Waterhole: Africa's Animal Oasis (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - Episode #1.3 - full transcript
The rains hit the waterhole, dramatically changing the fortunes of the wild residents. The waterhole area is transformed into lush grazing pasture, attracting herbivores and predators. Ella delves into the data on use of the water...
In the baking heat
of the African savanna...
...as rivers dry up...
...animals flock to the water hole.
But we've never fully understood
how a single water source
can support so many
competing species.
So we're doing something
ground-breaking.
Welcome to Tanzania and to
the Mwiba Wildlife Reserve
and to this unique water hole
behind us.
We're working with the reserve
to create the world's first
water hole with a built-in
specialist camera system.
This war as a whole has a
half-submerged filming hide
right in the middle, and it's rigged
with remote cameras so we can see
every angle of animal behaviour
like never before.
When we were last here at
the hottest time of year...
...hyenas ran wild.
How many are there
at the moment, Meredith? 11.
11? Serious?
Now it's the rainy season
and the water hole ecosystem
is facing its biggest change yet.
Up until this point, all of the
animals that have been coming here
have been visitors, but now
we've got some residents.
An explosion of life brings
new species flooding in.
It's the most fascinating example
of swarm mentality in mammals.
And we reveal how our water hole
is set to be a lifeline
for generations to come.
From up here you get a great view
of the ecosystem.
This is the story of life...
...and death at the water hole.
We built our water hole in Tanzania,
500km from the east coast of Africa,
south of the Serengeti.
Mwiba Wildlife Reserve.
After five tough months of drought,
the rains are finally here.
More rain will fall over
the next three months
than in a year in London.
We're at the height
of the rainy season
and over the last two months,
the whole landscape
has completely transformed.
Yes, just look at this.
The dusty old dry river has gone.
Replaced with this fresh flush
of bright green grass.
And this has radically changed
life here at the water hole.
On average, it rains every
day for four hours.
These regular downpours
trigger over 200 species
of savanna grass to grow.
Mwiba's 53,000-hectare reserve
is now a lush, all-you-can eat
banquet for herbivores.
In this time of plenty, many
animals now have their young.
Over half a million mammal babies
and more insects
than it's possible to count
are born at this time
of year in the Serengeti ecosystem.
To see how this explosion of life
impacts the water hole,
we'll be recording 24/7
for the next ten days.
I'll be collating the data behind
every visitor...
...and adding to our species list
that's already at 88.
And I'll be replaying footage
to analyse the complex behaviour
behind every interaction.
But before we could start,
we had to do some repairs.
When we first came back,
the rains had been so heavy,
the edges of the water hole
were caved in.
We called in the Mwiba construction
team to help get
the water hole up and running again.
Our filming hide also suffered
in the deluge.
You see these lines?
Well, these are water marks.
Yes, the hide got flooded.
It got flooded up to about,
I guess, 1.6 metres.
It all poured into the hide,
filling the whole thing with mud.
Had to give it a good clean out.
Unlike a natural water hole,
ours is designed to keep
running all year round,
no matter what the environment
throws at it.
We can simply turn on the taps
to fill it up,
drawing water from a naturally
occurring sustainable source
47 metres underground.
This means Mwiba will be able
to keep this water hole going
long into the future.
The rainy season is already bringing
in an exciting array of new animals.
Look at this dragonfly here.
Look at that -
absolutely fantastic.
Hunting over the water hole.
There are over 3,000 species
of dragonfly.
This one, the wandering glider,
migrates a staggering 18,000km
from India to Africa...
...further than any other insect.
Bush crickets look similar
to grasshoppers,
but they have much longer antennae
that can be longer, in fact,
than their whole body.
This common diadem butterfly
male is black with white spots.
But the female is mainly orange,
mimicking the toxic monarch
butterfly to avoid being eaten.
The place is alive with insects now.
And you know, the water hole
has had its times -
it's had the time of elephant
and buffalo,
it's had the time of hyena.
Now is the time for insects.
And that's down to the fact
that it's rained.
All of the grass is growing.
All of the plants are growing
out here.
And that lush salad is a food
for herbivores,
not just the big guys, the mammals,
for all of the small invertebrates,
all of those caterpillars, grubs
and larvae which are out there.
We're only an hour into our first
day and this new burst of life
has added four species to our list.
But so far, no mammals
have shown up.
Last time we were here, hyenas
were taking over the water hole
at night, and we're curious to see
if they're still a dominant force.
But since the rains began,
our camp has been invaded
by a new nocturnal species.
I'm all of a flutter,
or rather I'm not,
but all of these termites are.
These are the alates.
These are the winged adults,
the males and the females,
the fertile males, fertile females
that have left the nest tonight.
And with the first flush
of rains, they will all emerge
from the termite mound
at exactly the same time.
And not just one mound - very often
all the mounds in that region.
So outside the tent - we're trying
to keep as many out as possible -
there could be probably hundreds
of thousands, potentially millions
of these insects flying
around at the moment.
Why have they done this?
Well, frankly, they've got to mate.
But also, this is a classic case
of predator swamping.
Imagine you're an animal here that
has a taste for termites.
Well, you could fill your belly,
but you wouldn't be able
to eat them all. Some would survive.
You swamp out with your sheer
abundance, the appetite
of all of those predators.
The larger females are very fatty.
They've got lots of fat reserves
because once they've mated,
they will shed their wings,
find a crevice in the ground,
crawl into it, and there
begin to form a new termite colony.
And until it gets going,
they need to live
on their fat resources.
They need those to lay the first
batch of eggs, of course.
And once they start their colony,
the females, the queens,
can be very long-lived.
Some of these ant and termite
species can live for up to 45,
maybe even 50 years,
but under the ground,
after just one night of flying
around in the free air.
What about that? What an existence!
Not for me.
Over the first 24 hours,
there's no sign of the hyenas
that were monopolising
the water hole last time.
In their absence, the water hole
community is reclaiming the site.
Vervet monkeys...
"giraffe."
Impala...
"elephant..."
...and olive baboons.
It's great to see them again.
And it's a sign of the role
the water hole area
can play in the future...
...even when these animals
can find water everywhere.
This is our water hole troop.
Now we've seen these baboons
sleeping in the trees at the back.
We know that they're there.
We've caught them a few times
on the cameras.
But this is the first time we've
seen them in the rainy season.
The baboons have been coming
to the water hole
from the very beginning.
It was a vital water source
in the dry season...
...and now it provides a great
supply of food...
"all on their doorstep."
And to see them quite like this is
actually really, really spectacular.
They're just really owning
the water hole.
You can see a juvenile, there,
just hanging out on its mum's back.
Grass is around 80% water.
So at this time of year,
they're getting nutrition
and hydration with every mouthful.
They spend about 50% of their
day foraging for food.
If you see the way they're eating,
they're stripping the leaves off
and they're eating the shoots
and the roots.
By pulling up the grass,
eating it and passing it
through their digestive system,
olive baboons act
as seed dispersers...
"helping the water hole site
to stay green and lush"
for the next generation.
Over the next few clays, we watch
the same visitors that came
in the dry season to drink...
...now come to eat.
Despite there being food and water
across Mwiba,
these animals are still returning,
and for good reason.
We worked closely with the reserve
to create a water hole
that would support many
species for years to come.
Specifically choosing to build
it in one of the few patches
of open grassland amongst
all the acacia woodland.
The site's accessible
to lots of local wildlife
and, thanks to the new water hole,
is able to support them
all year round.
And now this emerging ecosystem
is showing signs
that it will also sustain
new life of its own.
It's exciting times down
at the water hole here,
because up until this point,
all of the animals that have been
coming here have been visitors,
but now we've got some residents.
And I'm feeling quite pleased
with myself
because I've scooped this out
of the water hole.
This is a large diving beetle.
They are ferocious predators.
This is the leopard of the water
hole beneath the surface,
in insect terms.
Diving beetles use the damp soil
by the edge of the water
to pupate in.
All the churned-up edges of the
water hole are a perfect
breeding ground for them.
So if you've got a large
predator like this,
you've got to have something
in the pool for it to eat.
We've got something. Look at this.
This mass of wriggling black
organisms down here
are tadpoles.
Yes, we've had amphibians
colonise the pool.
