All language subtitles for Wonders of the Monsoon 2of5 Deluge

The monsoon.

The greatest weather system
on Earth.

Giver of life...

and the destroyer.

Shaping magical lands

from the Himalayas

to Australia.

Its impact felt by giants.

The exquisite

and the bizarre.

Where spectacular nature meets
the planet's most vibrant cultures.

This is the story of the monsoon
at its most extreme.

Each year, from Cambodia to India,

the hot months of summer
herald a life-changing deluge.

It brings great danger...

..and enormous opportunity.

There's a mystical world

where tree roots
reach across the sky.

A twisted landscape
that holds its breath

in anticipation of the coming storm.

Beneath the surface, a giant stirs.

She must act
while there's still time.

She's a frog-faced
soft-shell turtle.

Her eggs must develop in dry sand,

before the monsoon
turns their world upside down.

This is the "mother of water"
- the Mekong.

It's April in Cambodia, and the
first rains are yet to arrive.

After two months,
incubating in the sand,

the baby soft-shelled
turtles are emerging.

They must reach water,

but first, they have a desert
to cross.

Their shells are just rubbery skin,
light and flexible.

Their flattened shape will be
key to their survival.

They will spend their lives
hidden in the sand.

Here they are ready for anything
the monsoon will throw at them.

Everyone seems restless.

Cormorants are waiting to
nest on a nearby lake.

But most of the lake bed is dry.

This village sits where
the lake should be.

It's a fishing village...

with no fish.

Cambodians depend on freshwater fish
more than any other nation on Earth.

So they need the rains
to flood this land.

For kids like Thom,

the world revolves around
an annual wonder of nature.

The summer deluge
and the gifts of the Mother River.

The Mekong flows south from the
Himalayas for over 2,500 miles,

feeding six countries
across South-East Asia,

including Thailand,
where rain clouds are building.

THUNDER RUMBLES

It's May.

The monsoon begins
with a whisper on the wind.

A pre-monsoon shower.

THUNDER RUMBLES

Not yet the full deluge,

but enough to spark a little
magic in the forest.

It's been bone dry for months.

So, for young Assamese macaques,
this is a new experience.

But their parents know
the rains deliver something

much more enticing.

If only they could find it.

A water snail.

Delicious!

These snails survived
the drought under rocks,

locked away in their shells.

Winkling them out is fiddly...

..so the monkeys pocket them
in their cheek pouches

to be enjoyed at leisure.

As spring turns to summer,
warm air rises over the land,

sucking in moist monsoon winds
from the Indian Ocean.

Storm clouds form at sea.

In India, the southern state of
Kerala is where they strike first.

It's June.

WIND HOWLS

The long wait is over.

THIS is the Indian monsoon.

Heavy, unceasing rain.

Rainfall is usually
measured in millimetres,

but during the monsoon,
a metre can fall in just a day.

Clouds roll in.

Wave after wave.

Even if the fierce sun breaks
through, the dampness never dries.

For four long months,
the deluge overwhelms the land...

..transforming the lives of
everyone and everything.

Like the great Hindu god, Shiva,
the monsoon can be a destroyer,

bringing chaos and destruction.

But, like Shiva, it also brings
rebirth, and new life.

The challenge for all, is not simply
to survive the monsoon,

but to grasp every
opportunity it offers.

Puddles and pools
are forming everywhere.

Perfect for frogs...

and toads.

For this female Indian common toad,

the first rains mean
she can breed at last.

And she must hurry,
for it's a one-day event.

A suitor awaits.

In fact,
there's a whole crowd of them.

Prompted by the monsoon rains,

the males have all turned yellow
for this one special day.

They may dress to impress, but
they don't waste time with niceties.

You might think the colour would
help tell the girls from the boys,

but it doesn't seem to make
any difference.

After all, today could be
their only chance

to sire a new generation.

The first tadpoles to hatch out
will have a crucial head start

in the race to grow before
the waters recede again.

Just two weeks after
the first rains,

another creature begins to
emerge from the monsoon pools.

Having grown up as an aquatic larva,

the adult mosquito
is water repellent.

Her mission is also to reproduce.

But it's a dangerous
new world for one so small.

Raindrops can reach speeds of
nearly 20mph.

For a mosquito, you might think
that's like being hit by a bus.

But scientific research has recently
revealed how mosquitoes

flying in the monsoon cheat death.

They are so water-repellent,

that most raindrops simply
glance off them.

A direct hit looks fatal...

..but the insect
is so light and flexible

that she can absorb the impact
and shake off the drop,

as though nothing had happened.

Insects multiply.

For many,
they are the monsoon's curse.

