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  • in the Limpopo region of South Africa lies an ancient land forged by water.

  • Today it provides life too many.

  • From rolling grasslands to rocky, gorgeous wild life has learned to make the most of what's on offer.

  • At its heart life, giving waters burst from giant rocks and spread across the landscape, supporting everything from miniatures to the masses.

  • This is the water back land off no, the water Berg runs from west to east for almost 150 kilometers.

  • Lying in the northeastern corner of South Africa, it sprawls across an area of 14 and 1/2 1000 square kilometers and makes up the first UNESCO reserve in the region created by mineral rich rivers almost two billion years ago.

  • It is so old it has been around for longer than terrestrial life itself.

  • Yeah, Today it stands at the center of an incredibly diverse landscape of open grassy plains.

  • Bush felt Savannah rocky, gorgeous ravines and cliffs that tower up to 600 meters high.

  • But it's the bedrock of these mountains that holds their greatest gift.

  • Bands of porous rock soak up water like a sponge, storing it in underground aquifers.

  • Once full, they pour out of the mountain of themselves, giving rise to the name water bag for water Mountain.

  • As they descend, the waterfalls and streams merged, creating rivers that carved their way through the landscape.

  • Okay, as they shaped the land, they also support a rich variety of life.

  • Grazers feast on the lush grass of the plateau's rolling plains.

  • In the lowlands, sprawling Savannah stretches as far as the eye can see.

  • Present throughout.

  • It is water.

  • There streams, rivers, dams and water holes bind landscape together.

  • Yeah, this diverse wilderness is the setting for many natural dramas.

  • Battles will be fought, mates will be and a new generation will be born, but a will rely on the water back for sustenance.

  • The annual rains arrive and them and can last for up to five months.

  • Their arrival ushers in a time of plenty.

  • In the water, animals are preoccupied with one thing.

  • Eating their fill.

  • This is a time to bulk up, Uh, grazers move in large, mixed herds, feasting on the bounty.

  • After months of drought, the grass is the quickest to take advantage of the landscapes.

  • Renewed moisture.

  • More than 200 different species grow in the water, Berg, offering a banquet toe, all manner of her before, and the elephants are amongst those cashing in.

  • They have one of the most very diets of all habit whores, eating everything from leaves two roots and bark.

  • But with the coming of the rainy season, they shift their focus to the sweet new growth of tender grass.

  • It is also the perfect time of year to raise young with abundance of food on offer.

  • Mothers are full of milk and in prime condition to support the next generation.

  • For many antelope, the first few days of life are spent hidden away among the long grass, safe from unwanted attention.

  • But as soon as they are fit enough to follow their mothers, they rejoin the herd, and within four and 1/2 months they'll be fully independent for others in the grasslands, the introduction to her life, he's much swifter.

  • Bless Bach.

  • Mothers give birth surrounded by others.

  • The lands will stand within 5 to 10 minutes and walk within 20.

  • This ensures the young are ready to flee as soon as possible, making them less vulnerable.

  • It is a technique that has been adopted by a number of the grazers, wildebeest and zebra newborns are quick learners.

  • They, too, are up and running in a matter of minutes.

  • But for the wildebeest, there's more to things than just being able to run.

  • Timing is everything.

  • Up to 90% of carbs will drop in the space of a three week period, coinciding with the coming of the rains.

  • And if you want to survive, you better arrive on time.

  • When pursued by predators are wildebeests.

  • Best hope is to mix in with flinging hood.

  • But youngsters have 10 coats, making them easy for predators to single out in the two months it takes for a darker cooked to grow.

  • Some cars will be lucky.

  • Some will not.

  • While escaping danger is the primary concern for many, there are those who have little to fear from the local predators.

  • White rhino carbs have formidably armed parents to look after them.

  • The youngsters will spend the 1st 2 to 3 years of their lives, with their mothers, staying side by side under her protection until she comes again.

  • But for the grazers timing, the birth of their offspring with the arrival of the rains gives them the best chance of survival and results in a sudden increase in heard members.

