Chasing the Rains (2022)

[bunniefuu]

In the wilds of Kenya...

water is life.

The elixir without which
nothing can survive.

During one of the worst
droughts for two decades,

a film crew sets out to discover
how the animals survive.

Working closely with local
experts and conservationists,

they follow the lives of three
remarkable animal matriarchs

as they struggle to keep
their families alive

by Chasing the Rains!

Filming a major wildlife series
is never easy...

...especially in Northern Kenya,

where long
periods of drought

are increasing because of
climate change.

But here, there are many
local experts

who know every inch
of this land.

And they are on hand to help
the film crew

document the long dry season.

We are going up this one.

That's just great.

The first job, is to choose
the three animal matriarchs

who will become the stars of
Chasing the Rains.

And there's no species
better suited

to tell the story of drought,

than elephants.

It's May in the
Samburu National Reserve.

The April rains have
recently fallen.

The land is lush...

...and the great Ewaso N'yiro
river is full and flowing.

Samburu is famous for elephants

and in this time of plenty,

they arrive in their hundreds to
drink, bathe and eat

by the riverside.

It's no coincidence that
Save the Elephants,

one of the world's leading
wildlife charities,

has its headquarters here.

They've been monitoring and
conserving elephants

for nearly thirty years.

And it's to Samburu,

the Chasing
the Rains film crew head.

The team consists of
Producer, Faith Musembi,

Director Cameraman,
Justin Purefoy,

and local driver, Sammy Msafiri.

They will work closely with
Save The Elephants

to find the right family
to film.

Go ahead, Sumaro.

They recruit Samburu elder
and specialist elephant guide,

Sumaro Lecharkole.

I've been working with
Save The Elephants

for about 20 years now

and they taught us
how to identify through ears

and shape of the tusks.

It's really something that makes
me very proud

because Samburu is
a unique place,

especially filming elephants.

All the elephant families here,

have been named by
Save the Elephants

and with Sumaro's help,

the crew select the family
they hope to follow

for the next few months.

We decided to follow
the Royals,

led by Anastasia, the matriarch,

because they're one of the best
studied families in Samburu.

It was a decision that
we were happy about

because they're a
really big group.

The Royals are closely monitored
by the charity,

But keeping tabs on them
isn't always easy.

Elephants are nomadic,

travelling over hundreds
of miles,

so one of the females
in the group

wears a radio collar,

meaning Save the Elephants
can track their movements

- a crucial tool in
their conservation

and handy for the film crew too.

Hey!

But every now and then,
a radio collar breaks.

And this has happened in the
case of female elephant, Basil.

Save the Elephants
plan to fix it,

and will need the help of
wildlife veterinarian,

Sharon Mulindi.

SHARON: I wanted to be a
wildlife vet because my dad,

he'd bring home like just any
random animal he'd find.

So at some point we had like two
dogs and like six cats

and like a tortoise and like
chickens and geese.

And it was like a farmhouse.

Sharon works for the
Kenyan Wildlife Service.

Working hand in hand with
Save the Elephants,

they take on all the wildlife
veterinary procedures

in Samburu.

SHARON: So when you go for
veterinary interventions,

we usually firstly plan
ahead.

this is the drugs we need,
this is the equipment we need,

and we get that organised.

We can now go into the field and
proceed from there.

Basil will need to be sedated in
order to fix her faulty collar.

That means, darting her
with a tranquiliser.

The team closes in on the herd.

They need to isolate Basil in
order to get a clean shot.

They've got her.

As the sedative takes effect,

her family desperately
tries to revive her.

But their efforts
cause her to fall awkwardly.

The Save the Elephants team must
act quickly to protect her.

And temporarily drive
the herd away.

The clock is ticking.

The team mustn't keep Basil
sedated for any longer

than is necessary.

David Daballen,

head of field operations
for Save the Elephants,

is tasked with fixing
the collar.

Should I just cut it?

-I think we have to cut it.
-Let's cut.

Hacksaw.

Sharon too must work fast
to take blood samples,

which are collected for
disease surveillance

and species health research.

