Original subtitles

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hIn the wilds of Zambia

is an extraordinary wilderness.

At its heart, a winding river...

A lifeline for wildlife.

A haven for hippos.

It’s a place of extremes

where the temperature can vary by 50 degrees in 24 hours.

Through the hottest part of the day...

To the coldest hours of the night,

creatures of all shapes and sizes face the challenge of survival.

An astonishing variety of animals play out their lives here...

In their river valley home.

(HIPPOS GRUNTING)

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

(HIPPOS GRUNTING)

It’s midday.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAnd it’s a 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

(BIRDS SQUAWKING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hIn the hottest part of the day,

a bath is very refreshing.

(BIRDS SQUAWKING)

NARRATOR: \hBut these marabou storks \haren’t here to cool down.

(SQUAWKING)

They’re doing their laundry.

As well as keeping them clean,

dunking their feathers in water helps reshape them.

Marabous are big birds

with a wingspan of up to 12 feet.

Their feathers can get battered and bent

just with the exertion of flying.

Basking in the sun dries their wings.

The heat also helps iron out any last kinks and wrinkles.

(MARABOUS SQUAWKING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hIt’s a bit like getting them steam cleaned.

(MARABOUS SQUAWKING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThe storks’ washroom is the Luangwa River,

which zigzags its way through nearly 500 miles of

outstanding African wilderness,

in eastern Zambia.

It’s the heart of an ecosystem

that supports Africa’s largest and smallest animals...

From ant to elephant...

Cricket to cat.

But the river really belongs to the hippos.

(HIPPOS GRUNTING)

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

(HIPPOS GRUNTING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThere are more hippos in Zambia than in any other country.

And the world’s largest concentration of them

is found in the Luangwa River.

(HIPPOS GRUNTING)

In the heat of the day

hippos need to immerse themselves in water

to avoid the sun’s scorching rays.

(LOW GROANING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThis pod has been snoozing here all morning.

(BIRDS CHIRPING) (HIPPOS GRUNTING)

(WATER SPLASHING)

And where there are hippos...

There is hippo dung.

Hippos are herbivores,

leaving the water at dusk to graze.

Each munching through 90 pounds of grass every night.

And that turns into 45 pounds of dung every day.

Muck spreading is the height of hippo etiquette.

It’s a way of marking your territory

and displaying your mood.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThe murky water is a kind of hippo soup

but it doesn’t seem to put off other valley residents.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAt 2:00, it’s a couple of degrees cooler.

(HIPPOS GRUNTING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hElephants emerge from the shade

and come to the river to drink.

Among them is a little stranger.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

A young puku has become separated from his mother.

He’s not yet fully weaned

and won’t last long if he doesn’t find her.

(ELEPHANT TRUMPETING)

In the dry season,

pukus live in herds of up to 50 animals.

This little one has never been alone before.

(GROWLING)

He’s confused.

He can’t stay here.

Lions usually hunt when it’s cooler...

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h...but they’ll seldom pass up an opportunity like this.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hPredators aren’t only on land...

Here be dragons.

These are Nile crocodiles...

The largest reptiles in Africa.

He’s instinctively cautious.

But without the herd there is no one to warn him of danger.

The water is no more than two feet deep...

But that’s enough to conceal a croc.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

He’s made it.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAnd what’s more, he’s found his mum.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThe Luangwa River is lined with trees,

their long roots tapping in to the ground water.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hIt’s still hot in the shade,

but at least this wild dog pack can get respite from the burning sun.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThis young male’s got an injured paw,

but wild dogs are a team,

a band of musketeers.

They need and look after each other.

All for one and one for all.

The injured dog can’t hunt,

but the others will make sure they share their food with him.

And he does have his uses.

The dogs have left the remains of a kill in the bushes

and it’s attracting visitors.

His disability hasn’t quelled his instinct to chase.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

(FLUTTERING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hOne dog isn’t much of a worry for a gaggle of vultures.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hHe needs reinforcements.

It’s not long before the whole crew joins in the fun.

(VULTURES SQUEALING)

Not much of a meal

but worth holding on to.

And for the little dog with a limp there’s an extra treat...

Spare ribs.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

In the wet season,

the hippos’ river can burst its banks and flood these groves.

But now the ground is bone dry

and the undergrowth full of surprises.

Hidden in the leaf litter is a whole new, miniature world.

A millipede doesn’t really have 1,000 legs.

Most species have no more than 400.

Two on either side of each body segment.

The fat tail of this scorpion warns of its dangerous sting.

And there’s another little predator on the prowl for an afternoon snack.

A huntsman spider.

