1 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:48,640 2 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:14,160 3 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:25,440 I'm flying over the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. 4 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,720 And below me is a landscape in turmoil, 5 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:35,440 torn apart by the twisting and buckling of the Earth's crust. 6 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:41,840 It's also a landscape of huge and unpredictable change 7 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:46,640 that forces animals day by day, season by season, 8 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:49,040 to gamble with their lives. 9 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:51,360 But for those who win, 10 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:55,840 this is one of the most fertile landscapes on Earth. 11 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:19,760 12 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:30,440 13 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:36,880 Nyiragongo, the largest lava lake in the world. 14 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:42,760 Bubbling up from nearly 10 miles beneath the surface. 15 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:52,960 Nowhere takes you closer to the fiery heart of the planet. 16 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,360 Mount Nyiragongo is one of the most active volcanoes in Africa. 17 00:03:04,920 --> 00:03:08,080 Its eruptions can be seen from space. 18 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:17,960 As magma churns below the Earth's crust, 19 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:22,360 the land to the east of here is being torn apart. 20 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:29,800 21 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:47,120 Volcanoes like this are continually changing the face of Eastern Africa. 22 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:03,000 The volcanoes here may have a violent side, 23 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,640 but life flows from these infernos. 24 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:22,120 Fertile ash from countless eruptions carpets the land, 25 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:28,400 creating the ideal conditions for grasses to flourish 26 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:30,960 on an immense scale. 27 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:39,400 And with the grasses, come animals in numbers 28 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:42,000 found nowhere else on Earth. 29 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:44,240 Wildebeest. 30 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:50,960 Nothing stands in their way. 31 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:55,240 32 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:12,280 All this just to reach fresh grass. 33 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:15,400 34 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:32,320 The ever-travelling herds are only one element of life here. 35 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,480 Look closer and there are new stories to tell. 36 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:47,480 Living on the savannah is about making the most of the hand 37 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:49,560 the landscape deals you. 38 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:52,720 But here it's always a gamble. 39 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:55,280 Everything may change tomorrow. 40 00:05:56,280 --> 00:05:59,680 From their vantage point, agama lizards wait 41 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:01,600 for the arrival of the herds, 42 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:03,680 ready to seize their moment. 43 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:07,240 It's pay day. 44 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,200 Over a million wildebeest on their doorstep. 45 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:20,000 And with the wildebeest come flying insects. 46 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:21,480 Billions of them. 47 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:25,960 Food, 48 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:28,480 if only they could catch them. 49 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:55,560 Time for a rethink. 50 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,960 This agama lizard has spotted an opportunity. 51 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:23,760 Only one thing attracts more flies than the wildebeest. 52 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:29,040 Lions that have eaten wildebeest. 53 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:37,720 Lions are famously-bad tempered. 