HAZEN AUDEL: These are the two teeth marks of a leopard.
This is quite a reality check.
These hills are filled with lethal predators and I run
the risk of winding up like this poor goat.
In some of the most inhospitable places on earth...
tribal people have survived against the odds
for thousands of years.
I'm Hazen Audel...
survival instructor and wilderness guide.
I want to learn from the masters...
so I'm traveling to some of the most remote corners of
the globe to take on the toughest tribal challenges.
To succeed... I must survive the tribe.
These arrows have gotta count.
Amazing.
It's absolutely amazing.
This time... I'm with the Samburu...
a herding tribe whose lives traditionally
depend on cattle.
A complete survival kit... the cow can provide all of the
food these warriors need...
milk... meat and blood.
The Samburu live in an arid region of equatorial Kenya.
It's a varied landscape from mountain ranges to scrub
and desert plains... but it's all tough.
After three days of traveling...
I reach an isolated village.
This is my introduction to one of Africa's most
formidable tribes.
The look that these people have...
the way they look at you and how tall they are...
it is intimidating.
These are the guys that are gonna show me what it's like
to live out here.
I'm here to learn the unique survival skills
of the Samburu.
I have ten days to master the techniques they've honed over
centuries before I take on the ultimate challenge,
An extreme multi-day cattle drive to deliver
famished cows to essential new pastures.
Going through one of the most hostile environments
in the world.
My mentor while I'm here will be Kasana.
He is one of the Samburu elite...
Who take on the vital responsibility of protecting
the community's livestock.
I start immersing myself in tribal life by dressing
in a traditional ashukka.
Kasana then sets my first task; identifying dangerous
animals that have come close to the village perimeter.
The Samburu share their home with some of the most
deadly creatures on the planet.
They are prepared for attack at all times.
And routinely scout for signs of danger in the area.
Straight away... I come across some fresh tracks.
You can just barely make it out.
Here's the main paw... the toe imprints...
a little bit of claw.
It's a hyena track.
These predators prey on the Samburu's livestock but can
also attack and kill humans.
Hyenas... for these people...
are one of the most dangerous animals.
It's not just tooth and claw that I have to be
on high alert for.
This is a track that's really easy to spot right there.
That's an elephant track.
These are the largest land mammals on earth and
can bulldoze anything that gets in their way.
These guys live right next door to some dangerous...
dangerous animals.
The Samburu's main concern isn't humans being
attacked but their precious cattle...
whose importance permeates every level of
tribal life here.
Not only can they provide all their food but
they're also marriage dowries and an elder's
wealth is determined by the size of his herd.
It's their grocery store and life savings but...
above all... it gives them status within the tribe.
Next... I have to take some of these precious cows
to water directly through predator territory.
It's the end of the dry season and water is
at its most scarce.
The nearest functioning well is an hour away.
Take this one?
Okay... she's got big horns.
I'm a novice at herding...
so Kasana has started me off small with five cows.
Herding is a basic skill I've got to master.
Otherwise... I'll be a liability on the
final challenge of the cattle drive.
To get the herd to go left...
you come in from the right and vice versa.
It's not rocket science but simple things
aren't always easy.
It's already hard work keeping up with these guys...
who wanna get to water.
There's a lot of running around that...
in this heat...
is sapping my energy and fluids quickly.
Dehydration in these conditions can have
dangerous effects.
I can understand these cows are very lean.
There's no fat on them like American cows.
After an hour... we reach the well.
It's the only water source in the area...
so it'll also be a draw for any local predators.
Kasana is satisfied that I can handle a small herd...
but that was just the first test.
My fluid levels are low but the priority now is
to get water for the cows.
I'll have to wait!
This well has been dug straight into the sand with
no supporting structure.
Whoa!
And it regularly collapses.
These sides are so unstable.
There we go.
Whoa... look out.
These walls just keep caving in on us.
Cows need a lot of water and getting it out
of the ground and up to the trough is
serious physical work.
