nature is not a place to visit it's our home nature is all that we see animals insects disappearing into their surroundings using deceptions disguises lures nature is all that we hear the call of an eagle the hiss of Ocean Spray the Rumble of Thunder the doings of a cricket [Music] the wonderful beauty of nature The crucial fragile Affinity between animal life and their environment all of this is world of the Wild thank you covering almost half of Continental Africa the open woodlands in rolling grass Plains of the Savannah pass through more than 25 countries stretching for nearly 13 million square kilometers the scale of this unique tropical grassland is staggering and so too is the diversity of life that it Fosters in this episode we will encounter some of the Savannah's most famous residents Lions elephants wildebeests cheetahs and giraffes beautiful the huge expanse of the African Savannah is presided over by the king of beasts the lion the largest carnivores in Africa lions are the continents top predators although capable of hunting at any time Lions have few sweat glands so tend to be less active during the day managing the heat of their grassland Kingdom by relaxing in whatever shade is available [Music] oh [Music] foreign like all cats lions are creatures of leisure sleeping around 20 hours every day [Music] come alive at night while the African velt offers limited cover for stalking prey in daylight hours the cover of Darkness gives Lions the advantage highly developed eyes allow Lions to amplify even the faintest light granting them excellent night vision thought to be up to eight times more effective than humans and with eyes set in the front of their heads these big cats also have enhanced depth perception allowing them to more effectively gauge distance as they close in on their prey weather hunting by night or day the Lion's deadly technique is unaltered launching short violent attacks from close range they utilize their bulk to overpower prey sinking in their long retractable claws they employ their muscular fall Limbs and shoulders to pull down their Quarry before finishing the job with powerful jaws closing off the Airways to asphyxiate their unfortunate victim [Music] oh seasonal fires are a regular occurrence on the Savannah particularly during the dry season with enough warning lions and other large animals are able to find safe refuge and while the grass stems are consumed in the Flames the underground roots are unharmed and quickly spawn new growth foreign as lions are at hunting it remains a costly and unreliable practice in this exposed environment [Music] despite fabled associations with nobility in reality lions are opportunistic as much scavengers as they are Hunters scanning the open African skies for the circling vultures that indicate fresh kill Lions have no compunctions when it comes to stealing carcasses from other predators the only cats to live in groups the lion pride is a family unit with distinctive roles for each member encumbered by their heavy manes males are inefficient Hunters thus the majority of hunting duties falls to the lionesses while the Cubs are free to play and learn from their Elders the male's role is to defend their Pride's territory which can extend for hundreds of kilometers around 10 000 years ago lions were among the most widespread land mammals on the planet second only to humans today the African grassland is one of their remaining strongholds and this habitat is under threat of human expansion local enforcement of anti-hunting laws has proven successful in preserving lion numbers but the Savannah itself must be protected in order to fully serve these Kings of the Wild [Music] in the wide open world of the African veld the presence of the largest terrestrial creature on the planet is unmistakable the elephant but when you're this big there's hardly a reason to hide Africa is home to two of the world's three living species of elephant the smaller Forest elephant and the truly enormous Savannah elephant continuing to grow throughout their long lives male Savannah elephants can reach Heights of four meters and weights of over six tons slow moving and conspicuous amongst the low-lying grassland of the belt their sheer size affords protection from the Savannah's Myriad predators but size comes at a cost the huge volume of food required to sustain their frames means that elephants must spend around 20 hours every day grazing consuming hundreds of kilos of vegetation in the process vast quantities of water are also required and on the baking Plains of the Savannah water can be a notoriously unreliable resource [Music] the elephants have a solution their trunk considered the most versatile appendage in the animal kingdom elephants trunks are made up of over 40 000 muscles by comparison the entire human body has just 639 used for tasks as diverse as fighting feeding and courting [Music] the trunk is also a supreme organ of smell and elephants are able to use their trunks to detect water over 19 kilometers away steadily traversing the immense grassland Plains these giant pachyderms are able to cope with the extreme heat of their environment through another specialized adaptation their ears