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This is one of our planet's biggest rivers
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Yet it's still a mystery.
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When it reaches the wild shore of the North Pacific.
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It has completed a 5.000 kilometer journey
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through Manchuria's sprawling wetlands
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Alive with colonies of waterfowl
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Siberia's woodlands with a thousand untamed rivers
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teeming with wildlife
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and the rolling grasslands under Mongolia's big skies,
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bordering on Eurasia's largest desert
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Along its upper reaches two rivers claim to be its headwaters
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Both spring from a sacred place
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One is a grassland river forever struggling against the desert
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The other its banks forever lined with luxurious green
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This is a story of unequal twins
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and a quest for the true source of the Amur,
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Asia's Amazon.
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AMUR, ASIA'S AMAZON
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THE HOLY SOURCES
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For two thousand kilometers,
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the Amur river's middle course forms the Chinese-Russian border
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The further upstream,
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the wilder, the woodlands on either side.
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The border ends at a confluence the most significant
of the entire river system
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These are the westernmost tributaries of the huge river system
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The Amur's headwaters,
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Shilka and Argun are two woodland rivers
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A pair of nearly identical twins
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From their banks
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primeval boreal forest and bogs spread out into three countries
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China, Russia and Mongolia
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This cross-border woodland is one of the wildest places on earth
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In these northern forests along the Amur's headwaters.
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The top predator is the wolf
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Downstream, the wild boars belonged to the tiger alone.
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But here wild boar are chased and ambushed by
asia's equivalent of Canada's timber-wolves.
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In may strange clacking sounds echo through the underbrush
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Reminiscent of Spanish castanets
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Black bill capercaillie have gathered on their traditional flat.
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The males go to great lengths to impress the hens
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Almost all the hens feel attracted to the one magnificent
and boisterous male at the center of the flat.
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The hierarchy among the males has been
established in violent battles before the winter
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Now the male energy goes into display
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The most wanted male never gets a rest in
his quarters more and more hens are lining up
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They all want the same
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the best possible genes for their offspring.
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The hens wait patiently for their turn
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From the fork upstream the two headwaters of the Amur river run
almost parallel for several hundred through uniform woodlandskilometers
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It's hard to tell whether one is traveling up the northern or the southern twin
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and nothing indicates which might be the longer one
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the rightful source river of the Amur
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More than 4 000 kilometers in land, clouds from the Pacific
still bring sufficient rain to nurture lush woodland
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But further south the woodland fades away
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and it becomes obvious that the two rivers flow from different directions,
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even from very different worlds
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In Mongolia, the southern twin of the Amur's headwaters is called Kherlen
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Along the Kherlen trees are scarce.
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This is a land of big skies and distant horizons.
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The Mongolian steppe is the planet's vastest grassland.
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Towards south it blends into the Gobi desert
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How can this dry land bring forth a river
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This could be Asia's Serengeti.
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Each year a million Mongolian gazelles migrate across the plains.
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stretching along the Amur's upper reaches
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Some herds number 10.000 individuals
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Once they have left their wintering grounds
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Nothing can stop their epic journey
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Where are they headed?
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for hundreds of kilometers hills and valleys roll on in green monotony
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But the herds are traveling towards a special destination.
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Following changing routes from year to year
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depending on the changing climate
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The animals are moving fast resting only briefly to graze.
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They get all the water they need from dew on the grass
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Most of the females are pregnant
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Then one morning the herds slows down.
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This is the place they had in mind all along
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Gazelles are not the only nomads here
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Mongolian herdsmen are also on the move and have been for
thousands of years yielding to the rhythm this land dictates
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The only way to make a living here is grazing
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Domestic herds need water and must stay near the river
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In contrast to the gazelles but both depend on ever fresh pastures
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Mongolia is a land with hardly a road
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Yet the people of the grasslands enjoy unlimited mobility
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For nomads, home is a mobile home
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perfectly adjusted to these wide open spaces.
