All language subtitles for Wildlife Icons Series 1 Part 7 The Hamadryas of Awash 1080p

Ethiopia
is a country of contrasts.

It has mountain highlands,

Lush swamps

And dry savannas.

And in the middle
lies a land that contains

All of these
in one small arena.

Awash national park

Is part desert

And part oasis.

One primate that thrives here
is as multifaceted as its home.

The hamadryas baboon.

Under the leadership
of their alphas

They move through
the many faces of their habitat.

Confronting both the land
and each other

On daily migrations
through the park.

These are
the hamadryas of awash.

11 million years ago,

Powerful geological ruptures
tore apart

Africa's eastern plain.

Leaving a fissure running down
the length of the continent.

The great rift valley.

Formed by violent
tectonic movements

And volcanic eruptions,

It has created environments

That are both
hostile and beautiful.

In its northeastern corner

Is a country
that stands as a testament

To these opposing forces.

Ethiopia is a land of extremes.

It's home
to mountainous highlands,

Vast river valleys

And arid deserts.

And for each of these
environments,

A different primate
can be found in its midst.

These animals

Are some of the world's
most adaptable characters,

Able to survive
in anything from desert

To swampland.

The changes between each habitat
are reflected

In the makeup of the primate
society that lives there.

And there's one area

Where this can be witnessed
in a single consolidated space.

Awash national park

In the center of ethiopia,

Is both a wildlife haven

And a cruel desert.

In the dry season,

Less than a tenth of an inch
of rain falls a month.

The land is dusty and sterile,

Relinquishing little
for those who live there.

But hidden within the park

Is a lush oasis.

A natural utopia produced by
the very same volcanic forces

That shaped
the surrounding wasteland.

And it's here
that one of ethiopia's

Most iconic primates thrives.

The hamadryas baboon.

Their home is both generous
and severe.

They too exist
as a delicate mix of tenderness

And hostility.

Theirs is a world balanced
by both gentle cooperation

And brutal competition.

As soon as the sun
breaks the horizon,

Daily proceedings commence.

The alpha males begin to gather
and organize their harems.

Hamadryas clans
comprise several families,

Each led by a dominant male

And everyone is responsible
for looking after each other.

For the youngest members,
the arrival of the new day

Means that they can resume
their restless jostling,

Running and playing.

But for the elders

The pace is considerably slower.

The dominant males enjoy
the attention of their family

And tolerate
the presence of their neighbors.

Males share territory,
but they do not share females.

They're notoriously possessive

And aggressive.

Each alpha
is constantly pampered

By a collection
of his prize females.

A powerful male

Can hold onto his harem
for as long as 10 years

And it's strength alone

That determines
the longevity of his reign.

If a female even dares
to look at another male,

The consequences are dire.

They bear the scars
of male discipline,

Which often comes in the form
of a sharp bite to the ear.

Here, males are the kings.

And their realm
is in many ways

As tough and exacting
as they are.

In most baboon societies,

Related females stay together

And adolescent males
disperse into other groups.

But the hamadryas are different.

Here males form brotherhoods
from birth,

Which they continue to maintain.

The whole social structure

Is centered around
groups of alphas.

They keep the group cohesion
through their aggression.

But this simple act of affection

Is equally important
for this complex society.

Grooming is an important
indicator of dominance.

Superior clan members

Are shown more affection
than others.

So being a female

Means that a lot of energy is
spent trying to satisfy a male.

But this will pay off
when they need protection.

The alphas will only defend
their favorites in a fight.

Grooming
is a deeply political act -

One that shapes the power
structures of the entire clan.

For this young mother
and her newborn

The group dynamic
is a source of both security

And great stress.

There's little cooperative
parenting in this society;

Once the infant is born

It's largely the mother's
responsibility to raise it.

And she must always maintain
her loyalty to its father.

Each morning
the leaders move their families

From the cliff tops where they
sleep and into the park below.

The hazardous journey down

Is one
that the entire clan must make.

These cliffs are a safe haven,

Unlike the rest
of awash's stark landscape;

And only the strongest
hamadryas clans

Get to enjoy them.

The animals that inhabit
the outer reaches of the park

Live a very different existence.

Surrounding the cliffs

Is a vast expanse
of barren grassland and scrub.

Predators like lions and jackals

Travel through
the harsh terrain.

And with fewer than 2 days of
rainfall during the dry months,

The carnivores
are not the only threat

That the residents have to face.

In the dry season

Temperatures push
104 degrees fahrenheit.

But even though little relief
comes in the form of rain,

The land makes up for it
in other ways.

The geological shifts
and volcanic forces

That have shaped
the course landscape,

Also created
an unexpected by-product.

As lava continued to spill

And then cool over the land
throughout the millennia,

It created a deeply porous
igneous rock.

Underground spring water filters
through all year round -

Creating an oasis
at the foot of the awash cliffs.

No matter what time of the year,

This small pocket of the park
remains lush.

Providing shelter,

Water

And food.

These mountains have many gems
and the first meal of the day

On their descent from the cliffs

Is a favored delicacy
for the resident clan.

Palm nuts.

Hamadryas baboons
eat a variety of foods

And these treasured fruits

Are enjoyed
by every member of the group.

The clan's daily movements
are dictated by the search

For the right nutrition.

As soon as day breaks
at the top of the cliffs

They begin their passage
through awash

To find more food.

After their first
meal of the day,

The youngsters
are injected with new energy.

They explore their world
by tumbling through it.

It's here that they discover

The extent
of their physical abilities.

The clan is made up
of multiple harems,

Each with their own infants.

And all of the youngsters
band together to enjoy the fun.

They test their mobility
against one another.

And this is also how they
sharpen their climbing skills.

It's an education

Through revelry.

But play
is cut short by the elders,

Who must now
lead the clan onwards

To find
other sources of food.

Although the cliffs
are bountiful,

The hamadryas baboons
cannot live on palm nuts alone.

To find the necessary grubs and
roots to supplement their diet,

They must move
to the dry center of the park.

Leaving the cliffs
is a risky move;

Another clan may take the oasis
if it's left undefended.

But they have no choice.

Every day they undergo
a hurried morning forage,

Making sure
that they leave their home

For as short a period
as possible.

Led by the alphas,

They hastily comb through vast
expanses of open space

For the little nourishment
they can find.

But the baboons are not the only
ones on the search for food.

Warthogs are grazers

That specialize in digging up
roots that lie below the earth.

They are suited
to plowing through arid areas

To find nutrients.

They're good at withstanding
heat, which allows them

To waste less moisture
when cooling themselves.

And this is what helps
another awash species

To cope with the dry habitat.

Oryx can survive without
needing to drink regularly.

But they need vegetation

That retains enough moisture
to sustain them.

Though comfortable
in the dry center of awash,

This herd cannot stay
in one place for long.

They must move
through the wasteland

To find enough moisture-rich
plants to nourish them.

But it's not just the mammals on
the search for moisture.

Leopard tortoises
live in the dry region of awash,

But they can't survive long
without fresh water,

So they must permanently quest
through the sterile land

To find it .

But they do have
a number of ingenious ways

To cope with their habitat.

Their high-domed shell

Provides extra protection
from the sun's heat.

This allows them to spend
more time in open habitats

Looking for food or water.

Sometimes the ethiopian heat
can be too much,

Even for these
well-adapted reptiles.

When they wedge themselves
in thickets,

Seeds in their droppings
germinate

Under shade and protection
allowing new growth.

This regeneration of plant life

Is a valuable contribution

To all who move through
this difficult landscape.

There are other baboon families
battling in the dry.

Anubis baboons

Are some of the hardiest
characters of the primate world.

Able to survive in
almost any terrestrial habitat,

They're well equipped

To deal with the severity
of awash's desert plains.

Their success as a species

Lies in their ability
to live off almost anything

From thorns and shrubs to small
mammals and reptiles.

Even when the dry and sterile
landscape provides little,

They're able
to sustain themselves.

There's very little
that anubis baboons cannot,

And will not, eat.

Every day they join
the other residents of awash,

Threading
through its arid stretches

For whatever they can find.

A little further to the north,
a different story unfolds.

Where the majority of awash is
a coarse and severe landscape,

Ethiopia's simien mountains
are lush and generous.

Cascades of cliff faces
line the horizon,

Climbing 15,000 feet
across the ethiopian highlands.

Moisture constantly moves

Through these
high altitude buttresses.

Ensuring that they stay
green and plentiful

All year round.

In between the vast peaks,
a myriad of life prospers.

And the animals that live here

Enjoy a very different existence

To those in awash.

Here there are no dry deserts
or scarce plains.

The heights provide
water and food all year around

And every resident
that lives among the peaks

Prospers because of this.

Walia ibex frequent the mountain
between 8,000

And 15,000 feet.

The vegetation that an ibex
needs to survive

Can only grow
in this region of the simiens.

Ibex need a constant
supply of water all year round.

They depend heavily

On the upper stretches of this
natural cathedral to get this.

They share
this section of ethiopia

With another
of its iconic primates.

Geladas only live
in the simien mountains

Above 5,000 feet.

This is where
the high-protein grasses

That they depend on
for survival grow.

Geladas are the only true
grazers of all primates -

Their diet
is more like a cattle's

Than a typical baboon's.

By shuffling forwards
on their bottoms

And pinching at tufts of grass

With their
highly opposable thumbs,

They spend their days

Plowing through the high
altitude grazing pastures

Of ethiopia's highlands.

The daily routines
of the gelada and the hamadryas

Are markedly different,

One relishes in the security of
its plentiful mountain habitat,

While the other must face
a constant daily battle

With its unremitting home.

But awash has two faces;

It's both desert and oasis.

These igneous rocks

Filter the spring water that
supports the awash inhabitants

All year round.

These marshes
generate river tracts

That feed into the park

Quenching the parched land.

And it's here that another,

Rather more mild tempered
primate species

Can be found.

Grivet monkeys can only survive
in lush woodlands

And areas
with constant water supply.

As a result, they're restricted
to the park's swamplands,

Unable to expand their range
to the center of awash.

They spend most of their time
in the trees,

Only coming down
to the water to drink.

The river
is not without its dangers.

The riverbanks
on which the grivet monkeys live

Are also the hunting grounds
for a far larger,

Primordial predator.

The nile crocodile.

The monkeys' small size
makes them easy prey.

So they're dependent
on their acute senses

To survive
the dangers of the waterfront.

By remaining in a state
of hyper awareness,

They notice the predator

Well before it manages
to get close enough.

Allowing them to retreat to the
safety of the overhanging trees.

Once the resident hamadryas
have had their fill,

They cease their morning forage

And return hastily
to the cliffs.

For the clan, their return
is cause for celebration.

They find the cliffs unoccupied
by other baboons.

Now that they've lead the group
safely back home,

The alphas can relax.

The mothers may now spend more
time tending to their offspring.

Females tend to give birth
every 24 months

And they dedicate
the period in between

To protecting
and raising their young.

When 2 years have passed,

The little ones start
to move around independently.

For all
of the clan's youngsters,

The return to the cliffs
just means more fun.

Their tireless playing
reaches explosive levels

As they enjoy the return
to their safe haven.

These seemingly
innocuous jostles

Are a precursor
to a far more vicious tendency.

Fighting ability and aggression
are the biggest determinants

In male social standing.

This makes play fighting
an important skill to master

Early on.

Only the strongest will
eventually hold a harem.

For weaker, peripheral males

Finding a mate is a hard task.

Female loyalty to the alpha
is not a matter of choice,

But rather of force.

And other males must respect
the alphas and their harems.

If they don't, a fierce
dominance battle may ensue.

The only way that peripheral
males are able to mate

Is in secret,

Away from the gaze
of the alphas,

Or by successfully defeating
a dominant male in a fight.

Their home
is difficult and sparse,

And this often places
the hamadryas in conflict

With one another.

Any aggression
in their social structure

Is born from necessity.

Their northerly neighbors

The geladas

Inhabit
a polar opposite environment,

A place of plenty,

And this has caused
an entirely different approach

To the way that they socialize.

Where hamadryas
coalesce in conflict,

The geladas
have chosen another method

To keep their group cohesion.

Here it's less often violence
that guides the families,

But rather affection.

In the world of the gelada,
females own the throne.

Females make
the mating decisions

That shape the whole group's
power dynamics.

They choose whether or not
to empower the alpha males.

As a result it's the male that
has to impress the female.

Here the alpha
is not the strongest fighter,

But the gentlest groomer.

2 million years ago

The most common baboon species

Were the ancestors
of the gelada,

Adapted to eat the verdant
grasses of sub-saharan africa.

As the climate dried over
the course of the millennia,

These grasses became restricted

To the top
of the ethiopian mountains.

And were replaced lower down

By the much drier grasslands
of today's african savanna.

With the advance of the savanna
came the hamadryas baboons.

They replaced geladas everywhere

Except for the uppermost regions

Of an ethiopian
stronghold in the mountains.

Today they exist as two
opposing mirror image societies.

One protected
by a generous mountain habitat,

The other restricted
to the unyielding savanna.

The first guided by females,

The next dominated by males.

One centered around peace,

And the other
maintained by violence.

Nowhere
is this violence more evident,

Than when two hamadryas clans
have to share a space.

A rival group has arrived
at the foot of the awash cliffs.

The resident alphas
band together

To form an offensive.

The strongest members
will be called on in battle.

Tensions run high

And the battle breaks out.

Hamadryas scuffles
can be violent.

But the fight is short lived.

The stronger resident clan

Has fended off the rivals.

Peace returns to the cliffs.

Their battle won,

Their oasis secure,

The hamadryas families
begin their ascent

To the sleeping sites.

Their territory is secure.

Fighting side by side to protect
this small haven of awash

Strengthens the bonds
of the hamadryas alphas.

Each day
they rely on one another

To defeat the challenges
of the park.

But the rewards
are always worth the battle.

The harems may now rest easy,

Confident in the fact

That their sleeping sites have
been successfully defended.

And so they settle down
for the evening,

Retreating to the safety
of their mountainous fortress.

Drawing the curtain
on another day in awash.

Ethiopia supports an array
of wildlife kingdoms.

These house some
of the natural world's

Most striking
and iconic species.

The primates that exist here

Are as diverse
as the habitats they live in.

In awash national park

This variety is contained within
a single consolidated arena.

And the oasis at the cliffs
is a fiercely contested prize.

One that only the most dominant
hamadryas clans may procure.

The resident alphas
are responsible

For providing
for their families.

To do this successfully,

They have to roam the park
in its entirety,

Threading through each of its
habitats to find the right food.

Unable to live
in one landscape alone,

Their existence
is split between two domains.

Theirs is a union composed
of tenderness and hostility,

Making them the bastions

Of a world
that is both generous and harsh.

Their daily battles with
the land, and with each other,

Reveal a fascinating society,

Full of the struggle, triumph -

And paradoxes of their home.

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