The Elephant Queen (2019)

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Oh, wise and gentle soul.

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Do you remember...

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when we had it all?

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Do you dream...

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of when we had to leave?

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When you led us out...

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and how it all began.

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Our story starts beside a water hole
that was filled by the storm.

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Among the great herds here
are the world's last giant tuskers.

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Descendants of a noble lineage
that once stretched across Africa.

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Queen of them all is Athena.

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She is a 50-year-old matriarch,
head of her extended family.

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Like most of us, she has neighbors.

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And this is their story too.

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Her family is made up
of female relatives and their calves.

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They are so close that the youngsters
might as well be brothers and sisters.

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Athena's family rely
on her experience and wisdom,

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for she makes the decisions
that determine their survival.

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Her most recent daughter, Princess,
is a year old,

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and calm, like her mother.

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Then there's Wewe,

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the herd's naughty boy.

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He's always trying
to make friends with Princess.

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But he tries too hard,
and often it just gets him into trouble.

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As a boy, Wewe will stay
with the family until he's a teenager

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and then leave home
to join an all-male herd.

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Mimi is the family's newest arrival.

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She was born in the storm.

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It's day one for her
on a lifetime of learning.

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For the next two years, she'll be
totally dependent on her mother's milk.

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Her mother, Mala,
gives birth only once in five years,

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which makes every calf precious.

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While Mala might be the one who feeds her,

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Mimi will be cherished by them all,

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for it takes a herd
to raise an elephant calf.

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This is Athena's kingdom.

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For now, it has everything they need.

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Every day she brings her family
to the main water hole,

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which can be a nuisance for her neighbors.

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But they need the elephants

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'cause they made the water hole
and now keep it open.

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But for bullfrog, it can feel
like the construction never ends.

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Most of the family's neighbors
live at elephant toenail height.

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In one way or another,
they all depend on their giant friends.

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The water hole is home to them all.

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But from the moment the sun comes out,

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it starts to shrink.

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So the race is on to raise their families.

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Bullfrog is on it immediately,

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and there will be tadpoles in no time.

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Beneath them,
the killifish have no way of knowing

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how or when
Athena's family will help them.

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For now,
they have eyes only for each other.

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Each time the male hugs the female,
she lays an egg...

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and then buries it.

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With nightfall, Athena knows
she has to be especially vigilant.

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So her family will sleep on their feet
to better protect Wewe and Mimi.

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But for some of their neighbors...

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the party is just getting going.

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If you're a female foam frog,
a single partner is simply not enough.

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She invites a whole crowd to a foam party.

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It's the first event of the season
at Athena's water hole.

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She'll lay her eggs
in the froth whipped up by the males,

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and they will develop safely inside.

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Up above,
an Egyptian goose is a step ahead.

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She laid her eggs a few weeks ago.

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It will be two months
before her chicks are ready to fly.

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Until then,
the water hole will be their home.

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With Mimi so young,
Athena won't move far from the water.

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She's always cautious until a newborn
starts to put on weight and gets stronger.

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It's the first time
Wewe has met someone younger,

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and he's doing his best to make friends.

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While some are getting started
with their nests,

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others are finishing up.

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It's been a long night for the foam frogs,

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and they're beginning to tire.

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But for one reveler,
at least there's a taxi ride home.

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Sometimes,
a foam frog gets taken for a ride

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whether he wants it or not.

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The foam frog is happy
to sit out in the sun.

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But it can burn a baby's skin,

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so Wewe shows Mimi
where best to find shade.

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While the living is easy,

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Athena can relax
and allow the babies to rest.

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But Wewe never goes down for long.

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He's excited by Mimi's arrival

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and would rather try
and wake his new friend to play.

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Mimi must rest while she can.

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She needs to get strong
so she can keep up with her family.

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Mother Goose wants to get her chicks
to the safety of the water hole.

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It's day one for them too.

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And after a tiring night,
they are in no hurry.

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Besides, what she's proposing
requires a huge leap of faith.

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They've a conflict of instinct

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between wanting to stay together
and joining their parents.

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It takes just a flyby to convince them

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that their best chance of surviving
is to stick close to Mum and Dad.

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In any family, there is always one
who is last and late.

