Original subtitles

For the various non-predatory animals that

call the South African Savannah home,

survival is no walk in the park.

Roaming giants, such as the elephant,

depend on their massive size and intimidating presence

to keep out of the predators sights.

While smaller hoof stock like the impala,

depend on their speed and cunning agility

to escape the jaws and claws of doom.

Yet size and speed are no guarantee

that you will survive, as this wild place is a constant circle

of life, where every single day there's

a good chance that you or someone you know

will be hunted.

Survival sounds.

Today, we are visiting the Kragga Kamma Game Park,

an easily accessible and secure stretch of wilderness located

in the Eastern Cape that is home to a variety of African icons,

but most notably, the cheetah.

These beautiful cats, despite their calm demeanor,

are considered to be perfect predators

and their lethal attack comes with the combination

of stealth and speed.

Since childhood, I have adored cheetahs,

so much so that I even dressed up as one for Halloween.

See those distinct eye stripes?

My field marks were on point.

As an adult, getting up close with one of these speedy cats

for the Brave Wilderness channel has always been a top priority.

So today, I'm going to be given the chance

to work alongside Terri, a cheetah conservationist.

And with her help, I'm going to have an incredibly

special encounter with Monty.

All right, Coyote, are you ready?

I don't know if you can ever be ready to enter

an enclosure with a cat.

Now, I've palled around with a bobcat,

and also you guys have certainly seen the ocelot episode,

but today is the first time we're getting to work

with an official big cat.

The smallest of the big cats, the cheetah.

And I have loved cheetahs ever since I was a little kid,

and this is the first time I'm ever going

to get to interact with one.

So I'm a little nervous.

Hopefully, it will acclimate to me quickly,

and we'll have a good interaction.

But the cameras are fired up and ready to go,

and I see Terri signaling that it is time

to enter the cheetah enclosure.

You guys ready for this?

Let's do it.

Here we go.

Guys, listen to that purring.

Wow.

Look at you.

Full grown, right?

He's fully grown.

Monty is full grown.

Now can I approach Monty?

You can approach him.

OK.

Come directly to him.

This is my first interaction with a cheetah.

Hi, buddy.

This is either going to go really well or really bad.

Let's see.

Hi.

How are you?

Whoa.

Guys, can you hear that purring?

I'm sure the camera can pick it up.

Look, his whole throat is vibrating.

All right, well, do you think that we can bring Monty

down here into the open and see if he'll

come up on that log for us?

I'm nervous.

This is so cool.

Come, boy.

Come, Monty, come.

Wow.

Come, Monty.

I'll tell you this much.

You get that close to a cat-- once you enter

through the fence, and you're on this side with it,

my heart's racing right now.

It's very intimidating.

Keep in mind, like I said, this is

the smallest of the big cats, and still

look how large this animal is.

A perfectly designed predator.

We'll get into more of that in a second

but let's transition Monty over here out into the open.

We're inside of his enclosure right now.

This is his domain.

Right now Mario is about to make contact.

Look at this.

The real goal in this moment is just for Monty

to get acclimated to myself, to Mark,

to Mario, to realize there's cameras

inside of his enclosure.

Here he comes.

Hi, Monty.

The thing that's so cool about this cat

is the length of its legs.

Perfectly designed predator and designed for speed.

That's the first thing I really want to take a look at.

And as we know, cheetahs are the fastest land predator.

Look at the size of the paws, big paws.

You can pet those paws.

Look at that.

And the claws don't fully retract.

Now they use those claws like cleats

and that will actually help the cheetah to gain traction

as it springs into action after anything

that it's going to try to catch.

So is this at all intimidating to you, Coyote?

Yeah.

You know, it's tough to get completely comfortable next

to a cat of this size, but as long

as Monty is purring like that, Terri

tells me that he is content and feeling really good.

And I saw Terri doing this, scratching

the sides of his head.

Oh, OK, maybe not yet.

All right, Monty's heading this distraction

over into the shade.

Let's follow him.

So, Coyote, what does the coat feel like?

It is very dense.

The fur up on top of the head is bristly, and on its haunches,

it kind of feels like the fur of a buffalo,

and then it's much more sleek running

down the side of the animal.

You could see how streamlined this creature is.

Obviously, perfectly designed for speed.

Cheetah speed.

Oh, he's flicking you with his tail.

I got whacked with the tail there.

Monty, can I analyze your tail real quick?

