The Great Rift: Africa's Wild Heart
Encyclopedia
The Great Rift: Africa's Wild Heart is a British
nature documentary
series, which began airing on BBC Two
on 24 January 2010. A BBC
/Animal Planet
co-production, the three-part series focuses on the landscape and wildlife of the Great Rift Valley
in East Africa
. At the end of each fifty-minute episode, a ten-minute featurette entitled Inside The Great Rift takes a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges of filming the series.
The series received its US broadcast premiere in August 2010 on Animal Planet, where it was screened as a two-hour special under the shortened title Great Rift. Narration for both the BBC and Animal Planet versions was provided by Hugh Quarshie
.
The opening programme shows how life has adapted to the volcanic highlands bordering the Rift Valley. Volcanic activity created the Ethiopian Highlands
30 million years ago, and is still evident at Erta Ale
’s molten lava lake
. Further south, it thrust up huge peaks such as Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya
. The mountain hyrax, augur buzzard
, giant lobelia
and side-striped chameleon are some of the species filmed on the latter's storm-blasted mountain slopes. In the Aberdares
, an older, more eroded range, elephant
s and mountain bongo
s are marooned by surrounding human development. In the central Rift Valley, giant mastiff bat
s roost in a cave beneath the collapsed lava plateau of Mount Suswa. Infrared cameras reveal the activities of the bats and their unusual cohabitants, a troop of baboon
s. Ol Doinyo Lengai
is Africa's most active volcano. The 2007 eruption showered the Serengeti
plains with ash, ideal fertiliser for the grass that supports the vast game herds. To the south, the remote Kitulo Plateau
in Tanzania
is attracting considerable scientific attention due to its unique flora and fauna. The programme includes the first professional footage of the kipunji
, a rare primate discovered in 2005. Other species shown include the montane widowbird
, the Temple's chameleon and various monkey beetles. The final scenes show mountain gorilla
s in the Virunga Mountains
. Inside the Great Rift shows how the crew enlisted the help of a local Maasai tribe to film inside Mount Suswa's cave.
The second episode explores East Africa
's rich variety of freshwater
and marine
habitats. The Rift Valley's seasonal rains replenish a network of rivers which sustain life through the prolonged dry periods. The dry season affects animals differently. Elephants congregate on riverbanks and reinforce social bonds, while bee-eater
s arrive to build nest holes in the exposed mud cliffs. For river hippo
s, it's a time of tension as hundreds of animals jostle for position in the remaining deep water channels. The hippos of Mzima
, by contrast, have a guaranteed year-round water supply thanks to the natural volcanic spring. For the first time, cameras film bottom-dwelling crab
s and Bathyclarias
catfish
in the depths of Lake Malawi
. In calm conditions, clouds of midge
s emerge to mate and lay their eggs on the lake's surface. At night, local fishermen trawl for shoals of ucepa, which are drawn to the surface to feed on the midge larvae. Few creatures can survive in the caustic lakes of the Eastern Rift Valley. In Lake Natron
, a tilapia
swims too close to a thermal vent with fatal results. Aerial shots show the million-strong colony of lesser flamingo
s on Lake Bogoria
. At its northern extreme, the Rift Valley plunges into the Red Sea
. The final sequences show the diversity of marine life off the coast of Djibouti
, including a group of whale shark
s filter-feeding at Ghoubet
. Inside the Great Rift shows how a submersible ROV was lowered into a reef crack to capture shots of deep sea life.
The final programme documents the Rift Valley's savannah
ecosystem. In the rain shadow
of the Ruwenzori Mountains, rainfall is sporadic. Acacia
s are the only trees that can survive the prolonged droughts, but their proliferation is curbed by browsing animals. Giraffe
s, gerenuk
s and dik-dik
s are all specialist acacia eaters, but elephants are the true architects of the landscape. On the plains, grass is the dominant vegetation, sustaining the largest grazing herds on earth. Antelope
s use the long grass to conceal their young from lion
s, cheetah
s and other predators. A unique starlight camera enables filming to continue after dark using available light, revealing hitherto unseen behaviour. In the pitch blackness, three lion cubs practise their hunting skills as their mother digs warthog
piglets from their burrow. Hippos roam the grasslands by night, but must return to water before sunrise. At the isolated pools of Mzima, stranded hippos starve to death during the prolonged drought of 2009. Those animals that can follow the rains of the Rift Valley on seasonal migrations. Olive baboon
s are one of the few primates adapted to the savannah, but even they must return to the safety of the trees at night. Despite their well-developed brains, chimpanzee
s are confined to forested areas such as Kibale
in Uganda
. The final scenes suggest that the Rift Valley, where our human ancestors stepped out of the forest, is the "cradle of humanity". Inside the Great Rift reveals the challenges of capturing the first starlight footage of sleeping chimps.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
nature documentary
Nature documentary
A natural history film or wildlife film is a documentary film about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on film taken in their natural habitat...
