01x04 - Episode 4

[bunniefuu]

[vocalizing]

[Mosaku] There's no
place like Africa.

[vocalizing]

A land of wonder

and extremes.

[vocalizing]

[eruptions, thunder]

Now, National Geographic takes
you to every corner of Africa.

[vocalizing]

See a new side to its
most famous residents...

[growl]

Meet animals you've
never seen before...

And discover how its
extraordinary ecosystems

shape the lives
of all who call Africa

home.

[♪ theme music playing]

[vocalizing]

[wind blowing]

[Mosaku] The Sahara is the
largest hot desert on Earth.

Engulfing
a third of Africa,

vast and seemingly empty.

But look closer,

there is life here.

A Fennec Fox pup,

the world's
smallest canine.

Just two months old,

these siblings are no
bigger than a child's shoe.

[whimpering, purring]

And without a
care in the world!

[playful pup sounds]

Their mother...

is exhausted.

Raising a family in one of
the driest places on the planet

will do that to you.

The more milk
they drink...

the more food
she needs to keep up.

Every evening, she has
no choice but to journey

deeper into the dunes...

leaving her pups alone.

[wind blowing]

[♪ eerie music playing]

She has to travel vast
distances every day,

searching for
something,

anything,

to eat.

[wind blowing]

Ears half her body
length allow her to scan

for the slightest sound.

[♪ intense music playing]

[sand rustling]

She picks up a
distant rumble.

[thunder rumbling]

But it's not prey.

Winds gather strength.

[winds howling, thunder]

[winds howling, thunder]

Within minutes, they've
turned into a Saharan sandstorm,

called a Haboob.

[winds howling]

A mile-high wall,

advancing at 60 miles per hour.

[winds howling]

She must get
back to her pups,

before they're
buried alive.

[whimpering]

[♪ intense music playing]

[wind howling]

[gentle wind blowing]

For three days,

the storm battered the land.

[♪ ethereal music playing]

[♪ hopeful music playing]

But she made it back.

[♪ ethereal music playing]

Anchored in the roots of
a long-dead tree,

her den...

held firm.

[♪ ethereal music playing]

The Sahara pushes animals
to their very limit,

like nowhere else in Africa.

Only the most determined,

can turn this
unforgiving desert,

into their home.

Stretching
from coast to coast,

the Sahara crosses
the entire width of Africa.



and rock.

The size of
the entire USA.

Ground temperatures
soar to 140 degrees.

Hot enough to fry an egg.

Six feet below the surface,

it's 45 degrees cooler.

Where this colony of


has built a vast
network of caves.

This devoted worker
has spent her entire life

underground...

six months serving
her mother, the queen...

and nurturing the
next generation.

But her time has come,

to take on a
greater responsibility.

Scavenge for the colony.

She must venture
outside for the first time.

[Mosaku] Midday in the Sahara.

No animal could possibly
survive such intense heat,

unless they've
got a space suit.

Tiny silver hairs
reflect the sun's rays

away from her body.

Even with this protection,

she has just ten minutes
to scavenge for food,

before she is cooked alive.

The clock is ticking...

She is the speediest
ant on the planet...

The equivalent of a human
running at 400 miles per hour.

[♪ upbeat music playing]

[♪ rhythmic music playing]

Five minutes and counting,

turn around now, and
she might just make it back.

But the colony
is relying on her.

[♪ intense music playing]

A victim of the heat,

this is what silver
ants survive on.

But it's 100 times
her body weight.

[♪ intense music playing]

Eight minutes gone.

She's overheating
and getting weaker.

[♪ ambient music playing]

Mercifully, scavengers
are never sent out alone.

[♪ hopeful music playing]

[♪ intense music playing]

As they approach
the bunker, more join in.

[♪ intense music playing]

One last push.

[♪ upbeat,
intense music playing]

But she's run out of time.

Her first mission
will be her last.

Only the oldest,
most expendable ants

are sent out to scavenge.

None last more
than a few days.

This ultimate
sacrifice helps silver ants

master every corner
of the desert.

[♪ upbeat music playing]

The Sahara isn't
just a sea of sand.

Three-quarters
of it is rock.

In Chad, carved
out of the sandstone,

the Ennedi Massif is
the size of Switzerland

and less explored
than the Moon.

Hidden in
one of its canyons,

is a miraculous oasis.

[♪ ambient music playing]

Rain that fell
millennia ago,

flows from deep underground.

A home for the Sahara's
most unlikely resident.

A crocodile.

She hatched here
several decades ago,

and has never left.

West African crocodiles
are usually found in wetlands,

but she's trapped,

in little more
than a puddle,

and it's been weeks
since her last meal.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

In the Sahara,

water attracts life.

