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African Wildlife

Sir David Attenborough's Africa series took over four years to make and has brought us eye to eye with the continent's incredible wildlife in spectacular ways.

To help celebrate this series, we have carefully selected a range of clips about African wildlife for you to click through and enjoy.

Some of the most iconic species in the world, such as lions, elephants and rhinos are here but Africa is also home to many natural history surprises like shoebills, camel spiders and the “upside down” baobab tree.

Make sure you explore our other fantastic video collections too!

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52 video clips in this collection

In order to see this content you need to have an up-to-date version of Flash installed and Javascript turned on.

View all 52 video clips

Animals in this collection

  • An African buffalo walking African buffalo

    African buffalos are strong and imposing animals of the African savanna.

  • Head of a African bush elephant African bush elephant

    African bush elephants are the largest living land mammals and the second tallest after...

  • African wild dog resting on the ground African wild dog

    African wild dogs form packs of up to 40 members, each with a dominant breeding pair,...

  • One banded mongoose peers over the back of another Banded mongoose

    Banded mongooses are native to Africa and distributed far and wide south of the Sahara.

  • Bearded vulture standing on a rock Lammergeier

    Lammergeiers are long-winged vultures known for their unusual habit of dropping bones on...

  • Profile of a black rhinoceros Black rhinoceros

    Black rhinoceroses are about the same height at the shoulder as African buffalos.

  • Male wildebeest male resting in the grass Blue wildebeest

    Blue wildebeest form part of the largest remaining aggregation of large land mammals.

  • Profile of a bongo antelope Bongo

    Bongos are the largest and most spectacular of the African forest antelopes.

  • A colourful Broadley's flat lizard on a rock Broadley's flat lizard

    Broadley's flat lizards are one of the species of flat lizard that's confined to small,...

  • Close-up profile of cape gannet's head Cape gannet

    Cape gannets breed on islands off the coast of Nambia and South Africa.

  • A sitting female cheetah looking alert Cheetah

    Cheetahs are found in sub-Saharan Africa and Northern Iran.

  • Male featherfin cichlid fish underwater Cichlid fish

    Cichlid fish are famed for their rapid evolution, particularly in the African Great...

  • A bait ball of sardines Herring and sardine family

    Herrings and sardines form the family of fish called clupeids.

  • Male chimpanzee looking forwards Chimpanzee

    Common chimpanzees travel around the forests and savannas of central Africa on all...

  • A subadult desert locust perched on a plant spine Desert locust

    The desert locust is one of about a dozen species of grasshoppers known as locusts which...

  • Dromedary camel in sandy desert Dromedary camel

    Dromedary camels account for about 90% of the world's 15 million camels.

  • Dung beetle group on elephant excrement, South Africa Dung beetles

    Given their name, it should come as no surprise that dung beetles feed on faeces, which...

  • Close-up showing the facial detail of a male mountain gorilla Eastern Gorilla

    Gorillas are the world's largest primate and for years they've been portrayed as...

  • Profile of a sitting simien jackal Ethiopian wolf

    Ethiopian wolves number fewer than 500 in the wild, and have the unfortunate title of...

  • A great white shark swimming Great white shark

    Great white sharks are at the very top of the marine food chain.

  • Hippopotamus standing with a calf next to water Hippopotamus

    Hippopotamuses are found in Africa where they require habitats with water deep enough to...

  • Portrait of an elderly man smiling Human

    Humans are in the same great ape family as the chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans -...

  • Kipunji amongst vegetation Kipunji

    Kipunjis were first discovered in 2003 and reported to the world in 2005.

  • Close-up of a sitting Amur leopard Leopard

    Its muscular yet graceful stealth makes the leopard a prize sighting on safari, but it's...

  • A lesser flamingo preens its feathers with its large hooked beak Lesser flamingo

    Lesser flamingos are the smallest and most common of the flamingos.

  • Portrait of a male lion sitting in the grass Lion

    Lions are the only truly social cats,...

  • Curious meerkat looking towards camera Meerkat

    Meerkats are comical, social mongooses widely distributed throughout southern Africa;...

  • Nile crocodile with jaws open Nile crocodile

    Nile crocodiles are the much feared reptilian predators of Africa's rivers and lakes.

  • Olive baboon looking around Olive baboon

    Olive baboons are the most broadly distributed species of baboon, ranging through most...

  • Profile shot of an ostrich Ostrich

    Ostriches don't need to drink - they can make their own water internally and top up with...

