Original subtitles

NARRATOR: In Africa's last absolute monarchy,

giants shape the land.

With brute strength

and sheer size, they mold their environment...

...creating a world for animals of all shapes and sizes.

This is a kingdom where some of Africa's

most threatened species rule.

These are the savannahs of wild Swaziland.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: A lone bull elephant

is foraging in the riverine forests of Swaziland.

He's bulldozing trees to get at the juiciest leaves.

No other species, apart from humans,

has the ability to change their environment to the same degree.

As such, elephants are referred to as keystone species,

or animals which are key to the survival of many others.

By knocking down or killing trees,

elephants clear space for grasses

and other plants to grow.

And they are not the only landscape architects at work

in Swaziland's savannahs.

White rhino have an effect on the surroundings

almost as dramatic.

But while elephants affect the skyline,

these giants mow the lawns.

This baby is only ten months old,

too young to leave his mother's side.

He's only just begun eating grass,

and will continue to suckle from his mother

for another year or so.

Weighing as much as an SUV, white rhinos are formidable,

but junior still has some growing to do,

so for the moment, it's safer to stay close to Mom.

Swaziland is a small, landlocked kingdom

surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique.

Of all the countries in southern Africa,

it is perhaps best known

for its ruthless approach to poaching.

Large animals, such as elephants and rhinos, are cherished here,

meaning that Swaziland's vibrant ecosystems are flourishing.

From vast, flat, grassy savannahs scattered with trees

to dense riverine thickets,

plants and animals both big and small are benefitting

thanks to Swaziland's wild landscape architects.

(birds chirping)

Elephants are Swaziland's most important wildlife architects.

They are mixed feeders

and browse leaves from branches and graze from the ground.

Their trunks are a marvel,

allowing them to reach as high as twenty feet

up into the canopy to pick leaves.

Trunks contain more than 40,000 muscles,

making them extremely dexterous.

Elephants have one of the most diverse diets

of all savannah animals.

Nothing is out of reach.

They are remarkably nimble for such a large animal,

able to harvest plants with the grace of a ballerina.

This bull consumes approximately five percent of his body weight,

650 pounds of food, every day.

Salivary glands in the mouth and throat

produce mucus to lubricate even the toughest plant material.

An elephant's digestive system

processes less than half of the food it eats.

But his leftovers are full of nutrients,

and in the savannah, nothing goes to waste.

(bird cawing)

The fresh droppings soon attract two copper dung beetles.

More than 2,000 species of dung beetle thrive

across sub-Saharan Africa.

They are nature's own clean-up crew.

These balls are food for them and their young.

Dung is a valued commodity,

and these beetles have hit pay dirt.

The smaller beetle struggles to form a perfect ball.

Dung beetles use their specially adapted front legs

to pat the dung into smooth balls.

But there are more ways to get your hands on a ball

in this business.

The bigger beetle is having none of it,

and he throws the little one off his ball.

As quickly as possible,

he rolls his ball away to bury it.

If he's lucky, his ball will attract a mate

and she will lay eggs in it.

The bull moves on, oblivious of the world at his feet.

Elephants have massive impacts on the landscape.

They clear trees,

creating open spaces in dense vegetation,

which is good for many other species.

Grass colonizes the resulting patches,

creating a mosaic of habitats.

But if there are too many elephants,

this behavior kills too many trees,

reducing plant diversity in the area.

In Swaziland, elephants have a particular taste

for knob-thorn acacias,

so named for its knobbly trunk and branches.

Some believe that elephants eat the bark of knob-thorns

to benefit from its natural healing properties.

But this has severe consequences for the tree,

as removing the bark is a death sentence.

Even damaged trunks offer shelter, however.

Spotted green snakes are expert climbers,

at home in the broken trees.

They live a solitary existence

hunting for small reptiles and frogs.

While the green snakes are making the most

of the new habitat in the dead trees,

another larger individual is enjoying the grass

that's sprouted in the sunshine.

White rhinos are also known as wide-lipped rhinoceros.

White rhinos are not named for their color,

but rather because of a bad translation.

The Dutch word for wide is wiejd,

referring to the rhino's broad lips.

This was mistaken for "white"

by the first English-speaking explorers,

and hence these rhinos became known as white rhino.

They are the largest living rhino species

and eat only grass.

White rhinos are the largest species ever to have existed

solely on a diet of this simple plant.

They are bulk grazers

and can tolerate even old, dry grass.

By removing this old grass,

they create short-cropped areas called grazing lawns.

(snorting)

These are important for other animals,

such as wildebeest and zebra, which rely on the mega mowers

to stimulate new growth for grazing.

Wildebeest and zebra often share savannah grasslands.

Zebra eat longer grass than wildebeest, and therefore

they do not compete with each other for food.

Not only do they not compete,

but wildebeest often benefit by following grazing zebras

when the grass is too long for them.

