Natural World (1983) s23e01 Episode Script

This is Toki and his brother Sambu, 3 months old cheetah cubs and orphans Without human help, they would die Form this point on, I would be their mother trying to raise them and hopefully returning them to the wild It was going to be difficult, fewer than 1/10 cheetah cubs make it past their first year They'd have to face a lot of dangers When Toki and Sambu were just 4 weeks old their mother had been surprised by a lion And she was killed This was the beginning of their remarkable story The orphaned cubs were brought to Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in northern Kenya into the home of the Craig family who run the reserve and that's where I first met them Toki and Sambu had already been nursed back from the brink of starvation, but at just over 3 months old, they still needed a lot of attention They are so full of beans this morning This was the first time I'd had the chance of trying to hand-rear a cheetah even though I'd spent over 15 years watching them in the wild To take on the role of their surrogate mother was an incredible opportunity It was also quite a daunting task but one I felt was worthwhile There are only 13,000 cheetahs left in the wild every one counts I hoped my experiences watching wild cheetahs would help to raise these brothers That was a very thirsty cheetah All gone, all gone Now you need to lick each other Because you're covered in it, so am I.
Want some more? The two were easy to tell apart Sambu had a white tip to his tail while Toki, his brother didn't If they were going to have a life in the bush, the first step would have to be to spend more time away from the house Lewa is huge A privately run reserve of almost 50,000 acres of marsh, forest and grassland in northern Kenya Its northern boundary is open to a vast wilderness area that stretches to the Ethiopia and Somali boarders The richness and variety of the land make it perfect for lots of different creatures From the sort that cheetahs hunt to the ones they should definitely try to avoid They'd have to learn to tell the difference and we would try to guide them But human beings could potentially be one of the most dangerous creatures they'd ever meet A big problem now that they considered us as their parents It was really important that they didn't get used to being with too many different people so we kept our numbers to an absolute minimum Myself and Marguerite It was also pretty nerve-wracking at times You could so easily get the impression that this was safe country but this was wild Africa and everything that came with it Even at 3 months old, Toki and Sambu were much quicker on their feet than we were So when we met a black rhino, it was we who had to be extra careful This will be worth them seeing But we want to give them the right signal, we don't want to show them that this is prey we want to show them this is something to be very, very careful of I decided early on to try and mimic as closely as possible the sort of language and lessons that the cubs' true mother might have used When a mother cheetah sees danger, she lets out a deep growl, I tried to do the same That rhino knows something's here The cubs responded by crouching still, prepared for a sudden dash to safety I was so relieved to see that my mimicry worked with Toki and Sambu, it meant that we had a way of warning them when trouble was near Good.
That's exactly the response that I'd hope for And they read our body language in just the same way as they'd read the body language of a mother cheetah They saw the rhino and they identified it with our caution and moving away and that's what we need Now they're back to playing, Have to keep an eye on this rhino though Most of the time cheetahs are silent and when they do call, they usually sound more like a bird than a big cat Are you coming, kids? We got them used to following us when we mimicked this call Keeping tabs on the cubs would be really important when it came to hunting lessons They could so easily get lost in the open bush country of Lewa, if they went chasing off after something The hunting instinct comes to a cheetah like walking comes to us but even though the desire to chase things may be built in they do have to learn a great deal about what to hunt, when to do it and how to do it without being spotted I decided to start the cubs' hunting lessons back on the lawn of the Craig's house where they felt safe and relaxed Young cheetahs are sometimes given live prey by their mothers, now that wasn't something I could do, but I could try the next best thing Ok, guys Another lesson coming up More interested in each other The dummy rabbit would give them something to chase, something to hone their skills on but like all young cheetah cubs they were really nervous of any new experience That's just what you'd expect with wild cheetahs They have to be certain that this is safe and the only way they know that is if their mother demonstrates that it's something they can tackle, so I'm gonna keep on touching it, playing with it myself, show them it's okay Alright.
So now you think it's okay So now it's okay to eat, is it? That's it.
They're off Sorry Good, hunting lesson No.
1 pretty successful For the first few months, the cubs would be fed and put away for the night in an enclosure for their own safety The garden was completely open to the surrounding bush and leopards often came sniffing around during the night If Toki and Sambu were going to live in the wild, they'd eventually have to face these dangers, but for now, we could keep them out of harm's way They were developing a healthy appetite for meat now too but it was a sign of their good nature that the closest they ever came to arguing was a bout of huffing over a choice cut Over the next few weeks, we set up camp close to the garden This is where Toki and Sambu would now start to spend more and more of their time when we weren't out walking They were now 4.
