Original subtitles

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ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW YOURE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: I'M DYLAN DREYER.

JOIN ME ON AN ADVENTURE TO EAST AFRICA AND THE GREAT

GRASS PLAINS OF THE SERENGETI.

WE'LL WITNESS THE BRUTAL STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL

AGAINST PREDATOR AND PREY, MEET THE PROUD PEOPLE WHO

HAVE LIVED HERE SINCE THE DAWN OF HISTORY, AND COME

FACE-TO-FACE WITH MANY AMAZING ANIMALS ON THE

GREAT CIRCLE OF LIFE.

NO PLACE ON EARTH IS QUITE LIKE THE SERENGETI PLAINS

OF EASTERN AFRICA, WILD, BEAUTIFUL, DEADLY, HOME TO

ELEPHANTS, LIONS, CHEETAHS, MONKEYS, AND

COUNTLESS OTHER SPECIES.

IT IS THE LAST REFUGE FOR THE GREATEST CONCENTRATION

OF MIGRATING MAMMALS REMAINING ON THE PLANET.

OUR JOURNEY BEGINS WHEN THE GRASS IS TALL AND

PLENTIFUL, THE GREAT HERDS ARE STRONG, AND PREDATORS

ARE LURKING EVERYWHERE.

♪ MUSIC ♪

ALONG WITH THE GREAT NILE RIVER AND THE OKAVANGO

DELTA, THE SERENGETI PLAINS ARE ONE OF THE

SEVEN NATURAL WONDERS OF AFRICA.

LIFE STREAMS ACROSS THIS ANCIENT LAND AS IF IT WERE

SUSPENDED IN TIME.

HERE, THE GREAT HERDS RUN FREE ACROSS A LANDSCAPE AS

MASSIVE AS IT IS BREATHTAKING, SPANNING AN

AREA APPROXIMATELY 12 THOUSAND SQUARE MILES IN

NORTHERN TANZANIA.

[SOUND OF A VOLCANO ERUPTING]

LONG BEFORE HUMAN MEMORY, GREAT NEARBY VOLCANOES

LIKE NYIRAGONGO EMPTIED THEMSELVES INTO THE SKY.

A SEA OF VOLCANIC ASH FELL AND SETTLED ACROSS THE

ANCIENT SERENGETI.

SLOWLY, OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS, TIME AND THE

ELEMENTS TURNED THE ASH INTO RICH SOIL.

TODAY THE SERENGETI IS A LUSH VALLEY OF VAST

GRASSLANDS, PRESERVED AS THE MOST IMPORTANT ANIMAL

SANCTUARY IN THE WORLD.

SEVENTY LARGE MAMMAL SPECIES LIVE HERE

ALONGSIDE OVER FIVE HUNDRED SPECIES OF BIRDS.

IN A LAND AS FERTILE AS IT IS BEAUTIFUL, MILLIONS OF

DIVERSE CREATURES SURVIVE AND THRIVE.

MANY ARE HERBIVORES, ANIMALS THAT FEED ON THE

ENDLESS PLANTS AND GRASSES THAT GROW HERE.

THE AFRICAN BUSH ELEPHANT IS THE LARGEST LAND ANIMAL

ON EARTH.

THEY GROW TEN FEET TALL AT THE SHOULDER AND WEIGH SIX

TONS.

A SINGLE ELEPHANT CAN EAT FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS OF

PLANTS EVERY DAY.

MANY SPECIES ON THE SERENGETI SPEND TWO-THIRDS

OF THEIR LIVES GRAZING;

THE WHITE RHINOCEROS;

THE ICONIC ZEBRA;

THE UNPREDICTABLE AFRICAN BUFFALO;

THE 17-FOOT-TALL MAASAI GIRAFFE;

AND THE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMAL IN THE SERENGETI,

THE HIPPOPOTAMUS.

HIPPOS ARE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO LIVE IN THEIR

OWN SALAD BOWL, BUT THOSE MASSIVE JAWS ARE DEADLY.

A SINGLE BITE CAN CLEAVE A CROCODILE IN HALF.

THERE IS A SAYING ON THE SERENGETI; NEVER COME

BETWEEN A HIPPO AND ITS WATERING HOLE.

OF ALL THE ABUNDANT LIFE HERE, A SINGLE SPECIES

DOMINATES, THE WILDEBEEST.

