African Safari: Elephants, Giraffes & Big Five Facts

Nova: Buckle up, Explorers.

Cosmo: Brains in!

Nova: Wheels up!

Nova & Cosmo: Brain Bus, let's GO!

Nova: You're on The Brain Bus.

Nova: I'm Nova, your driver.

Nova: And today, we're going somewhere amazing.

Nova: We're going to Africa.

Nova: To the big, wide, sunny savanna.

Nova: That's where the wild animals live.

Nova: And here is something wild to start us off.

Nova: A baby elephant weighs more than a grown-up person.

Nova: On the very day it's born.

Nova: Can you believe that?

Nova: Let's go find out why.

Nova: Close your eyes for a moment.

Nova: Just for a moment.

Nova: Picture a huge, wide, open park.

Nova: The grass is tall and golden.

Nova: The sky is big and bright blue.

Nova: The sun is warm and lovely.

Nova: That is the savanna.

Nova: Say it with me - savanna.

Nova: Sa-VA-nna.

Nova: Well done, Explorers.

Nova: The savanna is like a giant outdoor playground.

Nova: And all the animals share it together.

Nova: Some climb. Some run. Some splash.

Nova: Some just like to nap in the shade.

Nova: Every animal has a favourite spot.

Nova: Just like you have a favourite swing.

Nova: Our first animal is the elephant.

Nova: Elephants are enormous and wonderful.

Nova: A baby elephant is already very, very big.

Nova: Almost as heavy as a whole grown-up person.

Nova: But here is something soft and sweet.

Nova: Baby elephants suck their trunks.

Nova: Just like some babies suck their thumbs.

Nova: It helps them feel calm and safe.

Nova: Can you say - trunk?

Nova: Trunk. Yes.

Nova: That long, wiggly nose does so many things.

Nova: Elephants use their trunks to smell water.

Nova: From far, far, far away.

Nova: And when elephants say hello to a friend?

Nova: They hug with their trunks.

Nova: How lovely is that.

Nova: Now. Look up high.

Nova: Way, way up.

Nova: There is the giraffe.

Nova: Giraffes are the tallest animals in the world.

Nova: They have very, very long necks.

Nova: Can you say - giraffe?

Nova: Giraffe. Beautiful.

Nova: Why does a giraffe have such a long neck?

Nova: For the leaves.

Nova: The leaves right at the very top of the tree.

Nova: No other animal can reach them.

Nova: But the giraffe can.

Nova: And its tongue is so long and bendy...

Nova: It can clean the inside of its own ears with it.

Nova: A giraffe's heart is enormous too.

Nova: As big as a watermelon.

Nova: It has to be, to pump blood all the way up that long neck.

Nova: Every part of the giraffe has a job.

Nova: Long neck - for high-up leaves.

Nova: Big heart - to push the blood up.

Nova: Long tongue - for grabbing and cleaning.

Nova: Something is running very fast over there.

Nova: That is the cheetah.

Nova: A cheetah can run as fast as a car on the highway.

Nova: Zoom.

Nova: Its long legs and bendy back work like a big spring.

Nova: Push, push, zoom.

Nova: Fast legs - for catching dinner.

Nova: And over by the water - the hippo.

Nova: Hippos are very big and very round.

Nova: They love the water.

Nova: A hippo can hold its breath for about five whole minutes.

Nova: Its nose closes up like a little door.

Nova: So no water gets in.

Nova: And hippos make their own sunscreen.

Nova: It oozes right out of their skin.

Nova: It is pink and gooey.

Nova: Like nature's very own lotion.

Nova: Can you say - hippo?

Nova: Hippo. Yes.

Nova: Now I want to tell you a story.

Nova: This story comes from the Maasai people - say it with me - Mah-SIGH.

Nova: The Maasai people live in Kenya and Tanzania.

Nova: Kenya - KEN-yah. Tanzania - tan-zah-NEE-ah.

Nova: They have lived on the savanna for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Nova: They know the elephants. They know the lions.

