Great Plains Planet Earth


Great Plains

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Vast open plains.

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Immense spaces.

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Eerie silence.

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But any feeling of emptiness is an illusion.

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The plains of our planet support the greatest gatherings

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of wildlife on earth.

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At the heart of all that happens here is a single living thing.

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Grass.

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This miraculous plant covers a quarter of all the lands

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of the earth.

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Grasslands exist

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wherever there is a little rain, but not enough to sustain a forest.

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Some are huge.

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The central Asian steppe alone extends one third of the way

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around our planet.

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It's summer, and eagles effortlessly cruise the thermals,

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scanning the ground beneath for signs of prey.

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In the distant reaches of outer Mongolia,

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one of the planet's great migrations is underway.

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Few people ever see this extraordinary annual event.

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Mongolian gazelle.

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Two million are thought to live here, but no-one really knows.

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For much of the time, they're scattered

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through this vast landscape, but once a year, they come together

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to have their young.

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Nearly all will give birth within the next ten days.

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Out in the open, communal calving is the safest way to have young.

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With so many pairs of eyes keeping watch, it's almost impossible

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for predators to sneak up.

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There are no bushes, no trees.

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There's only one thing to hide behind - the grass.

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And it's not very effective!

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Predators also have a hard time

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raising their young on open grassland.

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Without trees, eagles have to nest directly on the ground.

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All inhabitants of the great plains are exposed to the elements.

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Fire sparks panic in the herd.

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Gazelles are born to run, and even young calves

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easily out-pace the flames, if they can avoid being trampled.

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With nothing to stand in its way,

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the blaze consumes anything that can't flee.

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Huge quantities of grass, valuable food, have been lost.

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And with it, the old and the weak.

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The gazelles move on to new pastures

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and leave the desolation behind them.

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From the ashes rises the phoenix.

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Grass, the incredible survivor.

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Because it grows from a protected part at the base of its stems,

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grass is almost indestructible.

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Able to repair and reproduce itself

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rapidly, it covers more of the earth's land than any other plant,

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and feeds more wildlife than any other.

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Red-billed quelea.

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One and a half billion swarm across the savannahs of Africa.

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These are the most numerous birds on earth.

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Some flocks are so vast that they can take

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five hours to pass overhead.

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Only grass can feed plagues of these proportions.

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The ravenous hordes devour the seeds.

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And the leaves and stems are cropped by great herds of antelope.

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The East African savannahs alone

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sustain nearly two million wildebeest.

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They trim the grass down to its roots, leaving little in their wake,

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but within days the plant will recover and continue to sustain

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the biggest herds on earth.

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Grass is not confined to the tropics.

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It manages to grow even in the bitter conditions of the Arctic.

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Beyond the limits of the last tree,

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the planet is barren and ice-locked.

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A frozen no-man's-land at the end of the earth.

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But for a short time each year, the long, dark winter releases its grip.

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Temperatures rise, and grass that has lain dormant and frozen

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throughout the winter sprouts once more.

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Green returns to the Arctic.

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The receding ice reveals an immense flat plain the size of Australia.

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This is the Arctic tundra.

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It's a desolate, silent wilderness.

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But it's about to change.

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Snow geese.

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They winter along the Gulf of Mexico, and in spring they fly

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the entire length of North America to reach the Arctic tundra.

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Five million birds make this journey every year.

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Their marathon migration is almost 3,000 miles long

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and has taken them three months.

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Exhausted and starving, they touch-down inside the Arctic circle,

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back at their traditional breeding grounds at last.

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Snow geese pair for life.

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As soon as couples arrive they must stake a claim to a nesting patch.

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Ideal sites are in short supply and quarrelsome neighbours

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are all around.

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Disputes can be vicious.

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Point taken!

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It's a long way to travel but, for a short period, the tundra

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is the ideal place for a grazer - the grass grows vigorously

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during the short intense summer, and there are fewer predators

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than further south.

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Here, geese can nest on the ground in relative safety.

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Nonetheless, this female must incubate her eggs for three weeks

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and throughout this time she will be very vulnerable.

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An arctic fox surveys the colony.

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She's been waiting for the geese all winter.

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Sneaking up unnoticed is impossible.

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Perhaps fortune will favour the bold.

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The colony is well defended.

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There are no easy pickings here.

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She's driven away from every nest, but hunger compels her to continue.

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There are more eggs here than she can possibly eat now.

