02x10 - Heavyweights of Africa

[bunniefuu]

We're here in africa.

We're checking out
some unique creatures--

The heavyweights of africa.

Come on!

As we discover the rare
and elusive rhinoceros.

Rhinos can be
unpredictable.

This guy's ginormous.

Wow. That's one big...

Baby hippo!

[Allison]
stalking africa's heavyweights
can be risky.

So to do it, you've got
to be completely prepared

And know everything
about their defenses.

Oh, yeah.
Rhinos need their horns.

Whoa. Good thing we packed
a spare dummy.

Man, that's weird.

Iarriba!

Iandale! Iandale!

[Chris]
we're here in africa,
and we're lost!

[Martin]
I'm navigating,
and we're not lost.

Does the word "map"
mean anything to you?

I checked. I say
we go that way.

All right, you navigate.
I'll drive.

[Roar]

I'm going that way.

No. Go that way!

Man, we're back
where we started.

Let me drive.

Wait.

Chris, I'm telling you.
South africa's that way.

No way.
It can't be.

We've been going
around in circles.

When you're lost,

The first thing to do
is figure out where you're not.

It's easier to find out
where you are.

Where are you guys?

We're here in africa,

Home to all sorts of unique
and amazing creatures.

We say that about
every place we go.

And it's always true,
especially in africa.

You know what's easy
to forget?

Just how big africa is.

It's not like all those
creatures are in one place.

Some are hard to find.

One of the hardest
to find is a true
african heavyweight--

The rhinoceros.

There are two types
of rhinos in africa--

The black rhino
and the white rhino.

We'll search every inch
of rhino habitat

Until we find one.

Come on!

[Allison]
there's no way you're going
to get lost this time,

Not with allison baldwin
on the case.

I'm going to use
the creature computer

To pinpoint exactly--

Not again.

One of the biggest drags

About setting up a secret
international creature watch

Is that sometimes it crashes.

When it crashes, you have to use
sophisticated equipment...

If you want to find rhinos.

Guys, I found them!

Chris, martin,
I found rhinos.
You see them?

We see them, al--
a herd of white rhinos.

They're way over there
by that clump of trees.

The problem is
getting close to them.

We've got to cross
this valley fast.

Rhinos can cover
a lot of ground.

They might not be
there very long.

They'll go wherever
there's food.

Rhinos can be
unpredictable
and nervous.

Nervous? Rhinos are the second
largest land animal on earth.

What do they have
to be nervous about?

Plenty!

Even for a rhino,

Life isn't as easy
as a hyena summering
in a warthog hole.

Sure they're big,
but they got
to stay big.

That means 10, 20,


[Allison]
if the rhino's
the second biggest on land,

Who's number one?

[Martin]
well, in terms of weight,
the elephant holds that title.

They weigh as much
as 12,000 pounds.

[Chris]
but in terms of height,

No animal goes higher
than the giraffe.

They stand as tall as 18 feet.

[Martin]
and for both
of these savanna giants,

Being big is the key thing

That makes predators
think twice before attacking.

So size is their
main means of defense.

I never thought of
just being big as a way
to defend yourself.

I thought rhinos used
their horns for defense.

A few million
years ago, maybe,

But not so much
nowadays.

Don't get me wrong.
I'm not saying it's
completely useless.

Say some overly
ambitious lion decides
to take a swipe.

All the rhino
has to do

Is show him
the business end of
his proboscis and...

They had a lot
more practice
at it than me.

So it isn't just size.
Rhinos do need their horns.

Rhinos need their horns,

Just like warthogs
need their tusks.

[Chris]
a warthog's tusks
are actually teeth

That extend out
from their mouths,

Just like
the elephant's tusks.

[Martin]
young elephants
will use their tusks

To practice fight.

[Chris]
these tusk tussles

Are mainly to see
who's stronger and bigger.

[Martin]
but they use their tusks
for a lot of other things, too,

Like digging
for water and minerals.

