All language subtitles for S27E09 - Elephant Nomads of The Namib Desert

This the Namib Desert
in southwest Africa.

"Namib" means vast.

It's 1,600 kilometres long...

..50,000 kilometres square.

The Namib
is the oldest desert on earth.

It's the harshest place in the world
for elephants to live.

And 25 years ago, out of a
herd of 80 desert elephants,

poachers killed all but three.

Now large-scale poaching has ended.

The herd is recovering and two
young calves have just been born.

Their first six months
will be critical,

as each calf learns
the secrets of survival

among the searing sands.

It's May,
the cold, dry season in Namibia.

In the Hoarusib valley,
several families gather to feed.

One mother is particularly hungry.

Four months ago,
Broken Tusk had a new calf, Dusty.

He's always after milk.

Dusty is Broken Tusk's first calf
for eight years.

Desert elephants
have only half as many calves

as their savannah cousins and they
may suckle for twice as long.

The family appear to
enjoy their new member.

Dusty's relatives will do
all they can

to prevent him
getting into any trouble.

Youngsters are even more
welcome than usual

because of a recent death
in the group.

This is Rosa, the oldest member.

She's just lost her elder daughter,

who died within days of
giving birth.

In her late 50s, she's
unlikely to have any more calves.

Rosa is attempting something
elephants don't normally do.

She's trying to raise her
dead daughter's son, Himba -

she's adopted the orphan.

Luckily, she can give him milk

because she's still feeding
a seven-year-old daughter.

Rosa's milk is vital because at two
weeks, Himba can't cope with solids.

He can't eat grass,

so Himba is totally dependent
on his grandmother.

The challenge is to guide
the new youngsters safely

through the next six months.

By then, the two calves
will have to be strong enough

to endure the long treks
that take desert elephants

to their next source of food.

For now,
the leaders can let the calves play,

but in a short time, they will
guide the youngsters on journeys

that will test them to the limit.

The lead females take the herd
on short trips

into the surrounding hills
to forage.

Exceptionally,
the desert is in bloom.

Any young born now
are enjoying ideal conditions.

A miraculous transformation
has taken place.

Five months ago, deluges in distant
mountains unleashed torrents.

For the first time in 30 years,

the floods brought dried-up rivers
back to life.

The rivers create corridors
dotted with waterholes.

While they can,

Rosa and Broken Tusk search for
food up and down the river.

The adults can last four
or five days without water

but the calves must drink every day.

Himba is on a steep learning curve.

He hasn't yet managed
to fill his trunk.

He drinks with his mouth instead.

Four-month-old Dusty
has learnt by copying the adults.

He can already fill his trunk.

The older elephants
can suck ten to fifteen litres

into their trunks each time.

They empty the contents
straight down their throats.

Water alone won't keep Himba alive.

To grow, he depends on milk,
rich in fat and vitamins.

The tiny orphan
relies on the milk left over

once Rosa's daughter has fed.

At the same time, unusually,
Dusty is on double rations.

He's drinking milk from both
his mother and his elder sister.

As males, Dusty and Himba
should grow faster and larger

than their female relatives.

Dusty certainly has an appetite.

If he sees his elder sister
suckling her own calf,

he'll try to prevent her.

He's able to feed
much more than Himba.

Dusty can look forward to
drinking milk for years.

At least one of his relatives is
still suckling at the age of seven.

Rosa and Broken Tusk
will do everything they can

to give their offspring
the best chance of survival.

The small families need every
extra member they can raise.

At the moment, however, the calves
keep this part of the herd

tied to the water course
and its dwindling pools.

Only ten kilometres away,
there are other members of the herd.

Leading them is Left Fang,
named after her plunging tusk.

She too is raising a family
but her calves are older.

The adolescents can traverse
more difficult terrain

and they can undertake
longer journeys.

They travel constantly,
from food to isolated food,

pausing occasionally
to take on water.

Unhindered by young,

Left Fang is free to seek out
the individual plants

that provide important carbohydrate

and much-needed
vitamins and minerals.

To fuel their immense bodies,

elephants spend
some 16 hours out of 24 eating.

They need food
more often than water -

up to 136 kilos every day.

Left Fang knows
when each food is at its best.

She has brought the others
to browse on commiphora.

The woody shrub contains
a sugary sap,

the scented resin known as myrrh.

She handles the tough stems
with ease,

wielding 40,000 muscles
in her massive trunk.

Down below at the riverbed, Rosa and
the others are still able to graze.

But the grasses and flowers from
the big flood won't last long.

This year, there is so much
food and water that, unusually,

the desert elephants can
spare energy to play and spar.

A visitor arrives, unseen.

Initially, the herd remains
oblivious to his presence.

This is the first time the calves
have ever seen such a large bull.

Dusty is alarmed.

His relatives rush to reassure him.

Tiny Himba moves closer to Rosa.

The big male
leads a separate, solitary life.

He appears only occasionally,
when he wants to mate.

He is looking
for a receptive female.

The mature bull shows all the
signs of being in musth,

the time when he is
sexually active.

But none of the herd is on heat.

