维多利亚瀑布位于赞比亚和津巴布韦之间
是世界上最宽广的瀑布
特殊动物的家园
也是地球上最大陆地哺乳动物的隐居处
有时候在这里 就宛如生活在天堂一般
但有时就像在地狱里
还有生死存亡的问题
《维多利亚瀑布:非洲的伊甸园》
托马斯·贝伦德电影
莫西奥图尼亚瀑布“像雷霆般轰轰作响的烟雾”
这就是当地人对维多利亚瀑布的称呼
雾云高达300米
天气晴朗时 30公里以外都能看到
现在是六月份
雨季已经来过又走
现在瀑布的水流量只有一半
然而瀑布一年四季都会产生巨大的水雾
在对面 湿度再次上升
从而形成了热带雨林
这里生长着种类极多的植物和水果
正常情况下
这样的迷你热带雨林是不可能存在的
但一年四季的浮沫 使不可能变成可能
第一位发现维多利亚瀑布的欧洲人
是苏格兰传教士戴维·利文斯通
他在1855年11月第一次看到瀑布时
已经在非洲旅行了大约六年
大受震撼之下 他将瀑布描述为
自己在非洲见过最美的事物
为了向英国君主致敬 他毫不犹豫地将瀑布命名为
维多利亚瀑布
瀑布由非凡的赞比西河滋养
瀑布正上方的河道散布着几十个岛屿
有些岛屿还不如足球场大
比如棕榈岛
其他岛屿覆盖了整条河 有几公里长
这是长岛
世界上最大陆地动物的家园
也就是大象
准确地说 是一群单身象
这些大象有很多共同之处
它们都是雄性
而且都被家人抛弃
这对大象来说很正常
现在它们代表单身象家族
处于青春期的大象每天至少需要摄入五万卡路里的热量
这里有很多植物
它们一年四季都在岛上寻找植物
还有更重要的东西
水
喝到水通常不是这么简单
正常情况下 大象必须走很远的路 才能获得类似的食物
维多利亚瀑布的少年大象
貌似掌握了独立的入门技巧
但它们终将回到自己的出生地
维多利亚瀑布东南方向约100公里处
坐落着万盖国家公园
这里是它们家人的生活之地
它们的妈妈和下一代小象
大象的天堂
尽管有一些小缺陷
随着旱季的到来
万盖的水坑完全干涸了
大象不得不迁徙
有些大象会来到维多利亚瀑布
或许到时候单身象就能团聚一番
可以说公象基本上是独行侠
在某些时刻 即使是单身象也会离开彼此的陪伴
独自生活
年轻公象永远不会知道 拥有一个真正的家庭是什么感觉
因为大象实际生活在只有母象的社群里
成年公象只有在交配季节 才被允许加入母象的行列
即使到那时 也只有最强壮的公象才会被接纳
它们将不得不等很长时间 才能返回家园
并且维护自己作为公象的权威
除了大象
似乎还有其他动物自己发现了瀑布
狒狒
它们已经征服了迷你热带雨林
对于灵长目动物来说 这里是伊甸园
不管在公园的哪个地方寻找 总会有美味的吃食
当狒狒为了寻找食物
仔细搜索领地时 它们通常会分散开来
来自云雾林的猿类觉得没有必要这样
它们很少漫步
无论找到了什么 它们只吃精华部分
一种完全不同寻常的生活方式
所有其他动物都必须适应
旱季和雨季之间的不断变化
热带雨林里的狒狒只熟悉美好的时光
雾云能防止补给耗尽
无忧无虑的生活
但是在维多利亚瀑布 并不是到处都是天堂
仅仅几周的时间 旱季就开始了
迹象越来越明显
凌晨 雾云飘过水面
非洲的冬天恰好是旱季的开始
来自赞比西河的水已经显著降温
由25摄氏度变成只有15摄氏度
河马一点也不喜欢这样
动物们虽然体型庞大 却拒绝接受棕榈岛
河流的大部分已经干涸
曾经壮观的瀑布现在不过是涓涓细流
环境变得越来越恶劣
许多动物别无选择
为了生存 它们必须回到赞比西河
就像万盖国家公园里的大象一样
母象和它们的后代聚集在最后的水坑周围
母象首领别无选择
它必须带领家人前进
不是只有它做出了这个决定
数十头母象带着它们的幼崽前进
它们都有同样的目标 那就是维多利亚瀑布上的岛屿
单身象们将没有多少时间
独占河流世界
过去的几天里 它们在长岛上度过
现在它们想游到另一个岛屿上
大象是贪婪的生物
只有它们不断改变位置
植被才有机会再生
