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00:00Nuestro planeta es el más grande puzzle de vivienda en el universo.
00:05Un colección de mundos dentro de mundos.
00:09Cada uno un ecosistema de un ecosistema de vida.
00:13Pero cómo funcionan?
00:20El intercambio web de relaciones y la influencia de las fuerzas naturales
00:26hace cada micro-world complejo y único.
00:33Así que para descubrir sus secretos,
00:35tenemos que explorarlos uno por uno,
00:39untargar sus piezas interlocking,
00:42y finalmente revelar la pieza vitala.
00:47La clave a la vida itself,
00:49hidden deep within
00:51cada uno de los micro-worldes.
00:56Nuestro planeta es el desierto de Namib.
01:072,000 kilómetros long
01:10y 200 kilómetros wide,
01:12este no es el desierto más grande,
01:14pero es el desierto.
01:16CREATED BY AN 80 MILLION YEAR FEUD
01:23BETWEEN THE AFRICAN COASTLINE
01:25Y THE FULL FORCE OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN,
01:27IT'S A STARTLING PLACE.
01:32THE RUGGED COAST
01:33AND ITS SEA OF DUNES
01:34IS THE STUFF OF LEGEND.
01:36THE RECKS OF SHIPS SWAMPED BY SAND
01:43SHOW HOW TREACHEROUS THIS PLACE IS,
01:47BLINDED BY THE REGULAR SEA FOGS,
01:49DASHED ON THE ROCKS BY THE POUNDING OCEAN.
01:52EVEN THOUGH IT'S BEEN SHAPED BY BRUTAL FORCES,
01:56THE NAMIB IS ONE OF THE GREATEST
01:58NATURAL WONDERS ON EARTH.
02:00BUT IT'S NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED.
02:03AND THAT'S BECAUSE THE NAMIB
02:05SEEMS TO BE MISSING
02:06ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL
02:07BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE.
02:10WATER.
02:12SOME YEARS,
02:13IT DOESN'T RAIN AT ALL.
02:14SO IT WOULD TAKE SOME TRULY HARDY CREATURES
02:19TO BE ABLE TO SURVIVE IN THIS BAREN,
02:21WATERLESS PLACE.
02:23IN FACT, THE ONLY THING MORE EXTRAORDINARY
02:26THAN THE LANDSCAPE
02:26ARE THE SURPRISING CREATURES
02:28THAT CALL IT HOME.
02:31SEALIONS SPRAWLING IN DESERT SANDS.
02:35A CHAMELION,
02:36NORMALLY A TREE-DWEller,
02:37BUT WITH NO TREE IN SIGHT.
02:40AND A BLIND MOLE
02:41WITH NO SOIL IN WHICH TO DIG.
02:44IN FACT, THE NAMIB IS HOME
02:47TO OVER 180 SPECIES
02:49FOUND NOWHERE ELSE ON EARTH.
02:52TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS ECOSYSTEM WORKS,
02:56WE'RE GOING TO FIRST HAVE TO UNDERSTAND
02:57HOW LIFE SUCCEEDS HERE AT ALL.
03:01WE MUST TAKE A CLOSER LOOK
03:02AT THESE CREATURES,
03:04EXPLORE THEIR UNIQUE ADAPTATIONS,
03:07UNDERSTAND THEIR INTERACTIONS,
03:09SO THAT WE CAN DISCOVER THE SECRET
03:11THAT ALLOWS LIFE TO TOUGH IT OUT
03:13IN THE MOST INHOSPITABLE DESERT ON EARTH.
03:20LET'S START AT THE EDGE OF THE DESERT,
03:22THE COAST.
03:24THE FREEZING ANTARCTIC WATERS
03:26ARE THE KEY TO THE SUCCESS
03:28OF ONE PARTICULAR COASTAL SPECIES.
03:33WHERE HOT DESERT SANDS
03:35MEET THESE ICY WATERS,
03:37THE SOUTH AFRICAN FIR SEAL
03:38REIGNS IN GIANT COLONIES
03:41SEVERAL THOUSAND STRONG.
