Wild Earth is a 24/7 wildlife channel that brings viewers face to face with the thrill of Africa in real time through LIVE safari shows from five of the best wilderness locations across South Africa.
Sunrise Safari
Start: 6.30 am End: 9.30 am CAT
Start: 4.30am End: 7.30am GMT
Start: 6.30 am End: 9.30 am CET
Start: 12.30am End: 3.30am EST
Sunset Safari
Start: 2.30pm End: 6.30pm CAT
Start: 12.30pm End: 4.30pm GMT
Start: 2.30pm End: 6.30pm CET
Start: 8.30am End: 12.30pm EST
A BRAND NEW LEOPARD CUB
WildEarth has followed a leopard dynasty at DjumaPrivate Game Reserve for over two decades. Generations and generations of these beautifulwild cats have come and gone whilst the LIVE broadcasting has continued. Viewers havewatched countless litters of cubs grow up and become parents themselves. It is always a hugelyexciting moment when one of the expert guides comes across a brand new cub in a den. Recentlya leopardess known as Thalamba who we met when she was just born has become a motherherself. Steve found her brand new cub in a den in April and by June she will be oldenough to face the real world. However, at two months she will still be extremely vulnerable andcould fall prey to many other predators such as hyena or lion. Thalamba will not take the cub huntingas this is too dangerous. Cubs usually get hidden in the thicket under a tree where they waituntil their mother returns and takes them to the kill. The new cub will be very curious and playfulby two months old. She will want to test out her environment by pouncing on blades of grass and climbing on small logs. It will certainly be a treat to see.
IT'S A PREDATOR PLAYGROUND
June is the heart of winter here in Africa and a timeof plenty for the predators. The rain stops in April and does not come back generally until Septemberor even October. June is therefore extremely dry in the bush and as a result the herbivores really struggle. There are small pockets of water across the reserves where animals can drinkbut it means that there are large congregations of animals such as impala, wildebeest,zebra and giraffe all trying to drink from a small area of water. This is of course a predatorsplayground. They know that the general game has to drink at least once a day and so hide in thebush surrounding the waterhole and lie in wait. It is a very dangerous time for the herbivoresbecause they have to drink. They realise that they must never drop their guard.
June will see an increase in general predator actionacross all of the reserves. Prey animals are weak due to lack of water and the cold and as a resultare far more vulnerable. The scavengers such as hyena often come across weak or dying animals that they can easily take down. The bush is filled with the smell of dead carcasses andyou can often see vultures circling above.
ELEPHANTS HEAD TO THE MOPANE FOREST
As the winter months arrive here in Africa, the bushthins out. The leaves fall off many of the tree’s and the herbivores have a tough time. In manyof WildEarths locations the elephants start to move on due to lack of food but at Ngala PrivateGame Reserve they have a mopane forest where the elephants move to in winter
The mopane tree characterizes the landscape for muchof the year with the vibrant, green leaves providing a luscious backdrop for wildlifein the summer and eventually turning from gold through to brown in a kaleidoscope of colours throughoutautumn. The word 'mopane' comes from the Shona language meaning 'butterfly', a nodto the leaf shape that beautifully resembles butterfly wings!
The leaves of the mopane tree are also very nutritious containing lots of protein, phosphorus, calcium and fibre - and are undoubtedly a favouriteof the elephants! In winter, the dry leaves still retain about 40% of the nutrients of the freshleaves, making them a valuable source of nutrition for animals when food is scarce. Surprisingly,these dry leaves are far tastier in the winter months as they contain less tannins, which are very bitter and distasteful chemicals that the tree produces in summer to protect the new leaves from hungry browsers.
HYENA CUBS IN DANGER
The Djuma Clan of Hyena are a group that WildEarthfollows daily on the LIVE shows. Currently all five adult females have cubs that have been bornin the past six months. However as the winter season approaches, the cubs are becoming olderand more curious. It is natural that they will stray further from the den to learn about their environment and of course to play. There are quite a few of them now and so playing is currentlytheir number one priority.
However, whilst cubs play they are not aware of anythingelse and this is when disaster can strike. A young hyena cub is very vulnerable and couldeasily be taken by a lion, leopard or even another hyena from a different clan. This isa worry for Ribbon, the Matriarch and the other mothers in the Clan. As a result in June and July we will see The Djuma Clan move their den a number of times so that predators do not become comfortable with their location.
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