Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:21,280
This is the highest, widest
mountain range in southern Africa.
2
00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:26,560
Named for its brooding
and unpredictable nature.
3
00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:38,600
The Drakensberg,
or Dragon Mountains.
4
00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,520
Some say they're a friend
only to vultures.
5
00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:52,000
It's an uncompromising place
to produce new life.
6
00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:57,560
Yet eland antelope have found
a way to eke out an existence
7
00:00:57,560 --> 00:00:59,960
on these slopes,
despite the hardship.
8
00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,840
All the animals here must
constantly negotiate a living
9
00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:13,480
with this beast of a mountain.
10
00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:24,520
The Drakensberg present an almost
mythical set of challenges,
11
00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:26,600
but every year, eland prepare
12
00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:30,640
to meet the mountains head-on,
as they start their long climb
13
00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:32,560
to the very top of this world.
14
00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,120
Mountains are hostile places,
15
00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:58,400
and the Drakensberg has
a particularly dark reputation.
16
00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:04,800
It's far, far older than the
creatures it dominates, its birth
the most violent imaginable.
17
00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:16,960
160 million years ago,
18
00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:21,520
as Gondwanaland split into
the continents we know today,
19
00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:25,080
lava poured out across
the Drakensberg region,
20
00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:28,720
and cooled into layers
of resistant basalt rock.
21
00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,800
The toughest basalt still caps
the Drakensberg peaks,
22
00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,840
while softer sandstone
has succumbed to aeons of erosion.
23
00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:49,880
Our story lies at the heart
of this thousand-mile stretch
24
00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:53,520
of soaring mountaintops
and precipitous ravines.
25
00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,800
There's often a 2,000 metre drop
to the valley floor.
26
00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:21,080
Vultures fly so high
that local legend says
they can see into the future.
27
00:03:29,640 --> 00:03:33,200
Flight is one of the few ways
to cross these mountains.
28
00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:39,360
Not for nothing have Zulu people
called it Ukhahlamba -
the barrier of spears.
29
00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,840
The steep valleys of sandstone
propping up vertiginous basalt
30
00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:55,120
escarpments might seem the
last place to find these animals.
31
00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:07,800
Eland antelope are more
usually at home in Africa's
deserts and savannah.
32
00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:12,600
They seem like trespassers on the
Drakensberg's lower alpine pastures.
33
00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:16,040
In fact, they are no strangers
to these dizzying heights.
34
00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:35,680
The artists who painted
these images were San Bushmen,
35
00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:39,400
who revered the eland as a source
of nourishment and strength.
36
00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:55,520
The paintings are 2,400 years old.
37
00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,800
The eland's struggles
with the Dragon Mountains
go back way further.
38
00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:15,400
Eland don't look like
natural mountaineers.
39
00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:18,320
They're Africa's largest antelope.
40
00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:20,760
Bulls can weigh as much
as 800 kilograms.
41
00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:24,160
Even so, they will soon need
to climb even higher.
42
00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:38,240
The newborn calves have no idea
of the ordeal that lies ahead.
43
00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:43,760
For now, they are insulated
by motherly love.
44
00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:55,680
Many eland are born in spring,
as adults gather in advance
of their remarkable expedition.
45
00:05:55,680 --> 00:06:00,880
It's also when the grass carpeting
the lower Drakensberg slopes
is most nutritious.
46
00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:03,760
It helps the mothers
produce plenty of milk.
47
00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:34,360
Calves take their first steps
within the hour.
48
00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:39,880
But it'll be a while before they
are strong enough to escape from
predators, or to run with the herd.
49
00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:52,120
To stay out of harm's way,
the calf lies low in the meadow,
waiting patiently for its next feed,
50
00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,440
and allowing its mother
to stay with the herd.
51
00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:11,760
Eland are instinctively
wary of predators,
so they prefer not to graze alone.
52
00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:19,280
As the calves get stronger,
53
00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:25,400
and as spring grass shoots appear
on higher slopes, the Dragon
Mountains will tempt them upwards.
