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Once upon a time, there was a white stallion.
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Five-years-old.
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Strong, fiery and fast.
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He was born one spring day
here in the south of France.
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He's a Camargue horse.
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He takes his name from this region which stretches
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over kilometres between the sky, the land,
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and the sea.
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We're in the Rhone delta in the Camargue.
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A vast swampy zone,
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land for raising for raising horses and bulls
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which live as if in the wild.
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Quiet, simple men, the herdsmen or guardians
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watch over this little paradise
where many species coexist.
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In these parts, the horse is lord and master.
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His is the story I shall tell,
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and that of his lineage in the privacy of animals
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who rarely let down their guard.
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Let's go with the stallion.
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Follow him as he gallops.
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We'll discover a Camargue that is unexpected,
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vast and unpredictable.
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This morning, the white stallion approaches
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a group of mares.
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In this corner of Camargue,
he is the dominant male.
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This one has no colt and it's the season of love.
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The mare moves away.
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An invitation, no doubt.
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At any rate, he follows.
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Then the courtship begins.
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Elegant but energetic.
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The stallion is vigorous, robust
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and will not let her out of his sight.
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He'll need to show tenacity to win her over.
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The survival and the quality of the species
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depend on the selection of the strongest parents.
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The stallion can sit up and
beg as much as he wants.
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It's the mare that chooses the moment.
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And this morning she has chosen, and allows him.
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In 11 months time, a colt
will be born from this union.
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A pure Camargue horse.
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Demarcated by the arms of the Rhone,
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the heart of the Camargue delta has been a listed
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nature reserve since 1927.
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There are so many different species here
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that it's considered as one of the richest
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and most diverse parks in Europe.
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Its lagoon ecosystems are
particularly well-reserved.
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Here, there are 26,000 bulls.
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They don't really live in the
wild but they come and go
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year-round in large open spaces.
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When spring comes, the newborns
must be counted and sorted.
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This is the job of the guardians.
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Riders used to an outdoor life,
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just like the American cowboys.
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As well as their work sorting
calves born in the spring,
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they choose the finest animals
from amongst the bulls
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to take part in the races in the bull ring.
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The horses aren't scared of bulls
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and the bulls are not weary of horses.
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They know each other.
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Both are used to living in herds in the open air.
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Parters through the ages,
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driving the herds of bulls together,
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the Camargue horses and the guardians
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are a rare example of ancestral harmony
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between man and animal.
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Hey! Hey! Up, up up up!
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Up, up up! Hey!
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Up, up up!
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When their sorting work is done,
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the bulls leave with the men
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and the horses return to their destiny.
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Free to come and go according to their pastures
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and their desires,
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the horses form bands where family ties reign.
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With the young still following their mothers,
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you sometimes see groups of 30 or 40 mares
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accompanied by their offspring.
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The guardians regularly try to spot solitary males.
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They choose their stallions for reproduction
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and for riding.
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Today it's our stallion.
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This magnificent five-year-old
horse that interests them.
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They have already captured him several times.
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They're embarking on the slow
process of training him.
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He lets it happen and enters the arena.
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Man has never hurt him.
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The key word is trust.
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The guardian knows the horse so well.
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Knows its fears and its great capacity to adapt.
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This hand gesture is not just a caress,
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it's the sign of tacit trust between them.
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It's the result of repeated contact,
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respectful of the animal and its behaviours.
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This is the first time he's
had a saddle on his back.
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It's a tricky phase.
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Every last action is performed with gentleness
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and precision.
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For now, the stallion remains calm.
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But suddenly the instinctive fear,
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this weight on his back feels
like a predator's attack.
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Once again the man will reassure him.
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Gently, according to a ritual that the horse
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is beginning to understand.
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The guardian won't be riding the stallion today,
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but one day he well.
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Such is the fate of these
half-wild, half-tame horses.
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For now, the stallion returns
to the vast marshy expanses
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where he will continue to
play his role of reproducer.
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Almost a whole year has gone by.
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It's spring again.
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The mare is ready to give birth,
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11 months after she met our stallion.
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The grass is fresh and tasty.
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In the fine weather the vegetation is chock-full
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of vitamins and minerals.
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These nutrients are essential
to the quality of milk.
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Already in this month of may, foals are appearing.
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The fruit of the love of our
stallion and his partner
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is slow in coming.
