- 2 days ago
Several animals face dramatic mating challenges. Courtship is not just about showing off; it is a vital and difficult test of survival, genetic fitness, and patience...
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AnimalsTranscript
00:03Imagine a place where the world's most endangered creatures can roam free.
00:10He's warming up his legs.
00:12Oh, there he goes.
00:14A vast wilderness, brimming with the intimate dramas of its inhabitants.
00:22As they take their first steps, learn to get along, and confront their rivals.
00:30In the shadow of Mount Kenya, Olpegeta is one of the few untamed places left on Earth.
00:37On Olpegeta, the wild really, really is the wild.
00:43It's home to 13,000 animals.
00:46Let's get ready to rumble.
00:50Watched over by a dedicated team of rangers.
00:53Just like to take care of your kids. These are our kids.
00:55Who every day must decide if they should intervene in a wild animal's life.
01:00I want to see who will win on this.
01:03Or let nature take its course.
01:05It's a tough one, it's a tough one, it's a tough one.
01:07As these extraordinary creatures strive to survive in the wild.
01:12He's up, there he goes. Nice!
01:31From its dusty savannah to its wet marshlands, the creatures of Olpegeta are going about their daily business.
01:43For the chosen few, it's the business of being in charge.
01:49When it comes to leadership in any animal, yes it's tough, but at the end of the day, you're in
01:55charge, you know.
01:55You get the lion's share and everything, and I wouldn't want to be a boss.
02:00However, for sure, I would want to be.
02:04But being a good leader requires certain attributes.
02:25For male impalas, it's all about being a hit with the girls.
02:34Something dominant male, Jaraboo, is only too aware of.
02:42He's the sole leader of a herd of almost 50 females.
02:51And it's the mating season.
02:54Not only does he have to keep all the females in check and protect his territory,
02:59he now has to mate with all of them.
03:02It's exhausting, it's an exhausting life for him.
03:11And as if mating with up to 50 females wasn't enough, Jaraboo has to do it while looking over his
03:17shoulder
03:20at a herd of rival bachelors, who, as Eva knows, want to fight him for his leadership and mating rights.
03:29So the bachelors males have one focus.
03:33To identify a herd of females, of course, which has a dominant male.
03:39And to make an attempt at dethroning the dominant male and taking over this herd.
03:47Jaraboo has been leader of the herd for a year, since the last mating season.
03:51But it's now, between the months of April and May, that he is most at risk of being toppled.
03:58You know, Jaraboo, he's so insecure.
04:00He can barely have a bite of grass without looking up.
04:04You can tell he's super nervous.
04:11You know, he's constantly, like, on the lookout, on the lookout, looking at the females, looking at the boys,
04:16you know, like, neck deep, trying to kind of control the situation.
04:25Compared to Jaraboo's constant vigilance and worry, life in the bachelor herd is very different.
04:33They have an easy life.
04:34It will just sometimes be strutting, play fighting, you know, practicing for that one big fight if they get the
04:45chance.
04:49But despite their seemingly idyllic existence, at this time of year, there is something that keeps the bachelors up at
04:57night.
04:58All our males are very high on testosterone.
05:01They are all competing for this one price.
05:04So it's really a game of, we all want this one thing, now who is the strongest to get it?
05:09Keen to be the one that challenges Jaraboo, the bachelors are busy testing their fighting abilities on each other.
05:17So there's quite a bit of developments.
05:22Everything is at stake.
05:23Whether you're going to mate and get some offspring this season is at stake.
05:27And for them that's everything.
05:29That's essentially why every animal and plant exists, is to pass on their genes to the next generation.
05:38To win Jaraboo's herd, one of the bachelors will have to beat him in a tooth and nail battle for
05:43supremacy.
05:45And it looks like a potential challenger is beginning to emerge.
05:51Tembani basically is, you know, that cool boy who is very muscular.
05:56He's very attractive.
05:57The ladies, you know, like him.
06:00You know, he wants it.
06:02He wants this jackpot.
06:03And he's, you know, so confident as to just be a few meters away from Jaraboo's herd.
