[Tom Hiddleston]
Giant animals, living legends.
Fantastic creatures.
These are nature's big beasts.
But experience the world
from their perspective,
and you'll see it's not easy being huge.
[growls]
- The larger the animal...
- [growling]
...the higher the stakes
and the more epic the adventure.
[Hiddleston] It's exhausting being a dad...
[ostrich whistles]
...especially if you're responsible
for the largest eggs in the world.
Each the size of a coconut.
[chirps]
And 30 times the weight of a chicken egg.
[chirping]
He's tended them 16 hours a day
for five weeks.
- Just one more until they hatch.
- [chirps]
When it comes to father figures,
ostriches are outstanding.
[chirping]
Nine feet tall, in fact.
But the world's biggest bird
needs a lot of food.
[growling]
When hunger calls...
[growling continues]
...he must leave his eggs to go and eat.
[ostrich grunting]
Finding five pounds of plants a day
is easy here.
This is a paradise for all sorts
of gigantic grazers.
[honking]
- From the tallest...
- [giraffe huffs]
[ostrich chirping]
[groaning]
...to the heaviest animals
to walk the Earth.
[squeaks]
But raising a family in a land of giants
is a huge challenge.
[grunting]
On the African savanna,
the bigger you are,
the better your chances...
[elephants grunting]
...against the large carnivores
that patrol the plains.
[lion growling]
It takes a brave lion
to tackle a full-grown giraffe.
Even a male ostrich is relatively safe.
[growling]
Still, he must watch out for danger
with the largest eyes of any bird.
[growls]
Unfortunately,
they're bigger than his brain.
[hyenas barking]
And he's easily distracted.
- But lose focus for a moment...
- [chirping]
- [growling]
- ...and you could lose it all.
[hyena laughs]
[hyena whining]
[honking]
- [ostrich hissing]
- [growling]
[hissing]
His future family destroyed.
[chirps]
The poor ostrich will have to start again.
And he's running out of time
before the breeding season ends.
[grunting, groaning]
With so many animals grazing
on the savanna,
superior size gives an advantage
over the competition.
Standing 17 feet tall...
giraffes can reach the plants
others can't.
Browsing the treetops,
they pick the tastiest tips
with their dexterous 18-inch tongues.
[chirping]
[grunts]
But exclusive dining comes at a cost.
It takes a heart the size of
two bowling ba*ls
to circulate blood up to their heads
and a lot of fuel to keep it pumping.
Eating over a hundred pounds of leaves
a day
means spending up to 12 hours
head-in-the-trees.
Not easy when you have someone else
to look out for.
Her brand-new calf.
Already six feet tall with
the umbilical cord still attached...
and still finding his feet.
[groans]
The taller the animal,
the longer it takes for its brain
to talk to its legs.
[sniffing, grunts]
At least he's got
the important things licked,
and he'll soon grow into that neck.
At first, he adds an inch every day.
Within four years
he'll be almost full height
and able to stand up for himself
- amongst the big boys.
- [grunting]
For now he'll join the family crèche...
a safe place to learn and play.
[birds chirping]
With one of the moms watching over him,
he's free to explore.
As long as he stays within sight.
A giraffe's huge eyes
see almost 300 degrees.
From up here, she can spot trouble
a mile off.
[growling]
- No wonder she's so skittish.
- [huffs]
[groaning]
When Africa's biggest cat attacks,
most animals run.
[zebras braying]
But some stand their ground.
- [growling]
- [buffalo groaning]
[lion roars]
[buffalo groans]
1,500 pounds.
- [lion growls]
- Two-foot horns.
An inch-thick hide.
Millions of years battling big cats
has forced buffaloes to supersize.
[groaning, grunting]
A single buffalo
can inflict serious injuries.
And when the herd stands together,
they're more than a match for a lion.
[groaning]
But they'll be back.
And hunting as a pride,
they'll become a force
to be reckoned with.
[groans]
Flushed red with testosterone
and strutting his stuff,
the male ostrich is in peak condition.
After losing his clutch of eggs,
he must move fast
to win round his females.
[chirping, honking]
[grunting]
Long, powerful legs can cover 12 feet
in a single stride.
[chirping]
At up to 45 miles an hour,
he's twice as fast as Usain Bolt.
It shows he's got stamina.
But his hens need convincing.
[groaning]
Sure, he can move. But can he really move?
[chirping]
[groaning]
A male needs to dance
if he wants to bring the females flocking.
