1 00:00:32,531 --> 00:00:36,934 From out at sea the ancient sailors could smell the approaching land, 2 00:00:37,536 --> 00:00:39,902 the scent of rivers and swamps. 3 00:00:42,341 --> 00:00:45,208 ...but Africa was already beneath them. 4 00:00:51,717 --> 00:00:53,878 The oceans are vital to Africa. 5 00:00:55,254 --> 00:00:57,347 ...They control the destiny of the land... 6 00:00:57,956 --> 00:01:02,120 allowing wildlife to thrive in the most unexpected places. 7 00:01:06,932 --> 00:01:09,492 This is a story of living on the edge. 8 00:01:09,768 --> 00:01:13,727 An epic journey along Africa's greatest frontier. 9 00:01:34,026 --> 00:01:35,721 Africa is an island... 10 00:01:35,994 --> 00:01:38,360 washed by warm and cold seas... 11 00:01:40,432 --> 00:01:44,630 Nowhere is the contrast more extreme than at its southern tip. 12 00:01:57,883 --> 00:01:59,748 This is the Cape of Good Hope, 13 00:02:00,452 --> 00:02:02,716 where Africa faces the Antarctic. 14 00:02:05,190 --> 00:02:08,921 Here are animals few would associate with warm Africa... 15 00:02:10,395 --> 00:02:13,455 ...like penguins... and fur seals. 16 00:02:27,946 --> 00:02:30,437 Life thrives in these icy waters... 17 00:02:30,816 --> 00:02:33,444 rich in nutrients... rising from the deep. 18 00:02:39,024 --> 00:02:41,549 Sardines feast on the prolific plankton... 19 00:02:48,500 --> 00:02:51,936 In turn these shoals support hunters from the sky. 20 00:03:07,052 --> 00:03:12,251 Every year nearly 200,000 gannets gather off the coast of South Africa 21 00:03:12,391 --> 00:03:13,653 to raise their young. 22 00:03:16,161 --> 00:03:18,561 The chicks are about to learn to fend for themselves, 23 00:03:18,697 --> 00:03:22,497 after months of being fattened on the plentiful fish. 24 00:03:33,712 --> 00:03:36,806 Now they must take the first step to independence. 25 00:03:38,116 --> 00:03:39,777 But they face a huge challenge... 26 00:03:39,952 --> 00:03:43,581 making their maiden flight on Africa's stormiest coast. 27 00:03:48,260 --> 00:03:51,661 So they join other trainees in "flying schools"... 28 00:03:58,870 --> 00:04:00,838 tip-toeing on the cusp of flight... 29 00:04:04,376 --> 00:04:08,107 ...revving up into the wind... building muscles... 30 00:04:17,356 --> 00:04:19,415 Making the first flight isn't easy... 31 00:04:23,328 --> 00:04:26,456 ...many are overwhelmed by the raw power of the ocean... 32 00:04:44,449 --> 00:04:45,609 This wasn't the plan... 33 00:04:46,218 --> 00:04:47,981 being thrown in at the deep end. 34 00:04:50,489 --> 00:04:53,390 Here at sea level it's harder to take off... 35 00:04:54,326 --> 00:04:58,126 the wind is around and above them... not beneath them. 36 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:05,131 ...but the rough sea is the very least of their problems... 37 00:05:55,187 --> 00:05:57,451 Fur seals are clever predators. 38 00:05:58,056 --> 00:05:59,182 Normally fish-eaters, 39 00:05:59,324 --> 00:06:02,350 they've learned to seize this rare feast... 40 00:06:09,301 --> 00:06:13,260 But soon the chicks are soaring above the jaws of danger. 41 00:06:29,588 --> 00:06:32,182 These southern waters teem with life... 42 00:06:33,759 --> 00:06:36,057 and they also provide for the land. 43 00:06:39,598 --> 00:06:44,695 Cold, damp air, rising off the ocean, flows across the Cape. 44 00:06:52,744 --> 00:06:59,240 Here at the end of Africa the influence of the ocean causes unlikely encounters. 45 00:07:00,252 --> 00:07:05,588 Ostriches. Birds who can survive the hottest deserts relish the cool breeze... 46 00:07:05,724 --> 00:07:07,692 and a refreshing paddle. 