Documentary Description
We can survive for weeks without food, but only days without water:
it is the essential element of life. Yet many millions of us live in
parched deserts around the world. In the second episode of Human Planet,
we discover how the eternal quest for water brings huge challenges -
and ingenious solutions - in the driest places on Earth.
Battling through a sand storm in Mali, Mamadou must get his cows to a
remote lake but desert elephants have arrived first. Can he find a safe
way through the elephant blockade? Alone for weeks on end, Tubu women
and children navigate the endless dunes of the Sahara. How does young
Shede know where to find the last oasis, three days walk across the sea
of sand? At the height of the drought we witness a spectacular frenzy:
two thousand men rushing into Antogo Lake to catch the fish trapped by
the evaporating water. When the rain finally arrives in the desert it's a
time for flowering and jubilation - and love. The Wodaabe men of Niger
put on make-up for an intoxicating courtship dance and beauty contest.
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