Original subtitles

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWinding through the savannahs of Zambia,

the Luangwa River,

bursting with life in one of the greatest wildernesses in the world.

But in the dry season, the heat and the drought are crippling.

We follow life here over one day,

from sunrise

to sunset.

A young elephant struggles with both the heat

and with mastering his unwieldy trunk.

(TRUMPETS)

He’s joined by a colorful cast of very different animals,

large and small,

who face their own challenges

to eat,

sleep,

and survive.

This is the Africa of your imagination,

experienced over one extraordinary day.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

The day starts early \hin tropical Africa.

It’s 5:00 in the morning,

and already the sun’s first rays are lighting up the sky.

For the night’s hunters, it’s time to rest.

Hyena cubs squeeze in one more game

before the sun creeps over the horizon.

They are still too young to be out and about in daylight,

and retreat to the safety of their den.

Hippos, too, seek refuge,

returning to the rivers after a night of grazing.

But many animals are just waking up,

and it’s time to begin their morning routine.

(CHIRPING)

Quelea gather together at dawn to drink.

These tiny birds take safety in numbers to extremes.

Flocks can be a million strong.

It’s a constant conveyor belt at the water’s edge,

as hundreds of thousands of individuals snatch a few sips

and then make way for their neighbors.

\hIn just 10 minutes, the whole mega-flock \hhas drunk its fill.

Calm descends on the river once more.

The sun is only just up.

The day is still a surprisingly cool 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

(BABOONS BARKING)

Baboons call across the treetops,

reassuring each other that it’s safe to descend.

(BABOONS BARKING)

It’s 6:00.

The first fingers of sunshine steal through the bush

and start to warm the trunk of a sausage tree.

It’s a wake-up call for the little animals living inside.

A bush squirrel.

And another.

In fact, this tree is home to a family of five,

a breeding pair and their almost fully-grown pups.

They’ve been squeezed inside a hole all night.

A morning stretch is first order of the day.

Squirrels can hang upside-down,

thanks to ankle joints that can swivel 180 degrees, and big, gripping claws.

This family is tight-knit.

Even after a night of snuggling up together,

they reaffirm their bonds each morning

by grooming and scent-marking each other.

(CHIRPING)

The best thing about living in a sausage tree

\h\h\h\his that breakfast is right on the doorstep.

Huge flowers have opened overnight,

and they’re brimming with nectar.

Squirrels will often eat nectar when it’s available.

It gives them a big energy boost.

\h\h\hTheir long tongues are perfect for reaching deep inside the trumpets,

and what they can’t get to,

they access by nibbling a hole in the nectary.

No flower is out of reach of an agile squirrel.

But it’s a sticky business.

(LOW TRUMPETING)

A larger family is also ready for breakfast.

This two-year-old elephant takes two steps for every one of his mother’s,

but at last, the herd stops to eat and he can catch his breath.

The tall trees are out of reach of his little trunk,

but no matter.

He’s still largely dependent on his mother’s milk

\hand won’t be fully weaned for at least another year.

Big brother barges in first.

He’s four years old, and still occasionally nurses from mum.

While he waits his turn,

our little calf tries out his trunk.

It’s packed with 40,000 muscles,

and using it takes a lot of practice.

(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS)

The elephants might travel up to 50 miles today

in search of enough food and water.

Lions are no threat to adult elephants,

but they could take a baby,

so it’s important he sticks close to the herd.

Even sleeping lions are best given a wide berth.

(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS)

Our elephant family’s home is the Luangwa Valley in Zambia.

It’s at the southern tip of the Great African Rift Valley.

Luangwa is one of the wildlife wonders of the world.

It’s nearly 500 miles long,

and 60 miles wide,

a haven for some of the most spectacular animals on the planet.

(CHIRPING)

It’s 8:00 a.m., and the temperature is rising fast.

It’s already nearly 70 degrees.

Nocturnal terrors are forgotten,

and animals that usually find themselves on something else’s menu

seem to let their guard down a little.

But this apparently \hplayful behavior,

called stotting, has a serious side.

It signals to any watching predator

that these puku are fit and strong,

not worth the effort of a chase.

Every day brings new experiences for this baby puku,

and today is no different.

He’s never seen cranes before.

Standing over 3 feet, these birds are taller than he is.

Luckily, mum is never far away.

By 10:00, the sun has already climbed high in the sky.

It’s 82 degrees Fahrenheit.

Things are hotting up.

A female puku is in heat.

She’ll come into estrous every 25 days or so,

and today, she’s attracting some attention.

Male pukus court by tapping prospective mates with their forelegs.

This young male doesn’t seem to be getting it right.

No amount of nudging seems to pique her interest.

An older, dominant male has his eye on the upstart.

He’ll only tolerate younger males in his territory if they are no competition.

The young male is getting nowhere.

He really can’t take a hint.