5 months old and getting much more confident But that didn't mean they were ready to take on one of the biggest challenges in Africa Sera the giraffe was another orphan She lost her mother when she was just a few weeks old and she too was hand-reared on the reserve She often popped round to see what we were up to Most of the time she was really sweet and calm, but now and again she could get a bit frisky and a kick from a giraffe can disembowel a lion, definitely something to be wary of It was tempting to try and shoo Sera away, but I had to let the cubs start discovering for themselves what they should and shouldn't try to tackle It was a bit like watching your kids going off to school for the first time only the teacher here could do them some serious damage It's a bit of a clich¨¦ I know, but the cat's curiosity could get them into all sorts of trouble if they weren't careful I tell you, it's one thing to have orphaned animals around, but an orphan giraffe with a kick like a kick-boxer, not something you want to mess about with, especially if you are a cheetah this big Have to say though, both the guys are pretty good at getting out of the way unlike me not quite as quick off the mark I've got a lot of respect for that giraffe and a lot of respect for the kids Now that we had easy access to the open bush, hunting lessons were a major part of every day Some of the targets though were singularly inappropriate Lizards were never going to feature on their menu Warthogs on the other hand had potential Adult cheetahs do sometimes kill young warthogs but the full-grown pigs are formidable with razor-sharp tusks and the muscle to back them up and that made me very nervous Every time the cubs went charging off after a warthog family, I was worried sick that one of them would get into trouble On this occasion Sambu pulled out of the chase, but we lost track of Toki By the time I was able to reach him, the damage was already done It's okay, Toki.
It's okay, okay.
He'd been cornered by the furious mother warthog and badly gored I had no way of knowing the full extent of the injuries, only that Toki was in a great deal of pain and absolutely terrified Ok, Toki, Tock He'd been really unlucky in many ways, but luck was smiling on him in others Visitors come to Lewa all the time on safari and on this day, Bengt Roken a Swedish vet was here on holiday But Bengt is no ordinary vet, he works with exotic animals in zoos He knew exactly what to do to tranquilize Toki so that he could be moved safely and given a thorough check over Well done.
It's okay, Toki.
That's it He's definitely going out Having Toki slipping out of consciousness in my hands was really hard to swallow but I knew that this was for his own good Bengt had a huge amount of experience of dealing with injured animals but an injury like this could have complications This is superficial but this has caused a lot of problem and then there's puncture here somewhere on the dorsal side of the base of the tail and then The bite at the base of the tail has actually broken through the muscle at the base of Toki's tail, so that's going to be quite a painful injury A cheetah uses its tail the whole time as a counter balance when it's running at high speed If Toki lost the use of his, it would make his life very difficult There you go.
There you go.
Brilliant.
So.
Wow.
Patched up Waiting for Toki to come round from the anesthetic was agonizing Regardless of his wounds, I just wanted to see him awake again Oh, there we go Okay, take it steady, take it steady.
Oops He was back on his feet, just We'd only know if he still had the full use of his tail after the wounds had healed and that could take weeks Oh, that's not bad.
It may only be one meter, but, you're moving Whatever the outcome, I was hugely grateful to Bengt for his rapid and skilled help in getting Toki through the worst of his accident, now all we could do was wait Over the next week or so, Toki was obviously sore and very sorry for himself Sambu got pretty bored at this time, but he never considered wandering off, the two were inseparatable Whilst he was healing, Toki couldn't join in with his brother's games and I had to make sure Sambu didn't get too rough Toki just needed a bit of time Two weeks after the accident, it was clear that the operation had been a complete success That hurts.
You got big ants in your pants Toki had the full use of his tail, but if he was going to me for target practice, I'd had to wear long trousers from now on Over the next two months, they started to range further away from the camp and to generally get more familiar with their neighborhood Toki and Sambu were now 7 months old and beginning to look more like adult cheetahs even though they were still only half-grown They were definitely developing the speed and grace that would be their trademark and as they grew, they became more and more adventurous Near our camp, there was a small river, but until now we'd never ventured to the other side of it This was going to be a big day, the cubs would encounter a whole new world of sights and sounds It was really enduring to see how they stuck close by us, they were obviously rattled by the din kicked up by the monkeys and birds That's Ibis kids you're gonna have to get used to the sound It was understandable that they were a bit jumpy, but I didn't expect Toki and Sambu to be quite so terrified of the river itself They both seemed to regard the water as a huge threat Sambu especially was really reluctant to cross These were important lessons if they were going to get to know their home ground It's a crucial part of a cheetah's hunting strategy to keep moving from day to day, so that animals in one neighborhood don't get used to see them around Still, these two had a lot to learn about what they should and should not be taking on in the first place The boys had a mischievous streak that led them into potential trouble on a regular basis By now, they should have been fast enough to dodge the sudden sweeps of the rhino's horn but it's easy to underestimate just how fast these huge animals can be And even if the cubs were fairly safe, I felt pretty vulnerable Let's go.
