38x06 - Okavango: River of Dreams: Inferno

[bunniefuu]

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It is the beginning
of the end of our story.

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The final chapter of a river
that has run its course.

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They walk as if to the end
of the world

on a journey to nowhere.

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♪

Some go in search of the water

that is always
just out of reach.

Others follow the searchers,

themselves expelled
from paradise,

banished to the far fringes
of the great river

like phantoms wandering
aimlessly in the inferno.

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It is a place of nomads,
hardy survivors,

exiled hunters of illusions.

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This ancient land is where
the water turns to salt,

the air burns on the inhale,

and everything seems
to wait to exhale.

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What little water is left

is as dangerous as it is
a salvation...

Because it is a distraction.

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A place where someone's mistake
is someone else's lifeline.

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A mistaken burst of energy
can change your destiny.

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This extraordinary realm

is the ancient extension
of the Okavango,

a river of dreams.

♪ ...looking for
something ♪

♪ Some of them
want to use you ♪

♪ Some of them want to get
used by you ♪

♪ Some of them want to
abuse you ♪

♪ Some of them
want to be abused ♪

♪

♪

♪

The next and final
chapter of our story

of the great Okavango
in Botswana

is where its fingers clutch
onto life,

as the water touches the desert,

where paradise
turns into an inferno.

♪

♪

Each droplet is a jewel
that holds

the fate of a small part
of all life here.

It is the story of movement.

Everyone is on the move.

Like fragile porcelain,
this part of the delta

is vulnerable
to the smallest change...

In water, in temperature,

and from the swirling
influences of tiny animals.

♪

Red billed quelea in
their millions start to flock.

These are the most abundant
birds on the whole planet.

A single super-flock of quelea

can devour twenty tons
of feed a day,

and that changes
everything here.

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♪

The quelea will change the lives
of the nearby leopard family,

as the flock strips the grasses
down to bare sand.

The little female's brother has
less time for such reflections,

he is more interested in
how things work in the world.

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Like the bees,
returning laden with pollen.

He hasn't learned the dangers
of being curious yet.

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Bee-eaters swoop in
to take advantage.

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Bored with k*ller bees,

he takes to irritating
his more serious twin sister.

♪

It's the season of
the sausage tree flowers.

Good for bees...

and the ideal place for
the twin's mother to hang out.

♪

She's not resting, she's waiting
for the fallen flowers

to attract attention.

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Usually, leopards catch
just once in every 5 attempts,

but by using this
sausage tree technique,

she has a much
higher success rate.

It's also why we call her
"Moporoto"...

The local name for sausage tree.

The cubs are developing
their own k*lling skills,

but by watching Moporoto,
they might understand

exactly what these flowers
can give them.

Rest is impossible,
so within minutes,

she heads back to the trees.

♪

♪

The throat hold makes it
a silent death.

Stealth after the k*ll
is as important as before

for one of the smallest
of the big cats.

♪

In this complex mosaic
of the Okavango,

bigger predators
and scavengers stride

across the landscape
as if they own it.

They do own it.

♪

Here, the water separates
into streams and rivulets,

winding fingers that cut through
the grassland

and sausage tree islands.

♪

The lions are
in search of shade,

but the breeze has hints
of the smell of meat on it.

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If the cubs panic,
they could slip.

It would end their story.

The lions want the k*ll,
but just can't get to it.

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Thankfully, the lions
have their own cubs,

and the massive
sausage pods distract them.

Their fascination
with the woody pods

is a mystery
to the leopard cubs.

But from now on, their lives
will be intertwined

with all these other predators,

because the Okavango has one of
the highest densities

of carnivores in Africa.

And they're periodically
thrown together by the flood.

There is a chill
in the morning air now,

but during the day,
the temperature starts to rise.

This signals the start
of the dry season,

when the channels
begin to shrink.

Oxygen levels drop.

The fish that recognize that
turn and head back upstream.

Those that leave it just
too late get cut off, isolated.

The birds harvest tons of fish
each year.

Their collective and organized
feeding frenzy

will clean out a pool
in just a few days.

But all the way down the delta,
right to the end fingers,

these fish traps provide for one
of the greatest diversities

of water birds in Africa.

♪

Being able to move is critical
to survival at the fringes,

where water supply is fickle
during this part of the year.

♪

When the feed above ground
is depleted,

elephants go in search
of a new protein source.

♪

They start mining the rhizomes
and grass roots

buried in the sand.

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In the dry season,

the entire value of the grasses
is stored below the surface.

Local residents have
to protest to stay safe.

A pack of painted dogs have
a small problem today...

Actually, 16 problems...

Having this many puppies
causes a problem

because only one female in
the pack is allowed to breed.

So, the Alpha female has stolen
her sisters puppies...

but she’s struggling
to feed them all.

It's a free-for-all,
but she refuses to share

this burden of motherhood
or abandon any pups.

♪

The headache for the alpha male
is that

they're going to be called on
to hunt twice a day now,

and they're already exhausted.

♪

So is the river.

