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Only one creature has carved a life
for itself in every habitat on Earth.
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00:00:13,577 --> 00:00:16,887
That creature is us.
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00:00:18,097 --> 00:00:24,650
All over the world, we still use our
ingenuity to survive in the wild places,
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00:00:24,697 --> 00:00:30,374
far from the city lights,
face to face with raw nature.
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This is the Human Planet.
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00:00:44,777 --> 00:00:48,452
Humans have always been drawn to rivers.
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Rivers flow through every environment,
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bringing us the essentials of life -
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fresh water...
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00:01:02,737 --> 00:01:04,614
...food...
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...and ready-made highways.
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00:01:11,137 --> 00:01:15,813
But what rivers give,
they can also take away.
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They can flood,
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freeze
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and sometimes disappear altogether.
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Rivers force us to take great risks.
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These are remarkable stories of survival
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from the most unpredictable habitat
of them all.
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It's the monsoon season,
and the mighty Mekong,
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Southeast Asia's greatest river,
is in full flood.
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00:02:13,977 --> 00:02:17,014
Between Cambodia and Laos,
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the Mekong current creates
the widest rapids in the world.
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00:02:32,457 --> 00:02:35,733
The Khone Falls are great for fishing,
but also very dangerous...
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...as Sam Niang, a local fisherman,
knows all too well.
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Migrating fish get trapped here,
waiting to get up the rapids.
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Sam Niang has to risk his life
to catch them.
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He has a family of seven to feed.
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He starts by fishing from the riverside,
near his home.
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During the monsoon, the Mekong
swells to 20 times its normal volume,
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which brings more fish,
but makes them much harder to catch.
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After a morning, his net is still empty.
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There is another option -
an island out in the main rapids.
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00:04:16,817 --> 00:04:21,288
But to get there, Sam Niang
must take his life into his hands.
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00:04:34,337 --> 00:04:37,886
In the dry season, he built
a high wire across the rapids
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out of old cable and bits of rope.
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At this time of the year,
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these rapids have nearly
twice the flow of Niagara Falls -
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more than 1 1 million litres a second.
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He makes it to his favourite
fishing perch.
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Turbulent currents corral the fish,
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00:06:20,177 --> 00:06:23,249
and Sam Niang soon lands
his family's supper.
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Though the fish are plentiful here,
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the most he can carry back
is a few kilos at a time.
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Any more,
and he might lose his balance.
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00:07:00,217 --> 00:07:04,495
Today, Sam Niang won his battle
with the Mekong.
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Tomorrow, to keep his family fed,
he'll have to fight it again.
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00:07:13,937 --> 00:07:18,169
It's not just the power of water
that makes rivers dangerous.
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It's their erratic nature too.
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Reading a river correctly
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can mean the difference
between life and death.
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00:07:31,537 --> 00:07:36,691
The Zanskar valley is a hidden world
on the edge of Tibet,
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in the heart of the Himalayas.
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In winter, it's cut off by snow.
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All roads in and out are impassable.
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Stanzin needs to get
his two children to school,
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but the nearest school
is 1 00 kilometres away,
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and the only way to get there
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is to walk down a frozen river.
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It's a six-day trek,
so dangerous it's got its own name -
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the Chadar - the blanket of ice.
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They'll have to brave
sub-zero temperatures,
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avalanches and freezing water.
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00:08:32,057 --> 00:08:34,730
Term starts in a week.
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It's time for the school run,
a formidable trip for 1 1-year-old Dolkar.
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Dolkar's 1 4-year-old brother,
Chosing, is coming too.
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The family prepare for the journey ahead.
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Their mother has knitted them
thick woollen socks to protect them.
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The brother and sister depend
on their father's courage and skill.
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00:09:48,977 --> 00:09:53,732
This has to be the most perilous
school run in the world.
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The spring melt seems to have
started early, which worries Stanzin.
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00:10:57,257 --> 00:11:01,296
Stanzin has to make sure
the ice can take their weight.
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00:11:14,457 --> 00:11:17,290
And his expertise is tested immediately.
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The danger is not only underfoot.
There's another threat - avalanches.
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Seven days ago, an avalanche
killed a man on the Zanskar river.
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The unusual spring sunshine
has brought another problem.
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The river's current
has already melted the ice.
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Stanzin has to find a way
past the barrier.
