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The Makgadikgadi in Botswana,
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known as the great nothing.
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Here, islands of dry grass are surrounded by a desert of salt.
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At first glance, there appears no sign of life,
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beyond old footprints baked hard into the ground.
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But this island is home to a newly-crowned meerkat queen...
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...called Maghogho.
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She's marked by a scar on her right cheek.
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Her kingdom is at the limit of what meerkats can endure.
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Temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius,
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and it doesn't rain for months.
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Yet it's here that Maghogho must learn to lead a meerkat family.
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She rules over her two sisters,
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Pretty and Dragonfly.
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And three males.
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Together they have seven new pups.
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The beginning of a dynasty.
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To raise pups in a land as harsh as this,
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Maghogho will need to rely on the strength of her family.
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But this group is small and inexperienced.
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She needs to unite them as a team.
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Only then can she raise these pups to adulthood.
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Only then can she establish her dynasty.
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Meerkats are always ruled by a queen.
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The most successful might command a group of 30, with daughters
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and granddaughters to inherit the land.
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But Maghogho is just at the start of this journey.
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Now she's responsible for all the key decisions for her group.
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This year, there's little room for error.
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The dry season is proving particularly intense,
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and food on the island is running out.
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It's vital that the adults support each other.
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Keeping watch over them all, is Pretty,
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Maghogho's sister and closest ally.
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BIRD CALLS
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She scans the horizon for danger,
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allowing the others to safely search for the food they need.
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Pretty is also mother to two of the pups.
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Maghogho is mother to the other five.
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This is very unusual.
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Normally queens don't allow other females in their group to breed,
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because a lot of pups need a lot of supervision.
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As queen, it's not Maghogho's job to baby-sit.
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That's the role of the other adults.
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Right now they should be finding the youngsters breakfast.
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But when food is this scarce,
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having so many pups is hard for the group to look after.
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Even their father, the alpha male, Thogo Tona is not prepared to share.
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One adult, however, is putting the pups' hunger above his own.
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Boipuso -
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the most junior male of the group.
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He is the only one prepared to give up his hard-won meals,
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even though they aren't his pups.
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Being a soft touch doesn't go unnoticed.
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Now he can't get anything done.
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Maybe he can get Pretty to help, two of the pups are hers.
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But Pretty is not at her look-out post.
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She's not answering their calls.
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PUP CALLS
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Even those of her pups.
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It's Pretty.
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Something is wrong.
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She can barely walk.
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Maghogho has witnessed this before.
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It has all the hallmarks of a snake bite.
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There's a good chance that the snake is still close by.
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Maghogho must act quickly to get the pups as far away as she can,
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even though this means leaving her sister.
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The only one to stay behind is Thogo Tona.
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Meerkats' bonds run deep,
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in health and sickness.
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But there is nothing he can do to help her.
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With food running out and a snake on the loose,
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Maghogho's home no longer feels secure.
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She has a difficult decision to make.
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In the distance there is another grassland.
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But reaching it will mean crossing a salt pan over half a mile wide.
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It's dangerous, there are predators and there's nowhere to hide.
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Maghogho must decide if it's worth the gamble.
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She must lead and rely on the other adults to guide the pups.
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This will be a real test
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of their teamwork.
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Coast clear.
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Maghogho decides to go.
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And the adults follow.
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But only one of her family has waited for a pup.
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A jackal.
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The adults pick up speed.
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And don't look back.
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Stranded and alone, the pup turns back.
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Maghogho and the adults may have reached the other side,
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but the pups are nowhere to be seen.
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The family's inexperience has put the youngsters in jeopardy.
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For one pup, it's already too late.
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Crushed in an eagle's talons.
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Maghogho must act now.
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She heads back to the island, alone.
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As dusk falls, there is still no sign of the pups or Maghogho.
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The next morning.
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Maghogho has scoured the island.
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But has only found one pup.
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There is no sign of the others.
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Now the hope of her dynasty
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falls on this one remaining pup.
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Her family have let her down.
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If they are to succeed,
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they need to work together
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especially as they're entering unfamiliar territory.
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This new grassland is very different from their island.
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It stretches for miles,
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and here there may be the promise of more food.
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Maghogho's first priority is to find a safe place
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for her family to shelter.
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This abandoned burrow will be the perfect den.
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It just needs a bit of a spring clean.
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There are new neighbours.
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Not very welcoming.
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And there may be real dangers too.
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It's wise to be prepared.
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Maghogho chooses the hardest earth to dig a long narrow tunnel -
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a deep bunker, and last resort in an emergency.
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Meanwhile, Thogo Tona
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takes his pup out to find food.
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In this new place, it seems, finding scorpions is a little easier.
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With the pup quietened, Thogo Tona can worry about his own stomach.
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The scorpion is a good meal,
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but it takes a long time to chew.