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We'll call him Stephen.

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The parents rely
on their young keeping up with them,

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so they don't know
that Stephen's left behind.

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Just occasionally,
last and late is also lucky.

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Athena's knowledge of the kingdom

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has been handed down
from mother to daughter over centuries.

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Her tusks are the largest
of any matriarch.

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The notch comes
from years of snagging grass and vines.

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The vines she likes most
flower for just a few days each year.

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And she knows just where to find them.

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The prospect of a feast
distracts the family

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from what's happening at toenail height,

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so it's up to her neighbors
to get out of the way.

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Chameleon relies
on her camouflage for protection.

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But there are times
when choosing to stay still and blend in

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is the worst decision to make.

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She's probably as close to panic

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as a chameleon ever comes.

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For Athena's family,

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life at home in the green season
acquires a gentle rhythm.

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She'll let them eat until it warms up

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and then lead them down for a drink.

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It's been only four days since the storm,

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but the foam frogs' nests
have baked in the sun.

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And they are ready.

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For the next few weeks, the water hole
will be home to the frogs' tiny tadpoles.

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As they hatch,
they'll go unnoticed by Athena's family,

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but they won't go unnoticed

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by the killifish and terrapins
living beneath them.

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Only the largest terrapin can reach them.

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His prize is a meringue
with a soft tadpole filling.

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It's Mimi's first time in the water.

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So she starts at the shallow end,

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and she needs no encouragement.

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For Athena's family, this is paradise.

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But unless it rains again,
the water holes will vanish within weeks.

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If that happens, Athena knows
they'll be forced out of the kingdom.

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So they must make the most
of this time of plenty.

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Princess learns what to eat
by copying her mum.

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But the babies are still on milk,

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which gives Wewe time
to brush up on his foot-and-trunk skills.

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But it will be months
before he achieves this level of control.

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Athena is aware
that there is a dry season coming.

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And the only way to prepare for it
is to put on weight.

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It means piling it in.

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But what goes in... must come out.

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For a dung beetle,
it is a gift from the gods.

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The message has traveled far and wide.

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And with others homing in,

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there's no time for a leisurely lunch.

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He needs to ball it up and roll it away
as quickly as possible,

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for there are bandits out there.

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The victor now has to find ground
soft enough to bury his ball

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so he can feed in peace.

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Besides feeding dung beetles,

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Athena's family provides the kingdom
with a free gardening service.

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Most of the seeds they eat
pass through them undigested,

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to be planted in neat balls of compost
wherever they go.

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Tortoise is waiting for someone.

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And for what he has in mind,
he needs to snack now while he can.

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With no sign of rain, every day is hotter
and tempers start to fray.

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With incoming elephants
and such a young family,

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the geese need to keep a safe distance.

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But with the water level dropping
and a hot herd,

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that becomes difficult.

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They know better than to react to a bully.

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So she decides to save face
by taking it out on a dove.

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Once again, Stephen's left it late.

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And he's left behind.

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And this time, he is lost.

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For tortoise, life is looking up.

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A female has come down to drink.

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He can intercept her easily enough.

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But to impress her, he has to prove
he has stamina equal to her own.

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And that means going for a walk.

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A long walk.

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Stephen has never seen
such creatures before.

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But he's going to have to get streetwise

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if he's to stand any chance
of being reunited with his family.

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From being last and late,

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Stephen has progressed
to being lost and lucky.

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Some of Athena's neighbors drop by
only when the grasslands start to dry

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and food is on offer.

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The bee-eaters join Athena's family
for just a few days,

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when the kingdom's grasshoppers
are at their juiciest.

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They rely on the family to flush them out.

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The bee-eaters' friendship will last
just as long as there are grasshoppers.

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As soon as they're finished,
the birds will move on.

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Stephen is as excited about grasshoppers
as anyone.

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He might lack ability, but not ambition.

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Down at toenail height,
dung beetle is still on a mission.

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He might look
like he's pushing his ball forwards,

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but he's actually upside down,
dribbling it backwards.

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He can't see where he's going,
but that doesn't bother him.

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His determination
is out of all proportion to his size.

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Now that he's got the ball,
he just hates to let go of it...

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no matter how big the opposition.

