0:00:21 > 0:00:25This story belongs to Sammy and Daddy Gerard.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35It's a tiny tale about Daddy Gerard and the things he used to do.
0:00:40 > 0:00:41Are you ready?
0:00:41 > 0:00:43Here you go, hey, well done.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48Now it's time for him to share his memories
0:00:48 > 0:00:51and take Sammy on a journey of discovery.
0:00:56 > 0:01:01Sammy and Daddy Gerard live in a very special place called
0:01:01 > 0:01:06the Masai Mara in Kenya, which is in Africa, far, far away.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11Their neighbours are elephants,
0:01:11 > 0:01:14giraffes
0:01:14 > 0:01:15and big cats.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Oh, there are little cats too.
0:01:21 > 0:01:27- Did you have pets when you were little?- I had a buffalo.- Yeah.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30- And a zebra.- Yeah. - We also had some warthogs.- Yeah.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34- And a mongoose called Peep. - Was he nice like Socksy?
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Oh, no, Peep was a real rascal.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39He used to chase your aunties around the garden
0:01:39 > 0:01:42and one day he bit Auntie Amanda on the bottom.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47- I've seen lots of wild animals. - Well, you're really lucky.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50- You know, when I went to school in England?- Yeah.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53My friends there, they didn't believe me that we
0:01:53 > 0:01:56had lions and leopards and elephants in our garden.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59We're very lucky to have this family history
0:01:59 > 0:02:02and live where we live, aren't we?
0:02:02 > 0:02:07But why do Sammy and Daddy Gerard live beside wild animals in Kenya?
0:02:10 > 0:02:14Well, a very, very long time ago Sammy's Great-Great-Grandpa
0:02:14 > 0:02:20Duncan left his home in Skye, which is an island in Scotland,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24and travelled all the way to Africa to live and work.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31His son, Ken, Sammy's great grandpa, was born in Africa.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35When he grew up many of Kenya's wild animals, like elephants and rhinos,
0:02:35 > 0:02:39were in danger from people who wanted to harm them.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42So national parks were set up in Kenya to help to protect
0:02:42 > 0:02:44the animals.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48A national park is a big area of wilderness which is protected
0:02:48 > 0:02:52so that wild animals can live there safe from harm.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56Great-Grandpa Ken became the first game warden of Kenya's
0:02:56 > 0:03:01national parks and spent many years taking care of the animals.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03The Queen visited the national parks many years ago
0:03:03 > 0:03:05when she was still a princess.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10Here is an old picture of Great- Grandpa Ken with the Princess.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13It was taken when he accompanied her on an African safari.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21An African safari is a trip to see wild animals in their natural home.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27People have been going on safari in Africa for a very long time.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33This man is a safari guide.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35He takes people to different places and tells them
0:03:35 > 0:03:38about the wild animals they see.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Safari guides have to know a lot about wild animals.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47This is Sammy's Grandpa Ron with Daddy Gerard when he was little.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Grandpa Ron worked as a safari guide.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53He grew up around wild animals in Kenya just like Sammy
0:03:53 > 0:03:55and Daddy Gerard.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04So then Daddy Gerard takes Sammy to a big pond called the watering hole.
0:04:04 > 0:04:05Here they talk some more.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Sam, you know this watering hole is very important.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14- This is where the animals drink. - Well done.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16And Grandpa Ron came to this water hole many years ago
0:04:16 > 0:04:20on a walking safari. That's why he decided to build a house here.
0:04:20 > 0:04:21That's why we live here today.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25But Daddy Gerard didn't always live in a house.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29I grew up in a tent for the first four or five years
0:04:29 > 0:04:32of my life in the Masai Mara.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36And when I was your age, Sammy, one night an elephant came
0:04:36 > 0:04:42running in between Grandpa Ron's tent and our tent and made a huge mess.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Luckily, nobody was hurt, including the elephant.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Look at these old photos of Daddy Gerard.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Sammy, when I was growing up there weren't many schools
0:04:53 > 0:04:56here in the Masai Mara, so when I was 13 years old
0:04:56 > 0:05:00I had to get on a big plane and go over to England to go to school.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02That was really different for me
0:05:02 > 0:05:05and it was really tough leaving all the animals.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21- This is my Grandpa Ron when he used to be a safari guide.- Hello!
0:05:23 > 0:05:25Grandpa Ron is going to test Sammy and see
0:05:25 > 0:05:27if he knows enough about wild animals.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35Sam, I'm going to ask you a few questions about wildlife.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40Why have some giraffes got darker spots than others?
0:05:40 > 0:05:45Because when they get older their spots start getting brown.
0:05:45 > 0:05:50Very good. And what is the fastest animal in the Masai Mara?
0:05:50 > 0:05:52- It's a cheetah.- Well done!
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Can you name me two gazelles?
0:05:55 > 0:05:57There's a Grant's, there's an Impala.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01Fantastic. You're going to be the best safari guide in the Mara!
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Sammy knows another safari guide.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16This is Jackson, Sammy's godfather.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20Jackson belongs to a tribe called the Masai.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23The Masai tribe are a group of people who have
0:06:23 > 0:06:26lived in Kenya for a very, very long time.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34Look at them jumping up and down! They are performing a special dance.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Jackson was the first person from the Masai tribe
0:06:38 > 0:06:40to become a safari guide.