Okay, yeah.

David successfully
fixes the collar.

Putting collars on elephants
plays such a critical role

because it's almost looking into
their brains, what they do,

how they're thinking,
how they take decisions.

So, really there's so much data
that comes in

just because of GPS
tracking data.

Basil's movements through
Samburu and beyond

will help contribute
to the long-term conservation

of her species.

Her family is waiting
patiently nearby.

And as Basil recovers,

they are at last reunited
after the ordeal.

It's a job well done for David,
Sharon and the team.

And it's all part
of a bigger scheme

to help protect
the elephants here.

Around this area, we
have about between 35 collars

to maybe even 40 collars.

But right across Africa, we have
something like 300 collars.

Collaring allows
conservationists to track

elephants in real time, enabling
them to study their behaviour.

So, there are collars that are
actually put for a pure

conservation point of view,
where do these elephants go.

This is just what the film crew
needs too,

as they embark on following
Anastasia and the Royals

throughout the dry
season.

The film crew heads 180 miles
south to Naboisho, a conservancy

on the edge of Kenya's famous
Masai Mara National Reserve.

It was established, when
Maasai landowners

agreed to a radical change
in land management

that enabled grazing lands to be
used for wildlife conservation.

It now has amongst the highest
concentrations of predators

in Africa.

And it's cheetahs, that
the film crew want to follow.

But with so much space for them
to roam around in,

they're hard to find.

So the crew calls
in the expertise of professional

guide and spotter,
Wilson Mpooya.

He grew up on these plains

and knows more about the animals
here than anyone else.

To be a guide is to be
an ambassador for wildlife.

And educate people and show
them the beauty of nature.

I'm very excited to see animal
behaviour, especially cheetahs,

the way they run,

the way they
take care of their cubs.

Okay.

Wilson has the perfect family in
mind for the film crew.

We're looking for Kuleta.

She likes this rocky area.

Difficult to drive through.

Oh, my God!

It's tough going, but he knows
just where to look.

That big tree.

His instinct is spot on.

The crew get their first glimpse
of their next major character

for Chasing the Rains...

the cheetah mum
and her four tiny cubs.

Kuleta is this young,
powerful female cheetah

who I think really got under
our skin.

You know, she's absolutely
beautiful.

I think she was quite a new mum

and we were there when she had
this new litter of four cubs.

So we were really rooting for
her when we met her.

But the odds are against Kuleta
and her litter.

On average, only one in twenty
cheetah cubs survive.

Cheetah scientist, Brian Schuh,

works for the Mara Predator
Conservation Project.

Cheetahs are always
raised with just their mums,

so they always
have a very tough time.

Everything out here
is bigger than them.

They're the smallest
of the big cats -

so, whether it be hyenas,
leopards, lions,

that's all something that could
pose a threat to cheetahs

and especially their cubs.

Kuleta's cubs are thriving now,

but challenges lie ahead.

As the dry season bites,

she's certain to face threats
and competition

from other predators
in the conservancy.

Having found their charismatic
cheetah mother,

the film crew set out to track
down their next major character

for Chasing the Rains.

The third and final location is
Laikipia -

the rugged highland plateau near
Mount Kenya.

This, is where a formidable
matriarch lives with her family.

Phoenix, an African wild dog,
with a remarkable story.

Phoenix lost her entire pack to
canine distemper in 2017

during another bad drought,

but amazingly, she survived.

Since then,
she's raised six litters,

and now heads a pack
of seventeen.

Overseeing the conservation of
the wild dogs

and the ecosystem they live in
is executive director

of the Mpala Research Centre,
Dr Dino Martins.

The African wild dog
is a species that ranges

over hundreds, if not thousands
of square miles.

It needs a huge amount of
habitat to thrive.

So the most critical thing for a
species like the wild dog is

that we have enough prey,

enough food for them to hunt
and feed naturally on.

And what does that prey need?

Well, it needs good habitat,
it needs healthy grass,

healthy trees and a good
ecosystem.

A lot of the work done here in
Laikipia is around

figuring out how animals,
wildlife and people

and their animals, domestic
animals can share that space.

