| This video opens with a wonderfully filmed sequence of a lioness stalking, chasing, and pulling down an antelope. The vultures which are the primary subject of the film see this activity from two miles up, and begin descending before the antelope is dead. They gather beside the kill, and hyenas are attracted by their activity. The lioness has to defend her kill - and as more hyenas gather, she herself is forced onto the defensive and must eventually flee. But this time, the hyenas don't have the last laugh; by the time the lioness is gone, there are too many vultures feeding for the hyenas to get in on the feast. This, then, is life on the Serengeti. Several other such sequences are included in the video, each beginning with a different kill - another lioness pulling down a zebra, hyenas hunting instead of scavenging, wild dogs chasing down their prey - each with a different set of scavengers joining the feast. Two different kinds of jackals and three different kinds of vultures fight for their shares. A raven flies ahead to the dogs' den to take advantage of scraps fed to the pups. Even the ants get their share. In between these sequences, there are sections on others of nature's recyclers. Dung beetles, with their own small wings, have a huge job cleaning up after millions of wildebeest, while horn moth caterpillars take care of the horns on the skeletons after all the others have had their share. Vultures are shown nesting on cliffside ledges. Towards the end, the video covers a season when the rains fail and lions, crocodiles, and even baboons become scavengers as the dying herds provide more meat than can be eaten. Vultures may not be as charismatic as lions and tigers, but they are still very interesting creatures - as are all the other scavengers and recyclers shown on this excellent video. |
National Geographic's Wings Over the Serengeti movies, videos.