“Gorongosa National Park: 1500 square miles of lush floodplains in central Mozambique, packed with enormous buffalo, large crocodiles, soaring fish eagles, herds of elephants and hippos, and countless antelopes”

In the heart of Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, the waters of Lake Urema explode with the thrashing of a giant crocodile tail. Large herds of animals roam freely. The diversity of wildlife is amazing.

But on closer look, something strange is going on. Fifteen years of civil war and massacre have taken a heavy toll and many species have been almost completely wiped out. All the usual top predators and prey are virtually missing, except for one: giant crocodiles and thousands of them.

National Geographic travels to Gorongosa National Park to discover what is being done to bring this African oasis back to its former glory. Be amazed to see how elephants, hippos and scores of zebra, wildebeest, impala and water buffalo are being relocated into the park as part of one of the world’s most ambitious restoration efforts ever attempted.

The hippos and elephants are being brought in from the Kruger in South Africa. Their capture and long land journeys help you to understand the sheer scale of the project. The biodiversity, which was completely destroyed after the war, is gradually being restored and nature can once again take over.

This unique documentary is a beautifully filmed account of one of Africa’s most promising wildlife havens, with vivid and lush colours and some incredible, close-ups of newborn crocodile hatchlings and the most amazing footage ever of an African eagle fishing.

English narration by Peter Harlowe
Produced by James Byrne for National Geographic Channel (2009).

 To watch a pre-view of this DVD please visit YouTube or watch it at the bottom of this page