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The power of the sun
drives the seasons,

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transforming our planet.

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Vast movements of ocean and air currents

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bring dramatic change
throughout the year.

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And in a few special places,
these seasonal changes

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create some of the greatest
wildlife spectacles on Earth.

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One of the most
remarkable transformations

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occurs here in Southern Africa,
in the desert lands of the Kalahari.

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Large herds of animals trek for months
in search of food and water,

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waiting for an event that will
dramatically change their lives.

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For once a year, life-giving water
turns an area of unforgiving desert

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into a vast, watery paradise
known as the Okavango.

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Where and when the Okavango will flood

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determines the fate
of millions of animals,

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making this one of
nature's truly great events.

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In the heart of Southern Africa,
the desert lands of the Kalahari

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cover an area
of almost 400,000 square miles.

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It's one of driest places on Earth,

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yet miraculously, great herds
of grazing animals survive here.

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They lead a nomadic existence,

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trekking huge distances
in search of food and water.

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It's the start of the dry season.
It won't rain for eight months,

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and so life, already hard,
is about to get even harder.

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Of all the animals here,

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perhaps the most resourceful
are the elephants.

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Each family is led by an older female,
the matriarch,

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and they all rely on her experience
to guide them through the desert.

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Her years here have taught
this matriarch that, one day,

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hundreds of miles to the west,
she will find a lush grassland.

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But before she will find it,

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her family will have to survive
many months in the desert.

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The water that could
transform their lives

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has its origins a thousand miles away,

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in the rain clouds
over the highlands of Angola.

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The rain is so plentiful
it has the power to transform a desert.

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It cascades southwards, not to the sea,
but into the heart of the Kalahari,

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towards a basin shaped like a hand

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known as the Okavango.

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Here it will fill the swamp
that lies at its entrance.

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And only if the rains
have been plentiful

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will water flood out
onto the arid plains beyond,

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transforming them
into the grassland paradise

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that the herds so badly need.

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Out in the desert, the elephants
need to find water every three days.

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Thirsty elephants often race into pools,

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but the matriarch knows
that her family must not rush in.

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This pool is stagnant,

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and the elephants have a trick
that deals with that.

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Sediment settles to the bottom,

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and the cleaner, fresher water
lies on the surface.

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They skim it carefully from the top.

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Then, as gently as elephants can,
they move forward slowly,

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trying not to disturb
the stagnant layers.

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But precious water like this
draws in herds from far and wide.

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In the exuberance of a greeting
all their careful work is undone.

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When bulls are forced together
by the need for water,

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tempers can flare.

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At this time of year,
food and water can often be far apart.

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And so, now that
the little ones are refreshed,

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the family has to head off to find food.

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The distant Okavango plains that
they're heading for are still dry,

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and getting even drier.

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Trapped catfish
struggle in a shrinking pool.

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And the burning sun
is not their only enemy.

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An opportunity like this
attracts eagles from many miles away.

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Usually, they dive and snatch fish
from the surface of the water,

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but in this drought
they won't have to work so hard.

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These are prized catches.

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Marabou storks and jackals
muscle in on the leftovers.

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But even with this bounty of fish,

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it's in an eagle's nature to
steal a meal rather than catch its own.

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And all this squabbling
gives the marabou a chance.

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Got it!

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Only the return of the flood
can save these fish now.

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All around these pools,

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the grass on the Okavango plains
continues to wither and die.

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But there's still some nourishment
left in the leaves,

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and millions of tiny mouths
make the most of what remains.

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Termites chop the dead grass
and drag it underground

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to feed their colony.

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They play a crucial role,

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helping to return nutrients
to these poor soils.

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But now,
taking the last, precious grass,

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they leave dust and sand in its place.

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With the grazing animals
dispersed far and wide,

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it's leaner times for predators here.

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Only a desperate leopard
would tackle a porcupine.

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This youngster is about
to meet double trouble.

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The only place to get a bite
is on their undersides.

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But the porcupines work together
to watch each others' backs.

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The leopard will have to flip one over.

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Pin-sharp quills can easily snap off
and become embedded in flesh.

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It's a highly effective defence
that can also be turned into attack.

