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[Paul Rudd] Planet Earth is so spectacular,

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it's easy to miss the smaller things in life.

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But take a closer look...

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and there's a whole undiscovered world.

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A world where tiny heroes...

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and little monsters...

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need incredible superpowers...

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to help them triumph against giant odds.

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It's not easy being small...

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living in a land of giants.

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Constantly downtrodden.

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[sniffing]

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Occasionally worse.

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But there are places beyond the reach of large animals.

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Places where being tiny gives you the edge.

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Baking hot...

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bone-dry...

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battered by wind.

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These dunes are so hostile...

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only those smart enough...

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and small enough...

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have any hope of survival.

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[sand blowing in wind]

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This is some of the most inhospitable terrain on the planet.

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The dunes of the Namib Desert are the largest and oldest on earth,

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and still shifting in the wind.

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In just six months, the whole landscape changes.

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But somehow...

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tiny animals must find their way in this vast sea of sand.

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The Namaqua chameleon.

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About the size of your hand.

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He doesn't seem quite so well adapted to life in the dunes

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as other little creatures here.

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[whip cracks]

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A shovel-snouted lizard...

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only a quarter the size,

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can race across three meters of hot sand in a single second.

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The chameleon?

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Not so much.

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His feet are designed to grasp branches.

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Not sand.

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But this unlikely nomad wanders the dunes on an important mission.

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To find a mate...

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somewhere out there.

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Traveling over sand is a lot easier by air.

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[birds whooping]

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Sandgrouse are well suited to a life in the dunes.

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[wind blows]

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But there's nothing to drink here.

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So every day, these little birds embark on an epic journey to find water.

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[whooping continues]

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Eighty kilometers away...

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they arrive in a different world.

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[coos]

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One of large, hungry predators.

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[cooing continues]

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Like all the grouse that flock here...

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this male must drink.

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And so he waits.

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Just enough time for a quick sip.

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[sandgrouse whooping]

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The male returns to his lifelong partner, nesting in rocks between the dunes.

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This devoted pair take turns brooding the eggs,

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so the other can head off to drink.

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But life is about to get even more complicated.

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Their eggs are due to hatch.

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And the newborn chicks will need water, or they will perish in the sun.

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By midday, keeping cool becomes a matter of life and death.

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This time, the chameleon is better equipped to cope...

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turning his skin white to reflect the sun's rays.

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But the shovel-snouted lizard, as ever, is one step ahead...

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with his cool moves.

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The sand's surface can reach a scorching 70 degrees Celsius.

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But one centimeter above, it's ten degrees cooler.

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So by raising his big feet, he can quickly lose heat.

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When it gets too hot...

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that shovel snout is a lifesaver.

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Just 20 centimeters below, it's a comfortable 30 degrees.

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This pompilid wasp is unfazed by the heat.

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And with sensitive antenna, she can detect creatures hiding in the sand.

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No longer than a paper clip,

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she will move over two buckets of sand to unearth her victim.

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A golden wheel spider.

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The wasp's sting will paralyze.

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The spider's bite is lethal.

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When these desert gladiators clash, the spider rarely comes out on top.

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But it does have...

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an amazing exit strategy.

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Out of the wasp's range of vision.

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And out of danger.

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Almost.

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Midafternoon...

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the dunes are deserted.

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Air temperature peaks at 50 degrees Celsius.

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The heat only begins to ease towards evening.

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Enough for a troop of young baboons to venture onto the fringes of the dunes.

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[screeching]

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Playful and curious...

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[screeching continues]

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...but not welcome visitors.

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Desert rain frogs are nocturnal.

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[screams]

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-Wake them at your peril. -[screaming continues]

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Only the size of a golf ball...

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but full of attitude.

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[baboons screech]

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There's still a little time to snooze

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before the creatures of the day make way for the night shift.

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As darkness falls...

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so does the temperature.

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The desert becomes busier.

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-And noisier. -[chirping]

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[chirping continues]

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A lullaby for the weary.

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A wake-up call for nocturnal beasts.

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And a dinner bell for hunters.

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Barn owls comb the dunes, listening for small prey.

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But a more insidious predator...

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prowls below.

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Swimming...

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beneath the sand.

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The shark of the desert.

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[sniffing]

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The Namib golden mole.

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Totally blind and smaller than an egg.

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His oversized skull acts as a satellite dish,

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picking up the pitter-patter of termites.

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They provide all his water and food...

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as long as he catches about 60 a night.

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Many other night stalkers join the feeding frenzy.

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The sleepy frog transforms into a termite terminator.

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But termites bite back.

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And that huge head makes it hard to brush them off.

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[biting]

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The sand is the mole's only escape from biting termites...

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and other unseen dangers.

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Early morning.

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The chameleon is famished and freezing.

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To warm up, he darkens the side of his body facing the sun.

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So by the time beetles emerge...

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the chameleon is ready.

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A rookie error.

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This species of beetle tastes so disgusting,

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no chameleon makes the same mistake twice.

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A darkling beetle has an incredible journey ahead of him.

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350 meters of sand is no easy climb for a dune bug the size of a bottle cap.

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But well worth the effort.

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On a few special mornings, the dunes are blanketed in fog.

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Just what this little beetle has been waiting for.

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Dimpled ridges on his back cause the mist to condense there...

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and channel it towards his mouth.

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He conjures water from thin air.

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[wind blows]

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They can drink almost half their weight in water.

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Beetles coming down the hill...

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are a lot juicer than those going up.

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The chameleon may not be as well suited to life here as some.

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But if you can't beat them...

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eat them.

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The sandgrouse chicks are hatching.

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[chirps]

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Even in the low morning sun, they need their mother's shade.

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Soon it'll be so hot, they'll die without water.

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Dad is their one hope.

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He's found a new water hole with fewer big predators.

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But for such a small bird...

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even negotiating gentle giants is tricky.

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[sandgrouse whooping]

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Carrying water back to his chicks will be even harder.

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A goshawk...

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here to prey on the thirsty.

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[sandgrouse whooping]

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To save his chicks, the father risks his own life.

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With special absorbent feathers on his belly,

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a male sandgrouse can soak up enough water to fill a shot glass.

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Ready to carry it back to his chicks.

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A two-hour flight home, heavily laden.

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Just in time.

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The chicks take their first sip of water from dad's feathers.

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He'll have to risk the same journey every day for two months,

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until his chicks can fly.

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The chameleon's mission has led him to a Nara bush.

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A good place to find shade.

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And with luck...

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a female.

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Could this be his moment?

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To show her feelings, she changes color...

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and dances.

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[hissing]

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[hissing continues]

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It appears he's not quite what she had in mind.

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But mates are very hard to find out here.

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Perhaps he'll have to do.

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[chirps]

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She doesn't hang around.

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Soon she'll be laying eggs.

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Leaving the male fulfilled...

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but totally exhausted.

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Fifty-five million years of evolution

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has produced the most incredible desert adaptations.

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With resilience and ingenuity...

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tiny animals triumph in Namibia's desolate dunes.

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After months buried in the sand, a baby smaller than a golf tee.

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The chameleon's legacy continues.

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So many challenges ahead.

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Best to take one slow step at a time.