
Big City Living For The Nubian Ibex
Clip: Episode 3 | 8m 2sVideo has Closed Captions
The ibex are Israel’s newest big city resident with rising desert temperatures.
In the Negev Desert of Israel, rising temperatures mean longer droughts, more intense heat waves, water sources drying out, and valleys turning to dust. With a loss of vegetation and water, the Nubian Ibex are migrating their country lifestyles to the big city. The ibex are boldly taking over the city to adapt to their needs.

Big City Living For The Nubian Ibex
Clip: Episode 3 | 8m 2sVideo has Closed Captions
In the Negev Desert of Israel, rising temperatures mean longer droughts, more intense heat waves, water sources drying out, and valleys turning to dust. With a loss of vegetation and water, the Nubian Ibex are migrating their country lifestyles to the big city. The ibex are boldly taking over the city to adapt to their needs.
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Traveling to the far corners of the world, we discover the extraordinary ways animals are adapting to our rapidly changing planet. We witness nature’s remarkable resilience, as our perception of evolution and its potential is forever transformed. Read these interviews with experts to learn more.Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipWhen I got intel from the Negev Desert about a group of animals finding new ways to survive their home being baked to a crisp... well, I knew we had to go and see it.
[Birds chirping] Here in the desert, rising temperatures mean droughts last longer, heat waves are more intense, water sources are drying out, and valleys are turning to dust.
[Bird squawking] [Fly buzzing] The next generation of these Nubian ibex must learn a new way of making a living here.
♪ It starts with a big climb for a little goat.
♪ Usually, a mother would take her kid into the valley to find something to eat.
But in the last 30 years, some of the Negev has lost 2/3 of its vegetation.
And temperatures have risen by 3 degrees.
So, the residents of this desert... have no choice but to become migrants.
These ibex are heading up... and out.
[Bird squawking] When the chips are down, sometimes you just got to head to the city.
[Dog barking] Settlements like this one are made possible with technology that allows over a million people to now call the desert their new home.
An opportunity to be exploited... if you dare.
Ibex were hunted to near extinction just a few decades ago.
So, when you think about it, this mom must overcome a fear of humans handed down over generations.
They're nervous, but times are desperate.
And she leads her kid on into a strange oasis.
♪ They stay long enough to get their fill... and quickly return to the sanctuary of the desert.
Now, there's a twist to this story.
The picture changes as you move from one desert town to another.
♪ In the older, larger settlements-- where there's more people-- the ibex are becoming more accustomed to our human world.
♪ Here, the ibex are no longer sneaking around.
♪ They're owning this place.
♪ [Horn honking] ♪ They've changed their behavior so radically... they've pretty much moved in.
♪ [Dog barking] ♪ They seem to have lost their innate fear, and they're happy to adopt all the trappings of city life.
♪ They're now as much at home here as the locals.
♪ Everything is fair game.
♪ [Car alarm sounding] ♪ [Laughing] So, remind me not to park here.
♪ Researchers are finding that ibex here are becoming bolder than the ibex in the first settlement we visited.
♪ And the more they stay in town, the more they become isolated populations, changing--even at the genetic level.
We know that animals all over the world are adapting to life in the city.
So, who knows where this'll take them?
Video has Closed Captions
In the hottest places, species are going to extraordinary lengths to survive. (30s)
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In Senegal, a troop of chimpanzees seek shade in a cave, a behavior never recorded before. (2m 47s)
The Wild Camels of Mongolia's Gobi Desert
Video has Closed Captions
In the Gobi Desert, Adiya Yadamsuren tracks a wild camel to a water hole. (3m 4s)
The Zebra Finches' Battle to Survive
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Mylene finds that when temperatures rise, zebra finches can sing to their unhatched eggs. (3m)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship