Baby Elephant Takes First Swim After Long Drought Love Nature
Transcript
00:00 (gentle music)
00:02 Mature elephant bulls weigh around five tons,
00:06 making them the world's biggest land animal.
00:09 They are two and a half times larger than the white rhino.
00:15 This bull may be particularly aggressive.
00:24 His weeping temporal glands and frequent urination
00:28 are a sure sign that he is in a condition known as must.
00:32 From the age of 25 years old,
00:40 must occur sporadically in bulls,
00:42 increasing their testosterone
00:44 to six times its normal levels.
00:46 Bulls in must dominate others in fights
00:54 and are left well alone by most.
00:57 (cows mooing)
00:59 Free to focus on finding cows to mate with.
01:02 Although females are smaller,
01:15 they control the movement of herds,
01:17 which are matriarchal,
01:19 made up of related females and young males,
01:22 all of whom share close social ties.
01:24 (birds chirping)
01:27 Elephant families have the opposite activity regime
01:36 to lions, sleeping for only four or five hours a day.
01:40 This large herd has been moving constantly
01:48 in search of food and water.
01:52 It's an exhausting existence for youngsters.
01:55 This newborn elephant calf already weighs 220 pounds.
02:04 Being on the move all day has taken its toll on the youngster.
02:21 In elephant life, there is no bond stronger than that
02:24 between a mother and her offspring.
02:26 And this mom is rightly concerned about her little one.
02:31 In the heat, it's become dehydrated and needs to rest.
02:49 (elephant trumpeting)
02:52 Another youth is also facing a tough time.
03:17 (birds chirping)
03:21 Like all bulls, at adolescence,
03:23 he was ejected from the herd.
03:25 Sometimes the young bulls form bachelor groups,
03:35 like these two.
03:36 The older bull's missing tusk
03:42 shows he's had his share of battles.
03:45 (birds chirping)
03:47 The two are after one of their favorite foods,
03:50 the nutritious pods of a camel fawn tree.
03:53 But the pods are too high up to be picked.
03:59 One of the bulls knows how to bring them down to his level.
04:05 (bull squawking)
04:09 (leaves rustling)
04:12 And he has perfected getting the pods into his mouth
04:26 with a deft flick of the trunk.
04:35 An elephant's trunk contains an amazing 50,000 muscles.
04:40 The appendage is incredibly versatile and strong,
04:45 which is one of the reasons the elephant
04:46 eats the biggest variety of plants of any herbivore.
04:49 While feeding, this bull is doing
04:58 the Cape Glossy Starling a favor.
05:02 He's rustling up insects as he forages,
05:05 which the opportunistic bird picks off.
05:08 The use of their trunks,
05:13 combined with immense strength and intelligence,
05:16 means that elephants can survive
05:18 in some of Africa's harshest landscapes.
05:20 (birds chirping)
05:30 (birds chirping)
05:33 Elephants, however, need to drink more regularly.
05:40 This little one has arrived at water just in time.
06:01 (birds chirping)
06:03 Baby elephants are far more susceptible than adults
06:06 to the potentially fatal risk of dehydration.
06:09 Elephants use water for more than just drinking.
06:21 Bathing is a favorite pastime
06:27 that fulfills an important function for the elephants.
06:30 (water splashing)
06:33 Their massive bodies generate
06:42 as much as five kilowatts of metabolic heat,
06:45 the equivalent of enough power
06:49 to run a microwave for five hours.
06:52 And after a hot day on the savanna,
06:57 a swim prevents overheating.
06:59 (birds chirping)
07:02 With their collective thirst quenched,
07:08 the herd can relax and enjoy some grooming.
07:10 Rubbing against the riverbanks helps remove parasites
07:22 and keep the elephants clean and healthy.
07:24 (water splashing)
07:27 (elephant roaring)
07:36 (upbeat music)
07:38 (upbeat music)
07:41 (upbeat music)
07:43 (upbeat music)
07:46 (upbeat music)
07:48 (upbeat music)
07:51 (upbeat music)
07:54 (upbeat music)
07:56 (upbeat music)
07:59 (upbeat music)