  • But despite all their best efforts, it doesn't go unnoticed.

  • Lions patrol the grasslands and savannahs on the lookout for an easy meal.

  • The herd's many pairs of eyes watch back on.

  • The age old battle of predator versus prey continues, but sometimes the danger lies.

  • Loves it.

  • A male zebra must fight off the challenge of a rival in order to secure sole breeding access to his heart.

  • Green females fights can be fierce.

  • A combination of biting and high powered kicks is used to secure victory.

  • The water bird provides a home for huge numbers of creatures, and it is not only out on the grasslands where this can be witnessed.

  • The mountain range is home to one of the rarest animals on the planet water bag kata.

  • Thought to have gone extinct in the 19 eighties.

  • It was recently rediscovered, living on a small plateau.

  • What micro habitat no larger than three hectares has harbored this species and sheltered it from the encroachment of the modern world.

  • It is an amazing story of survival against the odds.

  • The water bird copper requires a unique set of conditions to reproduce and has a fascinating life cycle.

  • It will only lay eggs near one of two host plants and a particular species of sugar and must have a nest within the vicinity.

  • Thea ants build their homes in sandy soil close to wetlands, making a water bird three ideal environment for them.

  • This is the only place in the world where these butterflies unknown to exist.

  • Females lay their eggs in the sand.

  • Once hatched, three caterpillars live within the ant nest, but by night the answer scored the caterpillar to the host plant, where it feeds.

  • There is a reason the ants go to so much trouble to accommodate and protect the caterpillars as they feed.

  • They produce a sweet honey do secretion from glands on their abdomen, which the ants find irresistible.

  • Ants are one of the few creatures in the world that farm other animals.

  • In this incredible symbiotic relationship, both the end and the butterfly are rewarded for the security of their nest.

  • The ants receive an invaluable food source, and the caterpillars are provided with a safe place to grow and develop.

  • During its next stage of life, the water bird copper transforms into a stunning butterfly.

  • The bright colors are a warning to predators.

  • It's poisonous.

  • While feeding on the toxic host plants, the caterpillars absorbed the poison's, retaining them through their metamorphosis into adulthood.

  • Not all of the water birds residents have such an intricate life cycle, but there are some who faced the same pressures of extinction.

  • White rhino populations are being decimated throughout southern Africa by an insatiable demand for their horns from Asia.

  • In traditional Asian medicine, Rhino Horn is thought to cure illness and guarantee good health.

  • It is a problem that is affecting parks and reserves across the region, including the water berg.

  • Drastic measures are being taken, and armed guards are posted throughout the area.

  • It is a battle that must be one if the rhino is to have a chance of survival in the wild.

  • But for now, life is good for the water.

  • Berg's rhino.

  • There's plenty of grass, which makes up their entire diet on inability to lift their heads above shoulder Height, combined with poor eyesight, means they must rely mainly on their sense of smell and hearing to detect threats.

  • Big ears move independently, focusing in on the direction of sounds like huge satellite dishes.

  • Their inability to lift their heads above shoulder height means that they are unable to swim and can't signage themselves completely.

  • Rhinos are dependent on the presence of water, often drinking twice a day to quench their thirst.

  • The water holes are a common meeting place for the large mammals, and they offer more than just drinking water.

  • Wallowing serves many purposes.

  • It discourages and removes irritating insects like ticks.

  • But it is also a bit of fun, all right.

  • Elsewhere in the country, elephant herds can walk for many days in their search for food, often going without water.

  • But here in the water boat, they never go thirsty.

  • Once refreshed money, elephants find a scratching post and rub up against it, dislodging any unwanted passengers in the process.

  • Yeah, returning to the same water holes and rivers year after year.

  • Favorite trees become smooth over time, but some itches require a little extra soup.

  • No, the hot, wet months of the rainy season see a boom in insect numbers.

  • Swarms of flies follow the herds for the buffalo.

  • It seems there is a price to pay for the abundance of food and water.

  • The grasslands, largest animal, has developed another technique for keeping the invaders at bay.