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It's a harsh lesson,

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but with luck and a bit of healing time,
there'll be no lasting damage.

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Two hundred miles away,

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the pulse of life-giving water
has now reached the swampland

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at the entrance to the Okavango.

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Here, thick beds of papyrus
act like a sponge,

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slowing the water's progress.

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The swamp can take months to fill,

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and only then, if there is enough water,

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can it overflow and rejuvenate
the plains on which the herds depend.

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Far to the east,

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the matriarch elephants have
led their families to desert woodlands.

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It seems an odd place to come -
there's no sign of food

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and there's little shade for the calves.

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But elephants can do something unusual.

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They can eat and digest
seemingly lifeless branches.

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The youngsters need to learn
that dry sticks are nutritious,

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and that there is moisture in the bark.

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But bark won't feed the youngest calves.

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They need to drink
15 litres of milk a day,

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so their mothers desperately
need water as well as food.

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Exhaustion has got the better
of one young female.

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But she won't get the chance
to rest for long.

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The next waterhole
could be 30 miles away,

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and the whole herd needs to get moving.

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Back on the Okavango plains,

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the last remnants of grass
are going up in smoke.

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It's bad news
for the few grazers that remain.

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A few birds collect
the escaping insects.

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But fires don't help those
who need to eat grass here and now.

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The Okavango plains
are at their most desolate.

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Yet, out in the desert,

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the elephant herds
are heading towards them.

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The matriarchs guide their families
along the maze of trails

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to the next waterhole.

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And this time there's no hanging about.

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It soon turns into a mud bath.

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But elephants have a use
for the mud, too,

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for mud acts both as a sunscreen
and an insect repellent.

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Buffalo have learned to
follow the elephant trails to water.

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There is a clear pecking order here.

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Elephants take priority,

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and zebra are the last in the line.

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Even when young bulls
have drunk their fill,

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they still torment the buffalo.

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And they definitely know
which end to aim for.

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By the time the herds face
their final trek across open desert,

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the swamp has filled.

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The channels which lead out
onto the parched plains

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get their first,
welcome trickle of water.

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Amazingly, when the plains
are at their driest,

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fresh water from a distant land
spills into the parched river beds.

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First it fills the dry channels,

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leaving the baked plains on either side
hard and dry.

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All along the route
it finds empty pools to fill.

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And now, these pools
become magnets for birds,

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which flock here
from the surrounding desert lands.

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Red-billed quelea can now
collect those grass seeds

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that the termites have missed.

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For most of the year,
the quelea are nomadic,

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and it's this freedom
to follow the water

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that helps make quelea one of
the most numerous birds on Earth.

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As the water fills the Okavango,

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animals that have survived
in shrinking waterholes

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begin to move in.

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Female hippos
gather in the best territories.

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And this male is prepared
to fight for one.

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Only a dominant bull
will mate with the females,

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and the current chieftain
isn't prepared to give way.

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The intimidation begins.

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When neither backs down,
there can be only one outcome.

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Fights can go on for hours
and can be to the death.

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Forward-pointing tusks can
stab right through protective blubber.

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This savage bite to the head
brings the contest to an end.

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The incumbent has re-established
his right to mate with the females,

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and he wastes no time.

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This is a prime territory,

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and he will face many more challenges
if he is to continue to hold it.

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The loser is badly injured.

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Hippos can die from infected wounds,

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but this young male is fit
and should survive.

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Ox-peckers are a mixed blessing.

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They keep his wounds clean,
but they also keep them open.

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Fresh water continues to pump
through the Okavango plains,

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bringing life wherever it flows.

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But out in the Kalahari,
water is now almost impossible to find.

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A matriarch has led her family
many miles,

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only to find the waterhole empty.

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This year the drought is gripping hard.

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Each matriarch
encourages her family onward.

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The calves' lives depend on her.

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And with pools so scarce now,

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even when she finds water,
they won't be drinking alone.

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At this time of year, some lion prides
base themselves around waterholes,

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and they're always
on the lookout for a meal.

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But the elephants' desperate need
to drink outweighs the risk.

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The mothers are producing less milk,
and the calves are weak.

