Original subtitles

(light music)

Where endless grasslands have grown over

empires vanished long ago, a legendary Russian force

is heading inland.

(light dramatic music)

With a stunning variety of landscapes and species,

the Volga has expanded into a vast basin.

(water splashing)

(sand rustling)

Over 2,000 miles, this extraordinary river traverses

the heartlands of Russia for a spectacular finale.

(light music)

The Volga stretches across

the better part of Eastern Europe.

An area as large as France, Spain and Portugal combined.

It sources in Russia's snow rich north have swelled

the river into a huge, unstoppable force.

All the planet's major rivers flow into the oceans.

All except one; the mighty Volga.

Its southern banks are bare and expansive.

(birds chirping)

Perfect for the world's heaviest

flying bird to show its stuff.

(birds chirping)

In early morning mists, great bustards gather along

the Volga steppes near to the city of Saratov.

(light music)

Each male wants to prove why he is special,

with an extravagant wardrobe.

And a bright white feather ball.

He is very distinctive.

(bustard trilling)

With so many males around,

each has to make an effort to stand out.

(bustards chirping)

Two are readying for a fight.

The first to flinch will lose.

(suspenseful music)

(light dramatic music)

Enter an onlooker.

He has come to observe battle.

But he has a crafty plan.

With the two cocks busy tousling, he makes a discrete exit.

(bustards grunting)

It's all about timing.

Enter not just one, but several females.

(birds chirping)

(light music)

(bustard gobbling)

A true charmer indeed.

(light dramatic music) (bustards squawking)

As such, he steals the show.

(playful music)

But not before a final solo.

And with his rivals busy, it's time to close the deal.

(wings flapping)

Time to exit.

(light dramatic music)

Further south, the land grows barren.

Yet even in the badlands, there is life.

(birds chirping)

A steppe eagle's nest.

Four chicks make an unusually large brood.

On average there are two and only one might survive.

(wings flapping)

(ground crunching)

(chicks chirping)

Their mother shows her experience.

Carefully she tears up and shares out

morsels in bite sized pieces.

With so many mouths to feed,

she has to leave the nest more often.

However, leaving the chicks alone is always a risk.

With steppe eagles, hunting is therefore

mostly the job on the male.

(squirrel chomping)

Ground squirrels are the eagle's favorite prey.

Yet those that live close by the nest are left alone.

(chicks chirping)

It could be she's saving them till last.

(pheasant humming)

Meanwhile, other neighbors are free to wander undisturbed.

Free to do as they like.

(wings flapping)

(antelope baaing)

Saiga antelope, a true nomad.

No one can predict where they'll roam.

The mother eagle is relaxed.

She's seen it all before.

(chicks chirping) (antelope baaing)

Saiga give birth to their young almost simultaneously.

A fawn is no bigger than a hare and would make easy prey.

Mothers have little time to nurse.

Within just hours, calves must be on their feet and moving.

Saiga are prodigious wanderers.

Herds like this can easily cover 60 miles in a day.

(ground crunching)

Demoiselle cranes are well acquainted

with breeding in open country.

(chicks chirping)

They don't even make a nest.

A small depression will suffice.

(light music)

The chick won't remain under the wing for long.

As soon as they can, they follow a parent into the steppe.

At this age, the demoiselle crane chick can walk,

but it cannot yet feed itself.

(light music)

And so, it accepts tidbits;

tiny spiders, ants, grasshopper legs.

Both parents take turn to feed it.

(chick chirping)

A second chick hatches.

Alone in the blazing mid day heat,

it uses its last strength to free itself.

Spring heat on these steppes is merciless.

(chick thudding)

(light dramatic music)

Moving south, the land dries out further

and tributaries grow smaller.

Many don't even reach the main river.

Instead, they run into vast salt flats in the middle

of nowhere, like Elton Lake on the border with Kazakhstan.

A desolate, almost lifeless world.

A land defined by water,

which has long since left it behind.

Sunlight sucks nearly all the moisture from the earth.

Leaving salty mud.

(mud squishing)

(water splashing)

Saiga antelope scour these pans for fresh water.

(light dramatic music)

(antelope baaing)

Mothers still suckling their young have to drink more often.

Saiga can drink brackish water,

yet the salt concentration here is so high it's unpalatable.

As thirst rises, so does stress levels.

(suspenseful music)

(horns thudding) (antelope baaing)

With no fresh water here,

the herd has no choice but to move on.

(light dramatic music)

These ancient tracks can be seen for decades.

