The Serengeti, East Africa.
The stage to one of the world's most extraordinary natural spectacles.
Each year, 1.3 million wildebeest
make an incredible 650km journey
from the vast Serengeti plains in Tanzania
to the highlands of Kenya's Maasai Mara, and back again.
I am spending a year following them on their epic journey.
From the birthing plains
to the treacherous river crossings.
The crocodile - It's got it, it's got it.
Wow.
And the perilous fight for survival.
(GROWLS)
I'll get up close with the animals.
Really? Really?!
The male is right next to me.
My heart's still pounding.
And meet the people...
Oh.
This is nuts.
..who are an integral part of this.
One of the largest mammal migrations on Earth.
My first day in the Serengeti, Tanzania.
I've taken to the air to catch my first glimpse of the wildebeest herds.
Look at this. I've always wanted to see this.
One of the greatest wildlife spectacles.
I've been lucky enough to come to Africa a number of times.
But never over such a prolonged period, focusing on one animal.
With me is Dr Grant Hopcraft.
One of the world's leading researchers of wildebeest
and their great migration.
Why do these millions of wildebeest all make this great journey?
It's all about food.
For the wildebeest, it's all about food.
Those animals are consuming about 4,500 tonnes of grass a day.
They eat so much that they have to move.
They're eating themselves out of house and home.
They have to keep on marching, finding food.
This vast savannah covers 25,000 square kilometres.
And is home to hundreds of species of animals.
Wildebeest are part of the antelope family.
Their population outnumbers all the other mammals here combined.
Here in the Serengeti, the healthy ecosystem is one driven by wildebeest.
If you imagine it's a big engine,
the wildebeest are the major cog.
Everything else spins off on the side of that.
If you're eating 4,500 tonnes of grass a day,
you can imagine the dung and urine that's getting deposited.
That determines the nutrient cycles,
which determines the availability of insects,
which determines the abundance of birds.
Also, 4,500 tonnes of grass a day means it doesn't get burnt.
Which means that all the tree seedlings survive.
So everything that we see here is related to the wildebeest.
I feel like the luckiest person in the world.
But I genuinely want to understand this incredible creature.
And not just the animal. I want to find out about the interactions with the other wildlife.
And also the people that call this place home.
It's February, and my journey with the wildebeest
starts in the short grass plains in the southern Serengeti.
There's new life everywhere.
But no species gives birth in such synch as the wildebeest.
At the same time each year, for just three weeks,
a quarter of a million calves are born.
It's mid-morning, and Grant and I head in amongst the herds.
How many will be giving birth today?
I'm putting you on the spot there.
On average, probably 12,000.
That works out to be 500 calves an hour.
500 calves an hour are getting born today.
No wonder it's so noisy here! It's noisy. Everybody's excited.
Everybody's just had their baby.
Some will be the first baby that this cow has ever had.
It's unbelievable.
That long-leggedness, is that to try and get that speed to be able to get away from predators?
You're born to run.
Absolutely born to run. Up in the air, that's all we saw.
Running. That's my image.
When I think back to my childhood, the gnu ran.
I was known as a gnu! That's right.
Once a calf is born, it can stand within seven minutes.
Some have a little more trouble than others.
But once they get the hang of it,
the calves can be trotting alongside their mothers in under an hour.
Is this their way of protecting themselves?
Absolutely. For wildebeest calves, there are two things that are absolutely imperative tosurvive.
One is imprint.
Know who your mother is.
Mothers don't share calves. Never?
They never take an orphan? Never take an orphan.
The second thing is be precocial.
Get up and start moving immediately.
What you'll find is that as soon as this area starts to dry,
that calf needs to be able to move maybe three or four kilometres today.
And by tomorrow... By the end of the week, it's probably moved maybe 50km and it's onlya week old.
This is the start of the migration. This is the start.
On your marks, get set, go. Wow.
This is nuts. It's impressive, isn't it? Yep.
Feasting on fresh grasses,
the wildebeest and their newborns are not alone.
250,000 zebra and over 300,000 other antelope
also make the migration together.
