The Journey of Namibia’s Cheetahs (4K Documentary) - Cheetah Kingdom.

In Namibia, the cheetah faces a battle for survival. Routinely trapped and shot by farmers protecting livestock, this iconic species is under threat. 15 years ago, Dave Houghton left Britain to join a dedicated team rescuing and rehabilitating injured cheetahs. To be this close to animals every day is amazing, even for me. I've got the best job in the world, and every day I thank my lucky stars that I'm doing this job. Nursed back to health, the rescued cheetahs are released onto the Okunjima Wildlife Reserve. We're following their stories as they fight for survival in the wilds of Namibia. The Okunjima Reserve in central Namibia. A haven for wildlife, and now home to a group of rescued cheetahs. Orphaned or injured as youngsters, this group spent years in captivity and were only released after a lengthy recovery process. But while they've begun taking their first steps towards freedom, another rescued cheetah lies unconscious. A huge question mark hanging over his future. Seven-month-old cub Quatro was seriously injured after being hit by a car, and x-rays revealed four fractures in one of his legs. It probably is a traumatic injury, but it doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense. It was a very strange fracture. It's now more complicated. It's right up the top there by the elbow. So unless that pinned and it's not going to hold it steady, basically nothing is going to work. Quatro has already been in surgery for more than two hours. Three of the fractures have been fixed, but now veterinary surgeon Dr Ulf Tubersing needs to pin the fragments of broken bone within Quatro's leg joint. Considering that a cheetah is probably the most athletic, certainly of the cats that we have, I would say it's as important for the cheetah to have a full functional recovery as it would be for a professional football player. Certainly if one contemplates releasing this little guy back into the wild, it would be extremely important to get a good surgical fix on it. It's fractured in multiple spots. He isn't quite as easy as it may appear on. This is a one-time-only operation. If Quatro's leg can't be pinned successfully on the first attempt, he'll have to be put to sleep. From looking from the outside, it looks like, you know, certainly what I can see, the fragments are in position. Theoretically speaking, we should have nice alignment, but the x-rays will show. At only seven months of age, Quatro is still growing, so his bones should heal well, if they've been correctly aligned. We had one, two, three, four fractures. This fragment here is where the muscles are on. The pin is in there, but we've put a figure of eight wire around to, you know, pull this in place, and this here at the bottom is just literally putting the pin into roughly keep it in position. This will just basically grow. After a detailed examination, Wolf delivers his verdict. Looks good. I would say the prognosis is actually quite good for this cat. It's great news, not just for Quatro, but for the entire cheetah conservation effort. Here in Namibia, we have a quarter of the world's cheetah population, which is, you know, a lot of animals are endangered animals, and just saving one is helping the population rise and to keep them, you know, steady and safe. Quatro will have to be confined while his leg heals, but all being well, he should make a full recovery. I'm feeling a lot better now. Now I've just got to keep the cat nice and calm and don't let it run around for the next six weeks or so. Yeah, a lot happier now. I'm sure Carla will be as well. It will be some time before Quatro can join the other cheetahs in the rehabilitation programme. But while he waits, the gates are about to open on another of the programme's success stories. When five-year-old male Cyclops was darted so the team could examine a major eye problem, there were fears he might have to undergo surgery. If you look at the normal eye, you can see it's a certain size. If you have a look and compare the two eyes, you can see this is a larger eye. You can actually feel it as well and feel there's a certain amount of increase in pressure. The eye is swollen. Despite his eye problem, Cyclops was given the all-clear. And Dave could look forward to releasing him onto AfriCat's 40,000-acre reserve. He's kind of got a special place in our hearts and we hope that he does well and we can get him out there as soon as possible, back where he belongs. It will now be down to Dave to coax this notoriously elusive cat out of his enclosure so he can begin his new life in the reserve. He's a lot wilder than the other guys, so it's basically going to be a quiet affair. I'm just going to open the gate, let him see his bowl, put it down and then hopefully he'll come out. I'm going to back off. Cyclops avoids human contact whenever possible, so Dave doesn't want to spook him. The gate's open. I'm going to whistle now and see if he'll come. Cyclops, come boy, come. Despite Dave's encouragement, Cyclops stays rooted to his hiding place beneath the tree. Another option is to kind of chase him out, but we don't want to do that because that just gets him stressed and there's always a chance he runs into the fence. In the past, he comes to the bowl for his food, so there's no reason why he shouldn't do it now. Dave remains patient and after a few minutes, Cyclops makes his move. Come on, boy, you can do it. Still aware we're here, I think, but he's coming to investigate the first bowl. Now he's going to lay in the shade. In the wild, cheetahs can eat more than 15 kilos of food in one sitting and then go several days without eating. So far, it seems that Cyclops would rather go hungry than risk trouble. He's wild, he's doing what we want him to do, he's hiding and he needs to feel a little bit more secure to come out and grab his meat. What I'm hoping is not going to happen is he's going to grab it and go back in again. Cautious as ever. Here he comes. Come on, come on. New territory. Okay, here he comes, here he comes, here he comes. Come on, boy, come. There's the bowl. Nice and nervous, just like he needs to be out here. Almost at the bowl. Got the meat and he's going to turn around and walk back in again. Back to where he's comfortable. Classic. It looks like Dave will just have to be patient. I am a little bit frustrated, but, you know, I saw him come out, so I know he can do it, but he did go back in again, so I'm pretty sure, you know, he's going to be fine, he's going to find his own way out. I mean, he kept looking at me, so he knew I was here. Once I drive off, he will then know I've gone, so he can do it in his own time. I don't want to force him out, I don't want to, you know, don't want him to stress out in any way. Dave leaves and the crew place motion-sensitive cameras at the gate of the enclosure. Once they've gone, Cyclops is left to weigh up his options. After 18 months in captivity, he's a whisker away from freedom. In front of him, a 40,000-acre reserve