Faszination Afrika 3D

---

1

I belong to the Sand People.

I'm a bushman.

We've been living here in Africa

for thousands of years...

... and we know this country, its nature

and animals better than anyone else.

We not only live here, we actually

exist in harmony with nature.

We eat nature's fruits,

we sleep on nature's ground...

... and we honour our nature

and celebrate it.

Namibia is a large country...

... and when we have to travel...

... we only use what nature

provided us with...

... our feet.

Now let me take you on

a stunning and fantastic trip...

... across this wonderful land.

I will show you my country,

my Namibia.

The most wonderful thing for me

in this beautiful country...

... is the variety of animals.

Namibia has an almost infinitely

rich biological diversity...

... starting with the big cats...

... through to small insects and

large birds, to the tiniest of rodents.

You'll encounter many of these

animals while we're travelling.

The sand bushmen are not

the only inhabitants of Africa.

There are several other tribes

that we used to be at war with.

But thank heavens,

this is a thing of the past...

... and today, we can all

live together peacefully.

When we are travelling

through our country...

... we don't carry much with us.

Just a few tools to hunt

or to collect roots.

And of course, we have to extract

drinking water to survive.

This is necessary in order

for us to remain flexible.

Nature doesn't just offer us

the food we need..

... it also harbours certain

risks and dangers.

There are several animal types that

would literally love to feast on us.

But you don't have to be

afraid of the cheetahs.

They're shy, and definitely much

more afraid of us than we are of them.

Before they'd even

consider attacking us...

... they'd much rather

just run away and hide.

The cheetah is mainly

found in Africa.

The predatory behaviour of

the cheetah is highly specialised...

... and is regarded as

the fastest land mammal.

Its basic colour is yellowish...

... whereas the stomach

is significantly lighter.

It's covered with black spots...

... which are noticeably smaller

than those of leopards...

... and don't create rosettes.

The face is darker and unspotted.

But it has two dark stripes

running from the eyes...

... to the corners of the mouth...

... tear stripes.

Cheetahs are pure steppe

and savannah animals.

They prefer to live in regions

with high growing grass...

... to provide protection

and hills for lookout posts.

Densely wooded countryside

is inappropriate for cheetahs...

... because it would

slow them down.

Now, the leopard

is a different matter.

He would love

to have us for dinner.

Whenever I see one of them...

... I stand still at a respectful

distance and just watch him...

... in awe.

What leopards eat,

actually depends on...

... what the territory

they live in has to offer.

Leopards have an extraordinarily

wide prey spectrum.

It ranges from bugs to reptiles...

... as well as from birds

to large mammals.

Whenever possible, leopards

will try to capture prey...

... weighing somewhere

between 30 and 50 kilograms.

Leopards are normally

looked upon as night hunters.

But a specific or preferred hunting

time has not been confirmed.

The time of day has most likely to

do with the availability of the prey...

... and their hunting territory.

Basically, you can watch

two kinds of hunting methods.

The leopard either stalks

or passively ambushes its prey.

He likes to climb up

into trees to do so...

... to just sit and wait for it.

The leopard is an

outstanding climber.

Just watch how precisely and fast

he can climb that tree.

Just watching is a great

experience in itself.

Lions are the kings of the animal

kingdom, and are my favourites...

... even though they're the most

dangerous for the bushman.

We treat them with respect.

And by reading in their eyes...

... we've learned a lot about their

movements, and also their behaviour.

If a lion has just eaten

and isn't hungry...

... you could almost pat him

without fear of being eaten alive.

A lioness, however,

protecting or defending her cubs...

... cannot be compared to this.

You should never

get too close to a lioness.

The lion is a big cat.

In comparison to other cats,

he lives in prides...

... and can be identified

by the male lion's mane.

Their natural habitat is Africa...

... as well as the

Indian state of Gujarat.

This is the largest carnivore

in Africa...

... second only to

the tiger worldwide.

Lions have a short

sand-coloured coat...

... or a yellowish

to dark ochre tone.

In addition, the males

have a long mane.

It's mostly dark brown...

... but it can also be black

or light to reddish brown.

The mane covers the cheeks,

and goes up to the shoulders...

... but seldom across

the stomach and chest.

The mane's shape

and colour varies...

... not only between

individual animals...

... it can change

during a lifetime...

... depending on

the lion's physical condition.

Particularly long and dark manes...

... are evidence of good health

are fighting strength.

The length and thickness

of the mane...

... is result of the hormone

and nutrition status...

... of the individual animal.

Lions favour a savannah habitat.

But may also be found in

dry forests and semi-deserts.

They hunt mainly at night

or during the cool morning hours.

The lion's prey includes antelopes,

gazelles, gnus, buffalo and zebras.

But also rabbits, birds

and sometimes even fish.

Contrary to the widespread belief

that the male lion lives off the prey...

... the female hunts down,

it seems they do hunt a larger part...

... of their prey themselves.

A new study at the

Kruger National Park...

... has shown that even

territorial male lions...

... leading a pack are very

successful and regular hunters.

Namibia's vegetation took millions

of years to become what it is today.

We now have deserts, steppe

and rich dense forests.

Namibia is versatile and every region

has its own challenges for us bushmen.

My forefathers taught me

how to provide myself...

... with water in the desert,

how to find edible roots...

... and even medicine

in the solitude of the desert.

The most beautiful tree

to me is the quiver tree.

It's one of our national shrines...

... and also adorns

the flag of our country.

Our favourite foods are tubers

that we find in the ground.

But of course, we would never

reject a good piece of meat...

... which we prepare on an open fire

and enjoy very much.

Our nature has plenty of animals

we duly respect and worship.

But we will hunt them

if necessary...

... in order to feed

our families and children.

This is a kudu.

The bull's coat

is a greyish brown.

The cow and calf's coats

are middle brown...

... and have 6 to 10

white cross stripes.

The kudu's ears are large and

round and their tail is bushy.

The bucks have twisted horns

that can grow to a length of 1 metre.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes