The Coming of the Rains • 2017 • episode "S1E3" • The Big Dry

Category: Nature

The rains are late. It is the most brutal time of year. Babies born into drought face starvation. The weak and the injured are weeded out. Everything is desperate for rain. When it finally arrives, it is a downpour on an enormous scale. Alien creatures emerge into a different world. The wet season begins.

Make a donation

Buy a brother a hot coffee? Or a cold beer?

Hope you're finding these documentaries fascinating and eye-opening. It's just me, working hard behind the scenes to bring you this enriching content.

Running and maintaining a website like this takes time and resources. That's why I'm reaching out to you. If you appreciate what I do and would like to support my efforts, would you consider "buying me a coffee"?

Donation addresses

BTC: bc1q8ldskxh4x9qnddhcrgcun8rtvddeldm2a07r2v

ETH: 0x5CCAAA1afc5c5D814129d99277dDb5A979672116

With your donation through , you can show your appreciation and help me keep this project going. Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a significant impact. It goes directly towards covering server costs.

The Big Dry • 2017 • 3 episodes •

The Drought Begins

The Drought Begins

The Luangwa Valley in Zambia experiences one of the toughest dry seasons imaginable. Seven months with no rain and spiralling temperatures. And with this year’s El Nino conditions the drought is threatening to be even more intense than usual.

2017 • Nature

Life in the Furnace

Life in the Furnace

It’s October in Zambia’s Luangwa Valley. The hottest and harshest time of year. But this year dry season conditions are exacerbated by a global El Nino event… the Valley is in the throes of drought. There’s been no rain since April and desperate animals are drawn to the only remaining source of water in the Valley – the dwindling Luangwa River...

2017 • Nature

The Coming of the Rains

The Coming of the Rains

The rains are late. It is the most brutal time of year. Babies born into drought face starvation. The weak and the injured are weeded out. Everything is desperate for rain. When it finally arrives, it is a downpour on an enormous scale. Alien creatures emerge into a different world. The wet season begins.

2017 • Nature

You might also like

Coasts

David Attenborough showcases wildlife in coastal regions, from Cape fur seals on South Africa's Robberg Peninsula to hungry lions on Namibia's infamous Skeleton Coast. Plus, a look at how the Arctic coast is the scene of the biggest seasonal transformation on Earth, as the melting of billions of tonnes of ice brings short-lived opportunities to coastal waters.

S1E1 • Planet Earth III • 2023 • Nature

Curious Cures

David Attenborough examines more creatures that have fascinated us for centuries. A look at some species with remarkable healing properties.

S3E5 • Natural Curiosities • Nature

Planet Ant: Life Inside the Colony

Planet Ant: Life Inside the Colony

A fascinating look at the secret, underground world of the ant colony in a way that has never been seen before. At its heart is a massive, full-scale ant nest, specially-designed and built to allow cameras to see its inner workings. The nest is a new home for a million-strong colony of leafcutter ants from Trinidad. For a month, entomologist Dr George McGavin and leafcutter expert Professor Adam Hart capture every aspect of the life of the colony, using time-lapse cameras, microscopes, microphones and radio tracking technology. The ants instantly begin to forage, farm, mine and build. Within weeks, the colony has established everything from nurseries to gardens to graveyards. The programme explores how these tiny insects can achieve such spectacular feats of collective organisation. This unique project reveals the workings of one of the most complex and mysterious societies in the natural world and shows the surprising ways in which ants are helping us solve global problems.

2013 • Nature

Guts

In this second episode Dr Alice Roberts charts how our ancestors’ hunt for food has driven the way we look and behave today – from the shape of our face, to the way we see and even the way we attract the opposite sex.

S1E2 • Origins of Us • Nature

Listening to Our Planet

Listening to Our Planet

Meet the scientists studying sound around the globe to help stop the rapid progression of climate change and wildlife endangerment.

S1E12 • Earth Sounds • 2024 • Nature

Living with Predators (Conservation)

Living with Predators (Conservation)

Looking at the planet's top predators through the eyes of scientists trying to save them.

S1E7 • The Hunt • 2015 • Nature