Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:06,750
There is a place on earth
2
00:00:06,958 --> 00:00:10,333
where it is still
the morning of life
3
00:00:10,542 --> 00:00:13,292
and the great herds run free
4
00:00:32,500 --> 00:00:34,250
Life streams across a land
5
00:00:34,458 --> 00:00:36,542
suspended in time
6
00:00:36,750 --> 00:00:41,083
the last refuge of the greatest
concentration of wildlife
7
00:00:41,292 --> 00:00:42,625
remaining on earth
8
00:00:42,833 --> 00:00:46,125
The Serengeti plains of East Africa
9
00:01:46,667 --> 00:01:48,208
Long before human memory
10
00:01:48,417 --> 00:01:52,458
the mountains to the east emptied
themselves into the skies
11
00:01:57,542 --> 00:02:00,500
a sea of ash settled
across the Serengeti
12
00:02:00,708 --> 00:02:02,667
leaving only scattered summits
13
00:02:02,875 --> 00:02:05,500
as stone markers of a buried world
14
00:02:09,125 --> 00:02:11,042
Across four million years
15
00:02:11,250 --> 00:02:14,208
time and the elements
turned ash to rich soil
16
00:02:14,417 --> 00:02:16,250
yielding vast grasslands
17
00:02:16,458 --> 00:02:20,917
today preserved as the most important
animal sanctuary on earth
18
00:02:28,333 --> 00:02:30,750
In a land as fertile
as it is beautiful
19
00:02:30,958 --> 00:02:33,292
dwell millions of diverse creatures
20
00:02:36,875 --> 00:02:39,000
yet a single species predominates
21
00:02:39,208 --> 00:02:41,250
a million and a half strong
22
00:02:41,458 --> 00:02:45,542
wildebeests affect the lives of
all around them
23
00:02:49,250 --> 00:02:50,708
"Ungainly in appearance,"
24
00:02:50,917 --> 00:02:54,500
they have been called
the clowns of the African plains
25
00:02:54,708 --> 00:02:59,250
and an animal assembled by
committee from spare parts
26
00:03:04,083 --> 00:03:06,375
But wildebeests are superbly endowed
27
00:03:06,583 --> 00:03:10,667
for a life of endless migration
in search of grass and water
28
00:03:13,417 --> 00:03:16,917
Alongside an array of
other herbivores coexist
29
00:03:17,125 --> 00:03:18,583
all accommodated by the rich
30
00:03:18,792 --> 00:03:21,458
and varied vegetation
of the Serengeti
31
00:03:21,667 --> 00:03:25,917
each seeking out a different niche
of the food supply
32
00:03:33,083 --> 00:03:36,208
some may spend 2/3 of
their lives crazing
33
00:03:51,583 --> 00:03:55,458
some are fortunate enough to live
in their own salad bowl
34
00:04:33,792 --> 00:04:37,167
The equation of life
on the Serengeti is simple
35
00:04:37,375 --> 00:04:39,833
herbivores eat plants
36
00:04:40,042 --> 00:04:43,583
carnivores eat herbivores
37
00:04:53,292 --> 00:04:55,917
Lions hunt with both
might and stealth
38
00:04:58,250 --> 00:04:59,750
a decoy distracts...
39
00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:07,083
while others stalk
40
00:05:52,583 --> 00:05:55,417
Although the lioness
has made the kill
41
00:05:55,625 --> 00:05:59,917
it is the much larger male of the
pride who eats first
42
00:06:01,708 --> 00:06:03,833
The hungry wait by rank
43
00:06:05,958 --> 00:06:09,292
lionesses and cubs
are second in line
44
00:06:12,750 --> 00:06:14,625
"hyenas, jackals and vultures"
45
00:06:14,833 --> 00:06:16,583
quarrel to be next
46
00:07:15,083 --> 00:07:18,250
on the Serengeti nothing is wasted
47
00:07:29,958 --> 00:07:31,667
Through the plenty
of the wet season
48
00:07:31,875 --> 00:07:34,125
The wildebeest herds
have grown strong
49
00:07:34,333 --> 00:07:37,917
on the short grass plains of the
southern Serengeti
50
00:07:44,958 --> 00:07:49,875
"Now in late May, drought approaches
imposing a deadly ultimatum..."