Because the dogs need so much
space to thrive in,

trying to capture them on film
during the dry season

is going to be a huge
challenge.

Phoenix wears a radio collar,

enabling the conservationists
to track the pack's movement.

Once again, it will be a
critical tool for the film crew.

A second cameraman, Jamie Unwin,
joins the team.

And together research assistant
Simon Lima,

they set off to find the family.

But almost immediately, they hit
their first major problem.

Phoenix is in her hillside den

but as she's recently had
a litter of puppies,

she's not coming out.

On most mornings, we
would track the alpha female

at the den because she was
currently denning.

But then the challenge was we
didn't know where

the rest of the pack was.

It was hunting in Laikipia, and
to track them would have been

like trying to find a needle in
a haystack.

And that was really challenging
for the crew.

We were basically a c*ptive
audience at the base of that den

for weeks on end.

At last, the crew's patience
pays off

and the puppies descend from
the den for the very first time.

It's a huge relief.

JUSTIN: So when the puppies
came out,

we'd spent a couple of months

trying to get some
good material of them.

And that moment when the puppies
came out, you know,

it was like we
had finally achieved something.

But the crew's joy is
short-lived.

Once the puppies are out,

the pack is on the move.

And it's almost impossible
to keep up!

JUSTIN: The crew really were
up against it, to be honest,

because you do a
lot of off road when you're

chasing the dogs,
it's all g*ns blazing.

It's high adrenaline when
they're hunting.

You get these small glimpses
of them.

it was anyone's guess as to
where they might go next.

And so it was really challenging
to get any kind of good shots.

The crew will need to rethink
their approach

to have any hope of keeping up
with the dogs.

It's June and three months
into filming.

In Samburu, there has been
very little rain,

and as the heat intensifies,

the Ewaso N'yiro River
is shrinking by the day.

But thankfully for the crew,

there's still just enough food
and water for the animals,

and Anastasia and the Royals
stay close by,

enabling the crew to
capture the family as they eat,

bathe and play.

But it's another elephant who
grabs their attention

when they've finished filming
for the day.

The crew are based at
Elephant Watch Camp -

a location also favoured

by Samburu's most famous
bull elephant - Sarara.

Sarara is a bull elephant

who regularly visits the camp.

And it's his home.

So we all have to step aside as
he enters the camp

and forages for food,
and scratches his bum.

It's lovely to see an elephant
in camp.

I lost count of how many
times I'd be in my tent working

when Sarara would come
crashing through the bushes

to eat around my tent.

We have to be careful because
he's still a wild elephant,

but he obviously feels safe at
Elephant Watch

to wander around like he does.

It's a good sign, that there is
still enough food

around in Samburu.

But as the drought
tightens its grip,

that is about to change.

Just a few weeks later,

there is a dramatic shift
in the landscape.

It hasn't rained now,
for three months.

And the great Ewaso N'yiro
River, has completely dried up.

I think for me the moment
the Ewaso dried up

was quite shocking.

Because Samburu went from having
a water source and no food

to having no food and no water.

But elephants are well
adapted to cope

with short periods of drought,

and the crew are witness

to an extraordinary
survival technique.

Suddenly we watched
the elephants

wander down to
this dry river bed.

And they just started digging
with their feet

and they dug these wells.

And I thought that just really
said everything

you need to know
about elephants.

They're making really conscious
decisions about how to survive.

It's an ingenious strategy,

but as the drought bites,

the elephants will be pushed
to their limit.

As the rivers turn to
snakes of dust,

people too, are driven to
desperate measures.

Thirty-five miles further north,

herdsmen are driving
their cattle towards water.

These, are known as the
Singing Wells.

These wells have been dug by
people for themselves

and their livestock.

And as they collect the water,
they sing for their cattle.

It's a tradition that's been
part of Samburu culture

for hundreds of years.

At dusk, the herdsmen leave,
and the wildlife moves in.

Five thirsty bulls, have been
waiting nearby

for their chance to drink.

These canny males will spend
the entire dry season

close to these singing wells,

drinking their fill
every evening.