Let's see what happens.

Oh, whoa. Look at that.

Sure can.

There you go.

That is a long tail right there.

Rather heavy too.

I like how Monty decides that once we try to get a shot,

he's going to flop over on this side,

which is actually kind of cool.

What we want to look at some of the design of Monty's coat.

Cheetahs are so iconic for their spots,

which allow them to perfectly camouflage

in all of the tall grasses.

So it's a mix of light and shadow

that allows them to hide as they're stalking their prey.

Look at these little ears.

They have a great sense of hearing, great eyesight.

Now it's a diurnal species.

They primarily hunt during the day.

And if you take a good look at Monty's eyes,

look at how big they are.

They have incredible vision that allows them to see prey

from extensive distances, and then

they can slowly stalk in and prepare to ambush and attack.

So, Coyote, is a cheetah similar to a lion where

it's in a pride or is it like a tiger,

where it's a solo animal.

That's a great question.

What most people don't realize is

that cheetahs, female specifically,

are mostly solitary unless they have cubs.

But when it comes to males, a group of cheetahs

is called a coalition.

So oftentimes, you'll see two or three

brothers hanging out together.

But the females primarily solitary

unless it's during breeding season or if they have cubs.

It is almost time for lunch and what's

really cool is that Terri is going

to allow us to stay inside the enclosure

while Monty has his lunch.

You guys want to get some cool shots of that?

Do we get lunch after?

If you like horse meat, then, yes,

you can also have some lunch.

I was thinking like a sandwich.

A sandwich is probably a better idea.

All right, let's go watch Monty eat.

Let's feed Monty.

Out of all the animals that we have featured on this channel

eating, I think this is probably going

to be the largest predator.

This, this is the real deal right here.

That is awesome.

Just like all big cats, they chew from the side.

They actually use their large canine teeth

to inflict the kill.

It's almost like scissors the way

that they have to cut the meat apart into chunks

and then swallow it down whole.

Whoa.

The sound of those jaws just crushing through that

meat is incredible.

So you can never do this with a wild cat?

No, you would never get this close

to a cheetah in the wild regardless,

but, you know, Monty is so used to being around humans,

it's OK for me to be this close to him while he's eating.

And when cheetahs are out in the wild and they get a kill,

they will oftentimes eat as much as they can.

They have a lot of competition out there in the grasslands.

Hyenas will come in and steal away their food.

Lions will chase them off a kill.

So once you get something to eat,

you take advantage of that moment and chomp

down as much as you can.

And after this, Monty's probably

going to what, take a nap?

Take a nap and then a meaty poop I would guess.

Hi, buddy.

Yeah, you're such a good cat.

He seems to be comfortable with me at this point.

Coyote, you're really close to a cheetah.

That's really close to a cheetah right there.

Real close to the kill zone too.

I think Monty is pretty comfortable with us

though at this point.

Well, that was pretty cool getting face

to face with the speediest cat here in South Africa,

the one and only cheetah.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see on the next adventure.

The rolling grasslands of South Africa

visually define this epic landscape

and set the tone for a series of epic adventures

the Brave Wilderness crew and I would embark upon.

This is big country and with it comes big animals.

In fact, the world's largest land dwelling animals

can all be found here, including African elephants,

white rhinos, and hippos.

Aside from these massive herbivores,

there are also a fair share of stealthy carnivores.

Sure, we all know lions, leopards, and cheetahs,

but what about the smaller, more secretive felines?

Today the crew and I are visiting

the Kariega Game Reserve.

This internationally renowned site

is set amongst 10,000 hectares of pristine African wilderness,

and their conservation programs are some

of the best in the country.

Currently, they are working to reintroduce the serval,

a medium sized spotted wildcat that

has become completely extinct in the Eastern Cape due to habitat

loss and hunting.

I will be working alongside Jo, considered

the mother of servals, she is one member of a conservation

team whose ultimate goal is to successfully

breed and reintroduce this species to the reserve.

All right, guys, so in this bag I

have a dead bird that we found the other day out in the field.

What I'm going to do is enter this enclosure

and attempt to feed it to a serval.

And I have this pole here and this bird here.

I also have-- go ahead, duck down.

I also have a piece of twine in my backpack.

What I'm going to do is build a good old fashioned cat toy.

Yeah, that's a dead bird right there.

Now I'm going to actually tie the rope around its feet.

All right, so there you go.

