Wildest India (2012–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - Ganges River of Life - full transcript

- [Voiceover] The Ganges.

The longest river in India.

On its epic journey from the
world's highest mountains,

to cultivated farmland,

sprawling wilderness,

to the Indian Ocean,

it provides a home to some
of India's rarest creatures.

And a lifeline to millions of people.

Considered a goddess to Hindus,

the Ganges harbors one of
the great contradictions

of life in India.



The river people most cherish

is the river they most pollute.

But the Ganges hides
life-sustaining secrets.

(splash)

(grandiose music)

(fast-paced string music)

From its origins in the Himalayas,

the Ganges flows over 2,500 kilometers

across Northern Indian before
emptying into the ocean

on the border of India and Bangladesh.

This mighty river is home
to some of the rarest

and strangest animals on the planet,

including elusive river dolphins

and bizarre long-nosed reptiles.



The Ganges also supports some

of the last true wilderness in the world,

where India's largest population
of tigers still thrives.

Nourished by sediment
washed from the Himalayas,

the Gangetic Plains are some of the most

fertile land on earth,

and home to India's giants.

But man has reaped rewards too.

Vast areas of natural
habitat have been destroyed

to make way for farming and industry.

Half a billion people
live in the Ganges basin,

8% of the world's population.

The river not only provides
livelihoods and drinking water.

It carries away the sewage
and waste of millions.

For Hindus, the Ganges
is far more than a river.

She's a goddess, Ganga.

(people speak excitedly)

The grime of thousands of
people taking a holy bath

filters into the water every day.

Offerings to the goddess and
human cremations on the banks

add to the strain on the river.

But despite this, unique
properties in Ganges water

could explain how rare
creatures and rich vegetation

are able to survive.

(growl)

Hindu belief in the goddess
Ganga's power to purify

could prove to be more
than just blind faith.

The Ganges starts its life
among the highest mountains

in the world, the Himalayas.

(wind)

Many of the peaks reach over 6,000 meters

and are constantly
covered in snow and ice.

Over 15,000 glaciers make
this the world's largest store

of fresh water outside the polar ice caps.

The Gangotri Glacier
is one of the largest.

The glacier stretches for 30 kilometers

and fills a valley with solid ice.

Its leading edge is called
Gomukh, the cow's mouth,

as the water which flows
under its vast icy tongue

is milky white.

Hindus consider this to be
the source of the Ganges.

Only the hardiest pilgrims
come and worship here.

It's said that if you drink at Gomukh,

you'll live for 100 years.

But the true headwaters
of the Ganges begin

above the glacier, nearly
4,500 meters above sea level.

Few animals can survive
in this harsh environment.

A Himalayan blue sheep's dense fur

helps insulate it against the cold.

But even here, predators are on the prowl.

Snow leopards are perfectly
adapted to mountain life.

(delicate music)

Woolly fur keeps out the cold wind.

Its long, thick tail can
be wrapped around its body

like a scarf.

Even the soles of its
feet are covered with fur

for extra warmth.

Minerals in rocks supplement
the blue sheep's meager diet,

but they need to be eaten with care.

Rockfalls are common.

(clattering)

The constant freeze and thaw

makes mountain slopes unstable.

A blue sheep which has lost
its footing is an easy meal.

Snowmelt from the Himalayas
continually feeds the Ganges.

Hindu mythology tells that
Ganga, the river goddess,

originally flowed through the heavens.

She was brought to earth by
a devout king, Bhagirath,

whose ancestors had been turned
to ashes by an angry sage.

(exotic vocal music)

The goddess Ganga agreed
to come and release

these trapped souls, but warned
that her torrential power

would wash the world away.

Bhagirath petitioned Lord Shiva for help.

Shiva put his matted hair in
the path of the heavenly river.

His dreadlocks absorbed the
torrent's destructive force

and split the deluge into
1,000 smaller streams.

The fast-flowing mountain brooks

are full of insect larvae,
and an ideal hunting ground

for a brown dipper.

Weighing less than 100
grams, these small birds

seem likely to be washed
away by the current,

but they're well adapted
to forage for food

in the rocky stream bed.