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Everyone seems to awaiting the happy event.
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But now she's moving away.
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A sign, because mares often go off
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on their own to give birth.
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Her birth should take place in private.
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Even though there are no more
predators in Camargue today,
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they still exist in horses' instinctive memory.
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The birth went well.
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He has joined his mother but
stamps his feet at her side.
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Clumsy. Fragile.
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The mare is recovering her
strength after the birth.
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It took him only 20 minutes to learn to walk.
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His life starts here among the aunts and sisters
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to whom his mother introduces him.
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For with the horse family,
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though the stallions come and
go as if they ruled the roost,
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this society is matriarchal.
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It's the mothers who set the codes.
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They who feed, they who educate.
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The newborn already has a girlfriend.
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Like him, she's not white.
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They won't have the colour of their race
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for two or three years, perhaps longer.
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This filly, just a few days his elder
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is showing a fiery character.
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He too is already galloping.
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Learning about speed, defying
the wind and enjoying it.
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The first few days, a foal will learn
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to control its momentum.
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To coordinate its eye with space,
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missing obstacles instead of banging into them.
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In a few weeks he will have grasped his world.
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For months, he will live in the middle
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of his manade, or herd.
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Here they live in the open air
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and rely on themselves to find their next meal.
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It's the beginning of a long apprenticeship.
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There's so much to learn.
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Particularly memorising places and their uses.
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Rest, pasture, shelter.
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There are 10,000 horses in the Camargue.
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The great majority mares with their young.
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At the height of spring when the young
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are strong enough to start travelling,
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their mothers gather in
larger groups and head south.
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They know that they will find enough food
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to enrich the milk with the nutrients needed
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to make their foals grow.
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On their way, the first grasses form the start
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of a vitamin-rich diet.
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Appearing out of nowhere, as is his wont,
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the stallion comes sniffing around the mares.
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Protective and ready to defend
his young when attacked,
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he hasn't just come to fulfil his paternal duties.
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He inspects each one.
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Some are still suckling.
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Others are heavy with future foals.
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As the fox, like the powerful kite,
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is no threat to the young,
the stallion leaves
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and the manade finds peace again.
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Other inhabitants have settled
in this corner of the delta.
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Herons from all around the Mediterranean
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nest by their hundreds in the
quiet Camargue tamarisk.
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In all, 350 bird species gather here.
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The Camargue is a paradise for migrating birds.
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Located right in the north-south corridor,
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it's the perfect place to rest and nest
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for several-hundred-thousand birds annually.
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Most flying species are indifferent to the horse,
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except the jackdaw.
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Which comes gathering hairs from the horses back
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for the comfort of its nest.
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Another bird is the horse's constant companion.
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The cattle egret.
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Naturally enough, he earns
his pittance from horses.
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Both their parasites and the insects revealed
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by hooves on soil.
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And when he wants a moment's quiet for digestion
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or reflection, he perches on the horse
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to inspect his domain.
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The growing foals will have to
learn, as did their elders,
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to tolerate their winged companion's
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little hooked feet on their backs.
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By now these cattle egrets are probably
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the finest horsemen around.
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The diet of grasses comes to an end.
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As they have learned from preceding generations,
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the mares know that with the season advancing
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their foal's growth requires new food resources.
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They must make their way to the ponds and marshes,
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and new pastures.
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At this time, the land is still under water,
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but not enough to prevent them grazing on a grass
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that's exclusive to the Camargue.
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Water couch.
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For the mothers used to spongy terrain,
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it's easy enough.
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But for this year's foals, it's a tricky lesson.
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The silt-walking course.
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With all the gentleness and
delicacy a mare can have,
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the mothers show their young the way
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and the way to walk.
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Now it's up to everyone to manage.
225
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The colt has grown, but his first time in the mud
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is a little adventure.
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Other species are perfectly
adapted to this habitat.
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The spoonbills sift the silt
with their prospector's beak.
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00:23:07,197 --> 00:23:09,896
The pond turtles, feeling in need of meat,
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00:23:09,897 --> 00:23:13,456
swallow worms, molluscs and rotting carcases,
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cleaning the mud of scoria.
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Each has a part to play.
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Big or small, they participate
in a lagoon ecosystem
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whose biological diversity
is among the most precious
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in Europe.
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Imitating the mothers, the foals begin weaning.