[Chris]
unlike warthogs,
who use their tusks

Mainly to scrap with
other hogs for dominance,

Warthog faces
are designed for fighting.

Their wide snouts and tusks
are used for head-butting

As two warthogs try
to knock each other over.

And they have a unique form
of face protection--

Warts.

[Allison]
warts?

[Chris]
warts made of
thickened skin and gristle.

Warts may not make them pretty,

But they're necessary
for protection.

These warts are used
to absorb the impact

And to protect the eyeballs.

Warthog scraps
can get pretty intense,

But these hogs face
more than that out here.

They also have
to deal with predators

Like leopards.

When a predator's on the prowl,

Mom warthog raises the alarm
that sends the younger ones

Running for the safety
of the burrows.

Mom follows them, then whips
around at the last second,

Facing the predator
with those tusks.

[Ttark]
but hey--

That's not the only way
warthogs use their tusks

For predator protection.

Let me see
if I can explain this

In as scientific
a manner as possible.

Even lions and leopards
look out for warthogs,

Because when
they feel threatened,

They're liable to charge.

In that event...

Yow! It really hurts!

When you think
of the african savanna,

It makes sense to
think of tall grass
blowing in the wind,

Stretching for miles.

It makes sense,
but it's not always
the complete picture.

You tend to forget about
the other features.

What appears
as a little line on
the map of africa...

Is something
completely different.

How are we going to
cross this river?

We'll never find
the rhinos.

Maybe I can help out
on this one.

So you're at the mara river.
You need to cross.

So if you go
all the way downriver--

Wow. That's one big river.

I don't know if
there is a way across.

[Martin]
there must be, but how?

Lots of animals live and feed
near this river,

So they must know.

[Chris]
it looks like these zebras
are going to try it.

[Martin]
they're going to the grazing
lands on the other side.

[Chris]
wait a second.
Something's wrong.

[Martin]
I got a bad feeling.

[Chris]
oh, man, something bit
that stallion!

[Martin]
what's down there?

[Chris]
don't know.
They're making a break for it.

[Martin]
that mama and baby made it!

Oh, no.

[Chris]
what is it?

[Martin]
that stallion has
a bad wound on his hindquarter.

That settles it. Swimming
across is not an option.

Why don't we step
across those rocks?

I don't think so, chris.

Why not?

Ha ha! Because
they're not rocks.

They're hippos.

Wow, they're huge!

[Martin]
no kidding.

Hippos are definitely
one of africa's heavyweights.

They can weigh
up to 7,000 pounds.

[Chris]
to sustain themselves,

They need to eat 100 pounds
of vegetation a day.

[Martin]
you know, the name hippopotamus
means "river horse" in greek.

Sort of weird considering
they look more like cows.

[Chris]
they live both
in water and on land,

But their sensitive skin uses
more water than other mammals,

So when it gets hot,
hippos take it to the river.

[Martin]
a whole herd of hippos,

And this is
their stretch of the river.

[Chris]
these guys are pretty social
when they're in the water,

Hanging out
in herds of 10-15.

[Martin]
when it comes to foraging,
hippos wait for nightfall,

And they do it alone.

They'll take a well-worn path
to nighttime feeding grounds.

It's called a hippo highway.

It's a passage cut into
the earth over a couple of years

By hippos,

And it can run 10 feet deep.

Each night the hippos
make their way up from the water

To the grasslands above.

An adult hippo's immense size

Means it has few worries
about predators.

Different story
for babies, though.

Mom really has to keep
an eye out for lions and hyenas

Who'd love to take
her baby down.

She'll defend her baby
fiercely,

And if pressed, she'll charge.

Wait a minute.
What am I seeing?

It looks like the hippos
are carrying something.

[Martin]
they sure are.

Baby hippos!

Isn't it funny how the babies
ride on the mom's back?

[Chris]
yeah, but it saves the baby

From coming up
for air all the time.

