Original subtitles

Sharp rays of sunlight crept up

from the horizon casting a golden radiance

across the Savannah.

Morning has arrived in South Africa,

and with it the beginning of a journey

that was soon to become one of the greatest animal

encounters I have ever had.

Today we are venturing out into the world

renowned Kariega Game Reserve.

This wild place spans over 10,000 hectares

and the landscape is a splendor unlike anything you

have ever seen.

Endless rolling grasslands, the perfect habitat

to safely house and keep hidden one of our planet's most iconic

predators, the African lion.

All right, Coyote, about ready to hop in the Jeep?

Yeah, well, the plan today is to track down a pride of lions.

But trust me, it's much easier said than done.

We've got a lot of ground to cover.

You guys ready to track down the pride?

Let's find those big cats.

Here we go.

Tracking lions on foot could take days, if not weeks,

so the crew and I teamed up with a secondary team composed

of field veterinarians that have been

deployed through support of the Reserve Protection Agency.

Led by Dr. Waldo Dreyer, their collective goal

from a scientific perspective was to safely tranquilize

one of the larger resident males in an attempt

to collect biometric data.

This important research would help ensure the health

and well-being of the pride.

So with the plan in place, we parted ways

and headed toward opposite ends of the reserve

to begin our search for the pride.

I feel like luck is on our side today.

A lot of ground to explore, but we've got two teams out.

Just a matter of tracking down the pride.

Since 2004, Kariega has been home

to a very healthy population of lions,

yet finding and getting these big cats

in front of the cameras would be no easy feat,

as they are constantly on the move

and in search of their next meal.

An ostrich way off in the distance there.

So much open space.

And with that open space, the pride

could wander out out of any one of these clumps of bushes.

Really going to be tough to find these cats.

We've got some zebras over here.

That looks like good prey.

If I was a lion, a zebra steak would sound pretty good.

Wait, what's this?

Oh, I got something cool.

Follow me.

Look at this.

That is a perfect wildebeest skull,

and if ever I have seen evidence of a lion kill,

this would be it.

Look at that.

Right at the back of the neck where

the head connects to the neck right there is all snapped off.

Wow, well, this is obviously ancient at this point.

No skin or flesh on it, but yeah,

likely fell victim to a lion.

All right, guys, let's keep searching.

Yeah.

Come on down and check this out.

You know what that is?

Bones.

Bones, skin, fur.

That's a zebra's leg right there,

and zebra's legs don't just fall off on their own.

That is absolute crystal clear evidence of a lion kill.

It's old though.

This is not fresh, so we do know that the pride has been

through here but not recently.

All right, well, this is like I said, can be tough to find

this pride of lions.

Stronger evidence of the pride and their whereabouts

was necessary if we hoped to have an encounter,

so we loaded back into the Land Cruiser

and continued our search deeper into the interior

of the reserve.

Finding tracks is the most reliable sign of one's quest

for locating an animal, and you are always guaranteed to find

the freshest tracks near water.

Check this out, guys.

Completely fresh lion track right there.

Like most cats, they try to avoid walking in the water.

A cat definitely moved up the side of the road here.

That means we are hot on the pride's trail.

So, Joe, what did you hear?

There's literally lions on top of this hill.

The other team's got eyes on the lions?

Yeah. Yeah.

And they're on a kill. - Really?

Yeah.

Coyote.

Coyote, the other team's got the lions over the hill.

- What? - Yeah.

The lions are just over the hill, and they're on a kill

too. - On a kill?

Yep.

No way.

OK, Yeah, hop up in the Jeep.

Oh, man, this is going to be crazy.

They're on a kill?

Yeah.

All right, guys, well, I'm out there picking up

pieces of old kills, and apparently

the lions have a kill, the other team has spotted them.

We're going to make our way over there now.

Here comes the lion episode.

Awesome.

With lions located on a fresh kill,

we quickly moved across the reserve

to meet up with the vet team.

Dr. Waldo joined our vehicle, which

would give us a clear view of the tranquilizing process.

So with the darts locked and loaded, it was go time.

It's exciting, I've never seen a lion in the wild before.

I know you guys are amped.

Oh, man, this is going to be one epic day.

Tranquilizing a lion is considered a routine checkup.

Once asleep, the biometric data will be collected,

and then a reversal serum will be administered

for the animal to wake up.

They just radioed from up ahead.

The lions were just up over the top of this next hill here.

We have found them.

All right, guys, we are rolling up on the lions

right now.

I can actually see one of the big males

right here off the side of the vehicle.

So impressive.

We're trying to be really quiet right now.

We don't want to startle them.

Believe it or not, we don't want to scare the lions.

I'm the one that should be scared right now.

Oh, there it is.

There it is.

As our Land Cruiser approached through the flowing

Savannah grasses, my heart began to race at an incredible speed.

This was an unprecedented level of danger, which

meant everything had to go right,

because if it didn't, that meant everything

had gone horribly wrong.

Never before had I seen a pride of lions in the wild.

And as they came into view, their primal strength and

beauty was a wonder to behold.

In total, four lions have been spotted on the fallen carcass.

Our primary target was the male, but the team

decided that they also wanted to check

the health of the females.

