Secrets of Wild India

The deserts of Northwest India.

One of the most challenging environments on the planet.

Tracks are often the only clue to life.

Here, survival demands resilience, strength and adaptation.

This is Marusthali, India's region of death.

The Asiatic lion.

Power and courage make this animal,

not the tiger, India's national emblem.

These are the formidable beasts

that once ranged across the lands of the Bible,

that fought Samson and devoured Christians in Roman arenas.

Now, they're only found in these parched scrub forests.

This pride consists of six lions,

three adult females, two eight-month-old cubs,

and their year-and-a-half-old sister.

The oldest lioness rules.

Asiatic lion prides are far smaller

than their African cousins, reflecting the smaller prey they hunt.

The cubs are thin.

And constantly hungry.

They try to suckle from their mother, the matriarch of the pride.

But her milk has dried up.

With the best hunter injured,

the responsibility to feed the pride

now falls on the less experienced younger females.

Life in these deserts knows nothing of gentleness or ease.

The lionesses need to make a kill.

Asiatic lions once numbered in thousands

and ranged from India to the Mediterranean.

They now cling to existence in this, their last refuge.

India's deserts form part of the barren region

that stretches 11,000 kilometers from Africa in the west

to China in the east.

They dominate the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan.

This is the Little Rann of Kutch,

which translates to "salty desert."

Once the bed of a shallow sea, little grows in this alien landscape.

Species have to adapt to survive out here.

Indian wild asses are among the hardiest creatures

in the whole of Asia.

Constantly on the move,

extracting liquid from plants, they can survive on saline water.

Instinctively, they face into the wind,

letting the breeze pass over their moist, hairless noses,

which radiate the heat to keep them cool.

Thick skins help withstand punishing sandstorms.

Their light coloration reflects the sun's intense rays.

Adaptations like these are essential for life

in such a harsh place.

However, for many of India's desert species,

there is another quite different pressure.

India's desert region is home to 130 million people,

nearly half the population of the United States

in an area smaller than Texas.

Humans must also struggle to survive here,

and conflict between man and animal is almost inevitable.

But in a nation with an ingrained reverence for life,

there is also charity and tolerance.

Demoiselle cranes converge on a waterhole in Rajasthan.

Refueling before the grueling flight back to their breeding grounds

nearly 3,000 kilometers to the north in Mongolia.

Over 100,000 birds attempt this migration

that will take them over the Himalayas.

Many die from fatigue, hunger, and predation.

Thousands more are killed by hunters.

The small town of Kheechan

has become an oasis on their epic migration.

At their peak, birds outnumber villagers by several thousand.

It all started a few years ago

when one man began feeding a handful of cranes.

The cranes overcome their normal shyness and edge nearer.

Now, up to 10,000 make the annual visit.

When one takes the plunge, the rest quickly follow.

Deserts offer little,

so for people to give away food is a remarkably selfless act.

Desert animals have to be opportunistic.

A lioness scavenges on a dead cow in a stagnant pool.

She feasts until a much larger male arrives.

Young cubs suckle, their mother having finally fed.

But they will require much more than this if they are to survive.

Lions are not the only big cat to inhabit these deserts.

Said to be more cunning than the tiger, and fiercer than the lion.

Yet, so secretive, it can live alongside people,

almost undetected.

First light at a rocky outcrop surrounded by farms.

Two eight-month-old leopard cubs

wait for their mother to return from a night's hunting.

Unlike the young lions, these cubs are clearly well-fed.

Their success is down to their adaptability,

they will hunt virtually any animal, birds, insects and even frogs.

Such tolerance of even large predators owes much to a Hindu philosophy

called "Ahimsa," a deep-seated reverence for all life.

She is a consummate killer

with a notorious ability for stealth.

Walking silently on her toes,

setting her hind feet precisely in the print of her forefeet.

The goat herder moves his flock on.

The chance is over

A male lion stakes a claim to his territory.

His roars tell rival males that this is his patch.

Scent marking reinforces the message.

Nearby, two 24-month-old cubs hone their hunting skills.

This lioness operates alone.

They greet her with play fighting.

Asiatic male lions play little part in the pride,

only returning to mate and eat.

The lioness and her cubs greet him.

Early March in the grasslands of Eastern Rajasthan,

herds of blackbuck graze in the early morning sun.

Also known as Indian antelope,

they once ranged right across these deserts.

Today, the loss of habitat

means they are now only found in isolated areas.

Blackbuck are one of the few antelope

where males and females have distinctive coloring.

The females are lighter.

The males have long twisted horns packed with blood vessels,

which radiate heat and help keep them cool,

especially during the mating season, when they're most active.

They mark out territories or leks, with dung and urine,

and defend them by grunting and posturing.

Females approach to choose a mate.

The bucks strut and parade.

The continuation of their genes is all that matters.

Holding on to the prime spot requires a great deal of effort.

If posturing isn't enough, rivals engage in duels.

Their guard is down, and two wolves are drawn in,

looking for an easy meal.

Indian wolves usually hunt in pairs when targeting antelope.

One wolf acts as a decoy,

the other attacks from behind.

But they're spotted.

Blackbuck are the fastest animals on these plains,

which they once shared with the now extinct Indian cheetah.

The wolves don't stand a chance, and know it.

Fatalities are inevitable.

The wolves nervously approach a carcass.

A young blackbuck that may have died from wounds

inflicted on the lekking ground.

They're aware that much larger, more powerful hunters could be nearby.

Leopards.

When food is short, wolves take what they can.

Summer, and reproduction is in full swing.

A pair of paradise flycatchers build a delicate nest.

The male watches, as the female works.

An Oriental white-eye pays a visit.