1 00:00:23,481 --> 00:00:26,860 These feet tell a story. 2 00:00:28,403 --> 00:00:31,573 One of hardship and courage... 3 00:00:33,867 --> 00:00:37,203 of survival and of secrets shared. 4 00:00:46,337 --> 00:00:48,715 They belong to a lone bull... 5 00:00:52,552 --> 00:00:54,554 ...in what might be the toughest place 6 00:00:54,554 --> 00:00:57,057 on Earth to be an elephant... 7 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:05,482 Namibia's Namib Desert. 8 00:01:08,651 --> 00:01:12,697 Climate change has made the extreme conditions even worse. 9 00:01:20,371 --> 00:01:22,373 The dry seasons are drier... 10 00:01:27,337 --> 00:01:30,799 ...punctuated by ever more unpredictable rainstorms. 11 00:01:39,641 --> 00:01:43,686 Only 150 desert elephants remain. 12 00:01:46,689 --> 00:01:48,525 But they are resilient... 13 00:01:50,652 --> 00:01:53,029 with a deep knowledge of their world... 14 00:01:54,114 --> 00:01:56,825 passed down through generations. 15 00:02:06,126 --> 00:02:10,463 Desert elephants are as tough as the landscape. 16 00:02:46,958 --> 00:02:49,919 Perched on the southwestern edge of Africa... 17 00:02:52,046 --> 00:02:55,758 the Namib Desert is a land of extremes. 18 00:02:58,011 --> 00:03:02,182 Temperatures here can exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit... 19 00:03:04,893 --> 00:03:09,397 with an average of less than three inches of rainfall a year... 20 00:03:11,232 --> 00:03:17,447 that come in bursts that scar the earth with massive flash floods. 21 00:03:28,958 --> 00:03:33,504 Somehow, these elephants are eking out a living in a landscape 22 00:03:34,005 --> 00:03:36,090 that anyone else would think is lifeless. 23 00:03:39,219 --> 00:03:43,389 Conservationist Dr. Paula Kahumbu has spent her career 24 00:03:43,389 --> 00:03:47,685 studying the elephants of Africa's lush savanna grasslands. 25 00:03:51,522 --> 00:03:54,776 But she's never laid eyes on a desert elephant. 26 00:03:56,778 --> 00:04:00,156 She wants to find out how these remarkable animals 27 00:04:00,281 --> 00:04:04,369 manage to survive in this unforgiving place. 28 00:04:06,246 --> 00:04:10,291 African savanna elephants and desert elephants are the same species. 29 00:04:10,708 --> 00:04:14,254 But if you took a savanna elephant and brought it here, it wouldn't survive. 30 00:04:15,171 --> 00:04:19,467 I wanna know how these desert elephants manage to live here. 31 00:04:24,472 --> 00:04:27,517 To find one of the constantly roaming elephant herds, 32 00:04:28,017 --> 00:04:30,853 Paula has turned to tracker Hendrick Munembome... 33 00:04:30,979 --> 00:04:31,938 - Oh, yeah. - Wow. 34 00:04:31,938 --> 00:04:34,774 ...and his 25 years of studying the desert elephant. 35 00:04:35,525 --> 00:04:38,569 Yeah, I think some walked here as well. 36 00:04:40,780 --> 00:04:43,574 So it's possible we will find them today. 37 00:05:05,722 --> 00:05:07,015 Oh, my God. 38 00:05:08,766 --> 00:05:10,143 Oh, my gosh. 39 00:05:14,147 --> 00:05:15,440 This is amazing. 40 00:05:17,233 --> 00:05:18,568 There's two here. 41 00:05:18,735 --> 00:05:21,612 Oh, my God. Wait. There's, oh, a big family here. 42 00:05:22,113 --> 00:05:24,365 These are the desert elephants we've been looking for. 43 00:05:25,408 --> 00:05:26,659 There's a family. 44 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:33,624 I've been watching elephants my whole life, 45 00:05:33,750 --> 00:05:35,835 and I've never seen elephants like these. 