54 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:41,760 They could swat the lizard like the flies he's hoping to ambush. 55 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:53,360 He will need to pick his target carefully. 56 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:10,080 Not her. 57 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:19,640 Or her. 58 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:24,760 Maybe. 59 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:29,600 But no. 60 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:31,360 61 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:39,040 To be within striking distance, he's got to hold his nerve. 62 00:08:43,680 --> 00:08:44,960 Got one. 63 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,360 Now, he's getting his eye in. 64 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:10,880 But this might be a bit ambitious. 65 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:15,800 66 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:33,960 It may take courage to hunt on the back of a lion. 67 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:39,200 68 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:44,840 But it takes sense to know when to run away. 69 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:53,000 The wildebeest won't stay for long. 70 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:56,600 And when they leave, most of the flies will follow. 71 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:01,240 Change is everywhere in East Africa. 72 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:06,720 This grassland was once covered by a forest 73 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:10,040 that ran unbroken from west coast to east coast. 74 00:10:14,680 --> 00:10:18,240 Today, high above the plains, swirling clouds 75 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:22,000 hide mountains that tower three miles into the sky. 76 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:40,600 These frozen summits now form part of a mountainous barrier 77 00:10:40,680 --> 00:10:43,240 separating the ancient jungles in the west 78 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:45,600 from the savannahs of the east. 79 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:58,680 Up here lies the largest glacier in Africa, 80 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,480 just a few miles north of the equator. 81 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:20,560 These are the legendary Mountains of the Moon. 82 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:35,640 The height of these peaks means they create their own weather. 83 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:49,560 The local name for these mountains is Ruwenzori, "the rainmaker. " 84 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:01,640 85 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:16,600 Meltwater flows down from the glaciers. 86 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:28,240 And on the lower slopes, all this water supports thick jungle. 87 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:29,880 88 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,600 Remnants of the dense, steamy forests 89 00:12:38,680 --> 00:12:42,080 that once dominated the whole of East Africa. 90 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:48,880 But driven by a drying climate beyond the mountains, 91 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:51,640 the forests began to wither away. 92 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:57,320 Today, only small pockets of upland jungle remain, 93 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:01,720 home to animals who once roamed the ancient forests. 94 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:08,600 The largest living primates on Earth. 95 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:09,960 96 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:14,720 Mountain gorillas. 97 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:16,600 98 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:25,360 99 00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:34,680 100 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:39,280 This little one's ancestors 101 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:43,120 have lived in forests like these for millions of years. 102 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,840 But all around, the world has changed 103 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:05,880 to swamp and savannah. 104 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:19,520 This is the furthest these mighty giants now venture 105 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:21,360 into Eastern Africa. 106 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:27,240 They're marooned on their islands in the African sky. 107 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:41,080 108 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:46,320 Below the highlands, 109 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:50,680 vast wetlands cut swathes through the open savannah. 