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00:12:47,817 --> 00:12:51,412
The only way around is a narrow ledge.
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The ledge is barely 20 centimetres wide
and covered with snow.
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00:13:14,137 --> 00:13:18,528
There's a ten-metre drop
to the freezing river below.
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00:13:23,377 --> 00:13:27,131
The ledge ends with some metal pegs
to climb down.
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Chosing makes it.
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00:13:31,257 --> 00:13:33,213
Now it's Dolkar's turn.
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00:14:44,057 --> 00:14:45,615
They mustn't delay.
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00:14:46,977 --> 00:14:52,449
Night is falling fast, and the temperature
will plummet to minus 30 Celsius.
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Luckily, Stanzin knows a cave nearby.
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00:15:20,377 --> 00:15:22,607
The children need their sleep.
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The most dangerous part of the Chadar
is still ahead.
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00:15:35,977 --> 00:15:37,854
It's not all hard slog.
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00:15:40,057 --> 00:15:43,766
But Dolkar's fun can't last.
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As the smallest,
she's the first to feel the cold.
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She starts to lag behind.
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00:15:52,497 --> 00:15:56,251
One little girl on a melting ice river,
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among the greatest mountains on Earth.
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00:16:21,897 --> 00:16:24,013
Now for the final leg.
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The melting ice
has left just a tiny shelf.
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00:17:04,177 --> 00:17:08,090
It's thin. Stanzin is worried
it won't take their weight.
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As he advances, the ice starts to crack.
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00:17:36,097 --> 00:17:39,533
With the ice weakened
by Stanzin's weight,
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00:17:39,577 --> 00:17:42,933
the children
have to brave it on their own.
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00:18:26,017 --> 00:18:29,373
Dolkar's made it, now for Chosing.
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00:18:40,817 --> 00:18:45,891
Thanks to their dad's expertise,
the children have survived the Chadar.
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00:18:45,937 --> 00:18:48,576
Six days out on the ice river.
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00:18:52,017 --> 00:18:57,091
The Himalayan town of Leh,
journey's end for the children.
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They rush straight to the school.
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There's just enough time for a goodbye.
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(BELL CLANGS)
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Stanzin now faces the return journey
on his own.
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00:19:44,737 --> 00:19:49,492
Melting river ice
doesn't just make travelling harder.
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00:19:49,537 --> 00:19:54,292
When frozen rivers break up,
tonnes of ice start to flow,
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a potential disaster,
even in the heart of a modern city.
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00:20:00,057 --> 00:20:02,776
In the Canadian capital, Ottawa,
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spring melt turns the Rideau river
into public enemy number one.
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00:20:08,337 --> 00:20:12,569
The danger point is a footbridge
on a frozen waterfall...
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...a bottleneck where the Rideau
flows into the Ottawa river.
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00:20:25,177 --> 00:20:29,375
It's late February,
and the ice is melting here too.
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00:20:29,417 --> 00:20:31,612
Ice blocks are in danger
of forming a dam,
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which might lead to devastating flooding.
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A natural threat
that needs a daring human solution.
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Meet the ice-dam busters!
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00:20:51,057 --> 00:20:53,776
Theirjob isn't just to predict nature,
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they have to beat it!
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00:21:03,177 --> 00:21:08,649
There are thousands of tonnes of ice
behind the bridge, up to a metre thick.
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The team needs to break it up
to keep the river flowing.
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00:21:14,657 --> 00:21:19,287
Stage one - cut the ice into long strips.
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00:21:19,337 --> 00:21:24,331
They're still too large to flow
under the bridge, so, for stage two,
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00:21:24,377 --> 00:21:28,416
the team uses a more persuasive force...
128
00:21:30,097 --> 00:21:31,496
Now!
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00:21:31,537 --> 00:21:34,415
...hundreds of kilos of dynamite.
130
00:21:41,857 --> 00:21:43,336
Hup!
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00:22:18,417 --> 00:22:24,413
Bite-size pieces now flow easily
under the bridge and over the falls.
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The centre of Ottawa
is safe for another year.
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00:22:30,377 --> 00:22:35,849
The world's largest rivers
bring the most danger to our lives.
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00:22:36,897 --> 00:22:38,967
Their floods can be devastating.
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They often happen without warning,
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and there's nothing we can do
but try to escape.
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00:22:47,777 --> 00:22:51,053
In Bangladesh,
tens of millions of people
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can be displaced when the Ganges
and her tributaries burst their banks.
