非洲长河
英文名称：Wild Africa: River of life
内容分类：河流
频道分类：Animal Planet
语言字幕：内嵌中文字幕
最后更新：
视频状态：7集
内容介绍：
节目介绍非洲河流域地区的动植物生态
The Rivers of Africa are some of the wildest places on our planet- bursting with life, they are home to an array of inhabitants who depend on them for their survival. Whether the rivers flow or retreat- life must go on. These are three of the most vital River systems on the African continent, home to some of the largest and most spectacular concentrations of wildlife to be found anywhere on earth. In the wet season, the Luangwa valley is a green paradise. The great Luangwa River snakes across its belly. Water and food abound, and life for Luangwa's animals is easy. Hippos recline in oxbow lakes packed with nutritious water cabbage. Life is so good that the valley supports the largest hippo population in the world. It's a happy time for the elephant breeding herd too. Their fertile females have caught the eye of a bull. But these glory days don't last. When winter descends, the rains dry up, rendering this watery haven into a dustbowl. Animals strain against relentless drought, and the evaporating river becomes their sole lifeline. For one hippo bull, exiled from his pod, it's a lifeline he can't reach. Forced to fight for survival outside the river, he faces predators and starvation as he is chased from drying pool to drying pool. Pregnant elephants struggle to find enough food to sustain their unborn young, while lions wait in the wings- ready to pounce at the first sign of weakness. The valley reaches crisis point, where only desperate measures can stave off death. The exiled hippo risks it all to get back into the river pod. He must face off with the dominant bull, who might kill him long before the drought does. When the rains finally arrive, they bring both relief and danger. The water rises so fast that a pair of Pukus is trapped on an island, surrounded by crocodile-infested waters. Only a brave swim to the mainland can save them, but the crocodiles are circling. Every year, one of Africa's greatest rivers vanishes from sight completely. All that remains is a giant sandy scar across the landscape- 1000 miles long. For seven months of the year, the waters of the Limpopo River are hidden in vast aquifers underground- leaving the wildlife trapped in the midst of a brutal annual drought. When the summer storms arrive, the mighty Limpopo River swells into a torrent bearing 4000 tonnes of water per second- more than the flow rate of the entire Niagara Falls. Only the toughest can survive these extremes.
