Original subtitles

Trapped in one of Africa's great deserts,

lies a lush hidden world.

An untamed wilderness unlike any other on earth.

Fed by a mighty river that travels from distant mountains,

it is a vast mosaic of life, which pulsates with vivid beauty.

That attracts Africa's most iconic animals

and others less well known.

All drawn to this implausible paradise.

This is the jewel of the Kalahari...

The great Okavango delta.

Botswana is an arid country,

where rain falls only for a few short summer months.

Much of its land is covered by desert,

yet it harbors possibly the greatest wildlife haven on the African continent.

The Okavango Delta

But how did this expanse of water come to be?

The Okavango delta is a true anomaly of nature

a shallow water-filled basin contained within the dry Kalahari desert.

Created by the Okavango river, which flows 995 miles down

from Angola's highlands into the Kalahari basin.

Trapped between tectonic ridges in this broad, flat depression,

the water spreads out to make an inland delta the size of Jamaica.

Providing habitats varied enough to support all manner of life.

From the most water dependent.

To those which can go without.

And ranging from the small and slender

To the biggest of all.

It is a landscape shaped by the unstoppable flow of annual floods.

Where an abundance of prey makes perfect hunting grounds.

For a wide array of Africa's most accomplished predators.

It's June, the height of the floods in the delta.

And water has inundated the landscape.

Making it ideal elephant country.

The African elephant is the largest land mammal on earth.

They grow massive on a varied plant based diet,

with mature bulls weighing up to five tons.

This makes them the largest land mammals in the world.

Powering such considerable bulk takes a lot of fuel

and large bulls need to eat more than 600 pounds of food daily.

Luckily the delta is dotted with lush islands

These two bulls are traveling together,

a common practice for young bachelors who have left their family herds.

For the younger bull it's a good opportunity to pick up some useful survival tips

from his larger and more experienced companion.

One such lesson is learning how to harvest the seedpods of the Camelthorn tree.

The tree's nutritious pods are too high to be plucked,

but the big bull knows how to get to them.

He has perfected his technique.

But the younger bull still needs some practice.

This behavior is testament to the great intelligence of these noble pachyderms.

Coupled with robust digestion and a dextrous trunk

the elephant is able to exploit a variety of food sources in the Okavango.

But the voracious appetites of elephants can be devastating.

This graveyard of trees is their doing.

While stripping off bark to eat, the elephants ring bark the trees,

killing them.

This seemingly destructive activity does actually have some positive side effects.

It prevents the trees from forming a closed canopy,

allowing sunlight to access grass below,

a crucial influence in savannah biomes around the continent.

Also creating microhabitats for another of the delta's smaller creatures.

African bush squirrels.

An old acacia skeleton makes an excellent home for them.

Complete with a hole for nesting and escaping predators.

But while there is no threat around, this pair has plenty of time for playful chases.

African bush squirrels live in tightly knit family groups.

And will chase away any squirrels who do not share their family's common scent.

Grooming one-another is one of the ways to ensure family members share the same smell.

And no spot is overlooked.

Long tails making up half their total length of 14 inches

are crucial balancing aids.

In the Okavango's cool winter months,

they are active all day.

Coming down from the heights to forage for seeds, fruits and insects.

But the squirrels never stray too far from the safety of the tree.

There's a reason for their caution

The delta is home to one of Africa's fiercest raptors.

The martial eagle's telescopic eyesight

can spot a squirrel from almost four miles away.

Weighing over ten pounds, and with a wingspan of almost eight feet,

it is the biggest eagle in Africa.

Capable of catching prey twice its weight,

a little tree squirrel would make a tasty morsel for this bird.

Squirrels aren't the only small mammals taking cover from these deadly predators.

This old termite mound has been repurposed

to house a pack of dwarf mongoose,

who, like the squirrels, have found a haven in the Okavango.

They are the smallest member of the mongoose family

at around twelve ounces, and just under ten inches in length.

Being small means they need to stick together.

Giving them plenty of eyes on the lookout for danger

while the diminutive carnivores forage.

Dwarf mongoose feed mostly on insects, especially beetles and their larvae

as well as the original architects of their spacious home -- termites.

Packs average nine adults, including their young.

Only the oldest, most socially dominant male and female in the pack will reproduce.

While younger members help to raise the litter of the breeding pair.

Subordinate females will even lactate and nurse despite never having been pregnant.