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The adults try to shield them
from watchful eyes.

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It's an uneasy stand-off.

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In daylight, the elephants
should have nothing to fear.

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The lions creep as close as they dare,
as they too try to drink.

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One mistake from an elephant
and the lions could attack.

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Big cats keep tired elephants
on their toes.

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While the desert experiences
the peak of the drought,

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the meandering network of channels
in the Okavango

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is finally brimful.

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They are ready to overflow.

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Fish gather, ready to ride the flood
as a miracle begins to materialise.

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And the barrier of desert sand
seems to dissolve in the magical water.

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Under cloudless Kalahari skies,

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fresh, sweet water at last
begins to bathe the parched plains.

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Millions upon millions of litres
surge over the banks.

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This is what the fish
have been waiting for.

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New life returns.

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00:29:40,322 --> 00:29:43,519
And as the water
soaks deep into the sand,

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it stirs dormant animals into life.

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Others are more forcibly evicted.

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It's all fresh food,
a banquet ready for the feasting.

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Water birds follow the advancing front,
making the most of the sudden harvest.

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The plains soon teem with life.

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But not all are here to feed.

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Some have come to breed.

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No one knows where they've come from,

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but within moments
of the flood's arrival,

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tens of thousands of dragonflies
appear at the water's edge.

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The vivid red male leads his partner
in a magical dance,

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guiding her to lay their eggs
in the shallows.

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The flood spills ever onwards,

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until it finally reaches
the outer fringes of the Okavango.

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The catfish, miraculously,
still cling to life.

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Within moments, the life-giving power
of fresh water revitalises them.

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And now, on the plains
that appeared so lifeless,

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some of the most beautiful
and colourful changes occur.

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Within days,
fields of lilies burst into life.

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They provide pollen for the early bees,
and a hiding place for reed frogs.

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And it's only now that the most
crucial gift of the flood, the grass

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that the desert herds need so badly,
begins to grow.

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Hippos bulldoze their way
towards the sprouting grasslands,

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their paths opening up new arteries
that help keep the water flowing.

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00:35:05,682 --> 00:35:07,434
In just a few weeks,

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00:35:07,522 --> 00:35:10,992
thousands of square miles
of dry desert plains

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are turned into
a watery green grassland.

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The network of hippo paths
benefits all kinds of other animals,

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from predatory crocodiles
to the grazing herds.

239
00:35:45,802 --> 00:35:51,354
This fresh grass is what the elephants,
and indeed all the grazing animals,

240
00:35:51,442 --> 00:35:52,921
have been waiting for.

241
00:36:00,762 --> 00:36:02,354
Their pace quickens.

242
00:36:03,602 --> 00:36:07,641
For months, they have only known
the dry smell of the desert.

243
00:36:09,962 --> 00:36:14,001
And now, they can catch the scent
of fresh grass in the wind.

244
00:36:19,362 --> 00:36:24,152
Red lechwe are the first
to take advantage of the young shoots.

245
00:37:12,962 --> 00:37:15,920
The lions are no threat here.

246
00:37:16,002 --> 00:37:20,598
They're not very fast in water,
and their prey seem to know it.

247
00:37:24,282 --> 00:37:27,877
Lechwe revel in the safety
the flood brings.

248
00:38:10,642 --> 00:38:14,920
Soon they will be joined
by the herds of elephant and buffalo.

249
00:38:18,322 --> 00:38:21,712
And the lions seem to know
they're not far away.

250
00:38:28,882 --> 00:38:32,238
Baboons don't enjoy
getting their feet wet,

251
00:38:34,642 --> 00:38:39,557
but the banquet of flowers
and juicy snails is just irresistible.

252
00:38:56,682 --> 00:38:59,196
But they are at
their most vulnerable here

253
00:38:59,282 --> 00:39:01,193
from lurking crocodiles,

254
00:39:01,282 --> 00:39:03,750
so they keep an ever-watchful eye.

255
00:39:06,282 --> 00:39:11,356
Babies just cling on tight
and hope the water doesn't get too deep.

256
00:39:15,762 --> 00:39:20,517
At their feet, the flooded plains
are now a vast fish nursery,

257
00:39:20,602 --> 00:39:22,274
teeming with life.