Their body length can be more than an inch long,

their leg-span four times that.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTo a human their bite is no worse than a bee sting...

But to a grasshopper, it’s fatal.

Ducts inside the spider’s fangs

pump venom into the grasshopper to immobilize it.

Spiders digest their food externally,

vomiting enzymes onto their prey,

which break it down into insect soup.

This underworld is a dangerous place.

Nothing is quite what it seems.

A praying mantis is perfectly camouflaged in the dry grass.

His front legs are armed with vicious barbs.

Compound eyes,

and the ability to turn his head through 180 degrees,

give the mantis 360-degree vision.

His disguise is spot on.

The ant has no idea he’s there...

Until it’s too late.

Unlike the spider, the mantis chews his food.

His mandibles are strong enough to cut through the ant’s tough exoskeleton.

Not a scrap goes to waste.

Even in the middle of the afternoon,

the African heat is still strong.

The temperature is 90 degrees

and giraffe stay in the shade to browse.

Kicking about in the thickets can stir up other creepy crawlies,

such as ticks.

But the resident pest control force is on patrol.

Red-billed oxpeckers have short legs and strong toes

allowing them to grip on to any herbivore,

no matter what shape.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

Their flattened beaks comb through hair and pry out stubborn fleas and lice.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNo grooming job is too big.

They’ll even clean up those hard-to-reach places.

(MUNCHING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hA flock of oxpeckers can eat hundreds of ticks

and thousands of larvae in just one day.

(GIRAFFE MUNCHING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hBut not all mammals enjoy their attention.

With no hair to protect it,

a hippo suffers the sharper edge of the oxpeckers’ services.

(BIRDS CHIRPING) (HIPPO GRUNTING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWhile picking off parasites,

the oxpecker is a type of parasite itself.

(HIPPO GRUNTING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hIt nibbles the edges of any wounds the hippos have

and even drinks their blood.

(SPLASHING)

(HIPPO GRUNTING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAt 4:00 in the afternoon,

it’s a pleasant 80 degrees.

The hippos are still submerged.

Even though they haven’t moved all day,

they still manage to have long-distance conversations.

(HIPPOS GRUNTING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hMales honk to assert their dominance.

As others respond, the sound travels along the river to neighboring pods.

(HIPPOS GRUNTING)

The noise can reach 115 decibels,

the equivalent of a rock concert.

(HIPPOS GRUNTING)

(WATER SPLASHING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hBut hippos are more subtle than they sound.

(GRUNTING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h80% of their communication happens under water.

(MUFFLED GRUNTING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hSqueals, grunts and clicks,

much like the calls of their dolphin cousins,

resonate through a hippo’s jawbone

and allow them to hear above

and below water at the same time.

(HIPPOS MUFFLED GRUNTING)

NARRATOR: \hLife for a little hippo \hin a big pod

is seldom quiet.

(HIPPOS GRUNTING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hBut that hasn’t stopped this one snatching 40 winks.

Hippos can’t actually swim.

In fact, they can’t even float...

Their huge bodies are too dense.

Adults rest while standing on the riverbed...

But for babies that’s often out of reach.

(HIPPO BLOWING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTo snooze in deep water

you need to use mum as a raft.

But even baby hippos are heavy.

They can weigh more than 100 pounds at birth

and grow fast.

(GRUNTING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hEasier to take a nap on the beach.

(HIPPOS GRUNTING)

NARRATOR: \hWhile the hippos sleep,

a little pied kingfisher is on a fishing expedition.

Hovering means he can position himself

directly above potential prey

without relying on a perch.

It’s a great way to spot fish,

but it burns a lot of calories.

Adults need to eat a quarter of their bodyweight

every day to fuel this aerial feat.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThey can dive from up to 30 feet...

(WATER SPLASHING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h...but you need to graduate to these heights.

This young kingfisher is starting small...

And putting himself through his paces.

(WATER SPLASHING)

The dive is good...

But the catch...

A leaf.

This isn’t a mistake.

It’s part of his training.

(WATER SPLASHING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hLearning how to stun and reposition prey before eating

is an important skill.

Practice makes perfect.

(WATER SPLASHING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hHis dedication is rewarded with a juicy dragonfly larva.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThe kingfisher isn’t the only one

spending the afternoon practicing fishing.

(HIPPOS GRUNTING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThese juvenile African skimmers

will grow up to be some of the most skillful fishers on the waterways.

(SKIMMERS SQUAWKING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hBut expertise doesn’t happen overnight.

(SKIMMERS SQUAWKING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThe trick is to fly low over the surface

and drag your long lower bill through the water

until you find a fish.