但下水是一个艰难的决定
最终 它们的一个同伴发出了信号
在单身象群体中 没有领头象来做决定
谁今后会成为主宰 还有待商榷
大象利用水来检查自己的排名
它们在玩耍中考验自己的力量
小象似乎并不那么认真
它们游向新天地
与其他所有动物相比 大象的游泳能力
有极大的优势
在它们为了寻找食物 在岛屿之间迁徙时
大部分其他动物都要受到旱季的严峻考验
几周前 这头雌性疣猪产下了幼崽
幼崽和妈妈一起寻找食物已经好几天了
幼崽们筋疲力尽
现在即使是不同寻常的食物来源 也会受到它们的青睐
它们在酒店和公园里找到了自己需要的东西
即使在旱季 这里也是四季常青
这已经不是妈妈们第一次来到这里了
最初 与人类亲近很是奇怪
但它们的不安全感是短暂的
新鲜的草极具诱惑
疣猪其实是杂食动物 但是它们的饮食以植物为主
它们的例子被效仿
越来越多的家庭加入进来
还有谁会比幼崽更高兴呢
到了傍晚时分
这一家没有离开酒店 而是留了下来
直到雨季开始 它们才会回到自己的领地
旱季时分 万物都依赖于食物和水
大象也是如此
来自万盖国家公园的第一批家庭
抵达岛屿
对于一些大象来说 这是它们的第一次
它们之前从未下过水
为了保护它们 妈妈和阿姨让它们走在中间
母象首领总是走在最前面
许多母象带着它们的家人来到这里
终于有食物和水了
除了它们 岛屿上只有一头孤独的公象
它可能已经60多岁 巅峰期已过
它选择了独自住在瀑布附近
就像单身象一样 年老的公象受益于天堂般的生存环境
不仅如此
在这里没有母象
它不再需要和其他公象对抗以证明自己
它可能再也不会离开
维多利亚瀑布上方的岛屿世界了
回到大象家庭
幼象还是能从骨子里 感受到那段漫长的旅程
但是从万盖到这里的几天长途跋涉
很快就会被遗忘
在长岛 大象和它们的后代生活得很好
食物和水总是触手可及
成年大象每天吃掉多达500公斤的植物
如果大象不那么聪明
岛上的植被会受到极大的破坏
无数家庭在岛上分散开来
这是植物有机会再生的唯一途径
尽管如此 它们仍然都坚持同样的路线
它们从长岛北部缓慢向南部移动
这样的话 它们逐渐接近河马的领地
雄性河马立刻就会注意到
是时候撤离了
河马非常尊重大象
它们独占长岛的时间结束了
夜幕降临时 维多利亚瀑布的岛民也要休息
成千上万的鸟寻找过夜的地方
它们更喜欢直接在河里的灌木丛和树上过夜
这些地方是最安全的
十月份
现在已经好几个月没有下雨了
维多利亚瀑布失去往日风采
就在几个月前
世界上最宽广的瀑布还在哗哗往下流
现在的水位已经达到了将近30年以来的最低
秃鹳偏偏选择在这个艰难时期繁衍后代
这个家庭的两个孩子都已经成熟了
它们与妈妈的唯一区别 就是蓬松的头毛
成年秃鹳现在面临着许多挑战
父母尽自己所能保护幼鸟免受高温炙烤
这不是唯一的难题
它们通常用喉囊里
储存的食物喂养后代
但是无论父母反刍多少
它的喉囊里空空如也
它们必须找到食物
过去几天里 水位已经下降了
赞比西河的一些河段只比水坑大一点
在水坑里可以捕到鱼
秃鹳对池塘展开地毯式搜寻
鱼把自己藏在泥里的某个地方
耐心是优点
鸟巢里的情况急剧恶化
母亲和孩子灰心之下 对任何移动的东西都要咬上一口
坚持不懈
在离秃鹳不远处
大象家庭也在寻找食物
它们必须不断更换岛屿
以免毁掉它们的营养来源
但是大象家庭面临一个问题
它们不能直接穿过赞比西河
有些幼象太小了
不能下水游泳
这个家庭的母象首领有一头非常小的幼象
它必须找到一种方法更换岛屿
并且不让自己的宝宝湿身
这一家不得不跨过几个石障
它们都靠得很近
它们一起接受陆地路线的不便 尤其是对幼象来说
同时在其他地方
秃鹳家庭的觅食仍不成功
因为鱼藏在泥土深处 几乎不可能抓到
与苍鹭和鹈鹕不同 秃鹳不是捕鱼者
它们像秃鹫一样 以腐肉为食
它们的水域搜索不过是做做样子
但机会突然来了
