For long periods, even years on end, the salt pans of Africa are barren and lifeless. When the rains finally come, water sweeps over the salt-encrusted clay, creating vast inland seas just a few inches deep. Thousands of kilometers away, massive flocks of flamingos sense that the drought is breaking and set course for the flood plain.
Up Next in Season 1
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FFW11 - Adapted to the Estuaries
Fluctuation between fresh- and salt-water, alternating immersion and exposure, temperature extremes and powerful currents make for extremely demanding conditions in southern Africa’s coastal estuaries. Nonetheless, fish, birds and reptiles thrive here and each year female loggerhead and leatherba...
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FFW04 - Adapted to the Coastline
Where the ocean meets the African continent, the Cape fur seal leads a double life, depending on both land and sea to feed, breed and survive. As spring arrives, the pregnant females haul themselves onto the rocky shoreline to give birth and, almost immediately, mate again.
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FFW13 - Adapted to the Mountains
The Drakensberg is a mighty chain of peaks spanning South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho. Black eagles and cape griffon vultures rule the air, nesting on perilous cliff faces to avoid predators. However, agile baboons still find their way to the precariously placed nests. The rugged terrain demand...