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Africa.
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No continent on Earth today has
such spectacular wildlife.
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At its heart lies
a vast tropical rainforest.
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Over a million square miles
of wilderness,
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much of it still unexplored...
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...even now.
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There are more species of animals
and plants in these jungles
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than anywhere else on the continent.
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But even in this land of plenty...
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...wildlife now faces major challenges.
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The forests of the Ivory Coast
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contain over 1,500 species of plant,
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but some are very difficult to get at...
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...even for one of
the most intelligent of animals.
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Chimpanzees.
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The elders in this group know
where to find the most nutritious food
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and how to extract it.
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But if they are to survive to adulthood,
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the youngsters must learn these skills
from their parents.
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This young female is five years old...
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...old enough to be given
an important lesson.
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And this is her teacher.
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Her mother.
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The lesson is how to crack a nut.
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Using tools like this is so complex
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that it has only been mastered by
a handful of chimpanzee communities.
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This is a skill that has been practised
by chimps for several thousand years.
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Time to try for herself.
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She needs to find a better tool.
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Small rocks just don't have the clout.
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And larger ones are too cumbersome.
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Wood is both light and strong...
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...but not strong enough.
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Back to teacher.
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It may take a young chimp
up to a decade to perfect
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the skills it needs for nut-cracking.
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But she's already mastered one thing.
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When her fingers can't reach
the nut inside...
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...she strips down a branch to size...
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...and makes herself a spoon.
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She'll learn to use many tools
in her life...
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...and eventually she'll share
this knowledge
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with youngsters of her own,
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enabling them to harvest the riches
of their rainforest home.
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The sheer abundance of life
in the rainforests
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is rivalled by that
on the eastern side of the continent.
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The Great Rift Valley runs for 4,000 miles
down the length of Africa.
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It developed some 30 million years ago,
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when a giant plume of molten rock
pushing up from the depths
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cracked the Earth's crust apart.
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Fresh water began to accumulate
on the floor of this rift...
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...and a chain of lakes developed.
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These lakes are now
one of the richest freshwater habitats
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to be found anywhere.
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One single family of fish here -
the cichlids -
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has evolved into more
than 1,500 different species.
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This might look like paradise,
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but competition between
these cichlid species is intense.
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This crowded world is a dangerous one.
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Baby fish, after all, make a tasty meal.
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So, many cichlid mothers have developed
a very effective way
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of keeping their offspring safe.
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They use their mouths as a mobile nursery.
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It's a safe haven where the fry can stay
until danger has passed.
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When the coast is clear,
she releases them.
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This kind of behaviour starts
when the cichlid female
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picks up her newly laid eggs and holds
them in her mouth to keep them safe.
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During spawning,
her mate flashes his yellow tail spots
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to encourage her to keep laying.
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As each batch of eggs emerges,
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she scoops them up.
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But this couple are being watched...
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...by cuckoo catfish.
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They work as a gang
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and devour as many cichlid eggs
as they can find.
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Then, in the middle of all this activity,
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one of the catfish also spawns.
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The cichlid mother
collects every egg she can see.
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Now, by herself, she must wait
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while the eggs in her mouth develop.
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It will take three weeks.
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She doesn't eat
throughout that entire time.
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But 18 days later,
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something is not right.
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The female blows out her young
before they're fully ready to emerge.
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And they are followed
by young cuckoo catfish...
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...three times the size of her own babies.
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She may have as many as six of them
in her mouth.
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And now
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they begin to eat the cichlid babies.
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The female cichlid treats the baby catfish
as if they were hers.
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They are truly cuckoos among fish!
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The forces that created
the Great Rift Valley
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continue to shape Africa's landscape
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even today.
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At weak spots in the Earth's crust,
molten rock continues to erupt.
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There are some 200 volcanoes
on the continent...
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...many of them active.
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They may bring destruction
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but also, eventually, fertility.
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This is Ol Doinyo Lengai.
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For the past 400,000 years,
ash from this great volcano
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has fallen on the surrounding savannas
of the Serengeti
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and greatly enriched them.
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This is the best grazing on the continent.
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On it live the world's largest herds
of migrating animals...
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...and they, in turn, support predators.