03:43THE COLD CURRENTS,
03:51FLOWING NORTHWARD FROM ANTARCTICA,
03:53BRING WITH THEM DEEP, RICH WATERS,
03:55WHICH IN CONTRAST TO THE DESERT
03:57ARE TEEMING WITH LIFE.
03:59SEA WATER IS FAR TOO SALTY TO DRINK,
04:05SO FISH PROVIDE THE FIRST SEALS
04:08WITH BOTH FOOD AND WATER.
04:11THIS SAVES THEM FROM THE DRYNESS
04:13OF THE DESERT,
04:13BUT THEY'RE NOT IMMUNE TO SOMETHING ELSE
04:16THIS DESERT HAS A LOT OF.
04:19HEAT.
04:21THEY MAY BE PERFECTLY ADAPTED
04:23FOR HUNTING IN THE BREAKERS,
04:25BUT THEY CAN'T SPEND ALL THEIR LIFE
04:26AT SEA.
04:27THEY HAVE TO COME TO SHORE,
04:29TO REST,
04:30AND TO BREED.
04:31OUT OF THE WATER, THE SEALS ARE VULNERABLE.
04:37THE BLUBBER THAT KEEPS THEM WARM
04:39IN THE COLD WATER
04:40IS NOW MORE OF A HINDRANCE
04:41THAN A HELP.
04:46BUT THE SEALS HAVE DEVELOPED A BEHAVIOR
04:48TO COMBAT OVERHEATING.
04:51FLIPPER SAILING.
04:54THEIR FLIPPERS ARE THE ONLY PART
04:55OF THEIR BODIES NOT COVERED
04:56BY BLUBBER AND FUR,
04:57AND SO BY EXPOSING THEM TO THE BREEZE,
05:00THEY CAN LOSE HEAT.
05:03AND OF COURSE,
05:04IF IT GETS TOO HOT TO BEAR,
05:06LIKE HOLIDAYMAKERS,
05:07THE ADULTS MAKE A DASH
05:08FOR THE COLD WATER TO COOL OFF.
05:12BUT THEY HAVE TO COME ASHORE
05:13TO GIVE BIRTH,
05:15AND THEIR PUPS ARE TOO YOUNG TO SWIM.
05:20THE EFFECTS OF EXTREME HEAT
05:21CAN BE LETHAL.
05:24ONE IN FOUR FIR SEAL PUPS
05:26JUST WON'T MAKE IT.
05:28BUT THEN WHY,
05:31WITH SUCH A HIGH DEATH RATE,
05:32ARE THE SEALS HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?
05:37THE LETHAL HEAT AND WIND
05:39THAT HELP CREATE THE DUNES
05:40ACT AS AN IMPASSIBLE BARRIER,
05:42PROTECTING THEM
05:43FROM THE REST OF AFRICA
05:44WITH ALL ITS DEADLY PREDATORS.
05:49SO THE DESERT ACTS
05:50LIKE A DEFENSIVE WALL,
05:52AND THE LOSS OF A FEW PUPS
05:53IS A SMALL PRICE TO PAY
05:55FOR THE SUCCESS
05:56OF THE WHOLE COLONY.
06:01BUT THEY'RE NOT
06:02COMPLETELY ISOLATED.
06:06BLACKBACK JACKALS
06:06ARE ONE OF THE FEW ANIMALS
06:08THAT HAVE MANAGED
06:08TO REACH THE COAST,
06:10AND NOW THEY'RE HEAVILY DEPENDENT
06:11ON THE SEAL COLONIES
06:12FOR SURVIVAL.
06:18A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL
06:19RELATIONSHIPS DEVELOPED
06:20BETWEEN THESE BEACH DWELLERS.
06:24THE DOGS ARE NOT CAPABLE
06:25OF TAKING HEALTHY PUPS,
06:27BUT BY SCAVENGING
06:28ON THE DEAD AND DYING,
06:29THEY CLEAN UP THE COLONY,
06:31PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF DISEASE.
06:36IT'S A PRACTICAL,
06:37IF NOT A LITTLE,
06:38MORBID ARRANGEMENT.
