Namibia, Sanctuary of Giants (2016) - full transcript

Namibia.
One of the driest places on earth.

Yet home to a huge
diversity of animals.

Here are elephants, cheetahs,
lions and rhinos.

Animals that are disappearing
elsewhere in Africa.

But this animal paradise
faces multiple threats.

So a team of local farmers,
biologists, business people,

and volunteers are working
to combat the challenges

while working around the clock
to protect this refuge of the giants.

From the air,
Namibia appears to be a wilderness

free from the impact of humans.

And that's true
for much of the Namib Desert



that lies inland from the Atlantic coast.

It stretches more than 2,000 kilometers
from north to south.

Towns and villages are rare
in this harsh land.

Here, wild animals have more space
than in many other African nations.

Yet some elephants and rhinoceroses
shelter inside the national parks.

Many of the gray giants have sought refuge
in Khaudum and Etosha National Parks.

Etosha is one of Africa's largest
conservation areas,

covering an area of over
22,000 square kilometers.

A vast sterile salt pan takes up
a quarter of the park.

Resources are scarce
and the cause of many conflicts.

But Etosha is not as wild as it appears.

It's fenced in and locals drink
from artificial watering holes.

The reason?

The national park is surrounded
by cattle farms.



Lions frequently escape
through holes in the fence

and attack livestock,

leaving approximately 40 lions
shot dead or poisoned every year.

Not only lions are killed.

One source reported that in a single year,

poachers in Namibia
slaughtered 125 rhinos.

The killing of rhinos for their horns
is on the rise here.

But Namibia's wild animals
face another age-old problem.

The giant herds of goats,
sheep, and cattle.

Hundreds of thousands
of small farmers and their families

depend on these domestic animals.

The soil is often poor,
and herds graze across huge areas.

Areas that were once
the domain of wild animals.

To predators,
domestic animals are easy prey.

Cheetahs naturally hunt
small antelope, rabbits, and birds.

They're also fond of goats

and so they've become
a target for farmers.

It's a major worry.

A century ago, 100,000 cheetahs
roamed across Asia and Africa.

Now, only 7,000 remain.

And Namibia is home
to a third of the survivors.

Come on, tiger!

Laurie Marker, a US biologist,

has come to the defense
Come on.

of Namibia's cheetahs.

She founded the Cheetah
Conservation Fund or CCF,

which devotes itself to the research and
protection of cheetahs across the world.

They are actually Africa's
most endangered big cat.

About 80 percent of all the cheetahs found
are found outside protected game reserves,

which leaves them very, very vulnerable
to human-wildlife conflict.

Issues facing them

are not only that of the livestock,
but also that of the wild game,

which, in Southern Africa,
has a huge amount of value.

So the cheetahs are actually kind of stuck
between a rock and a hard spot

in the fact that very few of them
are found in protected game reserves

and there's too many lions, hyenas,
they steal their young,

steal their food, kill the young.

And with that, they get pushed out

and that puts them
in conflict with humans.

Casualties of the conflict with humans

are treated in CCF's operating room.

The Fund organizes seminars for farmers
and education programs for schools

to counter the clash
between people and cheetahs.

The facility is part
of a larger conservation area

at the foot of the Waterberg Plateau.

Grassy land like this
is perfect habitat for cheetahs

and a rarity in modern Namibia.

Well, these cubs came in when
they were about 3 weeks of age,

so they were very small
and they had to be bottle raised.

Their mother had been killed
on the other side of the mountain,

in an area called Okakarara,

so they have been called
the Okakarara ambassadors.

Coming in at that age,

they'll never will be able
to go back out into the wild.

They are very tame,
as you can see.

They are purring.

Raised on a bottle,
they just think people are okay.

They are not pets.

Uh, these cats don't make good pets,

and it's actually a big problem
for this species

because people think
that they could be a pet.

The CCF currently cares
for 36 orphaned cheetahs of all ages.

Daily feeding ensures
the animals keep fit and healthy.

The cheetahs have to run hard and fast
before food is thrown from the truck.

These cheetahs are permanent residents,

but others have been
successfully returned to the wild.