46 00:05:37,420 --> 00:05:40,340 They may be the same species as savanna elephants, 47 00:05:40,340 --> 00:05:42,592 but you can immediately see the differences. 48 00:05:43,551 --> 00:05:46,304 Their legs have less fat on them, so they look taller, 49 00:05:47,013 --> 00:05:48,431 and their skin is looser. 50 00:05:49,265 --> 00:05:51,601 It's incredibly tough for an elephant here. 51 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:57,357 Food and water are both scarce. And it's only getting worse. 52 00:05:58,358 --> 00:05:59,609 In the Namib Desert, 53 00:05:59,609 --> 00:06:02,653 climate change has brought with it a five-year drought. 54 00:06:04,489 --> 00:06:10,203 Everything depends on their ability to get from one waterhole to the next. 55 00:06:11,579 --> 00:06:16,834 There's no time to stop, to investigate, to explore, to play. 56 00:06:18,127 --> 00:06:19,420 It's just survive. 57 00:06:20,463 --> 00:06:23,174 Survive means keep going, keep going. 58 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:44,153 It's the middle of the seven-month dry season... 59 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:50,493 when daily temperatures are regularly above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. 60 00:07:04,841 --> 00:07:09,637 But even in these conditions, life finds a way. 61 00:07:23,317 --> 00:07:28,322 Just minutes old, but the odds are already stacked against her. 62 00:07:45,256 --> 00:07:48,926 It's been eight years since any desert elephant 63 00:07:49,051 --> 00:07:52,054 has survived its first six months in this valley. 64 00:07:59,145 --> 00:08:03,149 She will learn everything from her all female family. 65 00:08:11,324 --> 00:08:14,118 The challenges start right now. 66 00:08:20,625 --> 00:08:21,834 Standing up. 67 00:08:38,267 --> 00:08:41,938 The reassuring touch of her mother's trunk. 68 00:08:56,911 --> 00:08:59,747 Their bond is already strong. 69 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:04,794 Elephants are pregnant for 22 months... 70 00:09:06,963 --> 00:09:09,090 longer than any other mammal. 71 00:09:14,845 --> 00:09:16,389 She's ready to go. 72 00:09:18,849 --> 00:09:19,934 Almost. 73 00:09:34,448 --> 00:09:37,535 With food and water being so scarce, 74 00:09:38,202 --> 00:09:44,959 she'll suckle for six years, two more than any other African elephant. 75 00:09:57,763 --> 00:10:00,224 While the rest of her family stands watch... 76 00:10:02,727 --> 00:10:09,275 captured here for the first time, her mom takes an after-birth shower. 77 00:10:15,323 --> 00:10:20,995 Births are so rare. The placenta is an object of curiosity. 78 00:10:35,426 --> 00:10:37,345 The others try to bury it... 79 00:10:39,472 --> 00:10:43,517 as the smell could ring like a dinner bell to nearby predators. 80 00:11:02,870 --> 00:11:04,914 One day, she may become a matriarch 81 00:11:05,581 --> 00:11:09,919 and lead her own family of females, just like her grandmother. 82 00:11:14,507 --> 00:11:17,885 But for now, she just needs to sleep. 83 00:11:22,598 --> 00:11:26,686 She'll enjoy the protection of this herd throughout her life. 84 00:11:39,949 --> 00:11:43,911 Her male relatives won't share that same benefit. 85 00:11:58,634 --> 00:12:00,469 Around the age of 14, 86 00:12:00,803 --> 00:12:05,391 males leave their families and begin a never-ending journey of survival. 