The dominant male has had enough.

Time to show this greenhorn who’s boss.

If you want to woo the ladies,

you need to have the right moves.

The big male’s obviously got what it takes.

After all that, it’s over in two seconds flat.

By 11:00, temperatures have risen to over 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Our young elephant and his family

are on their way to the river.

The elephants’ large but thin ears help keep them cool.

The increased surface area, compared to their volume,

helps radiate heat away from their body.

In this climate, every creature needs a strategy to beat the heat.

These eggs risk being cooked in the sun.

But their dark patches, as well as acting as camouflage,

trap solar radiation in the shells,

keeping heat away from the embryo inside.

The eggs belong to this dikkop.

Birds usually sit on eggs to keep them warm,

but this parent is keeping hers cool,

by providing much-needed shade.

Birds have no sweat glands,

so she flutters the muscles in her throat,

the avian way of panting.

She’s hot, and vulnerable down here to passing traffic,

but her protective instinct keeps her on her nest.

(SCREECHING)

As the heat intensifies, many animals head for water.

This is the safest time for a drink.

Predators are resting, and are at their least dangerous.

(SNORTS)

The Luangwa River is nearly 500 miles long,

\hand is one of the largest un-dammed rivers in Africa.

\hIts natural cycle of annual flooding

makes the valley inaccessible to people for much of the year.

It’s a pristine wilderness.

(TRUMPETING)

In the dry season, the low river is a magnet for wildlife,

the perfect place for a thirsty elephant family to come and drink.

Our baby elephant is still getting to grips with his trunk.

The trick is to suck up a trunkful of water,

and squirt it into your mouth.

It’s not as easy as the others make it look.

Baby elephants get most of the moisture they need from milk,

but the adults will drink up to 25 gallons of water this morning,

and as much as 60 gallons over the course of the day.

Baby’s finally got the hang of it.

Water doesn’t just quench thirst,

it’s also home to an abundance of fish.

In the dry season, lagoons shrink,

and fish get concentrated in shallow waters.

Birds gather in fishing parties

to take full advantage of the bonanza.

Their fishing techniques are as varied as they are.

Spoonbills sweep their half-open beaks through the shallows.

The flattened tip gives the bill a larger surface area,

increasing the chances of coming into contact with prey.

The sensitive beak of a sacred ibis probes the mud,

feeling for hidden invertebrates.

Shuffling its feet in the muddy bottom,

a hamerkop disturbs frogs and fish.

(CHIRPING)

A heron stands stock-still

and waits for a fish \hto come into range.

Its long neck gives it plenty of reach to strike prey.

Precise timing is the key to success for pied kingfishers.

The difference between a hit and a miss can be a fraction of a second.

The water is a buffet, and a blessed relief in the heat,

but it harbors dangers, too.

Unlike birds and mammals,

crocodiles rely on their environment

to maintain an optimal body temperature of around 89 degrees Fahrenheit.

They bask in the sun to warm up,

but must be careful not to overheat.

The temperature is now nudging 100 degrees.

Opening their mouths, known as gaping, helps dissipate heat.

But when it gets really hot,

the only way to cool off \his to get in the water.

When everything’s desperate to drink,

a river full of crocodiles \his a recipe for disaster.

(SPLASHING) (BIRD CHIRPING)

The pukus’ nervous disposition keeps them safe this time.

They never drop their guard when drinking,

or give the croc a chance to strike.

But these reptiles are not only hunters, they’re scavengers, too.

Crocodile brains have large olfactory lobes for processing odors,

and they can smell a carcass several hundred yards away.

(VULTURES SCREECHING)

A puku has succumbed to the stress of the dry season.

Despite their numbers, the vultures are no match for a hungry croc.

A male puku, even a partially eaten one,

can weigh over 130 pounds.

But it’s not problem for even this relatively small crocodile.

He’s got his lunch, after all.

It’s midday.

\h\h\h\hThe temperature is just over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Animals great and small seek shade.

A slender mongoose,

one of the only mongooses that can climb trees.

A baboon spider, 4 inches long, the largest spider in Zambia.

And a 2-inch corn cricket,

a giant of the insect world.

The elephants have taken a break in the shade as well.

Elephants can doze standing up,

but they’ll lie down to get some proper sleep.

Our youngster needs to recharge

after keeping up with the herd all morning.

(LOW TRUMPETING)

A herd of Thornicroft’s giraffe

can’t resist combining a rest in the shade with a midday meal.

Rubbery prehensile lips allow them to pick leaves from among the thorns.

\hThese nocturnal giant eagle owls

don’t seem too pleased at being woken up.

(OWLS SCREECHING)

Our baby puku has a sense of adventure,

but if he strays too far from his mother,

he could get much more \hthan he bargains for.

A leopard’s spotted coat is perfect camouflage in the dappled shade of a tree.