(bird sings)

Their short wings are strong
enough to swim underwater,

and their blood stores more
oxygen than terrestrial birds,

allowing them to hold their
breath for half a minute,

ample time to grab a beak full.

The young Ganges river that
flows from the Gangotri Glacier

is called Bhagirathi, in honor of the king

that brought the river goddess to earth.

50 kilometers downstream,
the turbulent Bhagirathi

collides with one of its sister streams,

the sedate and muddy Alaknanda.

The two run alongside
each other for 200 meters

before their waters mix.

This river is now called Ganges.

(somber orchestral music)

Raging water calms as the river reaches

the flat lands of the Gangetic Plains.

Sediments carried from high
among the glaciers are released.

The Ganges deposits 1.6 billion
tons of sediment every year,

four times as much as the Amazon.

This creates some of the most
fertile land in the world.

The Ganges river basin covers a million

square kilometers of Northeastern India.

Much of this huge
floodplain has been farmed,

but a few pockets of wild
grassland and forest survive

among the river's furthest tributaries,

in a region known as the Terai.

The Terai is home to one
of the largest animals

in the world, the Indian rhino.

Males can weigh up to 3,000 kilos,

twice the weight of
the average family car.

Indian rhinos once roamed right across

the Gangetic Plains, but now are found

in just a few protected areas.

Their single horn can grow to
over half a meter in length.

(bubbles gurgle)

Their prehensile lip makes their mouths

almost as nimble as a hand.

They can grasp tufts of grass
and pick up fruit and leaves.

Rhinos' eyesight is poor, but
their sense of smell is sharp.

Scent glands on their
feet leave a pungent trail

wherever they walk.

At midday, pre-monsoon
heat nudges temperatures

into the 40s.

Rhinos seek refuge in the river.

As they are the most
aquatic of all rhinos,

a calf's first lesson is how to swim.

(splashing)

Indian rhinos are more tolerant of company

than their African cousins,
and often bathe together.

But tempers fray when females are in heat.

(ominous music)
(grunting)

Battles over breeding
rights can be bloody.

Thick, warty folds around a male's neck

offer some protection,

but fights like this often lead to death.

The reward for the victorious
male is the right to mate.

In 16 months, the female
will give birth to one calf.

It will be two to three
years before she is ready

to mate again.

The floodplains of the
Ganges in Northern India

contain some of the
world's most fertile soil.

Nearly 500 million people live
in the Ganges river basin.

It's one of the most densely
populated places on earth.

Wildlife is under increasing
pressure from the huge number

of people sharing the river's resources.

Ganges water is naturally muddy.

Runoff from farming and
industry makes it murkier still.

But there are animals living here.

One creature is seen so rarely,
it seems almost mythical.

(pleasant music)

The Gangetic river dolphin
spends most of its time

foraging for food.

Visibility in the water is so poor

that the dolphin's eyes
have lost their lenses.

They're almost completely blind,

and use echolocation to
navigate and detect prey.

(splash)

Like its marine cousins, the
river dolphin is a mammal

and has to surface every
few minutes to breathe.

Local people call it susu,
after the sound it makes

when it takes in air through the blowhole

on the top of its head.

(splashing)

The elusive susu isn't
the only strange creature

to call the Ganges home.

These armor plates belong
to one of the largest

crocodilians in the world, the gharial.

Male gharials can grow
to be six meters long.

This prehistoric-looking
predator poses no threat to man.

Its long, slender jaws are too delicate

to tackle large mammals.

They're adapted to hunt fish.

A slimline snout whips through
the water with little drag.

Slippery fish are skewered
on rows of razor-sharp teeth.

Tiny pits in their scales
detect vibrations in the water

and help pinpoint prey.

Male gharials develop a bump
at the end of their noses

called a ghara, after
the Hindi word for pot.

The bigger the ghara, the more attractive

a male is to a mate.

But a female may hear her
suitor before she sees him.

(buzz)

Air squeezed through the male's nostrils

is amplified by his bulbous snout.

It becomes a loud buzzing sound

that can be heard up to a kilometer away.

(buzz)

A female raises her head,
a sign she's ready to mate.

(buzz)

The courting couple slip
under the cover of water

and stay submerged for up to half an hour.