Female mosquitoes need blood
to grow their eggs.

Cases of malaria increase
by ten times during the monsoon.

It brings perils...

but also wonders.

This is the magic of the monsoon.

Beneath the building cloud,

India is transforming.

But in the driest
parts of the interior,

the land will take longer
to turn green.

Here, Indian wolves await
the monsoon's bounty.

This female gave birth
back in winter

and the pups must soon be weaned.

She is staking their lives on the
monsoon to bring them fresh meat.

WOLF HOWLS

Sheep and goats are the
staple diet of most Indian wolves...

..and they go
where the grass is greenest.

A journey where old India meets new.

Mahendra leads his livestock,
and his extended family,

on a never-ending quest
for fresh pasture.

They've been on the move
for eight months.

Now, with rain on the way,
they're heading for their homeland.

The striped hyena is
the wolf's main competitor

and will often chase
a wolf from a carcass.

She, too, needs to hunt if she is
to provide milk for her cubs.

Home at last,
just ahead of the monsoon rains.

They will soon turn
this barren land green again.

The only the protection the sheep
will have is a flimsy net

and it must be up before sundown.

Guard dogs have nail-studded
collars for their protection.

It's at night that
the predators will come.

When the light fades,

a thermal camera reveals
what the naked eye can't see.

Warm bodies glow white.

The net is not secure.

Hyenas.

Their scent drifts on the wind.

DOGS BARK

The dogs have been bred
to be fearless...

..and the hyenas can't afford
to risk injury.

Wolves.

A wolf bit through
the top rope of the net.

Mahendra is surprisingly
philosophical.

For him, it's
a small price to pay

for the bounty he hopes
the monsoon will bring.

By the end of July, all of India,

from the coast to the Himalayas,
is transformed by a cloak of green.

This is Rudyard Kipling country.

The Jungle Book
in all its splendour.

Baloo, the sloth bear, knows
the rains will bring tasty termites.

Colonel Hathi and the troop have
eked out a living

on leaves, twigs and bark,

but now fresh grass
means they can range free and wide.

For Shere Khan,
the monsoon is a double-edged sword.

Chital deer no longer
gather at waterholes

where they can be easily ambushed.

But the fresh growth nurtures
a new generation of prey.

The chital team up
with langur monkeys.

The deers' noses and the langurs'
eyes alert to potential danger.

Everywhere there's danger
and opportunity

and both increase as the monsoon
rains continue.

At their peak,

17 million tonnes of water fall
on the subcontinent every minute.

Right across southern Asia,

rivers have become swollen
with monsoon rains.

Along the Mekong, it's what
all of life has been waiting for.

The flow of the Mother River
has increased 400%

and now her influence is colossal.

She has created a whole new habitat.

A flooded forest, where fish swim.

Now is the time for them
to feed and grow fat.

But it's never safe to loiter.

The soft-shelled turtle can strike
faster than a cobra.

Downstream,

the monsoon is responsible
for an extraordinary phenomenon.

The Mekong is met by the River Sap,
which flows from a large lake.

The river's natural flow is
from west to east, into the Mekong.

But the Mekong becomes so swollen
with monsoon rain

that it pushes water uphill,
back up the Sap River.

The river's flow has reversed...

..taking with it,
huge numbers of fish.

They head for the lake,
called Tonle Sap,

which balloons to eight times
its former size.

A vast inland sea that swallows
up around a tenth of Cambodia.

Thom's world is now transformed.

His village can now only
be reached by boat.

Nurses paddle to their patients

and traders punt their wares
from door to door.

There is no longer any dry land
to grow vegetables.

And they keep their pigs
in floating sties.

But they can trade fish and shrimp
from the lake for other goods.

So Thom and his dad go fishing
every day.

The lake is vast.

And full of millions of fish.

They swam in from the Mekong
and are now in fish paradise.

In these warm, rich waters,

young fish rapidly grow to maturity.

And the drowned trees offer
much needed protection

from the most skilful
of predators.

Cormorants have flown in
from the Mekong,

joining resident
colonies of Oriental darter,

known also as snakebirds,
on account of their necks.

This bird is a beautifully
adapted fish hunter.

It has a hinge in its neck,

with powerful muscles that thrust
its head forward like a spear.

It submerges to hunt underwater.

Dense bones keep its body
below the surface,

so it dives with barely a ripple.

But fishing is a skill
that has to be learned.

This youngster has just left the
nest to enrol in snakebird school.

Other students are already training.

But where are the fish?

No, just a leaf.

But that's OK.

She is honing a vital skill.

If she impales a fish,

she needs to flick it off her bill
and catch it headfirst.

