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00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:47,040
Africa.


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The world's greatest wilderness.


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The only place on Earth to see
the full majesty of nature.


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There's so much more here than
we ever imagined.


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I'm standing where the equator


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cuts right across the middle
of the continent.


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To the north of me,
there's an immense desert


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the size of the United States
of America.


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To the west, a vast rainforest
the size of India.


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And behind me,
for thousands of miles,


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the most fertile
savannahs in the world.


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From the roof of Africa...


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..to the deepest jungle.


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Rarely seen places,
and untold stories.


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There's nowhere in the world where
wildlife puts on a greater show.


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This is the last place on Earth


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where you can come eye to eye


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with the greatest animals that
walk our planet.


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This is Africa.


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Our journey starts in the far
south west,


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in the oldest and strangest
corner of the continent.


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Here, the thirsty land is covered


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with thousands upon
thousands of circles.


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We still don't know their origins.


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Poisonous plants, foraging insects


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and even magnetism have all been
suggested, but each ruled out.


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The circles don't move,
and their shape never varies.


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They're unchanging, much like
this part of Africa itself.


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Ancient and arid,
it almost never rains on this land,


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yet there is water here,
hidden away.


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To survive here, life must use
every trick in the book.


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Winter. Dawn temperatures can fall
well below freezing.


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And that's a problem
for this drongo.


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It's too cold for his normal prey,
flying insects.


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But he has a plan. The drongo is
the Kalahari's greatest trickster.


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And these are his victims.


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A family of meerkats,
desert specialists.


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After warming up in the morning sun,


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the meerkats begin
their search for breakfast.


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The drongo can now begin his tricks.


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But he must first win
the confidence of his victims.


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He spots an eagle on the hunt,
and sounds a warning.


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CHIRRUPING


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One that sends the meerkats
gratefully scurrying to safety.


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Danger over.


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And now, he has their trust.


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He sounds another warning.


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CHIRRUPING


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But this time, it's a false alarm.


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Thank you very much!


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The meerkats fell for it.


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This all seems too easy.
He tries the same trick again.


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CHIRRUPING


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BARKING


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But the meerkats aren't stupid -
they'll only fall for it once.


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The juicy scorpion won't be for him.


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Then, suddenly,
the sound of a sentry's warning.


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No meerkat can ignore that.
Sentries never lie.


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But the sentry sees no danger.


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Guess who?


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Of course, it's the drongo.


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He's learnt to mimic the meerkats'
own warning call.


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And now, he can enjoy his prize.


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A gang of meerkats,
outsmarted by a bird.


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The drongo is only deceitful
in the hardest winter months.


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For the rest of the year,
he provides honest protection.


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So, in the long run, the meerkat
family profit as well as the drongo.


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CHIRRUPING


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It's a much harder life,


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if you haven't yet learned
the tricks of your trade.


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This young leopard
is just a year old,


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and at a critical point in his life.


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His mother has battled to
raise her two cubs,


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but finding enough food for them
is now beyond her.


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From today, he'll have to
fend for himself.


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Kalahari means
"land of great thirst".


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Prey is scarce.
Of all the leopards in Africa,


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these have to be the most
resourceful.


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A big warthog.


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Potential prey,


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but armed and dangerous.


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His mother tried to tackle one,
but it nearly killed her.


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He spots something more promising.


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A steenbok, that's more like it.


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He won't strike unless he can get
to within just four metres,


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and without making
the slightest sound.


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ANXIOUS YAPPING


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A jackal barks an alarm.


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But the steenbok still has no idea
it's being stalked.


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The nearer he gets,
the quieter he must be.


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He's blown it.


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A good opportunity like that
won't come around very often.


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Hungry and thirsty,
he heads back home,


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and spots a kill stashed in a tree,
almost certainly by his own mother.


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And, like any teenager, he thinks
nothing of raiding her larder.


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Booby trapped.


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It's not really his day, is it?


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Some young leopards grow up to be
brilliant opportunists.