Females lay their eggs
on sandy riverbanks.

Gharials are much better
adapted to life in water.

On land, the female's short legs

can't lift her body clear of the ground.

Under the cover of darkness,
she buries up to 100 eggs.

Sand acts as an incubator.

It absorbs the sun's
warmth and keeps the eggs

between 30 and 34 degrees Celsius.

The mother guards her nest for two months

while her eggs develop.

Their eggs are some of the
largest in the crocodile world,

and make a tasty meal for a
jackal or a monitor lizard.

(somber music)

Gharials are an ancient species,

over 60 million years old.

Just 60 years ago,
there were thought to be

as many as 10,000 living wild.

Today, there are fewer than 200.

They've been hunted for
their meat and skins,

and for the males' ghara,

which some people believe
is an aphrodisiac.

As the Ganges banks succumb
to agriculture and industry,

their habitat is being destroyed too.

Human pressure has pushed gharials

to the brink of extinction.

But for Hindus, the worship, protection,

and feeding of animals
is key to their faith.

(birds call)

Usi Saham rows across
the Ganges every morning.

Feeding gulls has been her
daily ritual for 20 years.

She considers it her duty as a Hindu,

and believes it will help her achieve

a better existence in the next life.

Reincarnation is a core
belief of Hinduism.

Nowhere is this more evident
than in Usi's hometown,

Varanasi.

Varanasi is at the heart of the Ganges

and is considered to be
the holiest place in India.

It's one of the oldest
cities in the world.

People have been coming
here to bathe in the Ganges

for over 3,000 years.

(people chatter excitedly)

The water is believed to wash away sins

and purify the soul.

Every Hindu dreams of visiting the Ganges,

but for many who come to Varanasi,

it's the last journey they'll ever make.

Varanasi is a city of death.

Hindus believe every soul is locked

in a perpetual cycle of
birth and reincarnation,

known as Samsara.

Death is just one link in the chain.

The scent of sandalwood,
incense, and ghee fills the air.

Funeral pyres burn round the clock.

Varanasi is considered to be a gateway

between heaven and earth.

To die and be cremated here,
is believed to ease the soul

on its journey to the next life.

The ultimate goal is
to escape the suffering

of repeated lives and
attain moksha, release.

For the Untouchable Dom caste,

Varanasi's undertakers,
death is a way of life.

The Doms keep Varanasi's fires burning.

They sell the wood and
prepare bodies for cremation.

The chief undertaker, the Dom Raja,

guards an eternal flame from
which all pyres must be lit.

(people converse in a foreign language)

An average of 250 cremations take place

on the burning ghats every day.

The ashes of thousands are scattered

in the Ganges River each year.

When the funeral is over,
religious devotion dissolves

into raw reality once more.

The Doms sift through
their clients' remains

looking for spoils.

They're rumored to
collect up to seven grams

of gold teeth and earrings every day.

In Varanasi, the spiritual and
the mundane go hand in hand.

Pilgrims wash while they worship,

and pollute as they purify.

The Ganges is one of the most
polluted rivers in the world.

Yet the life-sustaining
power of Ganges water

has been recognized for hundreds of years.

(peaceful music)

In the 16th century,
the Mughal Emperor Akbar

called it the water of immortality.

He would serve nothing else to his guests

because it tasted so sweet.

200 years later, the
British East India Company

regularly stocked ships with
barrels of Ganges water.

They claimed no other
water stayed as fresh

for the three months'
journey back to England.

Today, despite huge
numbers gathering to bathe,

often where raw sewage
drains into the river,

there have been no recorded
outbreaks of major diseases

like cholera or typhoid.

Hindus insist Ganges water
has the power to purify.

Maybe there is more to this
claim than meets the eye.

The lower reaches of
India's Ganges river basin

are so fertile, the locals call the area

the rice bowl of India.

Farmers reap four rice
harvests a year here,

double that of many parts of the country.

But these fertile fields
bring dangers of their own.

(ominous music)

The deadly monocled
cobra feasts on a toad,

common prey in a paddy field.

The snake's hunting trip
brings it perilously close

to farmers harvesting rice.

A million people in India are
bitten by snakes every year.

Monocled cobras are one of
the most venomous snakes

in Asia.

