Big Animals Of Africa (1957)

[Music] la today when we go hunting for animals in Africa we can travel by Jeep and hunt with cameras instead of [Music] guns but for a long time Africa was thought of as a land of mystery because because most of it is separated from the rest of the World by the vast Sahara Desert a desert almost as big as the whole United States a large part of Africa is made up of high flat lands called plateaus there are large forests mostly hot and dense and there are large areas of rolling grasslands with Pleasant temperatures the grasslands are home for some of Africa's most interesting animals they live in herds and eat the grass and the leaves of other plants their main protection is their ability to run fast here is a large herd of zebras members of the horse family they look very much like small striped horses they have hoofs much like those of horses too while these zebras all seem to be striped the same way actually everyone is as different as one fingerprint is from another there what's this behind the bush the zebras run away at first but it's only a baby giraffe now you can see how stripes and spots help to hide an animal in the forest this is a good example of protective coloring giraffes and zebras are often found in the same places this baby giraffe has a hard time reaching the ground this grown giraffe has the same trouble a full grown giraffe May stand eight or 9 ft to the shoulder with another 7 ft of head and neck the largest weigh more than a ton the giraffe is the world's tallest animal almost as high as a two-story building a favorite food of the giraffe is the leaf of a certain kind of tree the acacia tree it has tiny leaves and big thorns but the giraffe can nip off each tiny Leaf without hurting itself on the Thorns see how its remarkable long tongue helps it do this giraffes live in herds like some other animals of the grasslands this is a herd of Wilder beasts that's a Dutch word for wild beast isn't it an oddl looking creature it's a member of the Antelope family Africa is the home of many different kinds of antelope like this Eland its stripes look almost like sunlight coming through the trees another example of protective coloring this beautiful Antelope is called a Thompson's gazelle there are more than 60 different members of the Antelope family in Africa Antelope are of many sizes and some look quite different from the others but all live on grass and leaves and though many have sharp horns they usually depend depend on their protective coloring and their fast legs for protection an enemy of the antelope is the cheetah which can outrun even the antelope in a short burst of speed the cheetah is a meat eater but it doesn't kill unless it's hungry the leopard which spends much of its time in trees is another meat eater it is at home on the ground as well as in the trees and is a skillful Hunter lions are meat eaters too these young ones are not yet able to attack a large Antelope but the antelope doesn't come too close for lions live in families and the adult lions are almost sure to be nearby notice the man on the male lion the lionist doesn't have a man mediators like lions leopards and cheetahs feed on some of the leaf eating animals like zebras and Antelope notice how these Antelope keep a safe distance but they won't run away unless the lionist starts after them Lions have sharp teeth and tear off pieces of of meat which they swallow whole whatever meat is left is cleaned up by the vultures and maribou STS they might be called the garbage collectors of Africa but not all leaf eating animals are hunted by the lions leopards and cheetahs the rhinoceros is protected by a very thick hide its front horn is several feet long and while the Rhino doesn't usually fight he can be dangerous and can move very fast on his heavy feet this is a hook Li Rhino notice how the pointed lip is used for holding rhinos usually live in families a baby rhino nurses for about 2 years here's a creature that isn't as gentle as it looks it's a cape buffalo and when full grown it's a dangerous enemy of the lion can you guess what this is yes what you saw was the nose of a hippopotamus which means River horse the hippopotamus is another thick skinned animal safe from most meat eaters it eats grasses and Reeds along along the river banks and in the water it can stay underwater for many minutes The Majestic elephant is another animal seldom if ever attacked by the meat eaters elephants are grass and leaf eaters and make good use of their trunks for searching out Choice morsels a large elephant May weigh as much as six tons a lot of weight for his sturdy legs to carry look at the size of the ears on this baby elephant African elephants have much bigger ears than their Indian cousins elephants are the biggest land animals in the world Africa is the home of the world's largest Birds too The Familiar ostrich they used to be killed for their feathers but now they're protected by law some are raised on ostrich Farms they have powerful legs well suited to running on the grasslands since they can't fly they rest by squatting on their legs here in the waters of this wide Shallow Lake in Eastern Africa called lake nakuru is the home of another large bird the flamingo it feeds on tiny plants and animals floating in the water so small that they can't be seen by the eye alone the beak of the flamingo is shaped so that water can be strained through it leaving the food behind it was estimated that when these pictures were taken there were several million flamingos living along this one small Lake of course there are many many other animals in Africa like this B and her baby and other members of the monkey family like this little bush baby with its huge eyes and there are many reptils like this monitor lizard which may grow to be five or 6 feet long and this vicious looking crocodile the cape dogs of Africa are wild dogs who roam the grasslands in packs they are skillful and untiring Hunters of larger animals perhaps one of Africa's most in animals is this one whose name starts with two A's the arvar which means Earth Pig it eats ants and termites one of the world's fastest diggers just watch it go after a meal arvar like many other interesting animals of Africa are found nowhere else in the world so today many animals are protected in game PR reserves where photographers may go to bring back pictures like the ones you have just seen to show us how African animals look and live [Music]