Let's go down
and have a closer look.

[Chris]
mothers provide really
close care for their babies

For about two years.

[Martin]
in fact, they don't like
anyone coming near their baby,

Not even other hippos.

[Chris]
moms gather with their babies
on nearby sandbars

And hang out together in what's
called a creche, or nursery.

[Martin]
one thing you have
to keep in mind

When you're near hippos

Is that moms are
very, very protective.

[Allison]
no kidding.

Interfering with mom hippos
and their babies

Is a pretty big worry.

[Chris]
that's why we're
giving them space.

[Allison]
they share the water
with other creatures--

Crocodiles.

Nile crocodiles are among
the biggest crocs in the world.

Talk about heavyweight hunters.

The biggest on record
weighed over 2,000 pounds

And was 21 feet long.

That's the length
of a school bus.

They hunt
wildebeests and kudus.

[Chris]
and zebras.

[Martin]
so that's what att*cked
those zebras in the river--

A nile crocodile.

[Chris]
when it comes to hippos
though,

Crocs may try
taking one down,

But it's not a good idea.

Hippos have been known
to chomp a croc in two.

[Martin]
the combination of
crocs and hippos in this river

Is going to make crossing it
a risky proposition.

Did you know that more people

Are accidentally k*lled
each year by hippos

Than any other african animal?

[Chris]
each herd has
a dominant bull hippo

Who controls breeding rights
and a section of the river.

[Martin]
and the bull doesn't like
other animals on his turf.

[Chris]
not even a croc.

[Martin]
this croc should watch out.

With powerful jaws
and 20-inch teeth,

A bull hippo takes no mess.

[Allison]
no kidding.

This croc better be careful.
He's on the hippo's turf.

Crocs are scary,
but not to a hippo.

When a croc and a hippo meet,

It's usually the croc
that beats a hasty retreat.

[Chris]
but that doesn't mean
a croc never eats hippos.

[Martin]
even though they can't k*ll
a full-grown hippo,

A crocodile can find one
who's d*ed of natural causes.

[Chris]
then he can snag a meal--
a very big meal.

That's something
we don't have to
worry about.

Martin,
look behind you!

Man, that is
some troubled water.

You guys are never going
to get across there.

Do you know
what would happen

If someone tried to cross that?

We don't know.

Hippos are powerful,
territorial,

And can be
really aggressive.

We're really not sure
what would happen

If we tried crossing.

But there's only
one way to find out.

You guys aren't going to try
crossing that, are you?

An experiment to
find out for ourselves

How hippos will react
to intruders
in their territory.

If we can just
slip by them in this
inflatable raft.

[Allison]
just slip by them?

If you ask me,

They're crazy to
cross that river.

[Chris]
who said we were?

What?

And now, to test
the waters for us...

Ken?

The hippo test dummy!

[Chris]
everyone needs
their space, right?

So this experiment
could show us

How important it is not to
inv*de an animal's space,

Especially a hippo's space.

Ready, buddy?

That guy's a real dummy
to even try it.

And now the moment of truth.

Will the hippo test dummy

Make it safely
across the river?

You ready,
chris?

I'm ready.
You ready?

Ready.
You ready?

O.k.

Good luck!

Hang on tight!

[Martin]
man, if ken makes this,

He's headed straight
for the stratosphere...

As far as hippo test dummies
are concerned.

Oh, no. Ken's toast.

Whew.

Glad that wasn't us.

[Chris]
martin, get his head!

Well, we can draw some
definite conclusions

From this experiment.

Hippos don't like
dummies

Dressed up
as tourists

Paddling down
their river.

And we're not going to
get across the river this way.

Wow! He tore it
to shreds!

One thing
we've learned from this

Is that rivers in africa
are dangerous.

Another thing
we've learned is...

Another thing
we learned is
even one of

The great
heavyweights
of africa

Feels it has to
protect itself.

The hippo uses its
big, toothy mouth

And its enormous size
for defense.

