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Imagine a world where temperatures
rise to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Where there's no escape
from sun, wind and dust.

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Imagine a world with
almost no food or water.

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These are the conditions in

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one third of the lands of our planet.

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To live here demands the most
extraordinary survival strategies.

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This is the oldest desert in the world.

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The Namib in south-west Africa.

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It's been dry for 55 million years.

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Life here for a hunter
is as hard as it gets.

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A pride of lions.

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One of the very few that endures
this desert's scorching temperatures

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and lack of water.

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Hunting here presents special problems.

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A herd of oryx, the only
prey within 20 miles.

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Out here, there is no cover for an ambush.

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It'll have to be a straight chase.

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They have failed

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and each failed hunt brings
the lions closer to starvation.

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To find enough to eat,

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the pride continually searches
an area the size of Switzerland.

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Three days and 100 miles
later, and still no kill.

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These are desperate times.

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(BIRDS CAW)

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A dry riverbed on the
edge of their territory.

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The only animals here are giraffe,

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but these one-tonne giants could
kill a lion with a single kick.

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Lions seldom tackle such formidable prey...

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...but this pride can't go
on much longer without food.

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The whole pride must work together
as a team if they're to succeed.

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Two lionesses lead the chase.

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Others race to cut off
possible escape routes.

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The giraffe has the speed and
stamina to outrun the pride...

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...but it's being chased into a trap.

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Up ahead, the lead female waits.

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It's now up to her.

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Most lion hunts end in failure.

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But no lions fail more often than
those that live in the desert.

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Once again, the pride
must continue their search.

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(THUNDER RUMBLES)

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It does, sometimes, rain in the desert.

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Here, in the American West, storms
can strike with devastating force.

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After ten months of drought,

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millions of tonnes of water are
dumped on the land in under an hour.

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Over millions of years,

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sand and gravel carried
by the rampaging floods

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have carved channels
through the solid rock.

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Slot canyons, 150 feet deep.

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In some places, these canyons have widened

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until the land between them
is sculpted into tablelands

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and isolated pinnacles,

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some of the most dramatic
landscapes on the planet.

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The rain may be long gone...

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...but there is water here...

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...locked away within the tissues
of specialist desert plants.

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Cacti are unique to American deserts.

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They all hoard water,

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storing it in swollen stems

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and protecting it behind
a barricade of spines.

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They're so successful that
they dominate these deserts.

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But this forest of spikes can cause

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problems for the animals that live here.

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A Harrisxxx hawk.

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It has developed special techniques
for hunting amongst the cacti.

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Ground squirrels.

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Prey.

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At the first sign of danger they
bolt for the safety of the thorns.

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But the hawks have a
tactic to flush them out.

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These are the only birds
of prey that hunt in packs.

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Flying in formation, they try to
drive their quarry into the open.

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But this squirrel is staying put.

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So now the hawks continue the hunt...

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...on foot.

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They're closing in from all sides.

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Soon, all escape routes are cut off.

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The squirrel is trapped.

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The spines that cover almost
every plant in this desert

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can provide protection and
shelter for many animals.

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So, why should these
spikes be hung with corpses?

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What kind of creature could be responsible

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for creating such a gruesome scene?

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There's a mysterious killer
at work in this desert.

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It's a butcherbird.

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This little songbird uses the
spines as a butcher uses his hook...

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to hold its prey as it dismembers it.

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(CHICKS SQUAWK)

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And with chicks to feed, he
also uses the spines as a larder.

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He's been stocking it for weeks.

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Hanging his prey out of the
reach of scavengers on the ground

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ensures that his newly hatched
young will never go hungry.

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An ingenious solution to making
the good times last in the desert...

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...if a little macabre.

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(CHICKS SQUAWK)

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Some deserts are so arid,

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they appear totally
devoid of all vegetation.

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Yet even these landscapes can be
transformed in a matter of days.

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The deserts of Peru are
amongst the driest in the world,

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but just add a little water and
plants that have lain dormant

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for months will burst into life.