with a ready supply of food. All he has to do is walk through the gate to freedom. He slowly investigates the area and once he's convinced it's safe, he heads off to start a new exciting chapter in his life. If he survives in the reserve, he'll eventually be released into the wild. Dave will watch over him in the coming weeks. He's gone this time, at last. Sun's coming down now. He started his long journey, so hopefully from here on, it'll be good news and if he does as well as the other guys, then we're really rocking and rolling. The Okanjima Reserve plays host to a number of species, but Director of Park Research, AJ, has recently discovered one that few people will have seen in the wild. Though the reserve was created to give rescued cheetahs a second chance in the wild, it also appears to be giving other rare animals a chance to thrive. We're right at the entrance of a brown hyena den. Now, very rare to find and we were lucky to stumble onto it because that's what we did, we stumbled onto it. There are thought to be fewer than 8,000 brown hyenas left in the wild. To discover a den site where potentially a mother could be raising pups is a remarkable find. But basically, if you look down here, you can see the actual main interest that hyenas use in and out, in and out. The amazing thing is just looking at the size of that hole, if you think of a brown hyena being the size of your average dog and to see that animal going through a hole like that, it's quite something else. When AJ first discovered the den, he couldn't be certain that it belonged to a brown hyena family. It was only after placing motion-sensitive cameras around the site that his suspicions were confirmed. But when I looked at the hole, I thought that the hole was a bit small and then I thought, no, it's too small for a hyena. But I put up my cameras and then three days later, to a very great surprise, I found a hyena den. AJ has been compiling a library of footage from the site, which provides a unique insight into the lives of these fascinating animals. There are three pups at the den, an average litter. The pups have begun foraging for themselves, but at seven months of age, they're still relying on their mother to provide much of their food. While she's out scavenging, they get to play. It looks like they're fighting, but they're not fighting, it's play fighting. So a lot of biting. That's why they have that thick mane protecting their necks and also protecting their bodies, because they are very nibbly and all of that. And that also indicates the youngsters, because the youngsters need to sort out hierarchy. So they'll always be biting and nibbling and showing dominance between them. The rescue cheetahs are unlikely to encounter this family. Unlike the spotted hyena, these smaller brown hyenas will rarely drive other predators from a kill. Though they have a reputation for being violent scavengers, the footage has given AJ a fresh perspective on this often maligned species. The behaviour doesn't show what everyone tells you, in the sense that they are very ferocious and stuff. They're actually quite sociable. They play around, they look beautiful. The young won't leave the den until they're 15 months old. And in time, their mother may return to bear more pups at this site. AJ's priority will always be the cheetahs, but he'll continue to follow the progress of this young family in the months ahead. This is bringing work home, but this is a special kind of work. It's not your normal 9-to-5 type of work. AJ's not the only one working out of hours. When Dave's not in the field rescuing cheetahs, he's normally in his workshop. Making the most of what little is available from the African bush. Dave has a habit of collecting things. He never throws anything away because he always says you can use it. There's a reason for my hoarding. Even if something breaks and it's no longer any use, there are probably bits of it which can be used for something else, kind of down the line. So I, you know, I keep stuff. He builds the crates and builds doors and the enclosures. Yeah, it's like a bit of a scrapyard around here, but it generally gets used eventually. And there are always times when, you know, you have to make something. You just go through your stockpile of rubbish, as some people call it, and you find the stuff there. As the sun goes down over the Okunjima Reserve, injured cheetah cub Cuatro is making use of Dave's handiwork. Recovering in one of his homemade crates. It's a purr eating noise. There are antibiotics inside the food, and Dave and Carla need to make sure that Cuatro takes his medicine. Often you find with cats that are, well, new cats that come in, it takes them a while to learn how to eat out of a bowl, because obviously they're not used to bowls. But once he's done it, he's going to figure it out. Get it right, yeah, get it right. Come. Come on. There we go. With some gentle coaxing, Cuatro eventually takes some food. But his purring isn't a sign of contentment. Just like the domestic cat, cheetahs will purr when nervous or in pain. As you can see, Cuatro is... I think he's obviously still a bit, you know, traumatised, obviously. I mean, I'm sure his leg's hurting him. No, it's okay, baby. I say, put this end into the door, it's fine. Cuatro will need to rest for at least six weeks while his injuries heal. But Dave and Carla have prepared some space to allow him a little freedom. We just moved the crate in for Cuatro. I want to lift this door out now. This one's wired up, so he can go out there whenever he pleases. And I don't want to force him out, and especially if we're not around, he can go out in his own time. It's a lot less stressful for him. For the first time in almost a week, Cuatro sees daylight. And he begins calling. That's a slightly bigger, wide world out there. He's calling, so we think he was with other cheetahs, other siblings, which he's calling for, which is a bit sad. But he will get over it, as we've seen in the past. Cheetahs usually have at least two siblings, and males form strong bonds that can last a lifetime. It's a shame. He's really lonely without his family. It will take him a while to get over it. They do call for a few days, but they do get over it. And then he'll only know what it's like to be a single cheetah, sadly. If Cuatro makes a full recovery, he'll have a chance to form a coalition with other rescued cheetahs before being released onto the reserve. Until then, he'll have to adjust to life alone. But Carla and Dave will help where they can. I do sometimes answer their call when they're calling, just to let them know that there's somebody or something else at the other side of that wooden door. Whether it helps or not, I don't know. Shame. But he's got us, and we'll look after him. Bet you we're leaving now. You're going to get out on your own. Carla and Dave leave. And eventually, Cuatro takes his first nervous steps outside. This little cub has been through a massive ordeal. But thanks to Dave and Carla, his survival is assured.