Bird on one end, tie this twine to the snare pole.

OK, get that secured on there like that.

Now, you said you were nervous.

Is this a wild serval?

It's a serval that's been raised in captivity,

but you have to keep in mind that this still

is a ferocious little animal.

I would consider this the bobcat of South Africa.

They're a little bit bigger than a bobcat,

but they are completely spring loaded.

So we've got the bird set up on there.

Now I'm going to actually position a GoPro on the stick

as well so we can get some epic shots of the serval jumping

up and trying to get the bird.

All right, I've got a good shot there.

Bird dangling from the stick, and I

think we are ready to enter the serval's enclosure.

Entering the enclosure of an animal,

especially an athletic predator like the serval,

is incredibly nerve wracking.

Therefore, it was important that we

stay quiet and calm so that the cat could

acclimate to our presence.

There they are.

They're starting to come out, getting ready to eat.

All right, Mario, go ahead, zoom in there and get a shot.

Wow, what a beautiful feline.

That's the female.

That's the female?

That's Skye. Her name's Skye.

Yeah.

That's Skye.

Phoenix is just in the background there.

Look at that short tail, short bobbed tail

with rings around it.

And look at that coat.

It's like a mix between a leopard and an ocelot.

All right, well, it looks like the servals

are ready to play so I'm going to head in to the enclosure

and see if we can get up close.

Who's growling?

Is that her?

Yeah.

Hi, Kitty.

[inaudible] closer.

Yeah.

She might want to take that.

Here's a bird.

Listen to that hissing sound.

What a beautiful animal.

Now real quick before we get into trying

to tempt it with the bird, take a look

at the anatomy of this cat.

They're disproportionate when it comes from front leg

to back leg.

Their back legs are actually bigger than their front legs.

They're completely spring loaded.

What they will do is slowly slink through the grasses,

and then as they scare up a bird,

they will leap into the air and grab a hold of it

with their hands, pull it down with their claws,

and then have a feast.

Whoa, listen to those sounds.

Hi, kitty.

Oh, yes, look at those teeth.

Look at how big its ears are.

They have an excellent sense of hearing.

Even the smallest vibration in the grasses they can pick up.

That could be a little bird.

It could be a little mouse, even a lizard,

and then they creep in and pounce.

As compared to their body size and other cats,

they have the largest ears of any feline out

there in the wild.

That is so cool.

I love the patterning in the coat, stripes and spots.

Helps them keep perfectly camouflaged

in between the light and the shadows of tall grasses.

This is a savanna cat.

You'll oftentimes find them hunting by day,

but based on what sort of prey item

they're going after, they will also hunt at night.

Excellent eyesight, excellent sense of smell,

excellent sense of hearing.

OK, now we've got her interested in the bird on a stick.

This is how I would play with my cat at home.

Actually, I don't have a cat, but if I did,

this is exactly what I would do.

It's perfect.

Get it.

Pow, pow, pow.

You got it. Pow pow.

This is what they would do with snakes as well.

Hit it on the head, get it confused, and then eat it.

Oh, got the bird.

Just like that got the bird.

Ripped the legs right off of it.

Look at that.

That's OK.

Those little legs will still work as a good little treat.

Let me see if I can crouch in a little bit closer.

Whoa.

She says, no, this is my bird.

OK, I'll stay right here.

Look at that.

Feathers and all, just scarfing that bird down.

Oh, its head fell off.

You give me back that head.

Oh. Give me the head.

Give me the head.

You see how she's whacking at the stick.

That's exactly what they'll do to their prey.

Whap, whap, whap with those paws.

Look, there's still some drumsticks.

There's the drumsticks.

You know, my good friend Steve Kroschel taught

me how to talk to animals.

Let's see if I can call the serval in.

Ready?

Oh, there you go.

Those were some epic shots.

Holy cow. That was cool.

OK.

Let me put a little bit more bait on the end of the string

and see if we can go another round.

Whoa.

That's a feisty cat.

OK, guys, I have the ultimate cat toy right here.

Check that out.

That is chicken all wound up with the twine.

This one's not going to be as easy for her to get away

from me, so hopefully we're going

to get some more epic shots.

Here we go.

I am moving in to play a game of cat and chicken.

Hi, sweetie.

There we go.

Oh, yeah, that one's not as easy to get it, is it?

You're going to have to chomp on that one.

Oh.

Here you go.

Jump for it.

Skye.