It's working well for people
and wildlife

to share the dwindling
resources...

for now.

In Samburu, matriarch,
Anastasia,

decides to leave the dry Ewaso
river bed.

She leads the Royals out of the
Samburu National Park

towards remote springs
in the north,

taking one of the many
animal pathways and corridors

that weave through
Northern Kenya.

On one of these corridors,
the crew comes across

a very special
conservation project.

A group of local women,
called the Mama Tembos

- a Swahili phrase
meaning "Elephant Mums".

They've been employed by
Save the Elephants

to monitor these corridors

because it's here,
that elephants often

come into conflict with humans.

In a drought,

humans and elephants
can clash over resources

- and this especially
happens when nomadic people

set up camps on animal
corridors.

Using tracking skills
and GPS data,

the Mama Tembos monitor
the elephants' movements

and send an alert
if they discover any camps.

Since the scheme began,

there have been
far less incidents

of human-elephant conflict.

Kennedy Lemaiyan
coordinates the project.

There's a huge connection
between the Mama Tembos

and elephants themselves.

As you know, elephants, they do
live in matriarchal society.

And so these women as well,
the Mama Tembos,

they are the matriarchs of their
family.

And so they both comprehend
each other.

Educating and involving
local communities

in wildlife conservation
is a growing movement

and it's a highly
successful strategy.

Well, I think
education is really important.

It is the key in resolving
some of these issues.

When communities are educated,
when they are informed,

then they can make better
decisions for themselves

and for their wildlife.

Fifty-five miles further south
in Laikipia,

the crew are on the trail
of the wild dogs.

So far, they've been struggling
to get many meaningful shots of

Phoenix and her family.

And they're covering a lot of
rough terrain

trying to keep up with them.

As the land withers, it's taking
its toll on the vehicles.

Oh!

And, on driver Nelson Kariuki.

Ah, so, we just fell in one of
the little streams

that was completely covered
in some grass and some bushes.

It's going to take some
wily ideas

and a little brute strength to
get the car out.

Woo!

[laughing]

Driving around trying
to catch a glimpse of the dogs

is just taking too much time
and effort.

If the team are going to ever
successfully film the pack,

they need to change plan.

This is our secret weapon.

It may look small but it's
actually pretty mighty.

FAITH: Filming the wild dogs
from the air was a game changer.

Being able to just get above
them and to see how they were

travelling because this is
something we couldn't possibly

see from the ground because the
vegetation was so thick.

But it was incredible seeing how
much ground they covered.

So our plan was Simon would
track them on the on the ground

and then radio in a position,

and then we would go in
and film the dogs.

And for the first time,

we were able to start stitching
together meaningful sequences.

At last, the crew are able to
capture this elusive

and charismatic family

as they negotiate the landscape
through the dry season.

But no sooner are they
up and running,

than a second challenge arises.

There has been some recent
light rainfall

in the highlands of Mount Kenya,

filling the local river here,

and the dogs have been showing
signs that they might cross

to more bountiful land
on the other side.

To maximise filming
the crossing,

they'll need cameras both in the
air and on the ground.

Justin and the Samburu team
arrive to help.

And right away there's
exciting news.

We just met a car
and they saw them.

FAITH: Great.

Yeah, the car drove past us and
said wild dogs, wild dogs.

The two teams set off fast.

Ah!

We've run into a
roadblock by camels.

At last,
they reach the river

and they're not too late.

The dogs are close.

While Jamie
operates the drone,

Faith has a monitor

and can relay where
the dogs are to Justin,

who's on the ground trying to
find the perfect position.

JUSIN: Does it look
like there's other crossings

near you from the drone angle?

FAITH: Yeah, it looks like once
you go round the bend,

there's another crossing that
they're running towards.

The dogs are literally running
parallel to you guys

as you're driving around.

Justin sets up,

just as Phoenix brings the pack
to the water's edge.

Up above, the batteries in the
drone are dying.

No!!!

Come on!

Ah, I can't take it!

Just go across!

Oh cross, it's not deep!

