor Life's nature is to survive. It didn't will itself to be the way it is, just pure evolutionary chance. I don't think you understand biology.
@Jonathan Wilcox right....which requires a level of consciousness for it to want to survive or else why would it even CARE to survive... I don't think you even understand what you're saying.
I think you're comparing humans to plants which shouldn't be the case.
@Jonathan Wilcox natural always work in mysterious ways, always evolving to survive...living consciousness
@I'mYourNeighbor developed as in several chance evolutionary changes leading to a trait. Not consciously deciding to change its own biology.
Kudos to the cameraman for filming this masterpiece for us
3.38 minutes of perfection, the visual the music the educational and dramatic voice. im in love
Never thought of water lilys as a terrifying force of nature but here we are
Read my name
Korkunç olan bu yaratılışın arkasındaki büyüklüğü görememek.tek kelimeyle Allahu Ekber. İslam güzeldir.
Never underestimate plants not even the ones we keep prisoners in pots🪴…. They’re just bidding their time 😶
The videography that the BBC filmmakers are able to accomplish is absolutely breathtaking and awe inspiring. I genuinely don't understand how they get these shots. I heard they will post a cameraman for weeks or months just to get a single shot of whatever they are trying to capture. That level of determination and passion is genuinely impressive.
they have an indoor studio, and cameras programmed to take a few frames a day
Amazing nature🌿🍃 regards👍✨
WOW!!! Thank you, that is amazing🤗 Nature is amazing✨
“The battle
Is over
And victory
Is total”
That sounded so badass
“The battle is over”
I didn’t see a battle, that was a slaughter.
This is the cruel part of nature.
@Eric Martindale 🤣🤣🤣
The battle for being at the top of the food chain . No more competing for nutrients from the sun. The plant has evolved perfectly.
@Irmansyah Ihsanul Kamil Water lilies using Beskar!
'This is the way"(Water Lily language translated)
"Why are you scared of a water lily?"
*The water lily:*
Incredible footage! Love how it was made into a little story. They look very menacing. LOL
Imagine a science class being taught this dramatically. Every class ends with a cliffhanger and the students can't wait to come back to find out what happens next.
Missing a day means you’ll be behind on an episode and there are no re-runs
Omg. Never thought I would be scared of water lilies 😱
I never tought in the archifamous Victoria waterlilies as an aggresive water monster that fights against everything it meets. This presentation of it is incredibly wonderful!
Bully plant
So it was basically the British empire up to 100 years ago
Named it Victoria of course it only conquer
Thank you for actually naming it 💰
Plants have their own sort of behavior, just in very slow motion...
Good job for making the plant expanding its leaves much more terrifying
Only Attenborough can make a lily pad sound like something from a horror movie
Is it really a tyrant of “the deep?” Or tyrant of some water?
I’ve never been so intimidated by a plant😳
Humans: "Oh look a giant water Lillie, how lovely!"
Water Lillie: "I must destroy and conquer, none shall live!"
@KillingLonliness88 LOL!
@The Pixelated Pie Thank you.
@Exalted Nevaeh Thank you.
@KillingLonliness88 idk u right I just woke up that morning and chose violence 😂… me calling you out was no better if not worse than you calling people out because at least you were just educating people but it came off like the guy who always spell checks others that’s why I said anything but in the end I took it to far my bad
@Bigben -1989 Why are you so pressed? Lol. I’m simply trying to educate, why do people nowadays act like an education is a bad thing? Personally I think it’s highly embarrassing to not be educated and look like a moron but I guess that’s just me. Seems you took it personally, so maybe check on yourself before coming at me.
I don't think I'll ever be able to look at plants the same way ever again, that thing was brutal 🤯
I've never seen this level of production from any channel. This is peak of art to show how science works. Damn.
Fascinating. However, I question calling the tyrant of "the deep" since it takes over the surface. Perhaps "Tyrant of The Water"?
I feel like these plants could be used to represent humanity in some way.
I love how the narration is never overly scientific, it's simple yet powerful and easy to understand for anyone without having to google concepts every 5 minutes
@content sucker ‘big words’ You sound 10. Like they said, it is inevitable to use words you do not understand for someone who creates scientific educational content, and you’ll eventually have to search up what they mean, because that’s the only way you’ll ever learn.
@content sucker yes, its called high school and being a undergrad. Unfortunately a lot of Americans find education to be a waste and useless.
@content sucker You can, but you're less likely to. If you know the big words, you'll understand more than the surface. You'll know more than waterlilies.
👌😁👍
@Mirable Test u can learn more than a funfact without using big words
omg those plants are terrifying and incredible at the same time
Fun fact, the latin name for giant water lilies is "Victoria Amazonica" and it was given to them in honor of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom - makes a lot of sense now that I know they are not just pretty flowers but dominating forces of nature 😄
never thought a plant can be so terrifying and gruesome
BBC managed to make plants sinister. :D Super cool though, I didn't realize that they actually cleared space for themselves to grow into with those spiky buds.
When you think about the planning and work that goes into getting huge time-lapse shots like this, it's incredibly impressive that they're able to do it with some consistency. Amazing talent and tech.
The sounds and a lot of the motion is faked to speed up production. It's much less impressive when you watch the process.
@Commercial Drones Dispatch As if that somehow makes it less impressive? Okay.
Also studio or not, it's great footage.
Plus the amount of time
It’s their job.
The time lapse was studio-based.
Seeing things like this is what makes me interested in biology
Thanks For Sharing This Documentary Filming Of A Naturally Beautiful Monster Of Nature..