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And when a desert suddenly turns green,

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even the most seemingly desolate
can become a land of opportunity.

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No creature exploits the
greening of a desert more quickly

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or more dramatically than a locust.

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Madagascar's arid south-west

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has received its highest rainfall in years.

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Now, an army is on the march,

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attracted by the smell
of newly sprouting grass.

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Locusts are normally solitary creatures,

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but when food becomes suddenly
plentiful they come together

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into an unstoppable force that
devours everything in its path.

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But this devastation is
about to get a lot worse.

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The locusts now transform
into winged adults,

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and with conditions as good as this,

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they do so three times faster than normal.

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Now they are at their most voracious...

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and with wings, they can take to the skies.

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Once airborne, the locusts
can travel over 60 miles a day

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in their search for new feeding grounds.

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A super swarm of this scale may
only appear once in a decade.

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This one extends over 200 square miles

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and contains several billion individuals.

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Between them, they will devour
40,000 tonnes of food in a day.

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Nothing can strip a land of
its vegetation with such speed

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and thoroughness as a plague of locusts.

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When the food eventually runs
out, the whole army will die...

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but not before it's devastated the land.

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With no plants to bind them,

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thin soils soon turn to dust and blow away.

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Now, these barren lands are left
to the mercy of the elements.

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Scorched by the sun and
scoured by windblown sand,

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desert rock is shaped into
strange, otherworldly landscapes.

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These rocky deserts may
have a beguiling beauty,

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but when they become this barren,
very little life can endure.

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For many animals, the only way
to survive the most hostile times

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is to keep moving.

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In the Kalahari, brief rains
have given way to the dry season.

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Food and water are becoming
increasingly scarce.

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For these zebra, it's time to leave.

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They're setting off on

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the longest overland migration
made by any mammal in Africa,

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marching towards the
scent of distant rains.

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As drought intensifies,

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desert-living elephants must
also undertake long journeys

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in search of water.

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The older females can remember where,

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even in times of extreme
drought, there may still be water

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and sometimes lead the herd to a
water hole they may not have visited

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for decades.

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These zebra are almost at
the end of their journey.

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This is what they've been heading for...

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...a rare water hole.

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In deserts, most water
holes are short lived.

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They appear after rains,

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but then vanish almost
as quickly as they came.

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Animals have come here
from many miles around.

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Yet this can be a dangerous
place in which to linger.

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60 miles away, in the heart of the desert,

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sandgrouse chicks are hatching.

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It's safer for them to be here.

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But being so distant
from water is a gamble.

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With only their mother to
shield them from the sun,

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if they get nothing to drink,
they will be dead within hours.

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Their only hope is their father.

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Every morning he makes
the 120-mile round trip

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to get water for the family.

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Grouse from all over the
desert visit this oasis,

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arriving together in large flocks,

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and that is important.

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There's safety in numbers.

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The male snatches a drink,

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but he also needs to
collect water for his chicks.

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Using specially adapted breast feathers,

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he can soak up water like a sponge.

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But it takes time, and he is in danger.

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Goshawk.

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Sandgrouse here are their main prey.

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Again and again, the male
sandgrouse risk their lives

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in order to collect water for their chicks.

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This is why sandgrouse nest
so far from water holes.

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At last, he's soaked up as much as he can.

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Carrying a quarter of
his body weight in water,

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he can now set off on
the long journey home.

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He's back, and just in time.

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He can give the chicks
their first ever drink.

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But he will have to undertake
this perilous journey every day

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for the next two months until his
chicks can finally make the flight

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to the water hole for themselves.

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It's July in the deserts of Nevada
in the western United States.

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The hottest time of the year.

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Bands of wild horses, mustang,

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are converging on one of the last
remaining water holes for miles.

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Now, water not only offers
them the chance to drink,

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it can also bring power.

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If a stallion can control access to water,

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he will have secured mating
rights to the entire herd.

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So stallions try to dominate these pools,

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fighting off rivals who venture too close.

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A stranger.

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00:30:42,690 --> 00:30:45,129
He's travelled ten miles to be here

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because the pools where he's
come from have already dried up.

