ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos


African History Videos 63 videos

African History 1: Intro
225 Views

Home to the biggest river, the biggest desert, and some of the biggest land animals in the world, Africa is so much more than what most media would...

African History 2: Carthage
44 Views

Stop everything and check this video out. This guy from Carthage named Hannibal used battle elephants. Battle. Elephants. Carthage has a pretty ric...

African History 2: The Nubian city of Meroe
42 Views

Today's lesson: Nubia. Remember not to call it Egypt Jr. to its face...it's kind of a sensitive issue.

See All

African History 1: The Serengeti 13 Views


Share It!


Description:

Today we're learning about the Serengeti, or as you may know it, the setting of  The Lion King . Get ready for lions, wildebeests, and tourists. Oh my... 

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

When most people think of Africa, they imagine vast grassland, chock full of elephants, giraffes, [Elephants and giraffes in a field]

00:10

and lions.

00:12

That place is called the Serengeti.

00:14

It’s one of the few famous places in the world that actually lives up to its reputation

00:19

for coolness. [Man rides motorcycle]

00:20

The Serengeti Plains are located in the beautiful East African countries of Tanzania and Kenya.

00:26

You probably have a pretty good idea of what the plains look like… [Girl thinking of a ballerina in the serengeti]

00:29

Either from wildlife documentaries…

00:31

Or from the ridiculous number of times your younger sibling made you watch the Lion King.

00:36

Did anybody else think it was irresponsible for Rafiki to hold baby Simba over the edge [Rafiki holding Simba over a cliff edge]

00:40

of a cliff?

00:41

Just sayin’.

00:42

Anyway, even if you already know what the plains look like, you might not know that

00:46

the Serengeti's only active volcano, Ol Donyo Lengai, ejects ash that turns into a cement-like [Volcano erupts and people scream]

00:53

calcium-rich material when it rains.

00:56

So wear a hard hat if you visit.

00:59

The Serengeti also has the largest concentration of wildlife of any area in the world. [Cheetah laying in a field]

01:04

Don’t worry.

01:05

They’re big plains, so they’re not as crowded as it sounds.

01:08

The Serengeti also sets the stage for the world's largest land animal migration. [Zebras migrating]

01:13

200,000 zebra, 500,000 gazelles, and 1.2 million wildebeest hoof it across the plains every

01:21

year, following the rains.

01:23

This, of course, also brings thousands of tourists, who crowd into safari vehicles to [Tourists in a safari vehicle]

01:27

get the perfect shot of the passing herds.

01:29

There’s actually a good amount of controversy over whether all this tourism is a good thing.

01:35

Tourists do create stress on the land, but some of their dollars do also help to protect

01:39

the animals they’ve come to see.

01:41

Because the safari industry is so profitable, the government and private companies are encouraged [Group of people wearing suits and eyes turn to dollar signs]

01:45

protect the land and its animals.

01:47

This, of course, sounds great to conservationists.

01:49

The thing is that nobody ever really bothered to ask the people who used to live in the [Safari tourists taking photo's of people who used to live in Serengeti]

01:55

Serengeti what they thought about it all.

01:58

One of Africa’s most famous tribes, the Maasai, gave their native land the name “Serengeti,”

02:04

which means “endless plains.”

02:06

While it definitely sounds like a good idea to protect an ecological treasure like the [Animals inside the Serengeti]

02:10

Serengeti, things get a little more complicated when you find out that the Maasai where forced

02:15

to move from their ancestral lands when the Serengeti National Park was established.

02:20

The Maasai are traditionally cattle herders and need a lot of land in order for their [Massai man herding cows]

02:24

cattle to graze.

02:26

And without the plains those cows are getting skinnier and skinnier.

02:30

It’s a tricky issue, right?

02:32

Protecting beautiful, wild animals seems good, but so does protecting a people’s ancient

02:37

way of life.

02:38

We don’t pretend to know the right answer, but we do know that the Maasai and the Serengeti

02:42

are both worth saving. [Animals and Massai with Batman in the middle]

02:43

The only ones who are probably completely happy with the situation are Maasai cows who are

02:49

trying to get ready for beach season.

Related Videos

African History 1: Intro
225 Views

Home to the biggest river, the biggest desert, and some of the biggest land animals in the world, Africa is so much more than what most media would...

Modern World History 2.11 French Revolution: Phase Two (and Three)
176 Views

Didn't get enough of the French Revolution the first time around? We've gotcha covered. Check out our second French Revolution video, preferably wi...

Modern World History 1.4 Government Produced Famine in Africa
70 Views

Famine is one of the biggest problems in Africa. Find out why it's such a complex problem, and what's being done to combat it.