The Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa
is one of the driest places on Earth.
But every year, one river flows down from the mountains
and transforms the heart of this desert.
A vast green oasis rises from the dust.
The Okavango Delta has been filling, emptying, and refilling for millennia.
And every plant and animal that has ever lived here
has danced to the rhythm of this great seasonal cycle.
Like blood through arteries, the water sustains all life here.
But one animal
is especially connected to the water.
These Kalahari elephants spend most of the year searching for food and water.
So, for them, flood season in the Delta is an especially joyous time.
This is a side of elephants we rarely see.
A 40-year-old female watches over the herd.
Shani is the oldest and wisest, after her sister, the great matriarch.
This puts her next in line to be the leader.
It will be a big responsibility when the time comes.
For now, though, she has her hands full trying to raise her one-year-old son.
And this kid is a handful.
Meet Jomo, one of the youngest of the herd.
At this impressionable age, with so many different types of animals to play with,
it's not entirely certain he even knows he's an elephant yet.
He can't leap through the air, so he's probably not a lechwe.
But a baboon... now, that looks more like it.
They're not buyin' it, though.
Let's just say Jomo has a lot to learn about being part of the herd.
For elephants, family is everything.
In this tight-knit group, someone always has your back.
And that's usually Gaia, Shani's sister.
She's the matriarch.
A position earned through age and wisdom.
Where she leads, the herd follows.
Almost everyone here is related to Gaia.
Sisters, cousins, daughters, grandkids.
The older boys, they leave home in their early teens
to seek their fortunes elsewhere.
But they'll return occasionally to visit Mom.
And to show the younger boys, like Jomo, how to cause trouble.
Gaia knows the Delta is drying
and that soon she will have to lead her family away from here
on a quest for food and water, until the flood returns and so can they.
These are the last elephants on Earth
still able to make these epic migrations over thousands of miles
as their ancestors did.
For many, the trip will be new and exciting, but also perilous.
Much will depend on Gaia's experience
and the wisdom handed down from generations of elephants.
Every year, the journey is challenging...
but this year, it will change all of their lives.
Two months later, the water is receding, and paradise is turning to dust.
Jomo leads the charge to water.
The Delta has become a series of vanishing pools,
and these last drinking holes are great places to meet up
with other families from the neighborhood.
Social life is like oxygen for these elephants.
And they embrace it face-first.
Shani has already lost track of Jomo.
There he is!
He's, um...
What is he doing?
The older elephants all know this could be the last easy water for many months,
so they're going to make the most of it.
It's time for a pool party!
When Jomo's over-stimulated, he can get a little...
excitable.
There.
At least these guys are more his size.
Well, that's turned most of the drinking water to mud.
Mud is useful to elephants, though.
It acts as sunscreen and they even eat it to help with... stomach issues.
Oh, dear.
Ugh, who did that?
But the mud has a dark side.
It's becoming dangerously sticky.
Gaia's anxious and calls time out on the mud pool.
Jomo barely makes it out.
But a young male calf is stuck and suffocating.
The matriarch rushes to help.
He isn't Gaia's calf,
but she knows he will die if she can't lift his face from the mud.
And she's the only one with experience of this.
His head is up. That's the first step.
His mother is distraught,
but knows if anyone else goes in,
it will disturb the mud and make things worse.
Even for Gaia, this is challenging.
She keeps the calf's head high
and removes mud from his mouth and trunk so he can breathe.
Clearing the airways will buy time.
Gaia looks to Shani to help calm the calf's mother.
The calf is exhausted, and his legs are deeply stuck.
But Gaia has a plan.
If she can just dig a big enough escape route through the mud,
the calf might be able to walk out on its own.
Shani couldn't have a better mentor.
Gaia never gives up and will never leave family behind.
This matriarch is a force to be reckoned with.
And a powerful role model for the entire herd.
Gaia has seen the Delta dry out like this
for every one of her 50 years and recognizes the signs.
