| [00:00.21] |
Perhaps the fate of Easter Island |
| [00:02.74] |
was not sealed by the human who felled that last tree, |
| [00:06.35] |
but by the rat that ate the last palm nut |
| [00:10.14] |
Other South Pacific islands |
| [00:11.38] |
have also seen civilisations rise and fall, |
| [00:14.85] |
though none have left such dramatic reminders of their passing |
| [00:18.51] |
as the giant statues of the Rapa Nui |
| [00:22.38] |
Now re-erected, |
| [00:23.54] |
they've come to symbolise |
| [00:25.11] |
how precarious life can be on an isolated island |
| [00:29.48] |
For this island has not been abandoned |
| [00:31.93] |
A few Rapa Nui survived, |
| [00:34.2] |
and now they're thriving once more, |
| [00:36.3] |
entertaining visitors from the outside world |
| [00:39.14] |
Trees have been planted, |
| [00:40.93] |
though it's too late for the unique creatures that once lived here |
| [00:44.59] |
Elsewhere, on islands throughout the Pacific, |
| [00:47.23] |
there is still time |
| [00:48.77] |
People are working hard |
| [00:50.0] |
to remove the creatures that don't belong here |
| [00:52.60] |
and make space once again for the curiosities, |
| [00:55.76] |
from kagus to kakapo, |
| [00:57.69] |
that make the South Pacific such a uniquely wonderful world |