After its nearly
thousand-mile journey,

the full thrust of the flood
has ended.

The water flow settles
and starts to seep in.

♪

Even sleeping giants can be
woken by a small niggling voice.

It's a nudge that starts
a ripple effect of movement.

It's the largest migration
of elephants in the world.

Now, the air is so dry

that it turns the grasses
brittle under their feet.

They cover hundreds of miles
in search of water.

It's a 50-gallon-a-day
challenge,

so these Okavango elephants are
seldom far away from water...

Water that others live in,
fight in,

and churn up into mud
faster than is necessary.

But this pressure on resources
sets the elephants off again

in search of clean water,

and behind them,
the land is left to rest.

At these fringes, those that
can move have an advantage.

♪

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Warthogs are after the same
buried grass roots, rhizomes.

It's the season when warthogs
cluster around rhizome patches.

♪

It's an awkward position
to be in.

♪

Lionesses have to hunt whatever
prey is in their territory.

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A good pig hunting day will see
two or three taken in one hunt.

They can hide...
But they shouldn't run...

♪

Here, it's all about territory.

Warthogs will feed the lionesses
until the rains,

but it's risky being territorial
at the far end of the water.

A low flood one year,
and they will be high and dry.

Lions cubs play with anything...

even old elephant dung.

♪

What is just a play thing
for lions,

is highly valued
nesting material for squirrels.

♪

They're playing the long game
and preparing early.

♪

Raiding starlings spot
an opportunity for themselves.

They are energetically
lazy about nesting.

The squirrels' nesting material
is just easier to steal.

♪

When one thing goes wrong,
everything falls apart.

It's a bad day for squirrels.

♪

The lilac-breasted rollers

aren't after
the nesting material.

They're after the whole nest...

It's pure harassment, no matter
how brightly colored it is.

♪

Eventually, it is just easier
and quieter to move on,

the early squirrel
just wasted her time.

The rains are some way
off anyway.

♪

Moporoto has been hunting.

The sausage tree technique
is still working for her.

Her island has been the perfect
refuge for her and her cubs.

♪

Because the little male
always gets to feed first,

the female cub tries to hone
her tree climbing skills.

♪

She doesn't quite have
the hang of it yet.

♪

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Moporoto has to start thinking
about moving soon:

the smell of meat and cubs has
started to attract attention.

♪

It's a stolen meal...
Next time it might be a cub.

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She has to move them now.

It's their first venture away
from their birth place,

into a world filled
with strangeness for them.

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It may seem like
a harmless duel,

but giraffes can do serious
damage to each other...

with razor sharp hooves
and battering ram-like heads.

♪

She's followed the line
of sausage trees

while they have flowers,

but now she has to venture out.

The open grassland is very risky
for a leopard with cubs.

Lions are the biggest
threat to them.

But today, it's stifling hot,

and the large, black-maned lion
is even hotter than his females.

And his shade from the termite
mound is steadily disappearing.

Even investigating vultures
is beyond him today.

The cubs feel the same.

But for Moporoto, there is just
something about the way

the vultures are circling...

Something definitely worth
looking into.

It's a giraffe,
k*lled in a fight.

Out here,
there are no free meals

the hyenas
aren't already aware of.

Her cubs panic.

One up the tree...

the other to the bush.

He is safe.

Now she has a problem,

and it's largely one
of communication.

She somehow tells him
to stay in the tree,

but tries to encourage
the little female

back from the bushes.

♪

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She tests the night.

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Her tree climbing lessons
paid off.

The lost little female is found.

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It doesn't take the vultures
long to claim the k*ll

under the little male's
sausage tree hideout.

But now, when the hyena senses
danger, it isn't from Moporoto.

♪

The single event...
A giraffe fight gone wrong...

Has attracted a full range
of opportunists.

It's almost unheard of
for painted dogs to scavenge,

but the pack needs this now.

If they're going to bring up
16 pups,

any meat at this fragile
water's end will do.

This will go a long way.

But vultures will just attract
other scavengers now,

and the real danger
to dogs is lions,

so it's tense
around the carcass...

especially for
the stranded leopard cub.

♪

♪

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The alpha male's obsession
with vultures is a distraction.

♪

It's Moporoto all a-hiss
with fury,

way out-numbered,

but with the confidence
of a lion.

Their adventure, their first
in the world beyond their den,

is over.

♪

It takes a little coaxing,
but he finally understands

that she feels
it's safe to come down.

Backwards is fine, too...

♪

♪

A last feed before it starts
all over again with hyenas,

and possibly lions.

But each interaction makes
the cubs stronger now,

better equipped to grow
in this extraordinary swampland

and its fingers of water that
stretch out into the desert.

♪

A full month before the rains,

something stirs in the air,

something that has local
residents paying attention.

Zebras have started to
migrate south.

As they do, they meet strangers.

Meerkats can't afford
to spend much time gawking.

They're on a high-energy diet.

Out here, beyond
the water's end,

they find that
in juicy, fat grubs.