They've clearly come here, bred,
laid their eggs in the form
of spawn and they've hatched out
into these tadpoles and there
are plenty of them,
which is fantastic.
I'm really excited to say
that we've got our first
resident birds.
They're not actually at the water
side at the moment.
They're out doing what they
should be doing,
which is feeding.
This is a pair of Egyptian geese.
They started visiting the water
hole a few months ago.
But Egyptian geese
tend to stay put in an area
that has a good supply of water.
So with the water hole
being topped up regularly,
it looks like they're here to stay.
Their natural habitat
is along the Nile
and then south of the Sahara.
But I know what you're thinking,
you might have seen them in the UK
because they've naturalised there
and they're particularly common
in the east of England.
They're not technically
a goose, though.
They are, in fact, a large duck,
quite closely related
to our shelduck.
And they're a grazing animal.
That's what they're doing,
munching away on all
of this fresh grass.
Now, outside the breeding season,
they're quite gregarious.
You get them in flocks,
but when they come to breed,
you get them in pairs like this.
The male is the one on the left
there, with the pink, rosy bill.
And the female's on the right.
When this pair arrived last
season, they were quick
to make their presence known.
Since then, they've been
regular visitors,
and they've proved they're not
to be messed with.
When another goose came
to check out the new water hole,
our male made it clear
that it wasn't for sharing.
Even the arrival of a martial eagle,
a predator that can take prey
as large as an antelope or stork,
didn't put them off.
And neither did hyenas.
It seems this pair
want to have our water hole
all to themselves.
And should they breed,
they'll make a nest in one
of the thickets here,
and then they would hatch their eggs
and lead their ducklings across
the lawn and into the water hole,
the security of that water, to keep
them safe from ground predators.
And of course, with all of these
new species coming here,
that will supplement the diet
of those ducklings.
They're dependent on aquatic
invertebrates for the first few
weeks of their life.
But what about that?
Our water hole
really is becoming a home
for a great range of creatures.
It's from small beginnings,
like our water hole,
that aquatic ecosystems can build
to support a huge range of life.
20km south is Lake Eyasi.
A water source that's evolved
over 65 million years to be
a vital lifeline to one incredibly
beautiful species.
Looking down on this lake
is extraordinary.
It's like a bizarre
abstract painting.
Speckled with these rose
spots of...
...the greater and lesser flamingos.
These birds flock to Lake Eyasi
in their millions...
...using it as a stop-off point as
they migrate to breed further north.
The lake can sustain such
vast numbers of flamingos
because it's full of microscopic
algae called cyanobacteria -
plants that are poisonous
to most animals, but not to them.
And famously, they have that beak
which is upside down.
And using their tongue as a pump,
they filter vast quantities
of the water to remove
all of this food.
And there's another twist.
This is a soda lake.
The water is extremely caustic.
If they really need to, flamingos
are one of the only animals
that can drink here,
using glands in their head
to filter out the salt, draining
it from their nasal cavity.
It's still a difficult environment
for these birds.
The alkalinity of the water
means that if they get
just one little nick on their
leg, it becomes an open sore
and they soon perish.
For a harsh environment,
it's one which
is extraordinarily beautiful.
Lake Eyasi shows how much
freshwater sources
like our water hole are needed.
When we first designed it with
Mwiba, the idea was to make
a reliable water source for as many
species as possible.
But earlier in the year,
we were worried that it was only
going to be used by one animal...
"spotted hyena."
I've been looking back over the data
and it paints a stark picture.
Last time we were here, the hyena
dominated the water hole,
and in the end we managed to
identify 16 adult individuals.
Now, we've been logging
their movements.
They visited the water hole
73 times.
Now, compare that to our
situation right now...
...the heart of the rainy season.
We haven't seen a single
visit from a hyena.
You go from 73 visits to nothing.
To find out why they're no longer
coming to our water hole,
I return to their den site,
2km away.
Frankly, it looks to me as
if they've abandoned this den.
It's all overgrown here.
All of the vegetation
is standing up,
and if there were a boisterous
band of hyenas here,
then this would have all been
knocked down.
And look over here.
It's been raining, it's muddy,
there's not a single footprint.
And look, there are lots of plants
here, grass growing through.
These would have all been knocked
down if this was still occupied.
I'm hoping our camera traps
might give me some clues
as to why they've left.
A giraffe.
There's a couple of hyenas -
there's an adult in the foreground.
There's a cub,
another cub behind it.
Oh, look at that, two of my
favourite African mammals
in the frame at once -
the fantastic crested porcupine
and a young hyena.
And guess who comes off the winner.
Porcupine, of course. Look at that!
A bit more porcupine action here.
You see those quills erected?
The porcupine is clearly agitated.
Now, you might be wondering, why
has a porcupine come to a hyena den?
Well, hyenas bring lots of parts
of the things that they've been
scavenging back to the den,
including plenty of bones,
and porcupines love gnawing bones
because they need all that calcium
to produce their spines.
But it's unlikely that a few small
porcupines would scare them away.
Oh, my goodness,
look at that. Buffalo.
There were a whole herd of buffalo
clearly moving through,
trampling over this site.
Maybe this was what put them off.
Maybe it was just the abundance of
other animals that drove them away,
and certainly at night,
with all of those buffalo,
they wouldn't want their
cubs emerging
and the risk of them getting
trampled.
I think I know WHY the hyenas
have moved dens,
but the question is -
where are they now?
We send out several film
crews to find them...
...and one of our cameramen
spots their new den,
2km from the previous one.
They appear safe and well.
Spotted hyena can have many old den
sites spread across the savanna.
It looks like this clan
moved their pups to an area
with fewer animals.
In a year, these pups won't be
so dependent upon the den.
And they may return to the
water hole with their clan.
With no hyena in the vicinity,
the water hole is a safer
place for prey once again.
There are over two million
impala across Africa.
They time their breeding season
with the rains, and their population
spikes by hundreds of thousands.
It's exciting to see this new
generation come to the water hole.
Ooh! There we are.
The impala have turned up.
And they've brought their young.
Look at that.
It is undeniably cute.
Big ears, big eyes.
Groups of young impala are
called creches.
This is the first time we've seen
them at the water hole.
So these have been born a few weeks
ago. And initially, of course,
they'll be dependent
on their mother's milk.
But then when it comes to them
moving onto solid food,
they need to time that so that
they've got this crop of ripe,
green, highly nutritious,
fresh grass.
Looks to me as if this group of
impala timed that birth perfectly.
These young impala are likely
to be regulars at the water hole.
Patterns of behaviour set now
should mean they'll remember this
oasis in the future.
The rains don't trigger
the birthing season
for all of our water hole
community.
5km away, wildlife cameraman
Bob Poole is discovering
this is actually a peak time
for mating
amongst many of Mwiba's herbivores.
OK, now watch this female.
It's incredible.
She comes up to the male,
then she rubs her neck
against his like that.
It's definitely a sign
of affection or interest.
At this time of year, amorous
giraffes use their sense of smell
to help identify if a female
is ready to mate.
So the male giraffe right now
is trying to determine
whether the female in front of him
is in the peak of oestrous.
Oestrous cycles in giraffes,
like human menstrual periods,
help identify when a female
is ready to mate.
They occur every two weeks,
but a female giraffe is only
fertile for four clays or less
during this time.
She gives off pheromones
which he senses through sensors
that are in the top
of his lip, there.
Giraffes mate all year round.
But there is research
that indicates breeding increases
with periods of
high food availability.
All the leaves are so plump
right now.
I can see the way that they use
the tongue
to strip the leaves off the twig,
which is, of course,
loaded with these big thorns.
And everything around here
has a thorn on it.
In fact, this place is
called Mwiba,
which literally means "thorn"
in Swahili.
All of this food means
other herbivores like zebra
are also getting ready to mate,
and sometimes competition
between stallions can get physical.
Look at this!
There's so much action going on
right now. The... the stallion here
is racing around trying
to round up the zebra females,
and you can see him racing
across in front of us right now.
And now he's coming back to
probably his harem right there.
The young males have to
struggle for dominance.
He could get kicked out
by another stallion.
These are very social animals.
They live in family groups
and they have an order,
a pecking order, essentially,
just like horses do.
They're constantly having to put
each other in their place
so there's a lot of fighting
and testing, and all kinds of action
going on all the time,
to sort of really work on who's who
in the family and where they sit
in terms of the pecking order.