06:08Like, what are you going to do about it?
06:12He's a real threat.
06:14And Jaraboo cannot let his guard down.
06:17Not even for a second.
06:20But it's not just Tembani.
06:21Jaraboo needs to keep his eye on.
06:24The females are also looking out for better prospects.
06:28Just as we say, the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.
06:32They're constantly looking for that greener grass.
06:34So they're constantly looking out for the stardier male, the stronger male,
06:38with that ability to protect them.
06:42Jaraboo may have successfully looked after the herd for the past 12 months,
06:46but there is something about him that hasn't gone unnoticed.
06:52Tembani also knows that Jaraboo is getting older.
06:55He's more worn out.
06:56He's not, he won't be in the shape to keep fighting.
06:59He won't be in the shape to keep defending.
07:02But what Jaraboo lacks in youthfulness, he makes up for in experience.
07:07Jaraboo having the herd that he has,
07:09this is not his first situation with bachelor males.
07:13He has seen it all before.
07:15So he knows the ropes.
07:17And that has helped him keep his large herd of females for some time.
07:22So right now, it looks like they are equally matched.
07:26Jaraboo with his experience and Tembani with his youthfulness.
07:29So eventually, one of them will have to start the fight.
07:35You know, someone will have to attack.
07:57There is no negotiation with alpha males.
08:00You have to be the best.
08:02You must be strong.
08:04You must be brutal.
08:06You cannot negotiate with your enemies.
08:08It means survival for you.
08:10It means survival for your young ones.
08:11It means survival for your generation.
08:14But there are other ways to climb the hierarchy.
08:17Being a leader in any group of animals varies from species to species.
08:22Talking about elephants, for example, the leaders would be the older females.
08:27The ones who have experience, who have wisdom.
08:34Different leaders may need different attributes.
08:37But there is one thing they all need.
08:40The key qualities for any animal to lead revolves around an indomitable spirit.
08:47Yeah.
08:48You really need to put yourself out there on a daily basis.
08:51So it really needs one who is determined.
08:54And you can't really give up at all.
09:07Despite living a largely solitary existence, there is an animal whose pursuit of dominance is relentless.
09:17So we've heard reported to us that there are two black rhinos that were fighting.
09:22And one has received some serious injuries.
09:25So I'm just heading there to check the situation and see how serious it is.
09:44Black rhino Imara is the equivalent of a teenager.
09:48And as with most black rhinos his age, he's left his mother to make the difficult transition
09:54to life on his own.
09:57Due to his species being critically endangered, Ranger Abraham has been closely following his progress.
10:05Aimiara is a young male.
10:08He had to establish his own territory.
10:11So he's wandering around.
10:12And he stumbled into another territory belonging to a very, very aggressive black rhino.
10:20And he sustained quite amount of injuries.
10:33He stumbled into a territory of a very, very notorious black rhino called Matata, which is Swahidi for trouble.
10:47And the two got into a fight, which was, there was no way Imara could have won.
10:55And he's been beaten up very bad.
10:59For black rhinos, dominance is all about territory.
11:04But it's not just about the real estate.
11:06Teenage boy Imara is well aware of the benefits that come with having your own place.
11:12He's reaching sexual maturity.
11:14He's trying to take over a bit of territory that he can dominate with a view then to giving him
11:21access to the females that live within that territory.
11:24But in order to do that, he's got to push out the existing territorial males.
11:30And those males are bigger than him, probably.
11:33They're more experienced than him.
11:35They have held territory for a long period of time, so they know what they're doing.
11:40And so he's, you know, it's a big ask.
11:44But he's got no choice, because otherwise he becomes an irrelevant rhino.
11:49As a species, black rhino are notoriously aggressive.
11:54And it's estimated up to half of all males die from fighting-related injuries.
12:02The biggest challenge is the black rhinos themselves.
12:05They don't give up so easily.
12:08They can be thrown into the air.
12:10I mean, they can have a horn put into their side.
12:12And, of course, when that happens, they're doing extraordinary internal damage to their internal organs and so forth.
12:18It's that sort of a fight that you're watching.