0:06:41 > 0:06:46Jackson and Daddy Gerard have been friends for many, many years.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50Sammy, I've known your godfather Jackson for a very long time.
0:06:50 > 0:06:55I was only just older than you when Jackson came into our family.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57We share the same interests.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01He loves animals, he loves looking after the wilderness
0:07:01 > 0:07:03and so we do that together today in our jobs.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11Jackson is going to help Sammy to learn to be a safari guide.
0:07:15 > 0:07:22Sam, to be a safari guide, you need to learn all about the wildlife
0:07:22 > 0:07:26and the footprints that they leave behind.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30- Would you like to come on a backyard safari with me?- Yes!
0:07:30 > 0:07:32All right, let's go.
0:07:35 > 0:07:41Right here, you can see why the Impalas love here. Look,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44this is an Impala footprint.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48An Impala is a deer-like antelope, very gentle.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56Sam, this is a buffalo footprint.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00It's a very big animal, bigger than a cow.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04Buffaloes are very slow animals.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Safari guides find wild animals by looking for the things
0:08:09 > 0:08:12that animals leave behind, like footprints.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Or something else.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19Ah... Sam, what do you think this is?
0:08:19 > 0:08:22- Elephant poo. - This is an elephant poo.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26And they did find an elephant! Well done, Sammy.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31So where next? Well, Sammy, Daddy Gerard and Jackson
0:08:31 > 0:08:34are off to visit a local village.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44Sam, I live in a village just like this one here.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46We are about to go and see
0:08:46 > 0:08:49and meet a special lady who lives in this village who does not
0:08:49 > 0:08:56know how old she is because we Masai do not know how old we are.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00Sammy, once, when I came to visit this lady, I asked how old she was.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02She said she was 300.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04And that's because the Masai measure how old they are
0:09:04 > 0:09:06according to how many times it rains.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09So it's rained 300 times?
0:09:09 > 0:09:13Let's go and meet this lady and see how they celebrate their birthday.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19Sam, this is the lady I've been telling you about.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23Her name is called Enteli.
0:09:23 > 0:09:24Enteli.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27- Shall we dance?- Yes!
0:09:27 > 0:09:32THE CHILDREN SING
0:09:46 > 0:09:51Wow! They're singing in a language spoken by the Masai tribe.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Sammy is wearing a special Masai cloth called shuka.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Look at how colourful it is.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01And they're still jumping!
0:10:14 > 0:10:16That was so much fun.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Now, Daddy Gerard has another special treat for Sammy.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Sammy, I used to be a safari guide a long, long time ago.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30I used to take visitors to look at the wild animals.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33- Shall we go and have our own safari adventure?- Yes.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35Let's get in the car.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Look, Daddy, there's some zebras!
0:10:52 > 0:10:56- Do they all look the same?- They do, but actually they are different.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00Every single zebra has different stripes, like a fingerprint.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Some are black with white stripes and others are white with black stripes.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06Don't be silly, Daddy!
0:11:19 > 0:11:21- Sammy?- Yeah?
0:11:21 > 0:11:24You know, Mama, one night, in the camp, woke me up in the middle
0:11:24 > 0:11:28of the night and there was a leopard right at the end of your bed.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31- Why was it there? - Because you were crying
0:11:31 > 0:11:34and the Leopard came to see why you were in trouble.
0:11:34 > 0:11:39- Did it go away when I stopped crying?- Yes, it did, don't worry.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42When I was a little boy we used to drive around this valley with
0:11:42 > 0:11:46Grandpa Ron and we used to see lots of rhinos here in the bushes.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49Black rhinos used to come round the corner
0:11:49 > 0:11:52and we'd have to drive away really fast.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56Sadly, there are very few black rhinos left in the Masai Mara.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59And other wild animals are still in danger too.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03Which is why the national parks are still very important.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07- Sammy, what are those? - They're buffaloes.
0:12:09 > 0:12:15- Have you seen how big that male is there?- Yeah. How big?
0:12:15 > 0:12:17He's as big as this car.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22- Do you think he looks funny?- Yeah. - Why?- Because he has curly horns.
0:12:39 > 0:12:40This is my favourite place.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44I used to come up here with Grandpa Ron and watch the sunset.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48- Thank you for my big safari adventure.- It's my pleasure.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51Can you remember all the things we did?
0:12:52 > 0:12:55We played cricket...
0:12:56 > 0:13:00We played with the kittens...
0:13:00 > 0:13:04- and visited Grandpa Ron...- Hello!
0:13:04 > 0:13:10- Jackson took me on a backyard Safari.- This is a buffalo footprint.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12I danced at the village...
0:13:14 > 0:13:17..then we went on a real safari.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26- What was your favourite part? - Dancing at the village.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33- What was your favourite thing, Daddy?- Spending time with you, Sam.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35That's always my favourite thing.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43What a fabulous heap of fun!
0:13:43 > 0:13:48That was Sammy and Daddy Gerard's tiny tale about the things
0:13:48 > 0:13:49Daddy Gerard used to do
0:13:49 > 0:13:53and why their family lives in the Masai Mara.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Daddy Gerard has shared his story with Sammy
0:13:56 > 0:14:00and now Sammy is starting his own story.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Do you know someone with a story to share?