大象女王 The Elephant Queen(EN)Subtitles
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1 00:00:55 Wise and gentle soul.
2 00:01:06 Do you remember...
3 00:01:11 when we had it all?
4 00:01:18 Do you dream...
5 00:01:22 of when we had to leave?
6 00:01:52 When you led us out...
7 00:01:58 and how it all began.
8 00:03:37 Our story starts beside a water hole that was filled by the storm.
9 00:03:52 Among the great herds here are the world's last giant tuskers.
10 00:03:59 Descendants of a noble lineage that once stretched across Africa.
11 00:04:19 Queen of them all is Athena.
12 00:04:32 She is a 50-year-old matriarch, head of her extended family.
13 00:04:40 Like most of us, she has neighbors.
14 00:04:44 And this is their story too.
15 00:04:51 Her family is made up of female relatives and their calves.
16 00:05:08 They are so close that the youngsters
17 00:05:12 might as well be brothers and sisters.
18 00:05:21 Athena's family rely on her experience and wisdom,
19 00:05:26 for she makes the decisions that determine their survival.
20 00:05:32 Her most recent daughter, Princess, is a year old,
21 00:05:36 and calm, like her mother.
22 00:05:43 Then there's Wewe,
23 00:05:46 the herd's naughty boy.
24 00:05:59 He's always trying to make friends with Princess.
25 00:06:02 But he tries too hard, and often it just gets him into trouble.
26 00:06:19 As a boy, Wewe will stay with the family until he's a teenager
27 00:06:24 and then leave home to join an all-male herd.
28 00:06:30 Mimi is the family's newest arrival.
29 00:06:33 She was born in the storm.
30 00:06:38 It's day one for her on a lifetime of learning.
31 00:06:51 For the next two years,
32 00:06:52 she'll be totally dependent on her mother's milk.
33 00:07:00 Her mother, Mala, gives birth only once in five years,
34 00:07:04 which makes every calf precious.
35 00:07:12 While Mala might be the one who feeds her,
36 00:07:15 Mimi will be cherished by them all,
37 00:07:18 for it takes a herd to raise an elephant calf.
38 00:07:36 This is Athena's kingdom.
39 00:07:40 For now, it has everything they need.
40 00:07:46 Every day she brings her family to the main water hole,
41 00:07:51 which can be a nuisance for her neighbors.
42 00:07:56 But they need the elephants
43 00:08:00 'cause they made the water hole and now keep it open.
44 00:08:13 But for bullfrog, it can feel like the construction never ends.
45 00:08:32 Most of the family's neighbors live at elephant toenail height.
46 00:08:40 In one way or another, they all depend on their giant friends.
47 00:08:55 The water hole is home to them all.
48 00:08:59 But from the moment the sun comes out,
49 00:09:02 it starts to shrink.
50 00:09:04 So the race is on to raise their families.
51 00:09:10 Bullfrog is on it immediately,
52 00:09:13 and there will be tadpoles in no time.
53 00:09:20 Beneath them, the killifish have no way of knowing
54 00:09:24 how or when Athena's family will help them.
55 00:09:28 For now, they have eyes only for each other.
56 00:09:36 Each time the male hugs the female, she lays an egg...
57 00:09:42 and then buries it.
58 00:10:02 With nightfall, Athena knows she has to be especially vigilant.
59 00:10:06 So her family will sleep on their feet
60 00:10:09 to better protect Wewe and Mimi.
61 00:10:22 But for some of their neighbors...
62 00:10:26 the party is just getting going.
63 00:10:45 If you're a female foam frog,
64 00:10:47 a single partner is simply not enough.
65 00:10:51 She invites a whole crowd to a foam party.
66 00:10:59 It's the first event of the season at Athena's water hole.
67 00:11:06 She'll lay her eggs in the froth whipped up by the males,
68 00:11:10 and they will develop safely inside.
69 00:11:21 Up above, an Egyptian goose is a step ahead.
70 00:11:28 She laid her eggs a few weeks ago.
71 00:11:36 It will be two months before her chicks are ready to fly.
72 00:11:41 Until then, the water hole will be their home.
73 00:12:02 With Mimi so young, Athena won't move far from the water.
74 00:12:07 She's always cautious until a newborn
75 00:12:09 starts to put on weight and gets stronger.
76 00:12:16 It's the first time Wewe has met someone younger,
77 00:12:19 and he's doing his best to make friends.
78 00:12:44 While some are getting started with their nests,
79 00:12:47 others are finishing up.