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Here, in Kenya, cheetahs have formed
an unusual alliance.
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These swiftest of cats usually hunt
in groups of two or three.
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But this team of five
is one of the largest ever recorded.
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Two sets of brothers
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and a lead male.
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They have now lived and hunted together
for almost three years.
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By teaming up, they can hold
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the best territory in the area.
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But, even so, with five mouths to feed,
every hunt is very important.
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They haven't eaten for three days.
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To make a kill, they must get
within 30 metres of their quarry
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without being detected.
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Thick cover.
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That will help them.
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Topi - nearly three times their size...
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...and quite strong enough
to fight off a lion,
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let alone a single cheetah.
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Now out in the open...
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...every step the cheetahs take
increases their chance of success.
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The herd scatter,
and the team splits up.
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But they didn't get close enough.
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They switch targets to zebra.
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Everyone now knows that they're here.
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They must devise a different approach.
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All eyes are on the brothers.
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Out in the open,
they seem to be no threat.
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But the lead male is missing.
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The brothers are decoys.
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The trap is set.
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The other four now join the lead male.
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Under the combined weight of five cheetah,
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death comes quickly.
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Today, Africa's savannas support
larger herds of big game
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than anywhere else in the world.
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And they, one way or another,
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provide food for all kinds
of smaller creatures.
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An oxpecker.
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A resourceful little bird
with an unusual diet.
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Fleas, ticks and even dandruff are food,
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as far as they are concerned.
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Both parties benefit.
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The oxpecker gets a good meal...
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...and the host is cleaned in those places
it could never reach for itself.
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Each bird, every day,
collects hundreds of ticks
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and thousands of insect larvae.
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But some oxpeckers
go for rather riskier meals.
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Hippopotamus are highly territorial
and very aggressive...
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...so oxpeckers tackling them
must always be on their guard.
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But there's much to be gained.
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Blood is the most nutritious meal of all.
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Pecking ensures that cuts remain open
and blood keeps flowing.
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And an oxpecker,
once it's found an open wound,
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will stay alongside it, no matter
how much that irritates its host.
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The reward? An endless supply of food,
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whatever the conditions.
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Not all of Africa is rich and fertile.
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A third of the continent is desert.
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This is the Namib in the southwest.
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At its heart, a disused diamond mine
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that was abandoned nearly 70 years ago.
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But it still has one inhabitant.
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A desert specialist...
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...and one of Africa's rarest predators.
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The brown hyena.
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This ghost town is her home.
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Its ruins give her valuable protection
from the elements.
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She has been here for 15 years.
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She's already reared
nine generations of cubs.
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These two youngsters have reached
a critical stage in their lives.
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They're four months old,
and now they need regular solid food.
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But there is nothing edible
in these ruins,
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so their mother has to look elsewhere
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and may leave them
for several days on end.
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Brown hyenas may walk over 20 miles a day
in search of food.
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This is some of the most hostile country
on the planet.
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Temperatures reach
a blistering 50 degrees Celsius.
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Strong winds blow incessantly.
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Hyenas from all over the Namib head for
where the sand dunes meet the sea.
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Somewhere along
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this seemingly barren stretch of sand,
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there is food in great quantity.
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Cape fur seals.
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There are around 10,000 of them here.
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Adult seals are large and strong.
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But their pups are neither.
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The youngsters are closely guarded
by their mothers.
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A hyena, however, knows to be patient.
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Sooner or later, seal mothers
must return to the ocean to cool off.
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A single seal pup could feed a hyena
and her family for days.
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But finding food is only half the battle.
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It now has to be carried back.
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A jackal is here too...
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...and it's not alone.
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00:32:58,561 --> 00:33:03,521
If a hyena loses her kill, she'll have
nothing with which to feed her cubs.
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The jackals won't follow her
very far from the coast.
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It's too hot for them
in the desert interior.
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Only by making these long journeys
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can brown hyenas manage to survive
in the middle of the Namib.
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But some desert animals
seldom move far.
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The Kalahari Desert.
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Here, food is more plentiful...
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...but it's hidden.
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A pangolin.
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She can collect food
that others can't reach.