51
00:07:50,875 --> 00:07:53,208
migrate or starve
52
00:07:58,625 --> 00:08:00,208
For more than two million animals
53
00:08:00,417 --> 00:08:04,042
it is a marathon race against
thirst and hunger
54
00:08:04,250 --> 00:08:06,083
Like living streams and rivers
55
00:08:06,292 --> 00:08:09,333
"the herds, accompanied by
zebras and gazelles"
56
00:08:09,542 --> 00:08:11,208
flow toward the north and west
57
00:08:11,417 --> 00:08:14,875
drawn by the ancient promise
of water and grass
58
00:08:15,083 --> 00:08:17,583
the great migration has begun
59
00:08:20,292 --> 00:08:22,042
The epic journey takes place
60
00:08:22,250 --> 00:08:26,167
within the two East African
Nations of Tanzania and Kenya
61
00:08:26,375 --> 00:08:29,833
The wildebeest herds migrate north
62
00:08:30,042 --> 00:08:31,417
toward the
Maasai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya
63
00:08:34,250 --> 00:08:36,375
"There, they range for months until"
64
00:08:36,583 --> 00:08:38,792
the rains resume
65
00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,167
and the herds return again to the
southern plains
66
00:08:45,833 --> 00:08:50,583
the migration runs a deadly gauntlet
of more than 500 miles
67
00:08:56,417 --> 00:08:57,875
The first weeks
of the migration coincide
68
00:08:58,083 --> 00:09:01,125
with the frenzy
of the rutting season
69
00:09:04,292 --> 00:09:05,583
bulls engage in constant battles
70
00:09:05,792 --> 00:09:09,375
over females and territories
71
00:09:18,750 --> 00:09:23,958
In a few frantic weeks
90% of the cows are impregnated
72
00:09:39,542 --> 00:09:41,125
Early in the migration northward
73
00:09:41,333 --> 00:09:42,875
herds move through the region
74
00:09:43,083 --> 00:09:46,333
of ancient granite outcroppings
called kopjes
75
00:09:50,583 --> 00:09:53,833
now they are vantage points for
waiting predators
76
00:10:06,667 --> 00:10:11,292
"From a litter of four, only this
lone cheetah cub has survived"
77
00:10:24,542 --> 00:10:27,500
"To nourish it, the mother must
kill almost daily"
78
00:10:27,708 --> 00:10:29,667
but she has not eaten for two days
79
00:10:32,708 --> 00:10:37,000
"The herds have passed, but a few
straggling gazelles appear"
80
00:10:39,667 --> 00:10:42,333
"From this distance, there is no contest"
81
00:10:42,542 --> 00:10:45,250
the cheetah is the fastest
land animal on earth
82
00:10:45,458 --> 00:10:48,958
achieving short bursts of speed
up to 70 miles per hour
83
00:11:35,792 --> 00:11:38,958
There is neither malice nor remorse
of the Serengeti
84
00:11:39,167 --> 00:11:42,000
a hunter kills to eat
and to feed its own
85
00:11:42,208 --> 00:11:43,208
nothing more
86
00:11:57,250 --> 00:12:00,417
To the migrating herds
wooded savannas now offer refuge
87
00:12:00,625 --> 00:12:02,292
from the drought-stricken plains
88
00:12:07,458 --> 00:12:10,042
"But here, the migration
becomes an invasion"
89
00:12:10,250 --> 00:12:13,375
for the woodlands are a permanent
home to others
90