But where there are herbivores, there are carnivores.
Predators lurk everywhere.
A pack of hyenas can devour a wildebeest in less than half an hour.
Bones and all.
Male wildebeest travel together in bachelor herds.
But rely on the vigilance of females nearby, who are more alert to danger.
They form creches for their newborns,
protecting them as they travel.
The calves soon grow in confidence.
And with 12,000 of them born each day,
there are simply too many for the predators to eat.
This female spotted hyena,
still full from a morning's kill,
merely waits amongst the herd.
They know she's not in hunting mode.
But stand on guard just in case.
But when a calf gets separated from its mother,
it becomes vulnerable.
(BLEATS)
The herd disappear.
And this abandoned youngster can do nothing but watch.
It's left for easy pickings.
(SCREECHES)
For others, injury will see their demise.
Tonight, I'm camping out on the plains,
in amongst the herds and the other wildlife.
(GROWLING) Can you hear that?
That is lions.
They've got the largest concentration of lions on Earth here.
(GROWLING)
They are everywhere.
I've been told I am to stay put. I am not allowed to leave my tent.
Good night.
(GROWLING)
It's 5am and I've spent the night camping in the middle of the Serengeti
amongst the wildebeest herds.
The noises last night were just crazy.
Roaring, barking, yelping,
shouting.
Every animal noise you can possibly imagine.
There's 35 species of carnivores here.
And they all walked through the camp.
It's scary...and magnificent at the same time.
The wildebeest herds feed on fresh grass.
But a few hundred metres from my camp,
it looks like the limping female I saw yesterday met her fate.
Together, they could eat almost a third of their kill in one sitting.
Up to 60kg of meat.
The scent of flesh soon attracts other visitors.
But it's only when the hyenas think the lions have finished their meal
do they dare approach the leftovers.
It's often overlooked that hyenas are in fact skilful hunters in their own right.
But in this situation, opportunistic.
Tenacity is key.
But they always keep an eye on their bigger cohorts.
Just as well, as this lion is still hungry.
(GROWLS)
Proving this morning, it is he who is king of the jungle.
The magnificent lions of the Serengeti
have been studied for almost 50 years.
So as the wildebeest continue feeding on the birthing plains,
I am breaking away from the herd
to find out more about the other 300 lions that dominate this area.
The Lion Research Project now monitors 28 prides of these apex predators.
Today, lead field assistant Daniel Rosengren is my guide.
Are some of these lions collared? Yes.
We have a collar in each pride to help us find the pride.
How far away do you think they are?
Probably about a kilometre.
Each collar has a radio transmitter.
And with Daniel picking up the signal,
we can make our way closer to the pride.
(BEEPING)
The signal is getting very loud now.
It gets louder as I get closer.
Here on the edge of the riverbank,
we find this area's biggest threat to the travelling wildebeest.
An entire pride.
In the distance, the migration passes perilously close by.
There are two adult males,
ten females, and 16 youngsters.
This is amazing, Daniel.
I'm sure you get used to seeing lions because you do this on a daily basis.
To see these alpha predators so close,
it makes all the hairs on my arms stand on end.
I've done this for four and a half years and I still enjoy doing it.
Last night, I could hear the lions roaring all night long.
Feel pretty exposed just thinking there's a thin piece of fabric between you and them.
Do they ever attack people in tents?
No, not here in Serengeti.
They, for some reason, don't touch the tents.
I think it's because we have a very healthy ecosystem.
They have plenty of other food.
They might touch your tent, but that's more out of curiosity
rather than wanting to eat what's inside.
But it has happened in other places in Africa.
They do learn how to get into tents and eat people.
But that's normally when there's not much else food to choose between.
I should be grateful for the wildebeest, then.
There's enough of them. Yes.
1.3 million wildebeest saving your life.
With this many cubs,
Daniel is curious to see how they'll react
if we deploy our beetle camera towards the pride.
(WHIRRING)
(GROWLS)
The sound of the small motor inside
soon gets the attention of the youngsters.
While Dad keeps a close eye on his inquisitive offspring.