80 00:12:50 It's been a long night for the foam frogs,
81 00:12:53 and they're beginning to tire.
82 00:12:59 But for one reveler, at least there's a taxi ride home.
83 00:13:18 Sometimes, a foam frog gets taken for a ride
84 00:13:21 whether he wants it or not.
85 00:13:49 The foam frog is happy to sit out in the sun.
86 00:13:54 But it can burn a baby's skin,
87 00:13:56 so Wewe shows Mimi where best to find shade.
88 00:14:13 While the living is easy,
89 00:14:15 Athena can relax and allow the babies to rest.
90 00:14:22 But Wewe never goes down for long.
91 00:14:25 He's excited by Mimi's arrival
92 00:14:28 and would rather try and wake his new friend to play.
93 00:14:38 Mimi must rest while she can.
94 00:14:41 She needs to get strong so she can keep up with her family.
95 00:14:54 Mother Goose wants to get her chicks
96 00:14:56 to the safety of the water hole.
97 00:15:00 It's day one for them too.
98 00:15:02 And after a tiring night, they are in no hurry.
99 00:15:10 Besides, what she's proposing requires a huge leap of faith.
100 00:15:26 They've a conflict of instinct
101 00:15:28 between wanting to stay together and joining their parents.
102 00:16:13 It takes just a flyby to convince them
103 00:16:16 that their best chance of surviving
104 00:16:19 is to stick close to Mum and Dad.
105 00:16:28 In any family, there is always one who is last and late.
106 00:16:32 We'll call him Stephen.
107 00:16:35 The parents rely on their young keeping up with them,
108 00:16:38 so they don't know that Stephen's left behind.
109 00:17:45 Just occasionally, last and late is also lucky.
110 00:17:57 Athena's knowledge of the kingdom
111 00:17:59 has been handed down from mother to daughter over centuries.
112 00:18:05 Her tusks are the largest of any matriarch.
113 00:18:14 The notch comes from years of snagging grass and vines.
114 00:18:26 The vines she likes most flower for just a few days each year.
115 00:18:31 And she knows just where to find them.
116 00:18:36 The prospect of a feast
117 00:18:38 distracts the family from what's happening at toenail height,
118 00:18:42 so it's up to her neighbors to get out of the way.
119 00:18:57 Chameleon relies on her camouflage for protection.
120 00:19:12 But there are times when choosing to stay still and blend in
121 00:19:16 is the worst decision to make.
122 00:19:29 She's probably as close to panic
123 00:19:33 as a chameleon ever comes.
124 00:20:04 For Athena's family,
125 00:20:06 life at home in the green season acquires a gentle rhythm.
126 00:20:11 She'll let them eat until it warms up
127 00:20:14 and then lead them down for a drink.
128 00:20:22 It's been only four days since the storm,
129 00:20:25 but the foam frogs' nests have baked in the sun.
130 00:20:29 And they are ready.
131 00:20:49 For the next few weeks,
132 00:20:50 the water hole will be home to the frogs' tiny tadpoles.
133 00:20:59 As they hatch, they'll go unnoticed by Athena's family,
134 00:21:05 but they won't go unnoticed
135 00:21:06 by the killifish and terrapins living beneath them.
136 00:21:23 Only the largest terrapin can reach them.
137 00:21:35 His prize is a meringue with a soft tadpole filling.
138 00:22:11 It's Mimi's first time in the water.
139 00:22:14 So she starts at the shallow end,
140 00:22:16 and she needs no encouragement.
141 00:22:27 For Athena's family, this is paradise.
142 00:22:36 But unless it rains again,
143 00:22:38 the water holes will vanish within weeks.
144 00:22:45 If that happens,
145 00:22:46 Athena knows they'll be forced out of the kingdom.
146 00:22:50 So they must make the most of this time of plenty.
147 00:23:02 Princess learns what to eat by copying her mum.
148 00:23:06 But the babies are still on milk,
149 00:23:09 which gives Wewe time to brush up on his foot-and-trunk skills.
150 00:23:19 But it will be months before he achieves this level of control.
151 00:23:32 Athena is aware that there is a dry season coming.
152 00:23:36 And the only way to prepare for it is to put on weight.
153 00:23:39 It means piling it in.
154 00:23:47 But what goes in... must come out.
155 00:23:54 For a dung beetle, it is a gift from the gods.
156 00:24:45 The message has traveled far and wide.
157 00:24:48 And with others homing in,
158 00:24:50 there's no time for a leisurely lunch.
