01x06 - Episode 6

[bunniefuu]

[Mosaku] There's no
place like Africa.

A land of wonder

and extremes.

[various animal sounds]

Now, National Geographic

takes you to every
corner of Africa.

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

[trumpeting]

[growling]

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]

[Mosaku] The Sahara.

The largest hot
desert on Earth.

An unforgiving home

for a young pair
of golden wolves.

[♪ gentle music playing]

[digging]

They survive on scraps

and a bond so strong,

it lasts a lifetime.

But this is no place
to raise a family.

[whimpering]

Licking her lips
means the pups are ready

to move on from milk...

They need meat.

The pressure is on
their father to provide.

He ventures
far from the den.

To a surprising place,

where once a year,

there's a
spectacular invasion.

[squawking]

Thousands of
Great White Pelicans

come to this island
in Senegal to breed.

It's a place of opportunity
but incredible risk.

Each pelican is
three times his size.

Armed with a beak
as long as a sword.

[squawking]

Vigilant and wary,

they track his every move.

With no cover,
his only option,

chaos.

[♪ intense music playing]

Along the edge,

birds quickly escape.

Target the middle.

[♪ intense music playing]

[♪ intense music playing]

Too slow.

[♪ intense music playing]

A lucky break.

[squawking]

[squawking]

[squawking]

[croaking]

These monster pelicans
might just be too much

for a lone wolf,

[croaking]

but his pups are
relying on him.

Well, not just him.

[♪ hopeful music playing]

Back-up has arrived.

His partner is
taking a huge gamble,

leaving their
vulnerable pups alone.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

As she charges in,

he tries something new.

Divide and conquer.

[squawking]

[squawking]

[squawking]

[♪ dramatic music playing]

But he's out of his depth.

[squawking]

[flapping]

They need to
work as a team.

[♪ intense music playing]

[growling]

They run the shoreline,

herding the pelicans inland.

[♪ intense music playing]

[♪ intense music playing]

[squawking, growling]

[♪ intense music playing]

[squawking, growling]

Together, they
take down a giant.

[squawking]

In this hostile home,

they've bagged their
pups a rare feast.

[♪ upbeat music playing]

Africa is a brutal
land of extremes.

Where only the most
extraordinary animals

can turn danger
into opportunity.

Africa is the
hottest continent.

More than a third
engulfed by desert.

Including the
oldest on the planet:

[♪ intense music playing]

the Namib.

Desolate,

bone dry,

in places, it hasn't
rained in a decade.

[♪ eerie music playing]

But even here,
there are signs of life,

alien markings
clawed in the sand.

[♪ eerie music playing]

[Mosaku] Smaller
than a dime,

this is a
flying saucer beetle,

the first time one
has ever been filmed.

She emerges at
night to undertake

an extraordinary mission,

one her life depends on.

She digs a trench up
to 100 times her length.

[♪ eerie music playing]

The equivalent
of a human,

shifting eight
dumpsters of sand,

by hand,

and it must
be done before sunrise.

[♪ upbeat,
eerie music playing]

Precision is everything;

the alignment crucial.

[digging]

Done.

Now the moment of truth.

Fog forms
over the ocean

and drifts inland.

Her trench edges
trap the mist,

which condenses
into precious drops.

In this parched land,
she's harvested water

from thin air.

The only animal
on the planet to

farm moisture this way.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

But as the sun rises,

the last drops evaporate.

She must escape the
searing rays until

night falls again.

[digging]

This tiny
beetle's ingenuity

has enabled her to make a
home in this parched desert.

Inland from
the coastal dunes

is the vast Kalahari.

The largest continuous
expanse of sand in Africa.

Where opportunities
are scarce.

[wind blowing]

To survive here,

you must seize whatever
chance comes your way.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

Six weeks ago, this
ageing lioness left the pride

to have her twins.

Now she's desperate
to be reunited...

[low growl]

...but no one answers.

With hungry cubs to feed,

she's forced to hunt

alone.

[Mosaku] Separated
from her pride,

with twins to feed,

is tough enough,

but severe drought
has ravaged the Kalahari.

Now only the
toughest prey remains.

[growling]

The world's
largest herd of buffalo,

passing through in
search of water.

[♪ intense music playing]

Dangerous prey,
even for a pride.

She must face them alone.

[low growl]

[♪ dramatic music playing]

[growling]

[growling]

[growling]

Thick dust makes
it difficult to

single out a target.

[♪ dramatic music playing]

[growling]

Having lost the
element of surprise,

the buffalo turn on her.

