Hard Truths of Conservation (2022) s01e08 Episode Script

1
- [Dan] Lion.
The king of beasts.
The subject of fairy
tale and legend.
The apex predator on
the African savanna.
Yet this powerful
predator is threatened
in much of its own range
and for a host of reasons.
Their numbers in the
wild are declining.
Hunting has become a
controversial practice
in modern times.
My name is Dan Cabela and
I'm traveling the globe
to explore the true impact
that hunting is having
on our remaining
wild landscapes.
This practices goes as far back
as human history can remember.
But does it have a place
in modern conservation?
(dramatic music)
In Africa,
there are estimated to be
fewer than 20,000 lions
left in the wild,
occupying less than five percent
of their historic homeland.
The primary reason
for this decline
is expanding human populations
and the human-wildlife conflicts
that ensues in the
competition for resources.
In contrast, there are
vast tracks of land
allocated for legal
hunting on the continent
that is vital home
range for these species.
In July 2015,
a social media storm erupted
that has had
massive implications
for wild lion
populations in Africa.
A named Africa lion
was killed by a hunter,
sparking outrage against
hunting as a whole
and putting pressure
on the industry.
The fact is that
a large percentage
of Africa's remaining
wild lion populations
live in areas that are
hunting concessions.
This one incident
tarnished the role
that well-managed
legal hunting can play
in sustaining viable
habitat for lions.
I'm heading to Africa
to spend some quality
time with my family.
(inspiring music)
(glasses clink)
We've spent a lot of
time on the continent
and we feel a deep connection
to its wild places and people.
My family and I are warmly
welcomed by the Maasai community
with a traditional dance.
(people sing and chant)
My mother is even graciously
invited to participate.
(people sing and chant)
Thank you.
- Thank you very much.
God bless you.
- God bless you.
- Yeah.
- Countries like
Tanzania have resettled
15 million acres of
viable lion habitat
that was well protected
land for wildlife
to community land
for human habitation.
(soft music)
Many tribes in Africa
put all their wealth
into their livestock.
And so, it follows
that where pastoral
has shared the
landscape with lions,
there is conflict.
And most of the time
when there's conflict,
in the long run, the lion loses.
In Tanzania,
the Maasai tribe has a
rich history with lions
and I'm here to learn more about
what that relationship
is like today.
(men speak Maasai)
(goat bleats)
We spoke with local elders
about their history
with living with lions.
(elder speaks Maasai)
- The cattle are their
status, their wealth,
so the lions are a
threat to their wealth.
And so, basically
in his own words
he said it's like
having a bank robber
in their neighborhood.
So actually, he says, no,
we don't want them
around here at all.
(goat bleats)
- Can we please ask him
if he's ever hunted a lion
or killed a lion?
(elder speaks Maasai)
- When he was a young man
looking after the cattle,
he had an encounter with a lion
that came in and
grabbed one of the cows.
When it was down on the ground,
he says it got it by the throat.
(elder speaks Maasai)
So he ran in there very quickly
and got it with a
spear in the ribs,
straight into its heart,
and he said he killed it.
- [Dan] We spoke
with local elders
about their history
with living with lions.
Can we please ask him if
he's ever hunted a lion
or killed a lion?
- When he was a young man
looking after the cattle,
he had an encounter with a lion
that came in and
grabbed one of the cows.
So he ran in there very quickly
and got it with a
spear in the ribs,
straight into its heart,
and he said he killed it.
(soft music)
- [Dan] In Maasai land,
predators often kill the
livestock of herdsmen.
Such losses can be catastrophic.
And herders are more
likely to kill lions
than to preserve them.
I believe that the
thoughts of the Maasai
are likely echoed among
herdsmen across the continent.
Preserving lion
habitat is crucial
and much of the
remaining strongholds
of wild lion populations
reside in areas where the
dedicated land use is hunting.
If well-managed,
the off-take quotas are
determined scientifically
to sustainably harvest
a variety of species
and this practice brings
in huge sums of money
that, in turn, benefit local
communities in the region.
Putting it into
hunting in these areas,
no matter your
sentiments on the topic,
will have a devastating impact
on wildlife communities alike
and areas where
hunting operations
provide the only revenue
stream from natural resources.
Local communities
benefit financially
when there is an economic gain
to having lions in their region.
I head to the community
with Naburko Concession
to learn more about
the community projects
that are supported by
the hunting operations.
- Morning.
- Morning, how are you, Derek?
- Good.
- Hi, Joash.
- Hello, Dan, how are you?
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.
We have something
that we like to term
as community based conservation
where we involve the community
in the conserving
of the wildlife.
And up to now,
Robin Hurt Safaris have spent
$3,800,000 in community
based conservation
and in helping the communities
for the past 14 years.
All this is possible because
of conserving the wildlife,
and because of hunters
and what they do,
and by the community also
together working together,
partnering with us,
we can help create a better
environment for the wildlife
and also for the people.
(soft piano music)
- So we just take care
of this row first?
- Yes.
- There needs to be
an economic incentive
to maintain wildlife.