一些鱼决定逃离即将到来的灾难
它试图回到河里
但引起了很大的动静
对鱼类的争夺将持续数周
这只秃鹳爸爸成功了
在妈妈的监视下 孩子们最终吃到了鱼
秃鹳宝宝的饥饿暂时得到了缓解
但在接下来的数周里
它们还得依靠父母的照顾
这头年老公象的身体每况愈下
它只能痛苦又缓慢地继续行走
过去的几周里 它的脚步几乎不再稳健
这头年老的公象光彩已不复从前
这一家大象还在寻找陆桥
幼象几乎跟不上
它一直落在后面
象群等着它再次追上自己的妈妈
不只是幼象
它们都对领头象有信心
几个小时的搜寻已经让幼象吃不消
但它妈妈的经验最终有所回报
它终于找到了一座通往邻近岛屿的陆桥
幼象拖着腿 跟着妈妈
它们最终成功了
尽管大自然付出了种种努力
赞比西河上的大象 还是顽强经受住了旱季的考验
其他动物则不得不苦苦挣扎
峡谷之外的狒狒尤其受到干旱之害
这里没有什么可吃的了
这对首领的后代影响最大
许多狒狒难以经受恶劣的生存条件
如果老大想不出解决办法
它的家人就会面临挨饿
是时候改变这一切了
它们都跟随着领头象
这是一次非常特殊的偷袭指令
它们越接近目的地 速度就越快
赞比亚和津巴布韦之间的边境公路
大多数驾车者利用在海关的等待时间休息
人类旅行时会携带食物
并且留下很多垃圾
年轻狒狒专门翻垃圾桶
它们总能在这里有所收获
成年狒狒走得更远
自信满满
狒狒老大简直把马路当成了自己的地盘
它和随从寻找这样的机会
狒狒毫不拘束
有时它们只找到一块水果
在其他情况下 这是一整天的食物
老大和它的家人的边防站之行 绝对物超所值
尽管这里不愁吃喝 但危险也无处不在
老大甚至在那里失去了一截尾巴
其他狒狒也在这里受了伤
在旱季 狒狒经常光顾边防站
它们找到了生存的方法 显然非常满意
直到现在 它们从未试图征服热带雨林
12月初
变化突然发生
始于一阵风
织布鸟能准确地感觉到变化
然后 雨季来了
在经历了六个多月的干旱后 救赎到来了
第一场雨已经下了
但赞比西河需要几周时间才能再次泛滥
降雨并不意味着每只动物都有新开始
这头年老的公象已经死了
对它来说 这场雨来得太晚
没过多久 它的尸体就被发现了
巨型爬行动物不会错过这样的机会
鳄鱼通常以鱼为食
但捕鱼很艰难
对它们来说 找到死象就像中了彩票一样
争夺是不可避免的
这具尸体可以养活它们几个星期
鳄鱼不想离开它
距离第一次降雨已经过去了近两个月
但内陆的水才刚刚流到维多利亚瀑布
现在雾云又高高升起了
河水在近2000米的高处骤然落入
巴托卡峡谷
维多利亚瀑布现在再次成为世界上最宽广的瀑布
对于大象来说
瀑布的重现是一个重要的标志
而且也正是时候
因为岛屿上的植被受到了严重的破坏
它们要返回万盖国家公园
那里又恢复了一片绿意
这是它们最后一次聚集在长岛的河岸上
对幼象来说 这是一个相当大的挑战
现在没有陆桥了
成年大象再次保护着幼象的生命
如果没有它们的帮助 幼象会被水流冲走
最后它们成功了 明年还会再回来
在瀑布上的岛屿上 只能找到单身象
单身象群体永远在移动中
新的幼象也加入了它们的行列
其他大象离开了群体
最终独自度过了它们的余生
一个解放的过程
只要这个过程还没有完成
它们就会享受群体生活
维多利亚瀑布是地球上最伟大的自然奇观之一
一些动物在这里找到了永久的栖息地
对其他动物来说 这些瀑布是干旱时期的避难所
没有瀑布就很难生存
对我们人类来说 数世纪以来 瀑布一直是令人惊叹的地方
莫西奥图尼亚瀑布“像雷霆般轰轰作响的烟雾”
The Victoria Falls between Zambia and Zimbabwe,
the world's widest waterfalls,
home for special animals...
and a retreat for the Earth's largest land mammals.
