Where is the river zambezi
The Zambezi River: Mozambique's Force of Life | Full Documentary | TRACKS
there is power in the ground and in the
sky
the Zulus dance for rain not here but a
thousand miles away the dusty ground
cries out for water the dancers are
calling on a great force that comes to
life on the other side of the continent
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[Applause]
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the power on which they call is the
Zambezi
the mighty African river that is the
force of life
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the story begins with a clap of thunder
over the highlands of Zambia near its
borders with Angola and SIA these hills
took about thirsty but the dry season is
coming to an end the Thunder makes the
wildebeest Restless this storm will see
the rebirth of the power of the mighty
Zambezi
the river rises in the northwest corner
of Zambia in the highlands of South
Central Africa from here it follows a
long southerly route through Zambia to
the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe all along
its course it is a force for life and
for death
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it's birth is a quiet affair the rains
form muddy river lots that gather almost
surreptitiously into streams and finally
into a river the recently stable
landscape becomes a shifting setting for
small dramas
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a chameleon's grip is secure but the
same cannot be said for the branches it
stands on in these turbulent times
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it sets off on a voyage into the unknown
on a river that will dominate the lives
of those that live along its banks
stream beds that have long been dry will
soon be transformed by the rains into
roaring torrents the long-awaited water
will bring life to most along its banks
but to some as its power grows it will
bring death
it carries with it silt from the uplands
which will enrich the lowland soils but
it picks up other cargo along the way
a wildebeest has paid the price of one
clumsy panic-stricken day
the vultures miss nothing from their
vantage point in the sky
but they will have to wait there are
other eyes in the water
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[Applause]
Lorena's will feed the lowland pastures
but before that they will feed the
crocodiles
[Applause]
the wildebeest carcass is vanishing
before their eyes but still the vultures
must wait
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only when the last crocodile is sated
will they get their turn the bobbing
carcass still bears enough meat to feed
a squabbling Assembly of Africa's
Undertaker's but soon even the vultures
have finished with it the river will
take the rest while they saw over the
landscape looking for their next meal
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they know them the river winds on down
through the highlands whose hills it has
carved over the centuries
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the floods have died down now leaving
their casualties on the riverbanks the
carcasses of drowned
trees will provide shelter for the
rivers smaller inhabitants here in
western Zambia where Eddie's form quiet
pools small fish find a place to rear
their young under the storm scarred
banks they're members of the cichlid
family known as mouth brooders because
of their unique way of protecting their
babies the father carries his young in
his mouth releasing them only when he
feels safe suddenly he does not feel
safe anymore
the hideous jaws belong to the tiger
fish a fierce predator the cichlid
father hastily gathers his brood into
the safety of his own mouth to keep them
from the mouth of the tiger
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on a small scale but tigerfish is among
the fiercest predators in the river
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the chameleon is too big for the little
fish but there are plenty of crocodiles
about and for young one a chameleon
makes a convenient snack the chameleons
sharp hooked claws are not adapted for
swimming
they're for climbing on plants but out
here there are no plants
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the River of Life provides an escape
route for the time being with the
crocodile watching the chameleon dare
not make a sudden
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finally the crocodile loses interest
chameleons may not be adapted to life in
water but hippos most certainly are ears
eyes and nostrils are all perfectly
designed for endless days of bathing
under the African Sun they live in their
thousands along the deeper parts of the
river
the only thing they don't seem to be
adapted for his life in such crowded
groups hippos spend most of their day
dozing and the rest of the time
disagreeing with each other as the
current in the river slows down the tide
of life begins to flow more strongly on
its banks male water bucks spa together
fighting for status ready for the mating
season both are too well-armed for
anything more than a little light
fencing read bark is similarly engaged
and equally cautious about accidentally
injuring their opponent
if this is intended to impress our
watching though it's not very successful
the dough is at least by an attention to
the surroundings and with good cause
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there's enough meat on the hoof on this
riverbank to keep a lioness and a litter
well fed throughout the coming dry
season but the antelope are well aware
of the risks they take when they come to
drink
the read-back have made their escape but
there are other drinkers at the water's
edge the Dyna says three comes to feed
and she needs meat for them now that
they are weaned she must hunt for four
but today the weather is hot and the
bark are wearing the Cubs will have to
go hungry the lioness has a difficult
time when her cubs are this age they're
