1
00:00:05,334 --> 00:00:07,163
There is a place on Earth
2
00:00:07,301 --> 00:00:10,733
where it is still
the morning of life
3
00:00:10,867 --> 00:00:13,594
and the great herds run free.
4
00:00:32,834 --> 00:00:34,629
Life streams across a land
5
00:00:34,767 --> 00:00:36,926
suspended in time
6
00:00:37,067 --> 00:00:41,465
last refuge of the greatest
concentration of wildlife
7
00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:43,032
remaining on Earth
8
00:00:43,167 --> 00:00:46,429
The Serengeti plains of east Africa.
9
00:01:46,967 --> 00:01:48,592
Long before human memory
10
00:01:48,734 --> 00:01:52,723
the mountains to the east emptied
themselves into the skies.
11
00:01:57,867 --> 00:02:00,890
A sea of ash settled
Across the Serengeti
12
00:02:01,034 --> 00:02:03,057
leaving only scattered summits as
13
00:02:03,201 --> 00:02:05,792
stone markers of a buried world.
14
00:02:09,467 --> 00:02:11,456
Across four million years
15
00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,623
time and the elements
turned ash to rich soil
16
00:02:14,767 --> 00:02:16,665
yielding vast grasslands
17
00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:21,233
today preserved as the most important
animal sanctuary on Earth.
18
00:02:28,633 --> 00:02:31,191
In a land as fertile
as it is beautiful
19
00:02:31,334 --> 00:02:33,595
dwell millions of diverse creatures.
20
00:02:37,201 --> 00:02:39,393
Yet a single species predominates.
21
00:02:39,533 --> 00:02:41,658
A million and a half strong
22
00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,823
Wildebeests affect the lives of
all around them.
23
00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:51,089
Ungainly in appearance
24
00:02:51,234 --> 00:02:54,893
they have been called
the clowns of the African plains
25
00:02:55,034 --> 00:02:59,557
and an animal assembled by
Committee from spare parts.
26
00:03:04,433 --> 00:03:06,797
But wildebeests are superbly endowed
27
00:03:06,934 --> 00:03:10,957
for a life of endless migration
in search of grass and water.
28
00:03:13,734 --> 00:03:17,292
Alongside an array of
other herbivores coexist
29
00:03:17,433 --> 00:03:18,990
all accommodated by the rich
30
00:03:19,134 --> 00:03:21,861
and varied vegetation
of the Serengeti.
31
00:03:22,001 --> 00:03:26,195
Each seeking out a different niche
of the food supply.
32
00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,491
Some may spend 2/3 of
their lives grazing.
33
00:03:51,900 --> 00:03:55,730
Some are fortunate enough to live
in their own salad bowl.
34
00:04:34,101 --> 00:04:37,533
The equation of life
on the Serengeti is simple.
35
00:04:37,667 --> 00:04:40,224
Herbivores eat plants.
36
00:04:40,367 --> 00:04:43,891
Carnivores eat herbivores.
37
00:04:53,633 --> 00:04:56,224
Lions hunt with both
might and stealth.
38
00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:00,066
A decoy distracts...
39
00:05:06,333 --> 00:05:07,390
while others stalk.
40
00:05:52,967 --> 00:05:55,797
Although the lioness
has made the kill
41
00:05:55,934 --> 00:06:00,195
it is the much larger male of the
pride who eats first.
42
00:06:02,034 --> 00:06:04,125
The hungry wait by rank.
43
00:06:06,266 --> 00:06:09,562
Lionesses and cubs
are second in line.
44
00:06:13,067 --> 00:06:15,033
Hyenas, jackals and vultures
45
00:06:15,166 --> 00:06:16,860
quarrel to be next.
46
00:07:15,433 --> 00:07:18,524
On the Serengeti nothing is wasted.
47
00:07:30,266 --> 00:07:32,061
Through the plenty
of the wet season
48
00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:34,530
the wildebeest herds
have grown strong
49
00:07:34,667 --> 00:07:38,224
on the short grass plains of the
Southern Serengeti.