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00:22:59,497 --> 00:23:04,696
The river is so strong,
it regularly changes course,
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00:23:04,737 --> 00:23:06,534
brushing land aside as it goes.
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00:23:13,657 --> 00:23:18,287
A month ago, Mohamed Jaleel's village
was 1 00 metres from the bank.
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00:23:18,337 --> 00:23:22,410
Today, his house
is about to be swept away.
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00:23:29,777 --> 00:23:33,656
He and his neighbours have only minutes
to move his home.
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00:23:50,937 --> 00:23:54,612
The rest of the villagers look on,
helpless,
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as the rising river
obliterates their land.
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00:24:25,177 --> 00:24:29,216
In South America, floods can be so huge
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that the entire year
has to be spent planning for them.
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00:24:37,937 --> 00:24:43,330
In the Amazon basin, one mother
prepares for the rising waters.
149
00:24:43,377 --> 00:24:47,734
Jarnia lives by the Rio Negro in Brazil.
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00:24:48,817 --> 00:24:53,288
It's November, the dry season,
the time of plenty.
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Fish are so easy to catch,
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she even has enough
to feed the local river dolphins.
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00:25:09,657 --> 00:25:13,172
But in six months'time,
when the flood water invades,
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all these dolphins and the fish with them
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will disappear into the flooded forest
to breed.
156
00:25:26,377 --> 00:25:31,007
When the fish are gone, feeding
her large family will become a nightmare.
157
00:25:35,577 --> 00:25:39,365
Surviving such hard times
means thinking ahead,
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00:25:39,417 --> 00:25:42,056
and Jarnia has a four-stage plan.
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00:25:44,977 --> 00:25:50,688
Stage one is collecting turtle eggs
six months before the floods arrive.
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River turtles lay thousands of eggs
in the dry season beaches,
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which they leave to hatch.
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Turtles are a reliable source of protein
when the waters rise,
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so these eggs are precious.
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00:26:31,897 --> 00:26:35,572
Back in the village,
it's time for stage two.
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Jarnia reburies the eggs
in her turtle nursery.
166
00:26:43,497 --> 00:26:46,136
In the wild,
many eggs would be eaten by animals...
167
00:26:47,697 --> 00:26:49,494
...but here they'll be safe.
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00:26:59,577 --> 00:27:03,206
By March, four months later,
3,000 eggs have hatched.
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It's stage three - release day!
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It's time to release the babies.
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But will enough of them survive
to feed the village in the floods to come?
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00:27:46,777 --> 00:27:49,337
It's June, the height of the rains.
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00:27:53,857 --> 00:27:56,610
The river rises seven metres.
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00:27:59,337 --> 00:28:02,135
Jarnia's village is transformed.
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The forest is flooded,
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and the nearest dry land
is more than six hours'rowing away.
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Jarnia's family is now marooned by
the greatest annual flood on the planet.
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Time for the final stage.
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00:28:29,337 --> 00:28:34,092
Jarnia and her sister Dora
prepare to go turtle-hunting.
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00:28:34,137 --> 00:28:39,416
Jarnia's husband, Francisco,
makes them a turtle-hunting spear...
181
00:28:48,537 --> 00:28:52,496
...and then the two sisters set off
in search of food.
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00:29:00,297 --> 00:29:03,414
Will their hard work
bring dinner to the table?
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00:29:13,137 --> 00:29:16,334
At first, it's not looking promising.
184
00:29:33,697 --> 00:29:36,689
Then Jarnia spots one.
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Her preparation's paid off.
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She'll be able to feed everyone.
187
00:30:09,297 --> 00:30:13,893
Jarnia's foresight has pulled her family
through another difficult flood.
188
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(THEY SING)
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00:30:45,937 --> 00:30:50,453
Some river creatures
pose a direct threat to humans.
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00:30:53,057 --> 00:31:00,486
The Zambezi river in Africa is used
by elephants, crocodiles and hippos,
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some of the continent's
most dangerous animals.
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00:31:08,177 --> 00:31:10,975
Fisherman Josphat and his brothers
have found a safe,
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if slightly hair-raising, fishing spot,
194
00:31:14,377 --> 00:31:18,529
a place where they can catch lunch
without becoming dinner themselves.