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Neighborhood is anywhere near the river,
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where the grazing is good
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Once a suitable spot has been chosen
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it takes a family just an hour or two to settle down
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Over a thousand years the Mongolian yet
was developed to such perfection
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That it has remained completely
unchanged for several centuries
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A tarp of camel and goat hair felt keeps
the interior pleasantly cool during the short summer weeks.
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and cozy during mongolia's long bitter winters
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Nomadic herding requires wide open spaces
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and if this empty landscape has anything to offer it's space
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Mongolia is five times the size of Germany with only a twentieth of its population.
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Since the days of Genghis Khan
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and that's 800 years not much has changed out here
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Who knows for how much longer they will stay in the saddle
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In the middle of the steppe's immensity
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There is only one place that may get crowded
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The waterfront of the Kherlen river.
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Demoiselle cranes are not amused when horses trample across their nesting ground
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All along the river every few hundred meters
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Another pair of cranes has staked to claim
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Their clutch on the bare ground is always at risk
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Horses are not known for their caution
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Eventually the horses get the message.
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Two eggs that's the treasure they have to guard.
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If they were destroyed it would take another year until they could breed again
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The summer is too short for a second brood
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Both sexes take turns in keeping the eggs warm
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Pairs usually stay together for many years.
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The steppy may seem empty
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but there are many neighbors
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and not all of them are worrisome
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Until a few days ago
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the young steppy marmot stayed underground
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Now they are old enough to explore their sunny surroundings
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Marmots dig their burrows on higher ground
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where they are safe from floods
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and have a good overview.
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This may not look like a crowded place,
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but look again
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Duck down in the grass are thousands of
newly born gazelle calves
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being invisible is their only protection
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Their mothers leave them there all day
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These are the calving grounds of the Mongolian gazelles
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The only place where the herds stay put for a week until the calves are ready to run with the mothers.
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Once a day thousands of mothers find their calves to suckle them
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Each calf recognizes its mother by her voice
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The young step marmots always have their mothers close
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As long as the marmot and gazelle mothers are relaxed the little ones feel safe
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This is one of the most peaceful places on earth
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That's why the calves are born here
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but as soon as the calves can run the herd moves on again
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on the first great journey of their lives
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In a land with no trees even birds which usually nest in lofty heights are born and raised on the ground
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Three siblings in a steppy eagle nest
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That's only possible in a year of abundance
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For steppe eagles abundance means many marmots
and ground squirrels within their radius of action
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The number of predators always depends
on the number of animals they can hunt
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A mild winter has allowed marmots and ground squirrels to produce such numerous offspring
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and that effect is moving up the food chain
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The nestling's chances of survival depends on their parents hunting skills
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Experienced parents succeed more often in passing on
both their genes and their skills to the next generation
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Young marmots also profit from their parent's experience
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Older mothers can better judge what is a safe borrowing site.
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In contrast to marmots, ground squirrels live in large colonies
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their young stay underground much longer
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Four siblings to suckle.
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That puts enormous stress on a mother
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for several weeks she has to produce lots of milk and eat as much as she can.
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Her meals are hasty never relaxed
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Ground squirrels and marmots always scan the sky
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The eagles on their part constantly monitor all the dens in their territory
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It is a battle of the senses
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A relentless competition of many eyes
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Straying too far from home is a mistake
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The margin for mistakes is small for both prey and hunter
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The Kherlen, the southern branch of the Amur's headwaters
is a dynamic river constantly renewing itself
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Each time the river rises it takes a fresh bite from
the steppy creating new habitats for myriads of animals
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In sharp river bends thousands of san martins will then dig
new tunnels into fresh clean declines
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some riverbanks are riddled with hundreds of such tubes
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The fine damp sand of the steppy is the perfect building material
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soft enough for tunneling and solid enough for
the tunnels to last until the young birds become fledglings
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The nestlings grow rapidly
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from hatching to flying they only take 20 days
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to achieve this they have to eat non-stop.
