(birds chirping)
- There's a moment just before a predator starts to hunt,
when time seems to stop.
And then chaos. (intense music)
This young leopard has made her first kill in three days.
But even though this hyena has stolen her kill,
it's not the villain here.
Stick around and I'll show you why.
I'm Julz, as a wildlife cameraman I've spent years
following and filming animals.
I've learned a few things along the way,
and I want to share some of my adventures with you.
In this series we're looking at predators,
lions, leopard, cheetah, wild dogs.
They're all family favorites,
but there's one predator that always gets a bad rap
and it really bugs me.
So today I'm gonna answer the question,
how dangerous are predators?
And I'm going to show you why hyenas are not the baddies
Hollywood has portrayed them to be, let's go.
(animals roaring) (upbeat music)
(animals roaring)
The nature of the beast is a phrase usually used to describe
things being just the way they are.
And it's usually negative.
There's traffic in the city, that's the nature of the beast.
Your smartphone won't connect to the wifi,
that's the nature of the beast.
But in this series,
we're spotlighting the nature of these beautiful,
but complex beasts.
We're revealing their secrets
and acknowledging their struggles.
Showing that being a beast. isn't a bad thing.
Today, I'll show you why this hyena
snagging a kill from a leopard,
doesn't make him the bad guy.
In fact, it's actually pretty heroic.
I won't name any names, but in some movies
hyenas are betrayed as ugly, evil scavengers.
That's not fair.
They can be cute, they're definitely not evil.
And they're predators in their own right.
In fact, in some places lion are more likely to scavenge
from hyenas than the other way around.
But before we talk about how great hyenas are
let's set the scene and show you
some of the other predators hyenas have to contend with.
I'm taking you to one of my favorite places on Earth,
South Luangwa National Park.
Now I know I've got a Kiwi accent
and you probably haven't heard of this place,
but we'll be spending a lot of time here.
So say it with me South Luangwa National Park.
Got it, let's go.
It's a massive wilderness covering a huge area
but the main action happens around the river.
The Luangwa flows roughly north to south
and in the dry season it's one of the few water sources
for miles around.
The river is absolutely full of crocodiles and hippo.
And there's one of the highest concentrations
of predators here anywhere in the world.
Carnivores get a lot of their water from blood,
but herbivores have to drink
and that means going to the river.
It's a tricky balance.
You have to weigh up being thirsty
with the potential of being eaten.
Because all the prey animals come to the river,
all the predators do too.
Animals like these impala have to keep an eye out.
In the water there are crocodiles
and all around predators are lurking.
We'll follow this impala as it leaves the river
and heads to the grassy floodplains where it likes to feed.
As it leaves the river the first predator
it's going to encounter is probably going to be lions.
Lying in the shade along the riverside.
Lions are most people's favorite.
King of the jungle, heir to all the light touches.
They're the largest predators here
and there's a lot of them.
In some days filming I've seen 30 lions.
(gentle music)
Lions love the shade and the dry season is hot, real hot.
So they rest up during the day and conserve their energy.
(lion snoring)
One of the questions people often ask me is
whether it's dangerous to film lions?
If you're in a vehicle you're actually pretty safe.
It's a weird thought, I know,
but they just kind of see the outline of the car.
And don't seem to notice your inside.
Mostly this works to your advantage
and you're able to film without affecting them.
But sometimes they get too comfortable.
And if there's no shade around
you might find you have a lion
sleeping in the shadow of your vehicle.
And my filming truck doesn't have any doors.
So it can be pretty unnerving having a snoring lion
just a couple of feet away.
Lions are opportunists which means that if something
wanders into their field of view,
they'll probably have a go at it.
Otherwise they rest up, sometimes for days,
and conserve their energy until they're hungry.
And then it's time to hunt.
Lions are ambush hunters,
different prides have different hunting strategies.
I've seen prides which specialize
in bringing down large animals like buffalo,
and those which prefer taking out smaller prey like warthog.
They tend to stalk and surprise their prey
with a short burst of speed.
At top speed, they can hit 80 kilometers an hour
which is about 50 miles, but they can't keep it up for long.
So if an impala can get a headstart
it'll probably make it out alive.
For prey animals being alert to your surroundings
is key to staying alive.
It's what keeps you from being surprised.
But being alert all the time
is actually really costly to animals.
Imagine keeping your head up looking around,
ears triggering at the smallest sound.
It means you have less time for eating and for resting.
And all that stress has got to be bad for you,
but if it means not being eaten, I'll take alert and alive
over chilled and dinner any day of the week.
So our impala has made it past the lions
and onto the floodplain,
but they've still got one of the most successful predators
to deal with, wild dogs.
These aren't your regular pet pooch.
They share a common ancestor with wolves.
Wild dogs live in family groups called packs.
When it comes to hunting these guys are not ambush hunters.
They run out into the open and start the chase.
