All language subtitles for PBS Nature - Amazing Places - Africa 2009 Part 2

Unknown: A baby eland is no sooner born than it must face a violent opponent.

Torrential rains saw the herds food,

the slopes become a green desert grass everywhere yet not a blade to eat.

Hungry, the Elan begin an epic climb

to the peaks of South Africa's largest mountains, the Drakensberg

but the weather bites anxiously at their heels

The mountains are both their home and their obstacle

and a quest they must conquer each year to survive.

This is the dragons mountain, the Drakensburg

the heart of the highest widest and most rugged mountain range

in all of Southern Africa.

There are many stories to be told about these mountains.

The smoke of grass fires recalls their fiery bursts

while eyes in the sky scan the barren slopes for signs of death.

It is the story of new life here that is so remarkable.

While some of the Dragons Berg's characters feast,

others prepare for famine and vicious weather.

But it's the journey of the Eland, the world's largest antelope,

from the foot of the mountains to the very peaks

that brings to life the scale, the beauty

and the drama of the Dragons Berg.

The dark power in this story comes from the mountains themselves.

They loom over everything with cliffs

that seem like the spines of a dragon.

These mountains are far far older than the creatures they dominate.

They were born some 160 million years ago.

In the Jurassic period, molten lava poured out across the region

and cooled into layers of basalt.

The toughest segments of the basalt now cap the Drakenbergs peaks

any softer rock has been eroded away over 10s of millions of years

to leave the valleys and ravines of today.

The Drakensberg mountain range stretches more than 600 miles across southern
Africa.

Relentless erosion has sculpted shapes that inspired the Zulu name

barrier of spears.

From the peaks, the slopes plummet some sick 500 feet into the lower valleys

and vultures fly so high that local legend says

they can see into the future.

In the dry season, it is hard to imagine that the Drakenberg is the source of
many rivers

flowing west into the Atlantic and east into the Indian Ocean.

irrigating a vast area of farmland and pasture.

Down in these fertile valleys,

eland are gathering

the grasslands of the Drakensberg remain a precious refuge for these wild herds.

the mighty basalt bastions are literally built on sand

the smooth protected sandstone cliffs at the base of the mountain

are an open air gallery of primeval rock art, some 2400 years old.

African song

the hunter gathered clans who painted these images have long disappeared,

but the eland are remarkable survivors.

They are almost as big as oxen.

Bulls stand nearly six feet tall and weigh in at more than 1500 pounds.

They're too big to be climbers like iBooks or sham Wah.

Now in early summer, the Eland stays contentedly

in the gentle grasslands of the lower valleys.

The youngest member of the herd is not even five minutes old.

Each mother knows her own calf and attends to no other.

The young eland takes in this bright new world with big eyes and ears.

While its nostrils are becoming familiar with the scent of its herd.

throughout its life, this scent will feel like home

just a few hours into its life, the calf knows hunger

and for the next several months, its survival will totally depend on its mother.

eland are born throughout the year,

most of them in the early summer.

While the calves are small 10 to 15 mothers will form a nursing group

that won't move on as rapidly as a big herd.

In such a small slowly moving group, the little calves get enough time to rest.

While their mothers are busy grazing and producing milk,

the calves lie low in the high grass and are busy to growing.

Higher up the slopes midway between the valleys and the peaks

is the home range of a clan of climbers. Oh, whoa.

Born small but smart chochmah Baboons rely on their intelligence for survival.

The baboons that are born here never roam far

from the cliffs that offer protection.

Like the Eland they are usually associated with African savannas,

but a few groups have found that the high terrain has its advantages

especially when bringing up baby's

a black back Jackal pose much more danger down in the bush land of the plains.

Up here, the steep open terrain works for the baboons.

On these rocky slopes the jackal can't keep up.

Yet the male baboons grabbed the opportunity to show off their power

and draw a line that's not to be crossed.

The Jackal gets the message.

As soon as the excitement is over,

the little ones are allowed to dismount from their mother's backs

and rejoin their friends.

Eland mothers will fiercely defend their calves

as long as they notice the approach of an enemy

the calf has caught the jackals scent and seems to sense the danger,

but he's too young to run fast.

The Jackal knows the mother is close

so he is careful.

In fact, she is already closer than he hoped.

Once again, the Jackal is out of luck.

In summer, heavy winds prevail in the Drakenbergs mountains.

These winds bring masses of moisture from the ocean 100 miles away.

For the residence, this can mean a cold wet snap

at the very outset of the warm season.

The changeable weather is another reason why the baboons appreciate their
cliffs.

Even when the rain pours down for an entire week.

They have a roof over their heads

there's no such luck for the eland.

They must rely on their smooth water repellent coats

and their huge bodies for protection.

But small calves are vulnerable to exposure.

The mothers have to keep them moving.

When the skies clear the herds will soon recover

and be rewarded for their endurance by fresh green grass.

But this summer, one cold front chases another

soaking the landscape and its inhabitants.

eland are desert dwellers by design

and specialize in enduring hot dry periods.

This cold wet weather pushes them to the limit.

What's worse, the old dry grass is beginning to rot

in this permanently wet condition

and quickly loses its nutritional value.

At a time when the eland need extra nourishment.

Their pasture is turning into a green desert.

hunger and cold make them feed more than ever,

yet their daily intake is rapidly becoming worthless.

The suckling calves make enormous demands on their mothers.

And for the smaller ones.

That constant rain brings the danger of hypothermia.

Yes

At this season and in this weather, the nursing herd hardly ever stops.

eland are nomads and their range is enormous.

it's time for the mothers to take their calves to higher ground

where the mountain pastures are just beginning to green

there's only one thing that can draw a crowd like this from the sky

the strain of the past few weeks has been too much for one of the younger calves

but the jackals day may have finally arrived.

After the cape vultures are crowded in

the bearded vulture makes an entrance

it's a bone specialist not really part of the competition for me.

Bearded vultures have a wingspan of nearly 10 feet.

This one is carrying a load of five or six pounds in its talons,

but its beak is not strong enough to crack bone.

Getting to the marrow calls for a special solution

bearded vultures drop bones deliberately to shatter them into pieces.

They can completely digest bones,

which will be dissolved by extra strong acids in the vultures stomachs.

Marrow makes up 90% of their diet

next morning, all that will be left of these bones will be a bright white splash

below the vultures roost.

These big birds are master gliders

with hardly a wingbeat

they serve the thermal upwind along the Drakenbergs sunbaked cliffs

these dark face juveniles are still experimenting with their new flying skills.

From these cliffs pours the world's second highest waterfall,

the tugela falls, the Falls drop more than 3000 feet

to the point where the water becomes a bale of rainbows.

In spite of the fact that the Drakensberg is Southern Africa's main watershed,

some of these waterfalls are only here for part of the year

during the rainy season that is now bringing the vast grassy plateaus into
bloom.

After a steady climb the eland have reached the lofty mid summer pastures

halfway up the Drakensberg.

Here the grass is getting greener by the day.

The range of wild flowers on the slopes

reflects the mountains harsh climate.

Most of them are perennials, the same deeply rooted plants

will blossom year after year.

Plants that die each year and depend on seeds to germinate in the next

have little chance up here because in a bad year,

unreliable weather will frustrate germination and flowering.

But this year, a sweet fragrance in the summer breeze

mobilizes an army of tiny monsters.

A beetle from the Scarem family senses that the special flower it lives for

is ready for a visit.

This is the Drakenberg's most distinctive flower,

the Protea it attracts Protea beetles like other flowers attract bees.

The beetles come to feast on its nectar.

And as with bees, the hairs on their bodies brush pollen from the flower

for seeding the next Protea they land on.

Insects are not the only pollinators.

With its long bill, the sugar bird dips deeply into the flower to satisfy its
appetite

and like the beetle receives a dusting of pollen on the feathers of its head.

Where shallow soil offers few nutrients,

a plant depends on a sinister trick to flourish.

To a fly, the sun do looks irresistible.

But instead of enjoying a feast, the fly will soon be a feast itself.

It's trapped by the Sundews sticky pads

and will be digested by the plants enzymes.

The gentle mountain breeze carries other sensors as well.

And the big eland bulls find them most exciting

the females are ready to meet again

and they signaled their readiness with pheromones.

They may be ready but not for just anyone

venting his frustrations in the grass has left this suitor

with a hat.

Oh, whoa. Whoa

whoa. Unlike the roaming Eland, the chuchmah Baboons never venture far from
their rocky terrain.