87 00:12:09,895 --> 00:12:14,233 Almost 55,000 square miles of the Namib Desert 88 00:12:14,900 --> 00:12:16,318 can be a lonely place. 89 00:12:28,330 --> 00:12:32,960 For four decades, he's walked up to 50 miles a day... 90 00:12:40,176 --> 00:12:43,345 the equivalent of three times around the world 91 00:12:43,471 --> 00:12:45,264 by his 40th birthday... 92 00:12:50,811 --> 00:12:56,692 in a continual search for food, water, and females. 93 00:13:13,667 --> 00:13:17,838 What keeps him alive is his incredible memory. 94 00:13:21,133 --> 00:13:24,094 His brain is like an atlas of the desert 95 00:13:24,553 --> 00:13:29,600 filled with details about where to find exactly what he needs. 96 00:13:34,855 --> 00:13:39,276 This river is dry, but the bull isn't here for water... 97 00:13:42,321 --> 00:13:43,864 just a good meal. 98 00:13:46,575 --> 00:13:49,161 The challenge is getting down to it. 99 00:13:55,709 --> 00:13:59,380 These crumbling sandbanks could be a problem. 100 00:14:08,639 --> 00:14:11,350 But not for a sand surfing pro. 101 00:14:46,010 --> 00:14:49,513 This desert snack bar may not look that appetizing... 102 00:14:54,977 --> 00:14:57,229 but the portions are generous. 103 00:15:00,900 --> 00:15:06,071 On his daily menu, a quarter of a ton of leaves and bark. 104 00:15:20,252 --> 00:15:24,965 He's eaten here before and knows each tree offers something different. 105 00:15:34,308 --> 00:15:37,061 Ana tree seed pods full of protein. 106 00:15:37,853 --> 00:15:40,856 They're the desert equivalent of a peanut butter sandwich. 107 00:15:55,245 --> 00:15:58,123 He won't knock down the trees like savanna elephants. 108 00:16:02,419 --> 00:16:04,171 By simply pruning them, 109 00:16:04,380 --> 00:16:08,425 he ensures this precious food source will still be here next year. 110 00:16:16,433 --> 00:16:21,563 The moisture from the leaves is just enough to survive a few more days. 111 00:16:23,607 --> 00:16:25,693 But he still needs to find water. 112 00:16:36,245 --> 00:16:38,998 First, he has another appetite to serve. 113 00:16:41,625 --> 00:16:44,044 It's time to find love. 114 00:16:54,179 --> 00:16:56,974 The bull's mate just happens to be the matriarch 115 00:16:56,974 --> 00:16:59,685 of another desert elephant family in Namibia. 116 00:17:04,732 --> 00:17:07,192 Thirteen elephants strong. 117 00:17:11,405 --> 00:17:13,198 And it's most successful. 118 00:17:17,244 --> 00:17:20,080 She's raised four calves of her own. 119 00:17:26,670 --> 00:17:28,589 An exhausting task. 120 00:17:46,732 --> 00:17:49,651 Her mate, the old bull, is a regular visitor. 121 00:17:59,536 --> 00:18:01,622 He's fathered some of her offspring. 122 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,172 At times, the bull can seem like a real family man... 123 00:18:12,382 --> 00:18:14,593 and he can be affectionate with the kids. 124 00:18:17,513 --> 00:18:19,431 But the real reason for dropping by? 125 00:18:21,266 --> 00:18:23,685 To reignite an old flame. 126 00:18:25,938 --> 00:18:29,066 As the only male of breeding age in the area, 127 00:18:29,191 --> 00:18:31,902 he has an unrivaled opportunity. 128 00:18:46,667 --> 00:18:48,293 Nothing breaks the ice... 129 00:18:49,336 --> 00:18:50,712 like a tasty gift. 130 00:19:14,069 --> 00:19:15,571 A touch of affection. 131 00:19:25,497 --> 00:19:27,958 But she's not interested. 132 00:19:36,550 --> 00:19:38,844 The drought presents breeding females 133 00:19:38,844 --> 00:19:40,512 with an extra challenge... 