110 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:19,720 Bangweulu Swamp is huge. 111 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:24,200 Its name means "where the water meets the sky. " 112 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:32,760 Hidden amongst this maze of waterways 113 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:35,840 is a creature like no other. 114 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:04,480 A giant prehistoric-looking bird. 115 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:07,920 A shoebill. 116 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,840 Standing well over a metre tall, 117 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:18,360 she roams these swamps 118 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:22,520 trying to catch catfish. 119 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,640 Not exactly what she was after. 120 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:55,520 Deeper into the swamp 121 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:58,240 lies the reason for all this fishing. 122 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,120 This chick is just three weeks old, 123 00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:09,840 and a little bit wobbly on its feet. 124 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:14,760 Its vast bill means it has trouble balancing. 125 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:19,160 It won't be able to fly or even walk properly for several weeks. 126 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:27,960 It's entirely reliant on its parents for food and water. 127 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:41,080 There is also a smaller chick, 128 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:43,560 who isn't doing so well. 129 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:56,840 The larger chick pesters its mother for a drink. 130 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:10,640 While she goes off to fetch water, 131 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:15,560 it reveals a dark side to the relationship with its nest mate. 132 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:33,120 It's three days older than the other chick 133 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:36,800 and has always won the race for food and attention. 134 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:43,520 This is more than just a scrap between two siblings. 135 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:04,200 As the mother returns, she sees what the larger chick has done. 136 00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:18,120 The smaller chick seeks its mother's comfort. 137 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:25,360 But she has already made her choice. 138 00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:38,760 Only her first born will get to drink. 139 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,760 Shoebills very rarely raise more than one chick. 140 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:02,360 The younger chick was only ever an insurance, 141 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:04,840 in case the elder didn't make it. 142 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:17,320 Now it's old enough, 143 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:20,520 the adults know that they're better off putting all their efforts 144 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:23,960 into bringing up just one fit and healthy youngster. 145 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:33,360 The swamps changing water levels mean fishing is too unpredictable 146 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:37,000 for them to gamble on trying to raise two chicks. 147 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:50,560 Nothing here stays the same for long. 148 00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:58,880 This is the time of year when Eastern Africa is beginning to dry. 149 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:07,240 The rivers and waterholes are shrinking. 150 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:12,960 151 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:15,800 The land continues to dry out. 152 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:21,760 Tensions rise. 153 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:26,240 154 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:48,320 Hippos seek what relief they can. 155 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:51,160 156 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:56,320 This time of relentless drying 157 00:21:56,400 --> 00:22:00,920 is also when another force of change ravages the land. 158 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:05,240 159 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:21,120 Without warning, fires rip through these tinder-dry plains. 