It’s easier said than done.

(WATER SPLASHING)

(SKIMMER SQUAWKING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThe adults keep a close eye on proceedings

and are on hand to demonstrate.

(SKIMMERS SQUAWKING)

Perfect technique.

The juveniles just need a bit of encouragement.

The more they try, the more their confidence grows.

(SKIMMERS SQUAWKING)

(WATER SPLASHING)

Got one at last.

(SKIMMERS SQUAWKING)

The sun sinks low on the horizon and the evening cools.

It’s half past five.

The first of the hippos emerges, ready for a night of feeding.

(WATER SPLASHING)

100,000 quelea get ready for bed.

(QUELEA CHIRPING)

They flock together for a last drink as the sun sets.

(WINGS FLAPPING)

Their undulating movements, called a "murmuration",

are a way of confusing predators.

(QUELEA CHIRPING)

It’s chaos theory in action.

(QUELEA CHIRPING)

Each bird flies as close as it can to the next one,

copying every twist and turn.

Individuals only make tiny movements

but these ripple through the flock and magnify,

allowing thousands of birds to move as one giant organism.

It’s a 15-minute farewell to the sun.

A last burst of energy as night falls.

(QUELEA CHIRPING)

Caught in the middle of the mega-flock,

even a mighty hippo seems intimidated.

(WINGS FLAPPING)

Just after dark, the quelea retreat to the branches to sleep.

A thermal imaging camera sees heat rather than visible light

and shows why quelea roost so close together.

(QUELEA CHIRPING)

Their tiny bodies mean they have very fast metabolisms

and can lose heat quickly when the temperature drops after dark.

The warmest spot is in the middle of the huddle.

The birds here have a stronger heat signature.

Those on the edges are colder, and darker.

They jostle for the best spot,

taking it in turns to sit in the outer positions,

ensuring each member of the flock stays warm overnight.

(QUELEA CHIRPING)

Night envelops the valley

and under the cover of darkness,

hippos finally venture away from the river.

The scars left by fights, and over-zealous oxpeckers,

show up as light patches, where blood is closer to the skin.

These three-ton lawnmowers spend about six hours every night feeding

and have to travel several miles to find enough food.

As they move through the grass

they disturb insects, which in turn attract bats.

One of the world’s largest mammals feeds alongside one of the smallest.

(BATS CHIRPING)

Bats can’t actually see in the dark.

Instead they use echolocation.

They make high-frequency sounds as they fly

and listen for the echoes that bounce off their surroundings.

It’s fairly easy to avoid bumping into a hippo

but this technique is so accurate they can catch tiny insects in flight.

It’s 8:00 and the temperature’s fallen to 70 degrees.

(LAPPING WATER)

The lions have spent the day in shade, avoiding the worst of the heat.

Now is the time they become most active.

They rehydrate and prepare for a night of hunting.

(LAPPING WATER)

The valley’s nocturnal creatures are at large.

A porcupine, Africa’s biggest rodent, is looking for food.

He uses his strong sense of smell to sniff out roots and tubers,

and powerful claws to dig them up.

(MUNCHING)

His back is covered with foot-long quills.

These are specialized, toughened hairs that sharpen to a wicked tip.

A defense mechanism to protect against unwanted attention.

Leopards can eat anything from antelope to insects.

(PORCUPINE GRUNTS)

A porcupine, however, is just not worth the pain.

It’s midnight and it’s a cool 65 degrees.

This is the quietest time of night.

Baboons snooze in the treetops.

By the river, ibis roost in the safety of a dead tree.

Even the leopard’s having a nap.

But in the African bush, there’s always something stirring.

A secretive civet.

And his smaller cousin, a genet.

(SCAMPERING)

This cat-like carnivore is an expert hunter.

He spots an elephant shrew.

Too quick for him.

But his excellent hearing

has helped him find something else hidden in the grass.

(RUSTLING)

A juicy moth.

Genets are actually more closely related to mongooses than cats.

Scent marking is a very important way of communicating.

(URINATING)

They’re usually solitary but territories do overlap.

When they meet, genets can tell friend from foe

just by the smell of the other’s urine.

These two seem to be on familiar terms.

It’s nearly 4:00 a.m.

The coldest time of night, an hour before dawn.

It’s a nippy 50 degrees.

This hippo’s eaten her fill and heads back to the river

where the crocodiles are gorging on a feast of their own.

(WATER SPLASHING)

It’s another hippo.

Perhaps a male injured in a fight,

or an elderly animal that died of starvation.

The hippos’ river refuge has a dark side.