The Fund has helped create
a stable cheetah population

in Southern Namibia.

It released 13 cheetahs in Erindi,
a private game reserve.

One of them, Chester,
needs a new transmitter collar.

First, Chester is shot
with a tranquilizer dart.

Good, yeah, we got him.

It takes about 15 minutes
for the drug to take effect.

Okay.

A nice shady spot.

An experienced team
replaces the collar.

The transmitter will allow
the researchers to track Chester

and learn about his territorial
and hunting behavior.

- See the new collar?
- Yeah, it's quite flattering, isn't it?

Very interesting.

- Let's see how this goes.
- It's got two.

Well, the top's usually the GPS.

Chester is measured,
weighed, and examined.

Laurie removes a damaged tooth
to prevent infection.

- She's allowed to do on her own.
- Yes.

And then monitor what it looks.
If it doesn't improve...

Chester's friend
is getting worried.

Male cheetahs form hunting partnerships,
a bond that lasts for life.

The patient is laid in the shade
while the anesthetic wears off.

Cheetahs here are used to people.

In fact, they would not survive
in the wild without human help.

Laurie's work with cheetahs
benefits safari operators.

They can find the animals
by means of the transmitters

and the cheetahs will not run away
at the first glimpse

of a horde of tourists.

Let's go.

These little heroes may hold the future
of Namibia's cheetahs in their paws.

The puppies are brought up by mom
for two months before they go to work.

Anatolian shepherd dogs
are ideally suited to life in Namibia.

The climate here is similar to Turkey,
where they come from,

and they're used to guarding
the same animals, sheep and goats.

The dogs grow up as part of the herd,

and will eventually defend their family
tooth and nail.

This farm has almost 400 sheep and goats.

For 75 dollars, the CCF
provides it with a guard dog.

Cheetahs used to attack during the day
while jackals hunted the flock at night.

But not anymore.

The Anatolian sheep dogs
have put a stop to the predator attacks.

It is a great improvement.

Because from the jackals, we did not
get any loss since we get this guy.

This guy came 2014.

From there, we never lost anything,

but before, we used
to lose maybe 10 in a year,

goats or sheep.

Approximately 170 CCF shepherd dogs

are now in action all over the country.

In Namibia, human and animal life
is shaped by the extreme climate.

Without the annual rainy season,
no life could exist here.

When the rains flood the dry riverbeds,

the natural underground reservoirs
are full for months.

Plants and animals come out
of a state of suspended animation.

Plants suddenly produce leaves,

while ponds are filled
to overflowing with tadpoles.

Bullfrogs, weighing as much
as a kilogram, mysteriously appear.

They spend only a few weeks on the surface

before retreating underground
to avoid the dry season.

The wet interlude is short lived.

Desert lions are famous
for their ability to survive

the extreme conditions
of the Namib Desert.

These lions can live
with little or no water.

This female has just killed an oryx.

The antelope's flesh and blood
will satisfy her need for liquid.

Namib lion prides are protected by staff
from the Desert Lion Conservation project.

They use transmitter collars
to study the lions.

The organization tries to improve
relations between lions and humans.

But it doesn't always work.

In 2016, four lions were killed.

Three of them had eaten poisoned meat
that had been laid out as bait.

Farmers living
on the fringes of the desert

are suspected of setting the trap.

Despite occasional setbacks,
the project has had some success.

Local people have a sense of pride
in the lions,

in part because they attract tourists,

and that brings much-needed money
to the region.

These animals are unlikely to enjoy
a similar level of popularity.

Wild dogs are the farmers'
most feared adversaries.

If a pack of wild dogs
gets into a paddock,

the result is invariably a massacre.

No surprise then that
African wild dogs face extinction.

This enclosure belongs
to the Harnas Wildlife Foundation,

a private organization in central Namibia.

It's dedicated to caring for injured
and orphaned wild animals.

Everybody already knows
this is the African wild dog.

Forty-two wild dogs are kept in
several large enclosures at Harnas.

One, two, three.

The chaos is deceptive.

