All language subtitles for Tales From Zambia Series 2 6of8 African Myths 1080p

(GROWLS)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAfrica,
a continent of extremes,

inhabited by some of
Earth’s largest,

weirdest,

and most fearsome creatures.

(ROARING)

Each evolved to fill its
own particular niche

in the complex web of life.

(SNORTING)

Humans have tried
to make sense

of these
extraordinary creatures

for as long as we
have lived beside them.

Our ancestors searched for
meaning through stories.

Wondering why does the zebra
have a striped coat?

These myths have
endured for centuries.

Now science has
led to some answers

and it turns out that fact

is sometimes
stranger than fiction.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

Millions of years ago

an incredible
diversity of life

evolved in Africa.

(LOW RUMBLING)

But one creature
stood out from the rest, us.

We evolved alongside animals

but our intelligence
set us apart.

And with intelligence
came curiosity

about the world around us.

Our ancestors

turned to their imagination
and created stories

of the natural world.

(THUNDER CRACKS)

They gave
human characteristics

and magical powers to animals
in the stories they told.

Today, over one billion people
and thousands of ethnic groups

call Africa their home,

each with their own collection
of animal fables

passed down
generation to generation.

One story that most of us are
familiar with is about Lion

as king of the beasts.

But some African stories
say that it wasn’t always so.

FEMALE NARRATOR:
\hA Kalahari bushman story

the belligerent Buffalo was
a savage meat-eating bully.

Standing five feet tall,

with a spread of horns
3 feet wide,

he was a beast
of monstrous proportions,

with a temper to match.

One day, a fierce old bull
was about to kill Lion,

who begged for mercy.

Seeing an opportunity, Buffalo

decided to spare
Lion his life,

but only if Lion agreed
to hunt for him.

Day after day,
Lion hunted for Buffalo,

who demanded
more and more meat.

Lion turned on
the fierce old bull,

sank his teeth into his neck,

and killed him.

From that day onwards,
Lion has hunted Buffalo,

and Buffalo has
only eaten grass.

The once mighty Buffalo now
gathers in herds to stay safe

from the new king
of the beasts, Lion.

MALE NARRATOR:
\hThis is a story

told by generations of
Kalahari bushmen.

Yet, as is often the case,
the story holds many truths.

Buffalo are a favorite
prey for lions.

so for a large pride with
many mouths to feed,

a 1-ton buffalo will
keep them fed for days.

But a feast like this
doesn’t come easy.

Not only are buffalo huge, but
true to the bushman’s tale,

they’re also fierce.

Only a large pride is capable
of bringing one down

and success relies on a
coordinated hunting strategy.

It starts with
a dark moonless night.

Thermal imaging cameras
help us see in the dark.

But a lion has its own
built-in night vision.

An extra layer of cells
in the lion’s eyes

and reflects it
back into the retina

allowing them to see
not only form,

but also detail in the dark.

The buffalo have to rely
on sound and smell.

They can’t see the lions,

but they know they’re there.

(SNORTS)

As the myth foretold,
the buffalo are safe,

as long as they
stay in a herd.

A female lion
distracts one of the buffalo,

isolating it from the group.

(LIONS GROWLING)

A young male takes over
and keeps up the chase,

(LIONS GROWL)

Keeping clear
of its lethal horns,

an adult female leaps
onto the buffalo’s back.

She works to injure and weaken
the buffalo

so that the other
lions can move in.

(GROWLING)

But they’ve chosen
a strong and powerful bull,

and a single kick could kill.

(GROWLING)
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h(GRUNTS)

The odds are
beginning to stack up

against the injured bull.

But then one of the females

takes a direct blow
to her stomach.

(GROANS)

It’s a decisive moment.

Just like Buffalo from the
myth, he was a fierce bull,

but this one was powerful
enough to defend himself

from not only one,
but a whole pride of lions.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

The Shona people of Zimbabwe

say that
at the beginning of time,

before people lived on Earth,
the king of all animals

wasn’t the lion,
or the buffalo.

