Grades:
Length: 48 Minutes
Summary:
The penultimate episode focuses on grasslands that cover one-quarter of Earth's land. At the Terai–Duar savanna and grasslands in India, the tallest grassland in the world, herds of Indian elephants plow through tall grasses providing an open area for other large animals to roam during seasonal change. During spring, herds of endangered saiga antelope migrate across Eurasian Steppe in search of fresh grass while two newly born twins are left hidden in the grass waiting for their mother's nourishment. During the rainy season, thunderstorms occur rapidly in grassland which became more sporadic for forests to thrive allowing the grasses to grow annually for rainfall. In Botswana, the flooded rainwater from the storm transforms the grassland into the lush Okavango Delta. Within the delta, A pride of lions, however, find it more challenging to run down their prey in flooded areas of the delta as they attempt to hunt an African buffalo. A female Eurasian harvest mouse leaves her nest as she treks across the meadows foraging for food until she escapes a barn owl's grasp before she returns home safely to her offspring. In the African savannah, southern carmine bee-eaters struggle to catch insects hidden within grass while a kori bustard and ostriches provide lack of support. While flying in front of a bull African bush elephant, the bee-eaters gain a perfect opportunity to grab their prizes before the dry season begins. During the dry season, the grasslands begin to wither providing less food for the herbivores, while specialized predators find another opportunity. A serval uses her large ears to detect prey like Southern African vlei rats. In the Serengeti, herds consisting of millions of blue wildebeest migrate across the savanna in pursuit of rain along with Jackson's widowbirds, not only to seek food but to mate. A male widowbird tears off grasses to create an even surface and a centerpiece stage to attract females while facing competition with rivals. Leafcutter ant colonies in South America continuously harvest vast amounts of grasses to furnish their horticulture with fungi providing enough nutrients to feed for the entire colony. In northern Australia, colonies of compass termites build multiple giant mounds that serve as a compass facing the north-south axis, which also protects them from mass flooding and extreme heat. On the plains of South America, a giant anteater digs up a termite mound and consumes 2000 of them a day. As fire ravages the grassland, the grass stems survive underground and continue to recover before raining season. In the prairies of North America during winter, American bison wrestle with starvation and endure frigid conditions as they shovel thick snow for buried grasses while a red fox finds a vole hidden within the snow. In the Arctic tundra during spring, 500 miles from the prairies, female caribous migrate to the north to give birth as the calves learn to sprint and gallop while joining their mothers for their ongoing migration. Unaware the danger the herds are heading to, a pack of Arctic wolves ambush them and one of the wolves manages to separate a calf but the calf uses its stamina to outrun the wolf before rejoining the herd. As the caribous travel onward to find their feeding ground, the narrator speculates that the grassland provides a great gathering of wildlife on Earth.