- [Tristan] We've got a leopard on the hunt.
She's in a different female's territory.
Anything can happen from here.
- [Tayla] Oh my goodness, look at that.
- [Tristan] Look at her stalk, Tayla.
She's got one.
(Tayla gasping)
(safari adventure music)
- My name is Tayla.
- My name is Tristan.
- As two fellow rangers
- [Tristan] We know the value of being a ranger.
- [Guide] Together, Tristan and Tayla
are seeking out the world's best rangers,
those special people who can help bring us close
to our truly wild species.
For Tristan and Taylor, it's about sharing stories
and new ideas.
They are hoping to explore more of the natural world
and learn how to better protect it
by listening to their fellow rangers
and their unique points of view.
(orchestral adventure music)
Welcome to Ranger Exchange.
Tristan and Tayla have traveled to the Sabi Sands,
one of the best places in the world to find leopards.
They arrived at Kirkmans Camp to meet up
with Josh and Jerry, a ranger and tracker team
with years of experience and a special love
for this mystifying cat.
Heading out, Josh and Jerry were anxious.
Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the number of visitors
has declined, meaning there are less rangers
out looking for theses cats, causing a drastic decline
in leopard sightings.
And now they have limited time to find these cats
with Tristan and Tayla.
- [Tayla] They don't know where any of the leopards are,
they haven't seen them for a couple of weeks.
- [Tristan] Hopefully with the help of trusty Jerry,
we'll be able to find one.
- [Guide] Jerry's role as a tracker is extremely vital.
He sits on front of the vehicle, the best place
to spot any animals or animal tracks
while helping Josh to navigate the terrain.
- [Josh] Jerry and I have been together now
for four and a half years.
I'll never know as much about this place as Jerry knows,
so I take all my cues from him.
Everything I've learnt about animal behavior,
I've all learnt it from him.
- [Guide] After hours of searching with no leopard
in sight, they receive a tip-off.
- [Radio Tracker 1] One spotted as crossing
- [Josh] Copy, thanks very much.
We'll be joining you shortly.
They've found a leopard. We need to turn around now
and go straight away.
- [Guide] Now, it's a race against time.
- [Tayla] We're darting through all the phragmites,
all these tall reeds in the sand-river to head just
around the bend, and hopefully we'll get to see
her.
- [Radio Tracker 1] Josh, it's better if you come in
from the north of the sighting through the block
and we'll get right in front of her.
- [Josh] No ways, this is insane.
Do you know who this is? Unbelievable.
Yeah. Affirmative, we've located her.
She's just gone stationary.
- [Tristan] Guys, this is absolutely incredible.
We've got a leopard on the hunt and she's in
a different female's territory:
anything can happen from here.
(upbeat safari music)
She's been alarm-called by monkeys,
but the monkey's alarm call is actually
triggered some warthogs to start running
because the warthogs don't know what's going on.
They're actually moving down towards the leopard
at the moment.
- [Tayla] Ah! Oh my goodness, look at that.
- [Tristan] I wouldn't be surprised if this warthog
maybe even tries to chase her.
- [Tayla] Oh my goodness, well, it's big enough.
(crosstalk)
- [Josh] You can just see two piglets on the other side
- [Tayla] Is she going around to get the piglets?
- [Josh] She is.
- [Tristan] Look at her stalk Tayla!
It almost looks like she's sizing up each
individual warthog, trying to figure out which
one she wants.
- [Tayla] If she wants to make a move she's going to have to
make it quickly, yeah?
A warthog can be just as much as a threat to a
leopard as as leopard to the warthog.
- [Josh] One touch of a warthog tusk at this point
in her life and she won't heal.
- [Tayla] No.
I want her to get a meal, but I understand
if she gets thrashed by this warthog sow
this could really be the end of her.
- [Guide] A rare standoff ensued between a hungry
leopardess, who has strayed from her usual territory,
and a mother warthog trying to defend
her piglets.
- [Tayla] The best place for her is to go in to
her burrow.
- [Josh] If she goes in to the burrow
now, with those piglets walking by after her,
that could be a bad situation.
The leopard's body language is incredibly
alert. You see her head is up, her tail
is flat. She's focused on those piglets.
- [Tayla] It actually looks like she's dripping
a bit of saliva there, so she must be
getting quite frustrated with this whole situation.
- [Josh] Oh she's going. She's backing herself
in to a hole.
- [Tristan] The mother warthog has gone down the
burrow, and the babies have to follow her.
- [Tayla] (whispering) Wait girl, wait.
- [Tristan] (whispering) They're in strike range,
and the leopard is salivating.
She's got one. That's insane.
I haven't seen her front paws?
- [Tayla] Do you think maybe she's got it pinned?
- [Josh] There was a squeal.
- [Tristan] Oh oh, I think she might have it
in her front paws. This is insane.
- [Tayla] This is madness.