And some have already
had their young.
This foal is just four weeks old.
The little foal, to the right,
would be his first foal
of this rainy season.
During this time of plenty,
the savanna is overflowing
with calories for new mums
to produce milk.
And when babies are ready,
there are swathes of grass
waiting to be grazed.
The water hole is getting busier
each day with insects...
...and we spot two interesting
new species for our list.
Hoverflies are harmless,
but they mimic stinging bees
and wasps to put off predators.
Leaf roller moths pupate
from inside a rolled-up leaf,
sealed shut with the
caterpillar's silk.
All the insects are attracting
more new bird species,
including...
a red-necked Francolin,
a relative of the pheasant.
It's a wary bird,
often staying hidden from predators
in deep cover
and only coming out
in the open to feed.
A three-banded plover, named
after the black and white bands
on its chest.
They hunt by sight
for insects, worms
and other invertebrates.
And we have another new
resident bird,
taking our species list
to nearly 100.
This has made my day. When we were
here last time, there were a pair
of lesser striped swallows
prospecting to make a nest
inside our hide.
Earlier in the dry season,
our cameras captured the moment when
these swallows were first choosing
where to build their nest.
These swallows typically nest
under bridges for protection
and the roof of our hide
offers a great alternative.
The water hole has also provided
perfect nest-building materials.
Both birds use mud for construction,
and you can see this one's beak full
of mud, deciding where
to start plastering.
I really hoped they would
move in here.
And look, they have. And it's a
beautiful structure, as well.
Now, it's slightly different
than a typical barn swallow's nest
that we see, which is an
open cup.
Here, they close the cup and then
make that neat little tunnel there -
I suppose to try and keep predators
out, maybe things like snakes.
It's a fantastic construction,
welded into the corner of the
building there.
A little work of art.
So I'm really pleased
that they've used our hide
to make their home.
I'm pretty certain that we've
got young in here.
I've been watching the two adults
hunting outside together,
and then going in one at a time,
delivering food.
Feeding chicks is a full-time
job for both parents.
We're seeing them bring
back food every 20 minutes.
If they were still incubating
or brooding, typically
one's off the nest whilst
the other one's sat on it.
But because they're both active
away from the nest,
I reckon there's young up there.
So we've done a great job
for these swallows here.
We provided the water and in turn
the food, and then we provided
the structure for them
to place their nest.
It's good. I like that.
And, even better -
because swallows return to the same
nest site year after year,
our hide could well be their
home long into the future.
And the water hole is going
to provide the swallow chicks
with all the food they need
because both pools
are teeming with mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes lay their eggs on water.
Each female can produce up to 500
in her one-month lifespan.
Many mosquito species stay
within a few hundred metres
of where they're hatched,
so it's likely they'll be
a regular feature at the water hole
every rainy season...
...providing a reliable food source
to birds like these swallows.
Insects and birds are important
foundations for a healthy ecosystem,
but we're working closely
with the Mwiba guides to make sure
the water hole can also attract
and sustain Africa's megafauna...
...the most important
of these being elephant.
ELEPHANTS MAKE RUMBLING SOUND
Elephants are keystone species.
They help disperse seeds, and also
create pathways to water holes
as they walk to them.
We've had over 100 individuals,
and one extraordinary half-trunked
elephant used this lifeline
over the past six months.
Mwiba guide Eugene Raymond
is confident that these elephant
populations are likely to keep
coming back to the water hole.
It's unbelievable
that they have this ability
to remember places, areas,
and with experience,
they're able to find.
An incredible
ability also to find water.
Now, we've seen this animal
at the water hole here, and we know
they've got phenomenal memories,
it's going to be interesting to see
whether it remembers the water hole
come the dry season -
when it really needs that water.
Research shows that elephants
can remember the locations of food
and water for up to a decade,
even when seasonal and environmental
changes alter the landscape.
A permanent, refillable
water hole like ours
should be an elephant
oasis for many years to come.
And Eugene has been pleased
to see so many herds coming
to the water hole,
because it's the matriarchs
that lead their families
and remember where to go.
This mama elephant,
or Tambo we call her,
who will be able to remember these
places and come back into the same.
And that's why the herd
put trust in them.
And they would normally try pass
this on into the next generation
by just, you know, testing as
individuals the ability to navigate
the rest of the group members
and remember these places.
This comes with experience. Age.
It's a bit like you going shopping
with your grandmother, isn't it?
It's true, yeah. She knows
where the best shops are. Exactly!
Where to get the best deals
at the right time of year.
Absolutely true. Yeah.
Elephants can eat up to 250kg
of foliage,
and drink up to 200 litres
of water every day.
They're one of the heaviest users
of the water hole...
...which is why it's so exciting
that Eugene and the Mwiba team
will keep refilling it
in the future.
We've had word of a new species
in the area that could drink
more than all our Mwiba
elephants combined.
The world-famous wildebeest
migration has been making its
epic journey 400km south from Kenya,
and it's now 10km away
from our water hole.
Together, these animals can drink
up to 13.5 million litres of water
and eat up to four million kilograms
of grass in a single day.
So that's where we are
right now, that blue dot.
And you can see they're
heading right towards us.
To get an idea of the impact
they'll have on the area,
and our water hole community,
I'm taking to the air.
This is one of the most astonishing
sights that I've ever seen.
We're looking down on the world's
largest mammal migration.
Just sensational.
There are thousands of wildebeest
beneath me in a long line
stretching across the savanna.
A group of perhaps 1.5 million
of these animals that are
constantly on the move
in this Serengeti ecosystem.
They make the journey, which lasts
a full year and covers 1,000 miles,
clockwise from here, all the
way up through the Serengeti
to the Maasai Mara
and then back down again.
Right now, they're at the
southernmost part of that cycle,
on the edge of Mwiba reserve.
While I track the migration
from above...
...Ella is getting a closer view
on the ground.
They're now 8km
north of the water hole.
They undertake this crazy journey
because of this,
because they're after these
really nutritious grasses.
Essentially, they're storm chasers.
They're chasing the rains
which feed these grasses.
If you look at their bodies,
they have these really significant
incisor rows and loose lips,
and that's to help them rapidly
eat that grass.
They consume up to 16kg a day.
Look at how much they're
moving in unison.
They're moving in formation, and
yet there's no clear leaders.
It's the most fascinating example
of swarm mentality in mammals.
Because wildebeest have no leader,
the migrating herd often splits
into smaller groups
that circle the main mega-herd.
Joining them are thousands of zebra.
They graze in harmony with
the wildebeest because they
eat different parts
of the same type of grass.
From above, I can clearly see
how this huge number of animals
might affect life
at our water hole.
Their movement has an extraordinary
impact on this ecosystem.
Firstly, directly - that grazing
pressure is preventing
the regeneration of trees.
It's keeping this as open savanna.
Also, the impact that they have
on the predators.
This is, of course, an enormous
amount of meat on the move.
Many animals will take
advantage of that.
Lions will simply stay
in their territories
and eagerly await the arrival
of the wildebeest.
Ditto the crocodiles that are
stopped in those rivers
which they have to cross en route.
Then lastly, there are predators
that will go out for the day,
follow the wildebeest,
but then go back to their dens
in the evening, or in the morning -
depending whether they're diurnal
or nocturnal.
Things like wild dogs
and those spotted hyenas.
On average, the migration travels
up to 5km a day.
It looks like this year,
they're going to skirt around
the water hole site,
so the natural order of our
ecosystem remains unchanged for now.
But next time, it could be
a different story.
The water hole will always
attract new seasonal visitors.
But in the six months since
being built, it's becoming
a permanent home for some.
And it's our filming hide,
perched in the middle of the water,
that seems to be the
location of choice.
You may not be, but I'm
very pleased to see
that these animals have taken up
residence in our hide.
This is a paper wasp.
It's one of a number of species
known as Belonogaster.
And they're very similar
to the social wasp
that we have in the UK -
in terms of their behaviour,
not their physical appearance.
You can see it's got a much
narrower, longer waist there
towards the end of the abdomen,
and those beautiful red wings.
This is a queen and that nest
has just about got started.