195
00:31:42,177 --> 00:31:45,487
The place they're heading for
may be safe from crocodiles,
196
00:31:45,537 --> 00:31:48,290
but it does have a drawback.
197
00:32:08,497 --> 00:32:12,410
The reason Josphat's fishing pools
are far from safe
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00:32:12,457 --> 00:32:14,971
is their precarious position...
199
00:32:38,897 --> 00:32:41,969
...at the very top of Victoria Falls.
200
00:33:00,977 --> 00:33:03,127
Josphat's bravery and skill
201
00:33:03,177 --> 00:33:07,170
enable him to fish
where no animal dares to venture.
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00:33:31,977 --> 00:33:38,007
People can overcome floods and even
learn to fish on giant waterfalls,
203
00:33:38,057 --> 00:33:43,211
but there's one face of a river
that's virtually impossible to survive.
204
00:33:46,817 --> 00:33:51,254
When a river dries up and disappears,
all life drains away.
205
00:33:55,817 --> 00:34:00,527
Lemagas is a Samburu camel herder
in northern Kenya.
206
00:34:00,577 --> 00:34:04,809
No rain has fallen here for eight months.
207
00:34:04,857 --> 00:34:09,408
It's a severe drought,
and the Milgis river has vanished.
208
00:34:10,977 --> 00:34:13,935
Lemagas has been forced to range
deep into the desert,
209
00:34:13,977 --> 00:34:17,287
searching for fresh food
for his precious camels.
210
00:34:19,337 --> 00:34:24,286
Now they are far away from home,
and they've run out of drinking water.
211
00:34:41,337 --> 00:34:46,536
Not even the camels can survive this long
without a drink.
212
00:34:46,577 --> 00:34:52,254
Lemagas knows there is water here,
hidden underneath the river bed.
213
00:34:58,177 --> 00:35:00,213
But how can he find it?
214
00:35:06,777 --> 00:35:11,897
The Samburu have learned
to rely on another nomadic creature,
215
00:35:11,937 --> 00:35:14,690
one that usually travels at night.
216
00:35:25,097 --> 00:35:27,930
While Lemagas and his camels rest,
217
00:35:27,977 --> 00:35:34,007
not far away, some giant water-diviners
are sniffing out the river bed.
218
00:35:43,017 --> 00:35:48,011
An elephant's trunk - its nose -
is far more sensitive than a human's...
219
00:35:50,537 --> 00:35:55,736
...which means it can tell where
the water table is closest to the surface.
220
00:36:01,577 --> 00:36:05,490
Elephants must drink 1 00 litres a day
221
00:36:05,537 --> 00:36:10,292
and can suck up
eight litres of water at a time.
222
00:36:12,017 --> 00:36:15,805
Having drunk,
the elephants leave before dawn.
223
00:36:21,257 --> 00:36:26,206
Early next morning, Lemagas and
his camels are on the elephants'trail.
224
00:37:15,697 --> 00:37:19,690
Even a dry river bed holds water
if you know where to look.
225
00:37:19,737 --> 00:37:23,855
They sing their thanks to the gods...
and the elephants.
226
00:37:40,137 --> 00:37:44,016
A few days later,
Lemagas finally returns to his village
227
00:37:44,057 --> 00:37:46,173
with its permanent deep well.
228
00:37:46,217 --> 00:37:50,005
He doesn't forget the help
he's been given in the wild.
229
00:37:54,257 --> 00:37:57,806
The first thing he does
is to bring up precious water,
230
00:37:57,857 --> 00:38:03,136
not just for his herd and his family,
but for his wild friends too.
231
00:38:29,137 --> 00:38:33,653
He doesn't forget his nocturnal
water-diviners, for without them,
232
00:38:33,697 --> 00:38:37,133
Lemagas and his camels
could never survive
233
00:38:37,177 --> 00:38:38,849
when they're far away from home.
234
00:38:47,017 --> 00:38:51,693
Over 4,000 kilometres away,
in Mali, another dry river,
235
00:38:51,737 --> 00:38:53,648
a tributary of the Niger,
236
00:38:53,697 --> 00:38:57,770
is forcing one man
into making a difficult decision.
237
00:38:59,497 --> 00:39:04,048
His name is Ouseman,
and he's a master mason in Djenne,
238
00:39:04,097 --> 00:39:09,217
an ancient city
made entirely of river mud.