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Athena's team haven't scored,

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but they have kicked the ball out of play,

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which allows dung beetle
to regain possession.

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Athena's family rarely get
to meet some of their neighbors.

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Whenever the terrapins hear them coming,
they make themselves scarce.

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But the storm was weeks ago,

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and the water is now so shallow
that there's nowhere to hide.

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Even a killifish
finds himself high and dry.

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The water hole has been his entire world.

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But with so little water left,
his time is almost over.

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With the pool party getting rowdy,

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they all risk getting squashed.

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So those that can leave
make a break for it.

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And that just attracts attention.

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Elephants live tactile lives.

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They use their sensitive trunks and feet
to explore anything new.

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There's no malice here, just curiosity.

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In elephant society, aggression is rare...

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even between bulls

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when they join Athena's family
at the kingdom's salt lick.

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Instead, there's a greeting,

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a quiet acknowledgement of status...

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and then sharing.

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Mining the salt-rich soil takes practice.

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It's about foot-and-trunk coordination
and then breath control.

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For Wewe, it's a challenge.

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If he breathes too hard,
the tickly dust goes straight up his nose.

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But he's working on ways
to stop a sneeze from getting out.

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It's so distracting that, for a moment,
he loses sight of his friend.

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Mimi always seems to be hungry,

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yet she never suckles for long.

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It's the only time her big sister, Milly,
gets involved

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and tries to keep Wewe away.

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For Mala is not producing much milk...

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and Mimi needs every mouthful she can get.

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At the end of each day, everyone is tired.

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Mother Goose has no way of knowing
that Stephen is still missing.

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Throughout the kingdom, most
of the water holes have already dried,

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and Athena is getting restless.

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She knows now
that they will have to leave,

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but she's concerned that Mimi might not
be strong enough to make the journey.

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She seems to get hung up in situations

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that most babies
would take in their stride.

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For her friends, it's difficult to know
whether she's in trouble

240
00:40:40,899 --> 00:40:42,484
or just very tired.

241
00:40:52,995 --> 00:40:55,247
But when Athena rumbles, "Move on,"

242
00:40:55,831 --> 00:40:57,833
everyone has to fall in line.

243
00:41:01,753 --> 00:41:04,631
And for a baby elephant,
there is nothing worse

244
00:41:04,715 --> 00:41:07,176
than the prospect of being left behind.

245
00:41:18,770 --> 00:41:22,816
It's not just Athena who feels
the approach of a time of change.

246
00:41:28,363 --> 00:41:32,034
Almost overnight,
bullfrog's new family have grown legs

247
00:41:33,285 --> 00:41:36,747
and are now driven to leave the water
to start a life on land.

248
00:41:43,545 --> 00:41:47,674
Luckily for them,
their new bones are still very soft.

249
00:42:14,076 --> 00:42:17,538
But they'd rather not push their luck
with three tons of elephant.

250
00:42:49,361 --> 00:42:52,739
Athena hasn't set off
for their dry-season refuge yet

251
00:42:53,699 --> 00:42:55,701
because Mimi is struggling.

252
00:43:02,708 --> 00:43:04,543
She needs her mother's encouragement.

253
00:43:29,985 --> 00:43:33,363
With the dry season setting in,
there's no going back.

254
00:43:35,407 --> 00:43:38,535
But just occasionally, nature smiles

255
00:43:38,994 --> 00:43:41,038
and gives back what she took away.

256
00:44:11,443 --> 00:44:14,029
Hopefully, Stephen's night alone

257
00:44:14,112 --> 00:44:17,324
has shown him
just how much he needs his family.

258
00:44:25,707 --> 00:44:28,126
The last froglets
are now ready to come ashore.

259
00:44:29,711 --> 00:44:32,464
But those that emerged first are bigger,

260
00:44:33,632 --> 00:44:34,633
and they are waiting.

261
00:44:59,950 --> 00:45:02,202
For a bullfrog
to get the best start in life,

262
00:45:03,620 --> 00:45:07,249
it helps to have a big mouth
and small relatives.

263
00:45:22,514 --> 00:45:25,684
In the kingdom,
weeks without rain have taken their toll.