In this part of Swaziland, there are no large predators,

as it is too small for animals such as lions,

which need large territories and home ranges.

Even in a land without predators,

prey species do not lose their instinct to run when frightened.

Tsessebe are Africa's fastest antelope.

They can reach speeds of up to 50 miles an hour.

Their speed gives them a certain confidence.

When chased, they will run for a short distance,

stop to check on their pursuers, and then continue if necessary.

Even calves are fleet of foot.

They are capable of keeping up with the herd

within a few hours of birth.

Red-billed oxpeckers prefer less flighty hosts.

They are iconic savannah birds

and rely on large mammals to survive.

Oxpeckers eat ticks and blood-sucking flies

that are attracted to herds.

Their curved claws are sharp and perfectly adapted

for hanging onto skin and fur.

Short, sturdy tails support the birds

even as they pluck ticks from the most hard-to-reach places.

Buffalos tolerate their picky passengers

because in return for an easy meal,

the oxpeckers not only remove disease-carrying ticks,

but also provide an early warning system.

(birds squawking)

If the oxpeckers suspect danger, they sound the alarm,

and the buffalo move off.

On the fringes of the grassland,

a herd of giraffes is feeding on the dense riverine forest.

Giraffes gain access to these forests

along pathways opened up by elephants and rhinos.

Males are taller than females,

capable of stretching twenty feet into the canopy.

Giraffes are social

and live together in loose, open herds,

but as they grow older, males tend to wander alone.

While aggression between rival males is fierce,

females live in relative peace.

They are even unperturbed by the white rhino mum and her calf.

♪ ♪

The tufts of hair on their horns distinguish cows from bulls.

Male horns are bare and usually thicker.

While giraffes have the pick of the leaves from the canopy,

other browsers inhabit the shadowy forests below.

Nyala live a quiet life in the riverine thicket.

They are generalists,

browsing from bushes and grazing grass.

But this female is chewing on a bone.

Some herbivores eat bones

when their food lacks sufficient minerals.

This is called osteophagy.

The bones are a good source of phosphorous and calcium

that help build her own bones.

She won't swallow the bone,

but will discard it when she's had enough.

Male and female nyala look strikingly different.

This young calf has just sprouted his horns.

Only males grow horns,

which they use for fighting and display.

While he's young, he looks like his mother.

But as he grows, his coat will darken and lengthen

and he will lose some of his stripes.

He will also grow much bigger than his mother.

Male nyala are 20% larger than females

and nearly double the weight.

This results in a strange naming convention.

In large antelope, males are referred to as bulls,

while in small antelope, they are known as rams.

Similarly, females are called cows and ewes.

Because of their size,

male nyala are thought of as a large antelope

and are called bulls,

while females are considered a small antelope

and are referred to as ewes.

They are the only antelope split in this manner.

They rarely gather in large herds.

The only stable bond is between a mother and her offspring.

Even after being weaned at six months,

nyala calves will stay with their mother

until she calves again.

(bird calling)

In the riverine forest,

a more tight-knit family finds sanctuary.

It's unusual for warthogs to spend time in forests.

They're adapted to life in open grasslands and savannahs

and usually avoid dense vegetation.

But these wily pigs have figured out

that there are no large predators here

and it's safe to forage in the thickets.

Warthogs are the only pigs that forage while on their knees.

Hard callouses form,

making it comfortable for them to root around.

Plow-like snouts snuffle through the dirt

to find roots and tubers, their favorite food.

Female piglets remain with their families for many years,

while males tend to strike out on their own.

A group of warthogs is called a sounder,

and in these families, Mom leads the way.

She's taking her family to her favorite waterhole.

(rhino snorting)

Waterholes are magnets of life,

and the coming and going of giants

has important repercussions.

By wallowing, they can enlarge small springs,

making little dams.

White rhino moms have their favorite spots.

Lying in the cool water,

they escape the fierce midday sun.

Rhinos may have thick skin,

but they are sensitive to the sun's rays

and get badly sunburned.

A layer of mud acts as sunblock.

It also helps remove parasites.

This terrapin is a more permanent resident

of this waterhole.

He feeds on anything from frogs to water plants

and will even nip ticks off wallowing rhinos.

Rhinos visit water every day if possible,

but they can go three days without drinking if need be.

This is particularly important in the drier winter months,

when grasses hold less moisture.

Young calves don't suffer as much

because they get most of their water

from their mother's milk.

Female white rhinos live in overlapping territories

and usually tolerate each other.

But in the close quarters at this waterhole,

tempers are running high.

Tensions quickly dissipate in the afternoon heat, however.

It's just not worth taking things further.

All animals benefit

from bigger waterholes created by savannah giants,

but none more so than hippos,

who spend nearly all day wallowing in deeper pools.

Hippopotamus means "river horse" in Greek,

but they are not related to horses at all.