series, which began airing on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 24 January 2010. A BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
/Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
co-production, the three-part series focuses on the landscape and wildlife of the Great Rift Valley
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...
in East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
. At the end of each fifty-minute episode, a ten-minute featurette entitled Inside The Great Rift takes a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges of filming the series.
The series received its US broadcast premiere in August 2010 on Animal Planet, where it was screened as a two-hour special under the shortened title Great Rift. Narration for both the BBC and Animal Planet versions was provided by Hugh Quarshie
Hugh Quarshie
- Early and Personal Life :Quarshie is of mixed Ghanaian, English and Dutch ancestry and was born in Accra, Ghana, to Emma Wilhelmina and Richard Quarshie, and emigrated with his family to the United Kingdom when he was aged three...
.
Episode 1: "Fire"
- UK broadcast 24 January 2010, 2.05 million viewers (7.3% audience share)
The opening programme shows how life has adapted to the volcanic highlands bordering the Rift Valley. Volcanic activity created the Ethiopian Highlands
Ethiopian Highlands
The Ethiopian Highlands are a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia, Eritrea , and northern Somalia in the Horn of Africa...
30 million years ago, and is still evident at Erta Ale
Erta Ale
Erta Ale is a continuously active basaltic shield volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia, the most active volcano in Ethiopia. It is in the Afar Depression, a badlands desert area spanning the border with Eritrea, and the volcano itself is surrounded completely by an area below sea...
’s molten lava lake
Lava lake
Lava lakes are large volumes of molten lava, usually basaltic, contained in a volcanic vent, crater, or broad depression. The term is used to describe both lava lakes that are wholly or partly molten and those that are solidified...
. Further south, it thrust up huge peaks such as Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya
Mount Kenya
Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian , Nelion and Point Lenana . Mount Kenya is located in central Kenya, just south of the equator, around north-northeast of the capital Nairobi...
. The mountain hyrax, augur buzzard
Jackal Buzzard
The Jackal Buzzard is a 45–55 cm long African bird of prey. The taxonomy on this species is confusing, with some taxonomists considering this species, the Archer's Buzzard, and the Augur Buzzard to be the same superspecies. Many taxonomists consider them all to be distinct, having different...
, giant lobelia
Lobelia deckenii
Lobelia deckenii is a species of giant lobelia of the mountains of East Africa. It grows in moist areas, such as valley bottoms and moorland, in contrast to Lobelia telekii which grows in a similar, but drier habitat. These two species produce occasional hybrids...
and side-striped chameleon are some of the species filmed on the latter's storm-blasted mountain slopes. In the Aberdares
Aberdare Range
The Aberdare Range is a 160 km long mountain range of upland, north of Kenya's capital Nairobi with an average elevation of . It is located in west central Kenya, northeast of Naivasha and Gilgil and just south of the Equator...
, an older, more eroded range, elephant
African Bush Elephant
The African Bush Elephant or African Savanna Elephant is the larger of the two species of African elephant. Both it and the African Forest Elephant have usually been classified as a single species, known simply as the African Elephant...
s and mountain bongo
Bongo (antelope)
The western or lowland bongo, Tragelaphus eurycerus eurycerus, is a herbivorous, mostly nocturnal forest ungulate and among the largest of the African forest antelope species....
s are marooned by surrounding human development. In the central Rift Valley, giant mastiff bat
Large-eared Free-tailed Bat
The Large-eared Free-tailed Bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is found in Angola, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly...
s roost in a cave beneath the collapsed lava plateau of Mount Suswa. Infrared cameras reveal the activities of the bats and their unusual cohabitants, a troop of baboon
Baboon
Baboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger...
s. Ol Doinyo Lengai
Ol Doinyo Lengai
Ol Doinyo Lengai is an active volcano located in the north of Tanzania and is part of the volcanic system of the Great Rift Valley in Eastern Africa. It is located in the eastern Rift Valley, south of both Lake Natron and Kenya. It is unique among active volcanoes in that it produces...