239
00:39:15,297 --> 00:39:19,051
His job is to maintain the city's mosque,
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00:39:19,097 --> 00:39:23,010
the biggest and oldest mud building
in the world.
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00:39:36,097 --> 00:39:39,612
It's the heart of Ouseman's culture.
242
00:39:50,017 --> 00:39:54,647
Ouseman's problem is this -
every year the mosque needs
243
00:39:54,697 --> 00:39:57,689
a fresh coat of mud to protect it
before the rains arrive.
244
00:39:59,817 --> 00:40:04,607
Down in the dry river bed,
the mud is blended with rice husks,
245
00:40:04,697 --> 00:40:06,733
and then left to ferment.
246
00:40:14,857 --> 00:40:19,408
But this year, the mix
hasn't reached the right consistency,
247
00:40:19,457 --> 00:40:23,291
and now the rains are almost upon him.
248
00:40:28,217 --> 00:40:31,368
Dust storms are blowing in,
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00:40:31,417 --> 00:40:35,171
the first signs that the wet season
is about to begin.
250
00:40:38,177 --> 00:40:43,205
The sacred building desperately needs
a new storm-proof skin.
251
00:40:52,337 --> 00:40:57,331
Two days later, Ouseman and his friend
Ibrahim return to the river.
252
00:40:58,657 --> 00:41:01,694
(THEY CHAT)
253
00:41:21,177 --> 00:41:22,895
It's a big decision.
254
00:41:22,937 --> 00:41:26,976
Word spreads fast,
and everyone comes down to help.
255
00:41:30,217 --> 00:41:34,847
Everyone in Djenne has been waiting
all year for this special day.
256
00:42:26,377 --> 00:42:31,497
The built-in palm logs
are perches for the plasterers.
257
00:42:54,537 --> 00:42:59,770
The whole town mucks in
to protect the mosque for another year.
258
00:43:11,417 --> 00:43:15,205
There's been a mud mosque in Djenne
for 700 years...
259
00:43:17,137 --> 00:43:21,653
...the sacred heart of a city
fashioned from river mud.
260
00:43:36,697 --> 00:43:38,494
(CHEERING)
261
00:43:45,617 --> 00:43:49,656
Our relationship with rivers
is never easy.
262
00:43:49,697 --> 00:43:53,167
Their waters can give us so much
263
00:43:53,217 --> 00:43:55,572
but can also take everything away.
264
00:43:55,617 --> 00:44:01,852
We will always be at the mercy
of their wild and unpredictable nature.
265
00:44:06,777 --> 00:44:13,455
But one culture has found an inspiring way
of mastering their savage rivers.
266
00:44:15,977 --> 00:44:20,687
In northeast India, a giant cliff
leads up into a hidden world...
267
00:44:22,577 --> 00:44:24,010
...Meghalaya.
268
00:44:26,537 --> 00:44:31,247
Nearly two kilometres high
and buffeted by monsoon storm clouds,
269
00:44:31,297 --> 00:44:35,290
this is possibly
the wettest place on Earth.
270
00:44:40,697 --> 00:44:46,693
Once, 25 metres of rain fell here
in a year, the world record.
271
00:44:49,017 --> 00:44:52,692
Living here poses an unusual problem,
272
00:44:52,737 --> 00:44:55,046
and it's not just keeping dry.
273
00:44:58,977 --> 00:45:03,926
Nearly all the rain falls
during the summer monsoon.
274
00:45:04,977 --> 00:45:09,334
Rivers switch from gentle streams
to raging torrents.
275
00:45:14,937 --> 00:45:21,331
They become wild and unpredictable
and almost impossible to cross.
276
00:45:30,497 --> 00:45:35,525
Harley and his niece Juliana
are busy cultivating a cunning solution.
277
00:45:46,297 --> 00:45:50,927
30 years ago,
Harley planted this strangler fig
278
00:45:50,977 --> 00:45:55,528
on the river's edge, and today,
he's teaching Juliana how to care for it.
279
00:45:55,577 --> 00:46:00,697
The fig's tangled roots help to prevent
the bank being washed away.
280
00:46:09,737 --> 00:46:15,573
He teaches Juliana to coax the roots
across what is now just a stream.
281
00:46:15,617 --> 00:46:19,405
When they reach the other side,
they'll take hold there.
282
00:46:20,977 --> 00:46:25,414
This is the basis of a structure
that will survive any deluge.