12:19It's, you know, maybe the twelfth round.
12:22Everyone's received a thousand blows.
12:24They're about to give up.
12:25But none is willing to give up.
12:27That's how black rhinos are.
12:29You will get a whooping all day and still not give up.
12:32Still come back to fight.
12:35It's a typical clash of the titans.
12:45It's a typical clash of the titans.
12:47They put up quite a show.
12:50Although Imara has been in a fight with the much bigger Matata, so far he's been lucky.
12:57The injuries that I've observed, they are typical injuries.
13:02We still have no puncture wounds from the horns on the body, on the sides.
13:07Just scratches.
13:10But with Matata still in the area, Abraham is worried Imara might not know when enough is enough.
13:19Imara, it's Swahili for brave.
13:22It's not the first altercation that he's had.
13:25Imara is one heck of an aggressive rival.
13:28So, yeah, testosterone, they are very high, so he's eager to challenge anyone.
13:35But the character of Matata is always bringing chaos.
13:40So you can imagine Imara is not like a challenge to him.
13:47Imara's only chance of winning this fight is just to walk away.
13:52I hope from the beating that he's gotten already, he's going to figure that out.
14:13To be the leader of any band of animals takes a special kind of relationship with your group.
14:18In animals you realise each leader, whichever species we are talking about, they show genuine love through the whole group.
14:28And one of Alpegeta's most successful leaders is alpha female Sior.
14:34She's always been a fantastic leader, very good mother, and the most skilled hunter.
14:42Her pride consists of a largely absentee male called Josfat, who patrols the territory for intruders,
14:50and four lionesses who roam together looking after their seven cubs.
14:56Nelson has been tracking them for the last six years.
15:03The cubs are getting bigger, but we've noticed that you could see the ribs,
15:08which means they are now getting quite hungry.
15:12Imagine you have to hunt every time you need a meal.
15:15I think it's a really hard job, and it puts a lot of pressure on the pride leader, Sior,
15:21to make sure that pride is always fed.
15:26Lionesses hunt in packs, but since suffering horrific injuries in a fight with another lion,
15:32Sior's main hunting partner, Sekela, is no longer able to help in the way she once did.
15:39Sekela is now quite old, and she can't really keep up with hunting.
15:47If Sekela and the rest of the pride are going to eat,
15:50it's vital Sior gets young sisters Sela and Venita to step up.
15:56Sior thought I'd better make sure I train Sela and Venita before it's too late.
16:02But teaching them the subtle art of hunting hasn't been easy.
16:08It's not been going very well.
16:14We've seen her try to teach them ways of hunting in the wild.
16:20She would stay behind and encourage them to take the lead.
16:24But they've ruined most of the recent hunts.
16:31The twins are starting to get the hunting instincts,
16:35but they can't catch anything.
16:41It's been terrible watching it, and it's been really stressful for Sior.
16:55With Sior and the twins failing to catch anything, the strain is most keenly felt by the pride's seven cubs.
17:03Because the other lioness have messed most of the hunts up.
17:07They've not been getting as much food.
17:12And the lack of food is having the biggest impact on Sior's youngest cub.
17:16I'm quite concerned at the moment about Sior.
17:20He's quite skinny.
17:22A few months ago, Sior narrowly survived a buffalo attack,
17:27but witnessed one sibling killed and another badly injured.
17:34Now ten months old, he may have escaped serious injury, but the attack has left its mark.
17:41He used to be adventurous.
17:43I'd like to play with the others, jump on top of the older females' heads,
17:50scratch his nails against tree trunks.
17:53But he's become more quiet, more shy, more reserved.
17:59And he's just trying to find his way without any confrontation with any of the cubs or the pride members.
18:07So it's really a tough time for Sior, especially if all the lions are quite hungry.
18:13He might not even get a piece of the kill.
18:16So it puts him at a very dangerous point of his life.
18:25So I feel sorry for Junior.
18:28But at the same time, he has one very big advantage.
18:33That Sior is his mother.
18:37I have a lot of hope in Sior.
18:39If there's any lioness to get this pride to the next level, it's definitely Sior.