47 00:07:13,698 --> 00:07:15,723 But the sea provides much more than this... 48 00:07:16,168 --> 00:07:17,499 ...for those in the know. 49 00:07:21,706 --> 00:07:26,109 In summer Chacma baboons struggle to find enough food on land. 50 00:07:30,248 --> 00:07:32,409 They've learned to keep an eye on the sea. 51 00:07:42,394 --> 00:07:46,592 Baboons know that at low water there are riches among the rocks. 52 00:07:50,702 --> 00:07:56,299 Exposed by the retreating tide, a favourite prize... limpets. 53 00:08:02,180 --> 00:08:05,343 With their strong canines and dextrous thumbs the baboons 54 00:08:05,484 --> 00:08:08,385 can harvest this protein-rich seafood meal. 55 00:08:21,466 --> 00:08:22,956 But on a very low tide, 56 00:08:23,101 --> 00:08:25,035 baboons have discovered there's an even 57 00:08:25,170 --> 00:08:28,139 better meal to be had -right at the water's edge 58 00:08:28,273 --> 00:08:30,138 concealed among the weed. 59 00:08:46,992 --> 00:08:48,016 A shark egg! 60 00:08:53,331 --> 00:08:55,128 The eggs, hidden in their purses, 61 00:08:55,267 --> 00:08:57,326 should be safely camouflaged here... 62 00:08:57,936 --> 00:09:01,303 were it not for this keen-eyed and intelligent primate. 63 00:09:11,449 --> 00:09:13,076 Monkeys eating sharks... 64 00:09:13,485 --> 00:09:15,146 who would have thought it possible? 65 00:09:21,526 --> 00:09:23,517 This delicacy is a rare treat... 66 00:09:23,962 --> 00:09:26,897 only available at the turn of a spring tide. 67 00:09:34,005 --> 00:09:36,872 The ocean is quick to reclaim its territory. 68 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:52,723 With the sea's return, great forests of kelp sway into life. 69 00:10:08,306 --> 00:10:11,742 Kelp is the world's largest and fastest growing algae... 70 00:10:12,777 --> 00:10:17,476 it thrives on nutrients churned up by these cold, rich waters. 71 00:10:33,198 --> 00:10:34,893 Anchored firmly to the rocks, 72 00:10:35,033 --> 00:10:37,160 kelp is built for heavy weather. 73 00:10:37,869 --> 00:10:38,927 It's just as well... 74 00:10:39,304 --> 00:10:42,171 these are the roaring southern seas. 75 00:10:56,421 --> 00:10:59,948 Further east there is a new frontier where the waters are warmer... 76 00:11:07,565 --> 00:11:09,533 ...it's a mecca for surfers. 77 00:11:11,202 --> 00:11:12,635 Bottle-nosed dolphins! 78 00:11:44,836 --> 00:11:48,135 Southern Africa's coast has such magnificent variety 79 00:11:48,273 --> 00:11:51,936 because it's the meeting place of two powerful currents: 80 00:11:52,210 --> 00:11:54,576 A cold one and a warm one. 81 00:11:55,780 --> 00:11:58,681 To the West, the cold Benguela current... 82 00:11:58,817 --> 00:12:01,047 rising from the bottom of the Atlantic... 83 00:12:02,287 --> 00:12:05,415 And from the East, the powerful Agulhas current... 84 00:12:05,724 --> 00:12:09,888 a great warm river in the ocean sweeping down from the equator. 85 00:12:11,763 --> 00:12:15,028 Here in East Africa, for over 30 million years, 86 00:12:15,166 --> 00:12:18,158 the Indian Ocean has brought moisture to the land... 87 00:12:18,536 --> 00:12:21,403 supporting thick swamps and forests. 88 00:12:28,113 --> 00:12:30,911 From as far away as Portugal and China ships 89 00:12:31,015 --> 00:12:33,210 came to these green shores 90 00:12:33,351 --> 00:12:36,616 lured by the promise of trade and conquest. 91 00:12:37,989 --> 00:12:40,958 They came riding on the monsoon winds. 92 00:12:42,961 --> 00:12:47,125 Winds, which twice a year carry the promise of rain. 93 00:12:51,536 --> 00:12:54,300 Far out on the Indian Ocean the tropical heat 94 00:12:54,439 --> 00:12:57,374 causes sea water to evaporate and rise. 95 00:13:00,812 --> 00:13:02,541 The clouds steadily build. 