- 17 hours ago
Cheetahs Up Close with Bertie Gregory
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00:00.
00:05Lion's coming into the kill, yeah, Baz?
00:06Yeah.
00:08The cheetahs have finally made a successful kill.
00:13But there's an uninvited dinner guest.
00:16She's not sure.
00:20Right now, they're just trying to eat as fast as they can.
00:27Here she comes.
00:30.
00:43The Serengeti.
00:46Ground zero for one of nature's biggest events.
00:52There are just wildebeest everywhere.
00:55They just go onto the horizon in every direction.
00:59This is my first time in Tanzania during the Great Migration.
01:03This has got to be one of the natural world's most epic spectacles.
01:08Triggered by the rainy season, over two million animals are on the move.
01:17Followed by thousands of hungry predators.
01:22I'm here to film the fastest of them all.
01:25Now is the best time of year to film Cheetah.
01:28They're going to be making the most of this endless supply of food that is just walking right through their
01:33territory.
01:35But this doesn't mean their lives are easy.
01:39Globally, the cheetah population has fallen by 90% in the last century.
01:51I want to understand why it's so hard for the fastest land animal on the planet to survive.
02:04It's estimated only 300 cheetah live here, and I've got just four weeks to find them.
02:11I'm going to need some help.
02:13Expert wildlife guide Baz Kessie drives our truck.
02:17From this vehicle, I'll use my drone and long lens camera.
02:22In a second vehicle, a Dennis Millel and Tom Walker.
02:27They're the world's best team for filming high-speed hunts using a gyro-stabilized camera.
02:38This herd of zebra, they're all standing very alert and all staring sort of towards that direction.
02:43So we're kind of using all of their eyes to triangulate the position of the thing that they're looking at.
02:51Must be over there somewhere.
02:57Yeah, go ahead.
02:58We found a mum with two very small cubs on this side.
03:02OK, copy that.
03:04Well, that is very, very exciting news.
03:07Our other car has found a mother cheetah with two very, very small cubs,
03:10which is not something that you see often, so we're going to go check them out.
03:1595% of cheetah cubs don't survive for adulthood.
03:20Their biggest threat is being killed by lions and hyenas.
03:26OK, I got it. Yeah, here's good.
03:29So cheetah mums keep them hidden.
03:35Oh, my word.
03:37The cubs are tiny.
03:41Just these little balls of fluff at the feet of mum.
03:45I just see the tops of them bouncing every now and again above the height of the grass.
04:07They are so small.
04:10You can see their coat pattern is completely different to mums.
04:13They've got really dark sides and then a grey silvery top.
04:17The theory is that that colouration makes them look like a honey badger.
04:21A ferocious little animal that has big sharp teeth, sharp claws and a really nasty attitude.
04:28The thinking is if the cubs look like honey badgers, maybe big predators will leave them alone.
04:37They're teeny tiny. They can't be more than a month old.
04:41It just means that mum's got a tough task of looking after them and feeding them.
04:48Because if she wants to go and hunt, she has to leave them by themselves.
04:58I think she's spotted some prey on the horizon.
05:14Oh, there's the gazelle, yeah.
05:16Yeah.
05:20Gazelles have a top speed of 50 miles per hour.
05:25Cheetahs can sprint close to 70, but they can only sustain it for a short distance.
05:33Every time the gazelle turns, she freezes.
05:46She doesn't know what she's doing.
05:53She's just trying to close that gap before she sprints.
06:01It's a stalking masterclass.
06:10She needs to get within 30 yards undetected to have any chance.
06:23She's going to explode any second.
06:31She's going to explode any second.
06:48She's faster than the drone. Look at her go.
06:58She got it. She got it.
07:01It's almost as big as her.
07:05She was so patient in that stalk.
07:07She was just closing the gap, closing the gap.
07:10And I thought, she's got to go. She's got to go.
07:12But she knows she has to get really, really close.
07:15Because although she's the world's fastest land animal,
07:18these gazelles are still very quick.
07:20She got within the critical distance and then stamped on the accelerator.
07:23And I cannot believe how fast these cheetahs are.
07:28Today, she'll be able to make milk for her cubs.
07:34But not all hunts are successful.
07:37And every time she leaves them, she takes a risk.
07:42No wonder only 5% of young cheetahs make it to adulthood.
07:50The challenges cheetah face in this vast landscape don't stop there.