So she's arrived, chewed up some
paper on a tree out here,
and she's made that tiny
little petiole - that strong piece
of fabric here, which is going
to support the whole nest
and it's going to grow considerably
larger than this.
Then she's made a couple
of cells,
and into those she's laid some eggs.
And at the moment,
she's having to fly out and hunt
to feed those grubs, which are just
nestling in there.
Probably caterpillars is going to be
the main source of food
that she's looking for.
Something soft and easy to chew.
And she'll come back, and then
she'll scrape the edge of the comb,
and the larvae will come up
and she'll delicately feed them.
She's a bit mobile at the moment.
You can see her moving
around there.
And you can see one of
the grubs there
with its head capsule just
coming out of the cell.
Maybe it's a little bit hungry.
When they emerge, those workers
divide themselves into castes.
They do different jobs.
So, some will be guards.
Others are foragers, and they
will go out hunting
for those caterpillars
to bring back.
Meaning that the fertile queen,
the most valuable
part of this colony, will be able to
remain in the safety and security
of our hide on the nest.
People sometimes say,
"What are wasps for?"
My reply is always simple,
"What are you for?"
You shouldn't misjudge wasps
just because they sting.
They're fascinating insects and an
integral part of the ecology here.
Now, down by the water hole
at the moment, we've got this lush,
green carpet of grass being munched
by loads of herbivores,
and they're not all big
animals like impala.
A lot of them are small things,
like the caterpillars.
And if these guys weren't
controlling those caterpillar
populations, then the whole
place would be defoliated.
The ecology would collapse.
You need everything in place to
maintain that balance of nature,
to keep that beautiful, dynamic
harmony working.
And that's why you need wasps.
Wasps are cool.
The paper wasp brings our list
up to 101.
The number and variety of species
is impressive,
considering the water hole is only
six months old.
But how does it compare to
a long-established,
naturally occurring
freshwater source?
Mwiba is part of one of the oldest
ecosystems on Earth...
...the Serengeti.
And 7km from our
water hole is Sele Springs.
It's hundreds of years old,
but almost disappeared
in the dry season.
Thanks to the recent rains,
it's full again.
To find out how this ancient spring
contrasts to our fledgling
water hole,
we've brought
in Dr Meredith Palmer.
She's been studying the Serengeti
ecosystem for over a decade
and has been using camera
traps at Sele to gather data
over the past six months.
So here, if we're focusing
on the mammal species,
we can see that Sele Springs
would be a very similar number
of animals showing up.
Incredibly, our new water hole
is sustaining as many
species as Sele.
And there are some animals
that are only coming
to our water hole.
We're getting more mongoose...
...porcupine, rabbits, spring hares,
a lot more monkeys here.
At our water hole, on the other
hand, we're getting servals.
We have things like waterbuck...
...kudu.
Dr Palmer's research shows that
wildlife is also behaving
differently at each site.
Despite it being new in
the landscape, many animals
are more comfortable drinking
at our water hole than at Sele.
So, impalas are spending far more
time there than they are at Sele.
We can see the same
with the giraffe.
At our water hole, impala stay for
around half an hour each visit.
That's twice the length of time
that they spend at Sele Springs.
And that's also the case
for zebra and giraffe.
Any theories on why that might be?
It could be a safety issue.
Our water hole
is a little bit more open,
you can see the predators coming.
They might feel safer
to stay longer.
By working with Mwiba to build
our water hole in an open area,
we've made a safer place
for many herbivores.
Predators have fewer chances
to hide,
and as a result, a lot of species
seem to take their time
at this brand-new water source.
And the more wildlife feel secure,
the more likely it will return
in the future.
Our water hole's the new kid
on the block
and it's still done pretty well.
I mean, comparatively, we're looking
at similar numbers
of mammal species, that's...
That's really impressive.
Yeah, I think it's amazing how
quickly the community assemble
at our water hole, how many
animals we got
and how soon they showed up.
We're seeing the same forces shape
animal behaviour
at our water hole and other
water holes like this.
And even though it's still
an experiment in progress,
the community is stilljostling
and assembling
and becoming a water hole.
Having the opportunity to look
through all this data,
and it's such a fine scale,
has just been really fascinating.
Mwiba are planning to keep studying
the water hole in the future
to reveal the long-term impacts
of water availability
on African wildlife.
And their ecosystem manager,
Mark Ghaui, is excited
by the potential of having
this constant water source
in the reserve.
This started off as a little
experiment, but it's been
a remarkable success, hasn't it?
Yes, six months has gone really
quickly and it's amazing
to see and feel how much part
of the landscape it is.
I think to be able to guarantee
water will just be, without a doubt,
beneficial for these populations.
Water has been in such
short supply in Mwiba
that conflict has been increasing
between wildlife and human
populations...
...who often use the same natural
water sources.
Mark hopes that the new water hole
might be a possible solution
and has been keeping an eye
on incidents in the area
over the past six months.
In terms of human-wildlife
conflict,
do you think that this has played
any small role in reducing
that in this local area?
We are close to the boundary
and also close to watering points
that communities use and I think
to have a water source here
that they can access without
leaving the reserve
and troubling those communities
will definitely...
I think we'll definitely
see a reduction
in human-wildlife conflict
as a result.
Conflict is a growing problem across
Tanzania, where there are no fences
between wildlife reserves
and villages.
Many tribes are herders, keeping
thirsty animals like cows
that need to drink up to 100
litres of water a day.
There's been an explosion in cattle
over the past three decades.
Now, there were approximately
30 million cows
across the country.
It's putting a huge strain
on supplies.
And when water runs low,
people have little choice
but to violently protect that water.
Last year on the outskirts of Mwiba,
there was one human fatality
and countless altercations
as humans and wildlife
fought over food and water.
But in the past six months, there
have been no reported incidents
near Mwiba's park boundary...
...thanks, in part,
to our water hole.
What about the long term
legacy, then?
I think it's going to be a big part
of our landscape going forward.
I think, yeah, from our perspective,
it's just getting started.
And, yeah, it's been wonderful
to see how animals have fixed
their lives and their routines
around it, how they've engaged
with it and I think we'll be
seeing that
for many, many years to come here.
To our species list.
The hoopoe is named
after its distinctive call.
ECHOING WHOOP
The woodland kingfisher
is one of the many kingfishers
that don't just eat fish,
but also hunt insects,
frogs and snakes.
The rufous-tailed weaver is
a monogamous bird that's only
found here in East Africa
and nowhere else in the world.
We've been recording a vast array
of animals over the last six months.
And I'm digging into the data
to find out what this unique
experiment has revealed
about how wildlife interacts
at a water hole.
We've had our cameras
on for over 1,400 hours
during the six-month period.
We've got data coming out of our
ears and we can see our
final figures now.
We've recorded 105 species
visiting our water hole...
"including 26 different mammals."
GRUNTING, SQUAWKING AND ROARING
If we look at them according to
size, it's the mega-herbivores,
elephant, buffalo and giraffe,
that came in the biggest numbers.
But they didn't spend the most
time here.
Clocking up an impressive
19 hours...
...the impala stayed longer
than anyone else...
...enjoying the safety provided
by the open landscape
around our water hole.
Surprisingly, though, they weren't
the most frequent visitor.
It was the hyenas that came
to the water hole
more than any other species...
...making a total
of 121 separate visits.
Now, this personally is actually
really surprising to me.
I wouldn't have expected
that a carnivore
would have been the most frequent
mammal to the water hole...
...but they were.
We always assumed water-dependent
herbivores would visit
the water hole the most.
But it's actually good news
that hyenas came so frequently.
They're known as the health
police by scientists,
because they can eat animals that
have died from diseases
that are deadly to other species.
Their stomach acid and immune
system is so strong,
they're one of the few animals that
can digest anthrax and survive.
If they return, they'll help keep
this new ecosystem in balance.
This has been
an extraordinary venture.
We've had a rare chance to see
a whole community of wildlife
taking shape around a water hole
that six months ago
just didn't exist.
And the great thing is...
...it's here to stay.
Our water hole will benefit
future generations of wildlife
and also the people it shares
the landscape with.
When we arrived here,
this little corner of Africa
was just a dusty piece of savanna.
But over the last six months,
we've seen
a remarkable transformation.
It's undeniable - this experiment
has become a huge success.
We did wonder if the animals
would come, and they did.