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With him come his females.

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00:30:57,170 --> 00:30:59,849
If he can't provide them with
water, they will leave him

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for the white stallion who
already dominates this pool.

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So, he will have to fight.

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There is everything to lose.

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A broken leg or a shattered jaw

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00:32:22,730 --> 00:32:25,830
would mean a slow and painful death.

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00:32:46,250 --> 00:32:49,390
A missed kick, and it's all over.

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00:32:51,730 --> 00:32:55,929
The new arrival has won...

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00:32:55,930 --> 00:33:00,169
and his prize is more than
just the chance to drink.

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He has provided for his
herd, and in the process,

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stolen his rival's females.

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The white stallion's rule is over.

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00:33:17,770 --> 00:33:22,369
Desert life is not only shaped
by the scarcity of water,

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but also by the relentless
power of the sun.

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The highest temperatures on Earth

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have all been recorded in its deserts.

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00:33:50,090 --> 00:33:53,009
Changes in the climate
mean temperatures here

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00:33:53,010 --> 00:33:56,129
are rising more than
the global average and,

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00:33:56,130 --> 00:33:59,710
as deserts heat up,
they are also expanding.

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Every year, a further 50,000
square miles of grass and farmland

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00:34:06,610 --> 00:34:10,670
are turning into barren
stretches of dust and rock.

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In the heat of the day, surface
temperatures can reach 160 degrees,

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far too hot to handle for most.

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But not for this shovel-snouted lizard.

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Raising its feet off the ground in turn...

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...enables each to briefly cool.

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But even this dancing desert specialist

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can't stand the heat for long.

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One option is to find shade.

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Dune grass, the only vegetation
here, provides virtually none,

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but just an inch beneath
the surface of the sand,

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it is several degrees cooler.

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Avoiding the extreme heat
imposes a rhythm on desert life.

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00:35:35,730 --> 00:35:39,590
And many animals here choose
the simplest option of all...

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...staying hidden all day,

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and only venturing out
in the cool of the night.

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As darkness falls, animals
appear from seemingly nowhere.

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And, among them, inevitably,

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are hunters.

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One of the most voracious
nocturnal predators

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00:36:31,090 --> 00:36:34,750
is also one of the hardest to see.

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This mysterious creature hardly ever
appears on the surface of the dunes.

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00:36:48,330 --> 00:36:52,430
But there are signs on the
sand that can give it away.

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It lives only here, where the
sand grains are so perfectly dry

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and polished, that they
flow almost like water.

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It's no bigger than a ping-pong ball.

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A golden mole.

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It's totally blind,

250
00:37:28,330 --> 00:37:30,950
but there's nothing to
see underground anyway.

251
00:37:37,170 --> 00:37:40,030
Instead, it has superb hearing.

252
00:37:42,530 --> 00:37:45,129
Its entire head acts as an amplifier

253
00:37:45,130 --> 00:37:49,449
that picks up vibrations through
the sand, so, to locate prey

254
00:37:49,450 --> 00:37:52,929
on the surface of the
dune, it has, paradoxically,

255
00:37:52,930 --> 00:37:55,870
to thrust its face into the dune.

256
00:38:04,210 --> 00:38:06,289
Termites.

257
00:38:06,290 --> 00:38:08,750
Not easy to catch when you're blind.

258
00:38:12,610 --> 00:38:15,670
Far better to go into stealth mode.

259
00:38:17,090 --> 00:38:21,710
Once below the sand, it can
detect the slightest movement...

260
00:38:24,690 --> 00:38:28,150
...allowing it to strike
with pinpoint accuracy.

261
00:38:37,010 --> 00:38:40,350
Well, most of the time.

262
00:38:51,690 --> 00:38:55,910
They can travel two thirds of a mile
a night in search of its dinner...

263
00:38:58,650 --> 00:39:02,790
...and right now, it has
just detected its main course.

264
00:39:04,370 --> 00:39:08,390
Little wonder it's sometimes
called "the shark of the dunes".