She knows it's time to leave.
The memories of all the journeys she's ever taken are stored in her mind.
All the pathways and the food stops.
The landmarks and the dangers.
She'll need them all to navigate these unpredictable lands.
Gaia leads the herd into the baking Kalahari.
It seems madness!
But if she waits, the water holes they will need on their journey
will dry up before they can reach them.
And they'll be unable to cross the desert.
The family joins the mass exodus of animals leaving the Delta.
They're setting out on a thousand-mile round trip.
One that could take up to eight months.
After four days of travel, Gaia leads them to a shaded woodland,
where she remembers there are seedpods to eat.
But there's an unexpected surprise.
Distant relatives.
Part of the clan Gaia's family hasn't seen for over a year.
They're also making a pit stop on their own journey.
It's a wonderful chance to catch up with old friends,
and maybe make some new ones.
For Jomo, this could be the beginning of a life-long friendship
and a valuable connection to a whole new side of his family.
Emotional bonds between elephants are as strong and as long-lasting as our own.
Shani reconnects with a cousin she hasn't seen in ages.
They talk to each other with deep rumbling sounds that work at close range...
And travel great distances through the ground.
But nothing is more bonding than touch.
All right, they've said their hellos.
They came here for lunch.
The old tree-shaking technique produces...
one pod.
Well, that won't feed the herd.
Shani's a master tree shaker.
Hmm... No luck.
Looks like this food stop is a bust.
Wait a minute!
Who's this guy?
He's come to visit his mom in the other family.
A magnificent bull, and he's got a trick up his sleeve.
Oh, he's gonna win a lot of friends with this party trick.
Everyone loves these pods.
Jomo's found a role model.
Someday.
These pods are just what Gaia and the family need.
High energy food to keep them going on the long road ahead.
Shani feels some new rumbling vibrating the ground beneath her feet.
Low-frequency sounds.
Far lower than humans can hear.
They're messages from elephants on the road ahead.
Time to move on.
In front of them is an astonishing network of circles and lines
that stretch across the desert to the horizon.
The mysterious lines are ancient elephant paths.
The circles are water holes that collect and hold rain for a few months,
until it evaporates.
Some holes contain just enough drinking water
for the family to refill and travel to the next one.
But others are too far apart.
And some will be empty.
The holes with water are the stepping stones
the family will need on their week-long journey to cross this desert.
And linking them together is like solving a riddle
that requires many years of experience.
After a day marching under the beating sun,
the family is desperately thirsty.
Shani and Jomo rush to the water hole,
hoping to drink some clean water before it gets muddied up by everyone.
Empty.
Shani can still smell water, but it's far underground.
Jomo will stay thirsty.
But there's another smell on the wind.
Unusual, yet vaguely familiar.
Shani is distracted from her thirst.
An elephant must have arrived here about a year ago,
desperate for water, but finding none.
This is a reminder of the stakes.
The riddle of the water holes is no game.
The bones are blasted by sand and bleached by sun.
But Shani still seems to recognize the elephant they came from.
Perhaps it was a relative.
Or perhaps it was an elephant she met only once.
And it's true that elephants never forget.
Jomo was only born around the time this elephant died.
Shani passes him a bone as if trying to teach him something.
Elephants seem to have a deep connection to their past,
and a reverence for those who've gone before them.
There's so much ground to cover.
Whether it takes one day or two will depend on speed...
and Gaia taking the most direct route to the next water hole.
There's no margin for error now.
So many new wonders for the young ones to see on their first safari.
Jomo's been starved for playmates on this long trek.
He would love to play with this cute little cheetah cub.
But maybe not while Mom's around.
At last, an encouraging sign.
Carmine bee-eaters nest near rich insect life
so they can feed their chicks.
It's a sign to Gaia that the herd must be getting close to water.
Yesterday was a reminder of death.
But today, the air is alive.
And they can feel it in their giant bones.
There's definitely water here!
Make way, everybody!
