Original subtitles

Planet Earth is so spectacular, it's easy to miss the smaller things in life.

But take a closer look, and there's a whole undiscovered world.

A world where tiny heroes and little monsters

need incredible superpowers to

help them triumph.

Against giant odds.

The African Savannah.

A land of legends.

home to some of our planet's largest and most majestic animals.

But beneath the feet of elephants, there's an unexplored world.

The world of the elephant shrew.

It's teeming with all kinds of amazing little grazers and tiny predators.

But being small in the land of giants is never easy.

And as the herds head this way, life is about to get a whole lot tougher.

An elephant shrew is not much bigger than a hamster, but much

faster.

On her scale, she's three times faster than a cheetah,

racing at nearly 30 kilometers per hour on a relentless hunt

for food.

She must eat almost a third of her body weight every day to fuel her fast-paced

life.

So she's built a network of trails over thousands of square meters to help her

find enough food even in the dry season.

A cobra strikes faster than the blink of an eye.

But her tracks help her stay one step ahead.

The elephant shrew's life is frenetic and solitary.

Unlike the kings of this big red castle.

Dwarf mongoose often make their home in termite mounds.

Only the size of your hand, they find strength

and warmth in numbers.

Savannah mornings are surprisingly cold.

It's all too easy to lie in.

But not today.

This little hornbill is hungry.

and keen to go grab breakfast.

Twenty mongoose and one hornbill might seem an odd team.

But when you're small, it pays to stick together.

The mongoose flush out prey

while the hornbill keeps a lookout for danger.

Dwarf mongoose patrol a big area, about 50 football fields, marking their

territory along the way.

The higher the scent, the bigger they'll seem to others.

Even in the dry season,

Their patch provides all the food they need.

They may be Africa's smallest carnivore, but they're not afraid to take on big

game.

A venomous baboon spider.

By seizing every opportunity, this tenacious teen can survive through the

harshest times.

But when the rains arrive, everything changes.

The life on the road offers little shelter.

But the mongoose stay safe and warm.

They've chosen their home well.

Termite mounds provide excellent protection from the elements.

Mixing spit and dirt.

These industrious insects build castles as hard as concrete.

And as big as an elephant.

Following the rains, the big animals start to arrive.

Elephants are the first to make an impact on the landscape.

A five-ton footprint creates a water world.

swimming with all sorts of tiny creatures,

including

one of the planet's oldest.

Tadpole shrimps have lived in tiny ponds like this since they were created by the

feet of dinosaurs.

Just days after the rain, the whole savanna flushes green.

As animals begin to gorge, it has enormous consequences.

There's no way an elephant shrew can move this mess.

But help is here.

Dung beetles are onto a fresh pile in seconds, hoping to make off with a share

of the spoils before competition arrives.

This ball is very precious.

His food and his hopes of winning a mate, all rolled into one.

In this tiny world, a single step can be a setback.

And a whole stampede can be a disaster.

Over a million wildebeest and zebra.

The greatest migration on land.

The promise of fresh grass driving them on.

Right this way.

Crowned plovers nest out on the open savanna.

This female's new clutch is in danger of being trampled.

Only ankle height, she's not afraid to stand up to a gazelle.

But a herd of wildebeest is unstoppable.

Amazingly, all of her eggs are unbroken.

But it's still a month before they hatch.

The elephant shrew's tracks took more of a beating.

It's time for some highway maintenance.

back in the fast lane.

As the herds graze on grass, giraffes look to the trees.

The acacias are flush with fresh leaves, protected by long thorns.

They are little use against a half-meter-long tongue.

But the tree has a second line of defense.

An army of acacia ants swarm to the rescue.

Attacking any part of the giraffe they can sink their jaws into.

Until it finally moves on.

The acacia grows special swollen thorns to house its loyal army.

And ant-sized cups filled with nectar to keep them fed.

By working together, little creatures can stand up to giants.

But sometimes it's better to run.

Sharp slicing tusks.

150 kilos of muscle.

A warthog is imposing.

And this mongoose knows just what it's after.

A little pampering.

The boldest mongoose gets the pick of the juiciest ticks.

As the rest of the team join, the warthog gets a thorough grooming.

Soon more clients are trotting into the Mongoose spa

The

Mongoose even mark returning customers as their territory

Those small and smart enough work even the most intimidating animals to their

advantage.

Oxpeckers can reach the highest of prizes and use their

sharp beaks to pick off parasites.

When one host has had enough they move on to the next.

Oxpeckers get almost all their food on the hoof.

with a bit of ingenuity and a very strong stomach.

Little animals make the most of the migration.

But the predators that follow can be more of a challenge.

The plover's eggs have just hatched.

Her chick is still finding its feet in a dangerous world.

Jackals are opportunistic hunters.

And the smaller the animal, the easier the prey.

A desperate move.

The brave mother does all she can to draw the attention to herself and away

from her chick.

as long as it doesn't move it's almost invisible

but

biting ants are hard to ignore

Mom creates a diversion.

Distracting the jackal.

Just enough.

But she will have to keep protecting her chick until the migration moves on.

the herds are being plagued by a mini migration that follows them everywhere

swarms of flies agitate the larger animals

but in the tiny world it's a

movable feast and away from the herds isolated

on rocky outcrops agama lizards wait for the food to come to them

Most of the time it's a bit hit and miss.

So when a bigger opportunity presents itself, they have to grab it.

Lions come here to rest in the heat of the day.

And with them come flies.

Lots of them.

Fortune favors the brave.

But best not to wake a sleeping lion.

Maybe there's a less direct approach.

It's amazing what you get away with when you're small.

But when flying in the face of danger,

don't push your

luck.

As the land dries, the herds move on.

Some won't be sad to see them gone.

Peace is returning.

The elephant shrew has the run of the place again.

Hunting insects at high speed and nothing to stop her.

As the seasons roll on, new challenges lie ahead.

A dried out elephant footprint really could be the end of the road.

But this little beetle is strong.

He can lift ten times his own weight.

And now with the herds gone, he can't afford to lose this ball.

His herculean effort has paid off.

A female, ready to share his most treasured possession and

be his mate.

Life is good for the mongoose too.

At least most of the time.

A single mongoose could easily fall victim to a cobra.

But when they stand together, this little gang is unbeatable.

And now they've got new recruits.

Still only a month old.

But in just three more, they'll be fully-fledged members of the team.

Even up against the biggest migration on Earth, tiny heroes don't just survive.

They thrive.

The Savannah is the land of legends.

And as it turns out, some of the greatest stories here are tiny.