(SPLASHING CONTINUES)

Crocodiles are quick to catch the scent of death in the water.

Within an hour, 100 gather at the carcass.

They can’t chew but clamp chunks of meat in their jaws

and use their bodyweight to twist them free.

(CHOMPING)

There’s a hierarchy among them.

The largest, dominant animals feed first.

Lesser creatures must wait their turn.

In the cool of the morning these cold-blooded crocs

make the most of their hippo feast.

There’ll be little left by daylight.

It’s quarter to five and the first rays of sun chase the night from the sky.

A new day dawns and the hippos settle back in their river.

(EAGLE CRYING)

A fish eagle’s cry heralds the morning.

The valley’s wake-up call.

A skimmer does his ablutions.

Meticulously straightening his feathers.

He needs to keep them in tiptop condition for flying.

A wasp has a morning wash too.

All over the valley animals wake up and embrace a new day.

On the plains to the east of the river

a herd of puku has already started to graze.

But one male has his mind on other things.

Chasing a female is hardly the subtlest method of courtship.

She’s not keen, certainly not before breakfast.

The frisky male has given the adolescent puku some ideas.

They are practicing for the fights they will have as adults.

Sparring like this is good training.

It strengthens neck muscles

and helps young males to get used to the size and shape of their horns.

Fully grown breeding males will clash horns in battles for territory.

But these guys are still just play fighting.

It’s not just puku being pugnacious this morning.

Two young male giraffe are also scrapping.

These are Thornicroft’s giraffe.

A subspecies endemic to the Luangwa Valley.

There are estimated to be just 800 left,

and they’re found nowhere else in the world.

Like the puku, these are teenagers sparring.

They’re getting the knack of using their necks

and polishing up their tactics.

The closer you stand to your opponent,

the harder it is for them to land a blow.

(GENTLE THUD)

When giraffe fight they use their heads like hammers.

(GENTLE THUD)

Their skulls never stop growing,

getting heavier and more knobbly as they mature.

(GENTLE THUDDING)

Swinging a well-aimed clout can be enough to fell a rival,

and even knock him out.

But this is just a playful rehearsal.

At 8:00 a.m. the sun is already warming the land,

and the temperature has crept up to 70 degrees.

The giraffe have worked up a thirst at fight club.

Even these giants seem to be wary of crocodiles.

(WATER SPLASHING)

With huge mouths packed with 60 teeth,

they are menacing predators.

Some more intimidating than others.

This is a juvenile, three years old and barely three feet long.

He won’t be fully mature until he reaches about ten feet.

For now, these youngsters are still small enough to be bullied by the hippos.

Just as the hippos are winding down for a day of snoozing in the water,

their neighbors are getting busy.

(CHIRPING)

A colony of white-fronted bee-eaters has set up home on the exposed river banks.

They’ve spent the night sitting on eggs and now it’s time to eat.

Each bird can make 300 trips a day to find food.

Their nest chambers are six feet deep

to help keep their eggs and chicks safe from predators.

Predators like this Nile monitor.

The largest lizard in Africa.

They can grow to be six feet long.

The perfect fit for a bee-eater’s tunnel.

He tastes the air with his tongue,

transferring scent particles to sensitive pits on the roof of his mouth.

He’s picked up the smell of the colony.

(CHIRPING)

He’s been spotted.

The birds mob the intruder.

The tiny bee-eaters present a united front to repel a dangerous giant.

The lizard retreats unsatisfied, but unscathed.

It’s 10:00 and the temperature has risen to 90 degrees.

(HIPPOS SNORTING)

As the day gets hotter,

the irresistible draw of the Luangwa River gets stronger.

Everyone comes to drink here.

From elephants to insects.

A wood sandpiper forages in the shallows.

He’s a visitor here, a migrant.

He’s flown thousands of miles south from Europe to escape the northern winter

and has come to the Luangwa River to fatten up.

He’s not alone.

A second male has got his eye on the same feeding patch.

Neither seems inclined to share.

Standing tall, they assess each other.

And in the heat, tempers flare.

(CHIRPING)

(CHIRPING CONTINUES)

They may not like it, but it seems they’ll put up with each other.

(HIPPOS SNORTING)

As the heat reaches its peak again,

most animals take things easy.

It’s midday.

The sun’s at its zenith

and the temperature hits 100 degrees once more.

The puku sleep off the morning’s excitement.

Under the trees the wild dogs doze.

The giraffe retreat to the shade.

(SNORTING)

And the hippos are back doing what they do best,

sitting out the heat of another day.

The precious waters of their river, the Luangwa,

are the heart of this exceptional wilderness.

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