[camels bellowing]

[water splashing]

[grunting, groaning]

She's got one shot,

so it's all about
picking the right target.

[bellowing]

[♪ intense music playing]

[water splashing]

[camels bellowing]

A heron is plenty.

She's only half the size of a
normal West African crocodile.

Growing smaller
with each generation,

her kind adapted to
the limited food supply,

to become the world's
only desert-living crocs.

She's one of just
four marooned here,

and no one knows exactly
how many more remain hidden

across the Sahara.

[Mosaku] Life in the
Sahara hasn't always

been this harsh.

Deep in the
highlands of Algeria,

there's a clue that the
desert was once very different.

This Saharan Cypress
has been standing here

for 2,000 years.

She is one of the
last of her kind.

Her thick, long roots suck
every last bit of moisture

from in between the rocks.

She can wait years for
a single drop of rain.

But wind the clock back,

when she was younger,

the Earth's axis had a
slightly different tilt.

Her world was much wetter.

Grass grew here...

As a sapling, she was
surrounded by a meadow.

Go back further...


there was so much rain,

the Sahara looked
more like the savannahs

of the Serengeti.

Even today, small pockets
of ancient grassland still

cling on to
the desert's edge,

like here in Chad.

Unlike the
rest of the Sahara,

this is a crowded world,

where competition
is the biggest challenge.

This wily olive baboon has
fought his way to the top.

Now he's head of
a troop of 30.

But at the peak
of the dry season,

it's tough being the alpha.

This close to the desert,
as temperatures soar,

there's nothing left.

His troop is
growing restless.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

Weak and hungry,

he won't stay
alpha for long...

[♪ ethereal music playing]

But he's not the only
one feeling the heat.

With temperatures of 120,

these doves are roasting.

[thud]

A bird with heatstroke isn't
usually on a baboon's menu.

[cooing]

But this
could be his chance,

if he's quick enough.

[squawking]

Marabou storks,

kites and eagles,

are seasoned scavengers.

[♪ intense music playing]

[squawking]

He needs to do
something they can't...

[♪ dramatic music playing]

Go for a dove

before it hits the deck.

[♪ intense music playing]

He's an inspiration
to his troop.

[screeching, barking]

[screeching]

Now everyone gets to eat.

[♪ upbeat music playing]

The sweet
taste of victory,

if you can hold onto it!

In the Sahara, every
pocket of green is a lifeline.

Especially for one of the
world's most seasoned travelers.

Painted lady butterflies
make the longest migration

of any insect.



From the Arctic,
down to central Africa,

and back again.

The toughest leg of all,

crosses the Sahara.

This male is already
running on empty.

A drink of nectar is
just the boost he needs.

[water splashing]

[Mosaku] The
butterfly's pit stop,

has turned into an ambush.

Saharan frogs wait half
the year for this feast...

[♪ upbeat,
dramatic music playing]

Luckily, they're
out of practice.

[water splashing]

[♪ ethereal music playing]

As more
butterflies arrive,

they zero in.

[water splashing]

The male had better hurry.

Just one last sip.

[water splashing]

That was too close.

It's time to
continue his journey,

to the top of a nearby peak.

The perfect place to wait,

for a mate.

This is what they've
worked their whole life for.

Both will die
on this hilltop.

It's their offspring who
will finally cross the Sahara.

It takes six generations
of painted lady butterflies

to complete
their epic migration,

from the Arctic to Africa.

Every year, their
journey is getting harder,

because the
Sahara is growing.

Advancing by up to


And its influence
is felt far beyond.

Superheated desert
air fuels dust storms,

that blow down into the
forests of West Africa.

Transforming the lives of
the animals that live here.

[♪ ambient music playing]

This is the hottest
and driest place

chimpanzees can survive.

Centuries ago,
it was lush rainforest;

now what fruit trees remain
have been cooked to a crisp.

Thankfully, our closest
relatives never give up.

This river in north
Guinea holds a secret.

One that only a handful
of chimpanzees know.

A newly discovered
behavior, so rare,

it can only be filmed
with special hidden cameras.

[Mosaku] This chimpanzee has
not come here to drink...

[♪ ambient music playing]

But to fish, for algae.

It's too deep
to reach by hand,

so they've developed
this unique tool use,

to harvest
nature's superfood.

[♪ upbeat music playing]

This juvenile has just
started learning how to fish.

First, make a rod.

[♪ upbeat music playing]

Aunts and uncles
demonstrate the best technique.

It's all in the
twist of the wrist.

Like cotton candy!

Not bad,
for a beginner.

But the juiciest algae is
right in the middle of the pool.

For that, everyone
has their own style.