(people shout)

Fangs inject poison that paralyzes

its victim's nervous system
and breaks down its cells.

(hiss)

(hiss)

One bite can kill a man
in less than an hour.

(hiss)

Many people here have an
understandable fear of snakes,

but in the village of Choto
Pashla in West Bengal,

the attitude towards these deadly serpents

is rather more surprising.

Snakes are drawn to the village

in search of rodents, often
found around human settlements.

(suspenseful music)

(conversation in a foreign language)

A rat in the larder is one thing.

A cobra in the bedroom, quite another.

But instead of causing
panic, the venomous visitor

raises not so much as an eyebrow.

(speaking in a foreign language)

Villagers here don't just tolerate snakes.

They worship them.

The village priest is summoned

to relocate the revered intruder.

He's the only one
permitted to handle them.

Choto Pashla's 6,000 residents

share the village with
3,000 monocled cobras.

Village elders tell the tale that snakes

arrived six centuries ago to
seek refuge from a huge flood.

(thunder)

Floodwater brought with it
remarkable rice production.

Snakes have been associated
with prosperity ever since.

When he's not removing
snakes from people's homes,

Shyamal Chakraborty leads the
worship in the village temple.

(bell rings and people chant)

Villagers make offerings
of fruit and sweets

to the snake goddess
Manasa, who they believe

keeps their fields flourishing

and their people safe from snakebite.

When a dead snake is found,

Shyamal carries its body to the Ganges

so it can continue its
journey of reincarnation.

As well as a sacred burial
site for humans and animals,

the Ganges also provides a hunting ground

for one of the world's most
skillful aquatic predators.

Smooth-coated otters are in
their element underwater.

(energetic orchestral music)

Ears and nostrils close to keep water out

as they propel themselves
with powerful webbed hind feet

and a strong flattened tail.

Thick, velvety coats provide
a streamlined surface,

crucial to the high-speed pursuit of fish.

An otter can change direction in a flash.

Sensitive whiskers detect the
slightest movement of prey.

Unlike other otters,

smooth-coated otters are social animals.

(squeaking)

Family groups of as many as 17

share a territory led
by a dominant female.

Wriggling against each
other helps dry their coats

and reinforces bonds.

Otters work as a team when they hunt,

corralling shoals of fish,
and sharing the spoils.

But they aren't the only
fishermen on the river.

Sachin Biswas has made
his living in the Ganges

for over 40 years,

but Sachin is no ordinary angler.

(squeaking)

He has a secret weapon.

Otters.

He's recruited some of nature's
most talented fishermen

and trained them to
herd fish into his nets.

(speaking in a foreign language)

The fact that fish survive
in this polluted river

is another indication that Ganges water

has unique properties.

(otters squeak)

Today's catch is small, but profitable.

Catfish can fetch over $30 each.

This family of otters has been fishing

with Sachin's family for generations.

But the men must still be careful.

Even a friendly nip could
take a man's finger clean off.

Otters work hard and are
well paid for their labor.

No matter how small the catch,
they are first to be fed.

Back in their village, the otters get time

to take a dust bath with their pups.

This is their fourth litter,

five healthy and boisterous males.

A second helping of fish
keeps the family content.

The pups have a lot to learn
yet about catching food.

They're three months old,
and just about weaned.

Sachin's mother always lends
a hand rearing the otters.

In a few weeks, these youngsters
will begin their training

and learn to fish with the humans.

And when they're a year old,
Sachin will sell them on.

A good fishing otter can fetch over $200.

Much of the fish Sachin catches is sold

and transported downstream,
where it ends up

in the markets of one of the largest urban

agglomerations in the world.

Kolkata is home to
nearly 16 million people

and sprawls along the Hooghly river,

the main branch of the
Ganges that runs to the sea.

Once capital of the British Raj,

Kolkata is now one of India's most diverse

and chaotic cities.

Kolkata's lifeblood is its
river, which it depends on

for trade, industry,
and hydroelectric power.

The city is far removed
from the wild Ganges,

and it's a stark reminder
of the huge demands

put on the river by man.

But just 60 kilometers upstream,

a recent discovery has
provided a glimmer of hope

for the Ganges and its wildlife.