96 00:13:11,356 --> 00:13:15,417 Strong easterly winds hurl them against the land 97 00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:17,050 where they shed their load. 98 00:13:33,278 --> 00:13:36,270 This belt of coastal forest nurtures animals 99 00:13:36,414 --> 00:13:38,245 found nowhere else in the world... 100 00:13:41,186 --> 00:13:42,949 Like the Zanzibar red colobus. 101 00:13:49,761 --> 00:13:52,958 These treetop monkeys are specialist leaf-eaters, 102 00:13:53,765 --> 00:13:56,165 able to digest a whole range of plants. 103 00:14:03,775 --> 00:14:06,209 Though they spend most of their time high in the canopy, 104 00:14:06,344 --> 00:14:10,178 red colobus sometimes venture into a very different world... 105 00:14:24,028 --> 00:14:27,657 Here on the margins of the Indian ocean is a mysterious forest 106 00:14:27,799 --> 00:14:29,528 with its roots in sea water. 107 00:14:30,034 --> 00:14:31,365 The mangrove swamp. 108 00:14:37,141 --> 00:14:41,441 Mangroves are pioneers from the land, gradually encroaching on the sea. 109 00:14:45,783 --> 00:14:48,149 They can survive being submerged in salt water 110 00:14:48,286 --> 00:14:52,154 at high tide and being blasted by the sun at low tide... 111 00:14:56,094 --> 00:14:59,996 ...they also provide a feast for sea creatures... Crabs... 112 00:15:00,131 --> 00:15:01,928 the most successful invaders... 113 00:15:08,172 --> 00:15:10,197 Soldier crabs emerge on the falling tide 114 00:15:10,341 --> 00:15:13,640 to harvest microscopic algae from the rich mud... 115 00:15:22,587 --> 00:15:24,885 Other crabs specialise in leaf-eating. 116 00:15:29,994 --> 00:15:32,986 Fallen leaves feed most of the mangroves' inhabitants, 117 00:15:33,331 --> 00:15:34,923 but competition is fierce. 118 00:15:53,251 --> 00:15:55,685 And if you don't want to wait around for your leaf to fall, 119 00:15:55,820 --> 00:15:59,347 you need to be bold and go to the source of this bounty... 120 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:06,958 ...which is what the climbing crabs of East Africa do twice a day... everyday! 121 00:16:10,935 --> 00:16:14,393 At dawn, before the sun is too hot, the crabs start climbing. 122 00:16:19,310 --> 00:16:23,872 In human terms it's the equivalent of scaling a thousand metre cliff. 123 00:16:32,924 --> 00:16:33,913 But it's worth it. 124 00:16:34,225 --> 00:16:34,884 Once on top, 125 00:16:34,959 --> 00:16:37,519 the crabs can munch away to their hearts' content... 126 00:16:37,962 --> 00:16:41,261 scratching on the underside of tender young leaves. 127 00:16:45,937 --> 00:16:47,404 Up here they are not alone... 128 00:16:47,939 --> 00:16:50,669 red colobus also like young mangrove leaves... 129 00:17:03,254 --> 00:17:05,154 With the heat of the day now rising... 130 00:17:05,289 --> 00:17:07,917 the colobus rest and digest, 131 00:17:08,059 --> 00:17:10,254 but the crabs can't afford a siesta: 132 00:17:10,395 --> 00:17:12,158 They might die of dehydration. 133 00:17:13,164 --> 00:17:17,498 Still dependent on the sea for moisture, they're only visitors to the canopy. 134 00:17:25,076 --> 00:17:28,239 Nesting in amongst the roots of the mangroves, 135 00:17:28,379 --> 00:17:29,778 a strange creature... 136 00:17:35,153 --> 00:17:36,245 The mudskipper. 137 00:17:41,559 --> 00:17:44,687 Not so much a fish - but "half a fish". 138 00:17:47,498 --> 00:17:50,524 Mudskippers fear the water... for it's full of predators... 139 00:17:51,769 --> 00:17:55,535 so when the tide floods in it's time to take drastic action. 140 00:18:01,245 --> 00:18:05,045 These fish can even climb trees and breathe out of water... 141 00:18:05,883 --> 00:18:09,614 perfectly suited to this strange frontier of land and sea. 142 00:18:11,689 --> 00:18:15,455 ...On this coast of pioneers, people are the most recent... 