[♪ upbeat music playing]

It takes years to
become a master fisher...

[♪ upbeat music playing]

With enough practice,

one day he
will be the teacher.

[water splashing]

They are the only chimps
known to use this kind of

tool for fishing,

allowing them to
survive on the edge of

an ever-expanding desert.

On the far western
edge of the Sahara,

even the Atlantic Ocean
can't hold back the desert.

Huge sandbanks are
blown far out to sea,

the stage for an
extraordinary performance.

[squawking]

Dancing flamingos.

[♪ upbeat music playing]

A carefully
choreographed routine,

with a mysterious spin.

[♪ tribal music playing]

[♪ tribal music playing]

When the tide goes out,

the show is over.

The flamingos head to
deeper water to cool off.

But there was method
to their madness.

Their spinning,
digs circular trenches,

which trap water
as the tide goes out,

allowing microscopic bacteria,

flamingo food,

to grow and multiply.

An irrigated farm,
on the edge of the desert.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

But left unattended,

this farm is
vulnerable to crop raiders!

[Mosaku] Millions
of fiddler crabs

could wipe out the
flamingos' harvest.

[♪ tribal music playing]

But research shows
that the crabs only take

a bit and actually
do the flamingos a favor.

They plough the sand,
like miniature diggers.

Maintaining the donut
shapes and ensuring the

fields keep producing.

When the tide comes in,
the flamingoes return.

Unaware of their
secret maintenance crew.

[squawking, honking]

Their farms are full
of freshly grown food.

It's the only place on
Earth this partnership

is known to happen.

The ever-changing
Sahara continues to get

bigger and hotter.

But for the
determined few,

there are still special
places where animals can make

this unforgiving land,

home.

[vocalizing]

-It came so fast!

This is getting
even worse.

{\an8}[Mosaku] For over a decade,
photographer Bruno D'Amicis

{\an8}has traveled throughout the
Sahara to capture rare images

of its most elusive creature.

The Fennec fox.

-Yes, yes, yes, yes!

[Mosaku] Now he's
returning to the desert,

with the
National Geographic crew,

to try and discover more
about their secret lives.

The first challenge
is finding them.

-Fennec foxes for me are
particularly challenging because

they are rare, extremely
skittish, extremely small.

[Mosaku] The crew must
search one of the largest

expanses
of sand in the Sahara,

the size of New York State.

But while the foxes are
perfectly adapted to the desert,

the same can't be
said of a film crew.

-We got one tyre
completely sunk into the sand.

So.

[engine revving]

[cheering]

[Mosaku] Over the
days and weeks,

the team start
to find den sites.

But they're all empty.

{\an8}-No sign of any Fennec foxes.

[Bruno] Every day
the lack of observation

is draining our energies
and optimism.

-The desert seems to be
conspiring against us

at the moment...

[Mosaku] Day 13.

Fresh tracks.

[Bruno] This
is really good news.

-Fingers crossed!

[Mosaku] The foxes have
one of the best hearing

of any mammal.

So the crew must
approach silently,

on foot.

[footsteps]

The wait was worth it.

[Bruno] Yes, magic.

[Mosaku] A young family
like this has rarely been

filmed in the wild.

And over several hours,
the team witness their

intimate lives.

[Bruno] Magic,
magic observation.

Best reward for all these
efforts to be able to film

and watch these animals
without disturbing them.

[Mosaku] But the
Sahara Desert is

a dangerous place
for the family

and the crew.

Sandstorms hit
with little warning,

and in recent years
they've grown stronger.

The team have filmed
as long as possible,

but now
they must shelter.

[Bruno] This is
getting even worse!

It's a
place of extremes.

Fennec foxes must
survive drought,

extreme temperature range,

and this constant wind
that shapes and changes.

[Mosaku] But some foxes
face an even bigger challenge.

[Bruno] There is a
certain number of people,

they want to
just catch the pups

and use them as personal pets
or as a tourist attraction.

Imagine being so
attuned with the silence

of the desert...

it must be very stressful

[Mosaku] For Bruno,
it's crucial more people

see these extraordinary
creatures in their

natural desert ecosystem.

The winds are
finally dying down.

Just enough to head
back to the den.

[Bruno] Yes!

[laughter]

We need to make noise
for the Saharan nature

We have lost the
elephants which were here,

we have lost the lions,
we have lost..

there were even
bears in North Africa

Let's not lose the
beautiful animals that

are still out there.

[Mosaku] Next,
Africa's Great Plains.

Covering half of
the continent.

Home to the greatest
wildlife spectacles on Earth.

A dynamic,
competitive world.

To survive here, animals
must constantly adapt,

to this ever-changing
landscape.

[♪ music playing
through credits]