Gharials are making a comeback.

Thought to be extinct in
this part of the river,

there have been no gharial sightings here

for over 30 years, until now.

Muted squeaks bring a
female out of the water.

(soft squeaks)

When they're ready to hatch,

her young call out from inside their eggs.

It's their mother's cue to
give them a helping hand

and dig them out.

The little hatchlings
pierce the leathery shell

of their eggs with a tiny egg tooth

that grows on the tip of their snouts.

A female gharial cannot
carry her young to the water

like other crocodilians.

Her teeth are too sharp.

The hatchlings need to make
their own way to the river.

But one nest has been
unearthed by the wrong reptile.

A monitor lizard makes short
work of a clutch of eggs.

The mother moves quickly.

(hiss)

But she's not quick enough.

This clutch has been unlucky,

but others have survived.

Less than 40 centimeters
long when they hatch,

newborn gharials are
vulnerable to predators too.

But their mother protects
them for several weeks

while they learn to hunt.

Juveniles feed on insects and small frogs.

It will be a few years before
these miniature predators

pose any threat to fish.

It's thought that there are
now at least 100 gharials

living in this stretch of river.

If they're surviving here,
so close to a big city,

then there may yet be some
hope for their future.

(peaceful string music)

The Ganges supplies
trillions of gallons of water

for farming and industry,

and flushes away the waste
of millions of people.

Despite this, Hindus drink it every day

and claim that far from making them ill,

it's good for physical
and spiritual health.

Scientists have studied this paradox.

The Ganges seems to contain
a natural disinfectant

capable of killing pathogens
that cause widespread disease.

Researchers identified the
presence of bacteriophages,

microscopic organisms
that feed on bacteria.

When they find food,
bacteriophages multiply

incredibly quickly.

In less than half an hour,
100 can become 100,000.

The more people that enter the water,

the more food is available
to the Ganges bacteriophages.

In an invisible feeding frenzy,

they eliminate diseases
before they spread.

Tests also show that the Ganges carries

an unusually large amount
of dissolved oxygen.

This helps break down the
human and animal waste

spewed into the river.

The Ganges does this 25 times
faster than any other river.

This could be the secret to
the survival of animals here.

A high oxygen content sustains
a healthy fish population,

which in turn supports the
Ganges aquatic animals,

river dolphins,

gharials,

and otters.

And organic waste is
broken down into nutrients

that are useful, rather than
harmful, to the environment.

(wind)

On the border of India and Bangladesh,

the Ganges dissolves into the
largest river delta on earth.

Formed by the confluence of the Ganges,

the Brahmaputra, and the Meghna rivers,

this super delta is a labyrinth
of channels and creeks.

In it lies the largest
tract of mangrove swamp

and forest on earth,

the Sundarbans.

Rivers wash mud and silt
out into the Bay of Bengal.

Ocean tides flood the forest
with saltwater every day.

It's one of the world's most challenging

natural environments.

The Sundarbans is a place
where land meets sea

and the line in between is blurred.

Even the fish seem confused.

Mudskippers spend more time
out of the water than in it.

Water stored in pouches
stops their gills drying out,

and they can breath through
their skin as long as it's wet.

Modified pectoral fins are strong enough

to pull them over the ground,

and they can skip over half a
meter by flexing their tails.

During the breeding
season, tensions run high,

and males defend their territories.

Blue markings become brighter.

Dorsal fins wave like warning flags.

If this fails to deter an intruder,

there's nothing left except
mouth-to-mouth combat.

Trees also have strange adaptations.

To escape the waterlogged soil,
their roots send up stalks

which absorb oxygen from the atmosphere.

For a wild boar, the muddy
Sundarbans is a paradise.

Chital deer look up,
rather than down, for food.

I'd always keep an eye open for danger,

with good reason.

(growl)

In the Sundarbans, the tiger
is still king of the jungle.

Stripes break up its outline
and make it hard to spot

through the trees.

Male tigers are the
heaviest cats in the world.

They can weigh over 200 kilos,

about three times more
than the average human.

Paws the size of side
plates spread their weight

and help them move silently
through the forest.

Tigers creep as close to prey as possible

before launching an attack.