143 00:18:25,636 --> 00:18:28,161 From here the early Arabs traded in slaves, 144 00:18:28,306 --> 00:18:30,570 precious metal and spices. 145 00:18:47,358 --> 00:18:49,155 For more than 2000 years 146 00:18:49,293 --> 00:18:52,785 humans have exploited the reversal of the monsoon winds. 147 00:18:55,433 --> 00:18:58,891 For six months they blow north... then they turn south... 148 00:18:59,337 --> 00:19:03,068 ferrying traders and fishermen up and down the coast. 149 00:19:11,315 --> 00:19:14,842 North of the tropics is a land of burning shores. 150 00:19:19,724 --> 00:19:24,923 Around the Horn of Africa is a sea trapped between Africa and Arabia, 151 00:19:25,563 --> 00:19:29,863 a small turquoise jewel separating desert from desert... 152 00:19:30,902 --> 00:19:32,130 the Red Sea. 153 00:19:35,439 --> 00:19:37,907 This enclosed sea gets hardly any rain... 154 00:19:38,442 --> 00:19:41,343 and evaporation is intense in the dry heat. 155 00:19:43,915 --> 00:19:46,748 Its waters can only refill from the Indian ocean, 156 00:19:46,918 --> 00:19:48,909 rushing through a narrow passage... 157 00:19:49,220 --> 00:19:51,586 a place of powerful currents. 158 00:19:58,162 --> 00:20:00,187 Here in the Bab el Mendeb strait, 159 00:20:00,331 --> 00:20:02,822 life has adapted to the racing current. 160 00:20:06,337 --> 00:20:09,397 Soft corals and weeds bend with the flow... 161 00:20:15,012 --> 00:20:17,480 Red-toothed trigger fish are streamlined, 162 00:20:17,615 --> 00:20:20,584 intercepting plankton as it flushes past. 163 00:20:32,563 --> 00:20:38,593 And through the narrow straits come ghostly invaders from the Indian ocean... 164 00:20:41,572 --> 00:20:42,903 Devil Rays! 165 00:21:27,218 --> 00:21:31,120 In the heart of the Red Sea, in calmer water, 166 00:21:31,255 --> 00:21:33,621 chevron barracuda can relax. 167 00:21:39,697 --> 00:21:41,096 Hunters by night, 168 00:21:41,232 --> 00:21:44,929 this great barrel of silver is a resting formation. 169 00:22:12,963 --> 00:22:15,397 The Red Sea waters are crystal clear. 170 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:18,901 On this desert coast there's no silting from rivers... 171 00:22:19,537 --> 00:22:22,438 it's warm water... full of light... 172 00:22:23,274 --> 00:22:25,572 ...perfect conditions for the growth of coral 173 00:22:25,710 --> 00:22:28,235 and the empire of colour it supports... 174 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:30,713 ...like the Leopard moray... 175 00:22:32,783 --> 00:22:34,273 ...fluorescent coral... 176 00:22:35,753 --> 00:22:37,653 the clown fish and its anemone. 177 00:22:50,768 --> 00:22:54,465 Every year the monsoon winds turn this Bay in Sudan 178 00:22:54,605 --> 00:22:56,596 into a great plankton trap. 179 00:22:59,610 --> 00:23:03,876 Manta Rays - giant filter feeders gather from miles around, 180 00:23:04,715 --> 00:23:06,342 forming long chains... 181 00:23:14,558 --> 00:23:16,150 By swimming in formation... 182 00:23:16,293 --> 00:23:17,555 like a flock of birds, 183 00:23:17,695 --> 00:23:20,493 with each slightly to the side of the one in front, 184 00:23:20,631 --> 00:23:23,156 the mantas can best filter the water... 185 00:23:31,709 --> 00:23:36,646 The leaders peel away and join the back of the queue in a circle of feeding. 186 00:23:59,236 --> 00:24:02,205 The manta is one of the largest living fish 187 00:24:02,339 --> 00:24:07,868 over a tonne in weight and seven metres across... huge... 188 00:24:08,546 --> 00:24:11,242 but gliding with a ballerina's grace. 189 00:24:18,155 --> 00:24:19,486 In the giants' wake... 190 00:24:19,623 --> 00:24:22,456 little fish feeding on any leftovers. 191 00:24:24,528 --> 00:24:27,326 And following them are other hunters. 