134 00:19:47,519 --> 00:19:50,439 finding the water it takes to produce enough milk 135 00:19:50,647 --> 00:19:52,691 to feed a thirsty young calf. 136 00:19:59,656 --> 00:20:02,367 Without milk, calves die. 137 00:20:03,118 --> 00:20:04,411 It's one of the reasons 138 00:20:04,411 --> 00:20:08,332 why desert elephants are on the brink of extinction. 139 00:20:12,711 --> 00:20:14,796 The old bull visits, 140 00:20:14,796 --> 00:20:17,841 but ultimately, they go their separate ways. 141 00:20:21,762 --> 00:20:23,722 Everyone has to keep moving. 142 00:20:41,406 --> 00:20:45,494 It's something our newborn and her mother are about to learn... 143 00:20:49,748 --> 00:20:50,874 the hard way. 144 00:21:00,968 --> 00:21:02,302 She's overslept. 145 00:21:02,886 --> 00:21:06,598 Her inexperienced young mom didn't wake her. 146 00:21:09,851 --> 00:21:13,313 The rest of the family, led by their matriarch, 147 00:21:13,689 --> 00:21:15,941 had to keep searching for water. 148 00:21:23,865 --> 00:21:27,077 Only one aunt has stayed behind. 149 00:21:38,046 --> 00:21:42,968 The first lesson in desert survival is keep moving. 150 00:21:53,061 --> 00:21:59,276 With their urgent need for food and water, the herd's matriarch couldn't wait. 151 00:22:12,331 --> 00:22:18,170 But without her family's protection, the calf is hugely vulnerable. 152 00:22:41,401 --> 00:22:44,905 Guided by the fast-fading scent trail of the herd, 153 00:22:45,447 --> 00:22:48,367 the three set off in pursuit. 154 00:22:59,503 --> 00:23:02,798 The midday heat is brutal... 155 00:23:04,466 --> 00:23:05,717 and their pace... 156 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:08,053 relentless... 157 00:23:09,179 --> 00:23:12,391 especially for such little legs. 158 00:23:17,854 --> 00:23:22,859 Mom tries to signal the rest of the family with a contact call. 159 00:24:04,025 --> 00:24:08,113 The hours of relentless chase are taking their toll. 160 00:24:31,928 --> 00:24:35,432 But then the mom's hypersensitive hearing 161 00:24:35,932 --> 00:24:37,893 picks up something in the wind. 162 00:24:49,821 --> 00:24:51,573 A sandstorm is coming. 163 00:25:09,674 --> 00:25:11,092 Her calls for help... 164 00:25:13,136 --> 00:25:14,930 are lost in the wind. 165 00:25:20,101 --> 00:25:21,853 She has to keep pushing them... 166 00:25:23,063 --> 00:25:24,272 into the storm. 167 00:25:58,098 --> 00:26:00,976 Ahead, unable to see clearly... 168 00:26:02,394 --> 00:26:05,855 the rest of the herd has been forced to slow down. 169 00:26:20,328 --> 00:26:21,997 As the wind quiets... 170 00:26:29,546 --> 00:26:34,467 ...the mom's cries for help finally reach the rest of her family. 171 00:26:55,655 --> 00:26:57,490 Together again. 172 00:27:12,213 --> 00:27:15,300 It may only be her second day of life... 173 00:27:18,303 --> 00:27:24,392 but the baby has already learned lessons that will stay with her forever. 174 00:27:34,402 --> 00:27:38,198 She's learned to keep going no matter what. 175 00:27:40,116 --> 00:27:42,369 She's learned there's strength in numbers... 176 00:27:43,662 --> 00:27:47,749 and she's learned that family is her fortress. 177 00:28:03,765 --> 00:28:07,143 With its dunes rolling endlessly to the ocean... 178 00:28:08,186 --> 00:28:14,442 Africa's Namib Desert is the oldest and one of the driest on Earth. 179 00:28:17,112 --> 00:28:21,908 The quest for water means covering huge distances. 