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But even they find life hard
here in the Kalahari.


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These bizarre little birds
are baby ostriches.


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They're just a few days old.


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In time, they'll become superb
desert survivors.


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But in the Kalahari,
these early days are perilous.


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Like leopards and meerkats,
adult ostriches can extract


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all the moisture
they require from their food.


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The chicks, however,


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won't survive much more than
another day without water.


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But there's none in sight.


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How can their parents conjure up
water out here?


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The youngsters follow their parents,


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as they head out onto
a featureless wasteland.


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It seems like a suicidal journey.


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The Etosha salt pan.


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Here, water is more often
a mirage than reality.


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It's now well over 40 degrees
centigrade.


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Their father shades his chicks
from the midday sun.


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Another mirage?


118
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No. The ostrich family
is not alone out here.


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Surrounded by miles
of sun-baked mud,


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sweet, fresh water wells up
from deep below ground...


121
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like a miracle.


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Although the ostrich parents have
guided their chicks to water,


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there's still a problem - traffic.


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Heavy traffic.


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These tiny, fragile birds could
easily be trampled under foot.


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The water is tantalisingly close.


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Where prey gathers,
predators are never far behind.


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The brawling lions have unwittingly
done the young ostriches a favour.


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The waterhole is now clear.


130
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Sometimes, you need
a bit of luck in life.


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Their first-ever drink...


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and just in time.


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Their father's done his job.


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A black rhinoceros, the Kalahari's
most cantankerous resident.


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They don't like company,


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and they certainly don't like
sharing a waterhole with lions.


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Fortunately -
for everyone else, that is -


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they only visit twice a week.


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The Kalahari is the black rhino's
last stronghold.


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And here, under the cover
of darkness,


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at one secret
and very special waterhole,


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rhino abandon their normally
solitary life,


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and come from miles around
to meet under the stars.


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Using the latest starlight camera,


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we can reveal for the first time
the rhino's true character.


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This young female seems nervous.


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She senses other rhinos close by.


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A mother appears from the shadows
with her calf.


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Tentatively, they greet one another.


150
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:12,760
They may be ill-tempered by day,


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but now they become gentle
and affectionate.


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More and more arrive.


153
00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:39,080
We had no idea that rhinos
met to socialise


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and build friendships like this.


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00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:09,840
The young female has an admirer.


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But she doesn't seem keen on him.


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She's excited about something.


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Or someone.


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Here comes a really big male.


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This time,
she's much more welcoming.


161
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Who would have thought that
rhino could be so flirtatious?


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The first male
tries to come between them.


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00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:14,840
Somehow or other, he's got a pair
of antelope horns stuck on his nose.


164
00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:24,480
It looks as if she's been won over
by his eccentric style.


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He leads her off,
away from the party.


166
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He may have style -


167
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but he's turning out to be
something of a disappointment.


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00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:08,000
GRUNTING


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A girl can only put up with so much.


170
00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:24,760
The only way she can get rid of him
is to pretend she's asleep.


171
00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:34,480
To see so many rhino in one place
is a revelation.


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00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:38,520
And that's the power water has
here - the power to bring together


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the greatest gathering of rhinos
anywhere on Earth.


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Spitzkoppe.


175
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An ancient volcano,
that towers above a plateau


176
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that is two billion years old.


177
00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:17,720
This land has remained unchanged


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for longer than any other part
of Africa.


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Animals here have had a long time
to find inventive solutions


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to the challenge of finding water.


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Out on the open plains, life must
await the chance arrival of rain.


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THUNDER RUMBLES


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00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:09,920
When it does fall,
it has an extraordinary effect.


184
00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:16,960
Each sporadic downpour
may only last minutes,


185
00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:21,280
but it can bring life,
and in spectacular numbers.


186
00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:33,240
Red-billed quelea.


187
00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:35,600
SHRILL CHORUS


188
00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:40,280
They're the most numerous
bird in the world.


189
00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:43,920
In all, more than a billion
live here in the Kalahari.