07:59To understand more, we need to catch up to the migration.
08:13But following in the footsteps of these cheetah magnets has its downsides.
08:18Oh, come on.
08:21I suppose behind every great migration is an even greater pile of wildebeest dung.
08:30That is going to stink.
08:45After a few hours of searching, there's movement away from the herd.
08:52This is unreal.
08:53We've got a group of three adult male cheetah all together.
08:57It's often said that lions are the only social large cat where adults form groups.
09:03But that's not exactly true because male cheetahs do form groups and they're called coalitions.
09:09Once fully grown males leave their mothers, they typically remain with their brothers, forming a coalition.
09:16They're trying to jump on top of each other.
09:20Together, they can defend their territory from rival males.
09:24And hunting as a team, they should be able to take down bigger prey.
09:36Hopefully they've had some practice.
09:39Male cheetahs tend to have shorter lives than females.
09:44Fights with lions and other males can be deadly.
09:49And even their prey can be dangerous.
09:52Tom, just as a heads up, there's a herd of zebra ahead of them.
09:56Yeah, we've seen that.
09:59Three male cheetahs make a formidable group of predators.
10:03But zebra are no easy target.
10:05One kick could be lethal.
10:17There's definitely some zebra stallions in there.
10:22Gotta pick their target wisely.
10:39Okay, they're going.
10:47Here they go, here they go.
10:52As the herd scatters, the coalition look for a vulnerable target.
10:57Youngsters should be an easier option.
11:01False mum's blocking.
11:07Got it?
11:08Aye.
11:16Well, be careful of the zebra's kick, cheetah.
11:19Get that to the face and that's lights out.
11:24Oh, and the rest of the herd's slotting in.
11:29And the cheetah have given up.
11:31Dad's game over.
11:33That was unreal.
11:35They all just slotted in right behind the mum and foal.
11:37Yeah.
11:38Yeah, they can use the kicks to keep the cheetah away.
11:45You know, this just goes to show,
11:48your hunting for cheetahs is not easy,
11:50even if you're three big males.
11:53The prey is very, very challenging.
11:55And today, the might of the zebra,
11:57their herd defense, their kicks,
12:00they were enough to keep the cheetah from getting one of their babies.
12:07An injury to one of the coalition would put all of them in jeopardy.
12:14Some risks just aren't worth taking.
12:22Life is full of tough decisions for these cats.
12:35The migration might be the best time of year to film cheetahs,
12:39but it comes with its challenges.
12:42So, with the rains on the way,
12:43we need to be able to film in rain or shine.
12:46With a normal camera, if it starts raining, you're in big trouble.
12:49You get drops on the lens and you can't film.
12:51But on Tom's camera, he's got a very special bit of equipment
12:53that solves that problem.
12:55It's called a rain spinner.
12:56I'm going to show you how it works.
12:57So, Tom, if you can turn it on.
13:04Okay, you ready, Tom?
13:07Here we go.
13:09Oh, it's completely clear.
13:11Oh, it works so well.
13:13Right.
13:16My solution is a lot less high-tech.
13:20I mean, drones, famously, aren't very good in the rain.
13:22They tend to fall out of the sky because the electronics melt.
13:24So, what I've basically spent the last couple of hours doing
13:27is filling up all the little vents and holes with silicon
13:31in the hope that that makes it waterproof.
13:33Only, I'm not going to be chucking any water on this
13:35because I'm not sure if it's going to work.
13:37But, fingers crossed.
13:45The next morning, we tracked down the migration
13:48along their 900-mile round trip.
13:54And we find some new faces.
14:00Oh, wow. It looks like a mother with two big cubs.
14:07This is very exciting because cubs of this age
14:10are great fun to follow.
14:12They're really bouncy, really playful.
14:15And most interesting to me is that this is the age
14:19they really start to learn to hunt from Mum.
14:20They're still slightly smaller than Mum
14:23and growing out the last traces of their silvery neck fluff.
14:27They're just flying off and getting off.
14:29Oh, man, there's a little bit of a bit of a gig.
14:31Oh, man, there's a little bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a
14:32bit of a bit of a bit.
14:38Oh, man.
14:39Good morning, Playtime.
14:42The cubs are in full stalk mode.
