Some Documentaries on grasslands and Black buck.

In our pursuit of putting together some useful documentaries about black bucks we scanned hundreds of them.  Our intention was to learn more about the species and of course to use them in schools to communicate with children. 

i.           Human planet part-6: Grasslands-the roots of power

        Production: BBC   English : 58 mins

Human Planet is a 8 part documentary series produced by the BBC and narrated by John Hurt. The 6^th episode is a brilliant piece on Grassland and an eye opener about how Grasslands paved the destiny of Mankind and his survival that still clings on to them. It describes several rare stories never filmed before but will happen in the grassland ecosystem almost every day. The story of the tribal boys who are guided by the honey guide to a bee hive, the Kuruve hunters who track their prey for weeks to run them out to make the kill or the Cambodian fisherman who takes his five year old boy to pick snakes from the Marsh are all fascinating. But the nail biting the Sequence is that of the Derabo tribe of the African Grassland who drive out a pride of Lions to pinch some flesh off a large kill is spell binding. 

A lion in the midst of a wildebeest herd.

Domestic cattle being herded.

Grassland ecosystem, unlike the Tropical rain forest is not in its climax and the grazers have evolved to keep them a young ecosystem forever. Together the grazers and grasslands thrive. Like all animals of Grassland we humans mastered the art of harvesting grass. We not only control the grass but  its consumers and their predators for our own benefits.

ii.           Land of the tiger part-4 Desert Kingdom

       Production: BBC    English :48 mins

This is a 5 part documentary series produced by BBC. Narrator Valmik Thapar takes you through a journey across the tiger habitats in the Indian subcontinent. The fourth episode, Desert Kingdom deals with the wildlife of arid zones of the tiger country and very vividly visualizes the symbiotic life of blackbucks and demoiselle cranes with certain tribes of north western India. The documentary is a good choice for classroom viewing especially while talking of blackbucks and grassland habitats. In the rare footage you can see the Indian grassland in its perfect shape without much of the invasive species in them. The shots of the black buck are taken in Velavadar and the specimen are strong, black and bigger in built than the their south Indian cousins.

 

A blackbuck pair in Velavadar.

iii.       Point calimere-Little Kingdom by the Coast

Production: Shekher Dattatri              English : 30 mins

                This is a short documentary done by seasoned wildlife maker Shekar Dattatri for the Forest Department of Tamilnadu. It is a brilliant video showcasing of the vivid life forms of Point Calimere, the tiny sanctuary situated in southern tip of India. The blackbucks here share habitats with many rare creatures- the feral ponies, colourful crabs and migratory birds.  Being on the sea shore it attracts thousands of migratory birds and breeding turtles. Small patches of open scrub adjacent to the beach houses fairly good number of blackbucks.  There are some rare footages of the way blackbucks survive against the onslaught of domestic cows, competing feral horses and marauding dogs. In 2002 the swamps around Point Calimere were declared a Ramsar Site, a designation given to wetlands of international significance. Over a hundred species of migratory water birds visit these swamps in winter, but over the years their populations have been declining. Point Calimere. Little Kingdom by the Coast offers a glimpse into this remarkable ecosystem and the problems that confront it.