A F R I C A N S A V A N N A
In this region of west Equatorial Africa
an ancient cycle of life has continued, unchanged,
over the millions of years leading up to now.
Played out on this stage is an endless migration,
vast in the scale of animal movement.
The grassland, covered with wildebeest, zebra
and gazelle, all on the move, trekking by
the hundreds of thousands to elsewhere...
someplace that exists only as a feeling,
shared by the individuals involved in
this Hollywood size epic.
B A O B A B T R E E
A giant, drought resistant tree stands much as it has
over the past 200 million years, a glimpse of life
that prevailed on this land even before
Africa became a continent.
Locals call it the Upside-Down Tree because,
when the leaves drop, the branches look like roots
to a tree stuck in the ground wrong-side up.
I M P A L A
This athletic antelope can clear a ten foot high obstacle
while its pursuer must go around. It's abilities such as
this that keeps a healthy Impala one step ahead
of a pursuing lion or hyena.
Moving from grassland to the woodlands
doesn't make you safe. Leopards and male
lions specialize in ambushing Impalas that
browse the brush, casually nibbling leaves.
Suddenly its neck is being crushed in a
vice-like grip. All hope for breath ends.
The feast begins even as the last embers
of thought leave the mind.
L I O N
A rare social cat that requires for survival a complex
family unit, ruled by a matriarch. Much of the time
males are on the outside looking in. The ticket to
fatherhood requires getting past some battle-scarred
male guarding his harem. The odds of success
are made better when young males band together
to take out the previously feared leader.
The victorious lions must now face-off among
themselves as to who is most worthy of
now becoming the new breeder in chief.
B L U E W I L D E B E E S T
The wildebeest migration never ends; a herd of
more than a million and a half strong, grazing on
the nutrient-rich savanna grasses that flourish
with the passing rains.
There is no opportunity to lead a herd that
stretches to the horizon. There is no decision maker
leading the way. Instead, wildebeest rely on
"swarm" intelligence. Movement is collective.
Everyone just follows everyone else.
S P O T T E D H Y E N A
A matriarchal society of carnivores that compete
with lions for ruling the savanna grasslands.
Hyenas organize into clans that can number
over a hundred. Adult females are larger than
the males. In fact, they look more like males
than do the males. Males are needed to
provide genetic diversity to the species as well
as delivering bonus seasoning to another
individual's life.
M A S A I G I R A F F E
It takes a twenty-plus pound heart to ensure blood
makes it up that long neck to deliver oxygen to
the brain. Giraffes can grow to 19 feet in height.
They consume about 75 pounds of leaves daily
to stay healthy. All those leaves are lassoed by
its 20 inch tongue. The tongue's pigment is very
dark, protecting it from sunburn.
What a rare and exotic beast.
There is no other animal like the giraffe.
What is it about the habitat of the Serengeti
that it alone could enable an animal such as this
to prevail?
A F R I C A N E L E P H A N T
The oldest female runs the herd. She best knows
the location of water and food in times of drought.
Her top priority being family survival.
Another Serengeti animal of rare and exotic
anatomy is the elephant. What other animal
relies on its nose to serve as its arm, one sensitive
enough to pick up a blade of grass, yet having
the power to uproot a tree.
Nature has truly engineered an out of the box solution
for overcoming the challenges an elephant faces
in life.
B L A C K M A M B A
If you don't have antivenom handy when bit
you have about thirty minutes to write your
last will and testament.
The mamba doesn't want anything to do
with you. Provide it a path to escape and
it will leave. Corner it and you are contending
with the most feared snake in Africa. It has
extraordinary speed and size. The mamba
bites you multiple times when it strikes,
injecting lethal doses of toxins that kill nerves
as well as toxins to attack your heart.
May your good-byes be speedy.
R U P P E L L ' S V U L T U R E
An aircraft stuck one of these birds flying at 37,000 feet.
Its exotic hemoglobin protein enables it to breath
in very thin air. What advantage would this characteristic
give to this savanna scavenger? They benefit from
their panoramic view of the savanna to spot carrion
but altitude quickly becomes counterproductive
when above a couple thousand feet.
A vulture flying at several thousand feet
is no longer looking for dinner down below
because they are searching the horizon for
evidence of something big.
The sight of vultures circling is like a dinner bell
for other vultures working the area.
Come join in on the feast.
Something found dead and big as a zebra means
everyone that shows up gets a full belly
for the day as its reward.
O L I V E B A B O O N
Females stay with the baboon troop they were
born into, inheriting the social rank of their mother.
Males leave around the age of six and take on
the challenge of establishing their position
on the pecking order totem pole of another
troop.
Elephants have a defensive alliance with
baboons around waterholes. The baboons
provide the alarm when danger lurks nearby.
In turn, agitated elephants ward off hungry
lions, hyenas and leopards - and anyone
else looking to have baboon for brunch.
* * * * *
OVER EASY
