24 Hours on Earth Page #2

conditions for this cheetah

are perfect.

She's a mother,

with responsibilities.

Three of them.

They're growing fast

and they're hungry.

Mum needs to make a kill.

The lions who share her territory

have excellent night vision.

But the cheetah's eye

is designed for sunlight.

Packed full of colour receptors,

she sees the world

in razor-sharp detail.

The lions could threaten her cubs,

but they're stuffed full

from the night's hunt.

Right now is her best chance.

Black tear stains under her eyes

combat glare and help her focus

in the crisp morning air.

Just in time.

The heat haze will soon be shimmering

above the ground...

..making it difficult

to see in any detail.

Then the time for hunting

will be over.

The best option?

To spend

the rest of the day

in the shade.

In more temperate parts of the world,

plants have been working hard

since dawn...

..photosynthesising light

into energy.

In the next hour,

the sun's intensity will peak.

These light harvesters

are gearing up for what should be

the most productive moment

of the day...

..but it's also when the sun

becomes its most dangerous.

As damaging to plant cells

as it is to our skin.

As the sun blasts down

from overhead...

..these sunflowers

are carefully monitoring

its intensity,

flooding each leaf with a sunscreen,

protecting the plant from sun damage.

At 90 degrees, directly overhead...

..the sun's rays pass through

the least atmosphere.

Millions of watts of energy

beat down onto the Earth.

In the Australian outback,

temperatures have soared past

50 degrees.

Out in the open, these kangaroos

are becoming dangerously hot.

The shade gives some relief,

but it's not enough.

The air surrounding them is baking.

To prevent heatstroke,

these roos have a trick or two

up their sleeves.

Along their forearms, vessels full

of hot blood run close to the skin.

They lick themselves.

As their saliva evaporates,

a little body heat is lost with it.

And by digging away

the hottest layers of earth...

..and resting on the cooler

layers below...

..these resourceful roos have found a

way to survive the midday onslaught.

Shade is hard to come by

in the Namibian sand dunes.

Our cold-blooded chameleon

is in danger of being cooked

in his own skin.

But life in this uncompromising place

has forced an incredible adaptation.

Doing what chameleons

all over the world do best,

it's changed colour.

Dark brown to brilliant white.

Reflecting the heat off its skin

and keeping its internal temperature

just cool enough to survive...

..and to hunt.

A solar-powered,

turbo-charged chameleon.

Well, relatively speaking.

Not everyone finds the midday sun

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