264
00:45:26,351 --> 00:45:28,812
But if Athena was ever
in doubt about what's coming,

265
00:45:29,271 --> 00:45:31,940
the arrival
of the great flocks confirms it.

266
00:45:53,212 --> 00:45:57,549
As the lands around dry,
quelea are forced to migrate.

267
00:46:17,694 --> 00:46:20,822
Their whirlwind arrival
can be overwhelming.

268
00:46:28,830 --> 00:46:33,001
And they'll drink in a day
what Athena's family drinks in a week.

269
00:47:02,614 --> 00:47:06,201
By the time they move on,
they've drunk the water hole dry.

270
00:47:18,380 --> 00:47:20,966
Athena's family
will use the mud as sunscreen.

271
00:47:22,092 --> 00:47:24,011
And this is vital for the killifish,

272
00:47:24,887 --> 00:47:27,306
for they left their eggs
hidden in the mud.

273
00:47:31,143 --> 00:47:33,979
They developed into tiny fish,
but never hatched.

274
00:47:35,480 --> 00:47:37,733
They can survive out of water for weeks.

275
00:47:38,984 --> 00:47:41,069
So when Athena's family move on,

276
00:47:41,486 --> 00:47:43,780
they will carry tiny passengers with them.

277
00:47:48,410 --> 00:47:52,539
In this way, the killifish babies
get to move between water holes

278
00:47:53,165 --> 00:47:54,499
by riding on elephants.

279
00:48:14,770 --> 00:48:16,855
Athena knows she should have left by now,

280
00:48:17,523 --> 00:48:21,360
but the nearest permanent water
is almost 100 miles away.

281
00:48:23,362 --> 00:48:27,366
And she delayed
in the hope that Mimi would get stronger.

282
00:48:32,955 --> 00:48:37,084
Mala is now so protective
that even Wewe is no longer welcome.

283
00:48:43,382 --> 00:48:46,134
Mimi's big sister, Milly,
can give her comfort

284
00:48:46,218 --> 00:48:49,137
but not the milk she so desperately needs.

285
00:48:52,516 --> 00:48:56,103
Only time will tell whether Athena's
decision to delay was the right one.

286
00:48:59,231 --> 00:49:00,649
She now has no choice.

287
00:49:01,900 --> 00:49:03,360
The kingdom is without water,

288
00:49:04,653 --> 00:49:06,655
and ahead of them the pools are drying.

289
00:49:08,240 --> 00:49:10,450
They must head for the refuge.

290
00:49:48,697 --> 00:49:51,575
Mala and Milly now work together.

291
00:50:36,828 --> 00:50:38,580
However much Athena might want to,

292
00:50:39,164 --> 00:50:43,961
as matriarch, she cannot put Mimi's needs
above those of the whole family.

293
00:51:18,620 --> 00:51:20,956
While Mala and Mimi head down to drink,

294
00:51:21,790 --> 00:51:23,959
Athena will take the others to feed,

295
00:51:24,543 --> 00:51:27,045
for she must try
to balance everyone's needs.

296
00:52:21,266 --> 00:52:26,021
Mimi's desperation to drink can only mean
that Mala's milk has dried up.

297
00:52:27,606 --> 00:52:28,774
But Mala can't know that.

298
00:52:29,942 --> 00:52:33,445
She knows that a weak calf
can easily become trapped in mud,

299
00:52:34,279 --> 00:52:37,824
and her instinct is to do
everything she can to keep Mimi away.

300
00:53:24,329 --> 00:53:25,956
Mimi is not yet weaned.

301
00:53:26,498 --> 00:53:28,500
So if she's not been getting milk,

302
00:53:29,168 --> 00:53:30,752
she's not been getting food.

303
00:54:03,285 --> 00:54:06,413
There are times when a mother
needs her daughter's support.

304
00:54:19,510 --> 00:54:21,428
It's what family is for.

305
00:55:04,680 --> 00:55:06,473
The next day, it is hotter,

306
00:55:07,015 --> 00:55:09,601
and Athena's predicament, even worse.

307
00:55:13,939 --> 00:55:16,149
She doesn't want to leave Mimi behind,

308
00:55:16,233 --> 00:55:19,069
but neither can she
put her entire family at risk.