It was the elephant.

Male African elephants
can weigh

up to five and a half
tons

and their tusks can be
ten feet long.

So, it’s not surprising that
many African myths and legends

feature this mighty animal.

FEMALE NARRATOR:
\hAccording to the Shona,

Elephant was a kind
and fair leader.

But fearsome and powerful Lion

thought that
he should rule instead.

He tried to take Elephant’s
crown many times,

but all the other animals
thought that only Elephant

had all the right qualities
to be king.

One year the rains failed

and a terrible drought
came to the land.

Lion tricked the other animals
into believing that Elephant

was hiding the
last remaining water hole.

But his lie was discovered
and his plan backfired.

As a punishment,

Elephant banished Lion
from his kingdom.

It wasn’t until the great
elephant leader died,

that Lion finally became
king of the beasts.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hLike the Shona
story, the importance of water

is central to many
African myths and legends.

In a continent
where so many places

are dependent
on seasonal rains

and suffer crippling droughts,

access to fresh water
is vital for survival.

If the rains
don’t arrive on time,

the effects
can be devastating.

As the dry season progresses
animals congregate

around the dwindling rivers.

Baby elephants are vulnerable
as daytime temperatures

push into the hundreds.

(LOW RUMBLING)

(SNORTS)

This calf
needs to feed every hour.

And her mother
must drink every day

in order to
produce enough milk.

She knows there’s a river
a mile away,

but she also knows it’s home
to a resident pride of lions.

Other water sources in
the area have dried up,

so she has no choice but
to risk going to the river.

The lions could kill her calf

if it gets separated
from the group.

The baby instinctively
stays close to the adults.

(GROWLS)

It’s a standoff reminiscent of
the mythical battle over water

and who would be
king of the beasts, Elephant

or Lion.

The family protects the calf

with a barrier
of muscle and might.

(TRUMPETS)

The elephants send a clear
message of strength.

(TRUMPETS)

(ROARS)

(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS)

(ROARS)

It’s enough.

The lions clear
a path to the water,

and let the family
drink in peace

this time.

The people from Chad,
in northern Central Africa,

believe that the skin of an
elephant has magical powers.

Could that be true?

Unlike most mammals,

an elephant’s skin doesn’t
have sweat glands,

so they need
to find other ways

to dissipate body heat
and stay cool.

Elephants search for mud
in a drying-out lagoon.

(RUMBLES)

(WATER SPLASHES)

They suck up liquid mud
into their trunks

and cover their bodies
with the cool concoction.

(TRUMPETS)

Wrinkled skin traps layer
upon layer of the wet mud,

keeping it moist
for up to 20 hours

and helping the elephants
to stay cooler for longer.

As the mud dries,

the process of evaporation
replicates the action
of sweating,

drawing heat from the body as
the liquid water evaporates.

When the mud finally dries,
wrinkles keep it in place

where it acts
like a sunscreen.

Without the wrinkles, the mud
would not only quickly dry

in the scorching heat,

but it would also flake off
their undulating body.

This is just one part
of the elephant’s

incredible cooling system.

Heat radiating from the
elephant’s body

makes it appear to glow
under a thermal camera.

Its ears however are dark,
indicating that they are

much cooler than
the rest of its body.

Under the thin flat skin a
lattice of blood vessels

brings blood from the
elephant’s body core

closer to the surface.

As the elephant
flaps its ears,

air passes over
the blood vessels

cooling the blood
and dissipating body heat.

The ears and skin act like a
personal air conditioning unit

and are perfectly designed

for life in a hot,
tropical country.

So it’s no wonder the
people of Chad believe

that an elephant’s skin
has magical powers.

In many ways, it does.

It’s late August
in Southern Africa

and temperatures soar to
over 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

It’s half way through
the dry season,

and it won’t rain for
another three months.

Hippos don’t have the benefit
of a mud-slinging trunk,

nor a wrinkled skin,

so have to rely on staying
underwater to keep cool.