159 00:24:54 He needs to ball it up and roll it away as quickly as possible,
160 00:24:58 for there are bandits out there.
161 00:25:59 The victor now has to find ground soft enough to bury his ball
162 00:26:03 so he can feed in peace.
163 00:26:13 Besides feeding dung beetles,
164 00:26:16 Athena's family provides the kingdom
165 00:26:17 with a free gardening service.
166 00:26:23 Most of the seeds they eat pass through them undigested,
167 00:26:27 to be planted in neat balls of compost wherever they go.
168 00:26:39 Tortoise is waiting for someone.
169 00:26:43 And for what he has in mind,
170 00:26:45 he needs to snack now while he can.
171 00:26:56 With no sign of rain, every day is hotter
172 00:26:59 and tempers start to fray.
173 00:27:10 With incoming elephants and such a young family,
174 00:27:14 the geese need to keep a safe distance.
175 00:27:18 But with the water level dropping and a hot herd,
176 00:27:22 that becomes difficult.
177 00:27:38 They know better than to react to a bully.
178 00:27:47 So she decides to save face by taking it out on a dove.
179 00:28:25 Once again, Stephen's left it late.
180 00:28:28 And he's left behind.
181 00:28:56 And this time, he is lost.
182 00:29:08 For tortoise, life is looking up.
183 00:29:11 A female has come down to drink.
184 00:29:14 He can intercept her easily enough.
185 00:29:17 But to impress her, he has to prove
186 00:29:19 he has stamina equal to her own.
187 00:29:24 And that means going for a walk.
188 00:29:28 A long walk.
189 00:29:39 Stephen has never seen such creatures before.
190 00:29:49 But he's going to have to get streetwise
191 00:29:51 if he's to stand any chance of being reunited with his family.
192 00:30:44 From being last and late,
193 00:30:46 Stephen has progressed to being lost and lucky.
194 00:31:09 Some of Athena's neighbors drop by
195 00:31:10 only when the grasslands start to dry
196 00:31:13 and food is on offer.
197 00:31:17 The bee-eaters join Athena's family for just a few days,
198 00:31:21 when the kingdom's grasshoppers are at their juiciest.
199 00:31:26 They rely on the family to flush them out.
200 00:31:52 The bee-eaters' friendship will last
201 00:31:54 just as long as there are grasshoppers.
202 00:32:01 As soon as they're finished, the birds will move on.
203 00:32:11 Stephen is as excited about grasshoppers as anyone.
204 00:32:18 He might lack ability, but not ambition.
205 00:32:29 Down at toenail height, dung beetle is still on a mission.
206 00:32:34 He might look like he's pushing his ball forwards,
207 00:32:37 but he's actually upside down, dribbling it backwards.
208 00:32:43 He can't see where he's going, but that doesn't bother him.
209 00:32:48 His determination is out of all proportion to his size.
210 00:32:53 Now that he's got the ball, he just hates to let go of it...
211 00:33:00 no matter how big the opposition.
212 00:33:49 Athena's team haven't scored,
213 00:33:51 but they have kicked the ball out of play,
214 00:33:54 which allows dung beetle to regain possession.
215 00:34:12 Athena's family rarely get to meet some of their neighbors.
216 00:34:19 Whenever the terrapins hear them coming,
217 00:34:21 they make themselves scarce.
218 00:34:42 But the storm was weeks ago,
219 00:34:45 and the water is now so shallow that there's nowhere to hide.
220 00:35:03 Even a killifish finds himself high and dry.
221 00:35:08 The water hole has been his entire world.
222 00:35:11 But with so little water left, his time is almost over.
223 00:35:24 With the pool party getting rowdy,
224 00:35:27 they all risk getting squashed.
225 00:35:33 So those that can leave make a break for it.
226 00:35:43 And that just attracts attention.
227 00:36:09 Elephants live tactile lives.
228 00:36:13 They use their sensitive trunks and feet to explore anything new.
229 00:36:18 There's no malice here, just curiosity.
230 00:36:36 In elephant society, aggression is rare...
231 00:36:42 even between bulls
232 00:36:44 when they join Athena's family at the kingdom's salt lick.
233 00:36:51 Instead, there's a greeting,
234 00:36:54 a quiet acknowledgement of status...
235 00:36:58 and then sharing.
236 00:37:24 Mining the salt-rich soil takes practice.
237 00:37:28 It's about foot-and-trunk coordination and then breath control.
238 00:37:40 For Wewe, it's a challenge.
239 00:37:44 If he breathes too hard,
240 00:37:46 the tickly dust goes straight up his nose.