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But the nesting season is short, so she stashes much of her plunder

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for later in the year when all the geese have gone.

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Further south, other bigger predators prowl the tundra.

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Wolves. For them, finding food on the plains

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is an even greater challenge.

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Not only is their prey seasonal, it is also hard to find.

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They've been searching for days without a sign.

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Somewhere in this immense landscape there is food for them.

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This is it. Caribou.

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Travelling 30 miles a day, they can cover nearly 2,000 miles

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during the summer months.

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The wolves will starve if they don't find the caribou.

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But it is no easy task to locate prey that never stops travelling.

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Biting flies and the quest for new pasture

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drives the migration ever onwards.

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A wolf has finally picked up the trail.

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The caribou are close.

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At last, a chance.

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The hunt is on.

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The wolf panics the herd, and the weak and young are singled out.

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A calf is separated from its mother.

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At the goose colony, it's high summer and eggs are hatching.

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The young all emerge within a day or two, a marvel of timing.

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The colony is now home to a million goslings.

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The fox is still gathering all she can get.

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GOSLINGS TWITTER

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Sometimes one mouth simply isn't enough!

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FRENZIED HONKING

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One will have to do.

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Not all food is stored - some is needed right now.

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She has seven hungry cubs to feed.

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As their appetites grow, the mother must work

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tirelessly to raise her family.

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Only fat healthy cubs will survive the Arctic winter.

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The vast majority of the goslings are still flourishing.

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Their parents lead them down to the safety of the water

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as soon as they're strong enough to make the journey.

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For the foxes, boom-time has come to an end.

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But the mother has given her cubs the best possible start in life.

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The geese will continue grazing the tundra until the summer ends

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and they're forced to head south for the winter.

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At these latitudes, the sun's rays are weak, and grass can only grow

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here for a few months a year.

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But further south, summers are longer and the grasslands flourish.

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The prairies of North America.

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This rich pasture

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once supported the greatest herds ever seen on our planet.

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There were once 60 million bison,

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but no animal is immune to intensive hunting by man,

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or the destruction of its habitat.

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And a century ago the bison were reduced to barely a thousand.

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Now, thanks to rigorous protection, the species is recovering.

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The growing season is long,

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and the grass here can support herds all year round.

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Male bison weigh in at one tonne.

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In high summer, the bulls are fat

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from the rich grazing and in prime condition, but only a few will mate.

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Exactly which few is about to be decided.

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DEEP GROWL

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ANGRY GROWLING

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On temperate plains around the world,

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summer is a time for growth

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and reproduction.

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Now the grass produces its flowers.

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New colours also come to the plains.

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The northern flowering is mirrored by the grasslands

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of the southern hemisphere, and nowhere is more impressive

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than on the veldt of South Africa.

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Not all temperate plains are so rich and colourful in the summer.

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This is mid-summer

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on the Tibetan plateau, the highest great plain in the world.

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Despite the conditions,

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grass survives and in sufficient quantities to support

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the highest of all grazing herds,

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those of the wild yak.

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Even in summer, life is hard.

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Temperatures rarely rise above freezing, and the air is thin.

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It's also exceptionally dry,

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for one very big reason.

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The Himalayas.

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The great mountain range acts as a barrier,

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preventing clouds moving in from the south,

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and this casts a giant rain-shadow

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that leaves Tibet high and dry.

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Grass clings to life, even as desiccating winds

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remove what little moisture remains in the soil.

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So long as grass can survive, so can grazers.

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Wild ass.

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The males are fighting to win territories.

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Those that hold the best are more likely to attract a herd of females.

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It's a frisky business.

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That counts as a victory,

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but he can't assume the females will actually turn up!

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Female asses are mysterious creatures.

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They come and go as they please,

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and much of their behaviour seems unfathomable to an outsider.

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They're the great nomads of the plateau and will often trek

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vast distances across these parched plains in search of oases.

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But when they do find paradise, they're liable to feed and drink

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for a few hours and then head back to the dust for no apparent reason.

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Wild ass are the most conspicuous pioneers of this high frontier,

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but the most numerous grazer in Tibet lives underground.

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Pika - a relative of the rabbit.

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It too feeds on grass.

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On the exposed plateau, pikas never stray far from their burrows.

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But even so, squatters will move in given half a chance.

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While groundpeckers and snow finches can be a nuisance,

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they're worth tolerating because they provide

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a valuable early warning system.

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The bizarre Tibetan fox.