When it comes to scrapping
over breeding rights,

Hippos start by flashing their
teeth at the other bull.

It's their way of saying,

"Put 'em up, buddy.
I'm ready to rumble."

If neither backs down,

They move to jaw jousting,

And that can lead to
serious injuries,

But for bull hippos,

Breeding rights are
worth the rumble.

All right.

The question is,
we've come so far
upriver,

Will we be able

To get back to where
the rhinos are?

There's a lot of bush
out there.

It could be impossible
to find them now.

Impossible to find?

Talk about time flying when
you're 30 million years old.

I remember back in
the oligocene era

You had to look above the trees
to find the rhino.

Of course, then he was called
indricotherium.

Above the trees?

When rhinos started out

They were
taller than trees?

Nah. When they first
started out,

They were little guys,

And they looked like
their relative, the tapirs.

Believe me,
there were no horns about it.

Then he got a little horsy,

And next time I see him--
wow, look out!

Talk about
taking your vitamins.

Ee-yow!

[Allison]
this guy is ginormous!

He looks like
the largest land mammal
of all time.

[Ttark]
he was the biggest
land mammal of all time.

Then guess what happened.
He disappeared. Ee-yow!

You'll never believe
who replaced him.

The woolly rhino?

Man, this guy's
amazing-looking.

What's weirder is
he still existed

Less than a few
thousand years ago.

That's weird.

Rhinos, rhinos,
rhinos.

Hey, chris, do you
see what I see?

Rhinos?

No, but they're
a definite heavyweight--

Elephants!
A whole herd of them.

[Martin]
elephants are
incredibly powerful,

Capable of knocking down a tree
to get at leaves.

Like hippos,
they're herbivores--

Major herbivores--

Chowing down on 650 pounds
of vegetation a day.

Their babies are
no lightweights either.

A newborn elephant can weigh as
much as 250 pounds.

That's almost the weight
of two adult humans.

Man, running into
elephants is cool.

You never know who or what
you'll run into out here.

Hey, chris,

A rhino midden.

A midden is a place
where rhinos dig

And defecate to
mark their territory.

We're in rhino country.

It's pretty fresh, too.

[Chris]
martin, over here.
We struck pay dirt.

Hey, where did the guys go?

We're trying to play
it a little safe

By protecting
ourselves through
camouflage.

Because we found what
we've been looking for.

The rare and elusive
rhinoceros.

Awesome.

[Chris]
white rhinos eat a lot
of short, green grass,

And their wide lips
are perfectly designed for it.

White rhinos are famous
for their wide lips,

In fact, that's how they
got their name.

In afrikaans, their name
was veid rhino--

Veidmeaning wide.

In english,
veidsounds like white,

So people started calling them
the white rhino.

The black rhino has
a prehensile upper-lip.

That means he can use his lip
kind of like a hand,

And when it comes to picking out
the herbs, shrubs,

And plants they want to eat,
the lip comes in handy.

Black and white rhinos
are easy to tell apart.

For one thing,
there's different lips.

Another big tip-off is size.

White rhinos have twice the bulk
of black rhinos.

[Allison]
one thing both types of rhinos
have in common is mud bathing.

Wallowing in mud is a way
for rhinos to b*at the heat,

And it offers relief
from pesky bugs.

You know, rhinos may look
like massive, horned,

Dinosaur-type guys,

But in truth, they're very
relaxed and peaceful creatures.

There's no better way
for a rhino to spend the day

Than chowing, napping,
chowing some more,

Taking a mud bath,
napping, chowing,

Then taking another mud bath
for good measure.

One thing people always want
to know about rhinos is,

What are their horns
made of? Bone?

[Martin]
nope. Those incredible horns

Are made of the same material

That make up our
fingernails and hair--keratin.

[Allison]
cool. Another thing everyone
wants to know about rhinos is,

What do they
use their horns for?

One way they use them

Is to break off branches
for food.