265
00:39:16,810 --> 00:39:21,329
Food can be so scarce in the
desert that, even at night,

266
00:39:21,330 --> 00:39:25,190
animals can't afford to be
choosy about what they eat.

267
00:39:30,850 --> 00:39:33,390
Israel's Negev desert.

268
00:39:42,730 --> 00:39:47,470
Otonycteris, the desert
long-eared bat, is on the hunt.

269
00:39:51,330 --> 00:39:55,769
Most bats catch flying insects
on the wing, but there are so few

270
00:39:55,770 --> 00:40:00,430
of these in the desert that this
bat must do things differently.

271
00:40:03,690 --> 00:40:06,150
It has to hunt on the ground.

272
00:40:13,130 --> 00:40:17,270
But what really sets it
apart is what it's hunting...

273
00:40:24,930 --> 00:40:27,070
...a deathstalker scorpion.

274
00:40:28,490 --> 00:40:32,870
The venom of this species is
potent enough to kill a human.

275
00:40:34,450 --> 00:40:38,990
Tackling it seems madness for a
bat weighing just half an ounce.

276
00:40:43,290 --> 00:40:48,369
In the pitch-black, both predator
and prey are effectively blind,

277
00:40:48,370 --> 00:40:50,849
but the scorpion has one advantage...

278
00:40:50,850 --> 00:40:55,670
he can sense the approach of the
bat through vibrations in the sand.

279
00:40:59,050 --> 00:41:03,430
Otonycteris must rely
entirely on its hearing.

280
00:41:04,250 --> 00:41:07,670
If the scorpion doesn't move,
it won't know it's there.

281
00:41:22,290 --> 00:41:23,750
The battle is on.

282
00:41:26,650 --> 00:41:30,329
Armed with crushing pincers
and a sting loaded with venom,

283
00:41:30,330 --> 00:41:33,270
this scorpion is a dangerous opponent.

284
00:41:46,370 --> 00:41:48,710
A direct strike on the head.

285
00:41:51,130 --> 00:41:52,710
Is it all over?

286
00:41:56,450 --> 00:41:58,470
Not for this bat.

287
00:42:13,730 --> 00:42:17,729
Otonycteris clearly has
some immunity to the venom,

288
00:42:17,730 --> 00:42:21,870
but repeated stings must still
be extraordinarily painful.

289
00:42:29,730 --> 00:42:31,769
And if the bat is not to go hungry,

290
00:42:31,770 --> 00:42:35,790
it must catch another three
scorpions before sunrise.

291
00:43:03,570 --> 00:43:06,889
Desert animals have developed
remarkable strategies

292
00:43:06,890 --> 00:43:10,590
to make the most of the rare
opportunities that come their way.

293
00:43:12,690 --> 00:43:16,329
Although some deserts may not
see rain for several years,

294
00:43:16,330 --> 00:43:20,150
most will hold a little
water in one form or another.

295
00:43:21,010 --> 00:43:24,430
The trick is simply
knowing how to reach it.

296
00:43:32,930 --> 00:43:38,470
Dawn in the dunes of the Namib,
and something magical is happening.

297
00:43:56,810 --> 00:44:01,529
Moist air lying over the
neighbouring Atlantic is cooled

298
00:44:01,530 --> 00:44:06,910
and blown inland, forming fog banks
that shroud the desert in mist.

299
00:44:14,170 --> 00:44:18,209
This precious moisture lies
tantalisingly out of reach

300
00:44:18,210 --> 00:44:22,729
at the top of the dunes,
and it won't last long.

301
00:44:22,730 --> 00:44:26,950
It'll be burnt off by the
sun just hours after it rises.

302
00:44:42,290 --> 00:44:45,289
Darkling beetles race
to the top of the dunes

303
00:44:45,290 --> 00:44:48,030
to reach the fog before it vanishes.

304
00:44:57,130 --> 00:45:01,649
Some of the Namib's
dunes are 1,000 feet high,

305
00:45:01,650 --> 00:45:03,230
the tallest in the world.