All the youngsters are practising.

Perseverance eventually pays off.

She's well on her way
to independence.

Elsewhere, the monsoon floods
are not always so benevolent.

At the Bay of Bengal,

the Indian Ocean reaches
closest to the Himalayas.

Monsoon rain clouds collide
with the mountains,

creating the wettest
region on Earth.

Through the middle flows
the mighty Brahmaputra.

And bordering the river is
Kaziranga National Park...

..home to giants.

This youngster was
born in the dry season.

Even then, there was water,
and she has spent many days

finding her feet in the deep pools.
She still has much to learn.

In the heat of the day,
the elephants wallow

amongst the floating water hyacinth.

It's a delicacy,
but first, it has to be washed.

It takes a bit of practice.

And she must avoid the grumpy
neighbours.

Indian one-horned rhinos
don't like company.

Even the mud is quite
a challenge for little legs.

But a much graver danger is
approaching.

The monsoon is
about to deliver a devastating blow.

The rains have been
exceptionally heavy this year

and the Brahmaputra has burst her
banks, flooding the plains.

The National Park
is fast disappearing.

The elephants must escape.

Small creatures are flushed
from the undergrowth.

But they have nowhere else to go.

The floods show no mercy.

The Park is now beneath five
metres of water,

too deep even for elephants.

They must reach
the safety of the hills.

Not even water buffalo can
survive in this much water.

Solid ground, but this is no
place for elephants.

Many animals have died making this
crossing.

Hog deer are nimble.

But the elephants must wait.

It's still a long way to the hills,

and the herd is now outside
the protection of the Park.

Thousands of people have had to
leave their homes.

It's a national disaster.

Everywhere, people and animals
are fleeing the rising waters,

and when their paths cross,
neither is safe.

A lone bull elephant is
desperate for dry land.

But the villagers are afraid
for their houses and their lives.

He'll have to seek sanctuary
elsewhere.

The hills.

They've all survived.

For this youngster, it's been
a dramatic awakening

to the terrifying power
of the monsoon.

As fast as they rose,
the floods recede.

It's a good time for scavengers.

Griffon vultures have found
a dead rhino.

The stench is overpowering.

But this tiger has sniffed out
an opportunity.

Why waste energy hunting when such
a feast is here for the taking?

He has strong jaws
and a strong stomach.

Though it can be devastating,
the monsoon is also a provider.

And it is about
to make its greatest gift.

As the waters recede, they leave
everything coated in fine silt.

Like a sprinkling of magic dust,
it is this that creates fertility,

and new life.

Kaziranga's elephant grass grows
to over five metres.

All along the Brahmaputra,
it's the same story.

Downstream, in Bangladesh,

monsoon floods cover up to 70%
of the entire country.

But here, the Brahmaputra joins
the Ganges to create

some of the most fertile
soils on Earth.

In places, the silt lies over
half a mile deep.

By October, the days are shortening,
the air cools,

and the monsoon rains come
to an end.

In Cambodia, Tonle Sap lake is
emptying again,

and fishermen face six
months of drought.

Tola has been fishing
on the River Sap

every day for the past few months.

But with such a vast
area for the fish to hide,

their catches have been modest.

He has a growing family to feed
through the dry months ahead.

So they preserve the catch by making
prahok, a kind of fish paste.

It helps, but it won't be enough.

But the monsoon
has a final parting gift

for those with
the ingenuity to grasp it.

Falling water levels
trigger a mass migration.

Millions of fish flee down the Sap
River from the shrinking lake.

The challenge is how to catch them.

Enormous nets are erected for this
one fleeting event.

Tola has signed up to join
one of the fishing crews.

But with many channels, no-one knows
when or where the fish will run.

Each crew gambles
on one channel or another.

Tola must hope
he has joined the right team.

They're about to bring
up their first haul.

Will it be feast or famine?

A tonne of fish.

And every hour, another tonne is
swept into the net.

In all, over 30,000 tonnes of fish

are hauled from the Sap River
each year.

It's the peak catch in the Mekong,

the biggest freshwater
fishery in the world.

It's so important for Cambodia

that their word for fish
is also their name for money.

For Tola and his family,
the monsoon has finally delivered.

The rains that were blown
in from the ocean five months ago

finish their journey back where
they started.

The waters of the Brahmaputra

flow into the largest river delta
on Earth.

Plumes of sediment wash hundreds
of kilometres out to sea, where

they seed one final monsoon bonanza.

Sperm whales.

The world's largest toothed
predators, they eat squid and fish,

prey that has grown fat
in nutrient-rich waters

brought by the monsoon.

