Rescuing an Injured Cheetah Cub in Namibia’s Wild Heart (4K Documentary)

Dawn breaks over the Ombarocco Mountains in central Namibia. But while the inhabitants of the Okunjima Wildlife Reserve begin to stir, AfriCat's rescue and release officer, Dave Houghton, is on a mercy mission. Three hours away, an eight-month-old cheetah cub lies injured after straying onto a public road. Apparently, what happened was there were two cars and they ran, actually, she ran straight into the car. Part-time vet, Dr. Erika De Jager, has named him Cuatro, and she's been holding him until Dave arrives. Erika. Hi, Dave. Erika. How's the cheetah doing? Bigger than I thought it was. It's beautiful, eh? It's not only Cuatro's leg that may have been injured. There are also signs of trauma to the head. Do you notice how the right pupil is a bit bigger than the left? I wonder if he might have some concussion or something. I think it might be a little bit concussed. Cheetahs are naturally flighty and ordinarily would become incredibly stressed if confined. But Cuatro appears calm, which could also suggest head trauma. He'll need to be transferred to a larger surgery for x-rays on his leg. But Dave knows he could lash out when they try to move him. Bernard, if you can come down here, then you must block him if he tries to get out. You grab him by the tail or something, OK? OK. By covering Cuatro's eyes with a towel, Dave hopes to keep him calm. But he has to be careful. Oh, OK. A bite from a wild cheetah can cause serious injury. Look at the lip. That went a lot better than I thought it was. One of the things they sometimes do is they turn around and bite you on the wrist, which obviously, you know, you wouldn't want. Touch wood, it's just a broken leg and a mild concussion, because, you know, if it gets worse, then it might not make it. Across the globe, cheetah populations are thought to have declined by at least 30% in just two decades. With fewer than 3,000 left in Namibia, the loss of just one cheetah would be a serious blow. Hopefully it doesn't come to it, but it could well come to the fact that it's not savable and then it has to be euthanised. And as sad as it is, we have to accept that sort of thing, because, you know, you can't have a... You know, you can't even think about amputating the leg of a wild animal, because it's just, you know, it's not going to have its quality of life and it's never going to go back in the wild. Cuatro's in safe hands, but his chances of survival hang in the balance. Back at the AfriCat Foundation, five cheetahs are getting used to new surroundings after being moved to a holding enclosure a few days ago. OK, one, two, three. Coco, Bones and their three companions, Frankie, Spud and Hammer, were the first of 18 rescued cheetahs being prepared for a new, independent life on a huge 40,000-acre reserve. It's pretty nerve-wracking. We've raised them and looked after them. And they're all right in here, it's not a problem, but once they get out there, there's things that they don't know about, like leopards and hyenas. So they've got a lot of learning to do and hopefully they're going to get it right. To keep track of their progress, the cats have been fitted with radio collars. Today, Director of Welfare Carla Conradi has been joined by Director of Park Research Andre Russo, known as AJ, who'll be testing the equipment. No, no, we've got no food. We've got no food, come. We've got no food. Not yet, not yet. It will be AJ's job to keep tabs on the cheetahs and study their behaviour and progress. As you can see, AJ, these are the feisty ones. This is Spud here, the dark one. And this is Frankie. And this is Coco. And they're three siblings. Although habituated to people, these cheetahs were born wild. Coco, the boldest of the group, warns AJ when he oversteps the mark. That's, yes, that's a warning sound as in you're getting a bit too close. Spud supports his sister, growling at raising his hackles. Hey, gorgeous. You're going to learn to love me. Spud, he'll show the most aggression. So he's easy to point out as well, just because he's so dark as well. So that's a good thing. The other cheetahs seem a bit more relaxed. And then Bones, I think, showed a bit of shyness. So this cat I won't get that close to. OK, let's test these collars. Just in case something's not working and it's going to be too late. In a 40,000 acre reserve, the cats' radio collars will be invaluable, allowing AJ to keep tabs on their every move. Eventually, the cheetahs will settle and we'll have a rough idea where they normally hang out. But in the beginning, they're going to walk, walk, walk. Now I'm going to walk, walk, or drive, drive, one of the two. A cheetah's territory can be huge, with many females covering areas of more than 500 square miles in the search for food and water. Wild cheetahs must feed every two or three days. But this group are novice hunters. No one knows how they will cope when they have to fend for themselves. AJ's progress reports will provide vital information. At least they're all working, huh? Yeah, they're all definitely working. AJ's going to have to look after my cats for me. It's not like Dave and I are abandoning them. We will have a big part to play, but AJ's going to be the one on the ground having to find them and track them every day. I mean, already having sleepless nights about the responsibility, because it is a big one. Everyone's going to come to me. Everyone's going to ask, how are the cheetahs doing? Where are the cheetahs? Where have you seen them? That type of thing. So it's going to be a lot of responsibility, a lot of exciting responsibility. Coco and her companions have no idea what lies ahead. The release tomorrow will be the start of a new and exciting adventure. When Carla gave up her life in the city to pursue her dream in the African bush, she knew it wouldn't be a nine-to-five job. Looking after nearly 100 endangered animals can be a huge responsibility, both day and night. Carla actually just worries about everything. Her love of the animals basically comes out through her worrying. It doesn't matter what time of the night it is. If there's a cheetah outside, a young cheetah outside, and it starts raining, then I have to go and build it a shelter. He doesn't moan too much about getting kicked out of bed in the middle of the night when it's pouring with rain. I do it because it's the