  • Elephants don't only bathe in the water.

  • They also take their skin with soil to avoid biting and sucking insects.

  • While the insects are a nuisance for most, they are an opportunity for others.

  • Golden orb spiders are prepared for the infestation.

  • One of the oldest types of spider in existence, they hold the crown for the world's strongest spider's web.

  • Spun from yellow silk, it is maintained on a daily basis, ensuring it is a sticky as possible.

  • It's done the job.

  • Neurotoxic venom is injected, immobilizing the victim before it is wrapped in silk.

  • Take a deeper into the nest and stashed.

  • With so much food available in the water, Bergen this time of year.

  • Spider stores, some for a later date, All right throughout the water, Berg predators are taking advantage of the new food on offer.

  • Really get beetles feed on other aquatic insects.

  • Compound eyes allow them to see both above and below the water, and their ability to turn sharply helps them evade Larger predators costing meet circular shadows on the stream bed of all the animals benefiting from the glut of food, the ox pecker is one of the most successful.

  • Attaching themselves to a host, they read the animals of their parasites, ticks, fleas and almost anything that moves stand no chance against their nimble beaks.

  • Perfectly equipped for this life, they have evolved a number of adaptations.

  • Short legs and sharp claws.

  • Help them gripped their host.

  • And an incredible feeding technique of combing hair with their beaks has allowed them to thrive.

  • Known as scissoring, it is a very effective method for them to find food.

  • But despite their reputation, some ox peckers seem to have a darker side.

  • Individuals have been witnessed feeding from wounds.

  • It is believed that some ox peckers have developed a taste for the blood they find within the ticks they feed on.

  • And they have been observed opening up existing wounds on their host animal's hide in order to drink their blood by keeping the room open.

  • In this way, the bird gets a constant supply of blood, but it also exposes the host to an increased risk of infection.

  • It seems not all ox peckers as helpful as we once thought.

  • Throughout the water.

  • Berg, the daily search for food has driven creatures to adapt.

  • While many utilize the daylight hours, others emerge after dark, the bush baby sleeping in groups of up to seven.

  • During the day they spend the night foraging.

  • Tree sap makes up a large part of their diet.

  • Aunt is vital to their survival during the winter months.

  • But tonight there is more than just step on the menu.

  • Thehe Bundini of insect life has caught the bush babies attention.

  • Long hind limbs and short fallings make them well adapted to launching attacks from vertical branches feeding on a range of arthropods.

  • They're one of the night's most accomplished predators.

  • For another mammal, the search for insects is not all about food.

  • A troop of vervet monkeys bask in the morning sun, ranging all the way from South Africa to Ethiopia.

  • There found in healthy numbers in the water, Berg living in large groups.

  • They are highly social, and one of the best ways of reinforcing bonds is by grooming.

  • Relatives sift through one another's for removing any parasites.

  • Grooming is commonly used as a courtship strategy, as it brings males and females into close proximity to one another.

  • It is vital to the troops success for the verve.

  • It's the water.

  • Berg's rains will provide a glut of fruits to see them through the dry months.

  • Despite the abundance the waters bring, some creatures still rely on the dry and did in order to find what they need.

  • A bearded woodpecker is on the hunt for a meal.

  • He uses a sharp barbed tongue to remove anything he uncovers.

  • Unlike the water birds, other insect evals bearded woodpeckers feed mainly on wood, boring beetles and their larvae, which can be found all year round as well.

  • He's helping locate a tasty meal.

  • Drumming on trees also helps him establish a territory and attractive mate.

  • The hollow tree acts as the perfect megaphone.

  • Another of the water Berg's feathered inhabitants doesn't need to drink.

  • In fact, ground hornbills don't need to drink at all.

  • They can survive entirely on the moisture in their food.

  • These unusual creatures are the largest hornbills in the world and can live for over 60 years, spending most of the day searching the savannahs for food.

  • Ground hornbills are predominantly carnivorous, feeding on a large range of insects, reptiles, amphibians and even small mammals and birds living in groups of up to 12 individuals occupy and vigorously defend Challenge territories.