00:12:17,167 --> 00:12:20,250
Yet most of the residents go
about their daily affairs
91
00:12:20,458 --> 00:12:23,625
little disturbed by the
trespassing multitude
92
00:12:27,375 --> 00:12:31,417
"Unlike wildebeests, Maasai giraffes
need not migrate"
93
00:12:31,625 --> 00:12:34,750
they feed on a hundred species of
woodland foliage
94
00:12:34,958 --> 00:12:37,583
a food supply resistant to drought
95
00:12:57,458 --> 00:13:01,625
Vervet monkeys find in trees both
sustenance and safety
96
00:13:06,167 --> 00:13:11,042
"Savanna baboons roam the woodlands
in troops, roosting in trees by night"
97
00:13:12,208 --> 00:13:15,708
"Omnivores, like us, they feed
on almost anything edible"
98
00:13:27,875 --> 00:13:31,625
"Occasionally, adult males will even
feast on young antelope"
99
00:13:41,583 --> 00:13:44,042
feeding on grasses adjacent
to the woodlands
100
00:13:44,250 --> 00:13:47,417
grazers come under
an ever watchful eye
101
00:13:48,750 --> 00:13:52,583
Yet there is one herbivore even
the lion gives wide berth
102
00:13:54,250 --> 00:13:57,625
the adult elephant is one of the few
Serengeti animals without an
103
00:13:57,833 --> 00:13:59,333
enemy in the wild
104
00:14:07,250 --> 00:14:11,667
"Protective of their young, elephants
form extremely close bonds"
105
00:14:11,875 --> 00:14:16,250
the relationship between mother and
daughter lasts up to 50 years
106
00:14:28,792 --> 00:14:30,750
Herds sometimes push on through
the night despite risk of attack
107
00:14:30,958 --> 00:14:33,792
Under cover of darkness
108
00:14:47,917 --> 00:14:51,542
drawn by lightning distant thunder
or the smell of rain
109
00:14:51,750 --> 00:14:53,708
they may travel 50 miles by dawn
110
00:15:10,417 --> 00:15:12,417
Now adversities multiply
111
00:15:14,875 --> 00:15:17,417
drought has parched
the plains tinder dry
112
00:15:19,792 --> 00:15:22,000
grass fires sweep the Serengeti
113
00:15:36,375 --> 00:15:38,292
Secured by fire and wind
114
00:15:38,500 --> 00:15:41,750
the vegetation will regenerate
in the rains to come
115
00:15:41,958 --> 00:15:45,667
"but for the moment, herds seeking
sustenance find only dust"
116
00:16:03,708 --> 00:16:07,042
Now the enemies are thirst
hunger exhaustion
117
00:16:07,250 --> 00:16:10,333
"and, as ever, predators"
118
00:16:23,083 --> 00:16:25,208
so powerful is the urge to migrate
119
00:16:25,417 --> 00:16:28,750
The herd will push on
even when confronted by a lion
120
00:16:28,958 --> 00:16:30,708
Crouched in open ambush
121
00:16:30,917 --> 00:16:33,583
the hunter has only
to pick the moment
122
00:16:55,208 --> 00:16:56,625
In this endless contest
123
00:16:56,833 --> 00:16:58,625
nothing is guaranteed
124
00:16:58,833 --> 00:17:02,792
"In daytime, only one lion hunt
in five succeeds"
125
00:17:10,625 --> 00:17:12,917
"Finally, after months of migration"
126
00:17:13,125 --> 00:17:14,167
The forward ranks
127
00:17:14,375 --> 00:17:17,333
surge into the bounty that has
Drawn them northward...