Watching their mothers gather food. The youngsters learn

what plants are edible and where to find them.

Not all meadows have the same.

vast green areas are now covered with grass

that's hardly edible for baboons or eland

what was left of their nutritional value after they produced seeds

has been washed out by the rain.

The quality of the grazing changes with the weather,

and there are few places in Africa where the weather is as changeable.

As in the Drakensberg range.

Too much or too little rain can both mean hunger for the herds.

At the height of summer, rain and thunderstorms move in almost every noon.

The BABOONS ARE stoic about it.

Now that the rain and the wind are warm and not unpleasant,

they simply go about their daily routine

and having a shower is part of it

see you

yes strong.

Within weeks the green flanks of the Drakensberg will turn to autumn Brown.

See you

is

the eland now turn from grazing to browsing,

but bush land and trees are scarce on the roof of South Africa.

The pressure big planteaters exert on any vegetation is obvious.

Yet, over time, the shrubs have found a way of pitting one enemy against
another.

Ants that inhabit these UWT bushes have a fiery bite.

By defending their habitat, they spoil the browser's appetite.

The answer here to care for their livestock.

Huge aphids that suck the sap from the bush and in turn,

produce a sugary secretion which is consumed by the ants.

Again and again, an ant will eagerly receive the sweet and nourishing droplet

released by the aphid

tenderly, the ants care for a vulnerable member of their herd

an aphid that has just melted its shell.

In the balance, mostly aphids and the hoot bushes seem to profit from the ants
presents.

The young leaves may be tasty and nutritious,

but every mouthful is bitterly seasoned with the ants chemical weapon

the eland have to move on, but all too often,

some of them fall by the wayside.

It's another calf, and the crows have found it first.

Some 70% of eland calves may die within their first year.

Getting enough food is the first key to survival.

The mothers have clearly lost weight.

Fresh tender grazing is sparse,

and the calves keep coming back for milk.

The herd is under constant surveillance,

scavengers are watching and waiting for the week.

The thriving Boeotia population of the Drakensberg is a good indication

of the high mortality rate among big animals here.

Competition over the caucus is fierce.

Once more. The Jackal has to give up in frustration.

The plateaus and slopes are dry at this time of year.

But there is still a constant flow of water down in these canyons.

Drawn by the green vegetation along the riverbanks.

The eland have followed a river upstream.

But the strip of green along the river is narrow and pickings are not great.

Soon the herd will have to move on again

and trek in earnest up the mountain.

By now the calves have to feed themselves.

Their digestive systems have switched from milk to grass.

They have become ruminants.

The Eland bull is hardly aware of the strange world below the reflecting surface

of this little mountain river.

The wide mouth river frog is a ferocious predator,

the top predator of this watery realm

a river crab

there are not many places in the world where frogs hunt crabs.

Digesting this bite will take a good while

the crab has been swallowed whole,

it's still alive and kicking.

The eland set out on the last and hardest leg of their epic trek.

For the calves every step of this journey is new.

The older animals have been through this annual cycle before

they know that the grass is truly greener on the far side of the hill.

African song

a steep slope is not a safe place to stop and rest.

So they keep going until they reach level ground.

As they climb past the mid level plateaus,

they leave the baboons behind.

The highest peaks of the Drakensberg reach up more than 10,000 feet

most of the pastures up here are well above six stars.

As soon as they arrive, the animals reap the rewards of a long hard climb.

The grass is sweet, nourishing and delicious.

But these high alpine meadows are a danger zone.

The weather can lash out in an instant

the baboons seem to know what's coming.

They've seen many thunderstorms,

yet each new one seems to terrify them.

lightning may strike anywhere,

and the fire can race across the land faster than any animal can run.

Rain would usually accompany a lightning strike

and help quench the fire.

But the atmosphere above this part of the Dragon Mountain is dry,

so dry that raindrops evaporate long before they reach the ground.

The fire sweeps on mile by mile.

Soon the entire mountain is shrouded in smoke.

Even when the animals can escape the flames,

there is a danger of suffocating

within hours the mountain Paradise has turned into a fiery hell.

Drunken spirit, the dragon mountain earns its name.

In the long run, such grass fires are a blessing for the eland

because they clear the ground for fresh new growth and good grazing.

But for now, the pasture is gone.

The fire has spent itself

the smell of charred vegetation will fill the air for weeks to come.