19:04Being the leader of any pride, clan or herd can be demanding.
19:10All of us want to be leaders.
19:13We don't want to be led.
19:15But leadership comes with great responsibility.
19:21Leadership comes with a lot of advantages, but also disadvantages.
19:27Because at the end of the day, you assume and take responsibility of the entire troop.
19:36Leadership is the ability to be able to lead that pack of animals to survive, and to be able to
19:42get through, you know, challenging times, whether they are weather or famine or whatever it is.
19:56The actions of any leader has an impact on everyone in the hierarchy.
20:02But deciding what to do when on your own also has its consequences.
20:11Reports have come in adolescent black rhino Imara has once again been injured fighting over territory.
20:18But this time, it sounds critical.
20:22I'm quite concerned about Imara.
20:25I'm worried because it must have been a gruesome fight.
20:29I'm hopeful that it's not as bad as it sounds, and there wouldn't be any need for any medical intervention.
20:37But let's see. Fingers crossed.
20:43But despite Abraham's hopes, a full team of rangers and vets have been deployed.
21:03Amara's injuries have left him struggling to walk.
21:16Has this animal moved since you saw it?
21:18No.
21:19It's been standing there?
21:20Yeah.
21:20Like that?
21:21Yeah.
21:27It looks like it has some external injuries, but I suspect also internal injuries.
21:33You see?
21:38No, obviously we are very concerned.
21:40Yeah.
21:41It's not in a good state.
21:42It's quite weak.
21:43It's quite weak.
21:46The murder is in a lot of pain.
21:49And that is something that we are quite wary of when approaching such a rhino,
21:54because they are highly aggressive, and they would charge without any provocation.
22:02An injured black rhino is ten times as dangerous as any other black rhino.
22:10It has all this pain and wants to share it with anyone that comes back.
22:14Yeah.
22:17The other challenge is the fact that we are told that the other animal that fought with
22:21it last night is still in the neighborhood, so it's not good for us to be here.
22:25So can we pull out?
22:26Can we pull back?
22:27Guys, let's go back to our vehicles.
22:31The team are about to retreat to a safe distance, but then Amara takes a turn for the worse.
22:38You see?
22:39You see?
22:39You see?
22:40You see?
22:40It's falling down.
22:40Ooh, it's going down.
22:52It's down.
22:58Concerned for Amara's life, the rangers decide to move him to a predator-proof enclosure,
23:03where he can be monitored more closely.
23:09We normally don't intervene because this is a wilderness area,
23:13and we try to let it be, let it be wild.
23:15But now, Amara has lost a lot of blood,
23:18so he needs, like, immediate intervention today, not tomorrow.
23:22If there were 20,000 black rhinos in Kenya, you wouldn't bother.
23:25But he's a young man and there's only 800 rhinos in Kenya,
23:28so when you're talking about, sort of, absolute numbers,
23:30he's an important part of the population.
23:32So we're going to try and treat it and make it better.
23:38But moving an injured two-ton rhino is anything but easy.
23:42So you have chains that we can use to do this?
23:45OK, OK.
23:47Back at the ranger base 20 miles away, preparation is made to transport Amara.
23:53Amara has to be saved.
23:56Leaving him the way he is, he wouldn't make it by himself.
24:01But with the rhino crate over an hour away,
24:04the only thing left to do is hope it's not too late.
24:09We are really worried that the animal's condition is no good.
24:14According to the vets, it's 50-50 for sure.
24:29Out on the western savannah, the leadership of dominant impala Jaribu is under threat.
24:37Jaribu essentially has this thing that everybody wants.
24:41He has this large herd of females.
24:45All the other single bachelors, that's what they want.
24:48That's the life they want.
24:50Out of all the bachelors, young buck Timbani seems to have caught the eye of the females,
24:55and seems the one most likely to challenge Jaribu for the right to mate with them.
25:02But with impalas, it's all about playing the long game.
25:08So they don't just go in for the fight on day one.
25:11They'll kind of wear him out so that by the time they're getting to that big fight,
25:14they've already won some part of it just by wearing him down.