309
00:55:30,789 --> 00:55:33,041
Athena knows
that they've reached the last pool.

310
00:55:34,126 --> 00:55:36,170
And today it will dry.

311
00:55:39,798 --> 00:55:44,303
A terrapin senses it too and will dig deep
into the mud while he can.

312
00:55:46,221 --> 00:55:50,309
He'd rather risk being stepped on
than caught out by the dry season.

313
00:56:03,238 --> 00:56:05,365
Mala will never give up.

314
00:56:41,610 --> 00:56:46,573
But in the end,
Mimi's tiny heart can take her no further.

315
00:59:35,617 --> 00:59:38,412
For a mother, there is nothing worse.

316
01:00:00,559 --> 01:00:04,897
Sometimes, however sad,
there is release in death.

317
01:00:21,496 --> 01:00:25,667
But for Wewe,
the loss of his friend is especially hard.

318
01:00:38,931 --> 01:00:41,558
Athena knows
she cannot afford another delay.

319
01:00:42,601 --> 01:00:45,687
It will take three days
to reach the dry-season refuge.

320
01:00:46,605 --> 01:00:48,106
And she has left it so late

321
01:00:49,107 --> 01:00:51,527
that there is nowhere
they can drink on the way.

322
01:01:10,879 --> 01:01:13,674
There is no time to stop and comfort Wewe.

323
01:01:36,822 --> 01:01:38,991
Behind them, where there was a water hole,

324
01:01:39,491 --> 01:01:42,536
is now the soft ground
that dung beetle's been looking for.

325
01:01:49,918 --> 01:01:52,129
The killifish are but a memory.

326
01:01:58,093 --> 01:02:02,598
Bullfrog will dig down to spend
the next months deep below ground.

327
01:02:08,187 --> 01:02:10,522
It's been two months
since Stephen hatched.

328
01:02:11,190 --> 01:02:13,525
And the young geese are now fully grown.

329
01:02:27,039 --> 01:02:29,249
They, too, will head for the refuge...

330
01:02:40,219 --> 01:02:43,263
following the same paths as the elephants.

331
01:02:47,809 --> 01:02:51,563
Every day,
Athena stops briefly so they can feed.

332
01:02:55,984 --> 01:02:57,528
They are kinder to Wewe now.

333
01:02:58,487 --> 01:03:00,280
Even Princess is more tolerant.

334
01:03:15,587 --> 01:03:17,506
Milly has no milk to give,

335
01:03:18,173 --> 01:03:20,759
but Wewe's suckling
will comfort them both.

336
01:03:38,777 --> 01:03:43,031
Athena's route out of the kingdom
is a mind map of elephant paths

337
01:03:43,824 --> 01:03:47,286
that she learned from her mother
and has never forgotten.

338
01:03:53,834 --> 01:03:55,711
There are badlands to cross.

339
01:05:02,986 --> 01:05:04,446
But they don't walk alone.

340
01:05:05,906 --> 01:05:08,325
All are heading for the refuge.

341
01:05:35,018 --> 01:05:38,063
The refuge is a water hole
fed from underground.

342
01:05:39,189 --> 01:05:42,860
Even at the height of the dry season,
there is water for all.

343
01:06:18,061 --> 01:06:21,648
Along with the elephants,
Stephen's family will be refugees,

344
01:06:23,233 --> 01:06:26,403
waiting here until the rains come
and they can all go home.

345
01:07:13,867 --> 01:07:16,578
Athena comes here
only in the driest years.

346
01:07:18,205 --> 01:07:22,042
It is the one occasion
that her status as monarch is equaled.

347
01:07:56,994 --> 01:08:01,206
This is Satao, king of them all.

348
01:08:03,083 --> 01:08:05,586
A tusker of mythical proportions.

349
01:08:14,845 --> 01:08:17,305
He is a gentle giant...

350
01:08:19,057 --> 01:08:20,975
to whom all defer.

351
01:09:15,738 --> 01:09:17,866
He's been out in the wilderness all year

352
01:09:18,825 --> 01:09:22,203
and will use this occasion to see
if any female is in season.

353
01:09:34,508 --> 01:09:37,135
Nusu is a young female
from Athena's family.