On the final challenge...
getting water is going to be a huge task.
There will be a much larger herd to deal with and no
permanent wells along the trail.
In this arid landscape... using as little water as
possible is a key survival strategy.
It's embedded in Samburu life and my host mother
shows me how the village women clean their
kitchenware without water.
Put some of the charcoal in there and shake it around.
This is how they clean their dishes.
Cleanliness is important here.
In these temperatures...
food spoils rapidly and whenever possible...
it's consumed fresh.
Like the Samburu super food... cow's blood.
Packed full of protein...
this is an important part of the warrior's diet and is
drunk straight from the cow but collecting it requires
a steady hand and a sure shot.
This is a very special arrow tip.
It's only meant to go that deep...
just through the skin and penetrate one
side of the jugular.
It's gotta be precise.
If you don't do it in the right spot...
you run the risk of killing one of the cows.
Killing a cow here would take away a vital food source
and deprive the Samburu of their most valuable asset.
That would probably be the worst thing I
could possibly do here.
Okay... Kasana has selected our donor.
Now... to catch a cow.
A tourniquet is tied around the cow's neck.
Constricting the blood flow brings the veins to the
surface of the skin... making it a clear target.
I've got to fire the arrow point blank and with the
precise amount of force.
Kasana tells me... the cow will feel little pain...
but I am uncomfortable doing this.
I'm nervous.
I've gotta stay focused and hold my nerve.
Time to go for the jugular.
HAZEN AUDEL: Agh!
I didn't fire with enough force.
1... 2... (bleep)!
This is my last chance.
Kasana marks out exactly where I have to hit.
I haven't succeeded this time.
It's turned out to be much harder than I thought.
But this is a skill I've got to master...
Because it will be essential on the cattle drive.
Kasana shows me how it's done.
You know... I made multiple attempts on the
neck of this poor cow.
I wasn't getting the jugular.
The Samburu might take two pints of blood at a time.
Then the wound is pinched shut.
No band aid needed here.
This cow will be good as new in a relatively
short amount of time.
Finally... a handful of sand is used to help seal
the wound and the cow is fine.
As for me... things are about to get uncomfortable.
I'm going to have to drink the blood but once
it's exposed to air... it starts to solidify.
With vigorous stirring... the coagulant collects on
the stick and can be removed.
So... the rest is liquid and then there's just
the coagulated blood.
Evidently they feed this to the dog.
It's time to drink.
This is a totally new experience for me and I
know there's a genuine risk of illness.
It's warm and they want me to drink more.
The first sip was hard to keep down but each one
after that gets slightly easier.
This is gonna take some getting used to.
Now for the second course: a Samburu smoothie...
blood mixed with milk.
It tastes a lot better.
Taste more like milk and a hint of blood.
Warriors have lived off of only blood and milk for
months at a time and for the rest of my stay here...
this will be my diet.
Lunch break over... it's time to get back to work.
Deadly wildlife is a constant threat and the tribe has
built a ring of thorns around the village to protect
humans and livestock alike.
Lekiora ... the patriarch of the family
I'm staying with...
shows me how to maintain this vital defense.
This stuff is pretty incredible.
It's like nature's barbed wire Look at these thorns.
Spikes like this will keep the cattle in and hopefully...
the animals that want to eat them... out.
They're almost impossible to handle so the Samburu
have a tool for the job.
This is an interesting stick...
specially made to mend these fences.
It has a way to tuck in...
those branches and then it has a hook to grab.
Anything you can do to keep your fragile fingers away
from those huge thorns.
On the cattle drive...
I'll build a thorn fence like this... from scratch.
During the night... it will be the only thing standing
between me and the deadly wild animals.
Just outside the village... there's a shocking reminder
of what the defenses are made to keep out.
We're called to a leopard kill that happened within the
last couple of hours.
One of the girls of the village was herding about
40 goats and all of a sudden...
a leopard pounced out of the bush...
took down one of her goats.
She got really scared.