Nova: They know the grasslands like a friend.

Nova: And they tell this story.

Nova: Long, long ago, there was a sky god called Enkai.

Nova: Say it softly - En-Kai.

Nova: Enkai loved the Maasai people very much.

Nova: And one day, Enkai sent a gift.

Nova: Down from the sky came a long, long rope.

Nova: And sliding down that rope...

Nova: Came cattle.

Nova: Beautiful cattle, one by one.

Nova: Enkai said - these are for you to care for.

Nova: Look after them. Look after the land.

Nova: And the Maasai people said - yes. We will.

Nova: And they have, ever since.

Nova: The Maasai teach us that animals and the land are precious gifts.

Nova: We look after them. They look after us.

Nova: Time for a little quiz, Explorers.

Nova: Let's see what you remember.

Nova: Here we go.

Nova: Question one.

Nova: True or false - a baby elephant is bigger than a grown-up person.

Nova: That is TRUE.

Nova: Baby elephants are born already huge and strong.

Nova: Strong enough to walk on their very first day.

Nova: Question two.

Nova: What does a giraffe use its long tongue for?

Nova: Singing... grabbing leaves... or tying knots?

Nova: Grabbing leaves.

Nova: The tongue works like a little hand.

Nova: It wraps around the branch and pulls.

Nova: Question three.

Nova: True or false - hippos make their own sunscreen.

Nova: TRUE.

Nova: Pink and gooey, right out of their skin.

Nova: The savanna sun is very hot, and hippos are ready for it.

Nova: You did it, Explorers.

Nova: Every single one of you was wonderful.

Nova: Thinking is the bravest thing.

Nova: And you did so much thinking just now.

Nova: Now. Three amazing things.

Nova: Ready?

Nova: Fact one.

Nova: Zebras all have different stripes.

Nova: No two zebras look exactly the same.

Nova: Like fingerprints. Every one is special.

Nova: Fact two.

Nova: Giraffes only sleep a few minutes at a time.

Nova: And they often sleep standing up.

Nova: Fact three.

Nova: Meerkats take turns being the lookout.

Nova: One stands very tall on its back legs.

Nova: And watches out for everyone.

Nova: What a good helper.

Nova: Now it is your turn, Explorers.

Nova: Close your eyes.

Nova: Pretend you are an elephant.

Nova: Wiggle your nose like a long, long trunk.

Nova: Wiggle, wiggle.

Nova: Can you smell something far away?

Nova: Now make your arms long - like a giraffe's neck.

Nova: Reach up high. Reach, reach, reach.

Nova: Nibble a pretend leaf from the very top.

Nova: Now curl up small.

Nova: Like a sleepy lion cub in the warm grass.

Nova: Cosy and warm and safe.

Nova: Here is your wondering question.

Nova: If you lived on the savanna...

Nova: Which animal body part would you want?

Nova: A long neck for high-up leaves?

Nova: A big trunk for smelling water far away?

Nova: Or super-fast legs for zooming across the grass?

Nova: Have a think about that.

Nova: Explorers.

Nova: Can I tell you something quietly?

Nova: Every single animal on the savanna...

Nova: Has a special body part.

Nova: A special part that helps it do its job.

Nova: A long neck - for reaching high leaves.

Nova: A big trunk - for smelling water far, far away.

Nova: Fast legs - for running across the open grass.

Nova: Every part. Every job. Every animal. Perfectly made.

Nova: And here is something to sit with quietly for a moment.

Nova: Elephants have been living on this earth for millions of years.

Nova: Their trunks have been smelling rain before it arrives - for millions of years.

Nova: That is longer than we can even imagine.

Nova: Just... quietly wonderful.

Nova: Next time, we are going somewhere even more surprising.

Nova: Somewhere tiny. Somewhere hidden.

Nova: Somewhere you would never expect.

Nova: I wonder where the Bus will take us.

Nova: Stay curious, stay clever, and keep that brain working!

Nova: Until the next stop, Explorers...

Cosmo: ...keep wondering.