Original subtitles

Wild israel takes you to the most isolated place

In the country: The negev desert.

Discover a world few have ever seen [hissing],

Where only the toughest can survive the brutal heat

And deadly cold.

Learn the survival secrets of the hunters

And the hunted, as they struggle

Through a year in the negev.

In israel, history is everywhere.

Religion and cultures have intersected over the centuries.

But the country is less known for its fascinating

Wildlife and terrain.

[birds chirping]

Explore an israel most people never see.

[chirping]

From snowy peaks, to the world's lowest sea.

From mediterranean beaches to lush waterfalls.

And from colorful coral reefs

To green mountains and ancient desert landscapes.

And one of the most incredible places of all

Is a part of the country where survival is a real challenge

Spanning an area about the size of the state of connecticut,

The negev desert envelops the southern half of israel.

While there are some towns, villages and nomadic tribes,

The negev is not densely populated by humans.

However, wildlife is everywhere.

Government laws protect these animals from being hunted,

But they still have to protect themselves from each other

And from the desert itself.

Defying a barren landscape, freezing winters

And searing summers.

Constantly on the prowl for food and water,

Their survival is little short of a miracle.

What are their secrets?

How have they adapted to the negev?

Welcome to one year in the life

Of this remote and magical region.

Summer in the negev brings extreme conditions.

Temperatures can rise to 113 degrees fahrenheit during the da

And drop to 50 fahrenheit at night.

To learn more about this secret battleground,

Rangers from the nature and parks authority

Have installed cameras throughout the region.

Their photos reveal a startling world,

Rarely seen by outsiders,

Especially when so many are active only at night.

[camera shutter clicks]

The arabian wolf is one of the smallest wolves in the world.

Evolved to survive the negev.

Its thin wiry frame requires fewer calories.

Its large ears help release body heat.

[howling in distance] in the summer, its fur grows short.

They are more active at night when the negev cools down.

This minimizes their loss of body fluids.

And because food is so scarce,

These wolves need to live in small, more sustainable packs.

[howling]

This family has dug its burrow

On the jordanian side of the border.

Every night the parents leave their cubs

And roam in search of food,

Ignoring minefields and barbed wire...

Crossing the border into the negev.

[rustling]

With enough luck and skill, wolves can take down

A desert hare, birds, even a dorcas gazelle.

But a large proportion of their food

Is comprises of the carcasses of domestic animals,

Fruit and vegetables from hothouses and fields.

And they have learnt the art of disguise.

Wolves will cover themselves

In the pungent smell of carcasses.

This trick hides their predator smell.

[howling in distance]

After a successful night,

Wolves bury any excess foo for the difficult days ahead.

[hooting]

While adults hunt, the cubs stay close

To the den's entrance.

They spend the long waiting hours at play,

Developing the skills they will need as desert hunters.

Tonight they practice hunting insects.

[crickets chirping]

Adult partners enjoy a warm and close relationship.

[howling in distance, crickets chirping]

They rub and caress and maintain constant

Physical contact.

Their relationship lasts for many years.

[howling in distance]

[howling]

Every night, the pack declares its presence

With a symphony of calls

[howling]

[howling in distance, howling]

After an active night the pack's territory

Is marked again with urine; each member of the pack adds

His individual urine mark to the boundary.

Before the sun rises the wolves disappear into their dens...

Making the struggle for survival a little easier

For other animals.

[rustling] this family of porcupines lives in burrows

That are about 6 feet deep.

[rustling] they sleep during the day,

But when darkness falls they set out to dig for plant corms

And bulbs that provide food and water.

At 37 pound, this is the biggest rodent in all asia.

Porcupines rely on their sharp spines

To fend off predators,

Surviving another night in the negev.

The porcupines take shelter in their burrows

To hide away for one more day.

At the peak of mount negev, this is makhtesh ramon.

It's a vast crater

That measures 25 miles long, 1600 feet deep.