128
00:17:18,458 --> 00:17:21,708
the rich pastures of the Maasai Mara
in Kenya
129
00:17:26,250 --> 00:17:30,417
"Once more, their instincts have
brought them to a place of plenty"
130
00:17:34,125 --> 00:17:36,792
"Here, they will range
and graze for months"
131
00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:41,375
until the life giving rains return
on the winds of October
132
00:17:49,167 --> 00:17:51,125
"To the east, close by the Serengeti"
133
00:17:51,333 --> 00:17:53,625
there is a place of even
greater abundance
134
00:17:53,833 --> 00:17:55,958
one of the natural
wonders of the world
135
00:17:56,917 --> 00:17:58,958
it is a microcosm of the Serengeti
136
00:18:07,208 --> 00:18:10,875
Ngorongoro crater is
a huge volcanic caldera
137
00:18:11,083 --> 00:18:13,167
encompassing 100 square miles
138
00:18:13,375 --> 00:18:17,500
a remnant of the great eruptions that
created the Serengeti plains
139
00:18:21,625 --> 00:18:26,417
"From cloud forests along the rim
to the crater floor 2,000 feet below"
140
00:18:26,625 --> 00:18:29,167
a self-contained ecosystem provides
141
00:18:29,375 --> 00:18:31,958
abundant forage and plentiful water
142
00:18:34,458 --> 00:18:36,708
"Where there is water, there is life"
143
00:18:58,708 --> 00:19:00,667
An object of amusement to some
144
00:19:00,875 --> 00:19:06,250
the hippopotamus can cut a crocodile
or a human in half with a single bite
145
00:19:07,333 --> 00:19:09,583
Prompting an axiom of the Serengeti...
146
00:19:09,792 --> 00:19:13,500
never come between a hippo
and its territorial waters
147
00:19:16,958 --> 00:19:19,542
Tens of thousands of
animals dwell here
148
00:19:19,750 --> 00:19:22,250
others come in migrations of the sky
149
00:19:23,417 --> 00:19:25,708
flamingos from Namibia
150
00:19:28,625 --> 00:19:31,125
storks from as far as Europe and Asia
151
00:19:33,333 --> 00:19:36,167
Like privileged cousins of the
migrating herds outside
152
00:19:36,375 --> 00:19:38,833
wildebeests and zebras within
the crater walls
153
00:19:39,042 --> 00:19:41,625
Need only wander from
pasture to pasture
154
00:20:07,208 --> 00:20:09,167
Dangers abound here as elsewhere
155
00:20:11,958 --> 00:20:14,417
zebras cluster together in
a tangle of stripes
156
00:20:14,625 --> 00:20:16,125
confusing to predators
157
00:20:20,792 --> 00:20:23,042
The horses of Africa appear placid
158
00:20:23,250 --> 00:20:25,250
but they have never
been domesticated
159
00:20:43,458 --> 00:20:46,125
"The black rhinoceros, for all its
formidable presence"
160
00:20:46,333 --> 00:20:49,917
and frequent marking of territory
is a vulnerable giant
161
00:20:50,125 --> 00:20:53,208
poached almost to extinction
for the value of its horn
162
00:21:05,625 --> 00:21:09,000
Ngorongoro crater is one of the
few protected refuges
163
00:21:09,208 --> 00:21:11,167
where the black rhino endures
164
00:21:15,250 --> 00:21:17,625
for a baboon troop
much of the day passes
165
00:21:17,833 --> 00:21:20,000
"attending to young, grooming"
166
00:21:20,208 --> 00:21:21,250
and socializing
167
00:22:16,750 --> 00:22:17,750
though the job of protecting
168
00:22:17,958 --> 00:22:21,625
"the lion pride and its territory
belongs to the males,"
169
00:22:21,833 --> 00:22:24,875
hunting and raising young
falls to the females
170
00:22:39,042 --> 00:22:43,042
Play helps prepare the young for
the violent encounters to come
171
00:23:26,958 --> 00:23:31,958
The vaunted power of lions is matched
by a prodigious capacity for rest
172
00:23:33,083 --> 00:23:36,583
typically 20 hours a day is
spent in regal slumber
173
00:23:46,500 --> 00:23:48,125
"When lions mate, however"
174
00:23:48,333 --> 00:23:49,458
they do so on average
175
00:23:49,667 --> 00:23:51,792
"every 25 minutes, day and night"
176
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:53,042
without feeding
177
00:23:53,250 --> 00:23:54,542
for three or four days
178
00:24:07,583 --> 00:24:10,000
"It has been estimated that
3,000 mating occur"
179
00:24:10,208 --> 00:24:12,750
for every cub that
survives its first year
180
00:24:43,042 --> 00:24:45,958
These lands are also
the cradle of humanity
181
00:24:46,167 --> 00:24:47,917
gashed into the eastern Serengeti
182
00:24:48,125 --> 00:24:51,542
"Plains near Ngorongoro
is olduvai-gorge, one of the most"
183
00:24:51,750 --> 00:24:55,417
famous archaeological sites of earth
184
00:24:56,542 --> 00:24:58,375
It bears within its layered walls
185
00:24:58,583 --> 00:25:00,125
a human fossil record spanning
186
00:25:00,333 --> 00:25:03,125
almost two million years
187
00:25:29,333 --> 00:25:32,958
"Today, the proud Maasai
people dwell here"
188
00:25:45,125 --> 00:25:47,125
"They too, follow a nomadic existence"
189
00:25:47,333 --> 00:25:49,125
along the edges of the Serengeti
190
00:25:49,333 --> 00:25:50,750
ever seeking good grazing
191
00:25:50,958 --> 00:25:53,083
for their cattle herds
192
00:26:25,958 --> 00:26:28,250
the Maasai believe
that heaven gave them
193
00:26:28,458 --> 00:26:32,042
and no other people
all the cattle on earth
194
00:26:33,792 --> 00:26:35,083
And from their treasured cattle
195
00:26:35,292 --> 00:26:36,500
they still draw a staple
196
00:26:36,708 --> 00:26:38,542
of the Maasai warrior diet...
197
00:26:38,750 --> 00:26:41,125
a mixture of milk and blood
198
00:27:00,792 --> 00:27:05,167
The age of predators still
encompasses the world of the Maasai
199
00:27:05,375 --> 00:27:07,083
From this and nearby villages
200
00:27:07,292 --> 00:27:11,750
Leopards have taken three infants
within the year
201
00:27:11,958 --> 00:27:13,333
Once the most formidable warriors
202
00:27:13,542 --> 00:27:14,875
in east Africa
203
00:27:15,083 --> 00:27:16,708
the Maasai still defend their cattle
204
00:27:16,917 --> 00:27:19,250
and families with spears
205
00:28:13,750 --> 00:28:15,708
some are born on the Serengeti
206
00:28:15,917 --> 00:28:18,042
some seek it out
207
00:28:19,625 --> 00:28:22,375
Today a growing human migration from
208
00:28:22,583 --> 00:28:24,417
the outside world can witness
209
00:28:24,625 --> 00:28:25,875
a spectacle of wildness
210
00:28:26,083 --> 00:28:28,458
long vanished elsewhere
211
00:28:41,958 --> 00:28:44,208
Tanzania and Kenya have preserved
212
00:28:44,417 --> 00:28:46,208
vast areas as national parks
213
00:28:46,417 --> 00:28:48,500
"and game reserves, proclaiming them"
214
00:28:48,708 --> 00:28:51,833
a world heritage of all mankind
215
00:28:59,583 --> 00:29:00,833
The support from tourism
216
00:29:01,042 --> 00:29:03,125
is now indispensable to the survival
217
00:29:03,333 --> 00:29:05,375
"of this heritage, linking the"
218
00:29:05,583 --> 00:29:06,708
destiny of the Serengeti
219
00:29:06,917 --> 00:29:10,125
with the visitors who pass in awe
220
00:29:27,458 --> 00:29:30,125
The Serengeti they behold is changing
221
00:29:30,333 --> 00:29:32,667
threatened by population
growth and poaching
222
00:29:32,875 --> 00:29:35,833
but vigorously protected as well
