Original subtitles

(thunder)

The monsoon.

The greatest weather system on earth.

Giver of life...

And the destroyer.

Shaping magical lands...

From the himalaya

To australia.

Its impact felt by giants,

The exquisite,

And the bizarre.

The rains brought a time of plenty.

A time of new life.

But this is the story of the other side of the monsoon,

Of what happens when the rains dry up

And challenge the resilience of all life.

(thunder)

(thunder)

(insect buzzing)

Australia's red centre, a land of near permanent drought.

But once in a while, in exceptional years,

Monsoon rains penetrate even this far south.

Back in the summer,

The monsoon drove the rain deep into the desert.

Now, in the dry season, only grass and seeds remain.

A feast...

For the budgerigars.

(chirping)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Thousands of budgerigars.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

80,000 budgies in flight.

♪ ♪

And shadowing them constantly...

Falcons.

(chirping)

Black falcons, brown falcons, and australian hobbies.

To single out a target, they patrol the edges of the flock.

(chirping)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

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But now there's a greater threat.

The lush vegetation created by the monsoon is tinder dry.

(rumbling)

♪ ♪

Wildfire!

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

The grass that fueled the budgie boom

Now feeds the flames.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

That's the real impact of the dry season.

It forces animals to move constantly.

It's a never-ending search for food and water.

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♪ ♪

The dry season has a profound effect

Across all the lands of the monsoon.

Even on the lush tropical islands

Off australia's northern coast.

Here, the wet season brought torrential downpours every day.

Now rainfall has dropped by 70%.

Most of the trees will not fruit until the rains return.

The forest still looks green.

But food is much harder to come by.

For a young bearded pig, these are tough times.

While there's still food in the canopy,

Little reaches the forest floor.

(squeal)

♪ ♪

And for a youngster, every scrap must be fought for.

There's always a bigger pig.

(squeal)

(snorting)

(squealing)

(squealing)

So what's a pig to do when there's no food at home?

He steps out of the forest

And into a different world.

The seashore is ruled not by rain and drought,

But by the tides.

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♪ ♪

Perhaps, there's a chance of food out here.

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♪ ♪

Sand bubbler crabs turn over the beach,

Scavenging for scraps.

But these crabs are no bigger than peas;

Simply not worth bothering with.

A hungry pig needs something more substantial.

(snorting)

A hermit crab.

Now that could make a good meal.

If only it could be opened.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Finally, a crab that's not too small and not too strong.

♪ ♪

A red fiddler is just right.

♪ ♪

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An escape burrow appears to offer salvation.

But pigs have keen noses.

And this nose also doubles as a shovel.

(crunching)

♪ ♪

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And to round off his beachcombing,

Jelly for dessert!

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

When the monsoon rains return, our resourceful pig

Will have a glut of food back in his forest home.

But lean months are still ahead.

The dry season has only just begun.

In india's desert state of rajasthan,

The last rain fell two months ago.

But for the people and animals who live here,

These are the good times.

It's the perfect weather for camels.

(bellowing)

The brief rains brought a spray of green to the desert.

And now the animals are in peak condition.

For nomadic herders sukhram and surjaram,

It's time to sell.

♪ ♪

They're heading for the biggest event of the year.

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This is pushkar.

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It's a small oasis town.

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But at this time of year, the population balloons.

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Pushkar is home to the largest camel fair in the world.

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(groans)

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The fair attracts herders from hundreds of miles around.

10 days, 300,000 people,

And 20,000 camels.

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♪ ♪

(men talking)

Anyone who's anyone is here.

All of them in search of bargain.

Some owners will do anything to catch the buyer's eye.

♪ ♪

But sukhram is so confident,

That a few well-placed garlands will suffice.

(men talking)

Prospective buyers look for faults

So they can barter for a better price.

(bellowing)

They even take the animal for a test drive.

Token amounts of money are offered

And respectfully declined.

Sukhram has no intention of making a quick sale.

(camels groaning and grumbling)

Negotiations can go on for days,

And he's holding out for the highest offer.

Sukhram's family is depending on him.

He must make enough money to feed his family

Through the dry months ahead.

(camels groaning)

Sukhram holds his nerve for four days.

At last, he seems to be closing in on a deal.