Suddenly he senses another
male nearby, also in musth.

He is at his most aggressive,
so he gives chase.

The newcomer doesn't want to fight,

but the big bull will pursue him,
to make sure.

The group moves on,
in search of richer vegetation.

The tamarisk trees along the banks
are too bitter and salty.

The youngsters' constant thirst

confines the hungry group
to the narrow riverbed.

In the hills above,
where more food grows,

the 50 degree heat
is too much for the calves.

Left Fang and the others
protect themselves with dust.

Elephants can't sweat.

They seek out even the
smallest hint of shade.

What they do now
was thought to be a myth.

Every 20 minutes or so Left Fang's
group spray themselves down.

vessels that cover their ears.

But up here, there are no springs
or streams to provide water.

Remarkably, Left Fang's group
are filling their trunks

from hidden pouches in their throat.

This has rarely been seen,
and never filmed before.

But the heat is drying them out.

They are losing several
litres of water an hour.

The family won't be able to
spend a second day up here.

At last,
night brings the animals respite.

Dawn at the riverbed.

Rosa's surviving daughter
is waking a sleepy Himba.

He's basking in her attention,
and the warmth of a new day.

The seven-year-old aunt
gently readies her nephew.

She gives him a
dusting of sunscreen.

She can't feed him, but young
females often mother small calves.

As Himba is an orphan, his aunt's
efforts are even more valuable.

Dusty is already up
and raring to go.

Along the riverbed,

the elephants are finding it harder
to locate palatable vegetation.

Rosa and Broken Tusk
take the entire group

off towards the nearby slopes,

to look for the woody species
they prefer.

Left Fang and her relatives
are well fed and restored

after a night
high in the mountains.

They are making straight
for the river again.

Her family learn
the routes from her.

The older they grow, the more
complex are their mental maps.

Theirs is the more typical life
of a nomad.

Once at the river,

Left Fang's family makes up
for the day in the desiccating sun.

But with little suitable forage
to be had, they won't stay.

After a bout of friendly sparring,

Left Fang's family
will set off again.

On their way to distant food,

they come across the corpse
of another elephant.

The bare skull lies separate
from the skin-covered body.

From the smell, Left Fang can
probably recognise the remains.

It is what is left
of Himba's mother.

The find fascinates them.

Himba was just a few
days old when she died.

His grandmother
is the only mother he's ever known.

Elephants often linger,
smelling and touching the bones.

It's one of the things
that make them seem so human.

20 kilometres away,

Rosa's group is still hampered
by the two young calves.

Himba is hot,
thirsty and above all, hungry.

He won't be able to eat even grass
till he's at least three months.

At six weeks, he remains entirely
dependent on his adoptive mother.

His real mother would keep
her son within trunk reach,

in the shade of her body, and she
would feed him every half hour.

Rosa must eat,

as she is struggling to breastfeed
two calves at the same time.

The little calf
is doing his best to stay near.

Himba needs 15 litres
of milk each day.

He manages to snatch
only a few mouthfuls.

Rosa seems reluctant to suckle him.

He's desperate for more.

Himba is completely confused.

Without milk, he won't last long.

The calf's instinctive efforts
to suckle lead only to rejection.

Now the undersized orphan
looks frightened of Rosa.

For some reason, the aged
female can't make enough milk.

She may not be finding enough
food, or her teeth may be worn out.

Himba can only trail beside her,
hoping the supply will return.

It's now August, two months on.

At one of the few remaining wallows,

Dusty's family are
playing excitedly.

Dusty has more than enough energy.

Himba has no strength to play.

The others make the most
of the plentiful water.

Normally, it would have
vanished months ago.

A few weeks later,
there is a sudden change.

Searing blasts scorch the land.

The usual wind from the south is
giving way to winds from the east,

across the blazing Kalahari.

In a short time, the greenery
in the inland oases will shrivel.

Rosa, Broken Tusk and Left Fang
face life or death decisions

that will affect
their whole families.

When should they leave?
Where should they go?

Which is the best course, with
the lives of youngsters at stake?

Each leader
will make a different choice.

High on a plateau, Left Fang
is the first to sense the threat.

Her response will be swift.

She will hurry her family towards
cool and shelter down at the coast.

There are no small
calves to slow them down.

They leave at once.

This is no light undertaking.

Even though her family
are all fit and well,

the arduous journey
will take at least five days.

Left Fang must gamble
on her experience

to guide her family across arid,
strength-sapping terrain.

Down at the dry riverbed,

Himba is now so hungry he's
chewing on thorn pods.

For Rosa, the choice of when
to leave and where to go

is not so simple.

Try as he may, Himba
can barely obtain any nourishment.

His grandmother's milk
is slowly drying up.

He really needs his dead mother.

But Rosa is still trying to
suckle her daughter as well.

In frustration,

Himba pushes the competition away.

But he manages
only a few extra drops.

And his victory is short-lived.

Until the calf is stronger,
the family are unable to move on.

But the more Rosa feeds Himba, the
less there is for her own daughter.

Rosa is caught in a dilemma.

Dusty's aunts
are all over him with help.