190
00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:46,400
No-one knows quite how,


191
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,640
but they seem to have an
extraordinary ability to locate


192
00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:54,040
the fall of rain, and then instantly
exploit the bonanza that follows.


193
00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:16,080
These nomads now have just
five weeks to find food,


194
00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:19,160
build a nest and raise a brood.


195
00:27:29,360 --> 00:27:31,080
But they're not alone.


196
00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:38,320
The rains
have also created a plague.


197
00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:53,000
These are armoured ground crickets.


198
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:57,920
Giant insects, with voracious
appetites...for meat.


199
00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:08,320
With the quelea parents
away feeding,


200
00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:10,160
their chicks are defenceless.


201
00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:55,560
The adults return.


202
00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:07,920
But the cricket fights back.


203
00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:14,120
Squirting its own foul-tasting
blood into their eyes.


204
00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:42,120
The cricket is still alive,


205
00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:46,000
but the stench of its blood
attracts the attention of others.


206
00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:57,840
Now, IT is the target.


207
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:02,600
These crickets become cannibals.


208
00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:22,160
All too soon, the bonanza
brought by the rain is over,


209
00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:27,160
and the quelea head off in search
of the next rare downpour.


210
00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:50,960
The Kalahari is scarred by rivers
that have long since run dry,


211
00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:54,120
the water claimed
by the thirsty land.


212
00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:08,320
But it's not gone far.


213
00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:16,200
Deep below lies a secret,


214
00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:19,680
one that was discovered
only 25 years ago.


215
00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:39,080
Humid air rushing to the surface
gives this place its name,


216
00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:41,040
Dragon's Breath Cave.


217
00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:53,600
The shaft descends for 60 metres,
until it meets...


218
00:31:57,760 --> 00:31:59,360
..water.


219
00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:04,440
Here, there is a massive chamber,


220
00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:08,760
big enough to swallow three
jumbo jets, nose to tail,


221
00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:11,360
filled with cool, fresh water.


222
00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:15,560
The world's largest
underground lake.


223
00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:28,560
This is fossil water.


224
00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:34,080
It's been trapped here,
undisturbed, for thousands,


225
00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:36,080
if not millions, of years.


226
00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:45,040
We have no idea how deep
the lake is.


227
00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:48,480
Divers have been down to 100 metres,


228
00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:51,120
and still there's no sign
of the bottom.


229
00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:01,800
Remarkably, Dragon's Breath
is part of a vast cave system


230
00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:05,440
that extends beneath the Kalahari
for thousands of miles.


231
00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:15,120
Even here, in this lonely cave,
there is life.


232
00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:29,160
Golden catfish,
only found in this one cave.


233
00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:33,880
They're the rarest and most
isolated fish in the world.


234
00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:42,040
Life down here is as challenging
as it is in the desert above.


235
00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:45,160
There's no food,


236
00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:48,440
except the debris that occasionally
falls onto the surface.


237
00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:56,800
And these catfish are totally blind.


238
00:33:56,800 --> 00:34:00,800
The only world they know is
the one they sense through touch.


239
00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:09,200
A blind fish living
in perpetual darkness,


240
00:34:09,200 --> 00:34:13,920
deep beneath one of the most
arid regions of Africa.


241
00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:27,840
Such cruel irony. So much water
hidden away out of reach.


242
00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:37,680
Along the western edge of the
Kalahari, the land becomes so dry,


243
00:34:37,680 --> 00:34:41,240
it seems impossible that any
life could survive here.


244
00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:00,000
The Namib.


245
00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:06,120
A million square miles of sand
exquisitely sculpted by the wind.


246
00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:12,160
This is the oldest
desert in the world.


247
00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:25,560
Respite comes from fog rolling in
from the Atlantic ocean.


248
00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:31,720
It condenses into a few
precious drops.


249
00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:38,120
Just enough to sustain life.


250
00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:48,000
A pompilid wasp is
searching the dunes.