So if the opportunity presented itself,

they would be darted as well.

And in that split second, that seemed to slow down in time,

we all clung to the edge of our seats

with focused anticipation.

Stay tuned for the breathtaking conclusion,

as we attempt to get the cameras up close with one

of the planet's top carnivores.

Since sunrise, the crew and I have been on the search

for Kariega Game Reserve's pride of lions.

Working in tandem with the Reserve Protection Agency

and a team of field veterinarians,

today's goal is to safely tranquilize

and collect biometric data from these predatory cats.

Coyote, the other team's got the lions over the hill.

A radio call from the opposite side of the reserve

delivered confirmation that the lions had

been located on a fresh kill.

For the safety of the lions and the veterinarians

collecting the data, the field team decided that all four

of the cats would be darted.

So with everyone in position, the final moment was upon us.

And the only thing left for Dr. Waldo Dreyer to do

was hit his targets.

Wow, those are some big cats.

He's getting ready to dart.

Here we go.

Target right on that female's rump.

Oh, got one.

Got one.

Nice shot.

Wow, you see them spring into action like that?

OK, we thought that maybe the lines would

move off if we darted one.

We've got four lions, three females and a young male.

It's a young male, right?

Yeah.

Wow, still an enormous cat.

Getting ready for the second dart.

Here we go.

We got the male coming up around the backside here.

Doc got the forefront of her chest.

No, not yet.

Not yet.

The females.

He must have a clear shot.

Super windy though, could throw off the dart.

Do not want to hit the animal in the face.

Here come the shot.

Got him.

All right, the male has been darted.

One lion left.

Wow, OK, we have three of the lions darted at this point,

the male and two females.

One female still does not have a dart in her though,

so we're trying to move the vehicle

to get in a better position.

This is intense.

Hold on, guys.

Beware, you got a lion.

Here we go. Look at this good shot.

Zoom in.

Zoom in.

Got it.

All the lions have been darted, and they are all

staring at us now saying, OK.

What are you guys doing out here?

Wow, that's intimidating.

All four cats successfully darted.

We watched from a safe distance as one by one

they succumb to the effects of the tranquilizer serum.

All right, now it's just going to take a few minutes

for the tranquilizer to set in.

They'll tell us to get out of the vehicles,

we'll move in, get that biometric data.

Wow.

My heart's racing right now.

How about you?

This is crazy.

Time was of the essence, so the vet

team needed to move quickly.

This meant that as a camera team,

we would have a very limited window of time

to capture an up close presentation

with these sleeping carnivores.

Given his iconic stature, I was beyond

excited to showcase the male, while in the background,

the veterinarians would be collecting

the sought after biometric data from the females.

In human terms, this procedure is comparable to a checkup

at the doctor.

When it comes to lions, this includes pulling a small hair

sample from the tail, checking body length,

paw length, overall health, and lastly,

microchip identification.

That is a big cat right here.

We've got this other female down right here.

Just lions laying around everywhere.

There are lions everywhere.

Keep in mind, guys, these lions are just asleep.

None of these animals are actually hurt.

Here it is.

Here's the male.

That is unbelievable right there.

This is the closest I have ever been to a wild apex

predator of this size.

You can feel the breathing.

Beautiful animal.

This creature is enormous and it is still a subadult male lion.

I want to come on this side just to show you this paw.

You've got the mane.

You can see his face is covered up there.

It is asleep.

Look at the size of this animal's paws.

It's bigger than my hand.

That is crazy.

And so heavy, so much weight, and so much

muscle in the front section of this cat.

You guys want to see those claws, don't you?

Oh, yeah.

Ready for this?

Hold on, let me kind of sit down here.

Get ready.

That is impressive right there, and these claws

are constantly growing throughout the course

of the animal's life.

Now like all cats, they have four toes up front, but also

a dew claw on the side.

You see that?

Wow.

That is the key piece of power right there because when

they lunge toward a water Buffalo or a wildebeest,

and they latch on, it's this claw that hooks in place

and makes sure that that prey does not get away.

And that's what they do, latch on, and then go for the neck.

Now the lion, believe it or not, does not

have that powerful of a bite force

as compared to other big cats.

Only somewhere between 600 and 900 pounds per square inch,

but what they want to do is go for the trachea.

You get the trachea, you're cutting off the windpipe

and that animal is going to suffocate.

Now, the males, while they can hunt,

aren't the ones that are actually hunting.

So when we came up on this pride,

you see that they've taken down an impala.

It's likely the females that killed the impala,

but then the males will come in and they will feast first.

Wow, this cat is just the coolest creature

I have ever been around.

Let's take a look at its head real quick.

Look at the size of the ears.

Massive ears.

They're capable of moving these individually.

They have incredible sense of hearing.

Look at the mane of this animal.

It's so dense and, oh, it smells like South Africa.

It smells like the Savannah, a little bit of grass

and a little bit of sand.

Now you look at this mane and you think, well,

what is the purpose of a mane on a lion other than to have

an epic hairdo?

And the purpose is actually to protect them

when they're fighting to protect territory.