resembling the shape of Continental Africa the Savannah elephants enlarged ears not only enable a heightened sense of hearing but also an efficient cooling system presenting a large thin area of skin as the elephant's blood passes through the many veins of their ears heat is readily transferred back to the environment reducing the elephant's body temperature by as much as 9 degrees Celsius [Music] perhaps the elephant's greatest adaptation to their environment is their brain highly intelligent elephants have the largest brain of any land animal as long-lived animals the elephant's famous long memory is a vital asset guiding herds through times of drought by recalling the location of distant water and food sources unvisited in decades the complex social bonds of elephant herds are also served by complex brain functions allowing behaviors associated with grief humor and possibly even language one adaptation that has not served the elephant well is their tasks used to clear debris dig for food and in fighting these elongated teeth are made of ivory and are highly valued by humans hunting for Ivory decimated African elephant populations until restrictions on the international ivory trade stopped the decline today there are positive signs with elephant numbers stabilizing but poachers continue to threaten elephants and constant vigilance is required to protect them thank you throughout this sprawling grassland environment across the open Plains over the undulating Hills and amongst the outspread shrubland the most abundant big game species is is the wildebeest receiving their name from Dutch settlers noting their resemblance to wild cattle wildebeest are members of the Antelope family and while they are the preferred prey of many grassland species particularly Lions wildebeests are no easy target Ed in tough hide the wildebeest is capable of speeds of 80 kilometers an hour and has the stamina to outpace big cats with adults weighing up to 250 kilograms and armed with vicious horns these wild cattle are more than equipped to contend with predators that stalk them through the grassland habitat but their real strength is in numbers herd animals wildebeests have developed behavioral adaptations to maximize their defense alternating roles of guard Duty and sleeping wildebeest herds are vigilante 24 hours a day when threatened the herd selflessly protects its youngest and most vulnerable members by closing ranks around them wildebeests have also developed collaborative relationships with other grassland creatures joining forces with zebras they form mixed grazing groups in open Savannah simultaneously increasing their Collective awareness whilst decreasing each individual's chance of being attacked sounds of the Savannah wildebeests are keenly aware of the alarm calls from tree dwelling birds and baboons an early warning system telling them it's time to move and moving is what wildebeests do best every year herds in their hundreds of thousands come together for a defining event of the African grassland and one of the world's most spectacular natural phenomenons Great Migration in the Reigns of the Savannah's wet season they head northward in search of greener pastures in a ground trembling mass movement sweeping inexorably across the plains stalked all the while by their usual grassland Predators they must also contend with several major river Crossings through crocodile infested waters and while the migration may look disorderly researchers have discovered there is a swarm intelligence to the transit with a shared goal that will benefit the entire herd the animals are able to repeat tests of trial and error in order to collectively overcome the obstacles that lie in their path successful migrations require connected Wilderness corridors across the African continent and human developments such as roads and fences create new barriers every year yet there is evidence that the collective intelligence of wildebeests is adapting to this human influence with migration Pathways ranging wider to avoid human encroachment [Music] on the big cats that hunt them there is another threat to wildebeests namely agriculture competing with livestock over grazing rights and blame for spreading disease amongst domesticated cattle wildebeest numbers have decreased rapidly in recent years as they are fenced out of traditional feeding areas and migration pathways however wildebeest grazing habits are known to be increasing soil fertility while decreasing fire risk on the Savannah and both farmers and conservationists recognize that wildebeests are needed to sustain the valuable grassland ecosystem [Music] in an environment characterized by its Wide Open Spaces speed is a highly prized asset but even in the fastest in the unforgiving savannah life is never easy as the fastest land-based animal the cheetah has evolved purely for Speed regularly clocking Sprints of over 90 kilometers an hour but acceleration is one thing and control is another so while cheaters may be famous for their speed it is actually their agility that is the secret to their success on the Belt rare among the cat family semi-retractable claws Grant traction through the grassland as the cheetah swivels