251
00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:58,040
She's not looking for a drink, but
for somewhere moist to lay her egg.


252
00:36:01,720 --> 00:36:05,240
How will she pull off
a trick like that?


253
00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:15,200
The entrance to a burrow.
That's worth investigating.


254
00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:26,040
She may be tiny,
but once she decides to dig,


255
00:36:26,040 --> 00:36:29,000
she can shift extraordinary
quantities of sand.


256
00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:49,240
She's unearthed this spider
for a grisly purpose.


257
00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:59,320
It's so dry, the only place
with enough moisture for her egg


258
00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:02,560
is within the body of
another living thing.


259
00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:08,840
First, she must paralyse her victim.


260
00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:15,520
But then, the spider plays
its trump card.


261
00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:38,800
The aptly-named golden wheel spider
can cartwheel fast enough


262
00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:40,600
to escape its gruesome fate.


263
00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:55,960
For the wasp, her near
impossible search goes on.


264
00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:24,400
If it's hard enough for a tiny wasp
to survive here in the Namib,


265
00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:27,480
how is it possible for a giant?


266
00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:39,520
A desert giraffe.


267
00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:45,080
It's difficult to imagine how
such a huge animal


268
00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:47,720
can live in a place with
so little water.


269
00:38:55,120 --> 00:38:58,800
This old male is at the very
limit of his endurance.


270
00:39:11,560 --> 00:39:13,800
The land may be bone dry,


271
00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:17,400
but there are signs that water
once flowed here.


272
00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:27,600
The Hoanib, one of Namibia's rivers.


273
00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:32,400
A river of sand.


274
00:39:46,120 --> 00:39:49,880
The trees that line these
sand rivers send roots down


275
00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:54,520
over 30 metres to tap water that
lies deep beneath the river bed.


276
00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:01,800
These trees are
the giraffe's salvation,


277
00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:06,000
even if he has to stretch to
his very tallest to get a mouthful.


278
00:40:12,040 --> 00:40:15,760
Even on tip-toe, he still needs
a half-metre-long tongue


279
00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:18,600
to reach the leaves
he so badly needs.


280
00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:43,400
He's ruled this stretch
of the Hoanib for over a decade,


281
00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:46,920
and this prime territory is
attracting females.


282
00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:00,000
He waits confidently for her.


283
00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:13,040
But they've got company.


284
00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:14,720
A young male.


285
00:41:56,840 --> 00:41:59,840
The old bull won't tolerate a rival.


286
00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:09,440
Pushing and shoving,
they size each other up.


287
00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:18,960
The young rival seems to think
he has a chance and attacks.


288
00:42:32,080 --> 00:42:35,680
The first few blows usually
settle things in such battles,


289
00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:38,600
but here, the stakes are high.


290
00:42:46,280 --> 00:42:48,800
To lose means exile in the desert.


291
00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:54,520
Neither will back down.


292
00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:03,880
As the fight intensifies,
they change tactics.


293
00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:06,000
The young male aims for the rump.


294
00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:12,440
The old bull
targets his rival's legs.


295
00:44:00,040 --> 00:44:01,920
The old bull is down.


296
00:44:10,960 --> 00:44:12,880
Is this the end of his reign?


297
00:44:18,560 --> 00:44:21,440
He knows a knockout blow is coming.


298
00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:36,640
But the old bull ducks...


299
00:44:41,320 --> 00:44:46,080
..and strikes a blow
to his rival's underbelly.


300
00:45:21,920 --> 00:45:23,680
Out for the count.


301
00:45:35,280 --> 00:45:37,960
The old bull is victorious.


302
00:45:40,960 --> 00:45:43,080
But only just.


303
00:45:52,040 --> 00:45:55,320
The sand river remains his to rule.


304
00:46:17,920 --> 00:46:21,640
It's a river that is about
to be transformed.


305
00:46:26,520 --> 00:46:31,320
Under clear blue skies,
water floods down the Hoanib.