283
00:46:27,577 --> 00:46:29,454
A living bridge.
284
00:46:32,977 --> 00:46:37,846
It's an epic project that no man
can complete in one lifetime,
285
00:46:37,897 --> 00:46:42,288
so Harley is passing on
his knowledge to Juliana.
286
00:46:50,297 --> 00:46:55,052
Each year,Juliana will need to tend
the roots, making them stronger.
287
00:46:57,297 --> 00:47:00,130
If she stays and completes her bridge,
288
00:47:00,177 --> 00:47:03,647
it will become part of
the commuter route here,
289
00:47:03,697 --> 00:47:08,612
a network of dozens of living bridges
that connect the valleys of Meghalaya.
290
00:47:28,137 --> 00:47:31,766
Some of them are many centuries old.
291
00:47:31,817 --> 00:47:34,172
There are even double-deckers.
292
00:47:57,097 --> 00:48:02,649
With Juliana to look after it, the future
of this young bridge looks secure...
293
00:48:08,897 --> 00:48:13,687
...sustainable, living architecture
294
00:48:13,737 --> 00:48:16,934
that will live and grow for generations...
295
00:48:25,937 --> 00:48:29,213
...one of the very few examples
in the world
296
00:48:29,257 --> 00:48:34,285
where humans have come up with
a successful and natural solution,
297
00:48:34,337 --> 00:48:38,376
a way of working with nature
298
00:48:38,417 --> 00:48:43,207
to overcome the problems
a wild river can cause.
299
00:48:54,137 --> 00:48:58,813
For the Human Planet Rivers team,
filming on the Mekong river
300
00:48:58,857 --> 00:49:02,896
at the height of the monsoon
raised many challenges.
301
00:49:04,617 --> 00:49:10,374
Mainly, how do you capture a remarkable
event without losing your camera,
302
00:49:10,417 --> 00:49:14,535
your crew or your star fisherman,
Sam Niang, to the river?
303
00:49:22,217 --> 00:49:26,256
The Khone Falls
have more water flowing over them
304
00:49:26,297 --> 00:49:28,686
than any other waterfall in the world.
305
00:49:36,257 --> 00:49:40,933
A narrowing of the mighty Mekong river
funnels the migrating fish
306
00:49:40,977 --> 00:49:44,572
and provides a dangerous,
if lucrative, opportunity.
307
00:49:56,777 --> 00:50:00,247
The crew's here
to capture the extreme lengths
308
00:50:00,297 --> 00:50:03,369
that locals will go to catch fish.
309
00:50:05,377 --> 00:50:10,895
Sam Niang is lucky. He has access
to his own small island for fishing.
310
00:50:10,937 --> 00:50:15,806
But to get to his prime spot,
he must risk life and limb.
311
00:50:48,377 --> 00:50:52,893
To capture the spectacle
of Sam Niang's high-wire feat,
312
00:50:52,937 --> 00:50:55,656
the crew have chosen a gadget
that runs on wires
313
00:50:55,697 --> 00:51:00,532
and that controls the camera
electronically, known as a cable dolly.
314
00:51:03,457 --> 00:51:08,212
And the idea is, it's one of our
most exciting and sought-after shots,
315
00:51:08,257 --> 00:51:11,647
so we can follow someone
walking across the tightrope,
316
00:51:11,697 --> 00:51:17,647
so the camera moves with them and then
pulls out to reveal the angry water.
317
00:51:20,137 --> 00:51:24,210
But rigging such a hi-tech system
over a raging torrent
318
00:51:24,257 --> 00:51:28,853
is no easy feat,
and it requires a specialist rigger.
319
00:51:28,897 --> 00:51:34,130
We're just trying to get
the cable across for the dolly,
320
00:51:34,177 --> 00:51:39,205
so the local guy's just shimmied
across the wires, as he does every day.
321
00:51:43,937 --> 00:51:47,566
Whilst Tim works on the cables,
the rest of the team
322
00:51:47,617 --> 00:51:50,893
concentrate on filming the rapids
from every other angle,
323
00:51:50,937 --> 00:51:55,567
even shooting in the rapids themselves.
324
00:51:55,617 --> 00:52:00,054
I'll just go here. It won't be a long run.
It'll take two or three minutes.