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00:34:28,201 --> 00:34:31,001
A keen sense of smell
enables her to detect
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the presence of ants and termites
in their nests beneath the sand.
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Her sticky tongue, some 30cm long,
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enables her to collect them
from deep underground.
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And she's being carefully watched.
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The drier it gets,
the deeper the termites live.
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Many are way beyond the reach
of even a pangolin.
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But not of an aardvark.
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It's the world's largest burrowing animal.
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Its sense of smell is extremely acute.
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Shovel-like claws and powerful legs
enable it to dig down
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to depths of five or six metres.
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A full-grown aardvark needs to eat
about 50,000 termites every day.
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Termites are highly nutritious
and full of moisture,
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and they can be collected here year round.
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Aardvark are usually nocturnal.
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But the fact that this one
is foraging in daylight
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is a sign that food is scarce.
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Recent droughts in the Kalahari
have led to low termite numbers
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and, as a consequence,
aardvarks here are close to starvation.
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Changes in the world's climate
are affecting many of Africa's animals.
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It's predicted that in the next century,
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Southern Africa will warm twice as much
as the global average.
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The future will be bleak for those
that cannot adapt fast enough.
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In Zimbabwe,
it hasn't rained in six months.
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During a drought, food becomes
harder and harder to find.
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00:38:37,081 --> 00:38:41,921
Apple-ring acacias produce pods
that are full of protein...
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...but mostly on their higher branches.
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Six metres up, they're out of reach
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even for the continent's largest animals.
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This bull elephant needs to eat
about 90kg of vegetation every day.
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He's worked out a remarkable way
of surviving
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in these lean times.
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But it requires great physical strength.
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00:40:27,921 --> 00:40:31,721
Only a handful of bulls
have mastered the skill.
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He weighs over five tonnes.
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This is a truly monumental effort.
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Those around him benefit too.
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Elephants have used their great
intelligence to help them survive
251
00:42:00,961 --> 00:42:03,761
Africa's driest times for millennia.
252
00:42:08,641 --> 00:42:12,161
But today,
they face an even greater threat.
253
00:42:18,481 --> 00:42:24,441
It's thought that as many as 20 million
elephants once roamed the continent,
254
00:42:24,561 --> 00:42:28,761
but many have been killed
for their tusks...
255
00:42:31,961 --> 00:42:36,001
...their ivory used for entirely
ornamental purposes.
256
00:42:41,281 --> 00:42:45,841
Now just 350,000 elephants remain.
257
00:42:53,321 --> 00:42:56,361
These stockpiles of confiscated tusks
258
00:42:56,481 --> 00:43:00,521
represent half of the elephants killed
on the continent
259
00:43:00,641 --> 00:43:03,041
in just one year.
260
00:43:14,801 --> 00:43:17,521
But of all of Africa's remaining wildlife,
261
00:43:17,641 --> 00:43:22,201
it is the rhinoceros that has been
most affected by poaching.
262
00:43:27,681 --> 00:43:32,761
In the Far East, its horn is used
as traditional medicine.
263
00:43:37,881 --> 00:43:41,401
All of Africa's rhinos
are now under threat...
264
00:43:44,161 --> 00:43:49,121
...but for one subspecies,
it's likely to be already too late.
265
00:43:52,241 --> 00:43:56,121
The northern white rhinoceros
is facing extinction.
266
00:43:58,601 --> 00:44:00,881
Scientists are working on a solution,
267
00:44:01,001 --> 00:44:05,041
but no male now survives,
so natural breeding is impossible.
268
00:44:10,841 --> 00:44:14,521
These two females
are the last of their kind.
269
00:44:15,761 --> 00:44:17,561
When they die,
270
00:44:17,681 --> 00:44:23,401
an entire subspecies that inhabited
the Earth for millions of years
271
00:44:23,521 --> 00:44:27,001
will have disappeared for ever.
272
00:44:31,321 --> 00:44:33,361
Right across Africa,
273
00:44:33,481 --> 00:44:39,321
human beings are having
a devastating impact on all wildlife.
274
00:44:42,401 --> 00:44:44,441
Cheetah numbers are decreasing
275
00:44:44,561 --> 00:44:46,041
year on year.