258
00:39:27,282 --> 00:39:29,318
Predatory fish follow.

259
00:39:36,602 --> 00:39:39,321
But they too will have to be wary.

260
00:39:43,522 --> 00:39:48,277
For the Okavango now puts on
one of the finest bird shows

261
00:39:48,362 --> 00:39:50,671
to be seen anywhere in the world.

262
00:40:12,762 --> 00:40:17,074
The rising waters
create thousands of tiny islands.

263
00:40:17,962 --> 00:40:21,079
Safe from predators, surrounded by fish,

264
00:40:21,162 --> 00:40:24,279
these are the perfect place
to raise chicks.

265
00:40:33,962 --> 00:40:37,272
This is the miracle of the Okavango.

266
00:40:40,482 --> 00:40:44,157
Once a year,
it provides a magical time of plenty

267
00:40:44,242 --> 00:40:48,201
at the height of the dry season,
in the middle of a desert.

268
00:40:58,442 --> 00:41:02,321
Only now, with the grasslands
at their most productive,

269
00:41:02,402 --> 00:41:05,075
do the great herds arrive,

270
00:41:05,162 --> 00:41:08,120
and they've timed it to perfection.

271
00:41:10,842 --> 00:41:14,755
The herds grow larger
as elephant families and buffalo

272
00:41:14,842 --> 00:41:17,515
converge from all over the desert.

273
00:41:24,162 --> 00:41:27,996
But as they all get closer
to the flooded grassland,

274
00:41:28,082 --> 00:41:31,074
there is one final challenge to face.

275
00:41:49,122 --> 00:41:53,991
Lions have chosen this thick cover
to lay their ambushes.

276
00:41:59,722 --> 00:42:02,236
Their favourite prey is the buffalo.

277
00:42:07,922 --> 00:42:12,154
Adult buffalo are powerful
and can easily trample lions,

278
00:42:14,802 --> 00:42:20,479
so the lionesses seek out weaker calves
that fall behind the herd.

279
00:42:28,722 --> 00:42:31,680
A nervous buffalo mother
spots their approach

280
00:42:33,122 --> 00:42:34,919
and the herd stampedes.

281
00:42:37,242 --> 00:42:41,155
One lioness takes a gamble,
moving in on a well-protected calf.

282
00:42:45,362 --> 00:42:47,432
The buffalo close ranks,

283
00:42:48,722 --> 00:42:51,998
and suddenly,
the lionesses beat a hasty retreat.

284
00:43:07,122 --> 00:43:10,080
In the panic, calves are
separated from their mothers.

285
00:43:12,762 --> 00:43:16,801
Amid the confusion,
a lioness darts in and grabs one.

286
00:43:24,482 --> 00:43:27,360
Many buffalo will fall to lions here.

287
00:43:35,482 --> 00:43:37,837
Lions are opportunists,

288
00:43:37,922 --> 00:43:41,676
and even an unguarded elephant calf
can be vulnerable.

289
00:43:54,402 --> 00:43:56,438
The elephants are nervous.

290
00:44:00,442 --> 00:44:03,991
The scent of lion is all around,
yet they can't see them.

291
00:44:08,362 --> 00:44:10,034
A lioness is following them,

292
00:44:10,122 --> 00:44:12,955
trying to separate the young straggler
from the herd.

293
00:44:17,242 --> 00:44:20,757
One adolescent fights back,
confronting its enemy.

294
00:44:35,762 --> 00:44:38,230
In a panic, the family stampedes.

295
00:44:41,202 --> 00:44:43,352
The straggler is taken.

296
00:44:57,602 --> 00:45:00,275
After months of arduous trekking,

297
00:45:00,362 --> 00:45:03,991
this elephant family has lost
one of its young ones.

298
00:45:11,282 --> 00:45:15,798
But most of the elephants,
at last, have made it through,

299
00:45:15,882 --> 00:45:18,521
and the great flood awaits.

300
00:45:21,642 --> 00:45:25,191
Older elephants have been here
many times before,

301
00:45:25,282 --> 00:45:28,877
but the newest calves have never seen
so much refreshment.