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And by the time the pup has finished,
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Thogo Tona has disappeared off into the long grass.
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At last, a familiar shape.
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But, in fact, the pup is heading away from his father...
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...towards another meerkat family.
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Thogo Tona has made a terrible mistake.
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These are rival meerkats,
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and they may kill intruders.
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The pup is naive to the danger...
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...and instinctively follows the strangers, as they lead him away.
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This is dangerous.
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Maghogho and her family are trespassing in a rival kingdom.
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MAGHOGHO CALLS
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Her alarm call urgently gathers the family together.
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But Thogo Tona is already taking matters into his own hands...
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...venturing deeper into the rivals' territory.
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But he's not heading towards his pup.
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He's stealing the rivals' pups.
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This is reckless.
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When the rivals return to their burrow,
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they realise their pups are missing.
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And they're over with Maghogho's family.
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Maghogho did not want this, but now, thanks to Thogo Tona,
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she must lead her family into battle.
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These high jumps are a show of strength.
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But the rivals are not intimidated.
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The fight is short but decisive.
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The rivals have got their youngsters back.
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And they still have Maghogho's pup.
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But this conflict is not over.
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Maghogho is still trespassing on their land
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and they must drive her out.
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Maghogho's family have one last line of defence.
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Her bunker.
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As the rivals' approach, they have Maghogho's pup.
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Last in is Boipuso.
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The entrance is so narrow that he can block it with just his head.
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Maghogho's pup makes a dash for the bunker.
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Try as they might, the rivals can't breach the bunker's walls.
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And they have left their pups unattended.
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So, they decide to retreat.
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The battle over, Maghogho's family are safe...
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...and so is her pup.
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It was a close call.
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They survived because they stood and fought together, as a team.
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But there is one member of the group
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who did not fight with the family.
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Thogo Tona.
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His unruliness is a threat to the whole group.
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The family will not tolerate this...
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...not least Boipuso and the other adult male, Rra Lebadi.
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Maghogho joins the attack.
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Rra Lebadi might kill Thogo Tona.
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But remarkably, Boipuso steps in to shield him.
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Thogo Tona is lucky.
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He's been spared.
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But his position as the alpha male is over.
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Maghogho no longer wants him as her partner.
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Now there is to be a new order.
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By scent marking Boipuso, she has chosen him as the new alpha male.
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He's strong and loyal -
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exactly the sort of partner she needs.
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Maghogho needs to build her dynasty,
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but she has only one pup.
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The rains are now two months late.
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Simply surviving at the moment is a challenge.
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Each day, the search for food takes longer and longer.
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Yet, there is hope.
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The wind is a sign of distant rain.
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But it also drives duststorms
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over the land.
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The group need to keep searching for food.
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Duststorms can change direction in a moment.
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MAGHOGHO CALLS
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Maghogho sounds the alarm.
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Time to take cover in their den.
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But the pup hasn't heard the warning,
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and they can't hear his calls.
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As the duststorm overwhelms the land...
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...all you can do is wait and hold your breath.
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Life here is fragile.
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Maghogho's last pup did not survive the storm.
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The family could not protect him from this, the harshest of lands.
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Without pups...
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...there is no dynasty.
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For another week, the rain clouds gather and disappear.
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And then instead of dust,
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the winds bring a deluge of rain.
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Over the course of just a few days,
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the Makgadikgadi turns green.
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Their world is reborn.
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Salt pans fill with water.
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To them, flock visitors from miles around.
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Suddenly, a land that could barely support a family of meerkats
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is filled with life.
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This is what Maghogho, and her family, have been waiting for.
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They have hung on through the bad times.
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And now they have the chance to build the dynasty again.
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Two months later and Maghogho is heavily pregnant.
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In Boipuso, Maghogho has a loyal and attentive partner.
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But she also needs food.
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Now, after rains, the grass is littered with grubs,
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hatching from the wet earth.
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Being constantly hungry isn't the only side-effect of being pregnant.
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Thogo Tona has accepted his new role.
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He stands on sentry,
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allowing Maghogho
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and Boipuso the time to rest.
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But there is a new threat to the dynasty's future,
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from within...
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...Maghogho's younger sister, Dragonfly -
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the only other female in the group.
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She too is pregnant.
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The last time Maghogho allowed one of her sisters to breed,
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there were too many pups for the group to look after.
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She can't risk that again.
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Dragonfly must be evicted from the group.
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In exile and alone, Dragonfly will struggle to find food
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and look out for danger.
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Maghogho is prepared to sacrifice her sister,
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to protect the unborn pups she can feel moving inside her.
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After three weeks, Maghogho spots Dragonfly again.
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But there is something different about her.
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She is no longer pregnant.
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The stress of being alone has taken its toll.
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Now, she is no longer a threat.
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And with a bow to her sister, she is accepted back into the family.