160 00:22:30,120 --> 00:22:34,040 The flames sweep across the savannah at 50 miles an hour, 161 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:38,200 reaching temperatures of nearly 1,000 degrees, 162 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:40,760 consuming everything in their path. 163 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:47,960 Each year, an area larger than Britain goes up in smoke. 164 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:28,800 But this destruction can bring opportunity, 165 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:31,000 if you're prepared to take a risk. 166 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:34,520 167 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:52,240 Drongos, bee-eaters and rollers 168 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:56,320 bravely pluck fleeing insects from amongst the flames. 169 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,440 There's little better than a char-grilled grasshopper. 170 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:27,320 These fires may appear devastating 171 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:30,680 but they are, in fact, part of a natural cycle 172 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:35,760 that is essential for the regeneration of East Africa's grasslands. 173 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,680 But sometimes the cycle is broken, 174 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:47,200 just when a change is most needed. 175 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:17,120 Here, on the plains of Amboseli, in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, 176 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:21,360 the seasonal rains have failed for the last two years. 177 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,680 And this year, they are already long overdue. 178 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:34,200 It's the hardest drought for half a century. 179 00:25:57,800 --> 00:25:59,560 180 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:10,720 Amboseli is usually a haven for elephants. 181 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:16,520 These plains should be green and covered with grass. 182 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:21,840 Now, there is nothing but dust. 183 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:31,880 This family is forced to travel constantly, 184 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:35,040 searching for anything they can eat. 185 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:40,400 The young must keep up. 186 00:26:41,120 --> 00:26:43,960 Sometimes, there's not even time to suckle. 187 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:45,480 188 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:58,840 With the grass gone, all the elephants can scratch from the dust 189 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:00,600 is withered twigs. 190 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:09,640 The adults might just survive on this, 191 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:14,080 but it will not support a calf for long. 192 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:42,320 Every mother in the herd is struggling to provide milk for her calf. 193 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:53,400 The search for food is increasingly urgent. 194 00:27:59,360 --> 00:28:04,280 As the herd moves on, this female faces a terrible choice. 195 00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:12,600 To carry on with her family or stay behind with her calf, 196 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:15,840 who's becoming too weak to even stand. 197 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:25,520 They will soon be out of sight. 198 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:31,520 But her instinct is to stay. 199 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:03,520 She won't abandon her baby. 200 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:10,000 201 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:21,320 202 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:08,520 203 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:13,040 204 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:22,160 With the calf's last breath, 205 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:25,320 she knows that her battle is lost. 206 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:33,640 207 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:49,360 208 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:28,840 There are places 209 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:32,880 even more hostile than the dust-choked plains. 210 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:43,600 These alien landscapes are actually the sun-baked salt crusts 211 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:47,480 of a chain of lakes that run through East Africa. 