UNGAINLY IN APPEARANCE, THEY HAVE BEEN CALLED THE

CLOWNS OF THE AFRICAN PLAINS, AN ANIMAL THAT

LOOKS TO BE ASSEMBLED BY COMMITTEE FROM SPARE

PARTS, AND YET WILDEBEESTS ARE SUPERBLY ENDOWED WITH

FLEXIBILITY AND KEEN INSTINCTS NEEDED FOR A

LIFE OF ENDLESS MIGRATION.

ZEBRAS OFTEN GROUP TOGETHER WITH WILDEBEESTS,

HOPING THERE IS SAFETY IN NUMBERS, BUT NONE ARE SAFE

FOR LONG.

THE EQUATION OF LIFE IN THE SERENGETI IS SIMPLE;

HERBIVORES EAT PLANTS; CARNIVORES EAT HERBIVORES.

THE FEMALES STALK PREY IN THE MORNING OR EVENING

HOURS WHEN THE WEATHER IS COOL.

A DECOY DISTRACTS WHILE OTHERS SNEAK IN FOR THE

KILL.

[WILDEBEAST GROANING]

THE LARGE MALE OF THE PRIDE EATS FIRST.

THE HUNGRY WAIT BY RANK.

LIONESSES AND CUBS ARE SECOND IN LINE.

HYENAS, JACKALS, AND VULTURES QUARREL TO BE

NEXT.

VULTURES SPREAD THEIR WINGS TO MAKE THEIR BODIES

APPEAR LARGER.

THE TRICK WORKS ON THE JACKAL, AND THE VULTURES

ARE LEFT ALONE TO NIBBLE.

ONLY THE BONES ARE LEFT.

ON THIS ANCIENT LAND, NOTHING IS WASTED.

WHETHER PREDATOR OR PREY, DURING THE WET SEASON, ALL

ANIMALS FLOURISH.

WILDEBEEST HERDS GROW STRONG AND FAT.

BY FEBRUARY, NEARLY FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND NEW

CALVES WILL BE BORN, BUT A NEW THREAT IS APPROACHING.

IN A FEW SHORT MONTHS, THE DRY SEASON WILL COME, AND

THE ANIMALS OF THE SERENGETI MUST JOURNEY

NORTH TO FIND WATER.

COMING UP NEXT, IT'S A MARATHON RACE AGAINST

THIRST AND HUNGER FOR MORE THAN TWO MILLION ANIMALS

ON THE SERENGETI; A MOTHER CHEETAH IS DESPERATE TO

FEED HER YOUNG CUB; AND IF YOU THOUGHT YOUR KIDS WERE

ROWDY, WAIT UNTIL YOU MEET THIS FAMILY.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES AFTER THIS. [LION ROARING]

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

[LION ROARING]

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO "JOURNEY."

THE WILDEBEEST HERDS OF THE SERENGETI UNDERGO AN

EPIC STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL EVERY YEAR.

FEMALES GIVE BIRTH TO THEIR NEW CALVES AT THE

END OF THE WET SEASON, AND THEN THE ENTIRE HERD, OVER

A MILLION STRONG, MUST QUICKLY TRAVEL NORTH IN

SEARCH OF FOOD.

IT'S LATE MAY ON THE SERENGETI, AND DROUGHT

APPROACHES.

THE WILDEBEEST HERDS MIGRATE TOWARD THE

NORTHWEST, DRAWN BY THE ANCIENT PROMISE OF WATER

AND GRASS.

THEY ARE ACCOMPANIED BY ZEBRAS AND GAZELLES AND

FLOW THROUGH THE LANDSCAPE LIKE A LIVING RIVER.

THE GREAT MIGRATION HAS BEGUN.

THE EPIC JOURNEY TAKES PLACE WITHIN THE TWO EAST

AFRICAN NATIONS OF TANZANIA AND KENYA.

THE WILDEBEEST HERDS MIGRATE NORTH TOWARD THE

MAASAI MARA GAME RESERVE IN KENYA.

THERE, THEY RANGE FOR MONTHS UNTIL THE RAINS

RESUME AND THE HERDS RETURN AGAIN TO THE

SOUTHERN PLAINS.

THE MIGRATION RUNS A DEADLY GAUNTLET OF MORE

THAN FIVE HUNDRED MILES.

EARLY IN THE MIGRATION NORTHWARD, HERDS MOVE

THROUGH THE REGION OF ANCIENT GRANITE

OUTCROPPINGS CALLED KOPJES, SMALL ROCKY HILLS

ALONG THE PLAINS THAT PROVIDE VIEWS OF THE

SURROUNDING TERRITORY.

THEY ARE THE MAIN VANTAGE POINTS FOR WAITING

PREDATORS.