And they are still coming.
You know the best thing?
We've made something
that a whole bunch
of animals now call home, and that
puts a smile on my face
and makes me feel pretty good.
of the African savanna...
...as rivers dry up...
...animals flock to the water hole.
But we've never fully understood
how a single water source
can support so many
competing species.
So we're doing something
ground-breaking.
Welcome to Tanzania and to
the Mwiba Wildlife Reserve
and to this unique water hole
behind us.
We're working with the reserve
to create the world's first
water hole with a built-in
specialist camera system.
This war as a whole has a
half-submerged filming hide
right in the middle, and it's rigged
with remote cameras so we can see
every angle of animal behaviour
like never before.
When we were last here at
the hottest time of year...
...hyenas ran wild.
How many are there
at the moment, Meredith? 11.
11? Serious?
Now it's the rainy season
and the water hole ecosystem
is facing its biggest change yet.
Up until this point, all of the
animals that have been coming here
have been visitors, but now
we've got some residents.
An explosion of life brings
new species flooding in.
It's the most fascinating example
of swarm mentality in mammals.
And we reveal how our water hole
is set to be a lifeline
for generations to come.
From up here you get a great view
of the ecosystem.
This is the story of life...
...and death at the water hole.
We built our water hole in Tanzania,
500km from the east coast of Africa,
south of the Serengeti.
Mwiba Wildlife Reserve.
After five tough months of drought,
the rains are finally here.
More rain will fall over
the next three months
than in a year in London.
We're at the height
of the rainy season
and over the last two months,
the whole landscape
has completely transformed.
Yes, just look at this.
The dusty old dry river has gone.
Replaced with this fresh flush
of bright green grass.
And this has radically changed
life here at the water hole.
On average, it rains every
day for four hours.
These regular downpours
trigger over 200 species
of savanna grass to grow.
Mwiba's 53,000-hectare reserve
is now a lush, all-you-can eat
banquet for herbivores.
In this time of plenty, many
animals now have their young.
Over half a million mammal babies
and more insects
than it's possible to count
are born at this time
of year in the Serengeti ecosystem.
To see how this explosion of life
impacts the water hole,
we'll be recording 24/7
for the next ten days.
I'll be collating the data behind
every visitor...
...and adding to our species list
that's already at 88.
And I'll be replaying footage
to analyse the complex behaviour
behind every interaction.
But before we could start,
we had to do some repairs.
When we first came back,
the rains had been so heavy,
the edges of the water hole
were caved in.
We called in the Mwiba construction
team to help get
the water hole up and running again.
Our filming hide also suffered
in the deluge.
You see these lines?
Well, these are water marks.
Yes, the hide got flooded.
It got flooded up to about,
I guess, 1.6 metres.
It all poured into the hide,
filling the whole thing with mud.
Had to give it a good clean out.
Unlike a natural water hole,
ours is designed to keep
running all year round,
no matter what the environment
throws at it.
We can simply turn on the taps
to fill it up,
drawing water from a naturally
occurring sustainable source
47 metres underground.
This means Mwiba will be able
to keep this water hole going
long into the future.
The rainy season is already bringing
in an exciting array of new animals.
Look at this dragonfly here.
Look at that -
absolutely fantastic.
Hunting over the water hole.
There are over 3,000 species
of dragonfly.
This one, the wandering glider,
migrates a staggering 18,000km
from India to Africa...
...further than any other insect.
Bush crickets look similar
to grasshoppers,
but they have much longer antennae
that can be longer, in fact,
than their whole body.
This common diadem butterfly
male is black with white spots.
But the female is mainly orange,
mimicking the toxic monarch
butterfly to avoid being eaten.
The place is alive with insects now.
And you know, the water hole
has had its times -
it's had the time of elephant
and buffalo,
it's had the time of hyena.
Now is the time for insects.
And that's down to the fact
that it's rained.
All of the grass is growing.
All of the plants are growing
out here.
And that lush salad is a food
for herbivores,
not just the big guys, the mammals,
for all of the small invertebrates,
all of those caterpillars, grubs
and larvae which are out there.
We're only an hour into our first
day and this new burst of life
has added four species to our list.
But so far, no mammals
have shown up.
Last time we were here, hyenas
were taking over the water hole
at night, and we're curious to see
if they're still a dominant force.
But since the rains began,
our camp has been invaded
by a new nocturnal species.
I'm all of a flutter,
or rather I'm not,
but all of these termites are.
These are the alates.
These are the winged adults,
the males and the females,
the fertile males, fertile females
that have left the nest tonight.
And with the first flush
of rains, they will all emerge
from the termite mound
at exactly the same time.
And not just one mound - very often
all the mounds in that region.
So outside the tent - we're trying
to keep as many out as possible -
there could be probably hundreds
of thousands, potentially millions
of these insects flying
around at the moment.
Why have they done this?
Well, frankly, they've got to mate.
But also, this is a classic case
of predator swamping.
Imagine you're an animal here that
has a taste for termites.
Well, you could fill your belly,
but you wouldn't be able
to eat them all. Some would survive.
You swamp out with your sheer
abundance, the appetite
of all of those predators.
The larger females are very fatty.
They've got lots of fat reserves
because once they've mated,
they will shed their wings,
find a crevice in the ground,
crawl into it, and there
begin to form a new termite colony.
And until it gets going,
they need to live
on their fat resources.
They need those to lay the first
batch of eggs, of course.
And once they start their colony,
the females, the queens,
can be very long-lived.
Some of these ant and termite
species can live for up to 45,
maybe even 50 years,
but under the ground,
after just one night of flying
around in the free air.
What about that? What an existence!
Not for me.
Over the first 24 hours,
there's no sign of the hyenas
that were monopolising
the water hole last time.
In their absence, the water hole
community is reclaiming the site.
Vervet monkeys...
"giraffe."
Impala...
"elephant..."
...and olive baboons.
It's great to see them again.
And it's a sign of the role
the water hole area
can play in the future...
...even when these animals
can find water everywhere.
This is our water hole troop.
Now we've seen these baboons
sleeping in the trees at the back.
We know that they're there.
We've caught them a few times
on the cameras.
But this is the first time we've
seen them in the rainy season.
The baboons have been coming
to the water hole
from the very beginning.
It was a vital water source
in the dry season...
...and now it provides a great
supply of food...
"all on their doorstep."
And to see them quite like this is
actually really, really spectacular.
They're just really owning
the water hole.
You can see a juvenile, there,
just hanging out on its mum's back.
Grass is around 80% water.
So at this time of year,
they're getting nutrition
and hydration with every mouthful.
They spend about 50% of their
day foraging for food.
If you see the way they're eating,
they're stripping the leaves off
and they're eating the shoots
and the roots.
By pulling up the grass,
eating it and passing it
through their digestive system,
olive baboons act
as seed dispersers...
"helping the water hole site
to stay green and lush"
for the next generation.
Over the next few clays, we watch
the same visitors that came
in the dry season to drink...
...now come to eat.
Despite there being food and water
across Mwiba,
these animals are still returning,
and for good reason.
We worked closely with the reserve
to create a water hole
that would support many
species for years to come.
Specifically choosing to build
it in one of the few patches
of open grassland amongst
all the acacia woodland.
The site's accessible
to lots of local wildlife
and, thanks to the new water hole,
is able to support them
all year round.
And now this emerging ecosystem
is showing signs
that it will also sustain
new life of its own.
It's exciting times down
at the water hole here,
because up until this point,
all of the animals that have been
coming here have been visitors,
but now we've got some residents.
And I'm feeling quite pleased
with myself
because I've scooped this out
of the water hole.
This is a large diving beetle.
They are ferocious predators.
This is the leopard of the water
hole beneath the surface,
in insect terms.
Diving beetles use the damp soil
by the edge of the water
to pupate in.
All the churned-up edges of the
water hole are a perfect
breeding ground for them.
So if you've got a large
predator like this,
you've got to have something
in the pool for it to eat.
We've got something. Look at this.
This mass of wriggling black
organisms down here
are tadpoles.
Yes, we've had amphibians
colonise the pool.
They've clearly come here, bred,
laid their eggs in the form
of spawn and they've hatched out
into these tadpoles and there
are plenty of them,
which is fantastic.
I'm really excited to say
that we've got our first
resident birds.