06:39BUT WITH THE BEACH
06:42LITTERED WITH PUPS,
06:43THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
06:44THE SICK AND THE SLEEPING
06:46IS SOMETIMES HARD TO SPOT.
06:51JACKALS ARE ADAPTED
06:53TO DESERT LIFE,
06:54HAVING KIDNEYS DESIGNED
06:55TO HANDLE WATER DEPRIVATION.
06:58BUT WITHOUT THE SEAL FEAST
06:59ON THE BEACH,
07:00EVEN THEY WOULD STRUGGLE
07:01TO SURVIVE OUT HERE.
07:05THE SEALS RELY ENTIRELY
07:07ON THE OCEAN,
07:08NOT JUST FOR FOOD
07:09IN WATER,
07:10BUT AS A MEANS
07:11TO ESCAPE THE DESERT HEAT.
07:15SO UNDERSTANDING HOW THEY COPE
07:17DOES NOT REVEAL
07:18HOW THE REST OF LIFE
07:19CAN SURVIVE HERE
07:20WITH LITTLE TO NO WATER.
07:24BUT THE COAST DOES HOLD THE KEY
07:26TO HOW THIS DESERT
07:27WAS FORMED IN THE FIRST PLACE.
07:32THE SAND GRAINS
07:33THAT ARE CONTINUALLY DEPOSITED
07:35ONTO THE NAMIB'S BEACHES
07:36BY ATLANTIC WAVES
07:37ARE BLOWN INTO THE INTERIOR
07:39BY RELENTLESS WINDS,
07:40CREATING A DESERT WITH SOME OF THE LARGEST DUNES
07:47IN THE WORLD.
07:51THE GRAINS OF SAND
07:53THAT SHAPE THESE GIANTS
07:54MAY HAVE JOURNEYED HERE
07:56OVER 5,000 YEARS AGO.
08:01THESE DUNES
08:02ARE ACTUALLY DYNAMIC.
08:06LIKE WAVES
08:07IN VERY SLOW MOTION,
08:09THE WINDS ARE CONSTANTLY
08:10SHIFTING AND CHANGING THEM.
08:15BONE-DRY SAND
08:16FORMS ARCHING CREASMENTS,
08:19A BACK SLOP
08:20PILED UP AGAINST
08:21THE PREVAILING WIND,
08:24AND A SHORTER,
08:25STEEPER SLIPFACE.
08:30AS MORE SAND
08:31BUILDS UP ON THE BACK SLOP,
08:33THE ANGLE OF THE SLIPFACE
08:34BECOMES CRITICAL.
08:36IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME
08:37BEFORE GRAVITY TAKES HOLD
08:39AND THE SLIPFACE
08:40CRASHES DOWN.
08:45IN THIS WAY,
08:46EACH DUNE MOVES ALONG,
08:48SLOWLY,
08:49BUT SURELY.
08:55THE SHIFTING SANDS
08:56ARE SEARINGLY HOT.
09:01MIDDAY TEMPERATURES
09:02REGULARLY EXCEED 60 DEGREES.
09:06IF A SEAFARER WAS LUCKY ENOUGH
09:08TO ESCAPE THE WRECKING COAST,
09:10THEY WOULDN'T LAST LONG OUT HERE.
09:12BUT THERE ARE ANIMALS AND PLANTS
09:17THAT SURVIVE HERE
09:18WHERE HUMANS HAVE FAILED.
09:20A FEW TOUGH SPECIES
09:22HAVE MANAGED TO FIND A FOOTHOLD
09:24IN THIS CONSTANTLY SHIFTING ENVIRONMENT.
09:26THEY MAY BE SMALL,
09:29BUT THEY ARE THE TRUE GIANTS
09:32OF SURVIVAL.
09:34ALL PROPERLY BUILT
09:35TO HANDLE THE HEAT.
09:44THE SHOVEL-SNOUTED LIZARD'S DANCE
09:46MAY LOOK BIZARRE,
09:48BUT IT HAS A PURPOSE.
09:52IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S SIMPLY
09:54GETTING SOME RESPITE
09:55FROM THE BURNING SAND,
09:56BUT THERE'S MORE TO IT THAN THAT.