This allows time for the dominant female to eat enough to rebuild her energy.

It's an incredible system of social breeding,

working to the benefit of the pack by ensuring strength in numbers.

Many of the Okavango's smaller creatures

make their permanent homes on the delta's dry islands,

out of reach of the encroaching water.

But for them, the real danger comes from above.

And it's not just the martial eagle that they have to watch out for.

The delta's variety of habitats provides for more than 480 species of birds,

including a host of raptors.

Africa's biggest owl lives here too.

The Verreaux's eagle owl weighs in at a hefty 5 pounds.

Mainly nocturnal, it will occasionally hunt during the day,

and can fly off with prey bigger than a dwarf mongoose.

But the most successful raptor around is the African fish eagle.

There are more of these regal birds along the delta's fish-filled waterways

than anywhere else on the continent.

Although they are famed for their fishing abilities,

they often steal prey from other birds, including the martial eagle.

And the Bateleur Eagle.

Like the fish eagle, this striking raptor is highly territorial,

preferring dead trees for roosting and surveying its range.

While it will hunt for small mammals it also gets much of its food from scavenging,

and is adept at finding small carcasses before the delta's most committed carrion eaters.

At more than eleven pounds, the white backed vulture dwarfs even the martial eagle.

Vultures have evolved to rely on scavenging carrion,

which the delta's high density of mammals invariably provides.

They're capable of devouring over two pounds of meat in less than five minutes.

While others in the delta are designed to kill.

And few are as efficient as Africa's largest canid.

The African Wild Dog.

Also known as the painted dog, it is one of Africa's most threatened predators,

with fewer than 5,000 surviving in the world.

Across the continent habitat loss, persecution at the hands of humans and disease

has had devastating effects on their populations.

But here in the Okavango, the painted dog is thriving.

Each member of this eight strong pack of predators has a unique coat pattern.

Like the dwarf mongoose, only the dominant male and female reproduce.

Once the pups are born they are kept in quarantine

in an underground den for the first three weeks of life.

It's up to the rest of the pack to hunt

and bring home enough meat to keep mother and pups fed.

When not centered around a den,

the hardy wild dogs can cover immense hunting ranges -

as much as 770 square miles.

Relying on teamwork and stamina rather than speed,

they run their prey to exhaustion

and are some of the most efficient predatory mammals in the world.

But a mature elephant bull fears nothing.

And the dogs move hastily along.

Like all predators, they often come home from hunts with empty stomachs.

The pack rests, waiting for the heat of the day to pass,

gathering their energy for the afternoon's attempt.

Like the wild dog, each of the individuals in this herd of plains zebra

has a coat with a different striped pattern, equivalent to a human fingerprint.

And as with the dogs, the zebra relies on the Okavango for all their needs.

This breeding herd is led by a single stallion.

The herd must drink regularly,

and zebra seldom wander more than seven miles from a water source.

But they're here for more than just water.

It's an essential, if unusual, dietary requirement found in the Okavango's earth

that the zebra seek.

In the dry season their diet lacks important minerals,

which they supplement by eating mineral-rich soil deposits known as salt licks.

This unusual practice is called Geophagia.

The sands of the delta's islands provide excellent salt licks.

The minerals of the Okavango present themselves in other, more bizarre ways.

Trees and plants pull ground water up to the surface,

where it evaporates over time, leaving concentrated solid crystals.

This precipitation of minerals creates intricate formations,

which become alien visions of snow under the sun.

These build up in the soil over time

to make up a staggering 40% of the total bulk of the delta's islands.

Impala herds also find soil based mineral deposits to supplement their diets.

These come in the shape of termite mounds, by a species,

which cultivates beds of fungus below ground for food.

In the process they enrich the soil of their mounds with minerals like copper and zinc.

Which the impala intuitively know they need.

Especially at this time of year.

Winter is rutting season.

Males older than four years mark out territories with glandular secretions from their foreheads.

They are eager to herd prospective mates into their territories.

And must keep bachelors at bay.

This ram has a challenger.

Their sharp horns grow up to 27 inches long,

and can inflict serious damage.

He is experienced in battle,

using posture and confidence to push his opponent back.

The defender does not emerge unscathed.

He's successfully defended his territory and retained the right to mate.

After the rut, males will lose territorial urge

and regroup into bachelor herds or join breeding herds.

Seven months later, foals will appear within days of one another.