325
00:52:00,097 --> 00:52:01,815
Mick O'Shea was the first man ever
326
00:52:01,857 --> 00:52:06,169
to navigate the entire Mekong,
from Tibet to southern China -
327
00:52:06,217 --> 00:52:09,209
just the man to capture a fish-eye view.
328
00:52:29,657 --> 00:52:34,651
But even he succumbs to the full force
of the Mekong in surge.
329
00:52:36,657 --> 00:52:41,651
His kayak is sucked under by the powerful
current and swept downstream.
330
00:52:54,577 --> 00:53:00,812
After a few worrying minutes,
Mick re-appears, back in control,
331
00:53:00,857 --> 00:53:02,688
safe but shaken.
332
00:53:24,337 --> 00:53:30,936
With new-found respect for the Mekong's
power, the crew stick to solid ground.
333
00:53:30,977 --> 00:53:35,129
Using a four-metre jib,
they follow Sam Niang
334
00:53:35,177 --> 00:53:39,489
as he negotiates a treacherous
rocky outcrop to cast his net.
335
00:53:39,537 --> 00:53:43,212
...Over and down, OK? And on... Good.
336
00:53:49,697 --> 00:53:53,007
By now, Tim has the rigging
ready for the dolly.
337
00:53:53,057 --> 00:53:54,729
Do you want this up there?
338
00:53:54,777 --> 00:53:56,529
There's a massive cloud come over.
339
00:53:56,577 --> 00:53:58,249
(THUNDER RUMBLES)
340
00:53:58,297 --> 00:54:01,972
But no sooner than it's in place,
the heavens open.
341
00:54:02,017 --> 00:54:04,326
It's the last thing they need.
342
00:54:04,377 --> 00:54:08,450
Dolly filming stops
for technical and safety reasons.
343
00:54:37,937 --> 00:54:43,455
There's just a little spot of rain.
I think rain's stopping play!
344
00:54:58,897 --> 00:55:01,650
- Cos electronics survive the rain well(!)
- Yeah.
345
00:55:02,857 --> 00:55:05,690
(THUNDER CRASHES)
346
00:55:08,417 --> 00:55:11,648
The next morning,
it's clear that, as feared,
347
00:55:11,697 --> 00:55:13,972
water has got into the electronics.
348
00:55:18,657 --> 00:55:20,648
So what's gone wrong with it now?
349
00:55:34,217 --> 00:55:37,095
So the new, modern technology
is ousted by the old-school way.
350
00:55:46,217 --> 00:55:50,608
I'm going to go up there now
and, um, put the camera on!
351
00:55:50,657 --> 00:55:52,727
Oh, my... Whoa! OK.
352
00:55:52,777 --> 00:55:58,295
The crew finally get the cable dolly
working, so now it's time to get creative.
353
00:56:00,457 --> 00:56:06,771
The light, the dolly, the safety team
and, most importantly, Sam Niang,
354
00:56:06,817 --> 00:56:08,694
all have to work in unison.
355
00:56:10,857 --> 00:56:12,336
Go!
356
00:56:17,177 --> 00:56:19,327
We turned it the wrong way.
357
00:56:29,657 --> 00:56:31,693
OK, Tim.
358
00:56:36,017 --> 00:56:38,053
No.
359
00:56:38,097 --> 00:56:39,815
Nearly, nearly.
360
00:56:39,857 --> 00:56:42,371
Bring it all back, yes.
361
00:56:42,417 --> 00:56:44,373
Go.
362
00:56:44,417 --> 00:56:48,171
No. Still no!
363
00:56:49,297 --> 00:56:52,528
Sam Niang looks really happy,
though, doesn't he?
364
00:56:52,577 --> 00:56:56,695
My heart's in my mouth every time
he has to go over that rope.
365
00:56:58,697 --> 00:57:02,053
You look really happy,
and I'm really worried!
366
00:57:04,297 --> 00:57:10,691
The sun breaks through the clouds,
and finally it all comes together.
367
00:57:29,137 --> 00:57:32,095
Yay, we've got a keeper!
368
00:57:33,657 --> 00:57:36,125
That's great!
369
00:57:36,177 --> 00:57:39,294
Thanks very much, you.
370
00:57:39,337 --> 00:57:40,531
Yeah!
371
00:57:40,577 --> 00:57:42,090
What a relief.
372
00:57:57,097 --> 00:58:01,807
Despite the odds,
the Human Planet team have triumphed.
32206
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