09:58IT'S CLEVERLY TAKING ADVANTAGE
10:00OF THE HEAT DYNAMICS
10:01OF THE DUNE SURFACE.
10:06THE AIR TEMPERATURE
10:07IS A WHOLE TEN DEGREES COOLER
10:09JUST MILLIMETRES ABOVE THE SAND,
10:11SO A RAISED FOOT
10:13CAN COOL DOWN JUST ENOUGH
10:15TO BRING RELIEF.
10:20THIS DESERT LIZARD
10:22IS SO HIGHLY ADAPTED
10:23TO THIS ENVIRONMENT,
10:24IT'S BEHAVIOR SO SPECIAL,
10:26SPECIFIC TO THE NAMIB,
10:27THAT IT'S FOUND NOWHERE ELSE ON EARTH.
10:35IT'S ONE OF 23 SPECIES OF REPTILE
10:38ENDEMIC TO THE NAMIB,
10:39EACH WITH THEIR OWN UNIQUE WAY
10:41TO COMBAT THE BLISTERING HEAT.
10:49WE KNOW CHAMELIONS AS TREE DWELLERS,
10:52BUT CLEARLY THE NAMIQA IS NOT YOUR AVERAGE CHAMELION.
10:56TO SURVIVE HERE, IT TOO HAS DEVELOPED AN EXTRAORDINARY HEAT-AVOIDANCE TACTIC.
11:04LIKE ALL CHAMELIONS, IT CAN CHANGE ITS SKIN COLOR.
11:07HOWEVER, IT'S COLOR CHANGES ARE NOT JUST ABOUT COMMUNICATION OR CAMOUFLAGE.
11:14HERE, THE NAMIQA USES COLOR TO REGULATE ITS BODY TEMPERATURE.
11:19FOLLOWING A COOL DESERT NIGHT,
11:22THE COLD-BLOODED CHAMELION FLATTENS ITS DULL GRAY BODY,
11:25ANGLING ITSELF TOWARDS THE RISING SUN,
11:28ABSORBING THE WARMTH OF THE EARLY RAYS.
11:35BUT AS THE SUN GROWS HIGHER AND HOTTER,
11:38AND WITH NO WHERE TO HIDE,
11:40THE NAMIQA UNDERGOES A COLOR TRANSFORMATION.
11:49BY TURNING A BRILLIANT WHITE,
11:56IT NOW NO LONGER ABSORBS THE SUN,
11:58BUT CAN REFLECT IT.
12:02AN EFFICIENT THERMOSTAT.
12:06THIS ASTOUNDING ANIMAL HAS TAKEN AN ABILITY TO CHANGE COLOR
12:10AND ADAPTED IT TO REGULATE ITS TEMPERATURE.
12:14A NEAT EXAMPLE OF EVOLUTION AT WORK.
12:16BUT THIS IS NOT THE ONLY WAY IN WHICH THE NAMIQA DIFFERS
12:21FROM ITS FOREST DWELLING RELATIVES.
12:25RATHER THAN THE FUSED FEET USED BY TREE CLIMBERS TO GRIP BRANCHES,
12:29THIS LIZARD IS ABLE TO SPLAY ITS TOES WIDE.
12:33NOT ONLY DOES THIS PREVENT THE INDIGNITY OF SINKING INTO THE SAND,
12:37BUT IT ALSO AFFORDS THIS CHAMELION SOMETHING THAT ITS RELATIVES LACK.
12:42SPEED.
12:42AND WHEN THE GROUND BELOW YOU IS SEARINGLY HOT,
12:48IT DOESN'T DO ANY GOOD TO HANG AROUND.
12:51SO EVEN IN A WORLD WITHOUT SHADE OR COVER,
13:04WITH SUPREMELY CLEVER TEMPERATURE CONTROLS,
13:07OR THERMOREGULATION AS ITS KNOWN,
13:09LIFE HAS LEARNED TO SURVIVE.
13:15BUT THERE IS SHADE, IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK.
13:19AND SO FAR, WE'VE ONLY SCRATCHED THE SURFACE OF INGENUITY HERE.