But even sperm whales are dwarfed

by the largest animal
that's ever lived.

This is the blue whale.

And the only place on Earth
that they can be seen year round

is here, in the waters
around Sri Lanka.

Waters that are fertile
thanks to the monsoon...

..the destroyer and giver of life,

from tiny mosquitoes
to the giants of the deep.

In this episode, the Monsoon team

filmed some of India's most
dangerous animals

as they struggled
to survive the deluge,

from the elephant

to the mosquito.

And each presented
extraordinary challenges.

Cameraman Sandesh Kadur has been
filming India's wildlife

for more than ten years.

(Did you see that?)

In the mayhem of a rising flood,
anything can happen.

Run!

Now, his mission is to capture
the moment the rising floods

push elephants out of their world
and into ours.

This is one of the busiest highways
in India.

When animals get to the highway,

this is when they meet
their biggest threat.

The road borders
Kaziranga National Park.

During a big flood, elephants could
cross it anywhere at any time.

As a cameraman, it's really tricky
to figure out where exactly to be.

What I've got to do is tap
into the network,

and my network are the forest guards

and the anti-poaching camp
throughout the Park.

Thank you.

There's no sign of them yet,
but with the water rising fast,

it won't be long.

Right at the other end of the scale,

the team want to film an animal
even more dangerous

than elephants or tigers...

..the carriers of malaria -
mosquitoes, being hit by rain.

But the laws of physics make it
impossible to film something

so small and fast in the wild.

So, for once in the series,
a story had to be filmed

outside the monsoon region.

In the UK, the monsoon team obtained
safe, disease-free specimens,

a lab for confining the insects,

and advice from an insect flight
scientist whose research

helped to reveal how mosquitoes
survive raindrop collision.

Imagine running
and jumping off a cliff,

and a boulder,
already in freefall, smacking you!

That's about what it's like.

It's incredible that they can
just fly away easily.

First, they have to create droplets
of just the right size and speed.

We want to simulate an environment

that is as close to natural rain
as we can.

This is a lot more difficult than
you'd think from the set-up.

We're just trying to get
a drop of water to fall

in the same place each time,

in the same plane of focus, and
even that is proving quite tricky.

A high-speed camera slows the drop
40 times, but it's not enough.

To give more falling distance
on screen,

Jon turns his camera on its side.

Just filming a droplet
is proving hard enough...

even without the mosquitoes!

Wow, look at that. It was not
this high just yesterday.

In Kaziranga, it looks
like a record flood year.

The whole Park
will soon be under water.

So, probably by tomorrow morning,

I think all the animals are going
to be pushed towards the highway.

Back in the lab,
water is flowing steadily

and it's time at last for the
mosquitoes to take centre stage.

Let's give it a go, get some out and
put them on the set.

Using a tube, Andrew sucks
up the cast.

But all this waiting seems to have
given them stage fright.

We're not going to get any mozzies
hit by raindrops

unless they fly about a bit more.

The cast are hungry for blood,

so giving them a taste of Andrew's
warm human breath gets them excited.

I thought I saw something there.
I just pressed the trigger.

Oh, just missed! Dodged one. Wow.

But getting a direct hit is clearly
going to take patience.

It's a 5am start for Sandesh.

There might be another herd
further up the road.

We'd better hurry up.

We just found out that one herd of
elephants have already crossed,

and I don't want to miss this herd.

The morning traffic is a nightmare.

And we've got some on the highway
right now.

We just missed it.

Back in the lab, they're also having
near misses, hundreds of them!

Got it.

OK. Right, let's play this.
There's a drop.

Got you! Yes! Fantastic.

Look at that. You see that there?
He's probably experiencing 100Gs

when he gets hit by that drop,

so it's incredible to think
he can just fly away.

And thanks to this extraordinary
discovery

and a backdrop filmed in India,

a glimpse into nature
as never seen before.

Sandesh is looking for another herd.

We just got information
that a herd of elephants

are in the shade of these trees.

The guards think that elephants are
moving up there, towards the highway.

There are elephants behind us,
so we'd better be very careful,

watch our backs.

(They're crossing.
They're on the edge of the road.)

(Good. They're so nervous.)

Amazing that there's not been
traffic on this road

for such a long time.

And that's when they try to cross.

And then there's heavy traffic
coming in.

Finally, we've got the elephants
crossing the highway.

I can't believe it's taken us
this long to get this shot.

It just goes to show
how important it is

to be at the right place
at the right time.

Next time...

The other side of the monsoon.

The rains have long gone.

Now, the winds
that blow are bone dry.

But nature's response
is spectacular...

..as animals and humans alike
battle to overcome the drought.