All this dense fur, when another male is rearing up,

using its claws and its teeth, protects this lion's throat

and his face.

All right, you guys ready for the reveal?

Let's see it.

I'm going to pull this back very slowly.

Let's see the lion's face.

There you are, buddy.

Oh my gosh.

That is incredible.

What a handsome animal right there.

Look at its whiskers.

Incredibly dense.

I know you guys are thinking right now,

can we see the lion's teeth?

Yeah, we can see lion's teeth.

You guys ready?

I;m going to slowly just kind of pull

the lip back here a little bit.

Wow.

Whoa.

Look at those canines.

Unbelievable.

Now lions have three types of teeth.

Up front here, you have these incisors,

which they use to carry things.

The females were carry their cubs around.

They're also used to pull meat away from the bones.

Of course, the canines are used to inflict a kill,

and then in the back here-- go ahead

and zoom in-- you see that?

All these premolars are used like serrated shears

to soar through the meat.

I can see the lion's tongue in there.

It's incredibly grippy like sandpaper.

They can actually use that tongue

to lick meat away from bones.

They can lick fur off, and believe it or not,

if a lion were to lick your skin,

it would take the skin right off.

Not exactly like your house cats.

Wow.

Hi, buddy.

Let's see on this guy, gonna take a look at his eye there.

Zoom in there.

See the pupils are slightly dilated.

He's completely out right now.

See that?

Get a tight shot there.

Lions have incredible eyesight.

Not only during the day, but also at night.

Look how big its head is compared to you.

It's as big as your body.

Can you imagine what it would be

like to get an appendage of your body

or your head stuck in the mouth of an animal like this?

And keep in mind, guys, this is still a subadult.

They get bigger than this.

I'm guessing this lion is probably somewhere

between 250 and 300 pounds.

They can tip the scales well over 500.

OK, I'm going to just flip this back up over its head

so that the sun stays out of his eyes.

Oh, man, is your adrenaline rushing as fast as mine is?

I'm just trying to stay calm actually.

OK, we ready to collect biometric data?

All right, let's do it.

Got to get the measurements on this lion.

OK, we're going to go all the way to the back side here.

OK.

So we've got 123 and 1/2.

OK.

54.

Paw measurements.

6.

And this is important data for us to know.

Eight.

Exactly the size of this lion's paws,

so if they're out there and we're looking for tracks,

you know exactly which lion this is.

See all these kind of markings on the face.

And so over time, will help you identify the individuals.

He's got quite a striking one right here.

Yeah.

up.

I think he's [inaudible].

All right, guys, what's really cool

is that this lion doesn't actually

have a microchip in it, so we are going to get to insert one

today and that will allow us to keep a tight record

of this animal any time that they then

tranquilize in the future to be able to collect

its biometric data.

Wow.

Cool.

All right, so where do you insert the microchip?

So the microchip is inserted with a nice thick needle.

It's about the size of a grain of rice.

I don't like needles.

I don't do very well with needles.

So we insert it right in the middle

between the shoulder blades.

So we just make a little dent of the skin,

put it underneath the skin.

Just a little prick, right?

In it goes.

Boom, just like that.

Wow.

All right, guys, well it's time to apply the reversal drug so

that this male wakes up and heads back off into the wild,

but this certainly was epic.

Getting to explore here at the Kariega Game Reserve,

tranquilizing four lions, getting up close to collect

biometric data.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

All right, time to wake up.

Just give it in your muscle, push the plunger,

back it up as soon with the needle.

All right, guys, lion's about to wake up.

Let's head back to the trucks.

Man.

That was amazing.

Oh.

That was cool.

That was cool.

All right, Coyote, what's happening right now?

We have administered the reversal drug,

and now we are just safely back in the vehicle waiting

for the lions to wake up.

I've got a GoPro positioned just in front of this female.

We've got zoom lenses in on the male.

The ones up here underneath the bush,

we're going to also keep an eye on them.

In just a few minutes here, they're going to pop back up

and disappear into the underbrush.

This is it.

You can see the lions are beginning to wake up.

This lioness right here in front of us is starting to move.

It's been about 15 minutes.

That sounds about right.

Since the dawn of mankind, we have feared that

which is capable of hunting us.

So much so that we in turn chose to hunt

many of these natural predators to the brink of extinction.

The lion is no exception.

Today our mindset has changed and fear

has been replaced with love and protection

for these incredible beasts.

Several hours after the vet procedure had concluded,

we returned to the hilltop and checked in on the pride.

Our hope is that they would still be in the area,

allowing us to get a final glimpse

of these beautiful cats.

Then suddenly, in what seemed like a moment slowed in time,

the King of the Savannah materialized

from the underbrush.

He stepped into the golden glow of the setting sun

and moved with an elegance that defined

him as the ruler of this land.

And as we watched, our cameras all fighting to capture

the moments as they played out before us,

it was not difficult to pull my eye away from the viewfinder

so that I could appreciate all of the beauty in this animal

with my own two eyes.

I know that I will never forget my time spent

alongside that sleeping giant.

My fingers placed upon its massive teeth.

The moment it woke back from its slumber and the sight

as it strolled along through the flowing grasses staking

claim as King of the Savannah.