212 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:53,200 The face of these soda lakes changes day by day 213 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:57,360 as the sun evaporates the water, leaving the salts behind. 214 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:03,640 The waters here are toxic, 215 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,160 poisoned by volcanic springs. 216 00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:12,560 But life does exist, even here. 217 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:16,520 The strange colours are created by algae 218 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:19,960 specially adapted to live in this corrosive liquid. 219 00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:24,160 And it is these algae that attract 220 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:28,360 one of the most astonishing animals found in East Africa. 221 00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:05,560 222 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:23,000 223 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:37,640 Among the steaming geysers of Lake Bogoria, 224 00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:43,040 over a million lesser flamingos bathe and feed in the caustic water. 225 00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,680 They gather whenever the algae bloom. 226 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:05,680 These huge numbers create one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on Earth. 227 00:34:27,320 --> 00:34:32,160 Almost all the world's lesser flamingos live on this chain of lakes, 228 00:34:32,240 --> 00:34:36,960 moving from one lake to another as the amount of algae in each changes. 229 00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:10,960 All along the lake shore, volcanic vents are a reminder 230 00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:14,440 of the forces that continue to change this land. 231 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:21,880 And a streak of colour on the horizon 232 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:27,160 signals that relief for the parched plains is on its way. 233 00:35:31,240 --> 00:35:32,840 234 00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:43,560 At last, countless storms drench the thirsty ground. 235 00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:53,000 Rain changes everything yet again. 236 00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:55,120 237 00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:10,600 A crowned eagle has been desperately waiting 238 00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:13,080 for what she hopes the rain will bring. 239 00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:14,680 240 00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:18,160 Food for her hungry chick. 241 00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:23,360 Nesting here has been her biggest gamble. 242 00:36:25,240 --> 00:36:28,680 A chick's life depends on the arrival of creatures 243 00:36:28,760 --> 00:36:31,760 from the far rainforests of the Congo. 244 00:36:35,640 --> 00:36:36,960 245 00:36:40,840 --> 00:36:43,000 Her wait will soon be over. 246 00:36:43,880 --> 00:36:47,760 The largest mammal migration in Africa is on the move. 247 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:51,280 248 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:13,400 10 million fruit bats are drawn to this tiny forest 249 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:16,000 on the edge of the eastern savannah. 250 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:21,480 The bats flock here to gorge themselves on fruit. 251 00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:24,200 252 00:37:27,160 --> 00:37:31,240 It's what the crowned eagle and her chick have been waiting for. 253 00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:34,720 But they're not alone. 254 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:37,880 Other eagles have flown in from miles around. 255 00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:40,240 Fish eagles, 256 00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:42,440 martial eagles, 257 00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:45,280 and they're all after the bats. 258 00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:04,160 259 00:38:53,080 --> 00:38:56,880 The gamble the crowned eagle took months ago by nesting here 260 00:38:57,400 --> 00:38:58,840 has paid off. 261 00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:09,640 She is the only eagle to actually nest in this forest. 262 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:23,360 The only one who took the risk to breed here 263 00:39:23,440 --> 00:39:27,760 well before the trees came into fruit and the bats flooded in. 264 00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:35,800 265 00:39:38,640 --> 00:39:41,720 She only breeds once every two years, 266 00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:44,040 so her timing must be perfect. 