They're not actually at the water
side at the moment.
They're out doing what they
should be doing,
which is feeding.
This is a pair of Egyptian geese.
They started visiting the water
hole a few months ago.
But Egyptian geese
tend to stay put in an area
that has a good supply of water.
So with the water hole
being topped up regularly,
it looks like they're here to stay.
Their natural habitat
is along the Nile
and then south of the Sahara.
But I know what you're thinking,
you might have seen them in the UK
because they've naturalised there
and they're particularly common
in the east of England.
They're not technically
a goose, though.
They are, in fact, a large duck,
quite closely related
to our shelduck.
And they're a grazing animal.
That's what they're doing,
munching away on all
of this fresh grass.
Now, outside the breeding season,
they're quite gregarious.
You get them in flocks,
but when they come to breed,
you get them in pairs like this.
The male is the one on the left
there, with the pink, rosy bill.
And the female's on the right.
When this pair arrived last
season, they were quick
to make their presence known.
Since then, they've been
regular visitors,
and they've proved they're not
to be messed with.
When another goose came
to check out the new water hole,
our male made it clear
that it wasn't for sharing.
Even the arrival of a martial eagle,
a predator that can take prey
as large as an antelope or stork,
didn't put them off.
And neither did hyenas.
It seems this pair
want to have our water hole
all to themselves.
And should they breed,
they'll make a nest in one
of the thickets here,
and then they would hatch their eggs
and lead their ducklings across
the lawn and into the water hole,
the security of that water, to keep
them safe from ground predators.
And of course, with all of these
new species coming here,
that will supplement the diet
of those ducklings.
They're dependent on aquatic
invertebrates for the first few
weeks of their life.
But what about that?
Our water hole
really is becoming a home
for a great range of creatures.
It's from small beginnings,
like our water hole,
that aquatic ecosystems can build
to support a huge range of life.
20km south is Lake Eyasi.
A water source that's evolved
over 65 million years to be
a vital lifeline to one incredibly
beautiful species.
Looking down on this lake
is extraordinary.
It's like a bizarre
abstract painting.
Speckled with these rose
spots of...
...the greater and lesser flamingos.
These birds flock to Lake Eyasi
in their millions...
...using it as a stop-off point as
they migrate to breed further north.
The lake can sustain such
vast numbers of flamingos
because it's full of microscopic
algae called cyanobacteria -
plants that are poisonous
to most animals, but not to them.
And famously, they have that beak
which is upside down.
And using their tongue as a pump,
they filter vast quantities
of the water to remove
all of this food.
And there's another twist.
This is a soda lake.
The water is extremely caustic.
If they really need to, flamingos
are one of the only animals
that can drink here,
using glands in their head
to filter out the salt, draining
it from their nasal cavity.
It's still a difficult environment
for these birds.
The alkalinity of the water
means that if they get
just one little nick on their
leg, it becomes an open sore
and they soon perish.
For a harsh environment,
it's one which
is extraordinarily beautiful.
Lake Eyasi shows how much
freshwater sources
like our water hole are needed.
When we first designed it with
Mwiba, the idea was to make
a reliable water source for as many
species as possible.
But earlier in the year,
we were worried that it was only
going to be used by one animal...
"spotted hyena."
I've been looking back over the data
and it paints a stark picture.
Last time we were here, the hyena
dominated the water hole,
and in the end we managed to
identify 16 adult individuals.
Now, we've been logging
their movements.
They visited the water hole
73 times.
Now, compare that to our
situation right now...
...the heart of the rainy season.
We haven't seen a single
visit from a hyena.
You go from 73 visits to nothing.
To find out why they're no longer
coming to our water hole,
I return to their den site,
2km away.
Frankly, it looks to me as
if they've abandoned this den.
It's all overgrown here.
All of the vegetation
is standing up,
and if there were a boisterous
band of hyenas here,
then this would have all been
knocked down.
And look over here.
It's been raining, it's muddy,
there's not a single footprint.
And look, there are lots of plants
here, grass growing through.
These would have all been knocked
down if this was still occupied.
I'm hoping our camera traps
might give me some clues
as to why they've left.
A giraffe.
There's a couple of hyenas -
there's an adult in the foreground.
There's a cub,
another cub behind it.
Oh, look at that, two of my
favourite African mammals
in the frame at once -
the fantastic crested porcupine
and a young hyena.
And guess who comes off the winner.
Porcupine, of course. Look at that!
A bit more porcupine action here.
You see those quills erected?
The porcupine is clearly agitated.
Now, you might be wondering, why
has a porcupine come to a hyena den?
Well, hyenas bring lots of parts
of the things that they've been
scavenging back to the den,
including plenty of bones,
and porcupines love gnawing bones
because they need all that calcium
to produce their spines.
But it's unlikely that a few small
porcupines would scare them away.
Oh, my goodness,
look at that. Buffalo.
There were a whole herd of buffalo
clearly moving through,
trampling over this site.
Maybe this was what put them off.
Maybe it was just the abundance of
other animals that drove them away,
and certainly at night,
with all of those buffalo,
they wouldn't want their
cubs emerging
and the risk of them getting
trampled.
I think I know WHY the hyenas
have moved dens,
but the question is -
where are they now?
We send out several film
crews to find them...
...and one of our cameramen
spots their new den,
2km from the previous one.
They appear safe and well.
Spotted hyena can have many old den
sites spread across the savanna.
It looks like this clan
moved their pups to an area
with fewer animals.
In a year, these pups won't be
so dependent upon the den.
And they may return to the
water hole with their clan.
With no hyena in the vicinity,
the water hole is a safer
place for prey once again.
There are over two million
impala across Africa.
They time their breeding season
with the rains, and their population
spikes by hundreds of thousands.
It's exciting to see this new
generation come to the water hole.
Ooh! There we are.
The impala have turned up.
And they've brought their young.
Look at that.
It is undeniably cute.
Big ears, big eyes.
Groups of young impala are
called creches.
This is the first time we've seen
them at the water hole.
So these have been born a few weeks
ago. And initially, of course,
they'll be dependent
on their mother's milk.
But then when it comes to them
moving onto solid food,
they need to time that so that
they've got this crop of ripe,
green, highly nutritious,
fresh grass.
Looks to me as if this group of
impala timed that birth perfectly.
These young impala are likely
to be regulars at the water hole.
Patterns of behaviour set now
should mean they'll remember this
oasis in the future.
The rains don't trigger
the birthing season
for all of our water hole
community.
5km away, wildlife cameraman
Bob Poole is discovering
this is actually a peak time
for mating
amongst many of Mwiba's herbivores.
OK, now watch this female.
It's incredible.
She comes up to the male,
then she rubs her neck
against his like that.
It's definitely a sign
of affection or interest.
At this time of year, amorous
giraffes use their sense of smell
to help identify if a female
is ready to mate.
So the male giraffe right now
is trying to determine
whether the female in front of him
is in the peak of oestrous.
Oestrous cycles in giraffes,
like human menstrual periods,
help identify when a female
is ready to mate.
They occur every two weeks,
but a female giraffe is only
fertile for four clays or less
during this time.
She gives off pheromones
which he senses through sensors
that are in the top
of his lip, there.
Giraffes mate all year round.
But there is research
that indicates breeding increases
with periods of
high food availability.
All the leaves are so plump
right now.
I can see the way that they use
the tongue
to strip the leaves off the twig,
which is, of course,
loaded with these big thorns.
And everything around here
has a thorn on it.
In fact, this place is
called Mwiba,
which literally means "thorn"
in Swahili.
All of this food means
other herbivores like zebra
are also getting ready to mate,
and sometimes competition
between stallions can get physical.
Look at this!
There's so much action going on
right now. The... the stallion here
is racing around trying
to round up the zebra females,
and you can see him racing
across in front of us right now.
And now he's coming back to
probably his harem right there.
The young males have to
struggle for dominance.
He could get kicked out
by another stallion.
These are very social animals.
They live in family groups
and they have an order,
a pecking order, essentially,
just like horses do.
They're constantly having to put
each other in their place
so there's a lot of fighting
and testing, and all kinds of action
going on all the time,
to sort of really work on who's who
in the family and where they sit
in terms of the pecking order.
And some have already
had their young.
This foal is just four weeks old.