306
00:45:04,930 --> 00:45:08,609
For a beetle no larger than a
thumbnail, this is the equivalent

307
00:45:08,610 --> 00:45:12,230
of us climbing a dune
twice the height of Everest.

308
00:45:16,570 --> 00:45:20,510
But even more impressive
is what it does next.

309
00:45:25,370 --> 00:45:28,609
Standing perfectly still,
facing into the wind,

310
00:45:28,610 --> 00:45:31,230
the beetle does a headstand.

311
00:45:34,330 --> 00:45:37,350
Fog begins to condense on its body.

312
00:45:40,570 --> 00:45:44,169
Microscopic bumps on its
wing cases direct the water

313
00:45:44,170 --> 00:45:46,790
to grooves that channel
it towards the mouth.

314
00:45:52,290 --> 00:45:54,489
Before returning down the slip face,

315
00:45:54,490 --> 00:45:57,510
it will drink 40% of its body weight.

316
00:46:02,610 --> 00:46:07,689
This little beetle has learned
how to conjure water out of the air

317
00:46:07,690 --> 00:46:10,750
in one of the driest places on earth.

318
00:46:14,450 --> 00:46:17,830
And it's not alone on the top of the dunes.

319
00:46:24,050 --> 00:46:27,150
Web-footed geckos use a similar trick.

320
00:46:36,970 --> 00:46:40,950
Surely, few animals go to
greater lengths to get a drink.

321
00:46:59,290 --> 00:47:03,209
Unfortunately, Namaqua chameleons
know that on foggy mornings,

322
00:47:03,210 --> 00:47:08,270
the beetles coming down the dunes
are juicier than those going up.

323
00:47:19,530 --> 00:47:24,009
The diversity of life that thrives
in a world almost totally devoid

324
00:47:24,010 --> 00:47:26,710
of water is truly remarkable.

325
00:47:29,370 --> 00:47:33,289
Success in the desert depends
on an extraordinary variety of

326
00:47:33,290 --> 00:47:37,590
survival strategies that have
evolved over millions of years.

327
00:47:39,650 --> 00:47:42,430
But our planet is changing.

328
00:47:45,010 --> 00:47:49,089
The world's deserts are growing
bigger, hotter and drier,

329
00:47:49,090 --> 00:47:52,270
and they're doing so
faster than ever before.

330
00:47:53,770 --> 00:47:58,950
How life will cope here in
the future remains to be seen.

331
00:48:15,410 --> 00:48:19,809
Finding animals in these vast empty
landscapes was a persistent problem

332
00:48:19,810 --> 00:48:21,449
for the Deserts team.

333
00:48:21,450 --> 00:48:24,649
But surely this wouldn't be the
case when they set out to film

334
00:48:24,650 --> 00:48:28,150
one of the greatest concentrations
of wildlife on earth.

335
00:48:30,850 --> 00:48:35,710
It can't be hard to find
a billion locusts, can it?

336
00:48:38,810 --> 00:48:40,369
OK.

337
00:48:40,370 --> 00:48:42,849
With news that freak rains have triggered

338
00:48:42,850 --> 00:48:46,489
a mass emergence of locusts
in a remote part of Madagascar,

339
00:48:46,490 --> 00:48:48,630
the team sets off in pursuit.

340
00:48:56,210 --> 00:48:58,529
We've got some young hopper
locusts just crossing the road

341
00:48:58,530 --> 00:49:00,929
in front of us here. We've
just had to stop the cars.

342
00:49:00,930 --> 00:49:03,769
Here they are, here, all on
the side of the road, look.

343
00:49:03,770 --> 00:49:05,769
It looks promising.

344
00:49:05,770 --> 00:49:08,089
But though finding hoppers is easy,

345
00:49:08,090 --> 00:49:10,649
filming them proves more of a challenge.

346
00:49:10,650 --> 00:49:13,809
Can we rethink this? Because
it's not really working.

347
00:49:13,810 --> 00:49:15,529
The locusts are really skippy.

