Life at the Waterhole

Having been to Africa twice, I can relate to some of the topography and animal life pictured here. This is absolutely awesome! The whole project is an exceptional idea. We enjoyed the first episode immensely. Can't wait for the next two!

"Life At the Waterhole" (2021 release; 3 episodes of about 55 min. Each) is a new nature documentary about a man-made waterhole just south of the Serengeti in Tanzania. As Episode 1 "Dry Season 2019" opens, host M. Sanjayan introduces us to the overall big picture as fresh water is the number 1 needed resource in the area, and locals dig wells for survival while surrounding them with fences so as to keep wild life away. Sanjayan and his team of researchers decide to dig 2 big waterholes, with plenty of remote cameras around, to see what life at a waterhole is really like. Within 45 min. Completing the waterholes, a family of 4 warthogs shows up, and that is just the beginning... At this point we are less than 15 min, into the opening episode.

Couple of comments: let me state upfront that I was somewhat skeptical about his new nature documentary mini-series. I mean, how interesting could it really be to film wild life coming to a waterhole? As it turns out, PLENTY interesting, and hence this documentary surprised me in the best possible way. Sanjayan is a gracious host once again, and he provides the overall narrative as species by species stops by the waterholes. In fact, dozens and dozens of species (all of them carefully recorded in a species log), from big cats to birds to monkeys and everything in between. Equally fascinating: how wild life is organized for survival. Giraffes, impalas and zebras meet together for strength in numbers AND diversity. Warthogs comes out at 1 pm (when it's 90F or even warmer) as predators are unlikely then. And so forth.

Episode 1 of "Life At the Waterhole" premiered this week on PBS and is now available on PBS On Demand and other streaming services. The remainder episodes will air on Wednesday evenings 8 pm Eastern. The entire series will be released on DVD as well. If you love a good nature documentary, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

This nature show is actually building a man-made watering hole in the Mwiba Wildlife Reserve on the Serengeti. It's a dirty little secret that nature shows often move around stuff and manufacture settings to get the perfect shots. This one is doing away with the charade. Instead, they are marrying a nature show production with a bit of scientific study. I'm not sure how real is the studying but it does add to my understanding. It's interesting to see the interactions and the combinations of species. Normally, shows are following specific species but this one is concentrating on one location. It's a wholistic approach and sees the ecology in its entirety. The first season is only three episodes. Don't know if there's going to be any more. I don't see any reason to do more since it's unlikely to change year over year.