(antelope baaing)

And so, the herd follows them like a compass.

(birds chirping) (light music)

100 miles away, clouds are gathering above the Volga.

A river this size creates it's own microclimate.

(light music)

Wisps of cloud form over the cooler valley,

bringing the promise of rain.

Wind drives cloud masses out over the steppe.

(wind whistling)

(birds chirping) (grass rustling)

In the afternoon heat, the demoiselle cranes continue

their search for small insects.

The second chick has caught up.

Now, it can feed with its sibling.

(thunder rumbling)

(light dramatic music)

Rain brings welcome relief.

Yet it has dangers, too.

Adults can tolerate cold, but chicks are easily exposed

and are at risk of hypothermia.

With a days less reserves than its sibling,

the second chick is weakening.

(chicks chirping)

(light dramatic music)

The search for insects to feed her young

is becoming evermore urgent.

A break in the rain looks promising.

But the chick is perilously cold,

and if clouds don't disperse soon, its fate could be sealed.

(light dramatic music)

The Volga is an ancient power.

For over five million years,

it has built new roots into the heart of the continent.

Ice ages and earthquakes have determined

the river's flow and course.

Even today, the land is shaped by the remains

of all the rivers.

(light music)

The Volga has moved away long ago,

leaving salt flats, semi-deserts and sediment beds behind.

What once lay underwater is now at the mercy of heat,

frosts and the eternal winds.

Millions of tons of river sand are blown across the wastes.

(dramatic music)

There is no goal in sight.

Shapes change with the wind.

(wind whistling)

(sand rustling)

(light dramatic music)

A toad-headed agama lizard;

perfectly adapted to life in this ever changing sand pole.

(light music)

A ridge marks the boundaries of its territory.

(sand crunching) An intruder.

This one is small, yet it could mean business.

(tail thudding)

Agitated tail wagging is a call to battle.

(suspenseful music)

With a dash, the agama sees off the unwelcome stranger.

(tail thudding)

(dramatic music)

But only so far.

At close quarters, the lizards make themselves

big by flaunting their backs.

(sand crunching)

Whoever gives way will lose.

(light music)

His dune is safe once again.

Time to get back to business.

(light dramatic music)

Hunting.

A beetle could make a good meal.

(sand crunching)

Strangely, it doesn't seem alarmed.

(dramatic music)

(beetle thudding)

Ground beetles are carnivorous,

and this one has powerful jaws.

To prevent being eaten, it aims for the agama's tongue.

(sand crunching)

But on his back, he's surely doomed.

(dramatic music)

A second wind and now the tables are turned.

(sand crunching)

The hunter becomes the hunted.

(light music)

It takes all sizes to triumph

in the harsh world of the sands.

(light dramatic music)

(wind whistling)

Today, this landscape known as Kalmykia,

is settled by descendants of the Mongol hordes.

(gate squeaking) (water trickling)

In spring, farms stand empty.

Yet they are not all together abandoned.

(light music)

Hoopoes favor these derelict places for their nests.

(birds chirping)

The steppes are rich in caterpillars and spiders.

(chicks chirping)

The chicks' white beak stands out like a bullseye,

making feeding easier in the dark.

(wings flapping)

(chicks chirping)

A large camel spider is a rare catch for the hoopoe.

(chicks chirping)

But nothing is going to deter the hungry chick,

even if its eyes are a bit larger than its stomach.

(light dramatic music)

Next door's haystack is a good roost

for the long-legged buzzard.

(hay crunching)

All that remains is to lay its eggs.

(light music)

Even the farm buildings could be put to good use.

A delegation of rosy starlings is viewing a barn.

(bird chirping) Looks good.

Time to move in.

The breaking news has reached the flock.

(light dramatic music) (wings flapping)

Soon enough, the barns are taken over.

Now, the squabbling for space will begin.

(light music) (birds chirping)

And after that, home building.

(birds chirping)

Rosy starlings are intolerant landlords.

It doesn't matter who got here first,

sparrows are evicted without notice.

New residents must bring their own furnishings.

(birds chirping)

(light dramatic music) (bird squawking)

Now, the building belongs to them.

Time to celebrate. (bird squawking)

(wings flapping)

(light dramatic music)

The steppes of Kalmykia were once an ancient seabed.

At the end of the last ice age,

the land was flooded by the Caspian Sea.

(antelope baaing)

Even today, this place lies 30 meters below sea level.

As the waters receded, semi-deserts began to form.

Limans were all that remained.

Relics of an ancient delta

with thousands of saline gullies and lakes.

