01x08 - Episode 8

[bunniefuu]

- [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 k*lled 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 k*lled 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 k*lled 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 k*lled 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 k*lled it.

(soft music)

- [Dan] In Maasai land,

predators often k*ll the

livestock of herdsmen.

Such losses can be catastrophic.

And herders are more

likely to k*ll 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

sh**ting 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)