That's a much quicker investigation than I was thinking.
Oh, tip it up.
I hope they'll put it back again.
The male is coming.
Look, look.
That's a very expensive toy.
Before it gets destroyed,
Daniel thinks it's best we retrieve the camera.
You're joking me.
Are you sure my window is OK?
Yeah. Are you sure?
Yeah.
You might have to grab it through your window.
Really? Where is it now?
It's just there.
The male is right next to me.
Just open the door a bit and grab it.
Just grab it from underneath.
Can you turn the mirror back?
Really? Really?!
Open the door slowly and see the reaction of the lions.
Hide behind the door a bit.
That was easy.
See?
I can smell lion all over this.
Lion slobber.
My heart's still pounding.
It's pretty intimidating.
If I can use that to benefit my understanding of the migration,
that's what those wildebeest are confronted with.
They're confronted with 2,500 of those.
The obstacle course throughout this migratory route.
That's terrifying.
It's an intimidating sight to see these powerful predators there.
That, for a wildebeest, would be the last thing they'd ever see.
Fortunately, I had a steel horse to protect me.
They don't have anything like that.
The word serengeti translates as endless plains.
Wow!
Delving into this incredible animal kingdom,
it's hard to imagine a human population ever living here.
But they do.
As the migration continues west through the birthing plains,
the wildebeest pass the area of the Hadzabe.
They are one of the world's last tribes who still hunter-gather.
Living a life unchanged for 10,000 years.
While the wildebeest will spend another week giving birth in this area,
I take my opportunity to visit the tribe.
Hello, hello. Wow. Hi.
The chief of this family is Julius.
As the tribe's ambassador,
he's one of the few people on Earth
to speak both the tribe's language and Swahili.
And he had to learn some English to communicate with the outside world.
I'd like to return the gesture.
Julius, what is the language that they're speaking?
The Hadza language. Which has these clicks.
Can you show me some?
(CLICKS) Anna.
Annaco. Ann-aco.
Annaco. Annaco.
Yes. How do I say hello in Hadzabe?
Api. Api.
Te. Te.
Apite. Apite.
How are you, my friend? Apite.
ALL: Apite!
Hadza is one of a group of languages
thought to be the oldest in Africa.
I can but try.
Hua apitate.
Wherever I go, people just laugh at me.
That's the story of my life.
(SINGING)
This large family of 35
are like the other 1,000 Hadzabe living in this area.
They don't grow food, raise livestock,
nor build permanent homes.
Instead, they travel between hunting grounds,
setting up camp until food becomes scarce.
Then they move on.
Do you think that you could compare your lifestyle,
the fact that you move around,
with the other wild animals here?
Like the wildebeest, you do the same.
You move according to food, according to water,
according to what you need to sustain your family.
I am the first foreigner Julius and his family have invited to stay.
And it's the most social part of the day,
maintaining their weapons.
This is all you use to hunt your animals.
Small animal like a dig dig, or birds like guinea fowl.
What about a bigger animal like an eland?
Arrow. An arrow?
Do you have an arrow here?
These ones? May I have a look?
Wow. And wildebeest?
Wildebeest, yes.
Then you take it and put poison.
The black... The black ones are poison.
What is the poison?
Take from special tree.
The poison could kill a big animal?
Big animal. Me?
You, if you are cutting, maybe two minutes.
I'd die? Die.
Keep that away from me, thank you. Dangerous.
To protect the animals in the national park,
the Hadzabe were moved to the edges of the Serengeti.
Here, they cohabit successfully with animals.
Each day, the women gather fruits and berries and dig for roots.
While the men meticulously hand-craft arrows using bush materials.
As night falls in the camp,
the final touches are made for tomorrow's hunt.
Which I've been invited to join.
Julius, when we go hunting tomorrow,
what tips can you give me?
Do I need to stay low? Do I need to be very quiet?
Do we need to run?
Or do we go very slowly?
Really slowly. Ssshh.
Don't speak.
(SLAPS THIGH)
Psst! (WHISTLES)
That's how we talk? (CLICKS)
Small sound.