In summer time, the temperature an reach 113 degrees fahrenheit.

In winter, it can plummet to 28 degrees fahrenheit.

The makhtesh is a valley surrounded by cliffs;

Weathering and erosion have exposed the ancient

Rock layers, revealing colorful sandstone cliffs,

Volcanic hills and wide channels.

Yet even here, these cliffs and channels

Teem with wildlife.

[birds chirping]

Three different species of hedgehog

Inhabit the negev desert.

They spend the cool nights

And early morning hours hunting insects,

Scorpions and even snakes.

And each has made it to israel from a different continent.

Originating in asia, the long-eared hedgehog

Is like a living radar station,

Able to pick up minute vibrations

Made by tiny creatures crawling through the sand.

Sometimes the struggle for survival does not involve

A predator or the terrain.

Here two long-eared hedgehogs

Fight for ownership of the burrow.

Each extra minute in the scorching sun

May cost them dearly,

And the only important thing now

Is to escape to the cool burrow.

The desert hedgehog originating from africa

Is well-adapted to the deadly negev:

Its long legs create distance from the hot soil,

And enable it to run long distances

With surprising speed.

In the summer it is active at night

And avoids the daytime heat.

During the cold winter it hibernates underground,

And emerges in the spring.

The common hedgehog that originates in europe

Also lives in the negev.

The female hedgehog nurses and rears her cubs

In a weedy burrow.

They're born about the same size as a walnut,

Blind and already spiny.

Fortunately for their mother,

The spines are still soft at birth

Within a few days their eyes open

And their spines harden.

Within 6 weeks, they will have to venture out by themselves

Into the desert and face all the dangers lying in wait.

Another creature caught in the struggle for survival

Is the fat sand rat.

Sand rats dig their burrows among the roots

Of a large saltbush.

It's now the peak of summer and water is scarce.

It manages to survive only with the fluids

In the saltbush leaves and feeding on the bush itself.

Each rat has a territory that includes a network

Of underground burrows and scattered saltbushes

Above ground.

The rat is diurnal, eating in the early morning.

When full, it gathers saltbush leaves

And takes them down to its burrow.

[rustling] it needs to roam across its territory

Gathering food without becoming food itself

For predators like this falcon.

[rattling] it hovers mid-air waiting to dive

But this time the little rodent escapes

Into his protected burrow.

Only during the mating season do two partners meet;

After mating the male returns to his burrow,

Leaving the female to rear the cubs alone.

Native to israel, the caracal is deadly enough

To command the top of the food chain.

Like a sophisticated hunting machine,

The female caracal sets out, slowly stalking her prey.

She catches a large rodent in the sandy channel.

But the search for food in the desert is never-ending.

In the afternoon she ambushes birds that come to drink water.

[sloshing]

[wings flapping]

[sloshing]

[gnawing]

The hunt is successful, and once she is full,

The female caracal calls her kitten,

Who patiently waits in a rocky hideout

The kitten is threatened by birds of prey

And other predators throughout his childhood;

His mother will keep him alive until it's his turn

To make his way alone.

The pool of water is a hub of activity.

When the hunters depart [wings flapping].

And now the hunted can dare to take their place.

These are chukars and sand partridges.

Once they are sure that danger has passed,

They approach, camouflaged like desert stones.

Families of chukars and sand partridges

Cannot afford to linger here. The risks are too great.

The chukar chicks are led by their father,

Even though they are almost the same size.

Sand partridges teach their chicks where to find

The rare water sources in the desert.

[chirping]

But surviving in the desert is not only a matter

Of finding water, food or shelter [pattering].

It's also means staying and fighting back together.

[birds chirping]

In the negev, some smaller animals have developed

Communal defense strategies.

Nestling in acacia trees, the arabian babblers

Live in small flocks where an interesting dynamic

Comes into play. [birds chirping]

A leader who wants to consolidate his status

Does not threaten or impose his dominance by force.