The little foal, to the right,
would be his first foal
of this rainy season.
During this time of plenty,
the savanna is overflowing
with calories for new mums
to produce milk.
And when babies are ready,
there are swathes of grass
waiting to be grazed.
The water hole is getting busier
each day with insects...
...and we spot two interesting
new species for our list.
Hoverflies are harmless,
but they mimic stinging bees
and wasps to put off predators.
Leaf roller moths pupate
from inside a rolled-up leaf,
sealed shut with the
caterpillar's silk.
All the insects are attracting
more new bird species,
including...
a red-necked Francolin,
a relative of the pheasant.
It's a wary bird,
often staying hidden from predators
in deep cover
and only coming out
in the open to feed.
A three-banded plover, named
after the black and white bands
on its chest.
They hunt by sight
for insects, worms
and other invertebrates.
And we have another new
resident bird,
taking our species list
to nearly 100.
This has made my day. When we were
here last time, there were a pair
of lesser striped swallows
prospecting to make a nest
inside our hide.
Earlier in the dry season,
our cameras captured the moment when
these swallows were first choosing
where to build their nest.
These swallows typically nest
under bridges for protection
and the roof of our hide
offers a great alternative.
The water hole has also provided
perfect nest-building materials.
Both birds use mud for construction,
and you can see this one's beak full
of mud, deciding where
to start plastering.
I really hoped they would
move in here.
And look, they have. And it's a
beautiful structure, as well.
Now, it's slightly different
than a typical barn swallow's nest
that we see, which is an
open cup.
Here, they close the cup and then
make that neat little tunnel there -
I suppose to try and keep predators
out, maybe things like snakes.
It's a fantastic construction,
welded into the corner of the
building there.
A little work of art.
So I'm really pleased
that they've used our hide
to make their home.
I'm pretty certain that we've
got young in here.
I've been watching the two adults
hunting outside together,
and then going in one at a time,
delivering food.
Feeding chicks is a full-time
job for both parents.
We're seeing them bring
back food every 20 minutes.
If they were still incubating
or brooding, typically
one's off the nest whilst
the other one's sat on it.
But because they're both active
away from the nest,
I reckon there's young up there.
So we've done a great job
for these swallows here.
We provided the water and in turn
the food, and then we provided
the structure for them
to place their nest.
It's good. I like that.
And, even better -
because swallows return to the same
nest site year after year,
our hide could well be their
home long into the future.
And the water hole is going
to provide the swallow chicks
with all the food they need
because both pools
are teeming with mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes lay their eggs on water.
Each female can produce up to 500
in her one-month lifespan.
Many mosquito species stay
within a few hundred metres
of where they're hatched,
so it's likely they'll be
a regular feature at the water hole
every rainy season...
...providing a reliable food source
to birds like these swallows.
Insects and birds are important
foundations for a healthy ecosystem,
but we're working closely
with the Mwiba guides to make sure
the water hole can also attract
and sustain Africa's megafauna...
...the most important
of these being elephant.
ELEPHANTS MAKE RUMBLING SOUND
Elephants are keystone species.
They help disperse seeds, and also
create pathways to water holes
as they walk to them.
We've had over 100 individuals,
and one extraordinary half-trunked
elephant used this lifeline
over the past six months.
Mwiba guide Eugene Raymond
is confident that these elephant
populations are likely to keep
coming back to the water hole.
It's unbelievable
that they have this ability
to remember places, areas,
and with experience,
they're able to find.
An incredible
ability also to find water.
Now, we've seen this animal
at the water hole here, and we know
they've got phenomenal memories,
it's going to be interesting to see
whether it remembers the water hole
come the dry season -
when it really needs that water.
Research shows that elephants
can remember the locations of food
and water for up to a decade,
even when seasonal and environmental
changes alter the landscape.
A permanent, refillable
water hole like ours
should be an elephant
oasis for many years to come.
And Eugene has been pleased
to see so many herds coming
to the water hole,
because it's the matriarchs
that lead their families
and remember where to go.
This mama elephant,
or Tambo we call her,
who will be able to remember these
places and come back into the same.
And that's why the herd
put trust in them.
And they would normally try pass
this on into the next generation
by just, you know, testing as
individuals the ability to navigate
the rest of the group members
and remember these places.
This comes with experience. Age.
It's a bit like you going shopping
with your grandmother, isn't it?
It's true, yeah. She knows
where the best shops are. Exactly!
Where to get the best deals
at the right time of year.
Absolutely true. Yeah.
Elephants can eat up to 250kg
of foliage,
and drink up to 200 litres
of water every day.
They're one of the heaviest users
of the water hole...
...which is why it's so exciting
that Eugene and the Mwiba team
will keep refilling it
in the future.
We've had word of a new species
in the area that could drink
more than all our Mwiba
elephants combined.
The world-famous wildebeest
migration has been making its
epic journey 400km south from Kenya,
and it's now 10km away
from our water hole.
Together, these animals can drink
up to 13.5 million litres of water
and eat up to four million kilograms
of grass in a single day.
So that's where we are
right now, that blue dot.
And you can see they're
heading right towards us.
To get an idea of the impact
they'll have on the area,
and our water hole community,
I'm taking to the air.
This is one of the most astonishing
sights that I've ever seen.
We're looking down on the world's
largest mammal migration.
Just sensational.
There are thousands of wildebeest
beneath me in a long line
stretching across the savanna.
A group of perhaps 1.5 million
of these animals that are
constantly on the move
in this Serengeti ecosystem.
They make the journey, which lasts
a full year and covers 1,000 miles,
clockwise from here, all the
way up through the Serengeti
to the Maasai Mara
and then back down again.
Right now, they're at the
southernmost part of that cycle,
on the edge of Mwiba reserve.
While I track the migration
from above...
...Ella is getting a closer view
on the ground.
They're now 8km
north of the water hole.
They undertake this crazy journey
because of this,
because they're after these
really nutritious grasses.
Essentially, they're storm chasers.
They're chasing the rains
which feed these grasses.
If you look at their bodies,
they have these really significant
incisor rows and loose lips,
and that's to help them rapidly
eat that grass.
They consume up to 16kg a day.
Look at how much they're
moving in unison.
They're moving in formation, and
yet there's no clear leaders.
It's the most fascinating example
of swarm mentality in mammals.
Because wildebeest have no leader,
the migrating herd often splits
into smaller groups
that circle the main mega-herd.
Joining them are thousands of zebra.
They graze in harmony with
the wildebeest because they
eat different parts
of the same type of grass.
From above, I can clearly see
how this huge number of animals
might affect life
at our water hole.
Their movement has an extraordinary
impact on this ecosystem.
Firstly, directly - that grazing
pressure is preventing
the regeneration of trees.
It's keeping this as open savanna.
Also, the impact that they have
on the predators.
This is, of course, an enormous
amount of meat on the move.
Many animals will take
advantage of that.
Lions will simply stay
in their territories
and eagerly await the arrival
of the wildebeest.
Ditto the crocodiles that are
stopped in those rivers
which they have to cross en route.
Then lastly, there are predators
that will go out for the day,
follow the wildebeest,
but then go back to their dens
in the evening, or in the morning -
depending whether they're diurnal
or nocturnal.
Things like wild dogs
and those spotted hyenas.
On average, the migration travels
up to 5km a day.
It looks like this year,
they're going to skirt around
the water hole site,
so the natural order of our
ecosystem remains unchanged for now.
But next time, it could be
a different story.
The water hole will always
attract new seasonal visitors.
But in the six months since
being built, it's becoming
a permanent home for some.
And it's our filming hide,
perched in the middle of the water,
that seems to be the
location of choice.
You may not be, but I'm
very pleased to see
that these animals have taken up
residence in our hide.
This is a paper wasp.
It's one of a number of species
known as Belonogaster.
And they're very similar
to the social wasp
that we have in the UK -
in terms of their behaviour,
not their physical appearance.
You can see it's got a much
narrower, longer waist there
towards the end of the abdomen,
and those beautiful red wings.
This is a queen and that nest
has just about got started.
So she's arrived, chewed up some
paper on a tree out here,
and she's made that tiny
little petiole - that strong piece
of fabric here, which is going
to support the whole nest
and it's going to grow considerably
larger than this.