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With the couch grass, they
learn to tell the difference
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between good and bad grasses,
239
00:23:46,437 --> 00:23:50,147
and the art of snapping it up level with the water.
240
00:24:06,849 --> 00:24:09,677
Spring slowly gives way to summer.
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Birds fly north.
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Others from the south replace them.
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The horses remain.
244
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Here they're well suited and
scared of neither hot sun
245
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nor heavy storm.
246
00:24:30,199 --> 00:24:33,838
Besides, they know just how to wait out a storm.
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They assume a motionless posture.
248
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The water flows over the protective cover
249
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formed by their hairs.
250
00:24:42,019 --> 00:24:43,858
They turn their backs to the wind.
251
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All save the matriarch,
252
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who keeps an eye peeled for possible dangers.
253
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It's time now for the young colt to learn about
254
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social ties in the herd.
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Grooming congratulations are the best way
256
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to get better acquainted.
257
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The coypu also takes advantage
258
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of the sun's rays to freshen up.
259
00:26:09,181 --> 00:26:13,120
Imported from South America in
the 19th Century for its fur,
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it fled to Europe's wetlands.
261
00:26:18,601 --> 00:26:21,540
Settled in the Camargue since the 1950s,
262
00:26:21,541 --> 00:26:24,991
it no longer bothers nor surprises the horses.
263
00:26:29,241 --> 00:26:32,760
Weighting seven kilos, it's
a part of the landscape.
264
00:26:32,761 --> 00:26:34,879
Part of everyday life.
265
00:26:52,219 --> 00:26:54,318
With the hot weather on the way,
266
00:26:54,319 --> 00:26:57,156
the foals have now become robust.
267
00:26:57,157 --> 00:26:59,034
They're three-to-four-months-old
268
00:26:59,035 --> 00:27:02,330
and are now ready to face the
rigours of the summer sun
269
00:27:02,331 --> 00:27:06,401
which strikes the land of
marshes teeming with insects.
270
00:27:10,309 --> 00:27:13,128
At the height of the day,
still with no more shelter
271
00:27:13,129 --> 00:27:16,404
than the open sky, the young sleep
272
00:27:16,405 --> 00:27:18,364
lying on the ground.
273
00:27:18,365 --> 00:27:22,184
Later they'll learn like their
parents to sleep standing up
274
00:27:22,185 --> 00:27:24,075
with one eye open.
275
00:27:35,905 --> 00:27:39,624
Over the summer, the worst
of the Camargue's scourges,
276
00:27:39,625 --> 00:27:44,035
mosquitoes, are a constant torment for the horses.
277
00:27:45,105 --> 00:27:47,864
40 species are found in the Camargue.
278
00:27:47,865 --> 00:27:51,424
That's the highest concentration
of these insects in France
279
00:27:51,425 --> 00:27:53,905
and it's very hard to get rid of them.
280
00:28:04,625 --> 00:28:07,044
One way is by hitting the road again,
281
00:28:07,045 --> 00:28:10,515
towards the freshness of the lakes and the sea.
282
00:28:33,793 --> 00:28:37,552
In summer, winds from the south
dry up most of the marshes
283
00:28:37,553 --> 00:28:41,303
and only the largest of the
lakes retains any water.
284
00:28:44,833 --> 00:28:48,292
The largest among them is the Etang de Vaccares,
285
00:28:48,293 --> 00:28:50,392
named after the black cows of which
286
00:28:50,393 --> 00:28:52,970
there are so many in the Camargue.
287
00:28:52,971 --> 00:28:56,170
12-kilometres-long, its shallow, cooling waters
288
00:28:56,171 --> 00:28:59,541
are a godsend for the mares and their offspring.
289
00:29:05,425 --> 00:29:08,104
It's on these shores, legend says,
290
00:29:08,105 --> 00:29:11,324
that the horses coming from
the north over millennia
291
00:29:11,325 --> 00:29:14,895
had to halt because they had reached the sea.
292
00:29:18,185 --> 00:29:20,904
There's even a saying that the guardians repeat
293
00:29:20,905 --> 00:29:23,524
which says that a horse is not a Camargue horse
294
00:29:23,525 --> 00:29:26,544
until it has seen with its own eyes, its reflection
295
00:29:26,545 --> 00:29:29,795
in the waters of this legendary lagoon.