348
00:49:15,530 --> 00:49:18,169
Any kind of movement, they just
freak out, So we're now doing

349
00:49:18,170 --> 00:49:21,169
our best locust-herding
techniques to try to get them to go

350
00:49:21,170 --> 00:49:24,750
in front of the lens, which is
proving harder than anticipated.

351
00:49:33,730 --> 00:49:37,630
This is my Monday morning
locust-herding jazz hands.

352
00:49:54,730 --> 00:49:56,569
- Ah!
- What? What's that?

353
00:49:56,570 --> 00:49:58,270
- What?
- It's a wasp nest.

354
00:50:01,970 --> 00:50:05,489
Soon, the crew find themselves
surrounded by locusts.

355
00:50:05,490 --> 00:50:08,510
No need for jazz hands now.

356
00:50:12,290 --> 00:50:16,169
It's a good start, but the team
still need to film the winged swarms

357
00:50:16,170 --> 00:50:17,990
that complete the story.

358
00:50:22,170 --> 00:50:25,689
But, once airborne, they
can travel 60 miles a day,

359
00:50:25,690 --> 00:50:28,110
so finding a swarm won't be easy.

360
00:50:31,530 --> 00:50:35,289
Fortunately, the UN's Food
and Agriculture Organisation

361
00:50:35,290 --> 00:50:37,590
are here, too, to help.

362
00:50:40,970 --> 00:50:44,209
The FAO are on a mission
to eradicate the plagues

363
00:50:44,210 --> 00:50:47,449
decimating crops across Madagascar,

364
00:50:47,450 --> 00:50:52,169
and if anyone knows where the locusts are,

365
00:50:52,170 --> 00:50:55,529
it's the local expert, Hasibelo.

366
00:50:55,530 --> 00:50:58,470
He thinks that they are moving this way.

367
00:51:00,810 --> 00:51:03,350
Time to go swarm-chasing.

368
00:51:06,050 --> 00:51:09,369
But chasing is the operative word.

369
00:51:09,370 --> 00:51:12,910
The locusts always seem one step ahead.

370
00:51:14,370 --> 00:51:16,729
It's amazing, really,
because this plan's completely

371
00:51:16,730 --> 00:51:19,769
- radically changing, hour by hour.
- We now have to travel

372
00:51:19,770 --> 00:51:23,049
several hours further north, which is...

373
00:51:23,050 --> 00:51:25,030
- a bit of a pain.
- It's a bit of a pain.

374
00:51:28,370 --> 00:51:30,409
As they venture into the unknown,

375
00:51:30,410 --> 00:51:33,710
it's clear it's been
a very wet year indeed.

376
00:51:40,450 --> 00:51:44,649
Traffic is one thing,
but boats on the road?

377
00:51:44,650 --> 00:51:46,830
Unconventional traffic.

378
00:51:51,130 --> 00:51:54,670
Progress is slow, and
soon stops altogether.

379
00:52:00,410 --> 00:52:04,790
The locusts are just across the
water, so the team must follow...

380
00:52:07,170 --> 00:52:08,950
...on this.

381
00:52:10,650 --> 00:52:13,150
What could possibly go wrong?

382
00:52:18,010 --> 00:52:22,049
We're now stuck on, possibly,
the world's most antiquated raft

383
00:52:22,050 --> 00:52:24,969
trying to cross a very fast-flowing river.

384
00:52:24,970 --> 00:52:27,569
But, onwards and upwards.

385
00:52:27,570 --> 00:52:31,049
We've now got an hour-long river
crossing, and we'll just have to see

386
00:52:31,050 --> 00:52:32,790
what's on the other side.

387
00:52:49,610 --> 00:52:53,270
With the river behind them,
it should be plain sailing.

388
00:52:57,050 --> 00:53:00,769
But once across, the team
discovers that, yet again,

389
00:53:00,770 --> 00:53:03,310
the locusts are nowhere to be seen.

390
00:53:10,050 --> 00:53:11,889
And, after two weeks on the road,

391
00:53:11,890 --> 00:53:15,630
the local street food is
beginning to take its toll.