192 00:24:42,513 --> 00:24:47,212 The Red Sea allows ospreys to survive on Africa's most barren shores. 193 00:24:58,829 --> 00:25:02,094 But barren land isn't necessarily dead land. 194 00:25:02,766 --> 00:25:06,167 Africa and Arabia are steadily drifting apart... 195 00:25:07,404 --> 00:25:10,202 and as they do the Red Sea is growing wider... 196 00:25:10,908 --> 00:25:13,741 opening up at two and a half centimetres a year. 197 00:25:17,248 --> 00:25:20,115 ...Along its margins are giant cracks, 198 00:25:20,251 --> 00:25:25,086 where sea water flows deep underground and is heated by a volcanic furnace. 199 00:25:38,135 --> 00:25:41,468 Here in Djibouti the seawater emerges far inland... 200 00:25:42,573 --> 00:25:46,441 ...under a fierce sun it quickly evaporates leaving salt. 201 00:25:50,814 --> 00:25:54,215 Over time Lake Asal has formed a gigantic crust 202 00:25:54,351 --> 00:25:56,046 that's visible from space. 203 00:26:00,958 --> 00:26:03,188 Pure marine salt is precious... 204 00:26:12,002 --> 00:26:16,462 For thousands of years it's been mined by one of Africa's hardiest peoples. 205 00:26:16,907 --> 00:26:18,875 The Afars of Djibouti. 206 00:26:21,245 --> 00:26:23,372 The Afars trade this important commodity 207 00:26:23,514 --> 00:26:26,347 with the people of the Ethiopian highlands. 208 00:26:55,145 --> 00:26:57,909 The Red Sea is Africa's youngest sea. 209 00:26:59,850 --> 00:27:02,284 These alien towers bear testament 210 00:27:02,419 --> 00:27:05,718 to the violent geological forces still at work. 211 00:27:09,793 --> 00:27:12,591 Millions of years ago this was the land bridge 212 00:27:12,730 --> 00:27:14,527 between Africa and Europe... 213 00:27:17,001 --> 00:27:22,439 ...The threshold across which life flowed, including our own ancestors. 214 00:27:24,041 --> 00:27:25,941 Now Africa sits apart... 215 00:27:26,577 --> 00:27:30,638 and is once again pushing its northern coast towards Europe. 216 00:27:33,751 --> 00:27:36,686 Gradually the Mediterranean sea is shrinking. 217 00:27:38,922 --> 00:27:41,891 Millions of years from now it may even vanish... 218 00:27:42,426 --> 00:27:46,260 like the ancient civilisations of the North African coast. 219 00:28:13,223 --> 00:28:17,387 Imperial grandeur drove out much of wild Africa. 220 00:28:21,131 --> 00:28:22,860 The big mammals may have gone, 221 00:28:24,201 --> 00:28:26,362 but birds like Eleonora's falcon, 222 00:28:26,503 --> 00:28:30,064 named after a Sardinian Princess, still endure. 223 00:28:39,316 --> 00:28:42,149 The falcons breed in colonies hundreds strong... 224 00:28:42,953 --> 00:28:45,183 and it takes a lot of prey to support them. 225 00:28:45,756 --> 00:28:49,351 So they delay their breeding until September to coincide 226 00:28:49,493 --> 00:28:51,620 with an extraordinary migration. 227 00:28:57,034 --> 00:29:00,401 Millions of migrant birds flocking to tropical Africa 228 00:29:00,537 --> 00:29:06,498 for food and warmth in winter are targeted by Eleanora's watchful squadrons. 229 00:29:07,478 --> 00:29:09,673 Hunters of the sea wind. 230 00:29:29,533 --> 00:29:31,125 The swiftest of killers, 231 00:29:31,268 --> 00:29:34,635 these small falcons are also nurturing parents. 232 00:29:44,281 --> 00:29:46,545 The chicks need large amounts of fresh food... 233 00:29:47,017 --> 00:29:48,609 up to three birds a day. 234 00:29:58,328 --> 00:30:01,661 Many small birds do fall prey to the Falcons, 235 00:30:01,799 --> 00:30:06,031 but most escape to face an even greater challenge. 236 00:30:07,638 --> 00:30:11,574 They must skirt the parched sands of the largest desert on earth 237 00:30:11,708 --> 00:30:15,974 the mighty Sahara as they fly south along the Atlantic seaboard. 