Documentary Description
Each year more than one million wildebeest and zebra invade the
Serengeti grasslands, making it a paradise for the predators that live
there. But what happens when the herds move off again? We follow the
moving story of one lion family's struggle to survive until the return
of the great migration.
Nature's Great Events tells the story of the epic trek of herds that
follow the rains to fresh pastures, and the tale of the predators they
leave behind.
The crew captures the desperate plight of a single pride of lions,
revealing a different side to the Serengeti. Rather than being a
predators' paradise, it is a land in constant change, with wildebeest
following the rains and leaving the lions to tough it out.
The Ntudu pride has seven cubs, and is already suffering as the
wildebeest leave to find fresh pastures. The four pride females struggle
to find enough food for their hungry offspring.
As weeks turn to months, the pride members become more emaciated and
frailer, and the number of cubs dwindles to just two.
As the herds begin to return, the plains reveal one final secret. For
the first time since 1967 the Serengeti's only active volcano, Ol
Doinyo Lengai, begins to billow ash and smoke. Filmed from the air, the
team captures the exciting action. Fertilised by the volcanic ash over
millions of years, these short grass plains are among the most
productive grasslands in the world.
After months of hardship, the pride's tragic story, through sickness,
drought and fire, is over as the herds return, providing plentiful
food.
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