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The lush grazing along the riverbank keeps herds of cattle nearby
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And where there is livestock and dung
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The air buzzes with flies so the parent birds can deliver a meal every few minutes
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This is a super productive neighborhood based on
the perfect interaction of river and soil
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Wildlife and livestock
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A delicate equilibrium which only exists as long as the river is flowing
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But that can't be taken for granted
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Along this narrow green band meandering through the grassland
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the harsh character of the Mongolian steppy is easily forgotten
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But away from the river shades of brown will soon dominate
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The green depends on how far inland the rain clouds will reach
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for much of the year the clouds never make it this far
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and every three decades or so there are
years without any rainfall whatsoever
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This is a land of extremes allowing only
the most resilient to survive
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Summer droughts can quickly push life to the edge
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Winter is just as harsh
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Sandstorms blend into snowstorms
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for half the year icy gales make the Kherlen flood plains inhospitable
trong nửa năm những trận cuồng phong buốt giá
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The best place to sit out the winter is upstream
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At the southern base of the mountains
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In the lee of arctic northerlies
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the gazelles take refuge
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by now the calves have grown up
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and are hard to tell from the adults
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The nomads too put up their yards here
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In summer they let their herds roam freely
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But now they keep them closer to their camps in fear of the steppe's monstrous blizzards
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The southern slopes offer more sun and less wind
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In the open plains gales can be deadly
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When the wind begins to pick up the herdsmen hurry to round up their livestock
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In a blizzard the wind is not the only menace
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The wolves are here because the gazelles are here
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and black vultures are here because of both
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Wolves and gazelles together that's what vultures are looking for
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All three are keenly aware of each other's presence
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Bactrian camels with their thick wool and enormous body mass
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seem to be the only ones indifferent to the icy temperatures
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that often drop to a breath stopping 45 degrees below zero
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When they feel a hellish night approaching they simply stand together stoically
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and this sky has hell written all over it
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driven by gale force winds the snow is sharp like ground glass
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It's this kind of night the wolves have been waiting for
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as the storm picks up the gazelles can hardly breathe, hear or see.
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The wolves close in
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The gazelles panic knowing the wolves are close
Linh dương hoảng loạng
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but where?
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coming from every side it seems
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The gazelle's flight is literally senseless
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At daybreak the wolves have vanished.
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The black vultures have just been
waiting for this morning to arrive
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These are among the world's biggest birds
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Here in the steppe they live on frozen meat for half the year
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The harshest of winters is their season of plenty
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Thanks to the wolves a pair of black vultures will defend their territory and their meals together
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They are partners for life
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For more than half the year rivers and lakes are frozen solid
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The air is as dry as in the middle of the Gobi desert
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People and fish are the only ones out
here who depend on liquid water to survive
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On sunny windless days the herdsmen go
out to fetch river ice to be melted
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Little by little by the fire in the yurt
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The water storage has to last for a while
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There will be days when it's impossible to leave the yurt because of the gales
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For thousands of years bactrian camels have been the best and often the only means of transport in central Asia.
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The climate can hardly get more continental than here in the cold dry steppes of Mongolia
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There are only two seasons and the change comes overnight
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After half a year of bitter cold all living things yearn for summer.
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But some summers on the Kherlen river are
even harsher than Mongolian winters
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Plants and animals have not only been longing for warmth but also for water
239
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But every 30 years or so the long narrow oasis of the Kherlen struggles against the encroaching desert
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When fewer and fewer clouds from the Pacific reach the heart of the continent, the Kherlen is in for lean years
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The death gets more severe with each summer
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Until the river slowly dries up
243
00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:08,120
Where millions of fish have thrived for well over a decade
244
00:31:08,159 --> 00:31:15,659
The countless lakes and ponds along the Kherlen
are now sucked dry by desert winds
245
00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:37,600
when the desert invades the steppe, only salt crusts
are the only bitter reminders of vanished wetlands
246
00:31:40,559 --> 00:31:46,559
The last remnants of water are bitter unfit to drink
247
00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:52,420
Where morning mists used to drift along the river
248
00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:56,320
The wind now drives salty dust across the steppe
249
00:32:08,559 --> 00:32:16,059
During such years of drought the Gobi desert creeps north and eastward
250
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The Kherlen, the Amur's longest headwater has run dry.