Noisy and boisterous,
hippos are big characters

in the African landscape

and most African people have a
different hippo story to tell.

But there’s one tale
known throughout Africa.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hHippo
was once a land animal

of the forest and plains.

But he was greedy
and grew fat.

The fatter he got

the more he suffered
from the heat of the day.

So he asked God if he could
live in the cool river.

But God had already promised
the river to Crocodile.

Hippo pleaded and God
eventually agreed.

But only on one condition,
that he promised never to

eat the fish that
belonged to Crocodile.

Hippo made his promise,
which he keeps to this day.

He shows God that there are
no fish bones in his dung

and laughs with joy
to be in the cool river.

(SNORTING)

(SNORTING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThis dominant
male heads up a herd

of 15 females and young males.

He spreads his dung, not, as
the story says to prove to God

that he hasn’t eaten fish,

but to mark out territory

and send a clear message
to other male hippos

that this is
his patch of river.

And that gape
is no laughing matter.

It’s a threat to stay back.

During the dry season
space in the river gets tight,

and bachelor bulls
take advantage of the chaos

to move in on the
dominant male’s turf.

(ROARING)

But he won’t give up
his territory

and females without a fight.

The old bull has won, for now.

Dry season temperatures in
Southern Africa

can go from 50 to 100
in a day,

requiring animals
to find ways to deal with

both hot and cold.

Even these biological facts

can find their way
into African fiction.

A Kalahari bushman story
tells of how Crocodile

got his amour-plating.

FEMALE NARRATOR:
\hAt the beginning of time,

Crocodile had smooth,
golden skin.

He kept it that way

by spending all day
in muddy water,

only coming out after
the sun had gone down.

Whenever the animals
saw Crocodile

they would compliment him
on his beautiful skin.

He started to come out of the
water during the day

to show it off to as many
animals as he could.

He became boastful and
obsessed with his own beauty,

and didn’t notice that his
skin had started to blister

and bulge
under the baking sun.

It wasn’t until the other
animals began to laugh at him

that he became aware
of what was happening,

but it was too late,

his skin had turned thick,
bumpy and ugly.

Crocodile never recovered from
the humiliation and shame

and today, he prefers to
hide his body underwater,

leaving only his eyes and
nostrils above the surface.

In reality,

the African Nile crocodile’s
habit of staying submerged

has nothing to do with shame,

it’s all to do with
heat regulation and stealth.

Crocodiles are
powerful ambush hunters.

Their eyes, ears and nostrils
are located

at the top of their head,

allowing them
to hide in the water

while still being able to see,
hear and smell potential prey.

(CHIRPING)

They wait, submerged,

until prey comes
close enough to strike.

(CHIRPING)

But there is some truth in
the Kalahari bushman’s story.

Nile crocodiles
are nocturnal reptiles

and, unable to fully
regulate their temperature,

need to cool down in the river

and bask in the sun
to warm up.

And their sides and bellies

are smooth
and golden in color,

it’s only the upper part
of their body

that has thick armored skin.

The bumps and scales are
bony deposits laced with

thread-like blood vessels.

As with many animals, the
surface blood vessels help

with raising and lowering the
crocodile’s body temperature.

But it is the bone embedded
in the armored skin

that provides facts
stranger than fiction.

Staying submerged
for a long time

leads to dangerous levels
of carbon dioxide

accumulating in
the crocodile’s blood,

which turns it acidic.

But recent studies have shown
that the alkaline calcium

in their bony scales
neutralizes this acidity,

allowing crocodiles to stay
hidden underwater for longer.

So, it’s millions of years
of evolution,

not too much
showing off in the sun,

that has created the
crocodile’s incredible skin.

By October, the dry season
in Southern Africa

is at its peak.

Rivers are dwindling
and pools drying out.

It’s still a month before
the rains are due to arrive.

The land and animals
are at breaking point.

Zebra moving into the vast
plains of western Zambia

is a sign

that rain could be on its way.