Talk about picking the wrong prey That's about as ambitious as any cheetah has ever been I may have been more exposed when I was on foot, but it was an incredible thrill to share their world like this I never dreamed I'd have the chance to walk with cheetahs This intimacy also allowed me to see things I quite frankly could never have spotted if I were following a purely wild family Hey, fella He's lost his first teeth Toki's lost his canines, 8 months old, and his first baby teeth have gone You're growing up, boy.
Argh, they still hurt though Yeah, they're still sharp Bing with them like this did have its problems though I wanted them to be more independent but as long as we were walking with them, they'd be looking to us for guidance the whole time Also, I simply couldn't keep up with them when they set off hunting, nor could I hide as well as they could in the grass We'd reached a point in their growing up, when I had to start putting more distance between us For me to stay close and not disturb their prey, I began to use the car as a mobile hide Most of the animals here in Lewa are used to seeing vehicles and they pretty much ignore them This way, I could keep a close eye on Toki and Sambu as they practiced hunting without disturbing them or their prey And they certainly needed a lot of practice Time and again, they'd chase animals that were way too big and potentially very dangerous for them A direct kick from a zebra could easily crash their skull, and my heart was in my throat every time they decided to take on the heavyweights There were times when it felt just too close You may be fast on your feet, but you've got a lot to learn Working from the safety of the car also meant that I could still hang around when the situation would otherwise have been too dangerous for me on foot Teasing an elephant herd is all very well when you can run like the wind, but I was very happy to be watching it all from the car An upset elephant is not a creature to argue with, the cubs of course didn't stand a chance of getting a meal here just the satisfaction of getting a rise out of the biggest beasts on the plains I began to wonder if they'd ever get the hang of hunting Now at just over a year old, they may have felt confident enough to take on elephants but there was one thing they just couldn't come to terms with - water To be more accurate, Toki didn't have much of a problem with the river, it was Sambu, the one with the white tip on his tail who most of the time was proving to be the leader when it came to dealing with trouble, who seized up when he was faced with even the most modest of streams It was extraordinary to witness the strength of the bond between the brothers Toki wouldn't dream of leaving Sambu behind instead, he made his way back as a bit of encouragement for Sambu Their close relationship would be increasingly important as they began to live a wild existence They could cooperate when it came to hunting and together they'd keep an eye out for danger Toki's encouragement obviously helped because now Sambu finally plucked up the courage to have a go at crossing the stream and made a pig's ear of it Toki showed him how it should be done Making the transition from walking with the boys to only ever watching them from the car took a long time, not just because I had become very fond of them, but also because they did still need guidance from time to time and we were still supplying them with meals Every now and again I'd check them over for ticks and their general state of health and to tell you the truth I loved these moments of contact with them They were big now, really strong but still wonderfully docile when they were with us It may seem crazy to snooze in the African bush, but the cubs' eyes and ears provided a fantastic early warning system They are a long way off Sambu They instinctively knew that lions were dangerous and we always kept a healthy distance from them when we could There would come a time soon when they'd have to deal with dangers like this completely alone It was a daunting thought The cubs were now almost a year and a half old We were approaching the end of the dry season and there were times when the land felt like it was creaking in the heat When the rains eventually started, they were to herald a major change in the lives of Toki and Sambu The rains always bring new life to northern Kenya Animals everywhere start new families and there's a sudden increase in the number of young animals around Impala fawns can walk within an hour of being born and they can run and dodge trouble within half a day They'd proved way too nimble for the cubs during the last rainy season But Toki and Sambu now had a whole lot more experience and speed on their side Because of the unique relationship we had with Toki and Sambu, I was able to move in close to share with them this enormously significant event I had to keep pinching myself to realize that the cubs were now all but living wild and yet they allowed me to approach them even at this sensitive moment It's a really weird mixture of emotions because whilst it's always upsetting to see anything killed especially a young animal Having spent so much time with these cheetahs and frankly hoping that they're going to be successful This is such a major, major leap towards independence It may sound crazy that their success gave me an overwhelming feeling of pride All the elements of maturing into wild and free ranging cheetahs were falling into place for Toki and Sambu but there was one life lesson that was going to come as a bit of shock to them They had to learn that some human beings could be deadly Even though Lewa is well protected, it does border farmland and people looking after goats may not be friendly towards cheetahs A couple of Lewa's security guards kindly helped out by playing the role of aggressive men They'd act under my instruction, they'd only threw soil and sticks, but the plan was to try and make Toki and Sambu wary of any humans they didn't know It felt horrible to orchestrate this, but if we didn't try to teach them these harsh lessons and they died at the hands of men, I'd never forgive myself It wasn't long before they caught onto the idea that some people could be dangerous Toki