241 00:37:49 But he's working on ways to stop a sneeze from getting out.
242 00:38:08 It's so distracting,
243 00:38:10 that for a moment, he loses sight of his friend.
244 00:38:30 Mimi always seems to be hungry,
245 00:38:33 yet she never suckles for long.
246 00:38:41 It's the only time her big sister, Milly, gets involved
247 00:38:45 and tries to keep Wewe away.
248 00:38:52 For Mala is not producing much milk...
249 00:38:56 and Mimi needs every mouthful she can get.
250 00:39:15 At the end of each day, everyone is tired.
251 00:39:25 Mother Goose has no way of knowing that Stephen is still missing.
252 00:40:01 Throughout the kingdom,
253 00:40:03 most of the water holes have already dried,
254 00:40:06 and Athena is getting restless.
255 00:40:09 She knows now that they will have to leave,
256 00:40:12 but she's concerned that Mimi might not
257 00:40:14 be strong enough to make the journey.
258 00:40:19 She seems to get hung up in situations
259 00:40:22 that most babies would take in their stride.
260 00:40:36 For her friends, it's difficult to know whether she's in trouble
261 00:40:40 or just very tired.
262 00:40:53 But when Athena rumbles, "Move on,"
263 00:40:55 everyone has to fall in line.
264 00:41:01 And for a baby elephant, there is nothing worse
265 00:41:04 than the prospect of being left behind.
266 00:41:18 It's not just Athena who feels the approach of a time of change.
267 00:41:28 Almost overnight, bullfrog's new family have grown legs
268 00:41:33 and are now driven to leave the water to start a life on land.
269 00:41:43 Luckily for them, their new bones are still very soft.
270 00:42:14 But they'd rather not push their luck
271 00:42:16 with three tons of elephant.
272 00:42:49 Athena hasn't set off for their dry-season refuge yet
273 00:42:53 because Mimi is struggling.
274 00:43:02 She needs her mother's encouragement.
275 00:43:30 With the dry season setting in, there's no going back.
276 00:43:35 But just occasionally, nature smiles
277 00:43:39 and gives back what she took away.
278 00:44:11 Hopefully, Stephen's night alone
279 00:44:14 has shown him just how much he needs his family.
280 00:44:25 The last froglets are now ready to come ashore.
281 00:44:29 But those that emerged first are bigger,
282 00:44:33 and they are waiting.
283 00:45:00 For a bullfrog to get the best start in life,
284 00:45:03 it helps to have a big mouth and small relatives.
285 00:45:22 In the kingdom, weeks without rain have taken their toll.
286 00:45:26 But if Athena was ever in doubt about what's coming,
287 00:45:29 the arrival of the great flocks confirms it.
288 00:45:53 As the lands around dry, quelea are forced to migrate.
289 00:46:17 Their whirlwind arrival can be overwhelming.
290 00:46:28 And they'll drink in a day what Athena's family drinks in a week.
291 00:47:02 By the time they move on, they've drunk the water hole dry.
292 00:47:18 Athena's family will use the mud as sunscreen.
293 00:47:22 And this is vital for the killifish,
294 00:47:24 for they left their eggs hidden in the mud.
295 00:47:31 They developed into tiny fish, but never hatched.
296 00:47:35 They can survive out of water for weeks.
297 00:47:39 So when Athena's family move on,
298 00:47:41 they will carry tiny passengers with them.
299 00:47:48 In this way, the killifish babies get to move between water holes
300 00:47:53 by riding on elephants.
301 00:48:14 Athena knows she should have left by now,
302 00:48:17 but the nearest permanent water is almost 100 miles away.
303 00:48:23 And she delayed in the hope that Mimi would get stronger.
304 00:48:32 Mala is now so protective that even Wewe is no longer welcome.
305 00:48:43 Mimi's big sister, Milly, can give her comfort
306 00:48:46 but not the milk she so desperately needs.
307 00:48:52 Only time will tell whether
308 00:48:54 Athena's decision to delay was the right one.
309 00:48:59 She now has no choice.
310 00:49:01 The kingdom is without water,
311 00:49:04 and ahead of them the pools are drying.
312 00:49:08 They must head for the refuge.
313 00:49:48 Mala and Milly now work together.
314 00:50:36 However much Athena might want to,
315 00:50:39 as matriarch, she cannot put
316 00:50:41 Mimi's needs above those of the whole family.
317 00:51:18 While Mala and Mimi head down to drink,
318 00:51:21 Athena will take the others to feed,
319 00:51:24 for she must try to balance everyone's needs.