25:25For days now, Timbani has been driving Jaribu frantic, constantly trying to tease away his females.
25:37A couple of Jaribu's females have actually just ran off.
25:40He's tried to chase some of them down as they were running away from him,
25:45but he's lost a couple of females.
25:51Another one has just slipped over, like, no warning, no notice, nothing.
25:56Like, okay, I'm done.
26:04So this is the average day for Jaribu.
26:08This is his waking up and sleeping.
26:10He's constantly being tortured.
26:14Just psychologically being worn out.
26:17He can't rest.
26:18He can't eat properly.
26:19You know, that does something to the animal.
26:23He's not relaxed.
26:24He's not calm.
26:25And that puts him at a disadvantage once they get to that fight.
26:32Attracted by the chance to mate with Timbani, Jaribu's herd of females are becoming strung out across the savannah.
26:39The few females that Jaribu still had, they're now all moving away from our original herd.
26:46He's now getting to a point, I think, of desperation.
26:50He's literally, like, losing one female at a time.
26:57After all, the women have the power here, the females.
27:10With Jaribu pulled in all directions, Timbani sees his opportunity.
27:19There's a fight coming up.
27:24It started, it's go from here.
27:28Some horns locked there.
27:30And the thing about the horns is they're very deadly.
27:34They're very strong.
27:35And they're very pointy and sharp.
27:38A blow of that to the neck or to the abdomen could be fatal.
27:45So just as much as Jaribu now is bringing his experience that he's gained over time,
27:50his disadvantage is that he is older, he's much older than Timbani.
27:54And that means that he is not able to last through a very prolonged fight.
28:01And therefore, he knows that if he wants to win, he wants to win quickly.
28:06He wants to win it as fast as he can.
28:09He wants to win.
28:10He wants to win.
28:12He wants to win.
28:18He wants to win.
28:19Challenger to the throne, Timbani, has made his move on leader of the herd, Jaribu.
28:25Timbani, obviously, is much younger than Jaribu.
28:29And he knows that the thing that will flip the coin is wearing Jaribu out.
28:36At stake is this season's chance to mate with the female herd.
28:41For them, we'll go with whoever wins.
28:44We'll go with the strongest man.
28:45That's it.
28:48Jaribu's best chance is to win quick by landing a knockout blow.
29:07But the energy-sapping midday heat begins to tell on him.
29:14Jaribu definitely needs to be worried.
29:16You know, he's getting more tired.
29:17He cannot let his guard down at any point.
29:20And Timbani knows that.
29:24Timbani is coming out much stronger.
29:26Timbani absolutely looks like a winner.
29:28And, of course, his youthfulness is coming in handy now.
29:31The size of his horns, he's a threat.
29:34If he jabbed Jaribu just a good one time, he could essentially even kill him.
29:39He can't be scared.
29:41And, in the end of this season, are the shepherds and the pilgrims.
29:59Worn down and with no strength to fight on, Jaribu is forced to relinquish his crown to Timbani.
30:07One day you're the man, and one day, Jaribu, you are in the bachelor herd.
30:12That's how it works. That's how it works.
30:16I don't feel too bad for him.
30:17I think he's had the opportunity to breed with all these females.
30:21He knows that his offspring will carry his genes and his characteristics.
30:26You know, he's tasted that life.
30:28He's already had a shot at it.
30:30He's seen what it is.
30:31He's seen the stresses of it, and he's seen the good side of it.
30:35You know, he's much better off than a male who has never been able to win over a herd.
30:41And at least he survived the fight.
30:43He wasn't injured.
30:45He walked away with his dignity, or some of it, whatever was left of it.
30:50He'll be able to relax for a little bit and not have that high-stress life for some time.
30:58And as for the newly anointed Tembani...
31:05Tembani has no idea.
31:07He has no idea what he's in for.
31:10Life is the life that every bachelor male wishes for.
31:13The females.
31:15The offspring.
31:16You know, he has that now.
31:18He doesn't know he has to adjust to now constantly defending, defending, defending.
31:24He has no idea.
31:25He has no idea.
