NARRATOR: At the center of the Kalahari lies a
living, breathing miracle.
The Okavango delta, and the annual flood is it's heartbeat.
Each ebb and flow brings life.
When the flood recedes,
the land is born anew and life flourishes in a
wildlife paradise like none on Earth.
♪
Four months after it began, the flood is at its peak.
Billions of gallons of water have now spilled
into the Kalahari.
Creating a vast wetland that fans out for
thousands of square miles.
The Okavango overflows with life.
Beneath the surface a whole new world has taken root.
Secret gardens flourish.
Fish flit in forests of lilies.
And even the largest residents have all the space they need.
The Great Flood is the gift that keeps on giving.
Crocodiles are in their element,
waiting in the shallows of the swamp.
Lions cautiously navigate their now
unfamiliar territory.
To patrol what was once all theirs,
they must cross the swamp.
[hissing].
These brothers must stick together.
And watch each other's backs.
But they're entering a place of unseen perils.
[growling]
[splashing, growling]
Today, they were lucky.
But now, they're separated and alone.
Lions are no longer kings here.
The flood has changed all the rules.
The waters remain high for several months.
But the Okavango is an inland delta.
Countless channels meander without ever reaching the sea.
Instead, after nurturing the land and its creatures
the water slowly disappears, captured by the summer sun.
In this land of continual change,
it's time for the next transformation.
Flashes of color sparkle on the receding waters.
Countless carmine bee eaters
flock to the newly dried ground
[chirping].
These summer visitors are here to find mates
and start families.
They get to work digging out their nests.
Once the foundations of their seasonal city are laid out,
all attention turns to courtship.
And with so many rivals around,
first impressions are everything.
Posturing with a prize proves you can provide
if you can hold on to it.
It's every bird for himself as males try to prove
they have the right stuff.
Finally, winners are declared
and matches are made.
But just as they're getting down to business
in walks trouble.
NARRATOR: An intruder slithers into the city of carmines.
A monitor lizard, on the lookout for eggs and chicks.
Rivalries are forgotten, as the carmines form
a united front.
They'll do whatever it takes to safeguard
the next generation.
Turning the tables on the chancer,
they send him packing.
As the land begins to dry, there are opportunities for
those who can seize the tactical advantage.
Wild dogs work the edge of the swamp.
They're a coordinated team, with a cunning strategy.
Slowly they push the impala to the water.
Until there's only one place left to go.
The dog's trap is set.
Or is it?
They aren't the only ones with eyes on this prize.
The dogs are about to be robbed.
[bleating].
The crocodile holds fast.
But there's strength in numbers,
and the pack gains the upper hand.
Brains and dogged determination wins out,
this time.
But the dogs must always be on their game in this
constantly changing world.
This family is up early.
Even in paradise, it's the early bird that gets the worm.
So they're off with the dawn.
Fresh delicacies emerge as the channels dry out.
The falling water levels reveal lilies and sedges.
It takes patience and hard work
But it's worth the effort.
There's plenty of food here for the whole troop
and the neighbors.
The patriarch keeps a watchful eye.
Abundance can breed discord.
[screeching].
NARRATOR: In a growing baboon troop,
young males push their limits,
trying to fight their way up the ranks.
[screeching].
It's up to the boss to restore order.
Time for this family to move on and find
somewhere safer to feast.
Vast floodplains fill with water when the Okavango
spills over its banks.
Creating rich breeding grounds
for a wide range of aquatic life.
Now, as they begin to dry,
these hidden treasures are exposed.
Open billed storks are the first to flock in.
They have just the tools to tackle another of the
flood's seasonal offerings.
With bills like nutcrackers, they forage for snails
in the shallows.
Millions of small fish that hatched out here
on the floodplains are now leaving their nursery
for deeper waters.
Black egrets arrive in hot pursuit.
These birds work undercover.
They form umbrellas with their wings,
casting shadows that mimic water lily pads.
The perfect place for little fish to hide.
The illusion is fatal.
With attacks coming from all sides,
the small fish make their escape.
They crowd the edges of the channels in long ribbons and
make their way upstream.
But up ahead, others are waiting.