The family posts
a permanent lookout,

because the threat to them
will come from the ground,

as well as from the air.

In the soft sand,

there is always a ready hole
on standby for escape.

The farther away from permanent
water the herds go,

the more closely followed
they are by nomadic lions.

Desperate hunters without
the restriction of territories.

But the real mystery is why
the herds leave

the tip of the Okavango flood
at all.

The answer is in the quality
of the water they leave behind.

Water holes are tired,

drying to liquid that is
rapidly being turned into mud.

♪

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As these last pools of water
get isolated and cut off,

the water
is virtually undrinkable.

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Elephants dominate,

and it is here that
the nomadic lions

find the best opportunities.

They understand that someone's
desperation is their hope.

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They're often young,
displaced siblings,

both males and females.

Now these nomads must form
even stronger bonds,

as they move into
the unknown thirst land.

♪

The heat is hard on anyone
who is slightly slower.

She was asleep at her den
when the nomads found her.

Bat-eared foxes mate for life.

He has no choice but to watch
the lions play with his mate.

He will have to raise the family
alone now

and be the lookout
for all of them.

Secretary birds are no threat,

as long as you stay still.

The fox family is ready to bolt
if she gets any closer.

♪

The scrub hare at the bird's
feet knows to freeze.

♪

But secretary birds hunt
on movement -

even the slightest movement...

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It takes nerves of steel
to wait it out.

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He just didn't have them...

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If you can't move,
you have to change tactics.

There are very few
that can survive

for long beyond the water.

Tragedy follows any misstep
out here...

Procrastination when it comes
to a decision

to leave a territory,
a pool of mud,

is simply foolhardy.

But some just get caught out.

As a last desperate effort,

barbel, one of the few fish
in the world

with accessory
breathing capabilities

that allow them to breath
actual air,

start to "walk."

Some burrow into the mud
and slow their metabolisms

right down
to barely a heartbeat...

waiting for the rains.

If they get it wrong, they're on
the top layer and simply bake.

She doesn't have
the bulky body of Moporoto,

because she doesn't get
the same food.

She's a desert leopard.

But the wily leopard
living on the edge

has a talent
for finding the impossible...

A buried barbel.

It's small, but in a few days,

the hippo will probably
be stuck too.

She can wait...

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It starts with the most gentle
of breezes,

dusting the scorched sands.

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The zebras are the first
to recognize it.

It comes from out there.

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Where the herds go,
the nomads follow.

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Movement.

The hot air rises and cools.

As it drops down,
the air triggers a cycle

of the most
extraordinary contrasts.

It is the eternal journey
of life from death,

water from dry,

and motion
from the static stifling heat.

They run on the promise of rain.

♪

Within days, over 3,000 miles of
flat thirst land is transformed

by just a few inches
of sheet rain water.

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It takes the pressure
off everyone.

It unlocks them from purgatory.

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It releases the nomads
to spend energy playing again.

It attracts thousands
of pink visitors

from across the subcontinent.

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The arrival of the flamingos
is all about sodium chloride...

Basic salt.

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The rain has stimulated

a hatching of shrimp
that they feed on.

The sheet water
gives them safety,

an early warning
against being ambushed.

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Their pantomime
is only interrupted

by a snooping jackal.

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He's heading
somewhere else anyway.

The smell of blood on the wind.

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A wandering lion, like so many
other cats here,

prefers the rough
and spiky grass islands

to the sticky salt water.

It's hard for everyone.

♪

But it is that salt

that the zebras have been
coming towards, for months.

They desperately need
the minerals to fight off

the toxins from the grasses
they have been eating

300 miles away
in the Okavango delta.

Without salt,
they simply cannot survive.

If you are a zebra in Botswana
and want to find a mate,

fight for your right to a herd,

or even give birth
in the safety of thousands,

this is the place to be.

♪

Full moon in the salt pans

is a kaleidoscope of nightlight,

dancing off the white salty
sands below the water.

♪

To really understand
the Okavango is to know

that this precious water
takes half a year

to reach
the full extent of its range.

It nourishes over
10,000 square miles

and everything that lives in it.

Every single life here
plays its own unique role

in creating
this pristine landscape.

And together, they all change
the water's flow.

They are a reflection
of the river itself.

♪

Regal male lions fight

and force nomads to wander off.

Fires burn underground
and gently smoke for years

flushing out the old,
stimulating the new.

It's an enigma.

A place where a beautiful
stillness hangs in the air.

♪

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It is one of the last places
on Earth

where giants can
still roam unmolested.

♪

Where babies can trust
in tomorrow,

and where hope is alive.

♪

It's where a single lioness
can overcome impossible odds,

to live another day.

It is a jewel,

one of the most pristine
landscapes left on the planet,

and its future
is entirely in our hands.

We have a choice:
we can protect it,

or we can just stand back
and bear witness

to the very last life here,

and watch
as it all ghosts away...

like a dream.

♪ Some of them
want to get used by you ♪

♪ Some of them
want to abuse you ♪

♪

♪

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