There's a time for sharing,
but when elephants need to drink, it's survival of the biggest.
Jomo's found some playmates.
Warthogs.
They look like fun!
First, he's gotta wait till his mom's not looking.
And... there he goes.
Time for some hide-and-seek.
But warthogs don't seem to be into this.
Looks like he's switching to tag.
These pigs are way too fast for him.
Jomo would chase animals all day if he could.
Except for that one.
The one animal that won't move for an elephant is a buffalo.
Not moving.
Jomo's actually pretty brave...
when he's with his mom.
Shani skims the freshest water off the top, which usually works.
But this water has been ruined
by animals wading and doing who knows what else in it.
No drinkable water.
But at least this oasis comes with its own small mopani woodland.
Elephants love mopani.
And its leaves contain at least some water.
An elephant can eat 600 pounds of leaves and branches in a day.
That's the equivalent of two-and-a-half thousand cheeseburgers.
But they have a fierce competitor for these leaves.
And it's in a whole other league.
Mopani worms can eat twice their body weight of leaves in a day.
They're the caterpillar of the Emperor hawk-moth
and can devastate hundreds of miles of forest.
These critters can't be chased off.
They are rivals to be reckoned with.
A few worms must get eaten by mistake.
Yeah, elephants are herbivores,
but a little extra protein never hurt anyone.
You get 'em, Jomo!
The biggest land animal on Earth
chased off by a very hungry caterpillar.
This decimated woodland has nothing for them now.
But where next?
Deep in her memory, Gaia knows.
It's a place many of them have never been before.
And getting there will test their faith in Gaia.
The largest salt pan in Africa stretches out in front of them.
It's vast, brutal, and looks impossible to cross.
The ancient trails lead to a fantastical place.
An island that rises from the salt like a mirage.
But this island is very real
and offers a surprising lifeline for travelers.
Baobab trees.
Their swollen trunks are full of water
that was stored months ago during the rainy season.
Gaia hopes the sap will keep her family alive
for the second stage of the salt pan crossing.
It's the only water for 200 miles.
Gaia found the island,
but it's Shani who teaches the younger elephant what to do with the baobabs.
She rips open the thick bark,
so Jomo and the little ones can reach the moisture stored beneath.
The shape of these trees on the horizon
must have been a sign of salvation for generations of weary elephants.
And beneath their boughs... bed.
Only when the skies glitter and the heat of the day fades
do the island's strangest creatures emerge.
This is a magical place where elephants can dream.
Younger minds might be buzzing from the excitement
of making this journey for the first time.
Perhaps Shani and the elders dream of the time
they were shown this island by their ancestors.
Part of an unbroken chain of knowledge stretching back for millennia.
Mornings in the desert are cold.
So, Jomo and Shani are in no hurry to get up.
Gaia needs to get her family moving,
even if her old bones are creaking a little these days.
But no matter what your age, getting up isn't easy when you're this shape.
A helping trunk can make all the difference.
Not helping, Jomo.
The calves need the water in their mother's milk
or they'll never make it across the salt pan.
The baobab sap won't be enough to keep the adults going.
They need to cross now before it gets too hot.
But the desert has other ideas.
The winds have crossed hundreds of miles of scorched salt and are bone dry.
There is no shelter from the desiccating salt crystals
and the calves are in serious risk of dehydration.
Pushing on is the only option.
Jomo is struggling, but Shani reassures him.
She would never leave him behind.
The salt and the wind have sucked the water from their bodies.
They must drink soon or they will die.
Gaia is uncertain of the route,
but she can sense something through her feet.
It could be distant water.
Shani senses it too and leads the way.
So close.
Shani's instincts about the water were right.
But the deep gorge was a surprise.
How are they going to reach water now?
Quelea.
Gaia remembers these birds leading her mother to water many years ago.
Perhaps they could do it again.
They follow the birds through a passage high above the main river.
There's a small stream.
It's enough to wet their mouths and keep the parched young ones going.