302
00:45:47,402 --> 00:45:52,476
At last, they get that first drink
of sweet, fresh water.

303
00:46:24,842 --> 00:46:27,436
Thousands of buffalo and zebra

304
00:46:27,522 --> 00:46:31,481
have also made it
to the magical Okavango wetlands.

305
00:46:46,362 --> 00:46:51,516
Somehow, these remarkable elephants
have learned how to find a flood

306
00:46:51,602 --> 00:46:56,960
from hundreds of miles away,
and to time their arrival just right.

307
00:47:02,322 --> 00:47:06,281
If it wasn't for this annual gift
of precious grass,

308
00:47:06,362 --> 00:47:09,240
the herds couldn't
survive the dry season

309
00:47:09,322 --> 00:47:11,313
in the surrounding Kalahari.

310
00:47:17,002 --> 00:47:21,439
This year the Great Flood
has lived up to its name.

311
00:47:42,202 --> 00:47:44,079
The lives of these elephants

312
00:47:44,162 --> 00:47:48,713
are dominated by this annual rhythm
of wet and dry,

313
00:47:48,802 --> 00:47:52,841
a seasonal cycle
driven by the power of the sun.

314
00:48:02,402 --> 00:48:07,032
The Okavango River
has no great lake to flow into,

315
00:48:07,122 --> 00:48:09,397
nor does it ever reach the sea.

316
00:48:10,162 --> 00:48:13,359
Its life-giving waters simply evaporate

317
00:48:13,442 --> 00:48:16,957
into the great emptiness
of the Kalahari sky.

318
00:48:21,602 --> 00:48:26,039
In a few months,
some may fall as rain far to the north,

319
00:48:26,122 --> 00:48:27,601
and, once again,

320
00:48:27,682 --> 00:48:31,152
become part of this miraculous event
in the Okavango,

321
00:48:31,242 --> 00:48:33,631
that is the Great Flood.

322
00:49:02,642 --> 00:49:04,519
In the making of "The Great Flood",

323
00:49:04,602 --> 00:49:06,911
the biggest challenge
for the filming team

324
00:49:07,002 --> 00:49:08,833
was to capture the magical moment

325
00:49:08,922 --> 00:49:12,153
when new floodwater
first transformed the desert.

326
00:49:16,042 --> 00:49:18,192
But to do this would mean crossing

327
00:49:18,282 --> 00:49:21,001
some of the most challenging terrain
in the world,

328
00:49:22,002 --> 00:49:26,075
pitting themselves against
the very water they'd come to film.

329
00:49:33,202 --> 00:49:35,716
We're right in
the heart of the delta right now.

330
00:49:35,802 --> 00:49:37,474
The flood's been in here
for a couple of weeks,

331
00:49:37,562 --> 00:49:39,678
but the real action's
happening out west,

332
00:49:39,762 --> 00:49:43,437
across 20 kilometres of deep swampland.

333
00:49:43,802 --> 00:49:46,953
And our mission right now
is to get this crane rig out there

334
00:49:47,042 --> 00:49:48,441
to where the action's really happening,

335
00:49:48,522 --> 00:49:51,798
and see if we can get a great new
perspective on the flood coming in.

336
00:49:54,322 --> 00:49:56,392
To achieve this new look,

337
00:49:56,482 --> 00:49:59,872
the team were using
some of the latest camera technology.

338
00:49:59,962 --> 00:50:02,999
But first they had to find
the advancing flood,

339
00:50:04,602 --> 00:50:08,481
and the only way to do this
was from the air.

340
00:50:13,522 --> 00:50:16,161
Mike has worked here
for more than 20 years,

341
00:50:16,242 --> 00:50:19,200
and knows that this will be
a race against time.

342
00:50:22,482 --> 00:50:24,552
The flood was already well advanced,

343
00:50:24,642 --> 00:50:27,110
and wasn't going to wait
for a film crew.

344
00:50:33,722 --> 00:50:35,997
Mike pinpointed the water's edge,

345
00:50:36,082 --> 00:50:40,121
and on his way back,
laid a GPS trail to follow.