54
00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:42,520
Above the gathering eland herds,
but below the basalt escarpment,
live chacma baboons.
55
00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:50,840
Born small but smart, baboons rely
on intelligence to deal with
the difficulties of mountain life.
56
00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:55,760
They also depend on each other,
not only for affection.
57
00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:02,080
Within their extended families,
they learn everything.
58
00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:06,680
How to find food,
even in hard times...
59
00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:12,320
What is smart behaviour...
60
00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:17,120
..and what might lead to trouble.
61
00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,200
An infant's family
is its safety net.
62
00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:35,160
The adults are always on full alert.
63
00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:42,600
Jackals are persistent, but they are
no match for full-grown baboons.
64
00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:06,000
Jackals roam up and down
the slopes looking for anything
small and defenceless.
65
00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,200
But the calf has an
effective deterrent -
66
00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:28,600
its mother's sharp horns.
67
00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:40,640
Predators may be the least
of the elands' concerns.
68
00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:49,240
The higher they climb, the more
exposed calves will be to the
Dragon Mountains' violent moods.
69
00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:12,440
Within minutes,
the middle Drakensberg experiences
a catastrophic drop in temperature.
70
00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:21,440
The only way baboons can avoid
exposure is to huddle up against
the mountain's flanks.
71
00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:35,240
Below them,
the eland have no shelter at all.
72
00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:47,520
This is the calves' first experience
of the Drakensberg's fickle nature.
73
00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:51,120
A break in the clouds
is just a tease.
74
00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:57,240
From here on, the mountains will
not just dictate the weather, but
control where the eland can feed.
75
00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:06,200
Generally in Africa, the rainy
season is a long-awaited blessing.
76
00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:09,520
Up here, there's a heavy price
to pay.
77
00:11:17,560 --> 00:11:22,760
The rain can be incessant, bringing
not just cold, but hunger, too.
78
00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:31,480
It dilutes
the nutrients in the soil,
and the grass loses its goodness.
79
00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:33,760
It turns too sour to eat.
80
00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:48,080
The longer it rains, the greater
the need to find new pasture.
81
00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:59,080
The adults have fat reserves
to help keep them warm.
82
00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:01,840
But the smaller,
leaner calves will suffer.
83
00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:20,720
When the conditions turn against
them, the herd faces a long trek.
84
00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:27,520
Better grass will be spouting higher
up, but that means starting the
calves on their gruelling climb.
85
00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:31,720
This first year of life
will be touch and go.
86
00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:56,360
The mountain's scavengers
are ever-alert for those
too weak to move.
87
00:12:56,360 --> 00:13:00,520
Today, one little calf has lost
its battle with the cold.
88
00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:08,120
Cape vultures specialise
in cleaning up the carcass.
89
00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:13,640
A jackal might have
better luck here.
90
00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:26,160
Baboons and mother elands send
jackals packing, but not vultures.
91
00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,000
A bearded vulture
is last on the scene.
92
00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:04,920
But that's because it's not
going to waste its energy
competing for the meat.
93
00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:14,240
It's waiting for the leftovers.
94
00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:23,400
90% of the bearded vulture's diet
is bone marrow.
95
00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:28,560
However, their beaks are not strong
enough to crack the bones open.
96
00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:33,560
This darker-faced juvenile
needs to use the powerful
thermals to help with that.
97
00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:54,120
Bearded vultures deliberately
drop bones from a great height.
98
00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:58,200
Once they've shattered, the birds
can get to the marrow inside.
99
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:11,000
They can even eat the bone itself.
100
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,200
Strong stomach acids will digest it.
101
00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:27,240
Pound for pound,
bone is more nutritious than meat.
102
00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:33,280
So far from being the poor relations
of the vulture world, these birds
can exploit a valuable resource.
103
00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:43,520
Despite this,
they are very rare birds.
104
00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:40,560
It may be a tough place to live,
but the Drakensberg
is a guardian to many.
105
00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:46,280
Without such vast, open spaces,
bearded vultures would be
in serious decline.
106
00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:55,760
Above all, this is the region's
most important watershed.
107
00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:04,320
The 800-metre drop of the
Tugela Falls, the world's
108
00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:08,800
second highest waterfall, turns
the stream into a veil of rainbows.
109
00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:18,960
The Drakensberg's huge mass
influences the weather,
and therefore all life around it.
110
00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:25,200
The water flowing off the Dragon's
back is the source of South Africa's
largest and longest rivers.
111
00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:49,560
By the time spring turns to summer,
the eland will have climbed many
hundreds of metres to the mid-Berg,
112
00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:53,480
where they skirt the slopes
in their search for fresh grass.
113
00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:57,720
It offers adults and calves
the chance to build up body fat.
114
00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:11,000
Capricious weather at these
altitudes doesn't just affect
the quality of grass.
115
00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:17,920
Flowering plants must be tough to
survive the mountains' demanding
regime of rain and frost.
116
00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:23,120
Wind is another great enemy, sucking
moisture from every leaf and flower,
117
00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:25,880
so most plants huddle
close to the ground.
118
00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:37,640
Pollination is the greatest
challenge of all...
119
00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:48,520
..which is why one flower
times its opening to the
emergence of this beetle.
120
00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:04,880
A protea flower has cast its spell
on the scarab beetle.
121
00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:17,360
As the beetle roams through the
petals, it collects a dusting
122
00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:20,560
of pollen, which it will carry
to the next flower.
123
00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:28,720
Summer won't last long
at this height.
124
00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:32,360
Flowers can't just rely on insects
to help them set seed.
125
00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,480
Sugarbirds can do the job too.
126
00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:44,000
But it's the protea's sweet nectar
which draws them in.
127
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:48,280
The feathers on their heads
will transfer the precious pollen
to the next bloom.
128
00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:57,760
During these fleeting summer months,
the eland will mate.
129
00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:08,560
The females release
an enticing scent
130
00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:12,240
which encourages dominant bulls
to make advances...
131
00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:24,280
..only to be rejected.
132
00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:26,040
The females aren't ready just yet.
133
00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:35,960
But that won't stop the males
thrashing about in the vegetation,
checking out the field...
134
00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:43,360
..or putting on an
eye-catching display.
135
00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:03,280
In these middle ranges,
the grass has set seed,
136
00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:07,440
providing a highly nutritious feast
for the baboons.
137
00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:10,520
They might spend all day
harvesting and eating.
138
00:21:23,120 --> 00:21:26,320
But the Drakensberg
is never generous for long.
139
00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:35,320
Now these middle altitude meadows
are at the mercy
140
00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:39,200
of the frequent summer storms,
whipped up by the mountains.
141
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:48,320
They drain the grass
of its food value.
142
00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:55,400
Once again, the eland
will have to move on.
143
00:21:55,400 --> 00:22:01,040
They'll need to find still higher
slopes where heavy rain has not yet
leached the goodness from the grass.
144
00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:19,120
The baboons in the mid-Berg
are hardened to this.
145
00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:30,560
The grass may no longer taste very
good, but they can eat other things.
146
00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:41,200
There are roots worth digging for.
147
00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:51,880
It means the baboons can stay put,
while the eland
are always forced on.
148
00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:03,480
As the summer rains continue,
149
00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:07,600
the grasses pull their remaining
nutrients back to their roots.
150
00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:10,320
What's left is no better than straw.
151
00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:18,760
For the wandering eland,
152
00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:23,120
opportunities to find pasture
close off behind them.
153
00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:36,800
As a last resort, they seek out
valleys where they can browse
154
00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:40,760
on the leaves of trees known as
ouhout, or "old wood".
155
00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:47,200
Even the smallest calves
can reach the lower leaves.
156
00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:52,800
But the old wood
comes with a bite.
157
00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:56,360
Fire ants nest along the branches.
158
00:23:56,360 --> 00:23:58,600
They can sting
as painfully as wasps,
159
00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:02,640
and will surge out to defend their
homes against browsers like eland.
