OKAVANGO: Africa's Wild Oasis
Africa As it once was...
Here inthe heart the great Kalahari Desert
lies a remarkable oasis
an immense delta called the Okavagno.
It's a sanctuary for a natural world unchangedin manyways
since the dawn of humanity.
The Okavango is a place like nowhere else in Africa
rich tapestry of wild life
woven together by the life-giving waters of this vast Eden.
This is a world of tranquil beauty,
but even so theeternalstruggle for survival goes on continually.
Here too the rules of the hunt are ever changing subject
to the capricious ebb and flow of the Okavango's floodwaters.
Some prey animals mustbe taken quickly
before they reach deep water.
But nowhere is truly safe.
The wild dogs of Africa are superb predators,
but their hunting skills
are rigorously challenged during timesof flood
by species of antelope especially adapted to the wetlands.
Water defines this remarkable place
and it often decides who will succeed and who will fail...
Who will survive, and who willperish...
Here in Africa's great waterland: The Okavango.
The heart of the Okavango is apermanent swamp
a maze of lagoons and channelscoursing
throughreeds and grasses and blanketsof water lilies.
Filtered by vegetation and sand,
these pure waters become crystal clear.
The existence of a watery refuge here
in the midst of one ofthe world's great deserts
is the result of a unique interplay between climate and geology.
Its source is the Okavango River,
one of the longest in Southern Africa.
On reaching Botswana,
it meanders between two geological faults.
Then the river spills out ontoa vast floodplain.
It divides intoa network of channels and wetlands,
creating one ofthe largest inland deltas in the world.
The delta can be seen from space
spreading like a giant hand across theface ofsouthern Africa.
It's born of summer rains a thousand miles
to the north in the highlands of Angola.
Fed by these rains,
the Okavango River slowly winds through a longpanhandle
before enteringthe permanent swamp.
There it is further slowed by flat terrain anddense vegetation.
Over the next few months,
the level of the permanent swamp risesalmost imperceptibly.
When the new water finally reaches thefloodplain,
it arrives at the height of the dry season.
This is the miracle of the Okavango.
The delta's unique environment begins in the panhandle
where the rivermeanders for some sixty miles.
Thousands of carmine bee-eaters migrate here to nest
in the steep sandy banks.
These strikingly beautiful birds primarily live on honey bees
and other flying insects caught on thewing.
They lay their eggs when the water is low
in tunnels usually five to six feet long.
This isalso the main breedingground
of one of the Okavango's more sinistercreatures.
Baby crocodileshatch as the river is rising
it willprovidethem aconvenient means of transport.
Many ofthe young crocswill drift with the current southeast
into the heart of the Okavangodelta.
This permanent swamp is a water wilderness
of swamp grasses, fernsand lilies.
This tangled world seems half-liquid,
half vegetationand it never dries.
Floodwaters - in yearsof abundant rain
can double the area of the swamp to some 5,000square miles.
Elephants are among the few large mammals
that venture into the heart ofthe permanent swamp.
They browse on the foliage
while the young frolic in the Okavangoshallows.
This isa sanctuary for the shy and elusive sitatunga,
a waterloving antelope
that seldom ventures outside the permanent swamp.
And this is theonly place in Africa
where the slatey egret can be found innumbers.
It's one of therarest herons in the world.
The inner swampis a nesting haven
for a rich variety of waterbirds
and there are huge colonies.
Here the yellowbilled stork
can raise theirhatchlings in isolatedsafety.
Other waterbirds are drawn to the swamp simplyto huntand feed.
This saddlebillhaunts the shallows seeking fish and frogs.
The marabou storks nest by thethousands here
in low spreading fig trees.
Stalking the waterways the marabou
can sometimes bring a quick end to a young crocodile'sjourney.
After along night of grazing,
hippos spend the day digestingand wallowing.
A single hippo may transform
a hundred and fifty pounds of vegetation into dung
which in turn enriches the water and plant life.
En route to favored grasslands,
the hippos trample pathways throughoutthe delta,
creating channels in the waterways.
Now is the season when floodwaters
from the Okavango Riverare slowly filling thepermanent swamp.
But here on thefloodplains,
the water left from last year's flood is quickly evaporating.
Lechwe graze in the shallow.
They feed on grasses
that sprout along the edge of the receding waters.
A pack of wild dogs appears.
These are the "paintedwolves"of Africa.
The dogs are skilled tacticians,
but theOkavango poses a special challenge.
Lechwe always race for the safety of water when threatened.
Lechwe have developed elongated hooves
that allow themto race through the shallows.
The dogs are often no match for them.
As the lechwe escape into deepwater,
the dogs chooseto waitand watch.
The dog's instinct is confirmed crocodile is lurking nearby.
But thelechwe would rather take theirchanceswith the crocodile,
than face certain death with the dogs.
Throughout the Okavango, palm trees dot the landscape.
They provide shade and shelter and a plentifulsupply of fruit.
Baboonsscale the heights to feast in these vegetable ivory palms.
But they're notthe only ones with a craving.
As night falls, the left-over palm fruits are not forgotten.
The African porcupine loves them too.