50
00:07:45,300 --> 00:07:50,198
Now in late may, drought approaches
imposing a deadly ultimatum...
51
00:07:51,233 --> 00:07:53,529
Migrate or starve.
52
00:07:58,967 --> 00:08:00,592
For more than two million animals
53
00:08:00,734 --> 00:08:04,427
it is a marathon race against
thirst and hunger.
54
00:08:04,567 --> 00:08:06,499
Like living streams and rivers
55
00:08:06,633 --> 00:08:09,724
the herds, accompanied by
zebras and gazelles
56
00:08:09,867 --> 00:08:11,628
flow toward the north and west
57
00:08:11,767 --> 00:08:15,290
drawn by the ancient promise
of water and grass.
58
00:08:15,433 --> 00:08:17,899
The great migration has begun.
59
00:08:20,633 --> 00:08:22,462
The epic journey takes place within
60
00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:26,555
the two east African
nations of Tanzania and Kenya.
61
00:08:26,700 --> 00:08:30,223
The wildebeest herds migrate north
toward the Maasaimara game
62
00:08:30,367 --> 00:08:31,697
Reserve in Kenya.
63
00:08:34,567 --> 00:08:36,760
There, they range for months until
64
00:08:36,900 --> 00:08:39,229
the rains resume
65
00:08:39,367 --> 00:08:42,458
and the herds return again to the
southern plains.
66
00:08:46,166 --> 00:08:50,861
The migration runs a deadly gauntlet
of more than 500 miles.
67
00:08:56,734 --> 00:08:58,256
The first weeks of the migration
68
00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,389
coincide with the frenzy
of the rutting season.
69
00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:05,963
Bulls engage in constant battles
70
00:09:06,100 --> 00:09:09,658
over females and territories.
71
00:09:19,100 --> 00:09:24,226
In a few frantic weeks
90% of the cows are impregnated.
72
00:09:39,867 --> 00:09:41,492
Early in the migration northward
73
00:09:41,633 --> 00:09:43,258
herds move through the region
74
00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:46,662
of ancient granite outcroppings
called Kopjes.
75
00:09:50,933 --> 00:09:54,127
Now they are vantage points for
waiting predators.
76
00:10:06,966 --> 00:10:11,558
From a litter of four, only this
lone cheetah cub has survived.
77
00:10:24,899 --> 00:10:27,888
To nourish it, the mother must
kill almost daily.
78
00:10:28,033 --> 00:10:29,965
But she has not eaten for two days.
79
00:10:33,066 --> 00:10:37,294
The herds have passed, but a few
straggling gazelles appear.
80
00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,728
From this distance, there is no contest.
81
00:10:42,866 --> 00:10:45,662
The cheetah is the fastest
land animal on Earth,
82
00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:49,232
achieving short bursts of speed
up to 70 miles per hour.
83
00:11:36,133 --> 00:11:39,361
There is neither malice nor remorse
of the Serengeti.
84
00:11:39,500 --> 00:11:42,398
A hunter kills to eat
and to feed its own.
85
00:11:42,533 --> 00:11:43,499
Nothing more.
86
00:11:57,567 --> 00:12:00,828
To the migrating herds,
wooded savannas now offer refuge
87
00:12:00,966 --> 00:12:02,592
from the drought-stricken plains.
88
00:12:07,833 --> 00:12:10,425
But here, the migration
becomes an invasion,
89
00:12:10,567 --> 00:12:13,658
for the woodlands are a permanent
home to others.
90
00:12:17,467 --> 00:12:20,627
Yet most of the residents go
about their daily affairs
91
00:12:20,766 --> 00:12:23,891
little disturbed by the
trespassing multitude.
92
00:12:27,700 --> 00:12:31,825
Unlike wildebeests, Maasai giraffes
need not migrate.
