Faszination Afrika 3D Page #3

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African elephants are active

night and day.

They usually rest during the midday

heat, or after midnight...

... while laying against, or more

often, leaning against a tree to sleep.

On average, they cover

12 kilometres daily...

... at a speed of about

10 kilometers per hour.

If neccessary, they can speed up

to about 40 kiolmetres per hour.

Unthreatened elephants

are peaceful animals.

Cow elephants with

young cubs on the other hand...

... can very quickly become agressive

if you get too close to them.

Both genders threaten by raising

their trunk, swaying their ears...

... whirling up dust, and shaking

their head back and forth.

Before attacking,

they trumpet a warning.

The other mastodon

is the rhinoceros.

Actually, the rhino is a peaceful

and quiet fellow.

But when you scare them,

they'll start chasing you.

So you should always be careful

not to come too close to them.

They can weigh several tons.

After the three elephant species...

... the white rhino is the fourth

largest land mammal.

It grows two horns of which

the front one reaches a length...

... of over 150 centimetres...

... and the back horn

stays noticeably smaller.

The lower lip has a horny edge

that replaces its missing incisors...

... with which they

tear off the grass.

With a remaining population

of only 8 animals in captivity...

... the white rhino is the rarest

large mammal in the world.

The white rhinos are grazers...

... and prefer grassy regions

with low growing bushes...

... which offer them

sufficient cover...

... and enough bushes and

thickets to provide shady areas.

In addition, they also always

prefer to be close to water.

If this is not available,

they travel to find water...

... and dwelling points

on a regular basis.

They are mostly active during the

day, but avoid the blazing hot sun.

The white rhino

is rarely aggressive...

... but can turn into

a dangerous enemy...

... and will then use their

long horn as a weapon.

Their normal trotting speed is

about 15 to 30 kilometres per hour.

But while attacking or escaping...

... they can gallop at around

40 kilometres per hour.

Their eyesight is as poor

as that of old rhinoceroses'.

And since they don't have a noticeably

visual expression or behaviour...

... we find the rhino

very unpredictable.

We are not the only

people here in Namibia.

There are several

other tribes as well.

A lot of the other tribes

live in smaller or larger families...

... helping each other with

everything just like we do.

The women and children of the

Himba people live together in villages.

Their men go out hunting

for several weeks...

... sometimes even months

at a time.

During these periods, the women are

responsible for everything in the village.

We don't like this idea very much.

We enjoy seeing our wives

and children more often.

This tribe lives in

a similar way to us.

They live together in villages, and

there's a strong solidarity among all.

Unlike us, they have a strong hierarchy

and have something like a king.

They have great dances and songs that

they all enjoy and celebrate together.

Their handicrafts

are very elaborate...

... and they have a comprehensive

knowledge of nature and its animals.

We look upon ungulates,

such as the gnus or zebras...

... more like our brothers

and sisters.

We hunt them only

during drought periods...

... when we don't find

enough other food.

Blue wildebeests, the antelopes

of the gnu family are grazers...

... and can be found in the African

open steppes or tree savannahs.

The blue wildebeest has a shoulder

height of 140 centimetres...

... and the front of their body

is very sturdy...

... which drops towards

the hind legs.

They can weigh

up to 270 kilograms.

They have a large head

and wide mouth.

The coat is brownish

or a shimmering bluish grey.

Dark horizontal stripes run down

from the neck to the hind quarters.

A long black mane covers the area

between the neck and the shoulders...

... and a black beard

grows on their throats.

Both genders have horns

that remind us of cattle horns...

... but the horns

of the males are stronger.

The tail of the blue wildebeest

reminds us of a horse tail.

At birth, the calves are of

a light reddish brown colour...

... with a darker face.

My personal favourite

animal is the zebra.

The grevy zebra is the largest zebra

and the largest wild horse species.

They are characterised

by their stripes...

... but show a significant difference

in the outer appearance.

Whenever several zebras

are standing together...

... it's difficult to recognise

a single zebra's outline.

There have been several attempts

to explain the benefit of their stripes.

One is the assumption that

they serve as camouflage...

... while the zebra lingers in

high grass or in the scorching sun.

But it's also possible that

the stripes make it very difficult...

... to recognise an individual animal.

Since zebras live in herds, it's much

more complicated for their enemies...

... to pick a single one

out for prey.

Another theory is that the stripes

are a disguise to trick tsetse flies...

... which carry dangerous diseases,

such as sleeping sickness.

Due to their faceted eyes,

they're unable to detect the zebras.

Zebras are herbivores

like all horses...

... mostly feeding on grasses.

The animals I envy

most of all are the birds.

They can just spread their wings and

rise into the air, almost weightless.

I can spend hours watching them fly

and listening to their chirping...

... or have a quarrel,

like each other...

... crack nuts and seeds

and clean each other...

... and sing with one another.

The larger birds, like the eagle

though, have to be watched carefully.

An eagle could very easily see one

of our babies as a nice bit of prey.

But now I'll be quiet for a while,

so we can enjoy and watch...

... a few minutes of their very

entertaining hustle and bustle.

One of the few animals that can

stand up to poisonous snakes...

... is the not at all dangerous

looking but cute little mongoose.

Most mongooses live

in sub-Saharan African.

A mongoose can live as a loner,

as well as in complex...

... organised groups,

depending on the species.

One big advantage of a social life...

... is that they are protected

from potential enemies.

Because if several members of one

group are on the lookout for danger...

... the quicker they notice

an attacker...

... and it gives them more time to

return to their dens or shelters.

The mongoose is a predatory animal,

feeding on insects and its larvae...

... and vertebrates

and smaller vertebrates.

Some species are known for their

ability to kill poisonous snakes.

Mongooses have a remarkable

immunity to numerous toxins.

The mongoose only has

very few enemies.

But they have to watch out

for the black-backed jackals...

... even if they look

innocent and harmless.

Although they have a wide range

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