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National Geographic Okavango Africa s Wild Oasis
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Africa As it once was... |
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Here in the heart |
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lies a remarkable oasis |
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an immense delta called |
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It's a sanctuary for a natural |
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since the dawn of humanity. |
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The Okavango is a place like |
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rich tapestry of wild life |
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woven together by the life-giving |
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This is a world of tranquil beauty, |
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but even so the eternal struggle |
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Here too the rules of the hunt |
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to the capricious ebb and flow |
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Some prey animals |
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before they reach deep water. |
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But nowhere is truly safe. |
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The wild dogs of Africa |
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but their hunting skills |
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are rigorously challenged |
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by species of antelope especially |
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Water defines this remarkable place |
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and it often decides who |
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Who will survive, |
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Here in Africa's great waterland: |
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The heart of the Okavango |
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a maze of lagoons |
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through reeds and grasses and |
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Filtered by vegetation and sand, |
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these pure waters |
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The existence of |
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in the midst of |
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is the result of a unique interplay |
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Its source is the Okavango River, |
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one of the longest |
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On reaching Botswana, |
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it meanders between |
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Then the river spills out |
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It divides into a network |
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creating one of the largest inland |
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The delta can be seen from space |
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spreading like a giant hand |
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It's born of summer rains |
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to the north |
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Fed by these rains, |
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the Okavango River slowly winds |
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before entering the permanent swamp. |
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There it is further slowed by |
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Over the next few months, |
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the level of the permanent |
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When the new water |
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it arrives at the height |
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This is the miracle of the Okavango. |
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The delta's unique environment |
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where the river meanders |
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Thousands of carmine bee-eaters |
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in the steep sandy banks. |
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These strikingly beautiful birds |
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and other flying insects |
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They lay their eggs |
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in tunnels usually |
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This is also |
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of one of the Okavango's |
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Baby crocodiles hatch |
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it will provide them |
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Many of the young crocs will |
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into the heart |
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This permanent swamp |
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of swamp grasses, ferns and lilies. |
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This tangled world |
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half vegetation and it never dries. |
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Floodwaters |
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can double the area of the swamp |
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Elephants are |
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that venture into the heart |
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They browse on the foliage |
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while the young frolic |
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This is a sanctuary |
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a water loving antelope |
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that seldom ventures |
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And this is the only place |
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where the slatey egret |
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It's one of the rarest herons |
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The inner swamp is a nesting haven |
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for a rich variety of waterbirds |
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and there are huge colonies. |
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Here the yellow billed stork |
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can raise their hatchlings |
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Other waterbirds are drawn to |
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This saddle bill haunts the |
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The marabou storks nest |
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in low spreading fig trees. |
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Stalking the waterways the marabou |
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can sometimes bring a quick end |
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After along night of grazing, |
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hippos spend the day |
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A single hippo may transform |
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a hundred and fifty pounds |
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which in turn enriches |
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En route to favored grasslands, |
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the hippos trample pathways |
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creating channels in the waterways. |
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Now is the season when floodwaters |
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from the Okavango River are slowly |
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But here on the floodplains, |
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the water left from last year's |
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Lechwe graze in the shallow. |
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They feed on grasses |
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that sprout along the edge |
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A pack of wild dogs appears. |
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These are |
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The dogs are skilled tacticians, |
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but the Okavango poses |
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Lechwe always race for the safety |
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Lechwe have developed |
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that allow them to race |
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The dogs are |
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As the lechwe escape |
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the dogs choose to wait and watch. |
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The dog's instinct is confirmed |
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But the lechwe would rather take |
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than face certain death |
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Throughout the Okavango, |
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They provide shade and shelter |
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Baboons scale the heights to feast |
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But they're not the only ones |
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As night falls, the left-over |
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The African porcupine |
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With their strong sharp incisors, |
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the porcupine tears |
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leaving the hard inner |
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perhaps, a future palm tree. |
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The rare and endangered pangolin |
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They are among the few mammals |
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In stead, |
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by raiding ant and termite colonies. |
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When a pangolin |
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it uses powerful claws |
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Within is a complex network |
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filled with ghostly white insects |
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In a typical mound |
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And using its sticky tongue, |
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the pangolin will feast |
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Termite mounds provide |
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and prey deal jackal dens, |
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and observation posts for leopards. |
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Many of the mounds become the |
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A sweeping view of the Okavango |
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reveals them scattered |
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between the permanent swamp |
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In this season, |
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of the delta converge |
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Beyond the swamp and the islands, |
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the vast floodplains |
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Buffalo rumble far |
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With all the noise and dust, |
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it almost seems that war |
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It is the onset of the dry season |
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For these wild dogs, |
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Expectant females cleanout |
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where they can give birth in safety. |
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The wild dogs of Africa |
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only distantly related |
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Contagious diseases and hunting |
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by man have threatened them |
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But here in the heart |
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they're free to hunt and |
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When the females |
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there's little for the pack |
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Hooded vultures keep them company. |
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Only a few months ago, |
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now there are plains of grass |
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During the dry season |
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favor animals built for speed. |
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These cheetahs have |
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as their prey appear in numbers. |
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The cheetah is |
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and it will sometimes walk |
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until it's within sprinting range. |
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The prey finds camouflage |
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But one false move |
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As the victim is hauled |
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silent witnesses pass by the scene. |
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In the dry season, |
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herds of giraffes seek the last |
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Back in the den of the wild dogs, |
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Three weeks after birth, |
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the pups are finally |
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Up until now the mothers |
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have not allowed other dogs |
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But now everyone joins in, |
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In this pack while several females |
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only the dominant female |
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She even nurses the pups |