276
00:44:48,041 --> 00:44:53,201
Today, there are fewer than 8,000
left on the continent.
277
00:45:05,001 --> 00:45:09,481
The global demand for pangolin scales
for use in traditional medicine
278
00:45:09,601 --> 00:45:13,681
has now made them
the most trafficked animal on the planet.
279
00:45:18,841 --> 00:45:22,841
And western chimpanzees are so threatened
by the loss of their habitat
280
00:45:22,961 --> 00:45:26,001
that they are now critically endangered.
281
00:45:29,681 --> 00:45:31,281
In this female's lifetime,
282
00:45:31,401 --> 00:45:34,841
three-quarters of the forest
in the Ivory Coast
283
00:45:34,961 --> 00:45:37,321
has been felled for plantations.
284
00:45:42,641 --> 00:45:45,801
Deforestation -
and not only in Africa -
285
00:45:45,921 --> 00:45:49,281
continues on an enormous scale.
286
00:45:54,201 --> 00:45:58,681
64 million acres of forest
are destroyed every year
287
00:45:58,801 --> 00:46:02,241
to make way for agriculture
and industry.
288
00:46:03,681 --> 00:46:07,201
An area of forest
the size of a football field
289
00:46:07,321 --> 00:46:09,321
is disappearing every second.
290
00:46:15,081 --> 00:46:18,561
Climate change is affecting
global weather patterns.
291
00:46:20,401 --> 00:46:24,361
Rainfall is increasingly unpredictable.
292
00:46:24,481 --> 00:46:28,841
Average temperatures
are soaring all over the globe.
293
00:46:35,081 --> 00:46:38,241
Extreme weather
is now affecting wildlife
294
00:46:38,361 --> 00:46:41,601
on all seven of the planet's continents.
295
00:46:55,201 --> 00:47:00,481
Today, scientists tell us that
we are at the start of a mass extinction,
296
00:47:00,601 --> 00:47:05,161
and one that is being caused
by human activity.
297
00:47:08,601 --> 00:47:12,001
Over a million species
could be wiped out,
298
00:47:12,121 --> 00:47:15,001
many within the next few decades.
299
00:47:21,921 --> 00:47:28,041
But with help, even the most vulnerable
wildlife populations can still recover.
300
00:47:33,921 --> 00:47:36,801
In Africa's Virunga National Park,
301
00:47:36,921 --> 00:47:41,281
an intensive conservation programme
for the mountain gorilla
302
00:47:41,401 --> 00:47:47,401
has raised their numbers above 1,000
for the first time since records began.
303
00:48:04,361 --> 00:48:06,801
And in Antarctica,
304
00:48:06,921 --> 00:48:10,761
the international ban on whaling
has meant that the great whales
305
00:48:10,881 --> 00:48:15,681
have returned to the Southern Ocean
in numbers not seen for a century.
306
00:48:19,841 --> 00:48:21,721
So we can improve things...
307
00:48:23,841 --> 00:48:26,281
...if we determine to do so.
308
00:48:30,921 --> 00:48:34,441
This is a crucial moment in time.
309
00:48:34,561 --> 00:48:36,761
The decisions we take now
310
00:48:36,881 --> 00:48:41,801
will influence the future of animals,
humanity,
311
00:48:41,921 --> 00:48:45,721
and indeed all life on Earth.
312
00:49:17,361 --> 00:49:21,921
For the Africa team,
each shoot presented its own challenge...
313
00:49:23,241 --> 00:49:27,321
...but one tested them
in ways they never imagined.
314
00:49:30,161 --> 00:49:35,081
The team journeyed for six days
to the heart of the Congo rainforest.
315
00:49:36,241 --> 00:49:40,721
Their aim - to film the intimate lives
of lowland gorillas.
316
00:49:43,121 --> 00:49:46,761
They worked with local expert trackers,
317
00:49:46,881 --> 00:49:50,481
who can pick up the trail
of evidence left by the gorillas.
318
00:49:55,001 --> 00:49:59,761
From the plant, they can tell
which way the group has gone.
319
00:50:03,561 --> 00:50:08,001
As they close in, the team wear masks
to stop the spread of disease.
320
00:50:14,441 --> 00:50:19,081
Finally, a silverback and his family
in the trees.