Now if she was going to kill a snake, like a puff adder,

this is exactly what she would want to do.

Rip it up with her claws so that she would avoid a bite.

Wow, it's amazing how she just pats at the chicken like that.

She's just going to chew the chicken out

from around of twine.

Oh, she's almost got it now.

Got those claws lashed in.

You can see those retractable claws coming out.

Give it back.

Give it back.

Don't eat the whole thing.

She is all claws [inaudible].

I got it back.

Oh, chicken is good.

I see.

Yep, you got it all.

That's it.

Wow.

How cool was that?

Entering an enclosure and getting to feed a serval.

I'm Coyote Petersen.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

OK, I'm going to back up real slow.

Deep in the wilds of South Africa, the Brave Wilderness

crew and I are embarking upon the adventure of a lifetime

as we track one of Kariega Game Reserve's most iconic

animals, the African elephant.

After off roading high up into the mountainous terrain,

we came upon a small herd of rogue bulls

and had a heart racing encounter.

You stay, big boy.

You stay.

Not only did I go face to face with a young, confident

challenger, but we soon found ourselves smack in the middle

of an elephant battle.

The heart racing scene that played out

before us was one of the most incredible moments

we have ever captured on camera.

Sweet.

Yet little did we know there was still

one more twist to this tale.

The Kariega Game Reserve is a world renowned wildlife

sanctuary that spans over 10,000 hectares,

and aside from its roaming pride of lions,

the next greatest animal you can encounter are its elephants.

One in specific, known as the Big Tusker,

is an icon in his own right.

Weighing an estimated 6 tons, you would probably

think that this massive land giant

would be rather simple to spot.

Yet his elusive nature keeps him incredibly well hidden.

We thought that the Big Tusker had completely eluded us,

yet just when we were ready to call it a day,

he mysteriously materialized from the shadows

of the underbrush.

Guys, we have found the Big Tusker.

He's right here off the side of the road.

This is him right here.

Look at him coming out.

Wow.

Look at the size of that elephant.

If you thought the elephants we saw earlier were big,

they don't even compare to this giant.

Look at him coming right toward the vehicle.

Look at those tusks.

Look at that.

You can see he's covered in mud.

Notice all the dark coloration, and some of that mud

is still wet.

They'll do that to help keep themselves cool,

regulating their body temperature.

Look at him just feasting away on those trees.

You can see him using the trunk to just pull off clumps

and shove them into his mouth.

You just have to sit back and absorb how intimidating

the size of that animal is.

That was cool to see the three sub adults up there

in the underbrush fighting, but this, oh, man, it

doesn't get any bigger than the Big Tusker.

OK, he's coming a little bit closer.

We want the animal to just be curious with us.

We don't want to do anything to make him want

to come closer to the vehicle.

Wow, he's giving you the field guide

perfect pose right there where you can see

the entire size of his body.

Those enormous front legs.

Look at the size of those feet and that trunk.

It's cool the way that it accordions down, grabs

onto things, wraps around plants,

and then can curve up and place all

those delicious tree branches.

He's actually eating branches and leaves.

Just shoves them right down into his mouth.

How much of that elephant weigh?

That elephant is probably close to 6 tons, I would say.

Wow, 12,000 pounds?

Yeah.

That is about as big as it gets for an African elephant.

I wish we had the elephants from earlier to compare it

to this guy because I on camera those look huge,

but they don't even compare to the size

that the Big Tusker is.

I wish I could get into the frame a little bit better

for scale.

Here, let's see if I step down off the vehicle like this.

Does that give you a slightly better scale?

That's me outside of the vehicle.

And you can see how enormous this elephant is.

I would guess that at the arc of his shoulder

right there, close to 13 feet in height.

Now for scale, an NBA basketball hoop is 10 feet.

So I would say LeBron James would

even have trouble touching the back of that elephant.

Wow.

Bull elephants can be incredibly unpredictable,

and while they appear to be gentle giants,

these massive creatures can move with incredible speed

and power.

Yet in this moment, I simply had to get closer.

And while this was rather dangerous,

keeping myself low to the ground and non-threatening

should allow me to observe while barely being noticed.

Come back. Come back.

Come back. Come back.

Come back.

OK, big boy.

OK.

How's that for a grand finale?

Traversing through the grasslands

and finally getting the Big Tusker

up close for the cameras.

I'm Coyote Petersen.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure Wow, that was close.