14:55oh they're chasing the cattle egrets
15:04this playing might look like fun and i'm sure it is a lot of fun
15:09but it is all training for their high-speed chases
15:13in just a few months the cubs will be expected to make kills on their own
15:26hear that
15:30that's mum calling the cubs playtime is over mum's going to show them how it's done
15:43adult zebra and wildebeest are too big for this young family to hunt
15:48but there are also lots of gazelle fawns
15:52small and slow they make ideal prey for beginners
16:02the cubs should watch and learn how their mum selects a target
16:19but this cub didn't get the memo
16:25is that the cubs chasing the zebra baz yeah it does the cub
16:30oh the cub's chasing the zebra
16:36chaos world of eastern zebra flying everywhere
16:49the cub is regretting its decision
16:54oh the zebra's chasing the cub now
16:59tables have turned
17:01run run run run
17:04oh it's ever right behind him
17:14oh that is so good
17:20maybe not the lesson mum intended but a lesson nonetheless
17:32all that action has attracted the attention of another species on the serengeti
17:45seems like we've got a lot of cars on the way by us
17:48yeah
17:50i love seeing people spend their money and their time
17:55getting close to nature but this when there's so many vehicles surrounding the cheetah mother and
18:01cubs can't be a good thing yeah it's hard for the cheetah itself because she cannot see the prey
18:12why do you think these cars drive so close to the animals and so many of them at once
18:18i think it's a lack of education for the drivers or knowledge the park rules tell you to be 25
18:25meters away from the animals but the tourists they want to do the selfie or they want to do whatever
18:30picture they want to do but they are using their phone so it encourages people to drive very close
18:38you know i do feel in a way guilty watching this because i feel like in our shows we give
18:45people
18:46maybe an unrealistic expectation of what they're going to see and and how close they're going to
18:51get because we're using incredible technology that means we will get the viewer in a place that
18:57they could never be with with with their eyes in real life and i understand for these these guides
19:02they're under so much pressure to deliver in a short space of time find the animal get close to the
19:08animal tourism is a crucial source of funding for many protected areas
19:16but key to watching wildlife responsibly is to put the needs of the animals first
19:23when i have my own clients or maybe i take someone on safari and they explain myself
19:28why we are not going to go very close to the animal they really understand it very easy
19:34cubs should eat every day but tonight they'll go hungry
19:43it's time for the cheetahs to bed down and hide as lions and hyenas come out to hunt
20:00in the morning we find the same mum and cubs
20:05that is that her vet yes that does
20:12uh she's stalking obviously it's dark but yeah she's stalking
20:16the pressure to feed the family is pushing her to take risks
20:21her mom and the two cubs are on the move
20:27they're on the move first thing it's still pretty dark which means there's going to be a lot of other
20:32bigger predators active right now so she must be hungry
20:41okay mom spotted something
21:00yeah she's got it she's got it
21:07what's really interesting is that she gave the cubs no opportunity to practice hunting with this
21:12gazelle she's killed it straight away because she just needs to stop this thing making any noise
21:19there's going to be a lot of big predators a lot of hyenas a lot of lions still active still
21:23moving
21:23around
21:27she's dragging the kill and it looks like into longer grass and that'll be to make it harder to spot
21:41the cubs look ravenous
21:49and on cue i can hear lions
21:56over there somewhere
22:01the cubs are feeding but mom is constantly head up scanning
22:10i can see hyena sit ahead there you can see hyenas yeah
22:34hyenas are known to scavenge other predators kills
22:42well it's a big hyena mom has a big problem yeah their thousand pound per square inch bite force
22:51means they can crush bones if you find i want to get it you're gonna get it
23:02this hyena is close
23:04what are you going to do mom
23:07are you going to fight or are you going to run away
23:13mom and the cubs are looking
23:19mom's up mom's up she's going towards the hyena
23:24go on mom
23:39yeah
23:43nice job mom
23:50these cheetahs are built for speed not fighting so all she can do is kind of push and bluff the
23:56hyena away because if they were to get into an actual scrap the hyena is much bigger it's much more
24:01powerful
24:04the strategy is just to keep this hyena away so that the cubs can feed on the kill
24:16you can hear lots of hyenas out this way all cackling all laughing
24:23mom's actually very lucky the other hyenas they sound like they're on a kill of their own
24:30lions that way as well
24:36i don't quite believe this mom has successfully defended her kill from
24:41this hyena and she might have gotten lucky that more hyenas didn't come in
24:46but she showed some pretty amazing aggression to say get away from my kill