ALONG WITH LIONS, CHEETAHS ARE THE PREMIER CARNIVORES

OF THE SERENGETI.

ALTHOUGH THEY ARE EXCELLENT HUNTERS, LIFE

HERE IS HARD.

FROM A LITTER OF FOUR, ONLY THIS LONE CHEETAH CUB

HAS SURVIVED.

TO NOURISH IT, THE MOTHER MUST KILL ALMOST DAILY,

BUT SHE HAS NOT EATEN FOR TWO DAYS.

MOST OF THE HERDS HAVE PASSED, BUT A FEW

STRAGGLING GAZELLES APPEAR.

FROM THIS DISTANCE, THERE IS NO CONTEST.

THE CHEETAH IS THE FASTEST LAND ANIMAL ON EARTH,

ACHIEVING SHORT BURSTS OF SPEED UP TO 70 MILES PER

HOUR.

THERE IS NEITHER MALICE NOR REMORSE ON THE

SERENGETI.

A HUNTER KILLS TO EAT AND TO FEED ITS YOUNG, NOTHING

MORE.

THIS LITTLE CUB WILL SURVIVE A FEW MORE DAYS

THANKS TO THE YOUNG GAZELLE WHOSE LIFE ENDED

TOO SOON.

WILDEBEEST HERDS SOMETIMES PUSH ON THROUGH THE NIGHT

DESPITE A RISK OF ATTACK UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS.

DRAWN BY LIGHTNING, DISTANT THUNDER, OR THE

SMELL OF RAIN, THEY MAY TRAVEL 50 MILES BEFORE

DAWN.

DROUGHT HAS PARCHED THE PLAINS TINDER DRY.

NOW THEIR ENEMIES ARE THIRST, HUNGER, AND

EXHAUSTION, AND AS EVER, PREDATORS.

THE HUNTER HAS ONLY TO PICK THE MOMENT.

FINALLY, AFTER MONTHS OF MIGRATION, THE FORWARD

RANKS SERGE INTO THE RICH PASTURES OF THE MAASAI

MARA IN KENYA.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ANIMALS DWELL HERE.

OTHERS COME IN MIGRATIONS OF THE SKY,

FLAMINGOS FROM NAMIBIA,

STORKS FROM AS FAR AWAY AS EUROPE AND ASIA.

ZEBRAS CLUSTER TOGETHER IN A TANGLE OF STRIPES,

HOPING TO CONFUSE PREDATORS.

THESE HORSES OF AFRICA APPEAR DOCILE, BUT THEY

HAVE NEVER BEEN DOMESTICATED.

FOR A BABOON TROOP, MUCH OF THE DAY PASSES

ATTENDING TO YOUNG, GROOMING, AND SOCIALIZING.

THESE ANIMALS ARE MEMBERS OF THE PRIMATE FAMILY.

THEY ARE CALLED OLD WORLD MONKEYS, AND ALTHOUGH THEY

ARE SMALL AND HAVE TAILS, THEY SHARE A DISTANT

ANCESTOR WITH ANOTHER PRIMATE SPECIES, HUMANS.

THESE ANCIENT LANDS ARE THE CRADLE OF HUMANITY.

THIS RIBBON OF EARTH CUTTING THROUGH THE

EASTERN SERENGETI PLAINS IS OLDUVAI GORGE, HOME TO

ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES ON

EARTH.

WITHIN ITS LAYERED WALLS LIE THE HUMAN FOSSIL

RECORD SPANNING ALMOST TWO MILLION YEARS.

COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL MEET THE PEOPLE WHO STILL LIVE

IN THE WILD PLACE WHERE HUMAN LIFE BEGAN, AND

WE'LL EXPERIENCE THE WONDER OF THE SERENGETI IN

THE MOST SPECTACULAR WAY POSSIBLE.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: THE WORD "SERENGETI" COMES FROM THE

MAASAI PEOPLE.

IT MEANS "THE PLACE WHERE THE LAND RUNS ON FOREVER."

IN OUR MODERN AGE, WE KNOW THIS ISN'T EXACTLY TRUE.

THE SERENGETI IS LOSING GROUND EVERY YEAR FROM

THREATS LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE, POLLUTION, AND

HABITAT LOSS.

[PEOPLE SHOUTING NATIVE LANGUAGE]

MAASAI PEOPLE FOLLOW A NOMADIC EXISTENCE ALONG

THE EDGES OF THE SERENGETI.

THEY ARE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF THIS LAND.

THEIR ANCESTORS MAY HAVE LIVED HERE FOR AS LONG AS

HUMANS HAVE LIVED ANYWHERE.