Carefully timed to coincide with the rainy season.

While the floods bring new growth on the delta's floodplains,

the grasses of the arid islands are more nutritious,

and only the rainy season will replenish them.

The timing of the rut offers impala young the best chance of survival.

But it could spell danger for the adults

if their preoccupation with mating lowers their guard.

Impala are a favorite food of the delta's stealthiest predator.

Leopards have the widest distribution of any wild cat,

living throughout sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia.

This young female will grow to around 132 pounds,

the same size as an adult impala ram.

She learnt how to kill from her mother at the age of eight months.

And since she was two years old she has lived alone,

fending for herself.

Capitalizing on her natural power and stealth,

she won't pounce unless she can get within 65 feet of her prey,

preferably to within 15.

But this is easier said than done.

Despite her camouflaged coat,

she has been spotted.

When not hunting, she often takes to the trees.

Using her elevated position to rest and survey her surroundings for more potential prey.

Leopards will hunt a variety of prey species,

including reptiles, birds and even fish.

But their staple is small antelope.

And the delta has plenty of those to offer.

Including red lechwe, an icon of the Okavango.

These are among the most water-dependent of all antelopes.

Grazing new growth on the margins of the delta's floodplains.

Like the impala, males and females live in separate herds,

both governed by territorial males.

Lechwe are well adapted to life in the Okavango,

with powerful, overdeveloped hindquarters and elongated hooves

that help them outrun predators through reeds and water.

The sight of them bounding majestically across the shallows is a true Okavango trademark.

The leopard looks on, sleepily surveying her land from a tree branch

as another day draws to a close.

While the fleet-footed lechwe come and go through the delta's waters,

another more cumbersome Okavango icon prefers a leisurely pace.

The hefty Hippopotamus.

Weighing more than two tons, hippos generate large amounts of metabolic heat.

And porous skin loses water more quickly to the sun than most mammals.

To stay cool, hippos spend lazy days submerged.

Emerging to graze on grassy islands by night.

The trails carved by their regular movements through the water and onto land,

help shape and direct the delta's flow.

And while elephants have the biggest environmental impact,

no animal is as important to the Okavango system as the hippopotamus.

Adult males aggressively defend territories.

And have a unique way of spreading their scent.

This seemingly unhygienic activity of dung flinging does fuel plant growth,

which in turn supports other species.

The Okavango's water systems are rich in aquatic life,

with 71 fish species living in the numerous waterways and channels.

This attracts many birds to take advantage of the profuse fishing.

A pied kingfisher surveys the water from its perch.

But it's their aerial ability that sets this species apart.

At around 3 ounces, pied kingfishers are considered the largest bird in the world

able to hover in one place continuously.

And they do so more than any other bird,

patiently waiting for the moment to dive.

But not every hunt is successful.

Eventually persistence pays off.

He will fish continuously,

needing to eat up to half of his body weight in a day.

While the little aerial expert's food is locked within the Okavango's waters,

one of the largest of the delta's inhabitants is far less dependent on the annual floods.

Giraffe can get most of the moisture they need from their food,

going up to three days without drinking.

But, at up to 16 feet tall and more than a ton in weight,

they need to eat over 75 pounds of food a day.

They browse only the foliage of woody plants,

so the rapid growth of grass accompanying the floods is of no use to them.

To find the food they need on the delta's dry islands,

they turn to woodlands of the mopane tree.

These mopane trees are exceptionally drought resistant,

often the last to lose their leaves in the dry season.

The giraffe's elongated muzzle and prehensile tongue

allow it to feed selectively, plucking the freshest, tastiest leaves available.

Giraffes are often found in groups, known as journeys.

But no rigid social organization exists.

Individuals will come and go.

But there is a hard-won hierarchy among males

two bulls size each other up.

The rhythmic nature of the sparring

belies the staggering power of each wrecking ball blow.

Known as necking, these contests establish hierarchy among bulls

and determine who has the right to mate.

While the largest bulls are pre-occupied only with determining who is strongest,

younger giraffes must be cautious while growing up in the Okavango.

They are still small enough to fall prey to the delta's most powerful hunters.

A male lion is massively built,

roughly 4 feet tall at the shoulder

and weighing in at around 420 pounds.

The only truly social cat,

lions live in prides of 2-12 adult females, plus their young.

Males hold tenure over prides, usually in coalitions of between two and six.

