ShmoopTube

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.

Full Transcript