267 00:40:03,520 --> 00:40:06,440 In a few months, the bats will leave, 268 00:40:06,600 --> 00:40:11,240 but her gamble means her chick will have the best possible start in life. 269 00:40:18,160 --> 00:40:21,840 These grasslands have been grazed and burned 270 00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:25,400 and have endured the harshest drought in generations. 271 00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:33,240 But with the rains, they're beginning to recover. 272 00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:49,280 273 00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:49,270 274 00:41:00,240 --> 00:41:01,240 275 00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:05,400 And on the once dust-choked plains of Amboseli 276 00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:08,360 there is a return to the good times. 277 00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:42,680 The drought here killed hundreds of elephants, 278 00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:46,280 but the survivors are now returning home. 279 00:41:49,720 --> 00:41:52,720 And with them, there's a surprise. 280 00:41:53,600 --> 00:41:54,600 281 00:41:56,480 --> 00:41:57,840 A newborn. 282 00:42:01,400 --> 00:42:02,800 283 00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:16,160 284 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:25,040 Surrounded by food, 285 00:42:25,120 --> 00:42:29,040 the youngster can concentrate on more important things. 286 00:42:33,360 --> 00:42:35,360 Like chasing egrets. 287 00:42:35,440 --> 00:42:36,440 288 00:42:48,160 --> 00:42:49,640 289 00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:14,960 290 00:43:17,120 --> 00:43:20,080 The bulls also return. 291 00:43:20,160 --> 00:43:22,000 292 00:43:31,040 --> 00:43:33,080 293 00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:42,160 This bull has waited many years for his chance to father the next generation. 294 00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:50,000 Now, he must fight his way to the top. 295 00:43:53,640 --> 00:43:56,200 But his rival is massive. 296 00:43:56,880 --> 00:43:59,760 Each of their heads weighs as much as a car. 297 00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:01,880 298 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:04,640 They have been duelling for days. 299 00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:06,280 300 00:44:19,480 --> 00:44:24,120 Now, in its third day, the contest is reaching a climax. 301 00:44:29,760 --> 00:44:31,600 302 00:44:39,360 --> 00:44:42,760 Soon, one will be forced to concede. 303 00:45:13,120 --> 00:45:17,200 The power of these clashes can even shatter tusks. 304 00:45:17,280 --> 00:45:18,480 305 00:45:25,720 --> 00:45:27,120 306 00:45:35,160 --> 00:45:38,720 Three days of battle is at an end. 307 00:45:39,200 --> 00:45:40,760 308 00:45:40,920 --> 00:45:44,520 The victor has won the right to the females. 309 00:45:50,360 --> 00:45:54,840 The process to replace what the drought took away has begun. 310 00:45:56,600 --> 00:45:57,880 311 00:45:59,560 --> 00:46:03,720 Soon, the elephants will be at full strength again. 312 00:46:10,720 --> 00:46:12,080 313 00:46:14,080 --> 00:46:18,520 Every day the animals of Eastern Africa gamble with their lives. 314 00:46:18,800 --> 00:46:22,200 But despite the continual changes they face, 315 00:46:22,280 --> 00:46:24,680 their extraordinary adaptability 316 00:46:24,760 --> 00:46:28,440 just tips the odds of survival in their favour. 317 00:46:35,680 --> 00:46:38,400 East Africa may seem very cruel, 318 00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:42,440 but there's nowhere else that provides such rich opportunities 319 00:46:42,520 --> 00:46:44,560 for those that are prepared to take them. 320 00:46:44,840 --> 00:46:48,400 And in the end, it was these ever-changing savannahs 321 00:46:48,480 --> 00:46:51,880 that produced the most adaptable species of all, 322 00:46:52,520 --> 00:46:53,840 ourselves. 323 00:46:57,360 --> 00:46:58,480 324 00:47:41,480 --> 00:47:43,280 Filming in East Africa 325 00:47:43,360 --> 00:47:47,160 would take the team on both a physical and emotional journey 326 00:47:47,240 --> 00:47:50,000 through the extremes of this landscape. 327 00:47:50,800 --> 00:47:52,040 328 00:47:52,320 --> 00:47:55,840 These are the legendary Mountains of the Moon, 329 00:47:56,120 --> 00:48:00,200 towering over 5,000 metres into the African sky. 330 00:48:01,960 --> 00:48:03,680 Just miles from the equator, 331 00:48:03,760 --> 00:48:06,400 they're the highest mountain range on the continent 332 00:48:06,480 --> 00:48:09,600 and home to the largest glacier in Africa. 333 00:48:13,920 --> 00:48:17,240 To reach the summits, the team had to travel on foot, 334 00:48:17,320 --> 00:48:19,000 the same way as climbers did 335 00:48:19,080 --> 00:48:23,160 when they first reached the top just over 100 years ago. 336 00:48:27,880 --> 00:48:29,800 It would take more than two weeks, 337 00:48:29,880 --> 00:48:33,440 climbing over 3,000 metres from the valleys below. 