She was terrified.
She ran back to the village to tell the elders
and here they are.
These big cats easily pick off livestock and
even though it's rare... some have become man eaters.
This is quite a reality check.
These hills are filled with lethal predators and I'm
gonna be out here spending the night with my livestock
and I run the risk of winding up like this poor goat.
At dusk... the whole community and their livestock
retreat behind the safety of the thorn fence.
I bed down in my host family's hut.
It's my first experience of being in a place like this
where you look outside and there's tracks
of hyena and leopard...
elephant and then you go inside the thorn fence and
then you get to be here in the safety of your village
and it feels pretty nice... actually.
Sleep is a survival necessity that is often overlooked.
Not getting enough makes it harder to think clearly...
which could be life threatening in this hostile
environment but the time to get valuable rest is
when the most dangerous predators come out to hunt...
searching for easy prey.
HAZEN AUDEL: Disturbances have to be
confronted head on.
Predators might have breached the defenses.
The warriors' only concern is to fight off
whatever might be attacking it.
Big surprise to me.
They just all woke up all of a sudden.
I didn't know what was going on.
I just followed them and they're all running...
it was pitch black...
I figured something was going on with the cattle.
It seems to be a false alarm...
but it shows Kasana how I'd react in the event
on an attack on the cattle drive.
When these attacks happen...
you have to be there on the spot... right away.
Okay... let's get back to bed.
This has been an important lesson.
From now on... I'll have to be on high alert.
The Samburu traditionally don't grow anything...
taking great pride in how their livestock can provide
everything they need.
But there's one wild food they'll always
forage for: honey.
Kasana is taking us to a hive he recently discovered.
Like most things in nature...
it's not placed for our convenience.
It's more than 25 feet up a tree.
Right there.
This is a dead palm tree and I can just barely see the
swarm of bees flying into a hole.
We have to be on our guard.
The moment the bees sense that the hive
is under threat... they'll attack.
Smoke helps to subdue them...
so before we do anything... our fire has to be started.
Everything here is bone dry and the tinder
catches first time.
Yeah... wow... we've got a fire.
Protective measures in place...
we can start to chop the tree down but it's not going
to come easily.
Once the tree's fallen...
all that stands between us and the honey is a swarm
of angry African bees.
When a bee stings... it releases an alarm pheromone.
When other bees detect this...
they go into a defensive frenzy.
Agh... agh!
They're stinging me.
Agh... agh!
KASANA: Go... go... go... go... go... go... go!
HAZEN AUDEL: Yah... agh!
The others are getting stung as much as me.
KASANA: Go... go... go... go... go... go!
HAZEN AUDEL: But they aren't showing any reaction
to the pain.
Agh!
Away from the angry bees...
I finally get to taste the honey.
Oh my God.
Never has honey ever tasted this amazing...
especially considering I've been on a diet of only
milk and blood.
This is like... with every bite this feels like...
like the sugar's just penetrating the cells as if
my body has been so needing this.
Returning to the village with our bounty is
a happy occasion.
Everybody has just found their piece and
they're running off with it so they can enjoy
it all to themselves.
But it's not long before I'm back on my warrior diet.
This is dinner.
It's been sitting out all day in the warm Kenyan day and
the fats have sat on top.
[Coughs].
There was like a big floating scab on the top.
[Coughs].
A new day and a new lesson.
Yesterday I thought I was okay in react to
the bee stings...
but Kasana is concerned because Samburu warriors
do not show pain.
In this dangerous environment...
it's a distraction they can't afford.
Kasana wants to get me into a warrior frame of mind.
Thousands of ants are coming out.
Ow!
They're like fire ants.
These ants are small... but they can sure pack a punch.
It's like a cigarette burn.
Agh!
Kasana and the junior warriors are also
getting stung but... once again...
they aren't showing any reaction to the pain.
I'm just trying not to feel them crawling all over me and
I'm just absolutely trying to dissolve the feeling of this
burning that's all over my back right now.
If I'm gonna deal with pain here...
I've gotta keep it to myself.
I can feel one going right into my eye.
Total concentration.
The true Samburu warrior deals with all
hardships in silence.
They are never supposed to show how hungry they are...
how tired they are... these guys just have to
maintain a stoic lifestyle.
It's all about keeping complete focus on protecting
the cows at all costs.
It's a state of mind that I'll have to adopt
on the cattle drive.
Otherwise... I'll be putting the cows the Samburu
depend on in danger.
I proved I can handle the pain... but so far...
I failed to master collecting the Samburu super food...
blood.
Kasana is letting me have one final attempt.
The jugular's exposed now?
Here we go again.
If I fail this time...
my future as a blood warrior will be under threat.
HAZEN AUDEL: This is my last chance to prove that
I can get blood from a cow.
They're so happy that I finally got this.
They are so happy for me.
Little bit of sand.
It feels good.
These guys have a lot more confidence in me now.
Never has warm blood and milk tasted so good.
This is a breakthrough.
For a Samburu warrior...
the ability to live off a cow is the key to
self-sufficiency in the bush.
I'm almost ready for the cattle drive.
There's just one last skill to master: how to defend
against attacking animals.
My host father... Lekiora...
is showing me how to make a Samburu club.
Back home... I do a lot of work with wood.
I know how important it is to get the right piece
for the job.
Lekiora has scouted out the perfect tree for
what we need.
This wood that he's chosen is really hard.
Okay.
Yeah... that'd probably do some damage.
This big stick is going to turn into something like this.
The warriors carry these with them every day wherever
they go and when push comes to shove...
these are lethal.
After hours of patient carving...
it's ready to be put through its paces.
First and foremost...
it's an offensive weapon capable of killing
any attacking animal.
It also has a secondary defensive use.
This is used to throw with accuracy into
a herd of... say elephants.
It scares them away and keeps us all safe and
that's what I'm gonna learn to do now.
Kasana shows me how it's done...
using a tree about 100 feet away as a target.
Damn!
I can't believe the accuracy that these guys have.
Agh... I'm way off target.
Kasana quickly spots where I'm going wrong.
I'm not holding it in the right way.
So that there?
Okay.
The new grip has drastically improved my accuracy.
I don't want to have to use it...
but this powerful skill could mean the difference between
life and death when defending against wild animals
in the bush.
I'm now equipped with all the skills needed for
the cattle drive.
This is going to be like nothing I've done before.
It's not just about keeping myself alive...
but also an entire herd of valuable cows.
Tomorrow is the day.
Kasana has decided that I should eat my first
solid food in a week...
giving me a vital energy boost.
The Samburu slaughter their highly prized cows rarely
but for goats...
it's a different story and this is not gonna be
your everyday barbecue.
Apparently... what they do before we eat the
meat of this goat is...
they drink the blood of the goat first.
I'll be doing the drinking direct from the dying animal.
The goat has its throat slit.
You can see the jugular right there.
Oh my gosh.
A cup is made from a flap of neck skin.
[Tribe members speak in foreign language]
I am expected to drink it all.
More?
I don't know how much more blood I can drink.
[slurping and swallowing sounds]
Agh!
Down to the very last drop but what's left is
just blood jello.
[Tribe members speak in foreign language]
This is what they do.
They've been doing this their entire lives.
This is... this is Samburu life and it's no big deal.
To me... this is a huge deal.
That was way outside my comfort zone and a
giant step into the world of the Samburu warrior.
I have left my western inhibitions behind and
embrace the traditions of the tribe and after the
ritual... the reward.
These guys are making such short work of this goat.
So they've partitioned all the meat now.
All these meat go to certain individuals.
From the elders getting the head...
to the married women of the village
getting the entrails...
every group in the highly ordered Samburu society
gets a specific part of the goat.
The warriors get the best cuts...
the ribs and hind legs... that we cook up immediately.
The ribs are the first thing to be done.