180 00:28:28,998 --> 00:28:30,542 For the solitary bull, 181 00:28:31,668 --> 00:28:35,880 it's like walking from Alaska to Florida every year. 182 00:28:41,010 --> 00:28:44,264 Every pit stop for water is a lifesaver. 183 00:28:47,767 --> 00:28:52,814 His astounding memory has stored the location of all of them. 184 00:28:56,651 --> 00:29:00,989 The problem? The nearest is 50 miles away. 185 00:29:08,705 --> 00:29:12,709 His desert-adapted feet, wider than other elephants, 186 00:29:12,959 --> 00:29:15,545 make it easier to move over the sand. 187 00:29:20,508 --> 00:29:23,928 He only sleeps two hours a day. 188 00:29:38,026 --> 00:29:39,903 But not often at night. 189 00:29:41,654 --> 00:29:45,492 The cooler temperature is too valuable for rest. 190 00:29:55,043 --> 00:29:59,672 Before dawn, he'll cover 40 more miles. 191 00:30:13,353 --> 00:30:18,483 As he draws tantalizingly close, he can even smell it... 192 00:30:19,442 --> 00:30:23,196 with the keenest sense of smell in the animal kingdom. 193 00:30:54,519 --> 00:30:56,980 A true oasis. 194 00:31:13,454 --> 00:31:16,499 He has to make the most of this opportunity... 195 00:31:19,002 --> 00:31:22,422 sucking up over half a gallon a second... 196 00:31:27,093 --> 00:31:30,722 and drinking up to 60 gallons at a time. 197 00:31:43,234 --> 00:31:47,030 It could be four days before he drinks again. 198 00:32:09,636 --> 00:32:12,972 Some of the Namib Desert never sees rain. 199 00:32:16,643 --> 00:32:19,938 The rivers flow for just two weeks every year. 200 00:32:25,985 --> 00:32:28,237 The supermom and her herd 201 00:32:28,613 --> 00:32:32,241 know that the desert can be dangerously unpredictable. 202 00:32:49,592 --> 00:32:51,386 In the mountains to the east... 203 00:32:52,553 --> 00:32:54,138 an ominous rumble. 204 00:33:03,231 --> 00:33:04,607 She can feel it. 205 00:33:14,993 --> 00:33:21,916 In her trunk, 400,000 nerve endings sense something in the air. 206 00:33:25,294 --> 00:33:27,296 The sensitive pads on her feet 207 00:33:27,839 --> 00:33:32,677 pick up a distant rumble 150 miles from here. 208 00:33:56,826 --> 00:34:00,580 In the desert, rain is a precious gift... 209 00:34:04,876 --> 00:34:10,339 but not when it falls on ground like this, baked rock-hard by the sun. 210 00:34:36,991 --> 00:34:38,326 A flash flood. 211 00:34:44,540 --> 00:34:46,542 The biggest in decades. 212 00:34:50,296 --> 00:34:53,132 The supermom knows from experience 213 00:34:53,132 --> 00:34:56,969 that this riverbed is no place to be right now. 214 00:35:02,058 --> 00:35:06,604 It's time to get the herd to higher ground fast. 215 00:35:08,773 --> 00:35:15,279 A wall of water, 13 feet high in places, is heading their way. 216 00:35:59,615 --> 00:36:02,785 She got them out just in time. 217 00:36:17,925 --> 00:36:21,012 The water that moments ago was life-threatening... 218 00:36:22,471 --> 00:36:24,974 has now become life sustaining. 219 00:36:54,962 --> 00:36:57,298 Fifty miles further down the valley, 220 00:36:57,298 --> 00:36:59,342 for the newborn and her family, 221 00:36:59,342 --> 00:37:02,595 the rain comes as a welcome relief. 222 00:37:16,692 --> 00:37:19,528 At first, the mud seems to confuse her. 223 00:37:24,158 --> 00:37:25,618 But not for long. 224 00:37:40,675 --> 00:37:45,179 When she's older, the calf will remember this place... 225 00:37:47,098 --> 00:37:53,312 and that a good coating of mud isn't just cooling. It's desert sunscreen. 