Their closest relatives are pigs and whales.

Hippos are remarkably well adapted

to their amphibious lifestyles.

Nostrils, eyes, and ears

are all positioned on the top of their head

so they can breathe, see, and hear

while almost entirely submerged.

Surprisingly, hippos do not eat in the water.

They wallow during the day,

but at night, they emerge to graze in the surroundings,

also creating grazing lawns for other species.

Calves are born underwater.

Babies even suckle underwater.

Hippos are social, wallowing together

in large groups of males and females

dominated by an alpha male.

Only alpha males get to mate.

Hippos are only sociable in the water,

and when they come out to graze at night,

they remain solitary.

To prevent burning,

their sweat contains a natural red-colored sunscreen.

So, despite looking like someone who's spent too long

lying on the beach, this pink individual is not sunburned.

The warthogs have also arrived at the waterhole.

Their relatively small size means they're not entirely safe.

Crocodiles are one of the few predators present

in this reserve.

One by one, they sniff the croc as they pass.

The bigger you are, the less you have to fear,

and the croc is no more than a passing curiosity

for the rhinos.

The croc senses an opportunity.

And the warthogs decide

it's better to cut their mud bath short.

Having applied their sunblock,

the rhinos return to graze in the afternoon sun.

White rhinos are semi-social.

They associate quite loosely with each other

and wander the open grasslands in small groups,

unlike the more coordinated herds of species

such as elephants or buffalo.

Black rhinos are less numerous than white rhino

and weigh only half their white counterparts.

They also eat a very different diet, and together,

this means they have less impact on their surroundings.

Black rhinos have pointed, flexible upper lips,

and this makes them easy to discern

from their wide-lipped counterparts.

The two species coexist on the African savannah

because they eat distinctly different diets.

Black rhinos are browsers and use their prehensile lips

to selectively browse from trees and bushes.

They are bad tempered

and pose a real danger if encountered on foot.

They charge when threatened.

Rhinos have poor eyesight

and rely on their excellent sense of smell and scent marking

to communicate.

Dung middens mark territories and also contain scents,

which are an important form of communication for black rhinos.

In addition to dung middens,

males mark their territory by urine-spraying.

Males are the only ones to do so.

Populations of both black and white rhinos are growing.

This is despite poaching.

More than 300 rhinos a year are killed for their horn,

which is a prized commodity in many Asian countries.

It is ground up and used as traditional medicine

to treat nosebleeds, strokes, convulsions, and fevers.

But rhino horn is no more than keratin,

the same substance as our own fingernails,

and it has no proven medical benefits whatsoever.

The scarcity of rhinos

and the high demand for horn products

means that rhino horn is worth more than its weight in gold.

If poaching continues at its current rate,

the future of Africa's rhinos is uncertain.

Thanks to aggressive anti-poaching policies,

Swaziland's rhinos are safe for now.

Rhinos often have sores on their skin from a parasitic worm,

which lives in their dung middens.

While these open sores look uncomfortable,

they do not overly affect the rhino's health.

Well-worn scratching posts are the perfect thing

to remove ticks and other parasites,

especially in those awkward nooks and crannies.

The afternoon wears on.

And at the waterhole,

four old male buffalo arrive to drink.

Old timers like these are no longer welcome in the herd

and have been chased out by the dominant male.

They lead solitary lives

or gather in small bachelor herds

seldom more than four or five in strength.

Old male buffalo are called daga boys.

"Daga" is a common local term for mud.

They are renowned for their bad temper

and are the grumpy old men of the savannah.

(birds calling)

More often heard than seen, crested guinea fowl

fossick through the leaves of the riverine forest

surrounding the waterhole.

They benefit from the comings and goings

surrounding the water

as animals turn up the ground with their hooves.

This large group

is made of several monogamous breeding pairs.

They flock for safety

and stick to their preferred forested habitats.

Feeding on a mixed diet of fruits and seeds,

and they will even take grubs and insects.

They often follow vervet monkeys

and feed on morsels dropped from above.

(elephant making low rumble)

(birds calling)

When water is available,

elephants visit at least once a day.

They drink as much as ten gallons of water,

using their trunks to suck up 2-1/2 gallons at a time.

They have an incredible sense of smell,

thought to be four times more sensitive than bloodhounds'.

(birds squawking)

Like rhinos, elephants are also suffering

at the hands of poachers.

It's estimated 35,000 elephants are killed each year in Africa.

But in Swaziland, they are protected,

ensuring the vital role they play in the environment

continues uninterrupted.

The savannahs of Swaziland

are home to animals both big and small.

Each one playing a pivotal role in the ecosystem.

Large keystone species create a diverse mosaic of habitats.

Vulnerable giants prosper under the king's protection.

Life is abundant.

This is the wild kingdom of Swaziland.

Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH, access.wgbh.org