is Africa's most active volcano. The 2007 eruption showered the Serengeti
Serengeti
The Serengeti ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa. It is located in north Tanzania and extends to south-western Kenya between latitudes 1 and 3 S and longitudes 34 and 36 E. It spans some ....
plains with ash, ideal fertiliser for the grass that supports the vast game herds. To the south, the remote Kitulo Plateau
Kitulo National Park
Kitulo National Park is a protected area of alpine grassland and montane forest in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. The Park covers an area of , lying partly in Mbeya Region and partly in Iringa Region. The protected area includes the Kitulo Plateau and the adjoining Livingstone Forest...
in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
is attracting considerable scientific attention due to its unique flora and fauna. The programme includes the first professional footage of the kipunji
Kipunji
The kipunji is a species of Old World monkey that lives in the highland forests of Tanzania. It is the only member of its genus. Also known as the highland mangabey, it is about three feet long and has long brown fur, which stands in tufts on the sides and top of its head. Its face and eyelids...
, a rare primate discovered in 2005. Other species shown include the montane widowbird
Buff-shouldered Widowbird
The Montane Widowbird , also known as the Mountain Marsh Widowbird is a species of bird in the Ploceidae family. It is an endemic resident of the eastern afro-mountain grassland . Like all widowbirds the difference between male and female appearance is prominent during breeding season...
, the Temple's chameleon and various monkey beetles. The final scenes show mountain gorilla
Mountain Gorilla
The Mountain Gorilla is one of the two subspecies of the Eastern Gorilla. There are two populations. One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, within three National Parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga in the eastern Democratic...
s in the Virunga Mountains
Virunga Mountains
The Virunga Mountains are a chain of volcanoes in East Africa, along the northern border of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The mountain range is a branch of the Albertine Rift, a part of the Great Rift Valley. They are located between Lake Edward and Lake Kivu...
. Inside the Great Rift shows how the crew enlisted the help of a local Maasai tribe to film inside Mount Suswa's cave.
Episode 2: "Water"
- UK broadcast 31 January 2010, 1.81 million viewers (6.7% audience share)
The second episode explores East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
's rich variety of freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
and marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
habitats. The Rift Valley's seasonal rains replenish a network of rivers which sustain life through the prolonged dry periods. The dry season affects animals differently. Elephants congregate on riverbanks and reinforce social bonds, while bee-eater
Bee-eater
The bee-eaters are a group of near-passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa and Asia but others occur in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers...
s arrive to build nest holes in the exposed mud cliffs. For river hippo
Hippo
A hippo or hippopotamus is either of two species of large African mammal which live mainly in and near water:* Hippopotamus* Pygmy HippopotamusHippo may also refer to:-Given names:...
s, it's a time of tension as hundreds of animals jostle for position in the remaining deep water channels. The hippos of Mzima
Mzima Springs
Mzima Springs are a series of four natural springs in Tsavo National Park, Kenya. They are located in the west of the Park, around 48km from Mtito Andei. The source of the springs is a natural reservoir under the Chyulu Hills to the north. The Chyulu range is composed of volcanic lava rock and ash,...
, by contrast, have a guaranteed year-round water supply thanks to the natural volcanic spring. For the first time, cameras film bottom-dwelling crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
s and Bathyclarias
Bathyclarias
Bathyclarias is a genus of fish in the Clariidae family.It contains the following species:* Bathyclarias atribranchus* Bathyclarias eurydon* Bathyclarias filicibarbis* Bathyclarias foveolatus* Bathyclarias gigas...
catfish
Catfish
Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
in the depths of Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi , is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the Great Rift Valley system of East Africa. This lake, the third largest in Africa and the eighth largest lake in the world, is located between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania...
. In calm conditions, clouds of midge
Midge
A midge is a very small, two-winged flying insect. "Midge" may also refer to:-Real:* Midge Costanza , American politician* Mildred Gillars , aka "Midge", American broadcaster of Nazi propaganda during World War II...
s emerge to mate and lay their eggs on the lake's surface. At night, local fishermen trawl for shoals of ucepa, which are drawn to the surface to feed on the midge larvae. Few creatures can survive in the caustic lakes of the Eastern Rift Valley. In Lake Natron
Lake Natron
Lake Natron is a salt lake located in northern Tanzania, close to the Kenyan border, in the eastern branch of Africa's Great Rift Valley. The lake is fed by the Ewaso Ng'iro River but also by mineral-rich hot springs and is quite shallow, less than three meters deep, and varies in width depending...