Look at that.
Sweet... tasty... juicy ribs.
This is my first solid food in a week.
After my blood and milk diet...
it's one of the tastiest meals I've ever had.
It's so good.
With a full stomach...
my body feels prepared for tomorrow's
big cattle drive...
but my mind is full of uncertainties.
I'm just trying to think about what it's
gonna be like.
It's unchartered territory for me and out there...
I don't know where water is...
I don't have the safety of my village
and that's reality.
HAZEN AUDEL: It's early morning on the first day of
the cattle drive.
Nearly all grazing around the village has been exhausted.
It's vital I get these cows to new pasture.
The village elders have gathered to discuss
what I'm doing.
I originally thought that I was just taking
my host father's cows...
but all these villagers say that I take
their cows as well.
This is a much bigger challenge than I had thought.
I can't mess this up.
These cattle mean too much to these people.
Kasana tells me the exact size the herd is going to be.
We're gonna be taking 70 cows out on this trek.
That's a lot of cows.
70 chances of things to go wrong.
It's humbling that the elders trust me this much...
but it's a huge step up.
I was only dealing with five cows before.
The herd includes calves...
vulnerable to dehydration and easy pickings
for predators in the bush.
Kasana has told me that it's going to be a
two day trek through hazardous terrain.
We'll be surrounded by killer wildlife and exposed
to the elements.
The final test will be a perilous climb
into the mountains... where good grazing can
still be found.
Here... I'll hand over the cows to a relief
team of warriors.
There's one final bombshell... Kasana's
not coming with me.
What was going to be a test has now become a trial.
A large herd needs more than one person to move them...
so I am joined by the junior warriors I've
been training with...
Matiyo and Lisian.
You know... I haven't had one of these yet...
but it's pretty self-explanatory.
We are taking no food or drink with us.
The cows will provide all of our sustenance and
water will have to be dug out along the way.
There's just time for a goodbye from Kasana and
my host father... Lekiora.
My final challenge has begun.
There's no turning back now.
It's early morning and it's already hot.
The temperature is only going to climb from here.
[coughs].
Being at the back here... mostly it's just dusty.
The cows walk with a brisk pace and to collect strays...
I have to run around.
In this heat... the extra exertion is rapidly depleting
my water reserves.
I'm finding this hard work even just to keep up with
the cows at this pace.
It's still morning.
The heat of the day hasn't really shown up yet.
It's mostly thick scrub here and the best route to
take is the clear... dried out riverbeds.
The Samburu say leopards could be lying in wait...
shrouded by the bushes.
We have to be cautious.
Now we're in this area with a bunch of dense vegetation...
a perfect place for one of these calves to
be picked off.
It's the hottest part of the day now and none of us
can go on much longer if we can't find water.
I'm really suffering from fluid loss but I must adopt
the warrior way and stay focused.
The more fragile calves are at serious risk
of dying from dehydration.
Fortunately... nature leaves clues for where
to start looking for a drink.
This kind of plant means that there's water right here.
Hit bedrock but right before you hit bedrock...
see all that sand... how it sticks to the tip?
That's all water.
While the junior warriors protect the cattle...
I dig down to the water.
Different types of sand can hold enormous
amounts of water.
Oh my God... water!
Kasana would not be impressed to see me drinking
before the cows... but I'm desperate.
Now I can continue digging to make sure the cows
get their share.
Agh!
Clearly... other herders have dug here before us.
Nearby... we find an old...
discarded trough for the cattle to drink from.
Once the cows have had their fill...
we carry on until near sunset.
Our grueling day isn't over yet.
We still have to make camp.
We're gonna be spending the night right here.
To protect ourselves from wild animals...
we're going to build a version of the thorn fence
that surrounds the village.
This is a nice open area but we're gonna utilize
what's already existing to our advantage.
It'll be a circular coral.
These walls will all be thorny shrubs.
The center circle...
that's where we'll put the calves.