(water splashing) (birds chirping)

Rain has freshened the salty water.

Salvation for the thirsty herd.

(antelope baaing)

This is the first time the young Saigas

have seen and tasted fresh water.

(antelope baaing)

(light dramatic music)

For a brief moment,

the waterhole appears as lush as an African oasis.

(antelope baaing)

With her chick now grown much bigger,

the crane can enjoy this rare time of peace and plenty

in the Volga's harsh salt steppes.

(antelope baaing)

(water splashing)

The Saiga will drink and drink.

(light dramatic music)

A wolf.

Wolves seldom visit water in daylight.

(water splashing)

(antelope baaing)

Normally, the Saiga would be prey,

but with no pack to help give chase,

this loner has no chance.

So, for the time being, he satisfies himself with a drink.

(water splashing)

(light music)

For the last 300 miles of its course,

the Volga has no more more major tributaries.

Smaller streams wander away, meandering along

the flood plains and back into the main current.

The few villages located along the banks are dwarfed

by the river valley; over 12 miles wide at this point.

(horse trotting)

A corsac fox, their homesteads are often farmland edges.

There's always something here for them.

These smaller relatives of red foxes are hardly taller

than the short steppe grasses they inhabit.

Pups gain their independence at a young age,

and go off to seek fortune providing for themselves.

For a corsac fox, that means hunting insects.

Grasshoppers and beetles are abundant,

frequently right under your nose.

(beetle crunching)

The siblings will always have a bolt-hole close to hand.

Corsac foxes often move burrows

and dig numerous alternative homes in the steppe.

As if from thin air, (birds squawking)

flying brigades make their landing on the mound.

(light dramatic music)

Shelducks prefer to breed underground,

and are specialists in home invasion.

They're much larger than the tiny owners,

and they want the burrow.

(ducks quacking) Is there still someone home?

Care is advisable when investigating a foxhole.

Ladies first, the gander stands guard.

Will she come back again?

Nobody's home, the burrow is just right.

What fox worth its salt lets a duck take its home?

(duck quacking)

One of them will have to give ground.

They quack, but don't take flight.

(duck quacking)

Reinforcements are close at hand.

(cows mooing)

They're a lot bigger,

but thankfully not suited to life in a burrow.

Playing is much more their thing.

A tight spot for the little one.

The cows enjoy the foxes bastions.

A cool breeze here drives away biting flies.

(cows mooing)

Time has come to make the jump.

The open steppe awaits.

Corsacs are loners.

Sooner or later, each will go its separate way,

yet the bond will remain between these siblings.

They play and learn together.

Each keeps an eye out for the other.

Every encounter could be their last.

(fox barking)

For now, it still looks a little undecided.

(light music)

Time to leave.

High water on the Volga.

Over the last few miles, side streams fill and create

an Amazon like oasis within the baron landscape.

The river has traversed the Russian

heartland for over 2,000 miles.

Not far to go now.

Finally, the Volga branches out into the huge delta,

as it readies itself to meet the Caspian Sea.

(light music)

Astrakhan, once a major hub on the Silk Road,

is the final city along the Volga's course.

At this point, the river divides up.

Even the waterways that branch off

from the main source can easily carry ocean liners.

Russia's Caspian Sea Fleet is based at Astrakhan.

From here, hundreds of canals funnel out

to carry the Volga to the sea.

(birds chirping)

Stranded cutters lie along the former shore line.

Today, they make breeding islands in the marshlands.

(birds cooing) (birds chirping)

Sea eagles have naturally taken up roost on the bridge.

Other visitors must get to grips with railings.

Most stay for just a short stopover before flying on.

(water splashing)

For fish hunters, the shallow salt water is like a goldmine.

(water splashing)

The young sea eagles waiting on the top deck,

have had more than their fill.

(water splashing)

However, there's always room for a little extra.

Especially if the fish is served right to the beak.

For three months they've been enjoying this sun terrace,

and it seems they're in no hurry to leave.

(wings flapping)

(light music)

And why should they?

This is a perfect luxury liner,

a Noah's Ark in the treeless expanse of the reed delta.

Even wild boar can make a living here.

They spend the majority of the year among the rushes.

The driest places are floating islands

made of rotting stems.

All basic supplies are ensured.

Reeds grow everywhere, proffering nutritious sprouts.

(boar chomping)

(water splashing) In the muddy reaches,

they find snails, fish eggs, and roots.

Wild boar have become reed pigs.

(light dramatic music)

(boar snorting)

There is just one time in the year

which is rather unpleasant for them.