Young males arrive
ahead of the main herd.

They’re here to stake
a claim on a patch of,

what will be,
a grass-eater’s paradise.

These bachelor bands
of young stallions

stay in gangs until
the chance comes for them

to claim their own
harem of females.

But to do this they will have
to fight the dominant stallion

from the harem.

Battles between zebra males

involve fierce
kicking and biting.

And young bachelors sometimes

bite off more
than they can chew

when taking on a stallion.

(SNORTING)

(SNORTS)

(SNARLS)

This greenhorn has
yet to earn his stripes.

No other animal in Africa
has such dramatic coloration.

The zebra’s vivid stripes

have baffled scientists
for decades.

Little wonder local people

have composed
their own stories

to explain the
extraordinary markings.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThe Zulu
people from Southern Africa

tell a story about
a bossy baboon

who claimed a
river for himself.

Brave Zebra, whose coat was
all white in those days,

challenged him.

Baboon was a good fighter and
his teeth were long and sharp.

He bit and pushed Zebra
into a bush fire.

The flames licked up
his pure white coat,

singeing the fur
in a striped pattern.

Zebra was so angry

that he kicked Baboon
right over the river.

Baboon landed
hard on the ground

and stripped all the hair
off his backside.

To this day, Zebra proudly
wears his striped coat

and Baboon can’t hide
his bare bottom.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

MALE NARRATOR: That coat is
not only bold, it’s brilliant.

When zebra run together
the collective stripes merge,

making it difficult
for a predator

to pick out one animal
from a mass of moving stripes.

The zebra are reduced to
a mere ghost in long grass.

The stripes are also
thought to act

like a kind
of insect repellent.

Scientists have shown that
biting flies prefer animals

with plain coats over those
with contrasting stripes.

No flies on him,

but possibly more on him.

The wildebeest, or gnu,

is zebra’s plain-dwelling
neighbor, and frequent ally.

A larger herd has
more eyes to spot danger,

and more voices
to sound the alarm.

It’s said that God made the
gnu from the bits and pieces

left over after creating
all the animals.

He gave it a mule’s face,

a goat’s beard,

the horns of a cow,
and the body of a horse.

It certainly behaves like
all the bits and pieces

came from different animals,

wanting to go
in different directions

as it darts about
the grassland!

Perhaps it’s those darn flies.

Like the zebra stallions,

these young males stake their
claim on the plain,

taking a gamble that
the rains will come

and the females will follow
to their particular patch.

Wildebeest are the largest
species of antelope and,

like other members
of this group,

use scent to mark territory.

Males dump dung and urine on
bare patches of earth

known as stamping grounds,

the smelly centre
of their territory.

They rub their heads
in the earth

adding scent from
glands on their face.

Then it’s time to have
a good old rub-down,

and fully cover themselves
in their personal perfume.

Nice!

Now to show off!

Those jerky,
disconnected movements

aren’t really caused
by biting flies.

This is how he
marks his territory.

The rocking gallop,
the swishing tail,

the leaps, bucks
and head tossing,

and that trot,
are all part of the display.

He’ll add a few snorts
and grunts

to make it clear
to all the other males

where his boundary lies.

(SNORTS)

(SNORTS)

But this challenger
has crossed the line.

They initially check each
other out by licking the air

and tasting
each other’s scent.

Then there’s a standoff as
they size each other up.

The interloper
drops to his knees,

indicating that
he’s ready to fight.

(GRUNTING AND SNORTING)

But it’s just a skirmish

and it’s over
as quickly as it began.

Like bored teenagers, these
young males spend all day

acting out ritual displays
of territory and dominance,

strutting their stuff
while waiting for the rain

and the females to arrive.

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

(THUNDER CRACKING)

Sometimes the rains

don’t always come
when they’re supposed to.

In a finely-tuned system
a change in the plan

marks the beginning of a
new struggle for survival,

especially for the very young,
the old and the weak.