Shani has learned an important lesson from Gaia today,
these little birds can be big lifesavers.
But the quelea aren't settling to drink.
Gaia gambles on following them.
The small stream was a feeder for the Zambezi River
at its most magnificent point.
Mosi-oa-Tunya, "The Smoke that Thunders."
Also known as Victoria Falls.
Upstream of the falls is the haven Gaia's been searching for.
Islands with shelter, food, and limitless fresh water.
The islands are filled with palm trees,
a sign that elephants have reached them many times before,
as palm seeds germinate best after passing through an elephant.
Gaia has found the crossing point to the islands.
Suddenly, those giant bodies seem a bit lighter.
Jomo has rediscovered the spring in his step.
They'll cross to the island soon enough, but before that,
their first real drink in nearly two months.
Deliciously cool water from the mighty Zambezi,
one of Africa's greatest rivers.
Ah! Antelope!
Just like old times for Jomo.
They remind Jomo of those carefree days back in the Delta,
just chasing animals around all over the place.
Not a care in the world...
Oh, that's a crocodile!
Probably best to stick with the herd.
Upstream, hungry crocodiles have noticed their arrival.
Downstream is the greatest waterfall on Earth.
But in front of them is everything they've been looking for.
Gaia decides they should attempt the crossing.
The water near the edge is shallow,
but shallow water is where crocodiles hunt best.
Shani is hesitating.
She wants to turn back...
but Gaia urges her on.
Together, Shani and Gaia shield the young on both sides,
making it harder for the crocodiles to reach them.
As they leave the crocodiles behind, they face a new, even worse danger.
The water is getting deeper and the current much stronger.
They could easily be swept downstream and over the waterfall.
A fate suffered by all too many elephants.
Here, the Zambezi is 50 feet deep and the current is ferocious.
Do they have the strength and stamina to withstand the force of the river?
They're nearly there!
Food, water, and safety all in one place.
They can rest here for the next few months
until the food is all eaten and the water returns to the Okavango.
And those palm nuts, they're perfectly ripe.
Current residents beware.
It's time for an elephant feast!
The nuts are full of oil, have all the goodness they need,
and were seeded here by previous generations of elephants.
No wonder they're called ivory palms.
Gaia's island will do nicely until the water returns to the Okavango.
Like the elephants,
the water will undergo an epic journey across Africa to reach the Delta.
A journey that's just beginning.
A thousand miles away in the highlands of Angola, the weather is changing.
Water vapor from the Atlantic Ocean hits the mountains and turns to rain.
The run-off from the southern slopes drains into the Okavango,
where thousands of Kalahari elephants will depend on it for their survival.
Nothing on our planet is more precious to life.
This water is just beginning its 600-mile journey to the Okavango Delta,
where it'll once again transform dust into paradise.
Gaia and family will soon begin their journey back to the Okavango,
so they can arrive in the Delta when it's at its most verdant.
OKAVANGO DELTA
On the palm islands above the falls, the season is also advancing.
The nuts are all finished and the remaining plants are dried out
and make poor elephant food.
The family is scraping a living now.
The change is especially hard on the oldest.
Gaia is getting tired, her sixth and final set of teeth are nearly worn away,
and she finds the food here harder to eat, so is losing strength.
Jomo has never seen an old elephant beginning to fade and seems confused.
Gaia has seen their food wane with the seasons many times before.
She also foresaw the other great change coming.
When they arrived, the Zambezi was a raging torrent.
Now, the mighty river has fallen to a trickle.
The dry season has devastated the whole area.
Gaia knew this place wouldn't support them for long.
Elephants can't survive on small islands.
They need to roam vast distances to thrive.
Gaia makes the call to leave and Shani helps rally the herd.
At least, leaving this place will be far easier than arriving.
Where they once had to swim, they can now walk.
On the mainland, Gaia can lead her family on the long road back to the Delta.
They'll travel through shaded woodlands where possible,
conserving their strength for the desert.
