The Tides of Kirawira

A multi award-winning film from Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone, narrated by Ian Holm, tells the story of the seasonal Grumeti - home to the most spectacular population of giant crocodiles in Africa. When it rains in Serengeti, a flash flood sweeps along a sandy river-bed. It is the Grumeti river, a seasonal lifeline for all the creatures at Kirawira - especially its giant crocodiles. Trapped in drying pools, clams and fish become a yearly feast for the riverside creatures. Crocodiles dam rivers, lizards go fishing, storks spear clams and flowers trap the unwary. As it dries on the plains, the great wildebeest herds head out towards Kirawira, where giant crocodiles and catfish are forced to trek along the drying riverbed, in search of permanent water. Aestivation or migration are the only options left for the river’s residents. Then, one morning, the wildebeest arrive to play their part in the seasonal drama of the drying pools - primordial carnage reigns as the desperate herds try to drink at the crocodiles’ pools. The wildebeest will move on, leaving Kirawira in the grip of the seasonal drought - its only salvation, that away on the plains...it might rain.