The Elephant Queen

Oh, wise and gentle soul.

Do you remember...

when we had it all?

Do you dream...

of when we had to leave?

When you led us out...

and how it all began.

Our story starts beside a water hole that was filled by the storm.

Among the great herds here are the world's last giant tuskers,

descendants of a noble lineage that once stretched across Africa.

Queen of them all is Athena.

She is a 50-year-old matriarch, head of her extended family.

Like most of us, she has neighbors.

And this is their story too.

Her family is made up of female relatives and their calves.

They are so close that the youngsters might as well be brothers and sisters.

Athena's family rely on her experience and wisdom,

for she makes the decisions that determine their survival.

Her most recent daughter, Princess, is a year old,

and calm like her mother.

Then there's Wewe,

the herd's naughty boy.

He's always trying to make friends with Princess.

But he tries too hard, and often it just gets him into trouble.

As a boy, Wewe will stay with the family until he's a teenager

and then leave home to join an all-male herd.

Mimi is the family's newest arrival.

She was born in the storm.

It's day one for her on a lifetime of learning.

For the next two years, she'll be totally dependent on her mother's milk.

Her mother, Mala, gives birth only once in five years,

which makes every calf precious.

While Mala might be the one who feeds her,

Mimi will be cherished by them all,

for it takes a herd to raise an elephant calf.

This is Athena's kingdom.

For now, it has everything they need.

Every day she brings her family to the main water hole,

which can be a nuisance for her neighbors.

But they need the elephants

'cause they made the water hole and now keep it open.

But for bullfrog, it can feel like the construction never ends.

Most of the family's neighbors live at elephant toenail height.

In one way or another, they all depend on their giant friends.

The water hole is home to them all.

But from the moment the sun comes out...

...it starts to shrink.

So the race is on to raise their families.

Bullfrog is on it immediately,

and there will be tadpoles in no time.

Beneath them, the killifish have no way of knowing

how or when Athena's family will help them.

For now, they have eyes only for each other.

Each time the male hugs the female, she lays an egg...

and then buries it.

With nightfall, Athena knows she has to be especially vigilant.

So her family will sleep on their feet to better protect Wewe and Mimi.

But for some of their neighbors...

the party is just getting going.

If you're a female foam frog, a single partner is simply not enough.

She invites a whole crowd to a foam party.

It's the first event of the season at Athena's water hole.

She'll lay her eggs in the froth whipped up by the males,

and they will develop safely inside.

Up above, an Egyptian goose is a step ahead.

She laid her eggs a few weeks ago.

It will be two months before her chicks are ready to fly.

Until then, the water hole will be their home.

With Mimi so young, Athena won't move far from the water.

She's always cautious until a newborn starts to put on weight and gets stronger.

It's the first time Wewe has met someone younger,

and he's doing his best to make friends.

While some are getting started with their nests,

others are finishing up.

It's been a long night for the foam frogs,

and they're beginning to tire.

But for one reveler, at least there's a taxi ride home.

Sometimes, a foam frog gets taken for a ride

whether he wants it or not.

The foam frog is happy to sit out in the sun.

But it can burn a baby's skin,

so Wewe shows Mimi where best to find shade.

While the living is easy,

Athena can relax and allow the babies to rest.

But Wewe never goes down for long.

He's excited by Mimi's arrival

and would rather try and wake his new friend to play.

Mimi must rest while she can.

She needs to get strong so she can keep up with her family.

Mother Goose wants to get her chicks to the safety of the water hole.

It's day one for them too.

And after a tiring night, they are in no hurry.

Besides, what she's proposing requires a huge leap of faith.

They've a conflict of instinct

between wanting to stay together and joining their parents.

- -

It takes just a flyby to convince them

that their best chance of surviving is to stick close to Mum and Dad.

In any family, there is always one who is last and late.

We'll call him Stephen.

The parents rely on their young keeping up with them,

so they don't know that Stephen's left behind.

Just occasionally, last and late is also lucky.

Athena's knowledge of the kingdom

has been handed down from mother to daughter over centuries.

Her tusks are the largest of any matriarch.

The notch comes from years of snagging grass and vines.

The vines she likes most flower for just a few days each year.

And she knows just where to find them.

The prospect of a feast distracts the family

from what's happening at toenail height,

so it's up to her neighbors to get out of the way.

Chameleon relies on her camouflage for protection.

But there are times when choosing to stay still and blend in

is the worst decision to make.

She's probably as close to panic...

as a chameleon ever comes.

For Athena's family,

life at home in the green season acquires a gentle rhythm.

She'll let them eat until it warms up

and then lead them down for a drink.

It's been only four days since the storm,

but the foam frogs' nests have baked in the sun.

And they are ready.

For the next few weeks, the water hole will be home to the frogs' tiny tadpoles.

As they hatch, they'll go unnoticed by Athena's family,

but they won't go unnoticed

by the killifish and terrapins living beneath them.

Only the largest terrapin can reach them.

His prize is a meringue with a soft tadpole filling.

It's Mimi's first time in the water.

So she starts at the shallow end,

and she needs no encouragement.

For Athena's family, this is paradise.

But unless it rains again, the water holes will vanish within weeks.

If that happens, Athena knows they'll be forced out of the kingdom.

So they must make the most of this time of plenty.

Princess learns what to eat by copying her mum.

But the babies are still on milk,

which gives Wewe time to brush up on his foot-and-trunk skills.

But it will be months before he achieves this level of control.

Athena is aware that there is a dry season coming.

And the only way to prepare for it is to put on weight.

It means piling it in.

But what goes in... must come out.

For a dung beetle, it is a gift from the gods.

The message has traveled far and wide.

And with others homing in,

there's no time for a leisurely lunch.

He needs to ball it up and roll it away as quickly as possible,

for there are bandits out there.

- -

- -

The victor now has to find ground soft enough to bury his ball

so he can feed in peace.

Besides feeding dung beetles,

Athena's family provides the kingdom with a free gardening service.

Most of the seeds they eat pass through them undigested,

to be planted in neat balls of compost wherever they go.

Tortoise is waiting for someone.

And for what he has in mind, he needs to snack now while he can.

With no sign of rain, every day is hotter, and tempers start to fray.

With incoming elephants and such a young family,

the geese need to keep a safe distance.

But with the water level dropping and a hot herd,

that becomes difficult.

They know better than to react to a bully.

So she decides to save face by taking it out on a dove.