296
00:29:38,457 --> 00:29:41,596
The slightest breeze refreshed by humidity
297
00:29:41,597 --> 00:29:43,727
is a precious treasure.
298
00:29:46,677 --> 00:29:50,316
The mares, like their charges, save their strength.
299
00:29:50,317 --> 00:29:53,336
They move around slowly, less and less,
300
00:29:53,337 --> 00:29:56,177
just to find something to graze.
301
00:30:12,205 --> 00:30:14,564
Here on the banks of Vaccares,
302
00:30:14,565 --> 00:30:17,544
the air is crisp, almost free of the clouds
303
00:30:17,545 --> 00:30:20,435
of mosquitoes from further inland.
304
00:30:22,705 --> 00:30:24,664
But other insects have taken over
305
00:30:24,665 --> 00:30:26,584
and the heat is still there,
306
00:30:26,585 --> 00:30:30,645
so the mares use the only fans available to horses.
307
00:30:33,925 --> 00:30:38,715
Head to fail, each helps the
next to get rid of flies.
308
00:31:38,803 --> 00:31:40,922
Summer will soon be over.
309
00:31:40,923 --> 00:31:43,682
We see it in the first flights of flamingos.
310
00:31:43,683 --> 00:31:46,102
They head off for the shores of the Mediterranean
311
00:31:46,103 --> 00:31:47,940
and Africa.
312
00:31:47,941 --> 00:31:51,580
Some will cover up to 6,000 kilometres by air
313
00:31:51,581 --> 00:31:54,918
before returning to lakes in Algeria, Mauritania
314
00:31:54,919 --> 00:31:57,409
and other lands in the Sahel.
315
00:32:00,135 --> 00:32:04,103
These high-altitude kings nest
every summer in the Camargue.
316
00:32:05,273 --> 00:32:08,543
In late-August they'll scatter once more.
317
00:32:26,439 --> 00:32:29,838
In early autumn, though the sun is still with us,
318
00:32:29,839 --> 00:32:32,278
the vegetatian seems to be catching its breath
319
00:32:32,279 --> 00:32:34,489
after months of drought.
320
00:32:43,491 --> 00:32:46,610
The foals have reached the age of six-months.
321
00:32:46,611 --> 00:32:48,550
Their coat has changed.
322
00:32:48,551 --> 00:32:50,450
Today they're speckled grey,
323
00:32:50,451 --> 00:32:53,050
a sign of their moving up to a new class,
324
00:32:53,051 --> 00:32:54,621
the juveniles.
325
00:33:00,891 --> 00:33:03,210
The juveniles are pretty strong today,
326
00:33:03,211 --> 00:33:06,861
matching their parents in both speed and power.
327
00:33:24,865 --> 00:33:27,344
Proud, impulsive adolescents,
328
00:33:27,345 --> 00:33:29,044
they form transient groups
329
00:33:29,045 --> 00:33:32,015
founded on friendships formed at birth.
330
00:33:44,725 --> 00:33:48,084
Soon the males will be separated from the females
331
00:33:48,085 --> 00:33:51,484
and future meetings will be
dictated by the inflexible rules
332
00:33:51,485 --> 00:33:54,335
of the survival of the species.
333
00:34:10,125 --> 00:34:13,664
When the last pink flamingos
finally leave the marshes,
334
00:34:13,665 --> 00:34:15,924
the cold winds will blow over the Camargue
335
00:34:15,925 --> 00:34:19,665
and the horses will take refuge in the reed beds.
336
00:34:24,221 --> 00:34:27,060
The mistral is the worst of the winds
337
00:34:27,061 --> 00:34:29,280
that blow in the Camargue.
338
00:34:29,281 --> 00:34:31,700
Rushing in from the north and the Rone valley,
339
00:34:31,701 --> 00:34:35,198
it can gust to 100-kilometres-per-hour.
340
00:34:35,199 --> 00:34:37,498
When it blows, summer or winter,
341
00:34:37,499 --> 00:34:42,169
it blows for three, six or nine days straight.
342
00:34:48,053 --> 00:34:51,392
The reeds and rushes that
grew all summer are useful
343
00:34:51,393 --> 00:34:55,292
either as wind-breaks or as easy-to-chew food.