226 00:38:11,539 --> 00:38:14,417 The elephants drink as much as they can... 227 00:38:19,630 --> 00:38:21,132 however they can. 228 00:38:25,386 --> 00:38:30,016 It'll be six months before our little calf learns to use 229 00:38:30,141 --> 00:38:33,144 the 40,000 muscles that control her trunk. 230 00:38:34,270 --> 00:38:39,442 Eventually, it'll be as familiar to her as an arm is to us. 231 00:38:46,198 --> 00:38:50,328 But for now, it's one step at a time. 232 00:39:10,222 --> 00:39:11,599 Eighty miles away, 233 00:39:11,891 --> 00:39:16,270 the lone bull is coming to the end of his current journey. 234 00:39:27,573 --> 00:39:30,910 He's found himself enough food and water for now. 235 00:39:47,676 --> 00:39:51,889 But something else compels him to walk to the desert's western edge... 236 00:40:00,981 --> 00:40:04,652 known as Namibia's Skeleton Coast... 237 00:40:13,953 --> 00:40:16,914 named after the shipwrecks along its beaches... 238 00:40:18,958 --> 00:40:23,546 and the remains of the whales and seals those ships once hunted. 239 00:40:30,136 --> 00:40:32,930 The bull has come here for precious minerals... 240 00:40:44,942 --> 00:40:47,528 ...crystallized from evaporated seawater 241 00:40:47,820 --> 00:40:49,655 on the shoreline's vegetation. 242 00:40:51,574 --> 00:40:56,162 Elephants crave the sodium and other minerals in sea salt... 243 00:41:02,418 --> 00:41:04,879 and will eat anything that has it. 244 00:41:06,547 --> 00:41:09,008 But it's a fleeting pleasure. 245 00:41:19,351 --> 00:41:23,063 All his instincts tell him to keep moving, 246 00:41:23,856 --> 00:41:29,695 just as they repeatedly tell him to return to his mate and her herd... 247 00:41:34,450 --> 00:41:37,745 in hopes of creating a new generation. 248 00:41:57,765 --> 00:41:58,974 Six months on, 249 00:41:59,308 --> 00:42:05,064 our supermom continues to lead her herd on their migrations through the desert. 250 00:42:10,819 --> 00:42:11,862 And there's hope. 251 00:42:12,905 --> 00:42:16,075 Not only is a young female in the family pregnant... 252 00:42:20,829 --> 00:42:24,458 but our young calf has become the first desert elephant 253 00:42:24,708 --> 00:42:30,714 in eight years to survive in this valley beyond her first six months. 254 00:42:39,181 --> 00:42:41,141 A momentous achievement... 255 00:42:43,143 --> 00:42:45,104 not just for her family... 256 00:42:46,522 --> 00:42:48,983 for their entire kind. 257 00:42:52,361 --> 00:42:54,738 But their story isn't over. 258 00:42:59,994 --> 00:43:01,453 As challenges mount, 259 00:43:01,829 --> 00:43:06,417 their tough lives are set to become even tougher. 260 00:43:14,216 --> 00:43:16,635 These desert elephants are survivors. 261 00:43:19,013 --> 00:43:22,933 They've been able to carve out a living in a place where life seems impossible. 262 00:43:27,396 --> 00:43:30,816 I wanted to find out how these amazing elephants have succeeded. 263 00:43:37,615 --> 00:43:40,034 It's because they've adapted their behavior. 264 00:43:40,034 --> 00:43:41,994 They've learned the secrets of the desert. 265 00:43:48,751 --> 00:43:50,210 They rely on each other. 266 00:43:51,003 --> 00:43:52,463 They listen to their elders, 267 00:43:52,463 --> 00:43:55,591 {\an8}and they pass on knowledge from generation to generation. 268 00:44:00,846 --> 00:44:02,890 {\an8}And this is why these elephants endure. 269 00:44:04,099 --> 00:44:08,312 {\an8}They've become as much a part of the desert as the shifting sands.