She’s the ultimate opportunist,

dozing here all day,

waiting for something tasty to pass underneath her.

But in the midday heat, the little puku just isn’t worth the effort.

A pack of wild dogs is also too hot to hunt at this time of day.

It’s 110 degrees,

but it’s never too hot to play.

Their survival depends on the pack,

and playing is a way of keeping the bonds between them strong.

Working as a close-knit team,

they run down prey and have a far higher kill rate than big cats.

Eight out of 10 of their hunts are a success,

compared to fewer than three out of 10 for lions.

Wild dogs are among the most efficient hunters in the world.

Wild dog packs are made up of an alpha pair who have all the pups,

and as many as 20 subordinate dogs,

whose roles are to hunt and babysit.

There is very little aggression within a dog pack.

Even as adults, they behave much like puppies, playful and submissive.

Everyone knows their place.

Everyone looks out for each other.

It’s one big happy family.

A brown-hooded kingfisher is a long way from water.

But this is a kingfisher with a difference.

He doesn’t eat fish.

Instead, he scours the woodland floor for insects or small reptiles.

A little skink is no stranger to danger.

His missing tail is a sure sign he’s had a brush with death before.

The skink’s been lucky once more.

The kingfisher’s found another lunchtime snack, an unfortunate frog.

It’s 2:00.

The temperature is still over 100 degrees,

but the day has reached a turning point,

and it can only get cooler now.

The elephants keep on eating.

These African giants have appetites to match their size.

They eat up to 300 pounds every day,

and must spend up to 18 hours a day feeding.

Our little one is still experimenting with using his trunk.

A three-banded courser family will wait till it cools off before they set out to forage.

They sit out the afternoon, disguised in the scrub.

It’s all about blending in.

Being seen can have disastrous consequences.

This one’s lost a foot,

presumably in a narrow escape from a predator.

Mottled feathers are very hard to spot in this landscape,

even for a sharp-eyed mongoose.

This tiny chick is only a few days old and can’t yet fly,

but he already knows to make himself look

as much like the ground as possible.

The slightest movement will catch their attention.

Our chick’s instinct \hhas kept him alive,

at least for now.

A dwindling lagoon is an oasis in the harsh landscape.

Succulent water cabbage is a welcome treat for the baboons.

The elephant family’s journey has brought them here, too.

But they’re not just here to drink.

It’s bath time.

Elephants can get sunburnt, and mud blocks UV rays.

And as the wet mud evaporates,

it draws heat from the elephant’s skin.

Mud dries more slowly than water,

so the elephants stay cool for longer.

Mud-bathing is also a very good way of exfoliating and dislodging parasites.

Baby has yet another trunk skill to master.

The elephants aren’t the only creatures

to spend the afternoon at the lagoon spa.

(GRUNTING)

A lone bull hippo lets the water support his great weight,

over 3-1/2 tons, while he relaxes.

A little flock of oxpeckers picks off his ticks.

But the birds can be a bit overzealous in their feeding,

and start picking at the poor hippo’s flesh as well.

Two or three aren’t much of a problem,

but when numbers swell,

oxpeckers can be very annoying.

Buffalo are much less tolerant hosts.

It’s 3:00.

The temperature edges down to 87 degrees.

But the noise level at the lagoon increases.

(SQUAWKING)

Egyptian geese are here to breed.

Couples pair up with the same bird each season to mate.

But not all family reunions are happy.

These birds are notoriously bad-tempered.

Rival males scrap over \hpatches of territory.

(SQUAWKING)

Squabbles escalate to full-blown fights, and feathers fly.

(SQUAWKING)

The champion proudly proclaims his victory.

By 4:00, the sun’s crept lower in the sky,

and the searing heat has gone.

The temperature dips to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

At almost 10 inches long,

pied kingfishers are the largest birds in the world able to truly hover.

One last catch of the day.

An African skimmer.

His extended lower beak is perfectly designed for an unusual fishing technique.

Skimming the surface,

he drops his bill and drags it through the water.

It snaps shut the instant it touches a fish.

Got one!

Skimmers pair for life,

and as with any long-term relationship,

it takes a bit of work \hto keep things sweet.

The fish is a gift for his partner.

(CHIRPING)

It seems to have \hdone the trick.

It’s 5:30, and a balmy 71 degrees.

The elephant family will continue browsing through the night.

They’ll only sleep for four or five hours in 24,

and they’ve already had a good nap today.

(CHIRPING)

Flocks of quelea return to the trees to roost.

The collective weight of thousands of birds

bends branches almost to breaking point.

Baboons retreat to the safety of the trees,

their best bet for staying out of the jaws of predators at night.

But antelope can’t climb trees.

This is the most nerve-racking time of day for the puku.

Blood will be shed tonight.

As the last of the light fades from the sky,

a new cast of characters takes to the stage.

The night belongs to the hunters.

(ANIMAL ROARING)

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