344
00:34:55,293 --> 00:34:57,752
Loaded with vitamins by the summer sun,
345
00:34:57,753 --> 00:35:00,032
this vegetation prepares the young horses
346
00:35:00,033 --> 00:35:02,863
to face the harshness of winter.
347
00:35:28,265 --> 00:35:30,184
It's not just the winter wind
348
00:35:30,185 --> 00:35:32,964
that intrigues impetuous youth.
349
00:35:32,965 --> 00:35:36,682
Some of them have already picked up the scent.
350
00:35:36,683 --> 00:35:38,653
It's the guardians.
351
00:35:54,903 --> 00:35:57,222
Themselves riding Camargue horses,
352
00:35:57,223 --> 00:35:59,922
the guardians don't worry the young ones,
353
00:35:59,923 --> 00:36:02,853
and curiosity trumps fear.
354
00:36:14,103 --> 00:36:17,242
When this group feels too hemmed
in and wants to take off,
355
00:36:17,243 --> 00:36:18,913
it's too late.
356
00:36:22,183 --> 00:36:24,593
They're already surrounded.
357
00:36:30,003 --> 00:36:33,473
All possible exists are closed to them.
358
00:36:35,343 --> 00:36:38,522
The only way out is the one
left empty by the guardians
359
00:36:38,523 --> 00:36:40,613
and they rush towards it.
360
00:36:53,023 --> 00:36:56,022
The guardians know how to steer their mounts.
361
00:36:56,023 --> 00:36:58,502
They also know how to lead the herds.
362
00:36:58,503 --> 00:37:00,602
From 'mener', the French for "to lead",
363
00:37:00,603 --> 00:37:02,362
comes the word manade,
364
00:37:02,363 --> 00:37:05,813
a pocket-sized herd that would fit in your hand.
365
00:37:09,959 --> 00:37:11,898
And the foal we saw being born
366
00:37:11,899 --> 00:37:14,818
has fallen into men's hands today.
367
00:37:14,819 --> 00:37:17,369
He's just one year old.
368
00:37:27,491 --> 00:37:29,790
He now has to undergo an ordeal
369
00:37:29,791 --> 00:37:32,861
and his instinctive fear makes him nervous.
370
00:37:41,971 --> 00:37:43,690
So as not to lose their horses
371
00:37:43,691 --> 00:37:45,730
or let them mix with other herds,
372
00:37:45,731 --> 00:37:48,621
the guardians mark their livestock.
373
00:37:52,271 --> 00:37:55,550
After the struggle, they
take care of the young horse
374
00:37:55,551 --> 00:37:57,881
but his terror is stronger.
375
00:38:14,187 --> 00:38:15,966
Tied up every which way,
376
00:38:15,967 --> 00:38:19,057
he has no choice but to let it happen.
377
00:38:21,567 --> 00:38:25,306
The operation seems barbaric
but it's carried out swiftly
378
00:38:25,307 --> 00:38:27,917
following a precise ritual.
379
00:38:36,947 --> 00:38:39,426
Branded with a red-hot iron, the young horse
380
00:38:39,427 --> 00:38:43,617
is now clearly identifiable as
belonging to a given owner.
381
00:38:48,707 --> 00:38:51,486
The distinctive star-shaped sign doesn't affect
382
00:38:51,487 --> 00:38:55,637
his independence which he will
recover in a few moments.
383
00:38:59,807 --> 00:39:01,886
With this symbol on his hind quarters,
384
00:39:01,887 --> 00:39:06,144
the young stallion is now
placed under man's protection.
385
00:39:06,145 --> 00:39:08,364
While waiting for his possible call-up
386
00:39:08,365 --> 00:39:10,444
perhaps one day to be ridden,
387
00:39:10,445 --> 00:39:12,403
he can return to his own.
388
00:39:20,779 --> 00:39:22,956
Several months have passed.
389
00:39:22,957 --> 00:39:25,716
Months of a Camargue winter where the wind,
390
00:39:25,717 --> 00:39:31,252
the cold and the damp tend
to send nature to sleep.
391
00:39:31,253 --> 00:39:34,072
The animals huddle into themselves
392
00:39:34,073 --> 00:39:37,732
and look forward to the day
their vitality will return
393
00:39:37,733 --> 00:39:40,543
like sap through a reed.
394
00:39:44,789 --> 00:39:46,828
Our young horse has made it through the winter
395
00:39:46,829 --> 00:39:48,148
without a worry.