31:27He has no idea.
31:27Especially if it's his first herd that he's dominated over.
31:31Well, he has a lot to learn.
31:55Out in the wild, the competition to become the alpha male will inevitably have its winners
32:01and losers.
32:05The world is not fair, is it?
32:09There are some who are born to be the leader.
32:13And there are some who are born not to be.
32:15And there are others who are born weak and destined to be beaten up by the leader.
32:22I mean, that's just the way life is.
32:24I think it's us humans who, because of our great intelligence, we've been able to kind
32:30of accommodate everybody in society, be they weak or strong.
32:34And there's a place for everybody in the way that we run our societies.
32:38But in the wild, that doesn't exist.
32:48Having suffered multiple puncture wounds at the hands of a rival male, black rhino Imara
32:54is clinging on to life.
33:00Unable to treat him out in the bush, the vets have decided to evacuate him to a safe enclosure.
33:07Time now is really of the essence.
33:10Yeah.
33:11His chances of survival are now as low as it could ever be.
33:17But the transport needed to lift Imara is still almost an hour away.
33:27It's not good prognosis because the animal is already weak and compromised and the challenge
33:32will be on how to load it into the crate because it has difficulties supporting itself.
33:38While waiting for help to arrive, vet Steve has had a chance to examine Imara more closely.
33:45It's quite surprising that he's still alive.
33:50Horn puncture wounds under the belly, on the head, and evidence of lots of bleeding.
33:59With Imara's condition worsening, the crate arrives.
34:10But it's too late for Imara.
34:13It's gone.
34:15It's gone.
34:22Unbelievable.
34:35Unbelievable.
34:36It's unfortunate we've lost this honey.
34:41It's quite sad.
34:43He was totally battered by the other rhino, and he just collapsed.
34:48He collapsed.
34:49He died.
35:05These animals, to us,
35:09they are more like our kids.
35:11I sit down with a team of rhino patrolmen
35:14and how you're just there listening from the background.
35:18You might think that we're talking about people.
35:20Because we know them very well,
35:22we know their behaviours, we know their characters.
35:25So, over time, we have a soft spot for these animals.
35:38There's a lot of animals that die on a fairly regular basis
35:41because that's just the way things are.
35:46You hope that it's not going to happen
35:48and you hope that the intervention that you're making
35:50is going to save the day.
35:52It's about doing your best
35:54and just being realistic about the whole thing.
36:00Imara, to me, inspired me in so many ways.
36:04How he would get challenged, get beaten up, but still not give up.
36:09He was quite an aggressive animal.
36:12If he would have managed through this stage,
36:14he would be one of the best.
36:20You can see everyone is in a somber mood.
36:24We feel like we've lost one of us.
36:42Out on the eastern savannah, pride leader Sior is trying to teach young lionesses Sela and Venita to be better
36:49hunters.
36:52But the training hasn't been going well.
36:55You can see the lionesses heading to the bushes over there.
37:01We think they might be re-strategising on how to go about their hunt.
37:08They're very poor.
37:10They mess up everything and it puts a lot of strain on the group.
37:22Their continued lack of success also means the pride is having to travel much further to find prey.
37:29An added problem for Sior's youngest cub, an already weak junior.
37:46Junior currently has a limp.
37:48And when they're walking, we've noticed Junior is always lagging behind.
37:53So it's quite a concern.
37:57When you're injured, your body takes up a lot of energy to try and get you back in good condition.
38:07So it puts him at a very risky stage in his life.
38:15But it's not just exhaustion Junior is at risk of.
38:19Lagging behind also exposes him to old foes.
38:25A buffalo has just turned up and it looks like he's picked up the scent of the lance.
38:32He seems to be looking for trouble.
38:38Having seen the damage a buffalo can inflict on his siblings, Junior freezes.
38:46Fortunately, mum Sior isn't too far ahead.
38:50So the lioness has spotted the buffalo and suddenly stopped.
38:58The buffalo looks very confident and is looking straight towards the lioness.
39:05I think they'd have to run for their lives.
39:08Because three lioness don't really stand a chance against a healthy buffalo in the wild.