Off the island, she can once again tune in to the sounds of distant elephants.
They're telling her the Angolan floodwaters are early.
To get the best of the flood,
she'll need to leave immediately and take the shortest possible route.
There will be different dangers...
different pathways...
but the same goal, paradise.
The most direct route will get the family back for the peak of the flood.
But it's a calculated risk.
There's a reason they don't usually take the shortest route.
It's through lion country.
And these lions hunt elephants.
There are signs of ambush everywhere.
The cats won't usually attack elephants until the end of the dry season,
when they've been weakened by hunger.
That's still a month away.
As long as they stick together, they should be safe.
The herd does need to drink, and they do trust Gaia,
but this is unsettling.
Winds from a brewing storm give the cats cover.
It's much harder for the herd to hear or smell them in these conditions.
The lions know it too and seem emboldened.
The cats are drawing around the family.
Gaia must show the lions her family is strong.
The predators shouldn't waste their time.
The lions seem convinced this would be no easy meal.
At least not during daylight when elephants have the upper hand.
The elephants feel their way.
They can't see well in the dark and predators know it.
The family should push on through the night
and leave this place while they can.
The haunting calls of hyenas put them on edge.
The family cannot take any chances.
Hyenas are known as scavengers,
but would snatch a small calf given the opportunity.
Gaia and Shani keep the hyenas away from Jomo and the other young.
Gaia is worried she's made a grave error.
The hyenas are eating a carcass of a large elephant
too big for them to have killed themselves.
It can only mean one thing.
It was killed by lions and the hunting season has begun.
Shani can sense Gaia's distress.
If the matriarch is worried, panic spreads.
The lions are closing in.
The hunter has Jomo in her sights.
Shani spots the lion and gives chase, leaving her son alone.
Shani and Jomo could easily become surrounded.
They must get out of there.
In their pursuit, the lions have separated Jomo from his mother.
Jomo must stay hidden.
Shani has doubled back to protect Jomo.
She will never abandon her son.
Safe for now.
Gaia had expected the family to be many miles from here by morning.
But last night was chaos.
Shani emerges from the covered woodland,
trying to reconnect with the rest of the herd.
They are tightly gathered around a body...
Gaia.
The herd was so focused on keeping their young safe
that they lost sight of their oldest.
Her failing teeth had left her weakened by hunger
and the stress of the night was too much for her.
She is still alive... just.
But these are her last moments, and the family knows it.
For the last 20 years, she has been their rock,
giving companionship and leadership.
With her trunk on her sister's mouth,
Shani feels her take her last breath.
They can't help her now.
Jomo takes a final look at Gaia.
The death of a matriarch is a momentous event in his young life.
The life-giving floodwaters are picking up pace as they travel towards the Delta.
Shani is trying to lead her family there, too.
With Gaia gone, she is now the one responsible for their safety.
This is uncharted territory for her... in every sense.
The younger females look to each other for reassurance.
They've never known a time without Gaia as their leader.
They know Shani is the obvious successor.
But does she have what it takes?
Only time will tell if they found their new matriarch.
A week later, their journey is interrupted by a wonderful event.
A new calf is welcomed into the world,
after a pregnancy of nearly two years
and there is huge excitement in the family.
The first few days of life are all-important,
and everyone wants to help.
He'll be unsteady on his feet for a while.
Another new responsibility for Shani.
Elephants are usually born in the wet season
when mothers can produce more milk and it's cooler,
so this little calf is going to need extra help.
Shani welcomes a new playmate for Jomo.
Jomo is less excited.
He has been the baby of the family for as long as he can remember.
Then again, the kid looks like he could use some help.
Yup, he is definitely gonna slow them down.
Shani clears a path for the calf while it finds its feet.
The little one's mom is inexperienced,
so its chances of survival are slim without Shani's help.
It's now Shani, not Gaia, to whom the family must look for guidance.
