:11:07
The vast White Namib
is only a narrow band...
:11:10
...on the map of the immense
African continent...
:11:12
...but it's gradually encroaching
deeper and deeper inland...
:11:15
...creating a region of scrubby growth
and very little grass:
:11:19
The Pre-Namib, where
the dainty springbok roam.
:11:24
This used to be lush grassland,
but for the past 10,000 years...
:11:28
...the Pre-Namib has been slowly drying out,
and the animals and plants that live here...
:11:33
...have to adapt to a climate
where the rainfall...
:11:36
...gets less and less
as the years pass.
:11:42
Some plants have adapted magnificently
to the challenge of the changing climate.
:11:46
Stapelia flowers, for instance...
:11:48
...had to evolve a way
of getting pollinated...
:11:51
...in a region where there are no bees.
:11:53
So instead of emitting
a pretty smell to entice bees...
:11:56
...they put out a powerful stench
like a rotting carcass...
:11:59
...and this attracts the blue fly,
who likes smelly meat.
:12:03
As he scurries about looking for
that lovely, stinking food he can smell...
:12:07
...he does a good job
of pollinating the flower.
:12:09
When he finally realizes he's been tricked,
he flies off in disgust.
:12:13
But he has done
something useful for once.
:12:17
In a few short weeks
after the rain...
:12:19
...this plant grows quickly to maturity,
bears seeds, and dies.
:12:23
But even after death,
it protects its seeds...
:12:26
...in those strange-looking
pods for a year or more...
:12:28
...until the rain comes again.
:12:31
Then the moisture
causes those dead parts...
:12:33
...to move like bizarre living creatures,
and they open up.
:12:50
And then the moisture triggers
little springs inside the pods.
:12:55
The seeds are
shot out in a hurry...
:12:57
...to germinate and grow
while the soil is still wet...