93
00:12:31,966 --> 00:12:35,160
They feed on a hundred species of
woodland foliage,
94
00:12:35,300 --> 00:12:37,891
a food supply resistant to drought.
95
00:12:57,766 --> 00:13:01,892
Vervet monkeys find in trees both
sustenance and safety.
96
00:13:06,500 --> 00:13:11,364
Savanna baboons roam the woodlands
in troops, roosting in trees by night.
97
00:13:12,533 --> 00:13:15,987
Omnivores, like us, they feed
on almost anything edible.
98
00:13:28,233 --> 00:13:31,926
Occasionally, adult males will even
feast on young antelope.
99
00:13:41,933 --> 00:13:44,422
Feeding on grasses adjacent
to the woodlands
100
00:13:44,567 --> 00:13:47,691
grazers come under
an ever watchful eye.
101
00:13:49,066 --> 00:13:52,862
Yet there is one herbivore even
the lion gives wide berth.
102
00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:58,032
The adult elephant is one of the few
Serengeti animals without an
103
00:13:58,166 --> 00:13:59,632
enemy in the wild.
104
00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:12,089
Protective of their young, elephants
form extremely close bonds.
105
00:14:12,233 --> 00:14:16,529
The relationship between mother and
daughter lasts up to 50 years.
106
00:14:29,133 --> 00:14:31,122
Herds sometimes push
on through the night
107
00:14:31,266 --> 00:14:34,061
despite risk of attack
under cover of darkness.
108
00:14:48,266 --> 00:14:51,959
Drawn by lightning, distant thunder,
or the smell of rain
109
00:14:52,100 --> 00:14:54,032
they may travel 50 miles by dawn.
110
00:15:10,733 --> 00:15:12,699
Now adversities multiply.
111
00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:17,722
Drought has parched
the plains tinder dry.
112
00:15:20,133 --> 00:15:22,326
Grass fires sweep the Serengeti.
113
00:15:36,733 --> 00:15:38,665
Scoured by fire and wind
114
00:15:38,799 --> 00:15:42,163
the vegetation will regenerate
in the rains to come.
115
00:15:42,300 --> 00:15:45,925
But for the moment, herds seeking
sustenance find only dust.
116
00:16:04,033 --> 00:16:07,466
Now the enemies are thirst,
hunger, exhaustion,
117
00:16:07,599 --> 00:16:10,622
and, as ever, predators.
118
00:16:23,367 --> 00:16:25,628
So powerful is the urge to migrate,
119
00:16:25,766 --> 00:16:29,164
the herd will push on
even when confronted by a lion.
120
00:16:29,300 --> 00:16:31,129
Crouched in open ambush
121
00:16:31,266 --> 00:16:33,891
the hunter has only
to pick the moment.
122
00:16:55,532 --> 00:16:57,021
In this endless contest
123
00:16:57,166 --> 00:16:59,064
nothing is guaranteed.
124
00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:03,064
In daytime, only one lion hunt
in five succeeds.
125
00:17:10,933 --> 00:17:13,331
Finally, after months of migration
126
00:17:13,466 --> 00:17:14,557
the forward ranks
127
00:17:14,699 --> 00:17:17,631
surge into the bounty that has
drawn them northward...
128
00:17:18,766 --> 00:17:21,994
The rich pastures of the Maasai Mara
in Kenya.
129
00:17:26,566 --> 00:17:30,692
Once more, their instincts have
brought them to a place of plenty.
130
00:17:34,499 --> 00:17:37,227
Here, they will range
and graze for months,
131
00:17:37,367 --> 00:17:41,696
until the life giving rains return
on the winds of October.
132
00:17:49,499 --> 00:17:51,488
To the east, close by the Serengeti
133
00:17:51,632 --> 00:17:53,996
there is a place of even
greater abundance.
134
00:17:54,133 --> 00:17:56,258
One of the natural
wonders of the world.
135
00:17:57,233 --> 00:17:59,222
It is a microcosm of the Serengeti.
136
00:18:07,566 --> 00:18:11,294
Ngoro-Ngoro crater is
a huge volcanic caldera
137
00:18:11,432 --> 00:18:13,591
encompassing 100 square miles.
138
00:18:13,733 --> 00:18:17,825
A remnant of the great eruptions that
created the Serengeti plains.
139
00:18:21,966 --> 00:18:26,796
From cloud forests along the rim
to the crater floor 2,000 feet below
140
00:18:26,933 --> 00:18:29,558
a self-contained ecosystem provides
141
00:18:29,699 --> 00:18:32,257
abundant forage and plentiful water.
142
00:18:34,766 --> 00:18:36,959
Where there is water, there is life.
143
00:18:59,033 --> 00:19:01,090
An object of amusement to some
144
00:19:01,233 --> 00:19:06,494
the hippopotamus can cut a crocodile
or a human in half with a single bite.
145
00:19:07,632 --> 00:19:09,962
Prompting an axiom of the Serengeti...
146
00:19:10,100 --> 00:19:13,793
never come between a hippo
and its territorial waters.
147
00:19:17,333 --> 00:19:19,958
Tens of thousands of
animals dwell here.
148
00:19:20,100 --> 00:19:22,531
Others come in migrations of the sky
149
00:19:23,766 --> 00:19:25,994
Flamingos from Namibia,
150
00:19:28,966 --> 00:19:31,431
Storks from as far as Europe and Asia.
151
00:19:33,666 --> 00:19:36,564
Like privileged cousins of the
migrating herds outside
152
00:19:36,699 --> 00:19:39,222
wildebeests and zebras within
the crater walls
153
00:19:39,366 --> 00:19:41,924
need only wander from
pasture to pasture.
154
00:20:07,532 --> 00:20:09,464
Dangers abound here as elsewhere.
155
00:20:12,266 --> 00:20:14,788
Zebras cluster together in
a tangle of stripes,
156
00:20:14,933 --> 00:20:16,398
confusing to predators.
157
00:20:21,166 --> 00:20:23,461
The horses of Africa appear placid,
158
00:20:23,599 --> 00:20:25,565
but they have never
been domesticated.
159
00:20:43,766 --> 00:20:46,527
The black rhinoceros, for all its
formidable presence
160
00:20:46,666 --> 00:20:50,291
and frequent marking of territory
is a vulnerable giant,
161
00:20:50,432 --> 00:20:53,523
poached almost to extinction
for the value of its horn.
162
00:21:05,966 --> 00:21:09,420
Ngoro-Ngoro crater is one of the
few protected refuges
163
00:21:09,566 --> 00:21:11,429
where the black rhino endures.
164
00:21:15,566 --> 00:21:17,998
For a baboon troop
much of the day passes
165
00:21:18,133 --> 00:21:20,360
attending to young, grooming
166
00:21:20,499 --> 00:21:21,522
and socializing.
167
00:22:17,100 --> 00:22:18,157
Though the job of protecting
168
00:22:18,299 --> 00:22:22,027
the lion pride and its territory
belongs to the males,
169
00:22:22,165 --> 00:22:25,154
hunting and raising young
Falls to the females.
170
00:22:39,366 --> 00:22:43,321
Play helps prepare the young for
the violent encounters to come.
171
00:23:27,299 --> 00:23:32,231
The vaunted power of lions is matched
by a prodigious capacity for rest.
172
00:23:33,399 --> 00:23:36,854
Typically 20 hours a day is
spent in regal slumber.
173
00:23:46,866 --> 00:23:48,525
When lions mate, however
174
00:23:48,666 --> 00:23:49,859
they do so on average
175
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:52,227
every 25 minutes, day and night,
176
00:23:52,366 --> 00:23:53,457
without feeding
177
00:23:53,599 --> 00:23:54,860
for three or four days.
178
00:24:07,899 --> 00:24:10,364
It has been estimated that
3,000 matings occur
179
00:24:10,499 --> 00:24:13,056
for every cub that
survives its first year.
180
00:24:43,332 --> 00:24:46,355
These lands are also
the cradle of humanity.
181
00:24:46,499 --> 00:24:48,328
Gashed into the Eastern Serengeti,
182
00:24:48,466 --> 00:24:51,921
plains near Ngoro-Ngoro
is Olduvai-gorge, one of the most
183
00:24:52,065 --> 00:24:55,691
famous archaeological sites of Earth.
184
00:24:56,866 --> 00:24:58,798
It bears within its layered walls
185
00:24:58,933 --> 00:25:00,523
a human fossil record spanning
186
00:25:00,666 --> 00:25:03,427
almost two million years.
187
00:25:29,666 --> 00:25:33,291
Today, the proud maasai
people dwell here.
188
00:25:45,432 --> 00:25:47,523
They, too, follow a nomadic existence
189
00:25:47,666 --> 00:25:49,529
along the edges of the Serengeti,
190
00:25:49,666 --> 00:25:51,154
ever seeking good grazing
191
00:25:51,299 --> 00:25:53,390
for their cattle herds.
192
00:26:26,299 --> 00:26:28,663
The maasai believe
that heaven gave them,
193
00:26:28,799 --> 00:26:32,356
and no other people,
all the cattle on Earth.
194
00:26:34,132 --> 00:26:35,496
And from their treasured cattle
195
00:26:35,632 --> 00:26:36,927
they still draw a staple
196
00:26:37,065 --> 00:26:38,963
of the maasai warrior diet...
197
00:26:39,099 --> 00:26:41,429
A mixture of milk and blood.
198
00:27:01,132 --> 00:27:05,588
The age of predators still
encompasses the world of the maasai.
199
00:27:05,733 --> 00:27:07,494
From this and nearby villages
200
00:27:07,632 --> 00:27:12,155
leopards have taken three infants
within the year.
201
00:27:12,299 --> 00:27:13,765
Once the most formidable warriors
202
00:27:13,898 --> 00:27:15,296
in East Africa,
203
00:27:15,432 --> 00:27:17,125
the maasai still defend their cattle
204
00:27:17,265 --> 00:27:19,561
and families with spears.
205
00:28:14,065 --> 00:28:16,088
Some are born on the Serengeti,
206
00:28:16,232 --> 00:28:18,323
some seek it out.
207
00:28:19,965 --> 00:28:22,761
Today, a growing human migration from
208
00:28:22,898 --> 00:28:24,796
the outside world can witness
209
00:28:24,932 --> 00:28:26,262
a spectacle of wildness
210
00:28:26,399 --> 00:28:28,763
long vanished elsewhere.
211
00:28:42,332 --> 00:28:44,628
Tanzania and Kenya have preserved
212
00:28:44,766 --> 00:28:46,629
vast areas as national parks
213
00:28:46,766 --> 00:28:48,924
and game reserves, proclaiming them
214
00:28:49,065 --> 00:28:52,122
a world heritage of all mankind.
215
00:28:59,898 --> 00:29:01,228
The support from tourism is now
216
00:29:01,366 --> 00:29:03,491
indispensable to the survival
217
00:29:03,632 --> 00:29:05,756
of this heritage, linking the
218
00:29:05,898 --> 00:29:07,091
destiny of the Serengeti
219
00:29:07,232 --> 00:29:10,392
with the visitors who pass in awe.
220
00:29:27,798 --> 00:29:30,526
The Serengeti they behold is changing.
221
00:29:30,666 --> 00:29:33,029
Threatened by population
growth and poaching,
222
00:29:33,165 --> 00:29:36,097
but vigorously protected as well.
223
00:29:41,466 --> 00:29:43,261
Elephant herds that once fled
224
00:29:43,399 --> 00:29:44,796
poachers are returning.
225
00:29:44,932 --> 00:29:48,296
Now protected by an ivory moratorium,
226
00:29:59,832 --> 00:30:01,821
nourished again by the Serengeti and
227
00:30:01,965 --> 00:30:03,794
encouraged by greater safety,
228
00:30:03,932 --> 00:30:06,626
The herds are multiplying rapidly.
229
00:30:30,265 --> 00:30:31,696
On the Maasai Mara,
230
00:30:31,832 --> 00:30:34,889
the storms of October approach.
231
00:30:45,932 --> 00:30:47,795
And with the return of the rains,
232
00:30:47,932 --> 00:30:49,296
the herds will resume
233
00:30:49,432 --> 00:30:50,523
the great migration
234
00:30:50,665 --> 00:30:52,222
toward their ancestral calving
235
00:30:52,366 --> 00:30:54,594
grounds in the south.
236
00:31:03,432 --> 00:31:06,795
But ahead they face
their greatest peril.
237
00:31:09,499 --> 00:31:10,487
To reach the south
238
00:31:10,631 --> 00:31:12,621
the herd must
cross the Mara River,
239
00:31:12,765 --> 00:31:15,129
now swollen by the rains.
240
00:31:30,698 --> 00:31:33,062
In these waters, it is still
241
00:31:33,199 --> 00:31:35,529
the age of dinosaurs,
242
00:31:35,665 --> 00:31:38,722
and a crocodile reigns supreme.
243
00:33:37,099 --> 00:33:39,224
Many that survive the crocodiles
244
00:33:39,366 --> 00:33:42,264
fall prey to the river itself.
245
00:33:42,399 --> 00:33:45,660
Some drown, some are trampled,
246
00:33:45,798 --> 00:33:47,094
some are too exhausted
247
00:33:47,232 --> 00:33:49,561
to save themselves.
248
00:34:04,032 --> 00:34:05,259
Through the year and the course
249
00:34:05,399 --> 00:34:06,523
of the great migration,
250
00:34:06,665 --> 00:34:08,756
a quarter of a million wildebeests
251
00:34:08,898 --> 00:34:10,830
will have died.
252
00:34:10,965 --> 00:34:13,056
But the migration moves on
253
00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:14,926
through the long journey south,
254
00:34:15,065 --> 00:34:17,758
returning finally
to the short grass plains,
255
00:34:17,898 --> 00:34:21,557
where the miracle
of the Serengeti unfolds.
256
00:34:24,132 --> 00:34:26,689
The mass breeding earlier in the year
257
00:34:26,832 --> 00:34:29,730
culminates in mass birth.
258
00:34:39,165 --> 00:34:40,960
In the brief span of a few weeks
259
00:34:41,099 --> 00:34:42,564
in the wet season,
260
00:34:42,698 --> 00:34:44,062
almost half a million wildebeest
261
00:34:44,199 --> 00:34:46,222
calves are born.
262
00:34:46,366 --> 00:34:48,127
A strategy that overwhelms
263
00:34:48,265 --> 00:34:50,787
predators and ensures the survival
264
00:34:50,932 --> 00:34:53,523
of a new generation.
265
00:35:22,265 --> 00:35:24,026
To survive in the midst of predators
266
00:35:24,165 --> 00:35:25,892
newborn calves must be able to
267
00:35:26,032 --> 00:35:28,998
stand within minutes of birth.
268
00:35:59,898 --> 00:36:01,989
Those unable to stand
269
00:36:02,132 --> 00:36:04,563
must be abandoned.
270
00:36:50,765 --> 00:36:52,594
Once more on the plains
271
00:36:52,732 --> 00:36:53,993
of the Serengeti
272
00:36:54,132 --> 00:36:57,189
life is more powerful than death.
273
00:36:57,331 --> 00:36:59,695
And there remains a place on Earth
274
00:36:59,832 --> 00:37:03,162
where it is still the morning of life.
275
00:37:03,298 --> 00:37:06,822
And the great herds still run free.
|