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The timing is perfect.
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Maghogho has given birth to four new pups.
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Three boys and a girl...
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...maybe a future queen.
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These pups are the hope for the future of this dynasty...
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...and everything this family have sacrificed so much for.
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Dragonfly may have lost her own babies,
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but her instinct to protect her sister's pups is strong.
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She still has milk, and even feeds them as if they were her own.
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Now, with Dragonfly as baby-sitter,
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the rest of the family can concentrate on feeding.
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And when Maghogho comes home, she is greeted by a sister who is
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now the perfect support for her and the pups.
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Maghogho has everything she needs...
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...most.
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This is not her kingdom, and living here is becoming more dangerous.
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The pups are starting to follow
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the adults out to feed.
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They are dwarfed by giants.
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And hiding among the herds...
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...are predators.
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They would be only too happy to snap up a pup.
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And to make matters worse,
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the rival group are back.
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Maghogho and her family need to leave.
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She knows where to take them -
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the one place where there are few predators and no rivals.
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Time to take a gamble and return to her island.
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The last time they tried to lead pups across this salt pan,
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there was chaos.
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Now she will have to trust that her family can truly work
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together as a team.
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This time they stay close together, with the pups in sight.
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Then, almost at the island...
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...a final challenge.
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The far edge of the salt pan is flooded.
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Meerkats are not swimmers.
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Luckily, it's only belly deep.
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Maghogho is home...
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...back in her island kingdom...
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...a sanctuary from predators and rivals.
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She is now not just a queen but a true leader,
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with a loyal family.
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And crucially, they are now a team.
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They are the pups' teachers and protectors.
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And these pups have the space to learn to fight...
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...to hunt...
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...and to bond.
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Everything they need to survive this harsh land.
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The dry times will come again
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and Maghogho and her family will face those times as one.
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They may be small...
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...but together they are strong.
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At last, Maghogho has everything she needs to continue her dynasty...
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...for now.
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Botswana's Makgadikgadi is the largest collection
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of salt pans in the world.
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It's an extremely harsh and hot place.
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But in this vast landscape,
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the Dynasties team finds the real challenge is getting close
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to an animal little bigger than the squirrel.
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They have all the equipment they hope will get
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cameras into the meerkats' low-lying world.
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But filming Maghogho's family is harder than anyone imagined.
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Meerkats can give any camera team a run for their money.
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Luckily, experts are keeping track of Maghogho's family.
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Local guide Villa knows the challenge only too well.
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It's really, really difficult to film these meerkats.
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Whenever the cameraman tries to put his camera down
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so that he can start filming, the meerkats just pass
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and yes, it was really, really funny trying to keep up with them.
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But come the hottest part of the day, not even the meerkats
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feel like running...
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...and they take advantage
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of a new source of shade.
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One under your feet.
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Where did you come from? You're literally on my shoe, buddy.
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Your friends! Follow your friends.
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It's an unexpected problem for cameraman Ed.
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We're in a big open flat area,
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so some of the only shade is under us, or under the camera,
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and it's a favourite spot for the meerkats, especially
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the little pups to come and catch a break from the heat.
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Ed, they're under your camera again.
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You've got to watch where you step.
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Every chance they get at the moment they're...
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...they're just running to our feet and sitting on our feet.
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I mean, you can't film them when they're underneath you,
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but they're super cute.
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Definitely not the best thing for getting all the best shots.
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Over time, the crew's persistence pays off
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and they begin to capture the story of Maghogho's dynasty.
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By learning to predict their extraordinary behaviour,
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despite being used as part of the landscape.
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Sometimes the meerkats would use us as vantage points.
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Just need higher ground where they will have a much clearer view
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of their surroundings.
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There's no trees here so we're a good substitute.
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They are really wild animals.
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You just need to give them space and it's entirely up to that
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particular meerkat if they want to use you as a vantage point.
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Spending everyday with Maghogho's family,
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the crew can't help getting attached.
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And that makes it all the harder, when tragedy strikes.
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You feel the pain.
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Sometimes you just don't want to look.
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You feel like you've lost part of your family, it's just so painful.
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You spend all day with just a few cute little animals
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that are happy playing on your feet,
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and living their lives, and...
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...yeah, it's a bit sad.
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The crew witness first-hand just how tough
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life can be in the Makgadikgadi.
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And even more so this year,
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as the rains are much later than they expected.
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I just wish when I wake up in the morning there will be water,
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there'll be so much life here.
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Because animals are dying, there's no food,
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it's just so hot around here.
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Eventually, the rains do arrive.
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And the crew see how vital this short period of plenty
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is to the meerkats' survival.
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Meerkats can cope for months without rain...
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...but as our climate warms,
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dry seasons may become ever more extreme...
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...making life harder for Maghogho's family
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and all those who call this remarkable place home.
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