Sometimes here, it's like living in paradise...
but there are times when it is like
being in hell.
Then, it's a matter of life...
or death.
Mosi-oa-Tunya-- the smoke that thunders.
This is how the natives refer to the Victoria Falls.
The fog cloud rises up to 300 meters.
On a clear day, it can be seen 30 kilometers away.
It's June.
The rainy season has been and gone.
Now the falls have just half their strength.
Nevertheless, they cause a huge spray cloud
all year round.
On the opposite side, humidity rises
once again...
enabling the creation of a tropical rainforest.
An incredible variety of plants and fruits
grow here.
Under normal circumstances, a mini rainforest
like this couldn't exist,
but the year-round spume renders the impossible possible.
The first European to discover the Victoria Falls
was the Scottish missionary David Livingstone.
He had traveled some 6 years through Africa
as he first saw the Falls in November 1855.
Deeply impressed, he described the waterfalls
as "The most beautiful thing" he had ever seen in Africa.
Without further ado, he named the falls
in honor of the British monarch Victoria Falls.
They are fed by the mighty Zambesi.
Directly above the falls, the river course is dotted
with dozens of islands.
Some are no larger than a football pitch
like Palm Island.
Others cover the entire river
and are several kilometers long.
This is Long island...
home for the world's largest land animals...
elephants.
A group of bachelors to be precise.
The pachyderms have a lot in common.
They are all males...
and they were all left behind by their families...
which is normal for elephants.
Now they represent a family of bachelors.
The adolescents have to eat at least 50,000 calories daily.
There are plenty of plants here.
And they find food on the islands
the whole year round
and something even more important...
water.
Access to water is not usually as simple as this.
Normally, elephants have to cover large distances
for a similar supply.
The teenagers at the Victoria Falls
have a seemingly ideal introduction to independence...
but the time will come when they will return
to their birthplace.
Some 100 kilometers southeast of the Victoria Falls
lies the Hwange National Park.
This is where their families live,
their mothers and the next generation of youngsters...
a paradise for pachyderms,
albeit with minor imperfections.
With the onset of the dry season,
the waterholes of Hwange dry up completely.
Then the elephants have to migrate.
Some of them will come to the Victoria Falls.
Perhaps there will be a reunion with the bachelors.
Male elephants are fundamentally lone wolves,
so to speak.
At some point, even the bachelors will leave
one another's company to live on their own.
The young males will never know how it is to have
a real family
as elephants actually live in a solely female society.
The bulls are only allowed to join the females
during the mating season,
and even then, only the strongest.
They will have to wait a long time to be able to
return to their homeland and assert
themselves as bulls.
Apart from the elephants, other animals appear
to have discovered the waterfalls for themselves.
Baboons.
They have conquered the mini rainforest.
For the primates, this is the Garden of Eden.
No matter where you look in the forest,
there is always something tasty somewhere.
Baboons normally spread out when combing
their territory in order to find food.
The apes from the cloud forest find
this unnecessary.
They rarely roam.
From whatever they find, they only eat the very best.
A totally uncharacteristic way of life.
All of the other animals have to adapt
to the constant changes between the dry
and the rainy seasons.
The baboons in the rainforest
are only familiar with the good times.
The fog cloud prevents supplies from drying up.
A carefree life...
but it is not so paradisiacal everywhere
at the Victoria Falls.
In a matter of weeks, the dry season begins.
This is now becoming increasingly clear.
In the early hours, clouds of fog drift
across the water.
The African winter coincides
with the beginning of the dry season.
The water from the Zambesi has cooled significantly.
Instead of 25 degrees, it's just 15.
The hippos don't like that at all.
The animals freeze off Palm Island
despite their massive bodies.
Large sections of the river have already run dry.
The once mighty waterfalls are now nothing more
than a trickle.
The landscape becomes ever more hostile.
Many animals have no choice.
They have to get back to the Zambesi in order to survive.
As is the case for the elephants
in the Hwange National Park.
The females and their offspring
crowd around the last waterholes.
The matriarch has no other choice.
She has to lead her family on.
She is not alone in making this decision.
Dozens of females make their way with their young.