13:27THE DESERT ECOSYSTEM DOESN'T JUST EXIST ON THE SURFACE.
13:31THERE'S MORE TO DISCOVER BY LOOKING IN THE DUNE ITSELF.
13:34SAND IS NOT NEARLY AS DENSELY PACKED AS HARD EARTH.
13:43BETWEEN THE GRAINS, THERE'S ENOUGH AIR TO BREATHE.
13:46AND AS WE CAN SEE ON THIS THERMAL IMAGE,
13:49THE SAND CAN BE UP TO 20 DEGREES COOLER,
13:51JUST CENTIMETRES BELOW THE SURFACE.
13:53SO IT'S THE PERFECT BOLTHOLE TO KEEP COOL.
13:59OR TO LAY A TRAP.
14:03THE NAMIBIAN SPORE SPYDER IS TOUGH.
14:07IT CAN WITHSTAND HIGHER TEMPERATURES
14:08THAN ANY OTHER SPYDER IN THE WORLD.
14:12AND ITS ABILITY TO TOLERATE THE HEAT
14:14IS THE KEY TO HOW IT GETS FOOD IN THIS LONELY PLACE.
14:18IT SETS ITS TRAP NEAR AN ISOLATED GRASS TUFT,
14:21THEN WEAVES SAND GRAINS TOGETHER
14:24TO CREATE A SUNSHADE THAT DOUBLES AS A TRAP DOOR.
14:31WHILE THE SPYDER TUNNELS BELOW,
14:33IT PROVIDES PERFECT CAMOUFLAGE.
14:36ONLY A SINGLE STRAND OF SILK
14:38REVEALS A MORE SINISTER AGENDA.
14:45JUNE ANTS ON PATROL INVESTIGATE THE GRASS FOR FOOD.
14:48AND TRIGGER THE SPYDER'S WARNING SYSTEMS.
14:56GOTCHA!
14:59NOW THE SPYDER USES ITS TOLERANCE TO HIGH TEMPERATURES TO ITS ADVANTAGE.
15:05PINNED TO THE BURNING SAND, THE ANT OVERHEATS RAPIDLY.
15:09WITHIN SECONDS, THE ANT'S CORE TEMPERATURE WILL HAVE INCREASED BY TWO DEGREES.
15:17ENOUGH TO KILL IT.
15:23USING THE HOT SAND TO DO ITS DIRTY WORK IS A BRILLIANT TECHNIQUE.
15:27AND WITH FOOD SO SCARCE, WHEN IT DOES COME ALONG, THE SPYDER CAN'T AFFORD TO MISS.
15:39WHILE SOME SIT AND WAIT, OTHERS HAVE TO HUNT FOR FOOD.
15:43THE SAND SHOWS EVIDENCE OF ANOTHER BIZARRE CREATURE THAT LIVES HERE.
15:50LIKE ITS ARACNID NEIGHBOR, IT TOO MAKES USE OF THE COOLER, DEEPER SAND.
15:54BUT IT TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE QUIRK OF DESERTS AROUND THE WORLD.
15:59THE DAYS ARE HOT, FEROCIOUSLY HOT.
16:03THE NIGHTS ARE COLD.
16:07TEMPERATURES DROP BY 40 DEGREES.
16:17NOW IT'S COOL ENOUGH FOR THE GOLDEN MOLE, IN ITS THICK FUR COAT, TO MOVE AROUND.
16:24HAVING SPENT THE DAY DEEP IN THE COOL SAND, IT EMERGES TO HUNT FOR TERMITES AT NIGHT.
16:34AIR TRAPPED BETWEEN THE GRAINS ALLOWS THE MOLE TO BREATHE, BUT ALSO MAKES THE SAND UNSTABLE.
16:41AND SO THE GOLDEN MOLE LEAVES NO TUNNEL.
16:44HE IS A SAND SWIMMER, PLOWING THROUGH THE DUNES AS HIS TRAIL COLLAPSES BEHIND HIM.
16:54DESPITE ITS APPEARANCE, THIS LITTLE MAMMAL IS NOT RELATED TO OUR EUROPEAN MOLE.