392
00:53:19,170 --> 00:53:23,550
So Ed's not very well.
Been yacking up and...

393
00:53:24,490 --> 00:53:27,529
And not very nice stomach.

394
00:53:27,530 --> 00:53:29,169
We just need to do whatever it takes now

395
00:53:29,170 --> 00:53:32,289
to get us to where the swarms are.

396
00:53:32,290 --> 00:53:34,750
The next day, the team forges on.

397
00:53:36,730 --> 00:53:38,310
Briefly.

398
00:53:42,250 --> 00:53:44,649
Here's Jamal, our driver.

399
00:53:44,650 --> 00:53:46,710
What do we think? Yeah?

400
00:53:47,450 --> 00:53:49,089
No?

401
00:53:49,090 --> 00:53:52,249
The road has turned into a bog.

402
00:53:52,250 --> 00:53:54,729
The cars can go no further.

403
00:53:54,730 --> 00:53:58,449
We need to cross this area
of water to get to the savanna

404
00:53:58,450 --> 00:54:00,470
and find our locust swarms.

405
00:54:01,250 --> 00:54:04,489
And it's amazing to think that,
with the combined might of the

406
00:54:04,490 --> 00:54:10,030
United Nations and the BBC, we are
eventually defeated by a puddle.

407
00:54:11,730 --> 00:54:13,990
Back to the drawing board.

408
00:54:17,970 --> 00:54:21,030
Once again, it's Hasibelo to the rescue.

409
00:54:22,530 --> 00:54:24,070
Well, we have a plan.

410
00:54:27,570 --> 00:54:30,049
Taking to the air was never on the cards,

411
00:54:30,050 --> 00:54:32,569
but thanks to the FAO's helicopter,

412
00:54:32,570 --> 00:54:36,230
the team can now play the
locusts at their own game.

413
00:54:59,810 --> 00:55:01,230
More smoke?

414
00:55:04,730 --> 00:55:07,990
This time, it's a billion locusts...

415
00:55:16,170 --> 00:55:19,670
...and one very relieved producer.

416
00:55:32,370 --> 00:55:35,209
Woohoo!

417
00:55:35,210 --> 00:55:39,510
Against the odds, the team
has located a super-swarm.

418
00:55:57,250 --> 00:56:00,489
This is exactly what we've been
looking for. We've driven halfway

419
00:56:00,490 --> 00:56:03,609
across Madagascar to one of
the most remote parts there is.

420
00:56:03,610 --> 00:56:07,289
It's just been a nightmare,
but, finally, we're here.

421
00:56:07,290 --> 00:56:10,129
I mean, this is the biggest swarm
we could have even hoped for.

422
00:56:10,130 --> 00:56:11,529
It is just amazing.

423
00:56:11,530 --> 00:56:13,910
Look at here, I'm going to film here.

424
00:56:15,250 --> 00:56:18,569
It's incredibly exhilarating,
and yet totally shocking,

425
00:56:18,570 --> 00:56:21,809
to think of the devastation that
swarms like this are causing.

426
00:56:21,810 --> 00:56:24,889
It just makes you realise
how important the FAO are

427
00:56:24,890 --> 00:56:27,790
in getting this under control.

428
00:56:31,090 --> 00:56:32,529
I'm just going to run through it.

429
00:56:32,530 --> 00:56:34,790
I should be naked for this, but...

430
00:56:49,450 --> 00:56:53,689
Thankfully, Rob kept his clothes
on, and, more importantly,

431
00:56:53,690 --> 00:56:56,089
this plague has now been halted,

432
00:56:56,090 --> 00:56:59,729
but not before the team had
witnessed one of the biggest swarms

433
00:56:59,730 --> 00:57:01,390
ever recorded on film.

434
00:57:13,970 --> 00:57:18,849
Next time, we journey to
the world's great plains,

435
00:57:18,850 --> 00:57:24,110
where spectacular gatherings of
wildlife cope with extreme change...

436
00:57:26,170 --> 00:57:30,790
...and surprising creatures
survive in unexpected ways.