How do we make sure we don't shoot each other?
(LAUGHS) Make sure.
The Hadzabe people and their lifestyle
are unlike anything I've seen before.
This is what they've always done.
If anything, my lifestyle is odder and stranger than theirs.
But...it's quite full on.
I've got in the back of my mind that, in the morning, I'm getting up to go hunting.
With bows and arrows. With poison that can take down an elephant.
But I am here to experience all of this
around this extraordinary migration.
And this is all part of it.
This is the hidden world that most of us don't get to see.
It's dawn in the southern Serengeti.
The wildebeest herds have travelled a further 10km along their great migration.
Really?
And leave me with my hosts, the Hadzabe tribe, to find breakfast.
There are telltale signs that we are in a good hunting area.
What is this one?
It's like a big cat super-highway here.
Everything going through.
It's a bit chaotic. I'm not really sure what's happening.
I think we're heading about two miles this way.
There are two hunting parties.
Trekking into the bush, I'm already disorientated.
Unlike my guides.
They're like heat-seeking missiles.
They know exactly where they want to go.
And they're just marching.
Soon, the hunters ahead of us call out.
(SHOUTING)
I can't believe what we find.
I don't really know what to say.
It's shocking, it's amazing, it's unexpected.
I had no idea where we were going.
But obviously there was an advance party.
For all I know, they're going after more baboons.
Suddenly, I'm next to three baboons. They're already cooking the intestines on thefire.
And there's a whole other hunting party.
It's crazy. And look.
I mean... How does that make you feel?
Personally...
It's hard to take all this in.
But the reality is that the Hadzabe people
need these baboons to survive.
This is life.
I'm on an unstoppable train now. I'm just with them.
There's a baboon in this tree.
They're not stopping.
The tribe take pot-shots at the baboons.
And things get a bit too close for comfort.
Julius, you nearly took me out.
That arrow very nearly hit me.
Wow, this is nuts.
This is nuts.
Honestly, I came out here confident that I would have a go at a bird, a small animal.
I want to experience what they do, but I can't.
I can't bring myself to do that.
Not a baboon.
I can't justify for myself.
I leave the hunters waiting for a clear shot.
As a team, the tribesmen work fast.
Continually collecting and repairing fired arrows.
Or skilfully fashioning clothes out of their catch.
This skin was on a living baboon less than an hour ago.
This is amazing.
This is incredible.
Nature shop like. Nature's shop.
Wow.
Breakfast will be eaten right here,
while another of the baboons is taken back for the family to eat.
At 8:30, we've been going for a few hours.
I'm OK for now, thank you, sir.
All due respect, I prefer boiled eggs for my breakfast.
I'm starving. I just don't think...
I've lost my appetite.
I don't want to be rude to these guys.
When Julius offers me some,
it's difficult to refuse.
You test?
Tastes sort of gamey.
It's good meat because baboon, monkeys, chimpanzee,
80% is eating fruits.
Maybe this is good food because there are many energy.
Especially for children.
A successful hunt is the difference between eating or going hungry.
This morning has been a good one for the tribe.
And tonight they are going to celebrate.
I don't think I've ever really met a peoples quite like the Hadzabe.
It's an extraordinary way of life.
This is about as close to the earth as you can possibly get.
Let's be honest. I didn't come out here to follow this magnificent migration
expecting to see baboons caught with a bow and arrow
and chopped up and eaten on the fire.
It was the last thing I expected.
But you mustn't ignore it.
It's a part of life out here.
It's the end of March.
Six weeks since the wildebeest birthing season,
and the Serengeti plains in the south are now bone dry.
The rains are late and the migration is nowhere to be seen.
I wonder where the animals are going to find food.
So I head to the Park Central Research Centre
to meet back up with wildebeest expert Dr Grant Hopcraft.
So we've got the migration hypothesis.
What's the reality this year?
This year, the rains are all different.
From the wildebeest perspective,
everything is dependent upon the rains.
If you can predict the rain, you can predict the wildebeest.
Calving took place where it usually happens, down here.
This soil is so shallow. There's a hardpan underneath the soil.