(dramatic music)
Dogs are a lot smaller than lions
but they've got endurance and cooperation on their side.
As a team they can kill prey many times their own size
and run down animals over long distances.
Wow, wow, wow.
Let's just pump the brakes here a minute
because I want to tell you how difficult it is
to film wild dogs.
When they're hunting they can move it over 40 miles an hour.
So following them is really tough.
You have to predict where they're gonna be,
grab a shot, drive like crazy through the bush,
dodging trees and holes, try to get in front of them
and figure out which impala they're targeting.
It makes them one of the most frustrating
but also the most exciting animals in the world to film.
For impala running away from dogs,
it's not about being the fastest,
it's about not being the slowest.
Watching a kill is one of the most emotional parts
of the job.
It's nature at it's most raw.
It can be pretty gruesome to watch.
And even though I've seen it a bunch of times, trust me,
it never gets any easier.
You just have to try and remember
it's what predators were born to do.
And hey, we've all got to eat.
People have this mistaken idea that predators
are gonna eat you as soon as you set foot in Africa.
And that's just not true.
They haven't evolved to see people as food.
So as long as you don't catch them on a bad day
or in the wrong place at the wrong time,
you are totally fine.
If you're an impala, well that's another story.
But for now, our impala has dodged the dogs
and has made it to the shade of a sausage tree.
They love eating the flowers of this beautiful tree,
which drop to the ground below.
Everything does.
(gentle music)
These are great trees.
They provide food for so many animals.
They give good shade but you have to watch out
for the giant fruits which fall without warning
and are heavy enough to kill you.
On one of my first shoots, I was just so tired,
I just popped my mattress down under a sausage tree
and went straight to sleep.
A few moments later, a huge pod, like a bowling ball
landed about this far from my head.
I moved after that.
So our impala is getting a belly full of flowers,
but this is a story about predators remember,
and when you're a prey species like impala
danger lurks around every corner.
In the branches above the stealthiest of predators,
a leopard, is lying in wait.
In most places leopards are really hard to spot.
Get it, but not here.
The Luangwa is one of the best places in the world
to see leopards.
Along the river there's nearly one leopard
for every two kilometers.
So here's this leopard in the tree,
the impala's on the ground and I'm waiting,
camera poised for the leopard to jump out of the tree
and pounce on this easy meal.
But here's the thing.
Predators are not killing machines.
Sometimes you'll sit for hours waiting.
The impala's arrived, they feed,
they leave and the leopard just sits there.
It's so frustrating.
Being a deadly predator is all about balance.
You have to decide,
am I hungry enough to take a stab at this
potentially dangerous, quite large, feisty antelope,
with sharp horns and a lethal kick.
Or do I wait for an easier opportunity?
If the leopard is injured, they could starve to death.
So it's important they make the right call.
Leopards are also one of the most adaptable predators
on the planet so they can change their tactics
and go for an even more stealthy approach.
In the middle of this floodplain there's a gully,
it's perfect cover for a sneak attack,
if you know how to use it.
(upbeat music)
The leopard waits till the final moment to make it's attack.
(animals roar) (intense music)
Success!
But she's been followed.
And here's our final character, a hyena.
Doing what hyenas are best known for,
scavenging or stealing.
And it's true they do steal from other carnivores,
but portraying them as thieves
is only one way of looking at it.
Nature is more complex than some movies
and many documentaries would have you believe.
Hyenas are usually seen as the bad guy here,
but what about them?
They might not have eaten in days.
It's not like there's a grocery store
where they can just pick up dinner.
And it's pretty hardcore to steal food
from an angry leopard.
I think that says more about their courage
than it does about their character.
It's also only part of the story.
Hyenas are actually really good
at hunting food for themselves.
I don't buy into this view of hyenas as dirty,
disgusting, evil creatures.
I've spent months living among them while filming
and I've come to learn they're one of the most interesting
and most misunderstood predators on the planet.
They're powerful, they're curious,
cooperative and totally hardcore.
They're incredibly social, very complex
and full of personality.
So hopefully you can see that predators
are far more complex than we give them credit.
And they're not as dangerous to people as you might think.
And hyenas, well there's more to hyenas
than Hollywood would have you believe.
Over the next few episodes I'm gonna share my experiences
following and filming hyenas.
I'll show you why I love them.
And if you don't already,
I'm hoping you'll learn to love them too.
Next time I'll be answering
some difficult questions about hyenas.
Like why do they laugh,
and dispelling a few myths along the way.
So remember to like and follow on Facebook
to catch new episodes of "Nature of the Beast"
and stay looped in on updates about the series.
Well, that's all for this video.
Thank you so much for watching and I'll catch you next time.
Stay wild.
(upbeat music)
Let us know what you enjoyed in the comments below.
Which predator do you think is the most dangerous?
Do you like hyenas yet?
(lion roaring)