The bearded vulture glides over skorts slopes and smoke filled canyons

knowing there will be a rich aftermath.

the eland have escaped the fire.

But now the Drakensberg seems set to starve them out

instead of fresh pasture, all they can smell is cold smoke.

Anything that survived the fire is now underground.

This is difficult terrain at the best of times.

Finding another place where the grass is still green

will mean a long and hungry Hall.

The fire has reached down the slope into baboon country.

The eland are natural nomads,

but the baboons stay put and make do.

Their intelligence makes the baboons versatile.

They realize that there are tubers to harvest beneath the Scorch surface

and they will spend the next few weeks digging

when misfortune strikes the comfort of strong family ties means everything.

The baboons social network seems to be a key resource

in coping with the harshness of their environment.

From the early days of life, it's these tender and lasting personal bonds

that support each individual in his struggle to survive.

Higher up where there is moisture.

The grass on the black and the slopes responds quickly and turns green.

The new grass is fertilized by the ash of the old

but there's not much and not enough for these herds of massive grazers.

The herd has no choice. It has to move on again

cold fog creeps up the slopes

following in the footsteps of the fire.

The temperature drops close to zero

and cold can kill the young.

A vulture may have spotted what this male baboon is looking for

and finally finds

down below, the mother knows something is wrong

baboons can carry dead infants for days not wanting to let go.

The father takes the little body back to the shelter of the cliffs.

Between the fire and the coal the parents have lost almost everything

the rugged basalt cliffs near the top of the Drakensberg

bear the scars of generations of migrating eland.

The ancient paths lead along the cliffs to a plateau

this late in the year, the top of the Drakensberg

is the only place where there is enough edible grass.

The world's largest antelopes have become mountaineers to reach it.

One could not say that the eland have arrived,

these nomads never arrive.

Their entire life is a constant flow

and there is no place they will stay for long.

Even the bonds between them don't tie them down.

They drift in and out of herds as they please.

But today, a grooming session is taking priority over precious grazing time.

They aren't being quite as unselfish as they may seem.

They're licking off each other's salty sweat

for the minerals it contains.

Grooming also helps discourage parasites,

and it's greater purpose is to give and receive reassurance.

The autumn born calf is fortunate.

Its mother is still in prime condition

and able to provide a rich flow of milk

even on this high plateau, the eland are not alone.

Ice rats also forage up here.

They're stockpiling seeds, preparing their burrows for winter.

With their thick fur, they could be Arctic rodents.

And wherever there are lots of rodents, predators are on the watch

the super large ears of the serval will catch the slightest rustle in the
undergrowth.

Underground the ice rats are safe from the serval

and from the approaching winter

before the first winter storms hit the eland we'll have to leave.

Each year the ice rats see them come and go.

No matter who or what passes over this mountain,

the ice rats will hold out in their safe bunkers.

If the Drakensberg is a stronghold of any sort.

It's definitely there's

the eland are under pressure now to build up fat reserves for the cold season.

As the first Antarctic front rolls in from the south,

the Cavs get their first taste of a high mountain winter

a hailstorm.

And then, silently, snow begins to fall.

Snow in Africa is something extraordinary.

The Drakensberg is one of the few places that receive it each year.

The herd may take a day or two of such weather,

but they cannot stand the cold for long.

Again, the young and the weak are at risk,

and some do remain behind as the herd moves on.

The worst of the Antarctic front has passed,

the ice rats emerge to appreciate every hour of sunshine.

These hearty little rodents don't hibernate,

for although the winter may be harsh.

It will only last about two months.

The snow melts away, revealing the last of this year's casualties.

The eland herds have moved down and away seeking the lower valleys.

The surviving calves have come safely through famine, fire and snow.

On their way down to the foothills of the Drakensberg,

the eland once more past the ancient record of their everlasting journey.

Their own record legible only from the air

has been inscribed right into the mountain side of the Drakensberg.

Generation after generation 1000s of holes have left their mark on the delicate
ground,

a winding narrow path to impossible terrain

and enduring line across the seasons and down through the years.

This Rock of Ages stands as a timeless testament to the ancient and the
everlasting.

Yet the Drakensberg is also a monument to change

cataclysmic at dawn

slow and steady over the eons,

but always unpredictable each and every day.

African song.

African song.

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