Product Details

• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Nat'l Geographic Vid
• VHS Release Date: July 9, 1997
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304476043
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #264,736 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In the heat-withered Serengeti, a hungry lioness spots her unsuspecting prey and springs into action. National Geographic has brought us this and similar scenes before, but Wings over the Serengeti reveals the complex aftermath of the kill. As the lioness struggles to drag her prize to safety, the smell of fresh meat instantly broadcasts across the plains, drawing a wave of scavengers who will move in for the next taste.

While this film focuses primarily on the griffin vulture ("nature's undertaker"), it considers the role of all scavengers in this harsh ecosystem--generally despised as harbingers of death, they actually help maintain the health of the savanna by disposing of waste and returning nutrients to the soil. Insect larvae dissolve skeletons, and the bumbling dung beetle distributes its little nitrogen-rich packages evenly across the land. Lingering images of carnage are not for the faint of heart, but the film is an interesting study of the transformation from death to life. --Claire Campbell

Product Description

A circle of life - and death - on the African plains. In this magnificently filmed saga, nature's most misunderstood creatures are revealed as an integral part of Africa's bounty. Vultures and other scavengers recycle the raw elements of life; if not for them, the plains would be an immense graveyard. From the mighty lion to the lowly dung beetle, each creature has a place in Africa's circle of life. High above the tooth-and-claw drama of the Serengeti, nature's undertakers are watching and waiting. Reviled but vital, vultures bide their time until the inevitable feasting opportunity. Any unlucky carcass is dispatched in a matter of minutes by a feeding frenzy that attracts jackals and hyenas along with vultures. Scavenging insects swarm over the remaining bones and horns. Time-lapse photography and unique point-of-view filming highlight the stunning beauty of WINGS OVER THE SERENGETI.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More Than Just Vultures, January 29, 2004

By 

Warren J. Dew (Somerville, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: National Geographic's Wings Over the Serengeti [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This video opens with a wonderfully filmed sequence of a lioness stalking, chasing, and pulling down an antelope. The vultures which are the primary subject of the film see this activity from two miles up, and begin descending before the antelope is dead. They gather beside the kill, and hyenas are attracted by their activity. The lioness has to defend her kill - and as more hyenas gather, she herself is forced onto the defensive and must eventually flee. But this time, the hyenas don't have the last laugh; by the time the lioness is gone, there are too many vultures feeding for the hyenas to get in on the feast. This, then, is life on the Serengeti.

Several other such sequences are included in the video, each beginning with a different kill - another lioness pulling down a zebra, hyenas hunting instead of scavenging, wild dogs chasing down their prey - each with a different set of scavengers joining the feast. Two different kinds of jackals and three different kinds of vultures fight for their shares. A raven flies ahead to the dogs' den to take advantage of scraps fed to the pups. Even the ants get their share.

In between these sequences, there are sections on others of nature's recyclers. Dung beetles, with their own small wings, have a huge job cleaning up after millions of wildebeest, while horn moth caterpillars take care of the horns on the skeletons after all the others have had their share. Vultures are shown nesting on cliffside ledges. Towards the end, the video covers a season when the rains fail and lions, crocodiles, and even baboons become scavengers as the dying herds provide more meat than can be eaten.

Vultures may not be as charismatic as lions and tigers, but they are still very interesting creatures - as are all the other scavengers and recyclers shown on this excellent video.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent vulture video., September 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: National Geographic's Wings Over the Serengeti [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a documentary on how the vultures clean up the wilds of Africa by feeding on the dead animals and the carcas left by other predators, the video is excellent, it is amazing how these birds are able to lacate their meals from far above, on one occasion, they overpower the predators with numbers and take over the kill, if you are interested on vultures, and on how the dead animals are disposed of, this is the video you should watch, i really enjoyed it.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful Surprise., May 9, 2001

By 

"bldeagle" (Bountiful, Utah USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: National Geographic's Wings Over the Serengeti [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I was pleasantly surprised by this program. I had never been fond of these birds because they eat dead animals. This program helped me realize the truth. These birds are wonderful. If it wasn't for them there would be carcases lying everywhere in africa. These birds eat anything. They are the ultimate cleaning crew. The birds are loving parents. They keep themselves very clean and free of disease. If it wasn't for them the rotting carcases would be fed on by flies and their larva. I would rather have vultures than flies any day of the week. I am not saying they are beautiful. The Egyptian Vulture is actually good looking. Give it a try.