338 00:48:36,760 --> 00:48:40,200 Six days into their trek, still well below the summits, 339 00:48:40,280 --> 00:48:44,440 the team come to realise why Ruwenzori, the mountains' other name, 340 00:48:44,520 --> 00:48:47,160 means "the rainmakers". 341 00:48:48,200 --> 00:48:51,680 Just after we set off it started raining, then it started hailing, 342 00:48:51,760 --> 00:48:55,320 um, and the idea had been that we'd stop here for an hour or two 343 00:48:55,400 --> 00:48:58,000 and do some shots, but as you can probably see, 344 00:48:58,080 --> 00:48:59,560 there's not a great deal of view. 345 00:49:00,480 --> 00:49:03,760 Brilliant shots of rain and hail and fog. 346 00:49:04,160 --> 00:49:05,920 Beyond that, we're pretty stuffed. 347 00:49:06,000 --> 00:49:08,080 So, it's becoming a bit of a theme. 348 00:49:08,880 --> 00:49:12,000 For the crew and over 75 guides and helpers, 349 00:49:12,080 --> 00:49:17,040 it's hard going carrying nearly a ton of kit through the marshy valleys. 350 00:49:18,480 --> 00:49:22,200 Mud. Mud. There's a little bit more mud. 351 00:49:23,920 --> 00:49:27,080 But it's not just the bogs they have to deal with. 352 00:49:27,640 --> 00:49:28,840 There was a fairly small 353 00:49:28,920 --> 00:49:31,360 but slightly disconcerting earthquake last night, 354 00:49:31,440 --> 00:49:34,000 so, let's hope we don't get any of those below any rocks. 355 00:49:35,880 --> 00:49:37,680 The team continue to climb 356 00:49:37,760 --> 00:49:41,320 and before long, the rain turns to snow. 357 00:49:45,880 --> 00:49:48,280 They eventually arrive at the highest hut, 358 00:49:48,360 --> 00:49:51,720 surrounded by ice and nearly three miles up. 359 00:49:51,880 --> 00:49:54,320 This will be base camp for the crew. 360 00:49:54,560 --> 00:49:56,400 We've got a kitchen over there. 361 00:49:58,240 --> 00:50:03,400 Um, over there down a really treacherous precipice 362 00:50:03,480 --> 00:50:04,880 is the toilet, 363 00:50:04,960 --> 00:50:08,280 which is just a shack with a big hole in the floor. 364 00:50:09,320 --> 00:50:10,640 365 00:50:10,880 --> 00:50:13,840 From here, they'll make the hardest part of the ascent 366 00:50:13,920 --> 00:50:15,960 right up to the glaciers. 367 00:50:23,200 --> 00:50:26,480 Well, this is, believe it or not, one of the better viewpoints. 368 00:50:26,560 --> 00:50:30,160 So we're gonna hang around here for a little while, 369 00:50:30,240 --> 00:50:32,280 to wait till the fog clears. 370 00:50:33,000 --> 00:50:35,320 But the weather isn't on their side. 371 00:50:38,560 --> 00:50:42,040 So much for hoping the weather was going to get better. 372 00:50:42,360 --> 00:50:46,040 All that optimism now seems completely ill-founded. 373 00:50:47,720 --> 00:50:49,920 With the storm clouds closing in, 374 00:50:50,000 --> 00:50:51,920 the team are forced to retreat. 375 00:50:53,600 --> 00:50:55,080 376 00:50:57,160 --> 00:51:01,240 This enormous weather front's come in, as isn't entirely unusual. 377 00:51:01,320 --> 00:51:04,440 So we're just coming down as the thunder bursts around us. 378 00:51:04,840 --> 00:51:06,440 So just trying to get back 379 00:51:06,520 --> 00:51:08,680 and go and get inside the hut and hopefully weather it out. 380 00:51:11,320 --> 00:51:15,040 After days of climbing and finding the peaks hidden by fog, 381 00:51:15,120 --> 00:51:18,600 filming the summits is looking increasingly impossible. 382 00:51:19,880 --> 00:51:21,440 It can be pretty frustrating at times. 383 00:51:21,720 --> 00:51:25,320 The group of, maybe, 70 people that we've involved with doing this directly 384 00:51:25,520 --> 00:51:27,080 and you get all the way up here and then, 385 00:51:27,160 --> 00:51:28,800 and then we can't film anything because of the weather. 386 00:51:28,880 --> 00:51:31,480 So, it is just a matter of sitting it out and waiting. 387 00:51:31,560 --> 00:51:34,960 And you have to sort of hope that things come right in the end. 388 00:51:37,640 --> 00:51:40,360 The rainmakers are certainly living up to their name. 389 00:51:40,440 --> 00:51:45,560 But by complete contrast, other parts of East Africa were gripped by drought. 390 00:51:47,320 --> 00:51:51,440 At the beginning of the production, Mark Deeble travelled to Amboseli, 391 00:51:51,520 --> 00:51:54,120 just a few hundred miles from the Ruwenzoris, 392 00:51:54,200 --> 00:51:57,000 to film the plight of the animals there. 393 00:51:58,280 --> 00:52:01,760 Well, I've never seen anything quite as bad as that drought. 394 00:52:05,000 --> 00:52:07,280 When we talked to some of the Maasai elders, 395 00:52:07,360 --> 00:52:10,080 they said it was the worst drought they'd seen in 50 years. 396 00:52:11,880 --> 00:52:15,280 Amboseli is famous for its huge herds of elephant, 397 00:52:15,360 --> 00:52:18,480 but the drought had dispersed them far and wide. 398 00:52:18,960 --> 00:52:23,280 Those that remained were struggling to find what little food was left. 399 00:52:26,160 --> 00:52:28,880 When we first saw the group, we could tell instantly that they... 400 00:52:28,960 --> 00:52:30,920 They were in a really serious condition. 401 00:52:33,400 --> 00:52:36,400 They were thin and obviously starving. 402 00:52:36,800 --> 00:52:38,080 403 00:52:39,040 --> 00:52:42,440 Mark knew that many of the calves would not survive. 