In fact, feeding is determined
by a strict hierarchy

headed by the alpha females.

Wild dogs were once found across
much of sub-Saharan Africa.

These days, Botswana, Zimbabwe,
Namibia, and Zambia

have notable wild dog populations.

Just 5,000 wild dogs remain in the wild.

There are few species of animal
that do not, at some point or another,

arrive at Harnas to be fed
and cared for, including entire herds.

At Harnas, it quickly becomes clear

just how little habitat remains
for wild animals across all of Namibia.

Predators like these caracals
are permanent guests.

They cannot survive
in the surrounding farmland.

Just slowly throw it over, okay?

Nope?
Nope.

The Harnas Wildlife Foundation
is home to an entire pride of lions,

the sanctuary's
most spectacular residents.

One, two, three.

The lions were among
the first orphans taken in at Harnas.

These lions can't be released anywhere
in Namibia.

Locations such as zoos are already taken.

For the past 30 years, the work here
has been more about compassion

than conservation.

For farmers, leopards
are almost as hated as wild dogs.

When a mother leopard is killed,
her cubs are left to starve.

If they're lucky,
they will be taken in at Harnas.

It's a time-consuming task
looking after leopards.

When they are bigger,
they will be moved to an enclosure

protected by an electric fence.

Eric, he is so angry at you. Great.

Each leopard has its own pen.

If kept together,
they might fight until death.

There's hope that in the future,

cattle farmers will not have
to kill the animals

to protect their livestock.

WOMAN 1: Yeah.
WOMAN 2: Yeah.

- Fine?
- Okay.

Painstaking observation has shown

that leopards will only attack cattle
younger than 3 months old.

If the cows are locked away
during this critical age,

then leopards will probably
seek out easier prey.

Namibia's Kunene Province
in the northwest part of the country

is one of its wildest areas.

Here, riverbeds fill with water
only after rare rainfalls.

This is desert elephant country.

Elephants have
a well-developed sense of smell

and can detect underground water
over great distances,

even in apparently dry river beds.

But during periods of extreme drought,

even these desert experts are at a loss
and may need help from humans.

Water is extracted from great depths
using a windmill.

In a drought, this precious commodity
often leads to conflict

between all those
that desperately need it.

Like herds of goats,
often all that the people of Kunene own.

Thirsty elephants know no fear.

But humans are scared
of these powerful creatures.

A wall of concrete
is all that stops the elephants

from destroying everything.

Hendrick Munembone of EHRA,
Elephant-Human Relations Aid,

examines the scene of a crime.

In the course of a battle over water,
elephants have killed several cattle.

So what happened
four days ago in the afternoon,

a group of elephants found
these three lonely moving bulls

at the water point.

And because of that aggression
that elephant now getting,

they start fighting the bulls

and, apparently,
they knocked this bull down,

and afterwards,
they saw the bull standing up,

tried to run away after they killed
the one immediately at the water point.

EHRA works to help
both human and elephant populations.

Hendrick coordinates
with the local authorities

and records every incident.

They are walking around,
and it looks like they are aggressive.

They want something
that is inside our fence.

And I stand between my two beds,
and I start to pray.

And I told my boy not to breathe.

I said to him,
"Don't breathe, don't breathe

because the elephants are here
next to our room."

First, they destroyed the water tank,

and, secondly,

this corrugated iron house

because we put our grass
and our dairy feed in that house.

I was very, very, very afraid.

I was shivering and praying.

I said, "God, please don't give me
over to the elephants, please."

New settlers need help,

and EHRA holds courses to teach them
the basics of elephant behavior

and ways to keep elephants
away from property.

So, through my trainings,

I learned the other way of using chilies
to keep an elephant from touching

very much important asset of the family,

like when people having their food,
even the meals, the pumpkins people eat.

Elephants can smell them,
and they can try to touch it.

So that's why we train people
to use chilies, which is cayenne peppers.

You cook them with an old engine oils,

and then you paint that specific room
where you keep-- you store your food.

One of EHRA's most important tasks

is to help people and animals
get through dry periods.

When the rains come,
the elephants spread out.