Sometimes it's only 10cm deep.
Which means that as soon as it stops raining, it dries.
And that's catastrophic for the calves.
It means that the cows, the females, can no longer produce enough milk to support the calf.
The closest place they go to when the rains fail during the wet season
is they start heading into the woodlands here.
These are what we call the wet season refuge.
We do eventually find the wildebeest.
20km off-course, scattered across the wet season refuge.
Keeping track of the herds is essential for Grant's research.
And this has been made possible by advances in technology.
His project is the only one in the world
allowed to collar the wildebeest and monitor them via GPS.
Where do the wildebeest go? Why do they do it?
When do they move? When are they choosing to move?
Mainly because this is the key attribute about this ecosystem is the wildebeest.
How does this collar work?
The bulk of it is the battery.
This is where all the goodies lie.
That's the key information.
What's happening there
is that inside here is a data logger.
It's recording information.
In addition to that,
there is a mobile phone engine in there.
That's transmitting data through that little transmitter on the top.
Which is also where the GPS lies.
It's going to give us the date, the time, and the location of the animal.
This piece of kit is giving you priceless information.
It's giving us information that you would not be able to get any other way.
Grant only collars wildebeest once the birthing season is over
to minimise stress amongst the herd.
Now that the calves are six weeks old, it's the right time.
We begin our search for an eligible animal to collar.
You think we want to head off this way?
Head over this rise a little bit.
We'll see what's on the back side of this hill.
The migration route is 650km.
But an individual wildebeest can travel 1,500km
as it zigzags across the plain searching for food.
Grant's aim is to understand how the wildebeest make choices
in relation to their environment.
And it's the females who give the best data.
They make the critical decisions on where to search for food
because they have calves to feed.
She's perfect.
Look at that. Big and strong.
A calf.
She's probably done a few laps around the Serengeti, that one.
So you're looking for migratory veterans?!
Yeah.
Ideally, we want a female who has experienced the system before.
And is well tuned to the system.
Parked away from the herd,
preparations are made to safely anaesthetise the animal using a dart gun.
It's this point I need to leave the experts.
Under park regulations, filming the darting is not allowed.
The whole process takes just 15 minutes.
And then Grant calls me in.
Ben to Grant, I am on my way.
The wildebeest is up and keen to rejoin her herd.
Grant and his team keep back so as not to spook her.
In order to find her again,
we need to pick up a signal from her newly fitted radio collar.
(BEEP) Yeah, straight.
You're bang on target. OK.
This must be an exciting time for you.
When you've got one of the collars on and a whole story is beginning.
Yeah. We've clipped her tail hair, we've got samples.
This is where the science for this animal really begins.
She's going to be somewhere fairly close by here.
Er...
Shall I stop and have a look? Yeah.
It's probably a good idea.
I think she's in this group ahead of us.
Can you see anything?
That's her! There she is!
Well done.
Look at that!
I can definitely see the collar.
The calf is with her.
That must be a relief for you. It is.
We had to be quick about getting the collar on.
You can see how small that calf is in relation to the other calves running around withit.
She's walking confidently. Her legs are coming up.
Quite often with the drug, they look like a prancing horse.
But she's walking like a proper wildebeest should.
You can name her now. What are you going to name her?
I think she has to be named after one of my heroines, Jane Goodall.
Let's call her Jane. Excellent.
We can name the other three... There were four in total.
We'll go for Rachel Carson.
That's a good idea. Great environmentalist.
Let's go for Virginia McKenna. Born Free!
Did so much work out here.
And not forgetting Dian Fossey, primatologist.
All great scientists.
This is how we are going to be able to follow this incredible migration.
Absolutely. This is how all this new technology is going to help us.
I look forward to tracking Jane, Rachel, Virginia, and Dian
as they continue their journey on the great migration.
It's almost April in Tanzania.
The rains have still not graced the Serengeti.
And the migrating wildebeest continue their search for water and fresh grass.
The herds are now 130km into their 650km journey.
While the wildebeest can migrate to find fresh grass,
there are people who live here that can't.