NARRATOR: While large fish wait in ambush,
shoals of small fish run the deadly gauntlet.
And are picked off, one by one.
Survival in the drying delta is a game of hit and miss.
As the Okavango's main channels start to run dry,
sand banks are exposed.
The perfect nesting sites for African skimmers.
Nature has endowed them with extended lower beaks,
perfect for catching small fish.
Summer time on the delta and the fishing is fine.
Synchronized squadrons ride the air in perfect formation.
A skimmer's bill slices the water until it encounters
a fish, then, snap!
Back at the nest, the angler's partner
guards a precious secret.
Their newborn is ready for its first meal.
Food must be passed from beak to tiny beak.
If it's dropped the parents can't pick it up from the sand.
This might take a while.
But Dad will persevere and keep his grip on the groceries.
Even if it takes all day.
[chirping]
Finally!
Patience really is a virtue.
The sandbanks have become a nursery for little skimmers.
And lots of busy new parents
are going through the same routine.
Skim, catch,
feed, repeat.
The abundance of fish is the receding flood's
parting gift to them all.
The Okavango's once watery world
has disappeared into memory.
Evaporated into the sky above or absorbed by the land below.
only small channels and pools still remain.
What was floodplain is now savanna,
covered with succulent young grasses.
Herds of grazers move in to enjoy the harvest.
The lions now find solid footing.
They've returned, this time with young cubs in tow.
With no swamp left for the antelope to escape into,
the lions are back in business.
♪
NARRATOR: The dry floodplains are a lion's paradise.
[growling, zebra squeaking].
With food in abundance, it's easy for a mother
to provide for her family.
She and her cubs can eat their fill.
And in this time of plenty,
her pride will grow ever stronger.
As the flood makes its final retreat,
only permanent channels in the north are still
flush with water.
Dense tangles of papyrus line the banks.
The floating root beds sway in the current and filter
nutrients from the water.
They also provide lodgings for some very strange little fish.
Mormyrids have large brains in their oddly shaped heads.
They send out tiny electrical pulses to orientate through
their murky surroundings.
The young fish emit pulses too small to be detected
by most predators.
But now, most of them have matured and they are now
firmly on the radar of bigger fish.
Catfish have picked up their signals
and so begins one of the Okavango's
largest feeding frenzies.
Massing in vast schools, the catfish race along
the edge of the papyrus.
And gorge themselves on mormyrids.
[calling].
Egrets and eagles are drawn to the fray.
Tiger fish hunt the mormyrids from below
only to find themselves targeted from above.
Even the hunters become hunted.
No wonder it's chaotic, this deadly spectacle is unequalled
anywhere on earth.
Temperatures are soaring, now the Okavango's summer
heat reaches its peak.
The land is bone dry.
[rumbling].
But the humidity is rising too.
And the elephants know there is rain on the horizon.
It's the perfect time for their babies to be born.
And other elephants are ready to mate.
Their hormones raging,
bulls in musth are very aggressive.
They're spoiling for a fight.
[rumbling, roaring].
As the Okavango dries out, tensions rise and
bull elephants compete for the right to mate.
[roaring].
Sparring escalates to full blown combat.
Once blood is drawn, victory is declared.
Lightning storms herald the approach of rain.
But with the land still as dry as tinder,
fire is born.
Each year, vast swathes of the Okavango burn.
The flames trigger the next stage of the Okavango's
miraculous cycle.
Where giant papyrus once dominated,
dry peat beds are consumed in the inferno.
They release valuable nutrients
ready to be washed back into the system,
when the rains arrive.
[thunder].
[trumpeting].
Relief is here.
The wheel keeps turning, the cycle of wet and dry.
Holds sway over all life in the Okavango.
Precious water revives the thirsty land,
at least for a while.
Timing is everything.
Grasses and flowers burst into life.
Insects flourish.
And a new generation of carmine bee eaters has
fledged, right on time.
In this world of feast and famine,
each seasonal change triggers an intricate sequence of
miraculous events.
Soon the short summer rains will end,
and the Okavango will be dry for a few more months.
Until the cycle begins again,
with the return of The Great Flood.
Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services.