24:59mom was able to provide today but soon the cubs will have to learn to hunt for themselves
25:15as the day heats up we find the male coalition scouting for prey
25:23they'll jump from one lookout to the next until they find a target
25:28they'll jump from one of the next few years
25:35compared to the cheetah mothers they take a fearless approach
25:45but it's not without risk
25:48there's a lion under the tree so they may bump into it
26:02it's a lion at the base of it
26:06they're about to get a big shock
26:16lines up
26:25one two three four male lions
26:29that was a bit of a shock for those cheetah but fortunately the lines have not pursued
26:37did you see them all just go yeah i saw them spoke yeah they're like we are checking out goodbye
26:47there are just 300 cheetahs here but over 3 000 lions
26:55in a fight with these bigger stronger predators
26:59the cheetahs the cheetahs would have no chance
27:11the coalition's search for food continues
27:15i really hope to see them succeed before our time runs out
27:31cheetahs lives are much harder than i thought
27:34even inside the protection of the serengeti national park
27:38the pressure to survive can drive cheetahs to roam outside the protected area
27:44cool spot where they face other problems from human activity thanks
27:51hello hello i meet up with kelvin munisi from the serengeti cheetah project oh yeah always ready
27:59good to meet you man i want to find out how his research helps tackle these challenges
28:06it's not long before we see some familiar faces
28:11kelvin this mother and cubs this family is actually a family we've been following
28:14do you do you know her yes we do know her and she's called adora adora adora yes and do
28:21you know
28:21how many litters she's had in her life so this is her second litter the first litter she had was
28:26in
28:272020 and that didn't go so well because she lost all her cubs oh yeah yeah it's sad and uh
28:34last year we actually found her with uh five cubs five yeah yeah so she's only got two now so
28:39she
28:40she's lost three of her cubs so she's lost three of her cubs oh that's so sad i guess that's
28:45the reality of living in a landscape packed full of predators that are bigger than you yeah exactly
28:51yeah she's actually a good mom for a cheetah with five cubs to remain with two cubs uh it's it's
28:58still
28:59a good mom in such a harsh environment kelvin's field work has two parts first he maps where each
29:08cheetah is roaming and then he needs to collect their dna in the least invasive way possible
29:18so you spend a lot of time staring at cheetahs hoping that they're yeah they're gonna do a number
29:23two yes yes
29:30kelvin she's she's squatting down there is she gonna go to the bathroom she's pooping she's pooping yeah
29:37yeah yeah brilliant kelvin usually when i'm working with scientists filming their amazing work i offer to
29:44help and get involved but i think on this occasion i'm i'm good it's all it's all you you should
29:49leave
29:50it to the professional cool collectors i think he's got it yeah he's got it i've never been so excited
30:04about locating a wild animal's poop all in the name of science
30:15it may not be glamorous but kelvin's work is critical in monitoring cheetah territories
30:23we are going to extract dna so that we can uh establish how diversified is the gene pool this can
30:31tell us how connected the cheetah population are from serengeti population all the way to the masai
30:37mar population and also other protected areas within the eastern africa landscape mixing these
30:43groups is vital but it's becoming more difficult for cheetahs to move as humans build farms and towns in
30:50their path the solution is reducing human activities on the wildlife corridors so that we can increase
30:57connectivity between these small populations that we do have kelvin hopes this information can be
31:04used to manage land in a way that supports cheetahs connecting territories and giving them the space they
31:12need to survive
31:23the next morning we find the male coalition again
31:34they're with a herd of wildebeest and it looks like this could be the chance to hunt they've been waiting
31:40for
31:42but they're not the only ones they're the boys there's the wildebeest there's a bunch of lions over there
31:50this could be chaos
31:54yeah tom we've got the boys they're about 300 meters from a herd of wildebeest with lions nearby as well
32:04so we've got this big herd of wildebeest and the boys are on this side of the herd
32:08what they don't know is that there's a pride of lions on the other side that we've passed coming here
32:13so if they choose to run into that wildebeest herd i think they might get a really nasty surprise
32:22stay down boys stay down you do not want to pick a fight with a bunch of lions
32:32do you think they've seen them no they're very close
32:43oh the wildebeest are running
32:49oh the wildebeest are running
32:50whoa big boys
33:01look at the size of that dude on the right
33:06oh my word he is beautiful look at his mane blowing in the wind
33:19well the cheetah boys got very lucky there that pride of lions has not spotted them