Sông Kherlen, dòng đầu nguồn
251
00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:40,080
Now the one remaining headwater of the Amur river
252
00:32:40,180 --> 00:32:45,180
It is the Onon, the northern twin is shorter than the southern one
253
00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:50,280
But it's the reliable one of the two
254
00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:58,080
Along its valley summers are always green
255
00:32:58,159 --> 00:33:01,659
This is South Siberia near the Mongolian border
256
00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:12,440
When the Kherlen's wetlands dry up
257
00:33:12,540 --> 00:33:16,540
Many animals migrate to the wetlands of the Onon
258
00:33:16,580 --> 00:33:23,080
Where amphibians and fish are safe from
the 30 year cycle of boom and bust
259
00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:36,700
Grebes and coots ducks and teals, terns and plovers
cranes and geese all gather in one of the planet's liveliest riverscapes
260
00:33:41,279 --> 00:33:47,479
Along the Onon's green band of active river arms,
oxbows, islands and bogs
261
00:33:47,582 --> 00:33:54,582
wetland dwellers can survive the drought years that plague the south
những cư dân đất ngập nước có thể sống qua
262
00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:03,980
During such years otter territories up north can get crowded
263
00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:07,380
putting amphibians under pressure.
264
00:34:13,119 --> 00:34:23,119
birds can quickly react to a drought and
shift their breeding grounds from south
to north for a few years
265
00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:37,280
The climate cycle keeps animals on the move
and forces them to adjust and readjust
266
00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:51,320
For most of its length the onon runs
through Russian territory
267
00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:59,560
On its banks Russian pioneers built a village
268
00:34:59,660 --> 00:35:02,160
They have been here for three centuries
269
00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:12,800
Far from any city, paved road or railway
are more than 5.000 kilometers east of Russia's capital
270
00:35:12,900 --> 00:35:16,900
This outpost is still self-sufficient
271
00:35:19,599 --> 00:35:24,099
A generous nature supplies whatever the people need
272
00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:38,400
Life out here has not changed much over time
273
00:35:38,450 --> 00:35:40,450
it's never been extravagant
274
00:35:49,599 --> 00:35:54,099
There's no need for a nomadic lifestyle along the Onon
275
00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:08,020
For 200 years before the trans-siberian railway was built
276
00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:18,060
Boat traffic along the Amur river was the lifeline that connected Russia's pioneer communities of the wild east
277
00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:28,020
In summer traders and troops travelled on water
278
00:36:28,160 --> 00:36:30,760
In winter on solid ice
279
00:36:43,839 --> 00:36:46,879
Long distance migration is still going on
280
00:36:48,079 --> 00:36:50,079
Under the river's surface,
281
00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:59,480
fishes from the Amur's middle course come a long way to the upper reaches to spawn
282
00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:05,780
The fast-flowing Onon with its pure cold and oxygen rich water
283
00:37:05,953 --> 00:37:11,453
and its gravelly riverbed offers ideal conditions
for eggs and larvae
284
00:37:11,815 --> 00:37:17,815
The biggest of these migrants is the Tai men
285
00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:23,700
Taimen reach a length of one and a half meters and weigh 40 kilos
286
00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:36,980
This pair has already chosen an attractive spawning dell in the riverbed
287
00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:48,540
A good spawning spot should have rough gravel with pebbles
288
00:37:48,640 --> 00:37:57,040
Just the right size to hold the eggs and with just the right force of current to keep them free of sand and silt
289
00:37:57,119 --> 00:38:05,619
Good vibrations male and female synchronize their bodies in order to simultaneously release eggs and sperm
290
00:38:13,599 --> 00:38:17,499
Gravel plays a major role in the life of the Onon river
291
00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:20,680
Underwater as well as above
292
00:38:22,240 --> 00:38:27,740
Along the river's upper reaches gravel
is what habitats are made of
293
00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:36,020
The ringed plover could be called a gravel bird
294
00:38:37,280 --> 00:38:42,780
It breeds on bare gravel its camouflage blends into gravel
295
00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:49,200
and it feeds in gravel finding tiny worms and crustaceans
296
00:38:49,599 --> 00:38:55,599
Young plovers can run and find their own food from the moment they hatch from their eggs
297
00:38:55,920 --> 00:39:02,420
This gives their parents a chance to relax and preen in the sun
298
00:39:07,359 --> 00:39:10,059
But as soon as clouds darken the sky
299
00:39:10,240 --> 00:39:14,240
The chicks come running for a warm-up
300
00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:24,640
This is one of the Onon's natural wonders,
301
00:39:24,740 --> 00:39:27,740
an eight-legged bird.