321
00:50:23,321 --> 00:50:25,081
Look at that big boy.
322
00:50:32,681 --> 00:50:34,761
He's huge!
323
00:50:39,841 --> 00:50:42,521
You don't want to look him in the eye
because that...
324
00:50:42,641 --> 00:50:43,921
Oh, OK!
325
00:50:48,121 --> 00:50:51,801
The trackers have known this male
for 20 years
326
00:50:51,921 --> 00:50:54,401
and use clicking noises to reassure him.
327
00:50:57,201 --> 00:51:00,401
It was a completely amazing experience.
328
00:51:00,521 --> 00:51:02,921
Just came closer and closer and closer,
329
00:51:03,041 --> 00:51:05,761
and my eyes got wider and wider and wider.
330
00:51:07,881 --> 00:51:10,081
Yeah, it was incredible.
I'm just sort of smiling.
331
00:51:10,201 --> 00:51:11,961
It's kind of hard to process.
332
00:51:16,241 --> 00:51:20,561
But soon, the gorillas head
into the thickest jungle...
333
00:51:21,721 --> 00:51:23,481
Heavy, heavy.
334
00:51:25,561 --> 00:51:28,281
...which means that keeping up
is difficult.
335
00:51:28,401 --> 00:51:34,001
There are a group of gorillas
somewhere in this mass of vegetation
336
00:51:34,121 --> 00:51:39,641
but it takes us about ten minutes
just to cut a few-metres path through it.
337
00:51:41,921 --> 00:51:44,321
Filming them is virtually impossible.
338
00:51:44,441 --> 00:51:49,241
Oh, there's always
a piece of vegetation in the way.
339
00:51:49,361 --> 00:51:51,561
Oh, God, I can barely see anything.
340
00:51:56,361 --> 00:52:01,841
As the days pass,
the jungle begins to take its toll.
341
00:52:01,961 --> 00:52:03,721
Oh, God, this is awful.
342
00:52:05,441 --> 00:52:10,161
Your ears, your nose, my eyes...
They're flying everywhere.
343
00:52:11,761 --> 00:52:17,281
And with little filmed, the reality
of the situation is sinking in.
344
00:52:17,401 --> 00:52:21,841
It's going to be a real challenge for me
to get a sequence here,
345
00:52:21,961 --> 00:52:24,481
and it's a long way to come
to get nothing.
346
00:52:26,961 --> 00:52:30,201
Yeah, I'd say I'm feeling
the pressure at the moment.
347
00:52:36,601 --> 00:52:38,641
Half the shoot is now over,
348
00:52:38,761 --> 00:52:42,481
so the crew decide
to move to a more open area.
349
00:52:46,441 --> 00:52:47,841
Their destination -
350
00:52:47,961 --> 00:52:51,161
a clearing known as a bai.
351
00:52:53,321 --> 00:52:58,001
So, our luxurious home for the next
ten days or so is the top of this mirador.
352
00:53:01,521 --> 00:53:04,681
It's a little cramped,
but from this platform
353
00:53:04,801 --> 00:53:08,121
they hope to spot the gorillas
emerging from the forest.
354
00:53:12,921 --> 00:53:16,961
On their first morning,
the crew awaken to a visitor.
355
00:53:20,441 --> 00:53:22,721
It's our first elephant on this trip.
356
00:53:22,841 --> 00:53:25,201
There's a big bull
in the middle of the bai.
357
00:53:28,601 --> 00:53:29,841
And finally,
358
00:53:29,961 --> 00:53:32,721
the risk of moving pays off
359
00:53:34,841 --> 00:53:37,841
It's been
a really, really quiet morning,
360
00:53:37,961 --> 00:53:40,321
but a big group of gorillas,
about 15,
361
00:53:40,441 --> 00:53:45,361
has suddenly appeared really, really close
to us and, apparently,
362
00:53:45,481 --> 00:53:48,961
this very rarely happens. Maybe about
once a month they'll come this close.
363
00:53:53,281 --> 00:53:56,561
Over the next week,
the gorillas continue to visit the bai.
364
00:54:12,401 --> 00:54:14,521
Until one afternoon...