33:23and they're heading off that way
33:28but they've lost the element of surprise the wildebeest herd are really spooked because of the lions
33:39we've yet to see the coalition have a successful hunt
33:47they can't wait any longer
34:00they can't wait any longer
34:01looking for a target
34:25they're moving through the herd kind of looking around with their heads up they aren't going
34:29fast they're looking for a target but it's just too dense with all the herd running together it's a very
34:34dangerous thing to run into
34:36picking the right target at the right time is a matter of life and death
34:49spotted a big wildebeest
34:54it's a yearly
35:03oh it's got back into the herd
35:04great herd defense
35:08okay they switched targets they found another one
35:11you still have it yeah he's coming in front
35:30i think he's got it
35:33i think he's got it
35:45finally they can enjoy a well-earned meal
35:49but a successful hunt doesn't always lead to a full belly
36:02lions coming into the kill yeah baz
36:08there's three of them and one of her
36:13she's not sure surely they're not going to fight her for it
36:18if those guys they realize it's not safe they will walk away
36:21so right now they're just trying to eat as fast as they can
36:40she takes the kill
36:44and that is why it is very hard to be a cheater around here
36:48you do all that work and then a lion steals your food
36:54and now these boys are going to have to hunt all over again
36:58back to square one
37:03the competition from bigger predators is relentless for cheaters
37:11but giving up isn't an option
37:17that's why it's not going to have to hunt all over again
37:31so we're going to have to put the rain spinner on
37:35so we're going to put the rain spinner on
37:35okay copy that i'll switch to the wet drone as well
37:40so
37:49despite the rain the coalition stick with the herd
37:54good luck out of that little drone
38:06so i started pouring the rain
38:09and the cheaters are still hunting so the show must go on
38:16they're just marching straight into the rain
38:22and the drone is still flying
38:27the storm completely changes the dynamic between predator
38:32and prey the wildebeest stand with their backs to the rain
38:37they aren't looking out for the cheaters
38:41and they can't hear them either okay they're coming up to the world of the beast it is pouring
38:47with rain come on drone hang on
38:52with the threat of lions gone too the odds have tipped in the coalition's favor
38:57okay second one's going to be free
39:08okay front cheater has a target
39:14okay increasing speed here we go
39:19oh god out flying
39:35all the beast is turning around to fight
39:57and if it if that male cheater had been by itself i don't think it would have got it
40:05and all in pouring rain that was crazy
40:14the drone's still flying i'm going to bring it home before it falls out of the sky
40:19it survived well done wet drone
40:22it's the first time a cheater hunt has been filmed in the rain like this
40:26i don't know if this drone could survive but it has and managed to capture some pretty extraordinary
40:33behavior with it cheater hunting as a team in torrential rain
40:42even under the cover of a rainstorm taking down a wildebeest is incredibly dangerous for these cheaters
40:51i'm relieved to finally see them get a meal and to know they can have a few days rest
40:58before they have to do it all over again
41:06capturing this iconic face-off between cheaters and wildebeest is something i'll never forget
41:16as my time here comes to an end there's someone i want to check in on
41:24we've got mum but the big question is where are the cubs come on little cubs please be still alive
41:40the cubs are here the cubs are here
41:49well that is a very very big relief the cubs have made it and they look very happy and healthy
42:00they actually look like they've turned into absolute little terrors
42:03they've got so much energy now charging around jumping on mum
42:08and they've grown up so much since we last saw them
42:12they're starting to lose their dark black sides i can see their little adult spots are coming through
42:32the cubs survival rate in cheaters is really not very good 95 percent don't make it to adulthood
42:39but these two little ones they've made it through one of the most dangerous periods of their lives
42:44and they've got an amazing mum looking after them so i'm pretty hopeful they're going to make it
43:11i've always thought of cheater as being this super fast untouchable top predator it turns out i've had it all
43:18wrong
43:18but the threat of lions and hyenas is just relentless here human activity is adding to their struggles
43:28well it's very easy to be impressed by the male coalition it's the females that i'm most in awe of
43:34but the fact that they can raise any cubs in this landscape is a testament to the incredible mothers we've
43:40been able to follow i'll never forget watching these cheaters grow up and learning from mum gaining
43:45their survival skills so that with a little bit of luck they can take on whatever the serengeti has in
43:51store for them
43:54you
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