Discovery Channel Documentaries

Surviving the Drought (2009x53)

Air date: Mar 15, 2009

The Ruaha National Park in the south of Tanzania used to be a true paradise for wildlife gathered around the rich Ruaha river. Today however, its sparkling waters are nothing more than a remote dream. Scorching heat and severe drought have dried up the riverbed, leaving animals wandering around, suffering from dehydration. A life-or-death quest for water has begun and the bewildered animals have no choice but to follow the dry riverbed upstream hoping to find water. Witness to this tragedy, a pride of hungry and thirsty lionesses and their cubs overlook the last pockets of water. Although it is dangerous for the young cubs to travel, the females have no choice but to follow the herds of herbivores in their migration. Days go by as the leaden sun scorches the savanna and the winds blow away the few hopes of rain. Will the lionesses and the other animals find water in time to save themselves?