It’s a time when predators
thrive, for a while.

But when the rivers run dry
and the ground turns to stone,

even they find it hard.

Every creature needs water

however they get it.

The roots of the riverside
trees tap into the very last

reserves of underground water.

The leaves contain a tiny but
precious source of moisture,

enough to make the difference

between life and death
in a drought.

The savannah plant eaters

have stripped the trees
almost bare.

Only one animal can reach
the very last leaves.

The tallest animal on Earth.

A male giraffe can be
18 feet tall.

And with a
17-inch long tongue,

this male can reach
19 feet up a tree!

His tongue is not only long,
but also prehensile,

meaning it can curl and grip,

allowing him
to carefully pluck leaves

even from branches
covered in thorns.

And a modified joint
in his neck

allows his head
to tilt to the vertical,

helping him to reach as far
as is physically possible.

This bizarrely built giant has
inspired many African myths

and legends.

FEMALE NARRATOR:
\hA story from East Africa

tells that during a drought,

when all the animals
were dying,

a kindly shaman took
pity on Giraffe.

He gave him magic herbs that
made his neck and legs grow

long enough to help Giraffe
reach the last leaves

on a tree, and survive
the deadly drought.

(BIRDS CALLING)

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThis male
giraffe’s long legs and neck

give him an advantage

over other animals
of the African bush,

especially when
times are hard.

In a competitive world,
advantage drives evolution.

And the scientific facts

behind the giraffe’s
incredible body

are more extraordinary
than the magic in the myth.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

Adult giraffes have a heart
that weighs up to 26 pounds.

This powerful muscle

simultaneously pumps blood
eight feet down

to the giraffe’s feet

and eight feet
up to it’s head.

This requires a blood pressure
that’s two and half times

higher than a human’s.

To maintain
this high pressure,

their skin is thick and stiff,

acting like a giant
compression bandage.

The jugular vein
is lined with extra muscle.

And one-way valves
in their neck

allow the giraffe
to lower its head

without flooding its brain
or bursting blood vessels,

and raise it without fainting.

These adaptations
to living the high life

give giraffes a
very long neck’s length

ahead in the
race for survival

and go to show that fact
can be stranger than fiction!

The giraffe’s ability to tilt
it’s head to the vertical might

have been the inspiration

for an ancient
Kalahari bushman myth.

FEMALE NARRATOR:
\hThe story tells

that at the beginning of time,

the Sun didn’t know its way
around the universe.

God saw that Giraffe often
stared curiously into the sky.

So he asked Giraffe

to watch over the Sun

and check that it never
lost its way again.

And so, to this day,

the Sun always
rises in the east

and sets in the west.

God was so pleased with
what Giraffe had done,

he rearranged a group of stars
in his honor.

The bushmen call this
constellation Tutwa,

meaning "giraffe".

It’s also known as
The Southern Cross.

MALE NARRATOR:
\hFor the predators of Africa,

moonless nights are
the best time to hunt.

But myths say there was
a time when there was

no true darkness.

FEMALE NARRATOR: A story told by
the Kono people of Sierra Leone

said that long ago the sun
shone all day

and a full moon
shone all night,

making it hard for
predators to hunt.

The supreme god Yataa decided
to help predators

by bringing darkness
to the land.

He put darkness into a basket

and told Bat to take it
to the Moon.

But Bat got hungry
on his long journey.

So he put the basket down and
flew off in search of food.

Other animals found the basket
and let darkness escape.

To this day,
Bat sleeps during the day

and flies around all night,
trying to recapture darkness.

MALE NARRATOR:
\hAt the end of the dry season

fig trees provide a
welcome feast for fruit bats.

Like sweet beacons
in the night,

the bats are
drawn to the tree

by the scent
of the ripening fruit.

Just like the myth foretold,

fruit bats spend most
of the night flying around,

but not in search of darkness,
they’re foraging for food.

They need to eat
half their body weight

in fruit every night,
and figs are a favorite.