Instead, he helps and provides for the entire flock.

[birds chirping] for instance,

He volunteers to stand guard from a high branch,

Exposing himself to danger.

[birds chirping]

Using sharp shrieks he warns of approaching predators.

Thanks to him the entire flock manage to escape

To the acacia thicket.

[birds chirping]

The leader displays his strength and courage

By feeding others.

[wings flapping, chirping]

And the female?

She seems to prefer him over other males

Who invest less in the group.

Only the dominant pair breeds.

Thus the bird which makes the greatest contributions

To the community is more likely to have offspring.

The turquoise-colored eggs must be incubated and covered

At all times to hide them from predators.

[twittering]

All group members pitch in, protecting and caring

For the offspring, which are not theirs.

[twittering] this community has fixed rituals:

At sunrise, they conduct a morning dance

That demonstrates their bond.

They squeeze between each other and clean feathers

In a ceremony of closeness and connection.

[twittering]

Volunteering for the community is particularly noticeable

At times of danger [chirping].

A palestine saw-scaled viper threatens the babblers' area.

All members of the group surround the poisonous snake,

And the dominant babblers attack it

Even if it means risking their own lives.

[chirping]

The viper is particularly dangerous for small birds

Like babblers because it is active

During both night and day.

This time the babblers win the battle,

But they're not always so lucky.

[rustling, chirping]

The ability to fly is their greatest defense.

For some other animals, being grounded

Does not automatically mean a death sentence.

Out here in the negev, the animals active

During the daytime need to be able to escape their predators

And endure the punishing heat.

The negev is home to herds of dorcas and acacia gazelles.

These animals can reach speeds of up to 50 miles an hour.

Their survival here lies, in part,

With these acacia trees.

The acacia's sweet flowers and seed pods

Provide an important dietary supplement.

Each morning the gazelle feeds on flowers

That fell during the night.

The dorcas gazelle obtains all the fluids it needs

From the leaves.

[birds chirping]

Light-footed and fast, the gazelle is well-adapted

To the wide desert plains.

Its sand-colored coat provides essential camouflage.

At times, it almost seems to vanish into thin air.

In the past, large herds lived here.

Proof of this lies in ancient hunting structures

Known as "desert kites".

The kites are built from two low stone walls

That forced the animals to run into a trap.

A desert kite was always located in a strategic position

On the herd's foraging route.

In a hunting attack, the frightened gazelles

Run the length of the stone walls

Straight into the trap a deep pit.

Researchers digging around desert kites have also found

Animal bones much larger than gazelles,

Such as the asiatic wild ass, a member of the horse family,

To this day, still untamed by humans [braying].

The wild ass can weigh up to 440 pounds.

Sustaining that kind of weight in the desert heat

Requires it to drink every day and this compels it

To travel huge spans in order to find watering holes.

The wild ass has an increased sweating mechanism,

And during the daytime heat it climbs the mountain peaks,

Where winds help to cool its wet body.

In the afternoon wild ass from throughout the negev highlands

Gather at the waterhole, camouflaged and almost unseen.

Females with foals, young males,

And strong territorial males that come alone.

All converge cautiously, fearing to approach the water.

A hunting ground for predators.

The gathering at the water hole provides an opportunity

To measure social status and to find a mate.

[braying]

A young wild ass becomes aggressive

To confirm his status in the group.

Another begins a wild insistent chase after a female.

If she's not in heat, she will keep running

Until he gives up.

The females do not usually accept courters

At the crowded water hole;

They prefer mating in the open landscape

With the dominant male who has scared off the competition.

The pregnancy lasts 11 months

And the foal stays with its mother for an entire year.

[braying, stomping]

Relationships within a herd are not permanent or long-term.

And the herd membership changes constantly.

But there is still affection and intimacy here.

This adult female has a collar as part of a research study.

Until 1927, asiatic wild ass lived throughout

Middle eastern deserts.

However due to extensive hunting,

They currently face world-wide extinction.