238 00:30:17,414 --> 00:30:19,109 This is a marathon journey. 239 00:30:28,926 --> 00:30:31,360 But there is the odd pit-stop along the way. 240 00:30:33,797 --> 00:30:38,291 Here in Mauritania the waders willingly seize what people throw away... 241 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:53,714 The lmraguen fishermen live in a sun-blasted desert wilderness. 242 00:30:56,153 --> 00:30:58,519 But this place is more fertile than it looks. 243 00:31:07,965 --> 00:31:12,129 The nets fill with fish thanks to a cold upwelling in the Atlantic. 244 00:31:23,947 --> 00:31:27,747 But what really draws the migrants to this coast... is this... 245 00:31:28,218 --> 00:31:31,483 a vast mudflat where the Sahara meets the sea... 246 00:31:32,823 --> 00:31:35,291 ...the Banc D'Arguin National Park. 247 00:31:38,061 --> 00:31:41,087 Nearly two million birds fly in to winter here. 248 00:31:49,740 --> 00:31:53,540 Both locals and visitors crowd these deserts shores. 249 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,985 These mudflats are rich in worms and shellfish. 250 00:32:07,524 --> 00:32:09,651 Some birds will have lost half their body weight 251 00:32:09,793 --> 00:32:12,091 on the long flight south from Europe. 252 00:32:12,529 --> 00:32:15,896 With no fat reserves left, they feed frenetically. 253 00:32:19,303 --> 00:32:24,707 As the tide returns the land shrinks and the birds swarm in dazzling numbers. 254 00:32:46,630 --> 00:32:48,655 But the little birds have been followed... 255 00:32:51,702 --> 00:32:56,036 Marsh harriers are also migrants... shadowing the flocks... 256 00:33:28,171 --> 00:33:29,536 But hunting isn't easy. 257 00:33:29,840 --> 00:33:34,277 In skies crowded with wings it's hard to zero in on a target. 258 00:33:34,945 --> 00:33:36,742 There's safety in numbers! 259 00:34:33,103 --> 00:34:37,005 To the south of this desert coast is a moist tropical shore. 260 00:34:40,610 --> 00:34:44,546 The seas of equatorial West Africa are heated by the Guinea current, 261 00:34:45,449 --> 00:34:48,247 which throws up endless cloud from the ocean. 262 00:34:49,086 --> 00:34:50,917 It's the wettest part of Africa! 263 00:34:50,987 --> 00:34:53,217 Up to five metres of rain a year. 264 00:34:57,260 --> 00:35:01,959 The land is scoured by mighty rivers like the Congo and the Niger. 265 00:35:03,433 --> 00:35:06,994 They drain vast areas flushing sediment into the sea. 266 00:35:08,305 --> 00:35:10,773 Leaving the waters warm, but murky... 267 00:35:15,479 --> 00:35:17,242 And upon these sandy shores, 268 00:35:17,380 --> 00:35:19,280 growing right down to the water's edge, 269 00:35:19,416 --> 00:35:22,249 is the largest rainforest in Africa. 270 00:35:22,919 --> 00:35:25,387 It's a frontier for some familiar faces. 271 00:35:32,429 --> 00:35:35,489 But it's also home to more unlikely characters 272 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:38,797 Hippos live among the mangroves, 273 00:35:38,935 --> 00:35:41,802 their skin able to tolerate the brackish water. 274 00:35:44,207 --> 00:35:49,235 They'll sometimes even use the sea to reach new feeding grounds along the coast. 275 00:35:51,648 --> 00:35:54,617 The beaches of Gabon's Petit Luango National Park 276 00:35:54,751 --> 00:35:58,084 also draw elephants from deep in the forest. 277 00:36:00,991 --> 00:36:03,391 After years of persecution for their ivory, 278 00:36:03,527 --> 00:36:06,587 these shy animals are now protected. 279 00:36:09,032 --> 00:36:13,025 They're good swimmers and easily navigate the thick mangrove swamp. 280 00:36:24,981 --> 00:36:27,006 Here on the edge of the steaming forest 281 00:36:27,150 --> 00:36:30,415 the elephants can enjoy the cool ocean breezes. 