The decisions she makes from here on
will have huge consequences for the entire herd.
She looks back at all the lessons
she learned from Gaia during her rich life.
Shani must piece together her own way back to the Delta.
First thing, she must get the new mother
to the place Gaia took her after she gave birth,
a place where salts seep from the ground.
Elephants come here to drink and replace minerals
before they tackle the desert.
Shani lets the new mom go first
so she can replenish the fluids lost during the birth.
For the mom, this is a lifesaver.
But the whole herd need these minerals before they can move on.
Oh, look who's cut in front of the line...
Jomo!
He's gonna have to learn how to play by the rules.
Tusks come in very handy when trying to dig deep for the salts.
Jomo doesn't have tusks, so it's a little difficult.
And his young apprentice isn't helping.
Another herd is approaching, wanting to access the mine.
Shani is in alien territory now, disconnected from her social network.
She sizes them up.
It's a huge group, easily big enough to drive them away.
Shani must decide whether to stand firm and protect their patch or back down.
Sometimes rival herds will kidnap calves to assert their dominance...
and Shani's family has a vulnerable newborn to look after.
The calf is eyed by the rival matriarch.
Shani steps up for the test.
She will not be intimidated.
She will protect the calf as though it were her own.
The rivals back down. They had strength in number,
but lacked Shani's determination to protect her family.
The little calf is safe for now.
Shani decides it's time to push for home.
It won't be easy, but a rich prize is waiting.
The Angolan floodwaters are just arriving in the Okavango.
Desert sands that have been parched and barren
for half a year are not as lifeless as they seem.
Some creatures have been waiting underground for this moment.
And others have been waiting for them.
The leading edge of the flood is full of tiny fish
moving in to hunt the insects and spiders caught by the new water.
Catfish are just behind them, pushing into the Delta's many channels
alongside thousands of other floodwater pioneers.
Paradise from dust.
Once again, the Delta is transforming.
Out in the desert, Shani and the family are not far away now,
but they're battling dry headwinds and haven't had water for two days.
It's taking a toll on the whole herd.
Jomo is more resilient than he was when he began this journey.
But the young calf is in trouble.
The herd is tighter now than ever.
He won't be left behind.
Strength of family has gotten them this far.
They will make it to the Delta together, or not at all.
Take as long as you need, little one.
The white sand of the Delta is now under his feet.
They are so close!
From all over the Kalahari, animals pour back into the Okavango.
The journey's wildlife and water converge and the Delta's heart is beating again.
Only one set of travelers are missing.
Shani's done it! They're home.
She's got them all back...
even the little one.
This epic journey was started by Gaia,
but it's Shani who will now carry forward the wisdom of the generations.
The calf born on their journey tastes the Delta's waters for the first time.
He'll have Jomo to introduce him to the locals... in his own special way.
But after all his trials and experiences this year,
Jomo will surely prove to be an excellent big brother
and pass on everything he's learned about being one of the herd.
Following the dust and dangers of their incredible road trip,
this must be pure heaven.
After an uncertain start,
the family now fully accepts Shani as their new matriarch.
She won't be the same as Gaia...
elephants are individuals.
Shani will bring her own style of leadership.
And she's started well.
In a few months, these lush wetlands will be gone.
And the family will have to leave the Delta
and head out again across the vast wilds of Africa,
like countless generations of Kalahari elephants before them.
These are the last elephants on Earth who still have the freedom to roam.
May these unforgettable journeys continue for generations to come.
And there's the baby. Look at that.
There's nothing like the sound of lions
40 feet from the car when you've got no doors on it,
to make a little bit of wee come out.
Females, salty, three hours old.
No, don't taste it.
I can't bring myself to do that to you.
I did this. I touched it with this finger and licked the other finger.
Right over the camera.
They tend to be more nervous in a herd like this,
because obviously the lions are around
and lions will have a go for the youngsters.
- Lions? - Yeah.
- You didn't say anything about lions. - Of course there are lions.