Tue, Jan 1, 2013
Filmmaker Herbert Bauer discovers the last remaining lioness of Liuwa in Zambia purely by chance when she steps out of myth and into his viewfinder. A remarkable bond develops between filmmaker and this lonely lioness that he calls Lady. Inspired by her resilience, African Parks and the Carnivore team at the Zambia Wildlife Authority decide to re-establish a viable pride in Liuwa. They build a shelter also known as a boma. They dart two males in a neighboring park and transport them to Lady's core territory. Lady considers both males but after a year, she's still not pregnant. To bolster the chances of establishing a pride, two young females are imported but their bond collapses when the males attack them once they're released from the enclosure. One bolts for the Angolan border, the other goes missing and is presumed dead when the scientists find her collar in a river. A helicopter rescue attempt is launched to find the other female before she crosses the Angolan border. Anxious to find females, the two male lions leave and walk to Angola in record time. Death waits for one of them in the form of an armed farmer. Of the five lions, now only three remain. The young female, now fully grown and in estrous finally mate with the male. Lady is excluded from this new romance but her involvement is vital. She can no longer produce a cub, but she can impart her survival skills. Unexpectedly, they hunt together. Lady steps into her leadership position with aplomb. The Kingdom is secured. Lions are back in Liuwa.
Mon, Apr 1, 2013
Filmed over a period of 4 years, this is the remarkable story of a young leopard's journey from Rookie to Royalty as seen through the watchful eyes of an old sentry baboon. Baboons rate high on leopard's menu and as the official guardian of the troop; The Watcher can't afford to slack off. That's why this old baboon chooses high ground for his daily surveillance. From these elevated look-out posts, he watches the arrival of the Rookie leopard. His warning screeches echo in the valley and the troop scurries. The Watcher knows that the young leopard has only recently left the protection of his mother. Rookie still lacks the experience and the skill set that makes leopards such lethal predators. Every day is a struggle to gain stealth and rhythm. Lions and hyenas sense that the leopard is a vulnerable green-horn. As he hones his skills this hunter becomes the hunted. One particular feisty hyena stalks the young leopard. He is looking for a show-down. This is hyena territory and the Rookie is trespassing. In a face to face combat the odds between them, are even. For now. But the threat from these predators is the least of the Rookie's problems: A male leopard rules on the other side of a thin strip of no-man's land where he finds temporary refuge. He can smell him. It's an ominous scent with a clear message: Keep out or die. He can't survive on the periphery living off lizards, hares and leftovers. He needs access to larger, richer hunting grounds. And to do that, he must cross a boundary that leads him directly into the territories of the leopard monarch he should best avoid. The Rookie's invasion of this turf sets off a series of bloody cat fights where there can be only one winner. The young leopard sharpens his tactics. He bides his time. Fur is going to fly.