With their strong sharpincisors,
the porcupine tears into the fibrous flesh,
leavingthe hard inner seed tobecome,
perhaps, a future palm tree.
The rare and endangeredpangolin has to pass on the fruit.
They are among the few mammals in the world without teeth.
In stead, this"walking artichoke" survives
by raiding ant and termite colonies.
When a pangolin comes upon a termite mound,
it usespowerful claws to tearinto the rock-hard mud.
Within is a complex network ofcorridors and chambers,
filled with ghostly white insects thatshun daylight.
In a typical mound there are millions of termites.
And using its sticky tongue,
the pangolin will feast on vast numbers of them.
Termitemounds provide hiding places for both predator
and prey deal jackal dens,
and observation posts for leopards.
Many ofthe mounds become the foundation for full-grown islands.
A sweeping viewof the Okavango
revealsthem scattered over a wide band
betweenthe permanent swamp and the outer floodplain.
In thisseason, all the big game animals
of the delta converge on the receding waters.
Beyond the swamp and the islands,
the vast floodplains still aredrying out.
Buffalorumble far andwide insearch of water.
With all the noise and dust,
it almost seemsthat war has broken out in theOkavango.
It is the onsetof the dry season the African winter.
For these wild dogs, it is thetime for rearing pups.
Expectant females cleanout abandoned burrows
where they can give birth in safety.
The wild dogs of Africa are a distinctspecies,
only distantly related to domesticateddogs.
Contagious diseases andhunting
by man have threatened them with extinction.
But here in theheart of the Okavango
they'refree tohunt and reproduce in relativesafety.
When the females are about to give birth,
there'slittle for the pack todo but wait.
Hooded vultures keep them company.
Only a few months ago, there was waterhere,
now there are plains ofgrass dried to a golden brown.
During the dry season the openplains of the Okavango
favor animals built forspeed.
These cheetahs have only to lie in wait,
as their prey appear innumbers.
The cheetah is the fastest caton earth,
and it will sometimes walk boldly up to its prey
until it's within sprinting range.
The prey finds camouflage in the amberfields of grass.
But onefalse move canbetray the reedbuck.
As the victim is hauled into the shade,
silent witnesses pass by the scene.
In the dry season,
herds of giraffes seek the last remaining water in theflooddplains.
Back inthe denof the wild dogs, there is much excitement.
Three weeks after birth,
the pups are finally emerging into daylight.
Up until now the mothers
have not allowed other dogs near theirburrows.
But noweveryone joins in, welcoming the new arrivals.
In thispack while several females have given birth,
only the dominant female assumes the role of mother.
She even nursesthe pups of the other females.
Still the dominant female has trouble keeping an eye
on all twenty-one new arrivals.
One of the other females
perhapsa new mother herself kidnapsa pup.
She anda cohort carry it back towardsanotherburrow.
But it is a short-livedventure
as the dominantfemale quicklydrives them off.
She reclaims the pup as her own.
Millions of birds move in unison like a great school of fish,
engulfing the air.
Swirling flocks of queleas converge
on the diminishing water holes to quench theirthirst.
The Okavango isnow in the midst of a long drywinter.
All across the floodplains,
dried-out game trails radiate from theshrinking waterholes.
Wildlife congregate around thefew oases.
Here they'll wait out
the dryseason until the annual flood arrives,
which is still working its way
ever soslowly out of the permanent swamp.
Small groups ofbuffalo from across the plains
now mass together into herds of thousands.
Water is their most critical need.
But thewild dogs obtain much
of their water needs from the flesh oftheir prey.
The pups even seem to enjoy the dry weather
as theyfrolic in the winter sun.
More and more they're playing at hunting.
Assuming the stance forstalking,
this pup launches a mock attack on theothers.
Out on the hunt,
the adult dogs survey aherd of lechwegrazingon the plains.
Withoutwater nearby, these lechwe arevery vulnerable.
For this is theseason of the wild dog.
Huntingin packs up to twenty or more,
wild dogs are very successful hunters.
They have incredible stamina and blazing speed,
at times secondonly to the cheetah.
Once inthe jaws of predators, the victim's fate is sealed.
The lechwe ceases its struggling
and appears to go into deep shock.
Within a few minutes the prey is dismembered.
The dogs gorge themselves to fill their bellies,
becausethe pups and their guardians are awaiting them.
The pack returns from the hunt.
It's time of high excitement and celebration.
A guardian receives a piece ofthe kill,
regurgitated byone of the hunters.
The pups clamor to receive their share.
They too are fed regurgitated meat.
The pups are becoming frisky and aggressive
launching surprise attacks
on their constant companions, the vultures.
Nearby are three male lions, aformidable coalition,
that have roamed this area for years.
A lioness part of a pride offemales
awaits with anticipation for one of the males.
In the surrounding vegetation,
the others mark the group's territory.
In a bizarre looking expression calledflehmen,
the male lion tests theair
for thescent that indicates the female is in heat.
Lions have beenknown to copulate up to eightytimes aday.
But theduration is brief
from a minute to only six seconds.
This group of lions monopolizes
severalprides of females in their territory.