  • Reaching 100 square kilometers.

  • These groups normally have one breeding pair and as a species they have one of the slowest reproductive rates in the bird world.

  • On average, they breed successfully every nine years.

  • Females always lay two eggs 3 to 5 days apart.

  • The first chick toe hatch, invariably out, competes the second, which would be killed by its eldest sibling or starve to death.

  • The surviving chick then takes another six years to reach adulthood.

  • These birds have evolved to survive in the harshest of environments, but in the water berg, they are provided with more than they need.

  • Although water doesn't play a key role in a life, cycles it impacts most on most animals couldn't exist without it.

  • The water burns.

  • Water levels are dictated by the rains.

  • Don't but they're on areas of permanent water, rivers and water.

  • Holes remain full year around these wetlands provider residence for a host of animals, but one group of his water birds, rivers, streams and water holes team with loads of many shapes and sizes.

  • Lap wings patrol the wetland fringes.

  • Terrestrial birds they never venture into deeper water.

  • This domain is reserved for truth.

  • Unlike the left wing, no billed ducks are buoyant, allowing them to float on the water surface.

  • This ability allows them to reach the rich aquatic grasses and water lilies.

  • Other bats.

  • Some have taken life on the water a stage.

  • Further, cormorants feed exclusively on fish.

  • Special feathers allow water to penetrate, enabling the birds to swim well underwater as they chase their prey.

  • Fishing cormorant stand in a characteristic pose, with wings out and neck extending.

  • Originally thought to dry their wings, it is now also considered to aid digestion by helping a bird swallow fish.

  • Daughters and grieves have evolved the same technique for fishing, and all could be found along the permanent water sources.

  • The water birth.

  • While many have mastered life under the water, one has adapted to a life on top of it.

  • African Giancana's Spangler lives foraging on floating lily.

  • Parents even build their nests here in what is known as lily trotting.

  • Elongated toes enabled him to spread their weight enough to stop them sinking.

  • It is an adaptation that has allowed them to conquer a habitat few or the birds can, meaning all the more insects for them to feed on.

  • The birds are not the only ones feeding here.

  • Hippos spend the majority of their day in the water and have evolved a number of adaptations.

  • As a result, there is fold closed when submerged on flick.

  • People in a Florrick surfaces high.

  • Ridged eyes protrude above the water, and nostrils have evolved to seal shut while swimming adults can spend up to five minutes below the surface, and surfacing is as instinctive as breathing itself, even in their sleep.

  • Well, Uh huh.

  • Feeding out of the water mainly at night, days are spent digesting, sleeping and socializing.

  • Hippos are so at home in their aquatic habitat, curves are able to suckle underwater.

  • There are others who depend on the water.

  • Berg's permanent oases, modern day dinosaurs.

  • Their adaptations have evolved over millions of years.

  • Crocodiles Here's a national just slips, and their eyes are coated in a protective memory.

  • They are the ultimate freshwater predator, lying undetected in the water.

  • They ambush analyst as they come down to drink rose, a deadly teeth drag prey into the depths, holding their until drowning.

  • For many, the dependence on water is because it provides food, and crocodiles are not the only reptiles patrolling the water broke.

  • Water monitor lizards bask in the sun like crocodiles.

  • They need to warm up before heading off.

  • They are also perfectly adapted to their habitat.

  • Once warm, they head to the water's edge to fish at home, in or out of the water.

  • A long, powerful tail powers of a lot.

  • While long nails and sharp claws are perfect for catching prey, they're not the only ones relying on the waters to provide it.

  • It's not long before their patience is rewarded.

  • The monitor lizards, hammer crops and herons or have different techniques.

  • The result is always the same.

  • Waterbirds supports a diverse mix of habitats on a host of creatures from the ancient and deadly two on one most poor have come to depend on the lands waters for food and shelter.

  • It is an ever present life source in the mountain of life.

in the Limpopo region of South Africa lies an ancient land forged by water.

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