A sale.

The equivalent of almost $400.

Then, it's back into the desert.

They've made the most of the good times.

Now they must face the seven months of punishing drought

That lie ahead.

♪ ♪

(camels groaning)

♪ ♪

In sri lanka, it's the dry season,

And not all animals cope with it in the same way.

This family of elephants can't find enough to eat

In their forest.

But they do have a plan.

(elephant trumpets)

(grumbling)

All over the island elephants are on the move.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(grumbling)

(trumpet)

Minneriya lake.

Within weeks, it will host

The largest gathering of

Asian elephants in the world.

(trumpeting)

Every dry season,

Up to 300 gather on the shores of the lake.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

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The lake is crucial for their survival.

As the water recedes, it reveals fertile ground

Where fresh grass starts to grow.

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♪ ♪

(snort)

(grunting)

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♪ ♪

(grumble)

Elephants have been coming to this spot

For at least 2,000 years.

This vast lake, and others like it,

Are actually ancient man-made reservoirs.

In sri lanka, access to the water

Has always depended on the monsoon rains.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

For thousands of years,

Kingdoms and dynasties were founded on architecture

That best captured the deluge.

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♪ ♪

With a reliable source of water all year round,

These ancient cities grew in size and sophistication.

Culture and religion flourished.

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Kings of old built vast reservoirs.

Reservoir-building reached its height 800 years ago,

With king parakrama the great.

He built close to 3,000 reservoirs during his reign,

Including the largest in the ancient world,

The sea of parakrama.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

The king declared, "let not one drop of rain reach the sea,

Without benefiting man."

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Today this ancient legacy lives on.

Even in drought, sri lanka is a wetland paradise

Dotted with more than 10,000 lakes.

(monkeys screeching)

The people who built these great civilizations

Might be long gone, but the ruins are not deserted.

Tribes of macaques have reclaimed them.

(birds squawking)

As the dry season intensifies,

Sri lanka's man-made reservoirs become a lifeline for animals.

Chital have to drink,

But they do it at great risk to themselves.

Mugger crocodiles.

They know that food will come to water.

The odds are shifting in favor of the hunters.

♪ ♪

(monkeys whooping)

(monkeys whooping)

As the heat of the day fades, more animals come out.

♪ ♪

(purr)

A young leopard has recently left his mother

To try out going solo.

♪ ♪

The chances of him becoming top cat here are slim.

He's inexperienced and has everything to learn.

It's nightfall in sri lanka.

A particularly eerie time

When the life-stealing dry season beats down.

But not all is lost, even with the drought intensifying.

The cooler air of the night shift

Entices prey to come out.

Plenty of opportunities await this young leopard.

Leopards have excellent night vision.

We do not.

We rely on infrared cameras

To experience the leopard's nighttime world.

♪ ♪

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Water is still the focus of activity after dark,

But now thirsty animals have to be on the lookout

For both crocs and leopards.

♪ ♪

(frog croaks)

(purr)

♪ ♪

Hunting takes practice.

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At first, our cub appears indecisive.

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But stalking a jackal brings an unexpected bonus.

The warm night air carries the scent

Of a recently killed chital stag.

The jackal must work quickly

To make the most of this opportunity.

The leopard could chase him off the kill at any moment.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(yelp)

The jackal runs.

But it's not the youngster who's spooked him.

The real owner of the carcass is returning.

A huge adult male.

(growl)

It might be a good idea to move on.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

A young sambar deer.

Another chance at a meal.

But during the drought,

There's no camouflaging undergrowth to hide in.

(monkeys barking)

Busted!

(screeching)

(bark)

(screeching, barking)

♪ ♪

No one said hunting was easy.

Especially in the dry season.

Tonight, this young leopard goes hungry.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

But he can come back tomorrow to hone his hunting skills.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Elsewhere, not everyone is so fortunate.

No one and no creature in sri lanka

Has seen the monsoon rains for five long months.

(moo)

Cattle roam the forest

In search of what little food is left.

(mooing)

(mooing)

But the drought is just too tough for the weak.

(cawing)

A cunning crow.

Always on the lookout for an easy meal.

An entire cow all to himself.

But it's not that simple.