[♪ intense music playing]

[growling]

[growling]

It's just too risky.

[low growl]

[panting]

[♪ somber music playing]

But with her
cubs to fight for,

there's no such
thing as giving up.

[♪ intense music playing]

[♪ intense music playing]

[♪ intense music playing]

[growling]

[growling]

The giraffe will
keep them fed for days.

[wind blowing]

Earth's hottest continent
is only getting hotter.

Nowhere is that more
evident than one of

the hottest countries
on the planet,

Senegal.

Where catastrophic
heatwaves have become

ten times more common.

[leaves crunching]

[♪ eerie music playing]

A Senegalese roller...

[squawking]

desperate to feed,

[♪ eerie music playing]

but her insect prey
has taken cover from

the oppressive heat.

Her source of
food and water,

gone.

And it's about to
get a lot worse.

[fires erupting]

Globally, 70%
of the land burnt

by wildfires
burns in Africa.

An area larger than Greenland
destroyed every year.

[fires raging]

Get out...

or die.

But rather than flee,

she flies
towards the flames.

Frenzied insects break
cover to escape the inferno.

They see her coming

and have time
to outmaneuver her.

[fire burning]

Her only option,

get even closer.

And hold your nerve.

[♪ intense music playing]

[♪ intense music playing]

Grab the prey
as it takes off.

[♪ tribal vocalizing
music playing]

Senegalese rollers
deliberately follow

wildfires to find food.

[♪ tribal vocalizing
music playing]

Exploiting the danger of
their rapidly heating home.

[♪ tribal vocalizing
music playing]

[Mosaku] Extreme heat governs
life throughout Africa.

But there are a few
surprising places

where animals must endure
the polar opposite.

At almost 14,000 feet,

North Africa's Atlas
Mountains rival the Rockies.

The peaks trap cold winds
blowing down from Europe.

It's 20 degrees
below freezing.

The coldest home of
any African monkey.

This aging male
is the leader of these

Barbary Macaques.

But his strength and
power are weakening.

Younger,

fitter rivals
assert themselves.

Plotters conspire.

[screeching]

[screeching]

[screeching]

[♪ dramatic music playing]

Old and exhausted,

there's no
fight left in him,

with that,

his leadership ends,

[♪ somber music playing]

and he becomes an outcast.

The coup couldn't have
come at a crueler time.

Winters in the
Atlas Mountains are brutal.

Freezing conditions
have been known to

wipe out half a troop.

The monkeys form huddles
with friends and family,

providing warmth.

[♪ somber music playing]

The deposed leader
faces a night on his own.

Loneliness
can be a k*ller.

[birds chirping]

[Mosaku] The next morning,
stiff and freezing.

[♪ somber music playing]

[♪ somber music playing]

But then...

[♪ hopeful music playing]

...the smallest
member of the troop,

oblivious to family politics,

gives the once great leader
the hug he so desperately needs.

[♪ ethereal music playing]

It's more than
a warm embrace;

it's the start of a humble new
role back in the family fold...

[♪ upbeat music playing]

...babysitting the grandkids.

[♪ upbeat music playing]

Now grandpa can
live out a peaceful

retirement with dignity,

whatever the
weather brings.

[♪ hopeful music playing]

Enduring Africa's elements
is an age-old battle.

But across the continent,
animals' lives are being

shaped by a new extreme.

At the southern tip of Africa,

in the sprawling
suburbs of Cape Town,

surprising residents
are being forced out

of their comfort zone.

[♪ upbeat music playing]

This African penguin

has come ashore to breed.

He's reunited with
his life partner.

Together, they hope
to raise another chick,

but each year,
that's getting harder.

Their beachfront
home may look idyllic,

but for a penguin
it's hell on Earth.

[squawking]

[♪ dramatic music playing]

Ideally, they'd lay their
eggs in a sheltered burrow

or amongst the trees,

but the city has engulfed
the best real estate.

All that's
left is the sweltering,

exposed beach.

Like all good partners,
they tag-team.

Dad stays home,

mom heads off to feed.

[Mosaku] For the
male African penguin,

the day drags on.

Temperatures soar.

It's like sunbathing
in a puffer jacket.

The sea is tantalizingly
close for a cooling dip.

[braying]

But he must stay put.

Cape gulls lurk.

For his neighbors,
the heat is just too much.

[♪ intense music playing]

[♪ intense music playing]

[egg cracking]

[squawking]

Alone and vulnerable,

now he's in the firing line.

[♪ intense music playing]

[braying, squawking]

He needs backup,

and fast.