And in some areas, there's less conflict.

EHRA is staffed in part
by volunteers from all over the world.

They sign up
for a one or two-week adventure

and provide valuable extra manpower
and have some fun as well.

Their reward
is evenings around a camp fire

and magical nights under the stars.

The Elephant-Human Relations Aid organization

has been collecting data
on desert elephants for years.

Volunteers help count the animals
and map out their movements.

In the Kunene region,
the animals have more space to live.

But in areas
with a larger human population,

other solutions must be found.

There's only one way
to keep elephants away

from humans during a drought.

You have to build wells
and artificial watering holes.

Khaudum National Park
lies in the north of the Kalahari Desert.

The large numbers of elephants here,
particularly during dry periods,

are due to the wells.

Around 3,000 elephants

share the half a dozen watering holes
in Khaudum.

The park's water holes deliver benefits.

Elephants are kept away
from human settlements.

And tourists are treated
to an unforgettable sight.

In South Africa,
rhinoceroses are bred in large numbers,

like these young white rhinos.

These-- These creatures...

Of course, large babies
need large bottles.

Oh, my goodness!

- Can we touch them?
- Oh, yeah. Absolutely.

Oh, next bottle.

Ah.

While every year rhinos
are born in breeding stations,

during the same period,

poachers slaughter more than a thousand.

A private wildlife reserve in Namibia
decided to host four South African rhinos,

two bulls and two cows.

The ultimate aim
is to create a breeding population.

The reserve didn't want young rhinos.

They wanted adults.

So first, the rhinos had to be captured

with the help of a helicopter
and a warden with a tranquilizer gun.

The dart finds its target.

The animal needs to be subdued,
not knocked unconscious.

Next, the rhino has to be persuaded
into a truck.

The blindfold, like the tranquilizer,
is to minimize stress for the animal.

The rhinos require the help
of experienced veterinarians

if they are to survive the coming journey.

A 2,000-kilometer trip awaits,

and stress is the greatest risk
during the entire operation.

Okutala is a conservation area
near Namibia's Etosha National Park.

The rhinos coming in from South Africa
cannot be released immediately.

First, they have to spend some time
in an enclosure,

adapting to their new surroundings.

But moving them into their new home
is easier said than done.

Using a complex system of doors,

staff try to keep two tons
of bad-tempered rhino under control.

Several weeks later,
things have calmed down,

and all the rhinos
are living in a large enclosure.

The rhinos are now hand fed
like domesticated animals,

but the wardens remain wary.

They have seen these animals
destroy steel doors and gates.

Okutala, two years later.

The enclosure is abandoned.

At some point, the gray giants broke out

and made their way
into the conservation area.

Where they now live
is almost 24,000 hectares of wilderness,

surrounded by a fence.

The rhinos return to the lodge
and its watering hole

and bring their babies.

It all started
with four agitated white rhinos.

Now, they have formed an extended family.

And like any family,
they have their ups and downs.

Elephants live in Okutala too.

The Swiss veterinarian Simone Herzog
is responsible for the care of them.

Her most recent patient
is a desert elephant.

The 1-year-old calf
is a member of the herd

causing trouble
for the farmers in the Kunene region.

It's not clear why he has left
the other elephants.

The calf is not the first elephant
at Okutala.

There are three older foster children.

They are in contact
through the railings.

At the moment, the older animals
are more interested in him

than he is in them,

but he is becoming more interested.

As soon as I think the time is right,

I will let the friendliest,
most caring of the older elephants

into the enclosure first.

Then the others
will get the chance to know him,

and eventually, all four of them
will be in the enclosure together.

Initially,
this will only be during the day

when I have the sense that they are aware

that he is smaller
and needs to be cared for.

Simone knows how to care
for such a young and weak elephant.

Nutrition is important.

Elephants can't process dairy milk,

so she makes up a cocktail
of low-fat milk powder and vegetable oil.

Come in...

However,

not even hand-made milk, walks together,
deworming, and vaccines are enough.

This baby elephant
needs psychological nourishment too.

He needs someone who can replace

his mother, his aunts,
and his siblings in the herd.