354
01:09:38,428 --> 01:09:39,763
But she's heavily pregnant.

355
01:10:01,201 --> 01:10:04,955
For the first time since Mimi died,
Wewe enjoys himself.

356
01:10:08,166 --> 01:10:10,836
It's a chance for him
to meet calves from other families.

357
01:10:18,969 --> 01:10:23,056
And when he's exhausted from playing,
there's always his family to help out.

358
01:10:41,992 --> 01:10:46,413
As the dry season progresses,
food at the refuge becomes scarce.

359
01:10:52,669 --> 01:10:56,507
So each evening, Athena's family
must travel further to feed.

360
01:11:20,030 --> 01:11:23,909
After every journey out,
they must all come back to water.

361
01:11:38,465 --> 01:11:39,675
It is their lifeline.

362
01:11:40,717 --> 01:11:43,136
But it ties them to the refuge,

363
01:11:43,220 --> 01:11:45,347
and the knot is slowly tightening.

364
01:11:55,148 --> 01:11:58,902
They have little energy,
for almost everything has been eaten.

365
01:12:01,572 --> 01:12:05,909
What started out as a refuge
has gradually turned into a prison.

366
01:12:17,629 --> 01:12:19,173
When the rains don't arrive,

367
01:12:19,756 --> 01:12:22,968
what began as a dry season
turns into a drought.

368
01:12:23,760 --> 01:12:27,639
And the consequences
and casualties start to build.

369
01:12:55,042 --> 01:12:56,543
Athena dares not leave,

370
01:12:57,211 --> 01:13:00,130
for there is no other water
within walking distance.

371
01:13:17,981 --> 01:13:23,028
In such a drought,
what kills is not thirst but starvation.

372
01:13:27,324 --> 01:13:31,036
For them all, it is only a matter of time.

373
01:14:07,531 --> 01:14:12,244
In her 50 years, Athena has never
experienced a drought so bad.

374
01:14:17,541 --> 01:14:21,420
The decision she now has to make
has never been more critical.

375
01:14:31,471 --> 01:14:34,975
This time, the lives of her entire family
are at stake.

376
01:14:36,643 --> 01:14:39,271
If she stays, they will starve.

377
01:14:40,647 --> 01:14:42,608
But if she leaves and times it wrong,

378
01:14:43,567 --> 01:14:44,985
they will all die of thirst.

379
01:14:49,573 --> 01:14:54,369
Whatever the outcome,
the responsibility is hers alone.

380
01:15:13,096 --> 01:15:14,598
Such is their faith in her,

381
01:15:15,516 --> 01:15:19,811
that when she decides to head
back to the kingdom, no one hesitates.

382
01:15:25,943 --> 01:15:27,986
For she is their matriarch.

383
01:15:29,613 --> 01:15:31,281
They would follow her anywhere.

384
01:16:21,498 --> 01:16:24,543
Back in her kingdom, it is no better.

385
01:16:54,531 --> 01:17:00,704
Where the water hole was, those
that dug down are alive but entombed,

386
01:17:04,458 --> 01:17:07,294
trapped in a state of suspended animation.

387
01:17:19,640 --> 01:17:22,476
For them all, for the spell to be broken,

388
01:17:23,602 --> 01:17:24,686
it must rain.

389
01:17:43,497 --> 01:17:44,873
Out in the badlands,

390
01:17:45,499 --> 01:17:48,335
the family do their best
to protect Wewe from the sun.

391
01:18:03,642 --> 01:18:06,395
But he has to walk two steps to their one.

392
01:18:12,526 --> 01:18:14,444
And that takes its toll.

393
01:18:53,567 --> 01:18:55,444
When Athena finally stops,

394
01:18:56,361 --> 01:19:01,074
it's not to look for food
but to remember one of their own.

395
01:19:27,935 --> 01:19:30,771
For a few moments,
the drought is forgotten

396
01:19:31,522 --> 01:19:34,441
as they join in an understanding
of what was

397
01:19:35,734 --> 01:19:38,570
and what it means to be one of their kind.

398
01:20:12,646 --> 01:20:15,691
Where they are heading
is still gripped by the drought.