We'll sleep alongside the cattle and
then this... right here...
this is the one opening that we'll have to this entire
structure that we're going to build.
Time to get to work.
With our defenses complete...
Matiyo and I put our tracking skills to use...
looking for signs of dangerous animals nearby.
The baboons are calling from up in the hill.
It's not unheard of for troops of baboons to
seriously injure humans...
or rip apart livestock.
It's kinda spooky.
Then... the tracks we'd feared.
Those are leopard tracks from today.
I've already seen how bold they can be when
picking off livestock.
Those tracks may be of a leopard that's stalking
our cattle right now.
We just have to hope the thorn fence does
its job through the night.
Time to try and rest.
This is bed and to top it off... this is our pillow.
And I'm perfectly fine with it.
I'm ready to collapse but I have to be on my guard
for any potential attacks.
This is when the cattle are at their most vulnerable.
Tonight... we're gonna sleep with one eye closed
and one eye open.
We have to listen to the cows and if any
sign of danger... we have to wake up and
we have to respond immediately.
We're all exhausted... but I'm too on edge about
what could be out there to sleep for long.
The guys are all sleeping here...
that's Matiyo... fast asleep...
Lisian.
Whoa... Whoa!
HAZEN AUDEL: You just wake up all of a sudden
because these cows...
they just start running in the coral and you're
sleeping on the ground.
You just have to jump up and get out of the way
before you even know what's going on...
'cause you run the risk of all these cows
just stampeding you.
It's freaky.
There is something out there and the cattle
refuse to settle for the rest of the night.
There will be little sleep now before dawn.
At first light...
what could have been scaring the herd
reveals itself.
Hyenas... it was just snooping around the coral.
I just woke up and there was a hyena just staring
right at us.
That's a little bit unnerving.
The cattle are safe and we've made it
through the night... but the toughest part of
the journey is yet to come.
Matiyo points out our ultimate destination.
We're gonna be taking these cattle up to the top
of that mountain.
Yesterday was tough... but getting 70 cows up
a mountain is taking it to another level.
The fragile calves are on the edge.
The extra exertion of climbing could
finish them off...
but they have to get up to the new pasture.
From here... we're just trying to find the best
route to get up onto that ridge.
If we choose a bad route...
we run the risk of taking up all these cattle
up something steep.
Could be really difficult getting these things
off that mountain.
This is the crux of the challenge.
It looks like an impossible task...
but there's no turning back now.
Some of the cattle would never make it
back to the village.
We have to press on.
We're definitely in the climb now.
It's the final hurdle...
but I can't let my guard down for a moment.
We're still in leopard ambush territory.
If an attack happens now...
I will be expected to defend the cows with my life
and in this landscape...
that's going to be no easy task.
Everything is covered with thorns.
Every step you take...
a rock rolls out from under your feet.
You're getting tangled up... scratched up... snagged.
Some of the most unpalatable terrain I've ever been in.
After hours of tough climbing...
I finally see the warriors that I'm handing
the herd over to.
We've made it.
[speaking foreign language]
They just asked if all of our cows made it
up here and... yes... indeed they did.
They're all up here...
they're all grazing now and they are happy.
Bringing the herd up to vital new pastures has been
a tough but rewarding journey of discovery.
[Samburu Warriors Singing].
HAZEN AUDEL: The Samburu survive in one of
the most inhospitable places on earth because
of one thing...their cattle.
All of the skills I've learned have equipped me to
keep these cows alive and in return...
they've been my complete survival package.
I make the journey back to the village...
bringing news to the elders that all their precious
cattle made it safely up to the new pastures.
That was a test of my endurance that I will have
with me my entire life.
It feels so good to be back and to see all
these smiling faces.
They know that I went through a lot.
After my host father... last to congratulate me
is my mentor.
MALE VILLAGER: Kasana.
HAZEN AUDEL: Oh... Kasana.
Seeing how pleased he is...
it's clear I've survived the tribe but more than that.
I feel I've become a blood warrior.