306
00:46:36,880 --> 00:46:41,160
The welcome consequence of rain
that fell hundreds of miles away.


307
00:46:55,400 --> 00:46:58,680
The water may only flow
for a matter of hours.


308
00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:05,040
But this miraculous flood
is enough to provide


309
00:47:05,040 --> 00:47:09,840
a lifeline for the trees and the
giraffes of the Hoanib River.


310
00:47:16,640 --> 00:47:19,840
It's what makes this place
worth fighting for.


311
00:47:37,400 --> 00:47:42,200
Here, fossil lakes,
secret waterholes, desert fog


312
00:47:42,200 --> 00:47:46,440
and ephemeral rivers like this
provide just enough water


313
00:47:46,440 --> 00:47:50,880
for life to get by,
no matter how tough it gets.


314
00:47:54,600 --> 00:47:58,840
It's hard to find more inventive
solutions to staying alive


315
00:47:58,840 --> 00:48:03,040
than in this,
the most ancient corner of Africa.


316
00:48:27,880 --> 00:48:31,400
For four years, the Africa team
searched the continent


317
00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:33,440
for new and surprising stories.


318
00:48:33,440 --> 00:48:36,760
Not only of strange
and unfamiliar creatures,


319
00:48:36,760 --> 00:48:38,960
but also of some we think we know.


320
00:48:41,640 --> 00:48:45,240
Veteran wildlife cameraman
Martyn Colbeck took on the challenge


321
00:48:45,240 --> 00:48:48,880
of shedding new light on the life
of Namibia's desert giraffe.


322
00:48:52,880 --> 00:48:56,880
I jumped at the opportunity
of working with an animal that


323
00:48:56,880 --> 00:48:58,920
I hadn't really spent much
time with.


324
00:48:58,920 --> 00:49:03,160
Straight away, they proved
to be quite an eye-opener.


325
00:49:03,160 --> 00:49:05,720
They're very bizarre
looking animals.


326
00:49:05,720 --> 00:49:08,760
We just kept looking at them
from different angles


327
00:49:08,760 --> 00:49:11,280
and they looked even weirder.


328
00:49:12,600 --> 00:49:16,280
The combination of the sort of
weird close ups, the beautiful


329
00:49:16,280 --> 00:49:17,720
landscape that they're in.


330
00:49:17,720 --> 00:49:19,720
They're amusing...


331
00:49:19,720 --> 00:49:22,920
I got really attached
to them, actually.


332
00:49:27,480 --> 00:49:30,840
Overlying all this,
we were always waiting for a fight.


333
00:49:31,840 --> 00:49:34,640
But to see a full-blooded fight
is very rare.


334
00:49:35,760 --> 00:49:38,480
So, the only way that
we were going to see it


335
00:49:38,480 --> 00:49:42,320
is if we stuck at it, day after day,
every day for 30 days.


336
00:49:44,160 --> 00:49:47,520
We were lucky enough that we
found a male guarding a female.


337
00:49:52,800 --> 00:49:55,760
And out of nowhere,
this male came round the corner.


338
00:50:01,600 --> 00:50:05,480
And almost immediately
faced up to our male.


339
00:50:07,920 --> 00:50:10,760
Absolutely no warning that this
was going to happen,


340
00:50:10,760 --> 00:50:13,880
so it was complete
pandemonium in the car.


341
00:50:13,880 --> 00:50:18,240
But luckily I got the camera up
and running in time to actually


342
00:50:18,240 --> 00:50:22,320
capture this fight, and it all came
down to one minute in real time.


343
00:50:27,400 --> 00:50:30,680
When I filmed it,
you don't see it in slow motion.


344
00:50:30,680 --> 00:50:33,360
And you just have to
go with the flow.


345
00:50:34,720 --> 00:50:37,000
You're not experiencing the fight,


346
00:50:37,000 --> 00:50:39,800
you're just basically framing it
and capturing it.


347
00:50:39,800 --> 00:50:42,680
So it was only afterwards, when
we looked at it in slow motion,


348
00:50:42,680 --> 00:50:45,840
that you could really understand
how ferocious it was.