160
00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:12,320
The ants are the warrior-herdsmen
of their world,
161
00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:15,960
and have livestock to guard -
aphids.
162
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:21,840
The ants milk the aphids
for their honeydew secretions.
163
00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:26,360
The aphids, in return,
gain the fire ants' protection.
164
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:36,600
The leaves also flourish,
thanks to the ants.
165
00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:40,520
Even the hungriest eland doesn't
like being stung in the mouth.
166
00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:43,560
It serves to move the whole herd on.
167
00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:52,720
There is little rest
and not much food.
168
00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:56,600
The Dragon Mountains all too
easily claim another young victim.
169
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:09,040
Not all eland calves
are born in spring.
170
00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:11,840
Those dropped now are
especially vulnerable.
171
00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:17,040
The mothers are struggling
to feed themselves, let alone
produce milk for four months.
172
00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:36,000
Many newborns
won't survive this journey,
173
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:39,920
and there are many creatures waiting
to benefit from their demise.
174
00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:59,640
The jackal must decide whether
the scraps are worth a tussle
with the vultures.
175
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:07,440
But on this occasion, the vultures
appear determined to have the last
of the carcass for themselves.
176
00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:34,880
The slopes have never
seemed more desolate.
177
00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,200
But the eland cannot retreat.
178
00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:39,920
There's nothing to eat
at lower altitudes.
179
00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:45,760
Their only option is to carry on up
the mountains, and the river courses
are the easiest routes there.
180
00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:00,640
Along the banks
there is some respite.
181
00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:07,400
This long march in search of food
is particularly taxing
for the hungry calves.
182
00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:13,240
But, day by day, their stamina
is increasing, and they become
better able to withstand hardship.
183
00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:25,280
Rainfall is so high in the
Drakensberg that the thin soils
184
00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:29,240
are readily stripped
of what richness they contain.
185
00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:31,600
Mountain streams benefit.
186
00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:44,440
The wide-mouthed frog
makes a good living here,
187
00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:47,280
by hunting almost everything else.
188
00:27:54,960 --> 00:28:00,200
There's an abundance of crabs,
which thrive on decaying
plants and animals.
189
00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:09,920
And the wide-mouthed frog
lives up to its name.
190
00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:23,280
It can't be the easiest of meals.
191
00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:26,160
But nothing on this mountain
is straightforward.
192
00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:33,720
Soon it becomes clear why the eland
have staked everything on their
upward climb.
193
00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:48,520
The higher they go,
the cooler it is,
and the later the seasonal change.
194
00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:53,560
At 2.5 kilometres above sea level,
the grass is only now springing up.
195
00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:04,600
The herds also become more
concentrated - up to 300 strong.
196
00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:16,280
Even the heaviest males will make
the assault on the Dragon Mountains'
steep upper slopes.
197
00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:42,520
To the baboons that live all year
round at these incredible heights,
198
00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:44,600
the eland are a travelling
sideshow,
199
00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:47,840
worth little more
than a moment's curiosity.
200
00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:21,120
Arriving on these high altitude
pastures is like entering
a second spring.
201
00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:36,920
The air may be a little rarefied,
but so is the elands' palate.
202
00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:40,880
What guides them in their wanderings
is simply the quality of grass.
203
00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:52,840
But up here, close to the spine
of the Dragon Mountains,
204
00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:56,120
they are exposed
to its most terrifying force.
205
00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:08,120
The baboons seem to know
what's coming.
206
00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:19,400
The Dragon Mountains have a habit
of turning lightning into fire.
207
00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:38,360
The smell of burning
is new to the calves.
208
00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:40,520
Instinctive fear makes them flee.
209
00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:05,440
After an electric storm, there's
no rain to quench the flames.
210
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:21,400
These dry lightning fires can sweep
up the mountain at incredible speed,
211
00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:24,480
and eland are in danger
of becoming trapped.
212
00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:51,440
The fire-breathing mountains
have laid waste to the vegetation.
213
00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:55,320
Few trees survive
a scorching like this.