And then, the dogs get the push
they need.

Hyenas are on their trail.

They are in the water,

it looks like they're finally
going to cross.

On the far side,

the adults do a head count

to ensure every last puppy
has made it safely across.

It's a great result for
the crew too.

They've captured the dramatic
crossing

from all the angles
they hoped for.

Although there's been a little
light rainfall in the highlands,

down below, on the plains
of Samburu,

the land is in severe drought.

There is hardly anything to eat.

And standing water, is
non-existent.

As the land dissolves into dust,

animals and people alike
are suffering.

The community has had to dig
deeper and deeper wells

to access the dropping
water table.

And this has led to a terrible
consequence.

A young elephant has fallen into
one of the wells.

Despite a desperate rescue
attempt,

tragically, he has drowned.

For the locals and the film crew
alike, it's a devastating blow.

JUSTIN: It was heart-breaking
to see

elephants dying because
they're trying to access water,

and the community had stepped in
and pulled the elephant out.

The calf is a young male,
just six years old.

He's the tragic victim of the
worsening drought.

As it got a bit later,
the elephant family arrived

and they kind of came to pay
their last respects.

Elephant families
have deep bonds

and when one dies

they experience profound grief

just as we do.

JUSTIN: It's hard watching
elephants grieving

as it is any animal.

and elephants looking
at their dead family,

it's hard to digest that.

Conservationists are working
hard with local people

to try and prevent
these accidents

such as building slopes
into the wells

so elephants don't get trapped.

The Samburu community
and elephants

actually have a really
good relationship,

and a story goes that
they once lived together

and now when any
Samburu man or woman

passes by an elephant carcass,

they will pay tribute
to the animal's spirit

by leaving a green branch
in its skull.

It's a really beautiful ritual

and it's a really touching thing
to see.

Further south in Naboisho,

the drought
is also intensifying.

Grazing animals
are spreading out,

and competition for food
is fierce.

Kuleta is struggling to feed her
fast-growing cubs,

and every day
the pressure is building on her

to hunt down a substantial meal.

She becomes desperate.

And that leads to a very
difficult moment

for the film crew.

We weren't expecting to film

what would be a really, really
sad and difficult moment.

We'd gone ahead of Kuleta

and we saw
this Thomson's gazelle,

who'd just had her fawn.

And as soon as we saw the pair,
we knew what was coming.

The mother runs away and the
fawn disappears into the grass.

JUSTIN: Kuleta had focused on
the baby from the moment

she got there.

And for about ten minutes

she hunted through the grass
like this big bad wolf.

And it was really hard to watch.

In one way, we wanted
the cubs to feed.

but in the other sense,
we wanted the fawn to make it.

Inevitably, Kuleta finds
the fawn.

It's not easy watching
a newborn fawn get k*lled.

But at the same time,

it's a really important lesson
for the cubs.

They need to learn how to
k*ll an animal,

and this was a lesson for them

that their mum was
teaching them.

FAITH: I think it's one
of those tensions we always feel

as wildlife filmmakers.
We have to let it play out.

You can't intervene.

So we had to sit there and watch
this horrible scene play out,

understanding that it's all part
of the beauty

of what we love about nature.

It starts to get increasingly
difficult for the film crew

to witness the extent of animal
suffering in the drought.

FAITH: It was actually horrific

seeing how the animals
were struggling.

I mean, it was completely dry.

We would be driving on the road
and be completely caked in dust

because all the grass was gone.

We were just watching these
animals somehow surviving.

I'll probably never forget what
it was like watching

all that play out

and the animals
still figuring out a way,

day in and day out.

The crew are heading back
to camp,

when they get word of an
unusual incident.

An elephant they've become very
familiar with is in trouble.

JUSTIN: We got this radio call
that came in

saying that Sarara,
the friendly elephant

that visits us at the camp
had been speared.

We saw this spear lodged into
his stomach

and he was curling his trunk in
pain when we got there.

Because of the drought,

Sarara has wandered out of his
normal feeding areas

to find food

and has come into conflict
with people.