349
00:50:51,440 --> 00:50:54,240
You can see the impact on the skin.


350
00:50:54,240 --> 00:50:57,000
You can see the ripples going
through the flesh.


351
00:51:00,280 --> 00:51:03,920
But it was the final blows
that delivered the real surprise.


352
00:51:03,920 --> 00:51:06,640
It was like one of those
chimneys falling down.


353
00:51:10,960 --> 00:51:13,960
At the last moment,
the head just went clunk!


354
00:51:29,400 --> 00:51:31,720
And we thought it was dead.


355
00:51:34,000 --> 00:51:36,200
We thought this thing was dead.


356
00:51:38,240 --> 00:51:41,000
And it lay there for,
it must have been three minutes.


357
00:51:42,920 --> 00:51:46,240
Eventually, this thing suddenly
got up, the one that was


358
00:51:46,240 --> 00:51:50,720
lying down, and the two of them were
then standing, and then the one that


359
00:51:50,720 --> 00:51:54,960
had been knocked over completely
then just said, "I've had enough.


360
00:51:54,960 --> 00:51:57,960
"OK, OK, you won and I'm off".


361
00:52:03,200 --> 00:52:05,440
I, I think it's very unlikely
I'm going to see


362
00:52:05,440 --> 00:52:06,960
anything like that again.


363
00:52:06,960 --> 00:52:10,080
I think that's a
once-in-a-life-timer. I really do.


364
00:52:12,760 --> 00:52:16,520
It won't be easy to look at
giraffes in the same way again.


365
00:52:21,640 --> 00:52:23,360
On the other side of the desert,


366
00:52:23,360 --> 00:52:26,080
another of Africa's
great animal icons


367
00:52:26,080 --> 00:52:29,120
was attracting
the attention of the team


368
00:52:29,120 --> 00:52:31,760
as they staked out
a secret waterhole.


369
00:52:36,400 --> 00:52:39,440
They hoped to reveal
a very different side


370
00:52:39,440 --> 00:52:42,360
to the personality of
the black rhinoceros.


371
00:52:45,760 --> 00:52:50,440
The team have heard that at night
rhinos behave a little strangely.


372
00:53:03,600 --> 00:53:07,240
A specially-built starlight camera
would allow the team


373
00:53:07,240 --> 00:53:09,000
to pierce the darkness.


374
00:53:13,960 --> 00:53:18,160
It's amazing. That's filming
something we can't even see.


375
00:53:18,160 --> 00:53:20,680
Yeah, and if you look
out there now...


376
00:53:20,680 --> 00:53:21,960
Yeah, it's just black, isn't it?


377
00:53:21,960 --> 00:53:25,200
But through this,
it looks as sharp as day.


378
00:53:25,200 --> 00:53:28,440
Rhinos are notoriously anti-social,


379
00:53:28,440 --> 00:53:33,840
yet here they come to revel
in each other's company.


380
00:53:33,840 --> 00:53:35,720
This is amazing.


381
00:53:37,960 --> 00:53:40,960
This is such intimate behaviour,


382
00:53:40,960 --> 00:53:45,040
which you can only see
filming them at night like this.


383
00:53:45,040 --> 00:53:46,480
It's incredible.


384
00:53:53,320 --> 00:53:58,640
But it wasn't just cameras that
would show a new side to rhinos.


385
00:53:59,880 --> 00:54:04,520
By concealing tiny radio
microphones around the waterhole,


386
00:54:04,520 --> 00:54:09,280
the crew hoped to eavesdrop
on the night's activity.


387
00:54:09,280 --> 00:54:12,480
RHINOS GRUNT


388
00:54:22,000 --> 00:54:25,560
And what they heard was astonishing.


389
00:54:26,520 --> 00:54:28,240
RHINO GRUMBLES


390
00:54:29,480 --> 00:54:31,440
They're really talkative.