Reducing or banning lion hunting
will result in higher
incidence of poaching,
poisoning, and
human-wildlife conflict.
Higher price trophy fee animals
pave the way for anti-poaching
and also help to fund
employment opportunities
for many of the locals
in areas where these animals
are available to be hunted.
A lion hunt in Tanzania can
cost upwards of $100,000.
100,000 that feeds
into the conservation
and wildlife business model.
If lion hunting were banned,
huge areas of land would
be converted to other uses
and this would put an end
to crucial lion habitat.
(somber piano music)
- This is a sorry scene,
showing the aftereffect
of over-grazing
that we have in this area.
It's too much livestock.
See how I've got old sacks,
which I had as sand bags
to try and block this,
to just try and stop
it going any further,
but the force of water is
just way too much to control.
And so, the overall
effect of this
is that it takes away vegetation
for key species, really,
you know, things like arpudu,
which like the grass.
The grassland that would
have been here at one time
where, say, zebra would come
and graze, or wildebeest.
So yeah, it's
unfortunately the effect of
overuse of land by
our fellow humans.
(somber piano music)
- [Dan] The legal
hunting of a wild lion
in a carefully
controlled open area
where the hunt is based
on a sustainable quota
and the conservation
and local communities
benefit from the practice
has to be considered as part
of conserving the species,
whether you are for or
against trophy hunting.
A lion hunt in Tanzania can
cost upwards of $100,000.
100,000 that feeds
into the conservation
and wildlife business model.
The legal hunting of a wild lion
in a carefully
controlled open area
where the hunt is based
on a sustainable quota
and the conservation
and local communities
benefit from the practice
has to be considered as part
of conserving the species,
whether you are for or
against trophy hunting.
An area where the hunting model
has been incredibly successful
is the Zambezi Delta
Ecosystem in Mozambique.
(inspiring music)
Through effective management
of this hunting concession,
(indistinct) and his team
have restored the areas,
restored an abundance
of wildlife.
Our family has spent a lot
of time in this landscape
and we have been
actively involved
in several
conservation projects,
supporting the ongoing success
of this abundant ecosystem.
(soft music)
In 2018, we undertook
an ambitious initiative
to bring the apex predator
back to the floodplains
of the Zambezi Delta.
The Cabela Family
Foundation's goal
was to facilitate the largest
international lion relocation
to date.
(dramatic music)
The project named 24 lions,
moved 24 lions from
reserves in south Africa,
to the Zambezi
Delta, Mozambique.
The lions were captured and
quarantined in south Africa,
prior to being
flown to Mozambique,
where they were
habituated in Balmas,
and eventually released
into the vast ecosystem
where they had
historically occurred.
Since my parents
first ventured out
on their first trip to
Africa all those years ago,
lions have taken a special
place in our hearts.
- We are excited, very excited.
(dramatic music)
- [Dan] The idea
was to undertake
the largest translocation
of lions ever in history.
And with our partners,
we did just that.
The lions were followed.
And are monitored to this day.
In 2018,
the Cabela Family
Foundation funded a project
to translocate 24 lions.
They were moved from
reserves across south Africa
to the Zambezi
Delta, Mozambique.
This project has given
a unique opportunity
to better understand
the apex predator
and the impact it
has on its ecosystem.
This initiative has
added 2.5 million acres
to the wild lions' home range.
And the team of scientists
we fund to this day
are documenting,
recording,
and researching how that
population is growing.
Three generations of lions
are now being monitored
in this landscape
as they reclaim habitat that
was once their home range.
Today the cats number
over 80 individuals.
And that success
for conservation
has all been made
possible by the groundwork
done by the hunting concession
that is funding anti-poaching
and providing
alternatives to poaching
for the local community.
They are now full of them,
generated by the hunting,
which is utilized to
feed the community,
thereby eliminating their
need to poach for survival.
The founder population of
lions will never be hunted.
However, as the
population grows,
there will come a time
when surplus males
will need to be removed
and this may prove
to be the best way
to fund the ongoing
research and protection
the area requires.
To date, we have over 30 males.
If their numbers continue
to expand exponentially,
as they have,
in time, the off-take of
two or three males a year
will be sustainable
and could fund the
whole project ongoing.
How can we learn from this?
The hard truth is that
we are not short of lions
at the moment.
We are short of lion habitat.
Restricting or
eliminating trophy hunts
will not save the African lion.
Although it may
be well-intended,
taking away the right
to legally hunt lions
would actually hurt
wildlife conservation.
Well-managed sport hunting
can and does contribute
to the long-term
survival of the species.
Without hunting,
what would happen to
vast remote landscapes?
Provided there is adequate
research to establish a quota
that is fully sustainable,
and provided the
hunting of a lion,
or any species, for that matter,
benefits the landscape
and the local communities,
then lion hunting
certainly has its place
in the economics and practical
application of conservation.
Whether you agree with
shooting a lion or not,
the fact that there are people
willing to pay 100,000 to do it
means that there will be
places for wild lions to live
for generations to come.
I will never hunt a lion here,
but to know that they
exist in this ecosystem
as they once did
brings me a deep
sense of fulfillment.
(dramatic music)