  • Patas monkey walking Patas monkey

    Patas monkeys are considered the fastest primate on...

  • Flock of red-billed quelea flying Red-billed quelea

    Red-billed queleas are a kind of weaver bird and form flocks which can contain thousands...

  • A rufous elephant shrew in Kenya Rufous elephant shrew

    Rufous elephant shrews are small mouse-like animals found on the plains, savannas and...

  • Two scarab beetles face each other on a branch Scarab beetles

    Scarab beetles include dung beetles, rose chafers and rhinoceros beetles amongst its...

  • Great white shark in waters off Australia Sharks

    Feared as cold, unflinching

  • Short beaked dolphins jumping out of the water Short-beaked common dolphin

    Common short-beaked dolphins are the most numerous dolphins in the world, and can be...

  • A pair of carmine bee-eater birds on a branch Southern carmine bee-eater

    Southern carmine bee eaters form large flocks and nest in burrows dug into riverbanks.

  • Straw-coloured fruit bat in flight Straw-coloured fruit bat

    Straw-coloured fruit bats are the most widely distributed of the African fruit bats and...

  • Tyrannosaurus rex charging Tyrannosaurus rex

    One of the greatest carnivores - though not the largest - ever to have walked the Earth,...

  • A portrait of a warthog Warthog

    Warthogs are common wild pigs found in the open woodlands and savannas of Africa.

  • A white rhinocerous White rhinoceros

    White rhinos are named after a corruption of their Afrikaans name 'weit' (meaning wide),...

Plants in this collection

  • Acacia tree and dry scrubland in Tanzania Acacias

    Acacias are shrubs and trees found in warm and tropical regions, from the Americas and...

  • Tanzania at dusk with baobab trees Baobabs

    Baobabs are trees recognisable by their distinctive swollen stems.

  • A dense group of bamboo stems in the woods Grasses

    True grasses are a huge family that contains over 10,000 species.

Habitats in this collection

  • A desert sand dune landscape in Namibia Desert

    Desert and dry scrubland describes any area that receives less than 250mm of rainfall a...

  • River with trees on the bank and a over cast sky Rivers and streams

    Rivers and streams, burns, brooks and springs – the names are varied but the flora and...

  • Acacia trees on the grassland of the Serengeti Tropical grassland

    Tropical grasslands include the savanna usually associated with Africa, and savanna-type...

Adaptations in this collection

  • Female angler fish from the deep sea Ambush predator

    Ambushing prey is a tactic employed by a whole host of animals, from trapdoor spiders...

  • Wildebeest migration in Kenya Migration

    Migration is the usually seasonal movement of animals in pursuit of food, suitable...

  • Female dung beetle rolling a buffalo dung ball Dung eater

    Dung eaters feed on waste, either of other species or their own.

  • Courtship display

    Courtship displays are performed by animals seeking to advertise their willingness to...

  • Dry tolerant

    Dry tolerant plants and animals are able to cope with conditions where water is hard to...

  • Male western lowland gorilla reaching for soil to eat Hierarchical

    Hierarchical animals have what is known colloquially as a 'pecking order'.

  • Orchid flower from Papua New Guinea Flowering

    Flowering is definitely the most successful plant reproductive strategy and has opened...

  • A chimpanzee making a pant hoot call Acoustic communication

    Acoustic communication is the sending and receiving of messages using sound.

  • Kangaroo hopping over dry grassland Adapted to jumping

    Jumping is a method some animals have evolved to get around efficiently.

  • African wild dogs hunting Pack-hunter

    Pack-hunting is a type of predation where several members of a species combine their...

  • Long-beaked common dolphins circling a sardine baitball Predator

    Predators are creatures that catch and kill other animals for food.

  • A pride of lions resting in the shade Social

    Social animals like hanging out with members of their own species.

  • Grizzly bear running through water Adapted to running

    Running and walking evolved as a method of getting around when life emerged from water...

  • Black-backed jackal tearing at a carcass Scavenger

    Scavengers are those carnivorous animals that eat carrion (already dead animals) rather...

  • Sockeye salmon swimming over dead salmon at spawning ground Semelparous

    Semelparous organisms reproduce only once in their lives and then die.

  • A shoal of fish Swarming

    Swarming happens when animals gather or travel together in large numbers.

  • Banded mongoose foraging for parasites on skin of a warthog Symbiotic

    Symbiosis is a relationship between two organisms that's beneficial to one (commensal)...

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