391
00:54:33,280 --> 00:54:35,560
They really are having a good chat.


392
00:54:38,080 --> 00:54:42,720
These guys are far more
communicative than elephants, even.


393
00:54:44,440 --> 00:54:48,560
They're just going on and on,
chatting away.


394
00:54:48,560 --> 00:54:50,680
SQUEALS AND GRUNTS


395
00:54:52,120 --> 00:54:54,600
It's a beautiful,
crystal clear night,


396
00:54:54,600 --> 00:54:56,520
so we've got beautiful starry shots.


397
00:54:56,520 --> 00:55:01,320
Loads of amazing noise.
Puffing and huffing.


398
00:55:05,360 --> 00:55:08,520
So it's about two in the morning.


399
00:55:08,520 --> 00:55:10,600
There's only one rhino left up there.


400
00:55:10,600 --> 00:55:12,520
The rest of the them
have gone to bed,


401
00:55:12,520 --> 00:55:15,360
but he's decided to lie down
right on top of the radio mic.


402
00:55:17,040 --> 00:55:19,760
RHINO GRUNTS AND SNORTS


403
00:55:28,560 --> 00:55:31,040
The crew prepared for one more night


404
00:55:31,040 --> 00:55:34,080
at the waterhole
under the full moon.


405
00:55:40,280 --> 00:55:43,840
It seems that they're
not really here for the water,


406
00:55:43,840 --> 00:55:46,320
but more to socialise.


407
00:55:46,320 --> 00:55:48,920
A bit like going out
for the evening.


408
00:55:53,800 --> 00:55:58,360
He's got some kudu horns on his
face, draped over his nose!


409
00:55:58,360 --> 00:56:00,640
LAUGHTER


410
00:56:00,640 --> 00:56:02,080
Is it all on camera, too?


411
00:56:05,160 --> 00:56:09,400
These images have a particular
poignancy in a world where


412
00:56:09,400 --> 00:56:14,040
rhino horn is worth more
than its weight in gold.


413
00:56:14,040 --> 00:56:17,000
Poaching is going through
a really bad time right now


414
00:56:17,000 --> 00:56:18,800
in Southern Africa.


415
00:56:18,800 --> 00:56:20,400
If you averaged it out,


416
00:56:20,400 --> 00:56:24,160
a rhino has been killed every day
for the last year.


417
00:56:26,680 --> 00:56:29,480
That's really serious poaching.


418
00:56:29,480 --> 00:56:35,800
It's a huge concern that what we saw
and filmed just won't happen again.


419
00:56:35,800 --> 00:56:37,880
Ever!


420
00:56:39,600 --> 00:56:43,120
It's only now that technology
has revealed a new side


421
00:56:43,120 --> 00:56:45,240
to the rhino's personality.


422
00:56:52,120 --> 00:56:56,640
The black rhinoceros is
a symbol of the African bush.


423
00:56:56,640 --> 00:57:00,600
But it seems that this creature
has been long misunderstood.


424
00:57:05,160 --> 00:57:08,240
For the Africa team,
revealing giraffes


425
00:57:08,240 --> 00:57:11,640
and rhinos in this new light
was just the beginning.


426
00:57:13,520 --> 00:57:16,320
Africa may be a continent
we think we know,


427
00:57:16,320 --> 00:57:19,400
but it's still full of surprises.


428
00:57:20,960 --> 00:57:26,360
Next week, I'll be here on
the great savannahs of East Africa.


429
00:57:28,000 --> 00:57:34,400
This is an ever changing land with
a turbulent past and present.


430
00:57:41,280 --> 00:57:44,360
Where animals must gamble
with their lives.


431
00:57:49,720 --> 00:57:53,440
Bounded by mighty mountains
and steaming swamps,


432
00:57:53,440 --> 00:57:58,040
this land is the most prolific
wildlife haven on Earth.


433
00:57:59,960 --> 00:58:03,040
A land worth fighting for!


434
00:58:13,920 --> 00:58:16,960
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