399
01:21:08,285 --> 01:21:10,704
With the kingdom just a day's walk away,

400
01:21:11,538 --> 01:21:15,042
there is only one thing
that could cause Athena to stop.

401
01:21:24,843 --> 01:21:27,471
After carrying her baby
for almost two years,

402
01:21:29,056 --> 01:21:30,724
Nusu has given birth.

403
01:21:35,646 --> 01:21:37,314
Her baby is a girl.

404
01:21:45,239 --> 01:21:47,491
She knows nothing
of what she's been born into.

405
01:21:50,536 --> 01:21:53,163
Her priority is to find her first meal.

406
01:22:03,006 --> 01:22:06,218
As ever, Wewe is eager to make friends.

407
01:22:44,715 --> 01:22:47,342
It would seem the worst time to be born.

408
01:22:52,639 --> 01:22:54,349
But Athena knows differently.

409
01:22:57,269 --> 01:23:01,190
For thousands of years, her kind were
thought to be able to summon the rain.

410
01:23:03,483 --> 01:23:07,237
The truth is
that she could sense rain coming

411
01:23:07,321 --> 01:23:09,406
when it was over 100 miles away.

412
01:23:39,686 --> 01:23:43,065
There is only one way
to rebalance the kingdom.

413
01:24:37,369 --> 01:24:39,538
It's been a year
since they saw water flow,

414
01:24:40,038 --> 01:24:41,415
and it comes as a shock.

415
01:25:05,189 --> 01:25:09,735
In Africa, to be born on the cusp
of the rains is a sign of good fortune.

416
01:25:12,696 --> 01:25:14,990
For rain is always cause for celebration.

417
01:25:57,241 --> 01:26:01,912
Once again, the elephant paths
will channel water to fill water holes.

418
01:26:17,177 --> 01:26:19,972
Underground, the rain is a wake-up call.

419
01:28:03,617 --> 01:28:06,703
Just as every smile
leaves its impression on a face,

420
01:28:07,704 --> 01:28:11,124
so every journey
leaves its imprint on this continent.

421
01:28:18,131 --> 01:28:20,259
The young geese
are still a tight-knit group.

422
01:28:21,301 --> 01:28:24,513
But it won't be long before they start
to look for mates of their own.

423
01:28:38,402 --> 01:28:42,739
And true to form,
Stephen is last and late.

424
01:29:04,303 --> 01:29:07,097
Tortoise's courtship
has been slow and steady,

425
01:29:08,348 --> 01:29:10,267
but he has finally been accepted.

426
01:29:37,794 --> 01:29:41,882
Once again, the water hole
will be a lifeline for them all.

427
01:30:00,484 --> 01:30:03,779
For Wewe, there is no place like home.

428
01:30:07,407 --> 01:30:10,953
And there is nothing quite like
having a new friend to share it with.

429
01:30:25,759 --> 01:30:28,762
Great droughts bring great rains.

430
01:30:30,264 --> 01:30:34,309
And the kingdom's flush of new growth
draws in other families

431
01:30:34,393 --> 01:30:36,854
in a way that hasn't happened for decades.

432
01:30:53,954 --> 01:30:58,625
For a few days,
they form a super-herd, 1,000 strong.

433
01:30:59,418 --> 01:31:02,713
The largest gathering of their kind
on the planet.

434
01:31:32,326 --> 01:31:35,454
The journey has brought
Wewe and Princess together

435
01:31:36,455 --> 01:31:39,166
and has been the first step
in acquiring the knowledge

436
01:31:39,249 --> 01:31:41,251
that will help them through their lives.

437
01:31:44,296 --> 01:31:46,465
There will be more droughts to face,

438
01:31:47,591 --> 01:31:51,803
but Athena's family will never forget
the extraordinary matriarch

439
01:31:52,471 --> 01:31:55,641
who led them out... and brought them home.

440
01:32:20,958 --> 01:32:24,127
Only a handful
of such giant tuskers remain.

441
01:32:29,883 --> 01:32:34,596
Today, this small corner of the continent
still belongs to them.

442
01:32:39,226 --> 01:32:42,354
It reminds us of how it once was...

443
01:32:45,148 --> 01:32:48,193
when the whole of Africa was theirs.