Know what else
a rhino horn is good for?

I'll give you one guess,

And it's not just
chowing down either.

It's also about showing
the other creatures

Whose turf is whose.

[Chris]
that's right.
Male rhinos are territorial,

But then,
confrontations are rare.

When they do happen,

Rhinos will stand horn to horn,
staring at each other.

They may knock horns a bit,

But usually
that's as far as it goes.

The horn has lots
of different uses.

Another one
is defense.

Most animals won't
tangle with the rhino,

And they'll give rhinos
a wide berth.

When a fight does occur,

Those horns come in real handy.

[Chris]
rhinos have been known
to use their horns

Against a lion
attacking their young.

Generally, though,

Rhinos would rather run
from a predator than fight.

But like all creatures,

They have to keep on the lookout
for trouble.

They use their amazing sense
of hearing and smell

And something else...

Birds!

Some birds eat insects
off the rhino's back.

They're called
the rhino police.

If danger approaches,
the birds call out,

Which the rhino knows

Is a sign to get out of there.

The bird acts as another pair
of eyes for the rhino,

Which is handy considering
the rhino's eyesight

Is not so hot.

In fact,
it's downright lousy.

[Chris]
how bad is a rhino's eyesight?

If I put on
my creature vision goggles,

We'll be able to find out.

All I have to do is set
these to rhinoceros, and...

Whoa.

Hey, martin, take
off those goggles.

It's ken,
the hippo test dummy.

To a rhino, ken
looks exactly human.

A rhino may not always know
what he's looking at,

But if he thinks
something's threatening him,

He'll charge.

And because we've
only seen one rhino...

There's
a good chance

There's another
one around here
someplace.

It's time to split.

I'm with you!

Ah!

[Allison]
I knew rhinos need space,
but that proves it.

Well, it might be true that
they'll usually run away,

But now we know that
if provoked, they'll charge.

You'd have to be a dummy

To put yourself
in front of a rhino charge.

So who wouldmess with a rhino?

[Chris]
with an adult rhino,
almost no one would mess.

Baby rhinos are easy marks for
predators like hyenas and lions,

Who hunt in packs.

That's why rhino moms keep
a close eye on their babies.

Rhino babies are born
without horns,

And I got to admit, they look
kind of funny without them.

And when they do
start growing one,

It'll grow 3 inches a year.

Rhino babies will stick close
to their moms

For about 3-5 years.

She'll teach them
how to survive

As well as protect them
from predators

Because the african savanna
is packed with predators,

And even the heavyweights
have to be careful.

[Martin]
that's what
we have to remember.

No matter how big
a creature is,

They all have to
protect themselves.

Sometimes big is
the best protection
of all.

Hippos, rhinos,
even elephants--

It's all part of
how they've
managed to survive

And will continue
to survive

For a long
time to come.

[Chris]
one way to make sure
that happens

Is by doing more
to help them.

Rhinos are
extremely endangered

Because of people
hunting them for their horns.

Its horn is worth
its weight in gold, literally.

It wouldn't be worth so much
if people stopped buying them.

Same goes for
an elephant's ivory tusks.

All three of these heavyweight
creatures are in danger

Because their land is being
gobbled up by human expansion.

[Martin]
true, but it's not all bad news.

These animals are protected,
and as long as we help them,

The heavyweights will
always be found

Thundering around africa.

[Allison]
it's kind of weird
that the rhino,

Who's been evolving
for 50 million years,

Is in danger now.

What's weirder
is the reason is

People are k*lling them
just to get their horns.

If this keeps up,

Pretty soon we'll lose
the rhino entirely,

Which means, I guess,

All creatures, big and small,

Have to protect themselves.

Chris, martin, you guys
started back

Across the river yet?

Well, al, we're taking it
kind of slow.

We've all had
a rough day,

Especially you-know-who.

He found out that you have to
treat creatures with respect

And give them their space

Because if they
feel threatened...

Well, enough said.