- [chirps]
- And now, he has four hens to satisfy.
- [groaning]
- [chirping]
Thankfully, mating is a brief affair.
Five days later,
the females are ready to lay.
His major hen goes first.
[grunting]
[grunts]
Then, others follow.
[grunting]
Up to 50 eggs in total
in a nest ten feet wide.
Eighty percent are usually
lost to predators
or to the baking sun.
Those in the middle, the safest.
And incredibly, it seems females can tell
which are theirs.
So, the major hen makes sure
her eggs are in the best spot...
[hissing]
...leaving the others to fight it out.
But ultimately, the fate
of the next generation rests with dad.
What could possibly go wrong?
By midsummer,
the sun is at its most powerful.
The bigger the animal,
the more it struggles to lose heat
and keep hydrated.
Most of the year, giraffes get all of
their water from the leaves they eat.
But now they must follow the crowds
traveling down to the river.
[chirping]
Arriving together helps protect against
waiting predators.
Even so, drinking 15 pints a day
isn't easy...
[grunting]
...when you're being watched.
A thirsty giraffe faces
a more basic challenge.
Being tall may make eating easy,
but drinking is difficult.
It's such a long way down.
Giraffes have special valves
in their necks
to prevent passing out
from a rush of blood to the head.
And what look like knees
are actually ankles.
The more they bend, the more toppling
over becomes a real concern...
especially for youngsters.
But lookouts can't be everywhere at once.
[growling]
When the giraffe's head is down,
it doesn't spot danger so easily.
[growls]
[growling]
[grunting]
Thankfully, those lanky legs are good
for running.
[huffs]
Now, it's the lions who need to watch
their back.
The buffaloes see to that.
[buffaloes groaning, grunting]
Finally, everyone can drink in peace.
Well, almost.
- The male ostrich just has to sit it out...
- [chirping]
...baking in the 100-degree heat
to ensure his eggs don't.
The major hen helps him brood.
If nothing else, to make sure
her eggs remain in prime position.
[chirping]
She even joins him, fanning the nest.
Dad seems more on the ball this time.
On top of incubation duties...
[growling]
- ...and warier of predators.
- [cackling]
- A month in, and things are looking up.
- [thunder rumbling]
The rains have arrived.
[groans]
[animals grunting, groaning]
Take fertile soil, soak in water,
bathe in tropical sun,
and the savanna becomes one
of the most abundant places on Earth.
Enough grass grows to feed an invasion.
- Huge herds...
- [groaning]
...and even more enormous animals.
[elephants grunting]
Elephants need up to
300 pounds of plants a day...
so they follow the rains.
Every step crushing with the weight
of three pickup trucks.
Where titans tread,
smaller creatures usually scatter.
[elephants trumpet]
But carmine bee-eaters see opportunity.
They know it pays to follow
in the footsteps of giants.
[grunting]
[elephant trumpets]
As the elephants flush
insects out of hiding...
[chirping]
...the little birds pick them off.
[birds chirping]
Elephants aren't the only ones
worth following.
[chirps]
Sometimes, the boldest bee-eaters
even hitch a lift on birds 2,000 times
their weight.
Though not every ostrich
likes being taken for a ride.
[ostrich squawks]
Never mind. There's always another giant
passing by.
And bee-eaters aren't the only ones
to flock around giraffes.
- Oxpeckers also cling on...
- [huffs]
...feasting on parasites in their fur.
[chirping]
It seems the higher you rise,
the greater your entourage,
and your influence
on the landscape around you.
As giraffes feed, they carry pollen
from flower to flower,
like 17-foot-tall bees.
Securing the future of the savanna
for the next generation of giraffes.
The youngster is growing up fast,
and Mum can be a little more relaxed.
Now, he's big enough.
It's time to join the herd.
The ostrich dad's devotion has paid off.
[hatchlings chirping]
At last...
- [honks]
- ...he is the proud father of a new brood.
[grunting]
The hatchlings are already
the size of a chicken,
but still, with a long way to grow.
They'll gain 12 inches a month at first.
In a year and a half, they'll weigh
as much as a refrigerator...
and be almost full height.
[chirping]
There's lots to learn before then.
But Dad will be there
to show them the way.
Ostrich fathers stay with their chicks
for up to a year,
one of the longest paternal investments
of any bird.
Raising such a large family
is a massive responsibility,
but he's well on his way to becoming
one of the greatest animal dads of all.
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