Fifteen lions drink at a water hole as an elephant herd approaches it. The first arrival is a giant bull with long, heavy tusks. The lions are hungry and circle the bull, who whips around with his ears pinned back and thrusts his trunk high with a shrill trumpet.
There is an uneasy tension around the water hole as the lions back away to a rock kopje. The magnificent bull sucks up gallons of water into his trunk, curls the end into his mouth, and drinks deeply as water dribbles down his chin.
Five lionesses materialize behind him. He senses them, spins around with a shrill scream, and lunges forward, flapping his ears. They scatter, except for a lioness who roars as her drool splatters the muddy ground.
This fires up the other lions, who circle the bull with hunting grunts and snarls.
The enormity of the wildebeest migration is stunning and stretches as far as the eye can see.
Their thirst is evident, with tongues hanging out in the heat. They trudge along in exhaustion with stressed grunts and snorts, and many calves lag behind until their mothers nudge them along. They migrate by ancient memories towards the rain, the river, and green grass.
Cumulous clouds billow to great heights in the distance and turn from woolly gray to black. A sudden crack of thunder stampedes the herd, and lightning strikes every few seconds, igniting a grass fire that moves south. The further the fire recedes, the calmer the herd becomes. The wildebeests make their way towards the river and rain as the predators silently move in.
The front of the wildebeest herd cautiously moves to the river’s edge, with many more crowding behind. They look suspiciously into the water. A dozen Nile crocodiles slide down the riverbank and disappear underwater, their hunting ground.
The exhausted and thirsty wildebeests coming down the bank push those in front into the water. Thousands swim through the ford, a continuous stream of gnus. The submerged crocodiles surface, attack, and go into a feeding frenzy. Vultures circle and settle in a giant tree across the river, a noisy bunch with hisses, grunts, and shrieks.
The back of the herd panics and stampedes away from the river. Once they settle down, they will try again, as thirst drives them on.
Crocodiles yank the dying wildebeests underwater to deep spots and wedge them into underwater trees or rocks to be fed on later. Once the crocodiles can gorge no more, they drag their bulging bellies up the riverbank and fall asleep in the sun.
The lions are hungry, nervous, and aggressive. When they hunt big game, their success is in numbers.
An exhausted and thirsty young bull lags behind the elephant herd and catches the lions’ attention, who quickly surround him and look for an opening. The bull charges with flapping ears; he whips around and flees behind a rock outcropping, pursued by every lion.
A lioness leaps from the rocks onto his back with claws dug in and a big bite as the panicked bull runs until she falls off. The wind drifts the corrupt stench of lion your way. Two lions leap onto the bull’s back, and with his running twists and turns, one falls off, leaving a big male who hangs on.
Dusk rapidly approaches. Two more lions leap onto the bull’s back, and the elephant goes down with a crash…