214
00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:03,320
But in time,
the grasses will return.
215
00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:07,000
They have dealt with this fury
many times before.
216
00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:17,840
Having nested high above the
fire-line, the bearded vulture can
survey the blackened mountain side.
217
00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:22,360
There may be casualties,
218
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:24,960
bones to be picked over.
219
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:40,240
But this time, the eland mothers
have successfully guided their
calves away from the inferno.
220
00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:53,480
They may be temporarily
disorientated, but they will
do what they've always done -
221
00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:56,040
travel in search of new pastures.
222
00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:21,240
The baboons have no option
but to remain here and make
the best of the seared earth.
223
00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:37,120
But somewhere across this
brooding giant of a mountain range,
224
00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:40,880
grassland will once again
spring into existence.
225
00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:02,080
Beneath the blackened soil, a crop
of tubers has survived the fire.
226
00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:15,400
Baboons have both clever minds
and the hands to take advantage
of this timely resource.
227
00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:38,880
Like humans, they produce babies
with large brains and small bodies.
228
00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:42,920
That means months of physical
vulnerability and dependency.
229
00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:47,520
Mothers need to stay close,
especially in this
unpredictable place.
230
00:35:57,040 --> 00:35:58,760
Within days of the fire,
231
00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:03,200
underground moisture works
its magic on the charred land.
232
00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:11,160
The new grass has been fertilised
by the ash of the old thatch.
233
00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:15,440
But in this early stage of regrowth,
it's thin on the ground.
234
00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:23,200
Eland, especially the males,
are big animals, so to find enough
to eat they must stay on the move.
235
00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:27,400
Their mobility and stamina is
proving to be their core strength.
236
00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:42,920
The calves will be more robust now,
which is just as well.
237
00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:47,320
A sudden cold snap shows just how
treacherous these mountains can be.
238
00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:08,080
Billowing in from the south, the air
temperature drops lower and lower,
until it's barely above freezing.
239
00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:19,240
A mother baboon
is looking for her baby.
240
00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:35,440
A vulture has spotted
the missing infant.
241
00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:38,160
But the father gets there first.
242
00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:49,800
The mother still doesn't know
what's happened.
243
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:01,320
The baby could have strayed too far
from its mother's warmth.
244
00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:12,400
Or it could have been killed by
another male, in a fit of jealousy.
245
00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:20,360
Whatever the reason, the vulture
won't get the body just now.
246
00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:29,520
Baboons can carry dead infants
for days, not wanting to let go.
247
00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:36,160
Mother's still waiting.
248
00:38:47,800 --> 00:38:50,880
She's finally realised what's wrong.
249
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:04,280
There's little room for ceremony.
250
00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:13,680
The baboons will grieve...
251
00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:23,480
..and the master of these
mountain spaces will have
to look elsewhere for a meal.
252
00:39:28,200 --> 00:39:33,360
Despite the rigours of such high,
cold places, there is evidence -
253
00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:38,000
tracks worn into the hard basalt
rock by countless generations
of hooves -
254
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:42,000
that eland long ago conquered
the Dragon Mountains' summit.
255
00:39:58,840 --> 00:40:04,040
They may have evolved
on the plains and savannah,
but each year, eland use these
256
00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:08,720
ancient pathways to chase the summer
right up to the roof of their world.
257
00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:29,720
How and when they found this good
pasture, on the very highest
plateau, is lost in time.
258
00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:41,640
But it will keep the mothers
in good condition and allow them
to finish nursing their young.
259
00:40:59,720 --> 00:41:02,520
Eland don't form close friendships.
260
00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:05,560
They drift in and out
of herds as they please.
261
00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:18,360
Although it looks like
they're grooming each other,
262
00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:22,360
they're licking off each other's
sweat for the minerals it contains.
263
00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:33,920
But there may be
useful side-effects.
264
00:41:33,920 --> 00:41:36,480
It might discourage parasites.
265
00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:39,360
Perhaps they gain some reassurance.