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Still the dominant female |
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on all twenty-one new arrivals. |
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One of the other females |
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perhaps a new mother herself |
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She and a cohort carry it back |
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But it is a short-lived venture |
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as the dominant female |
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She reclaims the pup as her own. |
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Millions of birds move in unison |
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engulfing the air. |
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Swirling flocks |
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on the diminishing water holes |
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The Okavango is now in the midst |
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All across the floodplains, |
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dried-out game trails radiate |
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Wildlife congregate |
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Here they'll wait out |
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the dry season until |
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which is still working its way |
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ever so slowly out |
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Small groups of buffalo |
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now mass together into |
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Water is their most critical need. |
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But the wild dogs obtain much |
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of their water needs |
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The pups even seem to |
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as they frolic in the winter sun. |
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More and more |
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Assuming the stance for stalking, |
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this pup launches |
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Out on the hunt, |
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the adult dogs survey a herd of |
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Without water nearby, |
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For this is the season |
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Hunting in packs up to |
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wild dogs are |
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They have incredible stamina |
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at times second only |
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Once in the jaws of predators, |
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The lechwe ceases its struggling |
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and appears to go into deep shock. |
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Within a few minutes |
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The dogs gorge themselves |
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because the pups and |
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The pack returns from the hunt. |
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It's time of high excitement |
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A guardian receives |
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regurgitated by one of the hunters. |
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The pups clamor |
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They too are fed regurgitated meat. |
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The pups are becoming frisky |
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launching surprise attacks |
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on their constant companions, |
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Nearby are three male lions, |
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that have roamed this area for years. |
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A lioness |
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awaits with anticipation |
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In the surrounding vegetation, |
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the others mark |
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In a bizarre looking expression |
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the male lion tests the air |
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for the scent that indicates |
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Lions have been known to copulate |
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But the duration is brief |
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from a minute to only six seconds. |
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This group of lions monopolizes |
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several prides of females |
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But still find ample time to rest. |
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The long, dry winter seems endless. |
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Day after day a remorseless sun |
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It warms the air after cool, |
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This year's floodwaters are |
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Vital pools and waterholes |
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Catfish are now concentrated |
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Fish eagles swoop down |
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They compete among themselves |
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The ponds are becoming crowded. |
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Large crocodiles |
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and the constant presence of buffalo |
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and other animals now force the |
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Every creature vies for its place |
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Young crocs seek new hiding places |
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There, they will lie dormant |
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Rolling in the mud, the buffalo |
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All the better for the marabou |
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who now had only to |
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For the fish-disaster. |
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For the birds a season of plenty. |
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Once again, water |
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determines who will survive |
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The hippo pools are now |
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In the dry, enervating air, |
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they wallow in |
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Catfish try to crawl away |
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It's a futile effort |
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are already a grisly mass |
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All over the plains there is |
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Then a rare and welcome sound |
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In a cruel twist of fate |
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this storm brings not rain |
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Lightening has set off |
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and in moments the floodplains |
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The frantic pangolin desperately |
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Many smaller creatures and insects |
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will be consumed |
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The wildfire races |
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setting palm and papyrus ablaze. |
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Burning tapers |
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spread the fire everywhere. |
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He wild dogs know from |
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The big game animals escape to |
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There the vegetation is sparse |
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and there is little |
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The fire rages for days. |
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It marches in a deadly procession |
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Rivers and channels provide |
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The towering flames |
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leap across the waterways and |
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The fire is over. |
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It has scorched thousands of |
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and has stripped great areas |
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of the permanent swamp |
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All that remains is a charred |
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Fire can be good for the delta, |
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clearing away dead vegetation and |
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But some fear that |
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could do irreversible |
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The pangolin is a survivor, |
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having found refuge in |
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The larger animals have |
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only to face an even more arid |
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But now, at last, |
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the Okavango works |
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as the new floodwaters |
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In surreal counterpoint, |
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trickles of water create tendrils |
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of dust as they advance |
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They slowly percolate |
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restoring life to the charred land. |
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Only inches deep in places, |
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the new flood spreads out |
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Some creatures |
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now perish in the rising waters. |
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The waters of the Okavango |
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from the mountains of Angola |
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they now end their journey on the |
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The water will slowly refill the |
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It also courses |
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allowing many predators |
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Myriads of fish migrate with |
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to feed on the rich |
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Not far behind are |
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Waterbirds now search |
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finding a rich concentration |
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The pelicans welcome |
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eagerly scooping up |
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For the hippos, it's time at last |
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All the animals are now forced |
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Water is once again an element |
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The wild dogs must negotiate |
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infiltrated by stealthy crocodiles. |
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They're aware that for |
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others may lurk unseen. |
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Hunting and escaping now |
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depend on crossing |
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Cheetahs are creatures |
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but those that live in the Okavango |
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They do so after much hesitation |
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After running down their prey, |
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Then they patiently wait while life |
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Nightfall and spring rains |
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as winged termites called alates |
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take flight before |
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The puff adder, too, responds |
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Now is its time to bear young. |
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With the rain, |
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and the plains turn a vivid green. |
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The wild dog pups have been |
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They're now old enough to |
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They join the pack, |
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now ranging far and wide |
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At every water crossing, |
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the adults are cautious |
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only gradually about |
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And when the chase |
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the pups must be left behind. |
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In the excitement and confusion |
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Urged on by the adults, |
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Once more, |
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and played out |
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The drama of the wild favors |
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The survival of all is insured |
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which gives no creature |
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All belong-and have |
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in the great waterland |
