Summary:

The fresh water programme describes the course taken by rivers and some of the species that take advantage of such a habitat. Only 3% of the world's water is fresh, yet all life on land ultimately depends on it. Its journey begins as a stream in the mountains, illustrated by Venezuela's Tepui, where there is a tropical downpour almost every day. It then travels hundreds of kilometers before forming rapids. With the aid of some expansive helicopter photography, one sequence demonstrates the vastness of Angel Falls, the world's highest free-flowing waterfall. Its waters drop unbroken for nearly 1,000  meters (3,000  feet) and are blown away as a mist before they reach the bottom. In Japan, the water is inhabited by the biggest amphibian, the two-meter long giant salamander, while in the Northern Hemisphere, salmon undertake the largest freshwater migration, and are hunted en route by grizzly bears. The erosive nature of rivers is shown by the Grand Canyon, created over five million years by the Colorado River. Also featured are smooth coated otters repelling mugger crocodiles and the latter's Nile cousin ambushing wildebeest as they cross the Mara River. East African Rift Valley holds three of the world's largest lakes: Malawi, Tanganyika, and Victoria. Lake Malawi contains 850 different Cichlids that originated from their same ancestors that were isolated thousands of years ago, along with nocturnal predatory dolphin fish. Deep in the dead zone of Malawi, swarms of fly midges emerge from larvae during the rainy season and begin their process of mating. In Lake Baikal of Eastern Siberia, Baikal seal and freshwater sponges thrive here despite the ice sheet that covers the lake. The Amazon River, the biggest river in the world, flows from the Andes toward the Atlantic oceans carrying a billion tonnes of sediments. Its tributary, Rio Negro, contains a mixture of sediments and saltwater where it supports botos feeding habit. Between the border of Brazil and Argentina lies Iguassu Falls, which is the widest waterfall ever known. In Pantanal wetlands, 300 species of fish breed here, including the Red-bellied piranhas and Dorados. Along with fish, Roseate spoonbills are numerous in the Pantanal and are prey to spectacled caiman waiting for the chicks to fall from the tree. In Bangladesh, the Ganges and Brahmaputra join together to form the world's largest river delta and create the largest mangrove forest known as the Sundarbans. The mangroves of Indonesia provide a home to crab-eating macaques for their aquatic lifestyle. The programme ends in North America where 400,000 flocks of snow geese settle in the estuaries to rest and refuel on their long migrational journey.

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