too young to hunt but they're active and
curious liable to disturb her quarry in
their efforts to join in the chase but
today there will be no more hunting a
bigger disturbance than three small Cubs
was just arrived at the riverbank
unlike the antidote elephants have no
need to feel nervous when they make
their daily visit to water the Predators
simply back away knowing that there is
nothing for them here the lioness will
lead her cubs into a shaded place where
they can wait until nightfall and better
chances to hunt
along the riverbanks the elephants can
find plenty of food even in the dry
season trees here plunge their roots
deep into the ground so that even when
the river is running low they can reach
its life-giving water the baby of the
family is not particularly hungry or
thirsty
such is the Plenty in this part of the
river he is content to watch his elders
one female carries out a little
do-it-yourself dentistry on a sore gum
[Applause]
the youngster learns by everything he
sees perhaps he will need the same
remedy in years to come grass is a
seasonal foodstuff here when the dry
season takes over it will be in short
supply the adults make hay before the
Sun shines too strongly and the young
ones follow suit
the river attracts other drinkers
warthogs are the preferred prey of a
number of large predators but they come
to the Riverside apparently without a
care in the world
the young elephant is not quite sure
what to make of them the adults have
seen it all before at this time of day
where the Lions are sleep in the shade
the riverbank is a peaceful place the
cool damp grass is a refreshing midday
snack for elephants and warthogs alike
but other animals are feeding in the
river itself
the african fish eagle is a graceful and
powerful hunter found all over the
continent
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it's swooping flight and unerring aim
make it the emblem of these waterways
it's plaintive call the voice of wild
Africa
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even while it is feeding high in the
trees beside the river it watches the
water for its next meal all along the
Zambezi and on lakes and large water
holes all over Africa fish eagles have
carried out their precision raids since
long before there were human eyes to
admire them
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now the Zambezi has become a calm
meandering stream winding its way
through the endless reed beds and
papyrus of west-central via through the
lowland swamps here it is the source and
support of all life
among the told papyrus the local people
make the most of the rivers generosity
the passing fisherfolk are watched
calmly by the greatest fishermen in
Africa but the river is not all
generosity jaws lurk along its banks in
this trackless maze of reeds it is as
well to know exactly where one is going
and how to get home again and who your
neighbors are
there's enough fish here to satisfy the
crocodiles
so they rarely worry the people
and the wondering isin is more likely to
be eaten by a crocodile than to trouble
the boys in their canoe familiarity
breeds not contempt but ease in
surroundings that would seem forbidding
to an outsider
something has disturbed the squawk Oh
heaven a heavy rustling in the reeds
but the boys know what makes that noise
the people here live not only among the
reeds but in them their houses are
fetched with them cut from among the
endless reed beds
the reeds is strong and light and
waterproof if they're properly selected
and set up and they're free
the lousy people have been living here
since about 1600 when they left their
former home in Angola to settle among
the swamps here the livin is easy in a
gentle climate the broad Zambezi is
their highway their larder and their
building supply store as well they're
not alone of course all around them
animals have also made use of this
generous home feeding and making their
homes under the enormous lowland skies
chief among them not surprisingly our
fish eating birds the swamp is home to
countless egrets and cormorants nesting
in the reeds and fishing in the river no
one has ever tried to work out how much
fish they eat some live and breathe here
while others come from far and wide on
seasonal migrations the river can supply
them all and in despair as the expectant
army of egrets waits on the bank the
river teams and swirls with fish catfish
rise through the debris on the bottom
and splash on the surface comments are
quick to pick off the younger smaller
fish catfish feed on the bottom feeling
for their prey with the whiskers that
give them their name will come to the
surface to catch insects when they often
find an unlit wedding as their huge
yellow eyes suggest stone curlews are
mainly nocturnal by day they stand
dreamily about on the riverbank as if
they were watching the egrets fishing
boys from the nearby village disturb the
birds but not for long
all are equally members of the vast
local ecosystem dependent on the river
for all that they need the force of life
here in the huge swamp stretching far
south to the Okavango Delta is slow and
gentle offering a rich and peaceful life
to all its inhabitants
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it will not always be this quiet the
river has a violent future not far
downstream
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here though hippo still have a peaceful
life they may be built like wrestlers
down to water they become ballerinas
weightless in their own element
all animals are specialized for their
own way of living from the burly hippo
to the elegant fish eagle but some are
specialized in unexpected ways
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the little reed cormorant is like any
other cormorant
but for one thing because of its life
among the reeds it needs to be able to
perch better than others of its kind it
has long flexible toes to adapt it to
its Reedy home the riverbanks of the
watering place for the animal with the
