Made by NTD
there is a place on earth
where it is still the morning of life
and the great heards run free
life streams across a land
suspended in time
last refuge of the greatest concentration of wildlife
remaining on earth
the serengetiplains of east africa
long before human memory
the mountains to the east emptied themselves into the skies
a sea of ash settled across the serengeti
leaving only scattered summits as
stone markers of a buried world
across four million years
time and the elements turned ash to rich soil
yielding vast grasslands
today preserved as the most important animal sanctuary on earth
in a land as fertile as it is beautiful
dwell millions of diverse creatures
yet a single species prbdominates
a million and a half strong
wildebeests affect the lives of all around them
ungainly in appearance
they have been called the clowns of the aprioan plains
and an animal assembled by committee from spare parts
but wildebeests are superbly endowed
for a life of endless migration in search of grass and water
alongside an array of other herbivores coexist
all accommodated by the rich
and varied vegetation of the serengeti
each seeking out a different niche of the food supply
some may spend 2/3 of their lives crazing
some are fortunate enough to live in their own salad bowl
the equation of life on the serengeti is simple
herbivores eat plants
carnivores eat herbivores
lions hunt with both might and stealth
a decoy distracts...
while others stalk
although the lioness has made the kill
it is the much larger male of the pride who eats first
the hungry wait by rank
lionesses and cubs are second in line
hyenas jackals and vultures
quarrel to be next
on the serengeti nothing is wasted
through the plenty of the wet season
the wildebeest herds have grown strong
on the short grass plains of the southern serengeti
now in late may, drought approaches imposing a deadly ultimatum...
migrate or starve
for more than two million animals
it is a marathon race against thirst and hunger
like living streams and rivers
the herds, accompanied by zebras and gazelles
flow toward the north and west
drawn by the ancient promise of water and grass
the great migration has begun
the epic journey takes place wityhin
the two east african nations of tanzania and kenya
the wildebeest herds migrate north toward the maasaimara 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 500 miles
the first weeks of the migration
coincide with the frenzy of the rutting season
bulls engage in constant battles
over frmales and territories
in a few frantic weeks 90% of the cows are mpregnated
early in the migration northward
herds move through the region
of ancient granite outcroppings called kopjes
now they are vantage points for waiting predators
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
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 of the serengeti
a hunter kills to eat and to feed its own
nothing more
to the migrating herds wooded savannas now offer refuge
from the drought-stricken plains
but here, the migration becomes an invasion
for the woodlands are a permanent home to others
yet most of the residents go about their daily affairs
little disturbed by the trespassing multitude
unlike wildebeests, maasai giraffes need not migrate
they feed on a hundred species of woodland foliage
a food supply resistant to drought
vervet monkeys find in trees both sustenance and safety
savanna baboons roam the woodlands in troops, roosting in trees by night
omnivores, like us, they feed on almost anything edible
occasionally, adult males will even feast on young antelope
feeding on grasses adjacent to the woodlands
grazers come under an ever watchful eye
yet there is one her bivore even the lion gives wide berth
the adult elephant is one of the few serengeti animals without an
enemy in the wild
protective of their young, elephants form extremely close bonds
the relationship between mother and daughter lasts up to 50 years
herds sometimes push on through the night
despite risk of attack under cover of darkness
drawn by lightning distant thunder or the smell of rain
they may travel 50 miles by dawn
now adversities multiply
drought has parched the plains tinder dry
grass fires sweep the serengeti
scoured by fire and wind
the vegetation will regenerate in the rains to come
but for the moment, herds seeking sustenance find only dust
now the enemies are thirst hunger exhaustion
and, as ever, predators
so powerful is the urge to migrate
the herd will push on even when confronted by a lion
crouched in open ambush
the hunter has only to pick the moment
in this endless contest
nothing is guaranteed
in daytime, only one lion hunt in five succeeds
finally, after months of migration
the forward ranks
surge into the bounty that has drawn them northward...