its narrow waist for high-speed maneuvers elongated tail acting as a Rudder for stabilization one of the smallest of the big cats the thin frame cheetah can only target medium-sized prey and is poorly equipped to defend itself losing around 50 percent of their kills to the many larger predators of the belt cheetahs have had to make behavioral modifications to survive hunting in the morning or late afternoon to avoid competition cheetahs eat their kill immediately to maximize feeding time before they can be chased off these adaptations to life on the Savannah leaders are only successful in around half of their hunts until recently it was incorrectly believed that the reason for cheaters pulling out of the chase was because they overheated in the African Sun foreign [Music] body temperatures do rise when feeding this is when cheetahs are at their most vulnerable at risk of being set upon by other carnivores competing over the grasslands limited food resources for an animal that relies entirely on Speed and Agility any injury is potentially life-threatening for a Cheeto and they must be especially Vigilant when feeding ever ready to employ their speed defensively for a quick getaway involves so specifically of the big cats cheetahs are considered the least capable of adapting to change even in Africa's nature reserves where other cats flourish cheetahs face greater pressure from their larger competitors and are pushed outside the boundaries coming into conflict with Farmers facing extinction in much of Africa throughout the 20th century small cheetah populations held on and have even made a comeback in certain countries while cheetahs may not find it easy to adapt to their changing world for now they continue to scrape by [Music] the Abundant and diverse life that inhabits the African grassland has developed a range of adaptations to thrive in this challenging environment so not only is the belt home to the fastest and largest animals on the planet it is also home to the tallest the giraffe with male giraffes reaching Heights of five and a half meters these lofty animals Tower above the grassland but despite their size they can be surprisingly hard to see the distinctive coat patterns unique to each individual giraffe serve to break up their huge outlines allowing them to blend in with the Savannah Woodlands foreign is particularly important to Young giraffes who are more vulnerable to Predators before they reach full size [Music] stretching to just short of two meters and weighing 270 kilograms the giraffe's neck is its most distinctive adaptation it is also somewhat of a mystery the conventional scientific explanation for the giraffe's extended neck center around natural selection with their reach allowing them to feed on foliage that competitors cannot access giraffes have an advantage over other herbivores however recently some scientists have questioned whether the giraffe's neck is less important for feeding and more important in sexual selection male giraffes must compete in order to secure mating rights to females using their necks As Weapons known as necking these fights consist of males wrestling their necks against each other and Swinging their horned heads to deliver Sledgehammer blows if males with longer and stronger necks are winning these contests could it be selective breeding that is driving the growth of the giraffe's neck the giraffe's height affords them a very particular perspective over the immense planes of the Savannah but it is their heart that allows them to stand so tall weighing 11 kilograms the massive giraffe heart races at 150 beats per minute twice the rate of humans in order to pump blood to the extremities of these extreme bodies displaying a distinct preference for the Hardy and wide-ranging acacia tree giraffes are well adapted to feeding in both the wet and dry seasons of The Savannah grasping foliage with their elongated prehensile tongues they consume around 34 kilograms of vegetation daily giraffes also get the majority of their liquid from the leaves they eat this means that they only need to drink every three days or so minimizing the risk of attack from crocodiles and other Predators around the Savannah's waterholes foreign expansion has altered the Savannah landscape giraffe numbers have suffered but they appear to be adapting to the changes able to graze alongside cattle giraffes do not directly compete with livestock and are able to coexist with agriculture in a way that many other wild animals cannot [Music] the unique grassland Plains and sparse Woodland environment of the Savannah has seen some remarkable animal adaptations across the continent of Africa we have seen the lion the elephant the wildebeest the cheetah and the giraffe yet the future of this grassland environment hangs in the balance facing the all too common pressures of human expansion changes in the world's climate also threatened to upset the precious balance of the Savannah ecosystem Africa's commitment to preserving the Savannah and its inhabitants through nature reserves is a crucial First Step but it is a global effort that is required to ensure the future of this extraordinary and fragile environment [Music] thank you [Music]