and Sambu were now almost 2 years old and wandering over an ever bigger area added to this another huge change in their lifestyle had begun They were starting to sleep away from camp out in the wilds I needed to keep an eye on them for their own good, they still needed extra food from time to time, but tracking them was getting difficult in this rough terrain I'm not a big fan of radio collars, it always feels like a breach of trust to burden a wild animal in any way but these were very light and comfortable and their signal could be picked up from miles away, they'd help us to find the boys if they went missing Toki and Sambu didn't seem in the least bit bothered by them Normally boy A cheetah would have to be darted before I could do this Only this is hassle free Not too bad Now we'd be able to find the brothers even in the dark At first, I spent the nights watching them from the car, just to make sure they were dealing with all of the added dangerous that come with darkness in wild Africa This was the time when lions, leopards and hyenas were all on the prowl It was clear that they were nervous and that was good, they'd need to stay sharp to avoid trouble Invariably they'd eventually slink off into the long grass and that's where they'd spend the night and where we'd find them the next morning unless they'd been disturbed If they had moved in the night, the search for them at dawn was always a tense moment It was like waiting for your teenage kids to get back from a party only we knew that each night the cubs faced deadly threats The relief once we'd got a signal and we knew that Toki and Sambu were okay, was massive The older the cubs got, the more their individual characters became obvious Sambu especially was developing a stubborn streak It was great to see him blossoming into a young adult and to watch him testing the boundaries of what he could and couldn't take on but sometimes his choice of adversary was downright dangerous Leopards are much heavier and more powerful than cheetahs, in straight combat, Sambu would be killed Toki stayed close to us and watched while his brother disappeared off down the slope towards the leopard Then we got a shock There were two leopards, this could get very nasty The next time we saw Sambu, he was just a pace away from the crouching leopard Can you set them now John? Where are they? Sambu is so cocky, taking on two leopards and teasing them It's a heck of a risky game that's not one I would play Leopards would remain one of the cubs' greatest threats but at least I'd seen Sambu managing to outrun them, and that gave me some comfort Both Toki and Sambu were getting better and better at finding food for themselves now and they were learning that life as a hunter in Africa means you're rarely alone Jackals will home in on the scent of a fresh kill from an enormous distance and they'd often turn up to see if they could scrounge any scraps Toki in particular found their unwanted attention really irritating With this newfound confidence another subtle but significant change was about to occur It's a true sign of adulthood when a male cheetah begins to mark his territory Until now the boys had been fascinated by the smell they found around the plains but they hadn't yet offered up any of their own brand of perfume That's a real right of passage for Sambu That's the first time I have seen him clearly scent marking up against a tree that means definitely he's growing up and the two of them are going to start to stake a claim on this patch of Lewa as their own It had been two years since Toki and Sambu had been brought back from the brink of death when they were first orphaned We knew then that getting hand-reared cheetahs successfully back into the wild was going to be tough There were times when they pushed their luck to the limit and times when we thought we might lose one of them But despite the odds they've pulled through, they were now hunting for themselves and at two years old were living as wild cheetahs should with all of the benefits and the risks that that entails We were all set to leave Lewa, we felt that everything was on track for Toki and Sambu We always knew of course that they'd be facing natural risks for the rest of their lives but nothing could prepare us for what happened This morning, there has been a terrible, turn of events At some point in the night, the cheetahs met with lions It's not the first time they've met with lions we know that for sure They know they're dangerous and up until now they've always managed to escape Unfortunately, for Sambu, it was the last time which makes life very difficult for Toki It makes life pretty tough for us Does that mean it was all a failure, I don't know Right now I feel somehow personally responsible which may be crazy They killed last night, the cheetahs, near dusk, they fed well They both had full stomachs, and they were sleeping in the rocks It looks as though a lion must have smelt them, stalked them.
Toki escaped Ah, Sambu didn't It is impossible to describe the sense of loss that we all felt, that we feel to this day Perhaps we shouldn't have tried to let Sambu live a wild existence and instead have kept him in a cage for the rest of his days, away from danger But in doing that, we would also have kept them away from the very essence of life that makes cheetahs one of the most charismatic creatures on the planet Sambu's spirit and his desire to test the world may have led to his demise, he may have pushed him luck too far But it was this spirit that gave him two years of living life to the full in the wilds of Africa Toki was obviously very confused for a while after he lost his brother but he soon began to adjust to a life alone He's living alone still Other young male cheetahs have been seen here and Toki has been watching them in the distance perhaps they'll join forces sometime in the future, we don't know We do know that he continues to hunt the plains of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, wild and free Toki's story continues in April with a new film from Simon King to kick off the brand-new series of Natural World BBC 2 in an underworld wildlife sanctuary next, a specially created reef off the coast of Plymouth Wild Dive coming up