320 00:52:21 Mimi's desperation to drink
321 00:52:23 can only mean that Mala's milk has dried up.
322 00:52:27 But Mala can't know that.
323 00:52:29 She knows that a weak calf can easily become trapped in mud,
324 00:52:34 and her instinct is to do everything she can to keep Mimi away.
325 00:53:24 Mimi is not yet weaned.
326 00:53:26 So if she's not been getting milk,
327 00:53:29 she's not been getting food.
328 00:54:03 There are times when a mother needs her daughter's support.
329 00:54:19 It's what family is for.
330 00:55:04 The next day, it is hotter,
331 00:55:07 and Athena's predicament, even worse.
332 00:55:13 She doesn't want to leave Mimi behind,
333 00:55:16 but neither can she put her entire family at risk.
334 00:55:30 Athena knows that they've reached the last pool.
335 00:55:34 And today it will dry.
336 00:55:39 A terrapin senses it too
337 00:55:42 and will dig deep into the mud while he can.
338 00:55:46 He'd rather risk being stepped on
339 00:55:48 than caught out by the dry season.
340 00:56:03 Mala will never give up.
341 00:56:41 But in the end, Mimi's tiny heart can take her no further.
342 00:59:35 For a mother, there is nothing worse.
343 01:00:00 Sometimes, however sad, there is release in death.
344 01:00:21 But for Wewe, the loss of his friend is especially hard.
345 01:00:39 Athena knows she cannot afford another delay.
346 01:00:42 It will take three days to reach the dry-season refuge.
347 01:00:46 And she has left it so late
348 01:00:49 that there is nowhere they can drink on the way.
349 01:01:10 There is no time to stop and comfort Wewe.
350 01:01:36 Behind them, where there was a water hole,
351 01:01:39 is now the soft ground that dung beetle's been looking for.
352 01:01:49 The killifish are but a memory.
353 01:01:58 Bullfrog will dig down
354 01:02:00 to spend the next months deep below ground.
355 01:02:08 It's been two months since Stephen hatched.
356 01:02:11 And the young geese are now fully grown.
357 01:02:27 They, too, will head for the refuge...
358 01:02:40 following the same paths as the elephants.
359 01:02:47 Every day, Athena stops briefly so they can feed.
360 01:02:56 They are kinder to Wewe now.
361 01:02:58 Even Princess is more tolerant.
362 01:03:15 Milly has no milk to give,
363 01:03:18 but Wewe's suckling will comfort them both.
364 01:03:38 Athena's route out of the kingdom is a mind map of elephant paths
365 01:03:44 that she learned from her mother and has never forgotten.
366 01:03:53 There are badlands to cross.
367 01:05:02 But they don't walk alone.
368 01:05:05 All are heading for the refuge.
369 01:05:35 The refuge is a water hole fed from underground.
370 01:05:39 Even at the height of the dry season, there is water for all.
371 01:06:18 Along with the elephants, Stephen's family will be refugees,
372 01:06:23 waiting here until the rains come and they can all go home.
373 01:07:13 Athena comes here only in the driest years.
374 01:07:18 It is the one occasion that her status as monarch is equaled.
375 01:07:56 This is Satao, king of them all.
376 01:08:03 A tusker of mythical proportions.
377 01:08:14 He is a gentle giant...
378 01:08:19 to whom all defer.
379 01:09:15 He's been out in the wilderness all year
380 01:09:18 and will use this occasion to see if any female is in season.
381 01:09:34 Nusu is a young female from Athena's family.
382 01:09:38 But she's heavily pregnant.
383 01:10:01 For the first time since Mimi died, Wewe enjoys himself.
384 01:10:08 It's a chance for him to meet calves from other families.
385 01:10:19 And when he's exhausted from playing,
386 01:10:21 there's always his family to help out.
387 01:10:41 As the dry season progresses, food at the refuge becomes scarce.
388 01:10:52 So each evening,
389 01:10:53 Athena's family must travel further to feed.
390 01:11:20 After every journey out, they must all come back to water.
391 01:11:38 It is their lifeline.
392 01:11:40 But it ties them to the refuge,
393 01:11:43 and the knot is slowly tightening.
394 01:11:55 They have little energy, for almost everything has been eaten.
395 01:12:01 What started out as a refuge has gradually turned into a prison.
396 01:12:17 When the rains don't arrive,
397 01:12:19 what began as a dry season turns into a drought.