Thick mangroves provide plenty of cover.

Chital deer are favorite targets.

Tigers' canines can
grow to 10 centimeters,

the longest of any cat.

They're so powerful, they've been known

to bring down animals six
times their own weight.

The chitals sense danger.

Fleeing into water is
usually a good tactic

for escaping predators.

(splashing)

But tigers don't mind getting wet.

(exciting music)

Unlike most cats, they're
excellent swimmers.

With its catch back on dry land,

the big cat makes light work of its meal.

A rough tongue scrapes
meat clean off the bone.

(crunching)

Today, the Sundarbans is home
to the largest population

of wild Bengal tigers in India, over 400.

It's the only place on
earth where these big cats

live in such an aquatic environment.

Tigers have embraced their watery world,

and will feed on fish and crabs.

But there is something else on their menu.

(speaking in a foreign language)

The Sundarbans tigers
are notorious man-eaters.

It's thought that as many
as 250 people are killed

in tiger attacks here every year.

Foraging in the forest for
honey or firewood can be fatal.

Some say a tiger can even
pull a man from a boat.

Villagers have even been
dragged from their beds.

It's still not fully
understood why the tigers here

are such a threat to man.

People live close to tigers
in other parts of India,

but nowhere else are fatalities so high.

One theory is they've developed
a taste for human flesh

after scavenging on the
bodies of cyclone victims.

Devastating weather in the Bay of Bengal

kills thousands of people every year.

(waves)

Or perhaps these tigers have
never learned to fear man.

In the 20th century, big game hunting

caused India's tiger population to crash

from 40,000 to just 1,800.

But impenetrable mangrove forest

protected Sundarbans tigers
from man and his guns.

Here, people are prey.

But each time a tiger takes a human life,

the precarious existence
of its own kind is shaken.

Fear and reprisal leads
to tigers being killed.

For a species on the brink of extinction,

every tiger death is a catastrophe.

A government conservation
program works hard

to keep man and cats safe from each other.

(gentle, peaceful music)

As home to one of the world's
most endangered animals,

the Sundarbans will be protected

so people as well as
tigers can benefit from it

for generations to come.

While the Sundarbans is one of the world's

great wildernesses, a small
island just a few miles away

hosts one of the planet's
largest gatherings of people.

Sagar Island is the place where the Ganges

finally reaches the sea and
flows into the Bay of Bengal.

It's the middle of January,
and this sleepy island

is about to be transformed by inundation,

not of water, but of people.

(festive music)

This is a dramatic
reminder of the pressure

put on the Ganges river
and its wildlife by humans.

Millions of Hindus arrive here on the day

of Makar Sankranti, the Winter Solstice.

The Gangasagar Mela, as it is known,

is one of the largest
religious gatherings on earth.

Many travel for days to get here.

(singing and clapping)

For some, it's the first time
they've ever seen the sea.

Tropical beaches are transformed

into the world's biggest campsite.

Pilgrims throw coins as
offerings to the goddess Ganga.

For enterprising children,
it's an opportunity

worth braving the mud to exploit.

During the festival, they
can make over 1,000 rupees,

a healthy boost to often meager incomes.

Makar Sankranti is a harvest festival,

a time to give thanks to the Ganges

for the crops she provides
and livelihoods she sustains.

(pleasant music)

Sagar Island is regarded
as one of the most

auspicious places to
bathe in Ganges water.

This is a grand farewell to a river

that has played such a
vital role in the lives

of India's people and wildlife.

The Ganges is home to some
of India's rarest creatures,

which fight for survival

as man encroaches on wilderness.

Agriculture and industry have swallowed

much of the Ganges's fertile floodplain,

once home to giants like the Indian rhino.

Millions of humans live
and die on the riverbanks.

The Ganges is regarded not just as sacred,

but as a goddess in her own right.

A dip in the holy river purifies the soul,

but also pollutes the water.

But high levels of oxygen and
disease-eating microorganisms

lend a scientific ring of
truth to religious beliefs

in the cleansing powers of the Ganges.

The river's unique properties
nurture and sustain

a spectacular array of wildlife.

From death and decay come
new beginnings on the Ganges,

India's great river of life.

(hiss)

(wild, energetic music)