♪ ♪

The crow's beak can't puncture the hide.

(screeching)

White-rumped vultures are no use.

(caw)

Not even these formidable-looking birds

Can open the carcass.

(screeching)

(caw)

They're all waiting for a pro.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

The red-headed vulture.

♪ ♪

(caw)

♪ ♪

Its sharp, recurved beak is the perfect tool

For opening the thick hide.

The other birds will have to wait in line.

(cawing)

(screeching)

♪ ♪

(cawing)

Unless he does something about it,

Crow could lose out altogether.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

But this is a crow with a plan.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(cawing)

He's going to start a fight.

(chattering)

(screeching)

♪ ♪

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♪ ♪

With the vultures distracted, crow makes his move.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

But he's too late.

♪ ♪

(screeching)

(barking)

Jackal spoils everything.

(screech)

Now everyone must wait.

(screech)

(screeching)

(screeching)

The mob strips the carcass to the bone.

Everyone's had their fill.

(screech)

(screech)

Except crow.

Poor old crow, too clever for his own good.

(cawing)

The drought wears on,

And each day dryness and heat build.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Death stalks the parched land.

But out of death, grows new life.

A litter of four desert foxes

In the rann of kutch in northern india.

In the last monsoon, onshore winds were so strong

That they pushed seawater deep inland,

Creating a vast salt marsh.

But for the last six months,

Desiccating winds have blown from the north,

Leaving 12,000 square miles of barren salt pans.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

The baking heat attracts seasonal migrant workers.

They're here to exploit a rich harvest.

The kutch provides salt for almost a billion people.

(horn honks)

That means a lot of traffic...

(truck approaching)

...And a free lunch for the foxes.

Roadkill is everywhere.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

With ready meals all around them,

There's plenty of time to play.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

For now, life is good.

But there's a change on the way.

The days are getting longer.

More sunshine begins to drive vast updrafts.

The winds switch, sucking in moisture from the south.

Now the humidity makes the heat even harder to bear.

Most animals would do anything to get out of the sun.

But one does the exact opposite.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Indian black buck face the drought

As the ultimate test of endurance.

A display of resilience proves they are fit to mate.

♪ ♪

For this young buck, it's a chance to show his strength.

He needs to secure a small patch of territory

Called a lek.

Anyone can have a lek in the dusty salt marsh.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

But nearby, prime real estate offers golden grasses.

Plenty of females are here,

But there's also much more competition.

To win a desirable lek, he'll have to fight.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(grunts)

He announces his arrival.

(grunting)

(grunting)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

This large buck already has the prime spot.

He's in peak physical condition.

♪ ♪

(insect buzzing)

♪ ♪

He's so popular, females jostle for his attention.

♪ ♪

(grunting)

(grunting)

(grunting)

Our young buck isn't exactly ready to take on the big guy.

(grunting)

For now, he'll have to find himself

A spot on the sidelines.

It's a searing 113 degrees in northern india.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Yet our young buck sees an opportunity.

♪ ♪

His opponent looks weak from too much exposure to the sun.

♪ ♪

Fighting in the heat is the ultimate test.

So the bucks battle at high noon.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(grunting)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

This is no time to pick up an injury.

Any sign of weakness and they'll pounce.

♪ ♪

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The defeated resident makes a swift exit.

Victory for the young buck!

But this is only the first of many challenges.

(grunting)

(grunt)

He still has to convince females

That he's worth mating with.

He can't do that until the lek takes on his scent.

And that will take weeks...

...Guarding his territory in the scorching sun.

(bellowing)

The drought is almost over.

Humid winds bring the promise of rain.

♪ ♪

But first, sukhram and surjaram must endure

The most extreme consequence of the desert drought.

They've been roaming the sands for seven long months.

♪ ♪

Now daytime temperatures reach an unbearable 131 degrees.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(bell tolls)

Relief is on the way,

But ahead of the rains comes the drought's last gasp.

Dust.

A storm is coming.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

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The winds that now carry dust will soon bring monsoon rains,

And the balance of life will change.

♪ ♪

Lush new growth will bring the parched land to life.

♪ ♪

The rains will come.

An ancient cycle of renewal, as old as the land itself.

(thunder)

Captioned by side door media services

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