In 1968, 11 asiatic wild asses,

Originally from iran and turkmenistan,

Were brought to become a contained

Breeding nucleus in the negev [braying].

The breeding nucleus was highly successful

And generated a large wild ass population.

A few dozen were released into the wild,

Survived, bred, and became this large herd,

Numbering some 250 asiatic wild ass.

The sky fills with autumn clouds,

But there's no guarantee the rains will come soon.

The animals face a constant battle to endure and prevail.

[birds chirping] they've seen no rain for the last 12 months.

And so does the varied plant life.

These sternbergia and meadow-saffron flower early.

[birds chirping] they are perennials, feeding from

Their bulbs or corms, food storage organs below ground.

[birds chirping] this allows them to survive

Where other plants would die.

But these plants are still desperate for rain.

[thunders]

Luckily, this year, the rain arrives just in time.

The entire desert sighs with relief.

[rain drops] but within a few hours,

So much rain falls, the desert soil cannot absorb it all.

Layers of clay prevent the rain from seeping in deep.

The soil is sealed after just a few drops.

Now the water accumulates quickly

And begins to wash away the foam of the arid loose soil.

This is the best time in the desert. Everybody is happy.

Among these rocks hides a small plant

With unique survival skills, asteriscus hierochunticus.

This plant covers its seeds right after flowering.

Only a strong rain can soften the special covering

That opens up to the water.

The seeds can wait and survive for years

For a rain heavy enough to wake them from their slumber.

When the asteriscus seeds germinate,

Little yellow flowers appear next to the dry mother plant.

[birds chirping]

Fall and winter are very short in the negev desert.

For two months, the area experiences rain and floods,

Sometimes snow high in the mountains.

But these short seasons are crucial,

As they provide desert life with essential water

In the hotter seasons to come.

And then, the season of renewal.

[birds chirping]

In a rain soaked negev, spring can bloom suddenly,

Throwing the desert into a brief celebration

Of colors and smells.

[buzzing]

The period of bounty is very short.

The desert animals seize every moment.

The plants hurry to complete their life cycles

Before the summer heat.

They flower in a spectacular range of colors,

Inviting insects that in return pollinate them.

[buzzing]

Red tulips adorn the mountains, taking in the morning dew,

Their bulbs buried deep in the rock crevices,

Where the water supply lasts longer.

On the peaks of the negev highlands grows

The desert rhubarb producing leaves

That reach 3 feet in diameter!

[thunders]

The rhubarb is called 'the self-watering plant'.

Each raindrop falling on its enormous leaf

Is channeled down to the root system,

Providing it with 16 times more water

Than all the rain splashing around it.

So this broad-leaved plant can survive in the desert,

Enjoying growing conditions typical of a wet climate.

Temperatures start rising.

The soil starts to lose its moisture.

In the river valleys of the negev highlands

Grow magnificent atlantic pistacio trees,

Hundreds of years old.

[birds chirping] their roots sink deep into the soil

To reach precious water.

The tree's appearance changes during the year.

In the dry summer it is green,

In autumn its leaves turn red,

And in winter, when the desert turns green,

It sheds its leaves and stands bare

Until the following spring.

These ancient trees are a relic

From a colder and wetter bygone era.

It has survived almost a 1000 years

Because it is considered sacred by bedouins,

Who never cut it down for fire.

Now, the desert becomes an oasis,

Attracting a wide array of bird life

Drawn to the short sudden abundance

Of greenery and insects.

In the spring the male macqueen's bustard

Perform elaborate dancing ceremonies.

The female watches the males from her hiding place

And chooses her partner for the mating season.

[birds chirping]

Each year the male returns to the same dancing stage,

And tries again to impress the females.

This is the rare cream-colored courser.

The courser uses this moment of bounty

To rear its chicks on the riverbed vegetation.

When the summer comes they will be mature enough

To try and survive on their own.