302
00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:41,400
In mid-summer millions and millions of
fish larvae hatch from their eggs
303
00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:44,600
All along the Amur's northern headwater
304
00:39:44,700 --> 00:39:49,419
Soon the shallows are swarming with fry
305
00:39:49,839 --> 00:39:52,339
For local fish like Amur minnow,
306
00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:56,480
a multitude of migrant fry means opulence
307
00:39:56,580 --> 00:40:02,580
voraciously they invade the taimen and trout spawning grounds
308
00:40:02,680 --> 00:40:07,980
The minnows wait for the current to wash
out eggs and for larvae to hatch
309
00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:14,660
They may devour up thousands of eggs but
as long as the Onon river remains natural and productive
310
00:40:14,720 --> 00:40:21,720
Millions of larvae will still continue to fill the amur's middle reaches with life
311
00:40:23,599 --> 00:40:29,099
The life of a great wild river has its ups and downs
312
00:40:30,720 --> 00:40:35,420
Some are extreme, some come in regular cycles
313
00:40:35,520 --> 00:40:40,820
After years of drought along the southern twin of the Amur's headwaters
314
00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:43,920
The dry spell is broken
315
00:40:47,119 --> 00:40:54,119
Once again a sweeping Pacific cloud front pushes inland across the clear blue skies
316
00:40:54,219 --> 00:40:57,599
advancing all the way to the Mongolian steppe
317
00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:14,520
The downpours can be massive
318
00:41:14,620 --> 00:41:18,620
within days the parched grasslands turn green
319
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:25,040
Herds can return water brings back life
320
00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:42,860
Hundreds of lakes are filling up
321
00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:50,980
The Kherlen, the southern twin is a headwater once again
322
00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:04,560
The news spreads fast between clouds and river,
323
00:42:04,720 --> 00:42:13,220
tens of thousands of migrants arrive to take advantage
of what may be the opportunity of their lifetime
324
00:42:14,240 --> 00:42:18,240
Once again wetlands are spreading out
325
00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:25,640
After years without offspring wildlife is making a fresh start
326
00:42:25,740 --> 00:42:27,740
Young animals are everywhere
327
00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:46,000
Wildlife populations are growing from year to year
until all good habitat is occupied
328
00:42:46,720 --> 00:42:52,720
The young Demoiselle cranes stay with their parents through the entire summer
329
00:42:53,599 --> 00:43:02,599
The parents show them the best feeding grounds meadows full of little reptiles
330
00:43:07,119 --> 00:43:12,119
In autumn they will lead them on their first long journey
331
00:43:12,219 --> 00:43:17,719
from Mongolia across the Himalayas all the way to India
332
00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:29,100
After years of dusty monochrome bursts of bright colours light up the floodplains and the sandy steppe
333
00:43:29,217 --> 00:43:34,217
Fire lilies, primulas, orchids and steppy iris,
334
00:43:34,317 --> 00:43:39,317
their roots and bulbs all have survived
the dry years deep in the sand
335
00:43:39,417 --> 00:43:41,936
waiting for the rains to trigger their fireworks
336
00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:15,500
The wetlands of the Amur's two headwaters play an important role in the migration patterns of many birds.