17:02INSTEAD, IT'S DESCENDED FROM AN ANCIENT GROUP OF AFRICAN MAMMALS, DATING BACK OVER 40 MILLION YEARS.
17:08SO THE MOLE HAS HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO ADAPT TO LIFE IN THE DUNES.
17:16HE IS ENTIRELY BLIND.
17:22SENSIBLE, REALLY, EYES WOULD ONLY BE DAMAGED BY THE SAND.
17:26WITH SUCH LITTLE RAIN, PLANTS ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN.
17:33BUT TERMITES ARE MOST RELIABLY FOUND AROUND PLANT ROOTS.
17:37SO THE MOLE MAY HAVE TO TRAVEL OVER FIVE KILOMETERS A NIGHT IN SEARCH OF FOOD.
17:42WITHOUT EYES, HOW DOES THE MOLE FIND ITS INSECT PRAEY IN THIS FEATURELESS DESERT?
17:49WELL, GRASSES BLOWING IN THE WIND SEND PERCUSSIVE VIBRATIONS THROUGH THE SAND.
18:00THE GOLDEN MOLE HAS AN EXTRAORDINARILY DEVELOPED MIDDLE EARBONE.
18:05PROPORTIONALLY 6,000 TIMES BIGGER THAN OUR OWN.
18:10IT'S NOT SIGHT, BUT SOUND THAT GUIDES THIS REMARKABLE LITTLE MAMMAL.
18:18IT CAN DETECT THE SLIGHTEST MOVEMENT OF GRASS OR INSECT.
18:26BY DIPPING HIS HEAD INTO THE SAND, THE MOLE USES HIS SUPER HEARING TO NAVIGATE BETWEEN GRASS CLUMPS
18:34AND SECURE HIMSELF A MEAL.
18:49IT IS PERFECTLY OF OLD FOR HUNTING IN THE SAND.
18:56WELL, MOST OF THE TIME.
19:03AND SO ALL OF THE NAMIBIAN DESERT'S INHABITANTS HAVE DEVELOPED UNIQUE WAYS IN WHICH TO DEAL WITH
19:11THIS MICROWORLD.
19:13BUT THESE ADAPTATIONS BY THE INSECTS, REPTILES AND MAMMALS ARE BECAUSE OF THIS EXTREME ENVIRONMENT.
19:22CLEVER AVOIDANCE TACTICS, YES, BUT NOT THE REASON WHY THIS SYSTEM WORKS.
19:28IT'S NOT ENOUGH JUST TO AVOID THE CLIMATE.
19:32IN ORDER FOR AN ECOSYSTEM TO SUSTAIN, ITS ANIMALS AND PLANTS MUST LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO GROW,
19:38TO REPRODUCE.
19:41AND TO DO THAT, THEY MUST HAVE WATER.
19:45IT'S ONE OF THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF LIFE.
19:49SO WHERE IS IT IN THIS DESERT?
19:56WELL, THE NAMIB IS HARBORING A LIFE-GIVING SECRET.
20:01THE KEY TO THIS PUZZLE HAS BEEN CREATED BY A METEOROLOGICAL QUIRK AS OLD AS THE DESERT ITSELF.
20:09LIKE OUR GOLDEN MOLE, THE SECRET TO THIS DESERT SUCCESS AVOIDES THE DAY'S HEAT.
20:15IT COMES BY NIGHT.
20:22FOG CREEPS THROUGH THE DUNES.
20:27BUT A DENSE FOG IN ONE OF THE MOST ARID ENVIRONMENTS ON EARTH?
20:31HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
20:36WELL, THE OCEAN KNOWS.
20:39THE FREEZING COLD CURRENTS THAT SUPPORT THOSE SEALS AND POUND THE NAMIB COAST
20:44HAVE ANOTHER ROLE TO PLAY IN LIFE IN THE INTERIOR.
20:49THE COLD, WET, HEAVY AIR RIDING THE WINDS ABOVE THESE CURRENTS MEET THE LAND
20:54AND ARE FORCED UNDER THE DRYER AND LIGHTER AIR FROM THE DESERT.