Then she's made a couple
of cells,
and into those she's laid some eggs.
And at the moment,
she's having to fly out and hunt
to feed those grubs, which are just
nestling in there.
Probably caterpillars is going to be
the main source of food
that she's looking for.
Something soft and easy to chew.
And she'll come back, and then
she'll scrape the edge of the comb,
and the larvae will come up
and she'll delicately feed them.
She's a bit mobile at the moment.
You can see her moving
around there.
And you can see one of
the grubs there
with its head capsule just
coming out of the cell.
Maybe it's a little bit hungry.
When they emerge, those workers
divide themselves into castes.
They do different jobs.
So, some will be guards.
Others are foragers, and they
will go out hunting
for those caterpillars
to bring back.
Meaning that the fertile queen,
the most valuable
part of this colony, will be able to
remain in the safety and security
of our hide on the nest.
People sometimes say,
"What are wasps for?"
My reply is always simple,
"What are you for?"
You shouldn't misjudge wasps
just because they sting.
They're fascinating insects and an
integral part of the ecology here.
Now, down by the water hole
at the moment, we've got this lush,
green carpet of grass being munched
by loads of herbivores,
and they're not all big
animals like impala.
A lot of them are small things,
like the caterpillars.
And if these guys weren't
controlling those caterpillar
populations, then the whole
place would be defoliated.
The ecology would collapse.
You need everything in place to
maintain that balance of nature,
to keep that beautiful, dynamic
harmony working.
And that's why you need wasps.
Wasps are cool.
The paper wasp brings our list
up to 101.
The number and variety of species
is impressive,
considering the water hole is only
six months old.
But how does it compare to
a long-established,
naturally occurring
freshwater source?
Mwiba is part of one of the oldest
ecosystems on Earth...
...the Serengeti.
And 7km from our
water hole is Sele Springs.
It's hundreds of years old,
but almost disappeared
in the dry season.
Thanks to the recent rains,
it's full again.
To find out how this ancient spring
contrasts to our fledgling
water hole,
we've brought
in Dr Meredith Palmer.
She's been studying the Serengeti
ecosystem for over a decade
and has been using camera
traps at Sele to gather data
over the past six months.
So here, if we're focusing
on the mammal species,
we can see that Sele Springs
would be a very similar number
of animals showing up.
Incredibly, our new water hole
is sustaining as many
species as Sele.
And there are some animals
that are only coming
to our water hole.
We're getting more mongoose...
...porcupine, rabbits, spring hares,
a lot more monkeys here.
At our water hole, on the other
hand, we're getting servals.
We have things like waterbuck...
...kudu.
Dr Palmer's research shows that
wildlife is also behaving
differently at each site.
Despite it being new in
the landscape, many animals
are more comfortable drinking
at our water hole than at Sele.
So, impalas are spending far more
time there than they are at Sele.
We can see the same
with the giraffe.
At our water hole, impala stay for
around half an hour each visit.
That's twice the length of time
that they spend at Sele Springs.
And that's also the case
for zebra and giraffe.
Any theories on why that might be?
It could be a safety issue.
Our water hole
is a little bit more open,
you can see the predators coming.
They might feel safer
to stay longer.
By working with Mwiba to build
our water hole in an open area,
we've made a safer place
for many herbivores.
Predators have fewer chances
to hide,
and as a result, a lot of species
seem to take their time
at this brand-new water source.
And the more wildlife feel secure,
the more likely it will return
in the future.
Our water hole's the new kid
on the block
and it's still done pretty well.
I mean, comparatively, we're looking
at similar numbers
of mammal species, that's...
That's really impressive.
Yeah, I think it's amazing how
quickly the community assemble
at our water hole, how many
animals we got
and how soon they showed up.
We're seeing the same forces shape
animal behaviour
at our water hole and other
water holes like this.
And even though it's still
an experiment in progress,
the community is stilljostling
and assembling
and becoming a water hole.
Having the opportunity to look
through all this data,
and it's such a fine scale,
has just been really fascinating.
Mwiba are planning to keep studying
the water hole in the future
to reveal the long-term impacts
of water availability
on African wildlife.
And their ecosystem manager,
Mark Ghaui, is excited
by the potential of having
this constant water source
in the reserve.
This started off as a little
experiment, but it's been
a remarkable success, hasn't it?
Yes, six months has gone really
quickly and it's amazing
to see and feel how much part
of the landscape it is.
I think to be able to guarantee
water will just be, without a doubt,
beneficial for these populations.
Water has been in such
short supply in Mwiba
that conflict has been increasing
between wildlife and human
populations...
...who often use the same natural
water sources.
Mark hopes that the new water hole
might be a possible solution
and has been keeping an eye
on incidents in the area
over the past six months.
In terms of human-wildlife
conflict,
do you think that this has played
any small role in reducing
that in this local area?
We are close to the boundary
and also close to watering points
that communities use and I think
to have a water source here
that they can access without
leaving the reserve
and troubling those communities
will definitely...
I think we'll definitely
see a reduction
in human-wildlife conflict
as a result.
Conflict is a growing problem across
Tanzania, where there are no fences
between wildlife reserves
and villages.
Many tribes are herders, keeping
thirsty animals like cows
that need to drink up to 100
litres of water a day.
There's been an explosion in cattle
over the past three decades.
Now, there were approximately
30 million cows
across the country.
It's putting a huge strain
on supplies.
And when water runs low,
people have little choice
but to violently protect that water.
Last year on the outskirts of Mwiba,
there was one human fatality
and countless altercations
as humans and wildlife
fought over food and water.
But in the past six months, there
have been no reported incidents
near Mwiba's park boundary...
...thanks, in part,
to our water hole.
What about the long term
legacy, then?
I think it's going to be a big part
of our landscape going forward.
I think, yeah, from our perspective,
it's just getting started.
And, yeah, it's been wonderful
to see how animals have fixed
their lives and their routines
around it, how they've engaged
with it and I think we'll be
seeing that
for many, many years to come here.
To our species list.
The hoopoe is named
after its distinctive call.
ECHOING WHOOP
The woodland kingfisher
is one of the many kingfishers
that don't just eat fish,
but also hunt insects,
frogs and snakes.
The rufous-tailed weaver is
a monogamous bird that's only
found here in East Africa
and nowhere else in the world.
We've been recording a vast array
of animals over the last six months.
And I'm digging into the data
to find out what this unique
experiment has revealed
about how wildlife interacts
at a water hole.
We've had our cameras
on for over 1,400 hours
during the six-month period.
We've got data coming out of our
ears and we can see our
final figures now.
We've recorded 105 species
visiting our water hole...
"including 26 different mammals."
GRUNTING, SQUAWKING AND ROARING
If we look at them according to
size, it's the mega-herbivores,
elephant, buffalo and giraffe,
that came in the biggest numbers.
But they didn't spend the most
time here.
Clocking up an impressive
19 hours...
...the impala stayed longer
than anyone else...
...enjoying the safety provided
by the open landscape
around our water hole.
Surprisingly, though, they weren't
the most frequent visitor.
It was the hyenas that came
to the water hole
more than any other species...
...making a total
of 121 separate visits.
Now, this personally is actually
really surprising to me.
I wouldn't have expected
that a carnivore
would have been the most frequent
mammal to the water hole...
...but they were.
We always assumed water-dependent
herbivores would visit
the water hole the most.
But it's actually good news
that hyenas came so frequently.
They're known as the health
police by scientists,
because they can eat animals that
have died from diseases
that are deadly to other species.
Their stomach acid and immune
system is so strong,
they're one of the few animals that
can digest anthrax and survive.
If they return, they'll help keep
this new ecosystem in balance.
This has been
an extraordinary venture.
We've had a rare chance to see
a whole community of wildlife
taking shape around a water hole
that six months ago
just didn't exist.
And the great thing is...
...it's here to stay.
Our water hole will benefit
future generations of wildlife
and also the people it shares
the landscape with.
When we arrived here,
this little corner of Africa
was just a dusty piece of savanna.
But over the last six months,
we've seen
a remarkable transformation.
It's undeniable - this experiment
has become a huge success.
We did wonder if the animals
would come, and they did.
And they are still coming.
You know the best thing?
We've made something
that a whole bunch
of animals now call home, and that
puts a smile on my face
and makes me feel pretty good.