337
00:44:15,680 --> 00:44:23,680
On their long journeys the migrants need resting places where they can safely refuel
338
00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:30,960
Among these birds the swan geese stand out
339
00:44:33,599 --> 00:44:36,599
Their feeding habits are unique,
340
00:44:36,700 --> 00:44:42,200
they dig deep craters into the mud to get to the tender roots of bog plants
341
00:44:42,300 --> 00:44:45,800
No other bird competes for this food source
342
00:44:46,160 --> 00:44:54,160
In contrast avocets scan the shallows near the bank for small crustaceans and aquatic insects
343
00:44:54,599 --> 00:44:59,599
This way there is no competition and plenty of food for all
344
00:44:59,760 --> 00:45:06,760
Black-tailed godwits poke deeply into the fine silt for mollusks and worms
345
00:45:09,839 --> 00:45:18,339
The migrants stop for just a few days before and behind them are journeys of thousands of kilometers
346
00:45:21,920 --> 00:45:31,420
But the Kherlen itself a river running through hundreds of kilometers of arid steppe where does it come from
347
00:45:35,646 --> 00:45:39,646
And the northern branch of the Amur river's headwaters,
348
00:45:39,700 --> 00:45:42,900
The Onon where is its source
349
00:45:47,440 --> 00:45:57,440
Upstream the unequal brothers begin to look like real twins again impossible to tell apart
350
00:45:57,839 --> 00:46:01,759
and indeed they spring from the very same mountain
351
00:46:04,240 --> 00:46:16,240
It is the highest elevation far and wide densely wooded at its base, its valleys secluded and nearly inaccessible
352
00:46:16,240 --> 00:46:20,740
This summit is the true source of the Amur river
353
00:46:21,920 --> 00:46:25,340
A Mongol holy mountain near the Russian border
354
00:46:25,440 --> 00:46:30,940
A forbidden place known only to its keepers
355
00:46:36,640 --> 00:46:41,640
Mighty demons are said to watch over
this source of water and life
356
00:46:41,680 --> 00:46:49,180
This is where Genghis Khan, Father of the Mongols was born and lies buried
357
00:46:56,480 --> 00:47:00,780
Before he died he decreed this to be holy ground
358
00:47:00,880 --> 00:47:05,880
Its wild nature never to be touched
359
00:47:09,119 --> 00:47:16,119
For eight centuries the Mongols have respected the Khan's command
360
00:47:17,440 --> 00:47:25,440
The sacred mountain of Genghis Khan milks the very last clouds drifting inland from the Pacific
361
00:47:25,540 --> 00:47:29,540
and feeds the two source rivers of the Amur
362
00:47:42,240 --> 00:47:51,240
These rivers link the arid steppe of Mongolia to the pristine woodlands of Siberia and Northern China
363
00:47:51,520 --> 00:48:01,020
From their confluence downstream the Amur river runs through the planet's largest unbroken forests
364
00:48:05,520 --> 00:48:09,020
The river soon gathers momentum
365
00:48:15,839 --> 00:48:21,839
An immense network of streams, tributaries of all degrees
366
00:48:22,400 --> 00:48:30,400
draining an enormous catchment area pours more and more water and sediment into the Amur's swelling main channel
367
00:48:30,500 --> 00:48:36,500
Along its middle course the Amur forms the world's longest river border
368
00:48:36,600 --> 00:48:42,600
with Russia's endless wetlands and wild woods along the left bank
369
00:48:42,700 --> 00:48:48,700
On the bank opposite China's richest farmland feeding millions of people
370
00:48:48,800 --> 00:48:55,800
Flowing north from the border the Amur becomes the biggest river in Russia's Far East,
371
00:48:56,800 --> 00:49:06,300
Near the Pacific in steaming summers animals from the subtropics meet with others from Siberia
372
00:49:07,599 --> 00:49:11,299
The stately Amur drains into the Okhotsk sea
373
00:49:11,399 --> 00:49:15,899
which boasts the richest ecosystem of the Pacific ocean
374
00:49:15,999 --> 00:49:20,499
and this is not the end of the river's journey
375
00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:27,800
The big cycle begins anew with Pacific clouds drifting inland
376
00:49:28,900 --> 00:49:35,900
and feeding the Amur's network of waterways, Asia's Amazon.
377
00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:51,911
(This English subtitle was automatically made by Youtube
and synchronized, correted by Tepriu)
---- End of episode 3 of 3 ----
36309
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