If he's too small to mount an
obstacle, they give him a hand.

Broken Tusk will risk
a long dash to safety

but she won't leave

until she's certain Dusty
is up to the challenge.

Left Fang's family
are already 40 kilometres away now,

two days into their journey.

Down river, the sand beneath the
sun-baked surface is much cooler.

This will help them endure the
burning valleys, bare of shade.

The elephants browse
on occasional bushes.

The thin vegetation

gives Left Fang's family temporary
relief from their hunger.

Nearer the coast, there's water
below and above ground.

The smell draws other animals -
prey and predators.

Baboons are opportunists.

They'll eat small mammals
or insects, eggs or even grass.

They soon spot a chance.

Newly-hatched chicks
behind a pair of Egyptian geese.

For all the birds' bravery,
there's no contest.

Their attackers are ten times
as heavy and much stronger.

Both parents try to head off
the baby-snatchers,

but they can't
protect every gosling.

Finally, a thief seizes one.

The parents try to
locate any survivors.

At least one got away.

It's the youngest that are the
most at risk in any species.

By September,
in the rapidly-drying interior,

Rosa's family are reduced
to the last spiny bushes.

Himba is still too young to gain
strength from the meagre fibres.

Rosa herself is increasingly
short of energy.

The undernourished youngster
gains little from his grandmother.

The small amount of milk
that remains

has precious little fat
and nutrients.

The bones in his forehead
are showing.

Himba is growing weaker and weaker.

None of the others have the
commitment a real mother would.

The orphan's efforts to feed
are increasingly in vain.

Rosa's attempt to save her grandson

may be putting the rest of
the family's lives at risk.

He is so small, none of them
can travel to better grazing.

Rosa knows where
she wants to head to

but the journey could kill Himba.

Their five-day march completed,

Left Fang's family can enjoy
the cooler surroundings

of the coastal dunes.

They're locating the foods
they crave at this time of year.

This makes their
extraordinary journey worthwhile.

Here, lush tree foliage
is within easy reach.

Left Fang's family can relax.

With some plants,
they love the roots.

With dwarf palms, only found here,

they particularly relish
the tender bark.

Left Fang has made sure
her family's needs are met

They are safe, watered and at full
strength again.

The family can regroup
before their next great journey.

In the interior,
Rosa is under pressure.

She can smell rain upriver,
over 100 kilometres away.

Fresh pasture might give her enough
milk to restore Himba,

but they need to reach it
within days.

Dusty's family is on the move, too.

Broken Tusk seizes the moment.

She knows an area

where extremely rich food is
about to become available.

The coming 48 hours will face Dusty

with the hardest test
of his life so far.

To reach the new food involves a
marathon trek, 70 kilometres long,

south, beyond a mountain ridge
into the next major river valley.

Further inland, Himba has
barely moved from the river.

The surrounding vegetation
is no longer edible.

They have to leave
as soon as possible.

Rosa and her daughter know that if
the infant doesn't get up quickly,

he may become too
weak to rise again.

They want to keep him moving.

They lead him towards a mud hole.

The others wallow.

They coat themselves in mud
as a protection from the sun.

Himba has run out of strength.

Rosa and her daughter
won't leave the calf

but without food they can't
stay at the waterhole any longer.

Once more his family rally
round to get him going again.

It's all too much for Himba.

70 kilometres south,
Dusty is within sight of success.

After a whole day and two
nights on the move,

the longest Dusty has ever walked,

his efforts are
about to be rewarded.

For a short time,

a delicacy lies on the ground here.

The ana trees
are dropping their seeds.

The pods are packed with goodness.

For Dusty, milk from his
mother and his older sister

enabled him to reach fresh food.

His family's unique double
suckling strategy is paying off.

Dusty's new-found stamina takes
the pressure off the whole family.

Back at the dry riverbed,
as November comes,

Rosa can still smell rain
to the east.

She's desperate to head there
in search of fresh food.

She has decided they must set out,

despite Himba's weakened state.

Himba has collapsed, exhausted.

Lying next to him,
his aunt tries to rouse him.

Without her help, his chances
of getting up again are slim.

Himba's aunt becomes increasingly
concerned - frantic, even -

as he fails to respond.

The lack of milk is
taking a cruel toll.

Yet if they can lead Himba to a
new grazing area, he might get more.

Finally, the pair help
him struggle to his feet.

How long and how far the small calf
can keep going, they do not know.

Rosa and his aunt have ignored
their own need to eat for too long.

Himba's weakness
and their persistence

Himba has not been seen since.

At the coast,

Left Fang's family are attracting
attention from a male in musth.

Fresh and cool, full of their
favourite palms and bushes,

Left Fang and her family
are in prime breeding condition.

And one of the females may even
be carrying the herd's next calf.

For the survivors
of the poaching holocaust,

each calf that lives
helps rebuild this herd.

Dusty is now strong enough to
master the routes and routines

that will continue
down the generations.

It's this knowledge and experience
gathered over many lifetimes,

combined with exceptional endurance,

that is giving these elephant nomads
their second chance.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk