National Geographic Africa s Wildlife

en
00:00:20 Mirages summon up strange
00:00:24 here on a vast dry lake bed
00:00:26 that has been called
00:00:31 This is a region named Etosha
00:00:35 For most of the year it may go
00:00:39 And in these times,
00:00:40 Etosha's water holes become
00:00:45 Here, as perhaps nowhere else,
00:00:47 the wildlife of Africa
00:02:58 Much of the Etosha region
00:03:02 and in this center lies the Etosha Pan
00:03:05 a vast lake bed which is
00:03:10 Some 2,000 square miles in area,
00:03:12 this great expanse of clay is one of
00:03:17 But this is a place of illusion
00:03:21 Because here in Namibia in
00:03:25 the Etosha Pan is surrounded by
00:03:29 of wildlife remaining on the continent
00:03:32 For underground reservoirs feed
00:03:36 of the pan and on the plains beyond,
00:03:39 sustaining great numbers of
00:04:51 Our year in Etosha begins as the
00:04:56 The pan is baked and windswept,
00:05:00 and a dusty haze fills the air.
00:05:03 But at last, one day,
00:05:05 great clouds and shafts of cooling
00:05:51 Water begins to fill the pan,
00:05:54 flowing into this natural depression
00:05:58 As the rains continue for
00:06:01 A huge lake gradually forms.
00:06:11 Suddenly, millions of catfish appear
00:06:15 They have been spawned by adults that
00:06:18 dry season buried deep in the mud.
00:06:21 But now these young fish become
00:06:38 The rains transform Etosha.
00:06:40 The pan is now a vast, shallow lake,
00:06:44 fifty miles across
00:06:46 but barely two feet deep.
00:06:51 Rising water soaks the grassy
00:06:57 A lush new season is announced by a
00:07:01 calling females to mate.
00:07:07 The bullfrog males gather together
00:07:11 Here they attack each other,
00:07:13 fighting savagely for
00:07:27 This is something new
00:08:15 The small female bullfrogs take the
00:08:19 Now two females vie for the
00:08:57 Hundreds of eggs are released by the
00:09:16 Soon vast numbers of tadpoles swarm
00:09:21 Most frog species have abandoned
00:09:24 But the male giant bullfrog is
00:09:28 He vigorously defends them against
00:10:19 A blaze of fresh color sweeps over
00:10:23 Many animals find sufficient
00:10:26 they're feasting on.
00:10:28 Now the water holes appear abandoned
00:10:40 But turtle doves do come to drink
00:10:59 These two are unwary
00:11:43 the victim is overwhelmed
00:11:46 and it's soon over.
00:11:57 Playing and foraging, but ever alert,
00:12:00 ground squirrels rarely stray far
00:12:05 Like most animals here,
00:12:06 the squirrels have their young
00:12:41 On the plains,
00:14:41 The calf's infancy passes before
00:14:45 in just a few hours
00:14:58 All across the plains newborn
00:15:03 Easy targets for predators, many will
00:15:33 The zebra mother places herself
00:15:37 making good its escape.
00:15:46 The rainy season is not a total
00:15:50 They are plagued with fleas.
00:16:13 The squirrels use their fluffy
00:16:17 It's an unusual adaptation,
00:16:46 The cheetah mother has four large
00:16:50 They're almost a year old,
00:16:52 but not yet skilled enough
00:18:04 The wildebeest mother is formidable.
00:18:07 She confronts the cheetah and helps
00:18:30 An elusive animal of
00:18:33 a bat-eared fox tends her cubs.
00:18:38 She'll collect insects for them to eat
00:18:40 and keeps their fur clean
00:19:55 Baby springbuck are easy prey
00:19:59 They can easily eat four of these
00:20:03 In half an hour they'll
00:20:12 Her large, sensitive ears enable
00:20:17 the faint sounds made by
00:20:41 This time she's found only
00:22:06 Although considered the
00:22:08 cheetahs are hard-pressed to catch
00:22:12 Cheetahs are often frustrated
00:22:14 unless they can gain
00:22:33 In this year of heavy rain and an
00:22:36 Pelicans have come to nest on an
00:22:41 Here, their clumsy black chicks are
00:22:48 Leaving the chicks, the adult
00:22:52 to the nearest fishing grounds.
00:23:07 Here, they join other birds
00:23:14 The catfish have grown almost too
00:23:22 After three months the rains diminish
00:23:26 The surviving catfish are trapped
00:23:29 and picked off easily by the pelicans,
00:23:32 Ibis, and yellow-billed storks.
00:23:41 Newly-hatched dabchick ride along
00:23:44 when she leaves the nest.
00:23:48 As the male dives for food,
00:23:50 the dabchick mother tends her young
00:23:52 and the unhatched eggs,
00:23:55 when she's away from the nest.
00:24:02 Now she shades the eggs
00:24:06 guarding against the hot sun.
00:24:24 Both adults must work constantly
00:24:27 with the chicks' demands for food.
00:24:52 The rains have ended now,
00:24:54 and pools along the edges of the pan
00:24:58 By the thousands,
00:25:03 They have voracious appetites
00:25:22 Often there is no food but one another
00:25:29 Many bullfrogs may reach
00:25:33 but their own kind.
00:25:47 For the frogs that escape each other,
00:25:52 This bushsnake recognizes prey only
00:25:56 If the frogs remain still,
00:26:53 Through the rains, most animals of
00:26:59 Strengthened and renewed,
00:27:02 harsh season that lies ahead.
00:28:22 As the plains dry,
00:28:27 A wildebeest bull eagerly approaches
00:28:31 But the bull is not entirely welcome.
00:28:33 Rival males will take full advantage
00:28:35 when he drops his guard
00:29:10 A male springbuck courts a female
00:29:15 Only when ready
00:30:03 This is called "pronking."
00:30:05 Adult springbuck pronk after
00:30:09 Perhaps as a signal to regroup the herd.
00:30:12 But in these young, is seems simply a
00:30:52 Daily it's growing drier.
00:30:54 The pan becomes a mire of soggy clay,
00:30:58 and then hardens under
00:31:28 High and dry,
00:31:29 the pelican colony is no longer
00:31:35 Jackals and hyenas raid each evening.
00:31:43 The flightless young pelicans
00:31:48 many dead or dying.
00:32:44 The new grass brought by the
00:32:48 The great herds that have flourished
00:32:51 now move on in search of fresh grazing.
00:32:54 Probably such migrations have
00:32:58 triggered by the onset
00:33:13 Some herds will travel
00:33:17 They must follow trails leading
00:33:21 And at the water holes
00:33:28 A zebra herd is halted in sight of
00:33:34 The lions have recently fed,
00:33:36 but they will see that nothing
00:33:49 They're old companions,
00:33:51 and have hunted together for years.
00:33:53 It would seem that nothing
00:33:56 except perhaps, a lioness.
00:34:13 It's mostly noise and little
00:34:17 The victor has established his right
00:34:24 The loser seems to accept
00:34:27 and is ill prepared when a
00:35:03 After three dry months the water holes
00:35:07 and perilous for the animals of Etosha
00:35:10 More and more often, and more urgently
00:35:14 they are impelled here to drink.
00:35:58 Elephant are among the few animals
00:36:03 These bull elephants normally
00:36:06 But occasionally they join up
00:36:09 of cows and calves like this one.
00:36:31 When a very young calf is
00:36:33 Even elephant can be edgy.
00:36:36 This calf is probably less than
00:36:39 and it seems the entire herd
00:37:41 Kudu are infinitely cautions
00:37:45 They are alert for the slightest
00:39:08 A powerful lioness in the prime of
00:39:20 Lions have a bad reputation as parents
00:39:23 cubs are often neglected,
00:39:27 Because of conflicts within the pride.
00:39:29 But this lioness proves an attentive
00:39:33 possibly because she has no female
00:39:38 of the three male lions in the area.
00:39:50 The cubs are only
00:39:53 and would be quite
00:39:55 They'll continue to rely on their
00:40:23 A flock of queleas makes a
00:40:27 their safety lies in speed.
00:41:03 The lioness has caught a
00:41:07 Now she leads them to
00:41:13 But there's a surprise in store
00:41:31 The mother will not help.
00:41:33 Inept as they are,
00:42:12 This is a rare and striking glimpse
00:42:17 are passed on in the wild.
00:42:41 It's growing hotter
00:42:45 Though always aware of danger,
00:42:47 animals are drawn more frequently
00:42:50 starting even in the cool
00:43:45 They can probably smell the lioness,
00:43:49 but they're also thirsty.
00:45:50 It's been six months now without
00:45:54 Flocks of guinea fowl scratching for
00:45:58 that hangs over Etosha.
00:46:01 It sometimes appears that the
00:46:05 on the brink of bursting into flame.
00:46:50 Now comes the time of the
00:46:54 showers that may fall in scattered
00:46:57 They're only a teasing foretaste
00:47:01 still two or three months away.
00:47:07 Soon after the light rains,
00:47:21 For kudu, giraffe, and other browsers,
00:47:24 their fresh,
00:47:27 But for other animals the scanty
00:47:32 the plains are still brown
00:47:47 Now, the great grazing herds being
00:47:50 migration routes across the plains.
00:47:54 By the time the rains begin in earnest,
00:47:56 they will have found their way back
00:47:58 they occupied the year before.
00:48:16 On the way, herds gather to drink at
00:52:57 And so it goes on as it has
00:53:02 the ancient perpetual cycle
00:53:05 the endless pursuit of
00:53:09 of death and renewal.
00:53:12 All will have come full circle
00:53:15 as thunder echoes across Etosha
00:53:18 and the rains come again at last.