the rich pastures of the maasai mara in kenya
once more, their instincts have brought them to a place of plenty
here, they will range and graze for months
until the life giving rains return on the winds of october
to the east, close by the serengeti
there is a place of even greater abundance
one of the natural wonders of the world
it is a microcosm of the serengeti
ngorongoro crater is a huge volcanic caldera
encompassing 100 souare miles
a remnant of the great eruptions that created the serengeti plains
from cloud forests along the rim to the crater floor 2,000 feet below
a self-contained ecosystem provides
abundant forage and plentiful water
where there is water, there is life
an object of amusement to some
the hippopotamus can cut a crocodile or a human in half with a single bite
prompting an axiom of the serengeti...
never come between a hippo and its territorial waters
tens of thousands of animals dwell here
others come in migrations of the sky
flamingos from namibia
storks from as far as europe and asia
like privileged cousins of the migrating herds outside
wildebeests and zebras within the crater walls
need only wander from pasture to pasture
dangers abound here as elsewhere
zebras cluster together in a tangle of stripes
confusing to predators
the horses of africa appear placid
but they have never been domesticated
the black rhinoceros, for all its formidable presence
and frequent marking of territory is a vulnerable giant
poached almost to extinction for the value of its horn
ngorongoro crater is one of the few protected refuges
where the black rhino endures
for a baboon troop much of the day passes
attending to young, grooming
and socializing
though the job of protecting
the lion pride and its territory belongs to the males,
hunting and rainsing young falls to the females
play helps prepare the young for the violent encounters to come
the vaunted power of lions is matched by a prodigious capacity for rest
typically 20 hours a day is spent in regal slumber
when lions mate, however
they do so on average
every 25 minutes, day and night
without feeding
for three or four days
it has been estimated that 3,000 matings occur
for every cub that survives its first year
these lands are also the cradle of humanity
gashed into the eastern serengeti
plains near ngorongoro is olduvai-gorge, one of the most
famous archaeological sites of earth
it bears within its layered walls
a human fossil record spanning
almost two million years
today, the proud maasai people dwedll here
they. Too, follow a nomadic existence
along the edges of the serengeti
ever seeking good grazing
for their cattle herds
the maasai believe that heaven gave them
and no ither people all the cattle on earth
and from their treasured cattle
they still draw a staple
of the maasai warrior diet...
a mixture of milk and blood
the age of predators still encompasses the world of the maasai
from this and nearby villages
leopards have taken three infants within the year
once the most formidable warriors
in east africa
the maasai still defend their cattle
and families with spears
some are born on the serengeti
some seek it out
today a growing human migration from
the outside world can witness
a spectacle of wildness
long vanished elsewhere
tanzania and kenya have preserved
vast areas as national parks
and game reserves, proclaiming them
a world heritage of all mankind
the support from 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
elephant herds that once fled
poachers are returning
now protected by anivory moratorium
nourished again by the serengeti and
encouraged by greater safety
the herds are multiplying rapidly
on the maasai mara
the storms of october approach
and with the return of the rains
the herds will resume
the great migration
toward their ancestral calving
grounds in the south
but ahead they face their greatest peril
to reach the south
the herd must cross the mara river
now swollen by the rains
in these waters. It is still
the age of dinosaurs
and a crocodile reigns supreme
many that survive the crocdiles
fall prey to the river itself
some drown. Some are trampled
some are too exhausted
to save themselves
through the year and the course
of the great migration
a quarter of a million wildebeests
will have died
but the migration moves on
through the long journey south
returing finally to the short grass plains
where the miracle of the serengeti unfolds
the mass breeding earlier in the year
culminates in mass birth
in the brief span of a few weeks
in the wet season
almost half a millon wildebeest
calves are born
a strategy that overwhelms
predators and ensures the survival
of a new generation
to survive in the midst of predators
newborn calves must be able to
stand within minutes of birth
those unable to stand
must be abandoned
once more on the plains
of the serengeti
life is more powerful than death
and there remains a place on earth
where it is still the morning of life
and the great herds still run free
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