worst reputation for violence in the
whole of Africa cape buffalo have been
feared ever since white hunters first
came to the continent they might look
rather like large cattle but they are
fiercely defensive of their young and
very dangerous when cornered an
anonymous French author said long ago
this is a very vicious animal if you
attack it it defends itself
while they drink the Buffalo need to
keep their eyes open the river is home
to some of Africa's largest crocodiles
which would be quite capable of dragging
an unwary Buffalo into the water by its
snout they do not stay around when a
crocodile is near
without the element of surprise the
crocodile is harmless but the Buffalo
are taking no chances they have only one
real enemy in the African bush lions
regularly take their calves when the two
species meet the hunger on the Lions
face is matched by the new hostility on
the buffaloes the lion yawns in
frustration but it watches for a chance
to attack the Buffalo seems to be
waiting for it to try all cats signal
frustration by waving their tails the
lion is no exception
cats have another thing in common when
they are thwarted at potato they weren't
really interested anyway as the herd
makes its way from the river it's very
close to permanent human settlements but
the Buffalo are no threat to the
inhabitants who give them a wide berth
the country here in central Zambia is
open wooded Savannah with wide clearings
dotted with acacia trees good for
agriculture where it is watered by the
river the people keep goats and grow
crops in the clearings but they have
very little impact on the wildlife near
one of the favorite watering places the
colony of carmine bee-eaters has set up
home
[Applause]
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the birds ignore the comings and goings
around them
they've become familiar with people and
their domestic animals down centuries to
the beat as people are no more of a
threat than Buffalo they carry on their
urgent business under the very feet of
the locals digging you up nesting
tunnels in the bank of the river home
locals are likely to get a face full of
SAP as one woman comes to the bank the
birds fly out in a dense swarm but this
has nothing to do with her movements
beaters perform these mock panic flights
even when they don't know anyone is
there it might be to reassure them that
the colony is not too crowded they soon
returned from their mass exodus
the Carlisle bills are in other parts of
Africa is a migrant moving from the
cooler northern and southern extremes of
the continent to normal parts where it
breeds but it lives in Zambia all year
round breeding between September and
November at this time of year it's
joined by a rarer relation the
white-fronted Peter which also shows no
fear of people in fact all the birds are
content to use the bundles of reeds as
purchase and to search them for any
insects from Midas or shelter inside as
the people work around them the birds
have an occasional aerial census if
that's what their apparent panic attacks
are really for
[Applause]
the mighty zambezi is at its most drowsy
now forming oxbow lakes as it meanders
lazily between the reed beds the people
who live here were not always River
dwellers they're descended from Bushmen
who fled here in the 18th and 19th
centuries to escape men who captured
them and sold them into slavery the
descendants of those men are dancing now
far downstream for rain
the zoodles were always a warlike tribe
dominating those around them with their
ferocity and aggression for the
peaceable Bushmen there was no
alternative but to seek refuge in the
deep bush along the banks of what became
to them the river of life
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the Zambezi waters the dry Savannah
along a broad swathe on both banks a
band of plenty winds across the plain at
its heart the silver ribbon that is the
river
for the river people as for their
neighbors upstream the Zambezi is
highway and Lada well and wash house
like ratty in Wind in the Willows they
live by and on and often in the river
the river is there a source of building
materials - it's tall reeds are ideal
for fencing and for the walls and moves
of houses in this gentle climate the
villagers have friendly neighbors in the
bush vervet monkeys that have become
tame and trusting though often somewhat
liked fingered when there's food about
the houses are well built and the monkey
roof but the open village square is too
inviting to ignore beside an empty box
with a very apt logo the monkeys forage
for scraps in the heart of the village
for the small boys they're a constant
source of affectionate amusement
safe with its prize in the trees high
above the village the monkey can feed at
leisure while the boys play below their
dance is strangely similar to that of
the Zulus once the scourge of their
lives
but now far away and no longer a threat
down by the river
while their mothers wash the dishes the
children go fishing the fish here are
small but enough of them will make a
nourishing meal the abundance of the
river enables the whole family to play a
part in village life
as evening approaches the children play
while their mothers prepare the evening
meal the men and the older boys will
soon be home from their day on the river
under the watchful eyes of the vervet
monkeys another quiet day draws to a
close the river is bigger and bolder now
tree-lined and more powerful when it
wounded slow length through the reed
beds here another population of hippos
find a perfect home in the clear
shallows they plied as if weightless
through the water tiptoeing delicately
along followed by a cloud of fine silt
their life is quiet and restful here
where the river is wider and they have
more space there seems to be less
conflict among the fleshy editable
Giants than there was further upstream
[Applause]
the river is their life they go ashore
only at night to graze on the lush grass
along the banks they glide about
underwater not in search of food but