404 00:52:43,400 --> 00:52:45,560 Although desperately painful to witness, 405 00:52:45,640 --> 00:52:49,040 nothing would convey the cruel power of the drought 406 00:52:49,120 --> 00:52:52,760 more than this mother's struggle to keep her baby alive. 407 00:52:57,400 --> 00:52:59,480 The thing about filming a situation like that, 408 00:52:59,560 --> 00:53:01,360 you know, when an elephant calf dies, 409 00:53:01,440 --> 00:53:06,040 is that when you're actually filming it you're so caught up in the moment. 410 00:53:06,200 --> 00:53:07,520 411 00:53:07,920 --> 00:53:10,920 But it was only after filming, when I put the camera away 412 00:53:11,000 --> 00:53:12,600 and I looked there and there was this dead calf 413 00:53:12,680 --> 00:53:14,760 and the mother sort of standing there, grieving, 414 00:53:14,840 --> 00:53:18,040 that the full impact of what I'd just filmed hit me. 415 00:53:23,280 --> 00:53:24,640 People often say to me, you know, 416 00:53:24,720 --> 00:53:27,560 "Could you not have intervened in a situation like that?" 417 00:53:28,960 --> 00:53:30,800 There are times when you can help. 418 00:53:30,880 --> 00:53:34,280 But in that time in Kenya there was no food available. 419 00:53:35,560 --> 00:53:37,200 Now, you have to also consider the mother. 420 00:53:37,280 --> 00:53:39,880 If we'd gone in there and tried to take the calf away, 421 00:53:39,960 --> 00:53:43,040 it would've been absolute mayhem. She'd have got incredibly stressed 422 00:53:43,120 --> 00:53:46,520 and that would probably have jeopardised her survival. 423 00:53:46,640 --> 00:53:47,680 424 00:53:47,760 --> 00:53:51,160 In that particular situation, when everything around us was dying, 425 00:53:51,240 --> 00:53:55,520 there was absolutely nothing we could do to help that young elephant. 426 00:53:59,120 --> 00:54:01,320 Although too late to save the calf, 427 00:54:01,400 --> 00:54:05,320 a few months later, the rains did finally return. 428 00:54:12,280 --> 00:54:13,920 When we returned, it was amazing. 429 00:54:14,000 --> 00:54:15,880 It was lush and green again. 430 00:54:16,880 --> 00:54:19,800 And the elephants, in the rains, they all tend to come together. 431 00:54:19,880 --> 00:54:22,760 So it was like all of these groups which had been dispersed, 432 00:54:22,840 --> 00:54:25,080 which had been just somehow coping on their own, 433 00:54:25,160 --> 00:54:26,320 all got back together again. 434 00:54:26,400 --> 00:54:28,720 It was almost a sort of festival type atmosphere. 435 00:54:29,480 --> 00:54:31,080 436 00:54:37,400 --> 00:54:39,960 That was when, essentially, they come together, 437 00:54:40,040 --> 00:54:44,120 they mate, and then after that lots of young calves being born. 438 00:54:46,480 --> 00:54:48,040 Since the end of the drought, 439 00:54:48,120 --> 00:54:51,560 over 220 calves have been born in Amboseli, 440 00:54:51,640 --> 00:54:53,440 and that number is still rising. 441 00:54:55,120 --> 00:54:59,160 It's the biggest elephant baby boom on record. 442 00:55:00,120 --> 00:55:04,760 I think what's lovely to see in that situation is that, having... 443 00:55:04,840 --> 00:55:07,080 Having been through such a terrible drought, 444 00:55:07,160 --> 00:55:10,120 to see the way in which, you know, if you let things alone 445 00:55:10,200 --> 00:55:13,880 they, you know, they do have incredible capacity to bounce back. 446 00:55:21,840 --> 00:55:25,120 Back in the mountains, and several failed ascents later, 447 00:55:25,200 --> 00:55:28,360 the team were still battling through the white-out. 448 00:55:29,680 --> 00:55:32,040 They try one last time. 449 00:55:33,040 --> 00:55:34,800 There's cloud below us and cloud above us. 450 00:55:34,880 --> 00:55:39,440 It somehow seems slightly, like we're heading nowhere, slowly. 451 00:55:43,520 --> 00:55:45,880 Then, as they reach the top, 452 00:55:45,960 --> 00:55:49,120 finally the clouds begin to part. 453 00:56:02,080 --> 00:56:03,240 It's absolute magic here. 454 00:56:03,320 --> 00:56:06,560 We've just come through the densest, densest cloud, 455 00:56:06,640 --> 00:56:10,600 having absolutely no idea what's surrounding us. 456 00:56:10,680 --> 00:56:14,120 The past few days have just been rain and cloud and rain and cloud. 457 00:56:14,640 --> 00:56:19,280 And, as if by magic, there's the most spectacular view 458 00:56:19,440 --> 00:56:21,960 of ice and glaciers and mountains 459 00:56:22,040 --> 00:56:23,960 that you just wouldn't think was on the equator. 460 00:56:24,040 --> 00:56:25,560 It's just amazing. 461 00:56:49,040 --> 00:56:52,040 It's the most spectacular mountain scenery I've seen. 462 00:56:52,440 --> 00:56:55,400 And to think it's in Africa is just mind-boggling. 463 00:57:03,600 --> 00:57:07,800 These mysterious mountains have finally unveiled their secrets. 464 00:57:08,040 --> 00:57:09,720 And on the plains beyond, 465 00:57:09,800 --> 00:57:12,680 the elephants have returned to their home. 466 00:57:13,960 --> 00:57:18,320 Despite having been explored by filmmakers for over a century, 467 00:57:18,400 --> 00:57:23,680 East Africa still has the power to enchant and surprise us all.