282 00:36:33,757 --> 00:36:35,486 Their forest diet lacks sodium, 283 00:36:35,625 --> 00:36:38,560 so they also comb the beach for salty creepers 284 00:36:38,695 --> 00:36:42,927 and the Borassus palm fruit... a coastal delicacy. 285 00:36:46,836 --> 00:36:50,203 Red River Hogs are normally secretive forest animals. 286 00:37:07,691 --> 00:37:08,919 Pigs on the beach! 287 00:37:10,126 --> 00:37:12,458 They've even been known to dig out turtle eggs! 288 00:37:22,239 --> 00:37:27,404 Even buffalo visit the shore to get relief from the forest's mosquitoes and ticks... 289 00:37:29,246 --> 00:37:32,113 ...though there's still a few left for the oxpeckers. 290 00:37:38,521 --> 00:37:42,252 This is a coast where life is controlled by a warm current... 291 00:37:46,930 --> 00:37:49,592 Heading south the waters change character... 292 00:37:50,333 --> 00:37:54,326 once more entering the embrace of the cold Benguela current. 293 00:37:59,109 --> 00:38:03,136 From the wettest place in Africa... to one of the driest... 294 00:38:06,483 --> 00:38:08,144 the Namib desert... 295 00:38:08,685 --> 00:38:11,916 two million square kilometres of sand... 296 00:38:12,055 --> 00:38:15,047 where the cold ocean offers little evaporation, 297 00:38:15,191 --> 00:38:17,352 starving the land of moisture. 298 00:38:18,495 --> 00:38:20,087 The Skeleton Coast... 299 00:38:21,164 --> 00:38:25,294 a graveyard of ships lost in fog and wild seas. 300 00:38:30,774 --> 00:38:32,605 This is a coast of extremes. 301 00:38:32,742 --> 00:38:35,609 Desolate shores, but crowded with life. 302 00:38:38,081 --> 00:38:40,777 Cape Cormorants are among the many animals drawn here 303 00:38:40,917 --> 00:38:43,249 by an ocean brimming with fish. 304 00:38:48,325 --> 00:38:50,486 They're joined by a young fur seal, 305 00:38:50,627 --> 00:38:54,529 perhaps mistaking all the black shapes for others of its kind. 306 00:39:12,916 --> 00:39:15,441 The sight of Cormorants living on the edge of the desert 307 00:39:15,585 --> 00:39:16,882 is surprising enough... 308 00:39:17,420 --> 00:39:19,217 but the fishing here is so good... 309 00:39:20,390 --> 00:39:23,223 even penguins will tolerate the baking shores. 310 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:34,361 These fishing birds are more at home in sub-polar regions, 311 00:39:34,704 --> 00:39:38,003 but can survive in Africa thanks to the cold sea. 312 00:39:44,547 --> 00:39:47,880 But there's a price to pay for living so near the Equator. 313 00:39:49,452 --> 00:39:52,910 Temperatures can soar to forty degrees Celsius. 314 00:40:03,700 --> 00:40:06,794 The parents take it in turn to stick it out on the nest! 315 00:40:10,907 --> 00:40:13,637 A sheltering wing against the powerful sun. 316 00:40:25,255 --> 00:40:31,922 The desert coast hosts a far larger tribe of colonists - Cape Fur Seals. 317 00:40:32,395 --> 00:40:34,886 Tens of thousands come here to breed. 318 00:40:43,673 --> 00:40:47,074 In the space of a few weeks all the females give birth. 319 00:40:50,780 --> 00:40:53,374 The bond between mother and pup is strong, 320 00:40:53,516 --> 00:40:56,314 they recognise each other by smell and sound. 321 00:40:59,122 --> 00:41:02,751 But this noisy colony draws attention from inland 322 00:41:09,432 --> 00:41:12,526 ...Brown hyenas are normally shy scavengers, 323 00:41:12,669 --> 00:41:14,398 but the arrival of so many animals 324 00:41:14,537 --> 00:41:17,904 in their desert territory turns them into bold hunters. 325 00:41:31,054 --> 00:41:34,649 The seals have no defence against such a powerful interloper. 326 00:41:40,129 --> 00:41:44,088 New-born pups are easy targets and not just for hyenas. 327 00:41:46,069 --> 00:41:48,731 Black-backed jackals are also on the prowl. 