398 01:12:23 And the consequences and casualties start to build.
399 01:12:55 Athena dares not leave,
400 01:12:57 for there is no other water within walking distance.
401 01:13:17 In such a drought, what kills is not thirst but starvation.
402 01:13:27 For them all, it is only a matter of time.
403 01:14:07 In her 50 years, Athena has never experienced a drought so bad.
404 01:14:17 The decision she now has to make has never been more critical.
405 01:14:31 This time, the lives of her entire family are at stake.
406 01:14:36 If she stays, they will starve.
407 01:14:40 But if she leaves and times it wrong,
408 01:14:43 they will all die of thirst.
409 01:14:49 Whatever the outcome, the responsibility is hers alone.
410 01:15:13 Such is their faith in her,
411 01:15:15 that when she decides to head back to the kingdom,
412 01:15:18 no one hesitates.
413 01:15:25 For she is their matriarch.
414 01:15:29 They would follow her anywhere.
415 01:16:21 Back in her kingdom, it is no better.
416 01:16:54 Where the water hole was,
417 01:16:56 those that dug down are alive but entombed,
418 01:17:04 trapped in a state of suspended animation.
419 01:17:19 For them all, for the spell to be broken,
420 01:17:23 it must rain.
421 01:17:43 Out in the badlands,
422 01:17:45 the family do their best to protect Wewe from the sun.
423 01:18:03 But he has to walk two steps to their one.
424 01:18:12 And that takes its toll.
425 01:18:53 When Athena finally stops,
426 01:18:56 it's not to look for food but to remember one of their own.
427 01:19:27 For a few moments, the drought is forgotten
428 01:19:31 as they join in an understanding of what was
429 01:19:35 and what it means to be one of their kind.
430 01:20:12 Where they are heading is still gripped by the drought.
431 01:21:08 With the kingdom just a day's walk away,
432 01:21:11 there is only one thing that could cause Athena to stop.
433 01:21:24 After carrying her baby for almost two years,
434 01:21:29 Nusu has given birth.
435 01:21:35 Her baby is a girl.
436 01:21:45 She knows nothing of what she's been born into.
437 01:21:50 Her priority is to find her first meal.
438 01:22:02 As ever, Wewe is eager to make friends.
439 01:22:44 It would seem the worst time to be born.
440 01:22:52 But Athena knows differently.
441 01:22:57 For thousands of years,
442 01:22:58 her kind were thought to be able to summon the rain.
443 01:23:03 The truth is that she could sense rain coming
444 01:23:07 when it was over 100 miles away.
445 01:23:39 There is only one way to rebalance the kingdom.
446 01:24:37 It's been a year since they saw water flow,
447 01:24:40 and it comes as a shock.
448 01:25:05 In Africa, to be born on the cusp of the rains
449 01:25:08 is a sign of good fortune.
450 01:25:12 For rain is always cause for celebration.
451 01:25:57 Once again, the elephant paths
452 01:25:59 will channel water to fill water holes.
453 01:26:17 Underground, the rain is a wake-up call.
454 01:28:03 Just as every smile leaves its impression on a face,
455 01:28:07 so every journey leaves its imprint on this continent.
456 01:28:18 The young geese are still a tight-knit group.
457 01:28:21 But it won't be long before they start to look for mates of their own.
458 01:28:38 And true to form, Stephen is last and late.
459 01:29:04 Tortoise's courtship has been slow and steady,
460 01:29:08 but he has finally been accepted.
461 01:29:37 Once again, the water hole will be a lifeline for them all.
462 01:30:00 For Wewe, there is no place like home.
463 01:30:07 And there is nothing quite like having a new friend to share it with.
464 01:30:25 Great droughts bring great rains.
465 01:30:30 And the kingdom's flush of new growth draws in other families
466 01:30:34 in a way that hasn't happened for decades.
467 01:30:53 For a few days, they form a super-herd, 1,000 strong.
468 01:30:59 The largest gathering of their kind on the planet.
469 01:31:32 The journey has brought Wewe and Princess together
470 01:31:36 and has been the first step in
471 01:31:37 acquiring the knowledge that will help them through their lives.
472 01:31:44 There will be more droughts to face,
473 01:31:47 but Athena's family will never forget the extraordinary matriarch
474 01:31:52 who led them out... and brought them home.
475 01:32:20 Only a handful of such giant tuskers remain.
476 01:32:29 Today, this small corner of the continent still belongs to them.
477 01:32:39 It reminds us of how it once was...
478 01:32:45 when the whole of Africa was theirs.
