Thermal Cameras Capture Lions On a Midnight Hunt
Clip: Episode 1 | 3m 7sVideo has Closed Captions
Thermal cameras capture the pride using their profound night vision to hunt tsessebes.
Thermal cameras capture seven female lions moving in on a herd of tsessebes. With night vision six times greater than humans, the lions quickly spread out under the cover of darkness undetected. This time, the females enlist more help from the pride – three sub-adult males. But that also means less food to go around, and the lionesses and cubs go hungry again despite their successful kill.
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Thermal Cameras Capture Lions On a Midnight Hunt
Clip: Episode 1 | 3m 7sVideo has Closed Captions
Thermal cameras capture seven female lions moving in on a herd of tsessebes. With night vision six times greater than humans, the lions quickly spread out under the cover of darkness undetected. This time, the females enlist more help from the pride – three sub-adult males. But that also means less food to go around, and the lionesses and cubs go hungry again despite their successful kill.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipBuchanan: Oh, my goodness.
Theyre completley surrounded.
This is your worst nightmare.
It is happening.
Narrator: With night vision 6 times better than humans, they're focused on a target.
Buchanan: The lions have seen the tsessebe.
They're splitting up.
Narrator: To increase their chances, the lionesses have teamed up with more of the pride.
♪ Oh my goodness.
3 subadult males are the most engaged in this hunt.
♪ [Gasps] Your male lions have a reputation of letting the females do all the hard work.
♪ This may be their opportunity to show their worth.
♪ Buchanan: Oh, she's poised.
She's ready to go.
[Lens whirring] Oh, my goodness.
They're completely surrounded.
This is your worst nightmare.
♪ It is happening.
He's running.
Ooh, dopey boy.
You dunder, you messed that up, or did you?
No.
[Screeching] Buchanan: How did you get away from that?
That is one lucky beast.
Buchanan: Oh, they did get one.
Suppose if you're gonna be caught by a lion, be better for you if it was 6 rather than one.
♪ It's a pile-on.
[Grunting] I'm gonna put the drone up, see how many are here.
♪ Look at that.
♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
10 lions.
♪ The bigger the lion, the more food they get... ♪ so it's just the 3 young males.
They're getting most of the food because they can muscle in.
[Growling] ♪ Narrator: Pushed off the kill by the subadult males... ♪ the lionesses barely get a bite.
♪ Buchanan: With this number of lions, one tsessebe's not gonna go that far.
That's not really enough to sustain them.
Narrator: The cubs still haven't had the food they need, and it looks unlikely they'll feed tonight.
Video has Closed Captions
The Xudum Pride mothers must make a kill to feed their young lion cubs. (4m 54s)
Wildfires Threaten the Operation and Big Cats
Video has Closed Captions
The situation becomes critical as wildfires sweep across the Delta, straight toward the team's camp. (3m 3s)
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