This Presentation Is Literally Horrible Than Any Average Horror Filming! That Gives Me A Chilling Goosebump By Witnessing Of This Type Of Real Devil's Surviving Among The Other Poor Plants..!
what a interesting plant :D and survival of the fittest perfectly demonstrated
Sir David's voice, such a legendary narrator
The narration, the time-lapse sequence. This is the highest level of production period
Excellent stuff 👏
BBC nature docs are simply some of the best media ever created
Mais c'est pas bon ci elle continue comme ça on aura plus d'eaux et on sera an danger elle grandiose lorquelle hou de leaux
Plus the dramatic music lol
imagine if it was realtime
This is awesome!
Now, film it in slow motion.
We need the extra runtime...
I'm not gonna lie, my first association with the unfolding lily pad is that of a certain anatomical feature and I had to giggle when it was described as a monster of the deep.
Nature sure is beautiful.
Nature:
Wow, idk if plant life can be this scary
I am hoping for at least another 95 years of Sir David Attenborough. May he out live everyone and be immortal.
David Attenborough for God-Emperor of Mankind.
Aweeee🥰
@Woman of Substance oh
@Jermain 20000 Sure they can. Queen Liz's uncle resigned; that's how she got the crown.
@Evoltz That was his brother, also a good man.
I want to live there✨
"Sir what are you doing!!!"
"Oh noo!"
Down bad man strikes again
I truly believe plants live in a different wavelength of time in some odd sense
wavelength of time? 🤨
Never thought I would hate a plant. 🥺
When I've been lost in thought about what kind of alien species might exist out there in the universe, I've found myself wondering if there might be species out there that we might completely miss or misunderstand because they either live far faster, or far slower than we do - throwing off our intuitions. In a way, plants are kind of like this. Time lapses show them in a totally different light. In real time, they might as well be inanimate objects to us. But time lapses show almost animalistic qualities at times
Hell some plants are so weird and out of place that I wonder if they were somehow introduced by someone visiting this area millions of years ago. Like Fungus based things for example. Some mushrooms are just so weird and unnatural.
@Tom Meakin the alive definition itself can be seen as fluid...I mean....technically....the Universe has shown that given enough time totally inanimate matter becomes animate and starts questioning its existence eventually. At what point this happens though is a mystery.
@Meagan ty
@Tom Meakin There is also the possibility that our current definition of "alive" or "living" is too narrow. Linguistics is descriptive, not proscriptive, and it evolves alongside us.
Nailed it. And the visuals they give here are so cool.
Everyone in the comments: I love how much personality they've given these plants!
The personality type: H I T L E R
Cinematography is on another level. Award winning stuff right here
Never felt a plant was so ominous in my life
Cool video
Seen those plants in real life..
Just amazing... looks so beautiful but it's is deceiving
If plants could scream, this would be a horror movie.
John Carpenter's 'The Thing'
Watch the movie Annihilation.
@Gaming Champ i had a strole 😭
@Goodnightmyprince * Lotus: Hard Luck, Chaps!
They actually can, it's not loud enough and requires sensitive receptors but, they do kind of scream when cut or out of water
Thank goodness I've never had the chance to pick up a lily pad like I always wanted
I love how they added all these sound effects to it when they re-broadcast it.
Nature ❤️
The video is the definition of Looks can be deceiving
Lily looks friendly on the outside but monstrous in the inside
I love how the narration is never overly scientific, it's simple yet powerful and easy to understand for anyone without having to google concepts every 5 minutes
@Nevezen homie just said sjw in 2022
This is because Sir David is a brilliant Educator.
@Nevezen Charles Darwin has written on this topic...
GYROOOOOOOO
Trust humans to narrate an exaggerated portion in a water lily life cycle as a time lapse..
It's a tough and highly competitive environment, even in the world of fauna. SJW's are like the lotus' getting crushed in a force of nature and a lily wouldn't give two shits, like the rest of us.
Agora faz todo sentido elas serem conhecidas pela minha região como vitórias régia! Não poderia haver nome melhor para uma tirana como esta! (ºA º )
This world God gave us to live in is so amazing!
it's beautifully scary 🔥❤️
I think we should be very appreciative and thankful of the people who made this video because they well deserved it 👏 👍 ❤
And the british ppl whose tv licence fees pay for it to be made
I saw this plant recently in one botanical garden and was so astonished to see how beautiful, scary, complex and huge it is. Highly recommend seeing it in person.
Nah I ain't going near that thing
@the hatred 94 so you definitely would’ve been the caveman that was afraid of fire
@Stefan Veljkovic HI again!! I would say my favorite type of plants are: flowers. Something about the colors, shapes, and even fragrance ! Alongside enjoying flowers blooming in Springtime :)
Nope. Never happening. This video is going to give me enough nighmare material in its own. If i ever see one irl i'm grabing the nearest flamethrower, explosive, napalm, fire extinguisher or whatever i can to eliminate this frightening beeing.
Amazing camera work 👏
That’s one FREAKY plant!!! Never would’ve imagined such horror going underneath the peaceful surface. Monet had no idea what he was painting…
Dwa dni temu widziałam w tv program o tym jak nagrywali proces rozwijania się tych liści :D
It’s disturbing
Yet I can’t stop watching
Nobody has ever left a legacy so valuable as David Attenborough. Nature in all its dimensions has been well captured ; documented and saved for eternity! Thanks to DA for the priceless legacy. The World is forever indebted to him!
@fantastic shorts 👌 nice troll
Bro he aint dead yet
No, we're indebted to Jesus christ our lord and savior.
He’s just given a script. Old man in an english accent. Gimme a break
the cinematography is so amazing
This channel never disappoints
“It’s a monster.”
Me: No it’s a plant.
Damm I never thought they look that scary….and I know how it feels to be blocked from the sunlight…literally my neighbor the lives behind me has a damm tree that he hasn’t trimmed in a long time and it’s now blocking the sunlight from my garden and now some of my cactuses haven’t bloomed out yet because lack of sunlight 😤😤😤