39:18But then, out of the bush...
39:24Oh, there's one of the daddies.
39:28One of the big alpha males of the group.
39:32You only see the males probably one out of seven or eight sightings.
39:37They're usually very busy going around to patrol their territory.
39:43Josfat is the pride's solitary male and father to Junior and the cubs.
39:49Josfat is stronger.
39:50He's got more jaw power and he would put in his weight.
39:54And this could help the pride.
40:06In the normal scenarios, lions would not go for buffalo.
40:10Because it takes about five lions to take down a healthy buffalo.
40:15Let's just see what happens.
40:17Maybe today's a different day.
40:22Along with Josfat, the cooling temperatures of the evening have also arrived.
40:27A lion's preferred hunting time.
40:34I can now see two of the lioness that are with Sior.
40:39Very close to the buffalo.
40:45We really hope that they will be successful.
40:50Buffalo would be such a good kill and enough for every pride member.
41:10Nelson is on his way to find the eastern lion pride.
41:15Last night, he left them along with dad Josfat in a standoff with a buffalo.
41:22Hunting a buffalo is potentially very dangerous for lions.
41:26Um, they've had trouble with buffaloes in the past.
41:30They've lost a cap, uh, to a buffalo attack.
41:34And, uh, Junior got injured.
41:36But, uh, Josfat is around.
41:40If he summons up enough courage and, uh, Vanita and Sela and Sior work nicely together,
41:48they might just be able to bring it down.
41:52Hey.
41:53On catching up with the pride, Nelson discovers the aftermath of last night's confrontation.
42:14I'm going to go to the station.
42:31We finally have the winner, and all praise goes to the lions.
42:38It's been very interesting to find the pride with a big buffalo kill.
42:44Something we'd not imagine would happen, but with Joseph's help in bringing down the huge
42:52prey, Lisa has just turned the tables.
42:58They've all got enough food, and it's just a happy time for everyone.
43:10This is a really huge buffalo.
43:13It would mean that Vanita and Sela actually played a part in this hunt.
43:19So it's really good training for them.
43:23Still, they've got a long way to go before they can be as good as here, but it's so encouraging
43:31to see them stepping up and actually playing a huge role in such a big kill.
43:40But there's one member of the pride for whom this big kill has even more significance.
43:47We have seen Junior feeding on the buffalo, jumping on top of it is like you almost killed me.
43:55But today, my family brought you down.
43:59It's like a happy moment, and he feels on top of the world.
44:04And that whatever happens, his family would always conquer any challenge that would face them.
44:12Thanks to Sior, Junior has made it this far.
44:15And maybe one day he will grow up to be a big, powerful king of the jungle, like his father
44:21Joseph had.
44:44As another eventful day in Olpegeta draws to a close, whether you're a top dog or runt of the litter,
44:51these vast plains are a haven to a staggering array of wildlife.
44:57This is pretty much the modern day Garden of Eden.
45:01Olpegeta has really modelled what conservation should and can be.
45:07There's so much biodiversity.
45:10From the tiniest animals, the ants, the dung beetles, to the big five, to the birds.
45:17Everything is functioning optimally to make sure that the ecosystem is healthy and running efficiently.
45:26And it's the dedicated team of rangers that make it all possible.
45:32Being a ranger here is pretty much the best job that I could have ever asked for.
45:38You really find yourself being a part of the ecosystem.
45:42And if you interact with all the animals and see them, you start to see yourself in them.
45:47You start to see mums and dads and children and you start to see they have their society
45:52and they're trying to survive and do their best for themselves.
45:55And you start to relate your own life to how they're living.
46:03I love working with them.
46:05The best parts of my life are all here.
46:08All the best stories I ever tell are right here in Olpegeta.
46:23And it's all changed next Tuesday from Star Wars actors to X Factor winners.
46:26The great celebrity bake-off for stand-up to cancer is at eight.
46:30Then at a quarter past nine, there's talk of will.i.am in the celebrity circle for stand-up to
46:35cancer.
46:35Next tonight, though, it's 24 hours in A&E.