The cream-colored courser flies well,

But if there is no danger around, it prefers to run.

[birds chirping] also fighting for food and space

In the negev is another bird, the temminck's horned lark.

[birds chirping]

It can move quickly, and when it needs to,

Freezes in place, blending in with the desert stone.

[birds chirping]

In early summer the males define and defend

Their nesting territory, standing and singing

On shrubs and stones.

And eventually the females join their chosen mates.

Springtime signals a vast northward migration

By storks leaving africa for their nesting areas

In europe and asia.

On their long journey they pass over the negev.

Most of them hurry by, ignoring the flowering desert,

But some stop for a short rest in fields and on mountains,

Hungrily snapping up insects, reptiles and rodents.

The stork's annual journey is a huge feat,

Leaving germany in the autumn, wintering in africa,

And flying back to germany.

Some are injured on the way. The flock does not wait.

Here, a solitary stork is left behind.

Its broken leg may prevent it from completing its migration.

A tragedy for the stork.

A welcome sight for a hungry predator.

This family of red foxes is highly dependent

On finding the carcasses of these migrating birds.

They live in a dune, within a multi-branched

Network of burrows.

The red fox is one of four species of foxes

That live in the negev.

Thanks to the wet winter and abundant food,

All seven cubs have survived so far.

They spend their days playing at the den's entrance,

Running and leaping in the relative coolness.

Their games are not just for fun.

Learning to make those same leaps

Will be useful for hunting and mating rituals,

All just months away for these cubs.

As darkness falls the mother comes for a quick visit.

She's been gone for hours. Her cubs are ravenous.

The suckling is quick, and the seven youngsters

Are no longer satisfied with their milk ration.

The cubs' hunger sends both parents

On nighttime hunting trips.

The young still don't leave the dens' entrances,

And wait impatiently for their parents and their food.

At first light the female fox found a fresh carcass

Of a desert hare left by a pharaoh eagle-owl.

[hooting] it's not easy to give up,

But the fox is a real threat and the owl is forced

To abandon its catch.

Its chicks waiting hungrily in the rock

Will not get this meal. [hooting]

The female fox hurries to the maze of burrows.

This morning all seven of her cubs

Will go to sleep fed and satisfied.

The mother has won another day in the negev

For her young family. She can never know

If it will be their last.

[hooting]

Spring in the negev provides a welcome feeding ground

For the nubian ibex.

At only a few days old these kids

Are already frolicking happily.

At first light the young enjoy friendly horn fights.

The young females also join the play fighting.

But in the negev, even during play,

The threat of death is ever present.

On a nearby cliff a pair of bonelli's eagles

Loom dangerously [screeching].

These eagles are quick enough, strong enough

To steal a young ibex kid, so the young must stay

With the herd for the first weeks of life.

Not far from the eagles, nests a pair of brown-necked ravens.

[croaking]

They harass the eagles and annoy them.

These parents are distracting the eagles

From the chicks in the nest.

In the heat of the day the ibex leads her young kid

To the spring.

They leap down the cliff steps to the shade and water.

Without thinking twice, the mother leaps over the last gap.

For the kid, this is an unpassable chasm.

He doesn't dare leap after her

And looks for another way with growing anxiety.

If he can't get to his mother his fate might be sealed.

A young, solitary ibex kid is easy prey for bonelli's eagles,

And even if he survives the daylight hours,

He's no match for the nocturnal predators - hyenas and wolves.

There is no other way. His mother calls him

From the depths of the canyon.

He did it!

His leaping and climbing skills will improve within days.

In the meantime he rushes to safety by his mother's side.

The rising temperatures and dry water holes

Drive the ibex to the springs.

Ibex require a daily supply of drinking water

And there are few desert springs

With a year-round permanent, stable water supply.

And in the negev, water can be found

In the most unlikely places.

Ein avdat is one of the largest and most important

Permanent springs.