Using its rasp-like tongue,
the bat mashes the fruit

against its teeth extracting
flesh and juices

and then discards the pulp.

It’s not long before the
undigested remains

come out the back end.

In this way, fruit bats play
an important role

in maintaining the diversity
and health of African forests.

The seeds from
the fruit they eat

can be dispersed
many miles away

from the mother tree,

neatly deposited in their own
little pile of fertilizer.

(BATS SCREECHING)

As dawn breaks, thousands
of straw-colored fruit bats

return to their day-time roost
in an evergreen swamp

in central Zambia.

They’ve recently arrived here,
some having travelled

over 1,000 miles
from central Africa.

Their arrival is timed to
coincide with the onset of

rains and fruiting trees
in this part of Zambia.

By the end of November,
there will be 10 million bats

in this half square-mile
patch of swamp.

Unlike the myth, the
straw-colored fruit bats

don’t spend all day sleeping.

Some of the time
is spent socializing

and arguing over
their section of branch.

As day becomes dusk
and temperatures fall,

the bats get ready to head out
into the surrounding forests

where the
fruiting trees grow.

The straw-colored bat is the
second largest bat in Africa

with a wingspan
of nearly three feet.

Designed for endurance
rather than speed,

their wings carry the bats
40 or 50 miles

in search of fruit
every night.

But first they have to get
past the resident predators.

It’s only during this limited
season that the fish eagle

will switch from its
usual diet of fish to bat.

Having traded speed
for endurance,

the slow flying bats

are easy pickings
for the agile eagle.

(SHRIEKING)

For those that survive,

there’s a busy night
of foraging ahead.

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

(THUNDER CRACKING)

Distant storms could mean
that the rains are finally

on their way,

but dawn brings another
clear, cloudless sky.

The storms
didn’t quite make it

to this part
of Southern Africa.

The San people of
Southern Africa

have a story
about rain and why

it comes and goes
in parts of Africa.

FEMALE NARRATOR:
\hThey say that long ago,

Elephant and Rain
decided to get married.

At first all was good,

but then they
started to quarrel

about who was more powerful.

Elephant would say,

"I am the strongest
of all living things!"

Rain would reply, "All that
lives, lives through me!"

Elephant was too proud

to accept that
Rain’s nourishing powers

were greater
than his strength.

So, to teach Elephant a
lesson, Rain decided to leave,

taking all the
moisture with her.

Drought soon came to the land,

making life hard
for all the animals.

Elephant begged
for Rain’s forgiveness,

but she ignored him.

The drought deepened
and all the animals,

including Elephant,
suffered terribly.

Rain had proved her point
and finally returned

but now she only stays
for a short time

to remind elephant
and all the animals

just how powerful she is.

MALE NARRATOR:
\hThe Zulu people call

the southern ground hornbill
the rain bird.

They believe its booming call
brings rain to the land.

A female finds a high branch
in an open patch of the plain,

and starts to call.

(CALLING)

She’s joined by a male.

Their duet is an affirmation
of their territory

and their life-long bond.

They will mate just
before the rains arrive.

Could the Zulu story be true?

Is rain finally on its way?

(THUNDER CRACKING)

A curtain of rain sweeps
across the parched plains,

finally breaking the drought.

(TRUMPETS GENTLY)

As if by magic
the landscape is transformed.

For the young male wildebeest,
their gamble has paid off.

Females flood into the plains
and feast

on rich grasses in
their patch of paradise.

Rivers fill and the once dry
pools teem with birds,

and happy hippos.

Trees blossom and fruit,

and creatures of all shapes
and sizes

feast on the bounty
that the rain provides.

Africa.

A land of magical stories,

filled with strange creatures
that inspired and terrified.

(LOW RUMBLING)

The myths and legends

still hold meaning
to the people who live there,

yet our
scientific understanding

of the natural world

has offered us even more
to wonder and marvel,

showing that fact is often
stranger than fiction.

(BATS SHRIEKING)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

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