The Secret of the Savannah • 2012 • episode "S1E2" • Secrets of Our Living Planet

Category: Nature

In this episode, Chris reveals how the world's most spectacular grasslands flourish, despite being short of one essential nutrient - nitrogen. As it turns out, the secret lies with the animals. There are the white rhinos of Kenya that create nitrogen hotspots by trimming and fertilising the grass. They are drawn to these particular points by communal toilets or 'fecal facebooks', where they meet and greet each other. In the whistling acacia grasslands of Kenya, Chris reveals the amazing relationships between termites, geckos, ants, monkeys and giraffes that make these places so rich in wildlife

Make a donation

Buy a brother a hot coffee? Or a cold beer?

Hope you're finding these documentaries fascinating and eye-opening. It's just me, working hard behind the scenes to bring you this enriching content.

Running and maintaining a website like this takes time and resources. That's why I'm reaching out to you. If you appreciate what I do and would like to support my efforts, would you consider "buying me a coffee"?

Donation addresses

BTC: bc1q8ldskxh4x9qnddhcrgcun8rtvddeldm2a07r2v

ETH: 0x5CCAAA1afc5c5D814129d99277dDb5A979672116

With your donation through , you can show your appreciation and help me keep this project going. Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a significant impact. It goes directly towards covering server costs.

Secrets of Our Living Planet • 2012 • 4 episodes •

The Emerald Band

The Emerald Band

The amazing web of life centred on the Brazil nut tree is revealed.

2012 • Nature

The Magical Forest

The Magical Forest

Chris Packham looks at the annual miracle of the temperate forest.

2012 • Nature

Waterworlds

Chris Packham travels across the world to reveal the secrets of our watery habitats.

2012 • Nature

The Secret of the Savannah

The Secret of the Savannah

In this episode, Chris reveals how the world's most spectacular grasslands flourish, despite being short of one essential nutrient - nitrogen. As it turns out, the secret lies with the animals. There are the white rhinos of Kenya that create nitrogen hotspots by trimming and fertilising the grass. They are drawn to these particular points by communal toilets or 'fecal facebooks', where they meet and greet each other. In the whistling acacia grasslands of Kenya, Chris reveals the amazing relationships between termites, geckos, ants, monkeys and giraffes that make these places so rich in wildlife

2012 • Nature

You might also like

Socorro

Three hundred and seventy miles off the coast of Mexico in the eastern Pacific, the waters surrounding Socorro Island are home to some of the world's largest marine life. Take a deep dive through surging currents and majestic coral reefs with whale sharks, giant manta rays, and more.

1 • Great Blue Wild • 2017 • Nature

The Word

Sophie looks at one skill in particular that seems to give humans an advantage over all other animals - our superior talent for language. She explores what language really is, and how close other animals come to having it. She considers the world of primates and the theory that some apes may communicate through sign language, and reveals how, even in the womb, humans start to practise making the mouth movements needed for speech. But language isn't just a power to combine words. Professor Scott explores how we convey information through the tone of voice, our accents and the pace and pitch of our speech. But in a world when we regularly talk to computers, she also shows why scientists need to develop machines that can understand the subtleties of our speech. Finally, she looks at language in this digital age and explores the role that emojis play.

S1E3 • Royal Institution Christmas Lectures: The Language of Life • 2017 • Nature

Gunda: Mother, pig

Gunda: Mother, pig

Gunda provides a glimpse into the raw and simple power of nature through mesmerising encounters with farm animals, the eponymous Gunda, a mother pig, two ingenious cows and a scene-stealing, one-legged chicken. Film-maker Victor Kossakovsky reminds us of the many lives that share this earth with humans and their value. From the first steps of piglets to the roaming joy of freed cows, Gunda: Mother, Pig draws a connection between human and animal, and the planet that we share with creatures great and small.

2021 • Nature

Mountains

This episode shows unique insights into Germany’s mountain world, traveling from Saxonian Switzerland to the Palatinate Forest, from the Harz to the Alps.

Part 2 • Wild Germany • 2012 • Nature

Eyes Wide Open

For many living creatures, including humans, eyes are an integral survival tool. Learn how eyes have also inspired incredible emerging technology.

S8E6 • Explorer • 2016 • Nature

The Sky Above

Starts in NASA's gravity research aircraft to illustrate the effect of weightlessness. There are surprisingly many plants whose seeds are, in effect, lighter than air.

7/12 • The Living Planet • 1984 • Nature