They all have the same goal--
the islands at the Victoria Falls!
The bachelors will not have the river world
to themselves for much longer.
They have spent the past few days on Long Island.
Now they want to swim to another island.
Elephants are greedy creatures.
The vegetation only has a chance to regenerate
if they constantly change their location...
but the decision to go into the water is a tough one.
Finally, one of them sends a signal.
There is no leader to make decisions
in a bachelor group.
Just who will one day dominate remains to be seen,
and the elephants use the water to check their ranks.
They test their strength in play.
The youngsters don't seem to take it
all that seriously.
On to new horizons.
Their ability to swim gives the pachyderms
an invaluable advantage over all other animals.
While they go from one island to the next to eat,
most other animals are subjected
to the full harshness of the dry season.
A few weeks ago, this female warthog
delivered her babies.
They have been searching for food
with their mother for days.
The young are exhausted.
Now, even unusual food sources are welcome.
They find what they need in hotels and their parks.
It's evergreen here even during the drought.
It's not the first time the mothers have been here.
Initially, being close to humans is strange...
but their insecurity is short-lived.
The fresh grass is simply too enticing.
Warthogs are actually omnivores,
but their diet is mainly plant-based.
Their example is copied.
Increasingly more families join in,
and who could be more happy about that
than the little ones?
It's late afternoon, but instead of leaving
the hotel grounds, the family remains.
They will not return to their territory
until the rainy season begins.
Now everything depends on food and water.
The same goes for the elephants.
The first families from the Hwange National Park
arrive at the islands.
For some, it's their very first time,
and they've never been in water before.
Mothers and Aunts keep them in the middle
for their protection.
The matriarch is always at the front.
Many females lead their families here.
Food and drink at long last.
Apart from them, the islands are only
inhabited by a solitary bull.
He is probably in his 60s
and has already seen his best days.
He chose to live near the falls himself.
Just like the bachelors, the old bull benefits
from the paradisiacal conditions
and not only that.
Here, where there are no females,
he no longer has to prove himself against other bulls.
He will presumably never leave the island world
above the Victoria Falls again.
Back to the elephant families.
The little ones can still feel the long journey
in their bones,
but the several-days-long march from Hwange to here
will soon be forgotten.
On Long Island, the pachyderms
and their offspring are doing fine.
Food and water are always within reach.
Adult elephants eat up to 500 kilograms
of plants every day.
The island vegetation would suffer greatly
if the elephants were not so extremely intelligent.
Countless families have spread themselves out
across the island,
the only way for the plants to have a chance
to regenerate.
They all adhere to the same route, nonetheless.
They move from Long Island's north
slowly toward the south.
In doing so, they gradually approach hippo territory.
This is immediately registered by the hippo bull.
Time to vacate.
Hippos have a great deal of respect for elephants.
The time in which they had Long Island
to themselves is over.
When night falls, the islanders at the Victoria Falls
also come to rest.
Thousands of birds search for a room for the night.
They prefer bushes and trees directly
in the river.
These are the safest.
October. It hasn't rained now for months.
The Victoria Falls are practically unrecognizable.
Just a few months ago, the world's
widest waterfalls noisily made their way downwards.
Now, the water levels haven't been this low
for almost 30 years.
Of all times, the marabous now have offspring.
Both children of this family are already mature.
Only their fluffy head hair distinguishes them
from their mother.
Many challenges now face the adults.
The parents do all they can to protect their young
from the heat.
Not the only problem.
They usually feed their offspring with food
they have stored in their throat sack,
but regardless of how much the parent regurgitates,
there is nothing left in its crop.
It's imperative they find food.
Water levels have subsided in the past few days.
Some sections of the Zambesi are little more than puddles.
Fish have been caught in them.
They scour the ponds systematically.
The fish have hidden themselves somewhere in mud.
Patience is a virtue.
In the nest, the situation worsens dramatically.
Distressed, both mother and child snap
at anything that moves.
Persevere!
Not far from the marabous, the elephant families are
also on the lookout for something edible.
They have to keep changing islands so as not to
jeopardize their nutrient source,
but the families have a problem.
They cannot take the direct route through the Zambesi.
Some of the young are so small that they cannot swim
for any length of time.
This family's matriarch has a very young calf.
She has to find a way of changing the island
without her baby getting wet, as it were.
The family has to maneuver several stony hurdles.
They all keep close.
Together, they accept the inconveniences
of a land route especially for the calf.