But still find ample time to rest.
The long, dry winter seems endless.
Day after day aremorseless sun arcs through acloudless sky.
It warms the air after cool, even bitter cold nights.
This year's floodwatersare slow in coming.
Vital pools andwaterholes have shrunkto merepuddles.
Catfishare nowconcentrated in the ooze.
Fish eagles swoop down to gorge on thefish.
They compete among themselves even in the midst of plenty.
The ponds are becoming crowded.
Large crocodiles have abandoned them
and theconstant presence of buffalo
and other animals now force the smaller crocs to move on as well.
Every creature vies forits place in the comforting ooze.
Young crocs seek new hiding places in the shade of reeds.
There, they will lie dormant until thefloodwaters return.
Rollingin the mud, thebuffalo crushes a poolof catfish.
All thebetter for the marabou
who nowhad only to pluck out the lifeless prey.
For thefish-disaster.
For thebirds aseason of plenty.
Once again, water orthe lack of it
determines who will survive inthe Okavango.
The hippo poolsare now more hippo than pool.
In the dry, enervating air,
they wallow in the last of thecoolingmud.
Catfishtry to crawl away in search ofother pools.
It's a futile effort and many pools
are already a grisly mass of dying fish.
All over the plains there is adesperate need for water.
Then a rare andwelcomesound at the height ofthe dryseason.
In a cruel twist of fate
this storm brings not rain but fire!
Lightening has set off the drygrass
and in moments the floodplains are a swirling inferno.
The frantic pangolin desperately triesto outrun the flames.
Many smaller creatures and insects
will beconsumed by the fire in seconds.
The wildfire races across the Okavango,
settingpalm and papyrus ablaze.
Burningtapers carried by the wind
spread the fireeverywhere.
He wilddogs know from experience not to run in panic.
The biggame animals escape to the centers of large islands.
There the vegetation issparse
and there is little tofeed the killing flames.
The fire rages for days.
It marches in adeadly procession north towards the permanent swamp.
Rivers and channels provide only temporary barriers.
The towering flames whipped by the wind
leap across thewaterways and into theswamp itself.
The fire is over.
It has scorchedthousands of acres of floodplain
and hasstripped great areas
of the permanent swamp of its vegetation.
All that remains is a charred landscape seemingly devoid of life.
Fire can be good for the delta,
clearing away dead vegetation and prompting the growthof new grass.
But some fear that toomany manmade fires
could do irreversible damage to the Okavango.
The pangolin isa survivor,
having found refuge in an underground burrow.
The larger animals have also escaped the flames
only toface aneven more arid and harsh environment than before.
But now, at last,
the Okavango works itsgreatest magic
as the new floodwaters finallyarrive.
In surreal counterpoint,
trickles of water create tendrils
of dustas theyadvance acrossthe plains.
They slowly percolate through the ashes,
restoring life to the charred land.
Only inches deep in places,
the newflood spreads out across the land.
Some creatures that survived the fire
now perish in the rising waters.
The waters of the Okavango have come athousand miles
from the mountains of Angola
they now end their journey on the vastfloodplains of the Kalahari.
The water will slowly refill the dry channels and dusty lagoons.
It alsocourses through old hippo paths
allowing many predators to infiltrate the plains.
Myriadsof fishmigratewith the new water
to feed on the rich supply of insects itdisplaces.
Not farbehind are theyoung crocodiles.
Waterbirds now search the edgeof the flood,
findinga rich concentration of prey.
The pelicans welcome this season of plenty,
eagerlyscooping up newly arrived catfish.
For thehippos, it's time at last to gather and bathe in deep water.
All theanimalsare nowforced to cross the flooded areas.
Water is once again an element to contend with.
The wild dogs must negotiate amaze ofwaterways,
infiltrated by stealthycrocodiles.
They'reaware that for every croc theysee,
others may lurkunseen.
Huntingand escaping now
depend on crossing ever deepening channels.
Cheetahs are creatures of the drier savannah,
but those that live in the Okavango must crossthe waters to hunt.
They doso after much hesitation andthen with prudent speed.
After running down their prey, cheetahs go forthe throat.
Then they patiently wait while life ebbs slowly from their victim.
Nightfall and spring rains have stirred a singular event
as winged termites called alates
take flight before mating underground.
The puff adder, too, responds to the spell of the season.
Now is its time to bear young.
With the rain, the Okavango glitters with moisture
and theplains turn a vivd green.
The wild dog pups have been playing athunting for weeks.
They'renow oldenough to witness the real thing.
They join the pack,
now ranging farand wide in search of prey.
At every water crossing,
the adults are cautious but the pups will learn
only gradually about the enemythe water hides.
And when the chase begins in earnest,
the pups must be left behind.
In the excitement and confusion comes a momentof extreme danger.
Urged on by theadults, the pups must cross tosafety.
Once more, ancient adversarieshave met
and played out their predestined roles.
The drama of the wild favors neither predator nor prey.
The survival ofall is insured in the natural world
which gives no reature an absolute advantage.
All belong-and have their proper place
in the great waterland called the Okavango.