Sharon and the veterinary team
plan to remove the spear

as quickly as possible

and administer
lifesaving treatment.

SHARON: Sarara is one of the
elephants

that probably everyone knows

because he's our
resident elephant

so he's probably one of
the big celebrities in the park.

But they must be careful when
anaesthetising him.

If he falls on the spear,
it could prove fatal.

SHARON: There's so many
factors that you have to

consider when you're darting
an animal.

I think everyone holds
their breath

because you don't know how the
elephant's going to react.

It's a clean shot.

And luckily, Sarara falls on the
side without the spear.

Aye, aye, aye, aye.

The spear is
quickly removed.

Now it's a race against time
before he wakes up.

The spear has penetrated
12 inches

into Sarara's stomach.

Sharon takes blood samples,

and administers lifesaving
antibiotics.

With the wound cleaned,

it's finally time for Sarara
to be woken up.

It wasn't as deep as
we thought it initially was.

It seemed to be a
superficial wound

that probably penetrated
the muscles

but elephants are
resilient animals

so it should be fine.

Sarara will be carefully
monitored in the Reserve

to ensure he makes
a full recovery.

It's really good news for this
special bull elephant.

But his attack is just
another symptom

of how desperate things
have become

for both animals and people.

There's been no rain now
for five months.

It's one of the worst
and most prolonged droughts here

for two decades.

In Samburu, communities are
getting desperate.

I think this is one of
the droughts

that really hit
the Samburu community

and up till now,
there's still no rain.

The animals are dying buffaloes,
impalas, cattle, sheep.

They're all dying.

So we are hoping that
it will rain soon.

[women singing]

A group of Samburu women,

including Sumaro's wife,

gather to pray,
singing and calling for rain.

[singing continues]

This is an
exceptionally rare event,

only performed in times of
severe drought.

FAITH: Getting to film such a
special and sacred moment

was amazing, and the only reason
we could do it is because

we'd been working with Sumaro.

And his wife was
one of the women

who was part of the group
praying.

And that was a really special
moment for us as a team

and at that point, family.

It's an enormous privilege for
the film crew,

as cameras would never normally
be allowed

at such a private event.

Painted in ochre and dressed
in ceremonial robes,

the women walk and dance
down the dry river beds,

singing traditional prayers to
encourage rain.

It's their very last
desperate attempt

to bring life back to their
parched land.

FAITH: We'd been in the throes
of this drought for so long

and towards the end

we started seeing the clouds
building up and building up.

And every day I think we'd be
like, "Oh, today is the day!"

And it wasn't.

Till it was the day that the
clouds broke and the rain came.

JUSTIN: It just felt like a
huge relief

when it started to rain.

It was like all that pressure,

and all that conflict could
start to be eased.

We were with the elephants
at the time

and they had this amazing
dust bath

almost in celebration.

FAITH: One of the images that
will forever be burnt in my mind

is seeing this family just
rejoicing in just being able to

have this water mixed
with the soil.

It was really beautiful.

As the climate changes,

rain patterns in Kenya are
fundamentally shifting,

putting intense pressure on both
people and wildlife.

But by local communities and
conservationists

working together,

there is hope
for harmony in the future.

Here in Kenya, we have
the most brilliant, passionate

and capable Kenyan
conservationists and scientists.

And they are engaged in
making discoveries

that allow us as Kenyans to
conserve our wildlife.

They are out in the field.

They are following these
animals.

They love these animals.

The passion they bring
is priceless.

The crew has been inspired too,

not only by the incredible
people they've worked with,

but by the whole experience.

JUSTIN: Directing and filming
Chasing the Rains

has been one of
the most incredible

experiences of my life.

So big!

Spending eight months with three
animal characters,

we were able to see them change

and we were
able to see their challenges

and that was a unique
opportunity.

FAITH: Chasing the Rains

will truly be an unforgettable
experience for me

because we had this
unique opportunity

to immerse ourselves truly
in this type of storytelling

which is rare.

We spent day in, day out with
these characters.

We got to know them,
we bonded deeply.

We grieved with them,
rejoiced with them

and that for me will
always be memorable.