looking for relief from the Sun in spite
of living in some of Africa's hottest
climates hippos are martyrs to sunburn
further downstream the vervet monkeys
are much wilder than those that live in
the village unaccustomed to people they
have to find their own living among the
trees without the benefits of scraps of
human food they spend almost their whole
time high above the ground only rarely
venturing down to drink and occasionally
to socialize on the riverbank
for them the ground is not a regular
source of food but often the place of
danger bother young monkeys Flay their
parents keep a close eye on them and
watch for danger even fallen trees close
to the ground are more secure than the
open riverbanks
they offer a ladder to safety out of
reach of predators
the monkeys are really at ease only when
they are high in the trees even here
they take it in turn to practice lookout
while the others feed they don't need to
go to the ground even to find water
cracks and clefts in large branches
often contain a few drops to drink even
if they have to be winkled out with the
monkeys long fingers they watch each
other all the time to see what food
there is or where others have found
water the trees not the river are their
highway
among all their busy activity at least
one pair of eyes is always open to the
approach of danger when it appears the
response is immediate
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the Python is no direct threat to the
monkeys could all snakes are potential
enemies to all primates and the fear of
them is instinctive reason doesn't come
into it for monkeys any more than for
most humans
[Music]
when the snake crawls back into the
grass the panic is over and silence
returns to the tall trees the river
broadens out a little further along its
course to form wide marshes where Lech
we are at home with their broadly
splayed hooves they don't sink into the
muddy ground but seemed to float over it
without getting bogged down
[Music]
elephants in spite of that great weight
also have very wide feet so that they
too can walk safely in this treacherous
terrain
where the ground is dryer and an
elephant can stroll unhindered through
the grass the vibration of its heavy
tread awakes another of the area's
residents Lions find it difficult to
hunt on the marshy ground but because of
the large numbers of animals attracted
by the abundant water and lush grazing
they're always in evidence they wait for
animals on their way to and from the
river but not for Elephants the lioness
finds a fresh patch of shade to wait for
a cooler time of day
loving water as they do elephants find
this part of the Great River Valley an
ideal place to live they gather in their
family parties at favorite drinking and
bathing places total immersion is the
favorite form of bathing here in the
river the elephant's show total
enjoyment - this is elephant heaven
water cool and sweet and why their baths
over the family moves off into the
grasslands to find something to eat
[Applause]
but the Great Rivers Idul is about to
come to an abrupt if temporary end the
Cataclysm begins innocently enough as
the river is split by shows of little
islands in midstream here as in the
highlands where it was born it's not
sweeping aside sand and mud but eating
away at rock each island diverts the
flow a little challenging the river to
where it down the channels flow faster
as the river is constricted between the
islands
water flowing at this speed has enormous
power it erodes the rock over the
centuries carving a channel through the
softer strata and leaving the harder
layers standing proud
the Zambezi has eaten away at the edge
of the plateau as he dives more than 300
feet into the gorge below
this is the Victoria Falls the largest
waterfall on earth even in the dry
season in November in December it
carries more than 7,000 cubic feet per
minute in times of flood it can exceed
24 million
in the local language it's called mosey
what um be the smoke that thunders the
plume of spray can be seen and heard
from miles away
the Falls are nearly six thousand feet
wide but in places the chasm into which
they plunge is less than 200 feet across
[Music]
the first European to see the falls in
1855 was the Briton whose name became
synonymous with African exploration in
the nineteenth century
David Livingstone he named them after
the Queen of England at the time above
the gorge the cliffs are shrouded in
perpetual mist people come to marvel at
the sight that Livingstone said would
cause even an angel to wonder
Livingston believed that the Falls were
created by a massive earthquake that
caused a huge rift in the Earth's crust
but geologists today know that they were
formed over millennia by the erosive
power of the water itself
the spray drifts over the surrounding
land to create a patch of dense tropical
vegetation home to chameleons that feed
on the abundant insect life in the mist
forest
water buck find a fitting home here and
people too drawn by the hypnotic power
of the tempestuous stream the rains that
fall on the far-off Angolan border feed
the mighty power of the river here in
Zimbabwe a world away from the muddy
stream that gives it birth
this deep gorge patiently carved from
the living rock bears witness to the
pent-up energy of water that has
traveled 600 miles across Africa the
monkeys that live here are in a
different world from their relatives in
the peaceful village all those that live
in the tall trees by a sleepy river far
upstream
[Music]
the Falls carve a huge gorge 45 miles
long and 400 feet deep
a thousand miles beyond it lies the sea
[Music]
700 miles downstream still far from the
Indian Ocean people rely on the massive
power of this river that rises so far
from their home
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deep into the night the zulus dance to
the power that is in the earth the power
that comes from the sky the mighty power
of the Zambezi the force
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