Lions use teamwork as well as their incredible strength

to bring down even the biggest prey.

But these predators typically spend around twenty hours a day resting.

Their lives are woven with long bouts of rest

and short bursts of dynamic action.

Unlike the lions,

wild dogs are among the most active of Africa's predators during the day.

After the midday heat has passed, the pack has returned to the hunt.

But they're not hunting lechwe today.

Zebra are some of the largest prey hunted by wild dogs.

If they can startle the herd into fleeing,

they may be able to isolate one and bring it down.

Some packs have learnt that grabbing zebra by the lip

has the effect of immobilizing the animal.

A 660 pound stallion can inflict serious damage to the slender dog.

But the dogs are willing to take the risk

Presenting a united front is the best option for the zebra.

With the knowledge of hungry mouths back at the den, the dogs regroup.

The zebra's instinctive choice to fight rather than flee pays off.

Even for the most efficient hunters, there are no sure bets in life.

At the den, the alpha female greets the returning pack with anxious excitement.

She hopes that they will regurgitate meat for her and her pups.

But the pack has returned empty handed.

Although today's hunt has been unsuccessful,

overall the delta provides a stable home for these beautiful and highly endangered creatures.

Giving them the space they need to move away from the fences and guns of man.

The Okavango delta's verdant waterways

are a haven for endangered species both iconic and little known.

For these wattled cranes, the delta's wetlands are a crucial lifeline.

They are the most threatened of Africa's six crane species.

With fewer than 8,000 adults surviving in the wild.

The rarity of wattled cranes is due to a combination of factors.

Cranes are particularly susceptible to human disturbance.

Chicks have a naturally low survival rate - only around 6% make it to adulthood.

And breeding pairs have specific habitat requirements.

They need around 100 acres of wetland,

combined with 350 acres of surrounding grassland or woodland.

This gives them access to their major food sources of grass seeds

and the tubers of wetland sedges.

The delta's mosaic of waterways and islands provides exactly such a combination of habitats.

The cranes spend as much as 75% of the day foraging,

feeling with their beaks for these tubers beneath the ground.

Accompanying them is a goliath heron - the largest heron species in the world.

These blacksmith lapwings thrive in the delta's short, moist grasslands.

Global numbers of these highly adaptable birds

have increased dramatically in the last hundred years,

now estimated by some to be around a million.

And they must be extra vigilant; there are predators around.

The water monitor is one of Africa's biggest lizards,

growing up to seven feet.

Its long powerful tail makes it a strong swimmer.

Preying on fish and other aquatic life.

But it also eats birds.

This territorial pair has recently fledged chicks.

And the lapwing chicks are enticing.

But it will have to get by their parents first.

Blacksmith lapwings are notoriously aggressive,

seemingly oblivious to their small size.

Adults take turns guarding the chicks.

One staying close while the other launches attacks at potential predators.

Despite being five times the lapwing's size,

even a secretary bird is discouraged by the aerial bombardment.

This largely terrestrial bird strides the landscape looking for prey

it will batter to death with its long legs.

But it won't find anything to eat here.

After the excitement of the dive-bombing the lapwing cools down.

Showing off its secret weapons against predators.

Each wing is equipped with a sharp spur

that can inflict significant damage on anyone the birds dive bomb

which explains why so many larger animals

are reluctant to tangle with these feisty little birds.

But some in the delta need more than a mere puddle

to get the bath they're after.

At the end of a long day under the Okavango's baking sun

the elephant bachelors are keen for a swim.

And the delta provides many first-rate pools like this one,

deep enough for even the big-eared bathers to submerge.

Elephants are fantastic swimmers,

known to cross lakes as wide as 24 miles.

For the elephants of the Okavango

this refreshing dip is one of the perks of being a delta local.

Making the most of the abundant waters to cool themselves under the unrelenting sun.

For these gentle natured giants there is no better way to end the day.

The vast oasis of the Okavango delta

is a harbor of life in the midst of a great desert.

Here wet meets dry. . .

Creating a diversity of habitats

that nurtures an extraordinary abundance of creatures

large and small.

From herbivores to hunters

and reptiles to birds

The Okavango presents us with a rare vision of nature

in its most untainted form.

It is a place where time is told through the flow of water

and the cries of eagles carry across the clear blue sky.

The great Okavango delta is a true wildlife paradise.

(♪♪♪)

(♪♪♪)

(♪♪♪)