21:01UNDER NORMAL ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS, COLD AIR WOULD SIT HIGH IN THE ATMOSPHERE ABOVE THE WARMER SURFACE AIR.
21:08INSTEAD, THESE LAYERS ARE REVERSED.
21:13THIS QUIRK IS KNOWN AS AN INVERSION LAYER.
21:19ONCE TRACKED, THE MOISTURE WITHIN THIS COLD LAYER FORMS A DENSE MIST.
21:25AND IT'S THIS MIST, THIS SEA FOG THAT FORMS THE LIFE BLOOD OF THE NAMIB DESERT.
21:35FOR FOG IS, IN ITS ESSENCE, JUST SUSPENDED WATER, AN AIRBORNE RESERVOIR.
21:41YOU JUST NEED TO KNOW HOW TO HARVEST IT.
21:44THE FEW PLANTS DRIP WITH IT.
21:47THE DESERT CRICKETS DRINK IT FROM THEIR STEMS.
22:02A GECKO COLLECTS WATER DROPLETS THAT HAVE CONDENSED ON ITS WARM EYEBALLS.
22:09THE SIDEWINDING ADDER LICKS WATER DROPLETS FROM ITS SKIN.
22:19BUT PERHAPS THE CLEVEREST ADAPTATION OF ALL CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO A BEATLE.
22:24OR MORE ACCURATELY, TO ITS BACK.
22:28THE SETTLING FOG TRIGGERS THE MOST UNUSUAL BEATLE BEHAVIOR.
22:34THEY'RE NOT KNOWN AS FOG BASKERS WITHOUT A REASON.
22:38THEY EMERGE FROM THE SAND IN THE EARLY MORNINGS.
22:42AND BY STANDING ON THEIR HEADS, PRESENT THEIR BACKS TO THE ROLLING FOG.
22:48THE BEATLE'S BACK IS RIDDLED WITH PEAKS THAT ATTRACT THE FOG, ENCOURAGING DROPLETS TO FORM.
22:55WHICH THEN ROLL DOWN WAXY TROUGHTS INTO THEIR OPEN MOUTHS.
23:00THIS PECULIAR WATER HARVESTING TACTIC IS HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE.
23:07BY THE TIME THE FOG HAS BEEN BROKEN BY THE SUN, A BEATLE MIGHT HAVE CONSUMED 40% OF ITS BODY WEIGHT IN WATER.
23:19THIS FOG IS RELIABLE ENOUGH TO ALLOW THE BEATLES TO KEEP TOPPING UP WITH THIS VITAL FLUID.
23:27BECOMING LIKE WALKING WATER BOTTLES TO OTHER THIRSTY DUNE DWELLERS.
23:33AND FORMING THE BASE OF A COMPLEX FOG WEB IN WHICH WATER IS PASSED THROUGH THE ECOSYSTEM FROM PRAY TO PREDATOR.
23:45THE BEATLE PROVIDES THE CHAMELION WITH ENOUGH WATER TO LIVE ON FOR SEVERAL DAYS.
23:57THE SIDEWIDING ADDER, A MASTER OF DESERT CAMOUFLAGE, IS ALSO ON THE HUNT FOR WATER.
24:09EYES POSITIONED ON TOP OF ITS HEAD ALLOW THE ADDER TO BURY ITSELF IN THE SAND, BECOMING ALMOST COMPLETELY INVISIBLE.
24:21THE ADDER MAY HAVE TO LIE IN WAIT FOR SEVERAL HOURS BEFORE THE RIGHT TARGET APPEARS.
24:30BY TWITCHING THE TIP OF ITS TAIL, THE SNAKE MIMICS A SMALL INSECT IN DISTRESS, THE PERFECT LURE FOR A NEARBY LIZARD.
24:39THE LIZARD, FULL OF WATER FROM THE MORNING FOG, BECOMES A PRECIOUS RESOURCE TO LARGER PREDATORS.
24:51THE ADDER IS QUICK, BUT ON THIS OCCASION, THE LIZARD IS FASTER.
25:06SO THESE FOG HARVESTERS ACT AS BOTH A FOOD AND WATER SOURCE IN THIS ARID ENVIRONMENT.