Back on the birthing plains,
the Maasai have been left in drought.
For them, good pasture and water
is vital for livestock grazing.
I come to meet Paaka Puni and his family
to see how the tribe cope as this climate is changing.
Welcome. Thank you.
A present. Wow.
For you.
Thank you.
As far as my eye can see is a long fence line of pieces of fabric.
What is this for?
The danger is that the wildebeest carry a virus
which doesn't affect them but is fatal to the Maasai's cattle.
Paaka Puni tells me that the tribe have lost a quarter of their herd through disease.
But things could get worse if the rains don't come.
There's no milk in there.
Like the Hadzabe,
the Maasai were moved out of the Serengeti national park to its borders.
Their population was growing,
and the government wanted to ensure protection for the great migration routes.
Rain and fresh grass were in abundance in their old region.
But here, it's very different.
Each one of the family's animals is valuable.
But today, they've slaughtered a goat to prey for the rains.
They've also invited their neighbours,
meaning everyone can eat.
The Maasai want the rains just as much as the wildebeest.
And subsequently all the other animals here.
This is a complex ecosystem.
It's a reminder of how man has lived for a long time.
Some of the earliest forms of man, our earliest ancestors,
were found not far from this spot.
Man belongs here as well. Who are we to say that this is the animals' domain?
But technology is progressing.
The Maasai here are keeping to their roots,
keeping to their traditions.
But they are certainly embracing technology.
It probably won't be long before they've got apps to follow the rain!
Or to look for the best grazing for their goats.
Really. I don't doubt that that will happen.
But you can't help but see this way of life and wonder how long this can sustain itself.
This is a whole question between heritage and history and the future.
In their search for fresh grass,
the wildebeest have moved a further 20km into the woodlands.
I meet up with Grant to track our collared females via satellite.
Grant, I shouldn't be surprised, given the technology we're using on the wildebeest,
but this is just amazing you can do this in the middle of the Serengeti.
We're tagged into 3G. Mobiles tethered into a laptop.
We're seeing, in real time, where these animals are.
As well as the wildebeest we named Jane,
Grant and his team have put collars on three other females
to follow them over the next year.
We've got Virginia, we've got Dian.
We've got Jane.
And we've got Rachel.
And using the satellite image,
you can have an idea of what the ground is looking like.
That's right. In fact, honest to God, this is Jane.
That's that mountain there.
And there's the road.
Virginia has decided to go west.
Unfortunately, we don't know what she's doing.
She's right on the edge. I think she's hoping it's going to rain.
She's going to be first in line if it rains on the short grass plains.
This one has decided to go north.
That's Dian.
Crunch time.
Your calf is on its last legs probably.
Where am I going to go?
You've got to predict now, where are these four going to go next?
I know.
My bet is that everybody is going to head northwest.
In this direction here.
Everybody is going to pull a very fast U-turn
as soon as these clouds start breaking.
They're going to do a complete U-turn and come right back this way over here.
We'll be watching.
Across the parched landscape,
the migration journeys towards its next phase,
the wildebeest mating season.
But the weather must now do its part in supporting this incredible natural wonder.
The rain should be here by now.
The clouds build up and they tease everyone who's here, the animals.
But the rain still hasn't come.
The earth looks like it's been scorched. It's brown.
There's nothing to sustain neither animal nor man here.
So the migration isn't where it should be.
Which throws everything else out of kilter.
What I've discovered here is it's not just about the wildebeest, this migration,
it's the nomadic lions, it's the zebra that follow,
it's the people that rely on some of those creatures.
It's all inter-weaved.
I suppose what I've really discovered is that the Serengeti hasn't just been shaped by the animals.
It's as much a part of the people as it is the animal kingdom.
Next time, I'm in the middle of the wildebeest rut.
Are the males doing this solidly?
They're going to do this solidly. They're not spending time eating.
Because they're just thinking about sex?
They're obsessed by sex.
I'll witness power-plays, not just between the animals,
but from humans who pose an even greater threat.
And I come face to face with a majestic species on the brink of extinction.
To find one with its calf is amazing.
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