365
00:54:21,241 --> 00:54:22,681
...gunshots.
366
00:54:24,961 --> 00:54:27,361
On the platform,
the team are vulnerable.
367
00:54:27,481 --> 00:54:31,241
There's been poachers
probably within eyeshot of us.
368
00:54:31,361 --> 00:54:33,321
They know we're here.
We can't see them.
369
00:54:33,441 --> 00:54:35,121
And two big gunshots.
370
00:54:36,201 --> 00:54:38,121
They decide to evacuate.
371
00:54:39,681 --> 00:54:42,401
But there's also a risk of walking
through the jungle at night.
372
00:54:44,801 --> 00:54:48,441
The one rule of the forest is not to walk
in the forest when it gets dark,
373
00:54:48,561 --> 00:54:53,441
so we're going as fast as we can.
374
00:54:53,561 --> 00:54:57,481
Elephants are in the area,
so this is extremely dangerous.
375
00:55:05,681 --> 00:55:08,601
An hour later,
the team reach a camp.
376
00:55:08,721 --> 00:55:10,281
Oh, God.
377
00:55:16,321 --> 00:55:19,241
That is not an experience
I'd want to repeat again.
378
00:55:20,801 --> 00:55:23,161
We had to choose between the risk
379
00:55:23,281 --> 00:55:25,681
of getting charged
by an elephant in the dark
380
00:55:25,801 --> 00:55:28,281
or getting shot by poachers.
381
00:55:28,401 --> 00:55:29,841
Um...
382
00:55:29,961 --> 00:55:34,161
So, yeah, it's... pretty stressful.
383
00:55:34,281 --> 00:55:37,441
I'm going to have a sit-down.
384
00:55:37,561 --> 00:55:40,121
If they're ivory poachers,
this is quite serious,
385
00:55:40,241 --> 00:55:42,001
and they've got nothing to lose,
386
00:55:42,121 --> 00:55:45,681
and the gunshot was aimed in our
direction, that's where the sound was.
387
00:55:45,801 --> 00:55:47,961
It's a pretty scary situation to be in.
388
00:55:51,681 --> 00:55:56,801
Overnight, an armed anti-poaching unit
is called in to scout the area.
389
00:55:59,001 --> 00:56:01,241
Because of the remoteness
of this park,
390
00:56:01,361 --> 00:56:03,801
there's been no poaching
recorded in the last 20 years,
391
00:56:03,921 --> 00:56:08,241
so this is a really significant moment
and it's a really sad moment,
392
00:56:08,361 --> 00:56:12,241
because it means that,
as roads are being built here,
393
00:56:12,361 --> 00:56:17,081
it's becoming less and less remote, the
animals here are in more and more danger.
394
00:56:22,801 --> 00:56:26,361
Within a few hours,
the anti-poaching unit return
395
00:56:26,481 --> 00:56:31,601
with a stash of tusks
and news of a slaughtered elephant.
396
00:56:31,721 --> 00:56:36,321
It's about as tragic as it gets, really,
and we heard the two shots go off,
397
00:56:36,441 --> 00:56:39,841
so we were there when it happened
and the elephant went down.
398
00:56:41,081 --> 00:56:43,601
With the armed poachers still on the run,
399
00:56:43,721 --> 00:56:46,841
the team decide to abandon the shoot.
400
00:56:46,961 --> 00:56:49,881
It's really tough
leaving on such a sad note.
401
00:56:50,001 --> 00:56:54,081
We've been watching these elephants
in the bai for the last week,
402
00:56:54,201 --> 00:56:58,761
and knowing that one of them
was killed yesterday is, um,
403
00:56:58,881 --> 00:57:04,121
is horrible and, yeah,
it's sad to be leaving like this.
404
00:57:06,761 --> 00:57:10,041
The poachers were caught,
but this incident
405
00:57:10,161 --> 00:57:13,921
is a reminder of how vulnerable
wildlife has become on the continent.
406
00:57:18,641 --> 00:57:22,321
Even animals
in the remotest parts of Africa,
407
00:57:22,441 --> 00:57:25,601
and indeed all our seven worlds,
408
00:57:25,721 --> 00:57:27,801
are now at risk.