25:14BUT IF THESE ARE THE VERY BOTTOM RUNG OF THE FOOD CHAIN, WHAT ARE THEY EATING TO SURVIVE?
25:21IN OTHER ECOSYSTEMS, PLANTS PROVIDE THE MOST BASIC FOOD SOURCE.
25:26BUT EVEN WITH THE FOG, THE SAND IS TOO DRY AND UNSTABLE TO SUPPORT ANY BUT THE HARDIEST OF PLANTS.
25:33AND THEY'RE NOT IN SUFFICIENT NUMBERS TO SUPPORT THIS AMOUNT OF LIFE.
25:39THE NAMOB DESERT HAS ANOTHER TRICK UP ITS SLEEVE.
25:46THE WINDS THAT BRING THE FOG ALSO BRING ANOTHER LIFELINE.
25:49THEY BLOW IN BITS OF DEAD PLANTS, THE ODD INSECT AND DROPPINGS, KNOWN COLLECTIVELY AS DETRITIS, WHICH IS DEPOSITED ON THE DUNES.
26:01THIS COLLECTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCRAPS MAY NOT SEEM LIKE RICH PICKINGS, BUT FOR THE SPECIES THAT FORM THE LOWEST RUNG OF THE FOOD CHAIN, IT'S MANA FROM HEAVEN.
26:14THIS COLLECTIVELY AS DETRITIVORES ARE DETRITIVORES, FEEDING ON DEAD AND DECOMPOSING ORGANIC MATTER.
26:24BUT THIS IS FAST FOOD. THE BEATLES MUST WORK QUICKLY BEFORE THEIR MEAL IS ONCE MORE BLOWN AWAY BY THE WINDS.
26:36AND SO WHEN THEY IN TURN ARE CONSUMED, THE ENERGY FROM THE DETRITIS WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO THE PREDATOR.
26:44MAKING THE SUCCESS OF THIS ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM DEPENDENT ON THE WINDS THAT BLOW ACROSS THIS AMAZING LAND.
26:51AT FIRST GLANCE, NAMIBIA'S COASTAL DESERT MIGHT SEEM LIFELESS.
27:02BUT BY LOOKING CLOSELY AND EXAMINING THE LIFE HERE, IN THIS MICRO WORLD, WHERE SPECIES SUCCEED BECAUSE OF THEIR UNIQUE ADAPTATIONS THAT PROTECT THEM AGAINST THE VERY CLIMATE IN WHICH THEY LIVE.
27:09WE'VE DISCOVERED THE TRUE SECRET TO LIFE. NOT IN THE DESERT ITSELF, NOT IN THE STRUCTURE OF THE DUNES OR HIDDEN IN THE COASTAL SANDS.
27:20THIS ECOSYSTEM RELIES ENTIRELY ON EXTERNAL FORCES.
27:24WITHOUT COLD OCEAN CURRENTS, AND THE WINDS THAT RUSH ALONG THIS COAST BRINGING THE KEY INGREDIENTS FOR LIFE, THIS DESERT WOULD BE TRULY BAREN.
27:38INSTEAD, ANIMALS FORGE AN EXISTENCE HERE THAT CANNOT BE FOUND ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE PLANET.
27:45THE SECRET TO SURVIVAL IS IN THE VERY AIR OF THE NAMIB DESERT.
27:50AND THE EXTRAORDINARY CREATURES THAT HAVE EVOLVED TO HARVEST IT.
28:08AND THE EXTRAORDINARY CREATURES THAT HAVE EVOLVED TO HARVEST IT.
28:12THE EXTRAORDINARY CREATURES THAT HAVE EVOLVED TO HARVEST IT.
28:30THE EXTRAORDINARY CREATURES THAT HAVE EVOLVED TO HARVEST IT.
28:35SIZE IS EVERYTHING TOMORROW NIGHT ON BBC2.
28:38NATURE'S BIGGEST BEASTS IS AT 8.
28:41STAY WITH US NOW ON BBC4 TO AFRICA'S WILD HEART.
28:45THE HIGHLANDS SURROUNDING THE GREAT RIFT VALLEY NEXT.
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