346
00:50:45,042 --> 00:50:47,033
The flight took only 20 minutes,

347
00:50:47,122 --> 00:50:50,671
but it would take the ground crew
at least three days or more

348
00:50:50,762 --> 00:50:51,877
to get there.

349
00:50:54,282 --> 00:50:57,877
And there was no guarantee
they'd get through the swamps.

350
00:51:01,002 --> 00:51:02,560
-Are you watching for crocodiles?
-Yeah.

351
00:51:02,642 --> 00:51:03,836
Okay, good.

352
00:51:08,722 --> 00:51:11,282
Fortunately,
at this cooler time of year,

353
00:51:11,362 --> 00:51:15,321
crocodiles are less active
and wouldn't pose a serious threat.

354
00:51:16,602 --> 00:51:19,753
The reason Richard's wading
in crocodile-infested waters

355
00:51:19,842 --> 00:51:22,800
is that we're on this side,
and we need to be on the other side,

356
00:51:22,882 --> 00:51:25,032
and he's wading
so that we can see how deep it is

357
00:51:25,122 --> 00:51:26,680
for this vehicle to cross.

358
00:51:32,162 --> 00:51:34,357
These trucks
are specially adapted

359
00:51:34,442 --> 00:51:36,831
to cope with such extreme conditions.

360
00:51:38,802 --> 00:51:41,999
They can drive in water
up to seven feet deep,

361
00:51:46,522 --> 00:51:49,832
and cross all but the boggiest terrain.

362
00:51:53,722 --> 00:51:57,795
Unfortunately, not all the equipment
fared so well.

363
00:51:58,162 --> 00:52:01,199
I don't think this is gonna be
much use to anyone.

364
00:52:03,722 --> 00:52:07,761
But even the vehicles
weren't immune to such punishing use.

365
00:52:09,002 --> 00:52:12,711
Problems always arise
when you least expect it.

366
00:52:17,322 --> 00:52:20,473
This truck, which is our swamp truck,

367
00:52:20,562 --> 00:52:22,837
has decided

368
00:52:22,922 --> 00:52:25,720
to give us problems again.

369
00:52:25,802 --> 00:52:27,793
The dif has basically collapsed on us.

370
00:52:27,882 --> 00:52:30,555
We're running out of daylight
at the moment,

371
00:52:31,362 --> 00:52:33,318
so we got to swap this out.

372
00:52:36,482 --> 00:52:39,554
To film here,
you have to be a jack of all trades,

373
00:52:39,642 --> 00:52:43,157
a filmmaker, a tracker and a mechanic.

374
00:52:45,802 --> 00:52:51,434
Despite some on-the-spot bush repairs,
a replacement part had to be ordered in.

375
00:52:52,762 --> 00:52:53,877
Hello.

376
00:52:58,602 --> 00:53:00,718
It's going to be a long night
in the bush.

377
00:53:02,722 --> 00:53:05,555
All the crew could do now
was wait.

378
00:53:12,682 --> 00:53:15,958
With the nearest garage
over two days away by truck,

379
00:53:16,042 --> 00:53:18,920
there was only one way
the new part could be delivered.

380
00:53:28,722 --> 00:53:33,238
Now the crew could get back on the road
and start making up for lost time.

381
00:53:34,042 --> 00:53:36,158
-Are you all right?
Yeah, I'm good.

382
00:53:39,962 --> 00:53:43,352
But they would have
to choose their route carefully.

383
00:53:45,362 --> 00:53:47,592
The best way to pick a path
is where the elephants cross,

384
00:53:47,682 --> 00:53:51,595
because they've got regular routes
that are the shallowest places.

385
00:53:51,682 --> 00:53:53,832
But often where they've crossed,
it's churned up the mud as well,

386
00:53:53,922 --> 00:53:56,038
so we try and stay slightly off
to the edge of the path.

387
00:53:56,122 --> 00:53:57,680
But once you get into
the middle of that,

388
00:53:57,762 --> 00:54:00,754
it's just hope like hell and keep going.

389
00:54:00,842 --> 00:54:03,959
Because it's probably deep
and very soggy in the middle.

390
00:54:16,682 --> 00:54:20,391
Okay, this is getting a bit silly.
We're officially stuck.

