‘Earth at Night in Color’ Recap: ‘Lion Grasslands’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘Earth at Night in Color’.
​
There is a prevailing belief, that every aspect of our world comes to a crawl once the night arrives and it is understandable as to why people hold to that notion. Because nighttime means bedtime and rest and silence as our bodies heal and we dream sweet dreams, and we firmly believe that the rest of the world is doing the same, simply because resting at night is a standard for humans and so many other species around the globe. But the fact of the matter is, our perception of how the night goes on planet Earth, is grounded in assumption and isn’t accurate in the slightest.

Because a great many people start their workday in the dead of night and only head home when the sun is up. Which is something that is especially true of emergency services responders and the like and outside of the human realm, the world keeps on moving as well. For there are a great many species out there that thrive in the darkness for various reasons and while the scientific community has always been aware of nocturnal animals, a lack of sunlight or proper technology to see exactly what they do while a majority of the world sleeps has made their study near impossible. But thankfully, technology is indeed starting to eliminate that problem for scientists around the world as evidenced by the new AppleTV+ series, Earth at Night in Color.

For this particular documentary revolves around new camera technologies that can now filter out the dark and allow for documentarians and scientists around the world to see how nocturnal animals live in the dead of night and the benefit for the audience in this case, is that we are getting a peek at this footage as well. For this series is offering up six episodes spotlighting the activities of nocturnal creatures from around the world and well, if the series premiere of this saga is any indicator, then we are going to be in for one fascinating and powerful ride. For ‘Lion Grasslands’ allowed for us to see what lions are like in the middle of the night and as it turns out, they are supremely active once the world has slowed down to a crawl.

Largely because the heat of the Maasai Mara grasslands in Kenya has dissipated, allowing for these big cats to move around without any concern for the elements or heat exhaustion and once they are free of the heat, they have plenty to do. For the males are quick to establish their territory, in order to fend off any potential nocturnal predators while the females work to feed the pride and their young ones and it was simply incredible to watch all of this play out and learn that life at night for these fantastic felines resembles life in the day for so many other animals, and that also means that sometimes unfortunate struggles come into play. For the lioness must abandon her cubs briefly in order to properly hunt and that can separate her from her babies for far longer that she might like.

But what was truly incredible and moving about this revelation/twist, is that the mother didn’t give up in the slightest when she couldn't find two of her missing children, and she searched around the clock for her little ones and that’s the kind of stuff we simply don’t see in nature documentaries all that often. But it speaks to the wonder of this new technology, since it allowed for the folks behind the camera to see this kind of behavior from beginning to end and thankfully… she was eventually reunited with her cubs and life went on. In the end however, this really was quite the stunning series premiere. Simply because this camera technology works like a charm and it really did offer us an unprecedented look at how animals thrive in the nighttime and it truly does leave the viewer eager to continue this unique and fascinating journey, in order to see what other activities nature takes part in when the day turns to night. Until next time.

---