Little rain has fallen
at Okutala in two years.

The country is a dried-out husk.

The rhinos require extra forage,

and truckloads of alfalfa
are delivered daily.

So it's no surprise

that the animals turn up
at the watering hole each day.

Equally unsurprising are the battles
to show who's top rhino.

Sadly, the rhinos are no longer safe
in Namibia.

Poaching has increased over the years,

and now, poachers target
both black and white rhinos

in private and public lands.

White rhinoceros conservation
is comparatively easy.

They can be kept
in private conservation areas.

The aggressive black rhinos
pose a far greater problem.

This juvenile black rhino
has a real attitude

and lets everyone know it.

The arena is a watering hole
in the Etosha National Park.

Today, poachers pose a far greater threat
to this rhino than lions do.

In Namibia,
there is one place with great hope.

This mountain wilderness
is known as Damaraland,

after the local tribe of the same name.

Harsh mountains and rivers of sand
are home for the toughest of the tough.

Wild animals here
enjoy the protection of the local people.

They run their own sanctuaries,
known as communal conservancies.

The area is home to more black rhinos
than anywhere else in Africa.

But finding one is seriously challenging

since the region spans
more than 20,000 square kilometers.

Because of the aridity,

this is on literally
the edge of their habitat

when it comes to rainfall.

So these rhinos are tough,
and when you see them out in the field,

even out in this barren landscape
with not a single...

or vegetation
that looks pretty parched, you know,

they do pretty well,
all things considered.

And one of their favorite
food species here is this...

this sort of funny-looking
euphorbia species

that is--
almost sort of looks like a Chia Pet.

It's very--
It's got a toxic latex inside of it,

but rhinos here have developed a chemical

that's able to absorb and digest
this toxin,

so they eat it
without much of a problem at all.

Jeff Muntifering
and local trackers

work for the Save the Rhino Trust.

SRT plays a significant role
in black rhino protection.

In the course of long walks,

every rhino is tracked down,
and each sighting is recorded.

When an animal reaches 3 years old,

its horn is removed
so poachers are not attracted to the area.

The trackers
come from the local communities.

They are accompanied
by armed police officers.

A firefight with poachers
could break out at any time.

Rhino horn is worth more than gold,

making poaching a lucrative business
even when only a stump remains.

The patrol camps are well-hidden

and spread across
the entire conservation area.

Hi, guys.

Simson Uri-Khob,
CEO of the Save the Rhino Trust,

is responsible for overseeing
the training of the rangers.

However,
one of his most important tasks

is working closely
with the local communities.

Simson believes that this, above all else,
is the secret of the project's success.

Communities are actually
the most important partners

in rhino protection in our region.

So the conservancy was formed,
and they signed the agreements that say

you take all the responsibility
for the wildlife that's in your area.

Rhinos belong to the government,

and the government
will have a say on the rhinos,

but the rest is under yours.

With more and more people
wanting to see the famous rhinos,

communities are benefiting from tourism.

The rhinos mean jobs and income
from entrance fees.

Despite the best efforts
of the Save the Rhino Trust,

poaching has become an issue
in Damaraland.

Well, it certainly escalated
the poaching threat,

and we knew it was coming.

But we're pretty satisfied that, you know,

we've managed to keep things
under control.

We've lost kind of, on average,
about six or seven rhinos a year

in this area for the past three years,
which for us is tolerable.

I mean, there is the Grootberg conservancy

making about a million Namibian dollars

out of rhino tracking tourism,
just rhino tracking activity.

So it shows that
rhinos can benefit people quite a lot

although they can't sell them
or they can't hunt them

for money or for meat and stuff like that.

But a rhino-- a live rhino is more worth
than a dead rhino.

Conservancies are proving to be
a win-win endeavor.

With poaching, ever-expanding farming,
and urban sprawl,

Namibia's wild animals
face many challenges.

But Namibia has demonstrated
admirable foresight

with the introduction
of community conservancies.

They, and the many private
conservation initiatives,

provide a glimmer of hope.

For now,

Namibia remains the Sanctuary of Giants.