391
00:54:21,082 --> 00:54:23,960
Mike's concerns
proved well-founded.

392
00:54:24,042 --> 00:54:27,079
The shallower route
was simply too boggy.

393
00:54:29,682 --> 00:54:34,551
That left the crew with no choice
but to tackle the longer, deeper route,

394
00:54:34,642 --> 00:54:36,553
and hold their nerve.

395
00:54:49,602 --> 00:54:51,433
It's coming over your windows.

396
00:54:51,522 --> 00:54:54,036
I'm getting wet.

397
00:55:03,882 --> 00:55:06,601
Water's coming in!

398
00:55:15,002 --> 00:55:16,754
It's a little damp in here now.

399
00:55:42,642 --> 00:55:46,476
That was interesting,
but we made it across the swamp!

400
00:55:46,562 --> 00:55:48,041
Success!

401
00:55:48,122 --> 00:55:51,558
Mike and the team
had finally got ahead of the flood.

402
00:55:56,162 --> 00:55:59,598
They were now
in a truly privileged position,

403
00:55:59,682 --> 00:56:02,799
ready to capture
the amazing transformation

404
00:56:02,882 --> 00:56:04,759
that was about to unfold.

405
00:56:08,562 --> 00:56:11,520
Okay, so drop the camera
over the middle of the pool there.

406
00:56:14,562 --> 00:56:17,030
The flood had arrived.

407
00:56:18,202 --> 00:56:19,476
Here it comes.

408
00:56:34,922 --> 00:56:37,994
Three, two, one...

409
00:56:43,882 --> 00:56:48,398
Using cranes and specially
developed close-up camera systems,

410
00:56:48,482 --> 00:56:51,838
<i>the Nature's Great Events team
could finally set about</i>

411
00:56:51,922 --> 00:56:54,436
bringing the advancing flood to life.

412
00:56:56,202 --> 00:56:58,113
This is one of
those magical transformation moments,

413
00:56:58,202 --> 00:57:01,672
where you've got a landscape
which is asleep that way,

414
00:57:01,762 --> 00:57:04,117
and you've got the flood,
which is like the catalyst

415
00:57:04,202 --> 00:57:06,238
which is going to
bring the landscape to life.

416
00:57:06,322 --> 00:57:09,871
And it's happening right in front of us,
which is amazing.

417
00:57:09,962 --> 00:57:12,920
And we've got a bit of macro kit

418
00:57:13,002 --> 00:57:14,958
that exists nowhere else in the world,

419
00:57:15,042 --> 00:57:19,194
and we're able to just follow it
at the really tiniest level.

420
00:57:30,122 --> 00:57:32,556
This was the Great Flood,

421
00:57:32,642 --> 00:57:36,078
but filmed on a scale
that had never been seen before.

422
00:57:52,322 --> 00:57:54,233
Seems like my hole is filling up.

423
00:57:54,882 --> 00:57:58,192
I'm going to get wet, Rick. I'm going to
drown in three inches of water.

424
00:58:04,402 --> 00:58:08,953
Each year, the magical
flood rewards Mike with something new.

425
00:58:09,042 --> 00:58:13,752
Despite years of filming here,
he'd never seen so many dragonflies.

426
00:58:19,362 --> 00:58:20,715
It's amazing, that, isn't it?

427
00:58:20,802 --> 00:58:22,793
Have you ever watched
this happen before?

428
00:58:22,882 --> 00:58:24,235
It is amazing.

429
00:58:24,322 --> 00:58:27,439
I mean, you think this is going on
all over the delta.

430
00:58:27,522 --> 00:58:30,241
Miles and miles and miles
of water just spreading everywhere

431
00:58:30,322 --> 00:58:31,721
at this rate.

432
00:58:32,762 --> 00:58:33,956
Incredible.

433
00:58:34,682 --> 00:58:36,991
And the team
had managed to capture

434
00:58:37,082 --> 00:58:38,993
just a tiny part of it,

435
00:58:39,082 --> 00:58:44,554
revealing in intimate detail
the character of the Great Flood.

436
00:58:45,305 --> 00:58:51,286
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