Planet Earth 2 – Grasslands – Sophie Gregson
Planet Earth 2 – Grasslands
Guest Blog by Sophie Gregson
One quarter of all the land on earth is covered by a single type of plant: grass. It is almost indestructible and can grow half a metre a day. The grass in northern India is the tallest grass on the planet, home to some of the most impressive creatures on the earth. The cycle of abundance, destruction and rebirth affects every creature on the grassland; once the grass is gone they must move on.
The largest grassland on the Earth is the vast Eurasian Steppe, stretches one third of the way around the planet. Spring rain brings fresh grass and with that an abundance of new life. Baby Saigon antelopes are left hidden in the grass until they are able to walk, the grass is their home and gives them security from predators. As along as they remain quiet they will be safe, however they will soon have to move on in search of the freshest grass if they wish to survive. The antelopes are similar to humans in the sense that they wish to provide security for their young, many see animals as pointless beings but it is clear to see they have a strong paternal instinct when it comes to their young.
In Southern Africa water transforms one of the most remarkable grasslands on Earth, the Okavango. Every year eight thousand square kilometres of grassland are flooded, for lions this poses a major problem. There may be plenty of prey but the water makes it difficult for the lions to hunt them down, however with the attraction of floods new possible prey arrives. Buffalo arrive in herds of two thousand, the biggest bulls don’t run, they don’t fear the lions. The lions hunt in a group, one goes out front to distract the bull while the rest attack from behind. Distraction is used by humans for many things usually in day to day life, the fact that the lions are smart enough to adapt this and use it to their advantage demonstrates at their hunting technique is a lot more complex than first suspected.
On the African Savannah, seasonal grasslands are filled with life. Carmine bee eaters are amazing aerial hunters, experts at catching insects in mid air however they have no way of flushing their prey out of the grass. Once insects are alarmed they tend to stay put therefore the bee eaters rely on someone else coming along and stirring things up a bit for them. A kori bustard is the worlds heaviest flying bird, therefore it should easily stir up some insects. As the kori walk through the grass, the bee eater will sit on its back waiting for the insects to try and escape, once they fly up the bee eater quickly snatches them before they can escape. Working together in order to survive is also a key feature in the human world, without teamwork and the dedication of others humans would not survive. We rely so heavily on each other to provide food, heat and security that without each other we would be lost.
The main theme demonstrated in the animal world and human world is that we both work together in order to survive, from lions hunting together to humans collecting fruit together, it’s all the same. Without one another, we would have nothing.