, a tilapia
Tilapia
Tilapia , is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the tilapiine cichlid tribe. Tilapia inhabit a variety of fresh water habitats, including shallow streams, ponds, rivers and lakes. Historically, they have been of major importance in artisan fishing in Africa and the...
swims too close to a thermal vent with fatal results. Aerial shots show the million-strong colony of lesser flamingo
Lesser Flamingo
The Lesser Flamingo is a species in the flamingo family of birds that resides in Africa and in southern Asia...
s on Lake Bogoria
Lake Bogoria
Lake Bogoria is a saline, alkaline lake that lies in a volcanic region in a half-graben basin south of Lake Baringo, Kenya, a little north of the equator. Lake Bogoria, like Lake Nakuru, Lake Elmenteita, and Lake Magadi further south in the Rift Valley, and Lake Logipi to the north, is home at...
. At its northern extreme, the Rift Valley plunges into the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
. The final sequences show the diversity of marine life off the coast of Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
, including a group of whale shark
Whale shark
The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is a slow-moving filter feeding shark, the largest extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of and a weight of more than , but unconfirmed claims report considerably larger whale sharks...
s filter-feeding at Ghoubet
Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden is located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen, on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and Somalia in the Horn of Africa. In the northwest, it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which is about 20 miles wide....
. Inside the Great Rift shows how a submersible ROV was lowered into a reef crack to capture shots of deep sea life.
Episode 3: "Grass"
- UK broadcast 7 February 2010, 1.73 million viewers (6.5% audience share)
The final programme documents the Rift Valley's savannah
Savannah
Savannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-People:* Savannah King, a Canadian freestyle swimmer* Savannah Outen, a singer who gained popularity on You Tube...
ecosystem. In the rain shadow
Rain shadow
A rain shadow is a dry area on the lee side of a mountainous area. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems, casting a "shadow" of dryness behind them. As shown by the diagram to the right, the warm moist air is "pulled" by the prevailing winds over a mountain...
of the Ruwenzori Mountains, rainfall is sporadic. Acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
s are the only trees that can survive the prolonged droughts, but their proliferation is curbed by browsing animals. Giraffe
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
s, gerenuk
Gerenuk
The Gerenuk , also known as the Waller's Gazelle, is a long-necked species of antelope found in dry bushy scrub and steppe in East Africa, from Somalia and eastern Ethiopia through northern and eastern Kenya to northeastern Tanzania...
s and dik-dik
Dik-dik
A dik-dik, pronounced "dĭk’ dĭk", is a small antelope in the Genus Madoqua that lives in the bushes of eastern and southern Africa. Dik-diks stand 30–40 cm at the shoulder, are 50–70 cm long, weigh 3–6 kg and can live for up to 10 years...
s are all specialist acacia eaters, but elephants are the true architects of the landscape. On the plains, grass is the dominant vegetation, sustaining the largest grazing herds on earth. Antelope
Antelope
Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...
s use the long grass to conceal their young from lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
s, cheetah
Cheetah
The cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws...
s and other predators. A unique starlight camera enables filming to continue after dark using available light, revealing hitherto unseen behaviour. In the pitch blackness, three lion cubs practise their hunting skills as their mother digs warthog
Warthog
The Warthog or Common Warthog is a wild member of the pig family that lives in grassland, savanna, and woodland in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the past it was commonly treated as a subspecies of P...
piglets from their burrow. Hippos roam the grasslands by night, but must return to water before sunrise. At the isolated pools of Mzima, stranded hippos starve to death during the prolonged drought of 2009. Those animals that can follow the rains of the Rift Valley on seasonal migrations. Olive baboon
Olive Baboon
The olive baboon , also called the Anubis baboon, is a member of the family Cercopithecidae . The species is the most widely spread of all baboons: it is found in 25 countries throughout Africa, extending south from Mali to Ethiopia and to Tanzania. Isolated populations are also found in some...
s are one of the few primates adapted to the savannah, but even they must return to the safety of the trees at night. Despite their well-developed brains, chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s are confined to forested areas such as Kibale
Kibale National Park
Kibale National Park is a national park in South Uganda protecting moist evergreen rain forest. It is 766 km^2 in size and is located between 1100 and 1600 meters in elevation. Despite encompassing primarily moist evergreen forest, it contains a diverse array of landscapes . Kibale is one of the...
in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. The final scenes suggest that the Rift Valley, where our human ancestors stepped out of the forest, is the "cradle of humanity". Inside the Great Rift reveals the challenges of capturing the first starlight footage of sleeping chimps.