[♪ intense music playing]

[♪ intense music playing]

[squawking]

The gull picked the
wrong partners to mess with.

[♪ peaceful music playing]

Working together,
they stand a fighting chance

of raising another chick.

Even as the world
around them changes.

Africa has the
fastest-growing population

on the planet.

[traffic noise]

By 2050, one in four
of us will be African.

Two and a half
billion people.

More people
means more demand

for energy

Secunda Powerplant,
in South Africa,

covers an area
bigger than Manhattan.

[♪ intense music playing]

A serval.

Shy and secretive.

She's chosen to make this
dystopian world her home.

In places, their
numbers are collapsing.

But she is embracing
the modern world.

[thunder]

Barbed wire guards
the restricted area.

Being sleek and slinky
has its advantages.

Inside the compound, she's
safe from her normal enemies:

lions, leopards, and hyenas.

What she needs is a meal.

However, with all the
noise of the powerplant...

[powerplant sounds]

...targeting her prey
is like trying to hear

a pin drop in the
middle of rush hour.

But she hears
ultrasonically.

[chewing, rustling]

Her ears move independently,

allowing her to isolate
sound to a fraction of an inch.

[rustling]

[♪ intense music playing]

[chewing]

There is so much prey,

she can catch a
dozen rodents a night.

Every night.

[♪ ethereal music playing]

To her, this
hellish home is heaven.

And she's not alone.

Protected from predators

and with all the
rodents they can eat,

there are more servals
here than anywhere else

on the planet.

The densest
population ever known.

Africa is experiencing
the full force of our

rapidly changing planet.

Nowhere more
so than the continent's

most extreme homes.

Forcing animals to
become even more extraordinary.

[♪ theme music playing]

-There's a wolf
on the other shore.

-Copy that...
Good luck, John.

-We're going up.

Go, go, go, go, go.

-I've never seen anything
like this in my life.

[Mosaku] Rivers and their
surrounding basins create

some of the richest
ecosystems in Africa,

yet many remain
largely unexplored.

In Senegal's Djoudj
National Park,

the National Geographic
crew set out to capture a

behavior never
filmed before.

The mission, to
film golden wolves...

[Luke] Oh my gosh,
look at that face.

[Mosaku] ...hunting pelicans.

There was only one person
who could make this happen.

Mohamedine Seck,
Senegalese wildlife guide.

- My grandparents
lived here in the park

even before the
park was established.

I've always loved
birds and nature,

ever since I was a child.

[Mosaku] Mohamedine is one
of the few people who has

observed the wolves'
unique hunting strategy.

He leads the team to a small
island in the Senegal River,

where he witnessed it.

[Mohamedine]
They hunt by group.

-So groups of wolves.
-Yeah.

But it's
not easy to see.

If you have good
camouflage near the island,

maybe it's possible.

[Mosaku] Mohamedine
pinpoints the best

locations for the
team to set up.

If they're going to capture
this unique behavior,

they'll need to split up.

-I'm going to stay here,
and Dom and Alice are

going to be on the
boat on the other side.

The drone is on
standby as well.

Between us, we should
be able to cover more of

what's going on.

[Mosaku] As the
hours and days pass,

they must remain
constantly vigilant.

-So it's just being
poised for that exact moment

where they kind of
charge into the pelicans.

[Alice] Hi John,
we're in position.

[John] No sign
of any drama.

-There, in front of
those trees, by the bush.

-He's coming towards you.

-Copy that!

[drone] Take off.

[♪ intense music playing]

[John] Oh, there are
two wolves on the island.

[Luke] They're
charging in together.

[Mosaku] Just like
Mohamedine had described,

the drone reveals
cooperative hunting

behavior from the wolves.

-100% hunting together.

C'mon, do it, do it!

Oh my gosh.

[squawking and growling]

It really was the
most extraordinary hunts

I think I've ever seen.

[Mosaku] This heroic
effort from these wolves

means their pups can eat.

And the National
Geographic crew have

captured an
incredible behavior.

[Luke] Today we've
essentially filmed the

first golden wolf hunt
that's ever been filmed.

It's thanks to Mohamedine
that we get to see this happen,

play out in front of us.

[Mosaku] It goes to show
what amazing discoveries

are still to be made
amongst Africa's river basins.

[Mohamedine] With
the film crew,

I've managed to see
things I've never seen before

[Mosaku] It's thanks to the
knowledge and dedication

of local experts that this
rare moment was captured,

revealing an extreme
world few ever get to see.

[squawking]

[♪ music playing
through credits]