266
00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:49,640
The calves that have made it
to the top will reap the reward
267
00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:54,720
for completing the climb of their
lives - a last rich stream of milk.
268
00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:11,880
However, the gathering clouds are
a reminder that, at this height,
269
00:42:11,880 --> 00:42:13,640
summer is like borrowed time.
270
00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:20,520
Others are already
preparing for the worst.
271
00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:23,920
Ice rats can only survive up
on the Dragon's back thanks to
272
00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:28,200
their snug burrows, which they
must now stockpile with seeds.
273
00:42:32,720 --> 00:42:37,640
Gathering this harvest exposes them
to more than just bad weather.
274
00:42:41,960 --> 00:42:47,360
Servals depend on ice rats up here,
but they have to be quick.
275
00:43:07,360 --> 00:43:11,200
The serval's large ears can detect
their movement underground.
276
00:43:22,560 --> 00:43:24,680
But the ice rats are out of reach.
277
00:43:28,920 --> 00:43:36,480
3,000 metres up,
the grass is tender, just as the
elands' noses told them it would be.
278
00:43:36,480 --> 00:43:38,360
But the air is cooling fast.
279
00:43:38,360 --> 00:43:41,000
It's now a perilous place to be.
280
00:43:47,840 --> 00:43:52,600
The winds have changed, bringing
with them a deadly dose of winter.
281
00:44:04,640 --> 00:44:09,160
This is something
their cousins in the deserts
and savannahs will never see.
282
00:44:09,160 --> 00:44:13,000
But the Drakensberg eland
know it's time to retreat.
283
00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:32,480
Antarctic chill is streaming into
southern Africa, and some won't make
it down the mountain for the spring.
284
00:44:40,280 --> 00:44:43,560
These bones are too big
to be anything but an eland's.
285
00:44:47,080 --> 00:44:50,720
Snow, in Africa,
is something extraordinary.
286
00:44:50,720 --> 00:44:52,560
But not in the Drakensberg.
287
00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:12,000
Ice rats have carved out
their very own niche up here.
288
00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:13,680
They're found nowhere else.
289
00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:19,360
Their fast pace of life
helps them stay warm.
290
00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:22,440
But they need constant refuelling.
291
00:45:22,440 --> 00:45:26,320
And now there's very
little to eat above ground.
292
00:45:26,320 --> 00:45:31,640
As ruthlessly as any predator,
the mountain weeds out
the weak from the strong.
293
00:45:42,880 --> 00:45:49,040
At lower altitudes it's much warmer,
but the eland herds
need to keep descending,
294
00:45:49,040 --> 00:45:53,520
back to the lower slopes where so
many of their calves were born,
295
00:45:53,520 --> 00:45:55,920
to find fresh green grass again.
296
00:46:03,160 --> 00:46:07,080
Less than half the eland calves
survive this first year
297
00:46:07,080 --> 00:46:09,720
and arrive back where they began.
298
00:46:09,720 --> 00:46:13,080
But these survivors are tougher
for their ordeal.
299
00:46:21,720 --> 00:46:27,000
The elands' remarkable ascent
of the Drakensberg is legendary.
300
00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:30,680
The yearlings will
continue that story.
301
00:46:30,680 --> 00:46:36,720
Following ancestral paths,
they'll lead new generations
of eland back to the summits.
302
00:46:36,720 --> 00:46:40,360
Their stamina and resilience is
defiantly etched along the flanks
303
00:46:40,360 --> 00:46:46,920
of the Dragon Mountains -
time-worn journeys through famine,
snow and fire.
304
00:47:19,560 --> 00:47:23,560
This is one of the most
gruelling places to live in Africa.
305
00:47:23,560 --> 00:47:26,760
But in constantly pushing the
creatures that exist here to the
306
00:47:26,760 --> 00:47:32,080
limits of endurance, the Drakensberg
also reveals their true strength.
307
00:48:08,360 --> 00:48:11,360
ELR 2010
308
00:48:11,360 --> 00:48:19,360
ELR 2010
29913
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.