328 00:42:04,087 --> 00:42:06,885 But there is a far greater danger here. 329 00:42:08,558 --> 00:42:13,621 Some days the cooling ocean wind stops... the coast becomes a furnace... 330 00:42:15,832 --> 00:42:18,960 Wrapped in fur and blubber, the seals suffer. 331 00:42:24,474 --> 00:42:26,908 The mothers become increasingly desperate. 332 00:42:27,644 --> 00:42:31,239 They head for the sea to cool off, some dragging their pups with them. 333 00:42:33,116 --> 00:42:35,050 They're shadowed by hungry jackals. 334 00:43:05,715 --> 00:43:09,742 Though this treatment seems rough, it is key to the pup's survival. 335 00:43:14,324 --> 00:43:16,349 The mother takes him to the water's edge. 336 00:43:20,129 --> 00:43:22,962 He can't swim, but he'll be cooled by sea spray... 337 00:43:26,202 --> 00:43:28,329 ...while his mother swims in the sea! 338 00:43:30,006 --> 00:43:32,634 But not all mothers are so experienced. 339 00:43:34,110 --> 00:43:36,169 Other females at the top of the colony, 340 00:43:36,312 --> 00:43:40,248 irresistibly drawn to the sea, now abandon their pups. 341 00:43:58,401 --> 00:44:00,926 Alone and exposed at the edge of the desert, 342 00:44:01,070 --> 00:44:03,129 the pups are very vulnerable. 343 00:44:12,915 --> 00:44:15,315 Fur seals are designed for the sub-Antarctic, 344 00:44:15,451 --> 00:44:19,478 not the desert, and the pups' black coats are a real problem. 345 00:44:19,989 --> 00:44:22,184 They absorb the scorching heat. 346 00:44:28,631 --> 00:44:33,591 The pup is too young to swim and too inexperienced 347 00:44:33,736 --> 00:44:35,328 to find shade on its own. 348 00:44:40,810 --> 00:44:44,007 Refreshed by the seas, the mothers head back to their pups. 349 00:45:03,900 --> 00:45:05,993 For some... it is too late! 350 00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:18,877 Not all pups have succumbed. 351 00:45:21,184 --> 00:45:22,947 Some found refuge from the heat... 352 00:45:24,921 --> 00:45:29,358 ...and by scent and call are eventually reunited with their mothers. 353 00:45:44,073 --> 00:45:46,405 And in just a few weeks the pups are old enough 354 00:45:46,542 --> 00:45:50,103 to enjoy the refreshing water for the first time. 355 00:46:06,496 --> 00:46:10,023 Adult first seek spend most their life is on the sea 356 00:46:10,366 --> 00:46:14,097 fishing the rich current from Nambia to the Cape of Good Hope. 357 00:46:16,205 --> 00:46:18,298 Down towards Africa's southernmost tip, 358 00:46:18,441 --> 00:46:21,376 the seas again explode with life. 359 00:46:22,678 --> 00:46:24,737 But as seals are drawn to the rich fishing here, 360 00:46:24,914 --> 00:46:27,314 so others are drawn to them... 361 00:46:50,473 --> 00:46:51,906 The Great White Shark 362 00:46:52,408 --> 00:46:55,036 Africa's largest and most powerful predator... 363 00:47:03,553 --> 00:47:07,045 Over millions of years it's evolved a unique hunting ability. 364 00:47:08,157 --> 00:47:10,853 It powers from the deep like a missile. 365 00:47:29,245 --> 00:47:31,509 It is a lethal encounter... 366 00:47:31,981 --> 00:47:36,884 but these fertile oceans support vast numbers of seals and predators 367 00:47:36,986 --> 00:47:39,955 have little impact on the whole population. 368 00:47:43,459 --> 00:47:46,360 The seas that wash against African support life 369 00:47:46,495 --> 00:47:48,554 in the most surprising places. 370 00:47:50,132 --> 00:47:53,659 Bringing rain to forests and relief to deserts. 371 00:47:57,607 --> 00:48:01,839 They also carve out the familiar shape of the continent. 372 00:48:04,013 --> 00:48:07,881 From the shores of the Sahara right down to the Cape of Good Hope, 373 00:48:08,017 --> 00:48:12,852 the mighty oceans determine the very nature of Africa.