job, and I enjoy the job because I'm working with animals. So for the sake of the animal, which is basically what this whole thing is about, I'm not bothered about the hours. I'm prepared to work long hours. Today is the biggest day in Okunjima's history. After months of planning, four-year-old cheetah Koko and her four companions are about to be released onto a 40,000-acre reserve, signaling the start of Namibia's most ambitious cheetah release project yet. Are we going to close the gate behind them once they're out? Yeah, yeah. And we're going to stick water here? Yeah, I'm going to bring water. For Koko's gang of five, it's just another day. For Afrikaat's founder, Wayne Hansen, and his team, it's the culmination of a lifetime's work. Let's not forget this is a big day. This is really special. This is something that's come a long way, and, yeah, time has dawned. Freedom is what it's all about. It's the number one link to happiness, and this is what we've given them today. The cheetahs face a tough test. Up to now, they've been fed meat. But from here on in, they'll need to hunt for their food. As one of the weaker predators, they'll have to learn to survive in a world where bigger, stronger animals will challenge them for food and territory. Wayne's sister, Donna, knows the dangers they'll face. They have such a desire and such an instinct to just charge and chase anything and everything. And that's where the injuries come in. They've never seen leopards in their lives, so the first interaction is going to be the most important. Hopefully they learn, or that's also where you can get your first injuries. So the next couple of days is going to be a lot of sleepless nights. For the last time, Carla and Dave bring out food to coax the cheetahs into the reserve. They're definitely going to need some food to get them out the gate. I think Coco's probably going to be the first one out. Yeah, Bone also likes his food. So it might be an all-scramble for the last meal, poor things. The cheetahs have been well-fed over the last few days to give them a head start in the reserve. Once they've had this meal, they can survive for a couple of days before they need to bring down prey of their own. OK, there's more meat here than cheetahs. Oh yeah, doesn't matter. OK, just put the bowls down. OK, just going to stick the bowls down before we open the gate up. We'll put it down there, Carla. There. Yeah. Finally, the moment that everyone's been waiting for. The gates are opened. The cheetahs associate the whistling with meal times. And it's not long before they come running. Led, as always, by the ever-confident Coco. Come, guys, look. Without a second thought, Coco runs straight to the food. As predicted. Coco's the first one. After grabbing their meal, the cheetahs separate. Instinctively looking for a shady hiding place to eat. So far, so good. The test will come when they wander off and start realising that they're no longer in that camp and that they must now fend for themselves. In the coming weeks, the gang of five face huge challenges. Their instincts haven't been tested since they were rescued from the wild as cubs. Whether they'll now resurface remains to be seen. We've actually put them in a situation where it is potentially dangerous. But they have to have this chance in the wild. It's man that intervened in getting them out of the wild in the first place and now we've given them the chance to have their lives back. The new enclosure has been designed to create an authentic habitat for the cheetahs. And as they tackle their last human provided meal, a natural feast appears not far away. Cheetahs have superb eyesight and are able to pinpoint prey at great distances. Four-year-old male, Spud, targets the warthogs. But almost immediately loses interest. Once their meals are over, the five begin to take in their new territory. One they now share with leopards and hyenas. Spud begins calling to the other cheetahs. He's actually, I think he's looking for his siblings. Those noises are... Cheetahs employ a variety of vocal communications. Some audible for up to two kilometres. Frankie responds to his brother's contact cry and eventually the two are reunited. Alongside his brother, Spud begins to investigate his surroundings. Male cheetahs tend to stick together living and hunting in small groups or coalitions. Instinctively, Spud scales a termite mound to stake out the area. Oh boy. It's a good thing that these cats are sitting on termite mounds because it's a way that they look out and see where the prey is. Employing strategies like this will give Spud the edge over the coming weeks. In the days ahead, the team will need to follow Spud and his companions' progress closely. But for now, they'll allow themselves a moment to mark a memorable day for Okonjima. Nice. Calls for celebration. Cheers. It's nice standing here celebrating the release but also it's like, I think it's like having children. I don't have children yet but I think it's always keeping an eye on them, just making sure where they are, there's one, there's one. For the cheetahs, this is the most vulnerable and the most dangerous time now because everything they're going to meet today and following days they have never seen before. So yeah, they're going to have a lot to learn. Now the fun begins. The gang of five have an exciting future ahead of them. But back at the clinic, it's a very different story. Quatro, the cheetah cub hit by a car, will be spending the night under Carla and Dave's care. While Dave offers him some food, Carla steals herself for a long night. Tonight, well, might be a bit of a sleepless night. It might be a few trips to the clinic to check that everything's okay. Easy, easy boy. I have got a soft spot for small animals. They, well, they tend to be more helpless and obviously I have the, the mother, I do the mothering thing. Dave has his soft spot for them but, you know, being a manly macho man, he doesn't like to admit it too much. I don't agree with that. No. I do have, I agree I've got a soft spot but I don't agree that I don't like it with him. Instead of me making the trip to the clinic, I might wake him up and make him come and check. The next 24 hours will be critical. Ready for night, for bed? We'll lock you up, cover you up. Tomorrow, Quatro's injured leg will be x-rayed. The results will determine his future. Night, night. See you tomorrow.