THE MAASAI BELIEVE THAT HEAVEN GAVE THEM, AND ONLY

THEM, ALL THE CATTLE ON EARTH.

LEOPARDS AND LIONS ROAM THROUGH THE PASTURES OF

THE MAASAI, AND MOTHERS REMIND THEIR CHILDREN NOT

TO STRAY TOO FAR FROM HOME AT NIGHT.

PREDATORS ARE A BRUTAL REALITY OF LIFE ON THE

SERENGETI.

ONCE THE MOST FORMIDABLE WARRIORS IN EAST AFRICA,

THE MAASAI STILL DEFEND THEIR CATTLE AND FAMILIES

WITH SPEARS.

ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO EXPERIENCE THE SERENGETI

IS BY AIR.

TANZANIA AND KENYA HAVE PRESERVED VAST AREAS AS

NATIONAL PARKS, PROCLAIMING THEM A WORLD

HERITAGE OF ALL MANKIND.

THE SUPPORT FOR TOURISM IS NOW INDISPENSABLE TO THE

SURVIVAL OF THIS HERITAGE, LINKING THE DESTINY OF THE

SERENGETI WITH THE VISITORS WHO PASS IN AWE.

THE SERENGETI THEY BEHOLD IS CHANGING, THREATENED BY

POPULATION GROWTH AND POACHING, BUT VIGOROUSLY

PROTECTED AS WELL.

ENCOURAGED BY GREATER SAFETY, THE HERDS ARE

MULTIPLYING RAPIDLY.

THE STORMS OF OCTOBER APPROACH.

WITH THE RETURN OF THE RAINS, THE HERDS WILL

RESUME THE GREAT MIGRATION BACK TOWARD THEIR

ANCESTRAL CALVING GROUNDS IN THE SOUTH,

BUT AHEAD THEY FACE THEIR GREATEST PERIL YET.

THE HERD MUST CROSS THE MARA RIVER, NOW SWOLLEN BY

THE RAINS.

IN THESE WATERS, IT IS STILL THE AGE OF

DINOSAURS, AND THE CROCODILE REIGNS SUPREME.

COMING UP NEXT, THE WILDEBEEST CREATE A

MASSIVE STAMPEDE.

HOW MANY WILL MAKE IT TO THE OTHER SIDE?

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: DRY SEASON ON THE SERENGETI IS COMING TO A

CLOSE, AND THE GREAT WILDEBEEST HERDS ARE ONCE

AGAIN MOVING SOUTH TOWARD GREEN GRASS; BUT TO GET

THERE, THEY MUST CROSS THE GREAT MARA RIVER, AND THE

MIGHTY CROCODILES KNOW THEY ARE COMING.

THE NILE CROCODILE IS AN APEX PREDATOR.

THEY EXIST AT THE VERY TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN.

THEY EAT EVERYTHING.

THE HERD IS DESPERATE TO CROSS THE RIVER QUICKLY,

BUT THE STEEP BANK CAUSES A BOTTLENECK, AND THE

CROCODILES HAVE THEIR PICK.

THEY'VE MADE IT ACROSS THE RIVER,

ALIVE, BUT COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED.

THE MIGRATION HAS FINALLY MOVED BACK TO THE SHORT

GRASS PLAINS WHERE THE MIRACLE OF THE SERENGETI

UNFOLDS.

THE MASS BREEDING EARLIER IN THE YEAR NOW CULMINATES

IN MASS BIRTH.

IN THE BRIEF SPAN OF A FEW WEEKS EARLY IN THE WET

SEASON, ALMOST HALF-A-MILLION WILDEBEEST

CALVES ARE BORN, AN EVOLUTIONARY STRATEGY THAT

OVERWHELMS PREDATORS AND ENSURES THE SURVIVAL OF A

NEW GENERATION.

THIS LITTLE ONE HAS MANY CHALLENGES FACING HIM.

BUT HE'S COMPLETED HIS FIRST FEW STEPS WITH

FLYING COLORS.

ONCE MORE ON THE PLAINS OF THE SERENGETI, LIFE IS

MORE POWERFUL THAN DEATH, AND THE GREAT HERDS STILL

RUN FREE.

THANKS FOR WATCHING.

REMEMBER, MANY OF THE AMAZING ANIMALS WE'VE SEEN

TODAY ARE ENDANGERED, AND THE SERENGETI ITSELF IS A

FRAGILE PLACE.

WE ALL NEED TO DO OUR PART TO PROTECT IT.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, SAFE TRAVELS.