Use the timeline below to select up to 20 seconds to watch or share.
4.7sAnd so, the extinction of the Pinta Island tortoise is assured.
4.15sTwo hundred million years of evolution, snuffed out.
4.85sFor, in the end, nature is horrific, and teaches us nothing.
3.94sComing up next, the hilarious antics of the elephant seal,
2.17sthe clown of the sea.
1.16s
2s
4.37s
1.83s
2.49sNARRATOR: Of all the spectacles in nature,
2.97sfew can match the mating ritual of the elephant seal.
4.6sCertainly not the salmon. And the tortoise? Yeah, right.
7.07sThe huge, lumbering males defend patches of beach to deny their rivals access to the breeding grounds.
1.87sJust as in human society,
4.67sonly the biggest, most obnoxious males have any chance of mating.
2.4sAw, yeah! Survival of the fattest!