On the ridge near the spring

A magnificent nabatean city was built over 2000 years ago,

The city of avdat, whose inhabitants

Drank from the same spring's waters.

The water holes and springs are desert lifelines

That provide food and shelter for many desert birds.

They flock to the water to drink and bathe.

[birds chirping] some are native to the negev,

Like the hill sparrows, desert finches and trumpeter finches.

Others like the namaqua dove come from africa.

This is the most northern place it lives.

Another bird able to survive here is the rock martin.

It collects mud from the river channel in its beak

And builds its nest in the canyon's crevices,

Not far from water.

The chicks grow in a padded, comfortable mud house.

Higher up the cliffs live bigger tougher neighbors.

On the rocky ledges of the ein avdat cliffs,

Migrating annually from africa is the egyptian vulture

Which shares the negev cliffs with the griffon vulture,

A permanent resident.

They glide above the ridges looking for carrion.

Griffon vultures are partners for life.

They share incubation of the solitary egg for two months;

When the chick hatches it receives devoted parental care.

Even after leaving the nest it returns to demand food

From its parents until the next egg is laid.

But there are limits even to motherly love.

When this young vulture tries to return to the nest,

Its mother is too busy caring for a new chick.

This young vulture must search for his food alone now,

A mission that has become harder in recent years.

Development in the negev has severely harmed

Griffon vultures.

They face extinction due to urban expansion,

Dwindling open landscapes, and a lack of food.

From a population of hundreds, now only a few dozen remain.

To support the population that nests in the region,

Nature reserve rangers have set up

A number of feeding stations.

Each vulture fights aggressively

For its place and its meal.

To keep an eye on their battle to survive,

Most vultures are tagged for research and monitoring.

As always, the negev makes no promises.

Every animal lives day to day.

Compared to the larger, deadlier vulture,

The smaller humble sandgrouse enjoys a far stronger

Chance of surviving.

In the negev there are five species of sandgrouse.

They come to the water at fixed hours.

Some species immediately after sunrise,

Others just before sunset.

For many years researchers didn't understand

How they nested in the most arid regions devoid of water,

Or how the chicks survived the terrible drought

When their parents fed them only dry seeds.

Continuous monitoring solved the amazing riddle:

The male sandgrouse has a special covering

Of chest feathers that functions like a sponge.

The male flies tens of miles from the nest

To a water source and absorbs water

In his chest feathers, and then flies back to the nest.

The chicks poke their beak into his chest feathers

And drink the water as if he was a flying water bottle.

Sandgrouse are the preferred gamebird

Throughout the middle east, but in israel they are

Fully protected like all wild animals.

Great efforts are made to preserve wildlife in israel.

In 1968, the nature and parks authority

Created the yotvata wildlife reserve in the negev,

A desert center for conserving and nurturing species

On the brink of extinction.

The wildlife reserve also protects other desert animals

From outside israel, such as the addax

And the sahara oryx from africa.

In the open area of the wildlife reserve

Is a breeding nucleus of arabian oryx

That lived previously in israel and arabia

And is currently under threat of worldwide extinction.

In the spring dozens of young oryx were born.

Dr. Roni king selects the oryx that he must tranquilize

Before the intended release to nature.

He shoots the selected oryx with a tranquilizing arrow.

Its horns are sharp and dangerous

And it is treated with due caution.

The rangers attach a radio transmitter to the oryx's neck

In order to monitor its integration and acclimation

To the free herd in the negev landscape.

The young oryx are brought to the acclimation pen,

From where they will be released to nature,

Join the herd and run free in the negev landscape.

About a hundred oryx already live

And reproduce in the negev.

For the winners in this battleground,

Summer comes again.

The males once again prepare for mating season.

An entire year has passed in the negev.

Freezing nights and burning days,

Scarce food and water, and unforgiving predators.

But time and nature do not stop.

The young wolves go hunting by themselves.

Herds of animals start to roam in search of water.

All want to survive another year in the negev.

It is the only home they know.