396
00:39:48,149 --> 00:39:51,059
He has even grown bigger and stronger.
397
00:40:00,629 --> 00:40:03,168
And like all males, most of the time now
398
00:40:03,169 --> 00:40:06,239
he'll be leading a solitary existence.
399
00:40:28,781 --> 00:40:31,659
Well, not completely solitary.
400
00:40:48,851 --> 00:40:50,670
As the days become milder,
401
00:40:50,671 --> 00:40:53,288
everyone shakes off his torpor.
402
00:40:53,289 --> 00:40:55,168
The sun will soon be here.
403
00:40:55,169 --> 00:40:56,979
Time to wake up.
404
00:40:59,329 --> 00:41:01,608
The great egret stretches its wings
405
00:41:01,609 --> 00:41:04,026
in a comfortable movement.
406
00:41:04,027 --> 00:41:06,986
The coypu nibbles a few tender shoots,
407
00:41:06,987 --> 00:41:09,937
and the cattle egrets are on the alert.
408
00:41:14,087 --> 00:41:16,466
The boar family has grown
409
00:41:16,467 --> 00:41:20,617
and everyone is busying
themselves to find sustenance.
410
00:41:22,247 --> 00:41:26,206
The water rail, most discreet of marshland guests,
411
00:41:26,207 --> 00:41:30,237
is doing his best to hold out
until the good weather comes.
412
00:41:38,903 --> 00:41:43,760
Perfectly adapted to their milieu,
the horses have a secret.
413
00:41:43,761 --> 00:41:46,080
How to snatch, underwater
414
00:41:46,081 --> 00:41:49,349
the delicious shoots of aquatic weeds.
415
00:42:03,399 --> 00:42:05,898
But to reach them, you have to hold your breath
416
00:42:05,899 --> 00:42:08,118
and graze underwater.
417
00:42:08,119 --> 00:42:11,569
A trick the Camargue horses have long mastered.
418
00:42:37,433 --> 00:42:40,592
The first flamingos begin to return.
419
00:42:40,593 --> 00:42:43,063
Heralds of the summer.
420
00:42:49,473 --> 00:42:52,552
The ducks, winter guests in the Camargue,
421
00:42:52,553 --> 00:42:54,332
will leave room for new arrivals
422
00:42:54,333 --> 00:42:57,043
by flying to the north of Europe.
423
00:43:25,905 --> 00:43:28,604
Easily led, the incoming flamingos
424
00:43:28,605 --> 00:43:31,782
are all going in the same direction.
425
00:43:31,783 --> 00:43:33,902
Taking their lead from their neighbour,
426
00:43:33,903 --> 00:43:36,422
they strut around in search of a partner
427
00:43:36,423 --> 00:43:38,603
with whom to make a home.
428
00:43:56,061 --> 00:44:00,061
Soon more than 30,000 will be nesting here.
429
00:44:38,903 --> 00:44:42,622
The cycle of seasons has rolled around once more.
430
00:44:42,623 --> 00:44:45,842
Coats once black or brown are now speckled.
431
00:44:45,843 --> 00:44:48,229
Others have finally turned white.
432
00:44:49,439 --> 00:44:51,818
In the awakening marshes, everyone is trying
433
00:44:51,819 --> 00:44:53,769
to find their place.
434
00:45:07,317 --> 00:45:10,236
Spring is well under way and under the burgeoning
435
00:45:10,237 --> 00:45:13,716
urgency of hormones, tempers flare.
436
00:45:13,717 --> 00:45:16,176
Like all his brothers and fathers before him,
437
00:45:16,177 --> 00:45:19,136
our young stallion, guided by instinct,
438
00:45:19,137 --> 00:45:23,287
seeks to reproduce for the first time.
439
00:45:57,773 --> 00:45:59,692
Free but not easy,
440
00:45:59,693 --> 00:46:02,913
this young mare refuses our stallion's approach.
441
00:46:13,091 --> 00:46:15,190
Could he be too small?
442
00:46:15,191 --> 00:46:16,790
Not handsome enough?
443
00:46:16,791 --> 00:46:18,110
Too weak?
444
00:46:18,111 --> 00:46:21,641
Is he not already fast and fiery?