At the same time elsewhere, the marabou family's
foraging remains unsuccessful.
As they are hidden deep in the mud,
it's almost impossible to catch any fish.
Unlike herons and pelicans, marabous
are not fish hunters.
They feed on carrion just as vultures do.
Their water search is more show than anything else,
but there is one chance.
Some fish are determined to flee
the impending catastrophe.
It tries to get back to the river...
but not without causing quite a stir.
The struggle for fish will continue for weeks on end.
This marabou dad was successful.
Under the eyes of the mother at last,
fish for the offspring.
For the time being, the young are taken care of...
but they have to depend on their parents' care
for many weeks to come.
The old bull's condition worsens considerably.
He can only continue agonizingly slowly.
His sure-footedness has almost disappeared
these past weeks.
The old boy is just a shadow of his former self.
The elephant family is still in search
of a land bridge.
The little one can hardly keep up.
He keeps falling behind.
The fellowship waits until he reaches
his mother again.
Not just the calf.
They all have faith in their leader.
Hours of searching have taken their toll
on the little one...
but his mother's experience pays off in the end.
She finally found a land bridge
to the neighboring island.
The calf follows his mother literally on his last legs.
They have made it at last!
Despite all of the efforts, elephants at the Zambesi
endure the dry season well.
Others have to fight for their survival.
The baboons beyond the gorge are particularly
affected by the drought.
There is nothing left to eat here.
It hits the chief's offspring most.
Many have difficulties with the harsh conditions.
If the boss doesn't come up with something,
his family faces starvation.
Time to change all this.
They all follow their leader.
A raid of a most special order.
The group increases in speed the closer they come
to their destination.
The border road between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Most motorists utilize the waiting time
at customs for a break.
When humans travel, they take provisions with them
and leave a lot of rubbish behind.
The youngsters concentrate on the rubbish bins.
They always find something here.
The adults go one step further.
bristling with self-confidence,
the boss simply makes the road his territory.
He and his entourage search for opportunities like this.
The baboons have no inhibitions.
Sometimes, all they find is a piece of fruit.
On other occasions, it's an entire day's ration.
The boss and his family certainly get
their money's worth at the border post.
As lavish as the supply may be,
danger lurks everywhere.
This is where the boss even lost part of his tail.
The others also suffered their injuries here.
During the drought, the baboons regularly visit
the border station.
They have found a way to get by and are obviously
more than satisfied,
and until now, they have never attempted
to conquer the rainforest.
The beginning of December.
change comes suddenly out of nowhere.
It begins with a gust of wind.
The weaver birds can sense it precisely,
and then it's there.
After more than 6 months of drought,
salvation arrives.
The first rain has fallen,
but it will take weeks for the Zambesi to flood again.
The rain doesn't mean a new beginning for everyone.
The old bull has died.
The rain has arrived too late for him.
It doesn't take long for his carcass to be found.
The giant reptiles won't miss an opportunity like this.
Crocodiles usually live on a diet of fish,
but hunting fish is hard work.
For them, finding the dead bull is like
winning the lottery.
Quarrels are inevitable.
The carcass will keep them fed for weeks.
The crocodiles are in no mind to leave its side.
Almost two months have passed since the first rains fell,
but the water from the hinterlands has only just
reached the Victoria Falls.
Now the spray cloud rises on high again.
The water now plummets over a distance
of almost 2,000 meters into the Batoka Gorge.
Now the Victoria Falls are once again
the world's widest waterfalls.
As far as the elephants are concerned,
the rebirth of the falls are an important sign
and in the nick of time, too,
as the island vegetation has suffered significantly.
They are returning to the Hwange National Park.
It's green there again.
One last time, they gather on the shores
of Long Island.
It's quite a challenge for the little ones.
There are no more land bridges.
Once again, the adults protect the lives
of the calves.
Without their help, the young would be swept
away in the current.
Then finally, they made it
and will be back again next year.
Only the bachelors can be found on the islands
above the falls.
The bachelor crew is in perpetual flux.
New young elephants join them...
others leave the group and finally spend the rest
of their lives alone...
a process of emancipation.
For as long as this has not been completed,
they enjoy their time within the group.
The Victoria Falls are one of our planet's
greatest natural wonders.
Some animals have found a permanent home here.
For others, the falls are a refuge
during the dry period without which they would hardly survive.
For us humans, they have been a place
of astonishment for centuries.
Mosi-oa-Tunya-- the smoke that thunders!
Captioned by National Captioning Institute