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The pika's nemesis.

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When stalking it keeps below the skyline, perhaps helped

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by its curious body shape.

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But why the square head?

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In summer the Tibetan plateau heats up,

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drawing in warm wet air from the south.

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But the water never arrives.

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As the moist air approaches,

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it's forced upwards by the Himalayas and condenses into huge rain clouds.

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These clouds drop all their water on the southern side of the mountains.

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The very peaks that keep Tibet dry are responsible

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for the monsoon rains falling farther south, and the greening of India.

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Here, soaked by rain

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and bathed in tropical sun, grass reaches its full potential.

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Elephant grass is the tallest in the world.

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Grass that towers over an elephant can conceal all sorts of surprises.

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The male lesser florican.

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It's hard work, getting noticed when you go courting in high grass.

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The long-grass plains of tropical India

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are home to some of the largest grass-eating mammals on our planet.

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And some of the smallest.

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Pygmy hogs are no bigger than rabbits.

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They're the tiniest and rarest of all wild pigs.

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The female is busy collecting grass, but not for eating.

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She's building a nest.

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Each piglet may be small enough to fit in the palm of a hand,

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but she does have ten.

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This is how grass can grow given unlimited sunshine and water.

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But on most tropical plains

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across our planet, the wet season is followed by a dry one.

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On the African savannahs,

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grazers are marching in search of grass and water.

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Without rain, these plains can become dust bowls.

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Grass can now lose its hold.

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Elephants are in immediate danger.

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They must drink almost daily.

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Driven on by thirst,

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they march hundreds of miles across the parched plains.

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Relying on memory, the matriarchs lead their families

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to those special water holes that saved them in previous years.

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This one still has water, but they must share what remains

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with desperately thirsty animals of all kinds.

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These are tense times.

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The elephants dominate the waterhole, but as night falls,

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the balance of power will shift.

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Thirsty herds continue to arrive throughout the night.

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It's a cooler time to travel.

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In the darkness, the tables turn.

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The elephant's night vision is little better than our own.

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But lions have much more sensitive eyes.

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The cats are hungry, and the elephants seem to sense it.

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Lions don't usually hunt elephants,

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but desperate times require desperate measures.

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This herd contains calves, easier targets.

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But how to reach them?

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The adults encircle their young.

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It's an impenetrable wall of grey.

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A few exhausted stragglers are still arriving.

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One of them is alone.

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But it's too big for the lions to tackle.

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This one looks a little smaller.

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A solitary lion stands no chance,

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but the whole pride is here.

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There are 30 of them and they're specialist elephant hunters.

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This elephant will feed the whole pride for at least a week.

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Elephants know these drinking holes are dangerous,

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but they have no choice.

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The dramas that play out here are a savage reminder

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of how important water is for all life on these plains.

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As the dry season finally draws to a close, Africa's baked savannahs

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undergo a radical change.

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Rain sweeps across the continent

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and grass, the great survivor, rises again.

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And the herds return.

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For months they've been scattered

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over huge areas, clinging to existence around tiny water holes.

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Now, the good times are back.

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A few African savannahs are very special.

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Here, rainwater from far and wide flows across the flat plains.

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Grass is submerged, but still it grows.

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Flooded, burnt, baked and frozen, grass can withstand it all.

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After six months of drought, grass replaces dust over great areas.

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Fresh new shoots draw animals from great distances.

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Many undertake epic migrations to catch the boom time.

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Some resourceful animals live here all the year round.

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Baboons are permanent residents, but they have to change their behaviour

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if they are to gather what they need on the newly flooded plains.

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There's plenty to eat, but getting to it can be a little uncomfortable.

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New water poses problems for the youngsters,

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but they know where to find a dry seat.

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A juicy snail is ample recompense for sodden paws.

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Having survived the dry, barren times,

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animals can now reap the rewards.

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On this seasonal planet,

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the great plains are lands of feast and famine.

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At their peak they support the greatest gatherings

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of wildlife found anywhere on Earth.

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For the Great Plains crew,

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filming lions hunting elephants

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proved to be a very risky business indeed,

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not least because it all happened in total darkness.

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Basing themselves at a camp in the African bush, the crew made

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exhaustive preparations.

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It's almost night time.

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The best way to film wildlife at night is with infrared lights.

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Invisible to animals and humans, but visible to special cameras.

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At night, these infrared lights look bright through the sensitive cameras,

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but to the naked eye this scene is pitch-black.

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It's only visible by looking at the monitor.

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Filming in this way

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means that wildlife could go about its normal business

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entirely undisturbed.

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To stand any chance of filming hunting behaviour,

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the crew had to first find the lions.

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They searched the savannah

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using infrared lights and night vision goggles.

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No, can't see or hear any lions.

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How about you? Over.

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ROARING

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In the blackness, a roar gave the crew their first lead.

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They had found the lions, one of the biggest prides in Africa.

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More than 30 animals surrounded the car and it was impossible to keep

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an eye on them all.

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(Justine, there's one just to your right.)

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-(A lion, right here?!

-Yeah.)

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(There's a lion right next to the door.)

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-(Yeah.

-You see?)

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First impressions are that they're very nice lions I think.

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It's so easy. It wouldn't take a second for them to jump in here!

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There's nothing to stop them getting up here at all.

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That's the worrying thing!

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You just assume they're not gonna try!

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The lions didn't view the crew as prey

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as long as they stayed in the car.

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Leaving the vehicle would have meant serious trouble.

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On some nights the pride moved far, and the crew tried to follow them

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using their infrared lights.

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But the African terrain can be rough on vehicles.

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MECHANICAL SCRAPING

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Breaking down is one thing, but breaking down at night,

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in lion country is very risky indeed.

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Running repairs were always carried out with one person on watch duty.

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(Another puncture. I think it's the fourth or fifth one in this car.)

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Keeping up with the pride was hard...

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even for some of the lions.

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(He's lost!)

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We're following a lost lion!

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During the day it wasn't easy to rest.

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Temperatures soared to 50 degrees Celsius.

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Trying to sleep in the heat of the African day is quite ridiculous.

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You end up getting covered in sweat,

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and then covered in flies.

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It's 12.30. We went to bed at...when, eight?

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Yeah.

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That's not a lot of sleep really, is it?

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After a few hours sleep the team received an important tip off.

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The lions had been found.

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In the heat of the African day, they were sleeping

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in the most comfortable place.

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A remote tourist lodge.

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Been looking for them all over the place, and here they are.

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The non-paying guests!

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It's really shady, and the grass is watered so it's nice and moist

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and then they've got, conveniently, a big swimming pool to drink from.

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The poor guests have been locked in their rooms unable to get out.

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-No game drive.

-Ha! Some holiday!

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Having located the lions relaxing pool-side,

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the crew were back on the case.

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But the lions were still in holiday mode.

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Even away from the tourist lodge, the pride could be inactive

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for long periods.

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If you want to have a sleep let me know

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and we can just watch them from here. Over.

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The crew simply had to adjust to the lions' schedule.

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During all-night stakeouts, tiredness overcame fear.

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Being careful to stay on the car, cat naps were taken

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-whenever possible.

-ROARING

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MANY LIONS ROAR

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The African night is rarely silent.

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ROARING CONTINUES

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Before one beast stops another one starts.

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SNORING AND ROARING

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Eventually the lions and the elephants met.

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(Elephant coming.)

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And with the pride on the prowl, another danger soon became apparent.

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Elephants can't see well at night.

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They panic more easily.

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Distressed herds charging out of the darkness was a frightening prospect.

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Just hope they don't come bowling out the bushes and straight into us.

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The lions were getting hungry.

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Over time the crew learnt

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when and where the lions were likely to try and hunt.

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-But not everything always goes to plan.

-Go, go, go, go, go, go!

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-Come on quick.

-ENGINE TURNS OVER BUT DOESN'T START

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-Quick! Quick, quick! Go! go!

-ENGINE STARTS

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-Shall I go past?

-Hurry up!

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Keep it down. Don't rack it up.

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ROARING AND TRUMPETING

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Got a lion on its back. Keep going.

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Come in. Come in. Do you read me?

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Having waited days, well it's pretty...

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pretty grim now it's happening.

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Yeah. I mean, it's something we really wanted to film, but, um...

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it's, it's not, not, um, very tasteful.

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It's, er, it's quite rare behaviour and we didn't think we were

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able to get it on film.

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But now we're here, it doesn't feel like a privilege to watch,

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but a bit of an ordeal.

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It's never easy for anyone to watch a hunt,

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especially when the odds are stacked like this.

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But the sequence that the crew managed to shoot

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is a valuable record of a very rarely seen behaviour.

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Subtitles by Red Bee Media - 2006

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E-mail [email protected]

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