445
00:46:25,931 --> 00:46:28,070
Rejected and dejected,
446
00:46:28,071 --> 00:46:31,101
the young stallion can only wander off.
447
00:46:34,871 --> 00:46:37,730
The mare refuses, two possibilities.
448
00:46:37,731 --> 00:46:42,261
Either he isn't good enough or
he hasn't yet proved himself.
449
00:46:45,031 --> 00:46:48,170
In truth, each herd has a dominant stallion
450
00:46:48,171 --> 00:46:51,448
and the mares save themselves for him.
451
00:46:51,449 --> 00:46:54,088
If he means to replace him, our young stallion
452
00:46:54,089 --> 00:46:56,328
must pit himself against that stallion
453
00:46:56,329 --> 00:46:58,637
and beat him or be beaten.
454
00:46:59,929 --> 00:47:02,857
Here he is.
455
00:47:07,027 --> 00:47:09,417
First you weigh up the race.
456
00:47:21,067 --> 00:47:22,757
Then you attack.
457
00:47:40,039 --> 00:47:42,538
The struggle is merciless and it's hard to say
458
00:47:42,539 --> 00:47:44,329
which will prevail.
459
00:48:44,409 --> 00:48:48,059
Once the fight is begun, neither will yield.
460
00:49:22,079 --> 00:49:24,898
Yet a time inevitably comes when one of the two
461
00:49:24,899 --> 00:49:27,256
must accept his defeat.
462
00:49:27,257 --> 00:49:31,336
Either through weakness, fatigue and lost hope,
463
00:49:31,337 --> 00:49:34,975
or because the opponent is manifestly stronger.
464
00:49:42,355 --> 00:49:46,425
Our young stallion has proved
himself the more valiant.
465
00:49:54,275 --> 00:49:56,374
Now it is he who bears the burden
466
00:49:56,375 --> 00:49:58,554
of perpetuating the species.
467
00:49:58,555 --> 00:50:01,574
He must ensure the continuation
of the noble lineage
468
00:50:01,575 --> 00:50:03,845
of the Camargue horse.
469
00:50:06,175 --> 00:50:08,992
A mare is available.
470
00:50:08,993 --> 00:50:13,003
He can smell her and find her by heading upwind.
471
00:50:28,293 --> 00:50:31,093
But, will she want him?
472
00:50:34,133 --> 00:50:36,083
Is he strong enough?
473
00:50:41,493 --> 00:50:45,092
His fight in the marshes
will not have been in vain.
474
00:50:45,093 --> 00:50:47,803
Courtship can commence.
475
00:50:58,333 --> 00:51:01,903
It's the first time for both of them.
476
00:51:06,433 --> 00:51:09,283
But instinct guides them.
477
00:51:16,233 --> 00:51:20,392
Instinct, the magic of fleeting love,
478
00:51:20,393 --> 00:51:24,883
and the power of the young mare's pheromones.
479
00:51:56,613 --> 00:51:59,312
In his turn, the young stallion has passed on
480
00:51:59,313 --> 00:52:03,051
his victor's genes to his descendants.
481
00:52:10,711 --> 00:52:12,650
For yet another generation,
482
00:52:12,651 --> 00:52:15,388
the Camargue lineage is maintained.
483
00:52:15,389 --> 00:52:18,367
Its genetic richness perpetuated.
484
00:52:34,595 --> 00:52:39,152
In the Camargue, each year is a constant renewal.
485
00:52:39,153 --> 00:52:42,632
The migrating birds have invaded the marshes.
486
00:52:42,633 --> 00:52:44,832
Soon the hesitant flight of their young
487
00:52:44,833 --> 00:52:47,537
will fill the sky with new life.
488
00:53:05,247 --> 00:53:09,486
As for the Camargue horses,
they will carry on galloping.
489
00:53:09,487 --> 00:53:11,706
Keeping pace with the seasons,
490
00:53:11,707 --> 00:53:13,966
fed by an ever-generous nature
491
00:53:13,967 --> 00:53:17,066
and protected by the distant but benevolent
492
00:53:17,067 --> 00:53:19,477
presence of man.
493
00:53:35,997 --> 00:53:38,756
What other race can boast of perpetuating
494
00:53:38,757 --> 00:53:41,776
the natural life cycle of horses,
495
00:53:41,777 --> 00:53:45,407
as it has existed since the dawn of time?
38311
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