- [Tristan] Oh she's missed it.
- [Tayla] Look how disappointed she is.
Oh the mother's going to come out in a moment.
- [Tristan] This is why leopards are better, Tayla.
- [Tayla] Okay, I know why this leopard is better.
- [Tristan] No, just leopards in general.
- [Tayla] Look at those eyes now.
- [Tristan] She's covered in dust. Shame, girl.
- [Josh] I'm tingling all over right now.
This has been the most unbelievable-
- [Tayla] My heart
- [Tristan] The shakes! (chuckles)
- [Josh] I've never seen anything like that, eh Jerry?
Four-and-a-half years to get there.
- [Tristan] This is the equivalent of winning the lottery
In nature terms.
The chances of this are so slim.
- [Josh] As far as leopard sightings go,
it does not get any better than that. (chuckles)
- [Tristan] Life out here is on a thread all
the time, isn't it? I mean, it's millimeters that
she's just missed by. A battle for life and death
on both sides, yeah.
- [Josh] As rangers yourselves you guys must know
how often you watch something like this unfold
and it just peters out: warthogs move away,
leopards go to sleep; sun sets. Life continues.
But to see that unfold (chuckles)
just think that this kind of stuff that we've just seen
is happening throughout the entire Kruger National Park,
throughout the Sabi Sands, and not everyone gets
to see it.
The life of a leopard, and to see something like that!
- [Tristan] Makes it worth all the hours,
all the sweat, all the effort to be out here
and find these cats on a day-to-day basis.
- [Guide] Over the past year, the rhythm of
ranger's work in the bush, and the interplay
with their conservation efforts has been thrown off
due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
And now today, despite the parks being open,
the loss of revenue has a huge impact on conservation.
- [Tayla] For me, like I'm super emotional because
yes, it's been hard, hey, for the last couple of months.
And this has really ignited my passion again
for being in the bush, and for guiding and stuff.
At one point this year I was like - maybe let's just leave.
I feel like I've got this second wind now.
Really cool.
- [Tristan] Moments like this shared with people
makes it more real, you know?
- [Tayla] That's it though. If we don't preserve these
areas, if we don't make the sacrifices that we do
on a daily basis, how do other people get to escape
from the hustle and bustle of the cities?
- [Josh] Well not only that, but who knows if
this stuff will even be around for people to see.
- [Tayla] Exactly. Going on a safari is just
something else. For me there are no words to describe it.
It's just a feeling.
(soft acoustic instrument music)
- [Guide] On their final day, straight out of camp,
Jerry spots a leopard: proving why the Sabi Sands
is the best place to find these felines.
(Tristan cackles)
- [Tayla] This is honestly ridiculous.
- [Tristan] It's absolutely unbelievable,
we've just left camp and we've already bumped into
a leopard. There's nothing more special then when
you get a big cat like this walking past the vehicle.
- [Josh] Sabi Sands is one of the best places
in the world to see these elusive cats.
The reason for that is that over many generations
the leopards have slowly become more and more comfortable
with the presence of vehicles. They do all the stuff
that they usually do, almost as if we weren't here.
- [Guide] But this leopard was not sticking around.
They lost it just as quickly as they found it.
- [Tristan] This is what is amazing about a leopard:
One minute they're there, the next minute they're gone.
(cicada noises)
- [Guide] To wrap up their time with Jerry
they head down to the sand river, the best
spot to talk about conservation.
- [Tristan] We were so spoiled to see they leopard,
to have that interaction. And not only that:
also being in a place like this and having
excellent rangers and trackers that take you along
that journey that just makes it a mind-blowing experience
- [Tayla] Just also spending time with the two of you:
people who are so passionate about what they do
that they give every single day to spend it out
here and keep preserving those areas.
You really did re-ignite my passion for being
out in the bush.
- [Josh] Thanks, Tayla. You know, just by being
able to share moments and experiences like this we're
able to spread the good word and educate people.
And this is the perfect place to showcase it:
This is one of the places that leopards
are so well protected: the population is flourishing.
We can show people what really happens when you protect
such an incredible cat, and the ecosystems that
that cat resides in.
- [Tristan] I think both of us have found something
that maybe we've potentially lost over the years.
Sometimes you forget about some of the things that
really make you passionate. It's why sitting with
another ranger is so special.
- [Josh] Thank you Tristan, thank you Tayla.
- [Tristan] Thanks very much, guys.
(Jerry chuckles)
It has been wonderful.
(upbeat music)
- [Guide] If you are interested in following the lives
of the leopards at the Sabi Sands,
reach out on social media to 'andBeyond Kirkman's'.
Thank you for watching this episode of Ranger Exchange
here on Brave Wilderness.
Don't forget to comment below, and share this episode with
your friends.
And remember, be brave, stay wild.
We will see you on the next adventure.
(upbeat music)