The sow is concerned.

There's something in the air.

(light dramatic music) (locusts buzzing)

Migratory locusts.

Over the last few weeks, they've eaten the steppe bare.

The delta is the only place

where fresh green growth remains.

(locusts buzzing)

A swarm of biblical proportions.

Miles long, this airborne carpet numbers

in the hundreds of millions.

They hatched just a few weeks ago on the Caspian steppes,

and have devoured all vegetation on their way.

(locusts chirping)

Now, the swarm is going after the last green available;

the reed in the Volga Delta.

Hungry locusts can consume more leaves in a day

then all the wild boar in one year.

Once more, they infest the muddy reed belts.

Despite breeding en masse, the majority of their billions

of eggs sink into the delta to become fodder for fish.

(water splashing)

For the parents, the same fate awaits.

The swarm reaches its end in the delta

and here it is transformed into tons of nutrients

for fish nurseries in the Caspian Sea.

(water splashing) (locusts buzzing)

(birds chirping)

(light music)

Just one of the phenomena that make the Volga Delta

so breathtakingly rich and a bird's paradise.

In ways only mother nature can invent,

the Volga reclaims ever more land from the sea.

On a front over 125 miles long, vast quantities of water

and rich sediments flow into the Caspian.

Some 250 cubic kilometers a year.

Finding streams of sediment, the plants send down roots,

holding the mud in place to enable their circular growth.

Islands of reeds, which are linked

in particularly exotic ways.

(gentle music) (birds chirping)

Here, the Volga sands give birth

to the most northerly lotus fields on earth.

Not every year is so lavish as this.

It's a wonder of nature that the water

for this tropical performance originates

in the frozen forests of the Russian north.

(light music)

Beyond the lotus fields, the Caspian shelf begins.

Pelicans glide in majestically

from their fishing grounds back into the delta.

Their colonies lie obscured at the edge of the reed belt.

(pelicans cawing)

A three and a half meter wingspan takes up a lot of space.

Pelicans may be elegant in the air,

but are not specialists on the ground.

Landing on someone else's chicks

can get you into trouble with the owners.

(beaks clicking)

These young pelicans are four weeks old

and need fresh fish at least twice a day.

(pelicans squawking)

Close by, non breeders practice communal fishing.

(light classical music)

(water splashing)

Their results leave something to be desired.

The proper schools of fish needed

are only found on the open sea.

(light music)

Young pelicans know exactly when to beg,

but getting a meal is far from straight forward,

and there's only room for one at a time.

(pelicans squawking)

A pelican's stomach is pitch black.

The fish is deep down in the gullet.

One last dive into the depths.

This portion was actually meant for two.

Now, it's clear why pelicans

have such an expansive throat sac.

For the sibling, only scant pickings remain.

(light music)

One last check.

And as it turns out, the adult has tucked away

a hidden reserve after all.

Yet, this wild carp is too big for the youngster.

There's only one thing to do.

The three pounder slips back into mother's belly.

(pelicans squawking)

It's just not his day.

(light music)

The inland delta, just as it reaches its end,

the Volga creates a spectacular marshland.

Twice the size of Africa's legendary Okavango Delta,

on a par with the American Everglades

or the Sundarbans of India and Bangladesh.

This is the largest reed delta on the planet.

(water trickling)

Where the reeds end, only ghost ships remain.

(birds squawking)

Old Soviet Navy boats covered in a patina of guano and rust.

A vital outpost for fish hunting cormorants.

(light music) (singing in foreign language)

After a 2,200 mile journey,

the Volga finally unites with the Caspian Sea.

An ocean created by a river.

A landlocked sea larger than the UK and island together.

It's the end of an epic voyage.

(waves crashing)

But there is still one more story to be told.

The ancestors of these Caspian seals once lived

in the Arctic Ocean, thousands of miles away.

Ice ages and glaciers isolated their forebears from the sea.

Bound by the Volga, they followed the river downstream,

all the way to the Caspian.

Together with the seals of Lake Baikal,

these are the only freshwater seals in existence,

and they live exclusively here.

After winter, during the malt,

almost the entire global population of Caspian seals

gather here on this warm northerly shelf.

For just a few weeks,

thousands of them squeeze onto this tiny sand bank.

That they are here in Asia's remote interior,

is thanks to the whims of a mighty river.

(light music)

Once, in forgotten times, they swam into this river,

which to them seemed like a sea.

And at its end, a sea is what one truly special river

has given them; the Volga.

(light dramatic music)