223
00:29:41,167 --> 00:29:42,875
Elephant herds that once fled
224
00:29:43,083 --> 00:29:44,375
poachers are returning
225
00:29:44,583 --> 00:29:47,958
now protected by an ivory moratorium
226
00:29:59,500 --> 00:30:01,417
Nourished again by the Serengeti
227
00:30:01,625 --> 00:30:03,375
and encouraged by greater safety
228
00:30:03,583 --> 00:30:06,333
The herds are multiplying rapidly
229
00:30:29,917 --> 00:30:31,292
on the Maasai Mara
230
00:30:31,500 --> 00:30:34,583
The storms of October approach
231
00:30:45,583 --> 00:30:47,375
and with the return of the rains
232
00:30:47,583 --> 00:30:48,875
the herds will resume
233
00:30:49,083 --> 00:30:50,125
the great migration
234
00:30:50,333 --> 00:30:51,792
toward their ancestral calving
235
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:54,250
grounds in the south
236
00:31:03,125 --> 00:31:06,500
But ahead they face
their greatest peril
237
00:31:09,167 --> 00:31:10,083
to reach the south
238
00:31:10,292 --> 00:31:12,250
the herd must
cross the Mara river
239
00:31:12,458 --> 00:31:14,833
now swollen by the rains
240
00:31:30,333 --> 00:31:32,625
in these waters.
241
00:31:32,833 --> 00:31:35,083
It is still the age of dinosaurs
242
00:31:35,292 --> 00:31:38,458
and a crocodile reigns supreme
243
00:33:36,750 --> 00:33:38,792
Many that survive the crocodiles
244
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,875
fall prey to the river itself
245
00:33:42,083 --> 00:33:45,250
some drown. Some are trampled
246
00:33:45,458 --> 00:33:46,708
some are too exhausted
247
00:33:46,917 --> 00:33:49,292
to save themselves
248
00:34:03,708 --> 00:34:04,875
Through the year and the course
249
00:34:05,083 --> 00:34:06,125
of the great migration
250
00:34:06,333 --> 00:34:08,375
a quarter of a million wildebeests
251
00:34:08,583 --> 00:34:10,417
will have died
252
00:34:10,625 --> 00:34:12,625
But the migration moves on
253
00:34:12,833 --> 00:34:14,500
through the long journey south
254
00:34:14,708 --> 00:34:17,333
returning finally
to the short grass plains
255
00:34:17,542 --> 00:34:21,250
where the miracle
of the Serengeti unfolds
256
00:34:23,833 --> 00:34:26,292
The mass breeding earlier in the year
257
00:34:26,500 --> 00:34:29,458
culminates in mass birth
258
00:34:38,833 --> 00:34:40,583
in the brief span of a few weeks
259
00:34:40,792 --> 00:34:42,167
In the wet season
260
00:34:42,375 --> 00:34:43,625
almost half a million wildebeest
261
00:34:43,833 --> 00:34:45,792
calves are born
262
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:47,708
a strategy that overwhelms predators
263
00:34:47,917 --> 00:34:50,375
and ensures the survival
264
00:34:50,583 --> 00:34:53,208
of a new generation
265
00:35:21,917 --> 00:35:23,625
To survive in the midst of predators
266
00:35:23,833 --> 00:35:25,500
newborn calves must be able to
267
00:35:25,708 --> 00:35:28,708
stand within minutes of birth
268
00:35:59,583 --> 00:36:01,583
Those unable to stand
269
00:36:01,792 --> 00:36:04,250
must be abandoned
270
00:36:50,458 --> 00:36:52,208
Once more on the plains
271
00:36:52,417 --> 00:36:53,583
of the Serengeti
272
00:36:53,792 --> 00:36:56,750
life is more powerful than death
273
00:36:56,958 --> 00:36:59,250
and there remains a place on Earth
274
00:36:59,458 --> 00:37:02,750
where it is still the morning of life
275
00:37:02,958 --> 00:37:06,500
and the great herds still run free
21148
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.